Block, Siteadmin, SkipCaptcha, Upload, Automoderated users, delete, edit, move, nsTeam2RO, nsTeam2RW, nsTeam2_talkRO, nsTeam2_talkRW, protect, rollback, Administrators, template
293,634
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Line 421:
Line 421: + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + +
→Syria
The failure of the quick removal of Assad, along with Obama's complete disengagement of US troops from Iraq earlier, led to the unanticipated rise of the Islamic State in 2014, which further highlighted the failure of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy, and weakened Hillary's 2016 prospects.
The failure of the quick removal of Assad, along with Obama's complete disengagement of US troops from Iraq earlier, led to the unanticipated rise of the Islamic State in 2014, which further highlighted the failure of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy, and weakened Hillary's 2016 prospects.
===March 2011===
There is ample documentation by journalists, academics, and human rights groups demonstrating that Black Libyan civilians and sub-Saharan contract workers, a population favored by Gaddafi in his pro-African Union policies, were targets of “racial cleansing” by NATO-backed 'Libyan rebels' who saw Black Libyans as tied closely with the Gaddafi regime.
Many of the so-called 'Libyan rebels', or TNC, that the Obama State Dept. sold to the media and public were a diverse group of outsiders, including Sanusi Islamists, [[Egypt]]ians from the [[Muslim Brotherhood]], and jihadists from [[Algeria]], [[Morocco]], [[Tunisia]], [[Jordan]], [[Qatar]], [[Afghanistan]] and elsewhere (jihadis' whose prime goal in life is to topple the secular regime of their homeland are always on the run seeking sanctuary somewhere). These men were led by two top defectors of the Gaddafi regime, former Justice Minister Mustafa Abdul Jalil, and former Minister of Interior (secret police) Abdul al-Fatah Younis.
Knowing Gaddafi's days were numbered due to advanced age, Jalil and Younis were seeking to preserve the power they emassed, as heads of Gaddafi's law enforcement ministries, by deposing Gaddafi prematurely using rival tribes internally and outside help from a coalition Hillary Clinton put together of jihadis and NATO. Younis, who made many enemies as Gaddafi's top cop, eventually is murdered by Islamists in the TNC.
----
*'''2 March.''' Reports arrive by experts identifying weaponry recovered in Katiba compound. Most is 1970s-80s [[Soviet]] equipment, still effective and operational. Some equipment designs date back to World War II. Chinese equipment also is found. A ''Wired'' magazine article specifically states, "Most of the weaponry at the Katiba has been removed and handed over to the army," although the Benghazi rebels and TNC had not yet, nor ever were sufficiently organized into an "army." ''Wired'' reported, "everything had to be stripped, scrubbed, and reassembled before testing." Much anti-aircraft equipment was confiscated.
*''Wired'' notes jihadis have recruited "4,000 people, while at a larger army base outside of Benghazi, the total volunteer force numbers around 10,000."<ref>https://www.wired.com/2011/03/inside-gadhafis-secret-underground-arsenal/</ref>
*'''4 March.''' Seven commandos of a UK SAS (Special Operations Force) group and an intelligence officer are taken captive by jihadi rebels in Benghazi when they arrive unannounced to assist them. The news becomes public and is a clear violation of international law, aggressive action and boots on the ground without UNSC vote on the proposed no-fly zone. UK Def. Minister openly states the mission was part of Britain's support for regime change in Libya.<ref>http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8365069/Libya-SAS-mission-that-began-and-ended-in-error.html</ref> The embarrassing flap is hushed up and ironed out.
*'''5 March.''' Bernard-Henri Levy shows up in Benghazi, meets with Jilil, and by phone arranges a meeting between Sarkozy and Jilil.<ref>http://www.lefigaro.fr/international/2011/03/18/01003-20110318ARTFIG00671-la-campagne-libyenne-de-bernard-henri-levy.php</ref>
*'''7 March.''' Ben Knight, reporting from the rebel side, tells an Australian radio audience about rebel equipment: "we saw some stinger missiles today."<ref>http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2011/s3156632.htm</ref>
*'''8 March.''' Secretary of State [[Hillary Clinton]] appoints Special Envoy [[Chris Stevens]] as US liaison to jihadis in Benghazi.<ref>[http://abcnewsradioonline.com/world-news/us-names-chris-stevens-liaison-to-libyan-opposition.html US Names Chris Stevens Liaison to Libyan Opposition,] ABC News Radio, March 14, 2011.</ref>
*'''10 March.''' Bernard-Henri Levy and Jalil arrive in Paris for meetings with Sarkozy; G8 foreign ministers will be arriving in a few days for conferences.
*'''11 March.''' Canadian ''Globe and Mail'' interviews the rebel appointed security chief in Derna: “We need Stingers. We don’t need your stupid words.”<ref>The article says "foreign intelligence agencies have bitter experience with supplying Stinger missiles to anti-Soviet freedom fighters in Afghanistan, only to spend years struggling to keep them out of the hands of terrorists."https://beta.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/libyan-rebels-at-pains-to-distance-themselves-from-extremists/article570971/?ref=http://www.theglobeandmail.com&</ref><ref>[[TWA Flight 800]] may have been brought down by a Stinger missile supplied to the Afghan ''mujihadeen'' by the CIA in the 1980s and smuggled back into the United States. https://www.amazon.com/TWA-800-Crash-Cover-Up-Conspiracy/dp/1621574717</ref>
*<font color="brown">''Reuters'' reports ‘a large shipment of weapons and explosives and night-vision goggles … in a truck coming from Iraq’ carrying 'dozens of grenades and pistols as well as rifles and ammunition belts’ is seized at al-Waleed (known in Syria as al-Tanf) southern bordering crossing, some 400 west of Baghdad. The Syrian Government News Agency (SANA) said the weapons were intended ‘for use in actions that affect Syria’s internal security and spread unrest and chaos.’ The driver said the weapons had been loaded in Baghdad and he was to be paid $5,000 to deliver them to Syria.</font><ref>[http://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-iraq-idUSTRE72A3MI20110311 Syria says seizes weapons smuggled from Iraq], Mar 11, 2011</ref>
*'''13 March.''' Secretary Clinton travels to [[Paris]] for a series of meetings with foreign ministers from the Group of Eight countries. [[Bernard-Henri Levy]] is also in attendence to do introductions to the rebel group leaders.<ref>http://www.newyorker.com/culture/richard-brody/did-bernard-henri-lvy-take-nato-to-war</ref> She meets with Libyan Transitional National Council leader Mahmoud Jibril and consults with other foreign counterparts on further UN Security Council action.<ref>https://anarchitext.wordpress.com/2011/05/10/bhl-war-in-libya/</ref> She secretly adds that aggressive action and not just a no-fly zone will be adequate.
*'''14-16 March.''' Sec. Clinton participates in a series of high-level video- and teleconferences. She is a leading voice for strong UNSC action in the name of a NATO "civilian protection" (R2P) mission. A majority of NATO member states refuse to participate. This was not why the NATO alliance was founded or continues to exist.
*Clinton meets with Russian Foreign Minister [[Sergei Lavrov]] whose country's [[veto]] of UNSC 1973 could derail any planned intervention. Lavrov was intentially misled to believe that giving NATO a free hand in Libya could be had in exchange for a Russian free hand in Georgia and the [[Crimea]].
*'''15 March.''' Clinton speaks with Obama by phone as a “strong advocate” for U.S. intervention. Obama, who had been weighing arguments from a divided NSC for days, sides with Clinton.
*'''17 March.''' Clinton secures a deal with Russia to abstain from vetoing UNSC Resolution 1973, supposedly granting authorization to a few NATO members “to take all necessary measures to enforce compliance with the ban on flights” and “pure no-fly zone". Only 12 of NATO's 28 members participate, changing NATOs ostensibly defensive nature, founded on the premise that an attack on one is an attack against all, to an offensive mercenary force for hire in the service of private interests and politicians' quests for approval ratings.<ref>National Security [https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/hillarys-war-how-conviction-replaced-skepticism-in-libya-intervention/2011/10/28/gIQAhGS7WM_story.html Hillary’s war: How conviction replaced skepticism in Libya intervention], By Joby Warrick, ''[[Washington Post]]'', October 30, 2011.</ref><ref>[http://www.europeaninstitute.org/index.php/130-european-affairs/ea-august-2011/1417-lessons-of-libya-for-future-western-military-forays LESSONS OF LIBYA FOR FUTURE WESTERN MILITARY FORAYS], By John Barry, Newsweek National Security Correspondent. europeaninstitute.org</ref>
*The resolution passes 10-0, with Russia, China, [[Germany]], Brazil and India abstaining. It authorizes a “pure no-fly zone."
*'''18 March.''' <font color="brown">Armed protesters in Daraa, Syria open fire on regime security forces.<ref>[http://www.handsoffsyriasydney.com/tag/tim-anderson-hands-off-syria%3Fprint%3Dpdf-page&ved=0ahUKEwiYxtTe5ILUAhXqxFQKHa_9CuEQFgiQATAV&usg=AFQjCNH9o86l1MN0vnd-zHPh1oDfAyqFpA&sig2=oDLtUoswAqdmZaGZGoLyDw]</ref> Security forces return fire.<ref>http://www.trans-int.com/wordpress/index.php/2014/04/14/father-frans-on-the-syrian-rebellion-the-protestors-shot-first/</ref> What began as a popular movement for greater freedom and democracy is over by April 2011. The continuing war is fueled and funded by outside sources, and foreign fighters entering Syria from Turkey and Northern Iraq. The fighters are principly equiped and funded by Saudi Arabia and Qatar, although the CIA by June 2011 is supplying jihadist elements with weapons from captured Libyan stockpiles. Airial transport originates in Benghazi and flown to Incirlik, Turkey. Sea transport originates in Derna, Libya to the Turkish port of Iskenderun, 35 miles from the Syrian border.</font><ref>http://english.al-akhbar.com/node/5897</ref>
*'''19 March.''' Sarkozy convenes meeting in the Westin Hotel to solicit agreement for the immediate deployment of military aircraft to stop Gaddafi's efforts to put down the rebellion in Benghazi, and the establishment of a US no-fly zone in the country.
*Before the meeting is over, French fighter planes attack Gaddafi forces outside Benghazi. Italian and Russian participants protest the French government's insistence on convening the meeting '''''before agreeing to air strikes''''', and then launching strikes '''before the meeting was over.'''
*[[Vladimir Putin]] later charges Obama and cohorts "violated the UN Security Council resolution on Libya, when instead of imposing the so-called no-fly zone over it they started bombing it too."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=AjAyCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA219&lpg=PA219&dq=violated+the+UN+Security+Council+resolution+on+Libya,+when+instead+of+imposing+the+so-called+no-fly+zone+over+it+they+started+bombing+it+too.&source=bl&ots=HRqOB2VBJQ&sig=5r066oZAPgWKZIsS9B04IzMGlL8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjH_5Pv69HTAhUjj1QKHZJ0CkIQ6AEIKzAF#v=onepage&q=violated%20the%20UN%20Security%20Council%20resolution%20on%20Libya%2C%20when%20instead%20of%20imposing%20the%20so-called%20no-fly%20zone%20over%20it%20they%20started%20bombing%20it%20too.&f=false]</ref>
*The early attack so upset Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, who recently signed a Friendship Pact with Libya, he warned of cutting access to Italian air bases vital to French, British, and American warplanes.
[[File:Hillary email.jpg|right|350px|thumb|The Hillary Clinton Doctrine of Smart Power: using the technical surveillance capabilities of US to blackmail foreign leaders. Hillary Clinton has been [[Hillary Rodham Clinton#Sexual blackmail of political opponents|blackmailing both men and women over sexual matters]], from common prostitutes her husband patronized, to victims her husband assaulted and foreign leaders involved in scandal, to advance her entire career and ambition to be the first female president. Hillary Clinton blackmailed the Italian Prime Minister to cancel Italy's non-aggression pact with Gaddafi so NATO could use Italian airbases to attack Libya.]]
*The ''Washington Post'' says, “It nearly broke up the coalition,” according to an eyewitness. "Yet the rift was quickly patched, thanks to a frenzied lobbying effort that kept the coalition from unraveling in its opening hours. 'That,' the source said, 'was Hillary.'... She spent hours on the phone and in person with Berlusconi."<ref>https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/hillarys-war-how-conviction-replaced-skepticism-in-libya-intervention/2011/10/28/gIQAhGS7WM_story.html?utm_term=.eae1c96f2b72</ref><ref>https://www.buzzfeed.com/tamerragriffin/clinton-apparently-did-a-berlusconi-impression-while-discuss?utm_term=.yomzmw2VeL#.xdPA0pxW89</ref>
{{Quotebox|
*'''29 October 2013.''' At a [[Goldman Sachs]] summit Hillary recounts, "Leaders who shall remain nameless, who were characterized as vain, egotistical, power hungry, corrupt. And '''we knew they were'''. This was not fiction. And I had to go and say, you know, our ambassadors, they get carried away, they want to all be literary people. They go off on tangents. What can I say. I had grown men cry. I mean, literally." Then, in a mocking Italian accent, "''I am a friend of America, and you say these things about me.''"}}
*''Washington Post'' later reports Berlusconi "eventually provided air bases as staging grounds for attacks."
*French officials claim that meeting participants were informed of the planned airstrike. The strikes clearly had been planned and coordinated with the knowledge of the United States and UK.<ref>https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc99034/</ref>
*That night, the first US airstrikes halt the advance of Gaddafi's forces on Benghazi and target Libya's air defenses. Members of Libya's Christian Coptic community are later decapitated ''en masse'' once Secretary Clinton and President Obama's objectives are met.<ref>https://youtu.be/v-5WjfiIIbA</ref>
*'''20 March.''' NATO's Supreme Allied Commander James Stavridis told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, days before President Obama publicly disclosed his decision to intervene, that US the intelligence community knew of [[al Qaeda]] and [[Hezbollah]] elements among the rebels.<ref>[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/africaandindianocean/libya/8414583/Libya-al-Qaeda-among-Libya-rebels-Nato-chief-fears.html]</ref><ref>Appearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee, Stavridis was asked by Republican Sen. James Inhofe to comment on "reports about the presence of al Qaeda among the rebels, among those with whom we are associated." "As you can imagine, we are examining very closely the content, composition, the personalities, who are the leaders in these opposition forces," Stavridis responded. "The intelligence that I am receiving at this point makes me feel that the leadership I am seeing are responsible men and women who are struggling against Colonel Gadhafi. We have seen flickers in the intelligence of potential al Qaeda, Hezbollah, we've seen different things, but at this point I don't have detail sufficient to say that there is a significant al Qaeda presence or any other terrorist presence in and among these folks. We'll continue to look at that very closely. It's part of doing due diligence as we move forward on any kind of relationship." http://cdrsalamander.blogspot.com/2011/03/saceur-j2-please-call-your-office.html</ref>
*<font color="brown">In Syria, Ba'ath party headquarters burnt down.</font>
*'''21 March.''' Obama announces US forces commenced operations in [[Libya]] two days earlier, on March 19, "to prevent a humanitarian catastrophe."
*Sec. [[Robert Gates]] warned establishment of a no-fly zone meant attacking Libya.<ref>http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-503544_162-20038391-503544.html</ref>
*[[National Security Advisor]] Tom Donilon and Deputy National Security Advisor Denis McDonough oppose attacking Libya; but [[Hillary Clinton]] "won the bureaucratic battle to use Department of Defense resources to achieve what's essentially the State Department's objective... and Obama let it happen".<ref>[http://thecable.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2011/03/18/how_obama_turned_on_a_dime_toward_war How Obama turned on a dime toward war.]</ref> It is rare for a president to publicly go against the advice of his National Security Adivisor in a decision on military intervention, nonetheless Tom Donilon did not resign.
[[File:Libya Rebels Gaining Momentum.jpg|thumb|President Obama armed al-Qaeda rebels who later migrated to Syria to form the Islamic State.(Photo:Reuters).]]
*[[United Nations]] Charter, Article 2(4), prohibits the “threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence” of a member state, and many observers object that Obama's actions violate this prohibition.
*Congressional Research Services advises that a no-fly zone imposed against a state that has not carried out an attack on its neighbors may consider the imposition an “armed attack.” CRS warns that even if a no-fly zone does not constitute an armed attack, "that state, and other members of the international community, might consider them a violation of the prohibition of the 'threat or use of force,' as well as of the customary duty of non-intervention in the affairs of other sovereign states."
*'''22 March.''' Stravidis email to David Manners, business partner of Marc Turi, former congressional staffer to Sen. [[John McCain]] until February 2011 regarding illegal weapons supply to the TNC ''per'' a State Department authorization.<ref>http://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/2015/09/11/exclusive-new-emails-in-benghazi-weapons-mystery.html</ref><ref>http://www.captainsjournal.com/2015/09/14/the-weapons-of-benghazi/</ref>
*'''23 March.''' UK Air Vice Marshal declares air superiority: the Libyan Air Force “no longer exists as a fighting force.” NATO controls the skies.<ref>http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-12837330</ref>
*<font color="brown">Syrian government seizes weapons stored at Al-Omari mosque in the city of Daraa.<ref>https://www.liveleak.com/view?i=abc_1357562508#KLo202ZH2GdJQ6Jj.99</ref><ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20110324084454/http://www.israelnationalnews.com/News/News.aspx/143026</ref> ''Daily Mail'' reports "'an armed gang' of 'peaceful protesters' opened fire on an ambulance, killing 'a doctor, a paramedic and a policeman'".</font>
*Video of Berlusconi 'bunga bunga party' hits American cable news.<ref>http://video.foxnews.com/v/4603745/?#sp=show-clips</ref>
*'''24 March.''' Clinton engages with Sarkozy, Cameron, and others to secure the transition of command and control of the "civilian protection mission" to NATO.
*Clinton announces the transition in a statement.
*Canada-based sociologist Mahdi Darius Nazemroaya later observed, "NATO is an undemocratic body and is not answerable to any constituency of voters. It is through NATO and international organizations that the voting public is being bypassed. The command of the war against Libya has deliberately been reassigned from the Pentagon to NATO as a clever means to bypass public scrutiny and accountability by the U.S. government and all other governments involved in this war."<ref>http://www.voltairenet.org/article170202.html</ref><ref>While Supreme Allied Commander Europe. U.S. Admiral James G. Stravridis is the supreme commander of NATO military operations, Adm. Stravridis can still work operationally independent of NATO. He is totally subordinate to the Obama Administration and the Pentagon. United States Senate Armed Services Committee, U.S. European Command and U.S. Strategic Command in review of the Defense Authorization Request for Fiscal Year 2012 and the Future Years Defense Program, 112th Congress, 2011, 1st Session, 29 March 2011.</ref><ref>http://www.eurasianet.org/node/63185</ref>
*'''26 March.''' A report from Rep. [[Dennis Kucinich]] corroborates the claim of Franco Bechis in [[Italy]] that "plans to spark the Benghazi rebellion were initiated by French intelligence services in November 2010."<ref>''[http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:RkUoFsgEwm8J:www.voltairenet.org/article169069.html+French+plans+to+topple+Gaddafi+on+track+since+last+November&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&source=www.google.com French plans to topple Gaddafi on track since last November]'', by Franco Bechis, VoltaireNet, March 26, 2011.</ref><ref>http://fourwinds10.com/siterun_data/government/war/news.php?q=1305727776</ref>
*<font color="brown">A blogger in Latakia, Syria, a majority Alewite/Shia port city in northern Syria, posts there is the "presence of foreign armed elements...The situation in Lattaka is terrible, [on March 26] five people got killed, and there were '''snipers who shot at the people from buildings'''...It looks as if '''certain groups there want to stir up a sectarian conflict''' to make people afraid and to become more powerful themselves,..."<ref>https://ikvpaxmenablog.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/angst-neemt-toe-onder-syriers/</ref> evidence the Syrian uprising was planned by professionals who brought in '''snipers that killed people from both sides''': regime supporters and Sunni protesters to create blind hatred and anger.</font>
*'''27 March.''' An intelligence brief sent to Hillary by Sidney Blumenthal contains clear evidence of [[war crimes]] on the part of US-backed rebels. Citing a rebel commander source “speaking in strict confidence” Blumenthal reports:<ref>https://www.foreignpolicyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/110327-new-intel-State-Dept.pdf</ref>
{{Quotebox|Under attack from allied Air and Naval forces, the Libyan Army troops have begun to desert to the rebel side in increasing numbers. The rebels are making an effort to greet these troops as fellow Libyans, in an effort to encourage additional defections.<br>
(Source Comment: Speaking in strict confidence, one rebel commander stated that his troops continue to summarily execute all foreign mercenaries captured in the fighting…).}}
*Extra-judicial killings are conventionally called “death squads."
*'''28 March.''' ''AP'' reports [[Turkey]] takes over running the Benghazi airport.<ref>https://web.archive.org/web/20110618103616/http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/turkey-will-run-benghazi-airport-prime-m</ref> <font color="brown">This is the beginning of a direct flightline to Adana, Turkey where captured Gaddadi regime weapons are delivered to AQI/ISI jihadis, for the purpose of overthrowing the [[Bashar Assad|Assad]] regime. The group eventually evolves into the [[Islamic State]].</font>
*'''29 March.''' Clinton travels to London for a conference on Libya, where Clinton is a '''driving force behind the creation of a Contact Group comprising 20-plus countries to coordinate efforts to "protect civilians" and plan for a post-Gaddafi Libya.''' She is instrumental in setting up a rotating chair system to ensure regional buy-in.
*Russia and China accuse US of exceeding UNSC 1973 mandate.<ref>http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/russia-china-accuse-west-exceeding-un-resolution-making-libyan-crisis-worse</ref>
*'''18-30 March.''' Hillary Clinton engages with [[UAE]], [[Qatar]], and [[Jordan]] to seek their participation in coalition operations. Over the course of several days, all three devote aircraft to the mission.
*'''31 March.''' [[Reuters]] reports "President Barack Obama has signed a secret order authorizing covert U.S. government support for rebel forces seeking to oust Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi...Obama signed the order, known as a presidential "finding", within the last two or three weeks"<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-usa-order-idustre72t6h220110331</ref>
*Another ''Reuters'' article notes Obama had CiA personal on the ground ''before'' signing the finding, and the Adm. Mike Mullen figured there were only about 1,000 rebels in number.<ref>http://www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-usa-rebels-idUSTRE72U7NM20110331</ref>
*'''March and April.''' According to the US State Dept., the [[Islamic State of Iraq]] claimed responsibility for 23 attacks south of [[Baghdad]], all allegedly carried out under [[Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi]]'s command.<ref>https://www.state.gov/j/ct/rls/other/des/266629.htm</ref><!--No other source in English has been found yet to corroborate the State Dept. assertion.-->
*'''Spring.''' Obama intel officials capture and record private communications between Rep. Kucinich, and a Libyan official.<ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/audio/kucinich-no1/</ref><ref>http://www.washingtontimes.com/multimedia/audio/kucinich-no2/</ref>
===April 2011===
*'''22 April.''' <font color="brown">Salafists, the Muslim Brotherhood and AQI [Al Qaeda in Iraq, later ISIS] supported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, are infiltrated into the southwest Syrian border town of Daraa, a town of 150,000 inhabitants. Western media previously claimed 300,000 protesters were in the streets. 20 Syrian government soldiers are ambushed and beheaded. These are the first known instances of what would become the US-backed Salafi-jihadi's trademark use of terrorism. Government troops are lured into the town after rooftop snipers begin shooting at police during a civil demonstration. 90 people are killed in the days fighting. This marks the end of civil opposition to the regime. For the next half decade, Syria's "Civil War," as it is referred to in Western media, is a war between the Syrian Army and foreign jihadists backed by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the Gulf states.</font>
*'''22 April.''' <font color="brown">Salafists, the Muslim Brotherhood and AQI [Al Qaeda in Iraq, later ISIS] supported by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey, are infiltrated into the southwest Syrian border town of Daraa, a town of 150,000 inhabitants. Western media previously claimed 300,000 protesters were in the streets. 20 Syrian government soldiers are ambushed and beheaded. These are the first known instances of what would become the US-backed Salafi-jihadi's trademark use of terrorism. Government troops are lured into the town after rooftop snipers begin shooting at police during a civil demonstration. 90 people are killed in the days fighting. This marks the end of civil opposition to the regime. For the next half decade, Syria's "Civil War," as it is referred to in Western media, is a war between the Syrian Army and foreign jihadists backed by the United States, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the Gulf states.</font>