Trump justifies abandoning the Kurds because “they didn’t help us” in World War II !!

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In Chilling Echo Of Ethnic Cleansing, Trump Says North Syria Needed To Be ‘Cleaned Out’
The president called it “rough love.”
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By Mary Papenfuss

Donald Trump lavished praise Thursday on his “friend” and “hell of a leader” Recep Tayyip Erdogan after the Turkish president launched an incursion into northeast Syria. Trump said the Turks needed to have a swath of Syria “cleaned out” after battling with Syrian Kurds there.
Trump spoke after Turkey announced a five-day “pause” in fighting in Syria negotiated by Vice President Mike Pence.

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The deal was reached just over a week after Trump agreed in a phone call with Erdogan to pull out U.S. troops in Syria to cede the battlefield to the Turks, who have targeted America’s Kurdish allies. Pence has termed the new deal a “ceasefire,” but the Turkish foreign minister called it a “pause,” emphasizing: “This is not a ceasefire,” and said that Turkish troops would not withdraw.

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Turkey will pause its invasion for 120 hours to allow the Kurds to withdraw from a zone of the border region. But the agreement also allows Turkey to take over a significant swath of Syria and calls on Syrian Kurdish forces, known as the YPG, to surrender their heavy weapons. The deal would suspend U.S. economic sanctions against Turkey.
“For many, many years, Turkey, in all fairness, they’ve had a legitimate problem” with northeast Syria, where the Kurds are settled, Trump said in remarks in Texas ahead of his rally in Dallas. “They had terrorists, they had a lot of people in there they couldn’t have …. and they had to have it cleaned out.” (See the video above.)
The Kurds have battled ISIS for years alongside U.S. troops — and have fought against Turkey for centuries over disputed territory. Now that the ethnic group is under siege, the destabilization has “created a perfect situation for ISIS to capitalize on,” Rita Katz, executive director of the SITE Intelligence Group, a private firm that tracks online extremist activity, told The Washington Post.

Trump said in Texas: “I want to thank Turkey” for agreeing to the pause in fighting — even though it was Turkey that launched the invasion. “We’ve gotten everything we’ve ever dreamed of,” Trump added. He said the Kurds are “incredibly happy” with the “solution.”
Trump said the “ceasefire” was something that Turkey had been after for 10 years.
“You would have lost millions and millions of lives. They couldn’t get it without a little ‘rough love,’ as I called it ... they needed a little bit of that at the beginning,” Trump said. “And then everybody said, ‘Wow, this is tougher than we thought.’ When those guns start shooting, they tend to do things.”
Trump called it a “great day for the United States. It’s a great day for Turkey ... The Kurds were great. Great day for the Kurds. It’s really a great day for civilization.”
On Wednesday Trump said that the Kurdish allies were “no angels” and said that in some cases they represent a threat more dangerous than ISIS, whom the Kurds fought against with American troops in Syria. He stated that Turkey’s invasion of Syria “has nothing to do with us.

The House on Wednesday voted overwhelmingly, 354 to 60, to denounce the U.S. troop withdrawal in Syria; 129 Republicans joined all the Democrats in the vote on the resolution.
 

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Jennie Standard I will ask the Lord for forgiveness later but Trump I only pray that you never have a restful sleep again as long as you are on this Earth I pray that each one of these images haunt you every day of the rest of your life

TRUMP DID THIS "Kurdish forces claim NATO-member Turkey is using banned weapons in Syria. Horrifying video shows Syrian child being treated in hospital for severe burns on his body, which expert says appears to be caused by white phosphorus."

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claims Turkey is using banned weapons such as napalm and white phosphorus
  • Kurdish forces claim NATO-member Turkey is using banned weapons in Syria
  • Horrifying video shows Syrian child being treated in hospital for severe burns on his body, which expert says appears to be caused by white phosphorus
  • Pictures also show another boy with the skin on his head and face burned away
  • Images taken before Mike Pence agreed a ceasefire deal with Turkey Thursday
  • WARNING GRAPHIC CONTENT
By CHRIS PLEASANCE FOR MAILONLINE

PUBLISHED: 04:31 EDT, 18 October 2019 | UPDATED: 08:04 EDT, 18 October 2019






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Horrifying images have emerged showing badly burned children in Syria - amid claims that Turkey is using banned chemical weapons against the Kurds.
Distressing footage taken at a hospital in Tal Tamr, near the border city of Ras al-Ayn which has seen the heaviest fighting, on Monday shows a boy with deep burns to his entire upper body.
As he is brought into the hospital he can be heard screaming 'Dad stop the burning... I beg you' before medics are able to give him a dose of morphine. He is thought to have spent 12 hours in agony before being treated.
Hamish de-Bretton Gordon, a British chemical weapons expert, said the burns appeared consistent with white phosphorus - a banned chemical weapon which sticks to the skin and burns in contact with moisture, meaning it cannot be put out.

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Distressing clip shows Kurdish kid with severe burns




Footage taken in a hospital in Tal Tamr, near the battleground city of Ras al-Ayn, shows a Kurdish boy with injuries consistent with white phosphorous


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Footage taken in a hospital in Tal Tamr, near the battleground city of Ras al-Ayn, shows a Kurdish boy with injuries consistent with white phosphorous
The boy can be heard screaming 'dad stop the burning... I beg you' before he is given morphine by medics. He reportedly spent 12 hours in agony before he could be treated


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The boy can be heard screaming 'dad stop the burning... I beg you' before he is given morphine by medics. He reportedly spent 12 hours in agony before he could be treated
Meanwhile a doctor in al-Hasakah, another city near Ras-al Ayn, said he had treated several patients with injuries he believes were caused by napalm or similar incendiary bombs


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Meanwhile a doctor in al-Hasakah, another city near Ras-al Ayn, said he had treated several patients with injuries he believes were caused by napalm or similar incendiary bombs
A boy with deep burns to his face, upper chest and arms is treated in a hospital in al-Hasakah


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A boy with deep burns to his face, upper chest and arms is treated in a hospital in al-Hasakah
The video was released by Kurdish media along with photos of boys in another hospital in al-Hasakah, also close to Ras al-Ayn, with deep burns to their faces.
Doctor Fares Hammu, speaking to Kurdish outlets on Wednesday, said the burns appeared consistent with the use of banned chemical weapons such as napalm.
Napalm is a mixture of gelling agent and a volatile petrochemical which sticks to its target before burning, and was used extensively in the Vietnam war.
White phosphorus can be used to create a smoke screen or as a battlefield marker, but it can also be deployed as a deadly incendiary weapon, a use prohibited under international law.
All images and video were captured before a ceasefire, negotiated with Turkey by Vice President Mike Pence, came into effect on Thursday night.
Under the terms of the deal Turkey will halt its assault on northern Syria for five days while Kurdish forces withdraw from a 20-mile wide 'safe zone' President Erdogan wants to create along the border.
The deal was agreed by Pence, Erdogan and the commander of the Kurdish-led SDF, but it was not clear whether all Kurdish militias would agree to hand over land they fought to regain from ISIS over to Ankara.
On Friday morning there were reports of shelling and gunfire in Ras al-Ayn, in breach of the ceasefire.
The city has been the centre of much of the fighting after Turkey quickly seized it, then lost parts to a Kurdish counter-attack.
A girl who was injured in the ongoing Turkish offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria lying at a hospital in Tal Tamr, near the Syrian Kurdish town of Ras al-Ayn


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A girl who was injured in the ongoing Turkish offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria lying at a hospital in Tal Tamr, near the Syrian Kurdish town of Ras al-Ayn
Civilians wounded in Turkish attacks on the town of Ras al-Ayn lie wounded in hospital in the nearby settlement of Tal Tamr


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Civilians wounded in Turkish attacks on the town of Ras al-Ayn lie wounded in hospital in the nearby settlement of Tal Tamr
A girl whose leg was amputated after she was badly wounded in the shelling of Ras al-Ayn lies in hospital in Tal Tamr, nearby


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A girl whose leg was amputated after she was badly wounded in the shelling of Ras al-Ayn lies in hospital in Tal Tamr, nearby
Military vehicles transporting Syrian regime troops and rolled up mattresses are stationed on the outskirts of the northern Syrian border town of Kobane


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Military vehicles transporting Syrian regime troops and rolled up mattresses are stationed on the outskirts of the northern Syrian border town of Kobane
'We would stop the operation tonight, if they withdrew right away,' Erdogan told parliament in Ankara, calling on them to 'lay down their arms ... destroy all their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated'


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'We would stop the operation tonight, if they withdrew right away,' Erdogan told parliament in Ankara, calling on them to 'lay down their arms ... destroy all their traps and get out of the safe zone that we have designated'
It was not clear who was firing at whom in the clashes early Friday, but the Kurds are not known to have access to heavy artillery.
Tel Abaid has also been the scene of heavy fighting in recent days, and while there were no reports of fighting there early Friday, it was unclear if the ceasefire would hold.
Further to the West Turkey's assault had largely been halted already after Russian and Syrian government forces took control of the city of Mabij and Kobane.
Turkish forces and Syrian rebel allies have committed 'war crimes' including summary executions during their offensive in northeast Syria, Amnesty International said Friday.
Amnesty accused Ankara's forces of 'serious violations and war crimes, summary killings and unlawful attacks' in the operation launched on October 9.
There was no immediate response from Ankara, which announced a suspension of the attacks late Thursday, but it says all possible measures have been taken to avoid civilian casualties.
Ankara's operation aims to remove the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) from areas near its border in northern Syria.
The offensive has killed at least 72 civilians, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.
'Turkish military forces and a coalition of Turkey-backed Syrian armed groups have displayed a shameful disregard for civilian life,' Amnesty said.
Syrian Assad regime forces are seen entering Kobane




People who were injured during the ongoing Turkish offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria receive treatment at a hospital in Tal Tamr


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People who were injured during the ongoing Turkish offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria receive treatment at a hospital in Tal Tamr
Sporadic clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish groups were ongoing in a battleground Syrian border town on October 18 despite Ankara's announcement of a five-day truce


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Sporadic clashes between Turkish forces and Kurdish groups were ongoing in a battleground Syrian border town on October 18 despite Ankara's announcement of a five-day truce
Bombs continue to rain down on the Syrian border as Erdogan pledged that his offensive would not end until the Kurds withdrew


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Bombs continue to rain down on the Syrian border as Erdogan pledged that his offensive would not end until the Kurds withdrew
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People who were injured during the ongoing Turkish offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria receive treatment at a hospital in Tal Tamr


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People who were injured during the ongoing Turkish offensive against Kurdish-controlled areas of northeastern Syria receive treatment at a hospital in Tal Tamr
On the road to Kobane: Assad's forces heading towards the border town on Wednesday


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On the road to Kobane: Assad's forces heading towards the border town on Wednesday
Fighting intensifies during conflict in Ras al-Ain




The charges were based on the testimony of 17 people including medical, aid and rescue workers, journalists and displaced people, as well as video footage, it said.
'The information gathered provides damning evidence of indiscriminate attacks in residential areas, including attacks on a home, a bakery and a school, carried out by Turkey and allied Syrian armed groups,' Amnesty said.
Kumi Naidoo, the organisation's secretary general, said Turkish forces and their allies had 'displayed an utterly callous disregard for civilian lives'.
The report included testimony of a Kurdish Red Crescent worker who said he removed bodies from the wreckage of a Turkish air strike near a school in Salhiye on October 12.
'I couldn't tell if they were boys or girls because their corpses were black. They looked like charcoal,' the rescue worker was quoted as saying.
It also said Kurdish female politician Hevrin Khalaf and her bodyguard were summarily executed by members of the Syrian National Army, a Turkish-funded and -trained group.
At least two more executions of Kurdish fighters were confirmed, while Turkey's Syrian allies had kidnapped two employees of a local medical organisation, Amnesty said.
After being effectively abandoned by the U.S., the Kurds' turn to the Syrian government for protection has allowed Damascus' ally, Russia, to step in as the biggest power player.
Moscow further asserted that role Wednesday, offering to mediate a resolution to the conflict, one day before U.S. Vice President Mike Pence was to begin a mission to press Turkey for a cease-fire.
A convoy of military vehicles and busses transporting Syrian regime troops are stationed on the outskirts of the northern Syrian border town of Kobane yesterday


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A convoy of military vehicles and busses transporting Syrian regime troops are stationed on the outskirts of the northern Syrian border town of Kobane yesterday
A military convoy of Assad's men on the road to Kobane yesterday before the rolled in to prevent Erdogan's advance


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A military convoy of Assad's men on the road to Kobane yesterday before the rolled in to prevent Erdogan's advance
On Monday, Trump imposed limited economic sanctions on Turkey to raise the pressure on Ankara. The move came five days after Trump raised the specter of sanctions in a letter to Erdogan, in which he also said that if the Turkish leader invaded Syria he would be remembered as a 'devil.'
Trump told Erdogan he wouldn't want to be responsible for 'slaughtering thousands of people,' and warned, 'don't be a tough guy. Don't be a fool!'
Erdogan defied the sanctions, saying the only way its military offensive would end was if Syrian Kurdish fighters leave a designated border area.
Erdogan also said he had 'no problem' accepting an invitation from Russian President Vladimir Putin to visit Russia soon to discuss Syria. But he threw into doubt a planned Nov. 13 meeting with Trump, citing anger over the sanctions that Washington imposed Monday on the NATO ally.
Despite an outcry among both Democratic and Republican lawmakers over the pullout and the Turkish invasion, Trump insisted a fight between Turkey and the Kurds was not a U.S. problem and that things are 'very nicely under control' in northern Syria.
A Syrian man holding a national flag after the Syrian government forces reportedly completed their deployment in the northern city of Manbij


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A Syrian man holding a national flag after the Syrian government forces reportedly completed their deployment in the northern city of Manbij
'Syria's friendly with the Kurds. The Kurds are very well-protected. Plus, they know how to fight. And, by the way, they're no angels,' Trump told reporters at the White House while meeting with Italian President Sergio Mattarella.
Trump added that U.S. troops are 'largely out' of the region, adding that if Russia wanted to get involved with Syria, 'that's really up to them. It's not our border. We shouldn't be losing lives over it.'
Still, the repercussions from America's abrupt withdrawal were expanding. Assad's forces are returning to regions of northern Syria they abandoned at the height of the 8-year-old civil war. Moscow has taken a more prominent role as an interlocutor among Assad, the former U.S.-allied Kurds and Turkey.
Erdogan's office confirmed the Turkish leader would meet Thursday with Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, and said he would travel to Sochi, Russia, for talks on Tuesday.
Erdogan said he was not concerned by the U.S. sanctions. He told reporters that chances for his November trip to Washington are 'something to be assessed' after the talks with the American delegation, he said, adding that the sanctions and criticisms in the U.S. constituted 'great disrespect toward the Turkish Republic.'
Turkish forces and Kurdish fighters also battled over the border town of Ras al-Ayn. Turkey said it had captured the town days ago, but its hold appeared uncertain.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said in remarks carried by Russian news agencies that Moscow is committed to mediating between Syria and Turkey.
Russia already has announced it had deployed troops outside the flashpoint town of Manbij to keep apart the Syrian military and Turkish-led forces. Syrian forces took control of Manbij as U.S. troops completed their pullout from the town Tuesday.
Lavrov also said Moscow will also continue to encourage Syria's Kurds and government to seek rapprochement following the U.S. withdrawal. The Kurds are hoping to reach a deal with Damascus that preserves at least some degree of the autonomy they seized for themselves during the civil war.
The Syrian town of Ras al-Ain was seen being bombarded on the eighth day of Turkey's military operation against Kurdish forces


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The Syrian town of Ras al-Ain was seen being bombarded on the eighth day of Turkey's military operation against Kurdish forces
A T-155 Firtina fires at the points being specified as terror targets by the Turkish Armed Forces within Turkey's Operation Peace Spring in Sanliurfa, Turkey on Tuesday


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A T-155 Firtina fires at the points being specified as terror targets by the Turkish Armed Forces within Turkey's Operation Peace Spring in Sanliurfa, Turkey on Tuesday
Lavrov also blamed the U.S. and the West for undermining the Syrian state, saying this pushed 'the Kurds toward separatism and confrontation with Arab tribes.'
In another sign of Moscow's rising profile, France suggested it will also work more closely with Russia in Syria.
French Foreign Minister Jean Yves Le Drian said told French TV channel BFM that France is now looking to Russia, given their 'common interests' in defeating the Islamic State group in Syria.
A U.N. Security Council meeting concluded with no call for Turkey to end its military offensive against the Kurds. Instead, the diplomats issued a brief statement expressing concern about the dispersal of 'terrorists' from the region and the humanitarian impact.


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Romney speculates Turkey called Trump's bluff: 'Are we so weak and inept?'
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Yahoo NewsOctober 17, 2019













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In an impassioned speech on the Senate floor Thursday, Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, blasted President Trump’s decision to pull troops from defensive positions in Syria, and brought up the possibility that “Turkey may have called America’s bluff” in an exchange between Trump and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
“Are we so weak and inept diplomatically that Turkey forced the hand of the United States of America? Turkey?” Romney said. “I believe that it’s imperative that public hearings are held to answer these questions, and I hope the Senate is able to conduct those hearings next week.”
The transcript of the Oct. 6 phone call between Trump and Erdogan has not been made public. Shortly afterward, Trump, without notifying his national security staff or State Department, unilaterally ordered the small American contingent in northern Syria to abandon their positions, and Turkey began its assault three days later.
Romney said redeploying the troops that protected Kurdish allies from the Turkish military left “a bloodstain” on American history.
“We know the truth about our Kurd allies. They lost 11,000 combatants in our joint effort to defeat ISIS. We dropped bombs from the air and provided intelligence and logistics behind the lines. The Kurds lost thousands of lives. Eighty-six brave Americans also lost their lives so tragically,” Romney said. “It’s argued that the Kurds were fighting for themselves. Of course they were. That’s the nature of an alliance. We fight together, each pursuing our own vital interest.”


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A day earlier, Trump fought off criticism of his decision to clear the way for Turkish forces to enter northern Syria and battle Kurdish forces stationed there, calling the move “strategically brilliant.”
“I’m not going to get involved in a war between Turkey and Syria, especially when, if you look at the Kurds, and again I say this with great respect, they’re no angels,” Trump told reporters at the White House on Wednesday as his own vice president and secretary of state headed to Turkey to try to persuade Erdogan to halt his military offensive.
Perhaps the most outspoken Republican critic of the president, Romney saw Trump’s erratic foreign policy moves as antithetical to American values and a boon to U.S. foes.
“This is a matter of American honor and promise. So too is the principle that we stand by our allies, that we do not abandon our friends. The decision to abandon the Kurds violates one of our most sacred duties. It strikes at American honor. What we have done to the Kurds will stand as a bloodstain in the annals of American history,” Romney said. “There are broad strategic implications of our decision as well. Iranian and Russian interests in the Middle East have been advanced as well. At a time when we are applying maximum pressure on Iran, by giving them a stronger hand in Syria, we have actually weakened that pressure. Russia’s objective to play a greater role in the Middle East has also been greatly enhanced. The Kurds, out of desperation, have aligned with Assad. So America is diminished; Russia, Iran and Assad are strengthened.”
AP Photo/Andrew Harnik

AP Photo/Andrew Harnik
Earlier in the day, Vice President Mike Pence announced that Erdogan had agreed to a five-day “ceasefire” with the Kurds on terms favorable to Turkey, and Trump celebrated that news as he departed for a campaign rally in Dallas.
“This is an amazing outcome. This is an outcome, regardless of how the press would like to damp it down, this was something that they’ve been trying to get for 10 years,” Trump said. “You would have lost millions and millions of lives. They couldn’t get it without a little rough love, as I called it.”
Before Pence announced the short-term ceasefire that would spare Turkey from further U.S. sanctions, Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., introduced a bill that would increase sanctions on Erdogan’s government well beyond those the Trump administration put in place this week.
“Mr. President, as much as I like you and want to work with you, I am going to be consistent and I will hold you accountable," Graham said.
On Wednesday, two-thirds of Republican House members voted in favor of a resolution that rebuked Trump over his handling of the Kurdish situation. But on Thursday, Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., blocked a vote on the same nonbinding resolution in the Senate.
 

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Mass funerals have become a daily ritual for Northern Syria’s Kurds in the days since Trump withdrew U.S. protections from the area (warning: distressing images)
 

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“Are we so weak and inept diplomatically that Turkey forced the hand of the United States of America? Turkey?” Romney said. “I believe that it’s imperative that public hearings are held to answer these questions

Let the hearings begin !!!
 

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“They're saying that they're frightened for the children.” Thousands of Kurdish civilians are fleeing Northern Syria after President Trump ordered US soldiers to withdraw, paving the way for a Turkish military offensive into the region. The Kurds had been a main ally to the United States in the battle against ISIS, but now feel abandoned and betrayed. We're in Northern Syria amid scenes of chaos, as families bury their dead and flee despite not knowing where safety is or where they will be able to sleep.
 
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