James
Le Mesurier, a British ex-mercenary, founded the White Helmets in
2013. The group has been lauded for its “humanitarian” efforts in
Syria, but they have actually functioned more as a logistics and
propaganda arm of Syria’s al-Qaeda branch, complete with training
from Le Mesurier.
By
Whitney Webb
Part
4 - Training the White Helmets
While
the White Helmets have successfully been framed as a
professionally-trained first responder group active in Syria, there
is plenty of evidence suggesting that their training was entirely
different. First responders and doctors in other countries have been
skeptical about the “aid” the White Helmets have delivered.
For
instance, Dr. Leif Elinder, a Swedish pediatrician, told the Indicter
that “after examination of the video material [of the White
Helmets], I found that the measures inflicted upon those children,
some of them lifeless, are bizarre, non-medical, non-lifesaving, and
even counterproductive in terms of life-saving purposes of children.”
Other
medical doctors have stated that other procedures conducted by the
White Helmets as seen in the previously mentioned Netflix documentary
were performed so poorly they would have killed the children, who
were already deceased when the footage was taken.
In
addition, first responder groups have also found flaws with the White
Helmet’s trained rescues. Questions have been raised such as: how
did the White Helmets know the bodies would be exactly where they
found them?; Why are no attacks heard or seen in White Helmet videos
– only the “aftermath”?; and why have the White Helmets chosen
to “recycle” footage of the people they are allegedly helping?
Thus,
if the White Helmets were not actually trained in first aid – as
the above suggests – what did Le Mesurier and his team actually
train them to do?
According
to Beeley, Le Mesurier trained the White Helmets as a military group,
as they have been found “working side by side with the Nusra
Front and other extremist groups such as Nour Al Din Zinki in East
Aleppo, where their ‘humanitarian’ centers were invariably
alongside Nusra Front or even in the same building.”
Noting
the White Helmet’s lack of paramedic expertise and the numerous
photographs showing them carrying weapons, she added that this
“confirms that their role has been as military and logistical
support for their Nusra Front colleagues.”
However,
the training received by the White Helmets likely did not stop there.
Beeley
strongly believes that they were given extensive training in the
production of propaganda – specifically, trained in camerawork and
video production in order to produce videos for the media. She noted
that “the sheer number of cameras on site at any one of their
rescue productions demonstrates that they are well versed in
publicity craft.”
Furthermore,
Beeley suggested that the White Helmet’s footage used in their
documentary also proves this point:
“The
Oscar-winning Netflix documentary that recorded their exploits was
based entirely on footage taken by the White Helmets themselves and
supplied to the producers of the movie who did not leave Turkey and
were therefore unable to verify the authenticity of the footage. The
quality of video supplied suggests that the White Helmets were using
sophisticated equipment and had been well trained in its use.
Thus,
this training has enabled the White Helmets to accomplish two major
goals for the governments and organizations that have orchestrated
its rise to prominence.
First,
as Beeley pointed out, it has facilitated “further proxy
military intervention and to incite pseudo-humanitarian outrage from
the International community and western public.”
Second,
it has allowed the atrocities of the extremist factions that work
with the White Helmets to be camouflaged by the “humanitarianism”
of the group, which has been instrumental in allowing foreign
governments to continue arming and funding these extremist, terrorist
organizations with complete impunity.
Le
Mesurier, for his part, has apparently become tired of the limelight
– perhaps as a result of the thorough debunking of the
terrorist-linked organization he fostered. Though still listed as an
employee of Good Harbor, Le Mesurier has removed himself from the
site of MayDay Rescue, a White Helmets-linked organization he
founded, and all mention of him has been erased from the White
Helmets website.
***
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