The White Helmets, also known as Syria Civil Defence, were founded and trained under the supervision of ex-British military mercenary, James LeMesurier in Turkey in 2013. LeMesurier also has connections to organizations like Blackwater who are infamous for being death squad outreach assassins. Ubiquitous in the mainstream medias coverage of the aftermath of bomb damage in Aleppo, have been the images of volunteers of the White Helmets rescuing young children trapped in the rubble of buildings allegedly bombed by the Syrian government and its Russian ally forces. Indeed, the group who have some 2,900 members and claim complete neutrality, are said to operate as first responder, search and rescue teams in areas outside of Syrian government control. They are portrayed in the Western media as selfless individuals who rush into the face of danger and feted as being saviours of humanity. Western journalists and human rights groups frequently cite unverified casualty figures and other uncorroborated claims from the White Helmets. The assumption is they do so on the basis that the media take at face value the organizations self-proclaimed assertions they are an unarmed, impartial and independent Non-Government Organization (NGO) whose sources of funding are not derived from any of the conflicting parties in Syria. The group have produced a slickly produced website in which they push for a No Fly Zone (euphemism for regime change) in Syria. In addition, their public relations campaigns have included a screening of what is purported to be a short documentary film, which in reality amounts to a self-promotional advertisment. This public relations film was recently shown at a prestigious invitation-only Chatham House event in London. These factors would appear to belie the groups impartial and independent status. Indeed, further investigations reveal that the White Helmets are anything but impartial and independent. As Max Blumenthal points out, the group was founded in collaboration with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)s Office of Transitional Initiatives, an explicitly political wing of the agency that has funded efforts at political subversion in Cuba and Venezuela. USAID is the White Helmets principal funder, committing at least $23 million to the group since 2013. This money was part of $339.6 million budgeted by USAID for supporting activities that pursue a peaceful transition to a democratic and stable Syria or establishing a parallel governing structure that could fill the power vacuum once Bashar Al-Assad was removed. https://cultureandpolitics.org/2016...ole-are-both-they-the-media-playing-in-syria/ Yesterday, the 'humanitarian' White Helmets failed in their attempt to win the Nobel Prize. If they had won, not only would it have been an illustration of a world descending into ever greater madness than is hitherto the case, but it would also have given the terrorist group the legitimacy they crave in the eyes of the world. Thoughts please.
