by Stephen Lendman

Soros' Open Society Foundations pretend to be liberal. Their claimed mission is to "work to build vibrant and tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens."

In fact, Soros, like other corporate predators, doesn't tolerate democratic values. He's no populist. He supports everything that smells money. He's involved in grabbing all he can.

He promotes marketplace sovereignty; deregulation; privatization of government services; ending popular entitlements, social spending, and affirmative action; prioritizing business friendly policies; class war; controlling electoral politics; supporting scoundrel media cheerleading his ideology; and wars advancing his agenda.

On January 25, 2010, New York Times writer Andrew Sorkin headlined, "Still Needed: A Sheriff of Finance." He quoted Soros saying:

"We need a global sheriff." Perhaps he has himself in mind.

An unverified quote attributed to him said:

"Assad is a mass murderer! He is no better than Hitler, Stalin, Saddam, Quadafy, etc. He has committed crimes against humanity and deserves DEATH! The U.S. & the world stands by and does NOTHING! How many more innocent civilians must die? Where are our drones? Where are our Special Forces?"

If accurate, it wouldn't be the first time he saw a potential business opportunity and exploited it unscrupulously.

In 1992, he made a billion dollars by sabotaging the European Rate Mechanism (ERM) through highly leveraged speculation.

He made billions more from the 1997 Asian currency crash. His business model is rogue investing. As a market participant, he's unconcerned with the consequences of his actions.

In the late 1990s, he supported ousting Saddam Hussein by any means, including war. He's connected to the war-profiteering Carlyle Group. He donates millions to dissident movements against regimes he opposes. He took credit for "Americanizing Eastern Europe." His agenda's notorious.

Apparently he's at it again targeting Syria and likely Iran. Wealth accumulation is his main objective. Means justify ends. Body counts don't matter, just accumulating money to make more it any way he can.

Aryeh Neier serves as president of his Open Society Foundations. On April 4, the New York Times featured his op-ed headlined, "An Arab War-Crimes Court for Syria," saying:

"....Syria('s) government and its henchmen (must) pay a price for slaughtering their citizens...." US "officials are seeking ways to bring them to justice. A war crimes tribunal run by the Arab League could be the solution."

Fact check

Assad is more victim than villain. For over a year, Western armed, funded and trained killer gangs ravaged Syria. They're murdering civilians and security forces alike. They're part of Washington's scheme to replace him with a US client state.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Der Spiegel exposed their atrocities. HRW said insurgents committed targeted killings, summary executions, kidnappings for ransom, torture, hostage taking, and other violent crimes. Assad responsibly confronts them. He deserves thanks, not condemnation.

A March 29 Der Spiegel article headlined, "An Executioner for Syria's Rebels Tells His Story," saying:

Hussein was part of the "Homs burial brigade." He and comrades "kill in the name of the Syrian revolution. They leave torture (to) the so-called interrogation brigade...."

"They do the ugly work," he said. He believes in violence he explained. He "cut the throats of four men." With a heavy machine gun he "killed a lot more men...."

"The rebels in Homs began carrying out regular executions in August of last year." It continues daily, including prisoners killed in cold blood.

If Assad doesn't confront them, who will? Imagine the greater death toll if he didn't. Letting Arab League members operate as judge, jury, and executioner is like putting belligerents in charge of passing judgment on victims.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Bahrain, and most other League members are lawless rogue states. Pro-Western despots head them. They're part of Washington's imperial agenda. They actively supported Libya's ravaging, colonization, exploitation, and plunder. They're silent about ongoing atrocities in Bahrain, Yemen, Somalia, Palestine, and elsewhere in the region.

Since March, they also supported Western-backed, armed and funded anti-Syrian insurgents. They're supplying plenty of both themselves. Most League members attack, kill, persecute, arrest, imprison, and torture their own people for protesting against political, economic and social injustice.

Neier wants these rogues to judge Assad and those around him. "That would put the forces of Syria’s president....on notice that the surest way to end up in the dock is to persist in the crimes they have been committing."

"....(C)reating a tribunal for Syria today would be a bold decision for the Arab League - one that could ensure that those who committed atrocities would face consequences."

Neier advocates a court similar to the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia. He called it "remarkably successful."

In fact, evidence showed prosecution witnesses were pressured, intimidated and perhaps bribed. Some were threatened with arrest and imprisonment if they didn't cooperate.

The prosecutor wanted convictions by any means. Allegations of misconduct were made. The presiding judge ignored them. Benjamin Schett's article headlined, "The Criminalization of Justice at the Hague: Former Prosecutor Carla Del Ponte Faces Charges of Witness Intimidation," saying:

"....(T)he tribunal's manner of conduct cannot be called impartial." Tactics employed included den(ying) the right to self defence....silencing the microphone when the accused speaks out on facts that are embarrassing to the prosecution, (and) intimidation of witnesses. Such occurrences happened often enough during the Milosevic trial."

Others were treated the same way. When evidence wasn't available, it was created. Other tribunals were similar. Saddam's was rigged to convict. The entire production was theatrical. It was a made-for-television extravaganza, a sham from start to finish, a show trial.

The Supreme Iraqi Criminal Tribunal (SICT) had no legitimacy. Washington established, funded, and controlled proceedings. US-approved judges were chosen.

International law was flouted. It's commonplace in Western manipulated international tribunals. They give kangaroos a bad name. Why else would Neier support them. Ousting and prosecuting Assad gives Soros another profit opportunity. How he makes it doesn't matter.

A Final Comment

The New York Times consistently supports US wars and prospective ones. Rule of law principles don't matter. Neither do justice or body counts. Only imperial interests count.

In numerous previous articles, op-eds, editorials, and Neier's commentary, one-sided views are presented. Truth and full disclosure are absent. Readers end up knowing nothing.

Only Washington's agenda is supported. The same goes for Israel. Its 2008-09 Gaza war killed over 1,400, injured many thousands more, and caused vast destruction. Mostly civilians and civilian infrastructure were affected.

Israel committed grievous crimes of war and against humanity. Those responsible should be held accountable. Yet on April 4, the International Criminal Court (ICC) spurned its mandate to prosecute individuals for genocide and aggression, as well as crimes or war and against humanity.

Doing so made chief prosecutor Jose Luis Moreno Ocampo complicit in Israel's crimes. Instead of denouncing him, a Times article dismissively headlined, "Court Rejects Palestinians in Their Bid for a Tribunal," saying:

Ocampo "turned down a longstanding request by the Palestinian Authority to investigating accusations of Israeli war crimes" because Palestine's not a state.

In fact, it's been one since the late 1980s. The Times didn't explain or demand justice. It also alleged Hamas "violated the rules of war with its attacks on Israeli civilians during the war...."

Israel attacked Gaza preemptively. International law permits self-defense. Nine soldiers and three Israeli civilians were killed. About 100 soldiers were injured and several civilians.

Hamas rockets inflicted minor damage. In contrast, Gaza was ravaged. Accountability never followed. Instead of explaining and denouncing the ICC's decision, The Times skirted both issues entirely.

It's how the "newspaper of record" always reports. Doing so makes it a criminal accomplice like Ocampo.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

Also visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com and listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network Thursdays at 10AM US Central time and Saturdays and Sundays at noon. All programs are archived for easy listening.

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