by Stephen Lendman

Propaganda wars precede hot ones - then continue once fighting starts. Putin is a master chess player, a patient one, a careful strategic planner.

He’s got Obama flummoxed, besting him at his own dirty game. He’s engaged in the war on terrorism in Syria Obama only pretends to wage, fighting Assad, not ISIS.

Putin’s commitment is real. The anti-Russian lying machine wants people to believe otherwise. Believe nothing US officials say or what go-along presstitutes report.

Their job is supporting imperial objectives, suppressing its most dangerous enemy - truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth.

Longstanding US Middle East policy is no secret. Eliminate all independent leaders. Replace them with pro-Western puppets. Achieve unchallenged regional control.

Redraw the regional map by balkanizing Iraq, Syria, Iran, Lebanon and perhaps other countries for easier control, especially its oil and gas resources.

Above all, banish Russian and Chinese regional influence along with returning Iran to its bad old days, run by a US-installed despot.

Washington’s Middle East objective complicit with Israel is an agenda only a hegemon would love - total subjugation, prohibiting democracy, wealth and power interests alone benefitting at the expense of everyone else, including US taxpayers financing the ugly scheme, denied essential social services in the process.

Most Americans are too dumbed down by media-proliferated propaganda and too preoccupied with bread and circuses to realize how much they’re harmed - scammed by their government, consistently lied to, manipulated to believe the opposite of what’s true.

The “bewildered herd” is easily seduced by lunatics in Washington getting away with the highest of high crimes because of their indifference - aided by media scoundrels proliferating their Big Lies, a daily onslaught of rubbish.

It keeps coming because most people believe it - the self-styled newspaper of record New York Times a key agent of wealth and power interests, representing them exclusively, willfully lying to its readers, disgracing the profession of journalism, absent from its pages.

On October 1, it headlined “Vladimir Putin Plunges Into a Caldron (sic): Saving Assad,” saying “there is little question that Russia is determined to re-establish President Bashar al-Assad as Syria’s leader.”

“Re-establish” what’s already a fact? Assad was popularly reelected in June 2014 by an overwhelming majority - a process judged open, free, and fair by independent international monitors, what The Times never explained, spreading malicious lies, claiming he’s a despot, ignoring how warmly he’s greeted when showing up in public.

Of course, Putin supports him and his government. They’re fighting for Syria’s survival, for its people to be free from outside control, or worst of all an ISIS caliphate, lopping off heads of nonbelievers, the way close US ally Saudi Arabia operates.

The vast majority of Syrians want none of it. They back Assad because he’s going all-out to prevent the worst possible outcome of ongoing conflict - now with vital Russian help, and unverified reports about Iran possibly getting involved with ground forces joining their Syrian allies against a common enemy.

The Times explains none of this, its reporting entirely one-sided, spreading misinformation and Big Lies, suppressing important hard truths, a disgraceful example of misrepresentation.

Claiming “Assad…is vilified by many” Syrians is polar opposite truth. So is the myth about “indiscriminate(ly) us(ing) barrel bombs and other indiscriminate weapons against an insurgency that began with political protests.”

Fact: So-called “political protests” were US-instigated violence, the beginning of Obama’s war to oust Assad, using imported death squads, repeating the scheme used against Libya’s Gaddafi, turning Syria into another cauldron of endless violence and instability, its society entirely destroyed along with important historic sites, replaced by dystopian harshness.

Whether Russia’ involvement becomes a game-changer remains to be seen. For sure it changes the equation. US regional policy for the first time since the Soviet Union is being challenged, to what degree we’ll learn as events play out.

For now, it’s only day three of Moscow’s involvement. It’ll take time to evaluate its effectiveness.

The Washington Post headlined “Russia defends Syria airstrikes amid claims of blows to US-backed rebels,” irresponsibly saying “Russian troops” may be deployed - despite Putin categorically ruling out their use.

Throughout four-and-a-half years of conflict, he’s been out in front urging a political solution, now involved against ISIS - America’s ally, not enemy, an ugly truth Western media systematically suppress.

WaPo repeated the Big Lie Obama officials want people to believe, claiming Russian aircraft are targeting so-called US supported moderates, not ISIS.

Virtually all anti-Assad fighters are terrorists - ISIS, Al Qaeda, Al Nusra and other groups. So-called moderates are nonexistent or too few in number to matter.

On Thursday, Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook lied, claiming Russian aircraft “do not appear to be hitting targets in areas where ISIL is operating” - repeated by media scoundrels without fact-checking or concern about accurate reporting.

Sergey Lavrov hit home hard telling reporters: “If it looks like a terrorist, if it acts like a terrorist, if it walks like a terrorist, if it fights like a terrorist, it’s a terrorist!”

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov questioned the so-called Free Syrian Army’s existence, asking: “Is there a Free Syrian Army? Does it still exist? Have not the majority of its fighters switched sides and joined ISIL?”

The Wall Street Journal claimed Russian aerial attacks “may be a prelude to (more) sweeping operations against all of Mr. Assad’s foes,” citing unnamed “analysts,” the usual state-sponsored propaganda sources.

Without explaining virtually “all of Mr. Assad’s foes” are terrorists. It bears repeating. No so-called “moderate” elements exist in numbers to matter. Claiming otherwise is a ruse - along with circulating Big Lie about “Moscow…carrying out ‘indiscriminate military operations’ in areas where (ISIS) isn’t operating.”

Russia’s Defense Ministry is very clear about targets struck, with photographic evidence backup - unlike fabricated reports of civilian casualties.

On day two of Russia’s involvement, its Defense Ministry announced the “total destruction” of terrorist targets in Idlib province - including an ISIS command post and training camp.

An ammunition warehouse was struck, destroying “military hardware” and munitions. Follow-up attacks prevented ISIS from restoring its Hama command post.

Overnight strikes targeted an Idlib ammunition depot, a Hama headquarters, and a car-bomb making plant north of Homs. More results will be released once intelligence data processing is completed.

One thing is clear. Washington’s regional strategy now faces formidable opposition. The front line battleground is Syria, Russia involved to weaken ISIS as a fighting force - hopefully neutralize it, working jointly with Syrian and allied ground forces.

An unverified report circulated by Reuters, Al Jazeera and other media claim hundreds of Iranian troops, weapons and equipment arrived in Syria, saying more will follow - joined by Iraqi and some Afghan forces to battle ISIS. Events as they unfold bear close watching.

-###-

Stephen Lendman lives in Chicago and can be reached at lendmanstephen@sbcglobal.net.

His new book as editor and contributor is titled "Flashpoint in Ukraine: How the US Drive for Hegemony Risks World War III".

http://www.claritypress.com/LendmanIII.html

Visit his blog site at sjlendman.blogspot.com.

Listen to cutting-edge discussions with distinguished guests on the Progressive Radio News Hour on the Progressive Radio Network.

It airs three times weekly: live on Sundays at 1PM Central time plus two