White Helmets founder found dead in Istanbul

Most coverage reads like this, following glowing tributes to the Al Qaeda allied head-choppers staged ‘rescuers’, although the Independent cuts right to the ‘Russians claim’ chase.

‘James Le Mesurier: White Helmets backer found dead near his home in Istanbul; Former army officer helped start the White Helmets, credited with saving thousands of lives in Syria (with video evidence of the group’s heroics)
A former British army officer, who helped start the “White Helmets”, an emergency response group in Syria, has been found dead near his home in Istanbul, just days after the Russian foreign ministry menaced him, accusing him of being a spy.

James Le Mesurier, 48, was the director of Mayday Rescue charity that trained members of the Syria Civil Defence, nicknamed the White Helmets, playing a major role in its creation in Turkey in 2013.

He was awarded an OBE for his work helping Syrians three years later.

The police have yet to confirm how Mr Le Mesurier died, but he is believed to have fallen from the balcony of his apartment in the Turkish city at dawn on Monday.

His death comes just three days after he was publicly attacked by Maria Zakharova, Russia’s foreign ministry spokeswoman, who on Friday claimed he was a “former agent of Britain’s MI6, who has been spotted all around the world”.

He and the White Helmets had been the subject of a disinformation campaign spearheaded by Moscow and their allies in Damascus for years.”

From the BBC on Nov. 11:

“What do we know about Le Mesurier’s death?

Mr Le Mesurier’s body was found at about 04:30 local time (01:30 GMT) on the street near his home and office in Istanbul’s Beyoglu district on the European side of the city.

He was found with fractures to his head and legs, Turkish media say, and is believed to have fallen from his balcony.

A “comprehensive” investigation has been launched, the Istanbul governor’s office says.

But the Syrian government and its allies Russia and Iran have accused the White Helmets of openly aiding terrorist organisations and the Russian foreign ministry last week accused Mr Le Mesurier of being a former agent of the UK’s Secret Intelligence Service, better known as MI6.”

“The Russian allegation was strongly denied on Monday by Karen Pierce, the UK ambassador to the UN, who said: “The Russian charges against him, that came out of the foreign ministry that he was a spy, are categorically untrue.”

(H/T Caitlyn Johnstone) While the IK papers only hinted at it, the Washington Examiner got right to the heart of the issue:

‘Did Russia kill White Helmets founder James Le Mesurier?’ by Tom Rogan, November 11, 2019

“I ask the question for three reasons. Russia uniquely fits the motive, method, and means profile here. Russian President Vladimir Putin’s government despised Le Mesurier, the apparent method of his death fits with Russian intelligence service tactics, and those Russian services have the particular means to have killed him.

Let’s start with the motive.

Russia hates Le Mesurier because he was instrumental in establishing the White Helmets civilian rescue service. The White Helmets operate in Syria, helping to save civilians suffering under attack from Syrian regime forces and their Russian and Iranian allies. The Russians despise the White Helmets because they obstruct Russia from killing civilians to force the Syrian resistance into submission. Last week, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs attacked Le Mesurier on Twitter, accusing him of being a British intelligence officer and a terrorist.

Now consider the method.

A newspaper well-sourced with the Turkish government, Milliyet, reports that police believe Le Mesurier fell or was pushed from a fatal height. The newspaper also says Le Mesurier’s face was cut and that his hands and feet were broken. If true, that suggests a struggle and that Le Mesurier was pushed. That’s notable because Russian government assassins love throwing people out of windows.” [snip]

“Russian intelligence retains a significant presence on Turkish soil. In part this is because Turkey is a nominal NATO ally, in part it’s because Istanbul is a major global intelligence playground. But while the Syrian and Iranian intelligence services share in Russia’s motive against Le Mesurier, their officers and agents would struggle to conduct an apparently clean kill such as this. They would also fear significant political blowback from Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government.”

Alternately:

‘Narrative Managers In Overdrive After Death Of White Helmets Founder’, Caitlin Johnstone, Nov. 12, 2019 is an exhaustive exposé with many dozens of links, and she recommends this Vanessa Beeley video: ‘The White Helmets Are A Propaganda Construct’

Corbettreport.com has the transcript (scroll down a bit).

You can click through 21^st century wire’s White Helmets oeuvre here.

“Who are Syria’s White Helmets? Who funds them? Are they really the ‘first responders’ that the western mainstream claim they are? Are their videos designed as propaganda to drum-up calls for US and UK military intervention in Syria? Interested readers can search this archive of over 250 White Helmet-related articles and videos, with over 3,000 research links – exposing what is likely to be one of the biggest NGO frauds in history…”

I’ll feature this one from Nov. 11, 2019: ‘Founder of White Helmets, James Le Mesurier, is Found Dead in Istanbul, 21WIRE.TV | The mainstream media are already rife with speculation as to the cause of death of this high-profile British military establishment figure.’, although the site features the Oct. 23 news that Boss Tweet had gifted the ‘Terrorist Adjunct’ brave White Helmets  with $4.5 million American dollars.

They open with Tweet by the White Helmets and Mark Urban, neither are clickable, but I did find this that Henningsen and friend speak about in the video, and a newer one:

Back to 21st Century Wire:

“Speculation is rife as to various conspiracies, as British mainstream journalists already drifting out loose talk of ‘state actor’ involvement (presumably they mean Syria or Russia), but Turkish authorities appear to be leaning towards suicide. Some mainstream establishment pundits are already attempting to blame Le Mesurier’s death as a nefarious ‘Russian information campaign’ and dissenting alternative media coverage of him and the White Helmets as somehow being, as BBC journalist Mark Urban puts it, “a prelude to murder.”

UK Column News co-hosts Mike Robinson and Patrick Henningsen ask some questions, and also place this latest incident into a wider context of western foreign policy. Watch (just under 6 minutes):

Craig Murray on Nov. 12 had opined that:

“Unfortunately he worked in a profession where you can very quickly move from an asset to a liability. Le Mesurier’s usefulness to Western security services, Israel and their Gulf allies came to an end when the jihadist headchoppers to whom Le Mesurier had been providing logistic support and invaluable propaganda, lost their last secure footing in Syria. That the white helmets worked hand in glove with the extreme jihadists, and moved out wherever they moved out, is beyond dispute as a matter of fact, whatever the state of denial of the mainstream media. That there is now nowhere in Syria that people can go around executing Christians with impunity, and simultaneously now nowhere that the White Helmets can operate, is not the coincidence the mainstream media affect to believe. Some of them possibly do believe it. As a wise man once observed, it is amazing what people can believe when their job depends on it.

Having stopped being useful, Le Mesurier became much more of a liability after Turkey took over further control of former jihadist controlled areas in Northern Syria. The chances of Turkey obtaining both documentary and first person testamentary evidence of the relationship between the White Helmets, the jihadists, and western and allied intelligence services increased substantially. Indeed I have reason to believe Turkey may already have done so. His potential liability to his former employers ratcheted up. This resulted in his death. Whether he was killed or took his own life from the resultant stress, I have no information at present.”

He also wrote that he’ll try to discover more from his contacts in Turkey.

The White Helmets on Twitter

Vanessa Beeley on Twitter

Le Mesurier on WikiSpooks

(cross-posted at caucus99percent.com)