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On May 4th, Russia's Sputnik news agency headlined:
"Lavrov: US Tried to Include Al-Nusra Front Positions in 'Silent' Period", and reported that Russia's Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov, speaking in Moscow about the lengthy negotiations between himself and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry to agree on conditions for a Syrian ceasefire and peace talks to take place between Syria's government and Syria's rebels, said, "During the negotiations, our US partners actually tried to draw the borders of this 'zone of silence' to include a significant number of positions occupied by al-Nusra [Front]. We managed to exclude this as it is absolutely unacceptable."
Al Qaeda in Syria calls itself "Al Nusra."
The "zone of silence" or "silent period" (and there are other phrases for it) refers to the areas in Syria that would be excluded from the ceasefire.
That report goes on to document, essentially, that US President Barack Obama is continuing his efforts to replace the the only secular, non-sectarian government in the Middle East, that of the Ba'athist Party, which has always been the only non-religious political party in the Arab world – everything else in Arabia has been fundamentalist-Sunni, to at least some extent. (Think of it: after 9/11, the US government aiding al-Qaeda! The US government is more against Russia than it's against jihadists – though Russia never invaded the US, and communism is gone!)
Obama overthrew the Russia-friendly government of Ukraine and replaced it with an anti-Russian government; he also led the NATO bombing campaign that overthrew the Russia-friendly leader of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi; and he has since been trying to do the same thing in Syria, to Assad.
Does Obama's determination to win Syria through arming jihadists at all costs include a direct military confrontation with Russia?!?
This seems to be where he is headed.
But why, in an election year?!?
There are two potential schools of thought here.
One is that internal White House polls suggest that should Trump be the Republican nominee, he will wipe the floor with Clinton, come the general election. Therefore, the current administration wants to give him the worst possible scenarios (both economic and geopolitical, as in starting a war with Russia) with which he will have to contend.
The second is that many very reasonable economic forecasters have been stating that the current economic situation is headed for a massive crash; Obama may feel that getting out ahead of the economic collapse curve by starting a war will distract Americans from the economic misery in which far too many find themselves, courtesy of "Obamanomics"
In either scenario, the American people lose; however, any real care for the American people has never been part of Obama's world view.
If anyone wants a short course on what's wrong with US diplomacy look no further than US Ambassador to Hungary Coleen Bell's speech Friday to the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Hungarian Parliament. In typical diplo-speak there was plenty of flowery language about shared values, fish swimming together in the same water (?), sappy poetics like "together, out of that winter, we would force the spring," and talk of together being "part of the world's greatest military and political alliance."
But make no mistake: Inside Ambassador Bell's velvet glove is an iron fist, poised to strike should Washington's annoyingly independent-minded Fidesz-led government step out of line on the big issues. And by "big" issues it should be understood that the US means the issues it considers in the interests of its own foreign policy, not those in Hungary's interest.
Message to Hungary: do as we say or you will be sorry.
I love it; this gal was a TV soap producer who "earned" her ambassadorship not by her education, previous employment, research, or knowledge about Hungary, but because she was a top Obama fundraiser!
If I were a US State Department official who had done the work, worked my way up the ranks, had a clue about international relations, and saw this woman get this job with other qualifications than to have been a top Obama fund raiser who could lie for her country with impunity, I would resign in abject disgust.
For the last couple of administrations, both Democratic and Republican, real qualifications for such a job mean absolutely nothing.
How the United States presumes to possess the authority to determine the fate of a sovereign nation thousands of miles from its own shores in the Middle East is never explained by US Secretary of State John Kerry when he recently announced a new ultimatum leveled at Damascus. Nor is it explained why Syria should capitulate to US demands to begin a political transition that has demonstrably left other nations across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) divided, destroyed, and safe-havens for state-sponsored terrorism years after "successful" US-backed regime change has been achieved - Libya most notably.
But there's yet another possible explanation of the extremely high "tolerance" that ISIS affords Israel. A number of United Nations reports (in particular, S/2013/345, S/2014/401 and S/2014/85) contain data that the Israeli Armed Forces (IDF) has been in regular contact with ISIS militants since 2013. The journal Addicting Info has even made an attempt to bring some light to this story:
The French government ignored its own intelligence in dealing with crises in Ukraine and Syria, and recklessly followed Washington's lead by joining anti-Russian sanctions, dealing a huge blow to its agriculture, said a former French intelligence boss.
The US government has likely acted to prevent the Syrian government's armed forces from recapturing the city of Aleppo from the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front, Senator from the US State of Virginia Richard Black told Sputnik."It is clear to me that what is happening is we are trying desperately to slow down the Syrian army's advance, which is on the verge of crushing al-Nusra and liberating Aleppo once and for all," Black said on Friday.
Black further alleged that the Geneva peace talks are being carried out with the goal of "preserving" the anti-Assad terrorist organizations "so that at some point they eventually can reconstitute themselves and seize control of Syria."
Dr. Christina Lin, a leading young scholar on jihadist groups, opened her April 8th commentary at Asia Times:
In a blunder reeking of the fallout caused by supplying Stinger anti-aircraft missiles to 1980s mujahideen in Afghanistan, civilian airline passengers are now under threat from Syrian jihadists armed with portable surface-to-air missiles (MANPADS).
How the United States presumes to possess the authority to determine the fate of a sovereign nation thousands of miles from its own shores in the Middle East is never explained by US Secretary of State John Kerry when he recently announced a new ultimatum leveled at Damascus. Nor is it explained why Syria should capitulate to US demands to begin a political transition that has demonstrably left other nations across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) divided, destroyed, and safe-havens for state-sponsored terrorism years after "successful" US-backed regime change has been achieved – Libya most notably.
In a weak effort to smear Rand Paul, war hawk Senator John McCain attempted to argue that the Kentucky Senator doesn't have the authority to disagree with US policies regarding ISIS because he hasn't met up with members of the terror group, unlike McCain himself.
By Tony Cartalucci
How the United States presumes to possess the authority to determine the fate of a sovereign nation thousands of miles from its own shores in the Middle East is never explained by US Secretary of State John Kerry when he recently announced a new ultimatum leveled at Damascus. Nor is it explained why Syria should capitulate to US demands to begin a political transition that has demonstrably left other nations across the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) divided, destroyed, and safe-havens for state-sponsored terrorism years after "successful" US-backed regime change has been achieved – Libya most notably...
Ron Paul on CIA involvement in Syria, Libya and the Ukraine and what they're planning now.
Brand new interview.
The actual situation on the ground in the Syrian conflict is not affected by the ceasefire. Actually, the conflict has turned into a public relations war of an unprecedented scope, geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen said.
To Block Syrian Liberation of Aleppo From al-Nusra Front - Senator
The partial ceasefire in Syria that was brokered by Russia and the United States in February was extended on Wednesday to the embattled northern city of Aleppo, where both government and militant forces have been shelling each other's positions.
According to Henningsen, the ceasefire has little chance to change situation in Aleppo.
Extremist groups in the city will use the ceasefire to buy time to get reinforcements to establish new supply lines that have been cut off by Russian airstrikes, he suggested.
The expert also commented on the possible reasons behind Washington objecting to Russia's actions and proposals on Syria.
The American people know now when government officials are lying to them; those officials open their mouths...and words come out of them.
A proven catastrophe is far worse than a merely possible catastrophe; so, if Hillary Clinton turns out to be the Democratic nominee, I shall vote for Donald Trump, and then just hope that the worst things that he had said regarding public policy were lies, and that the best things that he had said regarding public policy reflected his actual beliefs.
Hillary offers not only her lies but something real (a record that's highly relevant to the office she's seeking) — and it's repulsive. Trump, by contrast, offers no relevant track-record at all on public-policy matters. That's not a virtue on his part, it's a lack of the worst possible vice (a vile record of actual policies while in public office), for a potential U.S. President.
Given a choice between a proven psychopath, versus merely a possible (or even a likely) psychopath, I'll definitely opt for the latter. It's the only intelligent thing to do. Anything else would be suckerdom.
It's now clearer than ever: The US are leading a dirty war, under the table, in Syria. This is the true backdrop of the stage play in Geneva, where US diplomats are providing cover and buying time for CIA and Pentagon covert operations on the ground in Syria.
What the US State Department said yesterday is very telling, and should be a clear guide to anyone about what Washington DC's actual agenda is in Syria:
"We look to Russia… to press for the Assad regime's compliance with this effort, and the United States will do its part with the opposition," Wednesday's statement said. Russia and Iran are the primary backers of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, while the United States heads a group of regional and European countries supporting the opposition to his rule."
This last week, John Kerry threatened that if Russia was unsuccessful in "persuading" Al-Assad to step down by 1 August, the US would pursue another way to end the Syrian war.
That's in a little less that 120 days from now folks, and right before November's election.
We have boots on the ground in Syria right now, as declared by President Obama; the question is, will the current administration really try a full-on invasion of Syria at that point, risking direct war with Russia?!?
I would like to say that the US government is too intelligent to do this; unfortunately, if past is prologue to the future in the Obama administration, just because a move might be the most ham-fistedly, pig-headedly stupid thing the US government could possibly do, under Obama's watch, is utterly no guarantee that it will not do just that.
And why?!?
I am betting that internal White House polls are demonstrating that should Trump get the Republican nomination, he will win handily over Clinton.
The Democrats would love to saddle Trump with raging wars and an imploding economy, long before inauguration day; it would be their "gift that keeps on giving", in order to "punish" him for having sparked the imagination - and respect - of so many Americans, as well as punish those Americans who will have voted for him.
A very nasty ploy?!? You bet.
Inconceivable?!? Hell, no!!
The devastating events in Aleppo over the past week have been the subject of many editorials and headlines as appeals are being made to the warring factions to end the madness
The world and the United Nations remain silent towards the brutal Aleppo bombardment that is leading to civilian casualties and the outcry to put a stop to this tragedy grows louder and louder, said UAE's Al Bayan.
"The UAE Foreign Ministry released a statement denouncing the Aleppo attacks and unjustified escalation, calling on the world to stop the bloodshed. The UAE fears that such an escalation may derail the way to a political solution for the Syrian crisis. The UAE Foreign Ministry called on the Syrian regime to abide by the ceasefire and facilitate the entry of humanitarian aid to besieged areas. In the light of this escalation and these gruesome scenes from Aleppo that are now making their way around the world, the UAE's call is a cry to awaken the world's conscience and face these crimes ..."
Secretary of State John Kerry warned Syria's government and its backers in Moscow and Tehran on Tuesday that they face an August deadline for starting a political transition to move President Bashar Assad out, or they risk the consequences of a new U.S. approach toward ending the 5-year-old civil war.
But given the various, unfulfilled U.S. threats throughout the Arab country's conflict — from declaring Assad's days "numbered" five years ago to promising military action if chemical weapons were used — it was unclear what effect Kerry's ultimatum might have.
And it's unlikely that the Obama administration, so long opposed to an active American combat role in Syria, would significantly boost its presence beyond the 300 special forces it has authorized thus far in the heart of a U.S. presidential election season.>>>
An assailant has tried to shoot the editor-in-chief of Turkey's Cumhuriyet newspaper Can Dündar , before the court was to announce the verdict on his case, Reuters reported, citing witnesses. The paper had published reports implicating the Turkish government in having links with extremists.
The gunman shouted "traitor" before firing at least three shots at the journalist, an eyewitness told Reuters, adding that Dündar, who was unarmed, was not injured in the incident.
Being a journalist attempting to tell the truth anywhere these days can be hazardous to one's health, but right now, it can be most hazardous to one's health in Turkey.
Edrogan is doing everything within his power to turn this country from a democracy to a dictatorship, and in terms of world governance, is behaving like one of the loosest loose cannons in NATO's arsenal.
How long this will be allowed by the Turkish people to to continue before a coup or a revolution here, is anyone's guess.
Russia's Mariinsky Theatre staged a surprise concert in the amphitheater of the Syrian city of Palmyra on Thursday, in what looked like an attempt by the Kremlin to win hearts and minds and remind the world of its role in the city's recapture.
The concert, held just over a month after Russian air strikes helped push Islamic State militants out of Palmyra, saw Valery Gergiev, a close associate of President Vladimir Putin, conduct the Mariinsky orchestra.
Sergei Roldugin, a cellist friend of Putin's named in the Panama Paper leaks as owning a network of offshore firms that have handled billions of dollars, also performed. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Putin, addressing the audience by video link from his Russian Black Sea residence of Sochi, called terrorism a contagion the world needed to rid itself of and said the fact the concert was taking place at all was "surprising."
It would have been nice if the writers of this article, attempting to smear the cellist Sergei Roldugin, happened to mention, instead of demonizing this guy as one of the people named in the Panama Papers, that the loopholes in the laws allowing this need to be fixed.
That having been said, God bless Putin and this orchestra for this performance! Music is the universal language of peace and healing.
These people need to be thoroughly congratulated, not only for their musicianship, but their collective courage in doing the gig in Syria.
That took guts.
The US government is fully aware that the allegedly moderate opposition in Syria is working closely with the al-Nusra Front, an offshoot of the al-Qaeda terror group, but publicly pretends the two groups are separate, former CIA counterterrorism officer Philip Giraldi told Sputnik."The so-called moderate rebels are in cohabitation with the Nusra Front, so this is not surprising," Giraldi, a former CIA Case Officer and US Army Intelligence Officer who spent 20 years overseas working on terrorism cases, said on Wednesday.
The US government attempted to include the al-Nusra Front in the new ceasefire agreement in Aleppo, but the Russian government insisted on excluding the Islamist organization as unacceptable, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Sputnik in an exclusive interview on Wednesday.
A short memo to the US government; the lie about the alleged "moderate rebels" is not working.
Thinking people know that thousands of mercs have recruited for the coming battle of Aleppo. As reported yesterday in globalresearch.ca:
US-NATO is not prepared to let go in Syria. While the US sponsored Al Qaeda and ISIS rebels have largely been defeated, with the support of Russia, Iran and Hezbollah, the Obama administration is now intent upon replenishing so to speak its "moderate opposition" brigades inside Syria with a new influx of jihadist fighters. Following the decimation of Daesh-al Nusrah positions throughout the country, thousands of Islamic militants have fled amidst the outflow of refugees. The Western military alliance has responded to this defeat of "moderate" rebel positions byreplenishing its proxy army, –ie. recruiting and training a new horde of mercenaries and jihadists with the support of Turkey, Israel and Saudi Arabia. In this regard, the ongoing Battle for Aleppo is absolutely crucial. "Thousands of terrorists" were reported to have crossed the Turkey-Syria border in early May. No doubt, they will be deployed against government forces in Aleppo: " Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader al-Halqi also warned that more than 5,000 fresh militants crossed the border into the Northwestern provinces of Aleppo and Idlib from Turkey, stressing that the ceasefire agreement was being violated by certain parties."
How long before the US and Russia are at each others' throats in Syria has become not a matter of if, but when.
Images by Carlos Latuff
By Baran Hines
A Russian symphony orchestra under the leadership of famous conductor Valery Gergiev performed in Palmyra, Syria on Thursday to celebrate the city's liberation from Islamic State terrorists. The concert performance was dedicated to the victims of the Islamic State's brutal takeover of the ancient city.
The symphony orchestra concert titled "Praying for Palmyra – Music revives ancient ruins," was performed in the Roman Theater of Palmyra. Islamic State, had previously used the theater for public executions as the site's stunning visuals provided a backdrop for terrorist propaganda videos...
Thursday's attack on an Aleppo refugee camp could have been carried out by Al-Nusra Front militants, Russia's Defense Ministry says. The damage pattern suggests rocket artillery use, and air control data show no sorties in the area at the time.
The US, and the rebel groups it backs, say they are frustrated over the lack of movement in the Geneva peace talks: in particular, no clear signs of a political transition that would remove the regime of Bashar al-Assad. Secretary of State John Kerry said this week that if the process leading to Mr. Assad's removal is not on track by the negotiated deadline of August 1, the US could adopt a "new approach" to the conflict. That could mean supplying rebel forces with sophisticated anti-tank and anti-aircraft weapons, which could effectively turn the Syrian conflict into a proxy war between Russia and the US.
Russian experts say that implied threat is calculated to remind the Kremlin of the Soviet Union's war in Afghanistan three decades ago. Then, the US helped turn the tide of battle against the Soviets by supplying rebel forces with shoulder-launched Stinger anti-aircraft missiles.
"Perhaps this threat is being made to assuage US allies like Turkey and Saudi Arabia, who really would like to see the US jump in and support a total war to remove Assad," says Fyodor Lukyanov, editor of Russia in Global Affairs, a leading Moscow-based foreign policy journal.
Refugee camp bombed near Aleppo: Multiple casualties reported, blame game begins
Sarmada is located in Syria's northwestern Idlib province close to the Turkish border and is said to be controlled by rebel factions fighting the government of President Bashar Assad. The makeshift camp that was targeted is said to have been accommodating up to 2,000 people that had fled the war-torn areas seeking safety.
While there is no conclusive information on the perpetrator of the attack, UK Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond immediately rushed to blame the bombing on the Syrian government.
"The Assad regime's contempt for efforts to restore the cessation of hostilities in Syria is clear for all to see," he said in a statement, while describing the reports pertaining to the attack as "horrifying."
The attack comes just a day after at least 12 people were killed and 45 injured in suicide blasts in the Syrian city of Homs.
The Russian Defense Ministry published a video of the Russian Aerospace Forces conducting flights in Syria on its official YouTube channel.
The video shows the incredible Su-25 fighter jet, Mi-8 transport-combat helicopter, Su-35s, the Su-24M and fighter-bomber Su-34.
The video was made using action cameras and unmanned aerial vehicles.
The air force was involved in combating Daesh terrorists in Syria and was based at Hmeymim airbase in Latakia until the end of March 2016.
Currently, most of the combat vehicles have returned to Russia, but some aircraft and helicopters continue to strike militant positions.
Op-Ed by Brandon Turbeville
As Western media outlets and the U.S. State Department attempt to gin up public sentiment surrounding alleged bombings of alleged hospitals that may or may not have even existed and that, even if they did, were nothing more than field hospitals for terrorists, the Syrian people are suffering under unimaginable conditions. These true victims, of course, are completely ignored by the same outlets that cry and pine over the deaths and setbacks of jihadists, rapists, torturers, and murderers.
Amidst the constant propaganda and dehumanizing method of reporting "news" in the West, both the humanity and the wishes of the Syrian people are lost completely...
The Turkish government is shutting down Zaman newspaper, previously a strong critic of President Erdogan, which it seized control of in March. A number of other media outlets are also being closed by Ankara, according to CNN Turk.
Zaman was taken over by Ankara in early March. Following the seizure, the government immediately appointed new trustees for Feza Media Group, which owned the paper.
While slamming President Bashar Assad as "a dictator," media have ignored the fact that Syria with him at the helm had been a prosperous secular Mediterranean state before war erupted in 2011.
Dozens of people are reported to have been killed in an air strike on a refugee camp in rebel-held northern Syria, monitors and witnesses say.
Images on social media showed tents destroyed at the Kamounia camp near Sarmada in Idlib province, close to the Turkish border.
Some reports say the attack was by Syrian or Russian war planes but this has not been confirmed.
By Brandon Turbeville
Over the past few days, the Western corporate press has kicked into overdrive with reports of hospital bombings, dead civilians, and war crimes all blamed predictably on the secular government of Bashar al-Assad. According to Western governments and their media mouthpieces, Assad's forces have targeted civilian hospitals in order to . . . well . . . no one knows why Assad's forces would logically target civilian hospitals. Still, the Western harpies – both media and "human rights NGOs" – continue to hammer the unsubstantiated claims and misinformation at the tops of their lungs that the SAA is dropping bombs on civilian medical facilities...
Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has alleged that the US attempted to include territories under the control of al-Nusra, AKA al-Qaeda in Syria, in the ceasefire that has just come into effect in Aleppo.
Secretary of State John Kerry imposed an August deadline for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to transition out of power, warning the Damascus-based government and its Russian and Iranian backers that non-adherence to the ultimatum will prompt a new US approach to ending the five-year-old war.
"The target date for the transition is 1st of August," Kerry said in a press conference at the State Department on Tuesday. "So we're now coming up to May. So either something happens in these next few months, or they are asking for a very different track."
Many have long suspected the connection, given that ISIS serves the Zionist agenda so well, but now we may have more proof. According to Veterans Today, hackers were recently able to get access to several months of personal computer data and mobile phone calls of Israeli Chief of Staff under Netanyahu, Manzar (Mandi) al-Safadi. The hack allegedly revealed that al-Safadi had been communicating and cutting deals with many Lebanese personalities and Syrian opposition figures who cooperated with Israel in the Syrian crisis. The hackers allegedly found information which helped them to gain "valuable intelligence on Israel's supports for terrorist groups in Syria and Iraq."
Canadian troops are training Kurdish forces for a planned assault on Mosul, a city controlled by the Daesh militants since 2014. But as Time magazine has reported, the much-delayed assault is hampered by tensions between the Kurdish peshmerga and the Baghdad-controlled Iraqi army.
Again the dispute centres on territory: Should areas won back from Daesh go to semi-autonomous Kurdistan? Or should they go to Iraq proper?
This poses a problem for Canada. Like the U.S., Ottawa supports the concept of a unified Iraq.
But in practice, it finds itself training Kurdish soldiers who don't view themselves as Iraqi and who might well end up fighting Iraqis.
While int'l leaders try to stablish peace in Syria, Army forces and pro-govt fighters shell opposition in Aleppo
British special forces are to be parachuted into Syria, it has emerged, as Defence Secretary Michael Fallon claims coalition airstrikes have killed 25,000 Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) fighters since bombing began.
Besides the US election, this year's most important event that will change the course of world history is the Syrian war. As of now, the Syrian Arab Army, or SAA, is pushing forward to retake the country's second city, Aleppo, while there are also reports that they're making plans to assault Raqqah itself. And despite all Western efforts to destroy the country as they did with Libya, and all the media's propaganda work to demonize him, Assad is the only legitimate power in Syria who has the capacity to both win the war and bring stability to the country. Anything less than his victory would mean that the country will become yet another failed state in the Middle East serving as a hotbed for radical Islamic terrorists.
Rockets fired by militants in Syria's Aleppo hit a Al-Dabit hospital, a medical facility in a government controlled area of the city. Reports of casualties have varied but the attacks may have killed over 20 people and injured dozens more, as first reported by Syrian state television on Tuesday.
"(Dozens) martyred and wounded in rockets fired by terrorists at al-Dabit Hospital," a news update said on state TV. According to multiple reports, the hospital has been heavily damaged and is currently not functioning. Other attacks by opposition groups hit areas of Aleppo controlled by the government on Tuesday. There is also a school near the hospital which may have been damaged...
The hospital, which was under the control of government forces, was targeted by a radical rebel group, Syrian state TV reported. The facility is said to be ruined after the attack.
A cessation of hostilities in the Syrian city of Aleppo will be announced in the coming hours, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Tuesday after talks with UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura.
Lavrov added that the US and Russian militaries are currently holding talks on the Aleppo ceasefire.
"I hope that in the coming hours such an agreement will be announced," the minister said after the meeting in Moscow.
Dozens of people have been killed and injured in a rocket attack on a hospital in the contested Syrian city of Aleppo, state media reported.
So much for the announced cessation of hostilities! The rebels ( supported by the US) made sure of that!
yet no mass media came to ask me about it after the fact.
The Free Syrian Army has refused to recognize partial ceasefires or local lulls in violence, claiming that if the UN-backed truce is not implemented in full, the group reserves its right to withdraw from the Geneva talks and respond to any attacks.
Now we're supposed to believe that ISIS' Caliphate Cyber Army has leaked the names and home and email addresses of 3,600 average people living in New York, urging terrorists to randomly target and kill them because… terror?
The info was reportedly posted on an ISIS-only channel along with the statement, "We want them #Dead" — because even terrorists know the importance of hashtags.
Meanwhile, this situation is being taken so seriously, it is being reported that police and the FBI are going to personally visit each person on the list and warn them that they have been personally threatened by ISIS… so they can… do…
What exactly?
(read more)
John Rosenthal has been known as a critic of Western intervention in both Libya and Syria since the beginning of both of those crises. Yet, having made a successful career of writing for the Western mainstream press and outlets such as the National Review, the Wall Street Journal Europe, and World Affairs, work has become slower and slower as his views on Anglo-American imperialism become more apparent...
U.S. Secretary of State is in Geneva today to renegotiate a cessation of hostilities between the Syrian government forces and the foreign supported "rebels" in Syria. But there is something very curious going on with these negotiations. Kerry will neither talk with the Syrian government nor with the Russians. The Russian Foreign Minister is not even expected to come.
No, Kerry is negotiating with the U.S. allies Jordan and Saudi Arabia who support the same "rebels" that are opposed to the Syrian government that the U.S. itself supported all along. He now asks them to separate their proxy forces in Syria from the terrorist organization al-Qaeda/Jabhat al-Nusra.
There is simply no basis for Kerry to beg for a ceasefire for "rebel" held areas of Aleppo city when his own military says that these are in the hands of al-Qaeda which the UNSC calls to eradicate. The Russian's have said that much.
Absoflipping unbelievable, but this is the shambolic state of American foreign policy these days.
US Secretary of State John Kerry says envoys meeting in Geneva are getting closer to an understanding on salvaging the cessation of hostilities in Syria.
He told reporters progress was being made on a plan to reduce the violence in the second city of Aleppo, which has threatened to sink the nine-week truce.
But he accused the Syrian government of "blatantly violating" the agreement to halt hostilities and allow aid in.
This from the country pouring hundreds of special forces into Syria without the permission of the Syrian government!
During the 1973 Arab-Israeli War, Syrian forces had surprised Israel and were fast approaching the edge of the steep Golan Heights, captured by Israel during the 1967 war. It seemed as if Syrian armor and infantry would retake Golan, then pour down into Israeli Galilee.
Soviet recon satellites observed Israel moving its nuclear-armed, 500km-range Jericho missiles out of protective caves and onto their launch pads. At the same time, Israel was seen loading nuclear bombs on their US-supplied F-4 fighter-bombers at Tel Nof airbase.
Believing Israel was about to use nuclear weapons against Syria and Egypt, Moscow put huge pressure on both to rein in their advancing forces. Damascus, already in range of Israeli artillery on Golan, ordered its armored forces on Golan to halt, allowing Israel to mount powerful counter-attacks and retake the strategic heights.
Remember that the FSA was created and is supported by the US Government.
The great investigative journalist Seymour Hersh, in two previous articles in the London Review of Books ("Whose Sarin?" and "The Red Line and the Rat Line") has reported that the Obama Administration falsely blamed the government of Syria's Bashar al-Assad for the sarin gas attack that Obama was trying to use as an excuse to invade Syria; and Hersh pointed to a report from British intelligence saying that the sarin that was used didn't come from Assad's stockpiles.
By Claire Bernish
What does a government do when it's caught in a flagrant lie? If you are the U.S. government, you simply tell another lie — and laugh at anyone who tries to call out your hypocrisy.
Setting aside his oft-parroted no-boots-on-the-ground imperative, President Obama announced Monday the U.S. would be quintupling the number of special forces troops deployed to Syria to fight Daesh (the so-called Islamic State). In fact, the announcement was made later on the same day Obama claimed to have "ruled out" the deployment of ground troops...
Turkey deployed soldiers to a new military base in Qatar on Thursday as part of a security agreement which visiting Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said would help counter threats to both countries.
The move marks a strengthening of cooperation between two countries that have both provided support for the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt and backed rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
Davutoglu told students at Qatar University that the base, Turkey's first overseas military installation in the Middle East, was not intended for any specific operation but was a "presence for stability".
"I came here and I met with our officers. I told them Qatar is your second home, you are not in a foreign country," he said.
"I can tell you now that the security and stability of Qatar is like the security and stability of Turkey. We want a stable and secure Gulf. Turkey and Qatar, we have the same destiny," he added. "We face the same threats."
Let's look at a map of Qatar, and the countries which surround it:
Map of Qatar
This military contingent placed in Qatar suddenly gives Turkey access to the Persian Gulf; the Strait of Hormuz; the Gulf of Oman,and the Arabian Sea.
And for what purpose?!? but if you take a look at what is on the other side of that body of water the answer becomes quite clear; access to Iran, potentially for trade, and protection of trade routes.
As reported at haaretz.com on 16 April, 2016:
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan vowed to boost trade between their two countries at talks Saturday following the lifting of most international sanctions on Tehran. Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition by email and never miss our top stories They also agreed to cooperate in the fight against terrorism during their meeting at Erdogan's lavish palace near Ankara, just a day after Iran was accused of supporting extremists at a summit of Muslim heads of state in Istanbul.
Rouhani boycotted the closing meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation in protest at the rebuke. His meeting with Erdogan focused on the Syrian conflict and trade between the two neighbors. In a joint press conference, Erdogan said he hoped bilateral trade would reach $30 billion annually. It currently stands at just $10 billion after years of sanctions. After being brought in from the cold following last year's nuclear deal with world powers, Iran is being courted by both Europe and Turkey as a potentially lucrative market for trade and investment.
Now, I don't know in what currencies this trade will take place; but I can tell you one thing for an almost absolute certainty: it won't be done with US dollars!!
The Russian Ambassador to the United Nations claimed that the Syrian Army is readying to launch offensive operations against Islamic State (ISIS) in both Raqqa and Deir Ezzor.
"This is what the Syrian Army is doing with support from the Russian Air Force. As a result of these actions, Palmyra has been recaptured and now they are planning to launch an operation towards Deir Ezzor and Raqqa. Fighting is taking place against groups like Al-Nusra Front in Aleppo and a few others places," Russia's Deputy Foreign Minister Alexei Borodavkin told Russia's RIA news agency on Friday.
The claim comes a mere day after the Syrian Army appeared to begin mobilizing for a large-scale offensive into Aleppo against Nusra and other groups, an offensive which the Russians are also likely to lend air support to.
US-Russian showdown is looming in the horizon after the arrival of 250 US special operations forces to Hasakeh, Syria, and the number is believed to reach 500 in the coming days.
European Department for Security and Information Secretary General Haissam Bou Said Divulged that US special operations forces dispatched to Rumelan, province of Hasakeh, in Syria were tasked with "preparing for a ground invasion if and when the truce fails."
"And we will make SURE the truce fails!" -- Official White Horse Souse
We are now advised that 250 more American troops are being sent to Syria solely to "advise and assist" the Syrian "people." Translated from propaganda, this means that our military forces in Syria will be increased to a total of.... well, who really knows, and not to include in-country CIA and armed American "contract employees," or the raiding air crews from carriers and nearby land bases. Nor can we be certain which side of the several shooting and gassing each other will our advisers and assisters be "helping."
Seems to me we've heard this song before. Korea comes to mind, and especially Viet Nam, from where 60,000 of our ultimate force in excess of half-a-million "advisers and assistants" were sent back home in wooden crates before we retreated to leave that land to its natives and their conquering masters.
Syrian army sources claimed Wednesday that they had ambushed and captured a group of vehicles packed with Israeli weapons in the southern part of the country. The sources did not say specifically that the shipment came from Israel but alleged that the weapons and ammunition were marked with Hebrew writing, indicating their origin. The sources also failed to specify the exact location of the ambush, only saying that the vehicles were travelling in the area of Swaida, the main Druze city in the Jebel Druze area.
The Syrian Army plans to launch an attack on Islamic State's de facto capital Raqqa and its other stronghold of Deir ez-Zor with the help of Russian air support.
The Syrian Foreign Ministry has strongly condemned on Thursday the deployment of 150 US troops to the city of Rmeilan in the northeast of the country.
"This intervention is rejected and illegitimate, it happened without the Syrian government's approval," the SANA news agency quotes the ministry's statement as saying.
The serious question which must be asked, is, why is the US government pushing so hard for war against Russia in Syria in an election year?!?
The answer is two-fold. First, the American economy is about to crash into a wall, and the Obama administration wants a war upon which to blame the crash.
The second is, if in fact, Trump does get elected as President, the Democrats want to hand him the ugliest and most unpalatable plate of economic and geopolitical misery they can conjure.
Syrian Arab Army continued its large-scale military offensive against forces of Jabhat Al-Nusra and the Turkistan Islamic Party in north-eastern Latakia Governorate on Tuesday.
There's confusion in Washington over the US president's order to send an extra 250 troops to Syria. Barack Obama had repeatedly pledged to avoid putting boots on the ground - although according to the State Department, that's not the case.
A US state senator has held a meeting with Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus, calling for more support for the Syrian government.
Speaking to reporters in the Syrian capital on Thursday, Dick Black, part-time state senator of Virginia, said it would be "beneficial" for Washington to speak directly to President Assad.
The remarks by Black, an outspoken Republican, contradict those made by US officials who claim that the Syrian president has lost legitimacy.
During his meeting with President Assad, the US senator emphasized that what is happening in Syria is far from disinformation practiced by some parties at the US administration.
Russian Naval General Staff stated that the Technical Support Team for the Russian Navy in Tartous, harbour and town, will continue to carry out the tasks in the fulfillment of its missions regardless of the developments of the events in Syria.
What's the difference between "boots on the ground" and military personnel
wearing boots who are engaged in combat – and perhaps dying – on the ground?
If you can answer that question convincingly, perhaps you'd like to apply for
John Kirby's job, because he's not doing it very successfully. Kirby is the
State Department spokesman who, in answer to a question from a reporter about
the 250 US troops being sent to Syria, denied President Obama ever said there'd be "no boots on the ground" in Syria.
The U.S. admits that the upcoming Aleppo offensive by the Syrian government and its allies is designed to hit al-Qaeda and associated terrorist forces and not primarily the "moderate" unicorns the U.S. propaganda blushes about. But the openly U.S. supported forces will also be hit as they are very much integrated with al-Qaeda. The U.S. has for long considered al-Qaeda a secret ally in its attempt to destroy the Syrian state. The French magazine L'Orient Le Jour sees the U.S. relation with al-Qaeda in Syria as part of the attrition strategy the U.S. is waging against Syria (and Russia).
Russia's T-90 battle tank 'Vladimir' has become a celebrity of the blogosphere after it survived getting hit by America's TOW anti-tank missiles in Syria two months ago. The video of the shooting gathered half a million views on YouTube.
The Turkish Foreign Ministry announced that the US will provide advanced weaponry to bolster the 'moderate opposition' against the Assad regime, despite both countries claiming that their focus is on countering Daesh.
In yet another sign of obvious Western escalation in the war against Syria, U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Monday that an additional 250 American military personnel will be deployed to Syria under the guise of defeating ISIS.
Because it worked so well the last time!
Reviewing Israel claim to the disputed territory, the UN Security Council members "expressed deep concern" over Netanyahu's stand and "stressed that the status of the Golan remains unchanged."
Speaking to reporters following the UNSC meeting, its rotating president and China's UN envoy, Liu Jieyi, stressed that Tel Aviv's move to impose its laws in the Golan is against Council resolution 497, and are "null and void and without international legal effect."
Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi has announced that Russia is set to rebuild war-torn Syria after signing numerous contracts with the country after the conclusion of their successful anti-terror air campaign.
"Dammit; Syria was supposed to be OUR debt-slave after we bombed their nation into ruin!!!!" -- Official White Horse Souse
US President Barack Obama confirmed plans to dramatically increase the American troop presence in Syria by deploying an additional 250 personnel, bringing the total to 300. He said the troops would help drive out the Islamic State terrorist group.
Inside Jabisa oil and gas facility, with estimated daily capacities of 2mn cubic meters of gas and 80,000 barrels of crude, which was recently recaptured from ISIS by Kurdish militia.
The UN Security Council has rejected Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's claim that the annexed Golan Heights in Syria would "forever" remain under Israeli control.
The 15-member council agreed on Tuesday that the status of the Golan, which Israel seized from Syria in 1967, "remains unchanged," Chinese Ambassador Liu Jieyi, who holds this month's council presidency said.
Liu recalled a 1981 resolution which states that Israel's "decision to impose its laws, jurisdiction and administration in the occupied Syrian Golan Heights was nul and void and without any international legal effect."
There's confusion in Washington over the US president's order to send an extra 250 troops to Syria.
The German military are planning for a long-term military operation against terror group Isis, with plans for a €65 million air base in southern Turkey, Spiegel reports.
On Monday, it was announced that President Barack Obama was ordering an additional 250 special operations forces to Syria. The US has already been bombing Syria and Iraq in the fight against the Islamic State (ISIS). The US already has forces operating in Syria, even establishing a military base in Syria's Hasakah province. The base at the Rmeilan airfield is the first US military base in Syria ever, though it has yet to be officially recognized as such.
President Obama has announced the deployment of 250 more Special Operations troops to Syria in a move that nearly doubles the U.S. presence in the country.
Syria and Russia have signed agreements worth 850 million euros to restore infrastructure in the Arab nation, Russia's RIA news agency quoted Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halaki as saying on Monday.
Russia's embassy in Paris reports that a French couple has sent the family's WWII medals to the diplomatic mission, to be handed over to the family of a Russian officer who was killed in action in Syria.
In yet another sign of obvious Western escalation in the war against Syria, U.S. President Barack Obama announced on Monday that an additional 250 American military personnel will be deployed to Syria under the guise of defeating ISIS...
Obama also restated the U.S. position that "Assad must go" when he said, "Just as we remain relentless on the military front we're not going to give up on diplomacy to end the civil war in Syria because the suffering of the people in Syria has to end and that requires an effective political transition."...
As peace talks continue between the Syrian government and the High Negotiations Committee, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned of Turkey's "decisive influence" on the opposition council.
"In order to come to terms over six months it is necessary not to slam the door and dig in heels, as several delegates of the so-called Riyadh group have done," Lavrov said on Monday, speaking on the progress made through the Syrian peace talks.
Syria's General Fahd Jassem al-Freij (C), Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Army and the Armed Forces and Minister of Defense allegedly visiting troops in the northern Syrian city of Aleppo. (File)
Syrian Army Repels Multiple Terrorist Attacks on Aleppo
The ceasefire agreed on February 27 has largely held and includes 71 settlements. While there have been occasional instances of fighting, many of these can be attributed to terrorist groups like Daesh, which are outlawed and not part of the deal.
This is one of the most reasonable, intelligent, diplomats of our time, and Lavrov is desperately attempting to create conditions leading toward peace, while the US and Turkish government are working feverishly to make a hash of the peace process in order to create regime change in Damascus.
The Russian Defense Ministry has released footage of airstrikes delivered by Russian combat helicopters and warplanes on Islamic State forces during the operation in Palmyra.
One clip released Thursday shows two separate attacks by Mil Mi-28 helicopter gunboats on a militant armored vehicle and a fortified building, according to the ministry. Both show guided air-to-surface missiles beam-riding towards their targets.
One person was killed and dozens were injured as the Turkish border town of Kilis was hit by rockets coming from Islamic State-controlled territories in Syria on two occasions on Sunday.
In the morning, two Katyusha rockets hit a residential area not from the town's center, injuring 16 people, including children.
One projectile penetrated the roof of a house, while the other hit the garden fence, Dogan news agency reported.
An angry crowd gathered in the poor neighborhood shortly after the attack, shouting "enough is enough" and blaming the authorities for their inability to provide security. Eventually, riot police had to interfere to disperse the crowd.
This was an horrific event for these people; however, in the broader scheme of things, one has to ask: how is the Turkish government going to spin this?!?
- President Barack Obama announced on Monday the biggest expansion of U.S. ground troops in Syria since the civil war there began, saying he would dispatch 250 special forces soldiers to help local militia to build on successes against Islamic State.
The new deployment increases U.S. forces in Syria six-fold to about 300. While the total U.S. ground force is still small by comparison to other American deployments, defense experts said it could help shift the momentum in Syria by giving more Syrian fighters on the ground access to U.S. close air support.
Obama said the move followed victories that clawed back territory from Islamic State.
"Given the success, I've approved the deployment of up to 250 additional U.S. personnel in Syria, including special forces, to keep up this momentum," Obama said in a speech in the German city of Hanover, the last stop on a foreign tour that has taken him to Saudi Arabia and Britain.
A memo to President Obama: sir, that "clawing back" of territories has been largely the success of the Syrian military, coupled with the help of the Russian military.
I would like to politely remind you that doing the same thing precisely the same way, yet expecting a different outcome, is one of the classic definitions of insanity.
The alleged "moderate rebels" of whom you, members of the military, and Congress like to speak of so fondly, simply do not exist, period, end of discussion.
Putin has stated very emphatically that regime change in this country, through any attempt at a decap strike against Al-Assad, will absolutely not be tolerated, under his watch.
IT appears that this deployment of American troops in Syria, which come completely uninvited by the Syrian government, is just another provocation against Russia in Syria.
It will only be a matter of time before this conflict devolves into a "hot war" between the US and Russia over Syria; but of course, that's just the outcome you want to bring about, and rapidly, right?!?
And the reason for this is that the American economy is about to implode, and you desperately need a war to attempt to distract the American people from their economic misery, particularly in an election year.
I would like to strongly suggest that the ruse won't work, sir.
Less than 6% of the American people trust anything your corporate presstitutes and whorespondents have to say, and for damned good reason.
Your "unemployment numbers" are so far away from the reality of unemployment in this country, a sane person doesn't know whether to laugh or cry.
Putting the US into a war against Russia (and/or China) at the end of your presidency is an horrifically dangerous thing for you to do.
And I say this because our military doesn't have the weaponry, the money, the manufacturing, or the troop strength, to insure a positive outcome to a conventional war with either country.
One person was killed and dozens were injured as the Turkish border town of Kilis was hit by rockets coming from Islamic State-controlled territories in Syria on two occasions on Sunday.
According to the Russian publication "Rossiiskaya Gazeta", Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has begun to use a sophisticated Russian radar system that is known as the "Fara-1".
The Fara-1 is an elite radar system that can detect any human movement at a distance of 2 km and any tank at a distance of 4 km.
Syrian Arab Army, Free Syrian Army, Jabhat Al-Nusra and Jaish Al-Islam - All attack the Kurdish neighborhood of Aleppo at he same time, locals says they coordinate with each other. In the five year civil war, this is the first time Regime and Opposition coordinate with each other.
Despite Syria's ongoing conflict, life in many parts of the nation goes on. Syria's election schedule is no exception. The last parliamentary elections before the latest held this month were in 2012. Since these elections are held every 4 years, the recent elections were far from a "political stunt" to bolster the legitimacy of the current government, but instead represented the continuity of Syria's ongoing, sovereign political process.
Attempts to undermine the credibility of the elections have become the primary objective of US and European news agencies, however, even the US government's own election monitoring nongovernmental (NGO) agencies have conceded the last presidential election in 2014 saw soaring voter turnout, and despite attempts to leave voter turnout this year omitted from US-European press reports, it appears to also have been high...
The Madaya media circus still lingers on regardless of the multitude of proven anomalies and outright deceit of the mainstream narrative. Deaf to either public opinion or investigation, institutions like the BBC consider they are above accountability to those who pay for their existence, the British public.
They considered it perfectly acceptable to release footage from Yarmouk 2014 and represent it as Madaya 2016..and when questioned, to remove the offending footage without explanation or responsibility for their obscurantism and misinformation tactics.
Thankfully, Robert Stuart, ardent campaigner against the BBC's long running, hostile, anti Syria propaganda offensive did raise an official complaint and demanded answers that the BBC has, for too long, been allowed to avoid answering.
Russian military forces deployed to Syria reportedly fired upon Israeli aircraft on at least two occasions over the past six months leading to the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu seeking to enhance coordination mechanisms between his country and the Kremlin to avoid any potentially dangerous clashes.
It should be remembered that Russia is in Syria at the express invitation of the Syrian government.
Israel is not.
Israel is not.
Although Daesh is on the run in Syria, al-Qaeda is gaining momentum in the Middle East; to make matters worse, by arming al-Qaeda-allied rebels groups in Syria Washington is shooting itself in the foot.
the Russian Defense Ministry announced on Thursday that the Combat Engineers have fully demined Historical Part of the Syrian city of Palmyra.
The mines were planted by ISIS terrorist organization in Palmyra archeological city before establishing control over it by the Syrian army units on March 27th.
"Russian combat engineers have fully cleared of explosive devices the historical part of Syria's ancient city of Palmyra", Commander of Russian Engineering Troops Lt. Gen. Yuri Stavitsky said.
The Pentagon has spent $7 billion on its fight against Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq, since starting operations. Having conducted over 11,000 strikes, the Pentagon chief is mulling a new strategy with greater number of US troops and expenditures.
The US Government is apparently unaware that the American people now know that ISIS and Al Qaeda are US creations, and the wars are against Iraq and Syria.
Russian forces in Syria have fired at least twice on Israeli military aircraft, prompting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to seek improved operational coordination with Moscow, Israel's top-selling newspaper said on Friday.
I would like to remind everyone that Russia is in Syria at the invitation of the Syrian government. Israel is in Syria as part of an invading force, most assuredly WITHOUT the permission of the Syrian government.
According to reports of Western media that refer to the propagandistic "Syrian Observatory for human rights", on Tuesday, 19 April 2016, as a result of two strikes of the air force of Syria in Idlib province about 44 people were killed.
According to the source in the Syrian General Staff, April 19the Syrian Air Forces did not provide any combat sorties in Idlib province, as all the forces were deployed to repel the attack of terrorists in the Latakia and Aleppo provinces.
Propaganda and contradictory messages
Apparently, this is another fake of militants whose goal is to justification of "the Riyadh group" rejection to continue the negotiations in Geneva under the pretext of accusations of the Syrian government in attacks against civilians.
Interestingly, that one of the first media agencies who published this information was the Turkish propaganda Agency "Anadolu". Erdogan's media refers to its own sources in the ranks of the fighters:
Why am I not surprised?!?
With the rebels withdrawing from the Geneva peace talks and gearing up for the resumption of the Syrian Civil War, diplomats are desperately scrambling to try to keep the process going, and warning that if this round collapses, there won't be another chance at serious talks for "at least a year."
The rebel High Negotiation Committee (HNC), which represents only some rebels, pulled out citing anger over the Syrian offensive against al-Qaeda-held territory in Aleppo Province. Before that, there wasn't much progress in the talks.
The US wants these talks to fail miserably as an "excuse" for a major invasion, which could well lead to war with Russia.
A report today in the Wall Street Journal cites a "senior US defense official" as saying that Russia has deployed artillery units near Aleppo, as regime-allied forces prepare for a new assault.
After the partial cease-fire took effect in late February, U.S. intelligence agencies tracked the movement of Russian artillery units south to areas where the Assad regime at the time was fighting Islamic State militants, particularly in the Tadmur and Palmyra areas. Russian troops directly man the artillery pieces, which have been used with devastating effect on the battlefield since last year, according to U.S. officials. Russia has also deployed advisers to support the Assad regime in its military campaign, officials said.
"...raising US alarm about Moscow's intentions..." MY ASTROLABE!!
First, let us get this straight: the Russians are in Syria at the behest of the Syrian government.
Russia has been zapping any and ALL jihadists (including those funded and supplied by the US government).
Aleppo has been the de-facto capital of ISIS, ever since they took over there. Once the jihadists are uprooted in Aleppo, it is all but over for the alleged "Syrian moderate opposition" (of which there are none!!), and then Al Assad is in a position of real strength with any negotiating he might be doing with his opposition.
You don't have to be Fellini to figure this one out; there will be an assault on Aleppo; most likely it will be liberated by the Syrians, working with the Russians; and the US government will, once again, NOT have its regime change in Syria.
THAT is why US officials are being so petulant about this; they know what is coming, and have absolutely no way to stop it, save possibly a desperate decap strike against Al-Assad in Damascus itself, which could well mean war with Russia.
Russian engineers have successfully completed clearing the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra of explosives left behind by Islamic State. Nearly 3,000 explosive devices on around 230 hectares (2.3 sq km) of the World Heritage site have been defused.
Syria's fragile peace talks might not resume for at least a year if they are abandoned now, a senior Western diplomat warned on Wednesday, as the opposition urged more military support for rebels after declaring a truce was over.
Remember that the Syrian opposition is US controlled and supplied. Despite the public face of peace talks, the US still wants Assad out and a puppet regime in.
The Saudis could never reconcile themselves to the US-led invasion of Iraq, not because it toppled Saddam Hussein but because it led to Shia majority rule in an Arab country. When Hosni Mubarak was toppled by Egypt's popular revolt in 2011, Riyadh accused Mr Obama of betraying a US ally.
After the Iraqi city of Mosul fell to a lightning Isis offensive in 2014, even the late Prince Saud al-Faisal, the respected Saudi foreign minister, remonstrated with John Kerry, US secretary of state, that "Daesh [Isis] is our [Sunni] response to your support for the Da'wa" — the Tehran-aligned Shia Islamist ruling party of Iraq.
If EVER Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Israel needed a Gandhi at the forefront of their collective geopolitical structures, it is right the heck now.
Because without this, these three countries could set the Middle East ablaze, and take the entire would with them.
The Saudi government [the beheading capital of the world] and its affiliates have spent millions of dollars on U.S. law, lobby and public relations firms to raise the country's visibility in the United States and before the United Nations at a crucial time. And some of Washington's premier law and lobby firms -- including Podesta Group, BGR Government Affairs, DLA Piper and Pillsbury Winthrop -- have been tasked with the job
Russian Su-30 fighter jets have provided a safety corridor for an IL-76 cargo plane freighted by WFP to carry out the delivery of vital humanitarian cargo to the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, besieged by the Islamic State militants.
Eight Syrians were killed by Turkish border guards while fleeing violence in their war-torn country, according to footage obtained by The Times. Most of the victims were women and children.
US authorities are continuing the gravy train for many Washington bureaucracies, increasing insecurity around the world, according to retired US Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Karen Kwiatkowski . The more conflict the bigger the market place for arms, she adds.
Syria's chief negotiator at the Geneva peace talks Bashar Ja'afri accused Israel of "cooperating" with the Islamic State and Al Nusra, an affiliate of al-Qaeda in the Golan Heights
According to Ja'afari (quoted by RT):
"This Israeli provocation confirms without any doubt the cooperation between Israel and terrorists of Daesh (Isis) and Nusra Front on the demarcation line between where the Golan is and UN troops are positioned.
"It is no coincidence at all that this Israeli escalation was accompanied by irresponsible statements by members of the so-called Saudi delegation at talks here in Geneva," Ja'afari added, referring to the main opposition group.
On the evening of April 18 noted, award-winning humanitarian Raed Saleh -- head of Syria Civil Defence (also known as "The White Helmets") -- was denied entry to the United States. Saleh was scheduled to attend InterAction's Forum -- the largest annual gathering of humanitarian, development and sustainability professionals -- to receive its 2016 Humanitarian Award.
Saleh was being recognized by InterAction -- the largest U.S. alliance of nongovernmental international organizations -- for his heroic work leading more than 2,800 intrepid search-and-rescue volunteers as head of Syria Civil Defence. These unarmed and neutral civilians have saved more than 40,000 lives in Syria.
While Ankara claims its ongoing military crackdown only targets terrorists, civilians often fall victim to the offensive – and not just in Turkey's Kurdish-populated provinces, but also across the border in Syria where people suffer from cross-border shelling daily.
Though the Pentagon has mostly issued blanket denials whenever they're caught killing civilians in airstrikes against ISIS targets anyhow, officials say their eagerness to escalate the air war against ISIS targets has seen the implementation of new rules allow the US to kill larger numbers of civilians per attack.
The details are still scant, with the official rules likely to remain a secret, but officials say they have implemented a "sliding scale," based on the region being targeted and the "opportunity." In some cases, US airstrikes will be allowed to kill 10 civilians per strike.
This was seen previously in incidents where US forces attacked sites believed to contain physical cash. In both cases, the attacks took place in residential neighborhoods, and the Pentagon insisted they were "comfortable" with the number of civilians killed.
It appears that these "new rules" have been generated to create more furious hostility against the US and its allies, in order to perpetuate the wars in Syria and Iraq.
And how, in Heaven's name, can the Pentagon be "comfortable" with any number of civilians killed?!?
These are people, who should have had the right to their live own lives, and fulfill their own destinies, which should NOT be brought to an end by a bomb; no person on this planet is THAT expendable!!
Moscow wants groups sabotaging the Syrian cease-fire to be put on the UN terror list along with Islamic State, Russia's Foreign Minister said, while the French FM agreed the truce was "fragile" and stressed Russia's role in restoring Syrian "statehood."
"There is much evidence that Jabhat al-Nusra is mimicking and trying to disguise itself under new names, uniting with small groups not included in terrorist lists, hence, trying to escape retribution," Sergey Lavrov told reporters after meeting with French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault in Moscow.
Lavrov specifically referred to two militants groups, Ahrar Al-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam, which are fighting government forces in Syria, saying that Moscow had wanted them to be put on the terrorist list from the start, but had agreed to hold off on its demand as a compromise measure.
Lavrov is absolutely correct in his assessment.
As reported at www.nytimes.com yesterday:
For 38 straight days, the streets of the northwestern Syrian town of Maarat al-Noaman had been the scene of protests against the government and the Islamic extremists of the Nusra Front. On Tuesday, they became a scene of carnage, as government warplanes attacked the town's marketplace, killing dozens of people, according to residents and rescue workers. The attack confirmed the apparent unraveling of a fragile cease-fire agreement between Syrian government forces and some armed opposition groups. The attack in Maarat al-Noaman, and a similar one in the nearby town of Kafr Nabl, came several days after the start of a new insurgent offensive in a neighboring province, and a day after the main Syrian opposition group said it would no longer participate in diplomatic discussions in Geneva.
Who wants the cease-fire to fail?!?
Well, the US government, and its hired, trained, and funded mercs in Syria and beyond, the Turkish Government, and Israel.
I am hoping - and praying - that Putin will find a way to keep things calmed down, and that Syria is allowed to maintain its national integrity and identity without having to deal with the pain of a US decap strike with which to engineer regime change in Syria.
As happened in Libya, the results of such a move could be crippling and catastrophic for the Syrian people.
Libya is one place the "Islamic State's" sponsors believe Russia can't get them… In 2011, a NATO coalition led by the United States used its own engineered regional campaign of political destabilization, the "Arab Spring," as a pretext to militarily intervene in first Libya directly, and in a more indirect way, Syria. US and European forces also "quietly" intervened in several other nations, including Mali and the Ivory Coast amid this regional conflagration.
Even in 2011, it was clear to geopolitical analysts that military intervention in Libya was an attempt to divide and destroy the country, giving the US and its collaborators a base of operations to further disrupt and reorder the Middle East and North Africa region (MENA). Almost immediately after US-led strikes on Libya coordinated with terrorist factions on the ground successfully overthrew the Libyan government, weapons and fighters were sent to Syria via NATO-member Turkey.
The Council of the Arab League will hold on Thursday an extraordinary meeting at the level of permanent envoys to discuss Israeli Prime Minister's Benjamin Netanyahu remarks about the Golan Heights, local media reported Tuesday, citing Kuwait's permanent representative at the organization.
On Sunday, Netanyahu held Israel's first Cabinet meeting on the Golan Heights, declaring the territory would remain permanently under the country's control.
Benjamin Netanyahi declared in a cabinet meeting on Sunday that the Golan Heights "will forever remain under Israeli sovereignty," Haaretz reports.
"We stole it fair and square and now that we know it has all that oil, we are going to keep it, and anyone who opposes that decision is a dirty filthy Jew-hating anti-Semite who wants Hitler to come Back and gas Jewish babies in the ovens!" -- Nodding Yahoo
A replica of Palmyra's 1,800-year-old Arch of Triumph that was destroyed by Islamic State in October has been erected in London's Trafalgar Square.
The £100,000 recreation has been made using 3D photographs collected by the Institute of Digital Archaeology (IDA) to produce an accurate representation of the UNESCO World Heritage site. Its presence in London coincides with World Heritage week.
The Syrian Army operations against ISIS militants near the country's capital Damascus is said to be successful first step.
The refugee crisis has clearly left an indelible mark on the culture of Europe. Despite the best efforts of the government and the media, the people of Europe are beginning to see these migrants as invaders rather than desperate refugees. People are so fed up and frightened by these unassimilated migrants, and by the likelihood that ISIS is among them, that one Polish video game company thinks that there is a market for a game like IS Defense.
"Syria's ruling Ba'ath Party and its allies have won the majority of the votes in the recent parliamentary elections in the country, official results show.
The Syrian electoral commission announced late Saturday that the National Unity coalition, comprising the ruling party and its allies, had won 200 of the 250 seats at the People's Assembly (Majlis al-Sha'ab)." ~ Press TV
Tuesday's Syrian election was a vote of confidence by the Syrian people in their government. 5,085,444 voters cast their ballots out of a possible 8,834,994 eligible voters.
The United States and Germany both criticized Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's declaration that the Golan Heights "will forever remain part of Israeli sovereignty."
U.S. State Department spokesman John Kirby said Monday that the Obama administration does not consider the Golan Heights to be part of Israel, despite Netanyahu's assertion at a Cabinet meeting there Sunday, Haaretz reported .
"The U.S. position on the issue is unchanged," Kirby said at a daily media briefing at the State Department in Washington. "This position was maintained by both Democratic and Republican administrations. Those territories are not part of Israel and the status of those territories should be determined through negotiations."
As most expected they would from day one, the Syrian ceasefire agreement and Geneva peace talks have been broken, signaling a return to full-scale fighting on the ground in Syria.
An announcement made by the representation of the "Syrian opposition" members taking part in the Geneva talks made clear that the "opposition" was halting formal peace talks with the Syrian government and that the "moderate" terrorists will resume combat operations against the Syrian military...
After bringing Ukraine to the stage of complete disintegration, the country has fallen into mired corruption, ruled by oligarchs and extremist groups. This all brings Ukraine towards the final steps of 'democracy' and closer EU and NATO structures. Namely, it changes Ukraine into an open mafia territory where one of the primary forms of trade is selling weapons (about 2 million weapons have recently been acquired by the Ukrainian Maidan extremists) to ISIS cells in Western Europe. Poland at this stage will be the territory of smuggling routes and logistics. Paradoxically, precisely because of being a smuggling route, Poland will be able to enjoy, for as long as possible, relative calm since groups of terrorists smuggling weapons from Ukraine will not want to be noticed by local intelligence services in Poland.
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Mainly, I just miss having a big pantry for food storage. And I miss having a pantry door so I can store my spices in an organized fashion in door racks.
We have now lived for over a month sans microwave, and I've only missed that a couple of times. Generally for things I shouldn't be eating anyway. :) I think we may be able to do without a microwave long term at this point. But I do miss my pantry, even if it got messy at times.
Any suggestions for organizing spice jars? We went to great effort in recent months to get all of them in identical small labeled glass jars, and now we have nowhere good to put them. They are on a set of open bookshelves in the kitchen, and it's hard to find things. And I'm afraid when the baby arrives she will knock them all down as soon as crawling commences. But we don't really have conveniently located drawer or cabinet space either.
I would say try either a lazy susan, or I have this other thing- it's like a three-tiered rack that fits in a cupboard, and that way I'm able to see almost all of my spices. It kind of looks like this but is narrower, and each level is a little higher looking. Oh and mine was a fraction of the price of that one, I think my Mom found it at Walmart, or the Christmas Tree Shop or something like that. I've also seen pull out spice drawers but haven't any experience with them. hope this helps :)
We had a similar issue with the spice jars. I went to IKEA and got a bunch of little tins with magnetic backs. All of the spices are now organized on the side of the fridge... its great!
You can also get the magnetic ones and put them on a metal tray and hang that on the wall
Well, I use a combo of the stepped spice shelves and wire cabinet organizers in my cabinet right now, but in the past there have been spices I kept boxed up in the other room - either in a pretty or simple plastic shoebox (usually grouped by how I used them - so I had a baking box, indian cookery box, mexican & italian spices together, etc). Then I only kept other all-purpose spices in the cabinet and only had to grab something out of the other room when I needed those. They were labeled and stacked so easy to store, and I think I even kept duplicates of things in there that I used a lot (double cumin, extra salt, stuff like that I would have kept in a larger container otherwise).
Would a raised counter shelf be useful or hold all your spices? It wouldn't take up as much counter space and they'd be out for you to use.
I keep my spices, with the name of each written on the top, in a basket in the narrow cupboard next to my stove. Instead of fumbling around, I pull the whole basket out, and can easily see what I'm looking for since the names are on top. I have a separate basket for herbs. I had the same system in my old kitchen, but with the baskets in a deep drawer. That way, I could see what I needed without having to remove the basket.
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Not sure if this is the correct place for this question but I've tried to change the logo for my group "The Beauty of the Pacific Northwest" for the last couple of days. Sometimes it would show up as the new picture within my administrative view but then when I would refresh and look at the public page, it still hadn't changed. I know that these changes usually take 24 hours to take affect but now it's back to the old picture no matter how I'm looking at it.
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I've found that it takes a day or two for my new ones to show up...but they do change eventually. Maybe Beth has to do them manually for us?
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