by Stephen Lendman

The Times is an establishment publication - a longstanding mouthpiece for wealth, power and privilege, militantly anti-Russian. All the news it calls fit to print isn’t fit to read!

Its latest anti-Putin editorial salvo headlined “Mr. Putin’s Motives in Syria,” falsely accusing him of “sending ‘volunteer’ ground forces into Syria” - repeating the same Big Lie about nonexistent “Russian aggression” in Ukraine.”

Spuriously claiming he’s bombing nonexistent “Syrian rebels,” so-called moderates no one can find, “phantoms” according to Sergey Lavrov, not ISIS and other terrorist groups.

Times editors viciously attacked Putin’s righteous campaign against terrorism, polar opposite US policy, using imported death squads as proxy foot soldiers, trained by CIA operatives and Pentagon special forces to reign terror where they’re deployed.

A litany of Times editorial lies followed. Putin is sending “young Russians…to face mortal danger.” His “very dangerous gamble” may “make matters far more complex.”

He’s “(p)ropping up a flailing ally” - demeaning Assad’s responsible efforts to rid Syria of the scourge of terrorism, outrageously blaming him for Obama’s war, naked aggression by any standard, turning truth on its head saying he “killed hundreds of thousands of Syrians, dr(ove) millions from their homes and destroyed vast stretches of the country.”

Putin’s “flex(ing) his muscles (again) before a Russian public…But he may not be strutting for long.” If he was “eager for peace, he could have…pressure(d) Assad” to step down.

“Instead, he supported (his) brutal reprisals against civilians and the opposition…” Putin is “making a grandstand play.”

This is what passes for so-called Times journalism and opinion - pure rubbish, yellow journalism at its worst, ignoring vital hard truths, featuring willful misinformation and Big Lies.

The so-called “newspaper of record” is a national disgrace, a lying machine, waging war on truth and full disclosure.

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov debunked the Big Lie about Russia troops in Syria masquerading as “volunteers,” saying “such organizations exist and act independently.”

They have nothing to do with Kremlin policy. Putin “has not stated his attitude on this issue. He is mainly concentrating on those people who fall a victim to the influence of Islamic State, who go there, who are concentrated there and get into the hands of extremist or terrorist organizations, and who later…(return home) morally crippled.”

A previous article suggested Putin might expand his anti-terrorism campaign to Iraq if Baghdad requests help. On October 7, the Wall Street Journal headlined “Iraqi Shiite Politicians Call for Russian Airstrikes on Islamic State,” saying:

They’re “largely united in…prais(ing) Moscow’s intervention and (want) “Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to invite Russia to join the battle.”

He said he welcomes Russian help as long as it’s coordinated with Washington. Iraq, Russia, Iran and Syria already have an intelligence sharing operation headquartered in Baghdad.

Russian upper house Federation Council Speaker Valentina Matviyenko said:

“In the case of an appeal by the Iraqi leadership to Russian Federation, the country’s leadership will consider the political and military expediency of our air force’s participation in an air operation. No appeal yet has been made.”

Iraq and Syria share a long porous 605 km border. ISIS elements move freely across it in either direction. Degrading and defeating them in Syria won’t eliminate them as long as safe haven in Iraq exists.

On October 7, RT International said “Iraq may soon request Russian airstrikes against ISIS on its soil,” citing its parliament defense panel head Hakim al-Zamili.

Baghdad may request Russian help in days or weeks, he said - challenging Washington’s regional imperial project more than already if Moscow expands its war on terror cross-border.

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Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and 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 World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

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