NEWS agencies have quiet reported, but not highlighted, the fact that US and Israeli jets carried out dozens of bombing raids against Syria as the so-called rebels advanced on Damascus last weekend.
News of the raids was quietly mentioned in a compilation of news agency reports run in the South China Post on Monday (Australian time). The mentions of the raids were hidden away in an article on the rebels’ coup and would not be picked up without careful reading.
The narrative of western media has been along the lines that the rebels simply advanced from city to city and President Assad’s national army simply surrendered, which is a half truth. Media has also concentrated on the celebrations of Syrians who opposed Assad’s regime, that had stayed in power for half a century.
But in the South China Post report, headlined “Israel calls Syria its fourth front after rushing troops to the Golan”, 15 paragraphs in, the report stated: “As it has frequently in recent months, Israel mounted a series of air strikes in Syria on Sunday, including the capital Damascus, a monitoring group reported.”
It continued: “Israeli warplanes targeted military depots in the vicinity of a scientific centre near Damascus and an army outpost in the countryside of the capital, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said.
“The Israeli Air Force had earlier attacked a chemical weapons factory in Syria according to media reports. The Jerusalem Post reported that the attack was motivated by concerns that weapons developed during the reign of Assad could fall into the hands of rebels.
“The Israeli TV channel N12 had also reported on the strike earlier. An Israeli army spokesman declined to comment on the reports. Since the Syrian civil war erupted in 2011, Israel carried out hundreds of strikes in the country, mainly targeting the army and Iran-backed groups.”
Several paragraphs on, a further admission: “The US Central Command said its forces conducted dozens of air strikes targeting known Islamic State camps and operatives in central Syria on Sunday.”
So why didn’t these raids rate a mention in other mainstream media headlines. “US and Israeli jets bomb Syria ahead of rebel army advance” might have more accurately summed up the situation.
The Indian news outlet Republic reported on Sunday: “Israeli aircraft reportedly targeted Mezzeh military airport and areas in Daraa and Quneitra on Sunday. The airport, a frequent target, was hit again.”
“An agency journalist in Damascus reported strikes in the southwest of the capital, on Sunday. The airport has been targeted by Israeli airstrikes before, but it remains unclear who was responsible for the strike on Sunday.
“The Israeli military declined to comment on the airstrike at the airport, as Israel typically does not publicly claim responsibility for attacks in Syria.”
Meanwhile the future of Syria’s Christians remains uncertain, with the Iraqi Christian Foundation reporting that more than 200,000 Christians from Aleppo, Hama, and Homs had “escaped to the area called the ‘Valley of the Christians,’ Latakia, and Tartus, all in northwest Syria.
Talk of the so-called rebels setting up a caliphate is not good news for the country’s Christians, whose churches go back to the New Testament times and the founding of the early church in Damascus.
