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

[angelburst29]

On Thursday, May 12th, Romania will launch its new Aegis Ashore missile defense complex. A senior US official will be on hand at the ceremony.

Romania's Missile Defense System to Go Live Despite Russian Objections
http://sputniknews.com/military/20160512/1039472039/Romanias-Missile-Defense-Systemto-Live.html

US Assistant Secretary of State Frank Rose, who came to Romania for the launch ceremony, took part in a news conference in Bucharest Wednesday. During the conference he denied claims by Russia that this missile defense system will have a negative impact on regional stability.

"Both the US and NATO have made it clear the system is not designed for or capable of undermining Russia's strategic deterrence capability," Rose said.

"Russia has repeatedly raised concerns that the US and NATO defense are directed against Russia and represents a threat to its strategic nuclear deterrent. Nothing could be further from the truth."

He also claimed that the recent Romanian and Polish missile defense installations will defend NATO members against the threat of short and medium-range ballistic missiles, "particularly from the Middle East."

US ambassador to Romania Douglas Lute supported the missile defense launch.

Russia has repeatedly expressed concern over the establishment of the US-designed ballistic missile defense system in Europe.

The Deveselu site in Romania will host a battery of SM-2 missile interceptors and will officially be integrated into the NATO missile shield at the bloc's summit meeting, to be held in Warsaw in July.

Chancellor Angela Merkel’s German Christian Democratic Union (CDU) party has become the target of an attack carried out by the Pawn Storm hacking group, the Trend Micro global security software company reports.

Merkel’s CDU Party Targeted by Hackers – Security Company
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160512/1039471722/cdu-germany-hack-target.html

Trend Micro said on Wednesday that Pawn Storm hackers used fake servers set up in Latvia and the Netherlands to carry out their April attack against Merkel’s CDU party.

"The attack consisted of seemingly coordinated credential phishing attacks against the CDU and high profile users of two German freemail providers," Trend Micro said on Wednesday, explaining that hackers used data-stealing malware to carry out the April 2016 attack.

According to Trend Micro, this is the first time that the Pawn Storm group targeted Germany.

In 2013, the US National Security Agency (NSA) was found to have eavesdropped on millions of Germans and tapped into German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s private cellphone.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is facing a possible rival bid in next year's federal election from her own sister party in Bavaria, the Christian Social Union (CSU) after suffering a slump on the polls amid the growing support for right-wing populist party Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Merkel Threatened With Rival Bid for Power From Sister Party in 2017 Vote
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160511/1039429540/merkel-election-csu-rivalry.html

Merkel's Christian Democrat Union (CDU) party, which campaigns in all of Germany except Bavaria, has been in coalition with the CSU since the Second World War and — although there have been rough moments in the marriage over the years — there has never been a rift that threatened to split the parties at a federal election.

However, the rise of AfD — caused by heavy criticism of Merkel's handling of the Eurozone and migrant crises as well as rising fear of Islam — has caused her ratings to tumble and CSU leader Horst Seehofer, has said he will not rule out his party standing against hers (CDU) in the 2017 election.

A recommendation from an Egyptian judge to execute three journalists, including two from the news network Al-Jazeera, has been condemned by the advocacy group Committee to Protect Journalists.

Egypt Reaches ‘New Low’ With Death Penalty Call for Three Journalists
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160512/1039473202/egypt-journalists-death-penalty.html

On May 7, Judge Mohammed Shirin Fahmy recommended the death penalty for six people, including Ibrahim Helal, former news director at Al-Jazeera's Arabic news channel, Al-Jazeera producer Alaa Omar Mohammed Sablan, and Asmaa Al-Khatib, a former news editor for the pro-Muslim Brotherhood news site Rassd.

"Egypt's rulers have made no secret of their hostility to independent journalism. But for a court to sentence journalists to death would represent a new low," CPJ Middle East and North Africa Program Coordinator Sherif Mansour said on Wednesday. "We call on Egyptian prosecutors not to contest any appeals filed by the journalists' lawyers."

The three journalists were convicted in absentia for possessing Egyptian government documents. None are currently in Egypt.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Moscow voices alarm as NATO Romanian missile defense base goes live

https://www.rt.com/news/342696-russia-us-missiles-romania/

As a new Romanian interceptor missile base prepares to go live Thursday, Moscow has slammed NATO’s expanding defense shield, calling it a threat to security, and a violation of a key international treaty.

"The creation of a European and global missile defense shield has an adverse effect on strategic stability," Mikhail Ulyanov, head of the Russian foreign ministry's department for proliferation and arms control issues, said on Wednesday.

NATO will formally declare its missile defense base in the remote location of Deveselu, Romania, operational on Thursday, bringing to fruition a plan to construct a shield in eastern Europe that was first announced by George W. Bush as far back as 2007.

“Our direct interests, the interests of our national security are affected by the decision,” said Ulyanov.

The Russian official said that not only was the missile defense aimed at neutralizing Russia’s offensive capability – an accusation the Pentagon has repeatedly rejected – but that Deveselu’s MK 41 launching systems it uses could be re-equipped with offensive cruise missiles.

Ulyanov said that Washington was acting in breach of the 1987 INF treaty, under which Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan signed their respective countries up to obligations “not to possess, produce, or flight-test a ground-launched cruise missile (GLCM) with a range capability of 500 km to 5,500 km, or to possess or produce launchers of such missiles.”

The US embassy in Moscow produced a counter-statement, condemning Moscow’s allegations as “unacceptable and irresponsible.”

“The missile defense system is not aimed at Russia, or undermining its strategic potential. From the point of view of geography and physics, it is impossible to shoot down Russian inter-continental missiles from Romania or Poland,” said the document, penned by embassy spokesman William Stephens, and obtained by RIA news agency.

Washington says that the eastern European missile defense segment is meant to thwart a potential threat from Iran, but in a separate statement on Wednesday evening, Russia’s foreign ministry said that worries that Tehran posed a threat to NATO were “unfounded.”

The missile shield uses a network of radars that track potential threats in the atmosphere, before launching an interceptor missile from a stationary base, or a fleet.

Simultaneously with Romania coming online, construction work is beginning on a complementary base in Poland, which will complete the eastern European segment of the shield in 2018.

Russian ambassador tells UN Security Council of steps against terrorist ideology

http://tass.ru/en/politics/875127

"Russia invites clerics, highly respected theologians and leading experts in the field of law and religion to troubleshooting efforts as part of the struggle with terrorism," Vitaly Churkin said

UNITED NATIONS, May 12. /TASS/. Russia attaches priority attention to an efficacious rebuffing of the terrorist ideology and to prevention of a growth of radicalism in society, the Russian Ambassador to the UN, Vitaly Churkin said on Wednesday at a meeting of the Security Council.

"These tasks have acquired a particularly acute character in the wake of an unprecedented propagandist and promotional campaign unfolded by the global terrorist community led by the Islamic State and Jabhat Al-Nousra groupings," he said.

"Russia traditionally invites clerics, highly respected theologians and leading experts in the field of law and religion to troubleshooting efforts as part of the struggle with terrorism," Churkin said. "The government gives the necessary support to public associations, the activity of which seeks to raise the standards of inter-denominational and inter-ethnic trust."

He called the attention of Security Council members to the ethnic and cultural events, as well as the social programmes, including inter-regional forums of young people in North Caucasus.

As an instance of this, he cited the project titled ‘Peace to Children in the Caucasus’ and an international theological conference of Russian, CIS and African clerics.

"Introduction of the Basics of Religious Culture and Secular Ethics as an academic discipline at Russian general schools has proved to be a fruitful measure," Churkin said. "Also, we regularly publish the explanations of the criminal essence of terrorist organizations at various websites and portals."

He underlined the importance of putting up a powerful barrier to the ideology of terrorism and welcomed the decision of the UN Security Council to draft a framework strategy of counteraction to the propaganda conducted by the Islamic State, Al Qaida and the accomplices.

"Russia will take an active part in drafting the document," Churkin said.

Russia calls for putting up reliable barrier to terrorist ideology

Russia believes it is important for the world community to accumulate resources and experience of the world community for putting up a reliable barrier to terrorist ideology, Churkin said.

He indicated that the growth of radicalism in recent years was largely fed by an unprecedented surge of terrorist propaganda that targeted first and foremost the young and the socially disturbed strata of the population.

"It (the terrorist propaganda) is acquiring ever more new forms and adapting to the technological capabilities of our times, including the Internet," Churkin said.

"The terrorists are spreading the erosive ideology of intolerance and violence that does not have anything to do with whatever religion," he said. "Nonetheless, the unfortunate fact is that the ideology enjoys demand and this is proved by the scale, on which foreign militants are recruited to the Islamic State and the terrorist groupings affiliated with it."

"There is a need for efficacious recipes of how to react to these dangerous tendencies," Churkin said, adding that preventives steps should be embedded organically into a broader context of antiterrorist efforts.

"It is important to do this work with due reliance on international law and resolutions of the UN Security Council without double standards and the division of terrorists into good and bad ones," Churkin said.

He welcomed a statement the Security Council had adopted at Egypt’s initiative, saying: "It pts proper accents on the relevant priorities of the Security Council in the field of struggle with terrorism."

In line with the document, instructions have been given to the Antiterrorist Committee to draft a comprehensive international framework strategy with a set of recommendations for counteracting to the faked ideology of the Islamic State and Al Qaida and the terrorist groups related to it, Churkin said.

No progress at UN SC on extending list of terrorist groups — Russian mission

http://tass.ru/en/politics/875135

"No progress has been reached so far," spokesman for Russia’s permanent mission to the United Nations Alexei Zaitsev said

UNITED NATIONS, May 12. /TASS/. No progress has been reached at the United Nation Security Council discussion of Russia’s initiative to put Syria’s Jaysh al-Islam and Ahrar ash-Sham groups on the sanction list, a spokesman for Russia’s permanent mission to the United Nations told TASS on Wednesday commenting on media reports that the Russian initiative was blocked by Great Britain, Ukraine, the United States and France.

"No progress has been reached so far," Alexei Zaitsev said, refraining from further comment.

Another diplomat, who is in the know of the United Nations Security Council’s discussion of the Russian initiative, confirmed that Russia’s request was blocked. "So far, it is difficult to say whether more discussions might follow," he said.

A representative of a Western member country of the Security Council told TASS Russia’s request was blocked on May 10. "As far as I understand, Russia demonstrated to intention to continue discussions after four countries had spoken against it," he noted.

Jaysh al-Islam (meaning Army of Islam), formerly known as Liwa al-Islam, was formed in 2012 after splitting from the Free Syrian Army enjoying support from Western countries. The group is part of the Hugh Negotiations Committee (HNC) that was formed in Riyadh in December 2015 and is taking part in the intra-Syrian talks in Geneva.

According to France Presse, Ahrar ash-Sham is supported by Turkey and a number of the Gulf countries, such as Qatar. The group also took part in the latest round of talks.

Russia filed a request with the Counter-Terrorism Committee of the United Nations Security Council to put Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam on the sanction list of terrorist groups on April 26. Russian Permanent Representative to the United Nations Vitaly Churkin said the reason for this step was numerous reports that these groups active in Syria have close links with such terrorist organizations as Islamic State and Al Qaeda, offer them and receive from them financial, logistics and military support. When put on the list of terrorist organization along with Islamic State and Al Qaeda, these groups will stop to be covered by the ceasefire regime in Syria and it will be possible to deliver strikes against them.

The UN rejected the idea of ​​the Russian Federation on the recognition of two terrorist groups in Syria

http://ria.ru/syria/20160511/1431552470.html

MOSCOW, May 11 -. RIA Novosti UK, USA, France and Ukraine blocked the proposal of Russia to recognize the terrorist groups operating in Syria "Ahrar al-Sham" and "Jaish al-Islam", reports Reuters citing diplomats.

Moscow is still April 26 has made ​​a request for inclusion in the sanctions list of the UN Security Council of terrorist groups "Ahrar al-Sham" and "Jaish al-Islam", which are associated with the " Islamic state " and " Al-Qaeda " (the organization banned in Russia).

Permanent Representative of New Zealand to the United Nations Gerard van Bohemen told reporters that the Security Council is inconsistent attitude to this Russian initiative. According to the agency, to make groups in the "black list" Anti-Terrorism Committee to come to a consensus.

Earlier, the Supreme Committee for the negotiations of the Syrian opposition (WCP) adviser Yahya Aridi called the Russian proposal, "a form of pressure on the CPSU."

Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin said that the introduction of these groups as a terrorist will affect the negotiations on the settlement of the situation in Syria. The diplomat noted that "they (the group) do not participate in the negotiations and did not participate in the ceasefire."

Syrian War Rages on in Spite of an Extended Ceasefire, US-Russian Efforts

http://sputniknews.com/news/20160512/1039472772/syria-russia-america-assad-kerry.html

The five-year Syrian civil war, the world’s largest ongoing humanitarian crisis according to the UN, seems unlikely to end anytime soon, with Washington funneling heavy weapons into Syria that end up in the hands of extremists and as more Daesh recruits arrive from Turkey.

On Monday, Russia and the United States announced that they were “re-doubling” peace efforts in Syria, with negotiations ongoing to revive the struggling ceasefire agreement implemented in February.

The joint effort to bring about a solution to the five-year Syrian civil war has been repeatedly marred by mutual mistrust, disagreements, and curious allegiances. The White House continues in its thinly-veiled attempts to oust the regime of Bashar al-Assad, despite stating that its primary mission is against Daesh.

In its effort to oust the Assad regime, the US government continues to approve military aid to the Free Syrian Army and other ‘moderate’ opposition rebel groups. This military aid has been shown to routinely fall into the hands of Daesh and al-Nusra Front, the Syrian affiliate of al-Qaeda, given the hazy lines between the extremist and rebel organizations who, while opposing each other, all oppose the Assad government.

At the same time, the Russian government seeks to counter the growing emergence of al-Nusra Front, as well as Daesh, in Aleppo, in the face of repeated accusations from the US and its allies Turkey and Saudi Arabia that the Russians are taking aim at the moderate rebels rather than the extremists. In so doing, the Russian government deployed troops in support of the Syrian-Arab army against Daesh, to prevent the country from descending into a failed state.

The complex web that stands in the way of a comprehensive peace arrangement starts with the hazy lines dividing Daesh and al-Nusra on one side, and the very few fighters with legitimate opposition forces on the other.

Daesh and al-Nusra continue to receive funding from US allies Turkey and Saudi Arabia, and the Turkish government has been repeatedly implicated in arms and oil trade with Daesh. Daesh fighters often retreat to the Turkish border and Daesh re-enforcements scramble back into Syria from Turkey daily.

Finally, one of the primary forces in the fight against Daesh, the Kurds, continue to be excluded from the peace talks at the behest of the Turkish government, who views the group as a mortal enemy.

Under this complicated web the US and Russian governments continue to work together to overcome disagreements and bring peace to Syria.

There has been limited success. US Secretary of State John Kerry on Tuesday credited the Russian government with saving tens of thousands of lives and ensuring that a million people received aid by forging forward with its longshot ceasefire efforts in February.

With substantial humanitarian gains but mounting challenges ahead, Loud & Clear’s Brian Becker sat down with Middle East policy analyst Zafar Bangash of the Institute of Contemporary Islamic Thought to discuss the renewed joint peace efforts in Syria and what chance they have to succeed.

Will the ceasefire in Aleppo hold?

"The situation in Aleppo is quite uncertain because there are a number of groups particularly ISIS, al-Nusra Front, etc. that are not included in the ceasefire agreement," explained Bangash, "The Syrian security forces control about 80% of the territory around Aleppo while the northeast part of the city is under the ISIS and al-Nusra Front groups."

Are there actually ‘moderate’ rebel groups in Syria?

"There is no such animal as the moderate rebel, these ‘moderate’ rebels exist in America’s imagination, and their definition is that anybody who is not part of ISIS and al-Nusra is a moderate," said Bangash. "There are a whole lot of groups that fight among themselves, as well as against Syrian forces and their allies, but the predominant groups are ISIS and al-Nusra front."

How can a ceasefire hold when al-Nusra and Daesh control parts of Aleppo?

"That is really the problem," admitted Bangash. "Both the US and Russia have said that they want to continue with the ceasefire that had come into effect on February 27, but both the US and Russia said that this ceasefire would not extend to al-Nusra and ISIS, so I’m not sure how this ceasefire will hold."

Bangash suggested that the potential for a temporary peace remains, but that it cannot persist as long as the US continues to insist upon the ouster of Assad, and Daesh militants continue to flood across the Turkish border into Syria.

Another problem, according to Bangash, is the "United States has said that it will supply heavier weapons to the so-called moderate rebels and the US has been supplying these weapons to moderate rebels but they end up in the hands of Daesh and al-Nusra Front fighters."

Militants of the "Dzhabhat en-Nusra" directed by Aleppo ammunition with chlorine

http://www.interfax.ru/world/507889

The group continues to bombard the city of Aleppo and has no plans to join the silence mode

Moscow. on 11 May. INTERFAX.RU - Terrorist group "Dzhabhat en-Nusra" tossed in the area of ​​the city of Aleppo ammunition with chlorine, said Wednesday the site of the Defense Ministry.

"From the province of Idlib on controlled by terrorists" Dzhabhat en-Nusra "territory north of Aleppo arrived a few trucks loaded with improvised munitions filled with chemical agents based on chlorine," - said in the bulletin of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria.

"Dzhabhat en-Nusra" refused to join the truce, declared for the armed groups in Syria. In recent months, they are active in the province of Aleppo and regularly shelled the capital of the same name in the region.

According to the Defense Ministry, militants come reinforcements from Turkey .

Trucks loaded with chemical warfare munitions spotted in area north off Aleppo

http://tass.ru/en/world/875124

Several trucks loaded with improvised explosive devices stuffed with chlorine-based poisonous chemicals were reported to the Center for Syrian Reconciliation by locals

MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Paramilitary units reporting to Jabhat al-Nousra international terrorist organization continue hostilities aimed at disrupting the 'regime of tranquility' in Syria and drawing in ever more new combatants, the Center for Syrian Reconciliation said in a communique published at the official website of the Russian Defense Ministry.

In addition to new militants, Al-Nousra is also getting munitions for chemical warfare, the report said.

"The information the center received from local residents suggests more than a hundred Jabhat Al-Nousra terrorists arrived in the township of Kafr Hamra from the Turkish territory," the center said. "Besides, several trucks loaded with improvised explosive devices, which are stuffed with chlorine-based poisonous chemicals, arrived in an area controlled by Al-Nousra north off Aleppo from Idlib governorate."

Since Tuesday afternoon, fire from multiple-launch systems was opened on three occasions at the Sheikh Maqsood district of Aleppo from Al-Ashrafiya.

"A total of six peaceful civilians including a child were wounded," the center said. "During the day, fire from mortars and artillery guns was opened five times at the village of Handarat from the locality of Muhaim Handarat and Hraytan.".

Syrian military forces fighting Daesh terrorists near Palmyra

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/05/12/465153/Syria-Palmyra-Daesh-new-battles

Syrian military forces are engaged in heavy clashes with Takfiri Daesh terrorists in the suburbs of the central city of Palmyra, which was liberated from the extremists several weeks ago.

Syria’s state news agency SANA cited a military official as saying that the Syrian air force had carried out raids against Daesh elements around the Shaer gas field, northwest of Palmyra, on Wednesday. The terrorists captured the gas field last week.

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), a UK-based monitoring group, said Daesh cut the main road from the city of Homs to Palmyra on Tuesday. Syrian state media, however, denied the allegation.

Daesh-affiliated sources said the militants took control of a deserted but strategic rocket-launching site close to the T4 air base, less than 60 kilometers (40 miles) from Palmyra.

The sources also said Daesh seized two government checkpoints near the air base and downed an army helicopter. The SOHR echoed the claim about the downing of the copter, saying that the fate of its crew remains unclear.

Daesh captured the ruins of Palymra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and the adjacent modern city in May 2015, destroying ancient monuments there, including the 2,000-year-old Temple of Bel and the iconic Arch of Triumph.

The Syrian army, backed by volunteer forces and Russian air cover, wrested back control of Palmyra on March 27 following four weeks of military operations against Daesh.

Both sides have been fighting each other in the desert around Palmyra since the terror group was ousted from the city.

Also on Wednesday, Moscow announced that a Russian soldier, identified as Anton Yerygin, had died in Syria. He is the ninth Russian casualty since September 30, 2015, when Moscow began strikes against terrorist groups in Syria upon a request from Damascus.

Syria has been gripped by foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. The United Nations Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura estimates that over 400,000 people have been killed in the conflict, which has also displaced over half of the Arab country’s pre-war population of about 23 million.

 

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No progress at UN SC on extending list of terrorist groups — Russian mission[/b]

http://tass.ru/en/politics/875135

"No progress has been reached so far," spokesman for Russia’s permanent mission to the United Nations Alexei Zaitsev said

UNITED NATIONS, May 12. /TASS/. No progress has been reached at the United Nation Security Council discussion of Russia’s initiative to put Syria’s Jaysh al-Islam and Ahrar ash-Sham groups on the sanction list, a spokesman for Russia’s permanent mission to the United Nations told TASS on Wednesday commenting on media reports that the Russian initiative was blocked by Great Britain, Ukraine, the United States and France.

I can reason the U.S., the U.K, and Ukraine blocking the Russian initiative but I don't understand France's position in the mix? After what happened in Paris, France had a perfect excuse to have the two groups put on the sanctions list?

As for this article, it nicely sums up my understanding of the current situation:

Syrian War Rages on in Spite of an Extended Ceasefire, US-Russian Efforts

http://sputniknews.com/news/20160512/1039472772/syria-russia-america-assad-kerry.html

The five-year Syrian civil war, the world’s largest ongoing humanitarian crisis according to the UN, seems unlikely to end anytime soon, with Washington funneling heavy weapons into Syria that end up in the hands of extremists and as more Daesh recruits arrive from Turkey.

 

[angelburst29]

Salafist Shades of Gray: US Uses Veto to Protect Proxies in Syria
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/salafist-shades-of-gray-us-uses-veto-to.html

On Tuesday, 10th May 2016, the UN held a vote on the inclusion of the extremist groups Ahrar Al-Sham and Jaish al-Islam on the list of "terrorist" groups. The United States, France, UK, and Ukraine all voted against the resolution. This vote was the result of a proposal made by Russia in April, where even then the US implied that it would opt to block such a move in the future.

As was explained in this Fort Russ article, Russia finds itself caught in an Atlanticist web, where one week Group X are 'terrorists', and 7 days later they magically become "moderate". The US has the ability to do this of course because of their imposing influence not only at the UN, but also in the world of Non Governmental Organisations. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, for example, provides Pentagon-funded agencies like Reuters with falsified information, which then travels along the NGO spider's web, ending in such information being the top search result in Google or Yahoo. This method of information spin relies on idle minds and habitual behaviour, something that the State Department's own Vice News feasts on (Hipsters).

Assuming that the majority of people obtain their knowledge from the US-controlled Wikipedia, it can be said that it is common knowledge that Jahbat Al-Nusra are "Al Qaeda in Syria", and that they represent the Salafist ideology.

It can also be said that Ahrar Al-Sham, besides being Qatar's finger in the Syrian pie, are also widely known to be loyal to the Salafist ideology:

And finally, it can also be presumed that Jaish Al-Islam are widely known to be loyal to the Salafist ideology:

So despite all 3 groups sharing the same ideology, only 1 has been placed on the UN list of terrorist organisations.

Taking into account what is known about the events on the ground in Syria, Al-Nusra have been able to capitalise on Russia's postponement of the assault on Aleppo. In order to appease not only the Higher Negotiations Committee, but John Kerry also, Russia moved some toys out of Syria, and seemingly thought that the US, in return, would offer to rein-in the groups they have influence over in Aleppo.

Unfortunately, Putin was left feeling disappointed at the US' semantic games, and now looks like a villain in the eyes of Iran and the Syrian Army, who are now lacking air support when they need it the most.

Robert Fisk's excellent article entitled "After splitting with Al-Qaeda, Al-Nusra is being presented to the West as a moderate force. It’s nothing of the sort" highlights that the West uses an non-existent group (Cameron's 70,000 for example) that are earmarked as 'moderates' who can behave as a Trojan Horse in the Levant. This role was initially played by "ISIS", but Russia quickly removed them from the main equation, and now Al-Nusra are Obama's go-to guys. They have inherited a magic shield that protects them from Russian KAB-500Kr and OFAB-500 bombs. Maybe soon they will give them MANPADs too - a throwback to the 80's...

The US' plan in Syria hinges now on Al Qaeda, who must somehow arrange themselves in Aleppo in a way where Samantha Power, US' permanent representative at the UN, can help them to dissimulate their true objective - to create a Salafist Emirate in Syria.

On a separate note - Ukraine vetoing the resolution is a statement in itself, and really confirms that Kiev is acting as an auxiliary ammo depot for Takfiri Jihadists. US Gladio-B outposts outside Syria provide the IMF with fresh blood and Angela Merkel with more banana republics inside the now frail EU.

Russia can only counter this hybrid encircling by attacking the head of the snake - Jabhat Al-Nusra - and by offering the Syrian Army and the Iranian Al-Sabereen units the air support they need to liberate Aleppo district by district. This war still has a long way to go...

Russia’s Ambassador to EU says such zones may become shelter areas for armed Islamists to receive new weapons

Moscow calls on EU not to support Turkey’s plans of safety zones in Syria
http://tass.ru/en/politics/875147

Russia calls on the European Union (EU) to refrain from supporting Turkey’s plans to establish so-called safe zones for refugees in Syria, Russia’s Ambassador to EU told Die Welt newspaper in an interview published on Thursday.

"I call on EU not to support Turkey’s plans to establish safety zones. It is most probable that they will become shelter areas for armed Islamists, where they will receive new weapons and where supplies to them will be provided," Chizhov said. "This may only prolong bloodshed in Syria," he noted adding that such zones will hardly serve humanitarian purposes.

"Turkey’s assistance in establishing safe enclaves will violate the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria. This will hardly contribute to strengthening EU’s right to be a more independent and responsible player in the Middle East," the diplomat added.

Chizhov also warned EU against attempts to support Turkey’s plans "in exchange for Ankara’s help in the matter of reducing migrant flows to EU."

Terrorists carried out an attack on the town of al-Zara in Syria's Hama province, killing local residents and abducting women and children, witnesses told Sputnik on Thursday.

Terrorists Kill Locals in Syria's Hama Province, Abduct Women, Children
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160512/1039506760/terrorists-hama-al-zara.html

The militants infiltrated the town in the morning but some residents managed to escape and hide in nearby villages, witnesses explained.

The SANA agency further reported that the militants destroyed houses and seized properties.

Syrian Prime Minister Wael Nader Halqi expressed condolences to the families of the victims and asked the Hama Governorate authorities to help the residents of the town, calling the attack "a heinous crime against the whole world." He vowed that "terrorist acts will not prevent Syrians from continuing the process of reconstruction," as quoted by the agency.

The town of al-Zara is located near Homs province, which is controlled by Daesh, banned in Russia, the United States and many other countries.

The United States promises to protect its NATO allies from the threat of Iranian ballistic missile as long as Tehran continues to develop such capabilities, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said on Thursday.

Pentagon Pledges to Protect NATO From Iran's Ballistic Missiles
http://sputniknews.com/military/20160512/1039505869/pentagon-protect-nato-allies-iran.html

Earlier this week, Iran successfully conducted its latest medium-range ballistic missile test. In March, Iran held nationwide missile exercises, during which the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) Aerospace Forces test-fired two types of ballistic missiles, both of which successfully hit their targets. Iran's recent progress in developing its missile capability has raised concerns in Washington.

Iran's target of boosting its national defense program has sparked concerns among the international community, despite reassurances from Tehran that it would never threaten the national security of another state.

On July 14, Iran and the P5+1 group of countries comprising Russia, the United States, China, France and the United Kingdom plus Germany, signed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which guarantees the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Following the adoption of the JCPOA, the UN Security Council passed Resolution 2231, which prohibits Iran from engaging in activities related to ballistic missiles capable of delivering nuclear weapons.

A vehicle exploded near a military facility in Istanbul, at least five people were wounded.

Explosion Reported Near Military Facility in Istanbul (Photo)
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160512/1039507302/istanbul-military-facility-explosion.html

An explosion occurred close to military barracks in the Turkish city of Istanbul. At least five people including one woman were injured.

Turkey has recently become the target of several terrorist attacks that targeted or killed foreigners. In January, more than ten foreign tourists were killed in a suicide attack in Istanbul.

In March, some 37 people were killed and more than 125 were wounded in an attack on a bus stop near a central square in Ankara. Less than a week later, five people, including the assailant, were killed and at least 36 were injured in a blast on a major tourist street in Istanbul.

On April 9, a blast hit a bus station in central Istanbul's district.

On May 2, one servicemen were killed and 23 people were injured by blast near the gendarmerie in Ankara.

On May 10, at least three people were killed and 45 sustained injuries in car bomb explosion in the Turkish city of Diyarbakir. A number of police officers and fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), as well as civilians were injured in the explosion.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

On Thursday, May 12th, Romania will launch its new Aegis Ashore missile defense complex. A senior US official will be on hand at the ceremony.

Romania's Missile Defense System to Go Live Despite Russian Objections
http://sputniknews.com/military/20160512/1039472039/Romanias-Missile-Defense-Systemto-Live.html

Russia is taking countermeasures against US missile defense in Europe — Kremlin

http://tass.ru/en/politics/875201

Vladimir Putin's press secretary said that "measures are being taken to maintain Russia’s security at the necessary level"

SOCHI, May 12. /TASS/. Russia is taking protective measures against the US missile defense in Europe; the question who the missile defense system is targeted at is still relevant, Russian presidential spokesman Dmitry Peskov has told the media.

While commenting on the deployment of the US missile defense in Europe Peskov said that "the question is not whether measures will be taken or not; measures are being taken to maintain Russia’s security at the necessary level."

"From the very outset we kept saying that in the opinion of our experts the deployment of an anti-missile defense poses a threat to Russia," he said.

Peskov recalled that Russian President Vladimir Putin had "repeatedly asked who that system was working against and who it would be working against in the future."

"At first there were lengthy explanations pointing to a potential missile threat from Iran. We all remember well those statements made at various summits of NATO, from Washington and from European capitals. Now we know that the situation involving Iran has changed cardinally. But the questions that have been repeatedly asked from Moscow, including those from President Putin, have retained their relevance," Peskov said.

"There’s nothing new. This work, this process of activating a missile defense system is well-known," Peskov said about the deployment of missile defense facilities in Romania. "All of our agencies concerned, which are responsible for maintaining the country’s defenses and security, are well familiar with these plans," Peskov stated.

A special ceremony confirming the operational readiness of the US ground-based missile defense system Aegis will be held at the military base in Deveselu, Olt county, in southern Romania later on Thursday.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has said more than once that Russia regards the deployment of MK-41 launchers in Romania as a violation of the 1987 INF Treaty, because the MK-41 is a dual purpose launcher. US ship-based systems of this type are capable of launching both interceptor missiles and medium-range cruise missiles Tomahawk.

Russia to Upgrade Combat Helicopters Based on Syrian Campaign Results

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160512/1039505300/helicopters-campaign-upgrade.html

The Russian Helicopters company will modernize the country's combat helicopters based on the aircraft's performance during an anti-terror campaign in Syria.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The Russian Helicopters company is coordinating with the country's Defense Ministry a program of combat helicopters modernization based on the aircraft's performance during an anti-terror campaign in Syria, the design and manufacturing firm’s deputy head said Thursday.

"We have an established program that is now being coordinated with the Russian Defense Ministry, and it would allow making minor or more significant adjustments to give our choppers more efficiency," Andrey Shibitov told journalists.

On September 30, Moscow began its anti-terror campaign in Syria on Damascus' request, during which the Russian Aerospace Forces conducted precision airstrikes against Daesh, outlawed in many countries, including Russia.

In mid-March, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu to start withdrawing most of Russia's military contingent from Syria after accomplishing its objective, while leaving a minor residual force.

Russian Foreign Ministry: current situation in Syria is turning point

http://tass.ru/en/politics/875266

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova says the most important thing now is that the Syrian sides and all ISSG participants should consistently implement in full the adopted decisions

MOSCOW, May 12. /TASS/. Moscow is calling on the Syrian sides and participants of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG) to consistently implement adopted decisions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Thursday.

"The groundwork has been developed, and ISSG countries work: some with total efficiency, someone works, and this is good in principle. We believe the most important thing now is that the Syrian sides and all ISSG participants should consistently implement in full the adopted decisions," Zakharova said.

"The current moment in the Syrian situation can be described as a turning point," she said. "Russia is systematically pushing ahead with all efforts it can take, including those within the International Syria Support Group, in order to ensure the trend towards normalization and transition of the intra-Syrian conflict into the political settlement phase should prevail."

"We do expect that this policy will meet with the understanding of and support from all of that group’s participants," Zakharova said.

Zakharova commented on the refusal to put Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaysh al-Islam groups on the terrorist list.

"This is a manifestation of a very unconstructive approach of our colleagues," Zakharova said. "This goes against not only international documents on normalizing the situation in Syria but also the implementation of the concrete plan on how to achieve it - that is, to stop militants, their supplies, to hold talks only with those forces that declared noninvolvement and rejection fof terrorist activities," she added.

"We are acting openly in UN Security Council. We explain every step on bilateral and multilateral basis," Zakharova said.

April Break of Ceasefire in Syria 'Catastrophe' for Humanitarian Work

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160512/1039494660/ceasefire-syria-humanitarian.html

The disruption of ceasefire in Syria was a catastrophe for humanitarian work in the country, an adviser to the UN Special Envoy for Syria said.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — The disruption of the ceasefire regime in Syria in April did a great damage to the humanitarian work in the country, the humanitarian adviser to the UN Special Envoy for Syria said Thursday.

"The breakdown of cessation of hostilities was a catastrophe for humanitarian work. April was terrible for humanitarian work… Some places became calmer [since then], some hotter," Jan Egeland told journalists.

Syria has been mired in civil war since March 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.
The ceasefire in Syria, worked out by Russia and the United States, took effect on February 27 to facilitate humanitarian access to all besieged areas in the country, among other purposes.

UN Expects ISSG to Ratify Deal on Humanitarian Access in Syria

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160512/1039497247/un-issg-humanitarian-syria.html

The United Nations expects the world powers and international organizations involved in Syrian peace efforts to ratify next week a humanitarian access commitment reaffirmed by Russia and the United States, the humanitarian adviser to UN Special Envoy for Syria said Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Moscow and Washington confirmed their commitment to enhance efforts to promote humanitarian assistance to Syrians in a joint statement issued May 9. The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) that Russia and the US co-chair is scheduled to take place next Thursday, May 19, in Vienna.

"We take heart in the Russian-US statement which says that we will be granted access to all of the besieged areas and all of the medical supplies that are unloaded will be granted. That's what the Russians and the Americans said in a joint statement last week, and that is what we expect to be ratified in Vienna next week," Jan Egeland told reporters.

The ceasefire in Syria worked out by Russia and the United States took effect on February 27 to facilitate humanitarian access to all besieged areas in the country, among other purposes.

"We have had an assessment mission, now plan to go in the two besieged areas – Fuah and Kefraya, besieged by armed opposition groups. These are the areas to where we will send a number of convoys," he said.

According to the UN adviser, the mission was not allowed in previously. "It’s not just the government which is creating problems. A number of excuses were made… We have not had a proper UN assessment in Fuah and Kefraya," Egeland added.

Since the beginning of the year, the UN reached 781,425 civilians in Syria, over half of them in hard-to-reach areas and more than a quarter million in besieged areas, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) report.

Russian food stuff and gifts distributed to displaced schoolchildren in Lattakia

http://sana.sy/en/?p=77121

Lattakia, SANA – Food stuff and gifts provided by Russia were distributed to displaced schoolchildren in the coastal Lattakia province on Thursday.

The beneficiaries are children who are studying at Oudai Hammoud School and al-Baraem al-Seghar kindergarten in Qneines neighborhood in Lattakia city.

Head of the Public Relations Department at Lattakia Governorate Anas Ghanem said this initiative has been coordinated with the Russian side and is aimed at providing assistance to children in general and those displaced from neighboring areas in particular.

Oudai Hammoud school headmistress Guinea Dibeh told SANA reporter that the school accommodates 300 students who are from Aleppo, Idleb and Raqqa provinces.

Failed States in Mideast Due to US Intervention - Ex-Secretary of State

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160512/1039518638/mideast-failed-states.html

The instability in governance throughout the Middle East is due in part to US interventions to overthrow autocratic leaders in the region, former US Secretary of State James Baker III said in a congressional hearing on Thursday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Baker, who served as Secretary of State from 1989 to 1992, argued that in the cases of Libya, Egypt and Iraq, the United States "should not be so quick to come in and get rid of leaders that we don’t agree with 1,000 percent of the time."

"These areas that are failed states are failed states primarily because we went in there — or at least in part — and upset the order because we didn’t like the people who were running the show," Baker told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

Over the past two decades, the United States has militarily deposed the Iraqi government, and worked with its European allies to depose Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi. In recent years, significant portions of those countries have become ungovernable, leading to the emergence of terrorist safe-havens.

The United States also refused to support its longtime ally in Egypt, President Hosni Mubarak, during the Arab Spring uprisings in 2011 that led to the seizure of the government by the extremist group Muslim Brotherhood.

Why Future of War in Syria Depends on Battle for Aleppo

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160512/1039514832/aleppo-syrian-war.html

The complicated situation in Aleppo as of late has shown the strategic importance of the Syrian town. Both the US and Russia have insisted on maintaining the ceasefire in Aleppo. However, there are a number of circumstances which could undermine it.

The "silent period" in Aleppo has resulted in a lowering in intensity of combat activity, according to the US presidential administration.

At the same time, SANA news agency reported that al-Nusra Front terrorists and their allies made an attempt to breach the ceasefire and fired 20 rockets at the civillian districts of the city on Thursday.

Earlier, the US State Department reported that Moscow and Washington had reached a ceasefire in Aleppo. According to Russian presidential spokesperson Dmitry Peskov, the "ceasefire in Aleppo is fragile because terrorists and opposition fighters are mixed up in the city."

The "silent period" commenced on Thursday at 01:00 a.m. local time. The Syrian Army reported that combat actions would be stopped for 48 hours. In addition, the “silent period” was extended outside Damascus and in to northern Latakia.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesperson Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov underscored that the “silent period” in Aleppo could be the first step to end the military conflict in Syria.

However, the situation in Aleppo remains complicated.

Over the past several weeks, the fiercest clashes in Syria have taken place in Aleppo. Massive mortar shelling and rocket fire were reported for over a week. Terrorists made two attempts to attack the city from the West. On Tuesday, nearly 300 militants tried to breach the positions of the Syrian Army. The attack was repelled.

According to military correspondent Igor Dmitriev, currently there are over 14,000 militants concentrated around the city, ranging from al-Nusra Front to the Free Syrian Army.

Last week, in a message to Russian leader Vladimir Putin, Syrian President Bashar Assad compared the fight for Aleppo with the battle of Stalingrad.

The battle for the southern Russian city of Stalingrad (now Volgograd) was a turning point in World War II. It was won by the Soviet Army in January 1943.

"Stalingrad is dear to Aleppo and all Syrian cities. Syria vows to continue fighting until the aggressors are defeated and the ultimate victory is ours," Assad wrote in a cable quoted by SANA.

But Aleppo has been compared to Stalingrad before. In February, Spectator wrote that the Syrian Army backed by Russian airstrikes liberated the province just like the Soviet Army liberated Stalingrad in 1942-1943.

The Syrian conflict has involved a number of different forces, and some of them are not interested in ending the war, Russian political analyst Azhdar Kurtov said in an interview with the newspaper Vzglyad.

"Radical groups have strong positions near Aleppo. They are not ready for a compromise with Assad. Many of them also have foreign sponsors like Turkey and Saudi Arabia. Even if Moscow and Washington has the same positions Ankara and Riyadh would continue to support terrorists," he pointed out.

The analyst added that radical groups in Syria will do everything they can to undermine the ceasefire.

"The war in Syria will end only after on the warring parties are defeated. Since such a situation is impossible the conflict will continue," he concluded.
Alexander Ignatenko, head of the Institute for Religious and Political Studies, noted that the situation in Aleppo is complicated.

"The main problem is the fact that al-Nusra Front terrorists have blocked themselves in Aleppo. There are also fighters of the Free Syrian Army and a number of other radical groups," he said.

Currently, it is impossible to separate the terrorists from other fighters in Aleppo, Igantenko underscored.

"Recently, the US and Russia have been in difficult talks on Aleppo. Moscow even addressed to the UN Security Council to label the Jaysh al-Islam as a terrorist group, but the move was rejected," the analyst said.

At the same time the analyst expressed hope that even a 48-hours ceasefire could improve the situation.

"Taking into account the position of Washington and personally the position of [US State Secretary] John Kerry, chances are high. Recently, Kerry admitted that opposition forces shelled civilians. When terrorists have support in the international arena they become very aggressive. This is why cooperation between Washington and Moscow gives hope for improvement," Ignatenko concluded.

(Video) Syrian forces beat back Al-Nusra offensive with Russian rocket-launchers

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/05/video-syrian-forces-beat-back-al-nusra.html

May 12, 2016 -
RusVesna -
Translated by J. Arnoldski

In the Aleppo province of Syria, violent clashes are ongoing. The Syrian Arab Army and its allies are fighting against various terrorist groups supporting the offensive of “Jebat al-Nusra” against the village of Khan-Tuman.

According to reports from the Syrian side, the army has liquidated a large number of terrorists on this sector of the front, and has confirmed the destruction of dozens of pickup trucks armed with machine guns, infantry fighting vehicles, and other military equipment of the bandit gangs.

In this published footage, government soldiers are seen destroying tanks and infantry fighting vehicles with the aid of “Konkurs” Russian anti-tank missiles, and eliminating the gangs’ foot soldiers with mounted grenade launchers, rocket launchers, and anti-aircraft installations.


As Russian Spring reported earlier, terrorists of the Al-Nusra Front and fighters of the moderate opposition have launched an offensive against Khan-Tuman and the city of Aleppo. More than 100 civilians have been killed and wounded under “hellish fire.” The tank attack of Al-Nusra militants against fortified pro-government military units has been caught on film by a drone.

Syrian army, Popular Forces Open Way to Handarat Camp in Aleppo

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950223000543

The Camp is currently under the control of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and al-Nusra Front terrorist groups.

The pro-government forces stormed the Eastern neighborhoods of Handarat Camp this morning, where they encountered a large presence of militants near the Industrial sector.

A field source said that the Syrian army forces and their allies have now entered the Handarat Camp and are preparing for fierce a battle to retake it from terrorists.

Bases, defense lines and concentration centers of Jeish al-Fatah and al-Nusra Front were heavily bombed by the Russian and Syrian airstrikes in different parts of the Northern province of Aleppo on Wednesday.

The Syrian fighter jets targeted Jeish al-Fatah terrorists' strongholds near Khan Touman in the Southern part of Aleppo province, which ended in the killing or wounding of tens of the militants.

In the meantime, al-Nusra Front's positions in Bani Zeid and Bostan al-Pasha in Aleppo city were stormed by the Syrian air fleet, which claimed the lives of several terrorists.

The Russian jets, for their part, pounded al-Nusra's bases in al-Rashedden district in the Western part of Aleppo city, which inflicted major damage on the group's military equipment.

A Syrian chopper opened fire at the terrorists' gatherings near the village of Hraytan in the Northern part of the province, killing or injuring several militants.

Terrorists in Khan Touman Pinned Down under Heavy Airstrikes

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950223000236

"More than 50 Syrian and Russian air raids and hundreds of Syrian artillery shells pounded the positions of Takfiri terrorists in Khan Touman," the sources said.

"The Syrian air force has also attacked the militants' gathering centers in Khan Touman several times during the past 12 hours," they added.

Also, according to the field sources, the Syrian army and its allies have deployed hundreds of fresh forces near Khan Touman.

The Syrian army and popular forces continued their advances in Aleppo's Khan Touman on Wednesday, killing several Saudi Takfiri terrorists.

At least 8 Saudi terrorists were killed in the Syrian army attack on their vehicle in Khan Touman.

Meantime, two DshK-equipped military pick-ups of the terrorists were destroyed in Syrian army's offensive.

Terrorists' military positions in Khan Touman are still under the Syrian air force's heavy bombardments.

The terrorists were members of Al-Nusra Front and al-Hezb al-Islami Turkistani terrorist groups.

On Tuesday, the Syrian army's Bombers carried out over 90 combat sorties over the terrorist groups' strongholds in Khan Touman battlefield in the Southern part of Aleppo province, inflicting a heavy death toll on the militants.

"At least 100 terrorists have been killed and many more have been wounded in the Syrian fighter jets' strikes in Khan Touman battlefield," the sources said, adding, "Jeish al-Fatah's casualties have reached to 500 in the recent days."

Military sources announced on Monday that at least 400 terrorists were killed or wounded in the pro-government forces' offensives in the Southern part of Aleppo province in the last days.

"The entire anti-terrorism movements and offensives of the Syrian army and its allies are based on military logic and are not based on any emotional decisions, that is why the government forces are carrying out their operations in Khan Touman battlefield step by step," the sources told FNA, adding, "The most important matter is that the Syrian military forces have been capable of changing their positions in Khan Touman from defensive to offensive."

"The Syrian soldiers have prevented Jeish al-Fatah, al-Nusra Front and Ahrar al-Sham from moving towards al-Zarbeh and the neighborhoods of Rashedeen 4 and 5 from the Western and Northeastern sides of Khan Touman," they added.

"At least three tanks and several vehicles of the terrorist groups have been destroyed in the past two-three days and the Takfiri terrorists' centers in Kahn Touman, al-Zarbeh, Damascus-Aleppo highway, al-Eis and Rashedeen 4 have been heavily bombed by the Russian and Syrian fighter jets," the sources went on to say.

"In the meantime, the Syrian army's artillery, missile and mortar units have been pounding the terrorists' position in Khan Touman battlefield to weaken the defensive abilities of the militants and pave the group for safer and easier ground operation," they added.

"The Syrian army tracked and targeted a US-made TOW anti-tank missiles launching-pad near Khan Touman, which ended in the destruction of the site and the killing of the entire militants in the site," the source said.

The Al-Nusra and units of the Free Syrian Army (FSA) claim to have taken back Khan Touman, but government forces say they are still in charge of key centers and blocks in the town.

The Syrian army alongside the National Defense Forces and Hezbollah fighters regained full control over the town of Khan Touman in December. Ever since then the city has fallen back to the terrorists twice, with the second time being this weekend.

Following an unsuccessful truce that was repeatedly violated by the terrorist groups, the Al-Nusra Front - the Syria arm of the Al-Qaeda terrorist group - could relocate some 20,000 terrorists to Northern Aleppo via Turkey's soil to launch a large-scale attack on pro-government positions in several key cities in Aleppo province, including Khan Touman in the Southwest.

 

[angelburst29]

A terrorist-sniper opened fire on a civilian bus at the entrance to the Syrian city of Aleppo, local militia said Thursday.

Child Dies as Terrorist Opens Fire at Entrance to Syria's Aleppo - Militia
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160512/1039520028/child-killed-aleppo.html

According to the source, the sniper fired from a position in one of the buildings of a nearby ice production factory. The road to Aleppo is temporarily blocked, and the Syrian military forces are carrying out a special operation at the scene.

"The terrorist opened fire on the bus from the Ramuse district at the entrance to Aleppo. A child died of a bullet wound on the spot, several passengers were injured," a source in the militia told RIA Novosti.

According to staff in the central hospital in Aleppo, 136 civilians were killed by shelling of the city between April 24 and May 11.

The Syrian government signed a US-Russian brokered ceasefire with opposition forces on February 27. Terrorist organizations such as Daesh and al-Nusra Front are excluded from the truce regime.

By demonizing Russian President Vladimir Putin, Washington is undermining the US’ national security, Professor Stephen F. Cohen noted, repeating once again that the road to American national security runs through Moscow.

Threat? 'Washington Has Forgotten How Putin Lent the West His Helping Hand'
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160512/1039521291/putin-us-russia-cooperation.html

According to the latest poll conducted by YouGov, Russian President Vladimir Putin has been listed sixth among the most admired men in the world in 2016.

So, who is Vladimir Putin, American popular radio host John Batchelor asked: the greatest statesman of the 21st century or the greatest villain?

Stephen F. Cohen, professor emeritus of Russian studies at New York University and Princeton University, stresses that the threat allegedly posed by Russia and its leader has been tremendously exaggerated in the West.

The US academic called attention to the fact that the "orthodox American political media-narrative of the Cold War" depicts Vladimir Putin as an evildoer. However, there is no evidence to support such claims — nothing that could be presented in a courtroom, Cohen remarked.

Whether one likes it or not, the road to American national security runs through Moscow, the US academic underscored.

"The road to American national security runs through Moscow. So, to the extent we demonize and reject Putin, we are systematically undermining our national security, whether we are talking about the nuclear proliferation, terrorism, the environment, the international economy — whichever subject, this demonization of Putin is a systematic disregard of American national security," Cohen emphasized in his interview on The John Batchelor Show.

Still, the core of Putin's demonization is the attempt to present the Russian leader as an "aggressor."

Cohen offers to take a walk down memory lane back to 2001.

Following the 9/11 terror attack, Russia hastened to lend Washington a hand.

"After 9/11 he [Vladimir Putin] lent to George W. Bush military assets, intelligence, transit routes he had to Afghanistan and greatly helped the American land war against the Taliban. Putin's assistance saved hundreds, maybe thousands of American lives," Professor Cohen narrated.

But what did then US president George W. Bush do in response?

While Moscow was seeking equal partnership with Washington, Bush launched the second round of NATO expansion toward Russia's borders and unilaterally withdrew from the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty.

To add insult to injury, Bush indulged then Georgian president Mikheil Saakashvili's military adventurism and closed his eyes to Georgian aggression against South Ossetia in August 2008.

Bush's moves dealt a severe blow to Moscow's trust in Washington.

But that has not averted Vladimir Putin from giving Washington his helping hand again and again. Cohen recalled that it was Putin who convinced Damascus to eradicate its chemical weapons stockpiles, breaking the dangerous stalemate in the Middle East. It was Putin who helped to strike the nuclear deal between the West and Iran, limiting Tehran's atomic weapons capability.

And, of course, it is Russia's significant contribution to the major military defeats of Daesh in Syria in 2015-2016 and the liberation of Palmyra.

Taking a look back at the history of US-Russian relations between 2000 and 2016, the American professor concluded that Putin has been "less an 'aggressive' foreign policy leader than a reactive leader."

In the light of the recent NATO military buildup in close proximity to Russia's borders the question arises, "who is 'aggressing' against whom"?

However, Russia has already got up off its knees due to Vladimir Putin's policies, Cohen noted. It is neither a weak nor an isolated country.

In much the same way Gilbert Doctorow, the European Coordinator of The American Committee for East West Accord, noted in one of his latest articles for Consortiumnews.com that Washington should reconcile itself with the reality of a multi-polar world, where Russia plays an important role.

"American behavior towards Russia in the new millennium had been conditioned by a now seriously outdated view of its potential adversary as a failing state lacking in economic might and in social coherence to withstand serious pressure from outside, enjoying unjustified international rights inherited from its Soviet past and having as its only military props an aging strategic nuclear force that would be practically unusable if push came to shove because that would spell national suicide," Doctorow noted.

It is time for Washington to shift from the outdated "winner-takes-all" policy and adopt a more rational and pragmatic approach toward Russia.

Moscow and Washington could gain great benefits in cooperation on plenty of issues, including peace-keeping missions, investment and trade, culture and education, science and technology, to name just a few.

Having been born in West Germany, brought up in East Germany and witnessed the reunification of her country, German Chancellor Angela Merkel is now presiding over the biggest show of disunity for decades with two-thirds of her citizens opposing a fourth term for her.

From Reunification to Disunity: Merkel's Political Rollercoaster
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160512/1039516383/germany-merkel-political-rollercoaster.html

Merkel was born in 1954 in Hamburg — then in West Germany — but the family soon moved to East Germany, where her father — who had converted to Lutheranism — had been appointed as pastor pastorate at the church in Quitzow, near Perleberg in Brandenburg.

After Germany was reunified, in 1990, Merkel won her seat at the Bundestag and was almost immediately appointed to serve as Minister for Women and Youth under Chancellor Helmut Kohl. On reunification, the Westmark replaced the Ostmark on a mark-for-mark basis and the West subsidized the East for many years — costing Berlin up to US$169 billion each year at one point.

The reunification of Germany and the economic burdens it brought goes deep inside Merkel's psyche.

Nine years after she took her seat in the Bundestag, Germany disposed of the beloved Deutsche Mark and joined the Euro as one of the original — and leading — Eurozone members. A united Germany became part of a united Euro.

Merkel's Nightmare Now, however, the fairytale is turning into a nightmare. The Eurozone is in crisis, with deep divisions over the Greek bailout and questions being asked about the sustainability of a single currency without further fiscal union.

That, in turn, suggests a two-tier EU is possible, with even France's President Hollande calling for a Eurozone government with its own parliament.

The migrant crisis — precipitated by her 'open door' policy — has shattered the Schengen zone and led to borders being erected. The thought of walls between nations will bring back chilling memories for Merkel.

Moreover, the deal brokered between the EU and Turkey on the relocation of migrant — largely brokered by Merkel herself — is crumbling and facing enormous criticism and calls for it to be scrapped, or at least delayed.

She is now facing the biggest rift between her CDU party and its sister Bavarian CSU party since its foundation following the Second World War, with the CSU leader Horst Seehofer threatening to stand against Merkel in the 2017 federal elections in which a poll by German magazine Cicero shows that two-thirds of Germans do not want to back Merkel or her party.

At the age of 61, Merkel has witnessed divisions and hardship as a child, reunification as an adult, and a united Europe as a leader. She is now staring in the face of division within her Union party, splits in the Eurozone, border disputes over migrants and the possible end to her leadership next year.

Brazil’s suspended President Dilma Rousseff has condemned the Senate’s vote to back an impeachment trial as a "coup."

Brazilian Crisis: Rousseff Decries Senate’s Impeachment Vote As ‘Coup’ (Video)
http://sputniknews.com/latam/20160512/1039504340/brazil-rousseff-impeachment-coup.html

The upper house of the Brazilian parliament voted 55-22 on Thursday to start impeachment proceedings against Rousseff after she was accused of concealing the country’s budget deficit ahead of the 2014 re-election.

In a Facebook posting, the embattled leader quoted Brazil’s Attorney General Eduardo Cardozo who had called the motion to remove the democratically-elected president as a "historic injustice," at the end of all-night parliamentary debates.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff dismissed officials in her government, including her chief of staff, in an executive decision published in the official gazette of the government on Thursday.

Brazilian President Rousseff Dismisses Cabinet After Impeachment
http://sputniknews.com/latam/20160512/1039512681/brazil-cabinet-impeachment.html

The 104-page order lists Acting Chief of Staff Eva Chiavon and her predecessor Jaques Wagner, as well as Finance Minister Nelson Barbosa among others, who have been removed from their posts.

The upper house of the Brazilian parliament voted 55-22 earlier on Thursday to start impeachment proceedings against Rousseff after she was accused of concealing the country’s budget deficit ahead of the 2014 re-election.

The 68-year-old Rousseff has been suspended from office for 180 days, pending her trial. Vice-President Michel Temer is expected to assume the presidency during that period and name his cabinet shortly.

Brazil’s president has been facing a wave of public discontent for over a year amid the country’s struggling economy and a major corruption scandal in the state-owned Petrobras petroleum company.

In a speech that ended minutes ago, Rousseff argued that the impeachment vote was a coup and stressed that she did not commit an impeachable crime.

Terrorist organizations, particularly in Columbia, have been switching to illicit gold trade from narcotics to fund their activities, George Mason University Terrorism, Transnational Crime and Corruption Center Director Louise Shelley said on Thursday.

Terrorists Switch to Illicit Gold Trade From Drugs to Finance Activities
http://sputniknews.com/latam/20160512/1039521397/terrorist-groups-gold.html

Shelley explained that terrorist organization have enormous flexibility and ability to switch between sources of revenue.

"There is now a large illicit trade in gold," Shelley stated at a US House of Representatives Homeland Security Committee hearing. "Some of this is coming out of Columbia."

"The revenues for the FARC [Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia] in Columbia are now estimated to be grater from the illicit gold trade than from the narcotics trade," Shelley added.

She also noted that illicit gold trade is among sources of revenue that is not being payed enough attention to.

The FARC rebel group was established in 1964 as the military wing of Colombia's Communist Party. More than 200,000 people have been killed in the ongoing conflict between the FARC and the Colombian government.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Zionist Israel Hides Its Crimes Behind Its Smears of Truth-Tellers

http://www.globalresearch.ca/zionist-israel-hides-its-crimes-behind-its-smears-of-truth-tellers/5524699

Several years ago two very distinguished American scholars wrote a book, The Israel Lobby.

The book made a very understated case that the Israel Lobby has far more power over the US government and media than is good for America or Israel, as it silences constructive critics who are Israel’s friends. The two scholars were demonized by the Israel Lobby as advocating the return of the Holocaust.

The Israel Lobby presented itself as just a poor little weak thing unable to stand up to all the Nazis assailing Israel. Meanwhile the US Congress was unanimously passing outrageous resolutions handed to it by the Israel Lobby.

A number of former US Senators and Representatives, including Cynthia McKinney, have publicly stated that they were removed from office by the Israel Lobby for criticizing actions of the Israeli government, such as the Israeli government’s attempt to sink the USS Liberty, in which a majority of the American crew were killed or injured.

Instead of defending the US Navy, the cowardly US government was so scared of Israel that the President of the United States and the Admiral conducting the inquiry, Senator John McCain’s father, rushed to the defense of Israel and covered up the incident.

The coverup has been so successful that few Americans today know that a vessel of the US Navy was decimated by an Israeli air and torpedo boat attack, and Washington did not even file a protest. Really! The US is a “superpower,” and the cowardly government cannot even stand up to Israel?

What do you think will happen to these pussies in Washington when they confront by their carelessness and unjustified arrogance the power of Russia and China?

Little wonder that after 15 years of pointless conflict the US has been defeated by a few thousand lightly armed warriors in Afghanistan, and the “Mission Accomplished” promouncement of the moron George W. Bush now requires intervention by the Russian Superpower to be accomplished.

Only Russia can bring the terrorism in the Middle East that the dolts in Washington created to an end. The low grade morons in Washington sponsor the terrorism in order to bleed the American taxpayer of money to pay the profits of the Military-Security Complex that President Eisenhower, a Five Starr General warned us about going on 7 decades ago.

The Americans are so incompetent that they should just depart the scene and go home and hide under their beds so scared they are of “terrorists,” largely an invention of neoconservative propaganda.

But it only takes a propaganda invention, a false flag event, to scare “powerful America” out of its wits.

I became an “anti-semite” when I observed that Israel’s treatment of the Palestinians resembled the Union Army’s treatment, under Sherman and Sheridan, of the American Plains Indians. Wholesale genocide.

An Israeli official wrote to me asking me why I criticized Israel for doing to the Palestinians what the United States government did to the native Americans. In other words, the Western World, and Israel that allegedly suffered the Holocaust, were not required to make any moral progress in one or two centuries. Whatever the Union war criminals did to the American Plains Indians in the 19th century is perfectly OK for Israel to to to Palestinians in the 21st century.

So much for those who believe in moral progress.

“Anti-semite” has lost its sting, because every justified criticism of the Zionist Israeli government is declared to be anti-semitism. The word is so overused and misapplied as to be useless. Indeed, to be declared “anti-semite” by the Israel Lobby is to be declared a person of high moral conscience.

Currently the Israel Lobby is at work destroying anyone associated with the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign, which is an effort to sanction Israel for its genocide against Palestine. The popular musician, Roger Waters, is one of the few brave enough to support this movement.

Waters says that many of his colleagues, who protested the Viet Nam War and South Africa Apartheid are too “scared shitless of Israel” to protest what former US President Jimmy Carter called Israeli Apartheid.

Republicans, conservatives, and the Israel Lobby do not like Jimmy Carter because he speaks honestly, but that is why I respect him.

There is no doubt whatsoever that the Palestinians have had their country stolen. Now they, like native Indians in the US in the 19th century, have been confined to ghetto reservations. This is a simple fact. But anyone who states the fact is declared by the Israel Lobby to be an anti-semite who wants to kill all the Jews.

In other words, it is Zionist Israel that is committing genocide, but if a person mentions that fact that person is accused of wanting to do to the Jews what Israel is doing to the Palestinians.

Israel, thanks to the complete cowardice of the government of “the world’s only superpower” and the largely Israeli controlled US media and entertainment industry, has got away with this raw exercise of the power of propaganda and intimidation.

But not with Roger Waters.

Support Roger Waters, one of the acknowledged greatest rock musicians of this era, when he stands up for the Palestinians and opposes the monstrous crimes of Zionist Israel:
http://mondoweiss.net/2016/05/musicians-destroyed-palestinians/

It is amazing to me how courage has disappeared from the entire Western world. Insouciant Americans have lost their liberty to disinformation and fear. Such a fearful and afraid people have no prospect of standing up to the Russian and Chinese people.

The Western World buried in propaganda and lies is now in the trash bin of history. It is no more.

Mossad diverting attention by hyping Saudi role in 9/11: Analyst

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/05/12/465281/Israel-911-Mossad-Saudi-Peretto

The Israeli spy agency Mossad is trying to cover its tracks as the real perpetrator of the September 11, 2001, terror attacks by hyping a congressional report that may implicate Saudi Arabia, says an American author and sociopolitical psychologist.

Walt Peretto made the remarks on Thursday while discussing the media frenzy over Saudi Arabia’s role amid revelations by a former member of the 9/11 Commission.

John Lehman, who served as the US Navy Secretary in the Ronald Reagan administration, said in an interview Wednesday that the monarchy provided support to the 19 hijackers who carried out the attacks.

“This shows that 15 years after the crime, those responsible and their well-paid lackeys are still in the process of covering up and diverting attention from the evidence that proves beyond the reasonable doubt that 9/11 was a transnational intelligence agency operation on behalf of the international banking and finance community and their puppets in the American government,” Peretto said.

Peretto blamed Mossad,and Western intelligence agencies as the key planners of the deadly attacks that killed some 3,000 people.

“How many Saudis were arrested or detained on 9/11? None,” he said, adding “how many Mossad agents were arrested or detained on 9/11 by local law enforcement who had no knowledge of participation in this crime? Dozens!”

Referring to various objective studies by independent researchers, the analyst said mounting evidence shows that the destruction of the Twin Towers in New York City was a controlled operation.

Peretto then pointed to the attack’s questionable coverage in the Western media, who are “falsely” blaming Muslims for the attacks while allowing the real criminals go unnoticed.

“Let's discuss the psychology of those people mesmerized by the mainstream media into believing their constant stream of lies. Let's discuss the psychology behind the perpetrators...the psychopathologies. Let's discuss how much empathy, guilt, and remorse one must innately lack to plan and execute an operation like 9/11 and then use their controlled media to falsely blame the crime on fanatical Muslims,” he said.

“If people keep their frightened or unconcerned heads in the ground much longer then we are going to see more 9/11s at home while in some parts of the world like Syria and Gaza, 9/11 is something that could occur at any time of the day or night,” Peretto added.

Concluding his remarks the analyst said the world needs to ignore the diversions and focus on the true planners, who “ultimately caused the suffering of million both on 9/11 and in the following wars of invasion and resource extraction.”

 

[angelburst29]

Three civilians killed, 2 injured in terrorist sniper shootings in Aleppo and Idleb
http://sana.sy/en/?p=77054

Two civilians were killed and two others were injured in terrorist sniper shootings in al-Ramousa neighborhood in Aleppo city on Thursday.

The casualties were caused as snipers opened fire on a number of passing cars in the neighborhood, according to SANA reporter.

Earlier on the day, terrorists fired rocket shells on al-Jalma village in Efrin area in the northwestern countryside of Aleppo.

Local sources told SANA that terrorists fired several rocket shells on the locals’ houses, causing only material damage to the public and private properties.

Idleb

In the same context, terrorist sniper shootings targeting Kefraya town in Idleb province left one civilian injured.

Local sources told SANA that the source of the shootings was a terrorist positioned in Maaratmsarin.

The neighboring Kefraya and al-Fouaa towns, located in northern Idleb, are besieged by takfiri groups affiliated to the so-called Jaish al-Fatah terrorist organization.

Al-Fouaa was also targeted on Tuesday with more than 40 rocket shells that left five civilians injured.

The United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force (RAF) jets escorted three aircraft claimed to be Russian military transport planes over the Baltic republics, the UK Ministry of Defense said Thursday.

UK Jets Escort 3 Alleged Russian Aircraft Over Baltics - Defense Ministry
http://sputniknews.com/military/20160512/1039525404/uk-russia-baltics.html

The RAF assumed its four-month rotation of the NATO Baltic Air Policing (BAP) mission at the Amari air base in northwestern Estonia on April 28.

"This is another example of just how important the UK’s contribution to the Baltic Air Policing Mission is. We were able to instantly respond to this act of Russian aggression — demonstration of our commitment to NATO’s collective defense," Defense Secretary Michael Fallon said.

The aircraft identified by the ministry as AN-26 Curl, AN-12 Cub and IL-76 Candid were detained because they "were not transmitting a recognized identification code and were unresponsive."

The date of the incident has not been disclosed, but the ministry statement noted it was the "first intercept of Russian aircraft" in the May-August round of the BAP.

The embarrassing incident sparked a diplomatic row between the US and Iran after a sailor apologized to the Iranian people in a video clip that nearly decapitated the US-Iran nuclear deal.

Navy Fires Commander in Fallout of US Sailors Captured by Iran in January
http://sputniknews.com/news/20160513/1039535531/navy-iran-america-captives-nuclear.html

On Thursday, the Navy dismissed the commander of ten American sailors who were captured and detained for 15 hours by Iran after unlawfully sailing into Iranian territorial waters in January. The incident created a diplomatic row between the two countries, nearly extinguishing the US-Iran nuclear deal at the final moment.

A Navy official speaking on condition of anonymity said the military branch lost confidence in Commander Eric Rasch, the executive officer of the squadron at the time of the incident. Rasch oversaw the training and readiness of the 400-plus sailors in the unit.

A press release by the Navy’s communication department confirmed the statement saying "Captain Gary Leigh, commander, CRG-1, made this determination following his review of a preliminary investigation into the incident near Farsi Island in the Arabian Gulf, Jan. 12-13, involving 10 CRS-3 sailors."

The corrective action was the first in what sources expect will be a series of disciplinary measures for what was a uniquely high-profile embarrassment for the US Navy. Not only were the 10 sailors captured when they drifted into Iranian waters, but also one of the US sailors apologized while being videotaped, a clip that became a propaganda boon for the Ayatollah’s regime.

The reassignment of Rasch signals a setback to a once promising military career. Rasch joined the Navy in 1989 as an intelligence specialist and became an enlisted officer after graduating from the University of San Diego in 2003. The investigation into the incident has been under review for months, with lawmakers pressuring the Navy to hold somebody responsible for the embarrassment.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Chemical Weapons Likely Used by Militants in Syria’s Aleppo – Rights Group

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160513/1039540495/aleppo-chemical-weapons.html

Chemical weapons could have been used in the predominantly Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud district in Aleppo, the largest city in Syria, Amnesty International (AI) reports.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – On January 4, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) announced that all chemical weapons in Syria had been destroyed, however, in April reports emerged that radical militants could be using and producing chemical weapons in Syria.

"Among the weapons used by the armed groups are unguided projectiles which cannot be accurately aimed at specific targets, including home-made ‘Hamim’ rockets and projectiles fitted with gas canisters known as ‘hell cannons’," the rights group said in a Friday release.

According to AI, the attacks "possibly including with chemical weapons" have destroyed civilian homes, markets and mosques in the city and have killed and injured civilians.

Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) stated that the Ahrar ash-Sham Islamist group shelled the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood using white or yellow phosphorus munitions. At the same time, the Jaish al-Islam group has stated that it had deployed "forbidden" weapons.

A doctor told AI that he treated six civilians and two YPG fighters in April for symptoms including shortness of breath, numbness, red eyes and severe coughing fits.

"He said that several of the victims reported seeing yellow smoke as missiles impacted," the group reported on Friday, adding that a toxicologist who viewed video clips of the apparent attack and reviewed the doctor’s testimony, said the patients’ symptoms "could be the effects of a chlorine attack."

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27, but it does not apply to terrorist organizations active in the country.

Russia Provides Aleppo Residents of Russian Origin With Humanitarian Aid

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160513/1039540980/syria-humanitarian-aid-aleppo.html

Russian servicemen have delivered humanitarian aid, mostly food, for 65 families of Russian origin in the Syrian city of Aleppo, a representative of the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation at the Hmeimim airbase told journalists.

ALEPPO (Sputnik) – Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups. A US-Russia-brokered ceasefire came into force across Syria on February 27, but it does not apply to terrorist organizations active in the country.

"Today, representatives of the center for reconciliation of the warring parties brought from Hmeimim to Aleppo another batch of humanitarian aid for Syrian citizens of Russian origin. We provide this aid to people who are in dire need of this assistance," the spokesman said.

Radical militants continue to conduct shelling in Aleppo with several reports having emerged recently of chemical weapons being used in the city, particularly in the predominantly Kurdish Sheikh Maqsoud district.

Israeli Airstrike Kills Hezbollah Commander - Lebanese Group

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160513/1039540699/hezbollah-commander-kill-israel-airstrike.html

Hezbollah commander Mustafa Badreddine has been killed in an Israeli air strike, the Lebanese movement said in a statement.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – According to the group, Badreddine was killed on Tuesday night, but the exact location of the Israeli airstrike that hit him remains unclear.

"He took part in most of the operations of the Islamic resistance since 1982," Hezbollah said as quoted by The Guardian on Friday, adding that Badreddine was a "great jihadi leader."

Hezbollah, a paramilitary and political organization originating in Lebanon's Shiite population, was established in the 1980s. The group has been fighting alongside the Syrian government against the Daesh Sunni radicals and other extremist militant groups since 2011.

Hezbollah is considered a terrorist organization by a number of countries including Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom and many European states, but not by Russia.

Terrorists commit massacre in al-Zara town in Hama countryside, Cabinet condemns atrocity

http://sana.sy/en/?p=77063

Hama, SANA- Terrorist groups committed a massacre against the locals of al-Zara town in the southern countryside of Hama province on Thursday.

A source at Hama police Command said that “terrorist groups infiltrated into al-Zara town and committed a massacre against its locals, as
they abducted a number of children and women”.

The source added that the terrorists destroyed and stole the locals’ properties and houses.

Cabinet strongly condemns terrorist massacre in al-Zara town, Hama Countryside

The Cabinet strongly condemned the obnoxious massacre in al-Zara town and the acts of vandalism the terrorists committed against the locals of the town and their properties.

In a press statement, Prime Minister Wael al-Halaqi said that the terrorist massacre is “a heinous crime against the whole world.”

Al-Halaqi added that the international community must stand by Syria in fighting terrorism and should take immediate steps to prevent the countries which support terrorism from supplying terrorists with arms and money, on top Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey.

He indicated that the coward terrorist massacre, which comes in line with the escalation of the fierce media campaign to undermine the Syrian state and it national economy, is a desperate attempt to raise the morals of the terrorist organizations.

Al-Halaqi reiterated confidence that the Syrian people will overcome terrorism thanks to the heroism of the Syrian army and the support provided by Syria’s friends, affirming that the “terrorist acts will not prevent the Syrians from continuing the process of reconstruction,” wishing speedy recovery for the injured.

He called upon Hama Governorate to mobilize all the capabilities of the health sector and the bodies concerned to help the locals of al-Zara town, extending condolences to the families of the martyrs.

 

[angelburst29]

NATO’s Future Blitzkrieg against Russia: The Battle for Air Supremacy (Maps)
http://katehon.com/article/natos-future-blitzkrieg-against-russia-battle-air-supremacy

All of the Pentagon’s investments are limited to offensive weapons designed to execute the invasions of other countries. For example, who needs stealth aircraft to defend their territory? Washington is the only owner of nuclear aircraft carriers escorted by dozens of cruisers, destroyers, amphibious assault ships, and nuclear attack submarines capable of attacking any point on the globe. The US also wields a huge fleet of over 500 heavy cargo planes specifically designed to carry armored divisions tens of thousands of kilometers away from the American continent. Russia, surrounded by NATO military bases, is seen by Washington as a huge booty given its huge territory on which 60% of the Earth’s mineral resources, drinking water, land suitable for agriculture, and forests are located.

After the collapse of the USSR, when the United States was left as the only superpower in the world, the cliché was established whereby Washington proposes a military invasion of another country. First it creates a psychosis among public opinion that the given country is on the verge of attacking and occupying its neighbors. When in fact the US military is invading the target country, this process of psychological warfare conducted intensively by subservient media presents US military aggression as eliminating the threat of the neighbors’ target state. As for the US, in reality the "cold war” never ended, and over the past two years has triggered a psychological war against Russia and managed to oblige the EU and other vassal states to impose economic sanctions.

In order to prevent Russian influence from expanding following success in Syria, the US will need to accelerate its preparations to attack Russia. Yet Barack Obama, the lame duck, cannot decide anything, and assumes that the next US president will make the decision.

Where could the United States attack? The US does not target a landing in Russia's Far East. Instead, just like Napoleon or Hitler, the US intends to occupy Russia's strategically objective capital, Moscow. The initial plan was that the US-backed "Euromaidan" would draw Ukraine into its sphere of influence, and that the Russian naval bases in Crimea would be transferred to the US Navy, as Ukraine becomes a NATO member. The invasion of Russia was set to start from the territory of Ukraine. It should be taken into consideration that Lugansk, for example, is only 600 km from Moscow. The initial plan was overturned by the successful referendum that decided Crimea’s re-unification with Russia and, subsequently due to the civil war in Donbass, the Americans can no longer launch any military aggression against Russia from Ukraine.

Therefore, the US’ plan was revised, and the Baltic states were designated to be the new offensive starting zone. For this reason, the US has recently put pressure on Sweden and Finland to join NATO, whose territory could be used for maneuvers in the challenge against Russia. Moscow is only 600 km from the border with Latvia and is not protected by any natural barriers that could put obstacles in the path of any invasion from a military point of view.

Allegedly for "deterring" Russia, the Pentagon has enlarged military spending for the anti-Russian campaign in European countries bordering Russia. The US has even deployed yet another armored brigade in the Baltic states and Poland, thereby violating the Founding Act of the Russia-NATO Treaty of 1997 in addition to decisions to increase the US’ military fleet from 272 to 350 battleships. Therefore, the Pentagon's strategic plan might include a Blitzkrieg military invasion taken under NATO command, with classic weapons, starting from the Baltic States and Poland directly aimed for Moscow.

The defeat of Russia would be followed by a change in the political leadership represented by Vladimir Putin and a gradual withdrawal of forces while leaving pieces of Russian territory occupied by Latvia, Estonia, and Ukraine. Russia’s western border would be fixed along the line stretching from St. Petersburg to Veliky Novgorod, Kaluga, Tver, and Volgograd.

Due to the rapid modernization of the Chinese army, which is now capable of posing serious problems for the US and its allies in the Western Pacific, which would mean that the Pentagon would not deploy all available combat equipment in Europe. Up to 1/3 of the US military forces would be kept in reserve in the case of a surprise attack by China.

What would be the time window? Any military invasion of Russia could be executed successfully by USA only before 2018, after which the chances of success drop dramatically given the Pentagon’s loss of technological superiority in many fields compared to the Russian Army and the possibility of the conflict turning into a global one involving the use of nuclear weapons.

Winning air supremacy Russia’s army is focused on defense. It has high-performing aircraft interceptors and highly mobile AA missile systems capable of detecting and destroying even 5th generation US aircraft. Therefore, the US military, backed by its allies in NATO, will not be able to win air supremacy. With great effort, it could achieve partial air superiority for short periods of time on certain zones around the Russian border with a strip with a depth of 300 km. To create safe flight zones in areas where Russian anti-aircraft systems are active, the Americans would be forced to send a first attack wave of 220 aircraft (including 15 B-2 bombers, F-160’s, F-22A’s and 45 F-35’s). With two streamlined compartments, a B-2 can carry either 16 GBU-31 laser-guided bombs (900 kg), 36 CBU-87 cassette bombs, (430 kg) or 80 GBU-38 bombs (200 kg). F-22A aircraft can be armed with two JDAM bombs (450 kg) or eight 110 kg bombs.

A major obstacle is that the Americans’ AGM-88E anti-radar missiles, with a radius of action of 140 km, are too large to fit into F-22A’s and F-35’s (length 4.1 m, 1 m tail) and if they are attached to the wing’s pylons, they instantly compromise the "invisibility" of these planes. The predominant targets of the first wave will be Russian airfields and systems in A2 / AD bubble exclusion zones.

As for the F-22A, the Pentagon reports show that they were pleased with the results of F-117 (first aircraft generation 5-a) in the first campaign of the Gulf and in Yugoslavia. The Pentagon thus originally ordered 750 F-22A’s to replace the F-16 in the Air Force, but once American military intelligence discovered that Russia has successfully tested the 96L6E anti-stealth radar on F-117’s, the Pentagon reduced the order to 339 F-22A’s. While the Americans were developing and testing the F-22A project, the Russians had already created the antidote to this plane, i.e., the S-400 missile system that uses multiple-component detection equipment, including the 96L6E. In the end, only 187 F-22A’s came to be produced.

To complicate the task of Russian air defense in addition to dealing with 5th generation planes, 500-800 cruise missiles from US ships and submarines deployed in the Baltic Sea would be launched. The chances of these cruise missiles reaching their targets are small, as Russia has about 250 MiG-31 long-range fighters that can reach a speed of Mach 2.83 (3500 km/h) which are specialized in intercepting E-3 Sentry (AWACS) plane and cruise missiles. The MiG-31s’ aircraft radar can discover incoming projectiles at a range of 320 km and follow 24 targets at once, eight of which can be simultaneously attacked with R-33/37 missiles with a range of 300 km and Mach 6 velocity.

At the same time, US F-18, F-15E, B-52, and B-1B planes can fire without approaching the Russian border (and even without entering the range of action of S-400 missiles), which also concerns the AGM-154 or AGM-158 mini cruise missiles with a range of action of between 110 and 1,000 km. They can hit battleships of the Russian Baltic Fleet and Russia’s 9K720 Iskander (distance 500 km) and OTR-21 Tochka (distance 180 km) Iskander surface-to-ground missile batteries. In the best case scenario, the effectiveness of this first wave might mean the neutralization of 30% of Russia’s surveillance aerial radar system’s network, 30% of the S-300 and S-400 battalions deployed between Moscow and the border with the Baltic countries, 40% of the components of the automated C4I systems (especially radar-jamming components), as well as blocking airfields home to 200 planes and helicopters, thus damaging Russian operative management, etc.

However, the expected loss of the Americans and their allies can reach 60-70% of aircraft and cruise missiles entering the Russian airspace during the first wave alone.

But what is the largest obstacle to conquering air supremacy? Around the cities of St. Petersburg and Kaliningrad, the Russians have established two automated C4I systems (featuring automated Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence and Interoperability) to obtain supremacy in preventing radio-electronic war (Electronic warfare -EW) waged by American land-based, air, and cosmic surveillance systems. Among others, the C4I equipment includes the Krasukha-4 SIGINT and COMINT type (which can intercept all communication networks). The Krasukha-4 can also prevent radar surveillance from American Lacrosse and Onyx military satellites - military radars based on the soil of neighboring states of the AWACS and E-8C type, and those mounted on US RC-135 reconnaissance aircrafts or the unmanned Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk. The Russian military is equipped to jam the enemy’s electron-optical sensors for laser-guided, GPS-directed, and infrared seeking bombs and missiles. Such systems are relatively few in number but in position to ensure the deflection of important enemy objectives.

The deployment of Russian C4I systems also allows for the establishment of two exclusion zones (Anti-access / A2 Area Denial / AD Bubble) impenetrably by NATO forces. Moreover, the C4I are integrated into two battalions with S-400 long-range anti-aircraft missiles and several mobile batteries with short-range Tor-M2 and Pantsir-2M systems.

In order to completely deter a Western invasion, Russia would have to begin to develop the continuity of C4I automated systems with the EW, A2/AD bubbles around St. Petersburg, along the border with the Baltic States, and in Kaliningrad.

The S-400 system can track and attack up to 80 air targets with speeds of up to 17,000 km/h at a distance of 400 km using radar information from multispectral satellite-based sensors. Russia now has 20-25 battalions with 8 x 40 launch systems each for S-400 missiles (approximately 180 S-400 launch installations). Eight S-400 battalions are located around Moscow and one was in Syria. Russia could bring the other S-400 battalions up to the border with the Baltic states or position them in Belarus with 130 S-300 battalions equipped with approximately 1,100 S-300 launch installations (with an operating range of 200 km) which, although older than the S-400, are resistant to jamming, can feature upgraded PMU-1/2’s, and can be equipped with the 96L6E radar. The S-500, a more honed model of the S-400, is now in testing and will begin to equip the Russian army in 2017.

Because of Russia’s highly efficient SIGINT and COMINT radar jamming and anti-electron-optical and anti-GPS equipment, which Russia has many of, NATO will not be able to gain supremacy in any kind of radio-electronic war (Electronic warfare - EW). It should be remembered how in Syria Russia’s C4I, EW, and A2/AD automated systems prevented the American anti-ISIS coalition from discovering rebels’ objectives before they were attacked by Russian bombers. In the case of a NATO attack on Russia, in the first wave the US is expected to hit 60 - 70% false targets on Russian territory.

EF-18 jamming aircrafts and US Navy ships stationed in the Baltic Sea would secure the next wave of US air attacks. But, due to the weak air supremacy from the first wave, the next waves of the NATO attack would feature increasingly heavy losses. The US air group composed of 5,000 aircraft and helicopters belonging to the Air Force, Navy, and Marines would have to be joined by their NATO allies’ 1,500 aircraft.

 

[angelburst29]

NATO’s Future Blitzkrieg against Russia: Land and naval war
http://katehon.com/article/natos-future-blitzkrieg-against-russia-land-and-naval-war

US Navy Besides land troops and combat aircraft deployed in the Baltics, Poland, and other NATO countries in Europe, the Pentagon will most likely send an invasion force of dozens of naval groups composed of eight aircraft carriers, eight helicopter carriers, dozens of assault landing ships, cruisers bearing missiles, destroyers and attack submarines to the Baltic Sea. Two Italian aircraft carriers, one French, and one Spanish, along with marine protection groups may join American forces.

Russia can attack these groups with Kh-101 cruise missile and NK Kalibr, having a radius of action of 2500-4000 km and elements of "stealth" radar, but flying with subsonic speed (800 km/h), they can be shot down during the final approach. Instead, the coast-ship and ship-to-ship Russian P-800 Onyx is harder to neutralize, since it has a Mach 2.8 (3000 km/h) speed at sea level and an operating range of 300 km. Ship to ship rocket Basalt P-500, which has a speed of Mach 2.5 and a reach of 550 km, is also hard to hit. From 2017, Russia will be equipped with new 3M22 Zircon anti-aircraft carrier missiles, capable of flying hypersonic speed at low altitudes. 3M22 Zircon has a speed of 6.2 Mach near (6500 km / h) an operating range of 400-1000 km and can be launched from ships, submarines, and airplanes. For this vehicle, beginning in 2018, the US Navy has no antidote.

US land troops According to American evaluations, Russian tank T-80 (with 550-3000 exemplars in the Russian army) is significantly lower than American tanks M1 A1 / 2 Abrams, German Leopard 2, AMX 56 French Leclerc, and British Challenger 2. T-72B3 tanks, passed through successive upgrades (about 1,300 in the Russian army) are much more performant as T-80 and lower than 56 AMX Leclerc and Challenger 2. Tanks T-90 (550 in the Russian army) are equal to 56 AMX Leclerc Challenger 2, but slightly lower than M1 A1 / 2 Abrams and Leopard 2. Russian infantry fighting vehicles (BMP-3 and BMP-2) are inferior to the US M2 Bradley. Armored transporter Russian BTR-80 / 82A is inferior to Patria AMV and substantially equal to Stryker (Piranha family).

New Russian T-14 tank, superior to all existing tanks, has entered pre-series production. In 2017, the Russian army is to receive the first 100 tanks T-14. Comparing German tanks Leopard 2, M1A2 Abrams American, French AMX 56 Leclerc, and British Challenger 2, the T-14 Army produces a ratio of 2.5 to 4/1 in favor of Russian tank.

Infantry fighting vehicles T-15 and Kurganets-25 are the most powerful in the world, registering the same ratio in their favor against Western armor. Series production of T-15 and Kurganets-25 should begin in 2017. The new Russian amphibious armored carrier VPK-7829 Boomerang surpasses all competitors existing in the same report; series production and delivery to the Russian army will begin in 2017. After 2018, Russia will have the world's most advanced armor, and this will radically change the ratio of forces in a future military confrontation.

In the first and second Gulf War, the Pentagon demonstrated that defense prepared long before, like the Iraqi one that had lots of armor, can be pierced and enveloped by troops with greater mobility and protection against antitank weapons such as armor from the latest generation. US M1A1 Abrams tanks groups cooperating with the cars composed of M2 Bradley infantry fighting, managed to advance in the fight 150-250 km/day in the desert, neutralizing the columns of enemy infantry, the artillery groups, anti-tanks alignments, and light armored vehicles. Breaches made by LAV-50 armored personnel carriers (Piranha) of the US Marines were introduced massively.

American armored success would not have been obtained without prior execution of large airborne operations performed while hunting the enemy’s armor, performed by aircrafts and attack helicopters. Unlike the Iraqi desert, western Russia is densely populated, and is suitable for the development a lot of resistance groups in rural areas, armed with the land-air portable (MANPADS), which makes vertical maneuver operations by airborne unlikely. The Russian army in western Russia may deploy over 500 9K331M Tor-M1 systems, 9K22 Tunguska, Pantsir-S1 with two cal.30 mm guns and eight rocket ramps guided by the infrared beams (distance 12 to 20 km). Also, land troops in western Russia have thousands of other portable Strela and Igla surface-to-air systems. Against Strela and Igla surface-to-air portable systems, guided by heat emission, helicopters AH-64, AH-1, OH-58 Kiowa, UH-60A, CH-47 Chinook, and plane rotors mobile V-22 Osprey will use jamming equipment AN / ALQ-144/147/157.

Since 2015, AA defense subunits of the Russian army that provide protection from airborne divisions were equipped with portable missiles 9K333 Verba. In 2016, this system was to be introduced en masse to land forces. Jamming equipment on US helicopters cannot "fool" the Verba rocket with auto-guided sensors working simultaneously in three frequency bands in the visible and infrared spectrum. Verba works with complex systems Barnaul-T responsible for electronic intelligence, electronic jamming, and automated management of Russian airborne units. Barnaul-T neutralizes enemy aircraft radars and uses laser generating interference, preventing directing missiles and laser bombs launched from enemy aircrafts.

 

[angelburst29]

Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday that the US defense shield in Eastern Europe is not part of defense, but Washington's nuclear potential in Europe.

US Air Defense Shield Not Defense, But Nuclear Potential in Europe - Putin
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160513/1039562554/putin-us-air-defense.html

"This [US missile shied in Europe] is not a defense system, but a part of US strategic nuclear potential in east Europe."

The Russian president said that the unilateral deployment of US air defense systems in Romania is not taking into account Russia's concerns.

US air defense systems in Poland may be easily used for short-, mid-range missiles, Vladimir Putin said.

"This is a clear violation of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty, because missile launchers, which will be deployed after the commissioning of the radar station in Romania, missile launchers that will be deployed in Poland, can easily be used for mid- and short-range missiles."

"And after the United States' unilateral withdrawal from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty — which was clearly the first step to attempt changing the strategic balance of forces in the world — this is a second blow to the international security system, the creation of conditions to violate the INF treaty. This creates additional concern," he added.

Earlier on Thursday, the US Aegis Ashore missile defense system was officially inaugurated at a military base in Romania, and the construction of a similar complex will begin in Poland on Friday.

"The deployment of Aegis system in the Mediterranean, a radar in Romania and later a missile defense site in Poland — these are additional steps undermining the global security system and starting a new arms race," Putin said.

Moscow is forced to consider ways of tackling appearing threats after the deployment of US air defense systems near Russia's borders, Putin said.

Putin reminded that the air defense system in Romania was deployed under the pretext that a few years ago "all opponents said that our partners in the West and Europe needed the air defense system to prevent a nuclear threat from Iran."

"And where are these Iran's nuclear threats now? There are no threats. The US itself signed an agreement with Iran, [the US] was one of the initiators of the [Tehran nuclear agreement]. They did everything right and we supported this stance of the US administration. But there is no threat [from Iran], but the creation of the air defense system is still going on."

Putin emphasized that currently there is no nuclear threat from Iran. Moscow proposed Washington to cooperate on the issue, however, US authorities refused to do so, he said.

"All our proposals were rejected, we are invited not to jointly work, but to discuss this issue, nothing concrete. Everything is done unilaterally, without taking into account our concerns."

Russia will not be dragged into an arms race, Putin said, adding that Moscow is doing its best to maintain strategic balance of power and avoid large-scale military conflicts.

"Of course, we are doing everything needed from our side so as to provide for the maintenance of this strategic balance of power that is the most reliable guarantee against the appearance of large-scale military conflicts, which in their aftermath, undoubtedly, would be in no comparison to those conflicts in the hot spots on the planet that we know. We cannot allow this to happen and we won't," Putin said during a meeting with top military personnel.

"As we have said before we will not be dragged into this race, but will go our own way, we will work very accurately, without exceeding the plans on financing of the rearmament program, which we set several years ago," Putin said.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov called on the participants of the Syrian talks to begin direct negotiations.

Moscow Calls for Start of Direct Dialogue Between Sides to Syrian Conflict
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160513/1039566149/russia-syria-direct-talks.html

Russia urges to start the direct negotiations between the participants of the intra-Syria settlement talks, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Friday.

"We call on the parties to the Syrian talks to proceed to direct contact. Time will show to what extent it is possible, but, unfortunately, the conditions that would allow the parties to start direct talks have not been created for a variety of reasons so far," Gatilov told reporters.

He added that direct talks were the most effective way to reach an agreement.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Damascus fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.

Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov reiterated Moscow's call for the participation of Syrian Kurds in the peace process.

Impossible to Resolve Syrian Crisis Without Kurds - Russian Deputy FM
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160513/1039557236/kurds-syria-gatilov.html

It is impossible to envisage the future structure of Syrian state and solve its current issues without the Syrian Kurds who are an important military and political force, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Friday.

"The Kurds are a serious political force, and also a serious military force and it is impossible to speak of the future structure of the Syrian state and resolving all the issues that the Syrian people are facing now without their participation in the intra-Syria dialogue," Gatilov told reporters.

While the Kurds are the largest ethnic minority in Syria, none of their representatives have been invited to the Geneva proximity talks. The International Syria Support Group (ISSG) that Russia and the US co-chair is scheduled to take place next Thursday, May 19, in Vienna.

"We are constantly raising this issue and of course during the upcoming meeting in Vienna we shall confirm this position. It is well known, we tell this to all of our partners and believe that the Kurdish participation is extremely necessary in the dialogue process," the official said.

The Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party claims that its participation in the intra-Syrian talks was blocked by Ankara because of its assumed links to the pro-independence Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant movement, which is active in southeastern Turkey.

In January, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said the intra-Syrian reconciliation talks would fail to reach a political settlement unless the Syrian Kurds were allowed to participate in the process.

Belgium has decided to extend the scope of its contribution to the US-led air campaign allegedly targeting Daesh, saying it will launch attacks on the Takfiri militants' positions in Syria.

Belgium says to begin airstrikes against 'Daesh' in Syria
http://www.presstv.us/Detail/2016/05/13/465385/Belgium-Daesh-Syria

A spokesman for Belgium’s government said Friday that the airstrikes by the western European nation, which were previously limited to the positions of Daesh in Iraq, will now cover areas in Syria where terrorist groups, including Daesh, have swaths of land under their control.

“In accordance with UN Resolution 2249, the engagement will be limited to those areas of Syria under the control of IS (Daesh) and other terrorist groups," Prime Minister Charles Michel’s spokesman said, adding that the strikes will begin on July 1.

Belgium is still reeling from attacks claimed by Daesh at Brussels airport and the metro on March 22 that killed 32 people.

Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders had warned in early March that it did not make sense to attack Daesh in Iraq but not in Syria as Belgium nationals recruited by Daesh have also been fighting alongside the group in Syria and that their return threatens Belgium’s security.

Belgian officials said the objective of the new mission will be to destroy the hideouts of Daesh and other terror groups in Syria, meaning that the air strikes will not only be limited to Daesh.

Other European members of the US-led coalition against Daesh have also decided to extend their airstrikes against Daesh into Syria with the Netherlands, Denmark and Britain having already launched sorties against the positions of the group in the Arab country.

The attacks continue without any approval from the Syrian government which routinely accuses the Western governments of having a hand in more than five years of militancy in the country.

Daesh and other terror groups have thousands of militants in their ranks from European nations, with Belgium, which is home to a significant population of refugees from Middle East and Africa, being the prime source of such recruits in Iraq and Syria,

The United States secret service has opened an inquiry over a call by a former butler of Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump to kill President Barack Obama.

US investigates ex-Trump butler for urging Obama assassination
http://www.presstv.us/Detail/2016/05/13/465371/US-probes-Obama-assassination-call

The investigation was launched over a Facebook post in 2015 by Anthony Senecal, 74, in which he had said Obama should be hanged for treason.

Senecal worked for decades as a butler at Trump's Palm Beach mansion, Mar-a-Lago, according to Reuters.

After reports of Senecal's comments began to circulate, the secret service said in a statement, "The US secret service is aware of this matter and will conduct the appropriate investigation."

Senecal has not served as a butler to the billionaire candidate since 2009, but he was identified in a March 15 profile in the New York Times as a current employee of Mar-a-Lago, serving as the estate's historian.

"It is time for our military to drag that fraud out of the white mosque and hang his a** for treason and other high crimes against AMERICA!" Senecal wrote on Septem 13, 2015, in reference to Obama.

Senecal has also reportedly called for Obama to be shot.

Trump's campaign has been marred by his defamatory remarks against minorities in the US. His comments include calling for a total ban on Muslims from coming to America and forced deportation of Mexican migrants.

The race for Republican nomination saw countless instances of scandals, mudslinging and onstage vulgarity, where rivals time and again seized opportunities to blacken their opponents and push them down the gutter.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Israeli Airstrike Kills Hezbollah Commander - Lebanese Group

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160513/1039540699/hezbollah-commander-kill-israel-airstrike.html

Israeli Airstrikes over Damascus Confirmed

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950224000224

"The Israeli jet hauled through the Southern outskirts of Damascus and targeted strongholds of the Syrian government's popular allies," the source said.

"A commander of the Lebanese Hezbollah Resistance Movement, Mustafah Badreddin, was reportedly killed in attack," the sources confirmed.

Also in December, a military source from the Syrian Air Defense said that the Israeli Air Force did indeed violate Syrian airspace to strike the 155th Brigade’s Headquarters (also known as the “Missile Base”) for the second time in 2015.

According to the military source, the Israeli warplane struck the 155th Brigade’s Headquarters in the Northern Damascus countryside, inflicting very little damage as it hit an abandoned warehouse outside of the base’s main command center.

Terrorists commit massacre in al-Zara town in Hama countryside, Cabinet condemns atrocity

http://sana.sy/en/?p=77063

Survivors of al-Zara massacre: Terrorists killed children and women in homes and roads

http://sana.sy/en/?p=77182

Damascus, SANA- A number of the locals of al-Zara town in the southern countryside of Hama who survived the massacre committed by terrorist groups against the locals of the town on Thursday at dawn said members of those terrorist groups attacked the town and killed children and women in homes and roads.

Speaking to the Syrian TV, one of the survivors said that the armed terrorist groups infiltrated into the town at dawn while its people were sleeping, raided homes and killed children, women and elderly in a brutal manner, adding that terrorists killed his mother and his aunt, kidnapped his uncle and killed his sons.

He pointed out that the terrorists were using PKC machine guns, laser sniper rifles and RPG shells which they fired at houses before they broke into them and killed families.

Another survivor said that around ten families are lost, indicating that the terrorists killed some of the abducted persons on the spot, while another survivor said that the terrorist groups had flattened houses in the town.

The survivors confirmed that they contacted members of the Syrian Arab Army to rescue the injured and to evacuate them to safe areas.

On Thursday, terrorists of Jabhat al-Nusra and other armed affiliated to it infiltrated into al-Zara town and committed a massacre against its locals and abducted a number of children and women, destroyed and stole the locals’ properties and houses.

Shield or Sword? What is Known About New US Missile Defense Site in Romania

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160513/1039568130/us-missile-defense-romania.html

The US officially inaugurated on Thursday its missile defense base in Deveselu, Romania. While the facility creates new strategic possibilities for the US, it also poses the risk of increasing instability in Eastern Europe.

The new $800-million facility includes an Aegis Ashore missile defense system. Construction was finished in May 2015, and was ready for operation on December 31, 2015.

The base is a former Soviet airfield. It was constructed in 1952 and used by the Romanian Air Force until 2003.

The Deveselu base is one of the first major European components of the US global missile shield. The so-called European Phased Adaptive Approach presumes that a number of information and combat missile defense components will be set up in Europe. In addition, warships equipped with the Aegis system will be put out on combat duty.

Aegis Ashore is the land-based version of the ship-based Aegis system. The land-based four-story-high construction weighs 900 tons and is similar to the deck-house of a Ticonderoga-class cruiser.

The construction includes modular radio-electronic components. The system is equipped with an AN/SPY-1 radar and vertical launchers for 24 Standard SM-3 Block IB missiles.

The deployment of US missile defenses to Romania will not affect possible trajectories of Russian ballistic missiles, an article on Lenta.ru read. The trajectories of Russian missiles go from the European part of Russia and over Scandinavia and the Baltic Sea. The capabilities of existing and advanced US missile defense would not allow for intercepting of such launches.

What is more important is the fact that the new Romanian facility is officially aimed at the possible interception of Iranian missiles. The US has changed the configuration of its missile shield in Europe. Currently, it includes radars in Turkey and launchers for SM-3 missiles in Romania as well as planned SM-3 launchers in Poland.

The technical base of the Aegis Ashore system allows for launching SM-3 missile as well as Tomahawk cruise missiles. Thus, the new facility in Romania will pose a threat to military and civil facilities in south-western Russia, including in Crimea.

This is also a violation of the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF). The document prohibits deployment of land-based cruise missiles with a range of 500-5,500 kilometers.

For the past 20 years, the treaty has created more problems than possibilities. However, neither Washington nor Moscow wants to withdraw from the deal. The INF Treaty is an important argument in the bilateral relations. And the second Aegis Ashore facility which is expected to be inaugurated in Poland in 2018 will further destabilize the situation in Eastern Europe.

US, Poland Celebrate as Construction of Base for Missile Shield Begins

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160513/1039584180/aegis-poland-us.html

Washington and Warsaw began the construction of the ground-based Aegis battle management system in Poland.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Officials from the United States and Poland commemorated the onset of work to install a ground-based Aegis battle management system that will guide interceptor missiles to protect Europe from Iran, the US Department of Defense said in a press release on Friday.

"Our partnership with Poland and Romania underwrites US military activities in the region and reflects our steadfast commitment to enhancing regional security," Deputy Secretary of Defense Robert Work said at an inauguration ceremony in Romania. "Countering the threat of ballistic missile attacks from outside the Euro-Atlantic area is a collective security challenge that requires collective defense."

The Polish base is expected to become operational in 2018. On Thursday, US and Romanian officials activated an existing Aegis-controlled missile defense, with US officials emphasizing that the shield is intended to block nuclear capable rockets being developed by Iran.

The Aegis combat system integrates powerful computer and radar technology to guide missiles and other weapons to enemy targets. Originally developed as a ship-based system, Aegis has been modified for land-based deployments that can guide interceptor rockets to destroy enemy missiles in flight.

Russia opposes and has repeatedly expressed concern over the creation of the ballistic missile defense system in Europe, which was approved in 2010 during a NATO summit in Lisbon.

US officials have unsuccessfully sought to persuade Russia that the NATO missile shield is not aimed at Russia, and that the interceptor rockets being deployed would not be effective in countering the Russian missile-based nuclear deterrent.

DoS Wants Syrian Opposition to Stop Troubling Cooperation With Nusra Front

http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160513/1039585439/dos-syria-opposition-nusra.html

The United States expects the armed opposition in Syria to stop the disturbing cooperation with al-Nusra Front terrorists, State Department spokesperson John Kirby said in a briefing on Friday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Earlier, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told Sputnik that US officials attempted to draw the lines in the new ceasefire accord in a way that would include al-Nusra Front, leading Moscow to believe that someone was using Washington to protect the terrorist group.

Lavrov also told Sputnik that the Turkish government had links to both the al-Nusra Front and Daesh.

"We have seen… troubling cooperation between certain opposition groups and al-Nusra," Kirby stated. "Our message to the armed opposition with respect to al-Nusra and to any perceived or real cooperation or collusion has been, again, consistent. We have made it clear that our expectation is they [opposition] won’t do that."

Al-Nusra Front and Daesh are designated as terrorist organizations by Russia and the United States, and have been excluded from all previous Syrian ceasefire deals brokered by the two countries.

Belgium Pays Thousands of Euros to Family of al-Qaeda Terrorist

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160513/1039585560/belgium-pays-compensation-terrorist.html

Belgium has paid more than 78 thousand euros in compensation to the family of a terrorist serving a life sentence in the United States.

The authorities transferred the full amount to Nizar Trabelsi’s family residing in Belgium. The money transfer was confirmed by the country's Minister of Justice Koen Gens, according to Belgian online portal DH.be.

In 2003, Trabelsi was sentenced to 10 years in prison in Belgium for preparing a terrorist attack on a NATO military base, located in the Belgian Klein Brogel.

In 2008, the US requested for his extradition, presenting evidence that Trabelsi was participating in the preparation of yet another act of terrorism directed against the US Embassy in Paris.

After serving in Belgium, Trabelsi was transferred to the United States, where he was sentenced to life imprisonment without a chance for parole. The impossibility to apply for amnesty became a cause of protest against the Kingdom.

In 2014, the European Court ordered the Belgian State to pay Trabelsi 90 thousand euros in compensation for extraditing him to the United States, because the American sentence exceeds the maximum possible punishment that the offender would have received in Belgium.

After excluding taxes and mandatory fees, the final payment was made at 78 thousand 791 euros.

Trabelsi was a member of the terrorist group al-Qaeda. Before he joined the extremists, he was a professional footballer and played for Bundesliga club ‘Fortuna’ from Dusseldorf.

Belgium Decides to Send Jets to Syria After US-Led Coalition's Request

http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160513/1039584257/belgium-syria-jets.html

Belgium has decided to extend the mandate of its aerial campaign against terrorists and send its F-16 fighter jets to Syria starting July 1 on request of the US-led international coalition, Belgian Foreign Ministry spokesman Jose de Pierpont told Sputnik on Friday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Earlier in the day, media reports emerged claiming the Belgian Air Force would conduct airstrikes on positions of Daesh terrorist group in Syria from July 1, using six F-16 fighter jets.

"Minister of Foreign Affairs Didier Reynders and Minister of Defence Steven Vandeput detailed today the decision to extend the mandate of the Belgian F-16s in Syria, in rotation with the Dutch aircrafts as of July 1st 2016. This decision responds to a request from the international coalition to intensify our support in the fight against Daesh," the spokesman said.

Belgium, as a part of the US-led coalition, has been conducting airstrikes against Daesh militants in Iraq since the summer of 2014.

In early March, Belgian media reported that Washington has formally requested Belgium on the participation in the air strikes on the positions of Daesh in Syria.

Denmark will send an additional 100 troops to Afghanistan

http://ria.ru/world/20160513/1432741384.html

WASHINGTON, May 13 -. RIA Novosti, Dmitry Zlodorev Denmark will send an additional 100 troops to Afghanistan, it said in a statement on the results held on Friday at the Washington meeting between US presidents and Finland as well as Norway's prime ministers of Denmark, Finland, Iceland and Sweden.

"Denmark will continue to increase its contribution to the military operation in Afghanistan and dispatched about 100 troops, it also agreed to provide annual financial support to the Afghan military forces in the amount of $ 15 million up to 2020." - Said in a statement.

 

[Chad]

Considering the discussion of Merkel probably being very much a puppet, as well what sToRmR1dR posted above: Belgium Decides to Send Jets to Syria After US-Led Coalition's Request; US Missile Defense Site in Romania; Denmark sending 100 more troops to Afghanistan; I just watched a run down with Joseph P Farrell about Germany's announcement to begin growing their army as being quite a significant move (posted at the bottom).

Joseph notes their role monitoring the influx of refugees, their involvement in the expansion of NATO into Ukraine, as a hint to Europe’s growing discontent with the US deep state shenanigans, speculating that France and Germany's military armament merger was one of the first signs of this shift of rejecting the US deep state. He notes Japanese PM Abe turning down the offer of membership to NATO and public declarations of increasing their own army as a sign of a similar understanding. As always though, it seems different factions are pushing for different outcomes:

July 1, 2014 10:55 pm
Defence merger creates Franco-German tank force

By Jeevan Vasagar in Berlin

The manufacturer of the German army’s Leopard tanks is to merge with French defence company Nexter, creating Europe’s biggest maker of ground armaments by sales.

The merger between Kraus-Maffei Wegmann and Nexter, agreed on Tuesday, creates a company with close to €2bn in sales and an order book valued at €6.5bn.

In a statement, the two companies said they regarded the merger as “crucial for the consolidation of the defence technology industry in Europe”.
[...]

Article discussed:

‘Time for Bundeswehr to grow’: Germany announces 1st army expansion since Cold War
Published time: 10 May, 2016 23:46


Germany is marching towards rebuilding what was once western Europe’s largest army, with a “long overdue” decision to recruit 14,300 additional soldiers over the next seven years, to counter modern threats and overcome pressures “in all areas.”

“A quarter century of contraction is over. It is time for the Bundeswehr to grow again,” Ursula von der Leyen, the defense minister said in a statement announcing the expansion. “The Bundeswehr is under pressure to modernize in all areas. We have to get away from the process of permanent shrinking.”

Around 7,000 new troops will be recruited in the initial drive, with some 4,400 civilian personnel working alongside them. The defense ministry has already announced that its budget will grow from the current €34.2 billion ($38.9bn) to €39.2 billion ($44.6bn) by 2020.

Von der Leyden said that the country is already engaged in 16 foreign missions, including fighting Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, monitoring the inflows of refugees from across the Mediterranean, and providing support for NATO allies in the east, alarmed by tensions in eastern Ukraine. A recent internal review confirmed what national media had widely reported – that manpower was stretched, and some equipment, including rifles, and Cold War-era fighter jets, was obsolete, or less reliable than it had been assumed to be.

At the height of the Cold War the Bundeswehr comprised some 670,000 personnel, both military and civilians. Currently, there are 87,000 civilian personnel and 177,000 military staff employed by the army. A cap of 185,000 troops imposed back in 2011 will now be broken with the announced expansion.

Even considering the cuts, Germany has the second biggest armed forces in the EU behind France, and ahead of the UK.

But the US has criticized Berlin and other NATO allies, with Barack Obama accusing them publicly of “complacency.” The alliance says its members should spend 2 percent of GDP on their military, while Germany expenditure is currently at 1.2 percent.

Von der Leyden said that many of the new professionals would be trained in cyber warfare, and other technologically demanding areas of modern war.

The army association, the Bundeswehrverband, praised the move as a “180-degree turn,” but said von der Leyden faces a struggle in recruiting the requisite amount of specialists, particularly since conscription was abandoned in 2011.

“As far as personnel is concerned, it's long overdue,” its chief André Wüstner told news agency DPA. “It's only regrettable that now a lot of money has to be spent advertising for all the skilled labor for the Bundeswehr that had to be pushed out of the Bundeswehr for cost-cutting reasons.”

NEWS AND VIEWS FROM THE NEFARIUM MAY 12 2016 (~15 minutes)
Joseph Farrell

5,501
2,488 views
Streamed live on May 12, 2016

http://<iframe width="560" height="...UY" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

Germany is going to dramatically expand the Bundeswehr, the German Federal Armed Defence Forces. The question is, why?

 

[angelburst29]

Considering the discussion of Merkel probably being very much a puppet, as well what sToRmR1dR posted above: Belgium Decides to Send Jets to Syria After US-Led Coalition's Request; US Missile Defense Site in Romania; Denmark sending 100 more troops to Afghanistan; I just watched a run down with Joseph P Farrell about Germany's announcement to begin growing their army as being quite a significant move (posted at the bottom).

Joseph notes their role monitoring the influx of refugees, their involvement in the expansion of NATO into Ukraine, as a hint to Europe’s growing discontent with the US deep state shenanigans, speculating that France and Germany's military armament merger was one of the first signs of this shift of rejecting the US deep state. He notes Japanese PM Abe turning down the offer of membership to NATO and public declarations of increasing their own army as a sign of a similar understanding. As always though, it seems different factions are pushing for different outcomes:

[...]

Article discussed:

‘Time for Bundeswehr to grow’: Germany announces 1st army expansion since Cold War
Published time: 10 May, 2016 23:46

Germany is marching towards rebuilding what was once western Europe’s largest army, with a “long overdue” decision to recruit 14,300 additional soldiers over the next seven years, to counter modern threats and overcome pressures “in all areas.”

“A quarter century of contraction is over. It is time for the Bundeswehr to grow again,” Ursula von der Leyen, the defense minister said in a statement announcing the expansion. “The Bundeswehr is under pressure to modernize in all areas. We have to get away from the process of permanent shrinking.”

[...]

Germany is going to dramatically expand the Bundeswehr, the German Federal Armed Defence Forces. The question is, why?

Thanks Itellsya for Posting the additional information on Germany expanding the Bundeswehr and Joseph P Farrell's video, including France teaming up with Germany, creating Europe’s biggest maker of ground armaments. Sounds like some serious decisions are being made to expand Germany's Defense Forces.

Back a page, on Post #1593 - this link was Posted describing the Dutch merging their Army and Navy with Germany and the Czech Republic considering the same.

http://www.express.co.uk/news/politics/662472/EU-federal-europe-European-army-merging-German-Dutch-forces

Apr 20, 2016 - The plan is for the two countries to create a nucleus of an EU armed forces to fulfill the long term goal spelt out by German defense minister last year of having an EU army.

And it has also emerged that the Czech Republic has also started talks to have its army become part of the Germany’s army.

Last month the Dutch 43rd Mechanized Brigade came under German command as part of its German 1st Armoured Division.

This followed the Dutch 11th Airmobile Brigade coming under German command in 2015.