The House this week voted overwhelmingly in favor of a resolution to maintain sanctions on Syria following a devastating earthquake that has killed at least 5,900 people in the country, The Cradle reported on Wednesday.
The resolution was introduced by Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC) and received 51 cosponsors. It passed in a vote of 414-2. Only Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) voted against the measure.
The resolution calls for the Biden administration to remain committed to “implementing the Caesar Syria Civilian Protection Act of 2019,” a law that imposed crippling sanctions on Syria that are designed to prevent the country from rebuilding after years of war.
The resolution said that the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad was “falsely claiming” US sanctions impeded the aid response to the earthquake. But it’s a fact that US sanctions hurt the relief effort, something that has been detailed by the head of the Syrian Arab Red Crescent and UN experts.
After initially claiming sanctions wouldn’t hurt the relief effort, the Biden administration issued a 180-day sanctions exemption for transactions related to earthquake relief. UN experts responded by welcoming the move but said it wasn’t enough and called for the sanctions to be fully lifted.
The House resolution said it “mourned” the victims of the earthquake and portrayed enforcing the Caesar Act as a way to “protect” the Syrian people. But even before the earthquake, US sanctions on Syria were having a devastating impact on the civilian population. Secretary of State Antony Blinken acknowledged in 2021 that it was US policy to “oppose the reconstruction of Syria,” and the policy hasn’t changed.
Business Insider covered Greene and Massie voting against the resolution but completely mischaracterized the bill. The report said they voted against “mourning the 50,000 people killed in the deadly earthquakes in Turkey and Syria” and made no mention of the fact that it supported maintaining crushing sanctions on Syria.
The Biden administration has said it’s against regional countries upgrading ties with the Assad government, even if it’s part of an effort to aid in earthquake relief. On top of the sanctions and opposing Syria’s engagement with its neighbors, the US maintains an occupation force of about 900 troops in eastern Syria and backs the Kurdish-led SDF in the region, allowing the US to control about one-third of Syrian territory. The area the US controls is where most of the country’s oil resources are, keeping the vital resource out of the hands of Damascus.
Kudos to Massie and Greene. Brickbats to Business Insider. Guess emphasis is on “Insider”.
Kind of. According to the article, they objected to language mourning the deaths of 50 thousand people.
Business Insider also labels Sy Hersh a “discredited journalist”. I think it’s the propaganda ministry’s go to publication for other outlets to quote to legitimize the party line.
It is all about Middle East. Israel Firsters. Proving loyalty by being dutifully sadistic. No other explaation exists. There is not a shed of US interest in clinging on
to Syrian territory. Playing toll booth between Syria and Iraq. Just to be there for a future mischief.
Did any of these politician explain how does Syria fit into any American security or prosperity plans?
They do steal the Syrian oil. Some troops are stationed there to protect the thieves. They steal resources and seize national bank accounts, talking about Mafia gangs, they are in charge in Washington DC
how do they steal this oil?
They occupy the part of Syria where the oil is, how do they sanction countries and steal national funds? They simply confiscate the property, resources or money, even private bank accounts belonging to individuals they steal. That is what the Mafia does, not statesmen.
Do they truck it out?Do they use pipelines?Helicopters.Are they stealing the mud too,like an Israeli make up company was accused of?
Its trucked though Iraq.
Are you implying that they don’t literally steal the oil? And if true, do you think taking revenue away from the Syrians is any better? That isn’t a form of stealing?
No one has disputed the fact, so one assumes they have ways to transport it, including pipelines which are available in Syria. The American governments seize bank accounts, they declare nations terrorist states without any evidence to justify illegal sanctions, they claim a nation has WNDs justifying an illegal military invasion and annihilation of a nation, sabotage pipelines and more, they find a way to move resources including oil.
Israel would steal all the Dead Sea mud if it had the manpower and energy to do it. They’d use it to sell mudpacks all over the world.
So now the new genocide method is through “mudpacks”.”Mudpacks”.Bt the way,Even pre 1967,the Dead sea was part of Israel.Go away.
Agree. It’s the measure of Zionist control (almost perfect) of “the people’s House”.
This talk of “Zionist control”-where did you get this?don’t you know that ZIP codes stand for Zionists in Power.
You must be one of those Zionists.
What is the reason for illegal and brutal sanctions on Syria?
So much evil and so much shame for the nation which prides itself to be exceptional, but, yes, the leading establishment is exceptionally savage, brutal.
Information is the currency of democracy!
The nation does not even have a free press, it too is owned and controlled by the corporate elite which owns the wealth of the nation.
One has to wonder if the USA ever was a democracy? It is not now, it is a corporate dictatorship.
It never was – the word democracy isn’t even mentioned in the US constitution.
Nailed it with Corporate [Militaristic] dictatorship – [With a musical chair dance held every 4 years just to maintain the illusion that all is well]
Hitler and the Nazis flourished on the soil of the unconditional surrender of Versailles.
What are the roots for the American bipartisan savages? They are sacrificing the Ukrainians as cannon-fodder in order to destroy Russia and Europe, they are monsters. They destroy nations and never get enough. The USA was never invaded but every war they are involved in they are the aggressors. They are devious, provoking wars and blame the others for starting the wars. They are devils in sheep cloth.
The roots of American warmongering are that it can. Power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The US emerged from WW II comparatively unscathed and with the largest weapon manufacturing capacity in history. It had the power to roam the world in search of monsters to destroy so that’s what it did, and it’s been downhill ever since.
Could the Antiwar moderator please attend or perhaps explain why my comment free from links triggered the notorious thought control filter and placed it in ever lasting limbo [Spam]
Could it be that any criticism of the Israeli apartheid state somehow triggers auto moderation?
Five hours in the middle of the night eastern US time (when some people are, you know, ASLEEP) is not “everlasting.”
And no, criticism of the Israeli apartheid state doesn’t trigger any sort of moderation. Most of the time, especially when there aren’t any especially large wars going on, criticism of the Israeli apartheid regime constitutes a very high percentage of comments here.
Keeping people who want to kill you and do kill you away is sanity.not apartheid.
Southern, the J-word automatically triggers moderation.
You can say Catholic, Buddhist, Presbyterian, Satanist or virtually ANY other religious name.
But not “that one”.
It’s not only that word that will send it into pending, imo there’s something else in play and then I’m thinking of the Disqus filter is really AI reading judging comments forming a conclusion.
Southern, it really IS the J-word; Thomas himself told me, as I experienced the same thing.
Not his fault; it’s the website.
I get the impression that you’re referring to this site, I comment on a few more sites and have found that many other comments do not have the J word still trigger the same response.
Here at Antiwar.com, “the J-Word” is one of the words that puts a comment into moderation so it can be looked at. Ditto for several tricky words used to try to get around that rule.
And it’s definitely us who set up that filter, not Disqus itself.
Usually when Disqus puts a comment in moderation on its own hook rather than due to a rule we’ve set, it’s because it thinks the comment looks like spam. Often that’s because there’s a link in the comment, but other times I can’t figure out what the trigger was.
Could the Antiwar moderator please attend or explain why my comments are triggering thought control filters?
Sure!
They’re not.
They’re triggering Disqus’s spam filters and/or Antiwar.com’s guidelines filters.
Your thought remains uncontrolled.
What’s controlled is whether or not you get to use Antiwar.com as a microphone for expressing that thought. To the best of my recollection, you always have so far (you’re welcome), sometimes with a delay (sorry about that).
Thank you for the quick response and the logical explanation.
I’m aware that my chain of thought remains unchanged however – I call this thought control since it definitly wasn’t spam while it’s been happening a bit and not only to me – Disqus has a secret banned word list that’ll do it every time. [Discus Disqus is saturated with complaints about this overzealous filter]
I’m not aware if this website has any filters in place, posting links works fine so it has to be something else that’s triggering the dreaded filter.
The irony here is that the bimbo bots don’t appear to be triggering these same filters while it would make perfect sense if they did.
So imo there might be more to this than appears on the surface we’re living in dark times where telling the truth about things evokes a nasty response from so called authorities.
Lets remember what’s been happening to Julian Assange – Ever since his publications have influenced public opinion against that of the ”authorities” fact free narrative – our own ability to express our thoughts on numerous social media has become more and more restricted as if it were some exotic large South American snake coiling itself around it’s prey.
Free Julian Assange !!!!
Our freedom loving swamp of a Congress once again showing its true brutal imperialist nature. Shame on them.
Haven’t the poor people of Syria suffered enough?
”House Overwhelmingly Approves Resolution to Maintain Syria Sanctions After Earthquake”
It would not exactly surprise me in the slightest little bit if the members of the house had pledged allegiance to the nation that so callously went on a bombing raid to kill and injure civilians recovering from a major earth quake.
Warsaw ghetto survivors would understand.
After all that has occurred during the second world war, it is a crying shame how some middle eastern apartheid state has become everything that our comrades fought against.
It’s as though there is some sort of pathological transference has occurred as a result of the J…..s experience in WW2, with first the Palestinians and now the Syrian being turned into scapegoats for the type of atrocity the N’s once visited on the J’s.
There is a sickness to this and it offends every right thinking person on the planet… Bibi has made his contempt very clear… where he has always come from despite his weasel words of diplomacy.
We need to call the bluff of these right-wing Zionist racists and push as never before for justice and self-determination for the indigenous inhabitants of these lands who have been so ruthlessly abused and marginalized.
Bottomline is that now that war criminal Netanyahu is back he’s openly activated the plan for an even greater apartheid state which requires a massive land grab.
It is foolish to equate Zionism with right-wing politics. A large majority of Zionists are Christians, mostly Protestant, and distributed among Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives.
Bibi is far right plus he’s a Zionist.
It’s extremely foolish to mix religion into politics – its nothing but a recipe for disaster.
All Straussians are Neocons including the Zionist and Al Saud and Deash, all of them use deception in order to gain political and personal advantages.
”Jewish Committee on Twitter: “Zionism is pure evil. Zionism has nothing …
Zionism is pure evil. Zionism has nothing to do with Judaism. The teachings of Zionism are against the Torah. Zionists are not Jews and do not know Jewish teachings. There is no place for racism and nationalism in Judaism. The Torah commands us to live in peace with our neighbors”.
Herzl did not have modern Zionism in mind when he started the movement.
There’s nothing particularly religious about Zionism – To me it’s a Cabal that has hijacked a religion in order to cater to a completely different agenda.
Zionism however is linked to Wahhabism when it comes to ”ideologies” these are not old – both are rather new – both support Isis/Deash which goes to show the hypocrisy of the West when it comes to eliminating terrorism and it’s supporters.
Zionism is secular-one you are alive and safe,you can be secular,or any variant of Judaism. It has leftists,unionist,and right wingers.
As so often happens, to me Christianity is our Cabal, religion sells always, that is true for Islam also.
Zionism was a dream to allow Jewish people to live in relative safety and dignity.That is totally reasonable,and has been fulfilled. People can be an religious or as secular as they want. The Torah espouses peace,but during biblical times there were unfortunately plenty of wars. Zionists are mainly Jews and their non-Jewish supporters.
They are also neocons, Republicans and Democrats.
How about starting a movement displaying the Palestinian Flag in support of human rights for the Palestinian people?
SPOT ON Southern!
Problem is that the majority of congress are bought-and-paid- for whores for Israhell. Nothing short of revolution by the people—taxpayers who are subsidizing the murder of Palestinian children and old men—-will correct this.
(Or a big nuke dropped on DC.)
ByeDone sheds bitter crocodile tears over the deaths of Ukrainian civilians, yet actively contributes to those of their Palestinian counterparts.
May everyone who supported this burn in hell..
If you vote against inhumane sanctions to starve the Syrian people, you are voting against mourning the victims of the earthquake? How many Americans are going to fall for this stupidly obvious lie? …Never mind. Many have fallen for more stupidly obvious lies. The MSM’s character assassination exemplified by this: https://www.comicsands.com/greene-turkey-syria-earthquake-resolution-2659481786.html
Thank you, Reps. Thomas Massie (R-KY) and Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA). Keep fighting the swamp creatures–the other 414 congress people and MSM!
Thumbs up on your first paragraph. I do think Massie is somewhat anti-war but Greene is a f*king nutjob.
You know, even a broken clock is right twice a day.
I think Massie and Greene are just reflexively programmed to spout off against anything coming from the Biden administration. They are straight from Toontown.
What’s more interesting is that all of the so-called ‘progressive’ Democrats are marching in step with the US passive-aggressive sanctions war against the people of Syria. And Russia. And China. And Iran. And Venezuela. And all our other designated enemies. AOC, where are you?
The Squad has been neutralized Any resurgence of the left in the US will be outside the democratic party.
Democrats have been as anti-left as republicans.
The Democrats are now globalist puppets,printing money,sending it to Ukraine,and getting kickbacks.The squad is a disgrace to any party,
Massie is definitely more than just that. When Trump and the swamp said Assad gassed his own people, he deplored the warmongers and stood against the propaganda. He was attacked by the CNN reporter while on the air and stood up to her. The clip is available online.
I agree. But he does have his moments.
They support all the illegal sanctions, ignoring the destruction of the global economy, they dug a deep hole and can’t get out if they wanted to. Sanctions are criminal economic war fare against civilian population, not the elite responsible for the wars military and economical. The elite profits like Zelensky, he sold his nation for cannon fodder in return for mansions and fat bank accounts, the same is true for MOST of NATO members. Our politicians are political whores, members of the class of war profiteers. .
“Wilson said in Congress on Monday that the congressional bill was a message to the “war criminal Putin” that delaying humanitarian aid to the region is “despicable.” Wilson’s speech referenced a diplomatic row in February when the UN’s aid to Syria was held up by Russia.”
Greene has taken a fairly pro-Russia stance on the Ukraine war. On Monday, she tweeted that it’s “unconstitutional” for President Joe Biden to help Ukraine because it is “not a NATO ally nor a democracy.”
https://www.businessinsider.com/marjorie-taylor-greene-votes-against-mourning-earthquake-victims-turkey-syria-2023-3
Greene didn’t like Wilson’s anti-Russian take. Although she was for arming Ukraine and allowing Ukraine to join NATO. Same with Massie as far as the aid and NATO are concerned. So, it isn’t like she gives a flying f*ck about the Syrian people.
Once again: MTG is the voice of reason? God help me, I’m starting to like her 😳
Amerikkka continues to exhibit its cruel and vindictive nature.
Even Trump sometimes told the truth and sometimes he is right too.
It would not exactly surprise me in the slightest little bit if the members of the house had pledged allegiance to the nation that so callously went on a bombing raid to kill and injure civilians recovering from a major earth quake.
Warsaw ghetto survivors would understand.
After all that has occurred during the second world war, it is a crying shame how Israel has become everything that our comrades fought against.
It’s as though there is some sort of pathological transference has occurred as a result of the Jewish experience in WW2, with first the Palestinians and now the Syrian being turned into scapegoats for the type of atrocity the Nazis once visited on the Jews.
There is a sickness to this and it offends every right thinking person on the planet… Netanyahu has made his contempt very clear… where he has always come from despite his weasel words of diplomacy.
We need to call the bluff of these right-wing Zionist racists and push as never before for justice and self-determination for the indigenous inhabitants of these lands who have been so ruthlessly abused and marginalized.
Bottomline is that now that war criminal Netanyahu is back he’s openly activated the Odid Yinon plan which requires a massive land grab.
The Syrians offered refuge to may N’s as you call them,employing them in their secret police. The Syrian people are paying for their leaders hosting Iran’s proxy terror army. The “zionist racists” are a creation of the way in which they and their ancestors were treated by most people. Accept this.
Alois Brunner lived in “squalor” in Syria until his death (some time between 2001 and 2010, depending on who you ask) … as a government advisor and intelligence service trainer.
Squalor is better than dead or prison.
Are you aware that Prescott Bush was involved with a rat line to allow Nazi’s to settle in the US and who were then involved with what is now known as the CIA?
There’s far more to the 2nd WW then most people realize – once you start digging you’re bound to find some uncomfortable truths.
I am aware of the origins of the shrub
Very well -Prove it !
Thus far you’ve not convinced me with even a scintilla that you’re dedicated to all matters related to Antiwar – far from it in fact as your comments reveals your support for the dreaded Zionist.
Free Palestine !!!
The US only sends aid when it can be used to overthrow a government.
The House doesn’t have anything else to do…?!
There really are no words to describe this sick and inhumane vote by the zombies and eunuchs in this “branch” of the mafia.
Maybe someday, however doubtful, someone(s) will come out and state what the us interest is in applying these “sanctions” against the people of syria, not the govt of syria, but the people, particularly as they are suffering from the destructive earthquake. I know, it is israel, nitenyahooo, et al but it is beyond sick.
Those few talking a big game about Ukraine’s war stupidity are absent on this vote.
It appears their opposition to Ukraine is more a political maneuver to them, not an expression of a stance against neocon wars.
Excellent reporting by DeCamp!
Just telling it like it REALLY is makes the most compelling case to oppose Biden’s cruel proxy war to bring Russia to its knees, using Ukrainians as cannon fodder – “as many as it takes,” as Cruel Joe might say.
“we are going to squash those MF’s no matter what – tell you what”
…… every Uncle Sam ever
We’re getting back at Assad for supposedly killing his own people by killing his people. Makes sense, doesn’t it?
And we helped arm his “own people”.
433 Aholes for Israel.
The goal of the anti-Syria hawks is to remove Assad by any means necessary. The end justifies the means for these cynical beasts- the people dying from US sanctions are simply mere statistics. Break a few eggs to make an omelette. In god we trust.
Not The Squad too! Nooooo!
Somebody needs to come up with something punchier and more derisive than “Israel firster”. I commonly refer to America as Israel’s bitch but I think people need something more veiled.
Ted, “Israel’s bitch” works JUST FINE 😁
Not sure if it’s antisemitic or antigentile.
Neither Ted…just factual!
Shows where you are coming from.
Coming from a non beeyotch place.
Tell it to yourself.
already heard it
“misinformation” is a synonym for “the truth”.
Have you no shame? No wonder the US is hated in the ME..One thing we dont have to hear from now…the so called progressives. More phoneys
Well, we can at least offer our “thoughts and prayers” for the victims, much like we are requested to do for the victims of mass shootings here in Amerikkka.
😡
Satan’s House of Representatives. It is not just this vote, it is a slew of actions that clearly show these people to be Evil.
The fact that the American people do nothing about The Evil in their midst indicates how far from God our nation has fallen.
These are monstrous creatures. Time for Hitler’s cadre to move over and make way for the new face of evil.
Soulless, heartless not to mention brain dead. When the nukes finally fly, just say Amen.
America a shame full nation with the blood of millions of innocent people on it`s hands .