Trump Pledges to End US Régime Change Policies Around the World

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On Tuesday, President-elect Donald Trump told a rally in Fayetteville NC that the USA is going to abandon its decades-long policy of promoting régime change in countries around the world. Trump pledged to follow a policy of restraining US military force around the world… not unleashing it:

We’ll stop racing to topple foreign régimes that we know nothing about that we shouldn’t be involved with. This destructive cycle of intervention and chaos must finally come to an end. I’ll give a commitment to engage the use of military forces only when it is in the interests of the USA. … We want to strengthen old friendships and seek out new friendships. … We seek harmony and goodwill among the nations of the world. I’ll be guided by the lessons of history; I believe in trust and mutual understanding among nations.

7 December 2016

Sputnik International

https://sputniknews.com/us/201612071048253916-trump-end-regime-change-policies/

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BREAKING NEWS. Syrian Forces Clear Old City of Aleppo… Terrorists Flee to Southern Districts

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The Syrian army captured all parts of the Old City, the historic centre of Aleppo held by rebels. Over recent months, Aleppo became a major battleground in Syria, engaging government forces, terrorists, and numerous opposition groups. Currently, government encircle eastern Aleppo, and the fighting affects thousands of civilians still trapped in the city. Previous internationally mediated ceasefires collapsed as militants continued attacks and the opposition failed to expel al-Nusra Front, (now known as Jabhat Fatah al Sham) from the city. On Tuesday, the army began an offensive operation to enter the Old City. According to local media, the Syrian forces control more than 65 percent of eastern Aleppo. A soldier told us:

We completely kicked out the remnants of the armed bands that were in the old quarters of Aleppo. The enemy’s defeated; they fled to the southern districts, to the remaining terrorist outposts.

7 December 2016

Sputnik International

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612071048257217-syrian-army-aleppo/

Modern Day Knights: The Soldiers Fighting Terrorists in Aleppo

Abu Naser, a patriot soldier

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Despite the menacing look of one of the fighters, this man’s emotions gave him away. Abu Naser has a wife and two children, whom he sees once every three days. Prior to joining the Syrian Army, he worked as a clerk. He hopes that the war will end as soon as possible, so that he’d be able to return to his family and civil work. Recalling the horrid events that changed his life, Naser said:

I joined the ranks after they bombed my house in Homs. There were dozens of dead and wounded; scattered body parts everywhere.

Another soldier named Basil toted an RPG-7 grenade launcher. In civilian life, Basil was a graduate of the Faculty of Law from Deir ez-Zor. He hasn’t his family for the past 4 years because his relatives live in the occupied part of the city, so, it’s almost impossible to meet them. Basil told us:

I look at their pictures and it warms me. I’d like to bring the fight to my hometown, to be near my relatives.

As the soldiers told their stories, there were constant explosions of bombs and sounds of machine guns, but they paid no attention to all that. They said that these sounds don’t scare them. What’s really scary is when the locals switch their loyalties and join the ranks of the militants. The soldiers told us that these locals then convey everything they see to the terrorists and that’s a real stab-in-the-back. Abu Mahmud, another soldier, said:

Every day, the militants try to merge with the civilian population and enter government-controlled territory. We risk our lives trying to stop the terrorists from doing so.

Abu Abdulla from Homs said:

The terrorists killed my seventeen year-old son because they called me a “traitor” and he refused to join Daesh. I love my country and don’t want the destruction to continue. I want to liberate my country from the terrorists so that peaceful life returns to our homes.

A volunteer soldier named Khalid, originally from Raqqa, said:

My family lives in a Daesh-controlled area. As soon as I managed to escape from there, I immediately went to the Syrian Army. The terrorists threatened us with beheadings and other punishments. However, our will is stronger. We’ll win.

29 November 2016

Sputnik International

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201611291047962967-syria-aleppo-syrian-army/

Israel Shamir: There are Signs that Militants are Ready to Surrender in Aleppo

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Citing its own sources, the pro-government newspaper al-Watan noted that the armed gangs holed-up in eastern Aleppo secretly sent representatives to negotiate terms of surrender with government forces. The article noted that differences arose amongst the radicals after a series of government victories in the eastern part of the city. Contrary to earlier statements that they refused to leave the areas under their control, now, many are ready to accept the ultimatum offered by the authorities. Israel Shamir, a noted Middle East expert, concurred with the reports. He thought that the media is “coddling” the militants, saying:

Now, the situation in Aleppo is very vague, it’s hard to speculate… but there’s a feeling that in the last two days of fighting in eastern Aleppo things went poorly for the militants. In the media, reports began to appear that Aleppo is about to fall… that is, it’s not the end, the loss of Aleppo… it isn’t hopeless, for the revolt exists elsewhere. In principle, such soothing messages are a sign that the militants are ready to surrender, to hand over Aleppo. However, this isn’t the end of the conflict in Syria. Action may continue in other militant-held areas, for Aleppo isn’t the only city still under their control. Therefore, by no means, does it signify the end of the war. Yet, the city’s liberation would be an important part of establishing peace in Syria. After all, at the same time that the battle in Aleppo raged, the process of reconciliation of individual leaders, of individual bands of militants, went forward… already, about a thousand combatants laid down their arms, and such agreements are for the best. Victory in Aleppo, which seems to be just around the corner, could affect the morale of those who still support the insurgency, leading them to realise that it’s time to wind it all up… the war’s gone on long enough.

5 December 2016

RIA Novosti

https://ria.ru/radio_brief/20161205/1482874117.html