mintpressnews--2020-07-14--As Syria Struggles Under COVID-19 Lockdown, America’s Scorched Earth Policy Ensures Food Insecurity

In a world dominated by American exceptionalism and neo-colonialism , hunger has become a weapon of war .
“ The use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare is prohibited ” under international humanitarian law yet the U.S. regularly reduces entire nations to dangerous levels of food insecurity in order to subjugate them .
The U.S.
Coalition ’ s hybrid war strategy on Syria under the cover of COVID-19 is so vast and interconnected that a single article could never give it the breadth it deserves .
In this article , I will demonstrate that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to plunge Syria into a state of blockade , food insecurity , and aggravated poverty .
Infuriated by a failed military campaign to remove the Syrian leadership and government , the U.S .
Coalition is now turning the economic screws on a nation that has endured a 10-year brutal war of attrition waged by extremist mercenaries power-multiplied by the U.S. supremacist alliance .
On June 17 , 2020 , the Caesar Act went into effect .
According to Morgan Ortagus , U.S. State Department Spokesperson , the law is a sustained campaign of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ law targets 39 officials or entities associated with the Syrian government .
First Lady , Asma Al Assad is identified as a “ war profiteer ” and her financial dealings will be restricted alongside other members of her family , even those not living in Syria .
Journalist Eva Bartlett , who has spent time in Syria and has consistently challenged dominant , U.S. narratives , recently wrote movingly , for MintPress News about the initiatives set up by the First Lady to heal her war-battered country contrary to the Caesar Law interpretation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , political and media advisor to President Bashar Al Assad , has spoken extensively on the Caesar Act and the economic war on Syria .
Dr. Shaaban says that the Caesar Act is a concerted attack against Syria ’ s allies and that pressure will be brought to bear upon those who have steadfastly supported Syria in its campaign to rid itself of the terrorist occupation financed and equipped by the “ regime change ” alliance led by the U.S. Dr. Shaaban ’ s full statement can be heard here : Rime Allaf @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Western institutions that continue to drive the political campaign to criminalize the Syrian government , confirmed Dr. Shaaban ’ s opinion of such multi-spectrum-war strategies .
“ Any company , any government , any entity around the world is going to be sanctioned if they deal with the Syrian regime elite who the State Department believes are responsible for committing these atrocities , ” she wrote .
The U.S. has already threatened the United Arab Emirates ( UAE ) with coercive measures should it dare “ violate the Caesar Law.
” The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ with the Syrian government as the military victory against terrorist factions the UAE once supported becomes a reality .
The Caesar Act is intended to derail Syria ’ s post-war reconstruction efforts .
Several Emirati companies have visited Damascus in recent months and have indicated an interest in collaborating with the Syrian government to rebuild specific areas of the country .
Immediately prior to the launch of the Caesar Act , the Syrian parliament approved “ oil exploration contracts signed with Mercury LLC and Velada LLC , ” both Russian companies with a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ which is currently occupied by U.S .
Coalition forces and allied militants , predominantly the Syrian Democratic Forces ( SDF ) .
Effectively , the Caesar Act and all preceding economic sanctions are designed to prevent the necessary restoration and maintenance of essential infrastructure and basic services that provide stability , food , water , electricity , fuel , income , and medical care to the Syrian people .
The U.S.-led occupation of Syria ’ s oil fields is meant to prevent access to that oil for the Syrian people and to provide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ proxy forces .
The reality is that the U.S. and its allies are intent upon blockading , besieging and suffocating the Syrian people in a final bid to turn the nation against its government .
Where military measures have failed , economic pressure will now be increased with devastating consequences for a population that has already endured the horrifying effects of war and sectarian violence for 10 long years .
Researcher Rick Sterling ’ s carried out a thorough investigation into the fraud that was the Caesar Report and wrote a follow-up article @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Caesar Act that may be turned against any individual or entity perceived to be violating U.S. full-spectrum dominance with regards to Syria .
An important point is made in Sterling ’ s article : Resource theft and the war on wheat Just before the Caesar Act went into effect , the Syrian permanent representative to the UN , Dr. Bashar Al Jaafari , launched a stinging attack on the U.S. ’ coercive measures that remorselessly target the Syrian people .
Jaafari referred to the burning of trucks containing aid from the UN @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by sectarian factions in Lebanon before they could reach Syria .
He describes the “ symptoms of political schizophrenia ” demonstrated by the West .
Section 401 of the Caesar Act outlines the conditions for the lifting of sanctions against Syria .
The final demand is “ accountability for “ perpetrators of war crimes in Syria and justice for victims of war crimes.
” I have deliberately omitted the reference to the Syrian government .
Why ?
The U.S. Coalition-aligned complex of media and UN agencies focus primarily upon the criminalization of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for the war crimes being committed by the U.S. and the various terrorist or extremist groups indirectly and directly under their command .
Yet there is surely a case for holding the U.S. Government accountable for war crimes and to demand justice for the victims of this protracted psychological war against the Syrian people , those who are rarely if ever mentioned in western media reports .
The essence of food security for any country , but particularly during a grueling and destructive 10-year war , is in locally produced and controlled food @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the war against Syria has been the occupation , destruction , and theft of resources .
In May 2020 , the U.S. forces in northeast Syria dropped thermal balloons from Apache helicopters over agricultural lands south of Hasaka which ignited serious crop fires that burned extensive areas of wheat and barley .
Local sources reported that American helicopters also buzzed farmhouses and villages , terrorizing local populations .
On May 24 , sources in the Hasaka countryside reported that Turkish militias had torched wheat and barley fields in the Tal Tamr and Abo @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were devastated by these fires .
While ostensibly Turkey ’ s agenda in Syria is separate from that of the U.S. , Turkey is still a NATO member state and therefore it can not be ruled out that the U.S. and Turkey were collaborating to deprive Syrians of their livelihoods , infrastructure , and food sources while enabling mercenary militias to benefit from the black market trade of resources , with Turkey as one of the main trading routes and receiving hubs .
According to estimates , 130,000 hectares of wheat and 180,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ these fires to date .
A map produced by researcher and former Syrian Arab Army soldier , Ibrahim Mohammad , based in Aleppo , pinpoints areas that are being affected by the crop infernos .
During a recent trip to the southeast , specifically to the villages east of Sweida city that were savagely attacked by U.S.-protected ISIS terrorists on the July 25 , 2018 – I was told of fires mysteriously ignited to the West of Sweida destroying food crops there .
The reemergence of extremist militia forces to the West of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Nusra Front and ISIS , may point to the culprits responsible for the fires .
Another important and related element of this multi-spectrum war against Syria is the potential British intelligence role in training and equipping these armed groups that are now resurfacing and carrying out regular assassinations of government employees or targeting Syrian Arab Army vehicles with IEDs , kidnapping and running familiar subversive operations against the Syrian government and loyalists .
A clandestine intelligence war is being ignited south of Damascus which forms part of the US Coalition hybrid war strategy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for all-out war .
It is these same armed groups that are suspected , by local sources , to be responsible for the crop fires in the south of the country .
A pattern emerging is of a deliberate scorched earth policy being waged by the U.S .
Coalition and its assets on the ground across the country .
At the same time , Turkey is reported to be forcing Syrian farmers to sell their wheat to Turkey in exchange for Turkish currency and U.S.-backed Kurdish contras have restricted the sale of wheat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ areas they control , which account for an estimated 70 percent of total Syrian wheat production .
Anger among local farmers over the restrictions and hijacking of their livelihoods has grown .
On June 30 , civilians were filmed blocking trucks that were transporting stolen wheat into Turkey .
On June 14 , 2020 , Turkish-backed militant groups set fire to large areas planted with wheat and barley on the outskirts of Ras Al Ain and in the suburbs of Abou Rasseine in the north and northwest of Hasaka .
The villages of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Turkey-backed militants , had their crops devastated by these fires .
Civilian homes were burned to the ground by the rampaging fires .
An elderly Assyrian man , Issac Esho Nissan , was one of the victims of the flames that raged in the Hasaka agricultural region .
His hands and face were badly burned by the fire but he still valiantly fought the blaze in an attempt to prevent the ravaging of more crops by occupying forces .
As elsewhere in Syria throughout this 10-year war , Syrian civilians have been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ overwhelming and disproportionate force .
According to the Syrian Arab News Agency ( SANA ) at least two civilians have perished in the fires .
The economic devastation and psychological pressure brought to bear upon an already war-ravaged population are hard to quantify and even harder to imagine .
The SDF is not the benevolent force in the region that they are often portrayed to be in the western media , which , along with the U.S .
Coalition has attempted to mold them into a “ democratic ” alternative autonomy to Damascus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in furthering the U.S.
Coalition ’ s plan to balkanize Syria and they are pivotal to U.S. and Israeli plans to occupy the Syrian territory east of the Euphrates , the nation ’ s bread and oil basket .
On June 27 , SDF groups took over the building of the regional Syrian Grain Corporation administration center and occupied it by force .
They now also occupy the General Electricity Company in Hasaka and employees have been forcibly removed from the premises .
The SDF has effectively flip-flopped between Damascus and the U.S. @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. occupation of the territory managed by the SDF .
To date , the SDF is still occupying buildings in Hasaka .
According to local sources , they have increased their military presence in the complex in order to prevent the return of government employees and the restoration of services to civilians .
The SDF is also preventing the delivery of flour to the Al-Baath bakery in Qamishli City which is the main provider of bread to civilians in the area .
On July 2 , Israeli forces patrolling the Golan Heights in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sehita , Quneitra ( previously occupied by U.S.-backed militants and the White Helmets ) .
Israeli soldiers then fired live ammunition on farmers and civilians who went to battle the flames .
Turkey , the U.S. , and Israel form a monstrous triad of marauding forces who have entered Syrian territory in violation of international law and are in the process of asset-stripping on an industrial scale without a single ounce of outrage from the international community , who claim to defend the rights of Syrian citizens .
How are these rights defended @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to bare bones by the military vulturism of the “ humanitarian ” hypocrites ?
Syria has multiple American knees on its neck , but still , we see no worldwide protests against the slow suffocation that Syrians are being forced to bear .
While Trump had announced the prospect of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syrian territory in October 2019 , the U.S. has , contrary to that announcement , steadily increased its military footprint in the north and northeast under cover of COVID-19 .
Convoys of military vehicles and equipment have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ since borders were closed globally to allegedly prevent the spread of the virus .
U.S. troop movement is apparently not restricted by social distancing and quarantine regulations .
On July 1 , 2020 , U.S. forces established a new military and airbase in Al Yarubiya , Hasaka .
Reports from the area by SANA indicated that U.S. troops and the SDF are collaborating to secure wheat supplies , reinforcing the base with concrete blocks , and posting SDF guards to protect the perimeters of the camp and the wheat silos .
While reoccupying @ @ @ @ @ @ @ new ones upon Syrian territory , the U.S. and the SDF continue their theft of Syrian oil .
Simultaneously the US Coalition media and UN “ humanitarian ” agencies are actively peddling the global Covid-19 “ pandemic ” narrative in Syria and supporting the push for a crippling lockdown in this already besieged nation.The U.S. “ exceptional ” and predatory neocolonial campaign continues unhindered by concerns about the spread of the virus to troops on the ground intent on looting a country of all it needs to survive .
On July 1 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ U.S. military escort drove through Syria and into Iraq via the “ illegal ” Semalka crossing in Al Malikiyah city in northeast Hasaka .
These convoys are draining Syria of its life-blood .
It is summer now and electricity outages caused by a lack of fuel to run generators are not as long or as disruptive , but come the winter , when rural areas could be reduced to one hour of electricity per day , this resource plundering will have a devastating effect upon the Syrian people .
The Trump administration is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to provide revenue for their separatist poster boys in the SDF .
In a recent statement , Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie , head of US Central Command ( CENTCOM ) said : The SDF is conducting similar looting campaigns in the northeast under the supervision of the U.S .
Coalition .
Entire railway tracks , running between Deir Ezzor and Hasaka are being dismantled and the looted iron is being traded across the border by what are effectively criminal racketeers .
Nothing is left intact , railway stations that have weathered decades @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the metal is reportedly transferred to Turkey where it is melted down and transformed into new railway tracks to be sold outside of Syria .
There have also been reports of the U.S. installing Patriot air defense systems in northeast Syria .
While this has not been categorically confirmed , sources inside Syria believe that it is a provocative move by the U.S. neoconservative lobby and the Pentagon , the prospect of which is very possible , especially when the considerable amount of territory actually being reoccupied by the U.S. military is factored @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is the pollution and contamination of water sources and agricultural lands .
The SDF , who benefit most from the illegal oil revenue , appears to have neglected the maintenance of the dilapidated pipelines .
Crude oil and waste products , many of which are carcinogenic , are seeping into rivers and streams .
Inevitably when these rivers overflow onto agricultural land bordering their banks , the toxic waste is transferred to the crops .
Recent reports highlight the increase in cancer cases in these areas .
The primitive refineries are breeding disease @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conditions , and severe respiratory sickness .
The birth defects include hypothyroidism at birth , thalassemia , hemophilia .
All these horrifying effects on the Syrian population are concentrated in the areas around the oil-wells under control of the U.S .
Coalition and their various proxies .
Trees are dying , many of the green spaces are reportedly shrinking due to the air and soil pollution that is ignored by the occupying forces intent only upon the short-term revenue , not the long term preservation of the environment .
Needless to say , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ onto the agenda at any of the international meetings to discuss the “ humanitarian ” crisis in Syria .
Creating waves over the mismanagement of occupied resources by a U.S.-sponsored occupier is apparently not an option .
The chronic contamination of the vast network of rivers and streams that cover much of the northeast will ensure the toxicity of crops and livestock for decades to come .
Plunder without conscience , the shameful hallmark of U.S. neocolonialism .
It must also be noted that the U.S. has admitted to the use of depleted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also contributing to the toxic waste which is already having a devastating effect upon the Syrian population .
This use of WMDs in an illegal interventionist war against the people of Syria is , of course , never mentioned by the U.S.-appointed arbiters of war crimes in Syria whose focus is on the alleged “ chemical attacks ” that have been hugely discredited by experts from within the OPCW who have exposed the organization to be corrupt and compromised – in particular with regards to the incident in Douma , eastern Damascus in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ uranium radioactive waste and its subsequent , horrifying mutilation of the human form is not something the U.S. is a stranger to .
The level of contamination in Iraq after the U.S. allied aggression at various times in their history is still frighteningly high , and the transferral of irradiated scrap metal , often by dealers who are children , is ensuring the spread of the toxic waste .
Recovery from U.S. invasion , occupation , and devastation of all resources either by obliteration , theft , or pollution are slow and painful @ @ @ @ @ @ @ debilitating consequences while the U.S. walks free , a war criminal at large .
In addition to the aforementioned “ maximum pressure ” measures , water is also being weaponized in order to collectively punish the Syrian people for withstanding 10 years of war without abandoning their support for their government , army and their allies .
Recently , local Syrian media and activists have been reporting the “ shocking ” reduction in water levels of the Euphrates river , the largest in Syria .
From the city of Jarablus to the Tishreen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ decrease in the water levels which threaten drought conditions if it continues .
This is due to Turkey , a NATO member state , closing two dams that release water into Syria , located in Turkish territory , including the giant Elisu Dam .
As part of an agreement signed in 1987 , Turkey committed to pumping a minimum of 500 cubic meters per second , yet that rate has now fallen to 150 cubic meters per second , agonizingly reduced for the people of the region and the whole of Syria .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the effects as electricity outages have increased because of greater downtimes in running the hydroelectric power stations .
Over the years Turkey has periodically violated this agreement but water hegemony is now a savage instrument of war for the neo-Ottoman would-be emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan .
Drinking water is restricted in the north and northeast and agricultural production is at risk from drought-like conditions .
The administration of Tishreen Dam , the second-largest hydroelectric station in Syria , has warned of devastating consequences for the economy of the local communities if Turkey continues @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and drought threaten to decimate the population .
The Euphrates and Tishreen hydroelectric stations have had to reduce their shifts from 18 to 10 hours starting in mid-June .
As already mentioned , this will have a knock-on effect upon the remainder of Syrian territory .
Amateur video filmed by a member of the local community shows the result of Turkey cutting the water supply to an area in northeastern Syria , Dr. Al Jaafari has highlighted the Turkish war-crimes at the UN but without any outrage from the “ international community ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ cutting off the water supply to more than one million Syrian civilians .
Al Jaafari did not hesitate to point out this hypocrisy during his address : Certainly , it is evident that whether it is Turkey , Israel , or the U.S. , water , food , and essential infrastructure , including health and humanitarian sectors , are now being targeted in an effort to further pressurize the blockaded , besieged Syrian people .
Criminal operations among the various contra factions are exacerbating the situation on the ground and intensifying economic misery @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hypocrisy of UN agencies and western “ aid ” organizations in another part of this series but in connection with the resource hegemony discussed in this Part One , it is worth pointing out the double-speak deployed by such agencies when it comes to covering the “ humanitarian ” situation in Syria .
There has been a huge outcry over the apparent inaccessibility for foreign “ aid ” into northeast Syria due to Russia and China ’ s veto of a UN resolution to keep “ aid ” flowing into the U.S.-Turkish-SDF occupied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ links northern Iraq to northeastern Syria .
It is no secret that aid that enters this region may be hijacked by Turkish or American-backed “ boots on the ground , ” but there is another element to this issue that should raise eyebrows .
While the claim is that “ aid ” is not reaching these U.S.-controlled areas , the U.S. is allegedly transporting ISIS fighters from Syria across the border into Iraq .
So the movement of troops during a “ global pandemic ” crisis is not restricted to the U.S. Army @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been the pretext for the “ war against terror ” on Syrian soil .
While the U.S. can move client terrorist fighters around on Syrian territory and is quite happy to transport them into Iraq , the U.S. does not apply itself to providing genuine humanitarian aid to the Syrian people effectively under their control .
The hue and cry at the UN and among aligned human rights groups like Amnesty International are based upon the usual deliberate obfuscation of reality on the ground .
How many of you actually thought about @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and economic strategy that has been ramped up against Syria while we are all focused on a virus that has brought the world to a standstill ?
For the U.S. alliance , business as usual , supporting terrorism , destroying the planet and bringing misery , poverty , and starvation to yet another nation in the name of “ democracy ” because the government does not comply with U.S.-dominated foreign policy .
The genuine resource crisis in the northeast is being used to further criminalize the Syrian government by the UN and aligned @ @ @ @ @ @ @ article in the Financial Times sheds copious crocodile tears over the starvation of Syrian children without one mention of U.S .
Coalition sanctions , resource theft , the fraudulent Caesar Act and the 10-year war waged by the U.S. alliance to remove the Syrian government in violation of any applicable version of international law .
This lying-by-omission has been a regular tactic used by the war-mongering establishment media outlets when it comes to Syria .
Nor does the article mention the measures being taken by the beleaguered Syrian government to combat the agricultural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the purchase price of wheat from 225 Syrian pounds ( SYP ) to 400 SYP per kilogram in order to support the agricultural sector .
The funding plan to combat the effects of the U.S. scorched earth policy with regards to wheat and barley crops amounts to 800 billion SYP per annum in “ extraordinary ” response to the looming crisis generated by hostile external forces .
Anyone who is being misled by western media into believing the Syrian state would relish the starvation or wholesale deprivation of its citizens should read this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the British Embassy , Damascus , Louis Allday .
Allday describes the Syrian government , comprising a complex of national institutions , civil society organizations and charitable institutions , as responding proactively and rapidly to the drought that ravaged the country from 2006 until the start of the U.S. allied aggression in 2011 .
How that drought may well have been orchestrated by Turkey in order to tenderize the population prior to the fabrication of the “ Arab Spring ” charade in Syria , is a subject for another article at a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to the causes of Syrian misery At the end of June , “ donor nations ” from within the U.S .
Coalition that has plunged Syria into the abyss of war and economic anguish for the last 10 years , pledged a total of $ 7.7 billion to tackle the “ deepening ” humanitarian crisis in Syria .
COVID-19 was cited as one of the factors compounding the misery of 17 million Syrians – to date , Syria has had 372 confirmed cases , 14 deaths and 126 recoveries from the virus .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Damascus or the surrounding countryside , many among those returning from abroad .
I have outlined the flaunting of global “ lockdown ” policies by the U.S. military and their affiliates on the ground in Syria so this pseudo protectionism towards the Syrian people over COVID-19 is exposed as the fraud it really is .
“ EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic announced the total at the end of a day-long online pledging conference organized by the EU and United Nations ” – he said : I will be investigating the destination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” that enters areas of Syria not under the control of the internationally recognized Syrian government , at a later date .
However for these nations to be genuinely in solidarity with the Syrian people they should be campaigning for America and allies to lift their knee from the neck of these people and to end sanctions , to banish the Caesar Law which is illegal and immoral and to end the support for terrorist and separatist factions inside the country .
Professor Michel Raimbaud , a former French diplomat , argues that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ must come to an end .
Raimbaud said : What we are seeing in Syria is the unfolding of the US/UK-led neo-colonialist blueprint that was previously used against Iraq .
In 1991 the U.S. alliance deliberately bombed Iraq ’ s water purification and electricity infrastructure before imposing sanctions that prevented their restoration .
Sanctions that are more accurately described as a military blockade , just as we are seeing now in Syria .
In both 1991 and 2003 , US allied bombing campaigns targeted animal feed stores , poultry farms , fertilizer warehouses @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , fuel depots and agricultural installations .
These destructive tactics designed to undermine the survival mechanisms of the nation under attack are being replayed in Syria with similar cataclysmic consequences .
Late 2019 , I had a meeting with the administration of the Ministry of Agriculture in Lattakia on the Syrian coast .
During the meeting , I was informed that the US Coalition-sponsored occupying forces have decimated 30 % of the Syrian livestock sectors , 60-70,000 beehives have been stolen and merchanted in Turkey .
Villages they invaded were looted , agricultural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Turkey .
Over 30 % of Syrian forestry has been cut down and the wood sold to Turkey .
Between 2012-2015 , terrorist groups occupied protected zones in an area about 47km away from Lattakia – this led to extensive damage to land that had nurtured 260 rare plant species including 65 species of medicinal plants .
Around 650,000 hectares of Syrian land are planted with an estimated 90 million Olive trees .
In Afrin ( north-west of Aleppo ) there are 18 million trees under control of the Al Qaeda-led militants .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ , followed by Idlib , Tartous , Homs , Lattakia and Hama .
The average annual production is 150,000 tonnes of oil and 350,000 tonnes of olives .
There are 800 distilleries across Syria with most of them clustered in the above mentioned provinces .
Currently , about half the productive areas are under the control of Turkish proxy forces , dominated by Nusra Front ( Al Qaeda in Syria ) .
Turkish traders have made huge profits buying Olive oil at low prices , blending with Turkish oil and exporting to Europe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sanctions do not affect Syrian resources stolen by coalition members .
Syrians who , themselves , might attempt to revive trade with Europe would be immediately punished and restricted by these unilateral economic shackles .
American barbarism and genocidal supremacism must be called to account .
The rogue-state standards that the U.S. is setting for the world will threaten all Humanity now and in the future .
Syrian lives matter because without this beleaguered nation setting us the example for resilience , resourcefulness and resistance against neo-colonialist hegemony , perpetual war will be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Special thanks for help with research for this article and the double checking of information goes to Ibrahim Mohammad , Syrian activist and researcher , former Syrian Arab Army soldier .
Feature photo | Workers disinfect the streets to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Qamishli , Syria , Tuesday , March 24 , 2020 .
Baderkhan Ahmad | AP Vanessa Beeley is an independent journalist and photographer who has worked extensively in the Middle East – on the ground in Syria , Egypt , Iraq and Palestine , while also covering @ @ @ @ @ @ @ In 2017 Vanessa was a finalist for the prestigious Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism which was won by the much-acclaimed Robert Parry that year .
In 2018 Vanessa was named one of the 238 most respected journalists in the UK by the British National Council for the Training of Journalists .
In 2019 , Vanessa was among recipients of the Serena Shim Award for uncompromised integrity in journalism .
Vanessa contributes regularly to MintPress News , Russia Today , UK Column , The Last American Vagabond , Sputnik radio , 21st Century Wire @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Please support her work at her https : //www.patreon.com/vanessabeeley Patreon Page .

In a world dominated by American exceptionalism and neo-colonialism, hunger has become a weapon of war. “The use of starvation of the civilian population as a method of warfare is prohibited” under international humanitarian law yet the U.S. regularly reduces entire nations to dangerous levels of food insecurity in order to subjugate them.
Food, next to life itself, has become our greatest common denominator. Its availability, quality, price, its reflection of the culture it feeds and its moral and religious significance make it quite literally history’s staff of life.’ Today, in the never-ending worldwide struggle to determine who will control its production, quality and accessibility, food is no longer viewed first and foremost as a sustainer of life. Rather, to those who seek to command our food supply it has become instead a major source of corporate cash flow, economic leverage, a form of currency, a tool of international politics, an instrument of power, a weapon!” – A.V. Krebs, “The Corporate Reapers: The Book of Agribusiness”
The U.S. Coalition’s hybrid war strategy on Syria under the cover of COVID-19 is so vast and interconnected that a single article could never give it the breadth it deserves. In this article, I will demonstrate that the U.S. and its allies are deliberately seeking to plunge Syria into a state of blockade, food insecurity, and aggravated poverty. Infuriated by a failed military campaign to remove the Syrian leadership and government, the U.S. Coalition is now turning the economic screws on a nation that has endured a 10-year brutal war of attrition waged by extremist mercenaries power-multiplied by the U.S. supremacist alliance.
Criminal Caesar Law
On June 17, 2020, the Caesar Act went into effect. According to Morgan Ortagus, U.S. State Department Spokesperson, the law is a sustained campaign of sanctions targeting the Syrian government.
Today, we begin a sustained campaign of sanctions against the Assad regime under the Caesar Act. The individuals and entities targeted today have played a key role in obstructing a peaceful, political solution to the conflict.”
The law targets 39 officials or entities associated with the Syrian government. First Lady, Asma Al Assad is identified as a “war profiteer” and her financial dealings will be restricted alongside other members of her family, even those not living in Syria. Journalist Eva Bartlett, who has spent time in Syria and has consistently challenged dominant, U.S. narratives, recently wrote movingly, for MintPress News about the initiatives set up by the First Lady to heal her war-battered country contrary to the Caesar Law interpretation of her role.
Dr. Bouthaina Shaaban, political and media advisor to President Bashar Al Assad, has spoken extensively on the Caesar Act and the economic war on Syria. Dr. Shaaban says that the Caesar Act is a concerted attack against Syria’s allies and that pressure will be brought to bear upon those who have steadfastly supported Syria in its campaign to rid itself of the terrorist occupation financed and equipped by the “regime change” alliance led by the U.S. Dr. Shaaban’s full statement can be heard here:
Rime Allaf, a Syrian analyst deeply embedded in the Western institutions that continue to drive the political campaign to criminalize the Syrian government, confirmed Dr. Shaaban’s opinion of such multi-spectrum-war strategies. “Any company, any government, any entity around the world is going to be sanctioned if they deal with the Syrian regime elite who the State Department believes are responsible for committing these atrocities,” she wrote.
The U.S. has already threatened the United Arab Emirates (UAE) with coercive measures should it dare “violate the Caesar Law.” The UAE recently began working to normalize relations with the Syrian government as the military victory against terrorist factions the UAE once supported becomes a reality.
The Caesar Act is intended to derail Syria’s post-war reconstruction efforts. Several Emirati companies have visited Damascus in recent months and have indicated an interest in collaborating with the Syrian government to rebuild specific areas of the country. Immediately prior to the launch of the Caesar Act, the Syrian parliament approved “oil exploration contracts signed with Mercury LLC and Velada LLC,” both Russian companies with a focus on Damascus and Northeast Syria, which is currently occupied by U.S. Coalition forces and allied militants, predominantly the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Effectively, the Caesar Act and all preceding economic sanctions are designed to prevent the necessary restoration and maintenance of essential infrastructure and basic services that provide stability, food, water, electricity, fuel, income, and medical care to the Syrian people.
The U.S.-led occupation of Syria’s oil fields is meant to prevent access to that oil for the Syrian people and to provide revenue for the U.S. Coalition’s proxy forces. The reality is that the U.S. and its allies are intent upon blockading, besieging and suffocating the Syrian people in a final bid to turn the nation against its government.
Where military measures have failed, economic pressure will now be increased with devastating consequences for a population that has already endured the horrifying effects of war and sectarian violence for 10 long years.
Researcher Rick Sterling’s carried out a thorough investigation into the fraud that was the Caesar Report and wrote a follow-up article detailing the U.S. legislative power grab through the Caesar Act that may be turned against any individual or entity perceived to be violating U.S. full-spectrum dominance with regards to Syria. An important point is made in Sterling’s article:
The exception to punishing sanctions are 1) Idlib province in the North West, controlled by Al Qaeda extremists and Turkish invading forces and 2) north east Syria controlled by U.S. troops and the proxy separatists known as the “Syrian Democratic Forces”. The U.S. has designated $50 million to support “humanitarian aid” to these areas. Other U.S. allies will pump in hundreds of millions more in aid and “investments”. U.S. dollars and Turkish lira are being pumped into these areas in another tactic to undermine the Syrian currency and sovereignty.”
Caesar Law exemptions. #WhiteHelmets #ISIS #SDF #AlQaeda & all associated extremist, sectarian organisations or so-called NGOs. "Specifically, s.302 allows Trump to waive the application of any sanction with respect to NGOs providing *humanitarian assistance* in #Syria" — vanessa beeley (@VanessaBeeley) June 21, 2020
Resource theft and the war on wheat
Just before the Caesar Act went into effect, the Syrian permanent representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar Al Jaafari, launched a stinging attack on the U.S.’ coercive measures that remorselessly target the Syrian people. Jaafari referred to the burning of trucks containing aid from the UN World Food Programme, set on fire by sectarian factions in Lebanon before they could reach Syria.
He describes the “symptoms of political schizophrenia” demonstrated by the West.
When the United States daily steals 200.000 barrels of oil from the Syrian oil fields, 400.000 tons of cotton, 5.000.000 sheep and sets fire to thousands of hectares of wheat fields, and deliberately weakens the value of the Syrian pound, and when it imposes coercive economic measures aiming to choke the Syrian people and occupying parts of the Syrian lands, and when the U.S. representative expresses her concern over the deteriorating situation of the Syrian citizen’s living conditions the logical question will be : are not these acts the symptoms of political schizophrenia? Does that not indicate an acute disease?”
Section 401 of the Caesar Act outlines the conditions for the lifting of sanctions against Syria. The final demand is “accountability for “perpetrators of war crimes in Syria and justice for victims of war crimes.” I have deliberately omitted the reference to the Syrian government. Why? The U.S. Coalition-aligned complex of media and UN agencies focus primarily upon the criminalization of the Syrian “regime” with scant regard for the war crimes being committed by the U.S. and the various terrorist or extremist groups indirectly and directly under their command. Yet there is surely a case for holding the U.S. Government accountable for war crimes and to demand justice for the victims of this protracted psychological war against the Syrian people, those who are rarely if ever mentioned in western media reports.
America’s scorched earth policy in Syria
The essence of food security for any country, but particularly during a grueling and destructive 10-year war, is in locally produced and controlled food sources. A very important element of the war against Syria has been the occupation, destruction, and theft of resources.
In May 2020, the U.S. forces in northeast Syria dropped thermal balloons from Apache helicopters over agricultural lands south of Hasaka which ignited serious crop fires that burned extensive areas of wheat and barley. Local sources reported that American helicopters also buzzed farmhouses and villages, terrorizing local populations.
On May 24, sources in the Hasaka countryside reported that Turkish militias had torched wheat and barley fields in the Tal Tamr and Abo Raseen areas. An estimated 2,000 hectares were devastated by these fires. While ostensibly Turkey’s agenda in Syria is separate from that of the U.S., Turkey is still a NATO member state and therefore it cannot be ruled out that the U.S. and Turkey were collaborating to deprive Syrians of their livelihoods, infrastructure, and food sources while enabling mercenary militias to benefit from the black market trade of resources, with Turkey as one of the main trading routes and receiving hubs.
According to estimates, 130,000 hectares of wheat and 180,000 hectares of barley have been destroyed by these fires to date.
A map produced by researcher and former Syrian Arab Army soldier, Ibrahim Mohammad, based in Aleppo, pinpoints areas that are being affected by the crop infernos. During a recent trip to the southeast, specifically to the villages east of Sweida city that were savagely attacked by U.S.-protected ISIS terrorists on the July 25, 2018 – I was told of fires mysteriously ignited to the West of Sweida destroying food crops there. The reemergence of extremist militia forces to the West of Daraa and in the south, including Nusra Front and ISIS, may point to the culprits responsible for the fires.
Another important and related element of this multi-spectrum war against Syria is the potential British intelligence role in training and equipping these armed groups that are now resurfacing and carrying out regular assassinations of government employees or targeting Syrian Arab Army vehicles with IEDs, kidnapping and running familiar subversive operations against the Syrian government and loyalists. A clandestine intelligence war is being ignited south of Damascus which forms part of the US Coalition hybrid war strategy designed to destabilise Syria without the need for all-out war. It is these same armed groups that are suspected, by local sources, to be responsible for the crop fires in the south of the country.
A pattern emerging is of a deliberate scorched earth policy being waged by the U.S. Coalition and its assets on the ground across the country. At the same time, Turkey is reported to be forcing Syrian farmers to sell their wheat to Turkey in exchange for Turkish currency and U.S.-backed Kurdish contras have restricted the sale of wheat to Damascus and are stockpiling reserves in areas they control, which account for an estimated 70 percent of total Syrian wheat production.
Anger among local farmers over the restrictions and hijacking of their livelihoods has grown. On June 30, civilians were filmed blocking trucks that were transporting stolen wheat into Turkey.
On June 14, 2020, Turkish-backed militant groups set fire to large areas planted with wheat and barley on the outskirts of Ras Al Ain and in the suburbs of Abou Rasseine in the north and northwest of Hasaka. The villages of Macharfa and Om Kheir, under occupation by Turkey-backed militants, had their crops devastated by these fires. Civilian homes were burned to the ground by the rampaging fires.
An elderly Assyrian man, Issac Esho Nissan, was one of the victims of the flames that raged in the Hasaka agricultural region. His hands and face were badly burned by the fire but he still valiantly fought the blaze in an attempt to prevent the ravaging of more crops by occupying forces. As elsewhere in Syria throughout this 10-year war, Syrian civilians have been forced to protect their meager resources against overwhelming and disproportionate force. According to the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) at least two civilians have perished in the fires. The economic devastation and psychological pressure brought to bear upon an already war-ravaged population are hard to quantify and even harder to imagine.
The SDF is not the benevolent force in the region that they are often portrayed to be in the western media, which, along with the U.S. Coalition has attempted to mold them into a “democratic” alternative autonomy to Damascus. They have played an important role in furthering the U.S. Coalition’s plan to balkanize Syria and they are pivotal to U.S. and Israeli plans to occupy the Syrian territory east of the Euphrates, the nation’s bread and oil basket.
On June 27, SDF groups took over the building of the regional Syrian Grain Corporation administration center and occupied it by force. They now also occupy the General Electricity Company in Hasaka and employees have been forcibly removed from the premises. The SDF has effectively flip-flopped between Damascus and the U.S., now reaffirming allegiance to the renewed U.S. occupation of the territory managed by the SDF.
To date, the SDF is still occupying buildings in Hasaka. According to local sources, they have increased their military presence in the complex in order to prevent the return of government employees and the restoration of services to civilians. The SDF is also preventing the delivery of flour to the Al-Baath bakery in Qamishli City which is the main provider of bread to civilians in the area.
On July 2, Israeli forces patrolling the Golan Heights in southern Syria set fire to crops in Sehita, Quneitra (previously occupied by U.S.-backed militants and the White Helmets). Israeli soldiers then fired live ammunition on farmers and civilians who went to battle the flames.
Turkey, the U.S., and Israel form a monstrous triad of marauding forces who have entered Syrian territory in violation of international law and are in the process of asset-stripping on an industrial scale without a single ounce of outrage from the international community, who claim to defend the rights of Syrian citizens. How are these rights defended when their entire infrastructure is being reduced to bare bones by the military vulturism of the “humanitarian” hypocrites? Syria has multiple American knees on its neck, but still, we see no worldwide protests against the slow suffocation that Syrians are being forced to bear.
The mythical US troop withdrawal
While Trump had announced the prospect of the withdrawal of U.S. forces from Syrian territory in October 2019, the U.S. has, contrary to that announcement, steadily increased its military footprint in the north and northeast under cover of COVID-19. Convoys of military vehicles and equipment have been steadily pouring into the oil-rich region since borders were closed globally to allegedly prevent the spread of the virus. U.S. troop movement is apparently not restricted by social distancing and quarantine regulations.
On July 1, 2020, U.S. forces established a new military and airbase in Al Yarubiya, Hasaka. Reports from the area by SANA indicated that U.S. troops and the SDF are collaborating to secure wheat supplies, reinforcing the base with concrete blocks, and posting SDF guards to protect the perimeters of the camp and the wheat silos.
While reoccupying previously evacuated illegal military bases and imposing new ones upon Syrian territory, the U.S. and the SDF continue their theft of Syrian oil. Simultaneously the US Coalition media and UN “humanitarian” agencies are actively peddling the global Covid-19 “pandemic” narrative in Syria and supporting the push for a crippling lockdown in this already besieged nation.The U.S. “exceptional” and predatory neocolonial campaign continues unhindered by concerns about the spread of the virus to troops on the ground intent on looting a country of all it needs to survive.
On July 1, a convoy of U.S.-commissioned oil-tankers with a U.S. military escort drove through Syria and into Iraq via the “illegal” Semalka crossing in Al Malikiyah city in northeast Hasaka. These convoys are draining Syria of its life-blood. It is summer now and electricity outages caused by a lack of fuel to run generators are not as long or as disruptive, but come the winter, when rural areas could be reduced to one hour of electricity per day, this resource plundering will have a devastating effect upon the Syrian people.
The Trump administration is blatant about the exploitation of Syrian oil to provide revenue for their separatist poster boys in the SDF. In a recent statement, Marine Gen. Kenneth F. McKenzie, head of US Central Command (CENTCOM) said:
Additionally, we’re there to assist the SDF in the maintenance of the oil facilities for their use to help them generate income, which could be used for a variety of things, some of which would be to continue operations against ISIS,” (emphasis added)
The SDF is conducting similar looting campaigns in the northeast under the supervision of the U.S. Coalition. Entire railway tracks, running between Deir Ezzor and Hasaka are being dismantled and the looted iron is being traded across the border by what are effectively criminal racketeers. Nothing is left intact, railway stations that have weathered decades of history are stripped bare and all the metal is reportedly transferred to Turkey where it is melted down and transformed into new railway tracks to be sold outside of Syria.
There have also been reports of the U.S. installing Patriot air defense systems in northeast Syria. While this has not been categorically confirmed, sources inside Syria believe that it is a provocative move by the U.S. neoconservative lobby and the Pentagon, the prospect of which is very possible, especially when the considerable amount of territory actually being reoccupied by the U.S. military is factored in.
Deliberate and inhumane environmental warfare
Another byproduct of U.S. occupation is the pollution and contamination of water sources and agricultural lands. The SDF, who benefit most from the illegal oil revenue, appears to have neglected the maintenance of the dilapidated pipelines. Crude oil and waste products, many of which are carcinogenic, are seeping into rivers and streams. Inevitably when these rivers overflow onto agricultural land bordering their banks, the toxic waste is transferred to the crops.
Recent reports highlight the increase in cancer cases in these areas. The primitive refineries are breeding disease, birth defects, meningitis, skin conditions, and severe respiratory sickness. The birth defects include hypothyroidism at birth, thalassemia, hemophilia. All these horrifying effects on the Syrian population are concentrated in the areas around the oil-wells under control of the U.S. Coalition and their various proxies.
Trees are dying, many of the green spaces are reportedly shrinking due to the air and soil pollution that is ignored by the occupying forces intent only upon the short-term revenue, not the long term preservation of the environment. Needless to say, this environmental disaster will not make it onto the agenda at any of the international meetings to discuss the “humanitarian” crisis in Syria. Creating waves over the mismanagement of occupied resources by a U.S.-sponsored occupier is apparently not an option. The chronic contamination of the vast network of rivers and streams that cover much of the northeast will ensure the toxicity of crops and livestock for decades to come. Plunder without conscience, the shameful hallmark of U.S. neocolonialism.
It must also be noted that the U.S. has admitted to the use of depleted uranium in northeast Syria which is likely also contributing to the toxic waste which is already having a devastating effect upon the Syrian population. This use of WMDs in an illegal interventionist war against the people of Syria is, of course, never mentioned by the U.S.-appointed arbiters of war crimes in Syria whose focus is on the alleged “chemical attacks” that have been hugely discredited by experts from within the OPCW who have exposed the organization to be corrupt and compromised – in particular with regards to the incident in Douma, eastern Damascus in April 2018.
The legacy of depleted uranium radioactive waste and its subsequent, horrifying mutilation of the human form is not something the U.S. is a stranger to. The level of contamination in Iraq after the U.S. allied aggression at various times in their history is still frighteningly high, and the transferral of irradiated scrap metal, often by dealers who are children, is ensuring the spread of the toxic waste. Recovery from U.S. invasion, occupation, and devastation of all resources either by obliteration, theft, or pollution are slow and painful, leaving entire generations suffering from the debilitating consequences while the U.S. walks free, a war criminal at large.
Hydro hegemony and water theft
In addition to the aforementioned “maximum pressure” measures, water is also being weaponized in order to collectively punish the Syrian people for withstanding 10 years of war without abandoning their support for their government, army and their allies.
Recently, local Syrian media and activists have been reporting the “shocking” reduction in water levels of the Euphrates river, the largest in Syria. From the city of Jarablus to the Tishreen Dam, Syrians are witnessing a substantial decrease in the water levels which threaten drought conditions if it continues. This is due to Turkey, a NATO member state, closing two dams that release water into Syria, located in Turkish territory, including the giant Elisu Dam.
As part of an agreement signed in 1987, Turkey committed to pumping a minimum of 500 cubic meters per second, yet that rate has now fallen to 150 cubic meters per second, agonizingly reduced for the people of the region and the whole of Syria. In Damascus, we are already feeling the effects as electricity outages have increased because of greater downtimes in running the hydroelectric power stations.
Over the years Turkey has periodically violated this agreement but water hegemony is now a savage instrument of war for the neo-Ottoman would-be emperor Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Drinking water is restricted in the north and northeast and agricultural production is at risk from drought-like conditions.
The administration of Tishreen Dam, the second-largest hydroelectric station in Syria, has warned of devastating consequences for the economy of the local communities if Turkey continues to reduce water levels. Food insecurity and drought threaten to decimate the population. The Euphrates and Tishreen hydroelectric stations have had to reduce their shifts from 18 to 10 hours starting in mid-June. As already mentioned, this will have a knock-on effect upon the remainder of Syrian territory. Amateur video filmed by a member of the local community shows the result of Turkey cutting the water supply to an area in northeastern Syria,
Dr. Al Jaafari has highlighted the Turkish war-crimes at the UN but without any outrage from the “international community” that a NATO member state is effectively cutting off the water supply to more than one million Syrian civilians. Al Jaafari did not hesitate to point out this hypocrisy during his address:
We are saddened that those who are self-appointed defenders of the right of Syrians to restore their daily security and stability – whether from Western States, OCHA or United Nations specialized agencies, have not said a word to condemn these inhumane practices.”
Certainly, it is evident that whether it is Turkey, Israel, or the U.S., water, food, and essential infrastructure, including health and humanitarian sectors, are now being targeted in an effort to further pressurize the blockaded, besieged Syrian people. Criminal operations among the various contra factions are exacerbating the situation on the ground and intensifying economic misery and deprivation.
ISIS airlifts and thermal balloons on Syrian land
I will cover the hypocrisy of UN agencies and western “aid” organizations in another part of this series but in connection with the resource hegemony discussed in this Part One, it is worth pointing out the double-speak deployed by such agencies when it comes to covering the “humanitarian” situation in Syria.
There has been a huge outcry over the apparent inaccessibility for foreign “aid” into northeast Syria due to Russia and China’s veto of a UN resolution to keep “aid” flowing into the U.S.-Turkish-SDF occupied region via the Al Yarubiah crossing that links northern Iraq to northeastern Syria.
It is no secret that aid that enters this region may be hijacked by Turkish or American-backed “boots on the ground,” but there is another element to this issue that should raise eyebrows. While the claim is that “aid” is not reaching these U.S.-controlled areas, the U.S. is allegedly transporting ISIS fighters from Syria across the border into Iraq. So the movement of troops during a “global pandemic” crisis is not restricted to the U.S. Army but also to the terrorist group which has been the pretext for the “war against terror” on Syrian soil.
While the U.S. can move client terrorist fighters around on Syrian territory and is quite happy to transport them into Iraq, the U.S. does not apply itself to providing genuine humanitarian aid to the Syrian people effectively under their control. The hue and cry at the UN and among aligned human rights groups like Amnesty International are based upon the usual deliberate obfuscation of reality on the ground.
How many of you actually thought about COVID-19 while reading about the U.S. military and economic strategy that has been ramped up against Syria while we are all focused on a virus that has brought the world to a standstill? For the U.S. alliance, business as usual, supporting terrorism, destroying the planet and bringing misery, poverty, and starvation to yet another nation in the name of “democracy” because the government does not comply with U.S.-dominated foreign policy.
The Syrian government’s defense of agricultural lands
The genuine resource crisis in the northeast is being used to further criminalize the Syrian government by the UN and aligned media in the West.
A recent article in the Financial Times sheds copious crocodile tears over the starvation of Syrian children without one mention of U.S. Coalition sanctions, resource theft, the fraudulent Caesar Act and the 10-year war waged by the U.S. alliance to remove the Syrian government in violation of any applicable version of international law. This lying-by-omission has been a regular tactic used by the war-mongering establishment media outlets when it comes to Syria. Nor does the article mention the measures being taken by the beleaguered Syrian government to combat the agricultural crisis.
The Syrian government has increased the purchase price of wheat from 225 Syrian pounds (SYP) to 400 SYP per kilogram in order to support the agricultural sector. The funding plan to combat the effects of the U.S. scorched earth policy with regards to wheat and barley crops amounts to 800 billion SYP per annum in “extraordinary” response to the looming crisis generated by hostile external forces.
Anyone who is being misled by western media into believing the Syrian state would relish the starvation or wholesale deprivation of its citizens should read this enlightening essay by a former research intern at the British Embassy, Damascus, Louis Allday. Allday describes the Syrian government, comprising a complex of national institutions, civil society organizations and charitable institutions, as responding proactively and rapidly to the drought that ravaged the country from 2006 until the start of the U.S. allied aggression in 2011.
How that drought may well have been orchestrated by Turkey in order to tenderize the population prior to the fabrication of the “Arab Spring” charade in Syria, is a subject for another article at a later date.
Turning a blind eye to the causes of Syrian misery
At the end of June, “donor nations” from within the U.S. Coalition that has plunged Syria into the abyss of war and economic anguish for the last 10 years, pledged a total of $ 7.7 billion to tackle the “deepening” humanitarian crisis in Syria. COVID-19 was cited as one of the factors compounding the misery of 17 million Syrians – to date, Syria has had 372 confirmed cases, 14 deaths and 126 recoveries from the virus. The majority of cases have been found in Damascus or the surrounding countryside, many among those returning from abroad.
I have outlined the flaunting of global “lockdown” policies by the U.S. military and their affiliates on the ground in Syria so this pseudo protectionism towards the Syrian people over COVID-19 is exposed as the fraud it really is.
“EU Crisis Management Commissioner Janez Lenarcic announced the total at the end of a day-long online pledging conference organized by the EU and United Nations” – he said:
We have today expressed solidarity with the Syrian people, not only with words, but with concrete pledges of support that will make a difference for millions of people.”
I will be investigating the destination of the financial and material “aid” that enters areas of Syria not under the control of the internationally recognized Syrian government, at a later date. However for these nations to be genuinely in solidarity with the Syrian people they should be campaigning for America and allies to lift their knee from the neck of these people and to end sanctions, to banish the Caesar Law which is illegal and immoral and to end the support for terrorist and separatist factions inside the country.
Professor Michel Raimbaud, a former French diplomat, argues that the Western silent complicity with economic terrorism must come to an end. Raimbaud said:
Imposing sanctions on countries is more barbaric than military confrontation which is nearing an end – it is an illegal and immoral war. It is a stain on humanity. These sanctions must be lifted immediately and unconditionally.”
What we are seeing in Syria is the unfolding of the US/UK-led neo-colonialist blueprint that was previously used against Iraq. In 1991 the U.S. alliance deliberately bombed Iraq’s water purification and electricity infrastructure before imposing sanctions that prevented their restoration. Sanctions that are more accurately described as a military blockade, just as we are seeing now in Syria. In both 1991 and 2003, US allied bombing campaigns targeted animal feed stores, poultry farms, fertilizer warehouses, water pumping stations, irrigation systems, fuel depots and agricultural installations. These destructive tactics designed to undermine the survival mechanisms of the nation under attack are being replayed in Syria with similar cataclysmic consequences.
Late 2019, I had a meeting with the administration of the Ministry of Agriculture in Lattakia on the Syrian coast. During the meeting, I was informed that the US Coalition-sponsored occupying forces have decimated 30% of the Syrian livestock sectors, 60-70,000 beehives have been stolen and merchanted in Turkey. Villages they invaded were looted, agricultural equipment was either destroyed or sold in Turkey. Over 30% of Syrian forestry has been cut down and the wood sold to Turkey. Between 2012-2015, terrorist groups occupied protected zones in an area about 47km away from Lattakia – this led to extensive damage to land that had nurtured 260 rare plant species including 65 species of medicinal plants.
Around 650,000 hectares of Syrian land are planted with an estimated 90 million Olive trees. In Afrin (north-west of Aleppo) there are 18 million trees under control of the Al Qaeda-led militants. Aleppo has traditionally been the leading producer, followed by Idlib, Tartous, Homs, Lattakia and Hama. The average annual production is 150,000 tonnes of oil and 350,000 tonnes of olives. There are 800 distilleries across Syria with most of them clustered in the above mentioned provinces. Currently, about half the productive areas are under the control of Turkish proxy forces, dominated by Nusra Front (Al Qaeda in Syria). Turkish traders have made huge profits buying Olive oil at low prices, blending with Turkish oil and exporting to Europe at elevated prices.
US Coalition economic sanctions do not affect Syrian resources stolen by coalition members. Syrians who, themselves, might attempt to revive trade with Europe would be immediately punished and restricted by these unilateral economic shackles.
American barbarism and genocidal supremacism must be called to account. The rogue-state standards that the U.S. is setting for the world will threaten all Humanity now and in the future. Syrian lives matter because without this beleaguered nation setting us the example for resilience, resourcefulness and resistance against neo-colonialist hegemony, perpetual war will be the status quo for the foreseeable future.
Special thanks for help with research for this article and the double checking of information goes to Ibrahim Mohammad, Syrian activist and researcher, former Syrian Arab Army soldier.
Feature photo | Workers disinfect the streets to prevent the spread of coronavirus in Qamishli, Syria, Tuesday, March 24, 2020. Baderkhan Ahmad | AP
Vanessa Beeley is an independent journalist and photographer who has worked extensively in the Middle East – on the ground in Syria, Egypt, Iraq and Palestine, while also covering the conflict in Yemen since 2015. In 2017 Vanessa was a finalist for the prestigious Martha Gellhorn Prize for Journalism which was won by the much-acclaimed Robert Parry that year. In 2018 Vanessa was named one of the 238 most respected journalists in the UK by the British National Council for the Training of Journalists. In 2019, Vanessa was among recipients of the Serena Shim Award for uncompromised integrity in journalism. Vanessa contributes regularly to MintPress News, Russia Today, UK Column, The Last American Vagabond, Sputnik radio, 21st Century Wire and many other independent media outlets. Please support her work at her https://www.patreon.com/vanessabeeley Patreon Page.


mintpressnews--2020-07-16--Desperate Times, Desperate Measures: It’s Time to Dump the Democrats

New York City ( BAR ) — Kamala Harris might be the perfect lens to reveal who the Democrats really are .
A good run-down on her track record highlights her assertion that “ It is not progressive to be soft on crime.
” As a San Francisco social worker , I sat on the school district committee that met with families of chronically truant students .
Once , when we asked a student why he didn ’ t go to school , he said there was too much police tape and shootings at his school bus stop .
Harris @ @ @ @ @ @ @ putting parents and caregivers in jail if their child was chronically truant .
Also as Attorney General , she denied a DNA test to Kevin Cooper , a very likely innocent man who came within hours of execution in 2004 .
Such positions certainly furthered her political career as a tough-on-crime , prosecution-friendly politician , as well as garner political and financial support from police and prison guards .
My recent article “ Seize the Time or Face Fascism ” elicited revealing comments , such as “ How do we seize the time @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the privileged , not the dispossessed , could still advocate for incremental change .
Until we accept that the Democrats will never deliver , we will not look at alternatives and are likely to face fascism in the near future .
So what are some alternatives ?
After the DNC cheated Bernie Sanders twice , many of his supporters launched the Movement for a People ’ s Party : “ Polls show that a large majority of Americans want a major new party , support progressive policies , and want money out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ both possible and necessary for us to build a corporate-free , progressive populist party.
” It is astonishing that Bernie , on his working-class contributions , raised more money than Hillary Clinton in 2016 and all other candidates in 2020 .
The US has elected over 150 Green Party candidates .
Green Party Gayle McLaughlin was twice elected mayor of Richmond , California , defeating two Democrats in 2006 , reelected in 2010 , and elected to City Council in 2014 after completing her second term as mayor .
With a population of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ largest US city with a Green mayor .
Socialist rabble-rouser Eugene Debs received nearly one million votes for president in 1920 — 3.5 percent of the popular vote — as simply “ Convict No .
9653.
” The Socialist Party was once a powerful third party in the US , capturing the hearts and minds of millions of working-class people who supported a serious challenge to the status quo .
The US is the only country with an absolute two-party system and an electoral college that can change the results of a popular @ @ @ @ @ @ @ any meaningful challenge to the duopoly .
Some countries , such as the UK , have two major parties that dominate elections , but there are viable third parties , which win seats in the legislature .
Germany , with a voter turnout of about 80 percent , has a coalition government where minority parties can unify and outvote the majority party .
American voter turnout in presidential elections is usually barely in the mid-50 percent .
The US doesn ’ t only have low voter turnout because so many people are uninspired @ @ @ @ @ @ @ significant hurdles to voting in the US , such as more complicated registration , or voting being on a workday instead of on a weekend , as well as the increasing prevalence of giving out provisional ballots , which are almost never counted .
Various studies have shown that the casting of provisional ballots correlates with high shares of racial minorities and non-English speakers in a particular area .
It ’ s no wonder so many people would rather watch Netflix than vote .
Caitlin Johnstone ’ s article “ Biden and his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ down my spine as much as Trump ’ s racist rants .
The pervasive belief in “ anybody but Trump ” shows that Trump Derangement Syndrome is real , and should be a diagnosis in the DSM .
Such people believe all progressives and leftists must not only vote for Biden but get out the vote for Biden — assuming there are elections .
They aren ’ t open to considering the effect of that position on long-term politics and the ideological struggle .
Case closed .
Among the many fallacies to that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a consistently blue “ safe state , ” such as CA , NY , and MA , there is no reason to vote for a demented war-hawk candidate , especially with Republican stalwarts like George W. Bush , Mitt Romney and Colin Powell urging votes for Biden .
But even more concerning is the Democrats out-flanking Trump from the right in foreign policy .
While we face both a public health and unemployment crisis , as well as a sustained protest movement against police abuses , a massive $ 740.5 billion military spending @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Democratic-controlled House Armed Services Committee .
The Democrats voted to impede the Trump administration from withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and blocked the White House ’ s plan to remove 10,000 troops stationed in Germany .
Military families were a large part of Trump ’ s base in 2016 as he was seen as less war-like than Clinton .
The Democrats ’ belligerence , calling Trump “ presidential ” when he dropped the “ Mother of All Bombs ” on Afghanistan in 2017 , will continue to drive military families to Trump .
Biden @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
As in 2016 , you ’ d think it would be easy to beat the Orange Menace , but the Democrats are challenging him with somebody even worse than Clinton , a man in steep cognitive decline .
Likely to run with him is Harris , who would allow the DNC to use a Black woman prosecutor to legitimize the mass incarceration plague in this country .
They are locking up Black men in shameful numbers , and , until the uprisings , giving cop-killers get out of jail free cards , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
We already see the beginning of the psychological effects of the virus .
Domestic violence , child abuse , suicide , and alcoholism have all increased .
A friend , who is a counselor in the Bay Area , works with at-risk families .
Caregivers/parents more frequently ask if they can have their child institutionalized .
The children are not in need of being institutionalized , so locked-in families must cope with the trauma of the pandemic on their own .
Bankruptcies , evictions , and foreclosures have barely begun .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is not having a roof to sleep under .
The unraveling has barely begun .
My concern is that we are not equal to the task before us .
As a feminist for over half a century , I found that sexism is alive and well in a national political organization I started working with .
In response to a woman saying she doesn ’ t think women are treated with equal respect , an elder activist white man said , “ Well , it wasn ’ t intentional.
” Still unclear on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trouble writing an agenda , let alone developing a position on the upcoming election .
The serious , disciplined study of the Black Panthers and their 10-point program is a distant memory .
Political disinformation is as prevalent as information when discourse is limited to Twitter .
And of course , given social distancing to slow the spread of the virus , organizing is much more difficult , with the inadequate substitute of seeing faces and hearing electronically modulated voices on Zoom .
I have lived with urgency ever since growing up in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ baby raised on the Bolshevik , Chinese and Cuban revolutions , I was always concerned with inequality , peace and justice .
All of the previous crises were urgent , but this one feels exponentially more ominous .
More and more people are resigned that we are in the sixth extinction .
Instead , I try to hold on to Antonio Gramsci ’ s advice to practice pessimism of the intellect , optimism of the will .
We need to take ourselves seriously .
Fascism will not be the FBI coming to our @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fascism under Hitler , Mussolini , or Franco .
But it is coming .
Are we ready ?
Feature photo | Vice President Joe Biden visits the North Korean border at Observation Point Ouellette in 2013 .
Chris Church | DVIDS Riva Enteen is a lifelong peace activist , social worker , lawyer , advocate for justice and editor of “ Follow the Money , ” a collection of Pacifica Radio ’ s Flashpoints Interviews .

New York City (BAR) — Kamala Harris might be the perfect lens to reveal who the Democrats really are. A good run-down on her track record highlights her assertion that “It is not progressive to be soft on crime.” As a San Francisco social worker, I sat on the school district committee that met with families of chronically truant students. Once, when we asked a student why he didn’t go to school, he said there was too much police tape and shootings at his school bus stop. Harris, as California Attorney General, was putting parents and caregivers in jail if their child was chronically truant. Also as Attorney General, she denied a DNA test to Kevin Cooper, a very likely innocent man who came within hours of execution in 2004. Such positions certainly furthered her political career as a tough-on-crime, prosecution-friendly politician, as well as garner political and financial support from police and prison guards.
My recent article “Seize the Time or Face Fascism” elicited revealing comments, such as “How do we seize the time? It must be incremental.” Only the privileged, not the dispossessed, could still advocate for incremental change. Until we accept that the Democrats will never deliver, we will not look at alternatives and are likely to face fascism in the near future.
So what are some alternatives? After the DNC cheated Bernie Sanders twice, many of his supporters launched the Movement for a People’s Party: “Polls show that a large majority of Americans want a major new party, support progressive policies, and want money out of politics. That means that it is both possible and necessary for us to build a corporate-free, progressive populist party.” It is astonishing that Bernie, on his working-class contributions, raised more money than Hillary Clinton in 2016 and all other candidates in 2020.
The US has elected over 150 Green Party candidates. Green Party Gayle McLaughlin was twice elected mayor of Richmond, California, defeating two Democrats in 2006, reelected in 2010, and elected to City Council in 2014 after completing her second term as mayor. With a population of over 100,000 people, it was the largest US city with a Green mayor.
Socialist rabble-rouser Eugene Debs received nearly one million votes for president in 1920 — 3.5 percent of the popular vote — as simply “Convict No. 9653.” The Socialist Party was once a powerful third party in the US, capturing the hearts and minds of millions of working-class people who supported a serious challenge to the status quo.
The US is the only country with an absolute two-party system and an electoral college that can change the results of a popular vote, creating a winner-take-all that prevents any meaningful challenge to the duopoly. Some countries, such as the UK, have two major parties that dominate elections, but there are viable third parties, which win seats in the legislature. Germany, with a voter turnout of about 80 percent, has a coalition government where minority parties can unify and outvote the majority party. American voter turnout in presidential elections is usually barely in the mid-50 percent. The US doesn’t only have low voter turnout because so many people are uninspired by either party, there are also significant hurdles to voting in the US, such as more complicated registration, or voting being on a workday instead of on a weekend, as well as the increasing prevalence of giving out provisional ballots, which are almost never counted. Various studies have shown that the casting of provisional ballots correlates with high shares of racial minorities and non-English speakers in a particular area. It’s no wonder so many people would rather watch Netflix than vote.
Caitlin Johnstone’s article “Biden and his Ventriloquists Keep Out-Hawking Trump” sends shivers down my spine as much as Trump’s racist rants. The pervasive belief in “anybody but Trump” shows that Trump Derangement Syndrome is real, and should be a diagnosis in the DSM. Such people believe all progressives and leftists must not only vote for Biden but get out the vote for Biden — assuming there are elections. They aren’t open to considering the effect of that position on long-term politics and the ideological struggle. Case closed.
Among the many fallacies to that argument is that if people live in a consistently blue “safe state,” such as CA, NY, and MA, there is no reason to vote for a demented war-hawk candidate, especially with Republican stalwarts like George W. Bush, Mitt Romney and Colin Powell urging votes for Biden.
But even more concerning is the Democrats out-flanking Trump from the right in foreign policy. While we face both a public health and unemployment crisis, as well as a sustained protest movement against police abuses, a massive $740.5 billion military spending package was approved last week by the Democratic-controlled House Armed Services Committee. The Democrats voted to impede the Trump administration from withdrawing troops from Afghanistan and blocked the White House’s plan to remove 10,000 troops stationed in Germany.
Military families were a large part of Trump’s base in 2016 as he was seen as less war-like than Clinton. The Democrats’ belligerence, calling Trump “presidential” when he dropped the “Mother of All Bombs” on Afghanistan in 2017, will continue to drive military families to Trump.
Biden certainly needs a boost to beat Trump. As in 2016, you’d think it would be easy to beat the Orange Menace, but the Democrats are challenging him with somebody even worse than Clinton, a man in steep cognitive decline. Likely to run with him is Harris, who would allow the DNC to use a Black woman prosecutor to legitimize the mass incarceration plague in this country. They are locking up Black men in shameful numbers, and, until the uprisings, giving cop-killers get out of jail free cards, which is why we have continuous uprisings.
We already see the beginning of the psychological effects of the virus. Domestic violence, child abuse, suicide, and alcoholism have all increased. A friend, who is a counselor in the Bay Area, works with at-risk families. Caregivers/parents more frequently ask if they can have their child institutionalized. The children are not in need of being institutionalized, so locked-in families must cope with the trauma of the pandemic on their own. Bankruptcies, evictions, and foreclosures have barely begun. The only thing worse than being kept inside is not having a roof to sleep under. The unraveling has barely begun.
My concern is that we are not equal to the task before us. As a feminist for over half a century, I found that sexism is alive and well in a national political organization I started working with. In response to a woman saying she doesn’t think women are treated with equal respect, an elder activist white man said, “Well, it wasn’t intentional.” Still unclear on the concept. The same group has trouble writing an agenda, let alone developing a position on the upcoming election. The serious, disciplined study of the Black Panthers and their 10-point program is a distant memory. Political disinformation is as prevalent as information when discourse is limited to Twitter. And of course, given social distancing to slow the spread of the virus, organizing is much more difficult, with the inadequate substitute of seeing faces and hearing electronically modulated voices on Zoom.
I have lived with urgency ever since growing up in the 1960s. As a red diaper baby raised on the Bolshevik, Chinese and Cuban revolutions, I was always concerned with inequality, peace and justice. All of the previous crises were urgent, but this one feels exponentially more ominous. More and more people are resigned that we are in the sixth extinction. Instead, I try to hold on to Antonio Gramsci’s advice to practice pessimism of the intellect, optimism of the will.
We need to take ourselves seriously. Fascism will not be the FBI coming to our door. It will not look like fascism under Hitler, Mussolini, or Franco. But it is coming. Are we ready?
Feature photo | Vice President Joe Biden visits the North Korean border at Observation Point Ouellette in 2013. Chris Church | DVIDS
Riva Enteen is a lifelong peace activist, social worker, lawyer, advocate for justice and editor of “Follow the Money,” a collection of Pacifica Radio’s Flashpoints Interviews.


mintpressnews--2020-07-16--How Civil Asset Forfeiture Could Undermine Efforts to Defund Police

Shadowproof —Between 2001 and 2017 , the federal government seized $ 40 billion from ordinary people and high profile criminal defendants , including major corporations , through asset forfeiture .
The money was funneled into the Assets Forfeiture Fund ( AFF ) , a trust founded in 1984 through the Comprehensive Crime Control Act as part of the War on Drugs .
Asset forfeiture is potentially a major hurdle for the Black Lives Matter movement .
Since the burning of the third police precinct in Minneapolis , the mainstream conversation around policing has shifted from reforming to defunding departments .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ control over the budgeting process , and no control over external revenue sources like asset forfeiture , which massively contribute to the expansion of the carceral apparatus .
In 2012 , for example , following a joint investigation between Rhode Island police departments and federal law enforcement against Google for advertising illegal pharmaceutical businesses , the AFF transferred two-hundred thirty of the $ 500 million settlement across five Rhode Island law enforcement agencies through the equitable sharing program .
The equitable sharing program , also founded through the Comprehensive Crime Control Act , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to profit from federal seizures .
From 2000 to 2016 , 86 percent of equitable sharing forfeitures were civil , meaning the property was legally seized without a charge or a conviction .
Criminal forfeiture seizures are intended to be punitive and take place after a conviction .
The North Providence and the East Providence Police Department were awarded sixty million dollars each , a figure eight-to-ten times the size of their regular budgets , while $ 45 million went to the state police .
Rhode Island officers personally profited from the AFF @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into their pension plans and millions more into overtime pay .
Departments used the money to purchase tasers and guns , a new firing range , dozens of vehicles , upgrade technology , and build new facilities , and still had tens of millions left over .
Meanwhile , North Providence had to take out bonds to build a new middle school , despite millions leftover from the Google settlement .
Twenty organizations calling for the abolition of the equitable sharing program , including the ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild , say @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Victims of civil forfeiture have no right to an attorney in forfeiture cases and are overwhelmingly those least able to afford representation to defend themselves which worsens the economic struggles that already plague low-income communities , ” they wrote in a letter to the Attorney General in 2016 .
And since the carceral system disproportionately targets marginalized communities , criminal forfeiture is similarly unjust during an already expensive legal process .
The Justice Department argues that the AFF and equitable sharing use “ statutory authority to support a wide variety of law enforcement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fund.
” “ These state and local officers , often deputized as federal agents , act as a critical force multiplier in helping to achieve the law enforcement mission of our federal agencies .
The AFF pays for officer overtime and a variety of critical equipment needs , including life-saving ballistic shields and helmets necessary to ensure officer safety , ” according to the Justice Department .
From 2000 to 2016 , the Justice Department gave more than 6.8 billion dollars to local law enforcement through the AFF , while the Treasury @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Federal Prison Program received over one billion from the fund over the past five years .
Although the “ Pentagon ’ s hand-me-downs ” are primarily responsible for police militarization , equitable sharing payments contribute to the phenomenon .
The BearCat armored vehicle used by the Alameda County Sheriff ’ s Office to evict the Moms4Housing campaign in Oakland earlier this year , for example , was partially funded through the county ’ s federal asset forfeiture trust fund .
Through the “ adoption , ” route of AFF , a local @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a federal agency to adopt the property for forfeiture under federal law in order to circumvent increasingly strict state laws .
For years , California agencies relied on the adoption route , since California law required a criminal conviction before the state could seize assets under $ 25,000 .
But in 2016 , California passed SB 443 , which closed the loophole by limiting equitable sharing payouts to criminal forfeiture .
Local and federal law enforcement argue in favor of the AFF and equitable sharing , with the Justice Department claiming that “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or dismantle criminal organizations that would continue to function if we only convicted and incarcerated specific individuals.
” Yet , the DOJ describes the AFF as a “ permanent indefinite fund , ” which contradicts its supposed image as a tool for harm-prevention .
An Institute of Justice analysis supports the idea that forfeiture is , in reality , a fail-safe for stabilizing police budgets .
“ When local economies suffer , equitable sharing activity increases , suggesting police make greater use of forfeiture when local budgets are tight , ” they write @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in local unemployment—a standard proxy for fiscal stress—is associated with a statistically significant nine-percentage point increase in equitable sharing seizures.
” They concluded that increased forfeiture funds had “ no meaningful effect on crime-fighting , ” but was “ strongly linked to worsening economic conditions.
” This finding suggests local and state police departments in jurisdictions with some of the more successful , militant demonstrations—Seattle , Portland , New York City and St. Louis , for example—could supplant dwindling budgets with seized funds .
Only abolition and alternative community accountability structures guarantee that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Feature photo | Police in riot gear stand around an armored vehicle as smoke fills the streets , Nov. 25 , 2014 , in Ferguson , Mo .
Charlie Riedel | AP Ella Fassler is an independent writer and researcher based in Rhode Island .
Her work has been featured in The Nation , The Appeal , Slate , OneZero , Truthout and elsewhere .

Shadowproof —Between 2001 and 2017, the federal government seized $40 billion from ordinary people and high profile criminal defendants, including major corporations, through asset forfeiture. The money was funneled into the Assets Forfeiture Fund (AFF), a trust founded in 1984 through the Comprehensive Crime Control Act as part of the War on Drugs.
Asset forfeiture is potentially a major hurdle for the Black Lives Matter movement. Since the burning of the third police precinct in Minneapolis, the mainstream conversation around policing has shifted from reforming to defunding departments. However, the public has little direct control over the budgeting process, and no control over external revenue sources like asset forfeiture, which massively contribute to the expansion of the carceral apparatus.
In 2012, for example, following a joint investigation between Rhode Island police departments and federal law enforcement against Google for advertising illegal pharmaceutical businesses, the AFF transferred two-hundred thirty of the $500 million settlement across five Rhode Island law enforcement agencies through the equitable sharing program.
The equitable sharing program, also founded through the Comprehensive Crime Control Act, allows 7,000 state and local police departments to profit from federal seizures.
From 2000 to 2016, 86 percent of equitable sharing forfeitures were civil, meaning the property was legally seized without a charge or a conviction. Criminal forfeiture seizures are intended to be punitive and take place after a conviction.
The North Providence and the East Providence Police Department were awarded sixty million dollars each, a figure eight-to-ten times the size of their regular budgets, while $45 million went to the state police.
Rhode Island officers personally profited from the AFF, with over 100 million dollars going into their pension plans and millions more into overtime pay. Departments used the money to purchase tasers and guns, a new firing range, dozens of vehicles, upgrade technology, and build new facilities, and still had tens of millions left over.
Meanwhile, North Providence had to take out bonds to build a new middle school, despite millions leftover from the Google settlement.
Twenty organizations calling for the abolition of the equitable sharing program, including the ACLU and the National Lawyers Guild, say civil forfeiture exacerbates existing inequalities.
“Victims of civil forfeiture have no right to an attorney in forfeiture cases and are overwhelmingly those least able to afford representation to defend themselves which worsens the economic struggles that already plague low-income communities,” they wrote in a letter to the Attorney General in 2016. And since the carceral system disproportionately targets marginalized communities, criminal forfeiture is similarly unjust during an already expensive legal process.
The Justice Department argues that the AFF and equitable sharing use “statutory authority to support a wide variety of law enforcement programs that would not exist but for the fund.”
“These state and local officers, often deputized as federal agents, act as a critical force multiplier in helping to achieve the law enforcement mission of our federal agencies. The AFF pays for officer overtime and a variety of critical equipment needs, including life-saving ballistic shields and helmets necessary to ensure officer safety,” according to the Justice Department.
From 2000 to 2016, the Justice Department gave more than 6.8 billion dollars to local law enforcement through the AFF, while the Treasury Department handed over 1.9 billion dollars. The Federal Prison Program received over one billion from the fund over the past five years.
Although the “Pentagon’s hand-me-downs” are primarily responsible for police militarization, equitable sharing payments contribute to the phenomenon.
The BearCat armored vehicle used by the Alameda County Sheriff’s Office to evict the Moms4Housing campaign in Oakland earlier this year, for example, was partially funded through the county’s federal asset forfeiture trust fund.
Through the “adoption,” route of AFF, a local agency can seize assets, then ask a federal agency to adopt the property for forfeiture under federal law in order to circumvent increasingly strict state laws.
For years, California agencies relied on the adoption route, since California law required a criminal conviction before the state could seize assets under $25,000. But in 2016, California passed SB 443, which closed the loophole by limiting equitable sharing payouts to criminal forfeiture.
Local and federal law enforcement argue in favor of the AFF and equitable sharing, with the Justice Department claiming that “asset forfeiture has the power to disrupt or dismantle criminal organizations that would continue to function if we only convicted and incarcerated specific individuals.”
Yet, the DOJ describes the AFF as a “permanent indefinite fund,” which contradicts its supposed image as a tool for harm-prevention.
An Institute of Justice analysis supports the idea that forfeiture is, in reality, a fail-safe for stabilizing police budgets.
“When local economies suffer, equitable sharing activity increases, suggesting police make greater use of forfeiture when local budgets are tight,” they write. “A one percentage point increase in local unemployment—a standard proxy for fiscal stress—is associated with a statistically significant nine-percentage point increase in equitable sharing seizures.”
They concluded that increased forfeiture funds had “no meaningful effect on crime-fighting,” but was “strongly linked to worsening economic conditions.”
This finding suggests local and state police departments in jurisdictions with some of the more successful, militant demonstrations—Seattle, Portland, New York City and St. Louis, for example—could supplant dwindling budgets with seized funds.
Only abolition and alternative community accountability structures guarantee that the system will stop expanding itself.
Feature photo | Police in riot gear stand around an armored vehicle as smoke fills the streets, Nov. 25, 2014, in Ferguson, Mo. Charlie Riedel | AP
Ella Fassler is an independent writer and researcher based in Rhode Island. Her work has been featured in The Nation, The Appeal, Slate, OneZero, Truthout and elsewhere.