KW: I particlarly clicked on the link to former Pink Floyd bass guitarist Roger Waters as he spoke to one of his audiences about Syria, it was worth it. Regrettably he is seemingly a lone voice amongst his mega rich performers who could do so much to promote change in government thinking
The Dike Breaks – Netherland Ends Support For “White Helmets” Terrorist Propaganda
Updated below
—
The Netherland just announced that it is ending its support for al-Qaeda’s propaganda gang, the “White Helmets”. It also ends its support for the so called Free Syrian Police. Last week the Netherlands shut down its “non lethal” support for the Free Syrian Army after Dutch news organizations found that members of these groups were accused of terrorism by their General Prosecutor.
According to the Volkskrant daily (in Dutch), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs ended the support for the White Helmets after its Directorate for International Research and Policy Evaluation issued a critical report about them. For the White Helmets, which had received €12.5 million from the Dutch government, it lists the following issues:
- According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the supervision of the behavior of the rescue workers is ‘inadequate’. The organization that supervises, Mayday, based in the Netherlands, is closely intertwined with the White Helmets itself. In practice, donors do not understand the difference between the two organizations.
- Mayday wants to spend a maximum of 0.9% of its budget on supervision of the work of the White Helmets. ‘That is why there is a lack of independent supervision of the activities and results of the project.’
- The money for the White Helmets is transferred to the Syrian border in cash or enters the country via the hawala system. It is ‘problematic’ that Mayday does not know how much money is paid via which route. That is why there is a danger that money has fallen into the hands of armed groups. The cash flow can also indirectly be used for illegal trade. Systematic control of the money flow is missing.
- The White Helmets are active in areas where armed groups are in power that are considered ‘unacceptable’ for the Netherlands. Contact between the White Helmets and local administrators who work together with extremist organizations is inevitable.
The seemingly intentional lack of transparency practically guarantees that much of the more than $150 million the White Helmets received from various governments will have flown into the private pockets of the people who organize the scam.
This blog published several pieces about the White Helmets, mostly pointing out their obviously faked media productions:
- The U.S./UK Financed “White Helmets” Shtick – Fake “Child Rescued” Videos – June 1 2016
- “Dramatic Rescue! Man With Kid Runs Towards Camera!” – 44 Staged Pictures – June 21 2016
- How White Helmets Videos Are Made – November 21 2016
For background information on the White Helmets the earlier pieces by Vanessa Beeley’s at 21stCenturyWire´are still the best: Syria’s White Helmets: War by Way of Deception – Part I and Part II – Syria’s White Helmets: ‘Moderate Executioners’.
Vanessa Beeley, Eva Barlett (vid) and others have tried for years to point out the nefarious scheme behind the propaganda scam “White Helmets”. Roger Waters rightly calls them (vid) a “fake propaganda construct for terrorists”. But ‘western’ media loved the dramatic fake photos and videos the White Helmets produced, partly because they could put them into print and on screen free of any charge. Whoever criticized them and questioned their narratives was publicly smeared and derided.
The Volkkrant notes:
It is the first time that a Western government states that there are problems with the project.
It will not be the last time. More people will take note, look into the issue and pressure their governments to end their support. As the Dutch know well, once the dikes break it is impossible to stop the flood. The relentless work of a few engaged writers put pressure onto the dike and finally broke it. The White Helmet scam will soon come under a flood of public scrutiny and will be swept away into some dark corner of history.
Just a month ago Germany’s Foreign Minister Maas, also known as a “well styled NATO call boy”, met the White Helmets front man Raed al-Saleh, who was denied entry into the U.S., and promised him more money. Maas also lauded the recent ‘evacuation of White Helmets’ from the Quneitra and Daraa area to Israel which was just another scam. Israel used the White Helmet cover to evacuated a number of terrorists commanders it had paid and equipped for years in its war on Syria.
Maas and his NATO colleagues in other countries will soon be asked about the Dutch example. Can they refute the analysis the Foreign Ministry of their NATO ally Netherland made? Can Maas explain what happened with the €17 million Germany gave to them? In who’s pocket did they end up?
Update (Sep 16, 5:30 utc):
The Netherlands also ends its participation in the U.S. bombing campaign against ISIS:
Royal Netherlands Air Force F-16 fighter jets will be pulled out of the mission against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria at the end of the year, the Dutch government said Friday, September 14.“Cabinet has decided not to prolong the use of F-16s in the fight against IS past December 31,” the Dutch cabinet said in a statement on Friday.
Some 80 Dutch troops will continue to provide training for the Iraqi army.
Update (Sep 16, 9:10 utc):
The publishing note from the Foreign Ministry on the report discussed above is available in Dutch language. There is a cover letter (pdf) from the Directorate for International Research and Policy Evaluation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, also in Dutch. It describes the programs the Netherland contributed to (machine translation):
Since the start of the conflict, the Netherlands has spent more than EUR 70 million in stabilization support in Syria, in consultation with many like-minded international partners and donors. The programs aimed to contribute to some degree of liveability in the opposition area and the prevention of further refugee flows, new power facets and the influence of extremists. This support took place within the complex and fluid context of the Syrian war, during which the situation on the ground has changed drastically in seven years. The Cabinet has informed the House about contributions to the projects. Including the significant contributions to the non-lethal assistance program (NLA), White Helmets, and Access to Justice and Community Security (AJACS) program from 2015.
The evaluation report itself is in English: Review of the monitoring systems of three projects in Syria AJACS, White Helmets and NLA (pdf).
—
End Update
Posted by b on September 15, 2018 at 03:30 PM | Permalink
It is encouraging to read that Netherland is showing some moral backbone against the blatant propaganda of failing empire.
May the floodwaters of truth drown the originators of lies and deceit.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Sep 15, 2018 3:48:57 PM | 2
One wonders if this little crack in the solid front might now throw a monkey wrench in their cinematographic projects.
Posted by: bjd | Sep 15, 2018 3:55:53 PM | 3
Posted by: SL | Sep 15, 2018 3:56:48 PM | 4
Perhaps it will inspire Dutch authorities to collectively “examine their conscience”, and admit to cooking up the bogus MH-17 report that framed Russia or “pro-Russian” forces as the culprits who shot down the aircraft.
There’s no connection, but somehow this resonates with the mildly surprising news that a WADA committee recommends reinstating the “non-compliant” Russian anti-doping agency, RUSADA. It’s not a done deal yet, since apparently WADA insists that RUSADA officials validate WADA’s show trial by confessing to its alleged crimes despite RUSADA’s claims of innocence — but it’s promising news.
Is this the first stirrings of an “EU Spring?” 😉
Posted by: Ort | Sep 15, 2018 3:58:24 PM | 5
My friend Vanessa Beeley has been most effective in promoting the fact that the White Helmets are closely linked to al-Qaeda terrorists, but I too must claim some of the credit for exposing the White Helmets. The fact that still needs more exposure is that the White Helmets actually kill children for their fake propaganda videos.
This is what I wrote on the issue two years ago, quoting from the original discussion on ACLOS in March 2015:
Al-Qaeda’s propaganda wing the #WhiteHelmets did not win this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, despite the massive propaganda campaign by Western sponsors of terror. The prize would have been vital if the United States were to attack Syria in support of their proxy terrorists. I am not at all sure the Norwegian Nobel Committee can act independently. They will serve the Empire’s interests when pushed to. Crucial to the outcome may have been the effort to expose the White Helmets and their war propaganda. I will link bellow to some of the people who have been most vocal in bringing the truth out.
This is the discussion that first brought the White Helmets to my attention. ACLOS was working on solving the Sarmeen gas attack hoax of March 2015. I believe the White Helmets are involved in actually murdering people to produce their propaganda for war. The photo above may show one of their victims.
Al-Nusra Font (Jabhat al-Nusra) is the official franchise of al-Qaeda in Syria and works closely with the White Helmets.
Petri Krohn – 27 March 2015 (03:21 UTC)
– The same original content from the first attack has been distributed on YouTube with two different logos. One logo is the al-Nusra logo that is also seen in these three videos distributed by Coordinating Srmin. The other logo is blue and yellow and is also seen on the ambulance and the back of the medic. This means that the Coordinating Committee, al-Nusra, and the ambulance team and their propagandists are all tied closely together. This calls into question the neutrality of the reporting and the videos.Charles Wood – 27 March 2015 (03:31 UTC)
– I’ve seen a group calling themselves “White Helmets” who are active on twitter and have some link to the alleged gas attack videos. I think they are Civil Defence? Or at least say they are. Links to Jabhat al-Nusra tends to say they aren’t neutral.Petri Krohn – 2 April 2015 (02:23 UTC)
– The White Helmets claim to be a civil defense force specializing in digging up victims from bombed out buildings. They may in fact be a US State Department funded infowar operation for intervention and a war of aggression in the name of a “No-Fly Zone” to protect civilians.Caustic Logic (Adam Larson) – 2 April 2015 (12:58 UTC)
– Here’s their site: https://www.whitehelmets.org/ Good news, they’re “unarmed and neutral.” Their issue is barrel bombs, often filled with chlorine, and they don’t mention the weird type of chlorine with unusual symptoms… and how there’s a neutral need for a “no fly zone.” Linked to by an activist video compilation I left a helpful comment at (if it remains)Oh, and it specifies “the Syrian Civil Defence – known as the White Helmets.” They’re the ones with the blue and yellow logos, and I presume the black-and-yellow blankets. Maybe they’re like a new non-neutral replacement for the Syrian Arab Red Crescent, who continue cooperating with the government and won’t even need to try operating in areas like this. I wonder if there are any issue with the SARC that would lead to such a replacement plan?
Charles Wood – 2 April 2015 (23:47 UTC)
– Their website looks like it came out of some smart New York or London Advertising Agency. In fact it did. It’s an obvious branding exercise using the iconic white helmet as the easy to remember visual key.I’ve done some basic snooping and it’s associated with The Syria Campaign. I guess the idea is to move up Google rank by cross-linking the sites.
‘white helmets’ itself is a product of ‘Purpose’ a Brooklyn based organisation with offices in London and Rio de Janeiro. Their ‘Team’ shows what they are – an upmarket media communications company. The Purpose Team
Certainly no Syrians were involved in creating the White Helmets!
Source: http://acloserlookonsyria.shoutwiki.com/wiki/Talk:White_Helmets
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Sep 15, 2018 4:32:29 PM | 6
Did someone from this commentariat mention in a previous thread that someone is building a database of videos of the Syrian conflict…? A good idea. The systematic silencing of voices has just begun.
Posted by: MadMax2 | Sep 15, 2018 3:44:27 PM | 1