Russia Begins Operations in Syria: End Game for the US Empire?

US Admiral Warns of China’s and Russia’s Growing Space Weapons Arsenal
http://thediplomat.com/2016/01/us-admiral-warns-of-chinas-and-russias-growing-space-weapons-arsenal/

In a speech, the head of U.S. Strategic Command also warned of China’s long-range precision strike weapons program.

Speaking last week at an event hosted by the Center for a New American Security, the head of U.S. Strategic Command, Admiral Cecil D. Haney, struck a familiar tone when warning about Russia’s and China’s burgeoning space warfare capabilities.

“Once thought of as a sanctuary, space is more congested, contested, and competitive than ever, and it is becoming increasingly vulnerable. Other nations understand our reliance on space and the advantages we have reaped in defense and commercial sectors,” he noted.

“Adversaries and potential adversaries want to exploit those dependencies by turning them into vulnerabilities.” He cautioned that threats are evolving faster than the U.S. military ever imagined and that they could “potentially threatens national sovereignty and survival.”

He went on to say that countries like China and Russia are developing and demonstrating “disruptive and destructive counterspace capabilities.”

“Furthermore, they are exploiting what they perceive as space vulnerabilities – threatening the vital, national, civil, scientific, and economic benefits to the U.S. and the global community.”

Talking about Russia, the admiral notes:

Russia’s 2010 military doctrine emphasized space as a crucial component of its defense strategy, and Russia has publicly stated they are researching and developing counterspace capabilities to degrade, disrupt, and deny other users of space. Russia’s leaders also openly assert that Russian armed forces have anti-satellite (ASAT) weapons, conduct ASAT research, and employ satellite jammers.

“China, like Russia, has advanced ‘directed energy’ capabilities that could be used to track or blind satellites, and like Russia, has demonstrated the ability to perform complex maneuvers in space,” he added.

Haney cited a November 2015 test of a hypersonic glide vehicle designed to defeat U.S. missile defenses, as evidence for China’s burgeoning capabilities in the field (See: “China Tests New Hypersonic Weapon”).

Russia purportedly tested a similar weapon in February last year, The Diplomat reported. However, Russia is considered to be behind China in developing hypersonic glide vehicles.

A 2015 report by the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission noted that “China is pursuing a broad and robust array of counterspace capabilities, which includes direct-ascent anti-satellite missiles, co-orbital anti-satellite systems, computer network operations, ground-based satellite jammers and directed energy weapons.”

As I noted in a previous article:

Chinese and Russian capabilities could potentially include cyber and electromagnetic attacks, jamming operations, and ground-based lasers as well as anti-satellite (ASAT) missiles. For example, China destroyed a defunct weather satellite with a missile in 2007. In addition, Beijing tested a missile-fired anti-satellite kill vehicle in the summer of 2014, disguising it as a ballistic missile defense test. Russia is allegedly developing a satellite hunter — a spacecraft able to track enemy satellites and destroy them. (…)

To counter Chinese and Russian threats, the head of U.S. Strategic Command outlined a more holistic deterrence strategy:

To effectively deter adversaries, and potential adversaries, from threatening our space capabilities, we must view deterrence holistically. Threats must be surveyed across the “spectrum of conflict,” where escalation may occur with more than one adversary and in multiple domains.

Whether we are deterring aggression in space, cyberspace, or nuclear – our actions and capabilities must make clear that no adversary will gain the advantage they seek in space, or in any domain; that they cannot escalate their way out of a failed conflict, and that restraint is always the better option.



Another Iran-US Showdown in Persian Gulf: US Warship Shooed Away
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941107000905

A US Navy warship on Wednesday morning received a serious warning from several Iranian destroyers to keep away from their drill zone near the Strait of Hormuz, an incident that can keep frictions high after Iran captured 10 US marines in the Persian Gulf earlier this month.

Iran is running major naval wargames in its waters in the Persian Gulf. The high-profile Velayat exercises by the Iranian Navy is an annual event and all shipping lines and Naval vessels in the region are informed of the area of the drills according to international maritime and naval standards that require all foreign ships and vessels to keep some 5 nautical miles away from the wargames zone.


The USS MONTEREY (CG 61), a TICONDEROGA class cruiser, was sailing near the Strait of Hormuz where the Iranian forces were staging the main phase of the Velayat 94 massive wargames along the country's Southeastern Makran seashores on the rims of the Persian Gulf on Wednesday.

According to the Iranian Army, the US warship left the region immediately after receiving the warning.

Iran's Navy Commander Rear Admiral Habibollah Sayari said the warship seemed to be planning to spy on Iranian vessels and weapons.

"Some still seem to be holding no belief in Iran's naval power; hence they attempt to come close to get informed of our moves and capabilities," the Admiral said on Wednesday.

The incident was the second naval showdown between the United States and Iran in Persian Gulf waters in just two weeks.

On January 12, nine men and one woman from the US Navy strayed into the Iranian territorial waters near the Farsi Island in the Persian Gulf. They were immediately captured by the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC).

Their boats were equipped with 50mm caliber machine guns and other light and semi-heavy weapons. Many regional analysts have also praised the IRGC's brave reaction to the US aggression.

The IRGC freed the 10 a day later and after it was proved that the US marines had strayed into Iranian waters only due to the failure of their navigation devices and equipment.
 
New reports in the US media reveal that secret cooperation between the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Saudi Arabia to fund ISIL and other extremist groups in Syria was far greater than previously suspected, US scholars said.

CIA, Saudi Funding of Syrian Extremists Greater Than Previously Realized
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941108000261

"The details about the Saudi funding should give very serious pause to Americans," Middle East expert and author Helena Cobban said, Sputnik reported.

New details revealed in a New York Times report indicated that the US government and its secret agencies were trying to repeat in Syria the strategy they used against the Soviet Union in Afghanistan 35 years ago, Cobban stated.

"It all looks eerily like what happened in Afghanistan in the 1980s — a semi-clandestine and very hard to control CIA ‘intervention,’ backed up with huge amounts of Saudi money, and the ever-present Saudi support for the Wahhabist global agenda," she suggested.

However, the Islamic terrorists, including Osama bin Laden, whom the CIA supported in Afghanistan during the 1980s, eventually turned on the United States with devastating consequences and the same thing could happen now, Cobban cautioned.

"What could possibly go wrong? We might ask the widows and orphans of the September 11, 2001 attack that question," she said.

The New York Times report revealed that the scale of US military and Saudi financial assistance to the Islamists in Syria was vastly greater than anything the Obama administration had previously admitted to, US author and Middle East affairs expert Dan Lazare told Sputnik.

"In the famous talk that [US Vice President] Joe Biden gave at Harvard's Kennedy School in October 2014… he said that the [Persian] Gulf states ‘poured hundreds of millions of dollars and tens of thousands of tons of military weapons into anyone who would fight against Assad’," Lazare noted.

However, according to the New York Times report, estimates have put the total cost of the arming and training effort at several billion dollars, Lazare pointed out. "So the Saudi contribution alone was on the order of ten times greater than what Biden had indicated. That's huge," Lazare emphasized.

Cobban further noted that US diplomats openly fanned the flames of rebellion and civil war in Syria.
 
The U.S. needs more "spy planes" in the Middle East.

US Asks NATO For Surveillance Planes In Fight Against Islamic State
http://www.ibtimes.com/us-asks-nato-surveillance-planes-fight-against-islamic-state-2283697

The head of NATO said on Thursday that the United States has requested the alliance's help in fighting Islamic State in the Middle East by providing surveillance planes called the Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS).

NATO is not directly involved in combating Islamic militants in Syria and Iraq, with the United States leading a coalition of nations that includes all 28 NATO allies. NATO member Turkey also shares a long border with Syria and Iraq.

"We have got a request from the U.S. to provide support to the efforts of the coalition, to help them with the NATO AWACS surveillance planes, and we are now looking into that request," Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg told a news conference.

Stoltenberg said NATO defense ministers would discuss the U.S. request at their meeting in early February, although there is no deadline for any decision.

AWACS monitor airspace within a radius of more than 400 km (250 miles) and exchange information via digital data links, with ground-based, sea-based and airborne commanders.

NATO is already sending AWACS to Turkey to strengthen Ankara's air defenses on its border with Syria. It was not immediately clear if those planes will play a dual role.



Riddle Me This: Why Is NATO Pushing for Council Meeting With Russia?
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160128/1033846402/nato-russia-coucil-meeting.html

NATO's Secretary General probably has an agenda in mind when saying that the Alliance is currently considering holding a NATO-Russia Council meeting, as such announcements do not come without a reason, Dmitry Danilov, an expert in Foreign Policy, International Security and Arms Control at the Institute of Europe, told RIA Novosti.

The readiness of the North Atlantic Alliance to reconvene the NATO-Russia Council, following the freezing of bilateral relations over the Ukrainian crisis, signifies that it has some agenda in mind, said Danilov.

The expert claims that the announcement was expected sooner or later, as relations between the two can hardly be called normal and Russia has been hinting at a resumption in dialogue. However, Danilov suggests that more details are still required.



Clear and Present Danger: NATO Forces Actually Pose Threat to Russia
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160127/1033770841/nato-russia-threat.html

Russia has good reasons to consider NATO a threat, according to a Polish member of the European Parliament.

It’s Washington that keeps positioning its troops closer and closer to Moscow and not vice versa, Polish MEP Janusz Korwin-Mikke pointed out.

He also criticized the actions of the Polish Law and Justice (PiS), Poland’s ruling political party, which actively promotes establishing a NATO military presence in the country. According to Korwin-Mikke, the Polish government’s policies remind him of those of pre-WWII Poland, which, as it became apparent in September 1939, ultimately proved to be rather reckless and dangerous.

He argued that while the EU seeks to assume a neutral stance towards Russia, the Polish leadership continues to stubbornly advocate anti-Russian policies.

And Russia’s reaction towards NATO expansion appears to be justified, Korwin-Mikke told the newspaper Polska Times.

"From their point of view it looks like this: the Warsaw Pact was dissolved and NATO absorbed Eastern Germany; then it absorbed Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, followed by Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia, and then by Romania and Bulgaria. And now NATO is attempting to absorb Ukraine," he said.

"There is clear and constant NATO aggression towards Russia, and that’s how Russians perceive all of this."


Furthermore, this threat is not a figment of the Russians’ imagination, the politician argues; it really does exist.

"It’s not about whether I like Russia or not, it’s about facts," Korwin-Mikke remarks. "It’s not Russian troops getting closer to Washington, it’s US troops getting closer to Moscow."



The admiral in charge of Navy intelligence has not been allowed to see military secrets for years
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/checkpoint/wp/2016/01/27/the-admiral-in-charge-of-navy-intelligence-has-not-been-allowed-to-see-military-secrets-for-years/

For more than two years, the Navy’s intelligence chief has been stuck with a major handicap: He’s not allowed to know any secrets.

Vice Adm. Ted “Twig” Branch has been barred from reading, seeing or hearing classified information since November 2013,
when the Navy learned from the Justice Department that his name had surfaced in a giant corruption investigation involving a foreign defense contractor and scores of Navy personnel.

Worried that Branch was on the verge of being indicted, Navy leaders suspended his access to classified materials. They did the same to one of his deputies, Rear Adm. Bruce F. Loveless, the Navy’s director of intelligence operations.

More than 800 days later, neither Branch nor Loveless has been charged. But neither has been cleared, either. Their access to classified information remains blocked.

Although the Navy transferred Loveless to a slightly less sensitive post, it kept Branch in charge of its intelligence division. That has resulted in an awkward arrangement, akin to sending a warship into battle with its skipper stuck onshore.

Branch can’t meet with other senior U.S. intelligence leaders to discuss sensitive operations, or hear updates from his staff about secret missions or projects. It can be a chore just to set foot in colleagues’ offices; in keeping with regulations, they must conduct a sweep beforehand to make sure any classified documents are locked up.

Some critics have questioned how smart it is for the Navy to retain an intelligence chief with such limitations, for so long, especially at a time when the Pentagon is confronted by crises in the Middle East, the South China Sea, the Korean Peninsula and other hotspots.

I have never heard of anything as asinine, bizarre or stupid in all my years,” Norman Polmar, a naval analyst and historian, said in an interview.

In addition to serving as chief of Navy intelligence, Branch holds the title of the Navy’s chief information officer, oversees the Navy’s 55,000-member Information Dominance Corps and is in charge of many cybersecurity programs. (Article continues.)



The Middle East’s Quietly Rising Cyber Super Power
_http://www.defenseone.com/technology/2016/01/middle-easts-quietly-rising-cyber-super-power/125472/

Israel now has more than 300 cybersecurity companies, exports totaling $6 billion, and 20 percent of the world’s private cyber investment dollars.

Cybertech 2016 convened this week in Tel Aviv. The prime minister has made cybersecurity one of his trademark issues and is a big promoter of the idea that better network defenses are essential for national security and that the information security industry is a driver of economic growth (Israel now has more than 300 cybersecurity companies, exports of $6 billion, and 20 percent of the world’s private investment in cyber).
 
sToRmR1dR said:
Rouhani heads to France as Iran rebuilds relations with Europe

http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/2/8/186015/World/Region/Rouhani-heads-to-France-as-Iran-rebuilds-relations.aspx


Paris, Tehran Open New Chapter in Bilateral Relations - Hollande

http://sputniknews.com/world/20160128/1033857648/hollande-rouhani-france-iran.html

French President Francois Hollande said that some 30 deals between France and Iran in various spheres were signed during Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s visit.

PARIS (Sputnik) – France and Iran have turned a new page in bilateral relations, French President Francois Hollande said Thursday.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani is currently on a visit to Paris, his first European tour since the removal of the EU sanctions against Tehran.

"For 17 years the Iranian president has not visited France. Today we opened a new chapter in our relations. I hope our cooperation will be beneficial for everyone," Hollande told a joint press conference with Rouhani.

The French president noted that some 30 deals in various spheres were signed during Rouhani’s visit.

Earlier in the day, Rouhani met with representatives of various French firms, including energy giant Total and car manufacturer Renault.

In July, Iran and the P5+1 group, comprising Russia, the United States, China, the United Kingdom, France and Germany, reached a deal ensuring the safe nature of Tehran’s nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of sanctions, including embargoes on trade in gas and oil.

On January 16, the International Atomic Energy Agency verified Tehran’s compliance with the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

The United Nations, the European Union and, in part, the United States have since lifted their anti-Iran sanctions.
 
This is a very intriguing article, that gives the background of two individuals, Jeffrey Feltman (number 2 at the UNO - United Nations Department of Political Affairs Commission) and a German academic Volker Perthes (who directs the most powerful European think tank, the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP). Together, they formed the Perthes-Feltman plan, for the total and unconditional capitulation of Syria and it's President, al Assad.

Russian Intel became aware of the "Plan," in turn, informing the Syrian Government. In the summer of 2015, a Special Envoy for the General Secretary of the UNO, Staffan De Mistura visited Damascus and was asked for an explanation concerning the Perthes-Feltman Plan. De Mistura confirmed that these documents did not engage him, and promised to take no notice of them. Russian President Putin had threatened to make them public at the Security Council during the presence of the Heads of State at the opening of the General Assembly in September 2015. However, the documents were not divulged – their revelation would have questioned the very existence of the United Nations Organisation.

On the heels, of his visit to the U.N. General Assembly and with the permission of President Assad and the Syrian Government, President Putin and the Russian Military entered Syria.

At present, with the Syrian Peace talks, the same Volker Perthes has been nominated as a « peace negotiator » for the next meeting in Geneva. He will be tasked with meeting alternatively with the delegation from the Syrian opposition and the delegation from the Syrian Arab Republic.

Germany and the UNO against Syria
http://www.intifada-palestine.com/2016/01/germany-and-the-uno-against-syria/

The neo-conservatives and liberal hawks who have been preparing the war against Syria since 2001 have been relying on several states from the UNO and the Gulf Co-operation Council. While we know about the role played by General David Petraeus in launching and pursuing the war until today, two personalities – Jeffrey Feltman (number 2 at the UNO) and Volker Perthes (Director of the main German think tank) – have remained in the shadows. Together, with the support of Berlin, they have been using and are still manipulating the United Nations in order to destroy Syria.

DAMASCUS (SYRIA) – In 2005, when Jeffrey Feltman – then the US ambassador in Beirut – supervised the assassination of Rafic Hariri, he relied on support from Germany, both for the assassination itself (Berlin supplied the weapon) [1], and for the United Nations Department of Political Affairs (UNO) Commission charged with accusing Presidents el-Assad and Lahoud (prosecutor Detlev Mehlis, police commissioner Gerhard Lehmann and their team). The international campaign against the two Presidents was notably led by the German political analyst Volker Perthes [2].

Volker Perthes studied in Damascus, Syria, in 1986 and 1987, funded by a German research grant. He then went on to pursue a career as professor of political science in Germany, with the exception of the period between 1991 and 1993, during which he taught at the American University of Beirut. Since 2005, he has been the Director of the Stiftung Wissenschaft und Politik (SWP), the main German public think tank, which employs more than 130 specialists, half of whom are university professors.

However, when Feltman organised the Israeli attack on Lebanon in 2006, he implicated only the United States, hoping that once Hezbollah was beaten, Syria would come to its rescue in Beirut, which would provide an excuse for US intervention. Finally, Berlin sent only its marines to participate in the United Nations Forces (Finul).

During the annual meeting of the Bilderberg Group, between the 5th and the 8th June 2008 – five years before the war – Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice gave a presentation which underlined the necessity of overthrowing the Syrian government. She was accompanied in this task by the Director of the Arab Reform Initiative [3], Bassma Kodmani (future founder of the Syrian National Council), and the Director of the SWP, Volker Perthes. The Bilderberg Group is a NATO initiative, and NATO directly handles security for these meetings [4].

According to a cable revealed by Wikileaks, Volker Perthes advised Ms. Rice concerning Iran. He believed that it would be dangerous to launch a military operation which could have unpredictable regional consequences – it was, however, more efficient to sabotage its economy. Volker Perthes’ advice was followed, in 2010, with the destruction of the software of Iranian nuclear plants by the Stuxnet virus [5].

In March 2011, Volker Perthes published an opinion column in the New York Times mocking President el-Assad’s speech to the People’s Chamber, during which the President had denounced a « conspiracy » against Syria [6]. According to Perthes, the « revolution » was under way in Syria, and el-Assad had to go.

In the summer of 2011, the German government managed the breakthrough of the Muslim Brotherhood in Tunisia and Egypt. It noted that at the CIA’s demand, it hosted the international coordination of the Brotherhood in Aix-la-Chapelle. Berlin thus decided to support the Brotherhood everywhere they attained power, with the exception of Hamas in Palestine, in order to avoid annoying Israël. Under the influence of Volker Perthes, the German Minister for Foreign Affairs – at that time, Guido Westerwelle – persuaded himself that the Brotherhood was not « Islamist », but « guided by Islam ». He created a discussion forum with the « moderate Islamist movements” (sic), and a Task Force for Syria. As for Perthes, he organised a reception at the Ministry in July for a delegation from the Syrian opposition, led by Brother Radwan Ziadeh.

On the 6th October 2011, on the proposition of the State Department, Volker Perthes took part in the closed conference organised by the Turkish Industry & Business Association (Tusiad) and the private US intelligence company Stratfor in order to study Turkey’s energy options, and also the possible responses of eight other countries, including Germany [7]. Present at the meeting were the ten top Turkish fortunes and Taner Yıldız – the Minister for Energy – the man who was supposed to help the Erdoğan family organise the funding of the war with oil stolen by Daesh.

In January 2012, Jeffrey Feltman – then State Department director for the Near East – asked Volker Perthes to direct the « The Day After » programme, which was tasked with putting together the next régime in Syria. These meetings were held over a six-month period and resulted specifically in a report which was made public after the Geneva Conference.

« The Day After » mobilised 45 members of the Syrian opposition, including Bassma Kodmani and the Muslim Brothhood. It was financed by the US Institute of Peace, the equivalent of the National Endowment for Democracy (NED), but is under the authority of the Department of Defense. Also solicited were Germany, France, Norway, Holland and Switzerland.

« The Day After » drew up the first draft of the plan for the total and unconditional capitulation of Syria, which became the obsession of the United Nations once Jeffrey Feltman was nominated Director of Political Affairs for the United Nations, in July 2012.


Here are the principles of the Perthes-Feltman plan

- the sovereignty of the Syrian People will be abolished ;
- the Constitution will be repealed ;
- the President will be relieved of his functions (but a vice-President will remain in charge of formal functions) ;
- the People’s Assembly will be dissolved ; 

- at least 120 leaders will be considered guilty and banned from any political function, then judged and condemned by an international Tribunal ;

- the Direction of Military Intelligence, the Direction of Political Security and the Direction of General Security will be dismantled and dissolved ;

 “political” prisoners will be freed and anti-terrorist procedures will be repealed; 

- the Hezbollah and the Guardians of the Revolution will be made to withdraw ; then, and only then, will the international community fight terrorism [8]

At the same time, Volker Perthes organised the « Working Group on Economic Recovery and Development » for the « Friends of Syria ». In June 2012, under the co-presidency of Germany and the United Arab Emirates, this group distributed to the member states of the « Friends of Syria » concessions for the exploitation of Syrian gas, which could be claimed in return for their support for the overthrow of Assad’s régime [9].

Volker Perthes also organised the “Working Group on Transition Planning” for the Arab League.

Finally, he set up the “Syrian Transition Support Network” in Istanbul.

As from the Geneva Conference (30th June 2012) and the meeting of the « Friends of Syria » in Paris (6th July 2012), we can find no more public traces of Volker Perthes’ role, apart from his publications, which are aimed at maintaining Germany’s support for the Muslim Brotherhood. Germany is maintaining its policy, and after the abdication of the Emir of Qatar and the powerful rise of Saudi Arabia, nominated Boris Ruge – the director for Syria in the Ministry for Foreign Affairs – as its ambassador to Riyadh.

In January 2015, Chancellor Angela Merkel demonstrated for tolerance and against terrorism, arm in arm with Aiman Mazyek, the General Secretary of the Central Council of Muslims in Germany. In reality, he is one of the leaders of the Muslim Brotherhood.

In the summer of 2015, during his visit to Damascus, the Syrian government asked Staffan De Mistura for an explanation concerning the Perthes-Feltman Plan, of which he had only just been made aware. Highly embarrassed, the special envoy of the General Secretary of the UNO confirmed that these documents did not engage him, and promised to take no notice of them. It seems that Moscow had threatened to make them public at the Security Council during the presence of the heads of state at the opening of the General Assembly in September 2015. However, the documents were not divulged – their revelation would have questioned the very existence of the United Nations Organisation. During the same period, Berlin once again made contact with Damascus, but the Syrians were unable to determine whether this secret initiative was a reflection of a new policy by Chancellor Merkel, or one more attempt at infiltration.

However, at the same time, Volker Perthes was nominated by Staffan De Mistura and his superior Jeffrey Feltman [10] as a « peace negotiator » (sic) for the next meeting in Geneva. He will be tasked with meeting alternatively with the delegation from the Syrian opposition and the delegation from the Syrian Arab Republic.

For the last three years, in violation of their own Charter, the United Nations, far from doing anything at all to help restore peace to Syria, and without presenting the slightest evidence, accuse the Syrian Arab Republic of having put down a revolution, of using chemical weapons against its own population, of the massive practice of torture, and of starving its people. Above all, it is dragging its feet on any peace initiative, leaving time for NATO and the Gulf Co-operation Council to pilot the overthrow of the régime by foreign mercenaries, in this instance the terrorist organisations al-Qaïda and Daesh.

Keep in mind :
- Since 2005, the group assigned to preparing the war in Syria is being piloted by the US diplomat Jeffrey Feltman, assisted by the German academic Volker Perthes.
- In 2005, Feltman organised the assassination of Rafic Hariri (because the security of Lebanon was handled by Syria) ; in 2006, he organised Israel’s war against Lebanon (because Hezbollah was then armed by Syria) ; in 2011, he directed the 4th generation war from the State Department ; since 2012, from the United Nations, for which he has become the number 2, he has been working to make the war last long enough for the jihadist groups to achieve victory. 

- Perthes associated himself with Feltman and the private group Stratfor in order to influence German policy in the Near East. In 2008, he presented the project for régime change in Damascus to the Bilderberg Group. In 2011, he convinced Merkel’s government to support the Muslim Brotherhood during the « Arab Spring ». In 2012, he presided a work group tasked with preparing the new régime, then drew up a plan for the total and unconditional capitulation of Syria. Today, he is the UNO director for the Geneva peace negotiations.
 
BREAKING:

Special ISIS cells preparing terror attacks in Europe and Russia – Russian anti-terrorism body

https://www.rt.com/news/330556-isis-terror-europe-russia/

Islamic State cells led by Chechen recruiter Akhmed Chetayev are planning terrorist attacks in Russia and Europe, Russia's National Anti-Terrorist Committee reported. Former Iraqi army officers are taking part in training terrorists to attack Russia, it added.

“Russian special services have intelligence that certain IS groups are preparing terrorist attacks in Russia and European nations,” Andrey Przhezdomsky, spokesman for the Russian National Anti-Terrorist Committee, warned on Friday. “In particular, a battalion formed mainly from recruits from North Caucasus headed by Akhmed Chetayev, nicknamed One-Handed.”

Chetayev's group reportedly includes dozens of people born in Russia's southern republics who traveled to Syria to join the ranks of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).

The official added that former Iraqi army officers who served under Saddam Hussein are training the terrorists.

Przhezdomsky said Russian border guards and special services are doing their best to stem the flow of terrorists to and from Syria through Turkey. More than 100 would-be IS recruits were arrested before they could join the ranks and more than 800 fighters were busted on their way into Russia, he said. Among them were 22 recruiters of the terrorists.

The effort helped prevent several terrorist attacks in Russia, the official said.

“Just recently, a group of four hardcore militants arrived from Syria, planning to hit one of [Russia’s] major cities,” he said.

The group entered Russia legally, found a safe house and purchased parts for making improvised explosive devices, unaware that they were being followed by Russian agents.

“They were arrested and are awaiting trial,” Przhezdomsky said.

He added that the movement of people attempting to go to Syria and become terrorist fighters has passed its peak, but still remains a security issue for Russia.

“There is a well-developed system for trafficking IS recruits into Syria. The main route goes through Istanbul,” he said.
 
Invincible Shield: Russia Puts S-400 Systems on Combat Duty Near Moscow

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160129/1033904865/s-400-triumf-moscow.html

The Russian Armed Forces have put an air defense regiment, equipped with advanced S-400 Triumf air defense systems, on combat duty in the Moscow Region, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — "Four air defense regiments are providing Moscow and the Central industrial district with air defense after a new system was deployed on combat duty in formation of the Aerospace Defence Forces," the statement reads.

According to the statement, at least one more regiment equipped with S-400 systems is expected to be deployed on combat duty in the Moscow Region before the end of the year.

The S-400 Triumf (NATO reporting name SA-21 Growler) is by far Russia's most advanced surface-to-air missile system. It has a range of 400 kilometers (248 miles) and is capable of tracking and destroying all existing aerial targets, including ballistic and cruise missiles.


Shoigu: the construction of infrastructure for the military in the Arctic is completed

http://ria.ru/defense_safety/20160129/1366996507.html

On the islands of boiler and Land Aleksand unique administrative and residential complexes are designed for year-round duty military units, stressed Defense Minister, Army General Sergei Shoigu.

MOSCOW, January 29 - RIA Novosti. As part of the Arctic infrastructure, ensuring the vital activity of groups of troops, on the Arctic islands completes the construction of a unique administrative and residential complexes, said on Friday, Russian Defence Minister, Army General Sergei Shoigu.

"The establishment of formations and military units of the Northern Fleet in the Arctic and the creation of supporting infrastructure is carried out in the framework of the program Russian presidential decree of 2012 and its instructions following meetings in Sochi, as well as in the implementation of the approved by the President of the Russian Federation in 2014, the new military doctrine, in which the armed forces the task of ensuring national interests (countries) in the Arctic zone, "- said the Minister of Defence.

According to him, to this end, active construction of military facilities in the archipelago of Franz Josef Land, Novaya Zemlya, Severnaya Zemlya and New Siberian Islands. "The necessary conditions for the life of the military. Since the islands of boiler and Land Aleksand completed the construction of a unique administrative and residential complexes, designed for year-round duty military units," - said Shoigu.

He added that he also formed an extensive infrastructure logistics. This importance given to environmental safety, waste disposal and carrying out cleaning of the Arctic.
 
Putin may decide on participation in 2018 election when election campaign starts — Kremlin
http://tass.ru/en/politics/853074

According to Putin's press secretary "a smear campaign has already started"

Russian President Vladimir Putin has not yet decided if he runs for a new term at elections in 2018 and the decision may be taken when the election campaign begins, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Friday.


Syrian opposition says not going to Geneva talks Friday
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Middle-East/2016/Jan-28/334486-syrian-opposition-council-will-not-go-to-geneva-tmw-opposition-leader-george-sabra-to-al-hadith.ashx?src=iPhone

BEIRUT: The Syrian opposition will not attend peace talks in Geneva Friday, a senior member said.

U.N. envoy Staffan de Mistura had been planning to launch indirect peace talks in Geneva Friday.

"For certain we will not head to Geneva and there will not be a delegation from the High Negotiations Committee tomorrow in Geneva," George Sabra told Arabic news channel Arabiya al-Hadath Thursday.



Geneva talks participants to make third attempt to start Syrian peace process
http://tass.ru/en/world/852981

UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Syria, Staffan de Mistura, promised the Syrian people that this conference would not end in failure as the Geneva-1 in 2012 and Geneva-2 talks in 2014.



Pentagon: Russian fighter jet intercepts US Air Force spy plane over Black Sea
http://tass.ru/en/world/852969

NEW YORK, January 29. /TASS/. A Russian Su-27 Flanker fighter jet intercepted on January 25 a US Air Force RC-135U spy plane over the Black Sea, a spokeswoman for the US Department of Defense said. Lt. Col. Michelle L. Baldanza said the US aircraft was on its regular route in the international airspace over the Black Sea when the Russian Su-27 fighter jet intercepted it in "an unsafe and unprofessional manner."

She added that all details of the incident involving the Russian and US Airforce aircraft were thoroughly studied and investigated. US Fox News also reported about the incident over the Black Sea. FoxNews.com cited Pentagon Press Secretary Peter Cook as saying that Russian military officials discussed during a video conference with Pentagon on Thursday flight safety over Syria "to avoid accidents and unintended confrontation between coalition and Russian forces whenever the two sides operate in close proximity."

However, Baldanza said that "No specific incident or event prompted today's discussion." The Washington Free Beacon daily reported that the Russian fighter "came within 20 feet of a US RC-135 reconnaissance aircraft over the Black Sea on Monday." Citing US defense officials the daily reported that "the Su-27 flew alongside the RC-135, an electronic intelligence-gathering aircraft, and then performed what they said was an aggressive banking turn away from the intelligence jet." "The thrust from the Su-27 ‘disturbed the controllability’ of the RC-135, said one official familiar with details of the incident," the daily added



BREAKING ALERT: RUSSIAN FIGHTER JET INTERCEPTS U.S. MILITARY AIRCRAFT BY 20 FEET!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2OX75lcrVKM

Published on Jan 28, 2016

United States European Command just released details on an extremely dangerous aerial encounter that occurred over the Black Sea.

The event occurred when a Russian S U 27 jet fighter came within just 20 feet of a U S R C 1 35 reconnaissance aircraft when it was well within international airspace and far away from any Russian territory.

Navy Captain Daniel Hernandez, chief spokesman for the U.S. European Command, told the Washington Free Beacon quote, “On January 25 an R C 1 35 aircraft flying a routine route in international airspace over the Black Sea was intercepted by a Russian S u 27 in an unsafe and unprofessional manner. We are looking into the issue.”

U S officials reported the S U 27 flew alongside the R C 1 35, then performed an aggressive banking turn away from the intelligence jet disturbing the controllability of the U S aircraft.



Russia says organized system of sending future IS gunmen uncovered in Turkey
http://tass.ru/en/politics/853062

According to an advisor to the head of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee, the key route is via Istanbul.

An organized system of transferring new gunmen to the Islamic State terrorist group operates in Turkey, an advisor to the head of the National Anti-Terrorist Committee said on Friday. "In Turkey, there is an organized system of transferring additions to the ISIL terrorist organization [former name of IS] or the so-called Daesh, outlawed in Russia," Andrey Przhezdomsky told reporters. Russia’s special services know all the routes of sending the recruits, he said. "The key route is via Istanbul."

According to Przhezdomsky, Russia’s security services know all the routes of transfer of recruited Russians to the Islamic State terrorist organization. "Russian intelligence services and law enforcement agencies have the full picture of how individual citizens of Russia get to the ranks of IS and other international terrorist organizations, as they have the sufficient arsenal of forces and means of surveillance and current control," Przhezdomsky said. "As a result of coordinated actions, the departure to Syria and Iraq of more than 100 Russian citizens has been prevented."



Terrorists Planning to Infiltrate Russia Through Ukraine, Central Asia
http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160129/1033906904/terrorists-russia-ukraine-asia.html

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – International terrorists are most likely planning to send militants to Russia through Ukraine, the first deputy head of the National Anti-Terror Committee said Friday.

“Russian Special Services are getting signals on attempts being prepared to send terrorists to Russia from other countries, including from Ukraine,” Evgeny Ilin told journalists.

Ilin added that terrorists may also attempt to arrive in Russia from Central Asia.



Staff at Paris Airport Angry after Finding Fake Bombs ordered by US Embassy
http://www.globalresearch.ca/staff-at-paris-airport-angry-after-finding-fake-bombs-ordered-by-us-embassy/5504269

A security exercise gone wrong saw tempers flare in a Paris airport, after fake explosive devices were discovered by FedEx workers in a ripped package, sources told AFP. The exercise was called “irresponsible”.

Employees of the American courier service at Charles de Gaulle airport were shocked to find a pressure cooker filled with nuts and bolts inside a package in transit from the US to Tunisia. On further inspection they discovered a container of other similar devices, along with what appeared to be detonators, said Frederic Petit, who represents the company’s employees for the CGT union. The staff alerted authorities of “imminent danger,” and officials arrived to test the device using sniffer dogs and X-ray machines.

A security source at the airport said the devices were actually decoys bound for the US embassy in Tunisia that were being used for a training exercise. “This type of delivery is not common, but sometimes takes place,” the source told AFP. “This is just the first time that a package has been opened.” But Petit slammed the exercise as “irresponsible,” given the heightened security concerns since the Paris attacks in November, when jihadists killed 130 people.

“Nobody was aware of this cargo,” he said, adding that FedEx employees want to see such parcels banned from transit through France.



ACLU: Pentagon to release 200 torture images (Video)
http://investmentwatchblog.com/aclu-pentagon-to-release-200-torture-images/

A leading US humanitarian rights group says the Pentagon has promised to release a small part of photographs related to the torture of prisoners at US-run prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The American Civil Liberties Union said the Defense Department has promised to post about 200 of the images online by Friday. The group had filed a freedom of information lawsuit in 2004, seeking the release of some two-thousand photographs. The US government opposes publishing the images, fearing they could provoke a violent backlash. But in March 2015, a US judge ordered the government to release the images. In early 2000s, US soldiers were implicated in the torture and sexual humiliation of prisoners at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison and also Afghanistan’s Bagram air base.
 
Russia proposes international meeting on Syria on Feb 11
http://news.yahoo.com/russia-proposes-international-meeting-syria-feb-11-111552442.html

Moscow (AFP) - Russia said on Thursday it wanted to hold an international meeting on Syria -- including key players from the West and the Middle East -- in Munich next month.

"There is an agreement in principle between Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Secretary of State John Kerry, and now we will propose to all the other participants of the international Syria support group a time and place -- Munich, February 11," state news agency TASS quoted deputy foreign minister Mikhail Bogdanov as saying.

The call for a fresh meeting of the key international players in Syria came as opposition groups from the war-torn country met for a third day in Riyadh to decide whether to attend UN peace talks with the government, with less than 24 hours before the negotiations were due to open in Geneva.

Some 17 nations -- including the United States, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran -- held several rounds of talks last year in the broadest international push to end the conflict in Syria.

Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian told journalists in Moscow on Thursday, a day after meeting Bogdanov, that the talks would likely happen February 11.

High-ranking officials will be heading to Munich next month for an annual security conference that starts on February 12.



Lithuania, Poland, Ukraine form alliance in response to Russia’s rise
http://rbth.com/international/2016/01/27/lithuania-poland-ukraine-form-alliance-in-response-to-russias-rise_562903

Poland, Lithuania and Ukraine are planning to launch a joint brigade of 4,000 troops by January 2017, Defense News has reported. The multinational military unit, with its headquarters in the Polish city of Lublin, is being formed amid concerns over the development of Russia's military might.

The three countries signed an agreement in September 2014 in Warsaw to form the so-called LITPOLUKRBRIG (Lithuanian–Polish–Ukrainian Brigade) brigade, which will mainly participate in peacekeeping operations.

The defense ministers of the three countries – Juozas Olekas (Lithuania), Antoni Macierewicz (Poland) and Stepan Poltorak (Ukraine) –
attended the opening ceremony of the headquarters in Lublin on January 25.

According to Olekas, “the headquarters will strengthen the partnership between our countries and the interaction of the military. In addition, this project combines the defense of the territory and the protection of international borders.”

For Ukraine, the project opens up new possibilities for training troops to the standards of NATO, of which Poland and Lithuania are members.

Vladimir Yevseyev, head of the department of Eurasian integration and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization at the CIS Institute, expressed doubts that the brigade would actually get involved in a conflict.

“They're not preparing to fight, but to deter the Russian Federation,” Yevseyev said. “Different states are trying to set up joint military forces. Trying to form such organizations makes sense if they have some common objectives. It is more about rhetoric about wanting to support Ukraine. It is not serious to talk about any practical engagement.”

Earlier, Poltorak reported that 18 officers of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were already stationed at the headquarters in Lublin. The officers’ practical training is to start in early 2016. In addition, the brigade members are planning to hold tripartite exercises in the Lvov Region soon. (First published in Russian in Gazeta.ru. )



Islamic State terrorist who blew up Russian airliner Airbus A321 'identified' and 'last seen in Turkey'
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/12127094/Islamic-State-terrorist-who-blew-up-Russian-airliner-identified-and-last-seen-in-Turkey.html

Russian security services reportedly hunting baggage handler who planted device that killed 224.

28 Jan 2016 - Investigators have identified the airport worker who planted a bomb on a Russian passenger jet and was last seen in Turkey, Russian media have claimed.

Life News, a Russian tabloid site with close links to the security services, reported on Tuesday that a baggage handler at Sharm el-Sheikh airport smuggled an explosive device on board Metrojet flight 9268 to St Petersburg in October last year.

The worker, who has not been publicly named, is reportedly one of six individuals Egyptian and Russian security services are hunting in connection with the terror attack.

Metrojet’s Airbus 231 exploded over the Sinai desert 23 minutes after taking off from Sharm el-Sheikh on the morning of October 31, killing all 224 people - almost all Russian tourists - on board.

It was the deadliest aviation disaster in Russian history and the country’s worst terror attack since the Beslan school siege of 2004.

Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil) claimed responsibility for the attack, and later published what it said was a picture of the device used - a bomb inside a fizzy drinks can.

LifeNews claimed that the suspected bomber had started working at the airport shortly before the attack, and almost immediately asked to become a baggage handler.

He reportedly fled the airport immediately after planting the device, and shortly afterwards left Egypt and is believed to have last been seen in Turkey.

Russia’s security services have not publicly commented on the report.

Vladimir Putin ordered the suspension of all flights to Egypt and the evacuation an estimated 80,000 holidaymakers from the country in the aftermath of the attack, citing security concerns.

The move was a major blow to Egypt’s tourism industry, which usually receives about three million Russian tourists visit Egypt annually. Russian officials have said flights may resume once security has been improved.

Rosaviatsia, Russia’s civil aviation agency, submitted a list of recommendations for improving airport security to the Egyptian government on Wednesday.



Marines fired Commander days before deadly helicopter crash in Hawaii
_http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/story/military/2016/01/28/marines-fired-commander-days-before-deadly-helicopter-crash-hawaii/79486936/

The Marine Corps helicopter squadron reeling from the recent deaths of 12 colleagues saw its commanding officer removed from his job three days prior to the tragedy because senior officials determined he had failed to keep the unit operating at acceptable standards, Marine Corps Times has learned.

Lt. Col. Edward Pavelka was relieved of command Jan. 11, multiple sources confirmed. On Jan. 14, two CH-53E helicopters from Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 disappeared over the Pacific Ocean during a nighttime training mission about two miles north of Hawaii's Oahu island, where the aircraft were based.

Pavelka, who led the squadron for less than 11 months, declined a request for comment.

A Marine official familiar with Pavelka's removal told Marine Corps Times that the commander was "not able to maintain material readiness standards ... for optimal use of manpower, material, facilities and funding."

"The Marine Corps has an exceptionally high standard for combat readiness and proficiency — especially in the aviation community," the official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to discuss specific personnel matters. "We hold commanders ultimately responsible for their units."

A Marine Corps spokeswoman, 1st Lt. Courtney Caimona, provided a statement to Marine Corps Times indicating that Brig. Gen. Russell Sanborn, the commanding general of 1st Marine Aircraft Wing, lost confidence in Pavelka's ability to lead the squadron, calling the move "in the best interest of the Marines and sailors of Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463 and the Marine Corps."

"Pavelka did not commit misconduct," Caimona emphasized.

Sanborn announced the change in leadership during a unit-wide formation on Jan. 11, Caimona said. When Marine Corps Times inquired about Pavelka's firing, the general offered to discuss his decision and related questions about the squadron's recent performance. The interview was later canceled, however.

Formal investigations into the accident are ongoing, Marine officials said. The search for survivors lasted five days. It was called off last week, on Jan. 20, and all 12 Marines were declared dead although no remains were recovered.

It's not immediately clear what brought down the aircraft. Initial reports suggested they collided over the ocean and exploded. Coast Guard rescuers located four life rafts, but concluded that none had been occupied.
 
Iranian Navy Drone Flies over US Aircraft Carrier to Gather Intel
http://en.farsnews.com/player.aspx?nn=13941109000682

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Iranian Navy sent an unmanned surveillance drone over a US aircraft carrier in the Persian Gulf. The drone managed to capture a video during the mission over the target which - as the video shows - has most probably been USS Harry Truman.

Iran Says It Flew Drone Over U.S. Carrier - Raw Video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ax4VCYu0-3A

January 29, 2016 - Iran flew a surveillance drone over a US aircraft carrier and took "precise" photographs of it as part of an ongoing naval drill, Iranian state television reported Friday. (Jan. 29)
 
Putin's Popularity Infuriates Western Politicians
http://fortruss.blogspot.com/2016/01/putins-popularity-infuriates-western.html

Amidst the falling ratings of Obama, Hollande and Merkel, the Russian President is in a more advantageous position, which does not fail to irritate Western establishment.

Currently, the Western media are deploying, frankly, dirty tricks via a information campaign against the Russian President, to trap him in non-existent (one might say, mortal) sins: corruption, involvement in the Litvinenko murder, etc.

Regarding corruption, there is nothing to say. Accusing Putin of corruption, whilst the US turn a blind eye to their problems... The level of corruption in the States themselves, according to Gallup research center (USA), is more than 70%.

Two governors of Illinois, the head of Alabama, Louisiana, Connecticut, Virginia, the entire top of the legislative Assembly of the State of New York and many others were convicted of corruption.

All in all, scientists estimate that during the period from 1986 to 2012 in the States, 50 thousand cases of corruption have been opened and 15.3 thousand civil servants convicted. You may also recall the sale of seats in the Senate, and from January to November 2013, 2320 staff and managers at Federal, state and city agencies were put under investigation in the U.S.

The "Corruption perception index" from Transparency International, which operates on the expert assessments as well as from data from 13 international institutions, puts US at 17th place on the level of corruption in government. This place divides the U.S. from Barbados.

The latest blow to the reputation of the Obama began with a fresh publication of Wikileaks, according to which half of the budget was stolen, even from the program on employment of the disabled.

In the States, corruption pervades all spheres of public life - military, judicial etc. But instead of trying to establish order in the country, they prefer to talk about corruption in other countries, putting forward unsubstantiated, false accusations. Thus, the accusations against Putin are just an attempt to distract Western society from their own problems.


Lavrov and Kerry discuss upcoming Syrian talks
http://rbth.com/news/2016/01/29/lavrov-and-kerry-discuss-upcoming-syrian-talks_563521

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry have exchanged views on the Syrian issues during a telephone conversation, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"Both parties have supported the efforts of UN Special Envoy Staffan de Mistura to organize the talks between representatives of the Syrian government and opposition in Geneva for the purposes of reaching a political settlement," the ministry said.

Lavrov "pointed out that any attempts by some opponents of the Syrian administration to set preliminary conditions ahead of the start of the negotiation process in violation of the UN Security Council Resolution 2254 are unacceptable," it said.

Lavrov highlighted once more how important it is that "the delegation of opposition forces truly represents their entire specter also pointing at the need to establish a united front to fight against ISIS and other terrorist groups," it said.
 
New Twist of Friendship: Russian Exporters Set Eyes on Iran's Market

http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160130/1033965318/russia-iran-exports.html

Hit by shrinking domestic demand for their products, many Russian companies are now looking towards Iran as a new market to absorb a wide range of Russian-made goods, from tractors and railway cars to planes and nuclear reactors.

During a recent trade and industry expo in Tehran, the Russian delegation, led by Trade and Industry Minister Denis Manturov discussed with their Iranian hosts areas of mutually-beneficial cooperation.

One preliminary result of those discussions was an agreement to sell 250 million euros’ worth of Russian-made rail freight cars to the Islamic Republic.

The sides also discussed the sale of 117 passenger cars for the underground rail system in the city of Qum. Russia’s is now in talks on the delivery of 1.2 billion euros’ worth of electric engines for the Garmsar-Inche Burun railway.

Also in the pipeline is the sale of 100 Sukhoi Superjet-100 airliners within the next five years, and of 15 Tu-204SM medium-range passenger and cargo jets for Iran’s Kish Air carrier.

Russia’s Rostselmash Company plans to cash in on the shortage of modern agricultural machines in Iran with the sale of 150 Vector combine harvesters the Iranians are ready to buy.

With much of Iran’s industrial enterprises running on outdated technology due to a standing Western ban on the sale of modern technology, the Iranians want to manufacture at least part of the products they are going to buy in Russia in their own country.

This would help them modernize their production facilities and gain access to new technologies.

Some elements of the Superjet-100 airline can be built in Iran, just like the metro cars Russia’s Transmashholding plans to sell to the Islamic Republic.
 
Kassander (The Twilight of Russian Civilization)
Syrian Matrix Part Three
Posted on 29 January 2016
https://kassander4ppp.wordpress.com/2016/01/29/syrian-p-ts-part-three/
RUSSIAN AND SYRIAN DEFENSE MINISTERS EXPAND COOPERATION IN WAR AGAINST TERRORISM
56aa51c2c3618882438b45c7.jpg


– “When defense ministers meet face to face in Moscow, you know the subject is critical. General Sergei Shoigu, the Russian Defense Minister, could have easily called his Syrian counterpart, Lt. General Fahd Jaasim Al-Furayj, and talked over the telephone or even on secure lines. But, this subject demanded the highest level of secrecy in a world in which all conversations are vulnerable to eavesdropping.

(Smart Cookies)-KPIE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQ012kBoqiA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cyn2Wt80X04

SyrPer has learned from one its sources that this meeting was planned to coincide with the Geneva-III conference which, as we believe, will result in no immediate end to the conflict. In fact, that position is bolstered by Stefan DiMistura’s own statement that the talks will not conclude for 6 months. Russia is not willing to simply wait for the exiled Syrian opposition to gather its senses and bring a unified position to the table. There are other developments which have to be addressed.

My source wrote that the Russian government is deeply concerned about Turk movements north of Jaraablus and Al-Manbij where the Syrian Kurdish forces are planning a final assault to seize those towns from ISIS. That is the first area of concern.

The second, according to Wael, is the timing for the SAA and RuAF assault on Jisr Al-Shughoor. General Shoigu is pushing the Syrian High Command to finish off Kinsibba as soon as possible despite weather delays and the grotesque geography of the area.

The third area of concern is a rapid deployment of new weapons systems the Syrians have not seen before and which, the Russians believe, will bring the battle more quickly to an end. The SAA, however, has to be trained to use the new ground equipment and the 2 generals discussed the logistics of absorption and training. (…)“

– “(…) Most importantly, the Russian military is preparing to counter Turk movements in northern Syria which they view as essentially designed to appease the Saudi monkeys as far as 2 conditions are concerned:

1. ISIS must not be defeated by the Kurds and

2. Turkey must establish a salient inside Syria in which terrorists like Ahraar Al-Shaam, Jaysh Al-Fath and Alqaeda/Nusra can operate freely with a claim to Syrian territory.

This last condition is extremely dangerous because it will require Turkey to use its air force over Syrian territory which will trigger the use of Russia’s vaunted S-300 and S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems, not to mention Syria’s own formidable array of Russian-made missiles. We are looking at the start of a bigger war and the Russians wanted to make their position clear to the Syrian Army’s high command. I am told that a separate coordination group would be established to deal with the new stressors in the north.

That Turkey is participating in this crack-pot scheme hatched by the inept, simian Saudis is testimony to the insanity of Erdoghan. With his country floundering economically after the imposition of Russian sanctions and the Kurds champing at the bit to establish their own de facto state, one would think Erdoghan might temporize, or even, balk at the idea of involving his country in an existential battle with the one nation Turkey has never defeated in battle despite 18 bites at the apple. This insanity will play out for all to see. It is this kind of mental derangement which brings about military coups d’etat. We are all awaiting General Necdet Ozel’s next move.

Wael says that the Saudis have vowed to compensate Turkey for any economic losses. But, the Saudis are nearly broke. They have terminated plans for a new health policy in the country because of a diminution in funding. As I wrote before, the Saudi Ministry of the Interior has alerted 12,000 Saudi students that they would not be receiving financial assistance for studying abroad for the near future due to a budget deficit.

The war in Yemen is starting to cost this kingdom of apes billions of dollars for equipment and mercenaries – forgetting the cost of supporting tens of thousands of terrorists in Syria. The Saudis must have seen Erdoghan coming.

In the dark hallways of this stage are the Iranians who have yet to flex their muscles. This will be quite a scene.“

By Ziad Fadel
Attorney for 35 years and Supreme Court Certified Interpreter for Arabic/English Diploma with Honors from Ann Arbor Pioneer High School in 1968; B.A. University of Michigan in Ann Arbor 1968-1972; M.A. University of Michigan Dept. of Near Eastern Studies 1972-1974; Ph.D. Cand. Univ. of Michigan 1972-1977; Then went to law school. Credits: Harvard University for classes in Islamic Philosophy; Fellowships from University of Pennsylvania 1976; 2 from Univ. of Michigan. Read English, Arabic, German, French, Farsi, some Hebrew. Studied Ancient Greek and Latin before grad school. Michigan Supreme Court Certified Interpreter/Translator for Arabic and English
 
American and European military officials, who thought that Russia's military capabilities were outdated if not lacking, were in for a rude awakening when Moscow launched its high-tech counterterrorism operation in Syria.

Russia's Hi-Tech Campaign in Syria Becomes a 'Sobering Experience' for NATO
http://sputniknews.com/military/20160131/1033993781/russia-syria-counterterrorism-weapons.html

Russia has been relentless in its efforts to assist Damascus-led forces, who are fighting to tackle the foreign-sponsored violent insurgency in Syria. To this end, Russia has sent brand new tactical aircraft, strategic bombers and cruise missiles into battle. It has also showcased its impressive electronic warfare capabilities, which Lt. General Ben Hodges, commander of US Army Europe, once described as "eye-watering."

It might have come as a shock to many in the West, but "Russia can be innovative in weapons design, and sometimes ahead of the West," Popular Mechanics pointed out. Indeed, some of the armaments produced in Russia have "no counterparts in the US." Moscow has showcased some of those in Syria.

Weapons are not the only factor that matters. Although the operation in Syria has been limited in its scope, Russian warplanes sometimes fly more missions daily than the US-led coalition does in a month. "This is in marked contrast, Western military planners have noted, to how quickly [NATO] began to feel the strain when bombing Libya and Kosovo," the Independent asserted.

"Anyone who wants anything done in [the Middle East] is beating a path to Moscow," a senior analyst in Israeli military intelligence told the Independent.



Syrian Army Winning Battle against Militants in Lattakia Regardless of Turkish Artillery Shelling
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941110001395

"The Turkish army' artillery units opened fire at the Syrian government forces this morning to prevent their rapid advance against the militant groups in the Northern part of the coastal province of Lattakia near the border with Turkey," the sources said.

"The Syrian army, the National Defense Forces (NDF) and the Iraqi pro-Syrian popular forces operating in the mountainous regions of Lattakia province are only a few hundred meters away from the Turkish border now," the sources added.

"The Syrian government forces, after imposing full control over Nawareh village in the Northeastern side of Otayreh and purging terrorists from the strategic al-Barakah and al-Khadhra mountains, are very close to Lattakia's border with Turkey," they went on to say.



Blackwater's US Colonel Killed, Saudi Apache Helicopters Destroyed in Yemen's Tochka Missile Attacks in Lahij
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941111000620

The Yemeni forces' Tochka missiles hit a gathering of the Saudi forces at al-Anad military base in Lahij province, killing 200 Sudanese Blackwater mercenaries and their new commander US Colonel Nicolas Petras.

Several Apache and Typhoon helicopters as well as several oil tankers were also destroyed in the Yemeni missile attack.

The Blackwater forces' military operations room and the houses of the Blackwater forces were also destroyed in Yemen's attack.

Also on January 17, the Yemeni forces' missile attacks on a Saudi-led command center resulted in the death of over 120 mercenaries, including the Saudi, UAE and US officers.

"The Yemeni army missile unit fired a Tochka missile at the operations room of the Saudi-led forces in Ma'rib and killed over 120 mercenaries with different nationalities," Ali al-Houthi, an Ansarullah Movement Leader, told FNA at the time.

"46 Saudi mercenaries, 11 UAE and 9 Saudi officers and 11 foreign commanders of the US Blackwater company were among those killed in the attack," he added.

Houthi said that 6 Apache and 4 Black Hawk helicopters and 4 drones armed with missiles were also destroyed in the attack.

The command room of communications with the spying satellites and airplanes was also destroyed completely.

Al-Houthi had also said earlier that the missile had hit al-Bairaq military base which hosts the headquarters of the Saudi army's operations.
 
New Rules of Engagement on the Battlefield and in the Diplomatic Arena

http://fortruss.blogspot.ca/2016/01/new-rules-of-engagement-on-battlefield.html

Abstract

- Russia upgraded & refurnished 9 Syrian MiG-29 into Fulcrum MiG-29SMT.

- Russia imposed new rules of engagement on the Turkish-Syrian borders.

- Russia put an end to the Syrian - Turkish 1998 agreement.


A source who’s a senior officer within the joint operation command consisting of Syria, Russia, Iran, Hezbollah has said “Russia has established new rules of engagement on the Syrian-Turkish border, and has retained the upper hand for the Syrian air force and the Syrian army, Russia also refurbished and upgraded custom made Syrian MiG29, to protect the Russian air force squadrons, with clear orders to shoot down Turkish planes that enter the Syrian air space”

The source goes on to say to Al Rai, “The agreement previously concluded with Turkey during the presidency of the late Hafez Assad in 1998, which says no Syrian air force units should come within 15 Km of the Turkish-Syrian border on Syria’s side (the agreement by which Syria expelled the Kurdish leader Abdullah Öcalan, after Turkey, having amassed 10,000 soldiers, threatened to invade Syria), the agreement also included that no army battalions are to be deployed, and that only officers and border control personnel are allowed, this has all gone down the drain”, adding “gone is the time of retracting the statement “Iskandaron strip will be liberated” from school books, gone also is the time of Turkey downing a Syrian air craft and/or helicopter. Turkey’s dream of creating a safe zone is dead in the water, and with it the supply lines to send men and arms to the Syrian Turkmen to undermine Damascus. After Russia’s direct intervention in Syria, there has been drastic changes, especially after the downing of the Russian bomber Sukhoi Su-24 by Turkish F16’s last November, thus making this particular bomber the costliest of its kind, causing strategic and economic losses to Istanbul”

The source further explains “that Russia since the downing of its plane, brought in Sukhoi Su-30, which will deliver to the Russians air-supremacy that was missing before, also posting the anti-aircraft S400 missile system, Russia has further deployed heavier assault weapons and regained most of the Latakia governorate, it has broken the Syrian Turkmen militias that’s considered the military arm of Turkey, most importantly it has given the SAA a moral boost, having upgraded the MiG29 to MiG29-SM, installing them with ZHUK-M radar that is able to track 10 targets, and engage with 4 at one particular moment, covering 120Km having 5Km width, it is now able to launch the lethal R77 missiles, also installed on these air crafts along with other gadgets is a radio jamming device, and the upgrading enables it to carry other highly developed missiles and bombs such as the KAB-500S-E. These upgrades make the MiG39-SM the most advanced in the fourth generation line up”.

The senior source confirms “Russia has requested from Syria to conduct around the clock patrols on the Syrian-Turkish border, to ensure the safety of the Russian bombers, Russia having established new rules of engagement have authorized the Syrian air force, specifically the MiG29-SM squadron, to engage with any Turkish targets that have violated Syrian air space or attempts to violate. By doing this Russia has given Syria its sovereignty back having lost it in 1998, and completely losing it in 2011 at the start of the revolution in Syria, as of today Syria air forces have a mandate to strike any violation without confirming with HQ, this in turn has given the Syrians a boost of morale, especially as they have been given a mandate by a super power like Russia that is physically present in Syria”

Adding “On the battlefield, there are many media reports, citations on social media networks, as well as Intelligence reports, that conclude that the insurgents are turning on each other due to the defeats incurred on them by the SAA, accusing each other of treason, and not supporting the many fronts that were lost to Hezbollah and SAA in Latakia, Hama, Aleppo, and Dara’a. It is expected that several military units within Al-Nusra and the Army of Conquest (Al Qaida) will defect. On the other side, the SAA and NDF volunteers have increased with large numbers having graduated, pro-government forces are increasing, conversely the number of insurgents joining the cause is steadily decreasing, since Amman has stopped assistance to the southern front, this happened as Russia reached an agreement with the Jordanians, it is also Russia’s intent to shut the porous borders with Turkey and Jordan, to prevent any reinforcements to reach the insurgents, even the region West of the Euphrates where both the Russians and Syrians are bombing the supply routes to hinder any military or non-military assistance to arrive.

Russia has taken the initiative in Syria and established its dominance on the full breadth and width of the country. Politically, in Geneva on Monday the Russians are determined not to yield to the opposition anything that would endanger the grounds gained on the battlefield, and not to accept anyone who has been or still is in communication with Salafi-Jihadis ( Al-Nusra, Ahrar Al-Sham, and whoever pledged their allegiance to them or fights within their ranks). Furthermore Russia will not halt any military advancements during the Geneva talks as stated in the UN resolution, especially now that Damascus and the Kremlin hold all the cards”.


Russia Prepares to Test Next-Generation Su-35S Fighters in Syria (Photos + video)

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160201/1034015975/su-35-syria-russia-video.html

Russia's brand new Su-35S multirole fighters will go through the baptism by fire in Syria, according to a military source.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Russia is preparing to test the next-generation Su-35S fighters for the first time in combat in Syria, a military source told a Russian newspaper on Monday.

"The General Staff has decided to run a field test of the brand-new Su-35S in Syria for the first time ever," the Kommersant newspaper cited its source as saying.

According to information obtained by the outlet, the first four jets were handed over to the Russian Aerospace Forces last fall. Several days ago, they were transported through Iran and Iraq to the Russian airbase in Hmeymim near Latakia in northwestern Syria.

The Su-35S is a 4++ generation one-seater, which is an upgraded version of the Su-27 multirole fighter. Russia aims to modernize its military hardware by 2020 as part of a large-scale overhaul of its armed forces.
 
Back
Top Bottom