I have received the following urgent update from my confidential on-the-ground correspondent in Syria:
Syria: Guns and Butter
Syria fell because the livelihood of the population was destroyed due to US occupation of energy resources and grain fields, which was compounded by the “Caesars” sanctions. Damascus had one hour of electricity per day, a soldier’s monthly salary was $7, and a general’s $40, way below subsistence levels.
The situation was worse than the siege of Leningrad, where some supplies, albeit insufficient, could come via Lake Ladoga. The siege of Syria lasted longer than the 900 days of Leningrad.
Syria tried to have China invest in productive projects, but nothing came of it, because China was afraid of breaking the sanctions.
Syria then decided to mend relations with the Gulf Oil monarchies, seeking investments. This was prevented by the US.
The Syrian government had enough guns but not enough butter. The situation was unsustainable, and there was no light at the end of the tunnel.
When the NATO-Turkey-Israel-backed terrorists started the most recent attacks, President Assad decided it was best for the Syrian people for him to leave. Thus he rejected Russian and Iranian military aid proposals, as this would bring more deaths and destruction on Syria, and the economic suffering of the population would not be resolved.
Many talk shows blame the debacle on the corruption of Syrians and Arabs in general. Besides the inherent racism in such remarks, a good reminder to those would be the ruthless Nazi proxy “Russian Liberation National Army” comprised of tens of thousands of Soviet military who fought alongside the Nazis against the Soviet Union.
As for corruption, one recalls the rampant and across-the-board corruption during the Yeltsin years when the Russian economy was destroyed by neoliberalism.
This brings to mind the Arabic proverb: “حين تسقط البقرة يكثر سلاّخوها” “When the cow falls, many are the butchers.”
The cowards, if any, were not Assad nor the Syrian Arab Army. It was China.
President Assad was a courageous, honorable man who cared about his people more than himself or his family.
Richard C. Cookis co-founder and lead investigator for the American Geopolitical Institute. Mr. Cook is a retired U.S. federal analyst with extensive experience across various government agencies, including the U.S. Civil Service Commission, FDA, the Carter White House, NASA, and the U.S. Treasury. He is a graduate of the College of William and Mary. As a whistleblower at the time of the Challenger disaster, he exposed the flawed O-ring joints that destroyed the Space Shuttle, documenting his story in the book “Challenger Revealed.” After serving at Treasury, he became a vocal critic of the private finance-controlled monetary system, detailing his concerns in “We Hold These Truths: The Hope of Monetary Reform.” He served as an adviser to the American Monetary Institute and worked with Congressman Dennis Kucinich to advocate for replacing the Federal Reserve with a genuine national currency. See his new book, Our Country, Then and Now, Clarity Press, 2023. Also see his Three Sages Substack and his American Geopolitical Institute articles at https://www.vtforeignpolicy.com/category/agi/.
“Every human enterprise must serve life, must seek to enrich existence on earth, lest man become enslaved where he seeks to establish his dominion!” Bô Yin Râ (Joseph Anton Schneiderfranken, 1876-1943), translation by Posthumus Projects Amsterdam, 2014. Also download the Kober Press edition of The Book on the Living God here.
He is a regular contributor to Global Research.