Russia Challenges US: If Biolab Documents are Fake Then Ask Head of the DTRA Office at the US Embassy in Kiev Joanna Wintrol Why She Signed Off on Them?

On Friday, March 18, the Russian Permanent Representative at to the United States Security Council Vassily Nebenzia presented what the Russian government claims is proof of a US bioweapon program in Ukraine and Georiga (Gateway Pundit reported). Nebenzia claims that the program has been running since 2005, and that “American colleagues were not assisting the Ministry of Health as they claimed, but rather the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.”

According to Nebenzia, the US Department of Defense “delegated broad authorities to its affiliated contractor Black & Veatch in cooperation with Ukrainian state authorities.” The experiments on deadly pathogens in Ukraine were not conducted by Ukrainians, but by Pentagon personnel and foreign researchers, Nebenzia claims.

“The Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) competitively awarded Black & Veatch Special Projects Corp. (Black & Veatch) one of its Biological Threat Reduction Integrating Contracts (BTRIC) in 2008 (in Ukraine). The 5-year IDIQ contract (with a 5-year option) has a collective ceiling of $4B among the five selected contractors”, the Black & Veatch website acknowledges.

“Simply speaking, Ukrainian authorities gave Pentagon a carte blanche and let them carry out dangerous biological experiments on the territory of Ukraine. Thereby, the American contractor was exempt from any taxes under Ukrainian legislation”, Nebenzia said. He called the programs “a cynical use of Ukraine’s territory and population for dangerous research that Washington does not want to have at home so that to not put its own population at risk.”

As to claims the Russian charges were merely “disinfomation”, Nebenzia pointed out the Russian government published documents “signed by real US officials. Many of them were signed by head of the DTRA office at the US Embassy in Kiev Joanna Wintrol,” whom he called “well-known in non-proliferation circles.” Prior to Ukraine, Wintrol addressed elimination of chemical weapons in Libya, Nebenzia stated. “If journalists have doubts as to the authenticity of documents that we shared, I suggest they ask her directly whether this is really her signature on them.”

Wintrol left Kiev in August 2020, according to Russia Today: “In her parting interview, she insisted no US scientists worked in Ukrainian biolabs and accused Russia of spreading “false information” about the program. “

On Thursday, March 17, the head of Russian Radiation, Chemical and Biological Protection Igor Kirillov presented the documents in Moscow that were allegedly seized during Russia’s special operation in Ukraine, purportedly of Ukrainian and US origin. According to the documents, the US had been “carrying out experiments in Ukraine with viruses within the framework of projects P-382, P-444 and P-568 and one of the supervisors of this research was the head of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) office at the US embassy in Kyiv, Joanna Wintrol”, Turkish news agency AA reports. “During the experiments, six families of viruses were chosen, including coronaviruses and three kinds of pathogenic bacteria — pathogens of plague, brucellosis and leptospirosis,” said Kirillov, citing the documents.

https://youtu.be/Lpbmbi4d3Uw

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2022/03/russia-challenges-us-biolab-documents-fake-ask-head-dtra-office-us-embassy-kiev-joanna-wintrol-signed/

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children Reports 35 Percent Increase in Child Pornography From 2020 to 2021

According to new data released by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children there was a 35% increase in reports of suspected child sexual abuse online in 2021, totaling 29.3 million reports, the most ever in a single year.

NCMEC, a national nonprofit founded by the U.S. Congress, reported an increase in nearly all types of exploitation reports in 2021, including a 16.5% increase in online enticement, a type of exploitation that occurs when a child is groomed to take sexually explicit images, meet face-to-face with someone for sexual purposes or engage in sexual conversation online.

"These reports concern the sexual exploitation of children around the globe. We share this data to continue building awareness of the insidious nature of child sexual exploitation occurring online," Michelle DeLaune, NCMEC senior vice president and COO, said in a statement.

NCMEC's CyberTipline receives multiple forms of online child sexual exploitation, with reports regarding child sexual abuse material, or child pornography, making up the largest reporting category. In 2021, 99% of the reports received by the CyberTipline regarded incidents of suspected CSAM, NCMEC stated.

There were also 44,155 reports of suspected online enticement of children for sexual acts, 16,032 reports of suspected child sex trafficking and 12,458 reports of suspected child sexual molestation in 2021, according to NCMEC data, with each category seeing an increase over 2020.

NCMEC stated in a press release that when an incident is reported to the organization, its staff analyzes the report to help determine where potential child victims and offenders might be located so the information can be made available to the appropriate law enforcement agency. NCMEC stated its analysis of reports resulted in alerts to law enforcement regarding 4,620 new child victims depicted in child sexual abuse imagery.

NCMEC data shows that the number of videos of child sexual abuse surpassed still images in 2021, and the nonprofit wrote it expects reports of videos will continue to rise.

NCMEC stated it receives reports related to suspected child sexual exploitation from the public and electronic service providers. NCMEC received 29.3 million reports in 2021, an increase from 21.7 million reports in 2020 and 16.9 million reports in 2019.

Most of the reports came from electronic service providers, NCMEC stated, with more than 29 million reports. There were also 240,598 reports from the public of suspected child sexual exploitation in 2021.

https://www.theintelligencer.com/news/article/National-Center-for-Missing-Exploited-Children-17008687.php

https://www.missingkids.org/gethelpnow/cybertipline/cybertiplinedata

Elites Suggest Price Controls, Dystopian Travel Restrictions To 'Manage' Soaring Energy Costs

Before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia supplied the world with one out of every ten barrels of crude consumed. But as the United States, Canada, and Australia have imposed embargoes on Russian crude and some buyers in Europe are halting purchases, the global oil market is facing one of the worst disruptions since the 1973 oil crisis when the members of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries (OAPEC) led by Saudi Arabia declared an oil ban on Western countries for their support of Israel during the Yom Kippur War.

The energy price shock of the mid-1970s led to the reduction of maximum national speed limits from 70 mph to 55 mph. The 21% reduction in speed equated to gas consumption savings.

Now the International Energy Agency (IEA) has proposed similar measures to lessen the oil shock following the Russian invasion of Ukraine and embargoes on Russian crude.

IEA said Western economies could reduce daily oil demand by 2.7 million barrels within four months by restricting how people drive, indicating the move to reduce highway speed could almost offset the 3 million barrel-a-day loss of Russian production for April.

"These efforts would reduce the price pain being felt by consumers around the world, lessen the economic damage, shrink Russia's hydrocarbon revenues, and help move oil demand to a more sustainable pathway," IEA said.

https://www.zerohedge.com/commodities/elites-suggest-price-controls-dystopian-travel-restrictions-manage-soaring-energy-costs

Ukrainian naval mines adrift in Black Sea, Moscow warns

The explosives have detached from their cables and may ultimately get into the Bosphorus and the Mediterranean, the FSB has said

Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) issued a formal maritime warning on Saturday about a dangerous situation that is developing in the Black Sea. In response to Russia’s offensive, Ukraine had placed anchor mines along its coastline, but a number have since detached from their cables and are adrift at sea, it said.

“The Armed Forces of Ukraine have once again demonstrated a complete disregard for international law and for human lives, including those of citizens of the European Union,” the FSB said in a statement.

According to the agency, after Russia launched a large-scale military operation against the country in late February, the Ukrainian Navy created a minefield outside each of the Black Sea ports of Odessa, Ochakov, Chernomorsk, and Yuzhny. The FSB claims the mines deployed are for naval or river use and were produced by the Soviet Union in the first part of the 20th century.

https://www.rt.com/russia/552304-ukrainian-naval-mines-alert/

Four US Marines Dead After V-22 Osprey Crashed During NATO Drill

An MV-22B Osprey that belongs to the U.S. Marine Corps crashed during a NATO exercise on Friday, killing all four Americans on board, according to CNN.

The tiltrotor military aircraft that has earned a reputation for being dangerous and unreliable crashed in a remote region of Norway. The cause of the crash is still under investigation, and stormy weather has prevented helicopters from reaching the incident area. However, first responders used snowmobiles to reach the aircraft early Saturday.

"It is regrettably confirmed that all four on board the plane have perished," BBC said, citing a statement from local law enforcement, adding all victims were US nationals.

The country's Prime Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, tweeted Saturday, "it's with great sadness we have received the message that four American soldiers died in a plane crash last night. The soldiers participated in the NATO exercise Cold Response. Our deepest sympathies go to the soldiers' families, relatives, and fellow soldiers in their unit."

The MV-22B Osprey was "on a training mission in Nordland County, northern Norway on Friday," the Norwegian Armed Forces said.

NATO's Cold Response exercise was announced over eight months ago and isn't connected with preparing troops for combat as Russia continues its three-week invasion in Ukraine. The exercise began on March 14 and will end on April 1. It involves some 30,000 troops from 27 member countries.

https://www.zerohedge.com/military/four-us-marines-dead-after-v-22-osprey-crashed-during-nato-drill

Austria To Reintroduce COVID Mask Rules Just Two Weeks After They Were Abolished

After a surge in COVID cases caused by the BA.2 Omicron sub-variant, Austria is set to re-impose mask mandates that were dropped just two weeks ago.

And there you were thinking the technocrats had finally let it go.

Mask mandates in every area of the country apart from the capital Vienna were lifted as part of the general continent-wide trend of finally learning to “live with COVID.”

That included ending the requirement for Austrians to show proof of vaccination or a negative test to enter most premises.

However, despite the BA.2 variant proving even less dangerous than the original Omicron variant in terms of hospitalisations and deaths, restrictions are being brought back.

“Austria to reintroduce mandatory mask mandates in most indoor settings starting next week, just two weeks after the requirement was abolished,” reports Disclose.tv.

Vienna Mayor Michael Ludwig has also announced that new restrictions will be imposed on hospitals, which will allow only one patient to visit at a time.

Ludwig has also refused to follow the national government’s decision to drop mask mandates, which will remain in place.

Members of Austria’s national COVID crisis coordination team (GECKO) may also be forced to resign due to apparent “anger” at the national government’s decision to end all restrictions earlier this month.

“Some people are feeling high levels of resentment at Gecko,” said molecular biologist Andreas Bergthaler.

Maybe someone should explain to them that there is absolutely zero correlation between the lifting of lockdown rules and a spike in COVID cases or any real world evidence that masks work to reduce infection levels.

As we highlighted earlier, Dr. Anthony Fauci is also refusing to rule out new lockdown measures in the US despite admitting the new sub-variant’s mortality rate is even lower than the original strain.

https://www.zerohedge.com/covid-19/austria-reintroduce-covid-mask-rules-just-two-weeks-after-they-were-abolished

Secret Service Agent Must Answer Questions About Location of Pence on Jan. 6: Judge

A Secret Service agent will have to answer questions about the location of then-Vice President Mike Pence on Jan. 6, 2021, during questioning in an upcoming trial of a defendant, a judge ruled on March 18.

U.S. prosecutors moved in January to bar lawyers for Couy Griffin, the defendant, from asking questions about Pence’s location, arguing that the information isn’t relevant to the case.

Lawyers for Griffin asserted the questions should be allowed because the government’s earlier claims that Vice President Kamala Harris was in the U.S. Capitol when Griffin entered the building on Jan. 6 were false and because it’s not clear where exactly Pence went after being evacuated from the Senate chamber that day.

U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden, a Trump appointee, sided with the defendant.

The latest version of the charges say Griffin entered and remained in a restricted building and grounds, or the Capitol and the surrounding area, where Pence was.

“Whether the Vice President was present on the Capitol grounds is thus an essential question in Griffin’s prosecution,” McFadden wrote in an order.

The U.S. Constitution’s Sixth Amendment guarantees a person accused of a crime to confront witnesses, meaning Griffin, through his lawyers, must be allowed to cross-examine the agent about Pence’s location, according to the judge.

“To mount a meaningful defense Griffin must be allowed to test the veracity of the government’s contention that Vice President Pence was on the Capitol grounds during the relevant period,” he said.

The U.S. government has said Pence left the Senate chamber at approximately 2:20 p.m. on Jan. 6, shortly after the first protesters and rioters barged into the building. Prosecutors have alleged Pence went to “a secure location within the Capitol complex” before returning to the chamber about four hours later.

Harris was not in the building or on the grounds from before noon until 7 p.m., prosecutors recently acknowledged.

Griffin is accused of entering the Capitol at approximately 2:28 p.m. on Jan. 6.

https://www.ntd.com/secret-service-agent-must-answer-questions-about-location-of-pence-on-jan-6-judge_754469.html

Biden Administration to Resume Oil and Gas Leasing on Federal Land

The Biden administration said Friday it would resume plans for oil and gas drilling on federal lands and waters after an appeals court ruled to allow the use of an approximately fivefold higher “social cost of carbon” value in evaluating permits, according to reports.

Interior Department spokeswoman Melissa Schwartz told Bloomberg and Reuters in a statement that, in view of the federal appeals court ruling, “the department continues its planning for responsible oil and gas development on America’s lands and waters.”

It remains unclear, however, whether the Interior Department intends to resume oil and gas leasing auctions in the near future. Also unclear is how much of a near-term impact on surging gasoline prices any new lease sales would have.

Shortly after President Joe Biden took office, the White House raised the “social cost of carbon” (SCC) value from around $10 per ton under the Trump administration to an Obama-era value of around $50 per ton.

A number of Republican-led states sued over the Biden administration’s raising of the SCC value, with a U.S. District Court judge in Louisiana granting a preliminary injunction that blocked the use of the higher number.

The Biden administration appealed that ruling and, several days ago, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals granted a stay, allowing for the continued use, at least temporarily, of the higher Obama-era values for calculating climate change costs in government decisions.

But even if lease sales resume, this will do little to boost oil production in the near term, according to Jesse Prentice-Dunn, policy director at the Center for Western Priorities, a conservation and advocacy group.

“Make no mistake, resuming lease sales today will do nothing to increase oil production tomorrow. As Americans feel pain at the pump, oil companies are sitting on more than 9,000 approved, but unused, drilling permits they can use now, but are choosing not to” Prentice-Dunn said in a statement.

That echoes remarks made by Biden, who on March 8 called on U.S. companies to produce more, saying the oil and gas industry has thousands of permits on federal land and so “they could be drilling right now” to boost production and lower prices at the pump.

But industry experts say the argument that the oil and gas industry has thousands of unused permits that they could start using immediately ignores the lengthy process required for drilling to actually begin on those permits.

Samantha Gross, director of the Energy Security and Climate Initiative and a fellow in foreign policy at the Brookings Institution, told Factcheck that there is nothing unusual about companies having a “backlog of leased land” and they need time and additional permits to begin “exploratory work” just to determine where it makes sense to drill.

“New production takes time,” Gross told Factcheck. “For in-fill shale oil or gas wells in areas that are already being developed, you might get some new drilling and production in a matter of months. Any new leases would take years to produce.”

“This won’t be quick.”

https://www.ntd.com/biden-administration-to-resume-oil-and-gas-leasing-on-federal-land_754519.html

Germany, France, Other EU Members Sold Huge Stocks of Arms to Russia Before Invasion – Despite Embargo

Ten European Union (EU) member-states have been exposed for selling hundreds of millions of euros worth of military kit to Russia between 2015 and 2020, despite sanctions.

EU member-states including France, Germany, and Italy potentially broke a European embargo on selling arms to Russia, issuing more than 1,000 arms licenses after the ban was imposed on August 1st 2014.

Military equipment sold to Russia ranges from thermal imaging and firearms to tanks and rockets, which were most likely used during Russia’s recent invasion of Ukraine.

While some of the arms contracts may have been legal, due to a loophole that allowed companies to honour their agreements prior to the ban, since 2015 the ten EU members sold hundreds of millions of euros worth of equipment to Russia, with 44 per cent of sales — around €152 ($167.7 million) — originating from France alone, The Telegraph reports.

Germany followed France, supplying 35 per cent of the contracts to Russia — totalling €122 million ($134.6 million) — and while these mainly consisted of ice breaker vessels they also included firearms and armoured vehicles.

Investigative journalism team Investigate Europe have also released findings that “according to the COARM data, after 2014 [EU] Member States issued more than a thousand licences [general authorisations for arms deals]” to Russia.

Russia annexed the Crimea and supported a separatist uprising in Ukraine’s Donbas region in 2014, following the EU-backed Euromaidan coup against Russia-aligned former Ukrainian president Viktor Yanukovych.

Investigate Europe allege that France was supplying Russia with “chemical agents, biological agents, riot control agents, radioactive materials, related equipment, components and material” well after the 2014 ban.

The other European Union memebers that supplied a variety of different equipment are Austria, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Croatia, Finland, Italy, Slovakia, and Spain, bringing the combined arms sale total for the EU to €346 million ($381.8 million).

The revelation of these sales will likely cause embarrassment to the European Union, which is divided over how harsh sanctions on Moscow should be.

https://www.breitbart.com/europe/2022/03/19/germany-france-other-eu-members-sold-huge-stocks-of-arms-to-russia-before-invasion-despite-embargo/

American Elites Have Deep Ties To A New Chinese Spy Chief

Chen Xu, the former party secretary for one of China’s most prestigious universities, has been promoted to deputy head of the United Front Work Department, an agency known for conducting espionage and spreading propaganda focused on influencing foreign elites and coopting Chinese expatriates.

During her tenure at Tsinghua University, Chen forged ties with influential Americans, including Stephen Schwarzman, the CEO of The Blackstone Group, an investment company the Chinese Communist Party supplied with $3 billion in 2007, resulting in one of history’s largest IPOs.

In 2013, Tsinghua University’s Schwarzman Scholars was announced, a program which attracted the attention of many high-ranking Chinese Communist Party figures, such as President Xi Jinping, Vice Chairman of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference Tung Chee-hwa, and Vice Premier Liu Yandong, among others.

The new deputy head of a propaganda and espionage agency in the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has documented ties with business tycoons, university heads and other elite members of American society.

Chen Xu, former party secretary of one of the PRC’s most prestigious universities, Tsinghua, was promoted to deputy head of the United Front Work Department (UFWD), according to an updated leadership roster on the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) portal, which was first reported in Chinese media on Feb. 28.

The United Front Work Department

The Department of State described the operations of the UFWD as including “the use or threat of physical violence, theft and release of private information, espionage, sabotage, or malicious interference in domestic political affairs, academic freedom, personal privacy, or business activity” in a 2020 press statement.

The general secretary of the CCP, Xi Jinping, labeled the UFWD a “magic weapon” for “realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation” in a 2014 speech celebrating the 65th anniversary of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC), a state organ which oversees the UFWD.

Recently, Beijing’s espionage operations have garnered increased scrutiny in the U.S. following the FBI’s charging of five individuals with “transnational repression schemes” on Mar. 16, crimes which allegedly included the targeting of a Congressional candidate.

The Justice Department’s announcement comes just two months after MI5 named a London solicitor, Christine Ching Kui Lee, as an alleged UFWD operative acting to financially influence British politicians in a January “security service interference alert” issued to the House of Commons.

Republican Rep. Michael McCaul of Texas, who is the lead of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and chair of the group’s China Task Force, spoke with the Daily Caller News Foundation about the dangers of associating with CCP, UFWD and CPPCC members.

“The Justice Department’s indictments this week are yet another wakeup call that the CCP is actively reaching into American society and trying to limit our freedoms,” McCaul said, making reference to the FBI’s Wednesday press conference as evidence of the looming espionage threat. “Years of law enforcement activity, including this week, clearly show that this transnational repression can raise to the level of criminal activity, and Americans should be aware when they are dealing with entities who carry out the CCP’s objectives abroad.”

More

https://dailycaller.com/2022/03/18/american-elites-have-deep-ties-to-a-new-chinese-spy-chief/

Dr. Anthony Fauci Owns A Patent On SARS-CoV-2 gp120 HIV Insertion

Dr. Anthony Fauci owns a patent on at least one HIV insertion, known as gp120. HIV’s gp120 protein is the one that activates LFA-1 on CD4 T-Lymphocytes and increases cell susceptibility to LFA-1-targeting leukotoxin, according to a 2011 study.

Interestingly, gp120 just so happens to also be allegedly located in the spike protein of SARS-CoV-2, as well as in the spike protein of all covid “vaccines.” As it turns out, gp120, as applied to the spike proteins in both covid and covid injections, effectively destroys the body’s immune T cells in the same way as HIV (human immunodeficiency virus), the virus that causes AIDS (acquired immunodeficiency syndrome). And gp120 specifically is used to deliver HIV into the lymphocytes via the LFA-1 receptor.

T cells are a critical component of healthy immunity. Without them, the body basically has AIDS, which is why a growing body of evidence points to the “fully vaccinated” now having vaccine-induced AIDS, also known as VAIDS.

New Zealand Ruling Class Data Suggests The Fully “Vaccinated” Are Getting AIDS

Whistleblowers: The COVID “Vaccines” Are Causing Cancers & VAIDS

Comparison of Official Government Reports Suggest Fully Vaccinated Are Developing Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome

More Government Documents Prove COVID-19 Vaccines Are Causing AIDS

So-called “mild” covid may not leave the immune system decimated of lymphocytes forever, only until the body recovers, however, those who take the “vaccines,” on the other hand, could face a much worse outcome.

As you research, you will find that many “fact-checkers” claim that Fauci wasn’t involved in this HIV insertion. However, if you search Google Patents, you’ll find the following:

Use of antagonists of the interaction between HIV GP120 and α4β7 integrin

HIV related peptides

Since “nature” or anything “naturally occurring” cannot be patented, what exactly is HIV and why does Fauci have patents on its parts and “cures”? Why is HIV suddenly “mutating” after society living with it for 40 years? Why do the “fact-checkers” insist Fauci doesn’t have patents on HIV’s spike proteins or pieces when he clearly does? When will the COVID-HIV variant be introduced?

What’s With All The HIV & AIDS Headlines in The MSM Lately?

MSM Begins To Warn Of HIV & COVID-19 Variants TOGETHER

What is really going on here? It’s probably just a bunch of coincidences, right?

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/labs/pmc/articles/PMC3151267/

https://www.shtfplan.com/headline-news/dr-anthony-fauci-owns-a-patent-on-sars-cov-2-gp120-hiv-insertion

CENTCOM: US Troops Will Likely Be in Iraq for Years to Come

This weekend marks the 19th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq

On the eve of the 19th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq, the head of Central Command told Military Times that the US troop presence in the country will likely continue for years to come.

The US invasion of Iraq started with airstrikes on March 19, 2003, and ground troops entered the country the following day. The initial “shock and awe” phase of the invasion lasted about six weeks and killed tens of thousands. According to the Iraq Body Count, about 7,400 Iraqi civilians were killed in this period.

All US troops withdrew from Iraq in 2011 but returned to the country in 2014 to fight ISIS, a group that wouldn’t exist if not for the invasion and US intervention in Syria. Today, the US currently has about 2,500 troops in Iraq. At the end of 2021, the US formally changed its presence in Iraq from a combat role to an advisory one, but no troops were withdrawn.

“As we look into the future, any force level adjustment in Iraq is going to be made as a result of consultations with the government of Iraq,” CENTCOM chief Gen. Frank McKenzie said. “And we just finished a strategic dialogue a few months ago — we believe that will continue.”

While the US troops are in Iraq training the current government to fight ISIS, there are many factions in the country opposed to the US presence, including Iraq’s Shia militias. Most of the militias fall under the umbrella of the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF), a group that was formed in 2014 to fight ISIS.

In January 2020, the US killed PMF leader Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis alongside Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani with a drone strike in Baghdad. The assassinations enraged many in Iraq, and the country’s parliament voted to expel the US forces, but they stayed, and rocket attacks on US bases increased.

Formally ending the combat mission was an attempt to placate those opposed to the US presence. But at the beginning of 2022, when it became apparent the US wasn’t leaving, attacks on bases housing US troops spiked again, highlighting the danger of the continued presence.

One reason the US doesn’t want to leave Iraq is that its bases in the country support the US occupation of eastern Syria. The US currently has about 900 troops in Syria where it backs the Kurdish-led SDF. On paper, the US presence is about fighting ISIS, but it is also part of Washington’s broader campaign against Damascus.

The US maintains crippling sanctions on Syria that aim to prevent the country from rebuilding. The US also occupies the area where most of the country’s oil fields are, keeping the vital resource out of the hands of Damascus. Last year, Biden administration officials said that they had no plans to end the troop presence in Syria.

https://news.antiwar.com/2022/03/18/centcom-us-troops-will-likely-be-in-iraq-for-years-to-come/