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Celebrating Christmas In Rubble |
By
Stephen Lendman |
| For the first time in four-and-a-half years, Aleppo residents have reason
to celebrate this holiday season. On Thursday, thousands took to the streets, marching, expressing joy over US-backed terrorists expelled from the city. They carried flags, displayed pictures of President Assad, while mosques called the faithful to pray and church bells tolled. RT correspondent Lizzie Phelan spoke to residents. A young woman said “(w)e did not expect that this moment would ever actually come. We had four years of pain, of war and blood.” “We are so happy that we can celebrate once again. Aleppo has been returned to us. This is our homeland. We couldn’t even imagine that we would once again see all this joy and celebration.” A teenager explained “(l)ife without (her older sister killed by terrorist sniper fire) is very hard. (She) think(s) about her every minute and…feel(s) like she is with us.” Phelan tweeted “(n)ow world may stop talking about #Aleppo, but it's destroyed. With or without the fighting, suffering and pain will continue here for years.” Many children lost all family members. They’re dependent on orphanages for care. One boy said “I just want peace all over Syria. That is all.” On Friday, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu said “I believe we are on the verge of reaching an agreement on a full ceasefire in the territory of Syria.” A long ago popular holiday season song in America was titled “All I want for Christmas Is My Two Front Teeth.” All Syrians want, young and old, is peace, stability, elimination of the terrorist threat, and restoration of their country. Washington bears full responsibility for raping a nation threatening no one. Interviewed on NPR, CIA director John Brennan admitted “some (agency) responsibility for the horrific bloodshed,” adding: It won’t stop “until there is some type of viable and genuine political process that will bring to power in Damascus a government that is representative of the Syrian people,” he added. Rubbish! It won’t stop unless Washington abandons its rage for world dominance, no matter the human cost. It’s Trump’s call once inaugurated. Whether he’s up to challenging longstanding rogue CIA practices and what bipartisan neocons want remains to be seen. Separately, Vladimir Putin no longer concealed his contempt for Obama at his annual tour de force press conference - answering dozens of questions straightforwardly like all his public remarks. Without mentioning Obama by name, he said “(t)oday’s administration (in Washington) is very clearly dividing the nation.” “They are losing on all fronts and looking for scapegoats on whom to lay the blame. I think that this is an affront to their own dignity. It is important to know how to lose gracefully.” A new administration succeeds the current deplorable one in January. It’s unclear what Trump intends geopolitically once in office. A lot depends on what he decides. Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago. He can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net. His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks WW III." http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com. Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network. |