,
13 tweets,
7 min read
Read on Twitter
Thread: @Guardian 'journalist' Martin Chulov wrote an entire piece about #Idlib today, without even once mentioning Al Qaeda, the dominant militant force in that province. theguardian.com/world/2019/may…
2) Don't take it from me. US envoy for the anti-ISIS coalition @brett_mcgurk last year called #Idlib "the largest Al Qaeda safe haven since 9/11." So, why didn't Chulov mention it? @guardian
4) Chulov several times references or suggests that Syrian/Russian forces have violated a ceasefire agreement. In fact, as UNSC resolutions make clear, Al Qaeda and ISIS forces have NEVER been subject to ANY ceasefires. They are open season at ALL times. Chulov ignores this.
5) Here, for instance is the relevant section from 2015's UNSC Res. 2249. In it, UN member states are called upon to eradicate the safe havens established over Syria/Iraq by ISIL (ISIS), the Al Nusra Front (Syria's AQ franchise), and "all other entities associated with Al Qaeda" 
6) To be clear, ISIS, Al Qaeda & all associated entities were never intended to be parties to 'ceasefire agreements.' As the UNSC conceived it, when ceasefires were established to demilitarize an area, ISIS, AQ & Co. could still be targets. Chulov, no ceasefires were violated.
7) Now to Chulov's sourcing: Western media has been yelling again about 'hospitals and civilians' being 'barrel bombed.' They need tight sources for this, given their wrong calls in every other SAA liberation attempt in Syria. So why is Chulov being so coy about his sources here?
8) Scroll down to the very end of his article, where we finally see his source on the hospital story. Even Chulov seems embarrassed about depending on the Al Qaeda-affiliated White Helmets as a source these days. The rest of his sources are all pro-opposition, except...
9) ...except this NGO, Refugees Int'l, which also seems to be advancing pro-oppos propaganda: When the Syrian army liberated areas, they allowed the most extremist terrorists to be bused to Idlib in order to restore peace. Chris makes it sound like these were 'civilians.'
10) Back to the hospital/White Helmets story/source. These are the White Helmets Martin Chulov relies on for sourcing:
11) I leave you with some pictures of the White Helmets 'rescue team' alongside their jihadist colleagues. Seriously, Chulov? @guardian
12) ...and a nice little article on how the White Helmets 'played' the western media during Aleppo's liberation: alternet.org/2016/11/how-sy…
Speaking of Martin Chulov...here he is in Aleppo, August 2012, writing up #Syria terrorists as warm-n-fuzzy kitten lovers. h/t @VanessaBeeley @guardian
