View Full Version : Ukraine, Crimea, Syria, Israel, Iran, Turkey, Putin, China, and World War III
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Hervé
13th November 2016, 16:10
Maria Zakharova translates Stoltenberg's address to Trump into 'comprehensible' language (http://tass.com/politics/911996)
ITAR-TASS (http://tass.com/politics/911996) Sun, 13 Nov 2016 15:18 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s17/357113/large/1152367.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s17/357113/full/1152367.jpg)
© Aleksandr Scherbak/TASS
The Russian Foreign Ministry's spokeswoman Maria Zakharova commented on his [Stoltenberg] page in Facebook an address from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg to the U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, published in The Guardian.
From Stoltenberg's address to Trump:
The spokeswoman said, Stoltenberg spoke about "greatest challenge to security in a generation." "... we need to recognize the value of the partnership between Europe and America," The Guardian quoted him.
"The only time NATO has invoked its self-defense clause, that an attack on one is an attack on all, was in support of the United States after the 9/11 terrorist attacks. This was more than just a symbol. NATO went on to take charge of the operation in Afghanistan. Hundreds of thousands of European soldiers have served in Afghanistan since. And more than 1,000 have paid the ultimate price in an operation that is a direct response to an attack against the United States."
Stoltenberg continued: "Russia ... has become more "assertive" in recent years", and said about instability in the Middle East and northern Africa:
The alliance's director general confirmed "America accounts for 70% of NATO spending ...and we need Europeans to shoulder their fair share of the burden."
Translation into comprehensible language:
The spokeswoman translated the article into the 'real politic' language.
"So, who will be taking the expenses and guide us? Who will be paying us for the obscurantism we are promoting as directed from Washington? For the recent years we are unable any more to think or act independently," the diplomat wrote translating Stoltenberg's words into "understandable Russian".
"We have done everything for the U.S. establishment, including deployment of forces and weapons in our sovereign countries in peaceful times. How then should we look into [the] eyes of our people?"
"They would not forgive us, no doubt, especially after the sanctions wars, which have undermined sectors of our thoroughly-made economy. And you over there will regret that we here begin living independently," she continued translating.
"We turn a blind eye on what the U.S. has made in Afghanistan, where drug production (of precursors) grew by many times, and those drugs are arriving first of all to us, into Europe. We do not utter a word about thousands of servicemen injured in the U.S. adventure in Iraq. Not that we are ashamed, but because you have been paying us to do so. And, noteworthy, it was sufficient for us, we would be happy even with smaller allowance, if you please, we have agreed to dump the relations with Russia as we accused it of all the sins to satisfy the ruling U.S. administration, which relied greatly on this to retain the White House."
"Do understand, we do not want to remove the blindfold you have put on us, as in that case we would have to acknowledge we are far from the reality and we are nude.
Yours, hopefully, Forever,
NATO secretary general,"
... the foreign ministry's representative wrote to conclude the translation.
Cara
14th November 2016, 11:39
This video was recommended on Catherine Austin-Fitts website (https://solari.com/blog/) and I am so glad I decided to watch it.
It is a presentation given by Col. Lawrence Wilkerson on the impact of the USA's relationship with Israel and its onward implications for the USA's foreign policy and actions in the Middle East.
He packs a large amount into a relatively short (only 20 min) presentation including:
some history on the relationship,
a review of how different presidents have handled it,
references USA's support of dictators,
implications of the relationship to USA's security in the region
and more.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fcKVDnAHcmo
//
About Col. Lawrence Wilkerson:
Lawrence B. "Larry" Wilkerson (born 15 June 1945) is a retired United States Army Colonel and former chief of staff to United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. Wilkerson has criticized many aspects of the Iraq War, including his own preparation of Powell's presentation to the UN.
More at Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lawrence_Wilkerson)
This presentation is from a conference held at the National Press Club in Washington D.C., March 2016, titled "ISRAEL'S INFLUENCE: Good or Bad for America?". More presentations from the conference are available on their website: http://israelsinfluence.org/
Hervé
16th November 2016, 15:43
Confirmed: Russia's biggest warship has joined the fight in Syria (http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/11/confirmed-russias-biggest-warship-has.html)
November 15, 2016 - Fort Russ News - Vesti.Ru (http://www.vesti.ru/doc.html?id=2821831)-
translated by J. Arnoldski -
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MHwCNVivfZU/WCw2NK-ThZI/AAAAAAAAFVU/WVo5igceemkjhs1t1ZjqJv7RsTW3Ik9NQCLcB/s640/1025066191.jpg (https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MHwCNVivfZU/WCw2NK-ThZI/AAAAAAAAFVU/WVo5igceemkjhs1t1ZjqJv7RsTW3Ik9NQCLcB/s1600/1025066191.jpg)
The Armed Forces of Russia have begun a massive airstrike operation against terrorists in the Syrian provinces of Idlib and Homs. The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier has engaged in combat operations. This was reported on November 15th by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu.
According to Shoigu, massive strikes are being launched at terrorist factories in Syria. During a meeting with President Putin, the defense minister announced that the naval group is securely covered, including by Bastion coastal missile complexes.
The mass-scale operation of inflicting mass fire damage on ISIS and Jebat al-Nusra positions in the Idlib and Homs provinces was begun by Russian armed forces at 10:30 on November 15th. The Admiral Grigorovich frigate has launched Calibre cruise missiles and the Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier is participating in combat operations for the first time in the history of the Russian Navy.
Su-33 aircraft based on the Admiral Kuznetsov have been bombing terrorists. All of the strikes are being launched in accordance to intelligence data and clarified targets investigated in advance.
Russian frigate off Syrian cost blasts terrorist HQ with cruise missiles (VIDEO) (http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/11/russian-frigate-off-syrian-cost-blasts.html)
November 16, 2016 - Fort Russ News - RusVesna (http://rusvesna.su/news/1479222303)-
translated by J. Arnoldski -
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7PMJ0ayNQI/WCxaTtLXsYI/AAAAAAAAFWA/IaURlS5mFUs9NlLz2X5nWcyafoQjaXVGgCLcB/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-11-16%2Bat%2B14.08.07.png (https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Q7PMJ0ayNQI/WCxaTtLXsYI/AAAAAAAAFWA/IaURlS5mFUs9NlLz2X5nWcyafoQjaXVGgCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-11-16%2Bat%2B14.08.07.png)
As reported earlier, the Admiral Grigorovich frigate of the Russian naval strike group in the Mediterranean Sea has launched cruise missiles against targets in Syria.
The Ministry of Defense of Russia has published video footage of Caliber and Oniks cruise missile strikes against terrorist targets.
The footage shows the moment of missiles hitting a terrorist warehouse of weapons and military vehicles and also a strike on militants' headquarters.
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Morbid
17th November 2016, 00:45
state department relays hearsay from their own 3rd party sources. what a joke.
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Sueanne47
17th November 2016, 01:56
Senator Graham's actions may undermine Trump's victory :
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Sueanne47
17th November 2016, 12:14
Fighting breaking out among Ukraine politicians :
hPqePLGCarI
Hervé
17th November 2016, 18:44
CIA and FBI agents "urgently withdrawn" from Ukraine (http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/11/cia-and-fbi-agents-urgently-withdrawn.html)
November 16, 2016 - Fort Russ News - PolitNavigator (http://www.politnavigator.net/ssha-otzyvayut-iz-kieva-operativnikov-fbr-i-cru.html) -
translated by J. Arnoldski -
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MYLtfXchk7g/WC16Xb4d46I/AAAAAAAAFW4/G7mupblhvaw57AWAhFoC5dqzJNuRt2aXgCLcB/s640/1453283087_99.jpg (https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-MYLtfXchk7g/WC16Xb4d46I/AAAAAAAAFW4/G7mupblhvaw57AWAhFoC5dqzJNuRt2aXgCLcB/s1600/1453283087_99.jpg)
American intelligence officers stationed at the General Prosecutor and SBU buildings in Kiev have urgently left Ukraine. This was reported by former Verkhovna Rada deputy Igor Markov live on the Russian debate-show “The Meeting Place.”
According to Markov, this is evidence that the US is “slyly withdrawing” from Ukraine.
“A week ago, all the FBI representatives based at the General Prosecutor and the CIA officers stationed in the SBU were urgently redeployed to Romania and Czech Republic. For security forces, this is a clear signal that the US is slyly withdrawing from Ukraine. Only analysts remain, all operative agents have left,” Markov stated.
Sueanne47
18th November 2016, 23:01
Putin has surprises for US new weapons ..and Alien disclosure :
CJaGHCEfr1o
Hervé
18th November 2016, 23:17
No surprise: US and Ukraine vote against anti-Nazi glorification resolution (https://www.rt.com/news/367452-un-nazi-glorification-resolution/)
RT (https://www.rt.com/news/367452-un-nazi-glorification-resolution/) Fri, 18 Nov 2016 21:49 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s17/358234/large/582f6490c3618842418b4602.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s17/358234/full/582f6490c3618842418b4602.jpg)
© Valentin Flauraud / Reuters UN Human Rights Council in session
Ukraine, United States, and the Pacific island of Palau were the only three UN members to reject a Russian-authored resolution against rehabilitating and promoting Nazi beliefs.
The resolution to "Combat glorification of Nazism, Neo-Nazism and other practices that contribute to fueling contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," which has been submitted by Russia annually since 2006, was approved by the UN human rights committee with 131 members voting for, 3 against, and 48, mostly European nations, abstaining.
Washington and Kiev have been resolute opponents of the resolution, which is symbolic and has no legal power, over the years.
"We condemn without reservation all forms of religious and ethnic intolerance or hatred at home and around the world," said Deputy U.S. Representative Stefanie Amadeo. "However, due to this resolution's overly narrow scope and politicized nature, and because it calls for unacceptable limits on the fundamental freedom of expression, the United States cannot support it."
"This resolution's recommendations to limit freedom of expression, freedom of association, and the right to peaceful assembly contravene the principles enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and must be opposed."
In past years both states have also accused Moscow of using alleged Nazism to condemn post-Soviet countries, shut down historical debate about the events of World War II, and even to potentially justify foreign invasions.
The Russian Foreign Ministry said it was "disappointed" by the lack of unanimity in support of the resolution, and "unconvinced" by the free speech explanation.
"The destructive stance of the US and Ukraine on this resolution, unfortunately, came as no surprise," State Duma International Affairs Committee member Sergei Zheleznyak told the media in Moscow in the aftermath of the vote. "Kiev made radical nationalism its state ideology glorifying the participants in the punitive operations responsible for the deaths of thousands of citizens of Ukraine, Russia, Poland and other countries during WWII... "continues to support the criminal regime in Kiev and invent accusations against Russia."
The ranks of supporters and opponents of the resolution is a mirror image of the Ukraine-sponsored document passed two days earlier by the same committee, which accused Russia of occupying Crimea and human rights abuses. Following its adoption, Russia accused Ukraine of "politicizing human rights."
Both resolutions will be presented to the UN General Assembly next month.
Sueanne47
19th November 2016, 23:38
Middle East going up in flames :
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RunningDeer
21st November 2016, 13:29
DARK JOURNALIST & ELANA FREELAND - SPACE FENCE II - AHRIMAN WAR IN THE HEAVENS! DARK
Part One here (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?69621-Ukraine-Crimea-Syria-Israel-Iran-Putin-and-World-War-III&p=1106451&viewfull=1#post1106451)
Xff-kwvKJbo
Published on Nov 20, 2016
Visit http://www.DarkJournalist.com
Global Surveillance System
In this powerful part two episode Dark Journalist Daniel Liszt welcomes back Geoengineering author Elana Freeland for an exclusive preview of her controversial new book due out in early 2017 on the mysterious and obscure covert program for a massive Global Surveillance System that can track the population down the to DNA level named 'The Space Fence!'
Space Fence Predicted?
Although the Space Fence is a highly technological project that combines elements of HAARP and SDI Star Wars Technology along with a complete program to Ionize the Atmosphere to mutate the human immune system, there are also psycho-spiritual aspects embedded in the project as it represents a deep level of esoteric understanding and manifestation.
As early as 1907 Austrian Anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner had envisioned an ominous spirit of technology invading the human soul and psyche via a deep dependence in culture on emerging scientific trends that bears an exceptional resemblance to modern Artificial Intelligence. He named the force ‘Ahriman’ from the dark lord of Persian Mythology that battled the fabled hero of humanity Ahura Mazda. Steiner eventually set up a center for Spiritual Science to teach Anthroposophy in order to combat the effects of an overwhelming bombardment of scientific materialism upon a society further and further removed from its mystical and cosmic religious roots.
The UFO Surveillance Factor
The presence of UFOs in Earth’s orbit and flying in our skies has caused the National Security State to implement measures to monitor and control the situation while keeping the presence of these mysterious craft from the public.
One of these programs was the SDI Star Wars Program set up in the 1980’s under President Reagan. Ostensibly set up as a missile defense program against the threat of incoming Russian missiles, it has been rumored to have been constructed with a dual purpose of defending the planet in the event the massive numbers of unidentified flying craft were hostile or unpredictable. Now the Space Fence program, set up under the auspices of a Secret Space Program, is the fully realized version of the original, but with one special addition: it can be used to surveil and catalog the entire globe and the physical life upon it down to the DNA level!
Provocative, unsetting, eye-opening, inspiring and complex, this is the Dark Journalist episode you must see!
Hervé
21st November 2016, 15:36
Meanwhile, down on 3D earth, the control of the Mediterranean access (e.g. Yemen) has unexpected flare ups:
British Navy ship fires 'warning' flares at unarmed Spanish oceanographic vessel in standoff near Gibraltar (https://www.rt.com/news/367603-british-navy-standoff-gibraltar/)
RT (https://www.rt.com/news/367603-british-navy-standoff-gibraltar/) Mon, 21 Nov 2016 13:56 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s17/358681/large/58329de1c461888f318b45e7.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s17/358681/full/58329de1c461888f318b45e7.jpg)
© ieo.es
A Royal Navy patrol boat fired flares at a Spanish vessel off Gibraltar after it attempted to drop a sonar buoy for conducting geological research in British waters.
The tense maritime standoff came amid suspicions that the Spanish authorities had directed the oceanographic vessel, the Angeles Alvarino, to investigate the seabed in the Bay of Gibraltar and use the results of the research to question the UK's jurisdiction over the area.
Angeles Alvarino anchored in British waters near Gibraltar and attempted to drop a sonar buoy, the Telegraph reported on Sunday.
The HMS Sabre, a Royal Navy patrol boat, was scrambled to stop Alvarino. It fired three flares after failing to establish radio contact with the Spanish vessel, which left British waters shortly after the warning.
A Ministry of Defence spokesman said in a statement that "the Royal Navy challenges all unlawful maritime incursions into British Gibraltar territorial waters," adding that the UK will deliver a formal diplomatic protest to the Spanish government.
Gibraltar's chief minister, Fabian Picardo, has accused the Spanish sailors of "reckless disregard for safety," while John Cortes, the Minister for the Environment, asserted that Alvarino's mission had nothing to do with oceanographic research.
"It hurts to see scientists being forced / tricked into playing dangerous games, falsely in the name of science," he wrote on his Twitter account.
Gibraltar is an important territory on Spain's southern tip that has been governed by the British since the 18th century. It is also at the heart of a jurisdictional row between the two NATO and EU allies. The city, with its population of around 30,000 people, effectively controls the entrance to the Mediterranean Sea.
Apart from its strategic importance, Gibraltar is also known for four main sectors, which dominate its local economy, namely financial services, online gambling, shipping, and tourism, which includes retail sales to visitors.
Whereas Madrid is pushing for joint administration of Gibraltar, London refuses to discuss the sovereignty issue without the consent of the local population.
The Gibraltarians rejected the proposal for Spanish sovereignty in a 2002 referendum, when 98.97 percent said 'No' to the question: "Do you approve of the principle that Britain and Spain should share sovereignty over Gibraltar?"
However, following the UK vote to leave the EU in June, Jose Manuel Garcia-Margallo, the acting Foreign Minister of Spain at the time, said that the referendum results had paved the way for a Spanish flag to fly over Gibraltar once more. In turn, some military experts called (https://www.rt.com/uk/354366-royal-navy-gibraltar-brexit/) on the British Royal Navy to increase its visible presence in Gibraltar waters.
In his UN General Assembly speech in September, Spanish King Felipe VI urged Britain "to end the colonial anachronism of Gibraltar with an agreed solution between both countries."
The British overseas territory was quick to fire back, accusing the Spanish monarch of being "stuck in the 18th century" and not coming to terms with having lost Gibraltar over three centuries ago.
"This is not 1704, when Britain conquered Gibraltar, or 1713, when Spain ceded it by treaty forever. This is 2016, when what matters most is the right of a people, however small, to determine their own future," a spokesman for Gibraltar's government said.
======================================================
PS: The ship is actually the "Ramon Margalef (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/europe/gibraltar/10459767/Spanish-ship-in-heated-standoff-with-Royal-Navy-in-Gibraltar.html)" of El Hierro fame (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?30888-Tirelessly-updating-Avalon-on-the-El-Hierro-eruption.&p=338563&viewfull=1#post338563).
Hervé
22nd November 2016, 14:44
People Infuriated by White Helmets' Fake Video in Syria (http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950902000956)
Tue Nov 22, 2016 5:36
http://media.farsnews.com/media/Uploaded/Files/Images/1395/09/02/13950902000667_PhotoI.jpg
TEHRAN (FNA)- A clumsily-produced video showing a rescue operation by the White Helmets has stirred negative reactions in the social media, specially on Facebook and Twitter, infuriating people to the degree that they are now questioning authenticity of reports compiled by international bodies based on such videos so far.
The video showed that two members of the so-called White Helmets trying to help a man stuck in rubble, all still for a while, then suddenly coming to life, the man being pulled out of the rubble and carried away.
The video of the rescue operation was first posted online by the Revolutionary Forces of Syria Media Office (RFS) that is an anti-Assad media outlet.
After jittery reactions, the RFS pulled out the video from YouTube, but it was too late. The video has created deep doubt and suspicion among viewers about authenticity of other videos released by the White Helmets.
Many have shown their anger in their Facebook and Twitter posts, while other point to the cooperation between the White Helmets and the terrorist groups backed by a number of western states.
http://media.farsnews.com/media/Uploaded/Files/Images/1395/09/02/13950902000759_Test_PhotoI.jpg
http://media.farsnews.com/media/Uploaded/Files/Images/1395/09/02/13950902000763_Test_PhotoI.jpg
Now web operators and analysts have started questioning the veracity and creditability of the reports given out by the international bodies based on such videos and documents.
There was an uproar when the group did not receive the Nobel Peace Prize for their efforts. It was claimed that the group has saved the lives of more than 40,000 people affected by Syria's civil war. Responding to missing out on the Nobel Prize, members of the group said "it is not the Nobel we long for most, but peace itself."
http://media.farsnews.com/media/Uploaded/Files/Images/1395/09/02/13950902000761_Test_PhotoI.jpg
http://media.farsnews.com/media/Uploaded/Files/Images/1395/09/02/13950902000764_Test_PhotoI.jpg
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http://media.farsnews.com/media/Uploaded/Files/Images/1395/09/02/13950902000772_Test_PhotoI.jpg
Earlier this month, a Syrian journalist proved via release of several images of a Syrian child that the US-linked White Helmet Humanitarian Organization's claims of saving civilians in the war-hit country are mere lies.
Abbas Jom'eh released three images of a little girl (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?94369-Media-Manipulation&p=1113291&viewfull=1#post1113291) that had been allegedly rescued by members of the White Helmet Organization in three different locations, disclosing the organization's lies about rescuing civilians in Syria.
In his twitter page, the Syrian journalist placed three images form the girl that was rescued by the White Helmet's agents in different places.
"Actors in the White Helmet rescue one girl in three different places! Can't they play their role any better on this stage?" Abbas Jom'eh asked.
A journalist said on Sunday that the White Helmets Organization was not an independent body despite their claims and receive financial supports from several western states that back terrorist groups in Syria.
"The White Helmets cannot be an independent organization because it works for the interests of the western countries that back terrorist groups in Syria and receives financial support from the US, Britain and Germany instead," Vanesa Bili said.
"It seems to be strange that the White Helmets are constantly in the regions controlled by the ISIL and Fatah al-Sham Front (the al-Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group previously known as the al-Nusra Front) and their affiliated groups. Videos and images taken in these regions prove that the White Helmets cooperate with the terrorists," Bili went on to say.
"The White Helmets not only offer medical services to terrorists and take part in their assassination and execution of civilians, but also work for overthrowing the Syrian government," the journalist added.
RunningDeer
22nd November 2016, 21:15
People Infuriated by White Helmets' Fake Video in Syria (http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950902000956)
Tue Nov 22, 2016 5:36
http://media.farsnews.com/media/Uploaded/Files/Images/1395/09/02/13950902000759_Test_PhotoI.jpg
Must watch video showing White Helmets fakery
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PathWalker
23rd November 2016, 18:21
Haaretz
Israeli Attorney General Orders Police to Open Inquiry Into Submarine Affair Amid New Developments
Iraeli PM is targeted again by secret service (we had similar spin 6 months ago).
Maybe the control power is changing in Israel as well. These kind of allegation are way beyond political and go up to secret services.
I am quite sure Teflon Netanyahu will glide this crisis and become the saving hero.
Revelations of alleged conflicts of interest regarding a huge military deal involving a German company represented in Israel by Benjamin Netanyahu's personal lawyer have roiled Israel’s political and defense establishment.
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.754887
http://www.haaretz.com/polopoly_fs/1.753708.1479411263!/image/3830201508.jpg_gen/derivatives/headline_857x482/3830201508.jpg
Attorney General Avichai Mendelblit has ordered the police to open an inquiry into the ongoing submarine affair. The decision follows a meeting Wednesday evening with senior Justice Ministry officials, including State Prosecutor Shai Nitzan and the heads of police investigations and intelligence units.
Revelations of alleged conflicts of interest regarding a huge military deal involving a German company represented in Israel by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's personal lawyer have roiled Israel’s political leaders and defense establishment in recent days.
A Justice Ministry statement said the decision comes "following new information received [Wednesday] by the police and additional developments."
An earlier meeting held on Sunday found no suspicions of criminal misdeeds in the affair, and it was decided to focus on an administrative examination of conflicts of interest on the part of Netanyahu and those involved in the incident, including his attorney, David Shimron.
Channel 10 reported on Tuesday that an email from a Defense Ministry official purportedly shows that Shimron intervened for a German shipyard concerning a sale of missile boats to the Israel Navy.....
read more: http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.754887
Sophocles
26th November 2016, 09:26
What are the Ukronazis up to in Crimea? (http://thesaker.is/what-are-the-ukronazis-up-to-in-crimea/)
November 25, 2016
The Saker
First, it appeared to be a fluke: this summer the Ukronazi regime sent a small terrorist unit into Crimea tasked with blowing up several targets in the Crimea (see here (http://theduran.com/russian-fsb-vs-ukrainian-saboteurs-shoot-crimea/) for details). They were arrested by the Russian security services. In November, another two saboteurs were caught by the FSB (see here (http://tass.com/world/912081)). And now something really remarkable happened. The Ukronazi security service kidnapped two Russian citizens in broad daylight and accused them of being “deserters”. Turns out that the two kidnapped men are Maksim Odintsov and Alexander Baranov and that both of them are junior servicemen in the Russian military (ensign and junior sergeant). Apparently, what happened is this: Odintsov and Baranov used to serve in the Ukrainian military (at least that is what the SBU claims), but when Crimea, from where Odintsov and Baranov are, returned to Russia they did what tens of thousands of other Ukrainian servicemen did – they joined the Russian military. The two were lured to the neutral zone between Crimea and the Ukraine by men who promised them that they could give them diplomas proving that they had a higher education from Ukrainian institutions. You can watch this video to see what actually happened next (no translation needed):
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The video also shows one of the two men, with a superb shiner on his face, admitting that he had served in the Ukrainian military and that he is guilty of treason. What is remarkable here is that the Ukronazis kidnapped these two men in broad daylight in an location which was clearly under video monitoring, and that they then showed one of the hostages with a clear sign of the beating he received. No matter how incompetent the SBU is, they are not so incompetent as to not to realize the fantastically provocative nature of their actions. This was an absolutely deliberate provocation whose goal was to get some kind of Russian reaction, either in Crimea or somewhere else.
What were they really hoping for?
Probably for some kind of Russian reaction which would reach across the border: some kind of attack on the Ukrainian border post, or maybe an artillery strike. Maybe even an attempt to free the two men, or even a retaliatory counter-kidnapping. What they knew is that any Russian reaction across the border would have been met by a hysterical chorus of outrage from the western political leaders and their corporate media.
For the time being, the (hideously slowly clumsy and poorly updated) website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had nothing to say. The (marginally better) website of the President of Russia offered this reaction (http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/53317):
Question: Mr President, I want to clarify the situation with the Russian military service personnel detained by the Ukrainians. What measures are you taking?
Vladimir Putin: I cannot say anything about these measures yet and can say only what we know at present, which is that these military servicemen formerly served in the Ukrainian armed forces and, after Crimea’s reunification with Russia, decided to serve in the Russian armed forces.
In this respect, let me say first of all that we have always had great respect for and trust in Ukrainian military service personnel, and therefore proposed that they continue their service in our ranks.
Second, they wanted to obtain confirmation of education at one of Ukraine’s higher education establishments, and this was why they went to the border. They were lured a few metres further and detained.
I think this kind of treachery will ultimately turn against those who carry out such acts. This is the same kind of thing as switching off the power supply to Crimea in winter and just before New Year. If people in Ukraine think they can win Crimea residents’ sympathy this way, this amounts to an attack using inappropriate means, to use legal language.
In other words: other than issuing a verbal condemnation, Russia will not react in any dramatic manner. This is, of course, the correct decision, especially now that Trump is hopefully going to replace the Neocons with some patriotically minded and mentally sane officials. But there is also an inherent risk in this Russian stance: it invites the Ukronazis to further escalate their provocations.
Consider this: while the junta in Kiev has been constantly shelling the Donbass, the Kremlin did nothing to stop it. When top Novorussian officials, such as Motorola, were murdered by somebody hired by the junta, the Russians again did nothing. Nor did the Moscow retaliate when the Ukronazis sent saboteurs into Crimea. What I fear is that next the Ukronazis will combine these two provocations into one and attack Crimea directly, either by lobbing a mortar shell directly across the border or even with an artillery attack upon a town in northern Crimea.
While from a military point of view a Russian response is a no-brainer, from the political point of view this might be much harder. Imagine this:
The SBU hides one single artillery piece in a town just north of the Crimean-Ukrainian border and then begins to shell, at night, of course, Russian military positions or town, in northern Crimea. Several Russian soldiers or civilians are killed, more are wounded. The Russian counter-battery radars will immediately an easily detect the location from which these attacks came, but we all know since the MH-17 that Russian radar recordings are considered worthless by the western corporate media. And if the Russian counter-strike hits a town, this will be presented as yet another aggression against the “sovereign and free Ukraine”. The Russians all remember how in 08.08.08 it was Russia, not Georgia, which was declared the aggressor and how when months later the investigative committees of the EU declared that, well, no, it was actually the Georgians who attacked the Russian peacekeepers nobody in the West paid any attention to this. The reality is that the otherwise weak, militarily incompetent, Ukraine holds the “escalation dominance” over Russia, especially in Crimea. Yes, on every rung of the escalatory ladder Russia is vastly more capable and powerful than the Ukraine, but it is the Ukraine which can chose on which rung of the escalatory ladder it choses to engage Russia. Sounds paradoxical?
That is because, as I have been repeating for years now, the purpose of the regime in Kiev is not to win an unwinnable conflict against Russia, but only to draw Russia into the Ukraine. Russia should have escalation dominance over the Ukraine, but in reality it is Ukraine which will get to chose at which rung of the escalation ladder Russia will be forced to react. This is a typical case where “the action is in the reaction (http://infed.org/mobi/saul-alinsky-community-organizing-and-rules-for-radicals/)”.
And let’s be honest, with the US Neocons out of power very soon, at least temporarily, the junta in Kiev has absolutely nothing to lose from a direct, blatant, attack on Russia. Think of it: the EU and NATO leaders in Europe are absolutely horrified by the Trump victory and they are desperate for a crisis, any crisis, which would give them a meaning, a sense of purpose, a justification before the European public opinion. As for the Americans, Trump will only become President on January 20th, that leaves them enough time to react to any crisis, even an artificial one, in such a manner as to preempt any attempts by the new administration to improve relations with Russia.
Sure looks to me like the Neocons, the EU/NATO comprador elites and the Ukronazis in Kiev all have exactly the same interests: trigger a crisis before Trump is sworn in.
In the meantime, the Minister of Culture of the Ukraine has declared (https://www.rt.com/news/367972-ukraine-donbass-genes-culture/) that the people of the Donbass a “genetically unfit” to accept the Ukrainian culture (does anybody still wonder why I call this regime “Ukronazi” and not “Ukrainian”?) while the European Parliament has declared (https://www.rt.com/news/367922-eu-resolution-russian-media/) that the EU is in a state of “informational war” with Russia and that the EU needs to “respond” to the Russian attack.
As for Latvia (https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/fearing-closer-trump-ties-with-putin-latvia-prepares-for-the-worst/2016/11/18/f22b3376-ab54-11e6-8f19-21a1c65d2043_story.html), Lithuania (http://www.ibtimes.com/war-europe-lithuania-prepares-russian-invasion-nato-sends-troops-eastern-european-2439095) and Estonia (http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/michael-j-totten/estonia-prepares-anti-russian-insurgency) are all preparing for an imminent Russian invasion. As for the Poles, they are busy exhuming the body of Lech Kaczynski (http://www.wsj.com/articles/poland-exhumes-president-killed-in-russia-plane-crash-1479145204) in the hope to prove that Russian shot down his aircraft in 2010.
The next couple of months will be very dangerous indeed.
The Saker (http://thesaker.is/what-are-the-ukronazis-up-to-in-crimea/)
PS: Just when I was about to post this article, I saw this on RT: Kiev to hold missile-firing exercise over Crimea (https://www.rt.com/news/368181-ukraine-crimea-firing-exercise/). This confirms, alas, the morbid drive of the Ukronazis to get some kind of provocation going in Crimea.
Cidersomerset
28th November 2016, 15:15
Over the weekend while the worlds media has been focused elsewhere , the Syrian
army and its allies have been retaking more of East Aleppo from militant forces and
rebels......
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Syrian govt forces liberate ten districts of east Aleppo from rebels
T7hsKFx13ag
Published on 28 Nov 2016
More than 3,000 civilians have left the eastern part of the besieged Syrian city
of Aleppo in the last 24 hours, the Russian Center for Reconciliation said. It
later reported that about 40 percent of the militant-held part of the city has
been liberated.
READ MORE: http://on.rt.com/7w9c
====================================================
===================================================
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Aleppo siege: Third of rebel-held Syria city taken by forces
2 hours ago
From the section Middle East
03TvYRNisp0
Syrian soldiers seized the area of Masaken Hanano at the weekend
Syrian government forces have captured a third of the rebel-held territory in
eastern Aleppo, monitors say.The advance, after heavy bombing from the air, is a
major blow for the armed opponents of President Bashar al-Assad.State TV said
government troops were dismantling mines and explosives and continuing their
advance.
Thousands of civilians have fled the besieged districts after a weekend of heavy
fighting. Hundreds of families have been displaced within the area.
Read more...
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/50DA/production/_92689602_aleppo_corridors_624_211116.png
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38128370
Cidersomerset
28th November 2016, 21:55
This is not new and has been discussed openly for decades , but not presented
in conjunction with all the other intel psyops and dot connecting. Hope fully this
will lead for more disclosures....
https://twitter.com/wikileaks?lang=en-gb
http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/page/express_logo.png
'CIA created ISIS', says Julian Assange as Wikileaks releases 500k US cables
WIKILEAKS founder Julian Assange today said the CIA was responsible for paving the
way for ISIS as the whistle blowing organisation released more than half a million
formerly confidential US diplomatic cables dating back to 1979.
By Jon Austin
PUBLISHED: 15:38, Mon, Nov 28, 2016 | UPDATED: 16:46, Mon, Nov 28, 2016
http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/dynamic/78/590x/CIA-ISIS-737430.jpg
JUlian Assange says CIA funding of the Mujahideen paved the way for ISIS.
On the sixth anniversary of the first infamous "Cablegate" by WikiLeaks, when it
releases its first batch of sensitive US files, on November 28 2010, it has expanded
its Public Library of US Diplomacy (PLUSD) with 531,525 new diplomatic cables
from 1979.
In a statement to coincide with the release of the cables, known as "Carter Cables
III", Mr Assange explained how events which unfolded in 1979, had begun a series
of events that led to the rise of ISIS.
He said: "If any year could be said to be the "year zero" of our modern era, 1979 is it."
Mr Assange said a decision by the CIA, together with Saudi Arabia, to plough
billions of dollars into arming the Mujahideen fighters in Afghanistan to tackle the
Soviet Union, had led to the creation of terror group al-Qaeda.
This, in turn, he said led to the 9/11 terror strikes, the invasion of Afghanhistan and
Iraq by the US, and the creation of ISIS.
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/737430/CIA-ISIS-Wikileaks-Carter-Cables-III-Julian-Assange
Cidersomerset
28th November 2016, 22:26
This article is unbelievable ( no its not unfortunately ) This is why the EU is just
a corporate puppet. What he is now saying is bleeding obvious and should have
been policy anyway.....
WHAT A PLONKER !! Mr. Juncker WTF......
The current President is Jean-Claude Juncker, who took office on 1 November 2014.
He is a member of the European People's Party (EPP) and is the former Prime
Minister of Luxembourg
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/President_of_the_European_Commission
Obama calling Russia 'regional power' was big error – EC head Juncker
vXORQIRBdhc
Published on 28 Nov 2016
Outgoing US President Obama made a big mistake calling Russia a “regional
power,” the European Commission chief said in an interview. Europe, instead,
should treat Russia as “one big entity and a proud nation,” and there is a lot to
learn about it.
===================================================
===================================================
Again Nigel and others have been telling us for decades.....
Nigel Farage: Stop playing wargames with Putin
9uNsXEu8ljM
Published on 16 Sep 2014
Descriptionhttp://www.ukipmeps.org | @Nigel_Farage
• European Parliament, Strasbourg, 16 September 2014
====================================================
An EU Army to face Russia? Who do you think you are kidding, Mr Juncker? - Nigel Farage
hI5_pMvLZd8
Published on 11 Mar 2015
http://www.ukipmeps.org | http://www.ukip.org/join
• European Parliament, Strasbourg, 11 March 2015
====================================================
Juncker vs. Farage: The final battle
tQjWV9Bhc0g
Published on 28 Jun 2016
“I’m surprised that you are here. You were fighting for the exit. The British people
voted for the exit. Why are you here?” European Commission President Jean-Claude
Juncker said on Tuesday (28 June) in Strasbourg.
Juncker addressed MEPs at the European Parliament for the first time after the
United Kingdom chose to leave the European Union in a referendum on Thursday (23 June).
UKIP leader Nigel Farage also delivered a speech, in which he reminded MEPs that
he started leading the Brexit campaign 17 years ago.
“When I came here 17 years ago and I said that I wanted to lead a campaign to get
Britain to leave the EU, you all laughed at me. I have to say you’re not laughing
now, are you?” the UKIP leader said.
“Virtually none of you have ever done a proper job in your lives or worked in
business or worked in trade or indeed ever created a job,” he added
====================================================
====================================================
http://cdn.images.express.co.uk/img/page/express_logo.png
Juncker’s DESPERATE plea: Don’t hold any more referendums as voters will choose
to LEAVE.JEAN-CLAUDE JUNCKER has begged EU leaders not to hold in-out
referendums because he fears it will backfire and voters will choose to LEAVE.
By Rebecca Perring & David Maddox
PUBLISHED: 17:56, Mon, Nov 28, 2016 | UPDATED: 18:43, Mon, Nov 28, 2016
The beleaguered European Commission president gave the desperate cry to
members as the EU superstate dream slips from Brussels’ grasp following Britain’s
momentous Brexit vote.Terrified Mr Juncker admitted he knows European’s have
a “lack of love” for the Brussels club.
His desperate plea come as Austria’s presidential favourite, Norbert Hofer,
threatened to hold a referendum to cut ties with the crumbling bloc if he takes
power this weekend.
Read more...
http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/737493/Jean-Claude-Juncker-EU-referendum-voters-choose-Leave-eurosceptism
Cidersomerset
29th November 2016, 10:10
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Syria conflict: Aleppo defeat 'not the end for rebels'
8 hours ago
From the section Middle East
The fall of rebel-held eastern Aleppo would not mean the end of the fight against
President Bashar al-Assad, the Syrian opposition's senior negotiator has told the BBC.
George Sabra added, however, that it would make any hope of a peace deal more
difficult.Syrian forces backed by heavy air strikes have seized more than a third of
rebel-held territory in the city.Rebel factions say they have pulled back to a more
defensible front line.Thousands of civilians have fled besieged districts of Aleppo
after heavy fighting over the weekend.
read more....
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/F4EB/production/_92699626_aleppo_corridors_624_211116_v2.png
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38139759
======================================================
Various reports from other outlets from over the last few days...
mzMhHfFWq2g
Published on 28 Nov 2016
Abubakr al Shamahi reports the latest updates from Gaziantep.
====================================================
EXCLUSIVE War Battlefield Update Syrian Army Encircles Terrorists in Aleppo
HT18RGeOBTo
Hottes battle episod (Syria war) 27 Nov 2016 | Putin in Syria| Aleppo news | ISIS
====================================================
Syria War video today 28 November 2016
dRDUelcJHZc
Published on 28 Nov 2016
Cidersomerset
29th November 2016, 10:26
This is a good report that should be on the news nightly on the BBC , CIA NN , ABC ,CBS etc....
( It has been made before , but not highlighted by the mainstream & has been
posted on other threads and probably this one )..
The REAL Reason For War In Syria
uoIbgmGxdmE
Published on 6 Nov 2016
On the latest episode of Aggressive Progressives Jimmy Dore and Steve Oh discuss
a recent article from Robert F. Kennedy Jr. about Syria. Read the article here
: http://www.ecowatch.com/syria-another...
=================================================
http://www.oil-price.net/cartoons/iran-iraq-syria-pipeline.jpg
http://www.oil-price.net/en/articles/oil-prices-and-syrian-civil-war.php
=================================================
Trump sometimes talks in simple good guy bad guy terms for the media ,
but he seems to have better gut instinct's than to listen to the corporate
neo - con/dem warhawks. But we will see....I hope he does not become
another Boy Bush puppet figure ? Potentially he seems his own man &
with the right administration around him he maybe able to stop this 'WAR,
WAR' policy of the past 80 years .....
http://www.bestproweb.com/images/Black-Hat-White-Hat.jpg
sx-TgSOTpAc
Published on 5 Aug 2016
Trump telling the truth of the war of Syria
Cidersomerset
3rd December 2016, 20:04
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Aleppo siege: Syria rebels lose 50% of territory
Syrian government troops control of 50% of rebel-held areas
of east Aleppo, a military spokesman has told the BBC.
Gen Samir Sulaiman said he hoped all of Aleppo would be in
government hands within weeks.
Gen Sulaiman was speaking a day after the army seized another
district, Tariq al-Bab, from the rebels opposing President Bashar al-Assad.
Read More...
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/178D7/production/_92817469_aleppo_map_before_after_976.png
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38194136
==================================================
==================================================
Aleppo: Russia & US get in line, de Mistura tells Nusra to leave for God’s sake,
bloodshed continues
Wm2thw2nCEw
Published on 3 Dec 2016
Battleground Aleppo: Lavrov says US presents proposals in line with Russia’s
stance, De Mistura tells Nusra to move out “for God’s sake,” meanwhile bloodshed
continues in the city.
Cidersomerset
3rd December 2016, 20:26
Another very good analyst and debate of what may happen in the near future
after Donald Trumps is sworn in ...
CrossTalk: Trump’s Syria
ixmuEs-10Fc
Published on 2 Dec 2016
With the arrival of Donald Trump into the White House, the various factions
fighting Syria’s proxy war are also on the move. Western-backed rebels are
in retreat, and continued Washington support is unlikely. Is the conflict
coming to an end?
CrossTalking with Kamal Alam, Martin Jay, and Ivan Eland.
Sophocles
6th December 2016, 16:47
A not so subtle threat from the Russian military (the “allies” better pay attention)
The Saker (http://thesaker.is/a-not-so-subtle-threat-from-the-russian-military-the-allies-better-pay-attention/)
Ub5azZPSXjE
Since the start of the operation of the Russian Aerospace Forces, representatives of the United States of America, Great Britain and France have been telling us about tribulations of under-controlled «moderate opposition». This applies particularly to reporting on the situation in Aleppo.
According to the western officials, the number of terrorists among insurgents active in the city has been decreasing but the number of the so-called opposition has been increasing each and every week. This opposition, as they say, urgently requires humanitarian aid.
Here come the facts:
Today, from 12:21 a. m. to 12:30 a. m., during the admission of civilians, mobile hospital of the Russian Defence Ministry in Aleppo has suffered artillery shelling by insurgents. Direct hit of the mortar shell against the admission department of the hospital caused the death of a Russian military female medic. Two medical workers have been heavily wounded. Civilians, who had arrived at the hospital, have been wounded as well.
Now, all al-Nusra terrorists, as the western counterparts say, have been encircled by the Syrian army in the southern area of the Eastern Aleppo. They are unable to carry out such precision strikes. There is no doubt that the attack was conducted by insurgents of the «opposition».
We consider from whom the terrorists have received the information and coordinates of the admission department of the Russian hospital at the start of its operation.
Therefore, the direct perpetrators are not the only one who is responsible for the killing and injuring of our medical workers, who had been providing assistance to the children of Aleppo. Namely, insurgents of the «opposition».
The blood of our soldiers is on the hands of the hirer of the murder.
These people, who created, supported and armed these beasts in human form, called them «opposition» to justify themselves towards their own conscience and voters.
Yes, the blood of our soldiers is on your, ladies and gentlemen, the patrons of terrorists from the United States, Britain, France and other countries and sympathizers formations, hands.
Cidersomerset
7th December 2016, 19:38
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Aleppo battle: Syria rebels call for truce to evacuate civilians
2 hours ago
EmI02Fw1zag
read more.....
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/1376F/production/_92872797_aleppo_corridors_07_12_16_624map.png
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38233962
====================================================
====================================================
US withdrawal of Aleppo proposals shows chaotic nature of Obama presidency – former CIA officer
IxISXtvvKv4
Published on 7 Dec 2016
US diplomats are sending mixed signals over their willingness to strike a deal with
Russia on Aleppo. Washington insists contacts with Moscow are vital to solve the
conflict. However, it has just postponed the latest meeting planned between the
Russian foreign minister and the US secretary of state. Gayane Chichakyan asked
the US State Department for clarification.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
jahOFsWMzv8
Published on 6 Dec 2016
Just as the US and Russia were preparing to discuss a solution for Aleppo, which
was to involve free passage for all rebels from the part of the city still under their
control, Washington abruptly withdrew its own proposal, Russia's Foreign Minister
Sergey Lavrov said.
Cidersomerset
8th December 2016, 06:59
Boris putting his foot in it again by actually telling some truths...
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Boris Johnson accuses Saudi Arabia of 'playing proxy wars'
3 hours ago
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/926F/production/_92878473_2d69947d-cd09-4cab-bc95-a4dea1306cd1.jpg
Boris Johnson has accused Britain's ally, Saudi Arabia, of engaging in "proxy wars" in the Middle East.
The Guardian newspaper has published footage in which the foreign secretary talks
of politicians "twisting and abusing religion" for political gain.He said Saudi Arabia
and Iran were "puppeteering" because of a lack of strong leadership in the region.
The Foreign Office said Saudi Arabia was an ally and the UK supported its efforts to
secure its borders.In the footage from last week, Mr Johnson said: "There are
politicians who are twisting and abusing religion and different strains of the same
religion in order to further their own political objectives.
"That's one of the biggest political problems in the whole region. And the tragedy
for me - and that's why you have these proxy wars being fought the whole time in
that area - is that there is not strong enough leadership in the countries
themselves."
The foreign secretary told the Med 2 conference in Rome there was a lack of "big
characters" in the Middle East who were willing to "reach out beyond their Sunni or
Shia" group and bring people together.
He went on: "That's why you've got the Saudis, Iran, everybody, moving in and
puppeteering and playing proxy wars."
'Awkward comments'
The BBC's diplomatic correspondent James Landale said the emergence of the
comments would be "awkward if not embarrassing for the foreign secretary".
"Once again Mr Johnson's use of language is causing headlines that his diplomats
will need to explain," our correspondent said.
The video has emerged as Prime Minister Theresa May returns from a visit to the
Gulf where she had dinner with the leaders of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, the United
Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain and Oman.
A Foreign Office spokesman said: "As the foreign secretary made very clear on
Sunday, we are allies with Saudi Arabia and support them in their efforts to secure
their borders and protect their people."
read more....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38245902
===================================================
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Boris Johnson's Saudi 'proxy wars' comment 'not UK's view'
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38248316
Boris Johnson says Saudi Arabia is playing proxy wars - BBC News
-hOwo9sTGWs
Published on 8 Dec 2016
Boris Johnson has accused Britain's ally, Saudi Arabia, of engaging in "proxy wars"
in the Middle East. Speaking at a conference in Rome last week, the foreign
secretary spoke of politicians "twisting and abusing religion" for political gain. He
said Saudi Arabia and Iran were "puppeteering" because of a lack of strong
leadership in the region.
Cidersomerset
8th December 2016, 07:08
1st images of Aleppo frontline: RT crew reports from war-torn Old City (EXCLUSIVE)
1tuRVwO86KA
Published on 7 Dec 2016
Battles continue between pro-government forces and rebels in Aleppo’s Old City,
with Damascus slowly winning back territory. RT’s Lizzie Phelan and her crew were
the first journalists to visit the neighborhoods just captured by the government.
==================================================
'Who won? Putin, Iranians & Assad' Western diplomacy not happy at Syrian army advance in Aleppo
o_bQFT8sOFE
Published on 8 Dec 2016
Syrian troops have retaken more than two thirds of eastern Aleppo from rebel
forces. Battles are now raging for control of the historic Old City
Hervé
8th December 2016, 16:26
ALEPPO OFFENSIVE: 85% of Aleppo cauldron liberated, terrorists beg for ceasefire (PHOTOS+VIDEOS) (http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/aleppo-offensive-85-of-aleppo-cauldron.html)
December 8, 2016 - Fort Russ News -
RusVesna (http://rusvesna.su/news/1481131418) - translated by J. Arnoldski -
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ii9l4J3oIKY/WElXw-qFeGI/AAAAAAAAFsw/f1gI1xCK0s4AU5_AjC0rXclIkKGUZmXowCLcB/s640/krepost_citadel_aleppo_flag.jpg (https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Ii9l4J3oIKY/WElXw-qFeGI/AAAAAAAAFsw/f1gI1xCK0s4AU5_AjC0rXclIkKGUZmXowCLcB/s1600/krepost_citadel_aleppo_flag.jpg)
Over the course of Wednesday, the Syrian army held a successful special operation in Aleppo, liberating 6 districts of the city at once.
Under the command of Hero of Syria Colonel Suheil al-Hassan, known as “Tiger,” Syrian troops and allied units liberated 6 districts: Al-Salkhin, Maadi, Bab al-Neyrab, Al-Nadid, Al-Mardja, Sheikh Lufti, as well as the neighborhoods surrounding the citadel in Old Aleppo.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qwrffVT0Ac4/WElYpgkxNnI/AAAAAAAAFtA/cCpR4rLt-2AD1y_ARwwLkHkrouzf8V1vwCLcB/s640/tigry_v_aleppo.jpg (https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qwrffVT0Ac4/WElYpgkxNnI/AAAAAAAAFtA/cCpR4rLt-2AD1y_ARwwLkHkrouzf8V1vwCLcB/s1600/tigry_v_aleppo.jpg)
Militants are withdrawing to the southern districts of eastern Aleppo.
The armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic have now swept more than 85% of all of the ‘Aleppo cauldron’ of terrorists after having taken 7 districts on Tuesday and beating armed gangs out of southeastern Aleppo’s neighborhoods in the direction of the Sheikh Said district, which is still held by the Islamists, on Wednesday night.
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-etjMmlpZ4PA/WElYUhLg2nI/AAAAAAAAFs0/PSYIFyCEeDMonRwS-LOHo-5b5R9OXLikQCLcB/s640/karta_aleppo_40.jpg (https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-etjMmlpZ4PA/WElYUhLg2nI/AAAAAAAAFs0/PSYIFyCEeDMonRwS-LOHo-5b5R9OXLikQCLcB/s1600/karta_aleppo_40.jpg)
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IGgK3M6_hZ4/WElYUkT4ohI/AAAAAAAAFs4/R3a-G9LVbm4TFTkTBEEbFA309N9UF3NfwCLcB/s640/karta_aleppo_41.jpg (https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-IGgK3M6_hZ4/WElYUkT4ohI/AAAAAAAAFs4/R3a-G9LVbm4TFTkTBEEbFA309N9UF3NfwCLcB/s1600/karta_aleppo_41.jpg)
A military source has forwarded frontline footage to Russian Spring taken by the political directorate of the Syrian Arab Army. The videos show troops storming buildings and streets and tanks rushing through the enemy’s defensive lines.
OYAUvoduo8c
Today in Aleppo, another unusual event in the history of the battle for Syria’s largest city took place. SAA units breaking through the gangs’ defense from the east met up with the garrison of the ancient Aleppo Citadel, entering the medieval castle through the main gate. A few weeks ago, many people would have assigned this event to the realm of absolute fantasy.
JKwRe_APVTQ
The elite Tiger force and Desert Falcon brigades, together with Lebanese Hezbollah and the Republican Guard of the Syrian Arab Army, have liberated 6 districts over 24 hours and are continuing to attack the jihadists of the Jaish al-Fatah and Fatah Aleppo coalitions.
As a result of daily offensives, dozens of terrorists have been eliminated and more than a hundred bandits have surrendered.
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wik6RC34Zv0/WElYh7IqIrI/AAAAAAAAFs8/U_sGgExpWdQuH9rWKhNdS_jKh_0a1FBhQCLcB/s640/oruzhie_boevikov_tiger_force_aleppo.jpg (https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wik6RC34Zv0/WElYh7IqIrI/AAAAAAAAFs8/U_sGgExpWdQuH9rWKhNdS_jKh_0a1FBhQCLcB/s1600/oruzhie_boevikov_tiger_force_aleppo.jpg)
After sweeping the above-mentioned districts, the army targeted the strategically important Sheikh Said bloc located in the southern part of the Aleppo cauldron. When the army succeeds in taking this district, the armed gangs will collapse and have no other choice than to surrender or be annihilated.
Fierce firefights between Syrian troops and terrorists of the Jaish al-Fatah and Fatah Aleppo Islamist coalitions are continuing along the entire frontline.
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3lRokcDdvGw/WElZXBijmMI/AAAAAAAAFtI/Q8fYve7Pi3wUiuuiGzHZYmIl8IDxq4w4gCLcB/s640/aleppo_dym_vzryva.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-3lRokcDdvGw/WElZXBijmMI/AAAAAAAAFtI/Q8fYve7Pi3wUiuuiGzHZYmIl8IDxq4w4gCLcB/s1600/aleppo_dym_vzryva.jpg)
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0HYhbqdpQ5Q/WElZXNlzV-I/AAAAAAAAFtM/P9QbQhzd27gIub2nHYvb97oVwHLWqT59ACLcB/s640/minomety_boevikov_strelyayut_aleppol.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0HYhbqdpQ5Q/WElZXNlzV-I/AAAAAAAAFtM/P9QbQhzd27gIub2nHYvb97oVwHLWqT59ACLcB/s1600/minomety_boevikov_strelyayut_aleppol.jpg)
The Syrian army is trying to completely liberate the rest of the metropolis in the briefest possible span of time. Out of the 45 districts that only two weeks ago were still occupied by armed gangs, only the Qalasa, Bustan al Qasr, Ansari, Mashkhad, Suqari, Zabudiya Salheddin, Qarm ad-Daada, and Sheikh Said remain under the control of illegal armed formations.
As has been reported, the terrorists are desperately requesting that the Syrian government cease combat operations in Aleppo for a period of 5 days, claiming that 500 of their supporters are severely injured and need medical care.
A military source also told Russian Spring that counter-intelligence has detected militants among the refugees and mass of civilians exiting the Qarm el-Jebel district.
“Over the past day, more than 1,100 people, among them 360 children (58 infants)” have exited according to the source.
The source continued: “The political mukhabarat (security service) have detected and arrested 54 militants, who are now being checked, among the exiting civilian population. The civilians fleeing dangerous districts have been directed to centers for internally displaced persons. Moscow and Damscus are providing all refugees with needed housing and medical care.”
Cidersomerset
8th December 2016, 18:00
"The scale of the terrorism threat to the UK is "unprecedented", the new head of MI6 has said."
Odd timing with the fall of Aleppo imminent ? False flag coming ?
More funding ? More surveillance ? Distraction ? who knows ?
With the western establishment setbacks during 2016, are we set
for the PTB and their proxies to strike back ? Plenty of the usual
scare , fear rhetoric from the head of one of the UK 'spooks' agencies...
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Terrorism most immediate threat to UK, says MI6
44 minutes ago
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/115E2/production/_92883117_alex_younger.jpg
The scale of the terrorism threat to the UK is "unprecedented", the new head of MI6 has said.
Alex Younger said UK intelligence and security services had disrupted 12 terrorist plots since June 2013.
He said many of the threats came from ungoverned spaces in the Middle East -
namely Iraq and Syria.Mr Younger also warned that "hybrid warfare", which
included cyber-attacks and subverting democracy, was becoming an "increasingly
dangerous phenomenon"."The risks at stake are profound and represent a
fundamental threat to our sovereignty," he said.
"They should be a concern to all those who share democratic values."
In his first public speech since taking up the post of "C", he warned of the impact of
Russia's alliance with President Bashar al-Assad in Syria in casting all opponents of
President Assad as terrorists."I believe the Russian conduct in Syria - allied with
that of Assad's discredited regime - will, if they do not change course, provide a
tragic example of the perils of forfeiting legitimacy," he said.
"In defining as a terrorist anyone who opposes a brutal regime they alienate
precisely that group that has to be onside if the extremists are to be defeated."
He added: "We cannot be safe from the threats that emanate from that land unless
the civil war is brought to an end."
read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38250432
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Meanwhile across the 'pond' more corruption exposed...
‘Greed & privilege’: Pentagon reportedly buried evidence of $125bn waste
15CkWvZwROo
Published on 7 Dec 2016
The Pentagon had the opportunity to save $125 billion by streamlining its
bureaucracy, but instead chose to bury the study in order to avoid losing funding
from Congress. The Washington Post revealed that the country's Department of
Defence used almost a quarter of its budget on business and non-military
operations.
Cidersomerset
8th December 2016, 21:24
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Syria conflict: Army 'suspends Aleppo fighting'
6 minutes ago
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People are trying to flee the fighting as rebel areas fall to government troops
Syria's army has suspended combat operations in eastern Aleppo, Russia's Foreign
Minister Sergei Lavrov says.The move is to allow for the evacuation of civilians
trapped in the battle zone. Mr Lavrov said some 8,000 people would be taken out.
Government forces have retaken 75% of east Aleppo in recent weeks - areas rebels
had controlled for four years.The US welcomed the "indication that something
positive could happen but we're going to have to wait and see".
"Our approach to the situation has been to listen carefully to what the Russians
say, but scrutinise their actions," said White House spokesman Josh Earnest.
read more..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38257013
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‘Puppeteer in proxy wars’: Boris Johnson accuses Saudi Arabia of ‘abusing Islam’
DfrBrVyXmt8
Published on 8 Dec 2016
Key UK ally Saudi Arabia has become the latest target of Boris Johnson's
extravagant rhetoric. The British foreign secretary claims the Gulf monarchy is the
puppet master behind wars in the Middle East.
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Washington Post admits article on ‘Russian propaganda’ & ‘fake news’ based on sham research
8C-kaw4lVhE
Published on 8 Dec 2016
Facing threats of legal action, the Washington Post has been forced to add an
editor’s note distancing the paper from a dubious website, PropOrNot, which it had
initially endorsed as a group of nonpartisan experts on “Russian propaganda.”
Cidersomerset
8th December 2016, 21:41
The US mainstream media view is still anti Assad as it has been all the way through....
No mention of terrorists in this one only Assad is evil.....
Assad regime vows to retake Aleppo
zpaTcw8raXk
Published on 8 Dec 2016
The Syrian army is slowly advancing to claim full control of Aleppo from rebel forces.
What does this mean for civilians caught in the civil war? Senior fellow at the Council
on Foreign Relations, Gayle Tzemach Lemmon, joins CBSN with insight about what
Aleppo could look like under the Assad regime.
Cidersomerset
9th December 2016, 10:00
Obama authorises early xmas present for Al Qaeda and rebels...
http://www.dailystormer.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/IB-MANPADS-figure-1_HIGHRES1.jpg
Obama waives restrictions on military support to Syrian rebels
EYp1I1OMeHk
Published on 8 Dec 2016
Former Pentagon Official Michael Maloof joins RT’s Ed Schultz to explain President Obama’s
recent decision to allows the supply of weapons to Syrian rebel groups and others fighting
ISIS. By waiving restrictions on military aid for foreign fighters, Obama is signaling an
“alarming escalatory boom.”
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Syrian Army suspends active military operation in Aleppo – Russian FM
sDrq0Ogtciw
Published on 8 Dec 2016
Syrian government forces have suspended 'active military activities' against
militants in eastern Aleppo to enable the withdrawal of civilians from the city,
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has announced while speaking in Hamburg,
Germany.
===================================================
Russia says Syrian army halts attacks in eastern Aleppo
.
VBtAvgRl9w0
Published on 8 Dec 2016
Russia says the Syrian army has halted its operations in Aleppo to allow trapped
civilians to leave the flashpoint city.
Russian foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov says up to 8000 people are expected to
evacuate from militant-held areas. He made the remarks following a meeting with
US Secretary of State John Kerry at a conference of the Organization for Security
and Cooperation in Europe. The two foreign ministers also agreed to hold a meeting
in Geneva on Saturday along with diplomats and military experts from both sides to
further discuss the situation in Aleppo. In recent weeks, Syrian forces have
managed to recapture a significant number of militant-held areas in eastern Aleppo,
giving them the upper hand in the fight against the terrorists.
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Exclusive: Syrian army edges closer to restoring full control over Aleppo
38dhSJk1ioo
Published on 8 Dec 2016
The Syrian army is in control of over 80 percent of eastern Aleppo, edging closer to
the complete liberation of the city. Such a gain is seen as a turning point and one
giant leap toward ending the Syria conflict.
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Aleppo battle: UN says hundreds of men and boys 'missing'
12 minutes ago
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Tens of thousands of people have left rebel-held areas of Aleppo to government territory
Hundreds of men and boys appear to have gone missing after crossing from rebel-
held areas of Aleppo into government territory, UN officials say.Forces led by
Syria's government have seized at least 75% of eastern parts of the city from
rebels in recent weeks.Tens of thousands of civilians have fled those districts, with
more than 8,000 leaving during a humanitarian pause on Thursday.Rebels were
also reportedly stopping people from leaving, the UN said.
Read More...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38260388
Cidersomerset
9th December 2016, 11:33
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Yemen conflict: The view from the Saudi side
By Frank Gardner
BBC security correspondent, Saudi-Yemen border
9 December 2016
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38239782
Xyzr1pnozxg
Published on 8 Dec 2016
As Britain's relationship with Saudi Arabia comes under scrutiny, the BBC's Fergal Keane
hears human accounts of Saudi air strikes in Yemen.
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_rZzdSBYmZY
Published on 8 Dec 2016
As Britain's relationship with Saudi Arabia comes under scrutiny, the BBC's Frank Gardner
reports from a town on the front line of the war with Yemen.
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Boris Johnson tours Middle East amid Saudi row
3 hours ago
Short vid on link..http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38260333
Malcolm Rifkind tells Radio 4's Today "the jury is out" on whether Boris Johnson is fit for his role
Boris Johnson is to begin a tour of the Middle East amid a row over comments he made about Saudi Arabia.
Downing Street has publicly rebuked the foreign secretary for accusing UK ally Saudi Arabia of engaging in
"proxy wars" in the Middle East.Number 10 said his views did not represent "the government's position".
Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a former Conservative foreign secretary, said "the jury is out" on Mr Johnson's future in the job.
He told BBC Radio 4's Today programme Mr Johnson was not entitled to make public statements which are
"completely at variance with what the government line is", and the prime minister was right to slap him down.
Sir Malcolm said: "If he wants to be foreign secretary for the foreseeable future - and he could be a very good
one, he's a highly intelligent guy... it's the question of his temperament".
read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38260333
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Boris towing government view last Sunday...
4F7565hhMaY
Published on 4 Dec 2016
Outrageous! Yesterday, Boris Johnson told Andrew Marr that "we do not think the
threshold has been crossed" by Saudi Arabia's bombing of Yemen, even though
over 10,000 people have died, tens of thousands injured as well as mass starvation
and refugees. Saudi continues to be the biggest arms client of Britain!
====================================================
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British Govt-Funded Outlet Offered Journalist $17,000 a Month to Produce
Propaganda for Syrian Rebels
Emails reveal that a popular source for mainstream Western media is a U.K.-backed propaganda outlet.
By Rania Khalek / AlterNet
December 8, 2016
http://www.alternet.org/grayzone-project/british-government-funded-outlet-offered-us-journalist-17000-month-produce
Hervé
9th December 2016, 15:34
ALEPPO OFFENSIVE: Only 5% of Aleppo left in terrorist hands (MAPS+VIDEO) (http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/aleppo-offensive-only-5-of-aleppo-left.html)
December 9, 2016 - Fort Russ News -
RusVesna (http://rusvesna.su/news/1481213772) - translated by J. Arnoldski -
https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nUUMiTXcwFU/WEqFe_4pR1I/AAAAAAAAFt8/s4k94XHuR0ksAUFO7TJedqFeU61GrwMPQCLcB/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-12-09%2Bat%2B11.20.06.png (https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-nUUMiTXcwFU/WEqFe_4pR1I/AAAAAAAAFt8/s4k94XHuR0ksAUFO7TJedqFeU61GrwMPQCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2016-12-09%2Bat%2B11.20.06.png)
The Syrian army is waging an offensive in the Sheikh-Said, Suqqari, and Bustan al-Quasir districts in Aleppo.
On December 8th, the media wing of Hezbollah, which is taking part in the operation, reported: “The Syrian army and its allies are reducing the territory of Aleppo that is controlled by terrorists from 87 square kilometers to 10 square kilometers, which makes up 5% of the total city area. Before the start of the operation, 46% of the city was in the hands of terrorist groups.”
https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-drhbuJPaMmc/WEqFJ9oY52I/AAAAAAAAFt0/OUNW3WFhAg4VS17x7ZVHpTTLecvSPckXQCLcB/s640/karta_aleppo_42.jpg (https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-drhbuJPaMmc/WEqFJ9oY52I/AAAAAAAAFt0/OUNW3WFhAg4VS17x7ZVHpTTLecvSPckXQCLcB/s1600/karta_aleppo_42.jpg)
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PXIMJ8WnE_U/WEqFKNkbbiI/AAAAAAAAFt4/uva-2aDuNdUn9X50JnQe1r2_36yRR9MZgCLcB/s640/karta_aleppo_43.jpg (https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-PXIMJ8WnE_U/WEqFKNkbbiI/AAAAAAAAFt4/uva-2aDuNdUn9X50JnQe1r2_36yRR9MZgCLcB/s1600/karta_aleppo_43.jpg)
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IkRLsdeTIac/WEqFJ26fmUI/AAAAAAAAFtw/Xg8GDz4ceMI4qIxhYdhQY0jYCAfw85h5wCLcB/s640/karta_aleppo_44.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-IkRLsdeTIac/WEqFJ26fmUI/AAAAAAAAFtw/Xg8GDz4ceMI4qIxhYdhQY0jYCAfw85h5wCLcB/s1600/karta_aleppo_44.jpg)
On Thursday morning, government troops continued their powerful offensive in Aleppo, attacking militants’ positions in the strategically important Sheikh-Said neighborhood in the south of the city, whose fall threatens the gangs with a complete breakdown in their defensive order and, consequently, defeat.
[...]
Full article: http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/aleppo-offensive-only-5-of-aleppo-left.html
Sophocles
9th December 2016, 15:54
Putin sends “Chechen” special operation forces to Syria (http://thesaker.is/putin-sends-chechen-special-operation-forces-to-syria/)
The Saker
December 09, 2016
Very interesting news today: according to the journal Izvestia (http://izvestia.ru/news/650206), Russia will be sending operators from the so-called “Chechen” special forces battalions “West” and “East” to Syria to “guard the Russian installations” in Khmeimim and Tartus. According to Russian sources, these two battalions have been converted into a “military police” force which will be fully deployed by the end of December.
This news leaves many fascinating questions unanswered.
First, even though the Russian sources make it sound like we are talking about two full battalions, I suspect that this is not the case and that a few companies will be formed from elements drawn from these battalions. Why? Because these battalions are part the backbone of the Russian security system in the Caucasus and that to use such elite forces just to guard 2 military installations makes no sense.
Second, this does beg the question of what these “Chechens” (actually a misnomer – see below) will really be doing Syria. The only circumstance in which it would make sense to send them to protect the Russian bases in Kheimim and Tartus would be if a massive attack was expected against these installations and no other reinforcements were available, which is clearly not the case.
Third, these two battalions are mostly, but not exclusively, composed of Sunni Muslim operators. That yields obvious advantages. Furthermore, these battalions have had a history of successfully defeating the Wahabi insurgency in Chechnia. This might be crucially important because Wahabi Chechens also compose some of the best forces available to the Daesh/ISIS/US command in Syria.
So what is really happening here?
First, it should be stressed that these two battalions are really quite unique units. While formally they are just part of the larger Russian special forces community, they have a unique history and unique reputation. Traditionally, Russia has always relied on elite Muslim shock forces, and most of those have been Chechen. This was true before the 1917 Revolution as it was true after. For example, the so-called “Muslim battalion” played a key role in the invasion of Afghanistan. And 2008, the Chechen battalions “West” and “East” played a key role in the Russian counter-offensive against the Georgian forces. To make a long story short: not only are these battalions known for their amazing courage and skills, their appearance often sends the opposing forces into a panic.
Second, Ramzan Kadyrov has been pouring huge resources, with the full support of Putin, of course, into the creation of a unique special forces training facility Chechnia were special operators from all over Russia are coming to learn, teach and share their experience. As a result, the so-called “Chechen” units are, in reality, a mix of special operators from all over Russia who have been specially trained to deal with Daesh-like insurgencies.
This means that regardless of the actual size of the force sent to Syria, to use it to protect installations is total overkill and nobody in Russia really believes that all these lads will be doing is manning check-points. Their true mission will be something very different.
Some Russian analysts have been speculating that their real function will be to clear Aleppo from the remaining al-Nusra/Daesh/ISIS forces. Maybe, but I doubt it. I find it much more likely that these man will be sent in to train Syrian special forces in advanced counter-insurgency intelligence operations. For one thing, the Russians have admitted that they have Chechen intelligence agents infiltrated into Daesh. It would only make sense now for the Russians to share their experience with their Syrian counterparts. The key reason here is that rather than fighting the war for the Syrians, the Russians needs to enable the Syrians to fight their own war.
Alas, the actual record of the Syrian security forces has been, according to Russian sources, checkered at best and the Russians are, reportedly, unimpressed. While the Syrians do have some elite combat units, they do not have high quality intelligence operatives. What is needed in this case is not just a good solider (say, like a Russian paratrooper or a US Ranger), but a fully trained combatant and a fully trained intelligence officer, something similar to the CIA’s Special Activities Division or the Russian “Vympel” force. The kind of training needed to prepare for such a function is much more complex, costly and time-consuming than what it takes to train a good paratrooper or Ranger. My guess is that while the “Chechens” will, when needed, provide immediate support for the Syrians, they will also have a longtime role in organizing an effective counter-terrorist/counter-insurgency force.
Of course, I might be wrong. If I am, then the other reason why these two battalions have been sent to Syria is to directly participate in combat operations against the Takfiris. We know that Putin sent some secret letter to Iranian President Rouhani (http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/12/06/496652/Iran-Russia-Putin-Rouhani-Syria-Kremlin-confirmation). Could it be to coordinate a surge in Russian and Iranian operations in Syria? If so, then sending in the “Chechen” special forces would make sense, especially to keep the Turks at bay if and when needed.
Whatever may be the case, the decision to send in the “Chechens” is clearly a major development and the sign that something important is being prepared.
The Saker
PS: Ramzan Kadyrov has issued a denial saying that there are no battalions “West” and “East” in Chechnia that is TECHNICALLY true since these two battalions have now been included in the 8th mountain and 18th motor-rifle brigades. It is also true that the original commanders of these forces have been replaced, but the operators still exist and Kadyrov has admitted that they were already in Syria.
Source (http://thesaker.is/putin-sends-chechen-special-operation-forces-to-syria/http://)
Cidersomerset
9th December 2016, 23:00
Some topical articles focused on attacking Russia in the media .........
8C-kaw4lVhE
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Obama orders review into 'Russian hacking' before US election
1 hour ago
From the section US & Canada
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/607D/production/_92910742_ballot_976ap.jpg
Voter data in Illinois was breached
President Barack Obama has ordered an investigation into a series of cyber-attacks,
blamed on Russia, that shook the US election season.The hacks targeted emails at
the Democratic Party and a key aide to presidential nominee Hillary Clinton.
In October, US government officials pointed the finger at Russia, accusing it of
meddling in the US vote.Republican Donald Trump, who will succeed Mr Obama in
the White House, has consistently disputed that.This week he told Time
Magazine: "I don't believe it. I don't believe they [Russians] interfered."
He added that he thought the accusation against Russia was politically driven.
Russian officials have denied the hacking accusations.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38264992
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Russian doping: McLaren report says more than 1,000 athletes implicated
More than 1,000 Russians - including Olympic medallists - benefited from a state-
sponsored doping programme between 2011 and 2015, a report claims.
At least 30 sports, including football, covered up samples, the report says.
"It was a cover-up that evolved from uncontrolled chaos to an institutionalised and
disciplined medal-winning conspiracy," said the report's author, Richard McLaren.
vcKtg2-oCdg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/38261608
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lBV77PrQpkk
Published on 9 Dec 2016
The doping test samples of 12 Russian medalists from the Sochi Olympics in 2014
were tampered with, according to claims made in the second part of a WADA-
commissioned report, authored by Canadian lawyer Richard McLaren.
Cidersomerset
9th December 2016, 23:10
Fuel to the fire: Obama grants waiver for arms supply to US-backed fighters in Syria
ACpaNP9SXJo
Published on 9 Dec 2016
US President Barack Obama has ordered a waiver for restrictions on military aid for
foreign forces and other fighters supporting the US in Syria, deeming it ‘essential to
the national security interests’ of the US to allow exceptions from provisions in the
Arms Export Control Act.
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CrossTalk: Liberating Aleppo
q4y_lBCVQ5E
Published on 9 Dec 2016
With the liberation of Aleppo nearly complete, the Syrian proxy conflict enters a
new stage. How are the political facts on the ground changing? Will Washington
admit defeat and Russia be blamed? What’s next for Syria and its people?
CrossTalking with Charles Shoebridge, Ali Rizk, and Stephen Zunes.
Cidersomerset
10th December 2016, 12:14
DEMONISATION OF RUSSIA :
This could be a last ditch attempt to invalid the election and continue the on going
demonising of Russia. Now Russia's right to hold the 2018 soccer world cup is being
questioned , with echoes of the US / Soviets boycott of each others olympics in the
1980's coming to mind. The fact all countries have problem and there is a massive
paedophile scandal breaking within UK soccer that has gone on for decades ignored
it seems....
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Sex abuse footballers 'want to be free of pain'
5 December 2016
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-38211017
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Russia 'intervened to promote Trump' - US intelligence
US intelligence agencies believe Russia acted covertly to boost Donald Trump in the election race,
US officials have told leading newspapers.A report in the New York Times says the agencies had
"high confidence" about Russian involvement in hacking.
A CIA assessment reported by the Washington Post made similar findings.
But Mr Trump's team dismissed the CIA line, saying: "These are the same people that said
Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction."
Russian officials have repeatedly denied the hacking accusations.
read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38273933
Published on 9 Dec 2016
The generals President-elect Donald Trump has chosen to be part of his Cabinet
have close ties. CNN's Barbara Starr reports.
4jS7_8i-Apo
Published on 9 Dec 2016
U.S. intelligence sources confirm to CBS News that Russia tried to influence the
2016 election and favored Donald Trump over Hillary Clinton. CBSN's Vlad Druthers
has the latest on the hacking efforts.
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Russian doping: Fifa questioned over 2018 World Cup after McLaren report
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Russia won the right to host the 2018 World Cup six years ago
Russia's right to host the 2018 World Cup amid revelations about a state-sponsored
doping programme has been questioned by MP Damian Collins.A World Anti-Doping
Agency (Wada) report detailed an "institutional conspiracy" involving more than
1,000 Olympic and Paralympic athletes.
Football was one of 30 sports implicated by the McLaren report.
"Fifa now have to look very seriously at the way in which the World Cup is going to
be staged," said Collins."How can Russia give confidence to Fifa and to the world
that there will be proper anti-doping measures in place during the World Cup?"
read more
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/football/38274641
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DHS accused of attempted hack into Georgia’s election security system
6_sC6WppzXM
Published on 9 Dec 2016
The State of Georgia hired a third party security firm which alleges that a
November 14 attempted breach of their election security computer system
originated from a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) IP address. Georgia’s
Secretary of State sent the DHS a scathing letter demanding an explanation.
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Obama grants waiver for military aid to rebels in Syria – White House
plUAcEqyO5c
Published on 9 Dec 2016
President Barack Obama has issued a waiver lifting restrictions on military aid sent
by foreign forces in Syria, deeming it “essential to the national security interests” of
the US. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has expressed concern that any
weapons could end up in the hands of terrorists. RT America’s Alexey Yaroshevsky
has the report.
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Trumps three of a kind , I hope they have learned the lessons of the folly of the Iraq
War ? We will soon find out....
Trump's generals forged ties in battle
2W30o4Iwxys
Published on 9 Dec 2016
The generals President-elect Donald Trump has chosen to be part of his Cabinet
have close ties. CNN's Barbara Starr reports.
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Syria conflict: Aleppo exodus growing, says Russia
46 minutes ago
The exodus from rebel-held, eastern parts of Aleppo is growing, Russia says, amid
a push by the Syrian army to regain control of the whole city.About 50,000 civilians
have fled the rebel enclave over the past two days, a Russian defence spokesman
said.He added that more than 1,000 rebels had laid down their arms as pro-
government forces close in.Meanwhile Western powers have renewed calls for Syria
and its ally, Russia, to allow people to leave Aleppo.The statement came at a
meeting of officials from the US, Europe, and some Arab countries.US Secretary of
State John Kerry, who attended the talks in Paris, said: "Russia and [Syrian
President] Assad have a moment where they are in a dominant position to show a
little grace."
read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38275553
Cidersomerset
10th December 2016, 18:34
Trapped in Aleppo: ‘When you have kids they don’t allow you to leave’
ivAacfCY3t0
Published on 10 Dec 2016
Thousands of Aleppo residents reunite with their families after spending
years in militant-controlled areas of the besieged Syrian city.
=============================================
=============================================
Kerry: Rebels threatened civilians who wanted to leave, blocked humanitarian aid
QJ1otTWtdQQ
Published on 10 Dec 2016
While liberated civilians in Aleppo are celebrating, Western officials have
gathered in Paris at a meeting of the so-called Friends of Syria Group to
discuss how to end fighting in the city. RT's Eisa Ali has been following
the session.
============================================
============================================
‘US to hand out arms like Christmas cookies to preserve terrorist assets in Syria’ -
ex-US diplomat
TKcABqJxWzQ
Published on 10 Dec 2016
President Obama’s waiver of restrictions on supplying arms to militant groups in
Syria looks like a desperate attempt to compensate for the loss of Aleppo and
preserve terrorist assets elsewhere, former US diplomat Jim Jatras told RT.
===================================================
===================================================
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Islamic State fighters 're-enter ancient Palmyra' in Syria
Islamic State group fighters have re-entered Palmyra, nine months after losing the
ancient Syrian desert city, activists say.IS held Palmyra and its nearby ruins for 10
months before it was recaptured by Syrian government forces in March
read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38275905
==================================================
==================================================
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard Says The U.S. Government Is Directly Funding ISIS
And Al Qaeda
By David on 10 December 2016 GMT
_qdf2WH4g9k
Published on 8 Dec 2016
Cidersomerset
11th December 2016, 19:42
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Donald Trump rejects CIA Russia hacking report
President-elect Donald Trump has rejected as "ridiculous" a CIA assessment that
Russian hackers tried to sway the election in his favour.He told Fox News the
Democrats were putting out the reports because they were embarrassed at the
scale of the election defeat.On Friday, CIA officials told US media they had
concluded that Russians hackers were trying to help Mr Trump.
read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38282533
=================================================
Palmyra attack: 4,000 ISIS fighters regroup, make new attempt to capture key Syrian city
1Ed8B5zK5kI
Published on 11 Dec 2016
Over 4,000 Islamic State terrorists, reinforced by tanks, have started an offensive to retake the key
Syrian city of Palmyra after regrouping themselves, the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria says.
============================================================
Cidersomerset
12th December 2016, 12:03
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Syria conflict: Aleppo rebels reduced to small pocket after new loss
Syrian government forces have retaken a key area in southern Aleppo,
activists and state media say, leaving rebels with only a small pocket
in the city.
read more..
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/1376F/production/_92872797_aleppo_corridors_07_12_16_624map.png
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38288018
============================================
============================================
DNC hack blamed on Russia may have been Obama’s false flag
operation – former US ambassador Bolton
By David on 12 December 2016 GMT
RT NEWS....
DNC hack blamed on Russia may have been Obama’s false flag operation – former US ambassador Bolton
Published time: 12 Dec, 2016 07:43
Hacking operations against America’s two major political parties during the election may have been the result
of a false flag operation carried out by the Obama administration, despite accusations against Russia, former
US ambassador John Bolton says.
Rep. Susan Brooks (R-IN) speaks as piles of Hillary Clinton's e-mails about Libya are seen on the bench during
a hearing before the House Select Committee on Benghazi. File photo. © Chip Somodevill‘Give it a rest’: Social
media mocks Senator claiming Russia may be behind new Clinton FBI probe
Speaking to Fox News’ Eric Shawn on Sunday, former US ambassador to the United Nations John Bolton said
“we have to know the facts here, and it’s not at all clear to me, just viewing this and from the outside, that this
hacking into the DNC (Democratic National Committee) and the RNC (Republican National Committee) computers
was not a false flag operation.”
https://www.rt.com/usa/369973-dnc-hack-false-flag/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome
Eric Shawn reports: The alleged Russian election hacking
FN9Q81nzP7Y
Published on 11 Dec 2016
Amb. John Bolton: any foreign government effort 'is a direct assault on the constitution'
====================================================
====================================================
RUSSIANS, RUSSIANS , RUSSIANS ....Did everything .."Putin looking to domitate
the world again " Putin is a bad guy , thug ,bully etc...etc.....Also China and other
rogue states.......Code for War , War , War !!
sYyVkdfaKA0
Published on 11 Dec 2016
In the wake of recent reports that the CIA has concluded that Russia interfered in
the election to help Donald Trump, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) appeared on CBS’s
Face the Nation to discuss.
===================================================
Donald Trump on Russian Hacking: Its Ridiculous , I Don't Believe It
HIHKi5DHCKU
Published on 11 Dec 2016
Trump dismisses allegations of Russian election tampering
====================================================
Guardian
China 'seriously concerned' after Trump questions Taiwan policy
President-elect says he sees no reason why the US should continuing abiding by
One China policy unless a bargain is reached with Beijing involving trade
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2016/dec/12/donald-trump-questions-us-commitment-to-one-china-policy
Mountain out of mole hill......mainstream stirring ?
Trump questions 'one China' policy
eegPOKE6jVQ
Published on 11 Dec 2016
President-elect Donald Trump again signaled a willingness to confront Beijing,
questioning whether the US should keep its long-standing position that Taiwan is
part of "one China."
Cidersomerset
12th December 2016, 12:12
Neocons Urge War on Iran (which ultimately means war with Russia and China)
By David on 12 December 2016 GMT
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/download-4-2.png
GLOBAL RESEARCH...
Neocons Urge War on Iran
By Stephen Lendman
Global Research, December 11, 2016
‘Bipartisan neocons infest Washington, supporting endless wars of aggression – Iran a
prime target to attack, regime change the objective, wanting pro-Western puppet
governance replacing its sovereign independence.
Will Trump challenge their extremism or join them, a key question remaining to be answered?
United Against Nuclear Iran (UANI) is a militant anti-Iranian group for war and regime change
– on the phony pretext of preventing the nation from obtaining nuclear weapons it doesn’t
want, and stopping its nonexistent “support for terrorism and gross human rights violations.”
It’s chaired by former neocon senator Joe Lieberman. Former hawkish GW Bush administration
UN representative for management and reform Mark Wallace serves as CEO. Neocon Counter
Extremism Project executive director David Ibsen is president. Zionist supporter of attacking
Iran preemptively Dennis Ross is an advisory board member.’
Read more: Neocons Urge War on Iran (which ultimately means war with Russia and China)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/neocons-urge-war-on-iran/5561420
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Untitled-53.jpg
====================================================
====================================================
US military claim of killing 50,000 terrorists ‘fairytale’: Ex-US diplomat
By David on 12 December 2016 GMT
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/get-attachment-24.jpg
US military claim of killing 50,000 terrorists ‘fairytale’: Ex-US diplomat
Sun Dec 11, 2016 7:4PM
read more...
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/12/11/497457/US-Iraq-Syria-Daesh-killed-Springmann
====================================================
7N2umk7k_2Y
Published on 12 Dec 2016
It is hard to believe, but the American election isn’t over yet – and it’s apparently
Russia’s fault. Also, is the new meme “Assad will stay?” And, Trump’s world view.
CrossTalking with Mark Sleboda, Alex Christoforou, and Martin Jay.
===================================================
===================================================
British government funded group offered journalists $17,000 per month to produce fake news on Syria
By David on 12 December 2016 GMT Political Manipulation Useless Media
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/download-70-1.png
British government funded group offered journalists $17k per month to produce
fake news on Syria
December 11, 2016
‘The Revolutionary Forces of Syria (RFS) media office, a major Syrian opposition
media outfit and frequent source of information for Western media, is funded by the
British government and is managed by Westerners operating out of Turkey,
according to emails provided to AlterNet by a Middle East reporter RFS tried to recruit.
The outlet stirred controversy this November when it released a video at the height
of the Mannequin Challenge, a pop culture craze in which people compete for how
long they can freeze in place on video.
The RFS video depicted a staged rescue by the White Helmets, the Western-funded
rescue group that operates exclusively in rebel-held territory. RFS quickly removed
the video and issued an apology out of apparent concern that the staged rescue
could raise questions about the authenticity of other videos by the White Helmets.’
Read more: British government funded group offered journalists $17,000 per
month to produce fake news on Syria
http://www.hangthebankers.com/british-government-journalists-fake-news-syria/
Cidersomerset
12th December 2016, 19:26
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Trump condemns CIA Russia hacking report
1 hour ago...From the section US & Canada
Donald Trump has poured fresh scorn on US intelligence claims of Russian hackers
meddling in the US election.He tweeted: "Can you imagine if the election results
were the opposite and WE tried to play the Russia/CIA card.
It would be called conspiracy theory!"
The US president-elect also questioned why the allegations were not widely made
public before the election.His remarks set the incoming commander-in-chief against
intelligence services that he will preside over."Unless you catch "hackers" in the act,
it is very hard to determine who was doing the hacking. Why wasn't this brought up
before election?" Mr Trump tweeted on Monday morning.
Read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38292392
===================================================
===================================================
'US is a great country, correct me if I'm wrong' - Putin on claims Russia influenced US elections
e4pk1rAPH8k
Published on 12 Dec 2016
President-elect Donald Trump has slammed the CIA's claims that Russia meddled in
the U.S. election to help him take office. He said the accusations were politically-driven,
and created by his opponents to explain Hillary Clintons' defeat in November's vote.
====================================================
UK Ambassador Knows Who Leaked The DNC Emails and It's Not The Russians
FHx1JcH8RcQ
Published on 12 Dec 2016
http://www.infowars.com/former-uk-amb...
Former UK ambassador Craig Murray is calling “bullsh*t” on claims that Russia
hacked the DNC in an effort to help Donald Trump win the election, asserting that
he met the DNC leaker and that he wasn’t Russian.
====================================================
NEW YORK TIMES ADMITS CIA LACKS EVIDENCE: Russian Hacking Claims Fabricated to Help Hillary Clinton
rZ6AoOig5DM
Published on 12 Dec 2016
My name is H. A. Goodman and I’m an author, columnist, and journalist www.hagoodman.com
C.I.A. Judgment on Russia Built on Swell of Evidence
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/11/us/...
====================================================
THEY ARE STILL AT IT........
CIA NN still backing the alphabet agencies...
McConnell backs Russian hacking investigation
bo-gUYDWUdU
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Sen. Mitch McConnell has stated that he supports an investigation into the findings
that Russian hackers attempted to influence the election.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
White House: Trump benefited from Russian hacks
5tRJ9KdA73M
Published on 12 Dec 2016
The White House has strongly suggested that Donald Trump was the beneficiary of
Russian meddling in the US election.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sen. King: Trump shouldn't 'blow off' Clapper
KR9wR-st5tY
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Sen. Angus King (I-ME) says President-elect Trump shouldn't "blow off" Director of
National Intelligence James Clapper's conclusions regarding Russian hacking.
Cidersomerset
12th December 2016, 19:51
More articles on this important item of demonising Russia.......'Farcical '... imo.....
But potentially dangerous from factions within the US.....
Michael Morell calls Jonn Bolton a conspiracy theorist and should not get a senior
position in government , which I think is amusing and hypocritical....
Former acting CIA director on Russia hacking report, Trump's reaction
2tbWCTtG29g
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Former CIA deputy director and acting director Michael Morell joins CBSN to
discuss President-elect Donald Trump's rejection of a report that Russia used
hackers to try to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election.
==============================================
Trump: I don't believe that Russia interfered with the election
z7cvbOsDVY4
Published on 11 Dec 2016
President-elect Donald Trump is slamming the CIA over its findings that Russia
influenced the presidential election in his favor. "Face The Nation" moderator
John Dickerson joins CBSN to discuss.
=============================================
Donald Trump disputes CIA hacking report; weighs more Cabinet appointments
1l128iUchMw
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Donald Trump has rejected the CIA's findings connecting Russian hackers to
the 2016 election. The president-elect is also expected to tap ExxonMobil
CEO Rex Tillerson as secretary of state. The Associated Press' Lisa Lerer
joins CBSN with more.
====================================================
Donald Trump Calls Russian Hacking Claims 'Ridiculous'
6-FbC7zTJKY
Published on 12 Dec 2016
The president-elect responded to new claims that Russian hackers tried to rig the
election in his favor, plus the latest on his possible choice of Exxon Mobil CEO Rex
Tillerson as secretary of state.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kellyanne Conway on Russian hacking claims
332QnEBIlLc
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Conway defends Trump's respect of US intelligence agencies.
and many more on the web..............
The Trump transition: Russian election interference and cabinet picks
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ahcc4bhdx4g
Published on 11 Dec 2016
Slate Magazine's Jamelle Bouie, who is also a CBS News Political Analyst, the
Associated Press' Lisa Lerer, Washington Post columnist Michael Gerson, and
Michael Duffy of Time Magazine discuss President-elect Donald Trump's transition
and cabinet picks, and the importance of an investigation into possible Russian
interference in the election.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Carl Bernstein On Lying, Richard Nixon Was Nothing Compared to Trump Mediaite
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QkqsNwmtHv0
Published on 11 Dec 2016
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Kellyanne Conway SLaMs FAKE news story about Russian Interference in the election
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_97IXHfTEw
Published on 11 Dec 2016
Dec 11th 2016 Kellyanne Conway Takes the Liberal Media to task on Face the
Nation, hammering the false narrative that Donald trump only won the election
because of Russian Hackers..
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Russia Hacking Allegations: U.S. Political Fallout
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lyZxVciODk0
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Sen. Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Monday he supports a bipartisan
investigation into whether Russian hackers influenced the presidential elections.
WSJ's Jerry Seib and Lunch Break's Tanya Rivero discuss the political ramifications
of the allegations
====================================================
Former CIA Analyst: Putin 'has already won'
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ox9sG09D_Aw
Published on 12 Dec 2016
"In terms of Putin's goals, he's already won, just by people think he's done it,"
Former Senior CIA Analyst Mark M. Lowenthal tells Christiane Amanpour.
====================================================
Joe Walsh: Trump's response 'almost treasonous...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGAZpTrEoFg
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Former congressman Joe Walsh, who is a Trump supporter, says the President-
elect's response to intelligence regarding Russian hacking is "almost treasonous."
===================================================
Is Exxon CEO right person for Sec of State?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bOZeEMKwpdI
Published on 11 Dec 2016
The CNN panel discusses Trump's likely Secretary of State pick, Exxon-Mobile CEO
Rex Tillerson
===================================================
CIA NN ..... 'Stirring the pot'
Trump calls Russia hacking reports ridiculous
-_lSiY4HD3U
Published on 12 Dec 2016
President-elect Donald Trump says that Russia did not interfere with the US
election, despite US intelligence reports to the contrary. CNN's Ryan Nobles reports.
Podesta backs Electoral College electors seeking intel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7TSQ5LuvqdU
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Hillary Clinton's campaign chairman John Podesta backed Electoral College electors
who are asking to receive an intelligence briefing on foreign interventions into the
2016 election ahead of their December 19 vote.
Cidersomerset
12th December 2016, 21:04
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Aleppo battle: Rebels on brink amid rapid losses
12 minutes ago
From the section Middle East
Syria's army says the battle for Aleppo is in its final phase, after major
gains by troops in the city's south left rebels on the brink of defeat.
Lt Gen Zaid al-Saleh, head of the government's local security committee,
said rebel fighters did not "have much time" and needed to "surrender or die".
Tens of thousands of civilians are also believed to be in the rebel enclave.
read more....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38288018
yKUiKJpmOVQ
=========================================
=========================================
9NpfAwceLuI
Published on 12 Dec 2016
=========================================
Aleppo residents celebrate imminent liberation of city
24ChRO4V28I
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Residents in Syria’s Aleppo have poured onto the streets to celebrate the
imminent declaration of the army’s liberation of the northern city.
Syrian military officials say 99 percent of eastern Aleppo has been secured
so far. Syrian government forces, backed by Russian airstrikes, began the
large-scale offensive to retake Aleppo in July. The operation lasted for
months as foreign-backed militants rejected the government calls to lay
down their arms. Most of the civilians in the city were evacuated from the
city during the offensive. The liberation of eastern Aleppo is a heavy blow
to the terrorists that have been fighting to topple the Syrian government
since 2011. After Aleppo’s liberation is achieved, some 30.000 troops will
be able to fight to regain other parts of their country from terrorists.
==================================================
==================================================
The Fall of Aleppo: Brutal Battle, Lasting Damage (part 1)
nGwwFyCTOIs
Aleppo Offensive, Renzi Resigns, Trump's Cards (part 2)
4MraJO5iyvs
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Subscribe to France 24 now :
Cidersomerset
12th December 2016, 23:26
Russia blames US for losing Palmyra to ISIL terrorists
ejaxmzKu9hg
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Russia says the United States is responsible for the loss of the ancient
Syrian city of Palmyra to Daesh terrorists.
A spokesman for Russian President Vladimir Putin has said Washington’s
reluctance to work with Moscow contributed to Daesh’s capture of the city.
Dmitry Peskov added that cooperation between the US and Russia would
have probably made the defense against the terrorists more effective.
Daesh once again overran Palmyra over the weekend. This came nine
months after the terror group was pushed out of the city by the Syrian
army. Meanwhile, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights
has said Daesh may have launched gas attacks in Palmyra. The UK-based
monitor said some people have suffocated and there are dead bodies with
no apparent injuries in the city. The UN has found evidence of gas attacks
in Syria in the past. Daesh has been widely blamed for using chemical
weapons, which are banned internationally
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Palmyra attack: 4,000 ISIS fighters regroup, make new attempt to capture key Syrian city
1Ed8B5zK5kI
Published on 11 Dec 2016
Over 4,000 Islamic State terrorists, reinforced by tanks, have started an offensive to
retake the key Syrian city of Palmyra after regrouping themselves, the Russian Center
for Reconciliation in Syria says.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RAW: Battle continues in ancient Palmyra as Syrian govt forces fight ISIS troops
ZlrgLKkP6RQ
RT NEWS....
Russian & Syrian actions in Palmyra a 'service to mankind' – former US ambassador to RT
Published time: 12 Dec, 2016 02:36
Edited time: 12 Dec, 2016 08:10
Russia's support of the Syrian Army battling ISIS terrorists in Palmyra is a service to mankind,
a former US ambassador to Croatia told RT. He said the West and the opposition should realize
that Assad “has won this war” and stop the bloodshed so as not to not “end up with nothing.”
“Russian air strikes and [the] Syrian government putting more troops [in Palmyra] is a service
to mankind, to preserve both the population of the area but also these important monuments
that really are [part of the] common heritage of all mankind,” former US ambassador to Croatia,
Peter Galbraith, told RT with regards to the ongoing military operation against jihadists attacking Palmyra.
read more...
https://www.rt.com/news/369962-russia-syria-palmyra-aleppo/
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2016.12/thumbnail/584ee0dfc361887e758b460d.jpg
https://www.rt.com/news/369931-isis-regroups-attacks-palmyra/
lFblxhToRVg
===================================================
Russia: Daesh recapture of Palmyra may have been staged
KPOvYXhwmw0
Published on 12 Dec 2016
The Russian foreign minister has expressed suspicion that the seizure of the Syrian
city of Palmyra by Daesh might have been staged.
Sergei Lavrov says Daesh terrorists’ advance to the ancient desert city may have
been engineered by the U-S and its regional allies to divert attention from Aleppo.
Lavrov says the fall of Palmyra raises the thought that it has been all orchestrated
to give retreating militants in Aleppo a break. The takfiri terrorist group recaptured
Palmyra over the weekend, months after it was forced out of the city. Russia has
already blamed the loss on the United States.
Cidersomerset
13th December 2016, 07:40
From Mosul to Palmyra: ISIS regrouping in ancient Syrian city
eOtqhkZ_S6Q
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Islamic State militants that escaped the battle of Mosul in Iraq have mounted
a new offensive against the Syrian city of Palmyra. To discuss, former US
diplomat Jim Jatras joins “News with Ed” and says, “It looks suspicious that
ISIS has been given the opportunity to regroup.”
========================================
========================================
White House attacks Trump over connections to Russia and RT
RqJGmoFBZ5c
Published on 12 Dec 2016
President Barack Obama’s spokesman has accused President-elect Donald Trump
and top members of his team of “lucrative” ties with Russia. He mentioned that
one of Trump's advisors was "paid contributor" to RT.
========================================
========================================
Electoral College vote should be delayed – Democracy Spring
0majZbe-B0Q
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Members of the Electoral College have asked US Director of National Intelligence
James Clapper to release all information pertaining to Russian interference in the
US elections to electors before their official vote. To discuss, Ian Walters, of the
American Conservative Union, and Kai Newkirk, of Democracy Spring, join
“News with Ed.”
======================================
======================================
Congress to Investigate Whether Russia Interfered in U.S. Presidential Election
3R4FJWKdUzQ
Published on 12 Dec 2016
The White House points back to the moment when then-candidate Donald Trump
called on Russia to find Hillary Clinton's deleted emails.
=====================================
Schumer, McCain call for probe of Russian influence in U.S. election
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OUn6_DBrrus
Published on 12 Dec 2016
A bipartisan group of lawmakers is calling for an investigation of Russian hacking in
the U.S. election. Senators Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) join
"CBS This Morning" to discuss the findings of American intelligence officials who
believe Russia secretly worked to influence the election in favor of President-elect Trump.
====================================
Fmr CIA boss on Trump's intelligence briefings
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gd5ynMZnpmg
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Former CIA Director James Woolsey joins Erin Burnett to discuss the Russian hacking
developments and the ways Donald Trump takes intelligence briefings
====================================
Conway: Trump won't interfere in hacking probe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W6RaHHlv7f4
Published on 12 Dec 2016
In an interview with CNN's Anderson Cooper, Kellyanne Conway said Donald Trump
will not interfere in any investigations into Russian cyberattacks.
=====================================
Trump blasts CIA over claims of Russian hacking
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AGSLC4f9iKE
Published on 12 Dec 2016
President-elect Donald Trump is being critical of the CIA after claims of Russian interference
with the 2016 presidential election. CBS News chief White House correspondent Major Garrett
joins CBSN with the latest.
=====================================
Republicans break with Trump to back hacking inquiries
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o0ClDjIaKGo
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Two top Republicans in Congress say they support investigating possible Russian hacking in the
2016 presidential election. Ed O'Keefe, a reporter from the Washington Post, joins CBSN with
the latest on a possible rift between some Republicans and Donald Trump.
=======================================
Donald Trump Rejecting Daily Intelligence Briefings | MSNBC
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FhPmuzPful4
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Donald Trump seems to be forgoing tradition in his statement that he won't be attending daily
intelligence briefings. William Cohen, former secretary of defense, joins MSNBC's Ali Velshi to discuss.
=======================================
Gingrich: Hack claim is perfect example of propaganda media
5qh9BbPc1oQ
Published on 12 Dec 2016
On 'Hannity,' the former House speaker says the Russia allegations trivialize the serious
========================================
Bolton: Russia hack fits into narrative of Clinton's defeat
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bt51HQIAAG0
Published on 12 Dec 2016
On 'Hannity,' Fox News contributor clarifies his 'false flag operation' remark
========================================
Media open to idea of 'rigged' election amid Russia reports
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z2H9SVqFcgk
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Howard Kurtz gives his take on 'The Kelly File'
========================================
Former Clinton spokesperson on battle over Russia, WH race
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EN3aF-1icJ0
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Critics suggest the Clinton campaign is trying to delegitimize the Trump presidency;
Karen Finney fires back on 'The Kelly File'
========================================
Judge Napolitano on Russia's alleged involvement in hacks
gdYfMSOn5qA
Published on 12 Dec 2016
On 'The Kelly File,' Fox News senior judicial analyst on the suggestion that the
hacks may have been a 'false flag operation'
============================================
and much more on the web the odd thing I have not seen any Russian journalists
or politicians on any of the US news sites yet , that I have noticed and I have looked
at all the main mainstream sites......
Cidersomerset
13th December 2016, 08:02
This is appropriate a 'comedy of errors' by criminal Hillary led to all the 'e mails,
Benghazi , Clinton foundation and decades of corruption is really to blame for her
defeat....Not that Obama would say this in public , maybe in his memoirs...LOL
President Obama explains the situation on a comedy talk/fake news site....
" You cannot make this....:bs:: up !..... " Well they can ".....:jester:
Obama Addresses Alleged Russian Election Hacking
jJ6uswSUFVQ
Published on 12 Dec 2016
President Obama is addressing the controversy over possible Russian interference
in the US Presidential election. President Obama was interviewed by Trevor Noah of
Comedy Central's The Daily Show. (Dec. 13)
Its all those pesky Russian 'Spooks' fault......:spy::spy::spy::spy::spy::spy::spy::
QSXE-ywrf7s
===================================================
Trump's Victory Reaffirmed After Wisc. Recount has 162 more votes......
bo9k2tdRQUg
Published on 12 Dec 2016
Republican Donald Trump's victory in Wisconsin has been reaffirmed after a
presidential recount that shows he defeated Hillary Clinton by more than 22,000
votes after nearly 3 million voters were recounted. (Dec. 12)
Cidersomerset
13th December 2016, 08:57
Two discussions from two other news agencies....
Sky News Unplugged: The fall of Aleppo?
tzz_5aBcXbE
12 Dec 2016.....
The Syrian military says it's now in control of almost all of Aleppo, putting rebels
on the brink of defeat. Sky’s Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley and our Diplomatic
Editor Dominic Waghorn discuss the implications of the latest developments.
===================================================
===================================================
Q&A: Battle for Aleppo
JlunVCk7zNI
12th Dec 2016
Despite recent regime victories in the battle field, is Syria lost forever? Becoming a fragmented failed state?
Syria : Outline of current military situation. Who is wining and who is losing?
The battle of Aleppo and its significance
Will Assad remain in power giving that he is wining some major battles?
Why did ISIS choose to open another front and take Palmira?
Who is running the show in Syria: Assad, Russia, Iran, the US or the rebels? (Trump)
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The situation in Syria is fluid and complex....
http://i.imgur.com/lOeYVVs.png
https://www.reddit.com/r/MapPorn/comments/4ig1oo/582016_syrian_civil_war_conflict_map_by/
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https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-56UWq68CdO8/V6o7iVK-gRI/AAAAAAAADfo/VcASizt33Rg8IuMjxs2vF8KpZe-7MMGlACLcB/s1600/_84176272_syria_control_976map_v10.png
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/08/russias-map-of-syria-conflict.html
Hervé
13th December 2016, 13:20
Street celebrations in Aleppo on news of Syrian Army retaking east of city – RT reporter (VIDEO) (https://www.rt.com/news/370084-aleppo-liberation-reports-celebrations/)
Published time: 12 Dec, 2016 23:38
Edited time: 13 Dec, 2016 08:33
Get short URL (http://on.rt.com/7xk4)
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/363511/large/584f3196c36188672f8b4569.jpg
© Lizzie Phelan / RT
Aleppo streets have erupted in celebrations with people waving flags and shooting in the air as reports said the Syrian Army has taken control of the last militant-held areas in eastern part of the city, RT’s Lizzie Phelan reports from the ground.
While an official statement on the situation is yet to emerge from Damascus, a source close to Syrian Army headquarters told RIA Novosti that the army is on the brink of liberating the city.
“The army has begun clearing out the last terrorist stronghold in the Salaheddin neighborhood. The terrorists are firing back and are trying to use mortars,” the source told (https://ria.ru/syria/20161213/1483429771.html)the news agency. “However, the complete liberation of Aleppo could happen soon, which will be officially announced.”
Meanwhile people have already taken to the streets of the war-torn city in celebrations, RT’s Lizzie Phelan reported from Aleppo.
“All of downtown Aleppo tonight is filled with people celebrating,” Phelan said.
Singing and chanting, “for the Army and President Bashar Assad,” could be heard throughout the city, Phelan added. The reports were also welcomed by celebratory gunfire.
However, sounds of shelling could be still heard in the city, Phelan wrote (https://twitter.com/LizziePhelan/status/808428713012559872) on Twitter.
Earlier, Ahmad Saleh, leader of Syrian President Bashar Assad’s Ba’ath Party in Aleppo, stated in an interview to Sputnik that “Aleppo is free from terrorists,” noting that although some militants are still battling government forces in the Salaheddin neighborhood, they are “surrounded and will surrender soon.”
“There are only a few hours left until official announcement on Aleppo’s liberation,” he said.
On Monday, the Russian Defense Ministry announced that over 13,000 civilians had been rescued from militant-held parts of eastern Aleppo with the help of the Russian Center for Reconciliation in the past 24 hours. The Center said that over 98 percent of Aleppo had been retaken.
More than 700 militants laid down their arms and surrendered to the Syrian Army, the ministry said, adding that Russian bomb disposal engineers were continuing to demine the neighborhoods in eastern Aleppo that had been freed from terrorists and rebel militants.
Meanwhile, Washington declined Russia’s proposal to delay a ceasefire in Aleppo for several days, with US State Department spokesman John Kirby calling the move “simply not acceptable.”
Washington keeps insisting on the immediate halt of all operations in Aleppo, which, Moscow argues, might enable terrorists to recuperate.
“Rather than accepting the US proposal for an immediate cessation, the Russians informed us that a cessation could not start for several days meaning that the assault by the regime and its supporters will continue until any agreement will go into effect,” he told a news briefing.
Following the recent talks on Syria in Geneva, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said the parties failed to reach a ceasefire agreement “mainly due to the fact that the US insists on unacceptable parameters in terms of a ceasefire which would, in fact, provide full freedom of movement to those who the Syrian forces are currently fighting.”
Kirby noted that although “our [Russian and US] teams are still trying to work this out,” the negotiations are at an “impasse” at the moment.
Commenting on the situation (https://www.rt.com/shows/sophieco/369972-aleppo-offensive-isis-advances/) in Aleppo earlier in the day, a leading voice on Syria, Director of the University of Oklahoma’s Middle East Studies Center, Joshua Landis, told RT that recapturing Aleppo from the terrorists was “not the end of the war, but a very important turning point.”
“Aleppo, of course, is the second-largest city in Syria, it’s the last major city that the rebels have a real toehold in. This is comparable, in a sense, to what’s going on in Iraq, where Mosul is under attack, the second largest city of Iraq, and the government forces are pushing out rebels who have occupied that city,” Landis said.
While people celebrated what appeared to be the end of more than four years of warfare in the city, the United Nations’ humanitarian adviser on Syria, Jan Egeland, put the blame (https://twitter.com/NRC_Egeland/status/808406756464402434) on Russia and the Syrian government “for any and all atrocities” which, he claimed, are being committed by “victorious militias.”
Egeland’s claim was followed by a statement (https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statement/2016-12-12/statement-attributable-spokesperson-secretary-general-aleppo-syria)from the United Nations, which voiced “grave concern” about the allegations, while stressing the UN “is not able to independently verify these reports.”
Cidersomerset
13th December 2016, 15:02
Aleppo: "Complete meltdown of humanity" says UN - BBC News
iCSyseIoBn0
Published on 13 Dec 2016
A mass flight from the front line for those who can escape - but tens of
thousands remain trapped in the city where rebel fighters are on the
edge of defeat.
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Aleppo battle: UN says 82 civilians shot on the spot
10 minutes ago
A stream of people try to flee the fighting
Syrian pro-government forces have been entering homes in eastern
Aleppo and killing those inside, including women and children, the UN says.
The UN's human rights office said it had reliable evidence that in four areas
82 civilians were shot on sight.Meanwhile, the UN children's agency cited
a doctor as saying a building housing as many as 100 unaccompanied
children was under heavy attack.
Rebels, who have held east Aleppo for four years, are on the brink of defeat.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38301629
Raw: Syrian Troops Poised to Take Eastern Aleppo
CmN62Gxb6dY
Published on 13 Dec 2016
Syrian military media released footage on Monday claiming to show soldiers in
control of an eastern Aleppo neighborhood. (Dec. 13)
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War far from over....
RAW: Intense fighting near Palmyra, Syria
J3-vMzE26Tg
Published on 13 Dec 2016
Footage provided by Syrian Central Military Media shows Syrian forces battling ISIS
in a desert area in the province of Homs.
RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air
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ISIS used as tool by Saudis, US & Turkey when it suits their interests – US senator to RT
sDe1WyH2Ibc
Published on 13 Dec 2016
Speaking to RT on the advance of ISIS militants from Mosul toward Palmyra,
Virginia Senator Richard Black (R) expressed doubt that the US-led coalition could
have overlooked such a regrouping, pointing to possible interests of the US and
regional players.
Cidersomerset
13th December 2016, 16:07
Another convenient 'Death'......So all the alleged Paris bombers are now unable to testify.....
https://kendoc911.files.wordpress.com/2015/01/osamaburiedatsea.jpg
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Paris attacks planners 'killed in Syria'
10 minutes ago
From the section US & Canada
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/15EE4/production/_86682898_876c611a-f3c1-46c6-957e-775152036a11.jpg
Multiple gun and bomb attacks in Paris on 13 November killed 130 people
Two men involved in the November 2015 Paris attacks have been killed in Syria in a
US air strike, officials say.The men, named in a Pentagon statement as Salah
Gourmat and Sammy Djedou, were members of so-called Islamic State.
A third member of the group, linked to a failed terror plot in Belgium in 2015, was
also killed in the strike on 4 December, the statement said.The three were plotting
attacks against Western targets at the time of the strike, it said.All three were part
of a network led by Boubaker al-Hakim, a Tunisian who was killed in another
coalition air strike on 16 November, said Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook.
"This strike highlights our relentless efforts to simultaneously target ISIL (IS)
members who seek to attack the US, our interests, and our allies around the
world," said Mr Cook.
He said the coalition had successfully targeted five IS plotters since mid-November,
adding that efforts had been aided by intelligence material collected in territory
formerly held by the militant group.
IS militants claimed responsibility for the attacks in the French capital on 13
November 2015, which targeted the Bataclan concert hall, a major stadium,
restaurants and bars.
A total of 130 people were killed, with more than 350 wounded.
read more......
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38306615
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Aleppo: Scars of War (360 report)
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Published on 13 Dec 2016
RT's Murad Gazdiev takes you on a panoramic tour of one of Aleppo streets.
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Aleppo: Inside key Sheikh Saeed district reclaimed by SAA as crowds celebrate major advance
6MRIICjvM4k
Uploaded on 13 Dec 2016
RT's Lizzie Phelan follows Syrian army into key district of Aleppo reclaimed from militants.
Cidersomerset
13th December 2016, 20:35
Israel's Defense Minister Outlines Plan to Divide Syria and Iraq along Sectarian Lines - the plan all along
By David on 13 December 2016 GMT
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/Untitled-1-9.jpg
http://ahtribune.com/images/brand/dark-logo.png
December 11 ,2016
BY AHT Staff
Israel's Defense Minister Outlines Plan to Divide Syria and Iraq along Sectarian Lines
http://ahtribune.com/images/Avigdor_Liberman_2_67bb4.jpg
Israel's "defence" minister Avigdor Liberman in an article for Defense News penned an
article to explain his regime's struggles in a trobulant Middle Ease.
In a similiar tone to those of the Israeli politicians, Liberman waste no time to call the
legitimate forces of Hamas in Palestine and Hezbollah in Lebanon as terrorist forces.
He says, "The massive convulsions that in recent years have swept through North
Africa and erupted in Syria, Iraq and Yemen and elsewhere throughout the region,
and which have seen the empowerment of semi-territorial terrorist organizations such
as ISIS, Hamas and Hezbollah, represent an earthquake of historic proportions. Multi
-ethnic states such as Libya, Syria and Iraq have descended into chaotic civil wars as
many aspects of the region’s enduring political order, whose origins lie in the aftermath
of World War One, disintegrate."
‘Liberman goes on to draw three conclusions as the solutions for ending the crisis in the
Middle East. The second conclusion is clearly a call to attack the sovereignty of the
independent countries. Liberman says, “many of the countries in the Middle East were
established artificially, as a result of the Sykes-Picot Agreement and based on colonial
considerations that did not take into account the pattern of inhabitance and the deep
sectarian rifts within the respective societies.
Thus, to genuinely solve the region’s problems, borders will have to be altered, specifically
in countries like Syria and Iraq. Boundaries need to be redrawn between Sunnis, Shia and
other communities to diminish sectarian strife and to enable the emergence of states that
will enjoy internal legitimacy. It is a mistake to think that these states can survive in their
current borders.’
Read more: Israel’s Defense Minister Outlines Plan to Divide Syria and Iraq along Sectarian Lines – the plan all along
http://ahtribune.com/world/north-africa-south-west-asia/1381-avigdor-liberman.html
Cidersomerset
14th December 2016, 00:04
Syrian government in full control of Aleppo after evacuation deal
PressTV News Videos
b1Ffx77IbUU
Published on 13 Dec 2016
The Russian Envoy to the United Nations says all military actions in eastern
Aleppo have stopped and the Syrian government is now in full control of the city.
Vitaly Churkin said the agreement is only for militants but civilians don’t have to
move out. They Syrian army says the evacuation of the militants will start at
around three-hundred GMT. Militants have
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Syrian govt restores full control over eastern Aleppo
fV6KsjrnCYM
Published on 13 Dec 2016
As the Syrian government takes control over the eastern part of Aleppo, severe fighting
is coming to end in the city. RT correspondent Lizzie Phelan reports from Syria. Then, RT
correspondent Alex Mihailovich joins Simone Del Rosario to discuss the conflicting
interpretations and widespread disinformation surrounding the battle and its outcome.
Cidersomerset
14th December 2016, 11:48
conflicting reports from media sources.....Western hysteria ? There is always
trajedies in war , but the propaganda skirmishes continue...
'Meltdown of humanity': Two sides of Aleppo story as MSM paints grim picture
yYlgEka2t4E
Published on 14 Dec 2016
While residents of Aleppo are celebrating the liberation of their city, the mainstream
media has been painting the opposite picture with sensational headlines decrying
alleged atrocities and a “meltdown of humanity” they claim is happening there.
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Assad: West doesn't worry when terrorists attack Palmyra & destroy human heritage
4-cEMbOOmLg
Published on 14 Dec 2016
WATCH THE FULL INTERVIEW LATER ON WEDNESDAY
In an interview to RT, the Syrian President warned against taking statements by
western governments at face value, as in Aleppo, they seemed to care more about
saving terrorists than civilians. He also slammed the lackluster reaction to ISIS’s
onslaught on Palmyra.
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Fierce fighting halts Aleppo evacuation
36 minutes ago
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/AC68/production/_92963144_busafp.jpg
Buses were brought in but have not been used
A deal to evacuate rebel fighters and civilians from eastern Aleppo appears
to have stalled, with heavy shelling reported in the Syrian city.
A ceasefire was declared in Aleppo on Tuesday and buses brought in to ferry
people out of the devastated enclave.
But fighting resumed on Wednesday. Syrian activists also say air strikes over
rebel-held territory have resumed. The breakdown of the deal, brokered by
Russia and Turkey, is being attributed to demands from the Syrian government.
It is said to be seeking the evacuation of its own injured fighters and civilians
from nearby towns encircled by opposition forces.Eastern Aleppo has been held
by the rebels since 2012. But they have been squeezed into ever smaller areas
in recent months by a major government offensive, backed by Russian air power.
In recent days government troops have made sweeping gains, confining the
rebels to a small pocket of the city.
read more...
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/1C4D/production/_92954270_aleppomap.png
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38314291
Joiq3pMC7tc
Published on 14 Dec 2016
A deal to evacuate rebel fighters and civilians from eastern Aleppo appears to have
stalled, with heavy shelling reported in the Syrian city. A ceasefire was declared in
Aleppo on Tuesday. Speaking amidst heavy shelling, Zouhir Alshimale, a journalist
in east Aleppo, told the BBC's Victoria Derbyshire about the "constant bombing".
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U.N. on Syria crisis: "Complete meltdown of humanity"
CBS..News...
S0t_2nj7bbc
Published on 13 Dec 2016
Rebel forces reached a cease-fire deal Tuesday to evacuate the city of Aleppo,
effectively surrendering to the Syrian government. The New Yorker contributor Ben
Taub has been covering the war in Syria and he joins CBSN with more on the fall of Aleppo.
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Putin's spokesman Peskov talks to RT on Aleppo, US-Russia relations,
Russophobia and Donald Trump
xVfFpma9noU
Published on 13 Dec 2016
Vladimir Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov comments current international issues.
Cidersomerset
14th December 2016, 11:57
The Richie Allen Show on Davidicke.com: Syrian Journalist Jamilla Assi - 'Western
Media Is Waging War On The People Of Syria'
By David on 14 December 2016 GMT
tInfs6AQZ14
Published on 14 Dec 2016
Please Support The Show – http://paypal.me/richieallen
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Russian ‘shelling and execution’ videos in Aleppo faked by militants – MoD
By David on 14 December 2016 GMT War and Terror
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/download-70-2.png
RT News....
Russian ‘shelling, execution’ videos in Aleppo faked by militants – MoD
Published time: 13 Dec, 2016 19:07
‘The videos of alleged ‘Russia’s shelling and executions’ as well as other similar
footage are fake and were shot by the militants themselves, said Major General
Igor Konashenkov, the Russian Defense Ministry spokesman.
“All of the statements by high-ranked Western officials, which cite so-called ‘reports
by the activists,’ as well as ‘flicks,’ showing alleged ‘Russian
bombardments,’ ‘executions’ and other stuff are staged videos, produced by special
film crews formed by militants,” Konashenkov said in a statement Tuesday.
The spokesman said that “it remains a question, why some media outlets were so
eager to use them without checking.” “We have some advice for them – don’t ever
fall for terrorist propaganda,” he added.’
Read more: Russian ‘shelling and execution’ videos in Aleppo faked by militants – MoD
https://www.rt.com/news/370192-aleppo-russia-syria-fake-militants/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome
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The Bloodthirsty Hawks Want To See The Cold War Boil Over
By David on 14 December 2016 GMT War and Terror
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/download-7-1.png
The Bloodthirsty Hawks Want To See The Cold War Boil Over
By Eric Zeusse
‘Was the Cold War against communism, or against Russia? Russia
was our ally in World War II, and we’d have a Nazi world today if
26 million Russians hadn’t died from Hitler’s bombs and attacks
while Russia fought on with courage amidst desperation, finally
to crush his regime.
But Russia was communist, so the Cold War developed after that
alliance (the Allies in WW II) ended. Then, Russia abandoned
communism in 1990, and ended its own Warsaw Pact military
alliance in 1991, while America’s military alliance NATO expanded
right up to Russia’s borders — and yet the West claims that
Russia and not NATO are the ‘aggressor’ here? Sorry: I don’t
get it. I really do not. Not at all.’
Read more: The Bloodthirsty Hawks Want To See The Cold
War Boil Over
http://rinf.com/alt-news/editorials/thought-cold-war-supposed-ideology/
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Aleppo cease-fire collapses, leaving thousands trapped
MEHa4D9k9cw
Published on 14 Dec 2016
A cease-fire in Aleppo was meant to get around 50,000 civilians evacuated from the
war-torn city, but the fighting has not stopped. CBS News' Holly Williams reports.
Cidersomerset
14th December 2016, 16:28
This is a good insight full interview ......
Assad: West is telling Russia that Syrian Army went too far in defeating terrorists
(FULL INTERVIEW)
vn1QNppXsvM
Published on 14 Dec 2016
In an interview to RT, the Syrian President warned against taking statements by
western governments at face value, as in Aleppo, they seemed to care more about
saving terrorists than civilians. He also slammed the lackluster reaction to ISIS’s
onslaught on Palmyra.
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‘It is militants who kill people’: Aleppo residents contradict MSM reports
EPLRToGfCc4
Published on 14 Dec 2016
The fake news reports from Aleppo have been stirring emotions at the latest UN
Security Council meeting, with diplomats echoing various claims. RT’s
correspondent Lizzie Phelan in Aleppo gauged reaction from locals to the claims of
genocide and massacres taking place in the city.
Cidersomerset
14th December 2016, 16:57
Finally Clapper telling some truths, below Judge Napolitano explains the difference
between 'Hacks' and 'Leaks'......Listen to both vids.....Russia did not 'leak' the
e.mails and did no more 'hacking' than anyone else and there is no proof they
actually did !!
Clapper Claims Wikileaks Connection With Russian Cyber Attacks is Not Strong
EKx8s8otZ30
Published on 12 Dec 2016
https://twitter.com/wikileaks?lang=en-gb
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Judge Napolitano on Russia's alleged involvement in hacks
gdYfMSOn5qA
Published on 12 Dec 2016
On 'The Kelly File,' Fox News senior judicial analyst on the suggestion that the
hacks may have been a 'false flag operation'
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From August 2016
Former NSA official claims agency hacked DNC, not Russia
amnSgkoa9Mc
Published on 2 Aug 2016
Judge Andrew Napolitano weighs in
Hervé
15th December 2016, 12:52
Civilians making social media pleas from Aleppo actually bloggers with MSM primetime access (VIDEO) (https://www.rt.com/news/370364-anissa-aleppo-twitter-shelling/)
Published time: 15 Dec, 2016 09:27
Edited time: 15 Dec, 2016 12:16
Get short URL (http://on.rt.com/7xrw)
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2016.12/original/58526177c36188566e8b45a1.jpg
© OGN
Social media coming out of Aleppo has gone into overdrive. Well-articulated video pleas alleging near-death snake their way into the mainstream. There’s just one issue: these aren’t civilians, but bloggers and filmmakers – with spots on primetime TV.
And according to the host of RT’s ‘In the Now’, Anissa Naouai, it barely takes an internet search to quickly verify their identities.
The narrative is the same each time: that an all-out genocide is taking place; that the Assad forces are going from city to city killing their own people and taking no prisoners; and that Aleppo’s rebels valiantly look death in the face as they endure alleged Russian bombardment.
RT found nothing to indicate that any of the people appearing in the mobile videos were actual civilians experiencing the hyped 'Russian and Syrian shelling'. Rather, these were everything from bloggers to independent filmmakers who’ve made public commitments to the rebel cause to their thousands of followers on Twitter and elsewhere.
[go to https://www.rt.com/news/370364-anissa-aleppo-twitter-shelling/ to watch the video... worth watching, CC included]
Most recently, CNN interviewed one of them, Bilal Abdul Kareem – a documentary filmmaker and journalist who’s had unprecedented access to the rebels in eastern Aleppo, including their new leader Aby Al Abd, whom he interviewed just three days ago.
Related:
‘When camera gone they leave people under rubble’ – Aleppo residents on Western-backed White Helmets (https://www.rt.com/news/370344-white-helmets-aleppo-residents/)
Cidersomerset
15th December 2016, 21:33
The Map That Shows Why Russia Fears War With USA Mike Maloney
L6hIlfHWaGU
Published on 11 Dec 2016
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Russia vs The United States - Who Would Win - Military Comparison
i6gBnizjTM4
Published on 22 Nov 2016
Russia and The United States have similarly matched military, even though when in
comparison, Russia spends less than 10% on its military forces. We compare Russia
and United States to see how they would match up against each other and see who
would win. Let us know in the comments who you think would win the in a fight
between Russia and The United States and which military comparison should we do
next!
Cidersomerset
15th December 2016, 21:56
‘When camera gone they leave people under rubble’ – Aleppo residents on Western-backed White Helmets
By David on 15 December 2016 GMT
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/12/download-4-2-1.png
‘Western-funded activists called the ‘White Helmets’ have been making headlines, with the MSM
praising them as ‘Heroes of Peace’ for their work. However, Aleppo residents recently liberated
by Syrian government forces have a different opinion.RT’s Lizzie Phelan, who is on the ground
in Aleppo, spoke to some survivors that accused the anti-government activists of being “camera
posers, thieves, and raiders.” One went so far as to accuse the White Helmets of intentionally
killing his daughter.’
AmFFvu5H4f4
Start the video at 7:24
Source
https://www.rt.com/news/370344-white-helmets-aleppo-residents/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome
fNKQNBGaUHc
Published on 15 Dec 2016
Heartbreaking stories of children in the Aleppo warzone seem to be a useful tool in
the mainstream media campaign against Syria and Russia. Bana al-Abed, aged 7, is
one such medium – despite questions over her tweets' agenda and who’s really
behind them.
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Civilians making social media pleas from Aleppo actually activists with MSM primetime access
By David on 15 December 2016 GMT
bKAQWn8_xqY
‘Social media coming out of Aleppo has gone into overdrive. Well-articulated video pleas
alleging near-death snake their way into the mainstream. There’s just one issue: these
aren’t just any civilians, but activists and filmmakers – with spots on primetime TV.
And according to the host of ‘In the Now’, Anissa Naouai, it barely takes an internet
search to quickly verify their identities.The narrative is the same each time: that an
all-out genocide is taking place; that the Assad forces are going from city to city killing
their own people and taking no prisoners; and that Aleppo’s rebels valiantly look death
in the face as they endure alleged Russian bombardment.’
Read more: Civilians making social media pleas from Aleppo actually activists with MSM primetime access
https://www.rt.com/news/370364-anissa-aleppo-twitter-shelling/
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'We had very strong anti-Russian agenda over last few years' - frmr London mayor Livingstone
B-Q7TVlWzSM
The pullout of more than 5,000 militants and their families through a humanitarian
corridor has begun in eastern Aleppo, the Russian General Staff said. Wounded
rebels will be evacuated by the Russian Reconciliation Center with International Red
Cross involvement.
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Humanitarian action in Aleppo conflict highly politicized - Red Cross regional director
4C7xrLBHj1Y
Published on 15 Dec 2016
The pullout of more than 5,000 militants and their families through a humanitarian
corridor is under way in eastern Aleppo. Wounded rebels are evacuated by the
Russian Reconciliation Center with International Red Cross involvement. RT
discussed the evacuation operation with Robert Mardini, the Red Cross's Regional
Director for the Middle East.
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Aleppo Syria battle: Evacuation of rebel-held east
1 minute ago
short vid on link...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38329461
More than 3,000 people have been evacuated in buses and ambulances from a
besieged rebel-held enclave in the Syrian city of Aleppo, officials say.The
International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) says the full evacuation of
civilians and rebels is likely to take several days.Government forces, backed by
Russian allies, took nearly all remaining rebel-held parts of Aleppo this week.
It represents a major victory for President Bashar al-Assad.
He hailed the "liberation" of Aleppo and said history was being made.
The evacuation of civilians, rebels and their families had been due to take place on
Wednesday but an earlier ceasefire deal collapsed."Some 3,000 civilians and more
than 40 wounded, including children, were brought out," the head of the ICRC in
Syria, Marianne Gasser, said after two convoys left."No-one knows how many
people are left in the east, and the evacuation could take days," she added.
The evacuees are being transferred to rebel-held areas in neighbouring Idlib province.
Read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38329461
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Boris Johnson summons Russia and Iran ambassadors
4 hours ago
Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has summoned Russia and Iran's UK ambassadors
to discuss his "concern" over the countries' actions in Syria
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-38332030
Aleppo: Beginning of the end? BBC News
F989pfgddCA
Published on 15 Dec 2016
The BBC's Middle East Editor Jeremy Bowen explains what happens next in Aleppo.
Cidersomerset
15th December 2016, 22:47
Russia is not the source of DNC leaks to Wiki ....
Julian Assange is fine - see this post -
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...=1#post1120801
Thanks for heads up...
Sean Hannity FULL Interview with Julian Assange 12/15/16
b6qlc3lStM4
Published on 15 Dec 2016
Full Interview by based Sean Hannity with based Julian Assange
Hervé
17th December 2016, 11:41
Unable dealing with unbearable truth of criminal complicity, West displays 'Meltdown of Sanity' (http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/12/15/aleppo-victory-us-its-crime-partners-suffer-meltdown-sanity.html)
Finian Cunningham Strategic Culture Foundation (http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/12/15/aleppo-victory-us-its-crime-partners-suffer-meltdown-sanity.html)
Sat, 17 Dec 2016 10:41 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/364577/large/Aleppo.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/364577/full/Aleppo.jpg)
Aleppo
The US and its terrorist-sponsoring partners are seeing their criminal regime-change project in ruins, as the Syrian army and its allies win a spectacular victory to retake the strategically important city of Aleppo.
Western governments and their flunkies at the UN are cynically, perversely decrying a «meltdown of humanity».
Closer to the truth is their own «meltdown of sanity». This is because the official Western narrative about the Syrian war is finally being exposed on a glaring scale.
The exposure for the whole world to see is one of a systematic, fake propaganda cover that concealed a criminal enterprise - an enterprise involving terrorist proxies, or fake moderate rebels, whom the Western governments have sponsored for the past six years in a conspiracy to overthrow the government of Syria. The gravity of this systematic crime committed by Washington and its various partners is now unfolding.
Unable to cope with their own cognitive dissonance over the criminality, the Western governments and their complicit corporate news media are resorting to outright denial and to compounding lies with even more lies.
Instead of dealing with the reality that Syrian state forces have recaptured Aleppo from brutal, illegally armed groups, which the West and its regional clients have bankrolled and armed, the West distorts the dramatic victory as the «fall of Aleppo». One report on American channel CNN even referred to the victorious Syrian army and its allies as «persecutors».
With typical unhinged emotion, US ambassador to the UN Samantha Power cited unverified reports of civilians being executed in Aleppo, and slammed Syria and its allies Russia and Iran for having «no shame». It is Power and her Western partners-in-crime, including top UN officials, who should be hanging their heads in shame.
Among the hysterical soundbites about alleged atrocities and slaughter being lobbed around this week was this from UN «humanitarian» official Jens Laerke who said Aleppo was seeing a «meltdown of humanity». Catchy words, but divorced from reality.
Western news media outlets were screaming headlines alleging summary executions of women and children by the Syrian army and its Russian, Iranian and Lebanese allies as they moved in to finally retake the whole of the northern city.
Outgoing UN chief Ban Ki-Moon talked in disparaging tones about an «uncompromising military victory», while his underlings Rupert Colville and Jan Egeland decried «hellish» conditions and «war crimes» committed by Syria and Russia.
The problem is that all these sensational, reckless assertions are based on unverified claims by anonymous «activists» or persons involved with militants - militants who are integrated with terror groups like Jaysh al Fatah, Jabhat al Nusra, Ahrar al Sham and Nour al din al Zenki. All of them affiliated with the internationally proscribed Al Qaeda terrorist network - which the Western governments claim to be at war with.
It truly is a grotesque revelation when Western governments and UN officials publicly spout propaganda on behalf of terrorist groups.
Samantha Power and her British counterpart at the UN Matthew Rycroft cited UN «reports» of 82 civilians being executed, including 11 women and 13 children, by the pro-government Syrian forces during the final hours of recapturing Aleppo. But the same UN «reports» were themselves based on unverified sources supposedly embedded among the terrorists. This is not reportage. It is simply recycling rumors aimed at saving the necks of terrorist groups.
The simple fact of the information coming from unverified sources did not stop the UN, Power, Rycroft and the raft of Western media outlets, including the Washington Post, CNN, Guardian, Independent, France 24 etc, presenting the claims as if they were fact.
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov accused Western governments and their dutiful, unquestioning news media of spreading «fake news» about the dramatic events in Syria this week. Lavrov pointed out that none of the alleged atrocities were acknowledged by independent humanitarian groups.
Syria's ambassador to the UN Bashar al Jaafari also refuted the claims of atrocities that Western counterparts appeared to be so perplexed by.
Western governments and media outlets persisted in their gory fantasies despite abundant video footage that even they themselves were broadcasting which showed thousands of civilians calmly walking away from militant-held pockets of Aleppo towards the Syrian state forces. Is that the behavior of people who are being massacred, summarily executed, slaughtered?
One of the most absurd distortions was this from France 24. The state-owned broadcaster of one of the countries that has supplied weapons and propaganda cover to terrorists in Syria over the past six years described this week how «people in government-held areas of Aleppo were celebrating». Given that the Syrian government holds virtually all of Aleppo that means that the vast majority of Syrians were celebrating. Yet France 24 roils its words to contrive a false division between pro and anti-government populations.
The more logical and truthful depiction is that Syrian civilians are at last able to flee from terror gangs that have held them under siege. But in reporting that the whole false Western narrative about what has been going on in Aleppo and Syria for the past six years would implode like a house of cards.
Why aren't the Western news media interviewing the tens of thousands of civilians who have now managed to flee from the defeated terrorist groups? Why don't the Western media ask questions about the nature of their captivity? Such as, why could they not escape from militant-held eastern Aleppo until now? What do these civilians think of the Syrian army and its allies who have crushed the militants?
The curious, gaping absence of any testimonies carried by the Western media from the thousands of liberated civilians in Aleppo is mirrored by the same curious, gaping absence of testimonies from thousands of civilians liberated elsewhere in Syria by the army over the past year.
That's because those civilians are telling media outlets which are willing to report, such as the Syrian state broadcaster SANA, as well as RT, Press TV and Al Manar, that their nightmare siege imposed by the Western-backed terrorists is over. If Western media outlets were to actually bother to conduct real journalism they would go into liberated areas of Aleppo and other towns and villages across Syria and report that life is returning to happy normalcy for these families and communities.
The truth is Aleppo was invaded by Western-backed mercenaries in July 2012, who turned the eastern side of the city into a den ruled under a reign of terror. A twisted, demented caliphate run by head-chopping Wahhabi jihadists was imposed. Like Syria as a whole, these mercenaries were sanitized in the West as «moderate, pro-democracy rebels» - albeit somehow supposedly «intermingled» with jihadi extremists.
If that were the case, then where are these supposed «moderates» now that the last den of the «rebels» in Aleppo has been routed?
The stark absence of «moderate», «pro-democracy», «Western-value-supporting rebels» emerging from the ruins of Aleppo is as stark as the absence of petrified civilians denouncing Syrian army «atrocities» or Russian «war crimes».
In one resounding moment this week, the Western narrative about Aleppo, and the Syrian war more generally, has collapsed in a pile of dust. No amount of denials and further distortions can hide the exposure of Western lies and propaganda fabrications.
So ironically, Western media outlets have recently whipped up the phenomenon of «fake news» in the context of trying to discredit Russia over alleged electoral interference in the US and Europe.
What Syria has demonstrated is that the real culprits of peddling false news, and more gravely false narratives, are the Western governments and their conceited, self-important news media.
Unable to deal with the unbearable truth of criminal complicity, the official West is displaying a meltdown of sanity.
Aleppo and Syria will one day emerge again from the present ruins. No such recovery from ruins will be made by the ignominious Western governments and their lying, criminally complicit media.
Related:
UN's 'Mother Theresa' Samantha Power insinuates Russia is not capable of shame (https://www.sott.net/article/336823-UNs-Mother-Theresa-Samantha-Power-insinuates-Russia-is-not-capable-of-shame)
Aleppo starts uncovering Washington's bloody evil designs (https://www.sott.net/article/336954-Aleppo-starts-uncovering-Washingtons-bloody-evil-designs)
Former London Mayor: Russia no threat to US, spends one-tenth US does on military (https://www.sott.net/article/336931-Former-London-Mayor-Russia-no-threat-to-US-spends-one-tenth-US-does-on-military)
animovado
17th December 2016, 12:15
Really? Time will tell, maybe...
http://www.voltairenet.org/article194590.html
Voltaire Network — The Security Council meets in secret, Friday 16 December 2016 at 17.00 universal time - NATO officers were arrested this morning by Syrian Special Forces in a bunker in East Aleppo.
Hervé
17th December 2016, 14:48
See, proof of Russian aggression! Russian Defense Ministry confirms $1.6 billion budget cut in 2017 (https://sputniknews.com/russia/201612161048664926-russia-mod-budget-cut/)
Sputnik (https://sputniknews.com/russia/201612161048664926-russia-mod-budget-cut/) Sat, 17 Dec 2016 14:27 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/364614/large/1048664898.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/364614/full/1048664898.jpg)
© Sputnik/ Alexei Druzhinin Deputy Defense Minister Tatiana Shevtsova
The Russian defense budget is expected to shrink by six percent or 100 billion rubles (some $1.62 bln) in 2017, Deputy Defense Minister Tatiana Shevtsova said Friday.
Shevtsova clarified that in monetary terms the expenditures by the Defense Ministry would be cut by around 100 billion rubles, but would not affect remuneration of servicemen or military retirement pensions.
"According to draft budget for 2017-2019 prepared by the Finance Ministry, the federal expenditures will be reduced by six percent," Shevtsova said.
The Russian Defense Ministry transferred more than 41 billion rubles (about $664 million) to the federal budget this year from sales of illiquid assets and property rent.
"As for the revenues part of the budget, today 99.8 percent of Russian Defense Ministry's income plan was implemented. We ensured the transfer of over 41 billion rubles to the federal budget profit for the needs of the Russian economy. It is our activity, when we lease something or sell illiquid [assets]," Shevtsova told journalists. She added that the level of execution of the federal budget in 2016 was expected to reach 99.9 percent. According to Shevtsova, the Russian Defense Ministry has not misused state funds in the past three years.
==========================================
... compared to the $ 1/2 dozen trillions the Pentagon has no clue what happened to them...
Hervé
17th December 2016, 16:33
Voltaire Network — The Security Council meets in secret, Friday 16 December 2016 at 17.00 universal time - NATO officers were arrested this morning by Syrian Special Forces in a bunker in East Aleppo.
Report: Fourteen US Coalition military officers captured by Syrian Special Forces in Aleppo! (http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/12/16/reports-at-least-10-nato-military-officers-captured-by-syrian-special-forces-this-morning-in-east-aleppo-bunker/)
By Patrick Henningsen and Vanessa Beeley
21st Century Wire (http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/12/16/reports-at-least-10-nato-military-officers-captured-by-syrian-special-forces-this-morning-in-east-aleppo-bunker/), Fri, 16 Dec 2016 22:49 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/364627/medium/SAA_Liberate_Aleppo_Vanessa_Be.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/364627/full/SAA_Liberate_Aleppo_Vanessa_Be.jpg)
© Vanessa Beeley for 21st Century Wire Syrian Army soldier holds up Al Nusra Front (al Qaeda in Syria) flag in the Umayyed Mosque, Old City, after government troop liberated terrorist-occupied East Aleppo this week
According to two reports coming out of Aleppo today, at least 14 US Coalition military officers were captured this morning in an East Aleppo bunker by Syrian Special Forces.
This story was quietly leaked by Voltaire.net (http://www.voltairenet.org/article194584.html), who announced,"The Security Council is sitting in private on Friday, December 16, 2016, at 17:00 GMT, while NATO officers were arrested this morning by the Syrian Special Forces in a bunker in East Aleppo."
Fares Shehabi MP, a prominent Syrian Parliamentarian and head of Aleppo's Chamber of Commerce published the names of the Coalition officers on his Facebook page (http://%3Ciframe%20src%3D%22https//www.facebook.com/plugins/post.php?href=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.facebook.com%2Fpermalink.php%3Fstory_fbid%3D384903921843423%26id%3D1 00009714551392&width=500%22%20width=%22500%22%20height=%22258%22%20style=%22border:none;overflow:hidden%22%20scroll ing=%22no%22%20frameborder=%220%22%20allowTransparency=%22true%22%3E%3C/iframe%3E) on the 15th December (emphasis added):
Mutaz Kanoğlu - Turkey
David Scott Winer - USA
David Shlomo Aram - Israel
Muhamad Tamimi - Qatar
Muhamad Ahmad Assabian - Saudi
Abd-el-Menham Fahd al Harij - Saudi
Islam Salam Ezzahran Al Hajlan - Saudi
Ahmed Ben Naoufel Al Darij - Saudi
Muhamad Hassan Al Sabihi - Saudi
Hamad Fahad Al Dousri - Saudi
Amjad Qassem Al Tiraoui - Jordan
Qassem Saad Al Shamry - Saudi
Ayman Qassem Al Thahalbi - Saudi
Mohamed Ech-Chafihi El Idrissi - Moroccan
Listen to Fares Shehabi's interview on the Sunday Wire radio show: 'Liberation Aleppo (http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/12/11/episode-164-sunday-wire-liberation-aleppo-with-guests-fares-shehabi-mp-vanessa-beeley/)'
In addition to Voltaire.net, the other original report was provided by Damascus-based Syrian journalist Said Hilal Alcharifi (https://www.facebook.com/said.h.alcharifi?fref=ts). According to Alcharifi, captured "NATO" officers were from a number of member states including the US, France, Germany and Turkey, as well as Israel. Here is his statement (https://www.facebook.com/said.h.alcharifi/posts/1401107103274526) (translated from French):
"Thanks to information received, Syrian authorities discovered the headquarters of high ranking western/NATO officers in the basement of an area in East Aleppo and have captured them alive. Some names have already been given to Syrian journalists, myself included. The nationalities are US, French, British, German, Israeli, Turkish, Saudi, Moroccan, Qatari etc. In light of their nationalities and their rank, I assure you that the Syrian government have a very important catch, which should enable them to direct negotiations with the countries that have tried to destroy them." Although these initial reports describe the individuals in question as "NATO" officers, it's unlikely they would have been carrying NATO colors on a covert operation - and might be more accurately labeled as US Coalition officers. Note that early reports suggest that these are not standard 'street rebel' or jihadi terrorists but actual Coalition military personnel and field commanders.
21WIRE have also received unconfirmed reports yesterday that militants had fired a missile into Ramousa area and then tried, unsuccessfully, to get cars out of East Aleppo. It's possible this incident could be related to today reports of captured western operatives.
This report from the Syrian Arab News Agency (http://sana.sy/en/?p=96310) (emphasis added):
"The agreement on evacuating militants and weapons from the eastern neighborhoods of Aleppo city has been suspended after terrorist groups breached it, special sources told SANA correspondent in Aleppo.
The sources said that the suspension of the agreement will remain in place until obtaining guarantees that oblige the terrorist groups to abide by all the agreement's provisions, stressing on the Syrian side's full adherence to the agreement and its keenness to end the bloodshed and restore security and stability to the entire city of Aleppo."
Earlier, SANA reporter said that the terrorist groups have breached the agreement as they smuggled heavy weapons, including TOW missiles, heavy machineguns and kidnapped people via the buses and cars transporting terrorists and their families towards the southwestern countryside of Aleppo city.
The reporter added that the terrorist groups fired shells and sniper bullets on the buses and ambulances at al-Ramousseh crossing, noting that the Syrian Arab Red Crescent (SARC) and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) which are supervising the evacuation process had to withdraw all buses and cars from the crossing.
Over the past 24 hours, some 8079 terrorists and members of their families were evacuated on ten batches via busses and ambulances from the neighborhoods of Salah-Eddin, al-Ansari, al-Mashhad and al-Zibdiyeh to the southwest countryside of Aleppo city" If true, then this latest news would also mean that both the Syrian and Russian governments would have additional leverage going forward in any bilateral negotiations with the US-led Coalition.
If, however, this story is kept under wraps by NATO member governments and summarily blacked out by the US and European media outlets, then it might indicate that a deal has been struck, albeit behind the scenes, for the return of captured NATO operatives in exchange for other concessions.
If today's report from East Aleppo is accurate, this might also help explain the hysterical behavior by the US State Department and western UN officials who have been demanding "an immediate ceasefire" - despite the fact that 99% of East Aleppo has already been liberated by Syrian government forces.
The western establishment hysterical reactions to Al Nusra's defeat in Aleppo have included wild claims that the Syrian Army had 'unleashed death squads,' on its own residents in East Aleppo and were openly 'executing women and children in the street,' and 'burning children in the street,' as well what appear to be more fictional reports circulated in US media mainly by Michael Weiss of The Daily Beast via CNN,claiming that Syrian Army was committing "mass rape" against residents of East Aleppo. His article entitled, "Women in Aleppo Choose Suicide Over Rape, Rebels Report, (http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2016/12/12/last-rebels-in-aleppo-say-assad-forces-are-burning-people-alive.html)" made a number of outlandish claims including:
"Activists and rebels in the besieged city say mass executions have begun and children are burned alive as Assad's Iranian- and Russian-backed forces move in." Not surprisingly, aside from unnamed "UN sources", Weiss claims to have got his information from none other than the discredited US and UK-financed pseudo 'NGO' known as the White Helmets (http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/10/10/white-helmets-funded-by-us-uk-eu-and-qatari-governments/).
Back in September, numerous reports suggested that a western command center located behind terrorist-held lines had been targeted and destroyed by a Russian missile strike. Prof Michel Chossudovsky (http://www.globalresearch.ca/u-s-coalition-intelligence-operations-room-inside-syria-destroyed-by-russian-missile-attack-thirty-israeli-american-british-turkish-saudi-qatari-intelligence-officials-killed-report/5547099) wrote:
"The US and its allies had established a Field Operations Room in the Aleppo region integrated by intelligence personnel. Until it was targeted by a Russian missile attack on September 20, this "semi-secret" facility was operated by US, British, Israeli, Turkish, Saudi and Qatari intelligence personnel." This report was neither admitted, nor was it denied by US Coalition sources at the time. However, one mainstream Israeli source, The Times of Israel (http://www.timesofisrael.com/russia-mossad-other-foreign-agents-killed-in-aleppo-strike/), did report the incident.
For anyone who has been paying close attention to the Syrian Conflict, seeing NATO special forces or "contractors" working with 'rebel' or terrorist fighters inside of Syria is nothing unusual. Numerous reports have been filed of British soldiers assigned to fighting groups to help with training, strategy and logistics. In June 2016, The Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2016/06/06/british-special-forces-operating-inside-syria-alongside-rebels/) admitted that British special forces were helping one rebel group, "... with logistics, like building defences to make the bunkers safe," said one 'rebel' fighter. Other reports, including the LA Times (http://www.latimes.com/world/middleeast/la-fg-syria-moderate-rebels-20151012-story.html) which detailed CIA operations used to arm militants, including Al Nusra Front (al Qaeda in Syria) who were the terrorist force in charge in East Aleppo. Other revelations of US covert involvement include The New York Times (http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/24/world/middleeast/us-relies-heavily-on-saudi-money-to-support-syrian-rebels.html), and also information on US (NATO by another name only) covert operations provided to the Wall Street Journal (http://www.wsj.com/articles/covert-cia-mission-to-arm-syrian-rebels-goes-awry-1422329582).
Throughout fighting in the Donbass in eastern Ukraine, during the period of May 2014 to the present, numerous incidents have been reported (https://www.roguemoney.net/stories/2016/10/14/escalation-in-donbass-more-foreign-mercs-spotted-on-ukrainian-lines) where NATO military soldiers and operatives have been both spotted, and captured by rebel forces, and in most cases these reports have been muted, more than likely because of 'horse trading' taking place as an extension of wider diplomacy.
Cidersomerset
19th December 2016, 17:37
Turkish media: Russian ambassador shot
EZ0OohwYcp8
Published on 19 Dec 2016
Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, was shot at an art exhibition
in Ankara, Turkey's official Anadolu news agency reported.
====================================================
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Russian ambassador Andrei Karlov shot dead in Turkey
2 minutes ago
From the section Europe
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/137ED/production/_93035897_036958909-1.jpg
Andrei Karlov was visiting a photo gallery in the Turkish capital
A gunman has shot dead Russia's ambassador to Turkey, Andrei Karlov, apparently
in protest at Russia's involvement in the Syrian conflict.Several other people were
reportedly also injured in the attack, a day after protests in Turkey over Russia's
military intervention in Syria.
read more......
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38369962
===================================================
Footage from in front of the building in Ankara where Russian ambassador was shot
QOIR0xbT310
Published on 19 Dec 2016
The Russian envoy to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, was wounded after a gunman
stormed into a building where the opening ceremony of a Russian photo exhibition
was being held.
===================================================
BREAKING: Russian ambassador dies following shooting attack in Ankara
pJ6YeSANJ-w
Started streaming 35 minutes ago
The Russian envoy to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, was wounded after a gunman stormed into a building where the opening ceremony of a Russian photo exhibition was being held.
RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air
Cidersomerset
19th December 2016, 18:11
Syria hands over evidence of mustard gas attack by rebels on civilians to OPCW
N3-p0rhbrVs
Published on 18 Dec 2016
Syrian authorities have handed over a batch of documents with the evidence of a rebel
use of banned chemical agent against civilians near Aleppo to the international chemical
watchdog. Samples from the shell containing mustard gas are to be delivered to The Hague.
====================================================
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‘Syrian conflict is war of interventions, not civil war, as mainstream media put it’
3KoQJuyub5g
Published on 18 Dec 2016
Cidersomerset
19th December 2016, 18:44
‘The people of Aleppo are alive’: Breathing life back into ruined city
uYPDSuNljUY
Published on 19 Dec 2016
Two weeks since the liberation of the Alshaar neighborhood in eastern Aleppo
by the Syrian army, life is gradually resuming its course. More locals are returning
to breathe life into devastated streets as heavy machinery clears the rubble.
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Demining Aleppo: Russian sappers remove mines and IEDs in Syrian school
RpebigNM61o
Published on 17 Dec 2016
A group of Russian sappers performed a mine clearance operation at a school in Aleppo.
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Hundreds of militants evacuated from eastern Aleppo via humanitarian corridor
deNCjs8oeOY
Published on 15 Dec 2016
20 passenger busses and 10 ambulances were seen taking a reported 900 militants
with their families out of eastern Aleppo via the 21km Salaheddin corridor.
The motorcade was being accompanied by humanitarian workers and employees of
the Reconciliation Center. Ambulances were carrying injured people who could not
be safely transported by other means.
==================================================
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Militants evacuated from eastern Aleppo by night after Syria govt & rebels reach deal
jkO_PxfXRVA
Published on 15 Dec 2016
20 passenger busses and 10 ambulances have been provided to evacuate the
militants, while around 100 cars are being used by the militants themselves.
The motorcade was being accompanied by humanitarian workers and employees of
the Reconciliation Center. Ambulances were carrying injured people who could not
be safely transported by other means.
Hervé
19th December 2016, 20:49
Sudden Ukrainian offensive in Lugansk ends in heavy losses and retreat (http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/sudden-ukrainian-offensive-in-lugansk.html)
J. Arnoldski Fort Russ (http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/12/sudden-ukrainian-offensive-in-lugansk.html) Mon, 19 Dec 2016 19:12 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/365112/large/boy_artileriya_pushka_gaubica.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/365112/full/boy_artileriya_pushka_gaubica.jpg)
Since yesterday evening, reports have been incoming from the frontline in Lugansk that the Ukrainians have violated the Minsk Agreements for the nth time, this time shelling militia positions with artillery and attempting an offensive on the Uglegorsk and Debaltsevo fronts in the Lugansk People's Republic.
The attack has been halted, but firefights are ongoing. The attack was presumably being led by neo-Nazi volunteer battalions.
The Ukrainian Armed Forces shelled the residential area of Kalinovka near Debaltsevo 150 times with artillery prohibited by the Minsk Agreements before attempting to break through the defense positions of the Lugansk People's Militia.
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/365113/large/karta_donbass_0.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/365113/full/karta_donbass_0.jpg)
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/365114/large/karta_donbass1.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/365114/full/karta_donbass1.jpg)
The head of the directorate of the LPR's People's Militia, Oleg Anashchenko, has reported from the scene of the battle: "UAF attempts to break through the defenses of the LPR in the Kalinovka and Logvinovo districts have ended in failure. Over the course of the poorly planned attempt at breaking through in the direction of Kalinovka, the enemy has suffered heavy losses and returned to its original positions to regroup forces, replenish its losses, and prepare for active combat operations. All attempts to penetrate our defenses have ended in complete failure for Kiev's punitive forces."
According to Ukrainian sources, five Ukrainian troops were killed and 26 were wounded. Reports have since come in that more than 35 have been wounded, most being evacuated to the military hospital while others could not be withdrawn from the battlefield due to intense artillery fire. Ukrainian volunteer Yurii Mysyagin from Dnepropetrovsk has suggested that the number of dead has risen to six. The official "Anti-Terrorist Operation" headquarters has released significantly lower figures, counting only five dead and six wounded.
Earlier, the Lugansk People's Militia claimed that "no fewer than 30 of Kiev's troops have been killed and no less than two armored vehicles have been destroyed."
Several sources on both the Ukrainian and Donbass sides have suggested that the sudden Ukrainian offensive could have been connected to internal squabbles, namely, the Ukrainian state's acquiring of the infamous oligarch Igor Kolomoysky's Privatbank, Ukraine's largest commercial credit institution.
Related:
Ukraine nationalizes Kolomoisky's PrivatBank that holds 36% of all domestic deposits (https://www.sott.net/article/337157-Ukraine-nationalizes-Kolomoiskys-PrivatBank-that-holds-36-of-all-domestic-deposits)
Hervé
20th December 2016, 02:12
An update to post # 1566 (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?69621-Ukraine-Crimea-Syria-Israel-Iran-Putin-and-World-War-III&p=1121139&viewfull=1#post1121139):
Update (Dec. 19): Syria's UN envoy, Bashar al-Jaafari read the names of these foreign military and intelligence officers at a UN press conference today, saying they are currently in E. Aleppo strongholds and trying to escape. Here's the relevant part (full video here (https://youtu.be/cKVF8UxBJ-k)):
ILj8T_cWiY8
As Jaafari says, this is the reason for the hysterics from the West over the past days (and weeks, and months). Ever since Aleppo was encircled, the Western military "instructors" embedded with terrorists groups were trapped. The West and its allies desperately wanted to get them out and avoid a PR nightmare. They failed.
Jaafari: "We are going to catch them and show them to you."
We highly recommend readers watch Jaafari's full Q&A session (https://youtu.be/cKVF8UxBJ-k). Despite the utter seriousness of the topics, he absolutely slams several of the ignorant journalists with some hilarious responses. To one question about the foreign military officers, he corrects the journalist, saying, "No, no, they are 'Syrian moderate opposition' - genetically modified."
ThePythonicCow
20th December 2016, 07:21
An update to post # 1566 (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?69621-Ukraine-Crimea-Syria-Israel-Iran-Putin-and-World-War-III&p=1121139&viewfull=1#post1121139):
Update (Dec. 19): Syria's UN envoy, Bashar al-Jaafari read the names of these foreign military and intelligence officers at a UN press conference today, saying they are currently in E. Aleppo strongholds and trying to escape.
Here's a report, from a source I am not familiar with, that there were quite a few more US, UK, French and Dutch military specialists trapped with the rebels in Aleppo. The report is at BRITISH AND US TROOPS ALONGSIDE JIHADISTS IN ALEPPO (FreeNations.net) (http://freenations.net/british-us-troops-alongside-jihadists-aleppo/).
The report begins:
==========
BRITISH AND US TROOPS ALONGSIDE JIHADISTS IN ALEPPO
[I]Posted By: Rodney Atkinsonon: December 18, 2016
230 US Army instructors and 54 British troops, 8 French and two Dutch artillery specialists were trapped in Aleppo with ISIS jihadists by Syrian and Russian forces. The Americans asked the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov to keep this quiet – for obvious reasons! I have this from a reliable source.
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Hervé
20th December 2016, 15:54
Just 4 weeks ago US warned citizens of possible terror attacks on markets like Berlin's (http://thefreethoughtproject.com/us-warned-citizens-attacks-berlin/)
Claire Bernis Free Thought Project (http://thefreethoughtproject.com/us-warned-citizens-attacks-berlin/) Mon, 19 Dec 2016 00:01 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/365255/large/Berlin_Market_Terrorist_Attack.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/365255/full/Berlin_Market_Terrorist_Attack.jpg)
© Michael Sohn/AP
Monday night, a tractor-trailer truck plowed into a bustling Christmas market in Berlin, Germany, killing at least nine people — possibly many more — and wounding scores of others.
UPDATE: Local police now confirm (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-19/truck-ploughs-berlin-christmas-market-least-one-dead-multiple-injured) 12 people were killed and 48 others injured in the attack, and German media is reporting (https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/live160453735/Lkw-Fahrer-soll-als-Fluechtling-ins-Land-gekommen-sein.html#live-ticker-entry-7685) the driver of the truck was a Pakistani immigrant who entered Germany in February, although that has not been confirmed.
According to reports (http://www.morgenpost.de/bezirke/charlottenburg-wilmersdorf/article209035059/Lkw-rast-auf-Weihnachtsmarkt-Polizei-vermutet-Anschlag.html) from local media, police believe the incident to be an attack, and are treating it as a terror incident.
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/596405103181062144/UEIEADT0_bigger.png Sky News Newsdesk Verified account @SkyNewsBreak (https://twitter.com/SkyNewsBreak)
German media: Police say first indications from investigation suggest truck crash was an attack on Christmas market in Berlin
"We can confirm nine fatalities & many injured. A lot of our colleagues are at #Breitscheidplatz to investigate the background," the official police account tweeted (https://twitter.com/polizeiberlin/status/810940347006197760).
"It looked like [it was done] on purpose," a police officer who witnessed the incident told (http://www.berliner-zeitung.de/berlin/liveticker-neun-tote-am-breitscheidplatz--beifahrer-stirbt--fahrer-festgenommen--25341200)Berliner Zeitung.
"Lorry just ploughed through Christmas market in #berlin. There is no road nearby. People crushed. I am safe. I am safe," tweeted (https://twitter.com/ERushton/status/810924729972518912) Emma Rushton with a picture from the chaotic scene. There is, indeed, a road nearby the market, so it is unclear what Rushton meant.
"We heard a loud bang," Rushton told (http://www.cnn.com/2016/12/19/europe/berlin-christmas-market-truck/index.html) CNN. "We started to see the top of an articulated truck, a lorry ... just crashing through the stalls, through people." She added, "There's no way it was an accident."
Another eyewitness described dozens of people unconscious on the ground.
"Local media reports suggested the vehicle ran into the market outside the landmark Kaiser Wilhelm memorial church on Monday evening. They said police at the scene had said initial indications pointed to an attack," the Guardian reports (https://www.theguardian.com/world/live/2016/dec/19/berlin-truck-crash-christmas-market-live).
A journalist from Berliner Morgenpost described (http://www.morgenpost.de/bezirke/charlottenburg-wilmersdorf/article209035059/Lkw-rast-auf-Weihnachtsmarkt-Polizei-vermutet-Anschlag.html) the aftermath as a "gruesome scene."
Reports indicated the driver took no care to avoid hitting people and traveled at a high rate of speed through the open-air holiday market.
Interestingly, the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning last month cautioning Americans in Europe about attending Christmas holiday events — including, specifically, markets like this one — stating (https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/Europe.html):
The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the heightened risk of terrorist attacks throughout Europe, particularly during the holiday season. U.S. citizens should exercise caution at holiday festivals, events, and outdoor markets. This Travel Alert expires on February 20, 2017.
Credible information indicates the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Da'esh), al-Qa'ida, and their affiliates continue to plan terrorist attacks in Europe, with a focus on the upcoming holiday season and associated events. U.S. citizens should also be alert to the possibility that extremist sympathizers or self-radicalized extremists may conduct attacks during this period with little or no warning. Terrorists may employ a wide variety of tactics, using both conventional and non-conventional weapons and targeting both official and private interests. In fact, the State Department specifically mentioned terror attacks that had taken place in Germany and other European nations, warning additional attacks might still occur:
While extremists have carried out attacks in Belgium, France, Germany, and Turkey in the past year, the Department remains concerned about the potential for attacks throughout Europe. Chaos unfolded after the truck drove headlong into the market around 8 p.m. — what would have been its busiest hour. According to Bild Berlin editor-in-chief Julian Reichelt, cited by (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-germany-truck-idUSKBN148287) Reuters, a massive security operation is currently underway, and "The scene certainly looks like a reminder of what we have seen in Nice."
On Bastille Day in Nice, a truck driver drove through a massive (http://thefreethoughtproject.com/nice-tragedy-police-state/) crowd gathering for a parade, leaving at least 80 people dead and several hundred injured.
Police later detained the suspected driver of the truck nearby — and confirmed his putative accomplice, the passenger, died after being detained shortly after the vehicle crashed.
Police also asked people to stay away from the scene and not rush to conclusions until a thorough investigation concludes.
Related:
9 dead, many injured as truck plows into Christmas market in Berlin in likely terrorist attack (https://www.sott.net/article/337211-9-dead-many-injured-as-truck-plows-into-Christmas-market-in-Berlin-in-likely-terrorist-attack)
Hervé
20th December 2016, 16:03
Updates:
No doubt Berlin truck incident was terrorist attack - German Interior Ministry (https://www.rt.com/news/370965-berlin-christmas-market-attack/)
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere said there is "no doubt" that the truck incident at a Christmas market in Berlin was a terrorist attack.
"At this point, we have no doubt that this horrific crime was a terrorist attack," de Maiziere told a news conference on Tuesday. He added that there is no evidence so far to indicate the suspect is linked to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) or any other terrorist group. Pakistani refugee named as Berlin attack suspect by minister, police not sure they agree (https://www.rt.com/news/370948-berlin-attacker-pakistani-refugee/)
The man, suspected of ramming a truck into a Christmas market in Berlin on Monday, is a Pakistani refugee aged 23, the German Interior Minister confirmed. Meanwhile, police say they aren't sure if that man is the perpetrator.
Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere has confirmed that Naved B., who was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the Berlin truck attack, is from Pakistan and had applied for asylum earlier this year. He arrived in Germany last December and arrived in Berlin in February. De Maiziere also said the suspect denies the charges.
A Polish haulier, who also was a cousin of the victim and owner of the truck, said he lost contact with the driver on Monday at 4pm local time, according to the newspaper. It is still unclear how the Pakistani suspect managed to get into the truck.
Ariel Zurawski, the haulier who owned the truck, told Polish television he noticed that the vehicle was maneuvering in a strange way before the attack. "Someone was making forward and backward movements as if he was learning how to drive," said Zurawski. He added that "someone was in the cabin" by the time he lost contact with the original driver. Berlin police detained 'wrong man,' truck attacker still at large, armed (https://www.rt.com/news/370969-berlin-police-detained-wrong-man/)
The Pakistani suspect arrested following the truck attack in the German capital reportedly had no involvement in the crime. The actual perpetrator is armed and still at large, Die Welt reports, citing high-ranking security sources.
"We have the wrong man," Die Welt (https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article160462226/Berliner-Polizei-Wir-haben-den-falschen-Mann.html?wtrid=socialmedia.socialflow....socialflow_twitter)cited a Berlin police official as saying. "And thus a new situation. The actual perpetrator is still at large and armed, and can inflict more damage."
The source said that all police and special forces units in Berlin have been informed and put on high alert.
Speaking at a press conference, Berlin police chief Klaus Kandt said investigators are unsure if the Pakistani man arrested shortly after the truck attack was actually the driver who rammed the vehicle into a crowd at the Christmas market.
"As far as I know it is in fact uncertain whether that really was the driver," he said.
Despite the heightened security alert, the preparations for New Year's Eve celebrations will continue as planned, Kandt added.
Entrances to all Christmas markets will be guarded by police officers armed with submachine guns, and security barriers will be erected.
Hervé
20th December 2016, 16:37
... the U.S. State Department issued a travel warning last month cautioning Americans in Europe about attending Christmas holiday events — including, specifically, markets like this one — stating (https://travel.state.gov/content/passports/en/alertswarnings/Europe.html):
The Department of State alerts U.S. citizens to the heightened risk of terrorist attacks throughout Europe, particularly during the holiday season. U.S. citizens should exercise caution at holiday festivals, events, and outdoor markets. This Travel Alert expires on February 20, 2017.
Credible information indicates the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL or Da'esh), al-Qa'ida, and their affiliates continue to plan terrorist attacks in Europe, with a focus on the upcoming holiday season and associated events. U.S. citizens should also be alert to the possibility that extremist sympathizers or self-radicalized extremists may conduct attacks during this period with little or no warning. Terrorists may employ a wide variety of tactics, using both conventional and non-conventional weapons and targeting both official and private interests.
One killed, two wounded by gunman in Wiesbaden, Germany (https://sputniknews.com/europe/201612201048785114-germany-shooting-hesse/)
Sputnik (https://sputniknews.com/europe/201612201048785114-germany-shooting-hesse/) Tue, 20 Dec 2016 13:11 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/365268/large/1042793106.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/365268/full/1042793106.jpg)
A woman was killed and two men were injured and hospitalized after shooting took place in central-western German state of Hesse, according to local police.
A woman was killed and two other people were wounded in a shootout in central-western German state of Hesse, local police said Tuesday.
"A woman was killed this morning... In addition, two men were injured and hospitalized," Wiesbaden city police said in a statement, adding that the motives behind the attack are unclear. Additional forces and a helicopter have been deployed in search operations for the suspect said to be 20-30 years old.
Sophocles
22nd December 2016, 00:24
Who Profits from Turkey’s ‘Sarajevo Moment’? (http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/21/who-profits-from-turkeys-sarajevo-moment/)
by Pepe Escobar
counterpunch.org
December 21, 2016
http://uziiw38pmyg1ai60732c4011.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com/wp-content/dropzone/2016/12/5097286678_b41ecb8d53_z.jpg
Photo by Nico Kaiser | CC BY 2.0
Let’s cut to the chase: Ankara 2016 is not Sarajevo 1914. This is not a prelude to WWIII. Whoever plotted the assassination of the Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov – a cool, calm, collected old-school diplomat – risks a mighty blowback.
The assassin, Mevlut Mert Altintas, was a 22-year-old police academy graduate. He was suspended from the Turkish National Police (TNP) over suspected links to the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETO) after the failed July 15 putsch against Erdogan but returned (http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/karlovs-assassin-stayed-in-hotel-close-to-scene-took-11-shots.aspx?pageID=238&nID=107528&NewsCatID=509) to duty in November.
It’s no secret Gulenists heavily infiltrate the TNP; so a particular outcome of the attack will be an, even more, relentless Erdogan/AKP crackdown on the Gulen network. The Turkish investigation will have to focus not only on the (major) security service fail at Ankara’s modern art center – but way beyond. It’s not very reassuring that Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu put out a terse statement a very long three hours after the facts.
The killer in a black suit and tie shouted slogans about revenge “for Aleppo” – the requisite “Allahu Akbar” included – in both Turkish and broken Arabic, something that might establish a connection to an Islamist group’s rhetoric, although that’s not conclusive evidence.
Timing is crucial. The hit happened only one day before the Foreign Ministers of Russia, Turkey and Iran were scheduled to meet in Moscow for a key Syria strategic discussion. They were already closely in touch for the past few weeks on how to strike a comprehensive deal on Aleppo – and beyond.
And this right after the crucial, previously established Putin-Erdogan agreement, which implied no less than thousands of “moderate rebels” responding to Turkey’s commands being able to use a “corridor” out of Aleppo. Ankara was fully on board with the plan. That in itself eliminates the possibility of an Ankara-provoked false flag.
President Putin for his part made it very clear he wants to be informed on who “directed” the killer. That’s something that could be interpreted as subtle code for Russian intel already very much in the know.
The Big Picture
On the bilateral front, Moscow and Ankara are now working close together on counter-terrorism. Turkey’s defense minister was invited to Russia for anti-air defense system negotiations. Bilateral trade is booming again, including the creation of a joint investment fund. On the all-important energy front, Turkish Stream, despite the Obama administration’s obsession about its derailment, became the subject of state law in Ankara earlier this month.
Atlanticists are appalled that Moscow, Ankara and Tehran are now fully engaged in designing a post-Battle of Aleppo Syrian future, to the graphic exclusion of the NATO-GCC combo.
It’s under this context that the recent alleged capture (http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/12/16/reports-at-least-10-nato-military-officers-captured-by-syrian-special-forces-this-morning-in-east-aleppo-bunker/) of a bunch of NATO-GCC operatives – deployed under the US-led-from-behind “coalition” – by Syrian Special Forces in Aleppo must be interpreted.
Syrian member of Parliament Fares Shehabi, the head of the Chamber of Commerce in Aleppo, published the names of the apprehended coalition officers; most are Saudi; there’s one Qatari; the presence of one Moroccan and one Jordanian is explained by the fact Morocco and Jordan are “unofficial” GCC members.
And then there’s one Turk, one American (David Scott Winer) and one Israeli. So NATO shows up only via two operatives, but the NATO-GCC link is more than established. If this information proceeds – and that’s still a big “if” – these may well be coalition military personnel and field commanders, formerly advising “moderate rebels” and now a formidable bargaining chip in the hands of Damascus.
Both NATO and GCC remain absolutely mum; not even non-denial denials have materialized. That might imply a made in the shade deal for the release of the high-value prisoners, further strengthening Damascus’ grip.
It was President Putin who all but established a de facto Russia-Iran-Turkey axis dealing with facts on the Syrian ground – in parallel to the rhetoric-heavy, zero-solution UN charade going on in Geneva. Moscow diplomatically emphasizes that the work of the axis complement Geneva. In fact, it’s the only reality-based work. And it’s supposed to sign and seal definitive parameters on the ground before Donald Trump enters the White House.
In a nutshell; the five-year (and running) NATO-GCC combo’s multi-billion dollar regime change project in Syria all but miserably failed. Wily Erdogan seems to have learned his realpolitik lesson. On the Atlanticist front nevertheless, that opens myriad avenues to channel geopolitical resentment.
The Big Picture couldn’t be more absolutely unbearable for neocon/neoliberalcon Atlanticists. Ankara slowly but surely is veering the Eurasianist way; bye bye to the EU, and eventually NATO; welcome to the New Silk Roads, a.k.a. the China-driven One Belt, One Road (OBOR); the Russia-driven Eurasia Economic Union (EEU); the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO); the Russia-China strategic partnership; and Turkey as a key hub in Eurasia integration.
For all that to happen, Erdogan has concluded Ankara must be on board the Russia-China-Iran long-term strategy to pacify and rebuild Syria and make it a key hub as well of the New Silk Roads. Between that and an “alliance” of fleeting interests with Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the US, it’s certainly a no-brainer.
But make no mistake. There will be blood.
Source (http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/12/21/who-profits-from-turkeys-sarajevo-moment/)
Cidersomerset
22nd December 2016, 10:45
Pentagon and intel agencies in 'tizz' as their anti Russian paranoia is not a Trump priority....
A 'bogey' man keeps the $$$$$$$$$$$ flowing into the mil ind complex.....
Russia not on Trump's defense priority list
YX8MBJF4ysc
Published on 21 Dec 2016
A leaked Department of Defense document has made it clear that Russia is no
longer among the USA’s top defense concerns. Does this represent a welcome
thawing of USA’s relationship with the Russian Federation? Or is it a worrisome
lapse in judgement? Former Pentagon spokesperson JD Gordon joins RT’s Ed
Schultz to offer his analysis of Trump’s priorities and the goals of his administration.
Cidersomerset
24th December 2016, 10:53
'Beginning of the end of Syria’s war': Aleppo locals celebrate complete
liberation of city
yU0a79sKGFE
Published on 23 Dec 2016
Residents of the Syrian city of Aleppo have flooded the streets,
celebrating the city's liberation from rebels.
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Militant's bombs, gas masks, black jackets: SAA carry out clean up operation in
eastern Aleppo
hsI_-cT7TTU
Published on 23 Dec 2016
The Syrian Army worked their way through damaged streets and homes as they
carried out a cleaning operation in eastern Aleppo's Al-Ansari Mashhad district.
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This may or may not have any effect, certainly Israel will ignore it and the incoming
Trump administration is unlikely to vote against Israel. So it depends what the UN
will do ? Which is probably not much as their only leverage is sanctions and the US
will not back that.
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Israel settlements: Netanyahu snubs 'shameful' UN vote
1 hour ago
0GXGk65GasU
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says a UN call to end settlement activity
on occupied land is "shameful".
He stressed that Israel would not abide by Friday's vote at the 15-member UN
Security Council.Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas' spokesman said the
resolution was a "big blow to Israeli policy".The resolution was passed after the US
refused to veto it, breaking with long-standing American practice.
Washington has traditionally sheltered Israel from condemnatory resolutions.
The Egyptian-drafted resolution had been withdrawn after Israel asked US
President-elect Donald Trump to intervene, but it was proposed again by Malaysia,
New Zealand, Senegal and Venezuela..
read more..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk
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US-Israel tensions rise after UN resolution vote
4g7cPMu3hDk
Published on 24 Dec 2016
Aaron David Miller talks with CNN's Dana Bash about the diplomatic fallout for the
UN vote on Israeli settlements.
Ewan
24th December 2016, 11:36
Just saw that in the Guardian re Israeli Settlement issue, bit of a landmark event that.
Cidersomerset
24th December 2016, 22:55
OBAMA SIGNS ANTI PROPAGANDA BILL: Clinton Blames Russia, FBI, Fake News for Loss to Trump
kI5gpdsFJgY
Published on 24 Dec 2016
My name is H. A. Goodman and I’m an author, columnist, and journalist www.hagoodman.com
Obama Quietly Signs The "Countering Disinformation And Propaganda Act" Into Law
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12...
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European gov'ts had all info needed to prevent Berlin terror attack – analysis
rOr2Z7iul04
Published on 23 Dec 2016
A review of records suggests that mass surveillance does nothing to prevent terrorism.
Investigative journalist Derrick Broze joins RT’s Anya Parampil to discuss global security
questions and the erosion of privacy raised by the Berlin attack.
Cidersomerset
25th December 2016, 23:06
US-Israel diplomatic fallout after UN vote
Israel playing the victim , its our wall...
Western wall jerusalem
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/40/Western_wall_jerusalem_night.jpg
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NoBXiVhbRJU
Published on 25 Dec 2016
David Keyes, spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu,
talks about Israel's disappointment over a UN resolution critical of
settlements and says they look forward to working the Trump administration.
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Netanyahu lashes out at U.S. over U.N. resolution
AuJ76uLVVCA
Published on 25 Dec 2016
Israeli prime minister's spokesman weighs in
Cidersomerset
26th December 2016, 13:44
Netanyahu: We cannot & will not accept Security Council resolution on settlement building
cTb7YT92EZY
Published on 26 Dec 2016
Israel has suspended its multimillion dollar contribution to a number of United Nations
bodies and is reevaluating its relationship with the organization, after the UN Security
Council passed a resolution on Israeli settlement construction.
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Gillian Turner on the complex US relationship with Israel
8hplpkxHRnQ
Published on 26 Dec 2016
Fox News contributor weighs in
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Israel: We have 'ironclad' proof Obama pushed U...
oqEKEiA19uI
Published on 26 Dec 2016
The spokesman for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insisted that Israel
has "ironclad" proof that the Obama administration was behind a U.N. vote.
Cidersomerset
27th December 2016, 18:54
Tensions grow between the US and Israel following UN vote
_2TP7hl3FoI
Published on 27 Dec 2016
President-elect Trump, Israeli PM Netanyahu slam Obama administration
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Israel insists US behind United Nations vote
YyxDSk7nU8A
Published on 27 Dec 2016
Israelis reduce ties with 12 countries
yPXynn1YA-Y
Published on 27 Dec 2016
Rich Edson reports from Washington
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Should UN be punished over Security Council vote?
0BK1HQNG1vQ
Published on 27 Dec 2016
Eric Shawn gets insight from Fox News contributor Steve Hayes on Israel conflict
Cidersomerset
27th December 2016, 23:15
Erdogan: 'Confirmed evidence' US-led coalition supports ISIS & other terrorists in Syria
3vAZK3_gH34
Published on 27 Dec 2016
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said "it's very clear" that the US-led
coalition is supporting terrorist groups in Syria, ISIS among them.
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Erdogan’s claim that US supports ISIS is ‘disingenuous’ – ex-Pentagon official
00X2X7OKoKk
Published on 27 Dec 2016
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan claims to have proof that the US-led
coalition is supporting terrorist groups in Syria, including Islamic State. Former
Pentagon official Michael Maloof joins RT’s Anya Parampil to discuss the implications
of this serious accusation.
Hervé
28th December 2016, 14:01
Russian teams sweep Aleppo for mines, discover shells made in US, Germany, Bulgaria (https://www.rt.com/news/372027-russian-mine-swipers-aleppo/)
RT (https://www.rt.com/news/372027-russian-mine-swipers-aleppo/) Wed, 28 Dec 2016 13:14 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/366948/large/5863954ec46188d7028b45ca.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/366948/full/5863954ec46188d7028b45ca.jpg)
© Mikhail Alaeddin/Sputnik Missiles in a liberated neighborhood of eastern Aleppo, Syria.
Russian bomb disposal teams are continuing to sweep schools and mosques of Aleppo for booby-traps, mines and munitions after they were wrested from rebel control. Recovered explosives come from various parts of the world, including the US and Germany.
Since starting their mine-swiping mission in the Syrian city three weeks ago, the sappers have cleared 966 hectares, the Russian Syrian Reconciliation Center reported on Wednesday. They reported 2,149 building in and near Aleppo as safe, including 44 schools, 38 mosques, 10 medical facilities and other crucial civilian infrastructure. They also swept 350km of roads in the area for mines, the report said.
The teams discovered and defused some 14,700 dangerous items, including 6,700 IEDs. The munitions discovered in stockpiles left behind by various armed groups ranged from small arms rounds and hand grenades all the way up to rockets meant for multiple-rocket launchers.
Footage of the ongoing demining operation released by the Russian Defense Ministry showed crates full of various munitions; some of them marked "Produced in Yugoslavia by Ordnance Corps United States Army. The munitions we found were German, American, Bulgarian... The amount they had was somewhat disconcerting," Maj. Ivan Gromov, a bomb disposal squad leader said.
SL8PIjchTqc
The Russian military in Aleppo are assisting with restoring normal life in the city after four years of hostilities. In addition to disposing of explosives, they help with deliveries of humanitarian aid and restoring utilities. A Russian military police unit was deployed to Aleppo to preserve order and prevent possible abuses.
Militants opposing the Syrian government were forced to leave eastern Aleppo after Damascus conducted a successful offensive operation in the city last month. The evacuation of rebel fighters and their civilian supporters was meant to spare lives and was conducted with the help of international humanitarian organizations. This ended constant fighting in the city, which was divided into government-held and rebel-held parts for years.
Cidersomerset
28th December 2016, 21:20
Turkish soldiers dying because US helps terrorists instead of fighting them – MP
ZyaO5Id-Yxo
Published on 28 Dec 2016
Turkey's leader is accusing Washington and its allies of supporting terrorist groups
in Syria. As US State Dept responds, Ahmed Beirat Conkar – Ak party Mp &
Co-President of Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Committee, shares his thoughts with RT
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http://thf_media.s3.amazonaws.com/infographics/2012/10/IB-MANPADS-figure-1_HIGHRES.jpg
US law to arm Syrian rebels a hostile decision, directly threatens Russians in Syria – FM spox
jcWUYRlHT_o
Published on 28 Dec 2016
The latest National Defense Authorization Act signed into law by President Barack Obama
is a "threat" to Russians in Syria, Moscow says, as the bill "openly stipulates the possibility"
of delivering more weapons which might "soon" end in the hands of terrorists.
Washington's decision to supply weapons, including portable air defense missile systems,
to militants in Syria "directly threatens the aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces, other
Russian military personnel and the Russian Embassy in Syria, which has been shelled more
than once," Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a statement
on Tuesday.
http://www.state.gov/img/11/44903/INSURGENTSIRAQSA7SA_300_1.jpg
https://fas.org/programs/ssp/asmp/_images/MANPADS%20image%20showing%20main%20components.jpg
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Russian sappers sweep Aleppo for mines, discovering shells made in US, Germany
WvNlM1xaFaQ
Published on 28 Dec 2016
Bomb disposal teams are continuing to sweep schools and mosques of Aleppo for
Booby-traps, mines and munitions after they were wrested from rebel control.
COURTESY: Russian Defense Ministry
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eCHN4IPuers
Cidersomerset
28th December 2016, 21:32
John Kerry Defends Two-State Solution As The ‘Only Way To Ensure Israel’s Future’ | NBC News
fZ1s9rPlTYo
Published on 28 Dec 2016
Secretary of State John Kerry says last week’s United Nation’s resolution was about
preserving the two-state solution for Israelis and Palestinians. He also insists that
“no American administration has done more for Israel’s security than Barack Obama’s.”
John Kerry's entire speech on Israel
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fUZRoeGBkM
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Netanyahu: Israelis do not need to be lectured about peace
OblBL9vDrpM
Published on 28 Dec 2016
Israel's prime minister says Kerry's speech is almost as unbalanced as the U.N. resolution passed
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Amb. Gold: Focus on settlements is almost an obsession
HA9b62tQvlQ
Published on 28 Dec 2016
On 'ANHQ,' former adviser to PM Netanyahu reacts to Kerry's speech
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John Kerry defends U.S. Israel policy
cmZG4Arc7Q8
Published on 28 Dec 2016
Secretary of State John Kerry said in a speech on Wednesday that a two-state
solution is the "only way" to establish peace between Israel and Palestine. Kerry
also defended the U.N. vote to condemn new Israeli settlements in Palestinian
territory. Former Sen. George Mitchell, who served as a U.S. special envoy for
Middle East Peace from 2009 to 2011, joins CBSN to discuss.
Cidersomerset
29th December 2016, 11:14
‘Any further hostile actions from US will trigger Moscow reaction’ – Foreign Ministry
EIOc48QXTgw
Published on 29 Dec 2016
US Secretary of State John Kerry said the alleged Russian hack “invaded the space of our
election” and “did have an impact.” He said Obama will respond before he leaves office.
RT's Aleksey Yaroshevsky has more
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Russia & Turkey agree on nationwide Syrian ceasefire plan – Ankara
By David on 29 December 2016 GMT
RT NEWS....
‘Russia and Turkey have reached an agreement on a plan that would involve a
ceasefire between the Syrian governmental forces and the opposition armed
groups on a nationwide scale, Turkey’s foreign minister said.
The minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu, said that the two countries have come to an
agreement on the ceasefire issue and even prepared a text of the truce accord
to be presented to the warring parties.
“There are two texts ready on a solution in Syria. One is about a political resolution
and the other is about a ceasefire. They can be implemented any time,” Cavusoglu t
old reporters on the sidelines of an awards ceremony at the presidential palace
in Ankara, as cited by Reuters.’
Read more: Russia & Turkey agree on nationwide Syrian ceasefire plan – Ankara
https://www.rt.com/news/372086-russia-turkey-syria-ceasefire-plan/?utm_source=browser&utm_medium=aplication_chrome&utm_campaign=chrome
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'Most significant step': fmr Turkish ambassador to the US on Syrian nationwide ceasefire plan
5SEZ5W7qO3c
Published on 28 Dec 2016
Russia and Turkey have reached an agreement on a plan that would involve a ceasefire
between the Syrian governmental forces and the opposition armed groups on a nationwide
scale, Turkey's foreign minister said.
Cidersomerset
29th December 2016, 11:54
David is one of the best geo political analysts and he gives his views on 2016 into 2017.....
2016 - 'It is, perhaps, the end of the beginning' - The David Icke Videocast/Podcast Trailer
-Uhxyev7gI4
Published on 29 Dec 2016
Cidersomerset
29th December 2016, 14:17
bdh4ZcaSntc
7QO1JUFGPoQ
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Syria conflict: Ceasefire agreed, backed by Russia and Turkey
2 minutes ago
From the section Middle East
Related Topics Syrian civil war
The Syrian government and rebel groups have agreed a nationwide ceasefire
from midnight local time (22:00 GMT) on Thursday, followed by peace talks.
The deal was announced by Russian President Vladimir Putin and confirmed by
the Turkish foreign ministry.Russia and Turkey, which back opposing sides in
the bitter conflict, will act as guarantors.
A number of Syrian rebel spokesman have confirmed the deal, but certain jihadist
groups are excluded.
The Syrian army said in a statement that so-called Islamic State (IS) and Jabhat
Fateh al-Sham (formerly the Nusra Front) "and the groups affiliated to them"
were not part of the agreement.
read more...
'They got what they wanted'
Speaking before the agreement was reached, Diana Darke, a Middle East expert,
said she was optimistic as Russia and Iran had achieved their war goals.
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/11413/production/_93157607_iraq_syria_control_624_19dec.png
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38460127
Cidersomerset
29th December 2016, 21:48
Here we go 'scare ,scare , scare ..............
More on this thread....
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?95187-Obama-orders-Russia-expulsions-sanctions-for-interference-in-2016-election
White House hits Russia with sanctions for hacking
kKpcVeVec0w
Published on 29 Dec 2016
The Obama administration has imposed new sanctions against Russia in retaliation
for a series of cyberattacks during the presidential campaign. CBS News justice
reporter Paula Reid joins CBSN with the latest details on the steps the U.S. is taking.
===================================================
===================================================
Is Obama handcuffing the Trump administration?
cZKtw-WrZmE
Published on 29 Dec 2016
The current administration announces new sanctions against Russia
Obama administration announces new Russia sanctions
t91f2eXk6yk
Published on 29 Dec 2016
Kevin Corke reports from Honolulu, HI
====================================================
====================================================
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
US expels Russian diplomats over cyber attack allegations
17 minutes ago
The US has expelled 35 Russian diplomats as punishment for alleged interference
into last month's presidential elections, giving them 72 hours to leave the country.
It will also close two compounds used for Russian intelligence-gathering.
President Barack Obama had vowed action against Russia amid US accusations it
directed hacks against the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton's campaign.
Russia has denied any involvement and called the decision "ungrounded".
Read more....
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/142E1/production/_93175628_lameduck.png
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-38463025
animovado
30th December 2016, 09:49
Moscow has managed to turn Qatar and make it an ally. Qatar’s change of heart was sealed by the sale by Moscow of one fifth of the capital of Rosneft, at the beginning of December, in Doha. Rosneft, the jewel in Russia’s crown, is the largest company in the world. By implementing this transaction, allegedly in order to bail out Russia’s budget deficit, Igor Setchine and Vladimir Putin have inextricably united the political energies of the two greatest gas exporters in the world. De facto, Qatar dropped the jihadists, although since last May, it has disposed of a permanent office at NATO headquarters in Brussels.
The other revolution is that of Turkey. While as a state it remains a member of NATO, its President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has become a personal enemy of Washington. Since the general elections, Moscow has been leaning on Erdoğan in order to break the ties between Turkey and the United States.
Full article:
Liberate Idleb after East Aleppo (http://www.voltairenet.org/article194709.html)
by Thierry Meyssan
VOLTAIRE NETWORK | DAMASCUS (SYRIA) | 27 DECEMBER 2016
Cidersomerset
30th December 2016, 14:32
The situation in Aleppo was ‘completely different’ from Western narrative – filmmaker
MTAEu7gihQ8
Published on 29 Dec 2016
Actress and filmmaker Carla Ortiz joins RT’s Ashlee Banks to describe her experiences
from her recent trip to war-torn Aleppo, including her frightening kidnapping and
detention, and to dispel the widespread myths surrounding the situation in eastern Aleppo.
Hervé
30th December 2016, 15:26
Filmmaker who witnessed Aleppo liberation speaks to RT, saying 'no one shot at evacuees' (https://www.rt.com/news/372205-aleppo-evacuation-shooting-filmmaker/)
RT (https://www.rt.com/news/372205-aleppo-evacuation-shooting-filmmaker/) Fri, 30 Dec 2016 09:29 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/367378/large/Residents_in_Aleppo.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/367378/full/Residents_in_Aleppo.jpg)
© Sputnik/ Michael Alaeddin Residents in a liberated neighborhood of eastern Aleppo in Syria
The Syrian army did not shoot at militants leaving Aleppo under the evacuation deal and it was even distributing food among them, Carla Ortiz, a Bolivian documentary filmmaker who spent eight months in Syria, told RT as she disputed some MSM narratives.
Ortiz was filming a documentary about the people caught in the Syrian conflict and had an opportunity to witness the liberation of eastern Aleppo firsthand, including the evacuation of militants and their families from the city.
She has published a video from her upcoming documentary showing the process of evacuation to contest western media claims that Syrian government forces fired on the evacuees as proof that the evacuation, which took place under the deal brokered by Russia and Turkey, was peaceful.
[https://www.facebook.com/CarlaOrtizOfficial/videos/1467449433273048/]
"Many have asked me to show proof that people and children were not shot at on the streets while the evacuation took place as some media reported. So, this is what I saw: civilians evacuated on foot from the east, then transported in buses to the shelters. I am sorry, but there was absolutely no mass shooting on the evacuation," Ortiz wrote in a Facebook post, commenting on the video.
She added that "what the Syrian army and civilians were doing was throwing food through the windows" of the buses that transported the evacuees out of the city.
Ortiz then went on to contest some other MSM narratives by doubting the authenticity of the so-called "witness reports" from then-rebel-occupied areas of Aleppo that quickly went viral on the western media. She particularly stressed that the eastern part of the city had no internet connection that could allow those witnesses to upload their footage or send them to the western media companies.
Ortiz added that, even though she had a mobile phone with international roaming and Wi-Fi, she could not send even a short text message to her family out of eastern Aleppo.
"When I was in east Aleppo, in neighborhoods that were just liberated, there was no internet - I could not even tell my family I [had] made it alive. It is impossible to upload a video there. I had to upload a video in a hotel and it took me more than two hours," Ortiz told RT.
"For me it is just insane to think that this footage is happening over there," she added.
At the same time, she admitted that eastern Aleppo was indeed "an eye of conflict" and "an absolute devastation," which she said was caused not just by the actions of the Syrian army or the Russian bombing raids but by the militants who held those areas.
While western Aleppo "sometimes lacked electricity and water supplies, although businesses there were still running" and people carried on with their lives, in the east of the city there was only terror and devastation.
"When you talk to someone, who just left east Aleppo... they say they had no food, no access to electricity, no medicine; their children were unable to go to school," Ortiz said, adding that the people there had sometimes "to lock up their children because the terrorists used the children to blackmail their family members into staying quiet or doing something for them."
Conditions the civilians lived in under the so-called rebels were "really inhuman," she stressed, adding that most militants, who held the eastern part of the city, were foreign mercenaries.
"When you talk to someone who just left east Aleppo, they tell you that most terrorists are not even Syrians," Ortiz said.
Ortiz said she witnessed snipers targeting civilians on the streets of eastern Aleppo when she tried to get to that part of the city.
Most Aleppo residents welcomed the liberation of the city by the Syrian army regardless of their political beliefs, as they were just happy to be finally free from the militant rule, Ortiz said.
People "were full of hope and happy when they were crossing from East Aleppo to the western part of the city. They were thanking God and the Syrian army. They had nothing to do with politics. They were not talking about supporting one side or another side, they were just happy to be free," Ortiz said.
She also stressed that many soldiers who fought on the side of government forces in Aleppo were actually local "volunteers, who were fighting to get some of their family members out of east Aleppo."
Ortiz also welcomed the Syrian nationwide ceasefire deal, which was recently brokered by Russia and Turkey and entered into force Friday. This agreement "could determine many things at this exact moment," she said, adding, "It could really answer to the prayers of people."
"I was able to communicate with all these people of any ages, of different religions - they are all praying for a real ceasefire," Ortiz said.
Cidersomerset
1st January 2017, 12:25
Mass shooting in Istanbul: Manhunt underway after
terrorist Santa kills at least 39 in nightclub
UOolKzsQG3o
Published on 1 Jan 2017
Some 39 people, including 15 foreigners, were killed and 69 injured when at least
one gunman reportedly dressed as Santa opened fire in an Istanbul night club.
The manhunt for one terror suspect is underway.
Hervé
1st January 2017, 23:21
Maria Zakharova: Obama Admin Threatened Russia Would "Feel Pain" for Intervening in Syria - Proved That Evil Is Claimed Right of Mightiest Nation (https://vimeo.com/197375753)
Russia 1 (https://vimeo.com/197375753) Thu, 29 Dec 2016 21:28 UTC
Translated by Inessa Sinchougova
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/367291/large/Russian_FM_spokeswoman_Maria_Z.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/367291/full/Russian_FM_spokeswoman_Maria_Z.jpg)
Russian FM spokeswoman Maria Zakharova
In a recent interview with Russia 1 TV channel, Russian government spokeswoman Maria Zakharova exposes the direct, murderous threats that were leveled at the Russian government and military by Western politicians, in particular officials from the US State Department, including John Kerry.
https://vimeo.com/197375753
(Those outside of the U.S. may be able to view the video on YouTube (https://youtu.be/gDDcI0BH5cA).)
Zakharova cites statements made at private discussions between Russian Foreign Minister Segey Lavrov and John Kerry, and at other high-level meetings, where Russia was directly threatened with "pain" and a "media campaign" to twist the truth of what Russia was doing in Syria:
Zakharova: I'd like to remind you that since October 2015, when Russia's air campaign to Syria was announced, as an invitation extended to the entire world to unite in this struggle - not even our struggle, but a threat to the whole world - I'd like to remind you how events unfolded.
I reviewed many recordings of diplomatic talks from October 2015, and this is what we were told at a high level by Ministers of Foreign Affairs:
"We were asked to pass on to you the most serious of warnings: Russia is going to be hurting. They will make sure that Russia truly feels what pain is. Keep this in mind." And this came from diplomats during a diplomatic round of discussions.
[They said,] "Keep in mind that everything you do in reality will be manipulated by a media campaign, which will cancel out the results of your work. You're going to fight terrorists? You will look like the aggressor."
This was said in October/November 2015 [i.e., the first 2 months of Russia's air campaign in Syria]. After they failed to scare us --
Solovyov: Was this during the famous talks between Kerry and Lavrov?
Zakharova: I can't directly quote anyone because the talks were closed to the media. I can only say that such words were delivered to us not once, but throughout much of October [2015], as part of the discussions of Russia's Representative of Foreign Affairs and his international counterparts. I'm talking about Sergey Lavrov's colleagues, who attribute themselves to be from the most forward and civilized of countries.
So we're not talking about someone who just recently barged into the world of foreign affairs. We are talking about people who constitute the world's elite. They told us these words.
What happened after that?
After it became clear just how openly, transparently, and on which precise targets Russia's Airforce was working, and how perfectly Russia's personnel were carrying out commands, then began the direct disinformation campaign that discredited our actions. Well, the media is one thing, but I'd like to remind you: The U.S. State Department and the White House, from the mouths of their official representatives, directly threatened to cause us pain.
So, those words that were said in October 2015 behind closed doors were then delivered publicly. You remember the promises of 'graves' and 'coming home in body bags'. This was said by all: the U.S. Secretary of Defense, not only diplomatic representatives. Then all of this was regurgitated into the media, as a result of closed-door discussions in Washington. But then they went even further. Official Foreign Affairs representatives began to call upon their people to come out and protest in front of Russian embassies.
Solovyov: Yes, I remember that, the words of Britain's Foreign Secretary.
Zakharova: Yes, just one example. He is seen as somewhat of a marginal character in terms of foreign policy, or politics as a whole, and his words may not hold as much weight as some more experienced officials, but nevertheless he said those words. These words, within a matter of weeks, were converted into specific actions.
He wasn't the only one to call for protests outside Russian embassies. He is only that which was in the public eye. All [anti-Russian] campaigns over the past couple years have been supported by official Ministries of Foreign Affairs of other states, either financially or by other creative means.
That which began in October 2015 ended with the murder of our ambassador in December 2016.
I'll remind you of one more thing - we've talked about this. Let's remember the real attacks, not those campaigns with plastic arms and legs in London or posters in front of our embassies in the EU, but the shelling of the Russian Embassy in Damascus. Russia's official representative [to the UN], Vitaly Churkin, would always pose this question at the UN Security Council. Who were the people who blocked these questions? It was the very same people who, through the mouths of their official representatives, promised that we would "feel pain". It was the very same people who, in collaboration with the mainstream media, deliberated [on] how to truly hurt Russia. They blocked all statements by our representatives to the Security Council who condemned the attacks on Russia's diplomatic representatives.
Solovyov: When our ambassador was killed, Trump sent his words of sympathy, the U.S. State Department did also, but Obama personally did not. Is this in line with international protocol? Or is this an attempt at insulting us?
Zakharova: Obama, I think, is a unique person. I'm only talking about foreign policy, because domestic policy is for Americans, and it is only U.S. citizens who should have the right to assess it. But Obama is a person - and I mean the whole administration under him - whose team, as it worked out on the international arena, was bad for everyone. I think during his 8-year term - under the pretext of 'exclusivity' - they became the subject of disgust for the entire world. That's my impression.
They did not deliver on any responsibilities they had to other nations, nor did they deliver on what the American people entrusted to them, on the international arena. This is an obvious thing. And the main thing - of course, I am not a lawyer or a human rights activist - but from a moral point of view, they have committed crimes. They showed us that the strongest [military] has unlimited rights to create evil [in the world]. That's what is going to go down in history for this administration.
Let me say it again: they demonstrated the belief that the strongest has the right to create evil.
This is in the 21st century! We're not in the Middle Ages, we're not in antiquity, this is today.
Solovyov: I'd just like to confirm the facts. So Obama personally did not send condolences [for the ambassador's murder]?
Zakharova: I can't say. I know that we received genuine words from our colleagues in the State Department, I can confirm that. We received an immense amount of letters, and between 19-20 December had to announce that we cannot acknowledge each message and call at a high level. A lot of them we couldn't answer as we also had to tend to the real practical steps of the investigation. We had to send investigators as well as other urgent steps, etc. So words of sympathy were said by many, but what Obama did or didn't--
You know the question is not over what he said now, but what he and his team have done over the past eight years. I emphasize the team that surrounded him in the White House. I think we're going to find out a lot. Give it six months to a year. We're going to find out a lot about the real under-the-carpet struggle that took place there, between those who understood at least something about foreign affairs - that [the U.S.] is leading the world into a dead end - versus those who pursued these mindless policies, illogical for all of us.
Now matter who I've talked to, I've never met anyone who said, "These guys are doing great, they're doing the right thing!"
Solovyov: Where have they ever done right?
Related:
Zakharova telling it like it is: Entire world 'disgusted by Obama administration's foreign policy' (https://www.sott.net/article/337753-Zakharova-telling-it-like-it-is-Entire-world-disgusted-by-Obama-administrations-foreign-policy)
Hervé
2nd January 2017, 00:08
Aghast... appalled... floored...
It was planned and orchestrated that way, all of it:
[They said,]
"Keep in mind that everything you do in reality will be manipulated by a media campaign, which will cancel out the results of your work.
You're going to fight terrorists?
You will look like the aggressor."
Any wonder, anyone, why the new "Media" campaign on "Fake News"?
It seems like 2017 will see a resurrection of pitch forks and blazing torches...
PS: See this post (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?94731-Fake-News-and-the-War-on-Freedom-and-Truth&p=1124310&viewfull=1#post1124310) (<---)
Cidersomerset
3rd January 2017, 17:20
Syria: "Assad, Iran and the militias are looking for military strategy, a military solution"
2Ut9feMz1rg
Published on 3 Jan 2017
Cidersomerset
3rd January 2017, 20:33
One of the next big flashpoints will be the Israel/Palestine question ......
Mike Huckabee: No such thing as a settlement
fRkV7Pnu4W8
Published on 3 Jan 2017
While visiting an Israeli settlement, former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee
stated that there is no such thing as a settlement, insisting instead that
"they're communities, they're neighborhoods, they're cities."
===================================================
Can Trump make peace in the Middle East?
n3XazfhCC64
Published on 3 Jan 2017
Can US President-elect Donald Trump end the Palestinian-Israeli conflict? CNN's
Oren Liebermann has been finding out more
Hervé
3rd January 2017, 23:11
John Kerry admits that Russia entered Syrian war to stop ISIS, U.S. used ISIS to pressure Assad (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4phB-_pXDM)
Sott.net (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4phB-_pXDM) Tue, 03 Jan 2017 22:19 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/364255/large/Kerry.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/364255/full/Kerry.jpg)
© Brendan Smialowski / Reuters U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry.
Back in late September, the New York Times published an interesting piece: Audio Reveals What John Kerry Told Syrians Behind Closed Doors (http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/09/30/world/middleeast/john-kerry-syria-audio.html?_r=1). (PolitRussia's Ruslan Ostashko commented on it here (https://www.sott.net/article/330019-US-war-hawks-on-the-move-Leaked-Kerry-recordings-expose-fear-of-Russian-victory).) But the NYT piece left out THE most damning statements made by Kerry. The full video is below, followed by one of the biggest revelations:
e4phB-_pXDM
26:09: "I mean, the reason Russia came in is because ISIL was getting stronger. Daesh was threatening the possibility of going to Damascus and so forth. And that's why Russia came in. Because they didn't want a Daesh government. And they supported Assad. And, and, uh, and we we know that this was growing. We were watching. We saw that, that Daesh was growing in strength. And we thought Assad was threatened. Uhh, we thought our, we could probably manage, uh, you know, that Assad might then negotiate. Instead of negotiating, you've got Assad and you've got Putin to support him." So there you have it. From the horse's mouth. The U.S. knew that Russian intervention in Syria was for the EXPRESS PURPOSE of destroying ISIS and stopping them from taking control of the country. You know, 'ISIS', the mass murderers who have been slaughtering Europeans. And yet, the US responded to Russian efforts by repeatedly accusing Russia of 'killing civilians' and attempting to thwart Russian efforts at every turn.
In addition, as ISIS was getting stronger, threatening to take over Damascus, the US government sat back and did nothing in the hope that Assad would capitulate to ISIS. Does that make ISIS effectively a proxy US military force used to overthrow a legitimate government? You bet it does. Does that mean that the US and EU governments also saw attacks by ISIS in Europe as a useful way to garner public support for US and EU military involvement in Syria to overthrow Assad? We'll leave that one up to you.
All of this also gives the lie to the scurrilous campaign of lies and disinformation waged by the US and EU governments against the Russian operation in Syria. This was a campaign that the Russians knew was coming, because U.S. "diplomats" threatened them with that very prospect (see link below)
Maria Zakharova: Obama Admin Threatened Russia Would "Feel Pain" for Intervening in Syria - Proved That Evil Is Claimed Right of Mightiest Nation (https://www.sott.net/article/338108-Maria-Zakharova-Obama-Admin-Threatened-Russia-Would-Feel-Pain-for-Intervening-in-Syria-Proved-That-Evil-Is-Claimed-Right-of-Mightiest-Nation)
So can we expect now that all those inveterate cretin political pundits in the US and Europe who still insist that the US and its 'partners' are 'supporting democracy' in Syria will now accept the simple and long-established truth: that for the last 15 years, the cabal of psychopaths that run the USA do exactly the opposite of what they claim to do, and that they have been waging a war OF terrorism, not a war ON terrorism?
Calz
6th January 2017, 07:27
This is worth a listen ...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPnaYgWoa_c
Cidersomerset
6th January 2017, 15:27
Political Insanity: Outgoing President Obama’s 'Operation Atlantic Resolve' against Russia:
US Sends 3,600 Tanks Against Russia – Massive NATO Deployment Underway
By David on 6 January 2017 GMT War and Terror
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/download-23.png
======================================================
GLOBAL RESEARCH....
Political Insanity: Outgoing President Obama’s “Operation Atlantic Resolve” against Russia:
US Sends 3,600 Tanks Against Russia – Massive NATO Deployment Underway
Introductory Note by Michel Chossudovsky
By Donbass International News Agency and Prof Michel Chossudovsky
Global Research, January 05, 2017
Donbass International News Agency 4 January 2017
Dangerous crossroads: Is Obama intent upon waging a military operation on Russia’s border
prior to the end of his presidential mandate?
This military onslaught could potentially create a fait accompli.
Are these deployments of US tanks and troops part of Obama’s “act of retribution” against
Russia in response to Moscow’s alleged hacking of the US elections, which according to the
director of National Intelligence James Clapper constitute an “Existential Threat” to the
Security of the US.
As we recall Obama on December 29th “ordered a series of retaliatory steps against Russia”.
Is this a “fast-track” procedure on the part of the outgoing president, with the support of US
intelligence to create chaos prior to the inception of the Trump administration on January 20th?
According to Donbass International News Agency Service, “A Massive US military deployment
should be ready by January 20.”
Political Insanity prevails.
And insanity could potentially unleash World War III.
Meanwhile none of this is front page news. The mainstream media is not covering it.
Below is the report of the Donbass International News Agency report.
Michel Chossudovsky, Global Research, January 5, 2016
‘The NATO war preparation against Russia, ‘Operation Atlantic Resolve’, is in full swing.
2,000 US tanks will be sent in coming days from Germany to Eastern Europe, and 1,600
US tanks is deployed to storage facilities in the Netherlands. At the same time, NATO
countries are sending thousands of soldiers in to Russian borders.
According to US Army Europe, 4,000 troops and 2,000 tanks will arrive in three US
transport ships to Germany next weekend. From Bremerhaven, US troops and huge
amount of military material, will be transported to Poland and other countries in
Central and Eastern Europe.
USA is sending to Russian borders 3rd Brigade of the 4th Infantry Division. Overall, more
than 2,500 pieces of cargo are shipped to Germany, where those will be unloaded in the
period January 6-8. US military material and troops will continue to Poland by rail and
military convoy’s. Massive US military deployment should be ready by January 20.’
Read more: Political Insanity: Outgoing President Obama’s ‘Operation Atlantic Resolve’
against Russia: US Sends 3,600 Tanks Against Russia – Massive NATO Deployment Underway
Read More...
http://www.globalresearch.ca/outgoing-president-obamas-operation-atlantic-resolve-against-russia-us-sends-3600-tanks-against-russia-massive-nato-deployment-underway/5566679
Baby Steps
7th January 2017, 14:59
If anybody still buys into the mainstream fake news, Iraq is a good way to demonstrate how far we went wrong, and how the media mostly played along...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=leCbtch2AUA
Transcript:
Thank you, Mr Speaker.
Before addressing the issues raised in the Iraq Inquiry report, I would like to remember and honour the 179 British servicemen and women killed and the thousands maimed and injured during the Iraq war, and their families as well as the hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who have died as a result of the invasion and occupation of Iraq launched by the US and British governments 13 years ago.
Yesterday I had a private meeting with some of the families of the British dead as I have continued to do over the past dozen years.
It is always a humbling experience to witness the resolve and resilience of these families and their unwavering commitment to seek truth and justice for those that they lost in Iraq.
They have waited seven years for Sir John Chilcot’s report.
It was right that the inquiry heard evidence from such a wide range of people and that the origins, conduct and aftermath of the war should have been examined in such detail.
But the extraordinary length of time it has taken to see the light of day is clearly a matter for regret.
I should add that the scale of the report running to 6,275 pages to which I was only given access at 8 o’clock this morning means that today’s response by all of us can only be a provisional one.
Mr Speaker, the decision to invade and occupy Iraq in March 2003 was the most significant foreign policy decision taken by a British government in modern times.
It divided this House and set the government of the day against a majority of the British people as well as against the weight of global opinion.
The war was not in any way as Sir John Chilcot says a “last resort”.
Frankly, it was an act of military aggression launched on a false pretext as the inquiry accepts and has long been regarded as illegal by the overwhelming weight of international legal opinion.
It led to the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and the displacement of millions of refugees.
It devastated Iraq’s infrastructure and society.
The occupation fostered a lethal sectarianism – as the report makes clear - that turned into a civil war. Instead of protecting security at home or abroad, the war fuelled and spread terrorism across the region.
Sunday’s suicide bomb attack in Baghdad which killed over 250 people, the deadliest so far, was carried out by a group whose origins lie in the aftermath of the invasion.
By any measure, the invasion and occupation of Iraq has been for many a catastrophe.
Mr. Speaker, the decision to invade Iraq in 2003 on the basis of what the Chilcot report calls “flawed intelligence” about the weapons of mass destruction has had a far-reaching impact on us all.
It also led to a fundamental breakdown in trust in politics and in our institutions of government.
The tragedy is that while the governing class got it so horrifically wrong - many of our people actually got it right.
On February 15th, 2003 over 1.5 million people spanning the political spectrum, and tens of millions of other people across the world, marched against the impending war in the biggest demonstration in British history.
It wasn’t that we those of us who opposed the war underestimated the brutality or crimes of Saddam Hussein’s dictatorship. Indeed, many of us campaigned against the Iraqi regime during its most bloody period when the British government and the US administration were busy supporting that regime – as was confirmed by the 1996 Scott Inquiry.
But we could see that this state, broken by sanctions and war, posed no military threat and that the WMD evidence was flimsy and confected, that going to war without United Nations authorization was profoundly dangerous, that foreign invasion and occupation would be resisted by force and would set off a series of uncontrollable and destructive events.
If only this House had been able to listen to the wisdom of our own people when it voted on 18th March 2003 against waiting for UN authorization for a second resolution the course of events might have been very different.
All but 16 members of the benches opposite supported the war – whilst 140 members of my own Party voted against it – as did many from other Parties.
But none of us will take any satisfaction from this report. Instead, all of us, and I believe everyone in this House, we have to feel saddened at what has been revealed and what we must now reflect on.
In addition to all those British service people and Iraqis, civilians and combatants who lost their lives in this conflict, there are many members of this House who voted to stop the war but who have not lived to see themselves vindicated by this report.
First and foremost, Mr Speaker it would do us all well to remember Robin Cook who stood over there 13 years ago and said in a few hundred words in advance of the tragedy to come what has been confirmed by this report in more than two million words.
The Chilcot Report has rightly dug deep into the litany of failures of planning for the occupation, the calamitous decision to stand down the Iraqi army and to dissolve the Iraqi state.(as a process of de-Baathification)
But the reality is it was the original decision to follow the US president into an unprovoked war in the most volatile region of the world and impose a colonial-style occupation that led to every other disaster.
The government’s September 2002 Dossier with its claim that declaring Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction that could be deployed in 45mins was only the most notorious of many deceptions.
As Major General Michael Laurie told the inquiry – and I quote: "We knew at the time that the purpose of the dossier was precisely to make a case for war rather than setting out the available intelligence”.
Military action in Iraq not only turned a humanitarian crisis into a humanitarian disaster, it also convulsed the entire region just as intervention for regime change in Libya in 2011 has sadly left the country in the grip of warring militias and terror groups.
And the Iraq war increased the threat of terrorism to our own country, as Baroness Manningham-Buller, former head of MI5 made clear to the inquiry.
There are many lessons that need to be drawn from the Iraq war and the investigation carried out by Sir John Chilcot and his Inquiry for our country, government and parliament as well as for my party – and indeed every other Party.
They include the need for a more open and independent relationship with the United States, and for a foreign policy based on upholding international law and the authority of the United Nations which always seeks peaceful solutions to international disputes.
We also need much stronger oversight of the security and intelligence services, full restoration of proper cabinet government, and to give parliament the decisive say over any future decision to go to war based on objective information and not just through government discretion but through a War Powers Act –which I hope this Parliament will pass.
And as, in the wake of Iraq our own and other western governments increasingly resort to hybrid warfare based on the use of drones and special forces, our democracy - and our democracy is crucial and important - needs to ensure that their use is subject to proper parliamentary scrutiny.
There are no more important decisions a Member of Parliament ever gets asked to make than those relating to peace and war.
The very least that MPs and the country should be able to expect is rigorous and objective evidence on which to base their crucial decisions.
We now know the House was misled in the run-up to the war and the House must now decide how it should deal with that 13 years later, just as all those who took the decisions laid bare in the Chilcot report must face up to the consequences of their action whatever they may be.
Later today, I will be meeting a group of families of military servicemen and women who lost loved ones, Iraq war veterans and Iraqi citizens who have lost family members as a result of the war that the US and British governments launched in 2003.
I will be discussing with both the British public and the Iraqi people the decisions taken by our then government that led this country into a war with terrible consequences for us all.
DO NOT THINK THAT OUR ERRORS COULD NOT HAVE BEEN ANTICIPATED:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T9CqiiI2Irg
Transcript:
This is the first time for 20 years that I have addressed the House from the back benches.
I must confess that I had forgotten how much better the view is from here.
None of those 20 years were more enjoyable or more rewarding than the past two, in which I have had the immense privilege of serving this House as Leader of the House, which were made all the more enjoyable, Mr Speaker, by the opportunity of working closely with you.
It was frequently the necessity for me as Leader of the House to talk my way out of accusations that a statement had been preceded by a press interview.
On this occasion I can say with complete confidence that no press interview has been given before this statement.
I have chosen to address the House first on why I cannot support a war without international agreement or domestic support.
Backing Blair
The present Prime Minister is the most successful leader of the Labour party in my lifetime.
I hope that he will continue to be the leader of our party, and I hope that he will continue to be successful. I have no sympathy with, and I will give no comfort to, those who want to use this crisis to displace him.
I applaud the heroic efforts that the prime minister has made in trying to secure a second resolution.
I do not think that anybody could have done better than the foreign secretary in working to get support for a second resolution within the Security Council.
But the very intensity of those attempts underlines how important it was to succeed.
Now that those attempts have failed, we cannot pretend that getting a second resolution was of no importance.
French intransigence?
France has been at the receiving end of bucket loads of commentary in recent days.
It is not France alone that wants more time for inspections. Germany wants more time for inspections; Russia wants more time for inspections; indeed, at no time have we signed up even the minimum necessary to carry a second resolution.
We delude ourselves if we think that the degree of international hostility is all the result of President Chirac.
The reality is that Britain is being asked to embark on a war without agreement in any of the international bodies of which we are a leading partner - not NATO, not the European Union and, now, not the Security Council.
To end up in such diplomatic weakness is a serious reverse.
Only a year ago, we and the United States were part of a coalition against terrorism that was wider and more diverse than I would ever have imagined possible.
'Heavy price'
History will be astonished at the diplomatic miscalculations that led so quickly to the disintegration of that powerful coalition.
The US can afford to go it alone, but Britain is not a superpower.
Our interests are best protected not by unilateral action but by multilateral agreement and a world order governed by rules.
Yet tonight the international partnerships most important to us are weakened: the European Union is divided; the Security Council is in stalemate.
Those are heavy casualties of a war in which a shot has yet to be fired.
I have heard some parallels between military action in these circumstances and the military action that we took in Kosovo. There was no doubt about the multilateral support that we had for the action that we took in Kosovo.
It was supported by NATO; it was supported by the European Union; it was supported by every single one of the seven neighbours in the region. France and Germany were our active allies.
It is precisely because we have none of that support in this case that it was all the more important to get agreement in the Security Council as the last hope of demonstrating international agreement.
Public doubts
The legal basis for our action in Kosovo was the need to respond to an urgent and compelling humanitarian crisis.
Our difficulty in getting support this time is that neither the international community nor the British public is persuaded that there is an urgent and compelling reason for this military action in Iraq.
The threshold for war should always be high.
None of us can predict the death toll of civilians from the forthcoming bombardment of Iraq, but the US warning of a bombing campaign that will "shock and awe" makes it likely that casualties will be numbered at least in the thousands.
I am confident that British servicemen and women will acquit themselves with professionalism and with courage. I hope that they all come back.
I hope that Saddam, even now, will quit Baghdad and avert war, but it is false to argue that only those who support war support our troops.
It is entirely legitimate to support our troops while seeking an alternative to the conflict that will put those troops at risk.
Nor is it fair to accuse those of us who want longer for inspections of not having an alternative strategy.
For four years as foreign secretary I was partly responsible for the western strategy of containment.
Over the past decade that strategy destroyed more weapons than in the Gulf war, dismantled Iraq's nuclear weapons programme and halted Saddam's medium and long-range missiles programmes.
Iraq's military strength is now less than half its size than at the time of the last Gulf war.
Threat questioned
Ironically, it is only because Iraq's military forces are so weak that we can even contemplate its invasion. Some advocates of conflict claim that Saddam's forces are so weak, so demoralised and so badly equipped that the war will be over in a few days.
We cannot base our military strategy on the assumption that Saddam is weak and at the same time justify pre-emptive action on the claim that he is a threat.
Iraq probably has no weapons of mass destruction in the commonly understood sense of the term - namely a credible device capable of being delivered against a strategic city target.
It probably still has biological toxins and battlefield chemical munitions, but it has had them since the 1980s when US companies sold Saddam anthrax agents and the then British Government approved chemical and munitions factories.
Why is it now so urgent that we should take military action to disarm a military capacity that has been there for 20 years, and which we helped to create?
Why is it necessary to resort to war this week, while Saddam's ambition to complete his weapons programme is blocked by the presence of UN inspectors?
Israeli breaches
Only a couple of weeks ago, Hans Blix told the Security Council that the key remaining disarmament tasks could be completed within months.
I have heard it said that Iraq has had not months but 12 years in which to complete disarmament, and that our patience is exhausted.
Yet it is more than 30 years since resolution 242 called on Israel to withdraw from the occupied territories.
We do not express the same impatience with the persistent refusal of Israel to comply.
I welcome the strong personal commitment that the prime minister has given to middle east peace, but Britain's positive role in the middle east does not redress the strong sense of injustice throughout the Muslim world at what it sees as one rule for the allies of the US and another rule for the rest.
Nor is our credibility helped by the appearance that our partners in Washington are less interested in disarmament than they are in regime change in Iraq.
That explains why any evidence that inspections may be showing progress is greeted in Washington not with satisfaction but with consternation: it reduces the case for war.
Presidential differences
What has come to trouble me most over past weeks is the suspicion that if the hanging chads in Florida had gone the other way and Al Gore had been elected, we would not now be about to commit British troops.
The longer that I have served in this place, the greater the respect I have for the good sense and collective wisdom of the British people.
On Iraq, I believe that the prevailing mood of the British people is sound. They do not doubt that Saddam is a brutal dictator, but they are not persuaded that he is a clear and present danger to Britain.
They want inspections to be given a chance, and they suspect that they are being pushed too quickly into conflict by a US Administration with an agenda of its own.
Above all, they are uneasy at Britain going out on a limb on a military adventure without a broader international coalition and against the hostility of many of our traditional allies.
From the start of the present crisis, I have insisted, as Leader of the House, on the right of this place to vote on whether Britain should go to war.
It has been a favourite theme of commentators that this House no longer occupies a central role in British politics.
Nothing could better demonstrate that they are wrong than for this House to stop the commitment of troops in a war that has neither international agreement nor domestic support.
I intend to join those tomorrow night who will vote against military action now. It is for that reason, and for that reason alone, and with a heavy heart, that I resign from the government.
Sophocles
8th January 2017, 02:51
USA sender 3600 tanks mot Russland – massiv NATO-opptrapping (http://steigan.no/2017/01/05/usa-sender-3600-tanks-mot-russland-massiv-nato-opptrapping/) (source in mainly Norwegian)
Elite US troops deployed to deter Russian aggression toward Lithuania as Baltic tensions rise (http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/lithuania-confirms-presence-us-special-forces-1599296)
U.S. Lending Support to Baltic States Fearing Russia (http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/lithuania-releases-manual-advising-citizens-what-do-if-russia-invades-1594889)
Lithuania releases manual advising citizens on what to do if Russia invades (http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/lithuania-releases-manual-advising-citizens-what-do-if-russia-invades-1594889)
http://www.eur.army.mil/atlanticresolve/
Hervé
9th January 2017, 20:45
US Backed “Moderate Rebels” Target French Delegation in Aleppo
By Vanessa Beeley (http://21stcenturywire.com/author/21vbeeley/) 21st Century Wire (http://www.21stcenturywire.com) January 8, 2017
In a clear breach of the Russian brokered ceasefire (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/dec/29/syrian-government-and-rebels-have-signed-ceasefire-agreement-says-putin), US backed FSA (Free Syrian Army) division, Company 23, fired upon Aleppo airport. The shelling took place just prior to the departure of a French delegation, led by French politician, Thierry Mariani (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thierry_Mariani), after a fact finding trip to the recently liberated industrial, second capital city, of Aleppo.
According to Fares Shehabi (https://thewallwillfall.org/2017/01/05/east-aleppo-liberation-education-is-key-to-combatting-terrorism-fares-shehabi/), independent, Aleppo MP and head of the Aleppo Chamber of Commerce, the missiles were fired from an area next to Khan Touman, 8km away from the airport, in a deliberate act of terror against the French delegation. The leader of this group of so called “moderates” is Hassan Rajoob, a colonel who had previously defected from the Syrian Arab Army.
http://i1.wp.com/21stcenturywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Rajoob.jpg?resize=601%2C451 (http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/01/08/us-backed-moderate-rebels-target-french-delegation-in-aleppo/rajoob/)
Hassan Rajoob. Leader of US backed FSA division, Company 23. Khan Touman. ( Photo supplied by Fares Shehabi)
Fares Shehabi had been meeting with the three French parliamentarians (http://www.francetvinfo.fr/monde/revolte-en-syrie/deputes-francais-en-syrie-de-damas-a-alep-l-ami-thierry-mariani-vient-voir-la-realite-du-terrain_2003971.html), Thierry Mariani, Jean Lassalle & Nicolas Dhuiq, and other intellects and journalists who made up the delegation. Shehabi told 21st Century Wire that they had been due to leave via Aleppo airport at 14:00 on the 7th January 2017. The shelling took place just prior to the flight in what appeared to be a deliberate targeting of the delegation. The flight was delayed a further 3h 3o minutes and the airport was kept in complete darkness in order to ensure safe take-off without further attacks.
Fares Shehabi deemed this attack a “clear breach of the ceasefire”, following a familiar pattern of previous ceasefire violations by the predominantly US funded militant factions. Shehabi went on to say that the militant factions would have had accurate information on the flight times of the French delegation which would suggest the delegation was the target of the attack.
This tweet is from independent French journalist, Charlotte D’Ornellas:
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/786842128995540992/tRKWBUBx_bigger.jpg Charlotte d'Ornellas @ChdOrnellas (https://twitter.com/ChdOrnellas)
La délégation française visée sur le tarmac de l'aéroport d'Alep par des tirs "rebelles". Décollage 3h30 plus tard, tous feux éteints. .
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C1luCSbXgAADtCX.jpg
10:51 AM - 7 Jan 2017 The following report in Syrian Arab News Agency (http://sana.sy/en/?p=97771), clearly outlines the purpose of the French delegation visit to Syria and to Aleppo in particular:
“Aleppo Governor Hussein Diab affirmed on Friday during a meeting with a French delegation currently visiting Syria that Aleppo is living the joy of victory over terrorism which targeted it and killed and injured many of its innocent people.
He added that the Aleppo’s victory was made possible thanks to the steadfastness of Syrians and the sacrifices made by the Syria Arab Army, and that it forms a step towards the big victory and the defeat of terrorism all over Syrian territory.
Diab presented a historical overview of Aleppo which has been exposed to systematic terrorism that targeted its history and civilization, calling on the delegation to convey the truth of what is happening in Syria to the French and European people.
For his part, head of a French delegation Thierry Mariani pointed out that clearing Aleppo from terrorism is a turning point not only for Syria but for all the world, and that what threatens Syria is a threat for the whole world, especially with the presence of sponsors of terrorism, adding that the delegation is happy to be in Aleppo, which is part of the world heritage.
The delegation visited a number of historical and religious sites in Aleppo where they were briefed on effects of the terrorist attacks which affected archeological and historical sites in the city.
In a statement to SANA reporter, the members of the delegation expressed sorrow due to the destruction that affected Aleppo, affirming that they will clarify the truth about the situation in Syria, particularly in Aleppo, to the French people.”
http://i0.wp.com/21stcenturywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/french.jpg?resize=610%2C458 (http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/01/08/us-backed-moderate-rebels-target-french-delegation-in-aleppo/french/)
The French delegation, led by Thierry Mariani, meeting with officials in Aleppo. (Photo: Fares Shehabi)
Following this incident, the delegation also meet with Syrian President, Bashar Al Assad.
http://i0.wp.com/21stcenturywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/assad.jpg?resize=610%2C356 (http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/01/08/us-backed-moderate-rebels-target-french-delegation-in-aleppo/assad-5/)
The delegation comprises three members of the French National Assembly and a group of intellectuals. (Photo: SANA) (http://sana.sy/en/?p=97850)
During the delegation’s visit to Aleppo, Mariani made the following statement, according to SANA (http://sana.sy/en/?p=97815):
“In statements to the reporters, head of the French delegation Thierry Mariani said what they saw is very different from what is being promoted by Western media which try to present a picture that all of Aleppo is destroyed.”
Perhaps France is trying to limit damage and ensure its role in the “rebuilding” of Syria, after its active involvement in the destruction of the sovereign nation and its collusion with the firewall of propaganda, kept alive by organisations funded by the French Foreign Office, such as Aleppo Media Centre. (http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/09/20/exclusive-aleppo-media-centre-funded-by-french-foreign-office-eu-and-us/)
http://i0.wp.com/21stcenturywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Hollande-Saleh.jpg?resize=610%2C407 (http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/01/08/us-backed-moderate-rebels-target-french-delegation-in-aleppo/hollande-saleh/)
Francois Hollande with Raed Saleh, “president” of the White Helmets and Brita Hagi Hasan (http://www.worldmayor.com/contest_2016/aleppo-mayor-brita-hagi-hasan.html), self elected Mayor of (east) Aleppo.
Perhaps they are trying to draw a veil over the embarassment of President Hollande posing with Nusra Front support group, the White Helmets (http://21stcenturywire.com/2015/10/28/part-ii-syrias-white-helmets-war-by-way-of-deception-moderate-executioners/)on the steps of the Champs Elysee or the debacle of the standing ovation given to the Nusra Front civil defence in the Assemblee Nationale.
“He said the main concern today is how to help Syria in the reconstruction process that should be done by the international institutions, stressing that the anger of terrorism is one and the same wherever it strikes.” ~ SANA (http://sana.sy/en/?p=97815)
Perhaps, Mariani and his colleagues recognise France’s culpability in the dirty war against Syria:
“Head of a French delegation, who arrived in Syria Thursday, Thierry Mariani said that the liberation of Aleppo provides an evidence on the Syrian army’s victory over terrorism, stressing the need to launch dialogue among all Syrian sides.
In a press statement upon the delegation’s arrival to Jdeidet Yabous crossing point on the Syrian-Lebanese borders, Mariani underlined the importance of achieving peace in Syria and conveying the reality of what is taking place on the ground as well as the victories of the Syrian army in Aleppo to the public opinion, SANA reported.
For his part, Nicolas Dhuicq said that this is his third visit to Syria, expressing pleasure and happiness over the victories achieved across the country.
Members of the Syrian People’s Assembly, Maha Shbeiro and Nidal Hmeidi , who received the delegation stressed the importance of this visit in revealing the reality of events in Syria and uncovering the role of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the US and other European states in providing support and fund to terrorism, indicating that terrorism has no religion and it may spread throughout the world.” ~ Syria Times (http://syriatimes.sy/index.php/news/local/28525-french-delegation-arrives-in-damascus-liberation-of-aleppo-proves-syria-s-victory-over-terrorism)
A cursory Google search reveals that western corporate media is very quiet about this blatant breach of the Russian & Turkish negotiated ceasefire. The US backed FSA 23 Company has not only violated a truce but has seemingly deliberately targeted a NATO member state delegation on a peaceful fact finding mission inside Syria.
Defeated in Aleppo and throughout much of Syria, these so called “moderate” groups are becoming more and more desperate to revive their tattered “revolution” narrative. Targeting representatives of one of the nations responsible for their creation and arming, is not a good idea and it demonstrates to Mariani’s delegation, the criminal act committed by the French government in supporting extremists, & armed militant groups to achieve regime change in Syria.
It also potentially, demonstrates, Washington’s long-term lack of commitment to any peaceful resolution of the Syrian conflict, fomented and maintained by assorted terrorist & armed, foreign, mercenary US coalition proxies on Syrian soil.
***
Rocky_Shorz
10th January 2017, 01:18
Shots fired by US ships on 4 fast approaching crafts of Iran...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4D5lCxEDHlM
seko
10th January 2017, 04:25
A Russian diplomat (Andrei Malanin) has been found dead in Athens, Greece.
Greek police say they have launched a murder investigation over the death of the head of the consular department at Russia's embassy in Greece.
According to Protothema portal on Monday, 55-year-old Russian consul, Andrei Malanin was found dead on his bathroom floor by another member of embassy staff.
Police said at "first sight" he appears to have died from natural causes but the authorities were awaiting a report from the coroner. There was apparently no evidence of a break in or no signs of visible harm on the senior diplomat's body.
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/01/10/505546/russian-diplomat-dead-in-athens
Cidersomerset
13th January 2017, 07:10
Israel is the elephant in the room and occasional attacks do occur...
Israel strikes Syrian military airport near Damascus
EwHHbFV_Ej4
Published on 12 Jan 2017
The Mezzeh airport near Damascus was rocked by multiple explosions.
The Syrian Arab Army has warned that there will be repercussions for
Israel for the 'flagrant attack' on the military base. It also linked the
alleged strike to Israel’s 'support of terrorist groups.'
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http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Syria accuses Israel of bombardment
5 hours ago
From the section Middle East
Syria has accused Israel of bombarding an area west of Damascus, with reports of
a military airport being hit.State television quoted the army as saying several
rockets landed in the airport compound in Mezzeh, Reuters news agency reports.
read more....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38605860
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Syria blames Israel for airstrike near Damascus
6nOE7kqQzjQ
Published on 13 Jan 2017
Conor Powell reports from Jerusalem
=========================================
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Syria accuses Israel of launching rocket attack on Damascus base
2RnJniGHS0w
Published on 12 Jan 2017
Syria has accused Israel of carrying out what it called a "flagrant" rocket attack on
a major military base outside Damascus.Explosions could be heard on video images
published on social media, while smoke was seen rising from the area.
The airbase at Mezzah is used by President Assad's elite Republican Guards.
================================================
================================================
RT's Lizzie Phelan eyewitnesses immediate aftermath of powerful suicide attack in Damascus
4OojjHuwf2U
Published on 13 Jan 2017
A powerful explosion has rocked the Syrian capital, Damascus, killing up to 7
people, Reuters reports, citing state TV. The blast was caused by a suspected
suicide bomber, Reuters says.
Cidersomerset
13th January 2017, 17:04
‘Preparation for war, not defense against Russia’ – German peace activist on NATO op in Europe
-8GYbM4ewck
Published on 13 Jan 2017
Over 3-thousand American soldiers and hundreds of military vehicles have started
arriving in Poland for NATO war games The exercises, part of Operation Atlantic
Resolve, are the largest in Europe in decades. Reiner Braun, a representative for
Germany's peace movement, says it's not Russia but NATO countries that have
been pursuing an aggressive policy for years.
===================================================
Russia calls NATO deployment in Poland threat to national security
dYbb1Hidd9I
Published on 12 Jan 2017
Moscow has blasted NATO's pre-positioning of US military hardware in Poland,
saying it is a threat to Russian national security, and an agressive step.
Cidersomerset
14th January 2017, 13:27
Israel prefers Al-Qaeda in Syria over Hezbollah & Assad – journalist
4WsO9hlSegk
Published on 13 Jan 2017
Israeli jets have bombed the Mezzeh military airport west of Damascus. The airport was
rocked by multiple explosions, and ambulances rushed to the scene. For more on the
role of Israel in the Syrian war, RT America’s Anya Parampil is joined by independent
journalist Rania Khalek.
===================================================
Intense fighting ongoing northwest of Damascus
P1dLH3Tng68
Published on 13 Jan 2017
Footage released by Syrian Central Military Media shows intense fighting between
rebels and Syrian army on January 12, 2017. Syrian Army is blaming rebels for
violating ceasefire established on December 30, 2016
Hervé
14th January 2017, 13:47
More truths emerge on U.S. 'regrettable mistakes' bombing in Syria (http://journal-neo.org/2017/01/13/syria-and-the-united-states-more-truths-emerge/)
James ONeill New Eastern Outlook (http://journal-neo.org/2017/01/13/syria-and-the-united-states-more-truths-emerge/) Sat, 14 Jan 2017 08:20 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/370604/medium/A_fighter_jet.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/370604/full/A_fighter_jet.jpg)
On 17 September 2016 aircraft of the so-called 'coalition', led by the United States, bombed Syrian Army troop positions at Deir Ez-Zor. Aircraft from the United States, United Kingdom, Denmark and Australia took part in the attack. Between 62 and 90 (reports vary) Syrian troops were killed and more than 100 injured. The attack allowed ISIS forces to take control of what was a vital area protecting the airport.
At the time, the attack was labeled a "mistake". Australia's Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull apologized, saying he regretted the loss of life and injury to Syrian personnel.
A spokesman for the Syrian government said that the attack was "intentional", a view shared by Syria's ally, Iran. The US military ordered an inquiry into the incident. It is usually the case with such inquiries that little is done, nothing other than "regrettable mistakes" are admitted, and no-one is sanctioned.
Often, some reason is found to attribute the "error" to the enemy's actions, as with the bombing of the Kunduz Hospital in Afghanistan (http://journal-neo.org/2017/01/13/syria-and-the-united-states-more-truths-emerge/www.kunduz.msf.org).
Two recent developments however, cast some new light on that "mistake" in September 2016.
The first is the release of the report into the investigation by the US Central Command based in Qatar on 29 November 2016. As is almost invariably the case, the report found "no evidence of misconduct."
The report did acknowledge however, that the US did mislead the Russian military command about where the strike was to occur.
Further, the report acknowledges that the US Command ignored both actual information and intelligence analysis that the positions targeted were occupied by Syrian government troops and were not ISIS terrorists.
The third revelation was that the air strikes shifted from the strategy of "deliberate targeting" to one of an "immediate strike." This violated usual US Air Force operational procedure. No explanation was given for this violation of normal procedure.
The fact that the Russians were misled, the ignoring of their own intelligence and factual information, both electronic and human, and the abrupt change in operational procedure without a good reason, all reinforce the conclusion reached at the time by the Syrians; that the attack was not a "mistake" but in fact deliberate.
The bigger question is why the attack occurred in the way that it did. The pivotal event, not traversed in the report, was that a ceasefire agreement had been brokered on 9 September 2016 between US Secretary of State John Kerry and his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
That ceasefire agreement was known to be strongly opposed by elements within the US Department of Defence and in particular by the Secretary of Defence, Ash Carter. The latter has maintained an unrelentingly belligerent attitude towards Russia. Carter opposed any cooperation with Russia, including, in this context, strong antipathy to the setting up of a "Joint Integration Centre" (JIC) that was a key component of the Kerry-Lavrov agreement.
The JIC was to be formed seven days after the ceasefire was scheduled to take effect, that is, on 19 September 2016. The air strike on the 17th immediately killed off the ceasefire and the setting up of the JIC.
The timing of the attack, two days before hand, was highly unlikely therefore to have been a coincidence.
The attack also reinforced the image that US foreign policy in the Middle East was not being directed by the President, but rather by the military. The Russian view that this was the case was made explicit in the press interview given by Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin following an urgent Security Council meeting that followed the attack.
Mr Churkin asked:
"Who is in charge in Washington. The White House or the Pentagon?"
The facts rather suggest the answer to Mr Churkin's question and if that is the case it is a cause for serious concern.
The other recent development is directly related to the issues raised by the US attack of 17 September. It helps us to understand more about US conduct in the Middle East. In particular, it illustrates why the US was spectacularly unsuccessful in preventing the rapid spread of ISIS control over large swathes of Iraq and Syria.
It was not until the Russian intervention of August 2014 at the request of the Syrian government that significant progress was made on halting the relentless advance of ISIS.
At the beginning of 2017 Wikileaks released the audio of a meeting that Kerry had with members of the Syrian Opposition on 22 September 2016 at the Dutch UN Mission. This was less than a week after the Deir ez-Zor bombing.
The New York Times and CNN both reported the fact of the leak, but suppressed information about its most significant parts. As far as I have been able to ascertain, no mainstream Australian media outlet has even reported the fact of the leak, let alone its contents.
The audio discloses three key facts about US policy in Iraq and Syria. For those familiar with the history of the region and US policy therein (http://journal-neo.org/2017/01/13/syria-and-the-united-states-more-truths-emerge/www.ecowatch.com), the revelations will not be a total surprise. It is however, confirmation from a very high official level of what critics of US policy have been saying for a considerable time.
The first fact confirmed by the audio was that Kerry admitted that the Obama administration's primary goal in Syria was regime change. The reasons for this are not difficult to ascertain.
The US wanted a compliant regime in Damascus that would allow, inter alia, the Qatari pipeline to supply Europe with natural gas. That would seriously damage the Russian economy. A further benefit accruing to the Americans would be the closure of Russia's Tartus naval base on Syria's Mediterranean coast.
The second fact from the audio was that to accomplish the goal of regime change, the White House allowed the rise of ISIS. Here, Kerry is being too modest. The US did a great deal more than "allow" the rise of ISIS. With its Qatari, Saudi, Turkish, Jordanian and Israeli allies it financed, trained, armed and supported (both militarily and politically) ISIS.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and displaced as a direct result of this policy. It is part of the propaganda barrage directed at the Syrian government that these deaths are the results of the "Assad brutal dictatorship" rather than an inevitable outcome of US policy.
This callous indifference to the impact of the war on civilians can be seen in the current ISIS campaign to deny Damascus' five million inhabitants access to clean water supplies (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/jan/05/syria-conflict-leaves-millions-of-damascus-residents-with-limited-access-to-water). The western media barely mentions this war crime and its coverage implies that the shortages are attributable to Syrian and Russian bombing.
Thirdly, Kerry admitted that not only did the US arm ISIS, it carried out military operations that were of direct assistance. The "mistake" at Deir ez-Zor, only two days before this conversation occurred, would have been uppermost in Kerry's mind.
Three days after the release of the Pentagon report (2/12/16) the Danish government announced that it was suspending the military operations of its F-16 fighter jets in Iraq and Syria. Denmark was thus the second country, after Canada on 22 February.
Australia, not for the first time, seems untroubled by questions of international law in its unswerving allegiance to the United States. In an interview with State broadcaster ABC on 7 July 2016 former Prime Minister John Howard gave what is probably the major reason why Australia so willingly involves itself in the US's illegal wars of choice.
Referring to the Iraq War decision of March 2003 he said: "given our shared history and values, it was in our national interest to stand beside the Americans."
If that is indeed the benchmark of Australia's foreign policy, then Australia is in for a long history of endless wars where ascertaining Australia's true national interest is at best incidental.
James O'Neill, an Australian-based Barrister at Law, exclusively for the online magazine "New Eastern Outlook" (http://journal-neo.org/).
Related:
Russia-brokered ceasefire shattered as US airstrikes against Syrian Army in Deir ez-Zor leaves 80 soldiers dead, over 100 injured (UPDATES) (https://www.sott.net/article/328536-Russia-brokered-ceasefire-shattered-as-US-airstrikes-against-Syrian-Army-in-Deir-ez-Zor-leaves-80-soldiers-dead-over-100-injured-UPDATES)
Switching tactics: U.S. now claims that the Kunduz hospital bombing was due to an 'intelligence systems failure' (https://www.sott.net/article/304659-Switching-tactics-US-now-claims-that-the-Kunduz-hospital-bombing-was-due-to-an-intelligence-systems-failure)
Cidersomerset
18th January 2017, 20:40
What a different a few months make......
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Syria conflict: Russia and Turkey 'in first joint air strikes on IS'
2 hours ago
from the section Middle East
Russian and Turkish jets have carried out their first joint strikes on so-called I
slamic State (IS) inside Syria, the Russian defence ministry says.
IS was targeted in the suburbs of the town of al-Bab, Aleppo province, where
Turkey suffered heavy casualties last month battling the group on the ground.
read more....
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38667895
==============================================
==============================================
==============================================
“Russia, Turkey in first joint strikes on Daesh”
l8r5XIzGjwc
Published on 18 Jan 2017
Russia and Turkey have conducted their first joint air strikes against the Daesh
terrorist group in Syria .The Russian Defence Ministry says Russian war planes
joined forces with Turkish jets to target the Daeh terrorists holding the town of al-
Bab northeast of Aleppo. Turkey suffered heavy casualties last month battling the
group in the area. Moscow says this is the first time the two air forces have teamed
up in the operation, which was conducted in coordination with the Syrian
government. Russian jets also backed the Syrian army offensive against Daesh
near the towns of Deir al-Zor and Palmyra. Russia and Turkey are to take part in
next week’s Syria peace talks in Kazakhstan.
===================================================
===================================================
Fiercest ISIS offensive: Islamists cut off Syrian Deir ez-Zor airbase
G9WkK5RVsq4
Published on 18 Jan 2017
Islamic State has launched a large-scale offensive against a key government air
base in the Syrian province of Dier Ez-Zor. It's believed the terrorists entered Syria
from the Iraqi city of Mosul - where they had been fighting against a U.S.-led
operation. Despite the Syrian army's efforts, ISIL fighters have been making steady
gains in that province, and have now effectively cut-off the strategically important
government base there. RT's Lizzie Phelan filed this report from Syria. READ MORE: https://on.rt.com/80l7
===================================================
===================================================
Turkey and Russia join forces against Islamic State
WA0LaNoRMXE
Published on 18 Jan 2017
Russia and Turkey have launched their first coordinated strikes against the self-
proclaimed Islamic State. US coalition pressure on the Iraqi city of Mosul has forced
ISIS forces eastward, according to Russian military sources. RT correspondent
Lizzie Phelan has the details.
Hervé
19th January 2017, 12:23
SYRIA: Consign “Barrel Bombs” to the Propaganda Graveyard (http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/01/17/syria-consign-barrel-bombs-to-the-propaganda-graveyard/)
By Vanessa Beeley (http://21stcenturywire.com/author/21vbeeley/) 21st Century Wire (http://www.21stcenturywire.com) January 17, 2017
“Every time one of these barrels strikes, it is the seismological equivalent of a 7.6 magnitude earthquake, and it happens around 50 times a day. (In Syria) You can’t dial 911. You can’t dial the fire service. You can’t call the local police department. They don’t exist.” ~ James Le Mesurier, British ex-military trainer of the NATO-state, multi-million-dollar-funded White Helmets (http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/10/02/the-white-helmets-campaign-for-war-not-peace-rla-and-nobel-peace-prize-nomination-should-be-retracted/), based in Gaziantep, Turkey.
In an interview with CNN in May 2015 (http://edition.cnn.com/2015/05/21/health/white-helmets-profile/), this is the claim made by British mercenary trainer of the White Helmets to Dr Sanjay Gupta. Again, in June 2015, Le Mesurier made a similar claim to an audience during a speech at The Performance Theatre, Lisbon (https://vimeo.com/132521006) entitled very grandly, “Act 1: Witnesses to history in the making”.
On the front page of the fraudulently named Syria Civil Defence (http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/09/23/exclusive-the-real-syria-civil-defence-expose-natos-white-helmets-as-terrorist-linked-imposters/) aka the NATO state sponsored, White Helmets, there is the same claim made by the extensively discredited, Ammar Al Salmo (http://www.moonofalabama.org/2016/09/syria-conflicting-reports-dubious-witnesses-challenge-convoy-attack-case-.html), “leader” of the Syria Civil Defence in Aleppo:
http://i0.wp.com/21stcenturywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Barrel-bombs-Al-Salmo.jpg?resize=610%2C196 (http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/01/17/syria-consign-barrel-bombs-to-the-propaganda-graveyard/barrel-bombs-al-salmo/)
Al Salmo’s “evidence” was pivotal to the US alliance claims (http://news.sky.com/story/syria-aid-convoy-travelling-with-militant-weapon-russia-claims-10586401) that, on 21st September 2016, Russian jets had targeted a humanitarian convoy to the west of Aleppo – Urum al Kubra, causing international outcry and almost precipitating a terrifying escalation of the conflict between Russia and the US on Syrian soil. Claims that were universally debunked, (http://libyancivilwar.blogspot.fr/2016/09/how-we-know-russia-bombed-aleppo-aid.html) as were so many before them. Syricide on Twitter produced a video that demonstrates the grave anomalies in the Al Salmo report, that was used to trigger international outrage against Russia and the Syrian government.
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/506173582129393664/FNb7TYe5_bigger.jpeg Syricide @Syricide (https://twitter.com/Syricide) 23 Sep 2016 (https://twitter.com/Syricide/status/779417048522846209)
I am an adult, if you think a Russian rocket created a neat hole and then hid itself among cardboard boxes, it way past your bedtime.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CtEJ-fWXgAAYhcP.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CtELlraWcAAEWwe.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CtELoryXEAEVh-6.jpg
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/506173582129393664/FNb7TYe5_bigger.jpeg Syricide @Syricide (https://twitter.com/Syricide)
My interpretation of #WhiteHelmets (https://twitter.com/hashtag/WhiteHelmets?src=hash) "manager" #AmmarAlSalmo (https://twitter.com/hashtag/AmmarAlSalmo?src=hash)'s on-site report on the #UNConvoy (https://twitter.com/hashtag/UNConvoy?src=hash) attack in #UrumAlKubra (https://twitter.com/hashtag/UrumAlKubra?src=hash)
In November 2016, Raed Saleh, president of the White Helmets and “humanitarian” poster boy for the international community supporting the terrorist support group, gave an acceptance speech for the Right Livelihood Award (http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/10/02/the-white-helmets-campaign-for-war-not-peace-rla-and-nobel-peace-prize-nomination-should-be-retracted/). During this speech (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P84uQ2gmWMk), Saleh reinforced the barrel bomb/earthquake imagery and increased the magnitude to a whopping 8:0
[...]
Full article: http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/01/17/syria-consign-barrel-bombs-to-the-propaganda-graveyard/
Sophocles
19th January 2017, 19:11
I translated parts of this article (http://www.derimot.no/blog/f%C3%B8rst-tar-vi-manhatten-s%C3%A5-tar-vi-berlin) (from Norwegian) as I think this guy (Jan Hårstad) has some interesting observations.
First we take Manhattan then we take Berlin.
The bombing of Berlin.
By Jan Hårstad on derimot.no (norwegian blog) january 19. 2017
Many years ago I wrote an article in "Klassekampen (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Klassekampen)" where I said that somewhere in the future the USA will bomb Berlin. I still have this article, but cannot find it today.
That the united Germany of today is under American occupation is mildly said not normal. But not just that; it is German tax payers that are paying for the American military bases Ramstein and Spangdahlem and many others. The number given is a total of 325 million euros.
Not only this, but Ramstein is something of a centre for American drone war fare and USA are filling up Butschel with nuclear rockets -in the middle of Germany.
(Sophocles: Here he mentions Udo Ulfkottes death and his many contributions -more on this subject on Omnisense`s thread here (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?95535-RIP-Udo-Ulfkotte-A-Journalist-with-Integrity).)
And then came the tapping scandal regarding Merkel (https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2015/jul/08/nsa-tapped-german-chancellery-decades-wikileaks-claims-merkel) where NSA / CIA tapped her 24/7, but the story doesn`t end here: The whole German elite were being surveillanced by the Americans.
What is the fear of the power in America?
They`re afraid that Germany will walk out on an independent road and make alliances with states that the USA look upon as rivals.
It`s like the 1922 Rapallo nightmare where Russia and Germany economically cooperated - also militarily between Reichswehr and Rote Armeen up until 1933. It was not Hitler that started the modernization of the German army and its Blietzkrieg. It was already finished experimented and ready on the steps of Kazan in the late 1920`s.
Only the old German kansler Gerhard Schrøder and his fraction are the ones that openly states that Germany has to enter an alliance with Russia after the 1922 Rapallo model. Rest of the elite are ruled by silence out of fear of America even though they are of the exact same opinion.
As every officially «left-movement» in Europe the German Die Linke is also well stuffed into the establishment`s parliamentary politics and constitutes the way I see it some kind of left side of the German imperialism, and not a left side for the working class.
Then Die Linke profile Sahra Wagenknecht (47) all of a sudden says the following:
NATO must be dissolved! Germany has to be part of a collective safety system that includes Russia. Or a «verteidigungsbundnis mit Russland».
This cannot be taken as anything but a decleration of war against America, the state that fanatically strangleholds Germany as a client and as a vasall state.
Die Linke -which is also heavily pressured by the upcoming party Alternative fur Deutschland (AfD)– had not said this knowing the rest of the elite and parts of the German people had been against it.
Wagenknecht actually says about the same as the other «right populist» parties in Europe are saying.
Should the German power start being guided by the programs of Die Linke and AfD USA will without a doubt soon see Germany as a part of the axis of evil.
They will start raising hell trying to destabilize Germany and if this does not work they will send B-52 bombers over Berlin to show that it is the United States of America that are going to be great again.
No alliance with Russia allowed.
Russia shall be chopped into being an Euro-American colony, in the eyes of the American neo-con zionists.
Source (http://www.derimot.no/blog/f%C3%B8rst-tar-vi-manhatten-s%C3%A5-tar-vi-berlin) (in Norwegian)
Cidersomerset
20th January 2017, 17:32
ISIS destroys part of Roman theater in Palmyra – Syrian antiquities chief
dp0x9wfTpdc
Published on 20 Jan 2017
Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) terrorists have destroyed part of a Roman
theatre and the legendary four-column structure ‘Tetrapylon’ in the ancient city
of Palmyra, Syrian TV reports.
====================================================
====================================================
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Syria: IS destroys part of Palmyra's Roman Theatre
4 hours ago
From the section Middle East
Militants from the Islamic State group have destroyed part of the Roman Theatre in
the ancient city of Palmyra.
read more...
https://news.files.bbci.co.uk/vj/live/idt-images/image-slider-palmyra/aftersquare3_h8zg7.jpg
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38689131
uzn
20th January 2017, 19:46
@Sophocles: Turkey and Russia are already working together very closely, and Turkey is not beeing bombed by the Americans. Bombing of Berlin will not happen! Reforming EU and possibly including Russia might happen.
Curious77
23rd January 2017, 17:48
In reply to Corbyn speech on the Chilcot Report ....
"Flawed Intelligence"?
"Diplomatic Miscalculations"?
That is BS -- this was gimmicky -- from 9/11 to Colin Powell at UN and his cheesy yellow cake garbage -- before a shrouded painting of Guernica by Pablo Picasso.
The painting was created in response to the bombing of Guernica, a Basque Country village in northern Spain, by Nazi German and Fascist Italian warplanes at the request of the Spanish Nationalists. Upon completion, Guernica was exhibited at the Spanish display at the Exposition Internationale des Arts et Techniques dans la Vie Moderne (Paris International Exposition) in the 1937 World's Fair in Paris and then at other venues around the world. The touring exhibition was used to raise funds for Spanish war relief.[3] The painting became famous and widely acclaimed, and it helped bring worldwide attention to the Spanish Civil War.
I hadn't seen the 2014 attempt by Bill Ryan to stop WWIII -- but certainly Putin has been trying to warn Americans of what our US government is doing -- and he does very well understand this will be nuclear.
Anyone who looks at the map can see US is on its way to Russia and China --
but first stop Iran.
And certainly Obama has vastly increased nuclear weapons, including the "more readily usable" smaller nukes.
I'd also like to comment on another page 1 post #4 -- by SL --
According to the Allies of Humanity, there are elements within the US and Russian governments that have been cooperating with each other against the Alien threat to this planet. I'm certain these same elements will act to prevent the above scenario.
“Are any of the world’s governments resisting the Intervention?”
Yes, the United States and Russia are resisting the Intervention. That is one of the reasons they have ceased their competition that was so destructive over many decades. They are more cooperative now, for they realize they need one another to be successful in offsetting the impacts and the persuasion that is being cast upon humanity.
There are smaller governments assisting now, but primarily it is these two greater powers that hold such great military strength and persuasion in the world. It is they who had fallen under alien deception, and it is they who have now turned against the Intervention.
Wouldn't have understood that if I had come upon it at that time (2014) but it seems as if the news is getting out that we're under control of alien forces here in US. Something else today led me to this video -- 2 parts and I'm sure no one will have time for it -- but basically from my notes (not perfect) --
YouTube link to Part II --
WILLIAM TOMPKINS: SELECTED BY EXTRATERRESTRIALS - PART TWO https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oPMOjV9SMOo
I am going to post the notes on this in a separate thread.
Skip Part I -- my notes will cover it and Part II is the most interesting.
Hervé
23rd January 2017, 18:17
That was quick! U.S. provides Daesh coordinates to Russia for strikes in al-Bab (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701231049927674-russia-us-daesh-coordinates/)
Sputnik (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701231049927674-russia-us-daesh-coordinates/) Mon, 23 Jan 2017 17:31 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/372538/large/1049858506.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/372538/full/1049858506.jpg)
© AP Photo/ Aamaq News Agency
The United States has provided coordinates of the terrorists' targets in the city of Al-Bab in Aleppo province for Russian airstrikes. After the reconaissance check, Russia and two coalition jets have conducted joint airstrikes on the Daesh targets in the region.
"On January 22, the Russian command center at the Hmeymim airbase has received coordinates of Daesh targets in Al-Bab, Aleppo province, via the 'direct line' from the US-led coalition headquarters. After further data verification with the assistance of unmanned aircraft and space reconaissance, the Russian Aerospace Forces and two jets of the international coalition have conducted airstrikes on the terrorists' targets," the statement said.
As a result, several ammunition depots, military hardware and fuel products were destroyed.
Earlier, Russian and Turkish combat planes have carried out a new series of joint airstrikes against Daesh targets in war-torn Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said on Monday.
"The Russian and Turkish planes carried out joint airstrikes (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201701231049927621-russia-turkey-al-bab/) against Islamic State terrorists in the outskirts of the town of al-Bab in Aleppo province on January 21," the ministry said in a statement.
According to the statement, the missions involved three Russian planes, including two Su-24M and a Su-34 aircraft, and four Turkish planes, including two F-16 and two F-4 fighter-bombers.
The news comes amid a nationwide ceasefire in Syria backed by Russia and Turkey which came into effect on December 30 (http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20161230/1049123940.html) and was later supported by a UN Security Council resolution (http://sputniknews.com/politics/20161231/1049167585.html).
Turkey is currently conducting an operation in Syria dubbed Euphrates Shield. On August 24, Turkish forces (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201612271049036516-turkey-army-syria-daesh/), supported by Free Syrian Army rebels and US-led coalition aircraft, began a military operation dubbed the Euphrates Shield to clear the Syrian border town of Jarabulus and the surrounding area from Daesh terrorist group. As Jarabulus was retaken, the joint forces of Ankara, the coalition and Syrian rebels continued the operation to gain control over Al-Bab in the Aleppo province.
Al-Bab is one of Daesh's last remaining strongholds near the Turkish border. Capturing the city is of strategic importance to Turkey in order to prevent the Syrian Kurds taking it and unifying their own territories.
Cidersomerset
23rd January 2017, 18:59
Syrian armed opposition & Assad govt reps meet for peace talks in Astana
JZXzSkJgHis
Published on 23 Jan 2017
Negotiations between the Syrian government and opposition groups, which include
Jaysh al-Islam, a major armed group, have kicked off in the Kazakh capital of Astana
as part of an initiative led by Russia, Turkey, and Iran.
===============================================
===============================================
shCXT6WPlmk
Published on 23 Jan 2017
Russia’s foreign minister made the remarks at a press conference with his
Hungarian counterpart in Moscow. According to Lavrov, both Trump and Putin seek
to pursue the interests of their respective countries, rather than interfere in the
domestic affairs of others. During his presidential campaign, Trump frequently
praised the Russian leader, drawing condemnation from US politicians.
===============================================
===============================================
Syria’s White Helmets are Al Qaeda’s ‘Civil Defence’
By David on 23 January 2017 GMT Uncategorised
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/whthugs-1-2.jpg
http://21stcenturywire.com/wp-content/themes/magazine/images/21-LOGO-230x115.png
EXPOSED: Syria’s White Helmets are Al Qaeda’s ‘Civil Defence’
January 23, 2017 By Vanessa Beeley 1 Comment
vanessa-beeley-b-wVanessa Beeley
21st Century Wire
‘The following video is a compilation of testimonies taken from Syrian civilians, finally
liberated from almost five years of Nusra Front-led terrorist occupation of all districts
of East Aleppo. The unadulterated, unedited, uncensored voices of the Syrian people,
released from Nusra Front aka Al Qaeda jail in East Aleppo, finally given a platform
instead of corporate media’s terrorist propaganda amplification and “regime change”
narrative monopoly.’
KKsDwdMJwAs
Read more: Syria’s White Helmets are Al Qaeda’s ‘Civil Defence’
http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/01/23/exposed-syrias-white-helmets-are-al-qaedas-civil-defence/
Rocky_Shorz
24th January 2017, 22:33
Doesn't NK know the ETs can do more than blow them up?
What's going to happen if it redirects to Hong Kong and hits the Rothschild Bldg...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mVx7u7gEBeU
The day Trump started he went to CIA and got addresses of all the isis command centers across Syria and Iraq...
31 bombs drop the same day, now on to North Korea
Trump is telling China to do something now, or he will...
Cidersomerset
25th January 2017, 23:25
CIA NN host stumped by Tulsi Babbard....
CNN Exclusive: Rep. Gabbard on meeting with Assad
ID223ToMVxM
Published on 25 Jan 2017
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard just returned from a secret trip to Syria and
told Jake Tapper in a CNN Exclusive said any reconciliation would have to
involve Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.
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Rep. Gabbard, Kucinich meet with Assad in Syria
SU8bopTZBjc
Published on 25 Jan 2017
Fox News National Security Correspondent Jennifer Griffin reports #Tucker
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Rep. Gabbard's meeting with Syrian president raises questions
i_y_C5uBjuw
Published on 26 Jan 2017
Democratic Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard is defending her meeting with Syria's
President Bashar al-Assad, which took place during an unannounced, week-long trip
to the Middle East. Jan Crawford reports on how Gabbard has put herself in the
middle of a U.S. foreign policy challenge.
====================================================
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‘US government contributes to ISIS taking territory’ – journalist
bO0DMkUIpL0
Published on 25 Jan 2017
The city of Deir Ez-Zor in eastern Syria is encircled by Islamic State (IS, formerly
ISIS/ISIL) and has been under intense attacks for the past week. The Russian
Defense Ministry reports that it is attacking IS command centers and weapons
stockpiles from the air, as jihadist fighters clash with Syrian government forces.
Independent journalist Rania Khalek explains to RT America’s Simone Del Rosario
why western media
Cidersomerset
26th January 2017, 14:25
Syrian President Bashar Al Assad: Interview with Japanese News Agency
V91tjPD3zUU
Published on 25 Jan 2017
This interview occurred between TBS News in Japan (JNN) and President Bashar Al Assad,
President of Syria, on January 19th, 2017. It's conducted entirely in English and has not
been edited in any way from the source.
====================================================
====================================================
‘Assad is not a dictator’ – fmr Capitol Hill staffer
B9wsZFFLl1g
Published on 26 Jan 2017
Rep. Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) recently traveled to Syria, where she met with
Syrian President Bashar Assad. Renee Parsons, former staff member of the US
House of Representatives, joins RT America’s Ashlee Banks to give her insight into
the ramifications of Gabbard’s controversial decision.
Cidersomerset
26th January 2017, 20:35
Battles between Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists & rebels escalate in northern Syria
HF3p7eR0nC4
Published on 26 Jan 2017
Fighting is escalating in northern Syria between Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists and
rebels from other factions. The first to attack were fighters from the Fatah
al-Sham Front, previously known as Al-Nusra Front. The group issued a statement
saying its attacks on opposition groups were to prevent a ‘conspiracy’ against it.
===================================================
===================================================
Trump orders ‘safe zones’ in Syria for refugees fleeing war
WM-q2ahnS7U
Published on 26 Jan 2017
US President Donald Trump said he’ll establish “safe zones’ within Syria for people
fleeing terrorism, risking becoming even more involved in the crisis. He also
believes the US should have “taken the oil” from Iraq as it pulled its troops out in 2011.
===================================================
===================================================
This is ridiculous by CIA NN and the UK defence security, The Russians have one
elderly aircraft carrier more of a status symbol , the US has
https://infographic.statista.com/normal/chartoftheday_6483_the_world_s_aircraft_carrier_fleet_n.jpg
https://www.statista.com/statistics/239345/total-military-personnel-of-the-us-navy-by-grade/
Russian 'ship of shame' escorted home
1WE0LV5aSAQ
Published on 26 Jan 2017
A Russian aircraft carrier was closely watched and escorted to Russia by UK
warships and warplanes after participating in airstrikes in Syria.
===================================================
===================================================
The UK has two Air craft carriers due soon......
http://www.trendingtopmost.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/HMS-Queen-Elizabeth-UK-Top-Most-Largest-Aircraft-Carriers-in-World-2018.jpg
Cidersomerset
28th January 2017, 12:00
Dem. lawmaker's meeting with Assad raises bipartisan ire
0n-AIxp9LvA
Published on 27 Jan 2017
Democratic congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard tells Tucker why she traveled
to Syria to meet with Assad and what was accomplished #Tucker
==================================================
==================================================
WHY TULSI GABBARD IS A THREAT TO DEMOCRATS: Congresswoman Tulsi
Gabbard Just Visited Syria
yoUT6Xpm1Tg
Published on 27 Jan 2017
My name is H. A. Goodman and I’m an author, columnist, and journalist
www.hagoodman.com
After 8 years of persecuting whistleblowers US Democrats now want to hear from them
===================================================
===================================================
Journalist Smearing Tulsi Gabbard For Advocating Truth In S-Y-R-I-A
-RNDxrfl6oQ
Published on 27 Jan 2017
A tweet aimed at Tulsi Gabbard and the Stop Arming Act misses the point
Hervé
28th January 2017, 12:42
German Academics Pen Open Letter Slamming Western Interpretation of Syria Crisis (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/LiveSearch Syrian Democratic forces and an armed man in uniform identified by them as US special operations forces (R) are seen in the village of Fatisah in the northern Syrian province of Raqa on May 25, 2016 German Academics Pen Open Letter Slamming Western Interpretation of Syria Crisis © AFP 2016/ DELIL SOULEIMAN Middle East 14:29 28.01.2017(updated 15:06 28.01.2017) Get short URL 2648200 In contrast to the West, which has been intent on destroying Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, Russia and Iran are playing a constructive role in preventing the overthrow of Assad and the formation of a fundamentalist Sunni government in the country, a group of German academics have written in an open letter.Tupolev Tu-22M3 strategic bombers hit terrorists in Syria Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation Steinmeier: Russia’s Role in Syria Ensures Its Importance as Military, Political Player A group of German university professors have penned a joint statement criticizing the mainstream media's portrayal of the roles of Russia and Iran in regulation of the Syrian conflict, Sputnik Deutschland reported.Called "a statement on the Syrian war," the declaration was written by the scientific advisory board of the German branch of Attac, an international organization that campaigns for alternatives to globalization."Russia and Iran exhausted all the possibilities for a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the conflict; (although) such an attempt seemed be futile at first, they have for the time being ended military attacks and the war in Aleppo. Therefore, we think the attacks on Russia in the mainstream media are absurd," they wrote.The statement, written by 14 German university professors, recalls a 2011 interview with former NATO Secretary-General Wesley Clark, who revealed that just weeks after 9/11, the US had plans to not only invade Iraq, but five countries in the Middle East. The Pentagon published a memo describing "how we're going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and then finishing off (with) Iran," Clark revealed.With that aim in mind, the US has been preparing the conditions for regime change in Syria since 2005, including a media propaganda campaign against the Assad government. The US also co-operated with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel in the training and funding of an army of Sunni jihadists who were supposed to overthrow the governments in Damascus and then Tehran, as investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported in 2007.The researchers agree with the assessment of Professor Gunter Meyer, director of the Center for Research on the Arab World (CERAW) at the University of Mainz, who told Germany's Heute news program last month that the US bears the "main responsibility" for the Syrian crisis, and that Russia's operation in support of the Syrian government has thwarted the US plan to overthrow the Syrian government."The West, in particular the USA, has provided the rebel jihadists with weapons and also partially trained them. The equipment, personnel and logistics were mainly handled by Turkey, while the financial support came mainly from Saudi Arabia and Qatar. Saudi Arabia has helped Salafist extremists to establish a radical Islamist government in Syria. Here the conquest of Aleppo in 2012 was an important step for the jihadists," Meyer said."Without the military intervention of Russia in September 2015, not only would Aleppo have been completely conquered by the jihadists, but the Assad regime would also have collapsed long ago. The Assad opponents under the leadership of the US would have achieved their goal of the regime change. However, the strongest military forces would have seized power, and this would be Islamic extremists such as the al-Nusra Front, which is part of the Al-Qaeda network, and the Islamic State (Daesh), which is being combated by the international alliance under US leadership. Putin can say to people like the Israeli politicians who declared that a terrorist regime is better than Assad, that he prevented that."The evacuation of Aleppo was completed in December after Turkey and Russia brokered a ceasefire deal between government forces and the rebels who had controlled parts of the city since 2012. Damascus, Syria. (File) © AP Photo/ Hassan Ammar Russia Registers Three Ceasefire Violations in Syria in Past 24 Hours The researchers wrote that the efforts of Moscow and Tehran to reach a diplomatic settlement to the conflict in Syria are in contrast to the "regime change" philosophy of the West, where politicians and the media have failed to acknowledge their crucial involvement."A few days after the evacuation of Aleppo was declared to have ended, Russia, Turkey and Iran held a meeting where they offered a guarantee that from now on the Syrian conflict would be resolved through diplomatic channels and negotiations.""Here, too, we must realize with bitterness that not one Western politician has taken Vladimir Putin, Hassan Rouhani and Recep Tayyip Erdogan at their word and accepted their guarantee as important and constructive. Western politicians do not seem to be able to react to these kinds of peaceful political signals."Unfortunately, some civilians lost their lives in the course of the anti-terror operation in Aleppo. However, the Western media failed to provide any sense of balance to their coverage."It must be remembered that 40,000 Iraqi civilians — at least four times as many as in Aleppo — have died since August 2014 at the hands of the US-led coalition alone, of whom 15,000 were in the region of Mosul. Since 1980 the US has attacked, occupied or bombed 14 Muslim countries," the academics wrote."We find it very disturbing that the Western media, including the signatories of the anti-Russian declaration, don't say anything about the fatal US policy of regime change in the Middle East, let alone criticize it. So-called 'failed states' are the obvious result of this policy, which are breeding grounds for the further spread of terrorism and the main reason for persistent flows of refugees. We ask, how blind do you really have to be to overlook a reality that is so difficult to deny?")
Sputnik Middle East (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/) 14:29 28.01.2017
(updated 15:06 28.01.2017)
In contrast to the West, which has been intent on destroying Syria and other Middle Eastern countries, Russia and Iran are playing a constructive role in preventing the overthrow of Assad and the formation of a fundamentalist Sunni government in the country, a group of German academics have written in an open letter.
https://cdn4.img.sputniknews.com/images/105003/18/1050031890.jpg
A group of German university professors have penned a joint statement criticizing the mainstream media's portrayal of the roles of Russia and Iran in regulation of the Syrian conflict, Sputnik Deutschland reported (https://de.sputniknews.com/panorama/20170127314293074-russland-westen-propaganda-attac-erklaerung/). Called "a statement on the Syrian war (http://www.nachdenkseiten.de/upload/pdf/170126-erklaerung-wiss-Beirat-zu-syrien-3Fassung.pdf)," the declaration was written by the scientific advisory board of the German branch of Attac, an international organization that campaigns for alternatives to globalization.
"Russia and Iran exhausted all the possibilities for a diplomatic and peaceful solution to the conflict; (although) such an attempt seemed be futile at first, they have for the time being ended military attacks and the war in Aleppo. Therefore, we think the attacks on Russia in the mainstream media are absurd," they wrote.
The statement, written by 14 German university professors, recalls a 2011 interview (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RC1Mepk_Sw) with former NATO Secretary-General Wesley Clark, who revealed that just weeks after 9/11, the US had plans to not only invade Iraq, but five countries in the Middle East.
The Pentagon published a memo describing "how we're going to take out seven countries in five years, starting with Iraq and then Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and then finishing off (with) Iran," Clark revealed.
With that aim in mind, the US has been preparing the conditions for regime change in Syria since 2005, including a media propaganda campaign against the Assad government.
The US also co-operated with Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Israel in the training and funding of an army of Sunni jihadists who were supposed to overthrow the governments in Damascus and then Tehran, as investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reported in 2007 (http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/03/05/the-redirection).
The researchers agree with the assessment of Professor Gunter Meyer, director of the Center for Research on the Arab World (CERAW) at the University of Mainz, who told Germany's Heute news program (http://www.heute.de/interview-mit-syrien-experte-guenter-meyer-sieht-verantwortung-fuer-syrien-krieg-beim-westen-46114990.html) last month that the US bears the "main responsibility" for the Syrian crisis, and that Russia's operation in support of the Syrian government has thwarted the US plan to overthrow the Syrian government.
"The West, in particular the USA, has provided the rebel jihadists with weapons and also partially trained them. The equipment, personnel and logistics were mainly handled by Turkey, while the financial support came mainly from Saudi Arabia (https://sputniknews.com/politics/201602211035141288-saudi-sams-syria-analysis/) and Qatar. Saudi Arabia has helped Salafist extremists to establish a radical Islamist government in Syria. Here the conquest of Aleppo in 2012 was an important step for the jihadists," Meyer said.
"Without the military intervention of Russia in September 2015, not only would Aleppo (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201602121034667291-aleppo-liberation-media-silence/) have been completely conquered by the jihadists, but the Assad regime would also have collapsed long ago. The Assad opponents under the leadership of the US would have achieved their goal of the regime change. However, the strongest military forces would have seized power, and this would be Islamic extremists such as the al-Nusra Front, which is part of the Al-Qaeda network, and the Islamic State (Daesh), which is being combated by the international alliance under US leadership. Putin can say (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201611201047641137-syria-post-war-reconstruction/) to people like the Israeli politicians who declared that a terrorist regime is better than Assad, that he prevented that."
The evacuation of Aleppo was completed in December after Turkey and Russia brokered a ceasefire deal between government forces and the rebels who had controlled parts of the city since 2012.
The researchers wrote that the efforts of Moscow and Tehran to reach a diplomatic settlement to the conflict in Syria are in contrast to the "regime change" philosophy of the West, where politicians and the media have failed to acknowledge their crucial involvement. "A few days after the evacuation of Aleppo (https://sputniknews.com/columnists/201610191046508616-nato-aleppo-west-worry/) was declared to have ended, Russia, Turkey and Iran held a meeting where they offered a guarantee that from now on the Syrian conflict would be resolved through diplomatic channels and negotiations."
"Here, too, we must realize with bitterness that not one Western politician has taken Vladimir Putin (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201611201047641137-syria-post-war-reconstruction/), Hassan Rouhani and Recep Tayyip Erdogan at their word and accepted their guarantee as important and constructive. Western politicians do not seem to be able to react to these kinds of peaceful political signals."
Unfortunately, some civilians lost their lives in the course of the anti-terror operation in Aleppo. However, the Western media failed to provide any sense of balance to their coverage.
"It must be remembered that 40,000 Iraqi civilians — at least four times as many as in Aleppo — have died since August 2014 at the hands of the US-led coalition alone, of whom 15,000 were in the region of Mosul (https://sputniknews.com/politics/201610221046621522-mosul-us-daesh-syria/). Since 1980 the US has attacked, occupied or bombed 14 Muslim countries," the academics wrote.
"We find it very disturbing that the Western media, including the signatories of the anti-Russian declaration, don't say anything about the fatal US policy of regime change in the Middle East, let alone criticize it. So-called 'failed states' are the obvious result of this policy, which are breeding grounds for the further spread of terrorism and the main reason for persistent flows of refugees. We ask, how blind do you really have to be to overlook a reality that is so difficult to deny?"
Sophocles
29th January 2017, 22:29
Excerpt`s from "A “Color Revolution” Is Under Way in the United States" (http://www.unz.com/tsaker/a-color-revolution-is-under-way-in-the-united-states/) by The Saker (http://thesaker.is/) for unz.com (http://www.unz.com/) January 28, 2017:
US intelligence agencies are now investigating their own boss! Yes, according to recent reports (http://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-01-23/fbi-law-enforcement-agencies-investigating-michael-flynns-russia-connections), the FBI, CIA, National Security Agency and Treasury Department are now investigating the telephone conversations between General Flynn and the Russian ambassador Sergey Kislyk...
He is also Trump’s National Security Advisor. In other words, his security clearance is stratospherically high and he will soon become the boss of all the US intelligence services. And yet, these very same intelligence services are investigating him for his contacts with the Russian Ambassador. That is absolutely amazing. Even in the bad old Soviet Union, the putatively almighty KGB did not have the right to investigate a member of the Communist Party Central Committee without a special authorization of the Politburo (a big mistake, in my opinion, but never mind that). That roughly means that the top 500 members of the Soviet state could not be investigated by the KGB at all. Furthermore, such was the subordination of the KGB to the Party that for common criminal matters the KGB was barred from investigating any member of the entire Soviet Nomenklatura (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nomenklatura), roughly 3 million people (and even bigger mistake!).
But in the case of Flynn, several US security agencies can decide to investigate a man who by all standards ought to be considered at least in the top 5 US officials and who clearly has the trust of the new President. And that does not elicit any outrage, apparently.
By the same logic, the three letter agencies might as well investigate Trump for his telephone conversations with Vladimir Putin.
Okay, click here (http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/3203072.html) and take a look at a sampling of anti-Trump caricatures and cartoons compiled by the excellent Colonel Cassad. Some of them are quite remarkable. From this nauseating collection, I will select just two:
http://www.unzcloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/PutinCartoons.jpg
The first one clearly accuses Trump of being in the hands of Putin. The second one make Trump the heir to Adolf Hitler and strongly suggests that Trump might want to restart Auschwitz. Translated into plain English this sends a double message: Trump is not the legitimate President of the USA and Trump is the ultimate Evil.
This goes far beyond the kind of satire previous Presidents have ever been subjected to.
My purpose in listing all the examples above is to suggest the following: far from having accepted defeat, the Neocons and the US deep state have decided, as they always do, to double-down and they are now embarking on a full-scale “color revolution (https://www.pussyhatproject.com/)” which will only end with the impeachment, overthrowal or death of Donald Trump.
One of the most amazing features of this color revolution against Trump is the fact that those behind it don’t give a damn about the damage that their war against Trump does to the institution of the President of the United States and, really, to the United States as a whole. That damage is, indeed, immense and the bottom line is this: President Trump is in immense danger of being overthrown and his only hope for survival is to strike back hard and fast.
Source (http://www.unz.com/tsaker/a-color-revolution-is-under-way-in-the-united-states/)
Hervé
1st February 2017, 15:19
German Media Suspects Kiev of Deliberately Fueling Conflict in Donbass (https://sputniknews.com/politics/201702011050243697-kiev-deliberately-fueling-conflict/)
Sputnik Politics (https://sputniknews.com/politics/)17:51 01.02.2017
(updated 18:04 01.02.2017)
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/images/105023/29/1050232947.jpg
© Sputnik/ Irina Gerashchenko
Berlin authorities suspect that Poroshenko bears responsibility for the deteriorating situation in the east of Ukraine, German Süddeutsche Zeitung newspaper wrote.
According to the newspaper, the Ukrainian government is trying to aggravate the situation in the country so that US President Donald Trump would abandon his plans on lifting sanctions against Moscow.
"The Ukrainian military is currently trying to shift the situation at the front line to their favor. Apparently, they accept the fact that tensions are increasing […]. Behind this position, according to some members of the German administration, could be an attempt to worsen the situation to the extent that US President Donald Trump's plans to ease the sanctions are suspended," the newspaper wrote.
"According to Berlin's interpretation, Poroshenko is ready to do anything to prevent the withdrawal of the sanctions," the article said.
At the same time, German authorities believe that Kiev's calculation can prove counterproductive. For instance, Donald Trump could ease the sanctions against Moscow regardless of how the situation in Ukraine might develop.
"In this case, Kiev will have to face double damage: an improvement in the situation for Russia with the simultaneous intensification of the conflict in the Eastern Ukraine. Whether it is possible to dissuade Kiev from its own provocations, Berlin doesn't dare to predict," the article said.
https://cdn5.img.sputniknews.com/images/105023/28/1050232856.jpg
© Sputnik/ Irina Gerashchenko 'Smell of Burnt Explosives Hangs Over the City': War Returns to East Ukraine (https://sputniknews.com/europe/201702011050236564-war-returns-to-east-ukraine/)
Earlier, the German government condemned the escalation of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and called for the introduction of a humanitarian pause. The situation near the industrial town of Avdiivka and neighboring Yasynuvata has been tense for several days, with civilians being deprived of running water, central heating and electricity. The Ukrainian forces and Donbass militia are accusing each other of being responsible for the escalation of fighting.
Sophocles
1st February 2017, 15:43
Kiev admits advancing on rebels in east Ukrainian town 'meter by meter’ (https://www.rt.com/news/375892-kiev-advance-rebels-position/)
RT.com
1 Feb, 2017
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2017.02/original/5891b86ac36188f41a8b45b2.jpg
A house damaged by the shelling of the Ukrainian army in Makeevka, Donetsk Region.
© Sergey Averin / Sputnik
Ukraine’s deputy defense minister says its troops are slowly advancing on rebel positions. He claims, however, that the steps were provoked by actions from anti-Kiev forces.
“As of today, despite everything, meter by meter, step by step, whenever possible our boys have been advancing,” Igor Pavlovsky told the Ukrainian media on Wednesday.
The comment comes after days of intense hostilities around the town of Avdeevka, which is located close to the disengagement line between pro-Kiev forces and the rebels in the east. The spike of violence is the largest in months.
Kiev blames the escalation on the rebels. The development came amid Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko’s visit to Germany, which he cut short, according to his office, to respond to the Avdeevka crisis.
A report in the German newspaper Süddeutsche Zeitung said Berlin is increasingly laying responsibility for such incidents on Kiev. The latest tensions may have been provoked by the Poroshenko administration, which is concerned with a possible lifting of anti-Russian sanctions by US President Donald Trump, some figures in the German government believe, according to the newspaper.
This reasoning received a nod of approval from Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, who said that even “the biased German press acknowledged that Poroshenko was behind it.”
“Everybody knows who is driving the situation in Ukraine into a dead end, and the latest provocations by the Kiev regime… confirm this,” Lavrov told journalists after a Russian-Arab economic forum in Abu Dhabi, the UAE. “It is on his conscience, but he signed the Minsk agreement and is obliged to follow it.”
Meanwhile, the US State Department apparently contradicted Kiev’s casualty reports, which said about a dozen Ukrainian soldiers had been killed over the past few days. Washington’s statement denouncing the violence and calling for de-escalation stated that “the fighting has caused dozens of Ukrainian military casualties.”
The conflict in eastern Ukraine was ignited in 2014, when people in two regions rejected a nationalist-driven armed coup in Kiev, which imposed a new government hostile to Moscow. The new authorities launched a military crackdown, which led to a bloody conflict that has claimed over 10,000 lives.
A ceasefire and roadmap for reconciliation were negotiated in 2015 with the help of Russia, France and Germany. The so-called Minsk agreement imposed an OSCE-monitored withdrawal of heavy weapons, which was supposed to be followed by a blanket amnesty for the rebels, a constitutional reform granting the rebellious regions greater autonomy, local elections, and finally the return of sovereignty over the regions to Kiev.
The deal never progressed further than the withdrawal of heavy weapons, however, and even that failed to stem the violence fully, only curbing it somewhat. OSCE monitors regularly report violations of the truce by both sides of the conflict.
Over the past several months the pro-Kiev forces have been conducting what is called a “creeping offensive” along the disengagement line – moving troops and weapons forward into the so-called “grey zone.” The rebels see such actions as provocative, especially since on several occasions the Ukrainian forces crossed the line and tried to capture territory beyond it. There are also disputes over where exactly the disengagement line should be in some areas.
In his statement to the media, Pavlovsky justified the advancement, saying that the “entire Donbass is Ukrainian territory.” He did not comment on whether such actions comply with the Minsk agreement.
Full article (https://www.rt.com/news/375892-kiev-advance-rebels-position/)
Hervé
2nd February 2017, 18:22
Putin Explains Reasons Behind Ukraine Crisis Aggravation (https://sputniknews.com/europe/201702021050283647-putin-ukraine-crisis/)
Sputnik Europe (https://sputniknews.com/europe/)18:33 02.02.2017(updated 21:03 02.02.2017)
https://cdn3.img.sputniknews.com/images/105026/90/1050269089.jpg
© AP Photo/ Evgeniy Maloletka
Russian President Vladimir Putin explained three reasons behind the aggravation of the Ukrainian crisis.
He said that first of all Kiev needs financial assistance and attempts to present itself as a "victim," especially in the eyes of the European Union.
"The first reason is that the Ukrainian leadership needs money. And it is better to ask the EU, European states, the US and international institutes for money presenting itself as a victim of aggression," Putin explained.
Putin also said that while Ukraine supported a "certain female candidate" in the 2016 US presidential election, and now Kiev attempts to mend ties with the new US administration amid the resumed fighting in eastern Ukraine.
"During the pre-election campaign in the United States, current Ukrainian authorities one-sidedly supported one of the candidates. Moreover, some tycoons financed this female candidate (to be precise) supposedly with the approval of the political leadership," Putin continued.
According to Putin, "now they need to mend ties with the current US administration amid a conflict… It's always easier to drag the current [US] administration in solving Ukrainian problems and establish a dialogue this way." Moreover, Ukrainian authorities attempt to fight opposition, distracting attention from this aim by the escalation of the situation in Donbass, Putin said.
"The third reason [for the resumed fighting in Donbass] is an internal one. Amid [Kiev's] obvious failures in its social and economic policies, [Ukrainian] opposition intensified its activity. It should be hushed up by mobilizing the population around the acting leadership. It's easier to achieve this goal amid the resuming of a conflict," Putin said.
However, Putin said that he hoped that common sense will prevail and Kiev will not let the "worst scenario" unfold in the southeast of Ukraine.
The Russian president said that that "Ukrainian authorities are not ready to abide by the Minsk agreements and are searching for a pretext in order not to implement them."
Putin also said that "as for the escalation [in Donbass], our position is well-known: it was provoked by the Ukrainian side. Last Friday, the fighting began. On Sunday, the so-called Ukrainian volunteer battalions gained control over one of the strongholds of the opposition and entered territory controlled by militia. On Sunday, their attack was repelled."
The situation near the industrial town of Avdiivka and neighboring Yasynuvata has been tense for several days, with civilians being deprived of running water, central heating and electricity. The Ukrainian forces and Donbass militia are accusing each other of being responsible for escalation of fighting. On Monday, Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko had to interrupt his visit to Germany due to the escalation of the security situation on the line of contact in eastern Ukraine. He also charged his aides with calling for the extraordinary session of the Trilateral Contact Group on Ukraine to discuss the situation.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Tuesday that Moscow had reliable data (https://sputniknews.com/politics/201701311050198739-kremlin-ukraine-battalions-avdiivka/) that the Ukrainian independent armed groups, supported by the Ukrainian Armed Forces' artillery, were behind the attack on Avdiivka.
PS: Check this post (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?73055-Malaysian-Plane-MH17-shot-down-with-over-295-on-board.-But-by-who&p=1131474&viewfull=1#post1131474) (<---) about Avdiivka
Sophocles
3rd February 2017, 06:08
In Critical Situation: Press-Conference of the Head of DPR, Zakharchenko (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wh6fxclqjyk)
Wh6fxclqjyk
DONi Donbass News Agency (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCw2reJns9WzoFmGDLgNTyUw)
2 feb. 2017
A few days ago Ukrainian authorities launched an attack on settlements Yasinovataya, Gorlovka, Debaltsevo, Granite, Novoazovsk. Battles took place and continue now across the front line. As of today at 12-00, all our units are in their positions.
Heavy fightings are taking place in Avdeyevka area. The enemy is trying to push our front units, to take out rear, to orginaze a pocket and reach the road Yasinovataya – Makeyeavka.
The enemy sufferes great losses. We know for sure about over 200 killed and wounded over the past two days, not taking into account the first days of the hostilities.
But we are holding position, the situation is under control, there is nothing to worry about.
Now about the water supply. Today by midnight the water supply will be restored completely across the territory of the DPR.
I want to draw your attention that it is the Kiev authoritites that unleashed this bloody massacre that has already claimed the lives of dozens of people. I can say that the Kiev President Poroshenko does not care who to kill -his own soldiers, others. He does not care what losses the AFU will suffer, how many civilians will die, what destruction the war will bring.
As everyone knows, as of today Ukraine is chairing the UN Security Council for a month, and the escalation of the conflict is directly related to this -Kiev needs a political motive, which they will try to play to their advantage. Everybody knows that they have already called a meeting concerning Avdeyevka locality.
I believe this is the agony of the Kiev regime. If you remember the World War II, people used to say: «This is the last bite of the dying fascist vermin». Yes, this is a painful bite, it takes many lives. But, unfortunately, Poroshenko does not care about the lives, and this is the last chance the world community pays attention to him. But he will not succeed.
The Western press has already written that it was Ukraine that unleashed the war. Tomorrow the Western leaders will talk about it.
It may sound sensational to you, but we now have to think not about the situation on the front, but about what Ukraine after Poroshenko will be.
How can we co-exist with this Ukraine, which contracts on our co-existence to sign, which relationships to build.
Today we are almost one step away from victory. The victory costs us a lot, we continue to fight, bear casualties. Not all of our land is liberated. But Ukraine is already in agony. This is the agony of Poroshenko`s regime, the agony of Bandera`s power regime.
We have already turned the tide of war -both politically and militarily. Now our future is to think about what our future will be and how we`ll agree with the new Ukraine.
I would also note that we know the names of the commanders who gave the orders to fire at peaceful districts of Makeyevka and Kuybyshevsky that led to civilian casualties. These are the 53rd brigade commander Gruzevich, 72nd brigade commander Sokolov, 92nd brigade commander Nikolyuk, 30th brigade commander Garaz, 36th brigade commander Delyatitsky, 25th brigade commander Zenchenko and, most importantly, 55th artillery brigade commander Brusov, the master of 72mm caliber artillery.
These commanders gave orders to fire at Makeyevka, Donetsk, Yasinovataya.
I`d like to mention that sooner or later, all these people will be overtaken by the deserved punishment, and their trial is ahead.
Hervé
3rd February 2017, 15:29
The Ukronazis used a ballistic missile to strike at the center of Donetsk (http://thesaker.is/the-ukronazis-used-a-ballistic-missile-to-strike-at-the-center-of-donetsk/)
The Saker February 03, 2017
Reports are coming in of what appears to be a ballistic missile strike which hit the city center of Donetsk. Until now, only the western and northern suburbs of Donetsk had been affected by a massive barrage of artillery strikes (thousands of shells) fired by the Ukronazi forces. Multiple rocket launchers were also used. This time, however, the type of missile used as a tactical ballistic missile of the Tochka-U type shown here:
http://dxczjjuegupb.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/%D0%A2%D0%BE%D1%87%D0%BA%D0%B0-%D0%A3.jpg
You can get all the technical details about this system right here (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OTR-21_Tochka), but all you need to know is that it’s range is over 70 miles and that it deliver a 500kg warhead. That’s right, 500kg of high-explosives with fragmentation filling. In a city center. Here is what the scene was after the strike: (no translation needed)
JfLoJJQP1LA
Other sources say that it was not a Tochka-U ballistic missile but a strike by a Uragan multiple-rocket launcher similar to this one:
http://dxczjjuegupb.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/%D0%A3%D1%80%D0%B0%D0%B3%D0%B0%D0%BD-1024x626.jpg
In light of that kind of barbaric outrage committed in the middle of Europe, the United States could not remain silent and…
… immediately condemned Russia (http://thesaker.is/there-we-go-the-us-blames-russia-for-the-ukronazi-attack-on-the-donbass/)!
The Saker
Sophocles
3rd February 2017, 20:08
Analyzing Current Trends: Russia and West on the Threshold of Drastic Changes in Relationship (http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/02/02/analyzing-current-trends-russia-and-west-threshold-drastic-changes-relationship.html)
strategic-culture.org (http://www.strategic-culture.org/)
Andrei AKULOV | 02.02.2017
http://www.strategic-culture.org/images/news/2017/02/02/or-38567.jpg
The prospects for improvement of Russia-US relations become a matter of grave concern for European politicians. With Donald Trump’s «America First» policy, Europe may be left on its own. The calls for lifting the sanctions against Russia are getting louder – loud enough to make this issue become a part of EU’s shaping external strategy.
Italy’s former Prime Minister and European Commission ex-President Romano Prodi called (http://katehon.com/news/former-pm-romano-prodi-calls-europe-scrap-anti-russian-sanctions) on Europe to scrap immediately the anti-Russian sanctions, rather than wait for US president Donald Trump to do it first. His opinion on the sanctions is very illustrative. According to (http://en.cyplive.com/ru/news/prodi-progressisty-dolzhny-otvetit-za-bedstvennoe-polozhenie-srednego-klassa.html) the patriarch of European politics, «The fact that it is necessary to lift the sanctions with Russia immediately. I am deeply convinced of this. You can sacrifice themselves for the sake of reaching a consensus, but when neither of which Solidarity has no question, there is no point in continuing to fight. One wise Calabrian proverb says, who pretend to be sheep, the wolf will eat that. First you need to play the card of not allowing American to occupy a privileged position in its relations with Russia».
Confusion reigns in Germany. Trump attacks Berlin despite the fact that Germany has always been loyal to Washington. It was the first to impose sanctions on Russia, even though it was contrary to its own immediate interests. Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel warned (https://www.adn.com/nation-world/2017/01/21/overseas-trumps-america-first-pledge-draws-praise-and-alarm/) of a «drastic radicalization» in American politics and said Berlin stood ready to fill the void left by an isolationist Washington. Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the current Minister for Foreign Affairs and Chairman-in-Office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), believes that «by choosing Donald Trump, the old world of the 20th century is over». «The order of the 21st century and the way the world of tomorrow will look is not settled; it is completely open […] I know we have to adjust to troubled times, to some unpredictability and new uncertainties», Mr. Steinmeier wrote in his piece published by Bild (http://www.bild.de/wa/ll/bild-de/unangemeldet-42925516.bild.html) on January 23.
Other Europeans see things in the same light. «Hostile inauguration speech. We can't sit around &hope for US support & cooperation. Europe must take its destiny & security in its own hands», Guy Verhofstadt, the former Belgian Prime Minister, wrote (https://twitter.com/guyverhofstadt) on Twitter in his comments on Donald Trump’s inaugural address. Speaking after meeting German Chancellor Angela Merkel on January 23, the frontrunner in France's presidential election Francois Fillon said (http://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-france-election-fillon-europe-idUKKBN1571CDhttp://), «European Union sanctions on Russia are pointless, warning Russia and the United States under Donald Trump could forge links that exclude the EU». He warned against US President Donald Trump talking with Russia at Europe’s expense. «It would be damaging for Europe if Trump went above our heads, which is not inconceivable», the presidential hopeful stressed.
As one can see, European political heavyweights emphasize that Europe needs drastic changes in its relationships with the US and Russia. The US may belittle the EU by using the sanctions as a bargaining chip to make what President Trump calls «good deals (http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/01/23/putin-trump-summit-cards-chance-make-good-deals.html)». First Washington made (http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2016/06/07/us-sends-envoy-to-make-eu-extend-anti-russia-sanctions.html) the EU introduce the sanctions detrimental to its economy. Then the US would «allow» the EU to lift the restrictive measures as fresh winds started to blow in Washington! Thus, the US benefited from making Europe impose the sanctions and now it will reap the full advantage derived from making Brussels lift them! From point of view of geopolitical interests, in both cases the US will gain to make Europe lose.
This scenario is quite feasible. To prevent it from happening, the EU must move really fast to be one step ahead of Trump. By restoring normal relationship with Russia, Brussels will gain as a geopolitical actor. As a result, it will have a much more advantageous position to start from when it comes to shaping its new relationship of new configuration with Washington.
It would be a right thing to do at the time the «establishment» forces are under attack from all sides by the right and the left. The points of criticism include immigration policies, the integration process going too fast to make countries lose national identity and anti-Russian sanctions that have resulted in economic damage without exerting any influence whatsoever on Russia’s foreign policy. This is the time when Europe is at crossroads facing the prospects of most drastic changes since WWII. This is also the time when the «big brother» is intent to leave it fend for itself.
Mr. Trump has never promised anything to Europeans and he is adamant in his desire to change the existing order of things. The incoming elections in the Netherlands, France and Germany are going to undermine the position of ruling elites. Looks like Romano Prodi hit the nail right on the head – there is no time to lose. The time to normalize the relations with Moscow is now.
Source (http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/02/02/analyzing-current-trends-russia-and-west-threshold-drastic-changes-relationship.html)
Cidersomerset
4th February 2017, 17:33
‘Everything is broken…’: Locals in Donetsk clear debris after days of shelling
qWLXpn79mKk
Published on 4 Feb 2017
The eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk is dealing with extensive damage
done by days-long shelling.
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Lugansk militia commander killed in car bomb blast in eastern Ukraine
jaQIacwOxp4
Published on 4 Feb 2017
The head of the people's militia of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People's Republic
(LPR), Colonel Oleg Anashchenko, was killed in a bomb blast in his vehicle in
Lugansk, Saturday morning. Explosives had been placed under the car's hood,
head of the investigation department of the LPR prosecutor's office, Leonid
Tkachenko, told journalists.
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Iran tests missile & radar systems, vows to fire ‘roaring missiles’ if threatened
BlzEZ6WgSJM
Published on 4 Feb 2017
Iran has conducted missile and radar tests, with the military vowing to fire
“roaring missiles” if the country is threatened. It comes as the US hits Iran
with more sanctions and the Pentagon brands Tehran the biggest state
sponsor of terrorism.
Hervé
4th February 2017, 22:44
Successful Houthi Missile Attack on "Saudi War Ship" Spun as "Suicide Gunboat Attack" (https://www.sott.net/article/341642-Successful-Houthi-Missile-Attack-on-Saudi-War-Ship-Spun-as-Suicide-Gunboat-Attack#)
Joe Quinn
Sott.net (https://www.sott.net/article/341642-Successful-Houthi-Missile-Attack-on-Saudi-War-Ship-Spun-as-Suicide-Gunboat-Attack#)
Sat, 04 Feb 2017 23:00 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/375397/large/Saudi_frigate_missile.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/375397/full/Saudi_frigate_missile.jpg)
On Jan. 30th (more or less, no one knows for sure), a "Saudi Frigate" was broadsided in the Red Sea by something that caused a big explosion and killed, reportedly, two "Saudi sailors". Iranian media reported that the Saudi frigate had been hit by an anti-ship missile.
This was followed soon after by Saudi media reports that a terrorist attack was carried out by "suicide boats," or small craft laden with bombs.
The Western media initially repeated the Iranian report but then corrected that mistake in favor of the Saudi version - of a "suicide gun boat" piloted by a bunch of wild-eyed 'al-Qaeda' terrorists.
So which was it?
Logic would suggest that it was a missile. The Houthis had previously fired a missile at an Emirati ship last October (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXw8bKzxocg) and the idea that a naval frigate miles out to sea would have allowed one or more small boats loaded with fertilizer to approach it close enough to detonate is laughable. So why did the Saudi and Western governments and media lie about it?
There are several things you need to know in order to understand why this lie was 'catapulted' to the Western public. First, as a general rule, everything bad (like dead soldiers or downed aircraft or ships) that happens to the US military abroad should, if possible, be covered up and prevented from reaching the public, because the image of the US military as invincible is very, very important in bolstering the myth of American exceptionalism.
Second, if something bad does happen to the US military abroad, and the public gets wind of it, it should, in all cases, be blamed on Islamic terrorism, because the myth that the American military spreads freedom and democracy around the world is a very, very important component of the myth of America exceptionalism. Any armed group that attacks the American military must, therefore, be an evil, freedom-hating terrorist group because no honorable, freedom-loving armed group with a justified grievance, anywhere in the world, would ever attack the American military, because the American military never does anything bad, anywhere in the world.
Third, all of America's client or proxy governments tend to adopt this same policy, usually under Pentagon instruction.
In this specific case of the attack on the "Saudi frigate", the truth is very likely that the "Saudi frigate" was an American frigate, and the "suicide gunboat" was actually an Iranian anti-ship missile, supplied to the Houthis by Iran (the Iranians have been supplying the Houthis since day 1 of the conflict in Yemen). Even in the case that the "Saudi frigate" was flying a Saudi flag and manned by Saudi navy personnel, anyone who knows anything about the relationship between the Saudis and the USA will understand why it was still, effectively, a US frigate.
For their part, the Saudis were only too happy to spin the event as a "suicide gun boat", because the Houthis cannot be allowed to appear as an effective fighting force because, as everyone knows, the Saudis only attack atavistic terrorists with primitive weapons who want to unseat the flowering democracy that is the House of Saud Sade.
The US government actually has prior form for spinning a missile/torpedo attack on a US Naval ship as a "jihadi fertilizer suicide attack". Back in 2006 I wrote about the 2000 attack on the USS Cole as it sat in a Yemeni harbor (https://www.sott.net/article/124210-Wake-Up-And-Smell-The-Cordite). Coincidentally (or not), the USS Cole was recently dispatched (http://www.cbsnews.com/news/u-s-navy-deploys-guided-missile-destroyer-off-coast-of-yemen/) to the Yemeni coast to protect against further missile attacks dingy-loads of fertilizer from disrupting US and Saudi operations in the area.Best ship for the job, no doubt!
White House spox Sean Spicer is new to the job, which might explain his inappropriate candidness when he spoke of the attack a few days ago. But before we go to Sean's words, let's all have a good laugh at the inanity of a UK Independent report on the event (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/sean-spicer-iran-war-with-us-america-donald-trump-press-secretary-white-house-ballistic-missile-test-a7560811.html), which states:
The President's spokesman appeared to both conflate Iran with the Houthis, a militia fighting the Saudi-backed Yemeni government, and confuse the US with Saudi Arabia in his comments. Yes indeed, what a silly thing for the President's spokesman to do! What was he smoking!? I mean, everyone (at The Independent at least) knows that conflating the USA and Saudi Arabia is a ridiculous thing to do! I mean, you may as well conflate freedom and democracy with the overthrow of democratically-elected governments! Or the Clinton Foundation's 'global gender equality' project (https://www.clintonfoundation.org/our-work/by-topic/girls-and-women) with flogging women for adultery (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/scarred-by-the-savage-lash-of-islamic-justice-1577324.html)! Sheesh! Anyway, here are Spicer's exact words:
I think General Flynn was really clear yesterday that Iran has violated the Joint Resolution, that Iran's additional hostile actions that it took against our Navy vessel are ones that we are very clear are not going to sit by and take. Major Garrett, Chief White House Correspondent with CBS News, can then be heard in the video (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/sean-spicer-iran-war-with-us-america-donald-trump-press-secretary-white-house-ballistic-missile-test-a7560811.html) of the briefing quietly correcting Spicer - "a Saudi vessel" - to which Mr Spicer responded: "Sorry, thank you, yes a Saudi vessel. Yes, that's right."
Yes, thank you, CBS, a "SAUDI" vessel. "I have NO idea why I said 'our Navy'! It must be the stress of being responsible for pretending that the Trump administration has ANY control whatsoever over foreign policy as directed by the Pentagon, and the Pentagon alone."
Spicer did not, however, think it was necessary to correct the allegation that the Iranian government carried out the attack because, eh...well, ya know...Houthis, Iran, Iran Houthis, but this is stuff the American people don't need to know, so eh... whatever.
For those that still haven't figured out what is going on: America is fighting an existential and failing war to maintain control of the Middle East and its resources, the life blood of American exceptionalism. The reason "Saudi Arabia" has been bombing the hell out of Yemen for the past 3 years is because it too is fighting an existential war.
If Iran gains control over Yemen by way of a Houthi victory, then Saudi Arabia will, effectively, be completely encircled by Iran and Russia, and will eventually fall into the 'sphere of influence' of those countries (with or without a decapitation of the House of Saud).
Without Saudi Arabia as its long-term client state (complete with the petrodollar) America's reign as a global power will come to a, likely crashing, end in short order. No one wants that, because there is the risk that the exceptional nation will take everyone else down with it. But if the alternative is a world dominated by the psychopaths in power in the USA and their culture of 'creative destruction', then perhaps a wiping clean of the slate will, like the Trump administration, be the 'lesser of two evils'.
Hervé
6th February 2017, 18:08
SYRIA: Dispelling the ‘Sectarian Conflict’ Myth (http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/02/06/syria-dispelling-the-sectarian-conflict-myth/)
February 6, 2017 By 21wire (http://21stcenturywire.com/author/21wire/)
http://i2.wp.com/21stcenturywire.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/IMG_0913.jpg?resize=601%2C401 (http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/02/06/syria-dispelling-the-sectarian-conflict-myth/img_0913/)
21st Century Wire (http://www.21stcenturywire.com) says…
The following is a video of one of the interviews, conducted by 21WIRE Associate Editor, Vanessa Beeley, during her time in Aleppo, observing the liberation of the eastern districts from a five year Nusra Front-led terrorist and extremist-militant, occupation. It clearly demonstrates how NATO and Gulf state funded extremists and mercenaries, embedded in East Aleppo, used the externally generated, sectarian myth, to control and intimidate civilians living under their rule.
xjPpREHEF1Y
Danny Makki (https://www.opendemocracy.net/arab-awakening/danny-makki/why-sectarianism-fails-at-explaining-conflict-in-syria), an independent Syrian commentator and freelance journalist, based in Damascus wrote the following analysis of the “sectarian” myth that has been used to support the NATO and Gulf state proxy military, political and economic, illegal, intervention in Syria:
“The primordialist assumption that the war in Syria is of an exclusively sectarian nature is fundamentally flawed. Sectarianism may be a component in the conflict, however its role as a generating cause of the unrest falls under scrutiny.
The brutal conflict now approaching its sixth year is generally considered sectarian in character, as a “popular majority Sunni struggle against a minority led government”, but this is highly simplistic and ignores the significant cross-religious attachments and ties which have served as the greatest counter-reaction to sectarianism in Syria.
There is no evidence to suggest that in the lead up to the 2011 “uprising”, sectarianism was rife in Syria, or that the country’s religious groupings were at breaking point.
With a population of roughly 24 million, Syria’s ethnic and religious diversity is unique, with up to 60 percent Sunni Muslim and a wide array of minorities from Alawites, Christians, Kurds and Druze making up the remainder. Syria has an explosive socio-religious mix and has been dominated by a secular Baathist ideology for over half a century.
It could be argued that sectarianism in Syria was overshadowed significantly by a strong sense of national identity; Syria prior to the current conflict did not have a sectarian problem on a significant scale. There were some tensions and soft rivalries between different religious communities, but the strong sense of Syrian identity was dominant.
Sectarian identity was clearly a secondary aspect of the conflict, the lack of interest in partition of the country on religious or ethnic lines is the prime manifestation of this. As Jorg Dostol, fellow at the Center For Syria Studies explains (http://gspa.snu.ac.kr/sites/gspa.snu.ac.kr/files/%282014%29%20%E2%80%98Analyzing%20the%20domestic%20and%20international%20conflict%20in%20Syria%20Are %20there%20lessons%20from%20political%20science%E2%80%99.pdf):
“..in fact, there exists no serious domestic demand in Syria to solve the current crisis by splitting the country into ethnically homogenous smaller states”.
The 1982 Muslim Brotherhood uprising (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Islamist_uprising_in_Syria) is an ideal example: it was located in the central heartland of Syria in the traditionally conservative city of Hama, however equally conservative Sunni-mojority areas such as Daraa and Idleb were free from revolt.
The Daraa region where the uprising was sparked in 2011, is predominantly populated by Sunni Arabs but traditionally known for upholding an unwavering history of loyalty to the Syrian government. Daraa has produced more than its fair share of party and state officials. This suggests that socio-economic disparity was a fundamental factor for the political unrest.
A comparison between 1982 and 2011, shows that sect or religious identity based on age old ideological ties had no relation to the actions of communities in Syria.
The presence of religious militias and fighters from both sides of the conflict with the religious tensions and ideological escalation they bring, has given the Syrian arena a sectarian dimension, however this was a phenomenon externally imposed rather than one with deep roots within the country’s social fabric.
The economy or the sect?
The role of political economy as a conduit for social protest and discord cannot be disregarded. Economic grievances were an important factor central to the protests against the Syrian government in March 2011. This dissatisfaction could be directed towards a sectarian narrative, as Syria expert, Nicholas Van Dam elucidates: (http://www.nikolaosvandam.com/pdf/article/19830101nvdamarticle01us.pdf)
“The overlap of sectarian, regional and socio-economic contrasts could have a mutually strengthening effect. Popular discontent and socio-economic tensions could sometimes be directed and even stimulated through sectarian channels”.
The socio-economic conditions that allow sectarianism to thrive are therefore equally important to the presence of sectarianism itself. Bashar Al-Assad’s biographer, David Lesch, predicted (https://csis-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/s3fs-public/legacy_files/files/attachments/060309_lesch_summary.pdf) in 2005 that economic problems could lead to popular unrest:
“At worst the country could implode, with regime instability leading to a potential civil war among Syria’s varied ethnicities and religious sects, with radical Islamist groups waiting in the wings to assert themselves as the political, social, and economic environment deteriorates”.
Corrupt business networks and circles were the norm in the Syrian economy in the lead up to 2011. In 2010 Syria was in 127th place on the index of financial transparency. In a country where economic growth was stagnating, the discontent and anger were at times channeled through sectarian avenues.
Colonial divisions
The history of identity politics and colonial division in Syria show episodes where national unity has triumphed in the face of division.
The Sykes-Picot agreement in 1916 partitioned the Arab world into sub-states to be merged into the respective British and French empires. Syria fell under a French mandate heralding another phase of colonialism after the centuries led rule of the Ottoman Empire.
From the beginning of their colonial rule, the French sought to divide Syria into four sectarian sub-states in order to make ruling the country easier. This plan for partition was heavily opposed by the indigenous and heterogeneous Syrian population. The French plan to divide Syria backfired spectacularly sparking a series of local tensions and led to the Great Syrian revolt in 1925 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Syrian_Revolt), in which all sects and religious groups participated.
The primordialist approach that sectarianism is a reflection of age old historic differences cannot be applied in Syria, it has been proven to be simplistic and lacking in depth. Other factors contributed to sectarianism, but unlike Iraq, Syria does not have a history of genuine sectarian division.
A close inspection of the narrative surrounding the crisis exposes numerous assumptions regarding the nature of political identity in the country. An identity, with a strong disregard for political economy, social fabric, ideology and colonialism.
While sectarianism may be a component, its role as the primary cause of the war remains secondary.”
***
Cidersomerset
7th February 2017, 00:40
Trump eyes detente with Russia – but will media allow it?
8sFM1dZkfDY
Published on 6 Feb 2017
RT America correspondent Alexey Yaroshevsky explains the Cold War-era historical
precedents behind President Trump’s vocal willingness to reduce tensions between
the US and Russia.
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Battle for Deir ez-Zor airport: Syrian army repels ISIS assault
kmTnIUMuSMI
Published on 6 Feb 2017
Syrian armed forces and pro-government fighters responded to assaults by so-
called Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants targeting military installations
at Deir ez-Zor Airport in eastern Syria, Monday.
RAW: Syrian military fights ISIS militants in Deir el-Zour
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VKnmgECZ_V0
Published on 5 Feb 2017
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http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Syria conflict: Thousands hanged at Saydnaya prison, Amnesty says
11 minutes ago
As many as 13,000 people, most of them civilian opposition supporters, have
been executed in secret at a prison in Syria, Amnesty International says.
A new report by the human rights group alleges that mass hangings took place
every week at Saydnaya prison between September 2011 and December 2015.
Amnesty says the alleged executions were authorised at the highest levels of
the Syrian government.
The government has previously denied killing or mistreating detainees.
read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38885901
PWhMe4segkc
Sophocles
8th February 2017, 11:26
Putin signed law ratifying Turkish stream gas pipeline deal with Ankara (https://sputniknews.com/business/201702071050433307-putin-signs-turkish-stream/)
RT
Tue, 07 Feb 2017 17:02 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/376053/large/1046199495.jpg
© Photo: turkstream.info
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a law on the ratification of the agreement with Ankara on the Turkish Stream gas pipeline.
The lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, ratified the agreement on January 20 (https://sputniknews.com/world/201701201049807854-russia-duma-turkey-stream/), while the upper house, the Federation Council, ratified the document on February 1 (https://sputniknews.com/europe/201702011050226014-russia-turkey-stream-ratification/).
Moscow and Ankara signed an intergovernmental agreement in October 2016 envisioning the construction of two underwater legs of the gas pipeline in the Black Sea. The annual capacity of each leg is estimated to reach 15.75 billion cubic meters of natural gas. Pipe-laying work for the Turkish Stream is expected to begin in 2017 and end in late 2019.
Sott.net (https://www.sott.net/article/341937-Putin-signed-law-ratifying-Turkish-stream-gas-pipeline-deal-with-Ankara)
Cidersomerset
8th February 2017, 13:54
This is a sorry state....
US Congresswoman calls for Trump impeachment because Putin’s attacking... Korea?
90eL1_sKkNY
Published on 8 Feb 2017
Representative Maxine Waters has argued that US President Donald Trump will inevitably
be impeached because of his alleged ties to Russian President Vladimir Putin who she
claimed is “advancing in Korea.”
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http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Ukraine conflict: Rebel leader Givi dies in bomb attack
2 hours ago
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/6470/production/_94221752_gettyimages-456900842-1.jpg
Givi was one of the best-known faces among the separatists
A prominent separatist commander has been killed in eastern Ukraine, four
days after another pro-Russian military leader was blown up by a car bomb.
Mikhail Tolstykh, known as Givi, died in his office in an explosion described
by rebel authorities in Donetsk as a terrorist attack.
Eastern Ukraine has seen its bloodiest period of clashes since 2015, with at
least 35 deaths in little over a week.
Rebels have blamed Ukraine's security services for both bomb attacks.
Oleg Anashschenko, who was de facto defence minister of the self-proclaimed
Luhansk People's Republic (LNR), had been driving in Luhansk when his car
blew up on Saturday.
Why have so many rebel commanders been killed?
read more..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-38905110
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INDEPENDENT...........
Putin orders Russian air force to prepare for 'time of war'
Measures to 'enhance combat readiness' have already begun
@_andrew_griffin |
Russia's air force has been ordered to prepare for a "time of war".
President Vladimir Putin has ordered a "snap check" of the country's armed forces,
accoording to defense minister Sergey Shoigu. As well as checking whether
agencies and troops are ready for battle, the same order will ensure that systems
are ready to fight, according to state news agency TASS.
Those preparations have already begun, according to Russian ministers.
read more...
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/vladimir-putin-russian-air-force-russia-war-tass-snap-check-sergey-shoigu-a7566761.html
KiwiElf
8th February 2017, 14:32
Birds of a feather...?
Maxine Waters & Nancy Pelosi must be sharing the same meds ... :facepalm:
Ryan Saavedra for the Gateway Pundit reports, Welcome To The Clown Show! During a press conference on Monday, Nancy Pelosi said “We’ve seen nothing where we can where — where I can work with President Bush on.” (Perhaps the best part of the video is watching the face of Maxine Waters who is standing behind Pelosi).
7ObkJS9CMjo
Hervé
8th February 2017, 16:41
Belgian parliamentarian sees the light: Mainstream media lying about Syria (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201702071050433805-belgian-delegation-syria-assad/)
Sputnik (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201702071050433805-belgian-delegation-syria-assad/) Wed, 08 Feb 2017 16:03 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/376329/large/1050432884.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/376329/full/1050432884.jpg)
© REUTERS/ SANA/Handout
Belgian politician Filip Dewinter, who was the head of the Belgian parliamentarian delegation which visited Syrian Aleppo on Monday, told Sputnik that the mainstream media is distorting the truth about Syria. After visiting a hospital, he learned that it is actually due to Western sanctions that the hospitals are short of medicine and equipment.
"The main stop during out visit was the al Jamia hospital where we met with the chief doctor," Filip Dewinter told Sputnik.
"He told us about the shortages of medicine and functioning equipment. Most of the equipment is not working simply because it's impossible to buy any spare parts due to the imposed anti-Syrian sanctions. They can't buy medicine and expendable materials because the European Union has blocked access to them," the parliamentarian explained.
https://www.sott.net/image/s18/376333/large/1050433753.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s18/376333/full/1050433753.jpg)
© Sputnik
A delegation of Belgian MPs visit the temporary refugee shelter in Jibreen, Aleppo. Photo: Courtesy of The Russian Center for Reconciliation of Opposing Sides in the Syrian Arab Republic.
Filip Dewinter also said that during their visit they had "political meetings" with President Assad and Minister of Foreign Affairs Walid Muallem.
"From our mainstream media we were told that Bashar Assad has had a heart attack and is suffering from heart diseases. Our meeting lasted for more than an hour and a half. He was feeling well and looked healthy and cheerful. Now I know for sure that it was fake news," the politician told Sputnik.
He said that he discussed a number of topics with the Syrian president, including the sanctions imposed by EU, the ever changing position of President Erdogan, the meeting in Astana and future negotiations in Geneva.
They also spoke about the military operation on the ground, especially after the victory in Aleppo and about foreign mercenaries fighting in the country.
There are about 650 Belgians who have been recruited by Daesh. Filip Dewinter said he discussed with Bashar Assad how to deal with this problem in cooperation with the Belgian government.
Parliamentarians from Belgium's Parti Populare and Vlaams Belang parties arrived in Syria for a working visit on Thursday. On Monday, the lawmakers visited the Jibreen refugee camp in Aleppo as well as Russia's Hmeimim airbase.
The politician added that the Syrian government was Europe's ally in establishing peace across the Middle East as well as ensuring security inside the European Union. He thanked Russia for its involvement into the conflict and provision of humanitarian aid to the local residents.
Cidersomerset
8th February 2017, 19:08
Syria rejects Amnesty’s report of mass jail hanging
RijjmXlvO_U
Published on 8 Feb 2017
Amnesty International has published a damning report claiming the Syrian
government has hanged as many as thirteen thousand inmates at a prison
outside Damascus. Murad Gazdiev has the details.
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Yemen halts U.S. special ops ground missions
tQCoibmBJP8
Published on 8 Feb 2017
Yemen has banned the U.S. from carrying out military missions on the ground after
a recent raid killed civilians. CBS News' David Martin reports.
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Israel, Settlements and Trump Explained
4j2ZtljSgIw
Published on 8 Feb 2017
Israel’s government has made a string of controversial moves since U.S. President
Donald Trump took office, including passing a contentious law legalizing Israeli
settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem. WSJ's Niki Blasina
explains why this is important and what Mr. Trump has to do with it
Cidersomerset
8th February 2017, 19:25
Aleksandr Dugin: Putin’s Brain Joins Alex Jones
L4YM3XJDEK0
Published on 7 Feb 2017
Alex Jones speaks with one of President Vladimir Putin's advisors about the current
state of US, Russian relations.
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Scare, Scare,Scare and Trump has been fanning these flames unfortunately...
Which is one of the downsides of his admin so far . Defeating ISIS is fine but
he maybe using a sledge hammer to crack a nut. When the answer is stopping
funding and supplying them with arms which is mainly done by the US and its allies.
More people die of violence every day in the US . Another way to make money
out of the 'War on Terror' scam. Yes there are
freedomfighters/rebels/insurgents/mercenaries doing the odd terror attack but
this is small in the sceme of things except in war torn areas where it is part
of the bigger local conflict....
Safety Programs Prepare Travelers for Terrorism
TdKCamVppZ8
Published on 8 Feb 2017
Travel safety tips, normally focused on advising about crimes such as theft, have
now centered on how to protect oneself during more violent episodes like a terrorist
attack or hostage situation. WSJ's Scott McCartney explains on Lunch Break with
Tanya Rivero. Photo: T.J. Kirkpatrick for The Wall Street Journal
Sophocles
9th February 2017, 00:46
Dugin`s Fourth Political Theory (http://www.4pt.su/), Red Ice (first hour)
SQ_sENuZljU
Sophocles
9th February 2017, 16:16
Anti-Donald Trump: war propaganda (http://www.voltairenet.org/article195196.html)
by Thierry Meyssan
Voltaire Network (http://www.voltairenet.org/) | Damascus (Syria) | 7 February 2017
Our previous articles concerning President Trump have caused some fierce reactions from our readers. Some of them have been wondering about the naïvety apparently displayed by Thierry Meyssan despite the warnings issued by the international Press and the accumulation of negative signals. Here is his response, well-reasoned as always.
http://www.voltairenet.org/local/cache-vignettes/L376xH282/1_-_1_2_-238-605f2.jpg
Two weeks after his investiture, the Altantist Press continues with its work of disinformation and agitation against the new President of the United States of America. Trump and his new collaborators are multiplying declarations and gestures which are apparently contradictory, so that it is difficult to understand what is going on in Washington.
The anti-Trump campaign
The bad faith of the Atlantist Press can be verified for each of these four main themes.
1. Concerning the beginning of the dismantling of Obamacare (20 January), we are obliged to report that, contrary to what is being announced in the Atlantist Press, the underprivileged classes who should have benefited from this system have avoided it en masse. This form of «social security» turned out to be too expensive and too directive to attract them. Only the private companies who manage this system have been truly satisfied by it.
2. Concerning the prolongation of the Wall at the Mexican border (23 to 25 January), there is nothing xenophobic about it - the Secure Fence Act was signed by President George W. Bush, who began its construction. The work was continued by President Barack Obama with the support of the Mexican government of the time. Beyond the fashionable rhetoric about «walls» and «bridges», reinforced border systems only work when the authorities of both sides agree to make them operational. They always fail when one of the parties opposes them. The interest of the United States is to control the entry of migrants, while the interest of Mexico is to prevent the import of weapons. None of that has changed. However, with the application of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), transnational companies have delocalised, from the United States to Mexico, not only non-qualified jobs (in conformity with the Marxist rule of «the tendency of the rate of profit to fall (TRPF)», but also qualified jobs which are performed by under-paid workers («social dumping»). The appearance of these jobs has provoked a strong rural exodus, destructuring Mexican society, on the model of what happened in 19th century Europe. The transnational companies then lowered wages, plunging part of the Mexican population into poverty – which now only dreams of being correctly paid in the United States itself. Since Donald Trump has announced that he intends to remove the US signature from the NAFTA agreement, things should return to normal in the years to come, and satisfy both Mexico and the United States [1] (http://www.voltairenet.org/article195093.html).
3. Concerning the abortion issue (23 January), President Trump has forbidden the payment of federal subsidies to specialised associations which receive funds from abroad. By doing so, he has warned those specific associations that they must choose between their social objective to help women in distress or being paid by George Soros to demonstrate against him – as was the case on 21 January. This decree therefore has nothing to do with abortion, but with the prevention of a «colour revolution».
4. Concerning the anti-immigration decrees (25 to 27 January), Donald Trump announced that he was going to apply the law - inherited from the Obama era – in other words, to expel the 11 million illegal foreigners. He has suspended federal aid to those cities which announced that they would refuse to apply the law – where will we get our cleaning ladies if we have to declare them? He specified that among these illegal immigrants, he would begin by expelling the 800,000 criminals who have been the object of criminal proceedings, in the United States, Mexico or elswhere. Besides this, in order to prevent the arrival of terrorists, he has suspended all the authorisations for immigration to the United States, and has placed a three-month ban on people from countries where it is impossible to verify their identity and their situation. He did not draw up the list of such countries himself, but referred to a previous text from President Obama. For example, here in Syria, there is no longer a US embassy or Consulate. From the point of view of the administrative police, it is therefore logical to put Syrians on this list. But this can only concern a minimal number of people. In 2015, only 145 Syrians managed to obtain the US «green card». Aware of the numerous special cases which might arise, the Presidential decree allows all liberty to the State Department and Homeland Security to issue dispensations. The fact that the application of these decrees was sabotaged by civil servants opposed to President Trump, who applied them with brutality, does not make the President either a racist or an Islamophobe.
The campaign led by the Atlantist Press against Donald Trump is therefore unfounded. To pretend that he has opened a war against Muslims, and to evoke publicly his possible destitution, even his assassination, is no longer simply bad faith – it’s war propaganda.
0fE1wxdgdpk
Donald Trump’s objective
Donald Trump was the first personality in the world to contest the official version of the attacks of 9/11, on television that very day. After having noted that the engineers who built the Twin Towers were now working for him, he declared on New York’s Channel 9 that it was impossible that Boeings could have burst through the steel structures of the towers. He continued by stating that it was also impossible that Boeings could have caused the towers to collapse. He concluded by affirming that there had to be other factors of which we were as yet unaware.
From that day on, Donald Trump has never ceased to resist the people who had committed those crimes. During his inaugural speech, he emphasised that this was not a passage of power between two administrations, but a restitution of power to United States citizens, who had been deprives of it [for sixteen years] [2] (http://www.voltairenet.org/article194999.htmlhttp://).
During his electoral campaign, once again during the transitional period, and again since he took office, he has repeated that the imperial system of these last years has never benefited US citizens, but only a small clique of which Mrs. Clinton is the emblematic figure. He declared that the United States would no longer attempt to be the «first», but the «best». His slogans are - « Make America great again» and «America first»
This 180° political turn has shaken a system which has been implemented over the last 16 years, and has its roots in the Cold War, which, in 1947, only the United States wanted. This system has gangrened numerous international institutions, such as NATO (Jens Stoltenberg and General Curtis Scaparrotti), the European Union (Federica Mogherini), and the United Nations (Jeffrey Feltman) [3] (http://www.voltairenet.org/article190102.html).
If Donald Trump is to reach his objective, it will take years.
Towards a peaceful dismantling of the United States Empire
In two weeks, many things have begun, often in the greatest discretion. The booming declarations of President Trump and his team deliberately spread confusion and enabled him to ensure that the nominations of his collaborators were confirmed by a partially hostile Congress.
We must understand that it’s a fight to the death between two systems that has just begun in Washington. Let’s leave the Atlantist Press to comment on the often contradictory and incoherent statements by this one or that, and look at the facts on their own.
Before anything else, Donald Trump made sure that he had control over the security apparatus. His first three nominations (National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, Secretary of Defense James Mattis and Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly) are three Generals who have contested the «continuity of government» since 2003 [4] (http://www.voltairenet.org/article195017.html). Next, he reformed the National Security Council to exclude the inter-army Chief of Staff and the director of the CIA [5] (http://www.voltairenet.org/article195148.html).
Even though the latter decree will probably be revised, it still has not been. Let us note in passing that we announced the intention of Donald Trump and General Flynn to eliminate the post of Director of National Intelligence [6] (http://www.voltairenet.org/article194312.html). However, this post has been maintained and Dan Coats has been nominated for it. It transpires that talk of its supression was a tactic to demonstrate that the presence of the Director of National Intelligence in the Council was enough to justify the exclusion of the Director of the CIA.
The substitution of the word «best» for «first» leads to the engagement of partnerships with Russia and China, rather than a tentative to crush them.
In order to hobble this policy, the friends of Mrs. Clinton and Mrs. Nuland have relaunched the war against the Donbass. The important losses they have experienced since the beginning of the conflict have led the Ukrainian army to withdraw and put paramilitary Nazi militia in the front line. The combats have inflicted heavy civilian casualities on the inhabitants of the new popular Republic. Simultaneously, in the Near East, they have managed to deliver tanks to the Syrian Kurds, as planned by the Obama administration.
In order to resolve the Ukrainian conflict, Donald Trump is looking for a way to help to eject President Petro Porochenko. He therefore received at the White House the head of the opposition, Ioulia Tymochenko, even before he accepted a phone call from President Porochenko.
In Syria and Iraq, Donald Trump has already begun operations in common with Russia, even thought his spokesperson denies it.The Russian Minister for Defence, who had imprudently revealed it, has ceased to say anything on the subject.
Concerning Beijing, President Trump has put an end to US participation in the Trans-Pacific Treaty (TPP) - a treaty which had been conceived in order to inhibit China. During the period of transition, he received the second richest man in China, Jack Ma (the businessman who confirmed - «No-one has stolen your jobs, you spend too much on war»). We know that their discussions touched on the possible adhesion of Washington to the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB). If this were to be the case, the United States would agree to cooperate with China rather than hindering it. They would participate in the construction of two Silk Roads, which would make the wars in Donbass and Syria pointless.
In matters of finance, President Trump has begun the dismantling of the Dodd-Frank law which attempted to resolve the crisis of 2008 by averting the brutal collapse of the major banks («too big to fail»). Although this law has some positive aspects (it’s 2,300 pages long), it establishes a guardianship of the Treasury over the banks, which obviously hinders their development. Donald Trump is also apparently preparing to restore the distinction between deposit banks and investment banks (Glass-Steagall Act).
Finally, the clean-up of international institutions has also begun. The new ambassador to the UNO, Nikki Haley, has requested an audit of the 16 «peace-keeping» missions. She has made it known that she intends to put an end to those which seem to be inefficient. From the point of view of the United Nations Charter, all such missions will be audited without exception. Indeed, the founders of the Organisation had not foreseen this type of military deployment (today, more than 100,000 men and women). The UNO was created to avert or resolve conflicts between states (never intra-state conflict). When two parties conclude a cease-fire, the Organisation may deploy observers in order to verify the respect of the agreement. But on the contrary, these «peace-keeping» operations are aimed at enforcing the respect of a solution imposed by the Security Council and refused by one of the two parties involved in the conflict - in reality, it is the continuation of colonialism.
In practice, the presence of these forces only makes the conflict last longer, while their absence changes nothing. So the troops of the United Nations Interim Force (UNIFIL) deployed at the Israëlo-Lebanese border, but only on Lebanese territory, do not prevent either Israëli military operations or military operations by the Lebanese Resistance, as we have already seen many times. They serve only to spy on the Lebanese on behalf of the Israëlis, thus prolonging the conflict. In the same way, the troops of the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force, or UNDOF, deployed at the demarcation line in the Golan have been chased away by Al-Qaïda, without that changing anything at all in the Israëlo-Syrian conflict. Putting an end to this system means returning to the spirit and the letter of the Charter, renouncing colonial privileges, and pacifying the world.
Behind the media controversy, the street demonstrations, and the confrontation between politicians, President Trump is holding his course.
Thierry Meyssan (http://www.voltairenet.org/auteur29.html?lang=en)
Translation
Pete Kimberley (http://www.voltairenet.org/auteur125569.html?lang=en)
[1] “Behind the bipartisan wall”, by Manlio Dinucci, Translation Anoosha Boralessa, Il Manifesto (Italy) , Voltaire Network, 28 January 2017.
[2] “Donald Trump Inauguration Speech”, by Donald Trump, Voltaire Network, 21 January 2017.
[3] “Germany and the UNO against Syria”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Pete Kimberley, Al-Watan (Syria) , Voltaire Network, 28 January 2016.
[4] “Trump – enough of 9/11!”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Pete Kimberley, Voltaire Network, 24 January 2017.
[5] “Donald Trump winds up “the” organization of US imperialism].]”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Anoosha Boralessa, Voltaire Network, 31 January 2017.
[6] “General Flynn’s Proposals to Reform Intelligence”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Anoosha Boralessa, Contralínea (Mexico) , Voltaire Network, 1 December 2016.
Cidersomerset
9th February 2017, 19:33
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Syria war: Russian 'friendly fire' kills Turkish soldiers
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/1C56/production/_94245270_0bd78d59-99a4-48dc-90f0-3a3c7f3aa3f6.jpg
Turkish forces have been working with Syrian rebels to take al-Bab from IS militants
President Vladimir Putin has sent condolences after a Russian air strike accidentally
killed three Turkish soldiers in northern Syria.
The strike hit a building near the town of al-Bab, believing it to contain Islamic State
(IS) fighters rather than Turkish troops, Turkey's military said.
Eleven others were wounded in the so-called friendly fire incident.
They were supporting Syrian rebels who are locked in a fierce battle to try to capture
al-Bab from IS fighters.Russia and Turkey, who back opposing sides in the Syrian war,
have been jointly conducting air strikes on IS in the town in recent weeks.
read more..
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-38919426
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Turkish police seize 24 suicide belts hidden in the ground, detain 4 ISIS suspects
zg-DloI13hY
Published on 9 Feb 2017
Police seized 24 suicide belts and detained four suspected members of the self-
proclaimed Islamic State near Gaziantep on Thursday, according to reports.
Officials reportedly state that the suspects were planning to carry out an attack in
Turkey but were arrested and taken into custody in Gaziantep, close to the border
with Syria. The suicide belts were made with 150 kg (330lbs) of explosives and
found alongside two automatic rifles, 14 kg (31lbs) of TNT and various other materials.
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Russian Review Act: US senators seek veto power to block dropping sanctions
oqwThviUmco
Published on 9 Feb 2017
If Donald Trump tries to ease sanctions against Russia, he could hit a cross-party
firewall in Congress. That's as Democrat and Republican Senators are trying to
introduce an act to counter the president. With the details in Washington Gayane
Chichakyan reports.
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Afghanistan situation ‘deteriorating, reflects a failure of vision’ – fmr diplomat
Mv4LnxeBzuM
Published on 8 Feb 2017
Almost 16 years ago, the US invaded Afghanistan – but the Taliban controls more
territory than at any time since 2001, and civilian casualties are at their highest
since first being tracked in 2009. Fatality rates for Afghan soldiers are also on the
rise. But where’s the media coverage? Former US diplomat and GOP policy advisor
Jim Jatras joins “News with Ed” to offer his expertise and insight into this difficult
situation.
Cidersomerset
10th February 2017, 17:31
Very good summery of the situation as he see's it by connecting the dots.....
Different Names - Same Masters: The David Icke Dot-Connector Videocast
aInVxBoswzE
Published on 10 Feb 2017
Hervé
11th February 2017, 14:47
10 years later, Putin's 'Munich Warning' has proved frighteningly true (http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/02/10-years-later-putins-warning-in-munich.html)
February 10, 2017 - Fort Russ -
Viktor Marakhovsky, RT (https://russian.rt.com/opinion/357673-marachovskiy-putin-rech-munchen) - translated by J. Arnoldski -
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0OWAq3vgpnA/WJ5B2wvZJ4I/AAAAAAAAGN4/jPMt-ziypKQrPZ6b_SzKTtM1mvv82buzgCLcB/s640/1034688653.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-0OWAq3vgpnA/WJ5B2wvZJ4I/AAAAAAAAGN4/jPMt-ziypKQrPZ6b_SzKTtM1mvv82buzgCLcB/s1600/1034688653.jpg)
Esteemed readers!
Today marks the tenth anniversary of Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin’s speech in Munich, which is now considered to have been a turning point in Russia’s foreign policy. Meanwhile, it is also a most rare case in global politics of a comprehensive forecast which came true.
The full speech still deserves attention. Let us recall its main postulates.
1. The unipolar world was not seen through. No matter how this term is dressed up, it ultimately means only one thing in practice: one center of power, one center of force, one center of decision-making. This is a world with one master, one sovereign. At the end of the day, it is destructive not only for those who fall within this system, but for the sovereign itself, because this system destroys it from within.
2. Everything that is happening in the world is the consequence of attempts to enforce the concept of a unipolar world. And what is the result? Unilateral and frequently illegitimate actions have not solved a single problem. Moreover, they have generated new human tragedies and hotbeds of tension.
3. The dominance of force inevitably encourages a number of countries to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Fundamentally new threats such as terrorism have appeared which were known earlier, but have now acquired a global character.
4. We have reached a decisive moment in which we must seriously think over the entire architecture of global security. We must start by searching for a reasonable balance between the interests of all subjects of international relations.
5. The international landscape is quickly changing due to the dynamic development of a number of states and regions. The total GDP of India and China in terms of purchasing power parity is already larger than that of the United States of America (and this was back in 2007, let us remember). The similarly calculated GDP of such BRICS countries as Brazil, Russia, India, and China surpasses the cumulative GDP of the European Union. According to expert assessments, this gap will only increase in the foreseeable future.
6. The UN Charter alone can be the only mechanism for deciding on the use of military force as a last resort. The UN should not be confused with NATO or the EU. Otherwise, the situation could come to a standstill and only multiply a number of formidable mistakes.
7. On the one hand, financial resources are indeed allocated for programs assisting the poorest countries, but this is often for the prerogative of the corporations of the donor countries themselves. Thus, on the other hand, the poorer countries’ economic backwardness is preserved. The ensuing social tension in such depressed regions inevitably results in the growth of radicalism, extremism, and fuels terrorism and local conflicts. If this all happens in, for example, the Middle East - on top of already heightened perceptions of the external world as unjust - then the risk of global destabilization arises.
Based on this description of the world and its future, the President of Russia told the international community: our country will pursue an independent foreign policy, and it would like to deal with just as independent partners.
Briefly reviewing the Munich speech’s postulates, we can now state 10 years later:
Yes, the unipolar world was not realized. The country which believed itself to be the overlord and master was also one of the first to feel that all of this was destroying it from within, and this country has now announced its intention to reset the balance by man-handling the partners already glued to it. And now it is building a wall on its southern border, imposing protectionist tariffs on imports, and changing immigration policy from “open doors for all” to “open doors for persecuted Christians.”
Yes, none of these hotbeds of tension have been eliminated. Moreover, new ones have emerged. Several other countries have been ruined and semi-destroyed.
Yes, terrorism has transformed into a global force and created its own global quasi-state ruling territories on two continents. Its emissaries shoot, blow up, and run over with trucks once carefree Europeans in their own coastal cities and Christmas markets.
Yes, the GDP of the BRICS countries, despite the crisis in Russia, Brazil, and the “Chinese slowdown,” is almost on par with the GDP of the Big 7. Given the differences in growth rates, it will surely pass such.
The gap between poor and rich countries has widened just as the gap between rich and poor people has increased.
In the end, the world is stuck at the same dead end that the Russian president warned about - because the Munich speech was, frankly speaking, not listened to by those to whom it was addressed.
Or, rather, they heard it, but only through the filter of the unipolar ideology against whose devastating effects Putin warned. The only thing that the rulers of the only pole cared to understand was that one of the countries subject to liberal democratization was breaking away and declaring some kind of independent policy. They reacted accordingly: instructors and arms flowed into Georgia, and the flow of “cookies” to Ukraine was intensified. This led to well-known results.
Next came the Arab and other “springs” in Libya, Yemen, and Syria. Then came the great refugee invasion of Europe. Then came Paris, Brussels, Nice, Berlin, Orlando, and San Bernardino. Then came the collapse of Ukraine and Brexit. Now we have the “strange presidency” of the current American leader who for already a month has torpedoed the American elite itself on all fronts.
In other words, precisely what the Russian leader warned about has come true. Unfortunately, precisely what he warned to not allow, has happened.
The most enlightening (and sad) part is that back then, 10 years ago, Putin offered a prescription for all of this. He proposed abandoning the unipolar ideology in favor of “searching for a reasonable balance between the interests of all subjects of international relations.”
And only now, with wild screeching, the relapse of “liberal messianism,” and difficulty in finding words and expressions, are Western leaders beginning to realize the inevitability of multipolarity.
It cannot be said that they are happy, since the independence that their Russian counterpart called for ten years ago is a heavy burden for most of them. Despite a whole quarter century of the “end of history and global Fukuyama,” the majority of leaders of the free world are simply unaccustomed to freedom and the responsibility inevitably accompanying it.
And yet they are so reluctant to recognize the reality of the Russian president’s predictions because this awareness would lead to another recognition, namely, that the problems tied to the dismantling of the unfinished “global empire” are just beginning.
The majority of these problems still lie ahead.
Cidersomerset
11th February 2017, 15:06
'Wars not diminishing': Putin's iconic 2007 Munich speech
U4MAsIh3zMA
Published on 10 Feb 2017
On February 10, 2007, Vladimir Putin delivered his keynote speech at the
Munich Security Conference, challenging the post-Cold War establishment.
RT looks back a decade to see how accurate his ideas were.
uzn
11th February 2017, 16:48
ISIS is getting into the Dronewar. Thats their Propaganda:
http://pbs.twimg.com/media/C4ABwCTW8AASRMU.jpg
MOSUL, Iraq — First the tiny drones buzz overhead to observe Iraqi soldiers. Then, the Islamic State group's flying machines return to drop a small explosive device to sow panic among security forces — or deadlier still, to help guide a suicide car bomber to a target.
And the innovations are expected to keep coming since ISIS has been spending freely on technology, even as their fighters face intense pressure from coalition forces, according to Iraqi military officials.
The extremist group is hacking store-bought drones, using rigorous testing protocols and innovating tactics that mimic those used by U.S. unmanned aircraft to adapt to diminishing numbers of fighters and a battlefield that is increasingly difficult to navigate on the ground.
Source:
https://www.militarytimes.com/articles/isis-using-drones-other-innovating-tactics-with-deadly-effect
Here some Pictures from actual Droneflights when bombs where dropped:
https://torbairagona.files.wordpress.com/2017/02/d985d8b3d98ad8b1d8a9-1.jpg
http://1.f.ix.de/scale/geometry/700/q75/tp/imgs/89/2/1/3/9/0/6/2/drohne-dbb61445707c2d33.jpeg
https://www.ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Drone-munition-drop.jpg
Screen capture from Islamic State video showing a drone munition drop targeting a tank
Much has been made of the Islamic State drone threat ever since the group killed two Kurdish soldiers in October 2016 with a bomb hidden within one of its drones that Kurdish forces downed in Iraq.1 The Islamic State was able to achieve this feat through an act of deception, as the two Kurdish soldiers were killed by the bomb after they had taken the drone back to their base to inspect it. Since this type of attack had not been conducted before, the drone was an unassuming place for the Islamic State to hide an improvised explosive device. But that trick only works occasionally, and it likely has a limited shelf life.
Creativity and innovation, however, don’t appear to be problems for the Islamic State. Several days ago, on January 24, 2017, the group’s media office for Ninawa province released a video entitled “The Knights of the Dawawin,” which highlighted a new Islamic State drone capability: dropping small bomb-like munitions on its enemies from the air.2 The capability displayed was not a one-off achievement as in scene after scene the video shows the group dropping small bombs from remotely controlled drones and doing so with some level of relative accuracy. This included the Islamic State being able to successfully drop munitions onto crowds and to hit stationary vehicles and tanks while its drone loitered and filmed the incidents. Besides the surprise factor observed from those being targeted by the Islamic State’s drones, the video also showed that the group’s new capability packed enough punch to wound and/or kill those near where the munition landed. And on January 30, the Wilayat al-Furat media office released a video entitled “Roar of the Lions” in which the Islamic State featured its military operations in the Anbar Province of Iraq. At the end of the video, the group showed a brief teaser for its next release, which contained a video clip of the drone bomb drop capability (this time with what appeared to be a round grenade) being used in Anbar.
Despite these achievements, it is also important to remember that the videos released by the Islamic State are edited pieces of propaganda, which likely have been carefully crafted to make the group—and its capabilities—look impressive. What isn’t being shown are all of the times U.S. and Iraqi forces have downed the Islamic State’s quad-copters3 or instances when the Islamic State’s new drone bomb drop tool were less accurate.
Drones at Islamic State drone facility in Mosul, Iraq
https://www.ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_60051.jpg
https://www.ctc.usma.edu/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/IMG_60061.jpg
Source:
https://www.ctc.usma.edu/posts/ctc-perspectives-the-islamic-states-drone-documents-management-acquisitions-and-diy-tradecraft
uzn
11th February 2017, 17:03
Two-thirds of Navy strike fighter jets can't fly
http://cdn3.spiegel.de/images/image-1105846-860_poster_16x9-hipk-1105846.jpg
See the Guy with the Ducktape? He´s probably in charge of repairing all These Aircraft ;)
Nearly two-thirds of the US Navy's F/A 18 strike fighter jets are currently unable to fly, grounded due to repair delays or because they are awaiting spare parts.
With more than half of all Navy aircraft out of service and no budget agreement in place to increase defense spending levels, the top brass says its usable planes are being pushed to the limit.
"For a variety of reasons, our shipyards and aviation depots are struggling to get our ships and airplanes through maintenance periods on time," Vice Chief of Naval Operations Adm. William Moran told lawmakers on the House Armed Services Committee earlier this week.
The number of non-operational F/A 18 Hornets is "double where we should be," he said, confirming reports that 62% of the Navy's F/A 18s are unable to fly and 53% of the Navy's total air fleet is grounded.
Additionally, there isn’t enough money to fix the fleet’s ships, and the backlog of ships needing work continues to grow. Overhauls — “availabilities” in Navy parlance — are being canceled or deferred, and when ships do come in they need longer to refit. Every carrier overall for at least three years has run long, and some submarines are out of service for prolonged periods, as much as four years or more. One submarine, the Boise, has lost its diving certification and can’t operate pending shipyard work.
Leaders claim that if more money doesn’t become available, five more submarines will be in the same state by the end of this year.
The Navy can’t get money to move around service members and their families to change assignments, and about $440 million is needed to pay sailors. And the service claims 15 percent of its shore facilities are in failed condition — awaiting repair, replacement or demolition.
Sources:
http://www.defensenews.com/articles/grounded-nearly-two-thirds-of-us-navys-strike-fighters-cant-fly
http://edition.cnn.com/2017/02/10/politics/us-navy-planes-grounded/index.html
Cidersomerset
13th February 2017, 19:04
At least 18 civilians, mostly women & children, killed by airstrikes in Afghanistan in a week – UN
sNWuXf9AXhA
Published on 13 Feb 2017
A United Nations investigation has determined that at least 18 civilians have
been killed by international coalition airstrikes in Afghanistan over the past week.
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Russian MoD releases drone footage of Roman theater in Palmyra blown up by ISIS
DpKoYxy6zN8
Published on 13 Feb 2017
The video released by Russian MoD shows the destroyed facade of the Roman
theater and a tetrapylon which dates back to 270 AD
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NATO 'Mistruths': Alliance publishes list of 'myths' spread by Russia
sXtFnKNVOtw
Published on 13 Feb 2017
NATO's claiming there's been a sharp rise in disinformation coming from Russia.
The alliance has even set up a special website with 32 myths Russia apparently
uses to discredit NATO. RT's Nikki Aaron takes a closer look.
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North Korea's TV report praises missile test, shows happy Kim hugging a man
vBqo9eS4tSw
Published on 13 Feb 2017
Pyongyang says a new ballistic missile was test-fired on Sunday, adding that the
launch was a success. The North Korean missile flew over 500 kilometers, landing
in the sea and stirring up world leaders, with the US rushing to reassure its allies
South Korea and Japan - READ MORE https://on.rt.com/8306
====================================================
====================================================
Heavy fighting between Syrian Arab Army and militants in Eastern Ghouta
tVkqAy0YW5s
Published on 12 Feb 2017
Heavy fighting continued between the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) and militants, in
Harasta in the Eastern Ghouta Region outside Damascus, according to reports.
After repelling an offensive launched by militants last week, the SAA took measures
to carry out several attacks to expand its control over the region.
uzn
13th February 2017, 20:29
This Kind of disgusts me:
World Press Photo Photo of the Year 1016 is this one:
http://mediad.publicbroadcasting.net/p/shared/npr/styles/x_large/nprshared/201612/506194251.jpg
Mevlüt Mert Altintas "Lone Gunman" was charged with protecting the russian Ambassador Andrej Karlow. But shot him instead. He is shouting "Allahu akbar". The Picture is taken seconds before he was shot by other security guards.
Among the other Pictures of the Year is also this:
http://cdn4.spiegel.de/images/image-1106173-galleryV9-dgai-1106173.jpg
Here is russian Ambassador Andrej Karlow seconds before he was shot.
Source:
https://www.worldpressphoto.org/
Feels a bit like a message to Russia. And I think the "Lone Gunman" was more of an "Agent Provocateur".
Cidersomerset
13th February 2017, 20:44
This Kind of disgusts me:
World Press Photo Photo of the Year 1016 is this one:
I agree I saw it earlier and although the photo is a historic record,
it is in poor taste to be awarded prizes at the expense of the victim imo...
AP Photog Wins Top Prize for Assassination Photo
pO6mHpsRoes
Published on 13 Feb 2017
Associated Press photographer Burhan Ozbilici won the 2017 World Press Photo
competition Monday for his image of a gun-wielding off-duty Turkish policeman
standing over the body of Russia's ambassador, whom he had just fatally shot. (Feb. 13)
Hervé
14th February 2017, 16:55
Declassified CIA Memo Shows How US Has Been Plotting Syrian Regime Change For Decades (http://russia-insider.com/en/declassified-cia-memo-shows-how-us-has-been-plotting-syrian-regime-change-decades/ri18918)
By Matthew Allen (http://russia-insider.com/en/matthew-allen) Russia Insider (http://russia-insider.com/en/declassified-cia-memo-shows-how-us-has-been-plotting-syrian-regime-change-decades/ri18918)
14 Feb 2017 16:32 UTC
A newly declassified CIA memo from the 1980s discusses how "US interests would be best served by a Sunni regime controlled by business-oriented moderates"
http://russia-insider.com/sites/insider/files/styles/s400/public/vlcsnap-2014-09-13-12h57m59s111-1024x576_0.jpg?itok=waJdgWoB (http://russia-insider.com/sites/insider/files/vlcsnap-2014-09-13-12h57m59s111-1024x576_0.jpg)
It was part of the plan
It's public knowledge that Washington has been plotting against Syria since the days of Eisenhower. (http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-assassination-plot-1957-intel-documents-reveal-how-eisenhower-and-macmillan-conspired-against-syria/29127)
But thanks to a newly declassified CIA memo (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf), we can now read Washington's heavily-redacted strategy for creating "favorable conditions" in Syria.
Even back in the 1980s, it was clear that provoking a Sunni insurgency fueled by ethnic and religious hatred was the easiest way to topple the government.
As the memo notes (https://www.libertarianinstitute.org/2017/02/cia-memo-scenarios-of-syrian-regime-collapse/):
Sunnis make up 60 percent of the Syrian officer corps but are concentrated in junior officer ranks; enlisted men are predominantly Sunni conscripts. We believe that a renewal of communal violence between Alawis and Sunnis could inspire Sunnis in the military to turn against the regime.
The ultimate goal? Creating a new, "moderate" Sunni regime that would serve U.S. business interests. (Surprise!)
The Libertarian Institute explains (https://www.libertarianinstitute.org/2017/02/cia-memo-scenarios-of-syrian-regime-collapse/):
While the document is primarily a theoretical exploration projecting scenarios of Syrian regime weakening and collapse (its purpose is analysis and not necessarily policy), the authors admit of its “purposefully provocative” nature (see PREFACE (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)) and closes with a list desired outcomes. One provocative outcome describes a pliant “Sunni regime” serving US economic interests:
[I]"In our view, US interests would be best served by a Sunni regime controlled by business-oriented moderates. Business moderates would see a strong need for Western aid and investment to build Syria’s private economy, thus opening the way for stronger ties to Western governments." [pg. 24] (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)
Ironically, the Syrian government would accuse the United States and its allies of covert subversion within Syria after a string of domestic bombings created diplomatic tensions during the mid-1980’s.
Of course, the CIA's liberal use of the word "moderate" should be highlighted. And while clearly the geopolitical landscape has shifted significantly since 1986, the reality is that much of this memo could have been written in 2011.
If Russia and Iran hadn't stopped them, Washington might have gotten away with it.
Cidersomerset
14th February 2017, 18:57
This is one of the most important foreign policy statements to come out of the
Trump administration so far imo and one I've been waiting for to see if he has
been influenced by the establishment which seems to be the case.
Sean Spicer's statement on the lines of President Trump wants Russia to stop
helping the ethnic Russian population in Ukraine and hand back the Crimea.
Obviously this is not going to thaw US/Russian relations much....
Spicer: Trump asked for Flynn's resignation
xfZalz3nZMA
Published on 14 Feb 2017
White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer says President Donald Trump asked for
Michael Flynn's resignation
====================================================
RT has highlighted it for obvious reasons....
'Trump expects Moscow to ‘return’ Crimea to Ukraine, has been tough on Russia' – WH spokesman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDatxwGyFck
Published on 14 Feb 2017
WH spokesman Spicer on Russia, Ukraine & Crimea: Trump has been incredibly
tough on Russia. He expects Russian govt to ‘return’ Crimea & de-escalate violence
in Ukraine.
====================================================
The full Q & A is dominated by Gen Flynn resignation and shows the Press pressure
on the Russian question....
Sean Spicer Full Press Briefing (2/14/2017) | ABC News
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DTJ3J88Ph4U
14 feb 2017
Press Secretary Sean Spicer holds daily press briefing amid resignation of National
Security Advisor Gen. Flynn at The White House.
Cidersomerset
14th February 2017, 19:24
Authors of new Aleppo report clamored for war all along
liLDdSPxTak
Published on 13 Feb 2017
A report released by the Atlantic Council on Monday reexamines the Syrian effort to
retake Aleppo from rebel forces. It reiterates the American media’s apparent consensus
regarding the final days of the liberation of the city. RT America’s Anya Parampil breaks
down the contents of the report, exposing the shaky evidence, ulterior motives, and
questionable expertise of its authors.
Sophocles
16th February 2017, 00:14
Ukraine’s unimplemented anti-corruption reform (https://www.ceps.eu/publications/ukraine%E2%80%99s-unimplemented-anti-corruption-reform)
The Centre for European Policy Studies (https://www.ceps.eu/)
Friday, 10 February 2017
Almost three years after the Euromaidan revolution, Ukraine’s leadership has fallen woefully short in delivering on its promises to fight against corruption within the judiciary, clean up political party financing and decentralise government functions. The customs service has yet to be reformed, property rights are far from being ensured and state-owned enterprises have not been privatised. Major reforms aimed at combating corruption have consistently been resisted, delayed, manipulated or appear on paper only. The country’s elite must produce more tangible results in order to earn the trust of the citizens and ease the growing fatigue among Ukraine’s international partners.
Over the last decade, Ukraine has rarely had a problem with accepting and institutionalising European norms and rules, in theory, but successive governments have been selective in implementing them. In the post-Euromaidan period, Ukraine has introduced several institutional modifications in the name of combating corruption, the most important being the adoption of an Anti-Corruption Strategy for 2014-2017, covering the three branches of government (executive, legislative and judiciary). Other institutional modifications include the launch of an open competition for the new Supreme Court, setting up the Public Integrity Council, the Asset Recovery and Management Agency, the National Agency on the Prevention of Corruption, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office and establishing an electronic system for the disclosure of assets.
A little progress has been made in the fight against corruption through the setting up of a public e-procurement system. For example, the procurement of medicine via international organisations reduced corruption in the field. The raising of energy prices and cleaning up the banking sector have also indirectly contributed to the reduction of corruption in these areas.
Yet, these small wins do not add up to the comprehensive, systemic change that the country needs. It is therefore not surprising that these reforms did little to convince both insiders and outsiders of the government’s commitment. As seen through the eyes of international organisations, Ukraine made scant progress in fighting corruption in 2016. For example, in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, the country improved by merely 2 points and ranks 131th out of 176 countries, accompanied by Kazakhstan, Russia, Nepal and Iran. Ukraine slipped one point in the Global Competitiveness Report, two points in The Economist’s Intelligence Unit’s Country Risk Ratings but went up by one point in the World Bank’s Doing Business Index.
Ukraine’s weak state institutions were never a match for the powerful domestic elites consisting of oligarchs and their political allies, who successfully obstructed the implementation of crucial reforms. Safeguarding one’s personal business interests takes priority over the demand to strengthen the Ukrainian state and the confidence of its citizens in it.
The institutional changes have done little to change behaviour and attitudes. For example, the goal of the independent National Anti-Corruption Bureau is to investigate high-level officials suspected of corruption, but its work has been seriously obstructed since its establishment. The unreformed Prosecutor General’s office, which retains its Soviet-style powers of coercion, undermines the work of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau, whose detectives even got into fist-fights with members of the General Prosecutor’s Office in the course of performing their duties. Moreover, when the Bureau asked Rada to remove the immunity granted to one of the parliamentarians who was under investigation, Rada delayed the process so much that the parliamentarian in question slipped out of the country before he could be prosecuted. Furthermore, the corrupt courts routinely delay hearings for those who have been charged with crimes of corruption. Although the National Anti-Corruption Bureau and the Specialised Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office have made some progress, the commitment they show in carrying out their responsibilities is extremely low (out of 63 indictments sent to the courts, only four people received a prison sentence), and no high-level official has been convicted to date.
The National Agency on the Prevention of Corruption is another stark example of a new institution whose work is undermined by the elites. The composition and the mandate of the National Agency on the Prevention of Corruption are impeccable on paper, but in practice, even its establishment was marred by delays and manipulations on the part of the government in almost every step.
One of the major requirements imposed by the EU on Ukraine was the setting up an electronic database for officials to declare their financial assets. The positive outcome is that over 100,000 Ukrainian politicians and senior civil servants, including the President and the Prime Minister, have publicly declared their wealth. The actual implementation of the system was delayed, however, and when the declarations were finally submitted, they confirmed what Ukrainians had suspected for a long time: the members of their government are much richer than the average citizen. In fact, a Ukrainian who earns an average salary has to work about 125 years to make as much money as an average member of the government. The future of the e-declaration is now under challenge by a group of Rada members who filed a case in the Constitutional Court charging that it is unconstitutional.
Corruption is pervasive in Ukraine not only at the national level, but also at the regional and local levels. By shifting powers to regional and local authorities, the aim was to bring government closer to the people. Although a body of legislation was adopted to facilitate decentralisation, the administrative capacity of the regional, district and local communities has yet to be built. By simply shifting more power and more money from the national to the local level, the risk of corruption is also transferred – an unfortunate reality that has not been adequately tackled. As a result, some businesses are now facing difficulties not only at the hands of national but also some local and regional authorities.
Regulating the funding of political parties in Ukraine also remains a daunting task. Most of the parties are paid for and controlled by oligarchs. By having parliamentarians on their payroll, oligarchs secure a role in the politics of the country and thus safeguard their business interests. Rada passed a new party financing law in July 2016, which is another fine piece of legislation on paper, but one that has yet to be enforced despite a massive number of alleged violations.
The EU is now pushing for the establishment of specialised anti-corruption chambers to function inside the existing court system in Ukraine. In itself, this is a good idea and if done properly it is likely to help Ukraine’s vibrant civil society in its fight for a better future for the country. Yet once again, the formation of one more institution will not save the country. Arguably, some of the instruments recently introduced in Ukraine to fight corruption have an even greater reach than those deployed in Georgia, but the post-Euromaidan era has not ushered in the kinds of dramatic practices Georgians witnessed following the Rose revolution.
The lesson for the EU is clear. Progress on paper in Ukraine should not be rewarded. Having a government that calls itself pro-European is not an excuse for leniency on corruption. In fact, the EU ought to do everything in its power to avoid a repeat in Ukraine of the sad saga that played out in Moldova. Despite the fact that the latter country has been greatly supported by the EU politically and economically, its leadership failed to address corruption and damaged not only its own credibility but that of the EU as well. The EU’s assistance should go to those who fight for a corruption-free European Ukraine and not to those who merely declare themselves as European but act as a ‘wolf in a sheep’s clothing’. It is important that the EU continues to support the dynamic civil society of Ukraine and improves its strategic communication. To this end, the new EU initiative against corruption, led by the Danes, is an important step.
The EU should not accept the assertions of high-level Ukrainian officials that the country has made huge strides in the last three years, compared to the decades following independence. Such logic is flawed for two reasons. Firstly, as Georgia’s experience demonstrates, efforts to fight corruption are most effective if done in the very first years after a revolution. Secondly, being rated better than the Yushchenko or Yanukovych administration should provide little cause for celebration.
The EU must firmly insist that the Ukrainian elite engages in genuine state-building by tackling the corruption that has consistently undermined the country’s foundations. And if the authorities do not respond appropriately, the EU should be ready to withdraw its support from Ukraine and at an earlier stage than was done in the case of Moldova. More importantly, no one else should be more concerned about the lack of the progress in tackling corruption than Ukraine itself. It is only through reform that Ukraine will provide counter evidence to the Trump administration’s narrative of Russia and make it easy for the EU to maintain the sanctions against Russia and continue improving Ukraine with much-needed financial support and technical assistance. After all, if Ukraine does not increase its resilience, it will have a hard time enduring continued Russian intervention. As shelling in Eastern Donbass persists and yet another human tragedy unfolds on the European continent, the fight for a stable, well-governed and democratic Ukraine remains the prerogative of the day.
Hrant Kostanyan is Researcher at CEPS (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Centre_for_European_Policy_Studies), a Senior Key Expert at the College of Europe Natolin and an Adjunct Professor at Vesalius College.
CEPS Commentaries offer concise, policy-oriented insights into topical issues in European affairs. As an institution, CEPS takes no official position on questions of EU policy. The views expressed are attributable only to the author in a personal capacity and not to any institution with which he is associated.
Available for free downloading from the CEPS website (www.ceps.eu (https://www.ceps.eu/)) Ÿ © CEPS 2017
Sophocles
16th February 2017, 18:02
Vladimir Putin’s statement at the annual meeting of the FSB (http://thesaker.is/vladimir-putins-statement-at-the-annual-meeting-of-the-fsb/)
The Saker
February 16, 2017
Vladimir Putin took part in an annual expanded meeting of the Federal Security Service (FSB) Board to discuss the FSB’s results for 2016 and the priority tasks for ensuring Russia’s national security.
President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Good afternoon.
These annual FSB Board meetings give us a chance to meet and not only thoroughly analyse and review the results of the agency’s work over the period, but also to discuss at length all important national security issues in general and outline the priorities for the immediate future and the longer-term.
The FSB plays a key part in protecting our constitutional order and our country’s sovereignty, and in protecting our people from threats at home and abroad.
Let me say from the start that last year’s results were positive and show good development. This concerns your work to counter terrorism and extremism, a series of successful counterintelligence operations, your efforts to combat economic crime, and other areas.
You ensured a high standard of security for major public events, including the State Duma election and regional and local elections.
I would like to thank both the executives and staff for their conscientious attitude towards their work and their timely and efficient performance of their duties.
At the same time, demands on the quality and results of your work grow constantly. The global situation has not become any more stable or better over the past year. On the contrary, many existing threats and challenges have only become more acute.
Military-political and economic rivalry between global and regional policy makers and between individual countries has increased. We see bloody conflicts continue in a number of countries in the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. International terrorist groups, essentially terrorist armies, receiving tacit and sometimes even open support from some countries, take active part in these conflicts.
At the NATO summit last July in Warsaw, Russia was declared the main threat to the alliance for the first time since 1989, and NATO officially proclaimed containing Russia its new mission. It is with this aim that NATO continues its expansion. This expansion was already underway earlier, but now they believe they have more serious reasons for doing so. They have stepped up the deployment of strategic and conventional arms beyond the national borders of the principal NATO member states.
They are provoking us constantly and are trying to draw us into confrontation. We see continued attempts to interfere in our internal affairs in a bid to destabilise the social and political situation in Russia itself.
We also see the recent serious flare-up in southeast Ukraine. This escalation pursues the clear aim of preventing the Minsk Agreements from going ahead. The current Ukrainian authorities are obviously not seeking a peaceful solution to this very complex problem and have decided to opt for the use of force instead. What is more, they speak openly about organizing sabotage and terrorism, particularly in Russia. Obviously, this is a matter of great concern.
The events and circumstances I have mentioned require our security and intelligence services, especially the Federal Security Service, to concentrate their utmost attention and effort on the paramount task of fighting terrorism.
We have already seen that our intelligence services dealt some serious blows to terrorists and their accomplices. Last year’s results confirm this: the number of terrorism related crimes has decreased.
Preventive work has also brought results. The FSB and other security agencies, with the National Antiterrorist Committee acting as coordinator, prevented 45 terrorism related crimes, including 16 planned terrorist attacks. You deserve special gratitude for this.
You need to continue your active efforts to identify and block terrorist groups’ activity, eliminate their financial base, prevent the activities of their emissaries from abroad and their dangerous activity on the Internet, and take into account in this work Russian and international experience in this area.
The murder of our ambassador to Turkey was a terrible crime that particularly highlighted the need to protect our citizens and missions abroad. I ask you to work together with the Foreign Ministry and the Foreign Intelligence Service to take additional measures to ensure their safety.
You must also work to take our counterterrorism cooperation with partners abroad to a new level, despite the difficulties that we see in various areas of international life. It is a priority, of course, to intensify work with our partners in organisations such as the UN, the CSTO, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.
It is in our common interests to restore dialogue with the US intelligence services and with other NATO member countries. It is not our fault that these ties were broken off and are not developing. It is very clear that all responsible countries and international groups should work together on counterterrorism, because even simply exchanging information on terrorists’ financing channels and sources and on people involved in or suspected of links with terrorism can substantially improve the results of our common efforts.
Our priorities include firmly suppressing extremism. Security methods must go hand-in-hand with constant prevention work. It is essential to prevent extremism from drawing young people into its criminal networks, and to form an overall firm rejection of nationalism, xenophobia, and aggressive radicalism. In this context, of great importance is open dialogue with civil society institutions and representatives of Russia’s traditional religions.
Counterintelligence services also face greater demands today. Operational data show that foreign intelligence services’ activity in Russia has not decreased. Last year, our counterintelligence services put a stop to the work of 53 foreign intelligence officers and 386 agents.
It is important to neutralise foreign intelligence services’ efforts to gain access to confidential information, particularly information concerning our military-technical capabilities.
This makes it a priority to improve our system for protecting classified information comprising state secrets, particularly with agencies going over to an electronic document circulation system.
I would like to note that the number of cyberattacks on official information resources tripled in 2016 compared to 2015. In this context, each agency must develop its segment of the state system for detecting and preventing cyberattacks on information resources and eliminating their consequences.
The public expects greater results in such key areas as economic security and the fight against corruption. I ask you to be particularly thorough in monitoring the funds allocated for state defence procurement (a subject I have spoken about before), major infrastructure projects, preparation of big international events, and implementing federal targeted and socially important programmes. Regrettably, we still see many cases of state funds being embezzled or misappropriated.
Reliable protection of our state borders plays a big part in ensuring our country’s comprehensive security. The priority here is to close off channels through which members of international terrorist and extremist groups enter Russia, and put a firm stop to all forms of smuggling, from weapons to drugs and various bio-resources.
Of course, we must continue the work to develop border infrastructure where it is not yet sufficiently developed, particularly in the Far East and in the Arctic.
Colleagues, let me stress that we will continue to bolster the FSB’s central and regional branches and ensure you have the most advanced arms and equipment. We will also continue to give attention to social provisions for FSB personnel and their family members.
I wish you success in protecting our national interests and the security of our country and our people. I am confident that you will continue working towards your targets with dignity.
Thank you for your attention.
source: http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/53883
Cidersomerset
16th February 2017, 19:49
Trump vs Spies: US president blasts intel over 'illegal leaks' of classified data
dkHUbNnOEsE
Published on 16 Feb 2017
There are fresh allegations that American spy officials have been keeping sensitive information
from the US President, because they fear it could be leaked or compromised. The Wall Street
Journal cites both current and former anonymous Washington officials, who are concerned over
Donald Trump's 'friendliness toward Moscow'
=================================================
=================================================
‘We didn’t discuss sanctions at all’ – Lavrov’s 1st meeting with Tillerson
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1--sw4WjOuA
Published on 16 Feb 2017
Russia and the US’ top diplomats have just finished speaking to the press after
the conclusion of their first meeting since Donald Trump became president.
=================================================
Lavrov meets new US Secretary of State Tillerson for 1st time
Source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MbRmOjl6RE0
Published on 16 Feb 2017
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his first meeting with US Secretary of
State Rex Tillerson was productive, stressing that Moscow is ready to work with
Washington on all issues as soon as Donald Trump’s foreign policy team is fully formed.
Cidersomerset
17th February 2017, 00:07
CIA NN stepping up rhetoric though they admit these games have gone
on for decades......
NATO's increasing close calls with Russia
DIHPieo4muc
Published on 16 Feb 2017
NATO jets have been scrambling with increasing frequency in response
to encounters with Russia. CNN's Ivan Watson reports.
====================================================
====================================================
Nothing much will happen while the vehicles are painted for the desert.....
WORLDS LARGEST NIGHTMARE for Putin US Military Tanks & Trucks in Poland in large numbers
v5UZhNFJjJo
Published on 18 Jan 2017
The US Military has arrived in Poland in large numbers some may say it's the
worlds largest nightmare for Putin.
ZAGAN, Poland -- The first M1A2 Abrams Tanks owned by 3rd Armor Brigade
Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division touched ground in Swietozow, Poland, on January 10, 2017.
Soldiers assigned to 1st Battalion, 66th Armored Regiment, and 1st Battalion, 68th
Armored Battalion, 3rd Arm. Bde. Cmbt. Tm., 4th Inf. Div., are deploying to Poland
to undergo training prior to continuing a 9-month rotation as part of Atlantic
Resolve. Atlantic Resolve is a U.S. led effort being conducted in Eastern Europe to
demonstrate U.S. commitment to the collective security of NATO and dedication to
enduring peace and stability in the region.
“I think what’s dynamic about our mission is our speed of assembly,” said Lt. Col.
Stephen Capehart, commander, 1st Battalion, 68th Armored Regiment. “Within less
than 30 days, we prepared our equipment, put it on vessels; we had our Soldiers
get time with their families, got them ready to go, and now we’re in Poland.”
The unit is conducting the reception, staging and onward integration of its forces in
Poland before moving them to Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Hungary, Romania and Poland.
“I think it shows our commitment to the alliance,” Capehart said. “It shows how we
can deter any threat to the alliance as we move forward.”
The arrival of 3rd Arm. Bde. Cmbt. Tm., 4th Inf. Div., marks the start of back-to-
back rotations of armored brigades in Europe as part of Atlantic Resolve. The
vehicles and equipment, totaling more than 2,700 pieces, will be shipped to Poland
for certification before deploying across Europe for use in training with partner
nations. This rotation will enhance deterrence capabilities in the region, improve the
U.S. ability to respond to potential crises and defend allies and partners in the
European community. U.S. forces will focus on strengthening capabilities and
sustaining readiness through bilateral and multinational training and exercises.
“The Army and our nation has committed an armored brigade combat team to the
European theater of operation,” he said. “After us, another armored brigade combat
team will come following for a 9-month rotation to show that commitment from our
nation to the alliance.”
Video Description Credit: Staff Sgt. Timothy Hughes
Video Credits: Staff Sgt. Thanh Pham, Staff Sgt. Adrian Patoka, Staff Sgt. Timothy
Hughes, Capt. Scott Kuhn, Spc. Devone Collins and Staff Sgt. Adrian Patoka
====================================================
====================================================
The mainstream media and globalist intel leakers are getting tiresome.....
Is Trump at war with the intelligence community?
E-cPTA9vL2I
Published on 16 Feb 2017
Former CIA officer Buck Sexton and Acton Institute director of programs Paul
Bonicelli on recent intel leaks and Trump’s alleged ties to Russia
Cidersomerset
18th February 2017, 09:13
Endless war explained ....Very good summery by Retired U.S. Army Colonel
Lawrence Wilkerson who breaks it down as he see's and experienced it...
By David on 18 February 2017 GMT
xITDRGkVGvw
Published on 6 Sep 2016
For more Brasscheck TV videos go to: http://www.BrasscheckTV.com
Cidersomerset
18th February 2017, 09:34
John McCain Divulges U.S. Policy & Intel Secrets to Russian
Prankster Posing as Ukraine Prime Minister; Incredible Breach
By David on 18 February 2017 GMT
VIDEO: John McCain Divulges U.S. Policy & Intel Secrets to Russian
Prankster Posing as Ukraine Prime Minister; Incredible Breach
Posted on February 16, 2017 by admin
https://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Untitled-162.jpg
‘Sen. John McCain divulged insider Intel on U.S. secret policy to
a Russian comedian posing as Ukraine Prime Minister Volodymyr Groysman.
The duped Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee even c
oached the phone-prankster-posing Prime Minister on joining NATO.
This audio recording of the phone call is absolutely incredible.’
Read more: John McCain Divulges U.S. Policy & Intel Secrets to Russian
Prankster Posing as Ukraine Prime Minister; Incredible Breach
Eqrw2vIvBv0
http://truepundit.com/video-john-mccain-divulges-u-s-policy-incredible-breach/
====================================================
URGENT: JOHN MCCAIN JUST BETRAYED TRUMP IN THE WORST WAY AND PUT ALL
AMERICAN LIVES IN DANGER!
stM-1k4AiQc
Published on 17 Feb 2017
Sub for more: http://nnn.is/the_new_media | Lindsey Bruce for Liberty Writers
reports, John McCain may have been great in his military days, but now he is the
worst kind of politician. He acts like he is “for the people” then turns around and
stabs us in the back. McCain has been attacking Trump for over a year, but this
time his words put all of our lives in danger.
====================================================
John Mccain takes Shot at Trump at Munich Security Conference
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQ_Xz-HVOBU
Published on 17 Feb 2017
John Mccain takes a Cheap Shot at Trump at Munich Security Conference
Cidersomerset
18th February 2017, 11:32
This is quite a good interview Netanyahu is relaxed and explains his hope
and aims for peace realistically. The issue is complex and does not go deep
into all the violence and intrigue that has gone in the last 70 years , but
does give a little light on the real allies that have developed in the region
mainly Israel/Saudi and other Arab states co operation as the neo - con
Israeli agenda has destroyed most of their enemies as per General Wesley
Clarks and other disclosures and both Saudi and Israel have 9/11 complicity
questions to answer. Maybe Netanyahu is envisaging the harvest of the seeds
of chaos sown over the decades and Trump is a positive over Obama in their
cause.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f7NsXFnzJGw
General Wesley Clark explains ISIS was created by U.S. Allies
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Greta Van Susteren Speaks With Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu
-NJjuAZwiuA
Published on 17 Feb 2017
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu tells MSNBC’S Greta Van Susteren how he
sees the Arab world changing and shares his candid thoughts on the Trump administration.
Sophocles
18th February 2017, 15:49
Lavrov: NATO expansion led to tension in Europe unprecedented in last 30 years (https://www.rt.com/news/377794-lavrov-russia-munich-speech/)
RT
18 Feb, 2017
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2017.02/original/58a83a07c36188e62c8b45bc.jpg
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov © Sascha Schuermann / AFP
NATO's expansion has led to an unprecedented level of tension over the last 30 years in Europe, judging by some statements made at the Security Conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said, speaking in Munich.
Russia is not looking for conflicts with anyone, but will always be able to protect its interests, Lavrov said.
“What kind of relationship do we want with the US? One [based on] pragmatism, mutual respect, and an understanding of special responsibility for global stability,” he stated.
Lavrov told NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg that he supports the resumption of military cooperation with the alliance. Without it, the diplomats’ meetings do not make any sense, he said. “We need to resume [our] military cooperation. [And yet] NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg, surrounded by his deputies yesterday, couldn’t say that NATO is ready for this. It's sad,” Lavrov said.
“NATO's expansion has led to an unprecedented level of tension over the last 30 years in Europe," he said.
Statements made by Western politicians at the Munich Security Conference demonstrate that the Cold War is not over yet, Lavrov said.
“They say that all wars begin in the minds of people, and by this logic, that’s where they are supposed to come to an end. However, this hasn’t been the case with the Cold War yet, [at least] judging by some speeches of politicians in Europe and in the US, including statements that were made yesterday and today at the beginning of our conference,” Lavrov said.
Lavrov noted that 2017 marks 20 years since the signing of the NATO-Russia Founding Act in Paris, and 15 years since the adoption of the Rome Summit Declaration on the new form of Russia-NATO relations.
“A commitment from Russia and the West to jointly provide security, based on respect for each other's interests, to enhance mutual trust, prevent a split in the Euro-Atlantic area, and to erase the dividing lines, formed the basis of these documents,” the Russian FM said.
Moscow disagrees with claims that it has attempted to undermine the liberal world order. “We strongly disagree with those who have accused Russia and the new centers of global influence of an attempt to undermine the so-called liberal world order,” Lavrov said. According to the Russian foreign minister, the crisis of this world model has been programmed.
Linking the lifting of the sanctions from Russia with the implementation of the Minsk Agreements is illogical, he continued.
Russia will not lift its sanctions against the EU either, until the Minsk Agreements are met, he said.
“We also want the Minsk Agreements to be implemented, and we will not remove our sanctions from the EU until the Minsk Agreements are fully met. This also must be understood,” Lavrov pointed out.
Progress on sorting out the security situation in Donbass should not be an end in itself. First and foremost, it is necessary to fully implement the Minsk Agreements, Lavrov said. “Progress in the field of security cannot be an end in itself. Our common goal is the full implementation of the Minsk Agreements,” he added.
Despite the ongoing public rhetoric, Lavrov hopes that Europe is sending signals to Kiev on the need to implement the Minsk-2 deal.
He noted that Russia’s stance on cybersecurity issues actually finds supports among many of Russia’s partners.
Moscow has clarified its position on cybersecurity to its partners, and this position has been “met with understanding,” according to Lavrov.
“As far as we can, we clarify our position, and I can say that in private conversations many of our western partners express understanding of our views and our approaches,” Lavrov told journalists in Munich.
According to Lavrov, Moscow's position in the dialogue with the EU and NATO is “confident, based on fair calculations that we share with our colleagues.”
“If they want to overcome this artificially created confrontational stage, they have it in their power,” Lavrov added, noting that there are no facts to stand on, regarding alleged interference in the electoral process in the United States, France, and Germany by Russian hackers.
“Show us the facts,” Lavrov said.
“For some reason, when we are accused of something, no one requires any facts. I haven’t seen a single fact proving that we allegedly attempted to break into some websites of the Democratic Party, or were supposedly doing something in France and Germany,” the Minister said.
Lavrov said that Angela Merkel's statement on the need to discuss cybersecurity within the framework of the NATO-Russia Council is a signal to a complete restoration of its work.
“As we began to talk about cybersecurity today, Chancellor Merkel has put forward a very interesting idea that the NATO-Russia Council (NRC) would have to deal with this problem. If the Chancellor of Germany, one of the leading NATO member states, speaks in favor of NATO tackling cybersecurity, I assume that at least Berlin wants the NRC to resume its full functioning, and not just limit itself to discussions,” Lavrov noted.
Russia utterly fails to understand the fixation in the West with the issue of cyber-espionage, and the tendency to lay the responsibility for the settlement of the crisis in Ukraine exclusively on Moscow, according to Lavrov.
“Given the idee fixe of our Western colleagues that only Russia must resolve the Ukrainian crisis, and their absolutely incomprehensible obsession with cybersecurity and cyber-espionage, we explain our position as much as we can,” Lavrov said.
Source (https://www.rt.com/news/377794-lavrov-russia-munich-speech/)
Cidersomerset
18th February 2017, 17:30
This is great deflection of the US and allies spying on every one, blame Russia....
http://i2.cdn.turner.com/money/dam/assets/141114112126-federal-spy-planes-00002910-1024x576.jpg
http://money.cnn.com/2015/01/16/technology/security/bulk-collection-nsa/
https://turningpointnews.org/images/political_corruption/dhs_fake_news/05.jpg
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‘CIA leaks like a sieve, Obama’s holdovers should be
probed' - frmr Trump adviser Roger Stone
5WUK5v4o-hw
Published on 18 Feb 2017
Rumors of the US President’s ties to the Kremlin are based on nothing but
loosely interpreted illegal leaks from rogue intelligence agents, former Trump
adviser Roger Stone told RT, denouncing anti-Russian hysteria as neocons’
attempt to justify their warmongering.
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'Blame Russia' Trend: Russians hacked US election? Nope! They hacked the WORLD
XxVkORFUEIU
Published on 18 Feb 2017
It looks like the trend of putting the blame on Russia without proof is spreading
further afield with other countries following America's example and accusing
Moscow of widespread hacking.
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Lou Dobbs : Who is leaking information from the White House?
With NSA 'Whistelblower' Bill Binney
uoou14R-ZZg
Lou Dobbs Tonight 2 17 17 Lou Dobbs Fox Business February 17, 2017
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US intelligence community ‘afraid of what Trump is going to do’ – NSA whistleblower
NCp8qJb8Wbw
Published on 15 Feb 2017
Following Mike Flynn’s resignation as national security advisor, House Democrats
introduced a bill on Wednesday that would empower Congress to review any
changes to current US sanctions against Russia. President Donald Trump’s tense
relationship with the intelligence community has become increasingly antagonistic
NSA whistleblower Bill Binney joins RT America’s Anya Parampil to offer his insight
into that relationship.
Cidersomerset
18th February 2017, 22:10
Putin signs decree legalizing some Donetsk, Lugansk documents in Russia
filUeIuP4rA
Published on 18 Feb 2017
President Vladimir Putin's decree legalizing some documents issued by authorities
in Donetsk and Lugansk, in the territory of Russia, does not signal any change in
Moscow's stance on the conflict in eastern Ukraine, Russia's Foreign Minister has said.
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Moscow condemns blockade of Donbass, 'Normandy Four' colleagues support us - Lavrov
UEacdQ76SJY
Published on 18 Feb 2017
Russia's Foreign Minister has responded to some of the latest accusations against
Russia, while giving a speech at the Munich Security Conference.
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Former Trump Adviser Roger Stone: I Had No Contacts With Russian Officials
-qBxbglmMow
Published on 16 Feb 2017
Speaking to TODAY about the controversy surrounding the resignation of national
security adviser Michael Flynn, Roger Stone, former adviser to President Trump,
says “categorically, positively not” when asked if he had regular contacts with
Russian officials during the campaign. Regarding reports of turmoil behind the
scenes in the Trump White House, Stone points to a division between people loyal
to Trump and those loyal to the Republican National Committee.
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Making a President and DNC Hacks w/ Roger Stone
R0b-SRUypSs
Published on 17 Feb 2017
Tyrel Ventura and Tabetha Wallace sit down with the legendary and controversial
political consultant Roger Stone to discuss his alleged role in the claims of Russian
DNC Hacking during the 2016 Presidential Elections as well as his new book about
the Trump campaign, “The Making of a President 2016”.
Sophocles
19th February 2017, 02:40
NATO is strongly in favour of dialogue with Russia from the predictable position, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Friday. (https://sputniknews.com/politics/201702171050798635-stoltenberg-lavrov-nato/)
Just as a reminder; Stoltenberg was publishing Soviet friendly / oriented material back in the days in Dagbladet ("Steklov" was his then KGB code name). This was in the 80`s.
And after he bombed his way (yes, Norway was the most faithful "allied" in Libya) to his top position in NATO...
Norway has -the way I see it- gone into an even stronger and hard hitting consensus trance (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/milgram-nationality-conformity/)... In lack of words.
Cidersomerset
20th February 2017, 18:45
Russian ambassador to UN Vitaly Churkin dies (SPECIAL COVERAGE)
wu2McI9n2xg
Started streaming 51 minutes ago
Vitaly Churkin, who served as Russia's permanent representative to the United
Nations since 2006, "died suddenly" in New York, the Russian Foreign Ministry
announced.
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Russian UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin dies
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jq1ifv0diw
Published on 20 Feb 2017
Russian UN Ambassador Vitaly Churkin died in
New York, one day before his 65th birthday.
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http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Russia's UN ambassador Vitaly Churkin dies at work
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vp6cM1SoEjg
Russia's ambassador to the United Nations has died.
Vitaly Churkin, who would have celebrated his 65th birthday on Tuesday,
died suddenly while at work in New York on Monday, Russia's foreign
ministry said in a statement.
The cause of the veteran diplomat's death is unclear.
read more...http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-39033269
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Russia's UN ambassador dies at age 64
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oyg3-y2D69E
Published on 20 Feb 2017
John Hannah reacts to the death and latest leaks
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‘Russian coup plot claim is an attempt to jumpstart Montenegro’s stalled NATO bid’
– fmr US diplomat
dnV5cT2ocqs
Published on 20 Feb 2017
Fresh accusations have been thrown at Russia - this time British media are
convinced the Kremlin was behind a murder plot to kill Montenegro's Prime Minister
to prevent the country from joining NATO. Nikki Aaron picks up the story.
Cidersomerset
20th February 2017, 19:12
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Islamic State battle: View from Iraq's front line
The BBC's Quentin Sommerville joins government forces as they resume their push
towards western Mosul, the last major stronghold of so-called Islamic State in Iraq.
read more
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39025204
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Iran: Elite IRGC units conduct missile tests in face of US sanctions
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-3SJhxhRdwM
Published on 20 Feb 2017
Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) held a military exercise to test
missile systems, in the Dasht-e Kavir desert, Monday, with the footage broadcast
on state television.
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Syria: Russian sappers given farewell ceremony by Aleppo residents
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HuBkQvkT2co
Published on 20 Feb 2017
Russian bomb disposal teams were given a warm send off in Aleppo after a three-
month-long mission to clear parts of the city of improvised explosive devices,
according to footage released on Monday.
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Russian army in Syria ( Promo vid)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zzY8mpN-BuE
Published on 20 Feb 2017
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Why the Deep state and mainstream stooges hate Trump , unless he gets
manipulated into carrying on their agenda.....
Trump telling the truth of the war on Syria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sx-TgSOTpAc
Published on 5 Aug 2016
Trump telling the truth of the war of Syria
Donald Trump Is 100% Correct About Syria.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3qnrn0-UlI
Published on 19 Dec 2016
Donald Trump Is 100% Correct About Syria.
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Secretary Mattis Makes Unannounced Trip to Iraq
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m2REiAsnqiM
Published on 20 Feb 2017
Defense Secretary Jim Mattis arrived on an unannounced visit to Iraq on Monday as
the battle to oust Islamic State (IS) militants from western Mosul moved into its
second day. (Feb. 20)
Sophocles
22nd February 2017, 06:09
New Declassified CIA Memo Presents Blueprint for Syrian Regime Collapse (https://www.libertarianinstitute.org/2017/02/cia-memo-scenarios-of-syrian-regime-collapse/)
By Brad Hoff (https://www.libertarianinstitute.org/author/bhoff/) -
February 14, 2017
libertarianinstitute.org (https://www.libertarianinstitute.org/)
A newly declassified CIA document explored multiple scenarios of Syrian regime collapse at a time when Hafez al-Assad’s government was embroiled in a covert “dirty war” with Israel and the West, and in the midst of a diplomatic crisis which marked an unprecedented level of isolation for Syria.
The 24-page formerly classified memo entitled Syria: Scenarios of Dramatic Political Change (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf) was produced in July 1986, and had high level distribution within the Reagan administration and to agency directors, including presidential advisers, the National Security Council, and the US ambassador to Syria. The memo appears in the CIA’s latest CREST release (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf) (CIA Records Search Tool) of over 900,000 recently declassified documents.
A “severely restricted” report
The memo’s cover letter, drafted by the CIA’s Director of Global Issues (https://www.cia.gov/offices-of-cia/mission-centers) (the report itself was prepared by the division’s Foreign Subversion and Instability Center), introduces the purpose of presenting “a number of possible scenarios that could lead to the ouster of President Assad or other dramatic change in Syria.”
It further curiously warns that, “Because the analysis out of context is susceptible to misunderstanding, external distribution has been severely restricted.” The report’s narrowed distribution list (sent to specific named national security heads, not entire agencies) indicates that it was considered at the highest levels of the Reagan administration.
The coming sectarian war for Syria
The intelligence report’s contents contain some striking passages which seem remarkably consistent with events as they unfolded decades later at the start of the Syrian war in 2011:
Although we judge that fear of reprisals and organizational problems make a second Sunni challenge unlikely, an excessive government reaction to minor outbreaks of Sunni dissidence might trigger large-scale unrest. In most instances the regime would have the resources to crush a Sunni opposition movement, but we believe widespread violence among the populace could stimulate large numbers of Sunni officers and conscripts to desert or munity, setting the stage for civil war. [pg.2] (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)
The “second Sunni challenge” is a reference to the Syrian government’s prior long running war against a Muslim Brotherhood insurgency which culminated in the 1982 Hama Massacre. While downplaying the nationalist and pluralistic composition of the ruling Ba’ath party, the report envisions a renewal and exploitation of sectarian fault lines pitting Syria’s Sunni population against its Alawite leadership:
Sunnis make up 60 percent of the Syrian officer corps but are concentrated in junior officer ranks; enlisted men are predominantly Sunni conscripts. We believe that a renewal of communal violence between Alawis and Sunnis could inspire Sunnis in the military to turn against the regime. [pg.12] (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)
Regime change and the Muslim Brotherhood
The possibility of the Muslim Brotherhood spearheading another future armed insurgency leading to regime change is given extensive focus. While the document’s tone suggests this as a long term future scenario (especially considering the Brotherhood suffered overwhelming defeat and went completely underground in Syria by the mid-1980’s), it is considered one of the top three “most likely” drivers of regime change (the other scenarios include “Succession Power Struggle” and “Military Reverses Spark a Coup”).
The potential for revival of the Muslim Brotherhood’s “militant faction” is introduced in the following:
Although the Muslim Brotherhood’s suppression drastically reduced armed dissidence, we judge a significant potential still exists for another Sunni opposition movement. In part the Brotherhood’s role was to exploit and orchestrate opposition activity by other organized groups… These groups still exist, and under proper leadership they could coalesce into a large movement… …young professionals who formed the base of support for the militant faction of the Muslim Brotherhood; and remnants of the Brotherhood itself who could become leaders in a new Sunni opposition movement… [pp.13-14] (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)
The Brotherhood’s role is seen as escalating the potential for initially small Sunni protest movements to morph into violent sectarian civil war:
Sunni dissidence has been minimal since Assad crushed the Muslim Brotherhood in the early 1980s, but deep-seated tensions remain–keeping alive the potential for minor incidents to grow into major flareups of communal violence… Excessive government force in quelling such disturbances might be seen by Sunnis as evidence of a government vendetta against all Sunnis, precipitating even larger protests by other Sunni groups…
Mistaking the new protests as a resurgence of the Muslim Brotherhood, the government would step up its use of force and launch violent attacks on a broad spectrum of Sunni community leaders as well as on those engaged in protests. Regime efforts to restore order would founder if government violence against protestors inspired broad-based communal violence between Alawis and Sunnis. [pp.19-20] (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)
The CIA report describes the final phase of an evolving sectarian war which witnesses the influx of fighters and weapons from neighboring countries. Consistent with a 1983 secret report (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP88B00443R001404090133-0.pdf) that called for a US covert operation to utilize then US-allied Iraq as a base of attack on Syria, the 1986 analysis says, “Iraq might supply them with sufficient weapons to launch a civil war”:
A general campaign of Alawi violence against Sunnis might push even moderate Sunnis to join the opposition. Remnants of the Muslim Brotherhood–some returning from exile in Iraq–could provide a core of leadership for the movement. Although the regime has the resources to crush such a venture, we believe brutal attacks on Sunni civilians might prompt large numbers of Sunni officers and conscripts to desert or stage mutinies in support of dissidents, and Iraq might supply them with sufficient weapons to launch a civil war. [pp.20-21] (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)
A Sunni regime serving Western economic interests
While the document is primarily a theoretical exploration projecting scenarios of Syrian regime weakening and collapse (its purpose is analysis and not necessarily policy), the authors admit of its “purposefully provocative” nature (see PREFACE (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)) and closes with a list desired outcomes. One provocative outcome describes a pliant “Sunni regime” serving US economic interests:
In our view, US interests would be best served by a Sunni regime controlled by business-oriented moderates. Business moderates would see a strong need for Western aid and investment to build Syria’s private economy, thus opening the way for stronger ties to Western governments. [pg. 24] (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)
Ironically, the Syrian government would accuse the United States and its allies of covert subversion within Syria after a string of domestic bombings created diplomatic tensions during the mid-1980’s.
Dirty tricks and diplomacy in the 1980’s
According to Patrick Seale’s landmark book, Asad of Syria: The Struggle for the Middle East (https://www.amazon.com/Asad-Struggle-Middle-Patrick-Seale/dp/0520069765), 1986 was a year that marked Syria’s greatest isolation among world powers as multiple diplomatic crises and terror events put Syria more and more out in the cold.
The year included “the Hindawi affair (http://www.danielpipes.org/1064/terrorism-the-syrian-connection)”—a Syrian intelligence sponsored attempt to hijack and bomb an El Al flight to Tel Aviv—and may or may not (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/can-peace-expunge-his-crime-740106.html) have involved Nezar Hindawi working as a double agent on behalf of Israel. The foiled plot brought down international condemnation on Syria and lives on as one of the more famous and bizarre terror conspiracies in history. Not only were Syria and Israel once again generally on the brink of war in 1986, but a string of “dirty tricks” tactics were being utilized by Syria and its regional enemies to shape diplomatic outcomes primarily in Lebanon and Jordan.
In March and April of 1986 (months prior to the distribution of the CIA memo), a string of still largely unexplained car bombs (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1986_Damascus_bombings) rocked Damascus and at least 5 towns throughout Syria, leaving over 200 civilians dead in the most significant wave of attacks since the earlier ’79-’82 war with the Muslim Brotherhood (also see BBC News (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/7639137.stm) recount the attacks).
Patrick Seale’s book speculates of the bombings that, “It may not have been unconnected that in late 1985 the NSC’s Colonel Oliver North and Amiram Nir, Peres’s counter-terrorism expert, set up a dirty tricks outfit to strike back at the alleged sponsors of Middle East terrorism.”*
Consistency with future WikiLeaks files
The casual reader of Syria: Scenarios of Dramatic Political Change (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf) will immediately recognize a strategic thinking on Syria that looks much the same as what is revealed in national security memos produced decades later in the run up to the current war in Syria.
When US cables or intelligence papers talk regime change (http://www.thecanary.co/2016/09/06/5-explosive-secret-intelligence-memos-syria-everyone-must-read-video/) in Syria they usually strategize in terms of exploiting sectarian fault lines. In a sense, this is the US national security bureaucracy’s fall-back approach to Syria.
One well-known example (http://www.truth-out.org/progressivepicks/item/33180-wikileaks-reveals-how-the-us-aggressively-pursued-regime-change-in-syria-igniting-a-bloodbath#a1) is contained in a December 2006 State Dept. cable (https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/06DAMASCUS5399_a.html) sent from the US embassy in Syria (subsequently released by WikiLeaks). The cable’s stated purpose is to explore Syrian regime vulnerabilities and weaknesses to exploit (in similar fashion to the 1986 CIA memo):
PLAY ON SUNNI FEARS OF IRANIAN INFLUENCE: There are fears in Syria that the Iranians are active in both Shia proselytizing and conversion of, mostly poor, Sunnis. Though often exaggerated, such fears reflect an element of the Sunni community in Syria that is increasingly upset by and focused on the spread of Iranian influence in their country through activities ranging from mosque construction to business.
Another section of the 2006 cable (https://wikileaks.org/plusd/cables/06DAMASCUS5399_a.html) explains precisely the same scenario laid out in the 1986 memo in describing the increased “possibility of a self-defeating over-reaction” on the part of the regime.:
ENCOURAGE RUMORS AND SIGNALS OF EXTERNAL PLOTTING: The regime is intensely sensitive to rumors about coup-plotting and restlessness in the security services and military. Regional allies like Egypt and Saudi Arabia should be encouraged to meet with figures like [former Vice President Abdul Halim] Khaddam and [younger brother of Hafez] Rif’at Asad as a way of sending such signals, with appropriate leaking of the meetings afterwards. This again touches on this insular regime’s paranoia and increases the possibility of a self-defeating over-reaction.
And ironically, Rif’at Asad and Khaddam are both mentioned extensively in the 1986 memo as key players during a speculative future “Succession Power Struggle.” [p.15] (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)
An Islamic State in Damascus?
While the 1986 CIA report makes a case in its concluding paragraph for “a Sunni regime controlled by business-oriented moderates” in Syria, the authors acknowledge that the collapse of the Ba’ath state could actually usher in the worst of all possible outcomes for Washington and the region: “religious zealots” might seek to establish “an Islamic Republic”. The words take on a new and special importance now, after the rise of ISIS:
Although Syria’s secular traditions would make it extremely difficult for religious zealots to establish an Islamic Republic, should they succeed they would likely deepen hostilities with Israel and provide support and sanctuary to terrorists groups. [pg.24] (https://www.cia.gov/library/readingroom/docs/CIA-RDP86T01017R000100770001-5.pdf)
What continues to unfold in Syria has apparently surpassed even the worst case scenarios of intelligence planners in the 1980’s. Tinkering with regime change has proven itself to be the most dangerous of all games.
*Seale, Patrick. Asad of Syria : the struggle for the Middle East (Berkeley, CA : University of California Press, 1989)p.474.
Source (https://www.libertarianinstitute.org/2017/02/cia-memo-scenarios-of-syrian-regime-collapse/)
Sophocles
22nd February 2017, 20:46
Russia’s Ambassador warns: Missile shield will endanger Norway’s borders (http://www.highnorthnews.com/russias-ambassador-warns-missile-shield-will-endanger-norways-borders/)
22/02/2017 av Hege Eilertsen (Translated by Elisabeth Bergquist)
highnorthnews.com
http://www.highnorthnews.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/02/Ramishvili-copy-800x475.jpg
Russia's new ambassador to Norway, Teimuraz Otarovich Ramishvili, has many years' experience from
the Russian Foreign Ministry where he has held several positions from 1981 to 1999. (Photo: Hege Eilertsen)
– Norwegian authorities must decide which way they want to go. That is the clear message from Russia’s new Ambassador to Norway, Teimuraz Otarovich Ramishvili. In this interview, the first one he has given following the striking press statement last week, he states that increased NATO activity near Russia’s borders will definitely not increase North European security.
Russia’s Ambassador to Norway is clear: Norway has, initially, nothing to fear from Russia, however, Norwegian authorities should not be naïve. Norwegian participation in NATO’s missile shield will endanger the country’s boundaries.
– If Norway sees it as just an act meant to secure its boundaries, and brings NATO in – and reshuffles system of bases – and participates in a missile shield… If Norway claims that these are just initiatives to secure its boundaries, then that is not true. That is not something we will believe, Ramishvili says.
Full article (http://www.highnorthnews.com/russias-ambassador-warns-missile-shield-will-endanger-norways-borders/)
Sophocles
25th February 2017, 14:18
Germany Announces Military Growth, Will Send Tanks to Russia Border (http://news.antiwar.com/2017/02/22/germany-announces-military-growth-will-send-tanks-to-russia-border/)
Tanks, Armored Vehicles Will Join Anti-Russia Force in Lithuania
by Jason Ditz, February 22, 2017
news.antiwar.com
Germany’s Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced today that the nation will expand its military by around 5,000 soldiers, bringing its total force to around 200,000, saying that growing demands for German military involvement abroad necessitates the growth.
http://news.antiwar.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/11/ursula-leyen.jpg
This came alongside an announcement that Germany will be deploying a substantial force of tanks and armored vehicles (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/german-military-5000-new-soldiers-tanks-lithuania-increase-army-spending-nato-russia-deterant-a7592926.html) to Lithuania, along the Russian border, where they will be joining the NATO anti-Russia force in the region, which already has upwards of 1,000 German troops involved.
While the timing would aim to directly link Germany’s military growth with its anti-Russia deployments, the reality is that the effort is also meant as a way to increase spending in an effort to placate the Trump Administration, which has been increasingly.
Though Germany has one of the world’s costliest militaries, they only spend around 1.22% of their GDP, by virtue of having a huge economy. The Trump Administration is demanding a minimum of 2% spending for all NATO members, which would mean Germany would be outspending Russia by itself.
Source (http://news.antiwar.com/2017/02/22/germany-announces-military-growth-will-send-tanks-to-russia-border/)
uzn
25th February 2017, 17:02
Dont worry Sophocles, the german armed Forces are not what they were some decades ago. Here in Germany we have a saying, the only Thing you truly learn at the Bundeswehr (Army) is how you become a proper alcoholic ;)
Just to give you one Example:
http://www.ingenieur.de/var/storage/images/media/ingenieur.de/bilder/bundesverteidigungsministerin-ursula-leyen-a400m-luftwaffe/3766265-1-ger-DE/Bundesverteidigungsministerin-Ursula-von-der-Leyen-vor-dem-ersten-A400M-der-Luftwaffe_image_width_560.jpg
Defense Ministress Ursula von der Leyen (we Germans cant take her serious) flew 2 weeks ago to Lithuania with a brand new Airbus A400M. That was the only one of 8 Airbus A400M that was still able to fly, a little.
It broke totally down in Lithuania because of an Oilleak in one of the Engines. Everybody was making fun of her and the crappy Planes.
http://www.jetjournal.net/galerie/image?view=image&format=raw&type=img&id=6568
She had to leave the Plane there at the Airport, I think it´s still there;) She came home with another way older Plane.
January the 29th one of the A400M had to make an Emergency landing in Cyprus because of a broken Cockpitglas. The Army send another A400M with replacements on the way, this one also stranded in Cyprus because the Landinggear broke while landing. So now there are two broken A400M´s in Cyprus. Another should fly there but just made it to Munich and had to return to the Military Airbase because of technical Problems. Another stranded in Lulea in Sweden while trying to bring a Helicopter there for cold testing. And so on .......
Now just one out of the 8 newest Transportplanes of the Bundeswehr is still kind of operational. They decided that they are not to be used in real operations due to constructional Problems. And they have to be taken to the repair shop every 20 flight hours.
Source Article is called: Grounded ;)
https://magazin.spiegel.de/SP/2017/7/149533922/index.html
Ewan
28th February 2017, 11:44
Reuters:China reacts with anger (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-usa-thaad-china-idUSKBN16709W?il=0)
http://s4.reutersmedia.net/resources/r/?m=02&d=20170228&t=2&i=1174307513&w=780&fh=&fw=&ll=&pl=&sq=&r=LYNXMPED1R04U
Chinese state media have reacted with anger and boycott threats after the board of an affiliate of South Korea's Lotte Group approved a land swap with the government that allows authorities to deploy a U.S. missile defense system.
The government decided last year to deploy the U.S. Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, in response to the North Korean missile threat, on land that is part of a golf course owned by Lotte in the Seongju region, southeast of Seoul.
The board of unlisted Lotte International Co Ltd approved the deal with the government on Monday.
China objects to the deployment in South Korea of the THAAD, which has a powerful radar capable of penetrating Chinese territory, with Beijing saying it is a threat to its security and will do nothing to ease tension with North Korea.
More (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-southkorea-usa-thaad-china-idUSKBN16709W?il=0)
Hervé
28th February 2017, 12:46
CIA killed Russian Ambassadors and Donbass commanders (http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/02/analyst-cia-killed-russian-ambassadors.html)
Inessa Sinchougova Fort Russ (http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/02/analyst-cia-killed-russian-ambassadors.html)
Mon, 27 Feb 2017 00:00 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/380764/large/analyst.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/380764/full/analyst.jpg)
Russian political analyst Valeriy Piakin
This episode is taken off political analyst's Valeriy Piakin's channel - his explanation of recent events confirms what many suspect. In the past few months, an unusual amount of individuals in pro-Russian fields of work have passed away. Starting with Arsen Pavlov (Motorola), a Commander in the Donbass region, followed by Russian Ambassadors to Turkey and India; Mikhail Tolstyh (Givi) - another high ranking Commander in the Donbass, and now - Russia's permanent representative to the UN, Vitaly Churkin. Piakin's explanation posits that all of these individuals were victims of US intelligence operations - but why?
LKICpwLbcCg
The intention, according to Piakin, is to remove individuals who stand for the Minsk agreement, so that it can no longer realistically be implemented. The Minsk Agreement (a ceasefire, followed by elections and self-determination in Eastern Ukraine) is counterproductive to the elites' work.
If Piakin is correct, then those who defend Minsk - whether on the battlefield or through the information war - have reason to be concerned for their safety. People like Zakharchenko of the Donbass as well as Russia's extended diplomatic community should ramp up their security against espionage.
SOTT Comment: (https://www.sott.net/article/343876-CIA-killed-Russian-Ambassadors-and-Donbass-commanders) Piakin is not the only one to come to this conclusion:
9 Russian officials have died unexpectedly in the last two years - signs of a Deep State war? (https://www.sott.net/article/343850-9-Russian-officials-have-died-unexpectedly-in-the-last-two-years-signs-of-a-Deep-State-war)
State sponsored terrorism: Has CIA's plot to 'covertly' kill Russians in Syria come to pass? (https://www.sott.net/article/324760-State-sponsored-terrorism-Has-CIAs-plot-to-covertly-kill-Russians-in-Syria-come-to-pass)
Remember Michael Morell? This is what psychopaths working for the US deep state look and sound like. And they mean what they say:
qGPuSxuT6pM
Hervé
5th March 2017, 15:28
Will it hold? Ceasefire regime established between Kiev and Donbass militia in East Ukraine (https://sputniknews.com/europe/201703051051281998-donbass-ceasefire-regime/)
Sputnik (https://sputniknews.com/europe/201703051051281998-donbass-ceasefire-regime/)
Sun, 05 Mar 2017 12:59 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/381752/large/1050578145.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/381752/full/1050578145.jpg)
© Sputnik/ Genady Dubovoy
The self-proclaimed republics in eastern Ukraine established the regime of cessation of hostilities in Donbass at 08:00 GMT on Sunday, Donetsk People's Republic's (DPR) Deputy Defense Minister Eduard Basurin told reporters.
He pointed out that the ceasefire regime was respected.
"Now the initiative on the ceasefire across the contact line since 11:00 a.m. [local time] works. That is our joint initiative with the LPR [Lugansk People's Republic]. We proposed to stop shelling via representatives in the Joint Center for Control and Coordination [JCCC]," Basurin said.
"We will see whether Ukraine would manage to control radicals," Basurin added.
Since late January, the conflict in eastern Ukraine between local militia and Kiev authorities has escalated in Avdiivka and Yasynuvata towns near Donetsk, with Kiev forces and Donbass militia accusing each other of being responsible for the escalation of fighting.
Russian authorities have repeatedly voiced concern over the escalation. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said earlier in February that Moscow had reliable data (https://sputniknews.com/politics/201701311050198739-kremlin-ukraine-battalions-avdiivka/) that the Ukrainian independent armed groups, supported by the Ukrainian Armed Forces' artillery, were behind the attack on Avdiivka.
Kiev launched a special military operation in Ukraine's southeast in April 2014, after local residents refused to recognize new Ukrainian authorities, which had come to power as a result of what was recognized by many people as a coup.
In February 2015, a peace agreement was signed between Ukraine's conflicting sides in the Belarusian capital of Minsk. Despite the fact that the deal stipulates a full ceasefire in Donbass, violations both on the part of Kiev forces and local militia have been reported.
Cidersomerset
7th March 2017, 14:20
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Kim Jong-nam death: Malaysia and N Korea in tit-for-tat exit bans
7 march 2017
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39189381
=============================================
=============================================
Breaking down North Korea's missile launch
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4V9IXQ_nz_I
Published on 7 Mar 2017
Kristie Lu Stout takes a closer look at North Korea's missile launch with weapons
expert Melissa Hanham, as the South bolsters its defenses
=============================================
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North Korean threat grows after another missile test
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NsZMjpDhJVA
Published on 6 Mar 2017
Asian countries and the U.S. are condemning a missile test by North Korea Sunday
in the Sea of Japan. CBS News' Adriana Diaz reports from Beijing.
=============================================
=============================================
Insight on timing of latest missile launch by North Korea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6sCpNEenvY
Published on 6 Mar 2017
James Acton, co-director of the nuclear policy program at the Carnegie Endowment
for International Peace, weighs in
=============================================
=============================================
US begins shipping controversial defense system to S. Korea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hQC2pqY4PG0
Published on 7 Mar 2017
China, North Korea consider system a security threat
==============================================
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US deploys missile defense system to South Korea
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DhLquJfa-W8
Published on 7 Mar 2017
Amb. John Bolton breaks down move, pushback from China on 'America's Newsroom'
==============================================
US deploys THAAD in S. Korea despite Russia, China opposition
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w2do7Ep11MI
Published on 7 Mar 2017
The US has begun to deploy its advanced THAAD anti-missile defense system in
South Korea, despite angry opposition from Russia and China. The step comes after
North Korea fired four ballistic missiles toward Japan as part of an exercise
targeting US bases there.
Cidersomerset
7th March 2017, 14:28
Elsewhere....
US armoured convoy enter Manbij, Syria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2jUic1vMAU
Published on 5 Mar 2017
US troops were spotted in a convoy of armoured vehicles in the Syrian city of Manbij.
==============================================
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ISIS losing key locations in Iraq and Syria
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H72eaq7Bxuo
Published on 6 Mar 2017
US-backed Iraqi government troops have recaptured the second of five bridges in
Mosul linking the ISIS-held western part of the city from the already-liberated east.
RT's Murad Gazdiev reports from Iraq, speaking to refugees from Mosul. Meanwhile,
both the American- and Russian-backed military campaigns in Syria are advancing,
including the Russia-backed Syrian Army's recent liberation of Palmyra. Former
Pentagon official Michael Maloof joins RT America's Alex Mihailovich to discuss.
==============================================
==============================================
Urban warfare: 45,000 flee Mosul in wake of new anti-ISIS military op
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucNQjSBH1kw
Published on 7 Mar 2017
The number of refugees fleeing Mosul continues to escalate. With more than 200,000
escapees since last October, it is now on the verge of a humanitarian disaster.
=============================================
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http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Mosul battle: Troops retake main government office
Iraqi forces say they have retaken the main government offices in Mosul as the
offensive continues to oust the so-called Islamic State (IS) group.
read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39190286
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NATO Joint Viking 2017 in Finnmark, Norway
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QR4aaItenEg
Published on 6 Mar 2017
http://dailywesterner.com/news/2017-03-06/video-8000-nato-troops-launch-exercise-near-russian-norwegian-border/
Cidersomerset
8th March 2017, 15:15
This is a very good interview Ray has just come back from Israel and
he shares his experience and tells the story of the USS Liberty and
other related topics.....
Ray McGovern "I Saw Settlers Punch A Palestinian Woman In The Face. Israel Is An Apartheid State."
.
ct2-q9z3bac
The Richie Allen Show Published on 8 Mar 2017
Please Support The Show – http://paypal.me/richieallen
====================================================
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Israel simulates destruction of Palestine villages to train troops
By Andrew Cheetham on 8 March 2017 GMT War and Terror
PRESS TV....
Israel simulates destruction of Palestine villages to train troops
Wed Mar 8, 2017 12:4AM
‘Israel is using simulated villages to train its forces to destroy Palestinian homes
and deal with ensuing protests, says a report.
On Tuesday, the Middle East Monitor website published footage originally
broadcasted on Israel’s Channel 2 that showed Israeli soldiers practicing facing
protesters, raiding and demolishing homes in fake Palestinian villages.
According to the report, these drills have been going on for about a week in order
to ready soldiers “to face Palestinian protesters while demolishing houses in
Palestinian villages.”’
Read more: Israel simulates destruction of Palestine villages to train troops
http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2017/03/08/513441/israel-palestine-footage-simulation-demolition
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Israeli bulldozers and tanks cross into Gaza, level Palestinian lands
By Andrew Cheetham on 6 March 2017 GMT
http://presstv.ir/Detail/2017/03/05/513111/Israeli-bulldozers--tanks-cross-into-Gaza-level-lands
Rocky_Shorz
9th March 2017, 03:25
China enters Syria...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8nLIyxW2bE
Cidersomerset
9th March 2017, 19:01
This surprised me with all the anti rhetoric going on.....
Russia: Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu visits Moscow for talks with Vladimir Putin
5vlMjXuCnUo
Published on 9 Mar 2017
France 24
=============================================
=============================================
Turkey talking to Russia...
Syria: US marines deploy troops and artillery battery near Islamic state group capital of Raqqa
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I7GLAzxeO4c
Published on 9 Mar 2017
France 24
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US confirms deployment of hundreds of Marines to Syria to fight ISIS
tfq-s56QEwk
Published on 9 Mar 2017
Hundreds of US Marines have arrived in Syria to establish an outpost in support
of the operation to retake the city of Raqqa, the de-facto Islamic State (IS,
formerly ISIS/ISIL) capital in the country, the US-led coalition confirmed on Thursday.
==============================================
==============================================
US Marines arrive in northern Syria to help fight ISIS
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kq9JLxCp8fA
Published on 9 Mar 2017
Conor Powell has the story
===============================================
===============================================
US Marines arrive in Syria to retake Raqqa from ISIS
as6Ka0vX9aE
Published on 9 Mar 2017
Fox News military analyst David Hunt provides insight
Cidersomerset
9th March 2017, 19:49
Sen Graham leading the generals , with anti Russian Syrian Kurd and Assad
rhetoric , and Libya ......The generals are just parroting Sen . Graham in this one
and hinting at the Trump administration 'if you are listening'......
'Don't hand Damascus to Assad' - Sen. Graham
83Njk-x-m2s
Published on 9 Mar 2017
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) questions CENTCOM & AFRICOM
commanders on ISIS, Russia, Syria, Iran and US diplomacy.
===================================================
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New anti-Russia bill is ‘stupid, uninformed politics’ – ex-State Dept official
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2H28IkXYVPM
Published on 8 Mar 2017
Critics of the “Keeping Russia Out of European Elections Act” point out that it is
based on more on propaganda than on facts. Does this bill represent NATO's
desperate deflection from their own military bravado, or is it a power play to
embarrass Trump? Former State Department official and CIA counterterrorism
expert Larry Johnson joins RT America’s Alex Mihailovich to bring his insight and
expertise.
===================================================
===================================================
New sanctions proposed to punish Russia for imaginary meddling in Europe
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Y1SHOXgV2o
Published on 8 Mar 2017
A bipartisan resolution emerged on Capitol Hill today, entitled the “Keeping Russia
Out of European Elections Act.” The bill is intended to punish Russia for alleged
interference in the 2016 US presidential election and to counter Russia’s purported
meddling in democratic elections in Europe. RT’s Alexey Yaroshevsky has the story.
Hervé
11th March 2017, 19:28
All mercenaries join forces in Libya under new name: Murabitoun (http://libyanwarthetruth.com/all-mercenaries-join-forces-libya-under-new-name-murabitoun)
JoanneM Libyan War The Truth (http://libyanwarthetruth.com/all-mercenaries-join-forces-libya-under-new-name-murabitoun)
Fri, 10 Mar 2017 18:00 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383042/large/_65336729_belreuters.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383042/full/_65336729_belreuters.jpg)
Mokhtar Belmokhtar © Reuters
FYI, in the 1920's MI6 invented Muslim Brotherhood as their proxy army. Next the CIA invented their Al Qaeda as their proxy army. These psychopathic mercenaries have been doing the dirty work of destruction and take over of sovereign nations for the Zionists. These mercenaries claim to be radical Islamists. As Osama bin Laden stated, "all we have to do is change our name to keep the west confused". So now enters the new combined entity called Murabitoun. They have had many other names, LIFG (Libyan Islamic Fighting Group), Ansar Al Sharia, Al Nusra, etc. Look for this name to replace ISIS world wide.
This is an account of on the ground intelligence passed to us by the Libyan tribes during the past few weeks.
As a matter of clarification and a short historical review, Libya has been a failed state since Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, NATO, the UN and various other western imperialist countries created a false flag attack and destroyed the country. These Zionists criminals put in place by force their puppets to run Libya, this was never going to work because Libya is a country made up of a very strong and ancient tribal structure. This tribal culture cannot be broken by any outsider no matter how many criminal acts are perpetrated upon the people. The result of the NATO illegal destruction of Libya caused a number of radical mercenary factions to arise, each attempting to control their area of Libya, stealing money, oil, assets, raping women, imprisoning innocents, etc. These were not tribal wars or civil wars as reported by the lying media, but the result of these criminal groups fighting each other and sometimes fighting the Libyan people. There has never been put forth a solution that would bring Libya back to peace because the Libyan people were never part of the solution. All the proposed solutions were put forward by some outside force or by some group like the UN putting together a group of criminals (more puppets).
After a legitimate election in 2014, the people of Libya voted out all the puppet radical Islamists. These criminals refused to leave office and threatened the lives of those duly elected so they were forced to move the legitimate government to the eastern city of Tobruk. Even the Tobruk government has had difficulties because even though they are the legitimate government, they have no power. The radicals control off and on the oil ports and they control the largest port in Libya in Misurata. These radical groups have been able to maintain some piece of control because they have had the support of Clinton and Obama for the past 6 years, supplying them with weapons and money via Turkey and Qatar. On the other hand the legitimate Libyan National Army fighting these Islamic terrorist groups has been embargoed by the UN since 2011 from receiving any weapons or aid.
The Libyan people do not and never have supported radical Islam, 96% of all Libyans are against these Takfiri (fake Muslims) gangs. The 4% that are psychopathic radicals were either in exile or prison before Hillary Clinton, Obama and McCain joined hands with them to destroy Libya. These 4% are the ones controlling the radicals in Libya now.
For all intense and purposes the Libyan people have had no voice since 2011.
March 2017
Things are changing on the ground in Libya because Hillary Clinton's defeat has opened a void in the support of the criminal occupiers in Libya. The criminal mercenaries know that they are in danger of being thrown out or killed as they have no right to their place in Libya. The consequence of this realization is that all the radicals on the ground in Libya have joined forces in an attempt to maintain their criminal hold on areas of Libya and to make an attempt to take control of the entire country. They have formed a new group under the leadership of a man named Mukhtar Bel Mukhtar a past strongman for Al Qaeda.
The name of this new group is called Murabitoun. Watch for this name you will see it often now.
This group is made up of all radicals Islamists in Libya including Misurata Militias, Muslim Brotherhood, Ansar Al Sharia, ISIS, Al Qaeda, LIFG (Libyan Islamic Fighting Group) and other miscellaneous groups.
Murabitoun began to hold their meetings at the Al Jufra (Houn) Airbase. Meetings between such famous terrorists as Ismayel al-Sallabi brother to Ali al-Sallabi, Ahmed Abd Al jaleel Hessnawi and Ahmed Al Tajuri (see photo 1 below). They will be receiving their weapons and new mercenary fighters via the Al Jufra airbase. Paid mercenary fighters from Italy, Qatar, Sudan and Chad will arrive to support them in their attempt to take Libya. See photos below (2, 3, 4 & 5). As you can see in photo #2, it is a US cargo plane with the name Iraqi Air Force on it. No, it is not Iraq coming to the support of these criminals, we are told that this is a rented plane. Any guesses as to who is funding and supporting these criminal mercenary (proxy army of the New World Order). If you guessed John McCain you would be right on target. It is also known that Abdulhakem Belhaj, one of the most well known terrorists and John McCain's best friend, is purchasing weapons from a Tunisian arms dealer named Yousef Zaroug , with the help of his brother in the Serbian embassy and being aided by Qatar and Turkey. Belhaj has stolen over a billion dollars from the Libyans and is now a billionaire terrorist.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383043/large/3_1_2017_radical_meet_in_libya.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383043/full/3_1_2017_radical_meet_in_libya.jpg)
Ismayel al-Sallabi, Ahmed Abd Al jaleel Hessnawi and Ahmed Al Tajur
Murabitoun made their first attack on the oil ports of Ras Lanuf and Sidra this past week. They took these oil ports away from the Libyan National Army (representing the Tobruk Parliament) and are now threatening to move towards Benghazi to take the other oil ports of Brega and Zuetina from the Libyan people. (See photos 6 & 7 below). The first photo is of a man named Mustafa Sharksy he is a military leader with Murabitoun. The ports of Ras Lanuf and Sidra are now under the control of a company called Crescent Oil, this is the company of the terrorists.
Meanwhile not to be discounted, the dirty game that the military industrial complex has been playing with Libya since 2011 continues. Africom has been bombing Sirte, Libya for over a year. Obama called in 200 strikes on his last day in office. The reason for these strikes, according to Africom, is to cleanse ISIS from Sirte. Well, that is a half truth, ISIS has been cleared from Sirte but it has been handed over to the new Murabitoun. Last year Africom bombed in support of the Misurata Militias (Hillary Clinton's mercenaries), now they are bombing in support of the newly formed radical group. The Libyans say that this is the dirty game that has been played against them since the beginning and it just continues. Africom was still bombing in Sirte this week. (see photos 8, 9, 10 & 11 below)
The only other group laying claim to Libya is the UN puppet government. This so called "Unity Government" is led by a man named Serraj who was appointed along with his group in a meeting in Tunisia. This puppet government has never had any authority in Libya, never recognized by any Libyans as any legitimate form of government. Serraj and his gang of Muslim Brotherhood had to sneak into Libya by the dark of night by boat from Tunisia because they would have never been allowed in openly. The mass media and the UN tout this Serraj as the Prime Minister of Libya, interesting that only the UN and certain western Imperialist nations refer to him by that title. The Libyan people could care less about this fake government. to them it does not even exist.
So, now that you have all the radicals joining forces in Libya under the new name of Murabitoun making up one side of the story. On the other side of the story is Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan National Army working with the Tobruk Parliament. The great tribes of Libya have never supported Haftar because he is a traitor to Libya. He was with the CIA for over 30 years inside the US and dropped into Libya in 2011 to lead Clinton's mercenaries against the legitimate government of Libya. After Libya became a failed state, apparently Haftar had a change of heart (no one really believes this) and changed sides to fight the mercenary radicals that he had been leader for in 2011. However, now the Libyan people and tribes find themselves forced into a position where they must support their army, the only one that is fighting against the criminals occupying their country. That army is led by General Haftar. The tribes know that they will never get their country back as long as they are divided in any way, so they have decided to back the Libyan National Army, as that is their only choice at this point. They are under no illusion as to whom Haftar is, however, if he holds the position they can use to take their country back, then so be it. After the country is cleaned, Haftar will be a different matter.
It is also known at this time that Russia has offered to train about 300 of Haftar's men to be special forces. The Libyan National Army is said to be made up of approximately 5000 men.
In some ways all these radicals joining forces helps the outside world understand the situation in Libya. Finally, people will be able to understand that it is the Libyan people fighting the radical Islamists in Libya. There is no civil war in Libya. There are only these paid mercenaries (called radical Islamists) who invaded Libya. These Clinton, Obama, McCain mercenaries are the true enemy of all Libyans.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383044/large/weapons_arriving_al_jufra_3_17.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383044/full/weapons_arriving_al_jufra_3_17.jpg)
US cargo plane with the name Iraqi Air Force on it.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383045/large/weapons_n_mercenary_troops_al_.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383045/full/weapons_n_mercenary_troops_al_.jpg)
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383046/large/al_jufra_airbase_3_2017.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383046/full/al_jufra_airbase_3_2017.jpg)
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383047/large/al_jufra_airbase_3_2017_1.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383047/full/al_jufra_airbase_3_2017_1.jpg)
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383048/large/mustafa_sharksy_colonel_radica.png (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383048/full/mustafa_sharksy_colonel_radica.png)
Mustafa Sharksy
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383049/large/0_02_05_0bdd9097dda0c09f921b56.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383049/full/0_02_05_0bdd9097dda0c09f921b56.jpg)
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383050/large/sirte_libyan_march_2017a.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383050/full/sirte_libyan_march_2017a.jpg)
Hervé
14th March 2017, 15:08
Libyan government ready to implement arms contracts with Russia reached under Muammar Gaddafi (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703141051560252-libya-gaddafi-arms-russia/)
Sputnik (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201703141051560252-libya-gaddafi-arms-russia/)
Tue, 14 Mar 2017 14:30 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383584/large/1025083640.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383584/full/1025083640.jpg)
© AP/Manu Brabo
Russia promised to assist the local authorities in the east of Libya in combating terrorism, he said.
"We asked the Russian government to help us in training of the armed forces, repairing of military equipment by Russian experts, as most of our officers were trained in Russia and many speak Russian, and they know how to use Russian equipment. We were promised an assistance in the fight against terrorism," Issa said.
"Commissions which will have to check and monitor the implementation of defense contracts reached with Russia during the rule of Muammar Gaddafi will be established. They will be implemented with the two sides' good will," Issa said.
During the visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to Libya in April 2008, Moscow and Tripoli signed a number of intergovernmental and commercial agreements, including the one to write off the Libyan debt amounting to $4.5 billion in exchange for contracts for Russian defense industry, though no details on the deals were made public.
Russia ready to take in new groups of Libyan wounded military men from the eastern part of the country for treatment, he said.
In early February, about 70 soldiers from the Libyan national army under command of Khalifa Haftar were sent to Russia for medical treatment.
"The friendly Russian government expressed its willingness to accept the wounded for treatment, and eventually it fulfilled the promise. If we need to send another group of wounded to Russia, they are ready to provide this humanitarian assistance," Isa said.
Libya's House of Representatives has sent an invitation to members of the defense and foreign affairs committees of the Russian State Duma to visit the country's east, Saleh said.
"We have sent a letter to the Russian State Duma with an invitation of a range of members of the defense and foreign affairs committees to visit Libya (the government troop-controlled eastern part. We await their visit," Issa said.
According to the politician, Libyan lawmakers will soon visit Moscow.
Libya has been in a state of turmoil since 2011, when a civil war began in the country and its longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown. In December 2015, Libya's rival governments — the Council of Deputies based in Tobruk and the Tripoli-based General National Congress — agreed to create the Government of National Accord, to form the Presidency Council and to end the political impasse.
Hervé
14th March 2017, 15:15
Ukrainian soldiers caught planting car bombs in Donbass: Guess who trained them? (http://russia-insider.com/en/ukrainian-soldiers-caught-planting-bombs-donbass-say-they-were-trained-americans/ri19203)
Rudy Panko Russia Insider (http://russia-insider.com/en/ukrainian-soldiers-caught-planting-bombs-donbass-say-they-were-trained-americans/ri19203)
Tue, 14 Mar 2017 14:28 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383573/large/ukrops.png (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383573/full/ukrops.png)
The "mystery" behind the long list of assassinated rebel leaders in Donbass might now be solved.
Two Ukrainian soldiers have been captured with weapons and bomb-making materials by Lugansk authorities.
The two soldiers, both allegedly part of Ukraine's Special Forces, confessed to assassinating the rebel commander Oleg Anashchenko last month.
Guess who trained them? You already know.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383576/large/slide.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383576/full/slide.jpg)
Watch:
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A (very) incomplete list of prominent rebel leaders who have been assassinated:
May 23, 2015: Luhansk rebel leader Aleksey Mozgovoy is assassinated (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleksey_Mozgovoy) in East Ukraine (his car was ambushed).
October 16, 2016: Donetsk rebel leader Arsen Pavlov, aka "Motorola", is (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arsen_Pavlov) assassinated by a bomb.
February 8, 2017: Donetsk rebel leader Mikhail Tolstykh, aka "Givi", is (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mikhail_Tolstykh) assassinated by some sort of explosive projectile or bomb.
Hervé
14th March 2017, 23:58
Propaganda fail: Ukrainian forces caught shelling their own citizens (http://theduran.com/ukrainian-forces-caught-firing-on-their-own-territory-video/)
Adam Garrie The Duran (http://theduran.com/ukrainian-forces-caught-firing-on-their-own-territory-video/)
Tue, 14 Mar 2017 23:40 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383732/large/ukrainian_grad.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/383732/full/ukrainian_grad.jpg)
The war in Donbass can no longer be called a civil war.
The Donbass republics have not merely declared symbolic independence of the fascist junta in Kiev. The Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics functionally operate as independent states (http://theduran.com/historical-basis-donbass-fight-freedom/). They are rapidly ending all remaining economic ties with Ukraine and a recent Presidential decree (http://theduran.com/donbass-and-russia-are-on-the-road-back-home/) by President Putin affords citizens of the Donbass republics with virtually all the rights of citizens of CIS (Commonwealth of Independent States) members.
But there is an actual civil war going on in Ukraine. It is not over territory but over political influence. The fascist regime in Kiev is currently engaged in a wide array of battles (http://theduran.com/donbass-breaking-away-ukraine/) with non-governmental ultra-fascist organizations, Right Sector being a notable one.
As Petro Poroshenko's power continues to wane and the poor economy now on the verge of total collapse, many are suspecting that elements even more radical than those who led the 2014 coup against Viktor Yanukovych, may stage a so-called 'Maidan 2.0'.
The civil war has thus far seen fascist radicals threaten to block transit (https://dninews.com/article/ukrainian-radicals-threaten-block-railroad-traffic-russian-border-april-2)of goods and people from Russia into their borders, burn down branches of Sberbank (https://dninews.com/article/kiev-nazis-block-sberbank-office-concrete-lit-flares-pics) in their own cities and blockade the transit of essential coal from Donetsk (http://theduran.com/donbass-and-russia-are-on-the-road-back-home/)into their own regions.
Now though, video has emerged of forces loyal to Kiev, shelling housing in areas under their own control. They are literally firing upon their own citizens.
935QgK7GLkA
The video (https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=34&v=935QgK7GLkA), which shows angry locals expressing their hatred of the fascist regime, has become an example of propaganda backfiring on Kiev.
Kiev is eager to show those who still support the regime that they are 'bravely' fighting a war in Donbass. Instead, the reality which emerges again and again is that the fascist forces are firing indiscriminately on civilians, even those within their own territory.
This war of aggression could be stopped if the western powers that helped bring the regime to power would pull the plug. Thus far they remain unwilling to do so. Because of this, the war of aggression against Donbass and the simultaneous civil war gripping Ukraine, continues without abatement.
Cidersomerset
15th March 2017, 21:31
Mc Cain and Graham are leading the war hawk neo - con faction in Washington
and have to get things moving if they are going to keep their promise to the
Ukraine that 2017 will be a year of victory in defeating Russia.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sSmGQp6y9us
http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?96547-WikiLeaks-Press-Conference-on-CIA-Vault-7--March-9-2017-&p=1140342&viewfull=1#post1140342
====================================================
Neo - Con McCain accuses Rand Paul of ‘working for Putin’
pq3YdA4Mb84
Published on 15 Mar 2017
After Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) objected to ratifying a treaty that would allow
Montenegro to join NATO, Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) angrily accused him of
“working for” Russian President Vladimir Putin.
====================================================
====================================================
'Most powerful man in the world': CNN 'blockbuster' documentary on Putin
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_LX4l7mvh4
Published on 15 Mar 2017
Vladimir Putin is subject to relentless media scrutiny. Most recently CNN showed its
special called ‘The Most Powerful Man in the World’.
====================================================
====================================================
MSNBC continuous Russian hysteria is dangerous...
Tucker: NBC the real meddler in election, not Russia
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lQgfBiLr5w
Published on 14 Mar 2017
Tucker Carlson: NBC did more to meddle in 2016 election than Russia by being
behind the worst of all leaks - the infamous Access Hollywood Trump tape to WaPo,
which could have swayed the elections more than Russian hackers #Tucker
Cidersomerset
15th March 2017, 22:02
MC Cain and the Neo - Con/Dem are targeting Roger Stone as they step up
pressure on Trump....After appearing on mainstream news he was victim
of a hit and run car crash, coincidence ? Uhm !!
Roger Stone to testify before Congress after John McCain issues subpoena
F9Wu43w4kIs
Published on 14 Mar 2017
On State of the Union, Jake Tapper asks Sen. McCain about Trump confidant
Roger Stone admitting to reporters that he conversed online with the DNC hackers.
==================================================
==================================================
The title of this mainstream interview is misleading as they are trying to pressure
trump by getting rid or smearing his associates.....
Trump confidant admits to prior contact with Russian hacker Guccifer 2.0.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnFZKnlQlDw
Published on 14 Mar 2017
Roger Stone, a former adviser to President Trump, says he had brief contact
with a hacker who infiltrated the Democratic National Committee. Justice
correspondent Jeff Pegues discussed the revelation with Stone and got his
take on the President Trump's wiretap allegations.
====================================================
====================================================
BREAKING: Another Attempted HIT On Roger Stone Averted
sHYggucjo2k
Published on 15 Mar 2017
Roger Stone tells Alex Jones about his recent encounter with an auto-assassin in Florida.
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At least 31 people killed in two suicide blasts in Damascus, Syria
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zfr-A5YoPxQ
Published on 15 Mar 2017
The Syrian capital has been hit by two major sucide blasts. The first occured in the
main Court building, at least 31 people killed. The second took place in a restaurant
in the north west of the city, the number of casualties is not confirmed yet.
===================================================
===================================================
(RAW) Libyan National Army forces recapture Ras Lanuf oil port
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JjCO9uvE3JA
Published on 14 Mar 2017
LNA troops managed to recapture the oil port of Ras Lanuf during a ground
offensive. The soldiers battled against the rival Benghazi Defence Brigades (BDB)
who gained control of the facility earlier in March.
Cidersomerset
16th March 2017, 17:44
Rand Paul responds to McCains allegations....
" I think he puts a really strong case for term limits "
" maybe he is past his prime , maybe he has become a
little unhinged ".............
Rand Paul: Not Much Unity Over Paul Ryan's Health
Care Replacement Plan | Morning Joe | MSNBC
nhbAFkV2s8A
Published on 16 Mar 2017
Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., discusses John McCain's criticisms of him over
NATO expansion, why he opposes NATO expansion and fixing health care.
==============================================
==============================================
RAW: Anti-ISIS military op underway in Western Mosul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_yvt91v8fak
Published on 16 Mar 2017
View of Dawasa neighborhood on the western side of Mosul, as Iraqi forces
continue their offensive against ISIS militants.
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=============================================
US admits having little data on civilian suffering in Mosul
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WUKth6UqiHc
Published on 15 Mar 2017
The AirWar monitoring group raised alarm about hundreds reported killed just
within a week. US and Iraqi officials, however, cannot evaluate the casualties,
citing a lack of 'visibility' on the situation.
==============================================
==============================================
‘All of us were ISIS human shields’: RT meets survivors of Mosul siege (EXCLUSIVE)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exRbLwJx0I4
Published on 16 Mar 2017
The battle for Mosul has taken a heavy toll on civilians struggling to escape the
crossfire between ISIS and the Iraqi army, survivors have told RT’s Murad Gazdiev.
Cidersomerset
16th March 2017, 22:33
He overstepped the line – Ron Paul on McCain accusing Rand Paul of ‘working with Putin’
UysYPW-PBys
Published on 16 Mar 2017
John McCain accuses Senator Rand Paul of working for the Russian
president, as he voiced an objection to Montenegro’s accession to NATO.
=============================================
US anti-missile system raising concerns
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dRUt6DVHB20
Published on 17 Mar 2017
The US has deployed the THAAD anti-missile system in South Korea in response to
North Korea's missile and nuclear tests. The system is raising additional tensions on
the Korean peninsula.
Cidersomerset
17th March 2017, 19:49
Israeli jets strike inside Syria; military site near Palmyra reportedly targeted
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XEqAtkm0g38
Published on 17 Mar 2017
Jerusalem (CNN)In the most serious clash between Israeli and Syrian forces since
the start of Syria's civil war six years ago, Israeli aircraft struck several targets in
Syria overnight, the Israeli military said Friday. The Syrian military said the strikes
targeted a military site near Palmyra. The ancient city, once held by ISIS and retaken
by the Syrian government, is seen as strategically important to both the regime and
its opponents. In response, Syrian forces fired anti-aircraft missiles at the Israeli jets,
saying they downed one aircraft and hit another. Israeli vehemently denied the assertions,
calling them "absolutely not true. " 🔴 Overnight, IAF conducted strikes against several
targets in #Syria. Anti-aircraft missiles launched at the aircraft were intercepted. —
Peter Lerner (@LTCPeterLerner) March 17, 2017
"At no point was the safety of Israeli civilians or the IAF aircraft compromised," a statement
from the Israel Defense Forces said.
===================================================
===================================================
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Israel's Arrow anti-missile system 'in first hit'
http://ichef-1.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/8F7A/production/_95203763_mediaitem95203762.jpg
Israel's anti-missile system is one of the most advanced of its kind in the world
Israel has shot down a Syrian missile using its most advanced anti-missile system
for the first time, Israeli media say.
read more...
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-39302416
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At least 50 killed in Aleppo mosque strike, US admit targeting building nearby
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPEyTPjoFow
Published on 17 Mar 2017
U.S. Central Command has confirmed it carried out a deadly air strike in Syria. The
strike took place on the border area between the Aleppo and Idlib provinces.
===================================================
===================================================
Israel is ‘acting as air power for ISIS’ – investigative journalist
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5nfiIpQ0K00
Published on 17 Mar 2017
A total of four Israeli jets breached Syrian airspace on Friday morning and hit “a
military target” near Palmyra, according to the Syrian army. While Syrian forces
say they shot down one of the jets and damaged another, Israel claims that none
were harmed. Investigative journalist Rania Khalek joins RT America’s Manila Chan
to offer her analysis of the incident and to discuss the Western sanctions that have
wrecked Syria's economy and crippled humanitarian aid there.
Hervé
19th March 2017, 16:18
French MPs speak sacrilege: Russia effectively fights terrorists in Syria, Europe should work with Moscow (https://www.rt.com/news/381257-russia-syria-french-mps/)
RT (https://www.rt.com/news/381257-russia-syria-french-mps/)
Sun, 19 Mar 2017 15:26 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/384717/large/58cd7ae2c361881c0f8b45f3.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/384717/full/58cd7ae2c361881c0f8b45f3.jpg)
© Maksim Blinov / Sputnik
European states, along with the US, should change their attitude and policy towards the Syrian conflict by joining Moscow and Damascus in their fight against Islamist terrorism, which has proven "successful", French MPs told RT during their visit in Moscow.
Europe "should be realistic and give priority to destroying Islamist terrorism," Jacques Lamblin, a lawmaker from the center-right Republican Party told RT, adding that European countries should join in efforts with Russia and the Syrian President Bashar Assad, who in fact "rules the country."
Lamblin went on to criticize Europe's approach to the moderate rebels operating in Syria, whom he denounced as "moderate terrorists." He said that helping them in order to "get rid of Assad turned out to be a bad idea because they turned against the French and the Western forces."
He also praised Russia's strategy in the Syrian conflict as "very wise", including dealing with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
"The Russians, though, said that it was necessary to work with Assad to target Daesh [Arab acronym for ISIS]... and that's what has actually proved successful," the official pointed out.
His words were echoed by another member of the French parliamentary delegation that visited Moscow, Michel Voisin. Speaking to RT, he said Russian military support for the Syrian forces "significantly helped to reduce the activity of Daesh in the Middle East".
"Their [Islamic State's] activity does continue, but, in Syria, it is certainly been reduced. I think we need to continue combining our forces in order to end the conflict and make the region a peaceful and stable place," he stressed.
Earlier, the head of the French delegation, Thierry Mariani, praised Russian efforts in fighting jihadists in Syria as he met with Vyacheslav Volodin, the Speaker of Russian State Duma. "I would like to welcome Russia's success in Syria," he said, as cited by TASS.
Mariani went on to say that he "saw all those humanitarian efforts Russia takes to help civilians [in Syria]" and expressed his regret over the fact that "the western countries still regard terrorists and the Syrian government as equal [threats] thus only contributing to the continuation of war."
The French delegation arrived in Russia on March 15 for a three-day visit that included various meetings and panel discussions with lawmakers from both houses of parliament.
The officials discussed fighting international terrorism, the wars in Iraq and Syria, the Middle East situation as well as questions of the inter-parliamentarian cooperation between France and Russia, the head of the State Duma's International Affairs Committee, Leonid ****skiy, told Russian media.
The French delegation had already visited Russia twice, in 2015 and 2016. The French MP's also visited Aleppo after it was liberated by Syrian government forces supported by Russia.
Mariani noted that without Moscow's support, Syria "would have had a chance of falling into the hands of terrorists".
The latest comments of the French parliamentarians come as opposition fighters and their families are being evacuated from the last remaining opposition-held stronghold in Homs, central Syria, under a Russian-brokered evacuation deal, which was signed earlier this week.
According to Homs' governor, Talal al-Barazi, the first group of rebels that included some 300 fighters and more than a thousand of their family members already left the city.
Hervé
19th March 2017, 23:52
Surprise: Audio recording of NATO instructors found on the phones of Kiev saboteurs detained in Lugansk (http://www.stalkerzone.org/audio-recording-nato-instructors-found-phones-sbu-saboteurs-detained-lugansk/)
Translated by Ollie Richardson & Angelina Siard
Stalkerzone (http://www.stalkerzone.org/audio-recording-nato-instructors-found-phones-sbu-saboteurs-detained-lugansk/)
Mon, 13 Mar 2017 17:45 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/384795/large/NATO_SCHOOL_OGAU_Classroom.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/384795/full/NATO_SCHOOL_OGAU_Classroom.jpg)
Experts of the Ministry of State Security of the LPR "pulled" from the phones of the detained (http://www.stalkerzone.org/lpr-police-detained-involved-murder-colonel-anashchenko/) Ukrainian saboteurs a recording taken during a class of a training center, carried out by instructors of NATO countries.
The center of training for sabotage and terrorist groups was constructed in the Khmelnytsky district in the settlement of Kopystyn. The training of "reconnaissance and sabotage groups" in "fire preparation, mine-sabotage and exploding, and tactical and special preparation" took place using the material and technical resources of foreign instructors.
c1jXk-zaYN0
It is known that the NATO instructors subsequently supplied the reconnaissance and sabotage groups with explosives and means of communication.
Putting to one side the fact that NATO is essentially the US-occupation of Europe, and a pretext to move US nuclear weapons onto the European continent - all in the name of pushing back the "red plague", it defies logic how Russia can be called "aggressive" when NATO has been, both overtly and covertly, at the crime scene in, to name a few, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan, Yemen, and now Ukraine.
The sole reason that the ordinary man and woman in the street is unaware of this is the work of the brainwashing tool known as the "media". There is of course the added obstacle known as "denial", where the aforementioned laypeople don't want to believe that such things are true. For those who are more informed, however, unpleasant truths over time become easier to swallow than comfortable lies.
Story via News Front (https://news-front.info/2017/03/13/audiozapisi-instruktorov-nato-s-telefonov-zaderzhannyh-v-luganske-diversantov-sbu/)
Related:
Deserter from Ukraine's military tells of NATO-guided preparations for attack on Lugansk (https://www.sott.net/article/322671-Deserter-from-Ukraines-military-tells-of-NATO-guided-preparations-for-attack-on-Lugansk)
Two Kiev officials defect to Lugansk, call war on east genocide (https://www.sott.net/article/297847-Two-Kiev-officials-defect-to-Lugansk-call-war-on-east-genocide)
NATO Kiev jets bomb downtown Lugansk - At least 5 innocent bystanders killed (https://www.sott.net/article/279957-NATO-Kiev-jets-bomb-downtown-Lugansk-At-least-5-innocent-bystanders-killed)
Cidersomerset
23rd March 2017, 19:19
http://static.bbci.co.uk/frameworks/barlesque/3.20.5/orb/4/img/bbc-blocks-dark.png
Afghan Taliban capture crucial town of Sangin
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/660/cpsprodpb/7733/production/_87351503_87351501.jpg
The struggle for Sangin is part of a wider battle for control in Helmand province
The Taliban have captured the crucial south Afghan district of Sangin after a
year-long battle, officials say.Government forces say they have made a tactical
retreat from the centre of Sangin.A spokesman for Helmand's governor confirmed
the district police and governor's headquarters were now in militant hands.
Almost a quarter of British troops killed during the UK's combat mission in
Afghanistan died defending Sangin.Hundreds of members of the Afghan security
forces died there in recent fighting.
Separately, at least nine local policemen were killed in an "insider" attack in Kunduz
in the north early on Thursday. A guard who officials say was linked to the Taliban
reportedly gave access to insurgents at a security checkpoint located on the
Kunduz-Kabul highway. The attackers took weapons and ammunition with them.
read more....
http://ichef.bbci.co.uk/news/624/cpsprodpb/8D43/production/_87336163_sangin_624.png
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-39365330
Sophocles
24th March 2017, 01:13
Balakleya munitions depot disaster Ukraine SITREP (http://thesaker.is/balakleya-munitions-depot-disaster-ukraine-sitrep/)
The Saker
March 23, 2017
by Scott Humor
http://dxczjjuegupb.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/occupation-864x400_c.jpeg
In Balakleya Tochka-U and Grad missiles explosions over the town, 24 hours of this
On the night of March 23, a fire broke out on the territory of the military munitions depot of the Ministry of Defense, which is located near the city of Balakleya, Kharkov region, which led to the detonation of ammunition. The explosions are still ongoing. An entire area has been evacuated, involving from 20,000 to 45,000 people.
President Poroshenko has announced on his Twitter that he ordered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to the Ministry of Defense and Emergency Department to invite NATO to deal with the aftermath of this disaster, or how he phrased it to do “humanitarian demining.”
He got 126 retweets.
We all know that NATO has no capability to deal with the environmental and humanitarian disasters. So, the true reason why they blew up this depot was to invite NATO troops to position them in Donbass region.
Clearly, the junta refuses to leave and now is trying openly, not covertly, to use the foreign troops to keep the population under the control.
Chronicles of evacuation (https://cont.ws/@vityzeva/564297)
People have been running for their lives, fleeing the affected area by foot and using their personal means of transportation, carrying with them their children, IDs and cats, and nothing much else.
There aren’t any people that would come to help for free. There aren’t any government issued transportation like buses. There is no military around to assist. People are arriving from unaffected regions and charge the victims high fees for everything, food, water and rides.
According to the first deputy of the Kharkov mayor Igor Terekhov (http://newsme.com.ua/en/accident/incident/3725178/), people who left their place of permanent residence in Balakley and the nearest villages can be accommodated in a temporally housing like tents for 70 people, in addition they can offer some “modular housing” for 40 people.
In the Kharkov City Center for the Reintegration of Homeless Citizens, they are ready to accept 10 men and 10 women.
In Kharkov city center of complex rehabilitation of persons with disabilities “Promin” can temporarily accommodate 3 families of 4 people.
KP Kharkivvodokanal is also ready to provide seats for 400 people in the children’s recreation camps Fakel and Romashka (Vasishchevo settlement), at the recreation center Aqua (Old Saltov village, Volchansk district).
In case of shortage of places for evacuees, another 400 people are ready to place in the barracks of Kharkov University Air Force named after Ivan Kozhedub
We can see that out of 45,000 people that assumed to be evacuated, the authorities have placement for 900.
On the videos you can see white objects flying around. Those are shells and missiles. Falling on the villages and small towns around, they cause fires and explosions.
OQLXGWNjkdY
BiJe8irYfYE
Kiev regime media is not reporting anything, but according to the locals:
Balaklavsky dairy production plant had been blown up, causing leaks of chlorine and ammonia;
An electric power station in town Neftyanik has been blown up;
Houses in village Verbovka are on fire;
Railroad station Balakleya is under shelling, with the entire 110 town district;
Shells even reach a small town Lager (Camp);
http://dxczjjuegupb.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/balakleija02.jpg
The authorities left people to get out on their own. There is no evacuation efforts. People just were told to flee with no assistance from the junta and local authorities.
I will write here more in a few hours.
http://dxczjjuegupb.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/orig-14902832920a775eee6e1fea47bbddbca078890bea-768x432.jpeg
Scott Humor
Hervé
24th March 2017, 22:30
Thierry Meyssan: Revelations - Lafarge-Holcim's jihad against the Syrian government (http://www.voltairenet.org/article195754.html)
Thierry Meyssan Voltairenet.org (http://www.voltairenet.org/article195754.html)
Fri, 24 Mar 2017 00:00 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/385834/large/195719_3_3_22807.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/385834/full/195719_3_3_22807.jpg)
Daesh soldiers at the Lafarge-Holcim factory in Jalabiyeh (Syria)
On 2 March 2017, the company Lafarge-Holcim admitted that its Syrian subsidiary, in violation of UNO resolutions, had «paid sums of money to third parties, including certain third parties who are under sanction, in order to facilitate arrangements with a number of armed groups with a view to maintaining the company's activity and ensuring safe passage for its employees and supplies to and from the factory» [1 (http://www.voltairenet.org/article195754.html#nb1)].
The cement company has already been the object of two enquiries. The first was initiated by the associations Sherpa and ECCHR, on 15 November 2016, while the second was launched by the French Minister of the Economy. Both were reacting to the alleged revelations in Le Monde, according to which Lafarge paid money to Daesh, in violation of UNO resolutions.
It's important to note that the articles published on 2 March in Intelligence Online (a confidential site belonging to Le Monde) and in Le Monde itself on 22 June 2016, were written by a journalist who is not affiliated with these news outlets - Dorothée Myriam Kellou. This young woman studied at Georgtown University. Her statements were confirmed in a book by Jacob Waerness, Risikosjef i Syra, in which the ex-employee decribes the frightening security situation of Lafarge personnel in Syria. The author pursued his collaboration with the cement company after the publication of his book.
The pseudo-revelations of Le Monde were organised in coordination with Lafarge-Holcim in order to focus the attention of the public and the judges on a single point of detail - namely, should they have accepted being held to ransom by Daesh.
The truth is worse than that.
The preparation of the war against Syria
In June 2008, NATO organised the annual meeting of the Bilderberg Group [2 (http://www.voltairenet.org/article195754.html#nb2)] in Chantilly (United States) during which Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama presented themselves to the participants.
Among the 120 people present were Bassma Kodmani (future spokeswoman for the Syrian National Coalition) and Volker Perthes (future assistant of Jeffrey Feltman at the UNO, for Syria). During a debate on the permanence of US foreign policy, they spoke up to commend the importance of the Muslim Brotherhood and the role they could play in the «democratisation» of the Arab world.
Jean-Pierre Jouyet (future Secretary General for the Elysée), Manuel Valls (future Prime Minister of France) and Bertrand Collomb (head of Lafarge) were present alongside Henry R. Kravis (future financial coordinator of Daech).
Lafarge in Syria
Lafarge is the world's leading cement company. NATO entrusted it with the construction of the jihadists' bunkers in Syria and the reconstruction of the Sunni part of Iraq. In exchange, Lafarge allowed the Alliance to manage its installations in these two countries, notably the factory in Jalabiyeh (at the Turkish border, north of Aleppo). For two years, the multinational supplied the materials and equipment for the construction of the gigantic underground fortifications which enabled the jihadists to defy the Syrian Arab Army.
Lafarge is currently directed by US citizen Eric Olsen, who has integrated into his company the factories of the Sawiris brothers and Firas Tlass. The latter is the son of General Moustapha Tlass, President Hafez el-Assad's ex-Minister for Defence. He is the brother of General Manas Tlass, whom France had once considered making the next Syrian President. He is also the brother of Nahed Tlass-Ojjeh, the widow of Saudi arms dealer Akram Ojjeh - she works with the journalist Franz-Olivier Giesbert.
The links between Lafarge and the French Special Forces are facilitated by the friendship between Bertrand Collomb (who became the honorary President of the multinational) and General Benoît Puga (Chief of Staff for Presidents Sarkozy and Hollande).
The lies of Le Monde
First of all, the online news outlet of the anti-Syrian mercenaires, Zaman Al-Wasl, published e-mails showing that Lafarge was paying money to Daesh. Then Le Monde published its articles and took the documents from Zaman Al-Wasl off its Internet site (although you can find them here on our Internet site (http://www.voltairenet.org/article195743.html)).
According to Le Monde, the multinational was buying oil to keep its factory running. However, this is untrue - the factory in question runs almost exclusively on coal, which was still being delivered from Turkey. Without realising the enormity of its confession, the daily admitted that Lafarge produced 2,6 million metric tonnes of cement per year, destined for the «rebel zones».
Yet throughout this terrible war, civilians could not obtain permission to build in these zones.
The construction of the jihadists' bunkers
2,6 million metric tonnes for two years adds up to at least six million metric tonnes produced for the «rebels». I'm putting the word «rebel» in quotes, because these combatants are not Syrians - they come from all over the Muslim world, including Europe.
This amount of concrete is comparable to that used by the German Reich, in 1916-17, to build the Siegfried Line. Since July 2012, NATO - including France - have organised a war of position in conformity with the strategy described by Abou Moussab «The Syrian» in his 2004 book, Management of Savagery.
We can imagine the number of military engineers from the NATO Engineering Corps - including the French - who were necessary to build these colossal structures.
Lafarge, the Clintons and the CIA
During the 1980's, Lafarge was defended in its Alabama pollution trial by a famous lawyer, a certain Hillary Rodham-Clinton. She managed to reduce the fine imposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency down to only 1,8 million dollars.
During the mandate of George Bush Sr, Lafarge helped out the CIA by illegally transporting to Iraq the weapons which would be used later on during the rebellion, when Iraq was planned to invade Kuwaït, and the international Coalition was planned to come to liberate it.
During the same period, Hillary Rodham-Clinton became an administrator for the multinational, a post she left when her husband was elected to the White House. President Bill Clinton then reduced to 600,000 dollars the fine that his wife had been unable to avoid for Lafarge. Good relations continued between them, since the cement company donated 100,000 dollars to the Clinton Fondation in 2015, and its new CEO, Eric Olsen, never hesitates to have his photo taken with Hillary Clinton.
The Russian military intervention
Entrenched in their bunkers, the jihadists were not afraid of the Syrian Arab Army, and had no difficulty in holding their positions. For two years, the country was cut in two, since the government chose to save the population and thus to abandon the area.
When Russia stepped in, answering the request by the Syrian government, its mission was to destroy the jihadists' bunkers with penetrating «bunker-buster» bombs. The operation was intended to last three months, from September 2015 until the Orthodox Christmas (6 January 2016). However, the extent of Lafarge-Holcim's constructions proved to be so massive that the Russian Army needed six months to finish the job.
Conclusion
When the transnational company Lafarge-Holcim finished its mission in service of the Military Engineering Corps of NATO, it closed its factory and lent it to the Alliance. So the factory in Jalabiyeh was transformed into a headquarters for the Special Forces of the United States, France, Norway and the United Kingdom, who were occupying the North of Syria illegally.
Contrary to the smoke-screen raised by Le Monde, this is not at all the sad story of a construction company which was forced to negotiate with jihadists in order to save its personnel. Lafarge-Holcim's responsibility is its central role in a vast military operation aimed at the destruction of Syria - a secret war which cost the lives of hundreds of thousands of people.
Related:
French-Swiss company Lafarge admits funding militants in Syria (https://www.sott.net/article/344107-French-Swiss-company-Lafarge-admits-funding-militants-in-Syria)
Paris strikes corporate partnership with Lafarge, who secretly sponsored ISIS for profit and has ties to Killary (https://www.sott.net/article/324151-Paris-strikes-corporate-partnership-with-Lafarge-who-secretly-sponsored-ISIS-for-profit-and-has-ties-to-Killary)
Hervé
26th March 2017, 20:12
Putin: Red line in Syria not an invitation for Israeli 'Russian roulette' with Assad (https://www.rt.com/op-edge/382345-israel-air-strike-syria-putin/)
Martin Jay RT (https://www.rt.com/op-edge/382345-israel-air-strike-syria-putin/)
Sun, 26 Mar 2017 15:38 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/386118/large/50561561_Vladi.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/386118/full/50561561_Vladi.jpg)
© 123RF.com
Israel's redline is the establishment of a permanent Iranian presence in Syria. Russia's redline is the elimination of a permanent Iranian presence in Syria.
What is Israel's real role in the war in Syria? Can we really believe that it doesn't want to get involved in the conflict? And how much longer can Israel be Washington's strong arm in the region while sustaining good relations with Russia?
A minor incident (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/17/israeli-fighter-jets-fired-upon-missiles-syria-mission-assad) took place last week in Syria which few in Washington and London even noticed, but which drew the attention of geopolitical nerds who observe the daily developments in Damascus. Israel conducted an air attack on what it claims was a movement of Hezbollah missiles. In itself, it was hardly remarkable and has happened in the past. In fact, Israel's attacks have generally been on Hezbollah commanders or the transportation of ordinance.
What made this attack remarkable was the response of Syrian President Bashar Assad.
Not only did he launch a ballistic missile into Israel, but quickly stated to the media that no more such attacks would be tolerated. The last time, in fact, that Assad issued such stern warnings (https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/israel/diplomacy-defense/141050-170325-syria-threatens-to-fire-scud-missiles-at-israel-if-strikes-continue-report) to Israel was over the Golan Heights in 2013, when he threatened the Israelis with the use of Russian weapons.
But now the threat is wider and throws into question both how far Russia will go in supporting Assad, but also to what extent Israel is prepared to risk ruining its own relations with Moscow.
This time, the Syrian president is speaking with a new gusto, almost as though he has the full military support of Russia behind him. Indeed, although he also hinted in reports that he wanted Moscow to support any return fire in the future, the rhetoric corresponds entirely with what Russian President Vladimir Putin had warned (http://www.express.co.uk/news/world/608121/Putin-west-Assad-fight-against-ISIS) regional foes in 2015, when Russia entered Syria with its own forces.
Israel's return threat via the media (http://edition.cnn.com/2017/03/19/middleeast/israel-syria-air-defenses-liberman/) from Foreign Minister Lieberman to entirely wipe out Syria's anti-aircraft arsenal slightly shook the cordial working relationship they enjoy with Moscow. This immediately resulted in the Israeli ambassador in Moscow being summoned (https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/mar/20/russia-summons-israeli-ambassador-explain-air-raids-syria) to explain himself, since a 2015 deal (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-russia-israel-idUSKCN0RL10K20150921) was struck, whereby Israel would stay out of the way of Assad and his allies in the conflict.
The incident has added more momentum to the much talked-of quandary that Israel is currently in - with the new US administration settling in and a new dynamic in the war unfolding, many are asking how long Israel can continue to straddle two opposing geopolitical agendas.
"No matter how good the coordination mechanism between the two sides," writes (https://ottomansandzionists.com/2017/03/23/israel-and-russia-head-for-a-crash/) Michael Koplow of the Israel Policy Forum, "the fundamental conflict at the heart of Israeli-Russian views on Syria is that Israel's redline is the establishment of a permanent Iranian presence in Syria and Russia's redline is the elimination of a permanent Iranian presence in Syria." In other words, 'something's got to give.'
It's as though Israel, Syria, and Russia are all now entering a new phase of both recalibrating their relations and roles with one another, but also testing the water to see who backs down when the heat gets turned up. Russia has not officially said it will back Assad if he were to start firing at Israeli jets, but the Syrian president clearly thinks it will. But that is not the most poignant question, but more whether Assad's strained resources on the battlefield could continue to hold the ground in Syria if it were to engage in a new campaign against Israel.
Netanyahu is banking on Assad not being so stupid as to lay himself vulnerable to hardcore Sunni extremist groups taking advantage of his troops being preoccupied with Israel, who will likely take back key ground.
And yet, Israel is also pushing its luck in threatening to attack Assad for two reasons: firstly, it would be stretching its military resources, and the temptation from Hezbollah in neighboring Lebanon to strike it might be too much to contain; secondly, Israel simply cannot afford to anger Russia and become its enemy.
It needs a Russian air campaign against its fighters as much as it needs a hole in the head.
I would argue, though, that Putin may well test how far he can go with Israel, who is not really in a position to fight either Russia or its allies Hezbollah, or Iran. He may well use the Syrian Israeli border as a new red line, as was recently suggested (https://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2017/03/israel-russia-syria/520410/) by Dan Shapiro, the former US ambassador to Israel under President Barack Obama.
If we are to believe the Syrian ambassador to the UN, who recently warned that his government's response to the Israeli strikes marks a new phase of the conflict, where Israeli attacks would merit further responses, then the current diplomatic apparatus is balancing on a knife edge.
Equally, if we are also to believe one of Lebanon's leading academics, Dr. Jamal Wakim, who claims (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O7sSoSoaTtc&t=13s) that Israel is preparing for a war with Hezbollah in Lebanon, then Russia telling Israel that it no longer has 'free reign' in Syrian airspace is a milestone which all sides should observe as a lucid warning. If Syria can move the latest generation surface-to-air rockets across the country into Lebanon without fear of an Israeli airstrike, then Russia is settling doubts once and for all about how committed it is to Syria and its allies in any regional dispute.
But Israel often punches above its weight in regional clashes, and the bravado chest-beating of some of its supporters is breath taking. "Israel reserves the right to respond" argued US academic Dan Arbell, on RT's CrossTalk show.
Yet, this argument lacks gravitas when put into context, and loses its edge when followed by the standard response from Israeli apologists who struggle to justify its military actions all in the name of "defending" its sovereignty: "Israel is the only country in the region which is a democracy." This was then matched by claims that Israel is not involved in the war and sides with no particular group, despite scores of accounts from media of Israeli hospitals taking care of extremists from cabals of Al-Qaeda as well as Free Syrian Army soldiers. Indeed, even Israeli media itself admits (http://www.timesofisrael.com/the-curious-case-of-israels-syrian-patients/) that its own country "was indeed knowingly treating members of al-Nusra" in hospitals close to the Syrian border, with an average medical bill of $15,000 for each fighter. Not quite "not involved."
Twice before in Lebanon, Israel failed in its military objectives and, in particular, in 2006 massively underestimated the dynamics of Hezbollah, which is at the heart of this wrangle. And being the "only democracy" doesn't really stand up when you see how poorer, more backward countries in the region rely on stirring up nationalism just for leaders to win elections - in Israel's case preparing for a third war with Hezbollah in Lebanon - which we can expect from Prime Minister Netanyahu. If, that is, he is still in office when he calls an early election (http://www.middleeasteye.net/columns/why-netanyahu-really-threatening-early-elections-163158717) to dampen negative publicity over looming corruption charges - one of which includes bribing a media outlet to give him positive coverage.
And so, Israel may well have fighting talk, but many of its arguments can't always be taken seriously, and when they can, shouldn't be taken too seriously.
Israel should see the warning signs and not stir the Russian bear. If it can keep its end of the 'don't get in my way' deal that Israel struck in 2015 with Russia (in Syria), then perhaps that same principle can apply when Israel attacks Lebanon, without interference from Russia.
For the moment, Israel has been given a clear warning from Russia and Assad in Syria about the air strikes - one which it will probably heed, as a provocation of a war now with Assad might be hard to ignore, but will be well worth the effort to.
Hervé
30th March 2017, 15:28
What if Putin is telling the truth? Then what? (http://journal-neo.org/2015/05/15/what-if-putin-is-telling-the-truth/)
F. William Engdahl New Eastern Outlook (http://journal-neo.org/2015/05/15/what-if-putin-is-telling-the-truth/)
Fri, 15 May 2015 21:15 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s11/230447/medium/245534765467_si.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s11/230447/full/245534765467_si.jpg)
© RIA Novosti/Sergey Guneev
On April 26 Russia's main national TV station, Rossiya 1, featured President Vladimir Putin in a documentary to the Russian people on the events of the recent period including the annexation of Crimea, the US coup d'etat in Ukraine, and the general state of relations with the United States and the EU. His words were frank. And in the middle of his remarks the Russian former KGB chief dropped a political bombshell that was known by Russian intelligence two decades ago.
Putin stated bluntly that in his view the West would only be content in having a Russia weak, suffering and begging from the West, something clearly the Russian character is not disposed to. Then a short way into his remarks, the Russian President stated for the first time publicly something that Russian intelligence has known for almost two decades but kept silent until now, most probably in hopes of an era of better normalized Russia-US relations.
Putin stated that the terror in Chechnya and in the Russian Caucasus in the early 1990's was actively backed by the CIA and western Intelligence services to deliberately weaken Russia. He noted that the Russian FSB foreign intelligence had documentation of the US covert role without giving details.
What Putin, an intelligence professional of the highest order, only hinted at in his remarks, I have documented in detail from non-Russian sources. The report has enormous implications to reveal to the world the long-standing hidden agenda of influential circles in Washington to destroy Russia as a functioning sovereign state, an agenda which includes the neo-nazi coup d'etat in Ukraine and severe financial sanction warfare against Moscow. The following is drawn on my book, Amerikas' Heilige Krieg.
CIA's Chechen Wars
Not long after the CIA and Saudi Intelligence-financed Mujahideen had devastated Afghanistan at the end of the 1980's, forcing the exit of the Soviet Army in 1989, and the dissolution of the Soviet Union itself some months later, the CIA began to look at possible places in the collapsing Soviet Union where their trained "Afghan Arabs" could be redeployed to further destabilize Russian influence over the post-Soviet Eurasian space.
They were called Afghan Arabs because they had been recruited from ultraconservative Wahhabite Sunni Muslims from Saudi Arabia, the Arab Emirates, Kuwait, and elsewhere in the Arab world where the ultra-strict Wahhabite Islam was practiced. They were brought to Afghanistan in the early 1980's by a Saudi CIA recruit who had been sent to Afghanistan named Osama bin Laden.
With the former Soviet Union in total chaos and disarray, George H.W. Bush's Administration decided to "kick 'em when they're down," a sad error. Washington redeployed their Afghan veteran terrorists to bring chaos and destabilize all of Central Asia, even into the Russian Federation itself, then in a deep and traumatic crisis during the economic collapse of the Yeltsin era.
In the early 1990s, Dick Cheney's company, Halliburton, had surveyed the offshore oil potentials of Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, and the entire Caspian Sea Basin. They estimated the region to be "another Saudi Arabia" worth several trillion dollars on today's market. The US and UK were determined to keep that oil bonanza from Russian control by all means. The first target of Washington was to stage a coup in Azerbaijan against elected president Abulfaz Elchibey to install a President more friendly to a US-controlled Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, "the world's most political pipeline," bringing Baku oil from Azerbaijan through Georgia to Turkey and the Mediterranean (http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2010/07/27/obama-appoints-a-not-too-long-ago-hatched-neocon-larva/).
At that time, the only existing oil pipeline from Baku was a Soviet era Russian pipeline that ran through the Chechen capital, Grozny, taking Baku oil north via Russia's Dagestan province, and across Chechenya to the Black Sea Russian port of Novorossiysk. The pipeline was the only competition and major obstacle to the very costly alternative route of Washington and the British and US oil majors (http://www.steinbergrecherche.com/tschetschenien.htm).
President Bush Sr. gave his old friends at CIA the mandate to destroy that Russian Chechen pipeline and create such chaos in the Caucasus that no Western or Russian company would consider using the Grozny Russian oil pipeline.
Graham E. Fuller, an old colleague of Bush and former Deputy Director of the CIA National Council on Intelligence had been a key architect of the CIA Mujahideen strategy. Fuller described the CIA strategy in the Caucasus in the early 1990s: "The policy of guiding the evolution of Islam and of helping them against our adversaries worked marvelously well in Afghanistan against the Red Army. The same doctrines can still be used to destabilize what remains of Russian power."6
https://www.sott.net/image/s12/246108/medium/19_Richard_Secord_view1.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s12/246108/full/19_Richard_Secord_view1.jpg)
Richard Secord
The CIA used a dirty tricks veteran, General Richard Secord, for the operation. Secord created a CIA front company, MEGA Oil. Secord had been convicted in the 1980s for his central role in the CIA's Iran-Contra illegal arms and drugs operations (http://newint.org/features/2009/10/01/blowback-extended-version/).
In 1991 Secord, former Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, landed in Baku and set up the CIA front company, MEGA Oil. He was a veteran of the CIA covert opium operations in Laos during the Vietnam War. In Azerbaijan, he setup an airline to secretly fly hundreds of bin Laden's al-Qaeda Mujahideen from Afghanistan into Azerbaijan. By 1993, MEGA Oil had recruited and armed 2,000 Mujahideen, converting Baku into a base for Caucasus-wide Mujahideen terrorist operations (http://newint.org/features/2009/10/01/blowback-extended-version/).
General Secord's covert Mujahideen operation in the Caucasus initiated the military coup that toppled elected president Abulfaz Elchibey that year and installed Heydar Aliyev, a more pliable US puppet. A secret Turkish intelligence report leaked to the Sunday Times of London confirmed that "two petrol giants, BP and Amoco, British and American respectively, which together form the AIOC (Azerbaijan International Oil Consortium), are behind the coup d'état."
Saudi Intelligence head, Turki al-Faisal, arranged that his agent, Osama bin Laden, whom he had sent to Afghanistan at the start of the Afghan war in the early 1980s, would use his Afghan organization Maktab al-Khidamat (MAK) to recruit "Afghan Arabs" for what was rapidly becoming a global Jihad. Bin Laden's mercenaries were used as shock troops by the Pentagon and CIA to coordinate and support Muslim offensives not only Azerbaijan but also in Chechnya and, later, Bosnia.
Bin Laden brought in another Saudi, Ibn al-Khattab, to become Commander, or Emir of Jihadist Mujahideen in Chechnya (sic!) together with Chechen warlord Shamil Basayev. No matter that Ibn al-Khattab was a Saudi Arab who spoke barely a word of Chechen, let alone, Russian. He knew what Russian soldiers looked like and how to kill them.
Chechnya then was traditionally a predominantly Sufi society, a mild apolitical branch of Islam. Yet the increasing infiltration of the well-financed and well-trained US-sponsored Mujahideen terrorists preaching Jihad or Holy War against Russians transformed the initially reformist Chechen resistance movement. They spread al-Qaeda's hardline Islamist ideology across the Caucasus. Under Secord's guidance, Mujahideen terrorist operations had also quickly extended into neighboring Dagestan and Chechnya, turning Baku into a shipping point for Afghan heroin to the Chechen mafia (http://newint.org/features/2009/10/01/blowback-extended-version/#sthash.uCpcnKXP.dpuf).
From the mid-1990s, bin Laden paid Chechen guerrilla leaders Shamil Basayev and Omar ibn al-Khattab the handsome sum of several million dollars per month, a King's fortune in economically desolate Chechnya in the 1990s, enabling them to sideline the moderate Chechen majority.21 US intelligence remained deeply involved in the Chechen conflict until the end of the 1990s. According to Yossef Bodansky, then Director of the US Congressional Task Force on Terrorism and Unconventional Warfare, Washington was actively involved in "yet another anti-Russian jihad, seeking to support and empower the most virulent anti-Western Islamist forces."
Bodansky revealed the entire CIA Caucasus strategy in detail in his report, stating that US Government officials participated in,
"a formal meeting in Azerbaijan in December 1999 in which specific programs for the training and equipping of Mujahideen from the Caucasus, Central/South Asia and the Arab world were discussed and agreed upon, culminating in Washington's tacit encouragement of both Muslim allies (mainly Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia) and US 'private security companies'. . . to assist the Chechens and their Islamist allies to surge in the spring of 2000 and sustain the ensuing Jihad for a long time...Islamist Jihad in the Caucasus as a way to deprive Russia of a viable pipeline route through spiraling violence and terrorism." The most intense phase of the Chechen wars wound down in 2000 only after heavy Russian military action defeated the Islamists. It was a pyrrhic victory, costing a massive toll in human life and destruction of entire cities. The exact death toll from the CIA-instigated Chechen conflict is unknown. Unofficial estimates ranged from 25,000 to 50,000 dead or missing, mostly civilians. Russian casualties were near 11,000 according to the Committee of Soldiers' Mothers.
The Anglo-American oil majors and the CIA's operatives were happy. They had what they wanted: their Baku - Tbilisi - Ceyhan oil pipeline, bypassing Russia's Grozny pipeline.
The Chechen Jihadists, under the Islamic command of Shamil Basayev, continued guerrilla attacks in and outside Chechnya. The CIA had refocused into the Caucasus.
Basayev's Saudi Connection
https://www.sott.net/image/4737/medium/bush_cronies.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/4737/bush_cronies.jpg)
© Unknown
Basayev was a key part of the CIA's Global Jihad. In 1992, he met Saudi terrorist Ibn al-Khattag in Azerbaijan (http://www.armenianweekly.com). From Azerbaijan, Ibn al-Khattab brought Basayev to Afghanistan to meet al-Khattab's ally, fellow-Saudi Osama bin Laden. Ibn al-Khattab's role was to recruit Chechen Muslims willing to wage Jihad against Russian forces in Chechnya on behalf of the covert CIA strategy of destabilizing post-Soviet Russia and securing British-US control over Caspian energy (http://www.armenianweekly.com).
Once back in Chechnya, Basayev and al-Khattab created the International Islamic Brigade (IIB) with Saudi Intelligence money, approved by the CIA and coordinated through the liaison of Saudi Washington Ambassador and Bush family intimate Prince Bandar bin Sultan. Bandar, Saudi Washington Ambassador for more than two decades, was so intimate with the Bush family that George W. Bush referred to the playboy Saudi Ambassador as "Bandar Bush," a kind of honorary family member.
Basayev and al-Khattab imported fighters from the Saudi fanatical Wahhabite strain of Sunni Islam into Chechnya. Ibn al-Khattab commanded what were called the "Arab Mujahideen in Chechnya," his own private army of Arabs, Turks, and other foreign fighters. He was also commissioned to set up paramilitary training camps in the Caucasus Mountains of Chechnya that trained Chechens and Muslims from the North Caucasian Russian republics and from Central Asia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Khattab).
The Saudi and CIA-financed Islamic International Brigade was responsible not only for terror in Chechnya. They carried out the October 2002 Moscow Dubrovka Theatre hostage seizure and the gruesome September 2004 Beslan school massacre. In 2010, the UN Security Council published the following report on al-Khattab and Basayev's International Islamic Brigade:
Islamic International Brigade (IIB) was listed on 4 March 2003. . . as being associated with Al-Qaida, Usama bin Laden or the Taliban for "participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf or in support of" Al-Qaida. . . The Islamic International Brigade (IIB) was founded and led by Shamil Salmanovich Basayev (deceased) and is linked to the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs (RSRSBCM). . . and the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment (SPIR). . .
On the evening of 23 October 2002, members of IIB, RSRSBCM and SPIR operated jointly to seize over 800 hostages at Moscow's Podshipnikov Zavod (Dubrovka) Theater.
In October 1999, emissaries of Basayev and Al-Khattab traveled to Usama bin Laden's home base in the Afghan province of Kandahar, where Bin Laden agreed to provide substantial military assistance and financial aid, including by making arrangements to send to Chechnya several hundred fighters to fight against Russian troops and perpetrate acts of terrorism. Later that year, Bin Laden sent substantial amounts of money to Basayev, Movsar Barayev (leader of SPIR) and Al-Khattab, which was to be used exclusively for training gunmen, recruiting mercenaries and buying ammunition (http://www.un.org/sc/committees/1267/NSQE09903E.shtml). The Afghan-Caucasus Al Qaeda "terrorist railway," financed by Saudi intelligence, had two goals. One was a Saudi goal to spread fanatical Wahhabite Jihad into the Central Asian region of the former Soviet Union. The second was the CIA's agenda of destabilizing a then-collapsing post-Soviet Russian Federation.
Beslan
https://www.sott.net/image/s12/246112/medium/beslan_3.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s12/246112/full/beslan_3.jpg)
This TV grab image taken from Russian NTV channel 07 September 2004 shows wires and hostages in the gymnasium of the Beslan school, northern Ossetia. © AFP/NTV
On September 1, 2004, armed terrorists from Basayev and al-Khattab's IIB took more than 1,100 people as hostages in a siege that included 777 children, and forced them into School Number One (SNO) in Beslan in North Ossetia, the autonomous republic in the North Caucasus of the Russian Federation near to the Georgia border.
On the third day of the hostage crisis, as explosions were heard inside the school, FSB and other elite Russian troops stormed the building. In the end, at least 334 hostages were killed, including 186 children, with a significant number of people injured and reported missing. It became clear afterward that the Russian forces had handled the intervention poorly.
The Washington propaganda machine, from Radio Free Europe to The New York Times and CNN, wasted no time demonizing Putin and Russia for their bad handling of the Beslan crisis rather than focus on the links of Basayev to Al Qaeda and Saudi intelligence. That would have brought the world's attention to the intimate relations between the family of then US President George W. Bush and the Saudi billionaire bin Laden family.
On September 1, 2001, just ten days before the day of the World Trade Center and Pentagon attacks, Saudi Intelligence head US-educated Prince Turki bin Faisal Al Saud, who had directed Saudi Intelligence since 1977, including through the entire Osama bin Laden Mujahideen operation in Afghanistan and into the Caucasus, abruptly and inexplicably resigned, just days after having accepted a new term as intelligence head from his King. He gave no explanation. He was quickly reposted to London, away from Washington.
The record of the bin Laden-Bush family intimate ties was buried, in fact entirely deleted on "national security" (sic!) grounds in the official US Commission Report on 911. The Saudi background of fourteen of the nineteen alleged 911 terrorists in New York and Washington was also deleted from the US Government's final 911 Commission report, released only in July 2004 by the Bush Administration, almost three years after the events (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/3815179.stm).
Basayev claimed credit for having sent the terrorists to Beslan. His demands had included the complete independence of Chechnya from Russia, something that would have given Washington and the Pentagon an enormous strategic dagger in the southern underbelly of the Russian Federation.
By late 2004, in the aftermath of the tragic Beslan drama, President Vladimir Putin reportedly ordered a secret search and destroy mission by Russian intelligence to hunt and kill key leaders of the Caucasus Mujahideen of Basayev. Al-Khattab had been killed in 2002. The Russian security forces soon discovered that most of the Chechen Afghan Arab terrorists had fled. They had gotten safe haven in Turkey, a NATO member; in Azerbaijan, by then almost a NATO Member; or in Germany, a NATO Member; or in Dubai - one of the closest US Allies in the Arab States, and Qatar-another very close US ally. In other words, the Chechen terrorists were given NATO safe haven (http://www.boilingfrogspost.com/2011/11/22/bfp-exclusive-us-nato-chechen-militia-joint-operations-base/).
F. William Engdahl is strategic risk consultant and lecturer, he holds a degree in politics from Princeton University and is a best-selling author on oil and geopolitics, exclusively for the online magazine "New Eastern Outlook" (http://journal-neo.org/).
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Soooo... guess what Russia fighting DAESH/IS/ISIL/terrorists in Syria is actually fighting...
See this post # 1227 (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?69621-Ukraine-Crimea-Syria-Israel-Iran-Putin-and-World-War-III&p=1086172&viewfull=1#post1086172)
Then, since the Hidden Hand/Deep State schemes are designed to be multiple yields events see also this post (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?25102-For-an-idea-on-the-big-picture&p=1142827&viewfull=1#post1142827) (<---) where one finds this:
[...]
... Note the handwritten note in David Rockefeller’s handwriting which says that some of the profits are being diverted to people which are not part of his operations and that this problem must be eliminated.
Here is a CIA report from 2 months later in that same Rockefeller file, detailing what steps have been taken to “stem the losses”. One of the recommendations is to start a war in Chechnya to cover up the deaths in eliminating the competition to the Rockefeller and Rothschild sex slave trade. The next month the Russians launched a seminal invasion of Chechnya.
Here, also from the same Rockefeller file is a private think tank report on the effect of the Russian invasion into Chechnya in terms of whether it has succeeded in covering up the early Chechen deaths as related to “the global” sex slave trade. It concludes that it was a successful cover-up. Note at the bottom of the report David Rockefeller has written “All copies of this report are to be destroyed.” However, in Rockefeller Archive jargon that means all copies outside of the Rockefeller and Rothschild Archives.
Here is a letter from David Rockefeller to the Rothschilds saying in abbreviated form what steps he has taken to secure that the Chechens do not interfere with their profits anymore. Inserted in the letter was an accounting sheet giving the profits from the sex slaves made “from the Russians quelling the Chechen uprising”.
An ordinary person following the news has no way to know the real causes of the events they are told about. They swallow the official propaganda lies of which every side they are sitting on. That means that the war-profiteers can endlessly threaten them with external enemies and force them into wars. In those wars, the costs are borne by the taxpayers and the profits all go into the same private hands.
Here is how the profits flowed in the 1980’s Russian war in Afghanistan. Note that we are looking at the global profits from that war. Both the Russian and the US govt. forced their taxpayers to buy billions of dollars worth of armaments to use in Afghanistan without ever asking them if that was how they wanted their money spent.
Here is how the profits are flowing in the 2000’s US war in Afghanistan. There is very little difference, most of the profits are going into the pockets of the Rothschilds and their downline, like the Rockefellers, and Skull and Bones members.
Both wars started when the Afghanis attempted to shut down the Rockefellers and Rothschilds using their country to grow opium for their illegal drug trade. In May 2000, the Taliban outlawed the growing of opium poppies. The CIA verified that 95% of the poppy fields were gone, see The Politics of Heroin: CIA Complicity in the Global Drug Trade by Alfred McCoy.
The Taliban went from being supported by the US to being public enemy number 1 over that issue. One of the first things the US did when it invaded Afghanistan was to let the drug war lords out of the Taliban’s prisons and put them back in business as their downline. In other words, it's:
"Down with the competition!"
... whatever - from whoever - that is, about anything but, principally: Oil, drugs, weapons and human trafficking of any kind. Anything that brings over 1000% return on "investment."
Hervé
30th March 2017, 18:30
Lavrov summary of the whole thing:
Lavrov: Powerful globalist and transnational corporate interests oppose Trump (http://russia-insider.com/en/russian-foreign-minister-trump/ri19365)
Russia Insider (http://russia-insider.com/en/russian-foreign-minister-trump/ri19365) Wed, 29 Mar 2017 16:59 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/384375/large/1110118207.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/384375/full/1110118207.jpg)
© AFP 2017/ ANDREJ ISAKOVIC
During a discussion with Russian military officers in Moscow last week, Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that President Trump's desire for America to "interfere less in the affairs of other countries and address its own issues" is the reason why he is vilified and attacked by a "huge team" of powerful interests.
According to Lavrov: (http://www.mid.ru/en/foreign_policy/news/-/asset_publisher/cKNonkJE02Bw/content/id/2702537)
President Trump's conceptual slogans during his election campaign to the effect that America should interfere less in the affairs of other countries and address its own issues send a very serious signal to the globalists themselves. Again, up until now the US has been perceived as a symbol of globalism and the expansion of transnational corporations. Those who represent their interests are the huge team that has taken up arms against President Trump and his administration and in general against everything he does, and which tries, in any way possible, to throw a spanner in the works. Some similar things are happening in France where mountains of compromising materials of ten or fifteen years ago have been unearthed which invariably are presented through an "anti-Russia prism." It's been a long time since I've seen such a dirty campaign when at stake are the concepts and ideas of how to develop the state and their country, and a smear war is being waged. We had this not so long ago, and I don't see anything good about it.
Hervé
31st March 2017, 14:08
EU gives up blocking Russia’s Nord Stream-2 pipeline - report (https://www.rt.com/business/382934-russia-nord-stream2-eu/)
RT
Published time: 31 Mar, 2017 09:46
Edited time: 31 Mar, 2017 09:46
Get short URL (https://on.rt.com/87h2)
https://img.rt.com/files/2016.05/thumbnail/572b12afc3618886548b45b6.jpg (https://www.rt.com/business/341913-lavrov-kerry-nord-stream2-ukraine/)
© Tobias Schwarz / Reuters
In a turnabout, the EU has announced it no longer has legal grounds to block the Russian-backed Nord Stream-2 gas pipeline to Europe. Brussels now wants security negotiations with Moscow, reports The Wall Street Journal.
The European Union tried to thwart the extension of the pipeline following pressure from Poland and the Baltic States.
The pipeline will double Nord Stream’s existing capacity, which delivers natural gas to Germany under the Baltic Sea bypassing Ukraine. The gas transit contract between Moscow and Kiev expires in December 2019 and has not yet been extended.
In a March 28 letter to Denmark and Sweden, seen (https://www.wsj.com/articles/eu-says-it-cant-block-russia-backed-nord-stream-2-pipeline-1490906474?mod=e2tw) Thursday by The Wall Street Journal the European Commission said it had no grounds to stop the pipeline.
“We don’t like Nord Stream-2 politically,” said Anna-Kaisa Itkonen, an energy spokeswoman at the Commission, as quoted by the media.
“This being said, there are no legal grounds for the Commission to oppose Nord Stream-2…because [EU] rules do not apply to the offshore part of the pipeline,” she added.
http://img.112.international/original/2017/02/27/261637.jpeg
Poland and other Eastern European EU countries will lose lucrative transit fees if Russia ceases to use the existing pipelines.
On the other hand, Germany opposed political interference in the pipeline, as it is profitable for Berlin and is backed by major European companies.
When Nord Stream’s capacity is doubled to 110 billion cubic meters a year, it will cover Germany's and France’s combined annual consumption of gas.
Moscow has repeatedly said Nord Stream-2 is strictly about business, as it improves European energy security.
Russia says it wants to bypass Ukraine because it is concerned about a repeat of the gas crisis in 2006. That winter, parts of Europe were left without heat after Ukraine allegedly siphoned off gas sent to the European market.
http://orientalreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/i2890c46e006a0865b663c2914fa60c2a_south_stream.jpg
Related:
US trying to thwart Russia's Nord Stream-2 project - Lavrov (https://www.rt.com/business/341913-lavrov-kerry-nord-stream2-ukraine/)
Sophocles
3rd April 2017, 13:42
Russia Under Attack: At Least 10 Killed in Bomb Blasts in St. Petersburg Metro (http://russia-insider.com/en/russia-under-attack-bomb-blast-st-petersburg-metro/ri19419)
russia-insider.com
51 minutes ago
This story is developing. Warning: Images and videos below are disturbing.
UPDATE: At least 10 killed and 20 injured, according to preliminary reports.
Two separate explosions. Definitely a terrorist attack.
RT has the details: (https://www.rt.com/news/383202-st-petersburg-blast-metro/http://)
Pictures of thick smoke and a damaged train car in the St. Petersburg Metro have emerged online. Witnesses say a blast occurred. There are reports of casualties.
A law enforcement source told TASS there was a blast at the Sennaya Square metro station. No official confirmation or casualty report was immediately available.
The metro management said they received reports of an explosion inside the car, possibly of an improvised explosive device.
Photos taken near the Sennaya Ploshchad station entry showed firefighter vehicles involved in responding to the emergency.
Full article (http://russia-insider.com/en/russia-under-attack-bomb-blast-st-petersburg-metro/ri19419)
---------------------------------------
BREAKING: Twin Blast Kills at Least 10 in Saint Petersburg Metro (https://sputniknews.com/russia/201704031052234767-saint-petersburg-metro-explosion/)
Blast Hits Saint Petersburg Metro
Sputniknews.com
14:56 03.04.2017(updated 16:28 03.04.2017)
A twin blast has hit the Saint Petersburg metro on Monday.
The reported blasts occurred at the "Sennaya Ploschad [square]" and "Tekhnologichesky Institute" stations. At least 10 people were killed. Sennaya Ploschad is engulfed by smoke. Emergency services have been sent to the scene.
WATCH LIVE VIDEO from the Sennaya Ploschad metro station in St Petersburg:
D_cJjVuFRaY
--------------------------
Updates from Interfax (http://www.interfax.com/news.asp):
(16:38) Another explosive device found at Ploshchad Vosstaniya station of St. Pete metro - source
(16:43) NATIONAL ANTITERRORISM COMMITTEE: ONLY ONE EXPLOSION OCCURRED IN ST. PETERSBURG, THERE IS NO INFO ON OTHERS
(17:18) IED DEACTIVATED AT PLOSHCHAD VOSSTANIYA METRO STATION IN ST. PETERSBURG - NATIONAL ANTITERRORISM COMMITTEE
(17:42) Suspected organizer of St. Petersburg metro blast filmed on CCTV
(19:50) Two people wanted in connection with St. Petersburg metro blast
norman
4th April 2017, 00:47
St Petersburg is right there over the border from the NATO posturing.
http://i2.mirror.co.uk/incoming/article10149809.ece/ALTERNATES/s615b/St-Petersburg-locator.jpg
Hervé
4th April 2017, 17:32
The Silence of the West: The March 17, 1995 Annexation of the Crimean Peninsula (http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/03/28/so-who-annexed-crimea-peninsular-then.html)
Arina Tskanova Strategic Culture (http://www.strategic-culture.org/news/2017/03/28/so-who-annexed-crimea-peninsular-then.html)
Tue, 28 Mar 2017 00:00 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387057/large/or_38826.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387057/full/or_38826.jpg)
© Unknown
Due to the international media's continued claims (https://www.sott.net/article/New%20terminal%20of%20the%20Simferopol%20international%20airport%20under%20construction,%20November% 202016) about the «annexation of Crimea», it's been difficult for the citizens of the US and Europe to make sense of the details of the peninsula's recent history. Exactly three years ago, on March 16, 2014, the Crimeans were offered a choice (https://www.sott.net/article/New%20terminal%20of%20the%20Simferopol%20international%20airport%20under%20construction,%20November% 202016): to rejoin Russia or to return to the constitution of 1992 that proclaimed Crimea a legal, democratic, secular state whose relationship with Ukraine was based on bilateral agreements. That constitution was unilaterally abolished by Kiev on March 17, 1995, and here's what's surprising: no one at that time in the West demanded that the Ukrainian government stop violating the provisions of international law and the rights of the inhabitants of the Crimean peninsula. And then in 1995, special ops forces from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the Armed Forces of Ukraine (ZSU) landed in Crimea and Sevastopol in order to establish «Ukrainian law and order», seizing the building housing the Supreme Council of the republic, where the administration of the acting president of Crimea, Yuriy Meshkov (https://www.sott.net/article/New%20terminal%20of%20the%20Simferopol%20international%20airport%20under%20construction,%20November% 202016), was also headquartered, and demanding that he be turned over. Since Meshkov refused to vacate his office, they tried to poison him. Much later he described how his drink had been poisoned, and that later in the hospital he was refused proper medical care. Only an emergency evacuation to Moscow miraculously saved his life.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387059/large/Yuiry_Meshkov.png (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387059/full/Yuiry_Meshkov.png)
Yuriy Meshkov, Crimea President in 1991-1995
© Unknown
In this manner, the real annexation of Crimea by Ukraine, which no one condemned, was completed in 1995. It all began in 1991 with a power grab by the Ukrainian parliament, which annexed the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic, forcibly joining it to Ukraine despite the results of the January referendum (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crimean_sovereignty_referendum,_1991) about reestablishing Crimea's autonomy. The annexation by Ukraine culminated in the revocation of the constitution and the liquidation of the office of the president of Crimea. However, no one in Europe or America introduced sanctions against this new Ukrainian state that had flagrantly trampled on the right of nations to self-determination: according to the 1989 census (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Demographics_of_Crimea), three-quarters of the population of Crimea were not ethnic Ukrainians.
From standpoint of the overwhelming majority of Crimea's residents, a historical injustice was redressed in March 2014: Ukraine was stripped of what it had obtained illegally between 1991 and 1995 using deception and military force. In the eyes of Crimeans, Ukraine's claims to the peninsula and the support of those claims by the West look very odd. In the 1990s, the world «overlooked» Ukraine's annexation of Crimea, and no one was concerned that the rights of the inhabitants of the Crimean Autonomous Soviet Socialist Republic had been violated. But when those citizens again took it into their heads to determine their own destiny in 2014, an international scandal blew up that still burns today.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387060/large/ac28031702.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387060/full/ac28031702.jpg)
A rally in Simferopol in support of Crimea sovereignty, June 1992 © Unknown
Furthermore, Ukraine is floating the idea of dragging the peninsula «back» under its jurisdiction, knowing perfectly well that the Crimeans themselves are overwhelmingly and unequivocally opposed to this. It is very strange that over the course of the last three years the international community has not once listened to the voice of this majority. Moreover, international sanctions have not been imposed against Ukraine for its attempts to leave the inhabitants of the peninsula without water or electricity. Kiev has actually been working against the Crimeans, under the slogan: «Crimea will either be Ukrainian or uninhabited!»
In 2014, Kiev ordered the North Crimean Canal (built by the USSR between 1961 and 1971) to be cut off, as a result of which the acreage of irrigated land in Crimea declined by 85%. At the end of September 2015, a group of Ukrainian «activists», representing the ultra-right organizations Right Sector and Azov battalion as well as several fugitives from the Mejlis of Crimean Tatar People organized a transportation «blockade of Crimea»: the highways into Crimea were shut down to prevent Ukrainian goods from reaching the peninsula, with the intention of thereby triggering a food shortage and a rise in food prices, due to the complexity and expense of obtaining supplies from mainland Russia by sea, air, or across the Kerch Strait.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387066/large/ac28031703.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387066/full/ac28031703.jpg)
In mid-2014 Ukrainian media bragged about drying up the North Crimea Canal © Yhiah
Later, when it turned out that the plan had come to naught and that the «food blockade» had mostly caused harm to small shops owned by Crimean Tatars, the chairman of the Crimean Tatar Mejlis, Refat Chubarov, unexpectedly claimed that the blockade «was instigated by several people, including the leaders of the Mejlis, but it had no connection with the institution of the Mejlis itself». As a result, Ukrainian businesses, which were deprived of the opportunity to sell food to Crimea, suffered the most from the actions of the «blockaders». In the peninsular, however, wholesale merchants quickly adapted to obtaining their supplies from Russia, domestic producers got a shot in the arm, and traveling markets popped up, offering products from as far away as Belarus.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387061/large/ac28031704.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387061/full/ac28031704.jpg)
Activists blocking a cross-point to Crimea in Kalanchak, Kherson region © Unknown
By late 2015, the sponsors of the «trade blockade» of Crimea realized that they had not achieved their goal: there was no sign of hunger, nor a significant increase in food prices, nor social protests on the peninsula. In addition, many residents of Crimea began to ridicule the blockade on social media, publishing photographs from markets and stores that showed nothing resembling a food shortage, on the contrary they documented that meat, bread, milk, and cereals were easily available and that fish and fruit were in fact abundant. Then formally uncontrolled by Kiev Crimea Tatar activists led by Lenur Islyamov blew up electricity pylons in the neighboring Kherson region of Ukraine supplying the peninsula. Crimeans were left without electricity on the eve of winter. Since at that time the energy bridge from Russia (https://www.rt.com/business/342737-crimea-energy-bridge-complete/) had not yet been built, a state of emergency was declared on the peninsula. Kiev then set about to blackmail the inhabitants of the peninsula: they were offered electricity in exchange for signing an agreement with an electric company that included a line acknowledging Crimea and Sevastopol to be part of Ukraine. This blackmail ended in a massive failure. Only 6.2% of the Crimean residents surveyed supported the Ukrainian proposal, and 93.1% rejected it, agreeing to endure their difficult conditions for several months. The contract with Ukraine was not finalized on Kiev's terms.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387062/large/ac28031705.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387062/full/ac28031705.jpg)
Supplying Crimea electricity pylons in the Kherson region, blown up by blockade « activists », October 2015 © Unknown
For three years the Western democracies have been turning a blind eye to the historical choice made by the people of Crimea. Ukraine has repeatedly tried to challenge this choice through provocations, blockades, and blackmail. However, the people of Crimea used to live without electric lights or heat and to endure inconveniences and deprivations, if only to avoid becoming once again part of Ukraine.
Another conspicuous result of Crimea's transition to Russian jurisdiction is also telling: it turns out that, contrary to Ukrainian and Western propaganda, there are no conflicts between the Russian and Ukrainian populations in their shared home. Without the Ukrainian nationalist element in Crimea, it becomes clear that between the Russian and Ukrainian peoples there is no enmity, no tensions, and no reason to fight one other. Three state languages are officially recognized in the republic: Russian, Ukrainian, and Crimean Tatar. And Muslim mosques peacefully coexist with Russian Orthodox churches. Were it not for the warmongers who are trying to jump-start the underground activities of Hizb at-Tahrīr and other radical organizations in Crimea, Crimea would have no other problems, except one - coping with the devastation wrought by Ukraine.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387063/large/ac28031706.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387063/full/ac28031706.jpg)
New mosque in Crimean Tatar Voinka village, build in 2010 on donations by the Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov © Unknown
Throughout all the years of its independence, Ukraine enjoyed what it had inherited from the USSR in Crimea, without investing a cent in the peninsula, as a result of which Crimea today lags noticeably behind Russia's flourishing Kuban region. For the last three years Russia has been actively investing in Crimea (annual subsidies amount to more than $600 million, which does not include the multi-billion-dollar investments in the construction of the Kerch Strait Bridge, which is a separate line item in the budget). Despite the enormous pressure from the international sanctions, these measures are already bringing real benefits to people's lives. And in the next article I'll tell you all about life today on the peninsula.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387064/large/ac28031707.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/387064/full/ac28031707.jpg)
New terminal of the Simferopol international airport under construction, November 2016
Sophocles
6th April 2017, 04:49
Idlib "chemical weapons attack" reality: Syria bombed REBEL chemical weapons storehouse, Russia says military support will continue, vetoes U.S./UK/France UN resolution (https://www.sott.net/article/347316-Idlib-chemical-weapons-attack-reality-Syria-bombed-REBEL-chemical-weapons-storehouse-Russia-says-military-support-will-continue-vetoes-US-UK-France-UN-resolution)
Samer Hussein (translator)
Breakingnews.sy / Fort Russ (http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/04/the-truth-behind-khan-sheikhoun.html)
Wed, 05 Apr 2017 14:55 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388141/large/White_Helmets_chem_idlib.jpg
Someone tell the White Helmets that Sarin exposure works through skin contact.
Syrian Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister Faisal Mekdad confirmed that the Syrian government provided the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the United Nations Security Council with necessary documentation and reports which prove that the chemicals, used in yesterday's gas attack on Khan Sheikhoun in Idleb province, were in fact stored and possessed by the terrorist groups, operating in the area.
Mekdad said that the media reports, surrounding the events, were used as a tool of distortion and falsification of facts, noting that Syria has fulfilled all obligations to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, with the latter already verifying this.
He also denied that Syrian Army is in possession of chemical weapons, by saying: "The army has never used such weapons, even in the most intense and critical battles with the terrorist groups", while also reminding Staffan de Mistura, UN's Special Envoy to Syria, to act in accordance with his role and neutrally approach the situation.
Mekdad also stressed that Syria strongly condemns the attacks on Khan Sheikhoun, yesterday carried out by armed terrorist groups and their supporters, operating in the area and called on the international community to hold the parties, responsible for the crime, accountable. He also expressed concerns that Wednesday's conference on the Syrian issue in Brussels could be used as a tool to spread blatant lies and accusations against Syria.
The Deputy Foreign and Expatriates Minister further stated that the area where the incident occurred is under complete control of the terrorist groups and that the attacks are obviously their work and that of their aides and supporters, located in Britain, France, Turkey and Saudi Arabia, pointing out that the so-called "Syrian opposition" which itself refused to play its part in restoring peace and stability to Syria, is now trying to put pressure on the Syrian government by making such provocations.
Yesterday, reports came about a chemical weapons attack in the Syrian village of Khan Sheikhoun, located in Syria's Idleb province. Almost 60 people, many of them children, were said to have been killed by the poisonous substances that were dropped during air raids on the village. Despite no evidence and the fact that no raids were conducted on Khan Sheikhoun, the Islamist and corporate press accused the Syrian and Russian side to be behind the incident. The two have since denied and debunked the accusations.
Comment: See also:
Projection: Tillerson accuses Syrian government of 'barbarism' for chemical weapons attack in Idlib (https://www.sott.net/article/347315-Projection-Tillerson-accuses-Syrian-government-of-barbarism-for-chemical-weapons-attack-in-Idlib)
Jumping to conclusions: The 'official version' of Idlib gas attack stinks to high heaven (https://www.sott.net/article/347301-Jumping-to-conclusions-The-official-version-of-Idlib-gas-attack-stinks-to-high-heaven)
Breaking News: Rebel warehouse with chem weapons hit by Syrian airstrike in Idlib - Russian MOD (https://www.sott.net/article/347272-Breaking-News-Rebel-warehouse-with-chem-weapons-hit-by-Syrian-airstrike-in-Idlib-Russian-MOD)
Syrian army denies involvement as dozens reported killed in alleged gas attack (https://www.sott.net/article/347250-Syrian-army-denies-involvement-as-dozens-reported-killed-in-alleged-gas-attack)
The Syrian army bombed a chemical weapons depot in Khan Sheikhoun, where such weapons were produced and shipped out for use in Iraq. For Tillerson to say Russia and Iran must bear the "moral responsibility" for this is absurd.
CaVjtqZwS1s
Maria Zakharova provided more details (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704051052321244-unsc-russia-syria-idlib/):
"These facts together with soil samples were recorded and handed over to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Unfortunately, without taking any action, guided solely by fake information, the United States, France and the United Kingdom once again... submitted a draft resolution to the UN Security Council that is of obvious anti-Syrian nature and is capable of igniting an already difficult internal political situation in Syria and the region as a whole."
...
"Currently, the main goal is to objectively figure out what happened. So far, I want to emphasize that falsified reports on this issue come only from the notorious White Helmets and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights that has already become infamous. Neither the White Helmets, nor the SOHR can be trusted. They have repeatedly undermined trust by [making] fake footages and [reporting] information later denied by all parties."
...
The ministry spokeswoman said that the reports by the White Helmets and the SOHR are conflicting as the White Helmets constantly changes its version of what happened. "First they speak about bombings from a helicopter or a warplane. Then they tell about the use of chlorine, then about sarin, change data about the number of victims. According to photos and videos spread on social media, representatives of the White Helmets are providing the victims with help while they [the NGO] have no reliable means of protection and act extremely unprofessionally."
...
Russia categorically rejects the draft resolution on chemical weapons in Syria, Maria Zakharova said. She added that the West-proposed resolution is of "anti-Syrian nature" and risks making negotiations process impossible.
"I wanted to note that the presented text [of the resolution] is categorically unacceptable. Its main problem — and its a fundamental one — is that it anticipates the results of the probe and immediately finds those to be blamed."
...
"The document is completely falsified, completely based on fake information. Colin Powell number two. Later, you will be ashamed for the actions of your authorities in the UN Security Council, stop your representatives, I am speaking to the Western audience," Zakharova said at the briefing.
Zakharova's criticism can be summed up in one Internet meme:
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388140/large/JUMP_TO_CONCLUSIONS_MAT.jpg
Syriana Analysis has a good breakdown:
qr_ByQH2QY0
Now the Syrian "opposition" are calling for a no-fly zone (https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201704051052326794-syria-opposition-no-fly-idlib/). We're sure ISIS feels the same way, guys.
Moscow's response (https://www.rt.com/news/383577-russia-syria-millitary-support/) is the only sane one:
Moscow will continue to support Syrian Army troops in their anti-terrorism effort, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, after being asked whether Russian policy had changed following a reported chemical attack in the Idlib province.
...
"You have heard the statement from the Russian Defense Ministry and I have nothing to add to the facts they stated. The Russian Federation and its military are continuing the operation to support the anti-terrorism operation and liberation of the country, which is being conducted by the Syrian armed forces," Peskov said.
Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova suggested later on Wednesday that the Security Council should urge the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to launch a fact-finding mission, provided that full access to the incident site is allowed.
"It is crucial to call upon an OPCW fact-finding mission in charge of investigating the use of chemical weapons in Syria to collect evidence of the incident under the following condition - the composition of the fact-finding mission will be submitted to the UN Security Council for approval, and it will be balanced in terms of geographical [representation]," Zakharova said, according to Interfax.
...
Staffan de Mistura, UN special envoy for Syria, said reliable evidence would be needed to confirm the alleged use of chemical weapons, let alone establish who was responsible for it.
"We have no yet any official or reliable confirmation," he said on Wednesday. "We will be stimulating all those who have the capacity of finding out technically what had happened."
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also said there was no evidence yet to draw any conclusion on what had happened in the Idlib governorate, but stated that the Syrian government held "primary responsibility" for the situation.
Update: More responses (https://www.rt.com/news/383608-security-council-chemical-syria/) to the hasty UN draft resolution:
The UN Security Council convened on Wednesday to discuss a draft resolution proposed by the US, the UK and France, which would condemn Damascus for the reported use of chemical weapons in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib province on Tuesday.
Nikki Haley, the US ambassador to the UN, delivered an emotional speech that included images of children to argue in favor of swift action. The pictures were used in reporting of the alleged chemical weapons attack.
She claimed the incident carried "all hallmarks" of an attack by Damascus, adding that the toxin used in the alleged assault was "more deadly" than in previous cases attributed to the Syrian military by Washington.
US envoy to UN also accused Russia of failing to ensure that there were no chemical weapons in the possession of the Syrian government.
"The truth is that Russia, Iran and [Syrian President Bashar] Assad have no interest in peace," Haley claimed.
The US has hinted at taking its own action in Syria unless the UN Security Council moves to prevent the use of chemical weapons in the war-torn country.
"When the United Nations consistently fails in its duty to act collectively, there are times in the life of states that we are compelled to take our own action," the US ambassador to the UN said.
...
Russia criticized the draft resolution for being unbalanced and jumping to conclusions. It said the document would have to include several amendments, such as calling on the rebels controlling the area to provide full access to UN investigators and setting an unbiased and comprehensive probe into the incident as the primary goal of the resolution.
"This draft was penned in haste and adopting it would have been irresponsible," the Russian deputy acting envoy to the UN, Vladimir Safronkov, said.
He also blamed Western members of the UNSC for unwillingness to investigate previous cases of alleged use of chemical weapons in Syria, where rebel groups were accused of using toxin agents.
Earlier the council was briefed by Kim Won-soo, the UN high representative for disarmament affairs, who acknowledged that the organization so far has no independent evidence on the suspected chemical weapons attack.
From the Duran (http://theduran.com/russia-vetoes-us-co-authored-resolution-against-syria/):
Russia has just vetoed a resolution proposed jointly by the US, UK and France. The resolution would have condemned Syria for a chemical weapons attack near Idlib.
Acting Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vladimir Safronkov (https://www.rt.com/news/383608-security-council-chemical-syria/) said that,
"This draft was penned in haste and adopting it would have been irresponsible".
The US, UK and France have been exposed as relying on fake news sources, including the al-Qaeda affiliated White Helmets, as a basis for their condemnation, in spite of the fact that the clear evidence (http://theduran.com/3-reasons-why-reports-of-a-syrian-chemical-weapons-attack-on-idlib-are-fake-news/) indicates that the chemical weapons in question belonged to a terrorist group (http://theduran.com/confirmed-chemical-weapons-in-idlib-were-stashed-by-terrorists/) and not the Syrian government which forfeited its chemical weapons stock in 2013 (https://www.opcw.org/fileadmin/OPCW/EC/M-33/ecm33dec01_e_.pdf).
US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley become unhinged and threatened that the US may take action unilaterally in light of the resolution being vetoed. If this means military action against the government of Syria, this of course would be a violation of international law.
Update: After a sanctimonious piece of idiocy on behalf of the UK ambassador to the UN re: the Idlib attack, Russia's deputy ambassador Vladimir Safronkov hit back (https://www.rt.com/uk/383620-russia-syria-assad-war/):
"In Syria, do you carry any sense of responsibility? No, you don't," Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, Vladimir Safronkov, said at an emergency meeting of the Security Council on Wednesday. "Everything is guided by the need to change the regime. Even this obsession with the regime change is what hinders the work of the Security Council.
"[The UK] is not doing anything about the situation [in Syria]," he added. "No - it's true, you are doing one thing. You are submitting drafts in the Security Council that only provoke."
Safronkov's comments come in response to Britain's ambassador to the UN, Mark Rycroft, who challenged Moscow to stop supporting the Assad government. "What is your plan? What is your plan to stop these horrific senseless attacks? We had a plan and we had the support and you rejected it to protect Assad," Rycroft said.
...
"Beyond the norms of diplomatic standards your statements about Russia and China are unacceptable ... We will not stand for it. You should answer for what Great Britain is doing in contributing to resolving this situation."
China also responded to Rycroft's comments.
"The UK delegate... is openly distorting the position of China, this is not to be tolerated," Chinese UN Ambassador Liu Jieyi said, adding that Rycroft was "abusing the Security Council, [and] doing so will not be in the interests of the Syrian people."
Trump made a semi-boneheaded remark at his joint press conference (https://www.rt.com/usa/383624-trump-syria-red-line/) with Saudi warlord King Abdullah II at the White House, saying his opinion on Assad and Syria has "changed very much" in response to the alleged use of chemical weapons (which Syria does not possess):
"It crossed a lot of lines with me. When you kill innocent children - innocent babies - with chemical gas... that goes beyond red lines," Trump told reporters on Wednesday when responding to a question about whether the attack cross the red line.
You're going to have to do better than that, Trump.
Update: More from Trump (https://sputniknews.com/world/201704051052335110-attitude-syria-trump-assad-attack/) - keeping it ambiguous as usual:
"These heinous actions by the Assad regime cannot be tolerated," he emphasized.
...
The chemical attack was an "affront to humanity," he said, adding that the US is raising its voice with the global chorus denouncing the tragedy. Biochemical warfare against enemy militants and innocent civilians "cannot be tolerated," Trump said.
...
Last week, the Trump administration announced there was no choice but to "accept the political reality (https://sputniknews.com/world/201703311052175536-white-house-political-reality-assad/)" of Assad's administration.
However, today Trump said that his strategy is to remain "flexible" with Syria, while noting that the attack will not go unnoticed.
"I now have responsibility to respond to the chemical attack", Trump said. "When you kill innocent little babies" this crosses not just a red line but "many, many lines."
Nevertheless, Trump did not show his hand regarding how he would move forward in the Middle East. "I am not going to be telling anyone one way or another," he said.
Someone should remind Trump that he's commander in chief of some baby killers of his own.
Source (https://www.sott.net/article/347316-Idlib-chemical-weapons-attack-reality-Syria-bombed-REBEL-chemical-weapons-storehouse-Russia-says-military-support-will-continue-vetoes-US-UK-France-UN-resolution)
Hervé
6th April 2017, 15:14
Syria chemical weapons attack red flags and false flags (http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-chemical-weapons-red-flags-and-false-flags/5583616)
Mark Taliano Global Research (http://www.globalresearch.ca/syria-chemical-weapons-red-flags-and-false-flags/5583616)
Thu, 06 Apr 2017 14:52 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388311/large/syria_sarin_weapon_400x233.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388311/full/syria_sarin_weapon_400x233.jpg)
There are too many red flags about the chemical weapons attack in northern Syria to believe the official version of events that immediately assigned guilt to the Assad government.
Each of the red flags, on the other hand, strongly suggests that the incident was (yet another) false flag operation perpetrated by the terrorists with a view to destroying the peace process and prolonging the war.
A key consideration would be Cui bono?
Does the Assad government benefit from a chemical weapons attack on innocent people when he is winning the war and a just peace is on the horizon? No. The Assad government in no way benefits.
Do imperial terrorist proxies benefit from demonizing Assad and hastily accusing him of "killing his own people"? Yes they do.
Was there foreknowledge of the event? Apparently so.
Reporter Feras Karam announced before the event, that it was going to occur.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388310/large/Feras_Karam_Tweet.png (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388310/full/Feras_Karam_Tweet.png)
And what about the chemical agent itself? The hasty conclusion that the gas was sarin is unreasonable, not only because the conclusion was reached almost immediately, but also because videos of the alleged victims contradict symptoms that would normally be associated with sarin gas exposure.
In an interview conducted on April 5, 2017, Damian Walker, a former army bomb disposal officer, made these observations:
When I initially read that sarin nerve agent had been used in an attack on Idlib, I was surprised that the chemical warfare agent had been identified so quickly.
On watching the video of the incident, I quickly concluded that it was unlikely a sarin attack. If it was the first responders would also have been killed, and the victims' symptoms appeared to be the result of a "choking agent", and not a military grade agent. At the very least, the totality of these red flags demands an independent investigation, which would likely take weeks, rather than hours. Failing this, the reasonable conclusion would be that the incident was a false flag event.
In matters of war and peace, thorough investigations should be a matter of importance and priority, but accusations are already infesting mainstream media narratives, so the more likely outcome is that the incident will be used to falsely blame the Assad government, with a view to prolonging the war, and destroying Syria and her people.
NATO warmongers do not want peace.
Sophocles
6th April 2017, 17:23
Ex-UK Ambassador: Assad wasn't behind the chemical attack
pS6Oa_aDS6E
Former British Ambassador to Syria Peter Ford says those calling for intervention in Syria are likes "dogs returning to their own vomit"
Peter Ford says he believes it is "highly unlikely" that Russia or the Assad regime was behind the attack in Idlib.
Peter Ford (born 27 June 1947) is a retired British diplomat who was ambassador to Bahrain from 1999–2003 and to Syria from 2003–2006 (wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter_Ford_(diplomat))).
Sophocles
7th April 2017, 01:59
Trump Addresses Nation After Ordering Missile Strike on Syria (https://sputniknews.com/us/201704071052383238-trump-addresses-missile-strike/)
sputniknews.com
04:45 07.04.2017
(updated 04:56 07.04.2017)
US President Donald Trump has addressed the nation after authorising a missile strike on an airbase in Syria.
US President Donald Trump has addressed the nation after authorising a targeted missile strike on an airbase in Syria. In his speech he said that he had ordered a missile strike on airbase in Syria from which as he claims the Idlib chemical attack was launched.
Trump claimed that Syrian President Bashar Assad had used deadly nerve agent to kill many people, calling "all civilized nations to end the slaughter and bloodshed in Syria".
The missile strike on Syrian airfield was in "vital national security interest" of the united states, Trump said, adding that it is in interests of the country to prevent the spread and use of chemical weapons.
Source (https://sputniknews.com/us/201704071052383238-trump-addresses-missile-strike/)
------------------------------------
From the Unz-article This Fishy Smell of Sarin, or Was It Chlorine? (http://www.unz.com/akarlin/this-fishy-smell-of-sarin-or-was-it-chlorine/)
http://www.unzcloud.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/this-makes-sense.jpg
… one can’t help but start having dark thoughts on whether the deep state might be triumphing after all.
Atlas
7th April 2017, 02:10
Donald Trump: "Let there be an arms race"
kNQtMPHeRgk
"Let it be an arms race"
-a5w4FrE1wU
What a president !
Atlas
7th April 2017, 02:22
Let It Be (50th anniversary)
FwFgvRlSgU4
Sorry, couldn't resist ! :o
:focus:
Sophocles
7th April 2017, 02:26
FULL SPEECH: Donald Trump SPEAKS after TOMAHAWK MISSILES Launch at SYRIA
vDaNP85_7QE
U.S. Tomahawk Strike on Syrian Air Base
QytEkcDtaQA
Atlas
7th April 2017, 02:43
Is Trump Dumb or a Liar?
zg16fTT19i0
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/C8rj72oVYAEyHwg.jpg
Sophocles
7th April 2017, 06:05
Coincidental timing? The American entry into World War I came in April 1917 (wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_entry_into_World_War_I#Germany)).
---------------------------------
Moscow suspends US-Russia memorandum on flights safety in Syria (http://tass.com/politics/939940)
tass.com
April 07, 10:43
MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. Russia suspends the Memorandum on preventing incidents and ensuring flights safety during operations in Syria earlier signed with the United States in the wake of the US strike on the Syrian airbase, the Russian Foreign Ministry reported on Friday.
"The Russian side suspends the Memorandum on preventing incidents and ensuring flights safety during operations in Syria signed with the US," the ministry said.
"We’re urging the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the current situation," the ministry said.
Full article (http://tass.com/politics/939940)
Atlas
7th April 2017, 12:03
http://themillenniumreport.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/quote-we-re-going-to-take-out-seven-countries-in-5-years-starting-with-iraq-and-then-syria-wesley-clark-65-49-13-1.jpg
General Wesley Clark: "Those were discussions that were being held in the Pentagon a decade ago, reflecting discussions from 1991"
General Wesley Clark Asked About 7 Country War Plan
_pGkFMho6Co
Sophocles
7th April 2017, 14:11
SITREP: Important update on the US attack on Syria (http://thesaker.is/sitrep-important-update-on-the-us-attack-on-syria/)
The Saker
April 07, 2017
I have an important update: based on Russian sources, including video footage and the reports of one Russian journalist on the ground, Evgenii Poddubnyi, it has become clear that the US strike was largely symbolic. Here is the evidence:
1. The Russians were given a warning which they, of course, passed on to the Syrians. The Americans must have assumed that this would happen.
2. The Syrian airbase was lightly damaged: a few number of aircraft were damaged or destroyed, but many of these were in repairs and could not fly. Fuel storage tanks were destroyed. A number of aircraft bunkers were damage or destroyed. A few barracks were also destroyed.
3. There were 6 or 7 casualties, which is very little.
4. Crucially, the runways did not suffer.
Now here is the really intriguing thing: it appears that only 23 out of a total of 59 US cruise missiles hit the base. The rest are unaccounted for. This could be due to all sorts of reasons, including Syrian and Russian air defenses or Russian electronic warfare. I tend to believe that the latter is the cause. But then, this begs another question: why did the Russians let 23 of the cruise missiles through? Possibly to appease Trump and not force him to re-strike. Other possibility, to make sure that the political fallout from this stupid and reckless attack still come back to hurt the United States (had they destroyed all the cruise missiles this would not happen).
As for the Russian political reaction, I find it rather flaccid: Russia has condemned the attack and suspended the Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Flight Safety Incidents in the course of operations in Syria signed with the US.
Meh, I am rather unimpressed.
Here is the full Russian MoFA statement:
The United States conducted strikes against Syrian government troops in the early hours of April 7, using chemical weapons attacks in Idlib Province as a pretext.
The US opted for a show of force, for military action against a country fighting international terrorism without taking the trouble to get the facts straight.
It is not the first time that the US chooses an irresponsible approach that aggravates problems the world is facing, and threatens international security. The very presence of military personnel from the US and other countries in Syria without consent from the Syrian government or a UN Security Council mandate is an egregious and obvious violation of international law that cannot be justified. While previous initiatives of this kind were presented as efforts to combat terrorism, now they are clearly an act of aggression against a sovereign Syria. Actions undertaken by the US today inflict further damage to the Russia-US relations.
Russia has expressed on numerous occasions that it was ready to cooperate on resolving the most urgent issues the world is facing today, and that fighting international terrorism was a top priority. However, we will never agree to unsanctioned action against the legitimate Syrian government that has been waging an uncompromising war on international terrorism for a long time.
Seeking to justify military action Washington has totally distorted what had happened in Idlib. The US could not have failed to grasp the fact that the Syrian government troops did not use chemical weapons there. Damascus simply does not have them, as confirmed a number of times by qualified experts. This was the conclusion reached by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). Over the recent years this organisation inspected almost all the facilities linked or possibly linked to Syria’s chemical weapons programme. As for Idlib, the terrorists operating there used to produce toxic land mines intended for use in Syria and Iraq. These manufacturing facilities were put out of operation in a military operation carried out by the Syrian air force.
The US pretends that it does not understand obvious things, turning a blind eye to the use of chemical weapons in Iraq, officially confirmed by Baghdad. The US refuses to believe the evidence provided by certified documents confirming the use of chemical weapons by terrorists in Aleppo. In doing so, the US is abetting international terrorism and making it stronger. New WMD attacks can be expected.
There is no doubt that the military action by the US is an attempt to divert attention from the situation in Mosul, where the campaign carried out among others by US-led coalition has resulted in hundreds of civilian casualties and an escalating humanitarian disaster.
It is obvious that the cruise missile attack was prepared in advance. Any expert understands that Washington’s decision on air strikes predates the Idlib events, which simply served as a pretext for a show of force.
Russia suspends the Memorandum of Understanding on Prevention of Flight Safety Incidents in the course of operations in Syria signed with the US.
We call on the UN Security Council to hold an emergency meeting to discuss the latest developments.
Again, I am very underwhelmed to put it mildly.
I hope that the outrage inside Russia will force Lavrov to cancel his planned meeting with Tillerson.
On a personal note, I will be gone all day and most of the week-end I will be attending Church services for the feasts of the Annunciation and the Entry of our Lord into Jerusalem.
You can expect an analysis by Monday or Tuesday at the latest.
The Saker
PS: needless to say, no chemical weapons or chemical weapon storage facilities were damaged: we know that since NOBODY, including the Russian reporters, were even carrying, nevermind wearing, any gas masks or, even less so, full chemical protection suits. This is hardly surprising since, of course, they never existed in the first place.
PPS: just for the record, this attack was a direct and clear violation of
1. US national law (Trump never got Congress to authorize this attack)
2. International law (Trump is now a criminal guilty of the crime of ‘aggression’)
3. The UN Charter
In other words, Trump is now a war criminal and the USA a rogue state (again).
Hervé
7th April 2017, 14:25
^^^ Thanks! You beat me to it :)
Indeed, what the strike reveals is no chemical weapons exploded at the airbase - from which the air raid originated - and where there should have been some left if Syria used some on Idlid...
Atlas
7th April 2017, 14:35
Russian MoD: US Missile Attack on Syrian Airbase Prepared Long Time Ago
2xYM-yC0dtA
All the accusations against Damascus that it had violated the Chemical Weapons Convention of 2013 given by the USA as reasons for the strike are groundless.
Hervé
7th April 2017, 15:22
Merkel and Hollande blame Assad for the US strikes on Syria; French candidates weigh in (http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/04/merkel-and-hollande-blame-assad-for-us.html)
April 7, 2017 - Fort Russ News -
LCI.fr (http://www.lci.fr/international/video-frappes-americaines-en-syrie-hollande-annonce-la-reunion-d-un-conseil-de-defense-en-fin-de-journee-a-l-elysee-2044251.html), translated by Tom Winter -
https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wp-QjkuZ3H8/WOeGFh0yPJI/AAAAAAAAD5s/xx-IM5gOkd8UDzd3y41fy1AUhCm0mGs6QCLcB/s640/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-04-07%2Bat%2B7.28.02%2BAM.png (https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wp-QjkuZ3H8/WOeGFh0yPJI/AAAAAAAAD5s/xx-IM5gOkd8UDzd3y41fy1AUhCm0mGs6QCLcB/s1600/Screen%2BShot%2B2017-04-07%2Bat%2B7.28.02%2BAM.png)
The American "response" must be pursued at the international level." Francois Hollande made a brief speech Friday to react to the American strikes that destroyed an air base of the Bashar al-Assad regime during the night. The head of state, who has called for action "within the framework of the United Nations, if possible," announced that the Defense Council would meet at 7 pm at the Elysée Palace.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, whose regime is accused of being behind the gas attack on Tuesday in the north-west of the country, bears "full responsibility" for Washington's night strikes against an air base Syria, the head of state pronounced in a joint statement with Angela Merkel.
The French head of state and the German Chancellor spoke on the telephone this Friday morning on the situation in Syria, and one can read in this joint text of the Elysée and the Chancellery: "Following the chemical massacre on April 4 in Khan Cheikhoune in northwestern Syria, a military installation of the Syrian regime used for chemical bombardment was destroyed last night by US strikes," The two leaders, having previously been informed, added "Assad bears full responsibility for this development."
Source (http://www.lci.fr/elections/hamon-fillon-le-pen-macron-melenchon-comment-les-candidats-a-la-presidentielle-reagissent-aux-frappes-americaines-en-syrie-2044248.html) for the reactions of the French presidential candidates, which follow here below:
Le Pen
Marine Le Pen said she was "surprised" by the reaction of Donald Trump, and distanced herself from the American President.
"I'm a little surprised, because Trump had repeatedly said that he did not intend to make the United States the world policeman, and that's exactly what he did yesterday, she explained on France 2.
"Is it too much to ask to wait for the results of an independent international investigation before making a strike like this?"
"What I would like is that we do not find the same scenario that we saw in Iraq, in Libya, which in reality are processes leading to chaos, and that ended up nurturing islamic fundamentalism. "
The president of the Front National let it be understood that we have to keep talking with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad "as there is no one else credible"
Thursday she judged that Donald Trump was wrong to envisage strikes in Syria.
"If the responsibility must be the ensemble of the nations, then it comes to the organization of elections under the correct democratic conditions," she said.
Macron
In "The Political Broadcast" Thursday night on France 2, Emmanuel Macron favored military intervention in Syria. "If it was confirmed, it is very serious, so yes, there has to be an intervention," "a military intervention" to "sanction what has been done," he replied while being questioned about the attack Tuesday. At the same time, he explained that we must talk with Bashar al-Assad about his departure.This Friday morning, he said he was "taking note of the American intervention." "My wish is that there will truly be internationally coordinated action in retaliation for the Bashar al-Assad regime and the crimes that have been committed," En Marche's candidate added.
Fillon
François Fillon said in a statement that one could understand the "American response" to the suspected chemical attack in Syria, while demanding that it not lead to "a confrontation" between the West on the one hand, Russia and Iran on the other. Previously, his spokesman Vincent Chriqui reacted on LCI: "I think it is absolutely necessary that France is again at the table of discussions, that there is a real exchange that must be demanding, that must be muscular, with all the countries active in the region, including Russia, to find a way out of the crisis, and I hope that this solution will include the departure of President Bashar al-Assad."
Hamon
Benoît Hamon has said since Le Creusot, where he is on the move: "I have always refused to prioritize the horror between Bashar al-Assad and Daesh ... This is why I consider Bashar Al-Assad is directly responsible for the response decided by the United States.I am obviously in favor of finding a political solution in Syria as soon as possible. It is now time that the Russia of Mr. Putin who protects Bashar al -Assad understands that the poliical solution is an integral Syria, a Syria that finds the solution, but without Bashar al-Assad, and I recognize myself in the statement made by the President of the Republic and Angela Merkel. It is time that a political solution be found."
-----------
Translator note: I had to restrain myself from interjecting comments everywhere. Please, Fort Russ readers, do it for me in the comments section!
====================================================
My, oh my... only one candidate keeping feet grounded and levelheaded enough to think with the data...
Sophocles
7th April 2017, 15:22
As a side note...
Last night "Swedish Foreign Minister Margot Wallstrom said that the US missile attack on a Syrian airfield raises questions on whether or not such actions are against international law (http://www.newsjs.com/url.php?p=https://sputniknews.com/world/201704071052406401-us-attack-airfield-law/)".
And today there was a terror attack in Stockholm (https://www.rt.com/news/383902-truck-reportedly-drives-into-people/), Sweden`s capital:
https://gfx.nrk.no/F8VhYQLJxlkOkjisQYX1ygFHmJWJ6wfz26TBo5QhtLyw
Source (https://www.nrk.no/norge/lastebil-kjorte-inn-i-butikk-i-stockholm_-tre-dode-og-atte-skadd-1.13466210) (in Norwegian)
According to the driver a masked person jumped into the truck and drove away with it while the driver was making a delivery.
Update: The driver is said to have tried to stop the masked man, obviously without luck.
Hervé
7th April 2017, 17:34
Pentagon Trained Syria’s Al Qaeda “Rebels” in the Use of Chemical Weapons (http://www.globalresearch.ca/pentagon-trained-syrias-al-qaeda-rebels-in-the-use-of-chemical-weapons/5583784)
The Western media refutes their own lies
By Prof Michel Chossudovsky (http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/michel-chossudovsky)
Global Research, April 07, 2017
http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/2-Ghouta-False-Flag-400x262.jpg
The Western media refutes their own lies.
Not only do they confirm that the Pentagon has been training the terrorists in the use of chemical weapons, they also acknowledge the existence of a not so secret “US-backed plan to launch a chemical weapon attack on Syria and blame it on Assad’s regime” (http://www.globalresearch.ca/deleted-daily-mail-online-article-us-backed-plan-for-chemical-weapon-attack-in-syria-to-be-blamed-on-assad/5339178)
London’s Daily Mail in a 2013 article confirmed the existence of an Anglo-American project endorsed by the White House (with the assistance of Qatar) to wage a chemical weapons attack on Syria and place the blame of Bashar Al Assad.
The following Mail Online article was published and subsequently removed. Note the contradictory discourse: “Obama issued warning to Syrian president Bashar al Assad”, “White House gave green light to chemical weapons attack”.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2017-04-06-at-21.01.09-1024x967.png (http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2017-04-06-at-21.01.09.png)
This Mail Online report published in January 2013 was subsequently removed from Mail Online. For further details click here (http://www.globalresearch.ca/deleted-daily-mail-online-article-us-backed-plan-for-chemical-weapon-attack-in-syria-to-be-blamed-on-assad/5339178)
The Pentagon’s Training of “Rebels” (aka Al Qaeda Terrorists) in the Use of Chemical Weapons
CNN accuses Bashar Al Assad of killing his own people while also acknowledging that the “rebels” are not only in possession of chemical weapons, but that these “moderate terrorists” affiliated with Al Nusra are trained in the use of chemical weapons by specialists on contract to the Pentagon.
http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2017-04-06-at-20.21.49-1024x206.png
In a twisted logic, the Pentagon’s mandate was to ensure that the rebels aligned with Al Qaeda would not acquire or use WMD, by actually training them in the use of chemical weapons (sounds contradictory):
“The training [in chemical weapons], which is taking place in Jordan and Turkey, involves how to monitor and secure stockpiles and handle weapons sites and materials, according to the sources. Some of the contractors are on the ground in Syria working with the rebels to monitor some of the sites, according to one of the officials.
The nationality of the trainers was not disclosed, though the officials cautioned against assuming all are American. (CNN (http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/09/sources-defense-contractors-training-syrian-rebels-in-chemical-weapons/), December 09, 2012, emphasis added)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2017-04-06-at-18.47.15-977x1024.png (http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2017-04-06-at-18.47.15.png)
screenshot of the CNN article, the original link has been redirected to CNN blogs,
The above report by CNN’s award winning journalist Elise Labott (http://edition.cnn.com/profiles/elise-labott-profile)(relegated to the status [of] a CNN blog), refutes CNN’s numerous accusations directed against Bashar Al Assad.
Who is doing the training of terrorists in the use of chemical weapons? From the horse’s mouth: CNN
http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2017-04-06-at-19.12.35-1024x192.png (http://www.globalresearch.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Screen-Shot-2017-04-06-at-19.12.35.png)
Sources: U.S. helping underwrite Syrian rebel training on securing chemical weapons (http://security.blogs.cnn.com/2012/12/09/sources-defense-contractors-training-syrian-rebels-in-chemical-weapons/)
And these are the same terrorists (trained by the Pentagon) who are the alleged target of Washington’s counterterrorism bombing campaign initiated by Obama in August 2014:
“The Pentagon scheme established in 2012 consisted in equipping and training Al Qaeda rebels in the use of chemical weapons, with the support of military contractors hired by the Pentagon, and then holding the Syrian government responsible for using the WMD against the Syrian people.
What is unfolding is a diabolical scenario –which is an integral part of military planning– namely a situation where opposition terrorists advised by Western defense contractors are actually in possession of chemical weapons.
This is not a rebel training exercise in non-proliferation. While president Obama states that “you will be held accountable” if “you” (meaning the Syrian government) use chemical weapons, what is contemplated as part of this covert operation is the possession of chemical weapons by the US-NATO sponsored terrorists, namely “by our” Al Qaeda affiliated operatives, including the Al Nusra Front which constitutes the most effective Western financed and trained fighting group, largely integrated by foreign mercenaries. In a bitter twist, Jabhat al-Nusra, a US sponsored “intelligence asset”, was recently put on the State Department’s list of terrorist organizations.
The West claims that it is coming to the rescue of the Syrian people, whose lives are allegedly threatened by Bashar Al Assad. The truth of the matter is that the Western military alliance is not only supporting the terrorists, including the Al Nusra Front, it is also making chemical weapons available to its proxy “opposition” rebel forces.
The next phase of this diabolical scenario is that the chemical weapons in the hands of Al Qaeda operatives will be used against civilians, which could potentially lead an entire nation into a humanitarian disaster.
The broader issue is: who is a threat to the Syrian people? The Syrian government of Bashar al Assad or the US-NATO-Israel military alliance which is recruiting “opposition” terrorist forces, which are now being trained in the use of chemical weapons.” (Michel Chossudovsky (http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-syria-chemical-weapons-saga-the-staging-of-a-us-nato-sponsored-humanitarian-disaster/5315273), May 8, 2013, minor edit)
The original source of this article is Global Research
Copyright © Prof Michel Chossudovsky (http://www.globalresearch.ca/author/michel-chossudovsky), Global Research, 2017
Atlas
7th April 2017, 19:24
Independent Canadian journalist challenges MSM, explains what actually is going on in Syria
rUhe87r5bEE
PurpleLama
7th April 2017, 22:13
aN4Z6Bocl90
Sophocles
8th April 2017, 03:02
Russian Defense Ministry to suspend communications hotline with Pentagon as of April 8 (http://tass.com/defense/940208)
tass.com
April 07, 20:58
The US military attache in Moscow was summoned to the Defense Ministry to get an official note, according to the ministry's spokesman
https://phototass2.cdnvideo.ru/width/744_b12f2926/tass/m2/en/uploads/i/20170407/1165765.jpg
Defense Ministry's official spokesman Igor Konashenkov © Anton Novoderezhkin/TASS
MOSCOW, April 7. /TASS/. Russian Defense Ministry suspends as of April 8 the operations of a communications hotline with the Pentagon, which the two sides established in line with a memorandum of understanding on prevention of incidents and ensuring of flight safety in Syrian airspace, Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov, the Defense Ministry's official spokesman told reporters on Friday.
"About an hour ago, the US military attache in Moscow was summoned to the Defense Ministry to get an official note, which said the Russian side was suspending as of 00:00 hours on April 8 the observance of its obligations under the memorandum of understanding on prevention of incidents and ensuring of flight safety in the course of operation in the Syrian Arab Republic," he said.
Gen. Konashenkov refuted US media reports claiming Russia had decided to keep the hotline open.
He said the Defense Ministry had sent an appropriate notification to the Pentagon via military diplomatic channels earlier on Friday.
Reports on the ministry’s plans to suspend contacts in the format of the memorandum emerged on Friday afternoon. The Russian side had to make the step after the U.S. had delivered a strike with Tomahawk missiles at an airbase of the Syrian Air Force in Shayrat.
The sides designed the memorandum in October 2015. It spells out a set of rules and restrictions aiming to prevent incidents between Russian and U.S. aircraft in the skies over Syria.
The two countries maintained round-the-clock operative communications and specified a mechanism of mutual contacts inclusive of mutual assistance and aid in critical situations.
Hervé
8th April 2017, 15:26
Experts should be sent to Syrian airbase targeted by US to carry out chemical probe - Russian MoD (https://www.rt.com/news/384042-shayrat-probe-chemical-weapons/)
RT (https://www.rt.com/news/384042-shayrat-probe-chemical-weapons/)
Sat, 08 Apr 2017 14:20 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388666/large/S.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388666/full/S.jpg)
The wreckage of destroyed planes on Shayrat air base in Syria. © Mikhail Voskresenskiy / Sputnik
Washington has presented "no evidence whatsoever" yet that the Shayrat airfield in Syria's Homs Province targeted by the US after an alleged chemical attack in Idlib had any such weapons, the Russian Defense Ministry said.
"Twenty-four hours have passed since the US Navy warships launched a massive missile strike at the Shayrat airfield, and neither the Pentagon nor the State Department have provided any evidence of presence of chemical weapons at this airbase," the ministry spokesman, Major-General Igor Konashenkov, said in a statement on Saturday.
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/819870660507955202/aIKukPJE_bigger.jpg RTVerified account @RT_com (https://twitter.com/RT_com)
Russian MoD releases Drone footage of #Syria (https://twitter.com/hashtag/Syria?src=hash) missile strike aftermath https://on.rt.com/8888 (https://t.co/DRDj7mYnsa)
https://pbs.twimg.com/amplify_video_thumb/850325570609172484/img/GDH-8raZmbPqywfh.jpg
9:15 AM - 7 Apr 2017 Dozens of representatives of the media, local authorities, fire departments, police, and the Syrian military have visited the airfield since then, with no alleged "storage units" or any chemical shells having been found, he said.
"The only way to receive and present to the whole international community any objective evidence on the alleged presence of poisonous substances at Shayrat is to send a mission of professional experts there," the defense ministry statement said.
Early Friday morning, the US launched 59 Tomahawk missiles at the airfield, ordered by US President Donald Trump in response to the alleged chemical attack in Syria's Idlib Province. Dozens of civilians including children died from suspected gas poisoning in the rebel-occupied territory earlier this month, with Washington blaming the Syrian government for the incident.
Calling its attack on the airbase a "targeted military strike," Trump claimed (https://www.rt.com/news/383782-us-strikes-syria-tomahawaks/) the airfield in Homs was where the alleged chemical gas attack originated.
Related:
Hysteria!: US launches probe into whether Russia took part in 'chemical attack' in Syria (https://www.sott.net/article/347580-Hysteria-US-launches-probe-into-whether-Russia-took-part-in-chemical-attack-in-Syria)
Hervé
8th April 2017, 19:55
Washington's False Flag: United Nations Confirmed that US Supported Syrian "Rebels" Were Using Chemical Weapons in 2013 (http://www.globalresearch.ca/united-nations-confirmed-that-us-supported-rebels-were-using-chemical-weapons/5583988)
Prof Michel Chossudovsky Global Research (http://www.globalresearch.ca/united-nations-confirmed-that-us-supported-rebels-were-using-chemical-weapons/5583988)
Sat, 08 Apr 2017 20:39 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388731/large/Carla_del_Ponte_v1.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388731/full/Carla_del_Ponte_v1.jpg)
Head of UN Mission Carla del Ponte
Washington is Lying.
Both Trump and Obama have blood on their hands. The Chemical Weapons Attack is being used as a "False Flag", a pretext and a justification to wage an illegal war of aggression.
The United Nations in a 2013 report confirms that Syrian opposition "rebels" (supported by Washington) "may have used chemical weapons against [Syrian] government forces." (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2320223/UN-accuses-Syrian-rebels-carrying-sarin-gas-attacks-blamed-Assads-troops.htm)
The UN report refutes Washington's allegations that the government of Bashar al Assad was using chemical weapons against his own people.
What the UN mission findings confirm is that the US sponsored opposition "rebels" largely composed of Al Qaeda affiliated groups, financed and supported by the Western military alliance were responsible for these 2013 chemical weapons attacks.
Moreover, as confirmed in an earlier report, (http://www.globalresearch.ca/pentagon-trained-syrias-al-qaeda-rebels-in-the-use-of-chemical-weapons/5583784) the Al Qaeda rebels were being trained in the use of chemical weapons by specialists on contract to the Pentagon.
Washington (which supports the opposition rebels in the use of chemical weapons) rather than Damascus is responsible for extensive crimes against humanity.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388728/large/Screen_Shot.png (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/388728/full/Screen_Shot.png)
According to the United Nations 2013 mission led by Carla del Ponte:
"evidence from casualties and medical staff indicated that rebel forces in the civil war had used the deadly nerve agent sarin.
'Our investigators have been in neighbouring countries interviewing victims, doctors and field hospitals, and there are strong, concrete suspicions, but not yet incontrovertible proof, of the use of sarin gas,' said Del Ponte in an interview with Swiss-Italian television.
'This was use on the part of the opposition, the rebels, not by the government authorities.'
Last night, the UN commission looking into allegations of war crimes in Syria tried to row back on the comments by its human rights investigator, pointing out that conclusive evidence had not been discovered.
However, the White House said it was likely that President Bashar al-Assad's regime, not the rebels, were behind any chemical weapons use. ...
Sarin has been classed as a weapon of mass destruction due to its potency and is banned under international law.
US President Barack Obama has said that the use or deployment of chemical weapons in Syria would cross a 'red line' that could lead to foreign military intervention. ...
The comments by Ms Del Ponte, a member of the U.N. panel probing alleged war crimes in Syria, contradict claims by Britain and the U.S. that intelligence reports showed Syrian soldiers had used chemical weapons.
She said that the United Nations independent commission of inquiry on Syria has not yet seen evidence of government forces having used chemical weapons, which are banned under international law. (See Daily Mail Online (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2320223/UN-accuses-Syrian-rebels-carrying-sarin-gas-attacks-blamed-Assads-troops.html), May 6, 2013))
Related:
Sources ramping the propaganda: SAS mission to destroy Syria's sarin stockpiles called off in 2013 (https://www.sott.net/article/347546-Sources-ramping-the-propaganda-SAS-mission-to-destroy-Syrias-sarin-stockpiles-called-off-in-2013)
How U.S. hawks used 'Idlib chemical attack' as pretext for intervention in Syria (https://www.sott.net/article/347558-How-US-hawks-used-Idlib-chemical-attack-as-pretext-for-intervention-in-Syria)
Atlas
8th April 2017, 21:21
Washington is Lying.
No joke..
@1:22: "For security reasons, we do not comment on which groups are funded by the U.S."
-b6lzYjdGww
Angry American Tells The Truth:
wk3X2j0_osI
Atlas
8th April 2017, 22:02
Chairman of the Syrian National Committee Faisal Mekdad: "We have no whatsoever any chemical weapons and the Syrian army has not and would never use them against our Syrian people":
ybiHoSkuHs8
Sophocles
9th April 2017, 20:12
Bolivia mercilessly trolls US over Iraq WMD lie in front of UN Security Council (VIDEO) (https://www.rt.com/viral/383979-bolivia-un-syria-us-wmd/)
DSiOIM1wEQ4
Bolivia delivered an epic blow to the US at the emergency UN Security Council meeting Friday, reminding everyone of the disastrous weapons of mass destruction lie peddled by the US as a pretext to invade Iraq.
“I believe that we must absolutely remember these pictures and that we were told that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and this was the motivation for an invasion,” he (Sacha Llorenti) said. “After this invasion, there was 1 million deaths, and it launched a series of atrocities in that region.”
“Could we talk about ISIS if that invasion had not taken place? Could we be talking about the series of horrendous attacks in various parts in the world had that invasion, this illegal invasion not taken place?”
Full article at RT (https://www.rt.com/viral/383979-bolivia-un-syria-us-wmd/)
--------------------------------------------
These pictures speaks for themselves...
https://i0.wp.com/steigan.no/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/haley-powell.jpg?w=700
Source (http://steigan.no/2017/04/07/krigen-er-i-gang-usa-angriper-syria-med-krysserraketter/)
Hervé
10th April 2017, 15:29
Assad Must Stay: 'A War Involving Fighters From 86 Countries Isn't a Civil War' (https://sputniknews.com/politics/201704101052493885-ambassador-haddur-why-assad-must-stay/)
Sputnik
Politics (https://sputniknews.com/politics/)17:36 10.04.2017
(updated 17:51 10.04.2017)
https://cdn1.img.sputniknews.com/images/105232/49/1052324972.jpg
© AP Photo/
=================================================
The title says it all... full article: https://sputniknews.com/politics/201704101052493885-ambassador-haddur-why-assad-must-stay/
Atlas
10th April 2017, 16:21
MIT researcher Subrata Ghoshroy (https://twitter.com/s_ghoshroy) explains how unqualified persons posing as ‘experts’ were delivering bogus evidence to the UN, which resulted in fraudulent conclusions in the UN report – which were then used to justify US and British calls for bombing in Syria.
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/476450161799884800/EMB6FnpC_400x400.jpeg
Full interview: Syria WMD ‘Facts’ Were Manufactured to Fit U.S. Conclusions (http://21stcenturywire.com/2017/04/06/mit-researcher-syria-wmd-facts-were-manufactured-to-fit-us-conclusion-for-ghouta-in-2013/)
Atlas
10th April 2017, 22:14
UN Peace Council Madelyn Hoffman: Sanctions against Syria need to be lifted:
NfMYDqsoCS8
Hervé
11th April 2017, 15:42
A multi-level analysis of the US cruise missile attack on Syria and its consequences (http://thesaker.is/a-multi-level-analysis-of-the-us-cruise-missile-attack-on-syria-and-its-consequences/)
The Saker April 11, 2017
The latest US cruise missile attack on the Syrian airbase is an extremely important event in so many ways that it is important to examine it in some detail. I will try to do this today with the hope to be able to shed some light on a rather bizarre attack which will nevertheless have profound consequences. But first, let’s begin by looking at what actually happened.
The pretext:
I don’t think that anybody seriously believes that Assad or anybody else in the Syrian government really ordered a chemical weapons attack on anybody. To believe that it would require you to find the following sequence logical: first, Assad pretty much wins the war against Daesh which is in full retreat (http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/12/06/u-s-officials-russia-and-assad-won-the-syrian-war-and-new-world-order-agents-lost/). Then, the US declares that overthrowing Assad is not a priority anymore (http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/03/nikki-haley-bashar-al-assad-syria-170331005600046.html) (up to here this is all factual and true). Then, Assad decides to use weapons he does not have (http://www.reuters.com/article/us-syria-crisis-chemicalweapons-idUSKBN0EY18T20140623). He decides to bomb a location with no military value, but with lots of kids and cameras. Then, when the Russians demand a full investigation, the Americans strike as fast as they can before this idea gets any support. And now the Americans are probing a possible Russian role in this so-called attack (http://www.cnn.com/2017/04/07/world/syria-military-strikes-donald-trump-russia/). Frankly, if you believe any of that, you should immediately stop reading and go back to watching TV. For the rest of us, there are three options:
a classical US-executed false flag
a Syrian strike on a location which happened to be storing some kind of gas, possibly chlorine, but most definitely not sarin. This option requires you to believe in coincidences. I don’t. Unless,
the US fed bad intelligence to the Syrians and got them to bomb a location where the US knew that toxic gas was stored.
What is evident is that the Syrians did not drop chemical weapons from their aircraft and that no chemical gas was ever stored at the al-Shayrat airbase. There is no footage showing any munitions or containers which would have delivered the toxic gas. As for US and other radar recordings, all they can show is that an aircraft was in the sky, its heading, altitude and speed. There is no way to distinguish a chemical munition or a chemical attack by means of radar.
Whatever option you chose, the Syrian government is obviously and self-evidently innocent of the accusation of having used chemical weapons. This is most likely a false flag attack.
Also, and just for the record, the US had been considering exactly such a false flag attack in the past. You can read everything about this plan here (http://www.globalresearch.ca/deleted-daily-mail-online-article-us-backed-plan-for-chemical-weapon-attack-in-syria-to-be-blamed-on-assad/5339178) and here (http://web.archive.org/web/20130129213824/http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2270219/U-S-planned-launch-chemical-weapon-attack-Syria-blame-Assad.html).
The attack:
American and Russian sources both agree on the following facts: 2 USN ships launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Al Shayrat airfield in Syria. The US did not consult with the Russians on a political level, but through military channels the US gave Russia 2 hours advance warning. At this point the accounts begin to differ.
The Americans say that all missiles hit their targets. The Russians say that only 23 cruise missiles hit the airfield. The others are “unaccounted for”. Here I think that it is indisputable that the Americans are lying and the Russians are saying the truth: the main runway is intact (the Russian reporters provided footage proving this) and only one taxiway was hit. Furthermore, the Syrian Air Force resumed its operations within 24 hours. 36 cruise missiles have not reached their intended target. That is a fact.
It is also indisputable that there were no chemical munitions at this base as nobody, neither the Syrians nor the Russian reporters, had to wear any protective gear.
The missiles used in the attack, the Tomahawk, can use any combination of three guidance systems: GPS, inertial navigation and terrain mapping. There is no evidence and even no reports that the Russians shot even a single air-defense missile. In fact, the Russians had signed a memorandum with the USA which specifically comitting Russia NOT to interfere with any US overflights, manned or not, over Syria (and vice versa). While the Tomahawk cruise missile was developed in the 1980s, there is no reason to believe that the missiles used had exceeded their shelf live and there is even evidence that they were built in 2014 (http://thesaker.is/syria-us-missile-strike-naval-brief-nb-0517-april-08-2017-by-ledahu/). The Tomahawk is known to be accurate and reliable. There is absolutely no basis to suspect that over half of the missiles fired simply spontaneously malfunctioned. I therefore see only two possible explanations for what happened to the 36 missing cruise missiles:
Explanation A: Trump never intended to really hit the Syrians hard and this entire attack was just “for show” and the USN deliberately destroyed these missiles over the Mediterranean. That would make it possible for Trump to appear tough while not inflicting the kind of damage which would truly wreck his plans to collaborate with Russia. I do not believe in this explanation and I will explain why in the political analysis below.
Explanation B: The Russians could not legally shoot down the US missiles. Furthermore, it is incorrect to assume that these cruise missiles flew a direct course from the Mediterranean to their target (thereby almost overflying the Russian radar positions). Tomahawk were specifically built to be able to fly tangential courses around some radar types and they also have a very low RCS (radar visibility), especially in the frontal sector. Some of these missiles were probably flying low enough not to be seen by Russian radars, unless the Russians had an AWACS in the air (I don’t know if they did). However, since the Russians were warned about the attack they had plenty of time to prepare their electronic warfare stations to “fry” and otherwise disable at least part of the cruise missiles. I do believe that this is the correct explanation. I do not know whether the Russian were technically unable to destroy and confuse the 23 missiles which reached the base or whether a political decision was taken to let less than half of the cruise missiles through in order to disguise the Russian role in the destruction of 36 missiles. What I am sure of is that 36 advanced cruise missile do not “just disappear”. There are two reasons why the Russians would have decided to use their EW systems and not their missiles: first, it provides them “plausible deninability” (at least for the general public, there is no doubt that US signal intelligence units did detect the Russian electronic interference (unless it happened at very low power and very high frequency and far away inland), and because by using EW systems it allowed them to keep their air defense missiles for the protection of their own forces. Can the Russian really do this?
http://dxczjjuegupb.cloudfront.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Selection_049.png
Take a look at this image, taken from a Russian website (http://liveras.mirtesen.ru/blog/43184737459/Buduschee-voyn:-kompleksyi-radioelektronnoy-borbyi-REB-Krasuha-4), which appears to have been made by the company Kret which produces some of the key Russian electronic warfare systems. Do you notice that on the left hand side, right under the AWACs aircraft you can clearly see a Tomahawk type missile turning around and eventually exploding at sea?
How this is done is open to conjecture. All that we are told is that the missile is given a “false target” but for our purposes this really does not matter. What matters is that the Russians have basically leaked the information that they are capable of turning cruise missiles around. There are other possibilities such as a directed energy beams which basically fries or, at least, confuses the terrain following and or inertial navigation systems. Some have suggested a “kill switch” which would shut down the entire missile. Maybe. Again, this really doesn’t matter for our purposes. What matters is that the Russian have the means to spoof, redirect or destroy US cruise missiles. It sure appears to be that, for the first time, these systems were used in anger.
I would note that those who say that the Russian air defense systems did not work don’t know what they are talking about. Not only did Russia sign an agreement with the US not to interfere with US flight operations, the Russian air defenses in Syria are NOT tasked with the protection of the Syrian Air Space. That is a task for the Syrian air defenses. The Russians air defenses in Syria are only here to protect Russian personnel and equipment. This is why the Russians never targeted Israeli warplanes. And this is hardly surprising as the Russian task force in Syria never had the mission to shut down the Syrian air space or, even less so, to start a war with the USA or Israel.
However, this might be changing. Now the Russians have withdrawn from their agreement with the USA and, even more importantly, have declared that the Syrians urgently need more advanced air defense capabilities. Currently the Syrians operate very few advanced Russian air defense systems, most of their gear is old.
[...]
Full article (recommended): http://thesaker.is/a-multi-level-analysis-of-the-us-cruise-missile-attack-on-syria-and-its-consequences/
Hervé
11th April 2017, 17:01
Idlib ‘chemical attack’ was false flag to set Assad up, more may come – Putin (https://www.rt.com/news/384333-putin-idlib-attack-provocation/)
RT
Published time: 11 Apr, 2017 12:51
Edited time: 11 Apr, 2017 15:08
Get short URL (https://on.rt.com/88jx)
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2017.04/thumbnail/58ebcfb3c36188af7b8b464c.jpg (https://www.rt.com/news/384256-us-syria-more-strikes/)
[Video at link (https://www.rt.com/news/384333-putin-idlib-attack-provocation/)]
Russia has information of a potential incident similar to the alleged chemical attack in Idlib province, possibly targeting a Damascus suburb, President Vladimir Putin said. The goal is to discredit the government of Syrian President Assad, he added.
“We have reports from multiple sources that false flags like this one – and I cannot call it otherwise – are being prepared in other parts of Syria, including the southern suburbs of Damascus. They plan to plant some chemical there and accuse the Syrian government of an attack,” he said at a joint press conference with Italian President Sergio Mattarella in Moscow.
Damascus denied the allegations, noting that the targeted area may have been hosting chemical weapons stockpiles belonging to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) or Al-Nusra Front jihadists.
The incident has not been properly investigated as yet, but the US fired dozens of cruise missiles at a Syrian airbase in a demonstration of force over what it labeled a chemical attack by Damascus.
“President Mattarella and I discussed it, and I told him that this reminds me strongly of the events in 2003, when the US representatives demonstrated at the UN Security Council session the presumed chemical weapons found in Iraq. The military campaign was subsequently launched in Iraq and it ended with the devastation of the country, the growth of the terrorist threat and the appearance of Islamic State [IS, formerly ISIS] on the world stage,” he added.
It was the first time the US had targeted Syrian troops deliberately. The White House says it will repeat military action in response to any possible new chemical weapon attacks.
“The sight of people being gassed and blown away by barrel bombs ensures that if we see this kind of action again, we hold open the possibility of future action,” spokesman Sean Spicer said Monday.
Putin reiterated the call to properly investigate what happened in Khan Sheikhoun, saying that the alleged use of chemical weapons demands one.
“We are planning to address the corresponding UN structure in The Hague and call on the international community to thoroughly investigate all those reports and take appropriate action based on the results of such a probe,” he said.
A separate report of a potential false flag operation in Syria came from the Russian General Staff, which said militants were transporting toxic agents into several parts of Syria, including Eastern Ghouta, the site of the 2013 chemical weapons incident.
“These actions are aimed at creating a new pretext for accusing the government of Syria of more chemical weapons attacks and provoking more strikes by the US,” said Colonel General Sergey Rudskoy, the head of Operations.
Related:
Future strikes on Syria a ‘possibility’– White House (https://www.rt.com/news/384256-us-syria-more-strikes/)
Atlas
11th April 2017, 17:33
Congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard: "We must end our war to overthrow the Syrian government now"
ggpbR864zik
Hervé
11th April 2017, 18:07
A must listen:
pgrua74fA50
Pieczenik Explodes: Issues Warning To Trump, Mattis AND McMaster About Going To War In Syria (http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-04-10/pieczenik-explodes-issues-warning-trump-mathis-and-mcmaster-about-going-war-syria)
http://www.zerohedge.com/sites/default/files/pictures/picture-234204.jpg (http://www.zerohedge.com/users/therealfly)by The_Real_Fly (http://www.zerohedge.com/users/therealfly)
Apr 10, 2017 11:34 PM
America's foremost expert in international affairs, having served under 5 Presidents, instrumental in the Camp David accords, in addition to playing a key role in regime changes around the globe for decades, Dr. Steve Pieczenik (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Pieczenik) exploded with rage on the Alex Jones show yesterday -- warning Trump and his team that war crimes would follow if they pursued a neocon agenda of war in Syria, which the American people do not want.
"This is a warning to our generals, Mcmaster, and others, who think they can do a regime change in Syria. Number one, that will not be possible, not with the military, not with all the forces you have and not with the quality of the soldiers you have, the generals. Any notion of a regime change through force is both absurd or criminal. The issue of Syria and Assad have no national security interests to us at all. This will be an incredible dereliction of duty if we go to war in Syria."
He then warned Mcmaster and Mattis directly, saying that he will "come forth, and be tried for criminal activity, as will Mathis."
"There is no reason to put our men and women in harm's way for oil pipelines, or whatever nonsense that is military industrial complex thinks we need to do to get in the middle east. We have no interest in the middle east."
"There is no cause for war."
"Again, we're going through the nonsense of the neocons."
Dr. Pieczenik made his first public appearance in more than 30 years during the Presidential elections, saying in no uncertain terms that he represented a faction of the American intelligence community that would not allow Hillary Clinton to become the next President (http://ibankcoin.com/flyblog/2016/11/03/pieczenik-mind-blowing-interview-huma-abedin-a-saudi-spy-we-will-not-accept-hillary-win/). Moreover, he claimed to be part of an organization that released the Podesta emails to Wikileaks. Interestingly, the mainstream media continues to ignore the good Doctor -- in spite of the fact that is resume is anything but conspiratorial. He is the real deal.
At one point in the interview, he got so heated that Jones had to cut him off when he threatened legal action against the President.
"If this goes any step further, this is a warning to our generals, to our President, and anyone involved. Once again, we will react quite vociferously and strongly. This is grounds for all types of legal action against the President."
He further elaborated on the situation in Syria as a war that is unwinnable, describing how the Assad family was firmly entrenched and could not be displaced by American forces, who have 'no idea what they're doing.'
"The people I know in the military are increasing their force structures to the degree that there is no strategy whatsoever. If you have no strategy, and regime change isn't a strategy, do not go to war."
"The President needs to understand, if he goes to war, that's his problem and we will have a major blowback, domestically. Our military is not prepared for this type of war. Our generals have no idea what they're doing."
A confused Jones, obviously caught off guard by the acrimonious tone of Dr. Pieczenik, asked what had changed from Friday to cause him to issues these warnings.
Pieczenik described, from a psyops point of view, the things he learned over the weekend that caused him to worry.
"But once I hear, and I understand there are more forces placed there over the weekend, there was artillery placed in there. And in fact, they are creating in the White House, what we call a dichotomy or two messages."
"You have a purposeful confusion."
"Do not go to war in Syria."
Sophocles
14th April 2017, 04:18
I think Mr. Steele in this interview here makes a valuable contribution to this thread.
Robert David Steele Deep State, Electoral Reform, Secret Intelligence, Nobel Peace Prize
nghUx-uTiwg
Rocky_Shorz
20th April 2017, 13:02
I'm seeing reports today that Russia is prepared to defend North Korea from America if UN processes are not followed.
Those daily Alaska nuclear bomber flights are more than a warning...
One mentioned if Kissinger goes around Trump and orders the attack, they are prepared to strike Israel...
Net&Yahoo is in the middle of a Mexican Standoff...
Rocky_Shorz
23rd April 2017, 18:20
In reply to the MOAB that took out the CIAs Billion dollar complex...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFlpou5-r5g
norman
23rd April 2017, 18:56
I was surprised recently to discover that Russia and North Korea actually have a land border.
Russian territory extends, as a narrow strip, all the way down to North Korea from Siberia.
Honesty
30th April 2017, 03:23
..........
Flash
30th April 2017, 04:23
Turkey is on track to attack Israel this summer...Turkey is ISIS now.
Where did you get that from?
Rocky_Shorz
3rd May 2017, 01:35
Actually with Turkey being blocked from attacking Kurds, Erdogan's Proxy army of isis Redbeards are moving on Serbia... this is an Islam Christian Holy war to keep attention off Israel...
No one is going to attack Israel, fear mongering from the world's biggest terrorist org
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BTvVYeH8KfE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M6QIopgwuIU
This is bad enough US Citizens are being told not to travel in Europe.
Erdogan feels if EU doesn't let Turkey join, then he will take it...
Will NATO stand with Christians, or back up their NATO Islamic ally?
After Trump & Putin phone conversation 'cooperation against ISIS back on the table' (http://theduran.com/trump-and-putin-hold-phone-conversation-cooperation-against-isis-back-on-the-table/)
Adam Garrie The Duran (http://theduran.com/trump-and-putin-hold-phone-conversation-cooperation-against-isis-back-on-the-table/)
Wed, 03 May 2017 12:42 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s17/357214/large/5828b04cc461882e2e8b4682.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s17/357214/full/5828b04cc461882e2e8b4682.jpg)
U.S. President Donald Trump, Russia's President Vladimir Putin © Mike Segar, Sergei Karpukhin / Reuters
President Putin also urged restraint over North Korea.
Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin have held a telephone conversation in which the leaders of two of the three world super-powers discussed pressing matters of war and peace.
The conversations were serious in tone with both leaders pledging to maintain close contact with the other. Putin and Trump also said that the respective foreign ministers of each country, Sergey Lavrov and Rex Tillson will be in close contact with each other in order to bolster the fragile Syrian ceasefire.
Among the most important things discussed was possible coordination between Russia and the United States in the fight against Wahhabist terrorism in Syria. Cooperation between Washington and Moscow in the war against groups like ISIS was a central pillar of Trump's campaign, but one apparently abandoned when Trump attacked Syria on the 6th of April, something which led to Vladimir Putin saying that US-Russian relations had eroded under Donald Trump
However, there have been recent signs that Donald Trump is turning away from militarism and back towards cooperation. The fact that US troops are now acting as a buffer to prevent Turkish forces from firing on Kurdish SDF fighters in Syria is a sign that America has backed away from cooperation with Turkey in a would be war for regime change in Damascus.
According to a statement (https://sputniknews.com/politics/201705021053214732-trump-putin-talks/) from the Kremlin Press Office,
"On May 2, Vladimir Putin had a telephone conversation with US President Donald Trump. They discussed a number of important issues of cooperation between the two countries in the international arena. They concentrated on the prospect of coordinating the actions of Russia and the United States in the fight against international terrorism in the context of the Syrian crisis...
The goal is to create conditions to launch a real settlement process in Syria. It means that the Russian Foreign Minister and the US Secretary of State will promptly inform the leaders about the progress achieved in this direction". The statement also confirmed that the US and Russian Presidents will hold private meetings during the G20 Summit in Germany this July.
Vladimir Putin also urged restraint on the North Korean issue.
The statement continued,
"The situation on the Korean peninsula was discussed in detail. Vladimir Putin called for restraint and to defuse tensions". In an ideal world, the US and Russia would cooperate militarily against terrorism in Syria and also cooperate diplomatically over North Korea. China and Russia have both been trying to push the US in this direction.
Trump's first 100 days in office have been filled with contradictions and inconsistency. However, there are some signs that Donald Trump may be doing a second U-turn away from his initial hawkish U-turn.
If this turns out to be the case, it could indeed be a positive development in the US turning away from a unilateral position in foreign affairs.
SOTT Comment (https://www.sott.net/article/349871-After-Trump-Putin-phone-conversation-cooperation-against-ISIS-back-on-the-table): For an excellent breakdown of the Trump presidency and the end of the American Empire, check out:
Behind the Headlines: Facts Intrude on the Reality Creators: The Rapid Decline of the American Empire (https://www.sott.net/article/349645-Behind-the-Headlines-Facts-Intrude-on-the-Reality-Creators-The-Rapid-Decline-of-the-American-Empire)
While he campaigned on removing corruption from Washington politics and dialing back on US military aggression overseas, Trump appears to have learned a few hard lessons in his 1st 100 days in office. The US 'deep state' cannot be so easily dismantled, and it appears Trump has been forced to concede to the reality that, since America was built on the domination of other nations, it must continue to dominate if it is to survive in its current form.
But those pesky concepts - reality and facts - keep intruding on the dream of a New American Century. From Syria to North Korea (and everywhere in between) the US is being thwarted by the relatively quiet and unshakable resolve of Russia and China to assert their right to international preeminence as the largest and most populous nations on the planet. More to the point, the 'center' of the globe is clearly Eurasia, while America sits isolated from this center by the world's two largest oceans.
Donbass media round-up: Pensions suspended to pay IMF [24th to 30th April] (http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/05/donbass-media-round-up-pensions.html)
May 2nd, 2017 - Fort Russ News -
The Editorial Board of the Cossack Herald - edited by Inessa Sinchougova (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCeix8jbmQnS6FprsJIsjVyQ/about)
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hz09b2ggLP4/WQh9XXfjxoI/AAAAAAAACjw/jaXNNOSMtY4Pf_JPOUfSmKT7tfoobXZ_gCLcB/s640/IMF.jpg (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Hz09b2ggLP4/WQh9XXfjxoI/AAAAAAAACjw/jaXNNOSMtY4Pf_JPOUfSmKT7tfoobXZ_gCLcB/s1600/IMF.jpg)
IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde
Ukraine refuses to bear social expenses in Donbass
The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine adopted the "Resolution of the Cabinet of Ministers No. 365", according to which social payments to residents of Donbass who have the status of internal migrants will be suspended. The control over the permanence of Ukrainian citizens in the territories of the Donetsk and Lugansk People's Republics is carried out by the infamous SBU - the Ukrainian analogue of the Nazi Gestapo.
The SBU is obliged to transmit data concerning the political security of the citizens to the territorial departments of labor and social protection of the population. Even some Ukrainian lawyers admit that receiving such data by the branches of the Pension Fund of Ukraine is illegal.
One of the conditions for Ukraine to receive loans from the World Monetary Fund is to raise the retirement age, and to significantly reduce the costs of the Ukrainian budget for social payments. Among the first ones under such distribution were migrants from Donbass. In many cases, the Ukrainian authorities have suspended social payments even without preliminary checks of the people at their registration place.
Payments of pensions to some migrants have ceased in line with the law, stated the Minister of Social Policy of Ukraine, Andrey Reva. According to him, the law provides for the abolition of pension payments to internal migrants who stayed in the territory beyond Ukraine's control for more than 60 days.
Last week, Ukraine stopped the deliveries of electricity to the Lugansk People's Republic, and is going to stop the deliveries to the Donetsk People's Republic. This is nothing more than a form of genocide of the population of Donbass. Now, Ukraine is going to apply the methods of economic genocide to its own citizens who may only be suspected of temporary residence in the territories of the DPR and the LPR.
Hervé
11th May 2017, 16:21
Bernard-Henri Levy Gets Pied in Belgrade, Attempts to Assault a Man [Video] (http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/05/bernard-henri-levy-gets-pied-in.html)
May 11th, 2017 - Fort Russ News -
--Agencies - - by Samer Hussein -
https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xBMx48_fbbg/WRRT3kDsK0I/AAAAAAAABQo/8LnU3dRkSYQoHwCOZ1_15mDvkjC1qUhBQCLcB/s640/Screenshot%2Bfrom%2B2017-05-11%2B14.06.36.png (https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-xBMx48_fbbg/WRRT3kDsK0I/AAAAAAAABQo/8LnU3dRkSYQoHwCOZ1_15mDvkjC1qUhBQCLcB/s1600/Screenshot%2Bfrom%2B2017-05-11%2B14.06.36.png)
Bernard-Henri Levy, controversial French philosopher has once again been thrown with a pie, while also publicly displaying his own aggression.
During yesterday's presentation in Belgrade, aimed at gathering support for Kurdish separatism in Syria, a young man from the activist group SKOJ rushed up to Levy and threw a pie directly into his face.
Another young man also came up close to Levy and held a banner that read “Bernard Levy advocates imperialist murders”.
Only a little while later, third man came up to Levy and attempted to start a fight with him. Levy immediately responded by trying to assault him back.
The self-proclaimed intellectual from France is notorious for his advocacy of ethnic cleansing of the Serbs by Ustashas and KLA terrorists in Kosovo during the 1990s.
He is also one of the staunchest supporters of destruction of Iraq and Libya, in addition to expressing enormous sympathies towards jihadists in Syria and their atrocities.
Yesterday, however, Levy did not have his first encounter with a pie. French actor Noel Goden, known for throwing pies at celebrities, targeted Levy 7 times since 1985.
VRMEVnvfVuY
==============================================
More about that character here (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?67941-Damage-Control&p=821296&viewfull=1#post821296) and here (http://projectavalon.net/forum4/showthread.php?68676-Current-situation-in-Ukraine-a-warning.&p=800406&viewfull=1#post800406) (<---)
Sophocles
23rd May 2017, 22:55
I guess this is not worth mentioning in the msm (around 1:03):
«When the clowns from the Soviet Union speak about something that is holy for them and at the same time wave this cursed, cursed St. George ribbon that appeared after the destruction of the Zaporozhskaya Sech I`m not just ashamed. I want to take a machine gun and shoot all these bastards» ...said the Ukranian politician Yuriy Bereza (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yuriy_Bereza) from the People's Front (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People%27s_Front_(Ukraine)) about a week ago...
8S2BN3ym-ik
Hervé
24th May 2017, 23:29
Social media reveals chaos in Philippines Marawi as ISIS battle government forces (https://www.rt.com/news/389618-islamic-state-chaos-philippines-social/)
RT (https://www.rt.com/news/389618-islamic-state-chaos-philippines-social/)
Wed, 24 May 2017 20:20 UTC
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/397787/large/59258ed2c36188f12e8b45a8.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/397787/full/59258ed2c36188f12e8b45a8.jpg)
A government troop gestures to people evacuating Marawi city, southern Philippines May 24, 2017. © Romeo Ranoco / Reuters
Photographs and videos shared across social media platforms are revealing utter chaos in the Philippines city of Marawi as government forces and militants linked to Islamic State battle for control.
Marawi, which is colloquially known as the 'Islamic city' is the focal point of a dramatic outbreak of violence on the archipelago's southern island of Mindanao.
Heavily armed insurgents laid siege to a prison, seized hostages in a church and paraded through the streets in Marawi in a show of force.
The crisis spurred Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte to invoke martial law on the entire island of Mindanao and the city was subject to a blackout Tuesday as government forces engaged with militants and snipers patrolled the streets.
A photo posted on Twitter shows a mosque, the Saduc Masjid, silhouetted by a fire in the background, which the user says is "allegedly" the nearby prison in the aftermath of the attack.
https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/861474920538099712/9GZyPg3N_bigger.jpg SSM-U @attysamina (https://twitter.com/attysamina)
My cousin saw this from their home; allegedly the Marawi City jail. All detainees were freed by ISIS.
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DAgffPZXsAInyaz.jpg
4:22 AM - 23 May 2017
60 replies 6,053 retweets 5,915 likes
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/397788/large/5925b67ec46188c7618b45a1.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/397788/full/5925b67ec46188c7618b45a1.jpg)
© Google Maps
Another photo, widely shared Wednesday, shows a man clad in black raising a black flag on a building beside the same mosque.
Photos posted to Facebook and Twitter show the Islamic State-linked fighters, many clad all in black, parading through neighborhoods in flat bed trucks and on foot.
The militants seized fire engines and government vehicles and decked them out with the Black Standard, the flag associated with Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL). Photos also show them operating checkpoints in the city.
A video of militants attacking the prison - originally posted on a Twitter account associated with jihadists - was also widely shared. The account has since been suspended by the platform however copies (https://twitter.com/geopolitiquee/status/867097836147675138) are in circulation.
The video shows the heavily armed insurgents firing guns as they traveled in a truck waving black flags.
Marawi resident Chico Dimaro Usman described the situation in a Facebook post. "The Truth of what happen [sic] in Marawi City will never be covered up by anybody," he said before claiming that the militants took control of most of the city.
"Let us accept that ISIS controlled the center of the city (80 to 90%). Government Fire trucks are driven by them with ISIS Flag, Police Car also and even Ambulance. In our street... the ISIS is everywhere."
Long lines of vehicles, and people on foot, attempting to leave the city were pictured Wednesday, with the images widely shared online.
https://www.sott.net/image/s19/397789/large/5925c4b6c46188c8618b45b6.jpg (https://www.sott.net/image/s19/397789/full/5925c4b6c46188c8618b45b6.jpg)
A government troop stands on guard checking vehicles evacuating residents from their hometown of Marawi city in southern Philippines, as it drives past a military checkpoint in Pantar town, Lanao Del Norte. © Romeo Ranoco / Reuters
#PrayForMarawi is trending on Twitter following news of the disturbing situation.
Duterte made a passionate and forceful speech in which he warned that the country could "implode" if the threat from militants is not squashed immediately.
"I have always said do not force my hand into it because if I start to declare martial law, I will solve all the problems of Mindanao connected with law and order," he stated.
"The remaining five years of my time, it will be remembered as an administration that did nothing in the face of violence... I will not accept that kind of s**t."
SOTT Comment (https://www.sott.net/article/351947-Social-media-reveals-chaos-in-Philippines-Marawi-as-ISIS-battle-government-forces): After a year or two of the Philippines President dissing the West and turning towards Russia and China, "ISIS" militants launch a large scale attack on government forces....how very coincidental.
Sophocles
25th May 2017, 00:24
This could perhaps be related...
Duterte: West is all 'double talk', I want China and Russia (http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/22/17/duterte-west-is-all-double-talk-i-want-china-and-russia)
Jamaine Punzalan, ABS-CBN News
Posted at May 22 2017 09:13 AM
http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/news-special1/nation/9/13/duterte-xi-jinping-vladimir-putin-091316.jpg
Rodrigo Duterte, Xi Jinping and Vladimir Putin.File/Composite
"I have nothing against America, Trump is my friend. But my foreign policy has shifted. [U]I want to deal with China and Russia. Because in Western world, it’s double talk," he said.
Full article (http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/05/22/17/duterte-west-is-all-double-talk-i-want-china-and-russia)
Hervé
26th May 2017, 00:28
Duterte deploys commandos, attack helicopters to retake Marawi from ISIS-linked fighters (VIDEO)
RT
Published time: 25 May, 2017 19:11
Edited time: 25 May, 2017 20:08
Get short URL (https://on.rt.com/8cqd)
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2017.05/original/59270ffdc46188b7578b4636.jpg
Government troops walk past a mosque before their assault with insurgents from the so-called Maute group, who have taken over large parts of Marawi City, southern Philippines May 25, 2017. REUTERS © Romeo Ranoco / Reuters
Philippines special forces launched an attack on Islamist militant positions in Marawi City early Thursday morning in a bid to retake the city from the ISIS-affiliated Maute group. The operation involved ground troops supported by attack helicopters.
"We're confronting maybe 30 to 40 remaining from the local terrorist group," said Jo-Ar Herrera, spokesman for the military's First Infantry Regiment, as cited by Reuters.
"The military is conducting precise, surgical operations to flush them out... The situation is very fluid and movements are dynamic because we wanted to out-step and outmaneuver them."
Ground troops engaged Maute fighters – affiliated to IS (Islamic State, formerly ISIS/ISIL) – while attack helicopters bombarded their positions from above with heavy machine gun fire and rockets.
Some 18 rebels and six soldiers were killed in the operation according to an army spokesperson cited by Reuters.
RT reached out to Marawi resident and eyewitness Chico Dimaro Usman who has captured the carnage in detail, uploading images and video to Facebook.
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2017.05/original/592710eec36188c4348b4688.jpg
© Chico Dimaro Usman
Maute fighters have torched buildings throughout the city including a jail, a cathedral and a local school, Dansalan College.
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2017.05/original/592724eac36188762a8b4691.jpg
© Chico Dimaro Usman
The coordinated air and ground operations began at roughly 9am Usman said.
The air raids continued throughout the morning into mid-afternoon but Usman captured both raids on camera.
RT has corroborated that the videos were taken in the region through comparisons of local topography in the videos with imagery from Google Earth.
https://cdn.rt.com/files/2017.05/original/592710eec36188c4348b4687.jpg
© Chico Dimaro Usman
Local weather reports confirm roughly 90 percent cloud cover in the area around Marawi City which matches the footage taken by Usman.
RT obtained private statements from Usman confirming that he is in the area. Out of concern for his and his family’s safety, RT is not disclosing his exact location at this time.
So far, a total of 46 people including 15 security forces and 31 Maute fighters have been killed in Marawi City reports Reuters.
zhcp0GER9WA
PurpleLama
27th May 2017, 19:28
Here is the latest talk with Catherine Austin Fitts and the Saker.
https://solari.com/audio/20170427_SakerHQ.mp3
Sophocles
7th June 2017, 15:43
Iran Revolutionary Guards blame Saudi Arabia for deadly attacks in Tehran (https://www.rt.com/news/391254-iran-blame-saudi-attacks/)
Rt.com
7 Jun, 2017 14:58
https://img.rt.com/files/2017.06/original/5938159bc36188ae428b4582.jpg
Smoke is seen during a gunmen attack at the parliament's building in central Tehran, Iran, June 7, 2017 © Reuters
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have accused Saudi Arabia of masterminding the deadly attacks in Tehran on Wednesday, in which at least 12 people were killed. Earlier the terrorist group Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks.
"This terrorist attack happened only a week after the meeting between the U.S. president (Donald Trump) and the (Saudi) backward leaders who support terrorists. The fact that Islamic State has claimed responsibility proves that they were involved in the brutal attack," said the statement, cited by Reuters.
Earlier, Brigadier General Hossein Salami, IRGC deputy commander, pledged retaliation for the attack.
“Let there be no doubt that we will take revenge for today's attacks in Tehran, on terrorists, their affiliates and their supporters,” he said, as cited by the news agency Mehr.
Twelve people were reported killed and 43 injured in gun and bomb attacks in the Iranian capital. The perpetrators targeted the Iranian parliament and Ayatollah Khomeini’s shrine.
Both attacks were claimed by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), the jihadist organization based in Iraq and Syria. Iran supports both countries in their fight against IS. The attacks in Tehran were the first that IS had claimed responsibility for in the Shiite Islamic republic.
The timing of the attacks, shortly after a presidential election in Iran, may indicate that the perpetrators want to cast doubt on the decision of the Iranian people to give President Hassan Rouhani a second term, Middle East expert Catherine Shakdam told RT.
“Iran has just conducted quite successfully its presidential election. Everything went according to plan, it was peaceful, it was progressive,” she said.
“There is a clear desire to drive a narrative of fear and to make people have a sense of insecurity and doubt their officials and how they can protect their own borders.”
Full article (https://www.rt.com/news/391254-iran-blame-saudi-attacks/)
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