Ukraine, Crimea, Syria, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Putin, China, and World War III

[Morbid]

the power of 'нет'

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-0...ial-washington

[Sophocles]

NATO’s War on Russia: Someone Is Playing Us

journal-neo.org
Author: Christopher Black
27.07.2016

For 17 months, since the Minsk Agreements were signed in February 2015 to try to bring peace to the eastern Ukraine the Kiev regime, and its neo-Nazi and NATO allies, have been preparing for a new offensive against the east Ukraine republics. On July 22nd the Russian Ambassador Vitaly Churkin stated in a letter to the UN Security Council that “a relapse of large-scale military operations in eastern Ukraine may bury the process of peace settlement there.” He then called on Kiev’s allies to pressure Kiev to back off its war preparations which include the continuous shelling of civilian areas by Ukraine heavy and medium artillery and constant probing attacks by Ukraine and foreign units over the past spring and summer months.

The commander of the Donetsk Republic forces stated in a communiqué on July 22 that the region along the contact line between the two sides was shelled 3,566 times in one week alone ending on the date of the communiqué and confirmed the information set out in Churkin’s letter and reports of the Organisation For Security Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) that the Kiev regime had transferred more heavy artillery, mortars, tanks, multiple rocket launchers to the front.

The shelling has destroyed civilian housing, a water treatment plant and other infrastructure with the clear objective of forcing out the residents and to prepare the ground for a large scale offensive. Ambassador Churkin added that not only were regular Kiev forces massing in the east but they had also deployed the new-Nazi Azov and Donbas “volunteer” battalions, and that Kiev has begun a wide ranging seizure of land in the neutral zone and the towns located there.

Of course the blame for all these criminal actions by NATO and its marionettes in Kiev is placed on Russia as we have seen set out in both the Atlantic Council Report earlier this year and in the NATO Warsaw Communiqué on July 9th in which NATO put the ultimatum to Russia, “do what we say or you will see what we will do”. The day before Ambassador Churkin sent his letter to the Security Council, the French Foreign Minister, Jean-Marc Ayrault, in a speech at the Centre of Strategic and International Studies stated that the “sanctions”, that is, the economic war being carried out against Russia by the NATO countries, would only stop if Russia did what it was told.

The Germans have also made noises about being prepared to halt this economic warfare against Russia, about how much they regret it and how they desire only peace and harmony, but, again, only if Russia adheres to their demands.

The attacks on the Donbas republic civilian areas are of course war crimes and crimes against humanity to which the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court responds with her practiced silence despite the fact she has accepted two letters from the Kiev regime providing the ICC with jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes committed there. But, of course, neither Kiev, nor their NATO bosses that control the prosecutor of the ICC have any intention of laying war crimes charges against themselves.

The Russian fear of a renewed offensive against the Donbas republics is a real one since the Warsaw Communiqué issued by NATO on July 9th stated emphatically that NATO does not recognise the republics, that Ukraine needs to be reunited by force if necessary, and that Crimea must be returned to Ukraine. The increased military activity in eastern Ukraine is taking place at the same time that there is increased activity in the Baltic centred on the Russian base at Kaliningrad, a strategic objective for NATO in order to control the Baltic sea lanes and air space and the approaches to St. Petersburg. Crimea is an objective because of the Russian naval base at Sevastopol, the seizure of which was one of the primary objectives of the NATO coup that overthrew the government of President Yanukovich. It is the main objective in the on going NATO “Sea Breeze” naval exercise in the Black Sea.

The situation has become increasingly dangerous as the war against Russia is conducted without limits, that is, across all sectors of life from the military and economic to sports. The International Olympic Committee has now banned the core of the Russian Olympic track and field team from competing at the Games, plus any others who have faced doping allegations in the past, an act of collective punishment that is totally unjustified since it is based on the dubious statements of a wanted man in Russia, Grigory Rodchenkov, who is singing for his supper in the United States, and will sing any song they want him to. The whole scandal is motivated not by problems with doping, but by an attempt to further isolate Russia from the world and slander its leadership and people. The result is that the Olympic Games will be a farce both as a sports event and as a symbol of peace in the world and should be cancelled or boycotted.

On top of all this, compelling evidence is daily coming out that the attempted coup against the government of Turkey was instigated by the Americans and its partners in other NATO countries in order to stop President Erdogan from a rapprochement with Russia. The timing alone of the coup indicates that; for it took place just a few days after Erdogan apologised to President Putin regarding the shoot down of the Russian plane, and just after rumours circulated that the would kick the US out of their base at Incirlik and give it to Russia.

The Turkish government has accused the US of being involved at least indirectly by supporting Turkish Islamist émigré elements led by the cleric, Fethullah Gulen, an arch enemy of President Erdogan, who resides in the US and appears, to Erdogan, to be linked to the coup. Stories have also appeared in the Turkish press of the arrest of the two pilots that shot down the Russian plane over Syria, who happen to be, according to the accusations, the same two pilots that attempted to shoot own Erdogan’s plane the night of the coup. It is stated, though not confirmed, in the Turkish press that these two men worked for the CIA.

On Monday July 25th, it was reported in the Turkish press that American General John Campbell, former commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan was central to the planning of the coup and that it was financed with CIA money through meetings at the US base at Incirlik. If these accusations are correct then the attempted coup constitutes act of aggression by the United States and its allies against Turkey, an attack by NATO on a NATO member.

The British on the same day floated a story in the Daly Express that their special forces, the SAS, are ready to go into to Turkey to “rescue UK citizens” in the event of a second coup attempt and predicted civil war in Turkey of there is a second coup attempt. They stated,

“With fears rebels could be about to try to overthrow the government for a second time, which is likely to result in a Turkish civil war, troops have moved into neighbouring Cyprus and are preparing a rescue mission to save stranded Britons.

Defence chiefs have drawn up emergency plans and fully armed soldiers, together with members of the Special Forces Support Group, are ready to fly into areas popular with tourists and help families get home safely.

Hundreds of jets, helicopters and other aircraft will be drafted in to help the estimated 50,000 Brits flee the danger. “

This means that Britain as well as the US are prepared to help a second coup attempt against Erdogan and further confirms their involvement in the first coup attempt, as does the reported refusal of the Germans to allow Erdogan’s plane to enter German air space to seek refuge when it appeared he had been overthrown. That decision turned out to be a mistake as he quickly recovered his wits, returned to Turkey and broke the coup.

However this turns out, the principal target remains Russia. Erdogan’s rapprochement with Russia and falling out with NATO weakens NATO in its war against Russia and provides Russia with another card to play, even if it may be the Joker.

Meanwhile in the United States the war against Russia has become a dangerous internal political issue as the Clinton camp accuses Donald Trump of being a Russian agent and his campaign financed by Russian money, essentially accusing Trump of treason. Trump laughs all this off but the fact that these absurdities can even get the attention of the news media shows how desperate things are. The New York Times columnist Andrew Rosenthal wrote a column on the 25th of July with the title “Is Donald Trump Putin’s Puppet” then proceeded to state that he was Putin’s pet poodle at the least.

But things get even more curious as the FBI states it is investigating whether emails “leaked” by Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks organisation, were provided to him by Russia after Russia hacked into the email system of the Democratic National Convention. The Russians deny this absurd charge but so far I have not seen Julian Assange deny that they are his source and we must wonder what his true motivations are if the effect of his “leak” is to have Russia accused of hacking into US government and political party email systems thereby supporting the NATO propaganda against Russia.

It also begs the question as to why Assange would get involved in American party politics at all by publishing emails that would supposedly damage the Clinton campaign for the benefit of the Trump campaign. Is he working for Trump? Is he working for Clinton trying to make it look like Trump works for Russia, or, as is more likely, is he working for those who want to bring down both Trump and Russia? Andrew Rosenthal for the Times, quipped, “it’s eerie, at best, that Julian Assange’s WikiLeaks chose this moment to release the stolen emails…”

But it is not so “eerie” if the exercise is meant to smear Russia and a candidate for President who is willing to at least talk with the Russians. Perhaps his supporters can ask him and report back what his answer is because his actions raise serious questions as to his motivations, his intentions, and his connections. Someone is playing us. It’s about time we found out who.

Christopher Black is an international criminal lawyer based in Toronto, he is a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada and he is known for a number of high-profile cases involving human rights and war crimes, especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook.”

[Sophocles]

Erdogan’s counter-coup weakens the Syrian rebels

Arrests of senior officers and a look inward in Turkey mean setbacks for rebels in Syria.

economist.com
Jul 24th 2016



SYRIAN rebels looking to the heavens for salvation have grown used to seeing Russian incendiary and Syrian barrel-bombs raining down instead. But at least they could count on succour and sustenance from across the Turkish border. After the aborted coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that seems in doubt.

The commander of the second army, who is entrusted with securing Turkey’s southern borders, is in prison, says a veteran Turkish commentator. So too are most of the commanders of combat units on Syria’s border. (They are among more than 100 generals and admirals and 9,000 security personnel arrested since the coup attempt.) As Mr Erdogan focuses on the enemy within, he has tried to batten down what hatches he can, periodically closing the Bab al-Hawa border crossing, hitherto the prime supply route to Syria’s Sunni opposition-held territory. “We’re seeing a more inward-looking, introverted posture,” says the commentator. “The military’s ability to project Turkey’s power regionally has been undermined.”

The downturn in Turkey’s relations with America, which harbours Fethullah Gulen, whom Mr Erdogan accuses of masterminding the coup, also fractures the external alliance backing Syria’s rebels. Irked by America’s sanctuary for Mr Gulen, Mr Erdogan temporarily cut electricity to Incirlik, a large air base, interrupting the American-led bombardment of Islamic State. The private American companies based near Turkey’s borders with Syria that are contracted to extend non-lethal support to Syrian rebels wonder whether they too might be swept into the fray. Both Turkey and America, for separate reasons, now appear to be hedging their bets on the war’s outcome. Both are seeking a working relationship with Russia, the prime sponsor of Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian president whom the rebels had vowed to overthrow. “We’ve staked everything on changing the regime,” says a glum spokesman of the Free Syrian Army, the umbrella group holding Eastern Aleppo, the largest urban centre still in opposition hands. “Instead everything has changed but the regime.”

Even as international support for the rebels recedes, external support for the regime is strengthening. Russia continues to command the skies, despite pledges to withdraw. Iran and its satellites, which include the southern Lebanese militia, Hizbullah, prop up the regime’s exhausted troops on the ground. Two days after Turkey’s military establishment launched its coup, forces allied to the Syrian government established positions on Castello Road, the last supply road into Eastern Aleppo, imposing a full siege on the opposition enclave. Four more field hospitals and a blood bank were struck from the air on July 23rd. “Where are your red lines, Mr Erdogan?” asks an exiled Syrian politician in Gaziantep, Turkey’s gateway to Syria. “It seems Turkey no longer has a long-term strategy in Syria.”

By contrast, regime forces cheer Turkey’s mayhem. In Damascus soldiers at government checkpoints greeted news of the coup with bursts of celebratory gunfire. In the almost ten months since Russia launched its aerial bombardment in support of Mr Assad, Syrian rebels have lost between half and a third of their territory, says a Syrian opposition official in southern Turkey. South of Damascus Mr Assad’s forces have captured the farmland around Daraya, starving its population and bringing its fighters to the verge of defeat after nearly four years of siege. In Ghouta, another Damascus suburb where rebels are also losing territory, the regime is offering to bus rebels to safety if they surrender. It now appears to be applying the same tactics to eastern Aleppo after a counter-attack, in which some 200 rebels were killed, failed to reopen the road. UN agencies expect some food stocks to begin to run out after a month. The city’s plight, says a Red Cross official, is “devastating and overwhelming”.

Some still hope for a reversal of fortunes. Aleppo’s fighters say they have long anticipated a siege and built up supplies. Aided by Jabhat al-Nusra, an al-Qaeda affiliate, they suggest they could cut the road to regime-held Western Aleppo and impose a siege of their own. (Though the regime-held west hosts the bulk of the city’s remaining 1.4m people, students fleeing Syria’s former economic hub to Turkey say it suffers from collapsed services, and has no running water or electricity.) A few rebels argue that as part of his counter-coup Mr Erdogan might yet project his Sunni triumphalism abroad and come to their rescue. But among exiled leaders in Gaziantep and the Americans co-ordinating their logistical backup, the mood is one of despondency. “It’s game over [for Syria’s rebels] already,” says one.

Source

---------------------------------------------------------

Russia wants EU gas pipe inroads backing Nord Stream

By Kostis Geropoulos
Energy & Russian Affairs Editor, New Europe
Published 15:09 July 29, 2016

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on July 29 Moscow and Ankara are discussing the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. “In general, we are currently talking about the construction of two lines. The second line is for southwestern European consumers which can also be laid under the Black Sea and routed through Turkey,” Rossiya-24 quoted Novak as saying.

On July 26, Russian news agencies quoted Turkish Economy Minister Nihat Zeybekci as saying a political decision has been taken to continue work on Turkish Stream and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant in Turkey. Zeybekci said Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would “give the final impetus” to Turkish Stream in St Petersburg on August 9. The meeting will be the first since Russia and Turkey began normalising relations following the downing of a Russian warplane in November last year.

Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek has reportedly said Moscow and Ankara want to normalise relations as quickly as possible. In June, Erdogan wrote to Putin in a bid to normalise relations and the two leaders held a telephone conversation soon after that.

Chris Weafer, a senior adviser at Macro-Advisory in Moscow, told New Europe on June 28 it is reasonable to assume that Putin was just as keen to make peace with Turkey, as was Erdogan.

“President Putin wants to build a new southern route gas pipe into Europe to compliment Nord Stream 1 and 2. South Stream has proven to be too problematic because of Brussels and the Russians don’t seem keen to want to engage with them on this issue any longer. Turkish Stream is the only other alternative and I believe that Putin is very keen to build that pipe before competition from other areas, such as LNG [liquefied natural gas] or pipelines from Central Asia and Iran are more available,” Weafer said.

“Building the pipe across Turkey would also have the added advantage of blocking other competing pipes. Putin seems to take the view that once you have a pipeline in place you then only ever argue over price; you already have the customer locked in,” he said.

Turkish Stream would also be a big revenue earner for Turkey and could possibly open up the possibility of building the delayed Samsun-Ceyhan oil pipeline, which was planned to ease congestion in the Bosporus, and also draw Turkey closer to improving trade and investment in the Eurasia Economic Union, Weafer said.

Turning to other reasons Putin and Erdogan are keen to normalise relations, Weafer noted that more than any other action since early 2014, the cancelling of holiday flights to Turkey caused a great deal of unhappiness and resentment amongst Russian people. “It seems that the 25% food price inflation (winter 2014) or the ruble collapse were accepted as collateral damage from the weak oil price and sanctions while cancelling holidays is in an entirely different league. Russia people really like Turkish holiday resorts for price, convenience and service. This is election year after all,” Weafer said.

Moreover, Turkish companies are already big investors in Russia and are very important in some sectors such as construction. “Russia also managed to substitute a lot of food, which was blocked from Europe as a result of sanctions from or via Turkey. So the Turkish dispute risked inflation pressure in the autumn and winter or even some shortages again,” Weafer said.

Finally, the Moscow-based expert said that it is clear that some sort of lasting settlement in Syria is impossible without Turkey being involved. “Given that Russia has no intention of fully withdrawing from the region, e.g. it’s only Mediterranean naval base is in Syria, then for even purely pragmatic reasons both governments needed to re-engage,” Weafer said.

Source

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Sophocles (here)
NATO’s War on Russia: Someone Is Playing Us

journal-neo.org
Author: Christopher Black
27.07.2016

For 17 months, ...

There is a lot in this NEO (New Eastern Outlook) article by Christopher Black, which if more or less accurate, is quite damning of the American/CIA/Neocon/NATO/... efforts to cause war and havoc in eastern Europe and the Middle East.

My hunch is that it is mostly accurate.

[TODD & NORA]

..........

[Hervé]

French General Calls for NATO's Liquidation & Anti-Terror Alliance With Russia

Sputnik
Sat, 30 Jul 2016 18:14 UTC
(updated 20:35 30.07.2016)

© REUTERS/ PHILIPPE WOJAZER

NATO's present format and the alliance's continuing expansion eastward is beneficial only to the United States, which seeks to keep Russia and Europe at odds, says retired French Army General Jean-Bernard Pinatel. Accordingly, he suggests the alliance be liquidated or 'Europeanized', and the creation of a European-Russian alliance against terror.

Interviewed by Le Figaro, Pinatel, a retired officer who now works as an expert in geopolitics and economic intelligence, recalled that if Russia and the European countries had succeeded in forming an alliance in the 1990s, following the collapse of the Soviet Union, they would have been able to effectively challenge US pretentions to global hegemony.

Now, the retired general emphasized, the threat of radical Islamist terrorism has once against opened a discussion on global leadership, and whether the US truly deserves its hegemonic position in Europe. According to Pinatel, the spate of attacks in Europe has clearly demonstrated to the French, and to other NATO members, that the US-led alliance is helpless in the struggle against the terrorist threat.

© Sputnik/ Vladimir Sergeev Anti-Russia Sanctions Inadequate, Aim at ‘Wrong Enemy' - French Lawmaker

Moreover, against the background of NATO's ineffectiveness is the example being set by Moscow, which, according to the expert, is once again forcing the French to consider an alliance with their eastern neighbor. "This evidence, obtained at the cost of 234 civilians killed and 671 wounded since 2012, should not only jolt NATO, but lead to its total liquidation, or its full Europeanization, since the current policy of the alliance serves only interests which are not those of France," Pinatel noted.

The general also recalled that Russia has repeatedly proposed cooperation with the United States in a coordinated campaign in Syria against Daesh and the Nusra Front terrorists, but has been refused, under the pretext that the so-called 'moderate opposition' still had potential.

As a result, he noted, the Middle East is witnessing the formation of a new equilibrium. "Russia, which has always been present in the region historically, is returning there once again. China, for the first time, is also actively poking its nose in the region. And only France, having once been privileged with the position of mediator, has lost everything under the patronage of the United States."

© REUTERS/ Ian Langsdon/Pool French Media Push Hollande to 'Join Hands With Russia' to Tackle Radicalism

The officer emphasized that he believes that Russian and French geostrategic and economic interests are "completely complementary" to one another, and that the history of the two countries has shown periods of fruitful cooperation and friendship, most recently during the Second World War. Ultimately, "the US desire to return the atmosphere of the Cold War to Europe is being carried out through NATO, and serves the interests of the Americans, as well as incompetent and corrupt European leaders," not those of the European people, Pinatel concluded.

[Hervé]

Posted by Sophocles (here)
[...]

Russia wants EU gas pipe inroads backing Nord Stream

By Kostis Geropoulos
Energy & Russian Affairs Editor, New Europe
Published 15:09 July 29, 2016

Russian Energy Minister Alexander Novak said on July 29 Moscow and Ankara are discussing the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. “In general, we are currently talking about the construction of two lines. The second line is for southwestern European consumers which can also be laid under the Black Sea and routed through Turkey,” Rossiya-24 quoted Novak as saying.
[...]

Here is what's at stake (from post # 878):

Posted by Hervé (here)
Here we go:

What I outlined in post # 871 (also follow links to original posts) seems to finally see the light of day with Europe being stuck to Us policies via IMF pressures making Bulgaria drag their feet to give an OK for the South Stream pipeline route; then Ukraine becoming unstable on top of economical sanctions and, now Turkey being out of question for the last solution for Russian oil and gas to be distributed to Europe.

So, Europe is now cornered for energy resources unless Russia manages to keep Syria as an ally and Europe quits wanting Bashar Al Assad out of the picture:


Impacts of Turkey’s Aggression against Russia. The “Turkish Stream” is Dead. Disruption of Gas Pipeline Routes to the EU. Russia’s Economy in Crisis?

By Prof Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, November 27, 2015

“Regime change” in Ukraine engineered by the US State Department was largely responsible for the collapse of the “South Stream” gas pipeline project. Washington’s intent was to establish a de facto blockade which would prevent the flow of Russian gas to the European Union.

“The South Stream gas pipeline worth €15.5 billion was intended to pump 67 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas to Europe annually.

The pipeline’s underwater section 900 km (559 miles) long was intended to run along the bed of the Black Sea from the Russkaya compressor station on the Russian shore to the Bulgarian coast.” (TASS, January 14, 2015)

On December 1, 2014, President Vladimir Putin announced that the project to build the South Stream gas pipeline “was closed due to the European Union’s unconstructive approach to cooperation, including Bulgaria’s decision [pressured by the US] to stop the construction of the pipeline’s stretch on its territory.”

South Stream Pipeline Route Options, source TASS

The South Stream was replaced by the “Turkish Stream”. The scrapping of the South Stream was coupled with the signing in Ankara of a historic December 2014 deal between presidents Vladimir Putin and Recyyp Erdogan.

Under the Russian-Turkish agreement pertaining to gas pipeline routes, Turkey was slated to become a major hub and transit route for the export of Russian natural gas to both Southern and Western Europe.

Russia’s Gazprom in a historical announcement by CEO Alexey Miller in January 2015 confirmed that: The Turkish Stream gas pipeline project was considered “the sole route for Russia’s future supplies of 63 billion cubic meters of natural gas to Western Europe… The Gazprom head made this statement in response to a question about the fate of Russia’s South Stream gas pipeline project.” (Tass, January 14, 2015)

“The [South Stream] project is closed. The Turkish Stream is the sole route, which can deliver 63 billion cubic meters of Russian natural gas. … There are no other options,” Miller said. (Ibid)

November 24 2015: Turkey’s Act of Aggression against Russia marks the Disruption of the Turkish Stream Project

Back in January, the Moscow-Ankara deal was considered to be a slap in the face for Washington. Today, the Turkish Stream (sponsored by Moscow) is in jeopardy.

The downing of the SU-24 plane engineered by US-NATO has contributed to destabilizing the Russia-Turkey deal. It was by not means the only objective.

In January following the abandonment of the South Stream, the Turkish pipeline was announced as the “sole route”.

What next?
Following the downing of Russia’s SU-24 plane and the collapse of diplomatic relations between Moscow and Ankara, that “sole route” is no longer there, leading not only to a potential crisis in the supply of natural gas to the European Union, but also a major blow to Russia’s national economy, which depends heavily on the energy sector.

From the point of view of Washington, Wall Street and the Pentagon: “War is good for business”.

The original source of this article is Global Research

Posted by Hervé (here)
Turkish Stream Falls Under Russia's Restrictive Measures Against Turkey
[...]

==============================================

Posted by Hervé (here)
[...]

Posted by Hervé (here)
NATO Orders Stool-Pigeon Turkey to Shoot Down Russian Jet

Joe Quinn Sott.net Wed, 25 Nov 2015 13:38 UTC

[...]

Anyone still wondering why the troubles in Libya, Syria, Ukraine and now Turkey?

[Sophocles]

Kiev mayor approves city council decision to rename Moscow Avenue after nationalist Bandera

Kiev Mayor Vitaly Klitschko on Wednesday signed a decision by the city council to rename Moscow Avenue after Ukrainian nationalist Stepan Bandera, RIA Novosti reports. Russian Foreign Ministry Envoy for Human Rights, Democracy and the Supremacy of Law Konstantin Dolgov earlier described Kiev deputies’ decision taken on July 7 as “a direct insult to the memory of all those who died in the fight against Nazism and fascism with its local accomplices.”

https://www.rt.com/news/line/ (15:57 GMT)

[Hervé]

Posted by Hervé (here)
[...]
Here is what's at stake (from post # 878):

Posted by Hervé (here)
[...]

Anyone still wondering why the troubles in Libya, Syria, Ukraine and now Turkey?

And now for the real reason they want Bashar al-Assad out of the picture:

10 Facts the Mainstream Media Won’t Tell You About the War in Syria

August 3, 2016 | Darius Shahtahmasebi


(ANTIMEDIA) Corporate media regularly attempts to present Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria as solely responsible for the ongoing conflict in the region. The media does report on events that contradict this narrative — albeit sparingly — but taken together, these under-reported details shine a new light on the conflict.

[...]

3: Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia wanted to build a pipeline through Syria, but Assad rejected it
In 2009, Qatar proposed a pipeline to run through Syria and Turkey to export Saudi gas. Assad rejected the proposal and instead formed an agreement with Iran and Iraq to construct a pipeline to the European market that would cut Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar out of the route entirely. Since, Turkey, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia have been staunch backers of the opposition seeking to topple Assad. Collectively, they have invested billions of dollars, lent weapons, encouraged the spread of fanatical ideology, and helped smuggle fighters across their borders.

The Iran-Iraq pipeline will strengthen Iranian influence in the region and undermine their rival, Saudi Arabia — the other main OPEC producer. Given the ability to transport gas to Europe without going through Washington’s allies, Iran will hold the upper-hand and will be able to negotiate agreements that exclude the U.S. dollar completely.

[...]

Full article: http://theantimedia.org/10-facts-war-syria/

===========================================

That's the BIG PICTURE... ain't it disappointing!? Yet it is deemed worth a few million deads...

[norman]

Posted by Hervé (here)

That's the BIG PICTURE... ain't it disappointing!? Yet it is deemed worth a few million deads...

The big picture must be a jigsaw puzzle, then.

The piece I'm looking at shows the middle east as deliberately set-alight to then burn down Europe, and threaten Europe with butchery of the population just as the global economic switcheroo happens soon.

[Hervé]

Posted by norman (here)
[...]
The big picture must be a jigsaw puzzle, then.
[...]

Once one finds the central core piece, then the other vested interests are grafted onto it as in:

You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.

- Rahm Emanuel

It's like insider tradings with the "deciders" telling the buddies of their elite club: "Look, this is what we want and what we gonna do to get it; up to you to take advantage of it..."... and it goes out like wildfires with "ideas" on how to make a profit for multinational corporations, etc...

PS: as For an idea on the "big" picture (<--- click)

[Sophocles]

Hezbollah Leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah says Saudi Arabia's Wahhabi culture behind world terrorism - English Subs (7/29/16)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=cbpGDItZ00A

(The Saker)

Subtitles from YT:

What happened in Aleppo is of very high importance. Its importance is not only tied to the Syrian crisis, but also to the regional situation, (and) to regional equations, and to regional projects, and to dreams of (forming) a regional empire.

What was downed a few days ago in Aleppo was the dreams and projects of (forming) a regional empire. (It was downed) by the steadfastness of the resistance movements, and the steadfastness of these nations, and by increase of awareness. Awareness in the region and the world.
Does this (Saudi) minister and his rulers, kings, and princes, think that they can go on fooling world nations and world public opinion?

Isn`t the world beginning to clearly uncover that the one who slaughters an 80-year-old priest in a church, that although he is a product of Daesh (ISIS), yet his culture comes from you? (Or) the ones who charges in Nice and butcher people; and the one who kills in Germany and does not care who he is killing -whether Muslim or Christian- as long as he is killing people; and the one who blows himself up in a protest that is calling for electricity in Kabul, (a protest) that has nothing to do with politics, killing 80 people and leaving 250 injured; or the one who commits a crime as grave as the crime of Karrada of Baghdad, 300 martyrs in one instance, men, women, young and bold, (all) burnt (to ashes); or the one who slaughters the Palestinian child in Aleppo. The whole world knows that this is your Wahhabi culture, and that these are (products of) your schools, and that these are (products of) your educational curriculums, and (products of) your sheiks, your media, and your television channels, all of which do «takfir» (label others as infidels and kill them)! Your product does not have a future.

Saudia Arabia and its rulers are before an opportunity, to go back and rethink their whole policy project in the region. As long as the Yemenis are saying, «we are ready to negotiate», and (as long as) the Bahrainis are ready to negotiate, and the Syrians, Iraqis, Iranians, and others, then come negotiate. Do not be arrogant, do not be overtaken by pride, and put aside hate.

You have an opportunity to be a partner in resolving the situation in the region, and (then) you will receive a share. That you be partners, and (then) you will receive a share. However, if you insist on comtinuing on this path and these wars, then with full confidence, certainty, and faith I tell you that you will be defeated! The project of the House of Saud in the region will be defeated, and it will be covered with disgrace! That is if there still remains thereafter a regime called the regime of the House of Saud.

Hezbollah Leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah on who created Daesh (ISIS) - English Subtitles (6/5/15)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=-mQ7e-xuV3I

Subtiles from YT:

What is strange is that from over one year ago, meaning when Daesh first appeared, it appeared in Mosul -of course it hadn`t controlled Mosul completely but it had a presence in Iraq- because the birth place of Daesh is Iraq.

It was named the Islamic State of Iraq, it then developed after entering Syria, seizing Raqqa, and parts of the province of Deir Ezzour and Hasaka etc., it was then named the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, so it was abbreviated by some journalists and opponents as «Daesh».

But Daesh began in Iraq. From that time, there was a debate: Daesh is a product of whom? When the situation in Syria developed, this talk escalated.
For example, because we are in a time of very great media and political deception, I am forced to address it a bit, because we saw something along these lines even in the last few days and weeks. That is, when a suicide bomber blew himself up in one of the mosques of the Shia Muslims in the town of Qudaih, in the region of Qatif, Saudi Arabia, and thereafter, when another (suicide) bomb occurred on the doors of a mosque, where brave youth stood in the (suicide bomber`s) way, leading to the martyrdom of some of them, God bless them, there was a lot of talk in the media within Saudi Arabia, the Gulf, Lebanon, and the region, putting forth accusations that the one who is behind Daesh is Iran.

Imagine this...now you are a rational person, and someone is speaking to you. Look at what age we are in. The Islamic Republic of Iran, which is wrongly accused of (pursuing a project to turn Sunnis into Shias), and which is wrongly accused of not caring about anyone in the Islamic world but the Shias, and which is accused of everything related to Shias and propagating Shiism, then you get (people saying): the one behind Daesh is Iran, Iran moves Daesh, and Iran sent Daesh (militants) to Shia mosques in Qatif or Dammam, in order to blow them up, so that Shia in Qatif, Ihsa, and Dammam angrily rise up against the Saudi regime, holding protests that lead to mischief and strife etc.

Wow, what a great analysis.

Of course, talk that is not based on any evidence or proof, rather, it goes against the mind, logic and all issues.
The same thing in Iraq and Syria: who established Daesh?

Imagine, the one who established Daesh according to some of these «great» (thinkers), was President Bashar al-Assad. He brought Daesh, and gave it Raqqa, and gave it portions of Deir Ezzour and Hasaka, and sent it to the outskirts of northern Alleppo, because President Bashar al-Assad wants Daesh to deal a blow to the national Syrian opposition that threatens the regime.
If someone wanted to produce a Hollywood film, he still wouldn`t come up with this (scenario).
Imagine this -and likewise in Iraq, but let`s not give too many examples.

I even read in some articles, on the question of how Daesh was established...it`s okay, you can laugh a bit, we are in mixed days of happiness and sadness. (The articles) said that a trilateral meeting occured between Iran, Syria, and Hezbollah, and that I was present in the meeting, and that the idea of establishing Daesh, in order to strike a blow to the Nusra Front and ther Syrian opposition, was my idea. I swear this idea wouldn`t cross my mind even during my sleep. This talk is absurd...absurd.

Then they theorise about it, and write articles, books, and media outlets are employed (in order to spread it), using logic along the lines of: «The sun is out, therefore you must be at home sleeping.» What does the sun being out have to do with you being at home sleeping? What is the connection between the two? Like that, proofs of such kind. Premises that have nothing to do with the conclusions.

However, in order to clarify, in order to remind, although this is a clear, simple, well-known issue:

Daesh, which means the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, war originally the Al-Qaeda organisation in Iraq, it was the Al-Qaeda organisation in Iraq which was lead by Abu something al-Muhaajir, Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, and Abu something something, they succeded each other in the leadership of the Al-Qaeda organisation in Iraq. It is the Al-Qaeda organisation`s branch in Iraq.

It was the Al-Qaeda organisation up until about one year and a bit ago, it had a (binding) allegiance to Osama bin Laden, and after that to Ayman al-Zawahiri, and the whole world knows this group`s leaders, ideology, establishment, roots, (foreign) branches, (source of) funding, ties -everything is known.

After that, when they disagreed over Syria, over whether Syria ought to be part of the emirate of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, or a separate emirate led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, the man (Baghdadi) rebelled, relinquished his pledge of allegiance, declared himself an emir and thereafter a Caliph.

Therefore, in all clarity, Daesh was originally the Al-Qaeda organisation, it split from the Al-Qaeda organisation due to an issue related to the leadership of the Syrian arena and (the issue of) allegiance. Okay, if Daesh was Al-Qaeda, who in the world does not know who established Al-Qaeda, was it established by Iran, or President Bashar al-Assad, or Hezbollah, or whom?

The whole world knows that the one who established Al-Qaeda was the American Central Intelligence (CIA), meaning America, and the Saudi intelligence, meaning Saudi Arabia, and the Pakistani intelligence. And this (fact) is present in books, works of writing, and documents from around the world.

It was formed in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets, and then it turned on those who established it, because snakes (act) like that.

Okay, this is Daesh, this is how it originated. Is this what you want to know?

If we are in need today, whether myself or others, we are required to allocated parts of our speeches to remind people of those things which are self-evident, and that Daesh is Al-Qaeda, and that its origin is Al-Qaeda, it was as such merely one year (and a bit) ago it had allegiance to Al-Qaeda, and then they differed over leadership. And nothing changed, only that rather than its emir being Ayman al-Zawahiri, its emir is now Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. That`s it.

What does Iran have to do with it, or President Bashar al-Assad, or Hezbollah, or others?

Yes, regarding the argument «okay, how did (Daesh) seize Raqqa, how did they seize Mosul». Well, this is an open conflict, and in any regime, you may find a military commander in a particular region that is a traitor, or a security official in a particular region who is a traitor, or a coward, or he became scared, or he miscalculated -there are regions that fell. In Iraq there are areas that fell -from the beginning of the developments there- and there are regions that fell in Syria.

However, does this mean that the regime, or Iran, or the Iraqi government, they established Daesh and gave it regions, and told it to go ahead and threaten the whole world? I believe that even children, if you explain to them some of the self-evident facts, they would not accept this assessment.

Daehs is of American origins -and there is a US admission to this- of American, Saudi, Pakistani origins, of course there are some Gulf states who gave it huge resources from the beginning, it later became Daesh, after it rebelled against its mother and father (Al-Qaeda), and it began to have (its own) project and it is now being exploited, protected, financed, its oil and gas is being bought and sold, and its movement of human resources is being facilitated, and it is being used in the current regional conflict.

Therefore, I hope that no one tries to confuse (people) in identifying and knowing the enemy.

The ones who are truly fighting Daesh in this region, with firmness and seriousness, are the ones being accused of establishing and steering Daesh, meaning the Islamic Republic of Iran, the brothers in Iraq, the brothers in Syria, us and those who are with us in Lebanon. These are the ones fighting Daesh.

As for the others, they are helping it via media (support), sell its oil and gas, provide it with funds, open up their borders so that fighters from all over the world can come to it.

So always there is a twisting truth.

[Hervé]

Posted by Hervé (here)
[...]

Once one finds the central core piece, then the other vested interests are grafted onto it as in:

You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it's an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.

- Rahm Emanuel

It's like insider tradings with the "deciders" telling the buddies of their elite club: "Look, this is what we want and what we gonna do to get it; up to you to take advantage of it..."... and it goes out like wildfires with "ideas" on how to make a profit for multinational corporations, etc...

PS: as For an idea on the "big" picture (<--- click)

Going along the "For an idea on the "big" picture" , there is this comprehensive article on VT:

Who Rules the Anglosphere?

By Moti Nissani on August 5, 2016


America’s real rulers have access to immense fortunes, operate behind the scenes, and enjoy near-absolute power

“[The Controllers of the Invisible Government] would continue to grow in strength, until they had the whole silly world, the whole credulous world, the whole ingenuous world, in their hands. Anyone who would challenge them, attempt to expose them, show them unconcealed and naked, would be murdered, laughed at, called mad, ignored, or denounced as a fantasy-weaver.” — Taylor Caldwell, Captains and the Kings, 1972

The Controllers

This article argues that the five major countries of the Anglosphere — Australia, Canada, New Zealand, the UK, and the US — are governed behind the scenes by a coterie. This coterie shapes historical events, accounts for the near-uniformity of these five countries’ political developments, and enjoys partial or full control of most nations of the world. As far as we can guess, this coterie is comprised of a few banking families and their allies and subordinates in the information, corporate, military, intelligence, secret society, and “religious” worlds.

This coterie and its members go by such names as the deep state, One Bank, bankers, oligarchs, Directors, Men in the Shadows, Owners, or Princes of Power. In this series, I shall refer to the entity itself as the Invisible Government and, following Aldous Huxley, to its head honchos as the Controllers.

What is it that the Controllers are after? Why aren’t they content with what they already have? The best guess is that they are just as sick as the fictional Eddorians:

While not essentially bloodthirsty—that is, not loving bloodshed for its own sweet sake—they were no more averse to blood-letting than they were in favor of it. Any amount of killing which would or which might advance an Eddorian toward his goal was commendable; useless slaughter was frowned upon, not because it was slaughter, but because it was useless—and hence inefficient. And, instead of the multiplicity of goals sought by the various entities of any race of Civilization, each and every Eddorian had only one. The same one: power. Power! P-O-W-E-R!! (Doc Smith, Triplanetary, 1948)

Likewise, the head of the Invisible Government in This Perfect Day reveals his real motives:

“Chip, listen to me,” he said, leaning forward, “there’s joy in having it, in controlling, in being the only one.”

_________

Why Prove the Reality of the Invisible Government?

I’m not aware of any near-conclusive proof for the existence of the Invisible Government. This article attempts to close that gap.

Full article: http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/08...e-anglosphere/

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by Hervé (here)
Going along the "For an idea on the "big" picture" , there is this comprehensive article on VT:

Who Rules the Anglosphere?

Excellent article and well worth the time to read it.

It explains, with some detail, but without losing sight of the sweeping scope, who the Bastards in Power are, focusing on the American part of the Anglo-American Empire, such as the Rockefeller's and their various minions.

[avid]

I found this link so important, shared and explained really how important it is we take note of the 'bigger picture', who benefits, and keep track of the events purported/contrived to effect a profitable outcome, however nauseating, because warmongers make fortunes playing both sides against the other to effect their control goals.

[Sophocles]

The Exoneration of Milosevic: the ICTY’s Surprise Ruling

by Andy Wilcoxson
counterpunch.org
August 1, 2016

The International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY) in The Hague has determined that the late Serbian president Slobodan Milosevic was not responsible for war crimes committed during the 1992-95 Bosnian war.

In a stunning ruling, the trial chamber that convicted former Bosnian-Serb president Radovan Karadzic of war crimes and sentenced him to 40 years in prison, unanimously concluded that Slobodan Milosevic was not part of a “joint criminal enterprise” to victimize Muslims and Croats during the Bosnian war.

The March 24th Karadzic judgment states that “the Chamber is not satisfied that there was sufficient evidence presented in this case to find that Slobodan Milosevic agreed with the common plan” to permanently remove Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats from Bosnian Serb claimed territory (p. 1303).

The Karadzic trial chamber found that “the relationship between Milosevic and the Accused had deteriorated beginning in 1992; by 1994, they no longer agreed on a course of action to be taken. Furthermore, beginning as early as March 1992, there was apparent discord between the Accused and Milosevic in meetings with international representatives, during which Milosevic and other Serbian leaders openly criticised Bosnian Serb leaders of committing ‘crimes against humanity’ and ‘ethnic cleansing’ and the war for their own purposes.”

Full article

--------------------------------------------------------------------------

International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the former Yugoslavia since 1991

[Redstar Kachina]

..........

[Sophocles]

Making a Killing: The 1.2 Billion Euro Arms Pipeline to Middle East



An unprecedented flow of weapons from Central and Eastern Europe is flooding the battlefields of the Middle East.

Lawrence Marzouk, Ivan Angelovski and Miranda Patrucic
BIRN Belgrade, London, Sarajevo
balkaninsight.com
27 Jul 16

As Belgrade slept on the night of November 28, 2015, the giant turbofan engines of a Belarusian Ruby Star Ilyushin II-76 cargo plane roared into life, its hull laden with arms destined for faraway conflicts.

Rising from the tarmac of Nikola Tesla airport, the hulking aircraft pierced the Serbian mist to head towards Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

It was one of at least 68 flights that in just 13 months transported weapons and ammunition to Middle Eastern states and Turkey which, in turn, funnelled arms into brutal civil wars in Syria and Yemen, the Balkan Investigative Reporting Network, BIRN, and the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, OCCRP, has found. The flights form just a small part of €1.2 billion in arms deals between the countries since 2012, when parts of the Arab Spring turned into an armed conflict.


Belgrade Airport | BIRN

Meanwhile, over the past two years, as thousands of tonnes of weapons fly south, hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled north from the conflicts that have killed more than 400,000 people. But while Balkan and European countries have shut down the refugee route, the billion-euro pipeline sending arms by plane and ship to the Middle East remains open – and very lucrative.

It is a trade that is almost certainly illegal, according to arms and human rights experts.

“The evidence points towards systematic diversion of weapons to armed groups accused of committing serious human rights violations. If this is the case, the transfers are illegal under the ATT (United Nations’ Arms Trade Treaty) and other international law and should cease immediately,” said Patrick Wilcken, an arms-control researcher at Amnesty International who reviewed the evidence collected by reporters.

But with hundreds of millions of euros at stake and weapons factories working overtime, countries have a strong incentive to let the business flourish. Arms export licences, which are supposed to guarantee the final destination of the goods, have been granted despite ample evidence that weapons are being diverted to Syrian and other armed groups accused of widespread human rights abuses and atrocities.

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=ONtLaZMqNcs

Robert Stephen Ford, US ambassador to Syria between 2011 and 2014, told BIRN and the OCCRP that the trade is coordinated by the US Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, Turkey and Gulf states through centres in Jordan and Turkey, although in practice weapon supplies often bypass this process.

BIRN and the OCCRP examined arms export data, UN reports, flight records, and weapons contracts during a year-long investigation that reveals how thousands of assault rifles, mortar shells, rocket launchers, anti-tank weapons, and heavy machine guns are pouring into the troubled region, originating from Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia.

Since the escalation of the Syrian conflict in 2012, these eight countries have approved the shipment of weapons and ammunition worth at least 1.2 billion euros to Saudi Arabia, Jordan, United Arab Emirates, and Turkey.



The figure is likely much higher. Data on arms export licences for four out of eight countries were not available for 2015 and seven out of eight countries for 2016. The four recipient countries are key arms suppliers to Syria and Yemen with little or no history of buying from Central and Eastern Europe prior to 2012. And the pace of the transfers is not slowing, with some of the biggest deals approved in 2015.

Eastern and Central European weapons and ammunition, identified in more than 50 videos and photos posted on social media, are now in use by Western-backed Free Syrian Army units, but also in the hands of fighters of Islamist groups such as Ansar al-Sham, Al Qaeda-affiliated Jabhat al-Nusra, the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIS, in Syria, factions fighting for Syrian President Bashar-al Assad and Sunni forces in Yemen.

Markings on some of the weapons identifying the origin and date of production reveal significant quantities have come off production lines as recently as 2015.

Out of the 1.2 billion euros in weapons and ammunition approved for export, about 500 million euros have been delivered, according to UN trade information and national arms export reports.

The frequency and number of cargo flights – BIRN and the OCCRP identified at least 68 in just over one year – reveal a steady flow of weapons from Central and Eastern Europe airports to military bases in Middle East.

The most commonly used aircraft - the Ilyushin II-76 - can carry up to 50 tonnes of cargo or approximately 16,000 AK-47 Kalashnikov rifles or three million bullets. Others, including the Boeing 747, are capable of hauling at least twice that amount.

But arms and ammunitions are not only coming by air. Reporters also have identified at least three shipments made by the US military from Black Sea ports carrying an estimated 4,700 tonnes of weapons and ammunition to the Red Sea and Turkey since December 2015.

One Swedish member of the EU parliament calls the trade shameful.

“Maybe they –[Bulgaria, Slovakia and Croatia] – do not feel ashamed at all but I think they should,” said Bodil Valero, who also served as the rapporteur for the EU’s last arms report.“Countries selling arms to Saudi Arabia or the Middle East-North Africa region are not carrying out good risk assessments and, as a result, are in breach of EU and national law.”.

OCCRP and BIRN talked to government representatives in Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovakia who all responded similarly saying that they are meeting their international obligations. Some cited that Saudi Arabia is not on any international weapons black lists and other said their countries are not responsible if weapons have been diverted.

A question of legality

The global arms trade is regulated by three layers of interconnected legislation -- national, European Union, EU, and international – but there are no formal mechanisms to punish those who break the law.

Beyond the blanket ban on exports to embargoed countries, each licence request is dealt with individually.

In the case of Syria, there are currently no sanctions on supplying weapons to the opposition.

As a result, the lawfulness of the export approval hinges on whether countries have carried out due diligence on a range of issues, including the likelihood of the arms being diverted and the impact the export will have on peace and stability.

Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Montenegro, Romania, Serbia and Slovakia are signatories of the UN’s Arms Trade Treaty, which entered into force in December 2014, and lists measures to prevent the illicit trade and diversion of arms.

Member states of the EU are also governed by the legally-binding 2008 Common Position on arms exports, requiring each country to take into account eight criteria when accessing arms exports licence applications, including whether the country respects international human rights, the preservation of “regional peace, security and stability” and the risk of diversion.

As part of their efforts to join the EU, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro have already accepted the measures and have amended their national law. Serbia is in the process of doing so.

Weapons exports are initially assessed based on an end-user certificate, a key document issued by the government of the importing country which guarantees who will use the weapons and that the arms are not intended for re-export.

Authorities in Central and Eastern Europe told BIRN and the OCCRP that they also inserted a clause which requires the buyer to seek approval if they later want to export the goods.

Beyond these initial checks, countries are required to carry out a range of other risk assessments based on national and EU law and the ATT, although conversations with, and statements from, authorities revealed little evidence of that.

OCCRP and BIRN talked to government representatives in Croatia, Czech Republic, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovakia who all responded similarly saying that they are meeting their international obligations. Some cited that Saudi Arabia is not on any international weapons black lists and other said their countries are not responsible if weapons have been diverted. The three other countries did not respond to requests for comment.

The Czech Foreign Ministry was the only public body to directly address concerns about human rights abuses and diversions, saying it took into account both when weighing up an export licence and had blocked transfers on that basis.

How legal are these arms sales to the Middle East? Find out more here

Saudi Arabia – The weapons king

The Central and Eastern European weapons supply line can be traced to the winter of 2012, when dozens of cargo planes, loaded with Saudi-purchased Yugoslav-era weapons and ammunition, began leaving Zagreb bound for Jordan. Soon after, the first footage of Croatian weapons in use emerged from the battleground of Syria.



According to a New York Times report from February 2013, a senior Croatian official offered the country’s stockpiles of old weapons for Syria during a visit to Washington in the summer of 2012. Zagreb was later put in touch with the Saudis, who bankrolled the purchases, while the CIA helped with logistics for an airlift that began late that year.

While Croatia’s government has consistently denied any role in shipping weapons to Syria, former US ambassador to Syria Ford confirmed to BIRN and the OCCRP the New York Times account from an anonymous source of how the deal was hatched. He said he was not at liberty to discuss it further.

This was just the beginning of an unprecedented flow of weapons from Central and Eastern Europe into the Middle East, as the pipeline expanded to include stocks from seven other countries. Local arms dealers sourced arms and ammunition from their home countries and brokered the sale of ammunition from Ukraine and Belarus, and even attempted to secure Soviet-made anti-tank systems bought from the UK, as a Europe-wide arms bazaar ensued.

Prior to the Arab Spring in 2011, the arms trade between Eastern Europe and Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, UAE, and Turkey – four key supporters of Syria’s fractured opposition – was negligible to non-existent, according to analysis of export data.

But that changed in 2012. Between that year and 2016, eight Eastern European countries approved at least 829 million euros worth of weapons and ammunition exports to Saudi Arabia, according to national and EU arms export reports as well as government sources.

Jordan secured export licences worth 155 million euros starting in 2012, while the UAE netted 135 million euros and Turkey 87 million euros, bringing the total to 1.2 billion euros.

Qatar, another key supplier of equipment to the Syrian opposition, does not show up in export licences from Central and Eastern Europe.

Jeremy Binnie, Middle East arms expert for Jane’s Defence Weekly, a publication widely regarded as the most trusted source of defence and security information, said the bulk of the weapon exports from Eastern Europe would likely be destined for Syria and, to a lesser extent, Yemen and Libya.

“With a few exceptions, the militaries of Saudi Arabia, Jordan, the UAE and Turkey use Western infantry weapons and ammunition, rather than Soviet-designed counterparts,” said Binnie. “It consequently seems likely that large shipments of such materiel being acquired by – or sent to – those countries are destined for their allies in Syria, Yemen, and Libya.”

BIRN and the OCCRP obtained confidential documents from Serbia’s Ministry of Defence and minutes from a series of inter-ministerial meetings in 2013. The documents show the ministry raised concerns that deliveries to Saudi Arabia would be diverted to Syria, pointing out that the Saudis do not use Central and Eastern European stock and have a history of supplying the Syrian opposition. The Ministry turned down the Saudi request only to reverse course more than one year later and approve new arms shipments citing national interest. Saudi security forces, while mostly armed by Western producers, are known to use limited amounts of Central and Eastern European equipment. This includes Czech-produced military trucks and some Romanian-made assault rifles. But even arms exports destined for use by Saudi forces are proving controversial, given their involvement in the conflict in Yemen.

The Netherlands became the first EU country to halt arms exports to Saudi Arabia as a result of civilian deaths in Yemen’s civil war, and the European Parliament has called for an EU-wide arms embargo.

Supply Logistics: Cargo flights and airdrops

Weapons from Central and Eastern Europe are delivered to the Middle East by cargo flights and ships. By identifying the planes and ships delivering weapons, reporters were able to track the flow of arms in real time.

Detailed analysis of airport timetables, cargo carrier history, flight tracking data, and air traffic control sources helped pinpoint 68 flights that carried weapons to Middle Eastern conflicts in the past 13 months. Belgrade, Sofia and Bratislava emerged as the main hubs for the airlift.



Most frequent were flights operated from Belgrade, the capital of Serbia. The flights were either confirmed as carrying weapons, were headed to military bases in Saudi Arabia or the UAE or were carried out by regular arms shippers.

The Middle East Airlift

At least 68 cargo flights from Serbia, Slovakia, Bulgaria and the Czech Republic have carried thousands of tons of munitions in the past 13 months to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Jordan, three key suppliers of the Syrian rebels.

These were identified through detailed analysis of airport timetables, cargo carrier history, flight tracking data, leaked arms contracts, end user certificates, and air traffic control sources.

Cargo flights from Central and Eastern Europe to the Middle East, and particularly military bases, were extremely uncommon before late 2012, when the upsurge in weapons and ammunition purchases began, according to EU flight data and interviews with plane-spotters.

The most commonly used aircraft - the Ilyushin II-76 - can carry up to 50 tonnes of cargo or approximately 16,000 AK-47 Kalashnikov rifles or three million bullets. Others, including the Boeing 747, are capable of hauling at least twice that amount.

Of the 68 flights identified, 50 were officially confirmed to have carried arms and ammunition:

-Serbia’s Civil Aviation Directorate confirmed that 49 flights departing or passing through Serbia were carrying arms and ammunition from June 1, 2015 to July 4, 2016. The confirmation came following weeks of refusal to comment on grounds of confidentiality and after BIRN and the OCCRP presented its evidence, including photographs showing military boxes being loaded onto planes at Belgrade’s Nikola Tesla Airport on four different occasions.

-An official at the Bulgarian National Customs Agency confirmed one flight, operated by Belarussian cargo carrier Ruby Star Airways, was carrying arms from the remote Bulgarian Gorna Oryahovitsa Airport to Brno–Turany Airport, the Czech Republic, and on to Aqaba, Jordan.

-An additional 18 flights were identified as very likely to have been carrying arms and ammunition based on one of three variables: the air freight company’s history of weapons supplies; connections to earlier arms flights; or a destination of a military airport:

-Ten flights were made to Prince Sultan Air Base in Al Kharj, Saudi Arabia and Al Dhafra Air Base in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, indicating the likely presence of weapons or ammunition. Additionally, 14 flights to Prince Sultan and Al Dhafra air bases are confirmed as having carried weapons during the same period by Serbia’s Civil Aviation Directorate.

-Seven flights were operated from Slovakia and Bulgaria by Jordan International Air Cargo, part of the Royal Jordanian Air Force, which were revealed to have carried weapons and ammunition from Croatia to Jordan in the winter of 2012. Bulgarian retired colonel and counter-terrorism expert Slavcho Velkov, who maintains extensive contacts with the military, told BIRN and the OCCRP that the Sofia-Amman flights “were transporting weapons to Saudi Arabia, mostly for the Syrian conflict.” Additionally, one other flight operated by this airline is confirmed as having carried weapons during the same period by Serbia’s Civil Aviation Directorate.

-One flight was operated by a Belarussian cargo carrier TransAVIAexport Airlines, which has a long history of transporting weapons. In 2014, the airline was hired by Serbian arms dealer Slobodan Tesic to transport Serbian and Belarussian weapons and ammunition to air bases in Libya controlled by various militant groups. The United Nations, UN, Sanctions Committee investigated the case and found potential breaches of UN sanctions, according to a 2015 UN report. Additionally, five flights operated by this airline are confirmed as having carried weapons during the same period by Serbia’s Civil Aviation Directorate.

Many of these flights made an additional stop in Central and Eastern Europe – meaning they were likely picking up more weapons and ammunition - before flying to their final destination.

EU flight statistics provide further evidence of the scale of the operation. They reveal that planes flying from Bulgaria and Slovakia have delivered 2,268 tons of cargo – equal to 44 flights with the most commonly used aircraft - the Ilyushin II-76 – since the summer of 2014 to the same military bases in Saudi Arabia and UAE pinpointed by BIRN and OCCRP.

Distributing the weapons

Arms bought for Syria by the Saudis, Turks, Jordanians and the UAE are then routed through two secret command facilities – called Military Operation Centers (MOC) – in Jordan and Turkey, according to Ford, the former US ambassador to Syria.

These units – staffed by security and military officials from the Gulf, Turkey, Jordan and the US – coordinate the distribution of weapons to vetted Syrian opposition groups, according to information from the Atlanta-based Carter Center, a think tank that has a unit monitoring the conflict.

“Each of the countries involved in helping the armed opposition retained final decision-making authority about which groups in Syria received assistance,” Ford said.

A cache of leaked cargo carrier documents provides further clues to how the Saudi military supplies Syrian rebels.

According to the documents obtained by BIRN and the OCCRP, the Moldovan company AeroTransCargo made six flights in the summer of 2015 carrying at least 250 tonnes of ammunition between military bases in Saudi Arabia and Esenboga International Airport in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, reportedly an arrival point for weapons and ammunition for Syrian rebels.

Pieter Wezeman, of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, a leading organisation in tracking arms exports, said he suspects the flights are part of the logistical operation to supply ammunition to Syrian rebels.

From the MOCs, weapons are then transported by road to the Syrian border or airdropped by military planes.

A Free Syrian Army commander from Aleppo, who asked to remain anonymous to protect his safety, told BIRN and OCCRP that weapons from Central and Eastern Europe were distributed from centrally controlled headquarters in Syria. “We don’t care about the county of origin, we just know it is from Eastern Europe,” he said.

The Saudis and Turks also provided weapons directly to Islamist groups not supported by the US and who have sometimes ended up fighting MOC-backed factions, Ford added.

The Saudis are also known to have airdropped arms and equipment, including what appeared to be Serbian-made assault rifles to its allies in Yemen.

Ford said that while he was not personally involved in negotiations with Serbia, Bulgaria and Romania over the supply of weapons to Syria, he believes that the CIA is likely to have played a role.

“For operations of this type it would be difficult for me to imagine that there wasn’t some coordination between the intelligence services, but it may have been confined strictly to intelligence channels,” he said.

The US may not have just played a role in the logistics behind delivering Gulf-sponsored weapons from Eastern Europe to the Syrian rebels. Through its Department of Defense’s Special Operations Command (SOCOM), it has also bought and delivered vast quantities of military materiel from Eastern Europe for the Syrian opposition as part of a US$500 million train and equip programme.

Since December 2015, SOCOM has commissioned three cargo ships to transport 4,700 tons of arms and ammunition from ports of Constanta in Romania and Burgas in Bulgaria to the Middle East likely as part of the covert supply of weapons to Syria.

The shipments included heavy machine guns, rocket launchers and anti-tank weapons – as well as bullets, mortars, grenades, rockets and explosives, according to US procurement documents.

The origin of arms shipped by SOCOM is unknown and the material listed in transport documents is available from stockpiles across Central and Eastern Europe.

Not long after one of the deliveries, SOCOM supported Kurdish groups published an image on Twitter and Facebook showing a warehouse piled with US-brokered ammunition boxes in northern Syria SOCOM would not confirm or deny that the shipments were bound for Syria.

US procurement records also reveal that SOCOM secured from 2014 to 2016 at least 25 million euros (27 million dollars) worth of Bulgarian and 11 million euros (12 million dollars) in Serbian weapons and ammunition for covert operations and Syrian rebels.

A Booming Business

Arms control researcher Wilcken said Central and Eastern Europe had been well positioned to cash in on the huge surge in demand for weapons following the Arab Spring.

“Geographical proximity and lax export controls have put some Balkan states in pole position to profit from this trade, in some instances with covert US assistance,” he added. “Eastern Europe is rehabilitating Cold War arms industries which are expanding and becoming profitable again.”

Serbian Prime Minister Aleksandar Vucic boasted recently that his country could produce five times the amount of arms it currently makes and still not meet the demand.

“Unfortunately in some parts of the world they are at war more than ever and everything you produce, on any side of the world you can sell it,” he said.

Arms manufacturers from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia are running at full capacity with some adding extra shifts and others not taking new orders.

Saudi Arabia’s top officials – more used to negotiating multi-billion-dollar fighter-jet deals with Western defence giants – have been forced to deal with a handful of small-time arms brokers operating in Eastern Europe who have access to weapons such as AK-47s and rocket launchers

Middlemen such as Serbia’s CPR Impex and Slovakia’s Eldon have played a critical role in supplying weapons and ammunition to the Middle East

The inventory of each delivery is usually unknown due to the secrecy surrounding arms deals but two end-user certificates and one export licence, obtained by BIRN and the OCCRP, reveal the extraordinary scope of the buy-up for Syrian beneficiaries.

For example, the Saudi Ministry of Defence expressed its interest in buying from Serbian arms dealer CPR Impex a number of weapons including hundreds of aging T-55 and T-72 tanks, millions of rounds of ammunition, multi-launch missile systems and rocket launchers. Weapons and ammunition listed were produced in the former Yugoslavia, Belarus, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic.

An export licence issued to a little-known Slovakian company called Eldon in January 2015 granted the firm the right to transport thousands of Eastern European rocket-propelled grenade launchers, heavy machine guns and almost a million bullets worth nearly 32 million euros to Saudi Arabia.

BIRN and OCCRP’s analysis of social media shows weapons that originated from the former states of Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia, and Serbia, Croatia and Bulgaria are now present on the battlefields of Syria and Yemen.

While experts believe the countries continue to shirk their responsibility, the weapons pipeline adds more and more fuel to a white hot conflict that leads to more and more misery.

“Proliferation of arms to the region has caused untold human suffering; huge numbers of people have been displaced and parties to the conflict have committed serious human rights violations including abductions, executions, enforced disappearances, torture and rape,” said Amnesty’s Wilcken.

Full article

Additional reporting by Atanas Tchobanov, Dusica Tomovic, Jelena Cosic, Jelena Svircic, Lindita Cela, RISE Moldova and Pavla Holcova.

This investigation is produced by BIRN as a part of Paper Trail to Better Governance project.

Read all the documents used in the investigation at BIRN's online library BIRN Source.

[Sophocles]

US-backed rebels who beheaded a Palestinian child show up in Aleppo battlefield

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=WSmaBpPeEeY

From sott article BREAKING: Aleppo battle updates - SAA now have the advantage (8/8/16)

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A hardcore Russian nationalist shares his opinion about Islam (very interesting!)

The Saker
August 08, 2016

Let me begin by saying that I am not a big supporter of Konstantin Dushenov. Without going into a long detailed discussion about this, let’s just say that I don’t consider myself a nationalist. However, I will readily admit that Dushenov makes some excellent points and that I do agree with a lot of what he says. This time, I decided to post his short commentary about Islam to show that in Russia, even the hardcore nationalists are very pro-Islamic, at least by European or US standards. There is an (apparent) paradox here: the Russians fought the Takfiris in at least 3 extremely vicious wars (Afghanistan, First Chechen and Second Chechen) and yet after 35+ years of fighting the Takfiris there is no Islamophobia in Russia. Amazing no? In the West, all it took to trigger an anti-Muslim hysteria was a few false flags, and millions of westerners immediately bought into the “Islamic boogeyman” canard. Russians fight Takfiris in wars far more brutal and violent than anything experienced by the US/NATO militaries, and yet they do not indulge in Islam-bashing.

What do the Russians know which folks in the West apparently ignore?

I leave you with Dushenov’s comments on this topic.

Cheers,

The Saker

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=uwKR6PPGUvw

[Octavusprime]

Sounds like the Turkish/Russian pipeline deal may come back on the table. How the tides change....

https://www.rt.com/business/355245-t...tukish-stream/

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says the Turkish Stream pipeline is going ahead and will be implemented swiftly. The announcement came after Tuesday's meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in St. Petersburg.
Read more
© Gleb Garanich Ankara ready to resume talks on Turkish Stream project
The Turkish Stream project was parked late last year due to the dispute between Moscow and Ankara after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane in Syria. However, with a thaw in relations the project is expected to be given another life.

The pipeline was announced by President Putin in December 2014 during a visit to Turkey. The project was to replace the abandoned South Stream pipeline through Bulgaria.

The Turkish Stream pipeline is intended to deliver gas from the Russian Black Sea coast to Turkey and on to Greece.

Initially, Russia’s Gazprom wanted to deliver 63 billion cubic meters of gas per year. Later the capacity was cut to 32 billion cubic meters. Turkey would take about 14 billion cubic meters, with the rest going to Europe.

The two sides also decided to continue with Turkey’s first nuclear power plant at Akkuyu. The agreement to build four 1,200 MW reactors at a total project cost of $20 billion was signed in May 2010. Before relations between the countries deteriorated, the first reactor was planned to be commissioned in 2022.

READ MORE: Russia halts Turkish Stream project over downed jet

President Putin also said Russia intends to resume charter flights to Turkey, as Ankara has provided security guarantees for Russian tourists.


"We have considered the possibility of the resumption of charter flights. It’s a mere formality and time," said Putin.

The Russian President added that the number of Russian tourists visiting Turkey will soon return to pre-crisis levels, and that the sale of tour packages to Turkey resumed in June. On Tuesday, it was reported the number of Russian tourists visiting Antalya has plummeted 97 percent this year.


READ MORE: Putin lifts Turkey tourism ban

In February, Russia's Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov said Turkish exports to Russia fell by two-thirds soon after the jet incident. In November 2015, a Russian pilot died when his plane was shot down over Syria by a Turkish fighter.

Following the incident, Moscow introduced a package of economic measures against Ankara – a visa regime, travel ban, as well as an embargo on agricultural products and on hiring Turkish nationals. All major projects were also frozen.