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State Propaganda in Syria from War Crimes to Pipelines

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STATE PROPAGANDA IN SYRIA: FROM WAR CRIMES TO PIPELINES IN SYRIA: FROM WAR PROPAGANDA STATE Published by: International State Crime Initiative School of Law Queen Mary University of London State Propaganda in Syria ISBN: 978-0-9934574-8-7 From War Crimes to Pipelines Nafeez Ahmed An INSURGE intelligence investigation School of Law Nafeez Ahmed (CC) Nafeez Ahmed 2018 This publication is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial- NoDerivatives 4.0 International license: you may copy and distribute the document, only in its entirety, as long as it is attributed to the authors and used for non-commercial, educational, or public policy purposes. ISBN: 978-0-9934574-8-7 (Paperback) and 978-0-9934574-9-4 (eBook-PDF) Published with the support of Forum for Change by: International State Crime Initiative School of Law Queen Mary University of London Mile End Road London E1 4NS United Kingdom www.statecrime.org Author: Nafeez Ahmed Recommended citation: Ahmed, N.(2018) State Propaganda in Syria: From War Crimes to Pipelines. London: International State Crime Initiative. Cover image: ‘Return to Homs’, A Syrian refugee walks among severely damaged buildings in downtown Homs, Syria, on June 3, 2014. (Xinhua/Pan Chaoyue) Layout and design: Paul Jacobs, QMUL CopyShop Printing: QMUL CopyShop School of Law From War Crimes to Pipelines ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 5 FOREWORD 7 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 11 1. INTRODUCTION 19 2. ESCALATION 23 2.1 OBSTRUCTION 24 2.2 JINGOISM 25 2.3 DUPLICITY 26 3. WHITE HELMETS 29 3.1 CAUGHT IN THE ACT 29 3.2 AID CONVOY CONTROVERSY 32 3.3 CHAIN OF CUSTODY 38 3.4 THE WHITE HELMETS AND PROPAGANDA: QUESTIONS 42 3.5 THE WHITE HELMETS AND PROPAGANDA: MYTHS 46 4. COMPROMISED REPORTING 59 4.1 CENSORSHIP IN REBEL REGIONS 59 4.2 CHERRYPICKING IN DOUMA 61 1 State Propaganda in Syria 5. THE POLITICISATION OF ‘ANTI-IMPERIALISM’ 73 5.1 HOULA AND BEYOND 73 5.2 THE ENDS JUSTIFY THE MEANS 74 5.3 CLEAN BREAK 84 5.4 ENTER HERSH 87 5.5 KHAN SHAYKOUN 93 5.6 SHIFTING SCENARIOS: FROM ACCIDENT TO STAGING 97 6. WHOSE IMPERIALISM? 111 6.1 ENERGY GEOPOLITICS 111 6.2 COVERT INTERVENTION 121 6.3 ABORTING DEMOCRACY 126 7. CONCLUSION: YOU ARE EITHER WITH US, OR AGAINST US 137 2 From War Crimes to Pipelines “O you who accept the Truth, be persistently standing firm in justice as witnesses for God, even if it be against yourselves, or parents and relatives. Whether one is rich or poor, God is more worthy of both. Follow not your desires, lest you not be just. If you distort your testimony or refuse to give it, then God is aware of what you do.” (Qur’an 4:135) 3 State Propaganda in Syria 4 From War Crimes to Pipelines Acknowledgements I would like to thank the International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) at Queen Mary University of London’s School of Law for its enthusiastic support for this project, in particular Professor Penny Green and Dr Thomas MacManus for recognising its importance and timeliness, and for speeding ahead to help bring it to fruition. Several journalists who reviewed various pre-publication drafts deserve my thanks, in particular freelance war correspondent Patrick Hilsman for his careful analysis and feedback; Matt Kennard, consultant at Action On Armed Violence and a former director at the Centre for Investigative Journalism; as well as two editors who have requested to remain anonymous. Thanks to Sophie Knowles-Mofford for her meticulous and rapid proofing. I would also like to thank Forum for Change for sponsoring the ISCI’s publication of this report. Last but by no means least, I must thank my crowdfunding patrons at INSURGE intelligence without whom this painstaking investigation would never have been possible. Their steadfast belief and support in my work is living proof of the power of small groups of people to come together and create an impact on the world. Nafeez Ahmed, London (July 2018) 5 State Propaganda in Syria 6 From War Crimes to Pipelines Foreword In this era of unbridled fake news, internet trolls and rising populism in the West, it has become increasingly challenging for experts, journalists and policymakers - let alone everyday citizens - to make sense of increasingly polarised narratives around key issues. The erosion of public trust in two key institutions - government and media - threatens the foundations of democracy. In recent years, the role of both state and private actors in and outside the West in attempting to influence the perceptions, beliefs and behaviours of mass populations has become a major subject of debate, as evidence continues to emerge of the extent to which propaganda has become a mainstay of the policies of governments, businesses, Big Data platforms and beyond. The conflict in Syria, which has taken the lives of at least half a million people by some estimates, is one such case where public opinion is deeply divided. With calls for greater action by the West from one side, and warnings of the dangers of intervention on the other, it has become increasingly difficult to sort fact from fiction around a war whose devastation is a blight on the twenty-first century. Contradictory stories around a chemical weapons attack in Douma, and how this has played out across the spectrum of state narratives and media reporting, demonstrates how toxic and irreconcilable the public conversation on this pivotal conflict has become. In this onerous atmosphere, I welcome this timely, well researched and insightful report by Dr Nafeez Ahmed who investigates some of the key narratives around the Syrian conflict. Combing through a range of pro-rebel and pro-Assad discourses around some of the most hotly debated issues and events during the conflict – the Douma, Ghouta and Khan Shaykhoun attacks, and allegations of the use of chemical weapons; the role of the White Helmets; the prevalence of jihadist groups; responsibility for war crimes; competing geopolitical interests, etc. – Dr Ahmed unearths flaws, lies and falsehoods on all sides of the divide. In doing so he brings to light the vast extent to which the fog of war and propaganda – both Western and Russian in particular – have refracted reality and thus influenced perceptions of the conflict, often in ways that are deeply misleading and obfuscating. As such, it will make uncomfortable reading for both supporters and critics of Western foreign policy in Syria. Dr Ahmed’s painstaking investigation also exposes the true extent to which Russian state narratives have altered our thinking on Syria in ways which are devoid of fact. A major subject of debate in recent years in the West has been the role of narratives originating from Russia in shaping perception, informing opinions and, by some accounts, influencing electoral outcomes. At a time when there is a desperate need for cross-party consensus on how to handle propaganda emanating from the Kremlin. Many well-meaning actors in civil society doubt the veracity of such claims or at the very least suspect their influence has been exaggerated and in some cases this is correct. Exaggerated fears that might inflame a new Cold War - which arguably has already begun - help no one. 7 State Propaganda in Syria And yet, Dr Ahmed’s report demonstrates that in Syria, across the most contested events and incidents in the conflict, Russian intelligence psyops have demonstrably influenced some journalistic narratives that are critical of the West in insidious ways. For instance, he demonstrates that Russia’s goal in Syria has not been to protect Syrian sovereignty, but simply to use the wars raging in the Levant as a key tool in its struggle with the West. These are especially important findings given that they come from a journalist who for nearly two decades has tirelessly exposed Western state and media complicity in violence, including in Syria. In that context, Dr Ahmed underscores the extent of Russia’s influence on some leftwing narratives about the conflict. When he embarked on this investigation, he at first expected that many critical narratives on Syria would be vindicated. But he concludes that many of these narratives not only consistently traced back to sources close to the Syrian and Russian governments but were riddled with incoherence. Among the most unsettling findings is regarding celebrated reporter Seymour Hersh’s claims about the Ghouta and Khan Shaykhoun attacks, which as Ahmed reveals contradict key facts and fail basic journalistic standards. Fundamentally, there is a human cost to this. Assad is exploiting these narratives to portray himself as one of the few remaining bulwarks against terrorism and the last bastion of anti- imperialist resistance. But Ahmed’s report shows that recognising crimes by the rebels should not lead to downplaying the crimes of the Syrian state. Despite the disturbing nature of these findings, I am encouraged by the fact that this investigative report has brought these matters to light in a way that can contribute to a more informed public conversation about the dangerous role of state propaganda in influencing public perceptions. Among the many lessons of this report is that while sceptical scrutiny of Western state power remains more important than ever – and a necessary feature of a healthy democracy – progressive discourse cannot afford to become disfigured by state propaganda from Russia. I am hopeful his report will serve as a catalyst for a robust debate and lead to the adoption of a more critical approach on how to handle this increasingly malignant tendency. This calls urgently for action on two fronts with a single goal of insulating ourselves from the insidious impact of propaganda: Western institutions need to do more to check their biases, scrutinise their own policies and address lack of accountability.
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