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

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'Carter’s visit suggests US preparing for war with China'

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/06/02/468533/US-China-Ashton-Carter

An American political analyst says US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter’s going over to the Southeast Asia region suggests that the United States is gearing up for war with China.

On Tuesday, the Pentagon chief left the US for Singapore where he will attend an Asian security summit amid growing tensions over the South China Sea.

Carter is expected to participate in the talks which will primarily focus on what Washington and some regional countries consider as Beijing's military expansion across the disputed South China Sea.

The so-called Shangri-La Dialogue, an annual meeting in Singapore, will be attended by defense ministers, military chiefs and defense experts from the Asia-Pacific region and beyond.

Scott Bennet, a former US army psychological warfare officer, told Press TV on Wednesday that Carter’s visit “is an interesting indication of the US preparation for conflict with China which it maybe coordinating with its conflict with Russia in Ukraine and the Baltics.”

“This is one of the most insane moves of course that the United States could ever make under the Obama administration, because it would be equivalent to a two-front war,” he said. “We saw the result of that in WWII, with Hitler invading Germany and at the same time declaring war against the West and the United states.”

The analyst said “the United States of America and its people do not want war with China in the Southeast Asia area. And it certainly exceeds the boundaries of the Constitution and the use of the United States’ military. The United States’ military is to be used to defend its people and its territory."

China has slammed US military build-up in the South China Sea, saying it is Washington, and not Beijing, which is truly militarizing the disputed waters by conducting patrols and "freedom of navigation" operations there.

On February 19, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Hong Lei said that patrols by US military aircraft and navy vessels as well as its joint military drills with regional partners are behind “escalated tensions” in the South China Sea.

“That’s the real militarization of the South China Sea,” the Chinese official added.

However, a Pentagon report showed last month that China has added more than 3,200 acres (1,300 hectares) of land to the seven features it allegedly occupies in the Spratly Islands archipelago, which is also claimed by the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Taiwan and Brunei.

3 US B-52 heavy bombers fly to Europe for joint NATO Baltic military drills

https://www.rt.com/news/345136-b-52-nato-baltic-exercises-bomber/

Three B-52 Stratofortress long-range bombers will take part in NATO’s maritime exercises that are set to take place across the Baltic from June 3 to June 19. The B-52s will be sent to the UK’s RAF Fainford station to “train and integrate” with US allies.

US Strategic Command announced on Wednesday that the aircraft would depart from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota on Thursday for the third year in a row to participate in BALTOPS (Baltic Operations) annual exercises. The US-led drills, which were first held in 1971, will see about 6,100 maritime, air force and ground troops from 15 NATO member states, as well as Sweden and Finland, engaging in various types of maritime operations focused on defending the Baltic region from potential threats.

“Integrating strategic bombers with multi-national operations in a variety of scenarios enhances the readiness and capability of US and NATO military forces, which is vital to global security,” Adm. Cecil D. Haney, U.S. Strategic Command commander, said a statement Thursday.

The massive aircraft, 159 feet (48.4m) in length and with a wingspan of about 185 feet (56m), will also participate in NATO’s Saber Strike drills that are being held in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia from May 30 to June 22. Some 10,000 troops from 13 NATO countries, including Poland, Germany, France and the UK, plus some non-member states, are among its participants.

The B-52s will be also involved in US Africa Command’s Just Hammer exercises, the statement reads.

Russia has repeatedly expressed its concerns over the increased presence of NATO troops close to its borders, with President Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov saying that Moscow would have to respond with “a series of predictable, systematic and consecutive steps… to safeguard its security interests” in the light of NATO’s hostile moves.

The news of the bombers’ dispatch comes just two weeks after a B-52 aircraft crashed at Anderson US Air Force Base in Guam during an ordinary training exercise. The plane aborted its takeoff and caught fire. There were no casualties as the result of the incident, as all the crew members managed to eject safely.

The last time the B-52s took part in NATO’s training missions was during the Norway-led Cold Response exercises and the Serpentex air support drills at Corsica, France, in March.

Russia's Su-34 Fighter Crew Drills Start in Southern Military District

http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160602/1040648880/russia-drills-military-district.html

Russia's Southern Military District initiated drills aimed to improve control skills over the frontline bomber Su-34, the press service of the Southern Military District said on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Pilots from the bomber regiment of the Russia's Southern Military District initiated drills aimed to improve control skills over the frontline bomber Su-34 in the south of the country, the press service of the Southern Military District said on Thursday.

"Aircrew of the Southern Military District bomber regiment, stationed in the Rostov region, has started a training of control skills over the Su-34 at the 200 meters altitude. The special exercises to simulate action in an emergency situations during the flight are conducted over the Rostov and Volgograd regions," the press service said in a statement.

The press service added that the implementation of flight tactical assignments involves the entire flight and engineering aviation staff. According to the press service, no lower than the second class pilots are allowed to participate in the combat training.

Flights drills are aimed for the aircrews to improve the control skills in the event of equipment failure and the maneuvering skills in case of the evasion from an enemy's fighter attack.

On May 20, Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said that the Russian Military is implementing new training methods, taking into account recent combat experience in Syria. Snap drills have already been conducted in Russia's Southern Military District, involving some 40 units performing tasks in conditions approaching those faced during combat which allowed the pilots to gain experience which will help them minimize combat casualties.

Su-34 is the Russian multipurpose fighter-bomber capable of effectively targeting surface, sea and air objects in any geographic area with the use of all aircraft munition types. The equipment installed on the Su-34 allows for the use of weapons against several targets simultaneously.

The armed forces of Latvia reported a warship of the Russian Federation in the republic borders

http://ria.ru/world/20160602/1441901758.html

MOSCOW, June 2 -. RIA Novosti National Armed Forces (NAF) of Latvia reported on Twitter, that the Russian warship was allegedly seen at 6 miles from the borders of the republic.

"In the exclusive economic zone of Latvia, at a distance of 6.6 nautical miles of territorial waters, identified Russian military ship class" Cherry ", - said the NAF at Twitter.

Commentary Russian Defense Ministry RIA Novosti has not yet.

Earlier NAF already reported about the alleged Russian military ship at Latvia's borders. However, the main headquarters of the Russian Navy announced that Russian warships into the waters of the Baltic republic there.

At the same time over the Baltic regularly recorded the presence of NATO reconnaissance planes, in particular aboard the US Air Force before approaching the Kaliningrad region of Russia's borders.

Israel fully supports Russia’s actions to fight terrorism in Syria — ambassador

http://tass.ru/en/world/879577

According to Israel’s ambassador to Russia, the entire "normal" world supports Russia in that issue

MOSCOW, June 1. /TASS/. Israel fully supports the actions of the Russian Federation in the fight against terrorism in Syria, Israel’s Ambassador to Russia Zvi Heifetz told the Rossiya 24 television channel Wednesday.

"We are not getting involved directly in the operation in Syria. It is clear that we support Russia fully in the fight against international terrorism, against ISIL (former name of the Islamic State terrorist organization banned in Russia)," Heifetz said.

He said that the entire "normal" world supports Russia in that issue. "Russia decided to do something in that regard, and it is doing it," he said.

The ceasefire regime took effect in Syria on February 27. Shortly before, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution supporting a cessation of hostilities. The document drafted by Russia and the United States was backed by all 15 Security Council member states.

The ceasefire regime does not cover the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organizations as well as other groups ruled terrorist by the Security Council.

Russia takes an active part in the Syrian settlement effort. It helps Syria's authorities fight terrorists and has conducted mine clearing work in the ancient city of Palmyra.

Russia’s Aerospace Forces started delivering pinpoint strikes in Syria at facilities of Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, which are banned in Russia, on September 30, 2015, on a request from Syrian President Bashar Assad.

On March 14, 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered to start, from March 15, withdrawing the main part of the Russian Aerospace Forces’ group from Syria. Putin said the tasks set before the military "have been fulfilled on the whole." Russian Deputy Defense Minister Nikolai Pankov said strikes on terrorists will continue to be delivered.

During Russia’s operation against the Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra that lasted nearly six months, Syrian forces recaptured nearly 400 inhabited localities with support from Russia’s aircraft. Serious problems were created for illegal oil trade, which is the key source of income for terrorists; the main routes of supply of arms and ammunition to militants were blocked.

Netanyahu steps up opposition to French ‘peace’ initiative

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/06/02/468551/Israeli-PM-Netanyahu-Palestine-peace-talks-France

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has stepped up his opposition to a French initiative aimed at reviving talks between Israelis and Palestinians.

“The path to peace is not via international conferences that attempt to force a settlement, that make the Palestinian demands more extreme and in the process distance peace,” Natanyahu said on Wednesday.

Paris will be hosting on Friday a gathering of more than 20 countries as well as UN and EU diplomats to discuss the Middle East conflict.

The Israeli prime minister reiterated his call for “direct negotiations and without preconditions.”

“If the countries gathering this week in Paris really want to advance peace, they should join my call to Abu Mazen [Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas] to come to such direct negotiations ... There is no other way,” said Netanyahu.

In a meeting with French Prime Minister Manuel Valls last month, Netanyahu rejected the initiative, saying direct talks with the Palestinian Authority are “the only way to proceed to peace.”

However, Palestinian Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah dismissed Netanyahu’s proposal, calling it an attempt to “buy time.”

The last round of the so-called peace talks between Israelis and Palestinians collapsed in 2014.

Tel Aviv’s illegal settlement activities and its refusal to release senior Palestinian prisoners were among major reasons behind the failure of the talks.

The Israeli premier formally suspended the so-called peace talks with the Ramallah-based Palestinian Authority on April 24, 2014, after Abbas forged a unity pact with Hamas.

Israel responded to the unity pact by announcing tenders for the building of 4,800 illegal settler units on the occupied Palestinian territories.

Palestinians are seeking to create an independent state on the territories of the West Bank, East al-Quds (Jerusalem), and the Gaza Strip.

They are demanding that Israel withdraw from the occupied Palestinian territories.

Israel, however, has refused to return to the 1967 borders and is unwilling to discuss the issue of al-Quds (Jerusalem).

 

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US, NATO war games in Baltics threaten major war: Analyst

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/06/02/468644/US-Russia-NATO-Baltic-drills-Jatras

The US military’s move to deploy strategic B-52 bombers and other weaponry on Russian borders for joint drill with NATO is a dangerous move that could spiral into a full-fledged war threatening the whole world, says an American analyst based in Washington.

James Jatras, a former US Senate Foreign Policy analyst, made the remarks in the wake of two massive US-led war games that are about to begin in the Baltic region, near Russia’s borders.

Three US B-52 Stratofortress bombers took off from Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota on Thursday to “train and integrate” with 6,100 US allied forces during the annual Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) drills from June 3 to June 19.

The bombers will also take part in NATO’s Saber Strike drills that are being held in Baltic States-- Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia -- from May 30 to June 22 and involve nearly 10,000 forces from 14 countries.

This “is a tremendously dangerous and provocative step for NATO and for the Obama administration to take,” Jatras told Press TV on Thursday.

Moscow could respond to the move by deploying its own nuclear-capable bombers on American borders, the analyst suggested, adding that the US response in that case would be very clear.

Russia does not look favorably upon the increased presence of NATO troops close to its borders and has pledged to respond accordingly to any threats posed by the alliance.

“This can only be seen as a very dangerous provocation, this mentality the Obama administration has of poking the bear, poking the bear to see if he growls and then when he growls they could point at them and say look how dangerous he is,” Jatras further explained.

The analyst noted that such unsafe measures by the US could escalate to a “nuclear war” with Russia if Democratic presidential front-runner Hillary Clinton finds her way into the White House as the next president.

“It is a snapshot of what we would get if by some horrible chance Hillary Clinton is elected president where we very well could be looking at a Third World War, a nuclear war, with unimaginably catastrophic consequences,” he continued.

The analyst also noted that there is no way to stop Washington from conducting the exercises as basically the US constitution and Congressional control are “dead letters” and provide no real authority to control government policies.

'Europe turns into region that projects instability outwards' - Russian FM Lavrov

https://www.rt.com/news/345186-europe-instability-lavrov-refugee/

Europe is turning into a region which projects instability outside its borders, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has stated.

"Russia is part of the global world that keeps changing before our very eyes. New centers of growth and influence emerge and strengthen like, first and foremost, the Asia-Pacific region,” Lavrov said at a meeting with representatives of NGOs on Thursday.

“At the same time, we have been witnessing such an unusual phenomenon as the transformation of Europe into a region that is projecting outwards not the traditional well-being, but instability,” he added.

Europe is currently facing its worst refugee crisis since World War II. Last year alone some 1.8 million asylum-seekers entered the European Union fleeing war and poverty in Middle-Eastern countries, according to data from the European Union border agency Frontex.

Italy’s Economy Minister Pier Carlo Padoan said last month that Europe is becoming a “bad word” due to the growing inequality among EU countries trying to cope with the refugee crisis.

In an effort to tackle the biggest migrant crisis in decades, the EU and Ankara signed the migrant deal in March, according to which Turkey would take back refugees seeking asylum in the EU in exchange for a multi-billion euro aid package and some political concessions, including the visa-free regime.

A report from the European Commission reportedly warned last month that the proposed visa-free arrangement with Ankara could actually result in terrorists and criminals flocking to Europe along with Turkish citizens.

“It can be expected that, as soon as Turkish citizens will obtain visa-free entry to the EU, foreign nationals will start trying to obtain Turkish passports in order to pretend to be Turkish citizens and enter the EU visa free, or use the identities of Turkish citizens, or to obtain by fraud the Turkish citizenship,” the Telegraph, which saw the paper, cited it as saying.

Organized crime has been taking advantage of the European migrant crisis to ramp up human trafficking, with an increasing number of children forced into slavery, another EU report warned in May.

Over half of those trafficked to the EU were young women brought for sexual exploitation, the paper said.

“It’s morally and legally unacceptable that in today’s Europe there are women, men, boys and girls who are bought, sold and exploited like commodities,” EU Migration and Home Affairs Commissioner Dimitris Avramopoulos noted, presenting the report in Brussels.

According to Myria Vassiliadou, the EU’s anti-trafficking coordinator, child trafficking has been increasing "very sharply, with 2500 registered victims."

“This is a very worrying trend, particularly with the migration wave, we’ve seen an increase of victims arriving from Libya,” she added.

In fact, intervention in Libya and the removing of Gaddafi was the most ill-conceived step taken by the EU, Professor Kees van der Pijl from Sussex University told RT on Monday.

“Whatever Brussels, NATO, and British flagships, etc. may do – the first thing they should not have done was to intervene in Libya... At some point the objective situation as it is becomes almost impossible to manage. And I think we are in that situation. There is a massive surplus of population in areas where it’s no longer possible to live a decent life,” he said.

Europe has been recently hit hard by a series of terrorist attacks. Four months after 130 people died in a series of coordinated attacks in Paris in November, 32 people were killed in several terror attacks in Brussels. Europe's biggest airports and a number of key locations across the major cities have seen their security heightened as the level of terror threat remains high.

On Tuesday, the US State Department alerted American citizens to the “risk of potential terrorist attacks throughout Europe.” It said that tourists visiting Europe this summer will present “greater targets for terrorists planning attacks in public locations, especially at large events."

Four Arrested in Germany over ISIL Plot to Attack Dusseldorf

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950313000782

German federal prosecutors confirmed in a statement that three Syrian nationals had been arrested and their homes searched, German news website Local reported.

The statement identified the three suspect as 25-year-old Mahood B., 27-year-old Hamza C. and 31-year-old Abd Arahman A.K.

A further warrant was issued for a 25-year-old Syrian, Saleh A., currently under arrest in France.

The three arrested in Germany lived in North Rhine-Westphalia, Baden-Württemberg and Brandenburg.

The target of the attack plan is alleged to have been the historic city center of the North Rhine-Westphalian capital.

Prosecutors said that two suicide bombers were to blow themselves up on Heinrich-Heine-Allee, a broad street with a number of public transport links including U-Bahn and tram stations.

Then the other attackers were supposed to kill more passers-by with rifles and explosives.

Saleh A. and Hamza C. travelled from Syria to Turkey in 2014 after their attack plan was approved by ISIL leaders, prosecutors allege.

In 2015 they then travelled to Germany via the Balkans, where they made contact with a third Syrian, 31-year-old Abd Arahman A. K., an explosives expert sent to Germany by ISIL in October 2014.

Abd Arahman had built explosives for terrorist organization al-Nusra Front, and was to assemble the explosive vests for the suicide bombers, prosecutors say.

But before the plans could be realized, Saleh A. gave himself up to French security authorities on February 1st 2016.

French authorities informed German security services of the attack plan.

Federal prosecutors now aim to have Saleh A. extradited from France to face charges in Germany.

Security sources told Der Spiegel that there was no evidence the attack was to take place imminently.

Nor was there any link with the Euro 2016 football championship due to start in France in just over a week, federal prosecutors said.

Moscow calls for closing the Turkish borders to stop the flow of arms and terrorists to Syria

http://sana.sy/en/?p=79106

Moscow, SANA- Spokesperson for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova said on Thursday that Moscow calls for closing the Turkish-Syrian borders to stop the flow of arms and terrorists, reiterating the need for an international cooperation to combat terrorism in Syria.

Zakharova, at a weekly press conference, added “we call again to activate the international cooperation in combating terrorism in Syria, including Jabhat al-Nusra,” adding that there are no longer possibilities or time to call the gunmen in Syria as moderate opposition.

She affirmed the need to ensure the closure of the Turkish-Syrian borders as a main condition to stop supplying the extremists and terrorists with arms and ammunition and to stop the flow of gunmen who compensate the losses in the ranks of the terrorists.

Zakharova went on to say that the Russian Foreign Ministry rejects accusations that the Russian air force strike civilian sites in Idleb province, stressing that the Russian warplanes have not carried out any military missions there.

The Russian official added that Moscow is ready to cooperate more closely and effectively with Washington on Syria, pointing out that such cooperation is existed, but it could have been more effective and we are ready for that, denying that Russia neglected the calls for enhancing coordination of efforts with Washington.

Russia seeks Syrian settlement through national dialog — Lavrov

http://tass.ru/en/politics/879737

The foreign minister marked efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church to protect Christians in the Middle East and in the north of Africa

MOSCOW, June 2./TASS/. Russia will be resolutely seeking a national dialog in Syria, Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said on Thursday.

The foreign minister marked efforts of the Russian Orthodox Church to protect Christians in the Middle East and in the north of Africa.

"It is clear that it is impossible to ensure due protection of the Christian population living in that region (Middle East and North Africa), and to achieve stable stabilization there in general, without an efficient neutralization of terrorist and extremist threats, without the settlement of numerous crisis politically and diplomatically on the basis of international law, through a national dialog with participation of all ethnic and confessional groups," Lavrov said at a reception marking Orthodox Easter.

Russia’s effort to support the Syrian government in anti-terrorist fight, "to create conditions for an agreement on cessation of hostilities between the Syrian army and the opposition, as well as to render humanitarian aid" is aimed precisely at that, Lavrov added.

Moscow accuses Turkey of patronizing extremists violating Syria truce

http://tass.ru/en/politics/879755

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, Moscow was one of the initiators of the truce and Russia objectively cannot be interested in the disruption of its own efforts

MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. Extremist groupings patronized by Turkey are the main forces breaching the truce in Syria, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"Russia was one of the initiators of the truce and Russia objectively cannot be interested in the disruption of its own efforts," the spokeswoman said.

"The extremist groupings are the main violators of the truce and it is well known that the Turkish authorities are behind them," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

"If not for Turkey’s criminal interference in the affairs of the neighboring country, the peace settlement would have been achieved much faster," the spokeswoman said.

"These are not just words and proofs lie on the surface. For example, the Turkish journalists covering arms deliveries to Syria were taken into custody," she said.

Moscow hopes that new anti-Russian information attacks won’t distract the international community from Turkey’s unconstructive role in Syrian affairs, she said.

Some forces try to protect Jabhat al-Nusra from defeat

According to the diplomat, certain forces have been trying to protect the terrorist group Jabhat al-Nusra (outlawed in Russia) from defeat.

"We are being accused of civilian casualties," she said. "The main purpose is to try to protect Jabhat al-Nusra from defeat. They keep guiding anti-government forces, hiding behind the backs of other groups and using them as a human shield. They don’t stop at using Syrian civilians for that."

Zakharova pointed to the fact that in Aleppo province terrorists operate under the cover the coalition Jaysh al-Moujahideen they lead and that Jabhat al-Nusra militants have resumed intensive bombardments of the Kurdish district Sheikh Maqsood in Aleppo.

"This vicious link should be broken as soon as possible," Zakharova said. "We are urging wider international cooperation in the struggle with terrorists in Syria, including Jabhat al-Nusra. There is no more time or opportunity to describe militants as moderate opposition," Zakharova said.

Moscow calls to expand cooperation between Russian, US militaries in Syria

http://tass.ru/en/politics/879778

Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has stressed that the proposal to coordinate the efforts of the Russian and US militaries was Moscow's initiative

MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. The Russian and US militaries are coordinating their actions in Syria but this work should proceed more effectively, Russia’s Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.

"This [the proposal to coordinate the efforts of the Russian and US militaries] was our initiative and we considered it extremely important to start coordination with the United States," Zakharova said.

"Our position is absolutely clear and explicit. Precisely coordinated efforts by the militaries can lead to the relevant results," she said.

"At first, the United States didn’t respond but then it grew aware of the need for coordination due ‘to the situation on the ground’ and now the militaries are maintaining contacts," the Russian diplomat said.

According to Zakharova, Washington sometimes "self-denies joint work."

"This doesn’t come out quite comme il faut: while dissuading others from interaction with Russia, they themselves are coordinating efforts with Russia," the spokeswoman said.

"But, apparently, the interests of the peaceful settlement have become more important than the sanctions interests," Zakharova said.

"Coordination is proceeding and we believe that this work can be broader and more effective for the process of the peaceful settlement," the Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman said.

Russia considers walkout of Syrian opposition’s chief negotiator "cheap self-advertising"

http://tass.ru/en/politics/879776

According to the Russian Foreign Ministry, the negotiator of the High Negotiations Committee showed disrespect towards the international community

MOSCOW, June 2. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry’s spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has described as a cheap show and a gesture of disrespect towards the international community the ostensible walkout from the intra-Syrian talks, staged by the so-called ‘chief negotiator’ of the High Negotiations Committee, Mohammed Alloush.

"Alloush, who represented the radical group Jaysh al-Islam in the Nigh Negotiations Committee, claimed he was leaving in protest against the international community’s reluctance to feel the importance of putting an end to bloodshed in Syria," Zakharova recalled. "In this way this extremist tried to position himself as an advocate of humanism. I would like to recall that it is Jaysh al-Islam that bears the responsibility for most indiscriminate missile and mortar bombardments of Damascus that kill civilians, including women and minors. That same group, acting in alliance with other jihadists, staged public executions of Christians and Alawites and also repeatedly mounted mortar attacks against the Russian embassy in Syria."

Later, it turned out that Alloush had not left the HNC but was still determined to participate in the work of the delegation’s committee in Geneva, although not as ‘chief negotiator’ - a status he had laid claim to all along, Zakharova said.

"We are deeply convinced that political negotiations are the sole way that opens up the opportunity for overcoming the internal conflict in Syria," she added. "This is a fundamental position of ours and we remain firmly committed to it. This requires serious and constructive attitude by all participants in this process. We regard the attempts to turn the discussion floor in Geneva into a scene for cheap self-advertising as a show of disrespect towards the international community."

Suicide Bomber Attack Kills Two in Syria's Latakia

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160602/1040681403/latakia-syria-bomb.html

Two people were killed, several others were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated himself on a motorbike, according to a security source.

DAMASCUS (Sputnik) – At least two people were killed and several others were injured in a suicide bomber attack in Syria’s Latakia, a security source told Sputnik on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, media reports emerged claiming that a car bomb had exploded in Latakia, killing and injuring several people.

"Two people were killed, several others were wounded when a suicide bomber detonated himself on a motorbike," the source said.

Syrian Army, Allies Launch Massive Operations to Win Back Raqqa

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950313000699

According to field sources, the Syrian forces have started the operations from Ithriya region which links Aleppo to Hama, a strategic area which separates the Syrian army and the ISIL's positions.

The army and its allies began the offensive by artillery attacks, supported by airstrikes, against the Eastern parts of Raqqa which are hosting the main strongholds of the ISIL terrorists.

Field sources said that the operations are aimed at taking full control of Raqqa province concurrently with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)'s advance in the Northern borders of the province.

Earlier reports today said that the SDF in cooperation with the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) have liberated a number of villages and several farms in their operations in Raqqa province in Northeastern Syria on Thursday.

The SDF and its allies continued their special operations to liberate Raqqa from the ISIL Takfiri terrorists' hands, a field source said.

According to the source, the Kurdish forces have advanced 10 kilometers to the Northern parts of the city and will liberate it within days in cooperation with the army.

On Wednesday, the SDF continued to advance against the ISIL in the Western parts of Raqqa province near the Euphrates River, taking full control over at least 12 more villages in the region.

The ISIL withdrew from 12 more villages in al-Tabaqa region that is home to an inactive airbase controlled by the terrorist group.

The SDF fighters' operation in axis of al-Tabaqa has thus far ended in the killing or wounding of dozens of the terrorists and has ended the ISIL rule over vast areas in the region.

SAA detonates tunnel in eastern Damascus

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/saa-detonates-tunnel-eastern-damascus/

Dozens of Nusra militants were killed when the Syrian Army detonated a tunnel under several building blocks used as a headquarter in Jobar suburb to the east of Syrian capital.

The well-entrenched blocks – which contain a command center, ammunition depot, clinic and garage – are located in the eastern part of the suburb near the highway linking Jobar to Zamalka.

“It took the army troops months to dig the tunnel deep behind the enemy lines. After the militants repeatedly attacked our positions and shelled the capital with mortars, we decided to blow up the tunnel”, a military source said.

“The blocks were initially used by Falyaq al-Rahman militants, who handed it over to Jabhet al-Nusra after the two factions struck an alliance against Jaish al-Islam”, he added.

 

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Washington has shifted its Syria strategy from supporting the so-called 'moderate' opposition to supporting the Kurds. Now, retired Syrian Major General Yahya Suleiman says, Washington is looking to divide the country into zones of influence, in the same way Germany was divided following the Second World War.

US's Kurdish Gambit Threatens to Divide Syria into Spheres of Influence
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160602/1040688558/us-kurdish-cooperation-against-syrian-government.html

Speaking to Russia's Izvestia newspaper, Suleiman suggested that the shift in strategy was demonstrated most recently by the Syrian Democratic Forces' participation in an offensive against the Daesh-controlled city of Manbij in northern Syria. The capture of the city and the surrounding area would completely block off the terrorists' supply route from Turkey, the officer indicated.

At the same time, Suleiman said, "the US position on Daesh has always been two-sided. They say one thing and do another. And in this case it's not about cutting off the terrorists' connection with Turkey, but the expansion of the zone of influence of the Kurds, and then using this to their advantage."

"In essence," the officer warned, "Syria in some sense is seeing a repeat of the situation in which Germany was after the Second World War, when the country was divided into zones of influence. We know, of course, that Russia adheres to the UN Charter and the concept of respect for the sovereignty of other countries. But US policy has, on the contrary, throughout history, testified to constant violations of international law."

In any case, Suleiman said, "we are concerned about what is happening." Furthermore, he explained that there are some in Syria who are convinced that there may be truth in recent rumors about an agreement between Moscow and Washington on the division of the country – a kind of Sykes-Picot agreement for the 21st century.

"We do not want this, and we do not believe that Russia is playing such games," the officer noted. "Nevertheless, we cannot help but feel concern about how the situation will develop," he added, pointing to John Kerry's April proposal to divide Syria along zones of control.

"We've even proposed drawing a line, an absolute line, and saying, 'You don't go over there, we don't go over here, and anything in between is fair game'," Kerry said, speaking to The New York Times editorial board in late April.

In response, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov suggested that such an approach is "simplistic," adding that "the principal goal is to fight against terrorism" in Syria, not to divide the country up.

On Wednesday, the State Department admitted that it had 'deliberately cut' a portion of a Fox News reporter's 2013 exchange with former State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki about the Iran deal. Commenting on the failed coverup, Iranian political commentator Hassan Beheshtipour suggested that it was an example of the US desire to rewrite history.

State Dep't Footage Fiasco Shows Desire Rewrite History to Fit US Narrative
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160602/1040686012/us-iran-lost-footage-admission-commentary.html

On Wednesday, State Department spokesman John Kirby admitted that an unidentified official made "a deliberate request" to delete the footage.

"This wasn't a technical glitch, this was a deliberate step to excise the video," Kirby added.

Last month, a minor scandal broke out in Washington after a Fox News reporter discovered that a portion of his 2013 exchange with Ms. Psaki about the Iran nuclear deal had disappeared from its website.

In the deleted segment, the reporter pointedly asked whether it was State Department policy "to lie" in order to "preserv[e] the secrecy of secret negotiations." The journalist posed the question after receiving a tip that secret direct talks were underway between Washington and Tehran over Iran's nuclear program. Psaki's predecessor, Victoria Nuland, earlier denied that any one-on-one negotiations outside the international P5+1 group were taking place.

The Fox reporter's question, and Psaki's response, that "there are times where diplomacy needs privacy in order to progress," was curiously edited out of the 2013 clip on the State Department's website. Officials later blamed the disappearance on a 'glitch', adding that the clip had been restored in full.

But on Wednesday, Kirby admitted that the clip was deliberately deleted, adding that it remains unclear who ordered the deletion. Commenting on the spokesman's remarks, Fox News, always critical of the Iran deal, predictably said that it was "a stunning admission."

For his part, Iranian journalist and commentator Hassan Beheshtipour, a frequent contributor to Iran's Press TV, told Sputnik Persian that there are several important details about this incident which the American press hasn't focused on.

Most importantly, he suggested, "the facts confirming the existence of confidential negotiations between the US and Iran, where Washington secretly promised to accept Tehran's terms on uranium enrichment, had been removed and hidden because the US wants the history of the deal to be written according to their vision and their positions, and not how it was in reality."

Another important element to the story, Beheshtipour noted, was the fact that negotiations began in 2011, under then Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, long before the apogee of US sanctions pressure against Tehran.

In this sense, the journalist noted, "if the American side is trying to hide this fact today, it seems that it is thus trying to say that the Iranians only decided to sit down and negotiate when sanctions had reached their peak. But in fact this is absolutely not the case."

Furthermore, the journalist added, the State Department's clumsy attempts to manipulate the footage may have also constituted an attempt to hide the fact that the US had agreed to the Iranian side's demand that Tehran would be allowed to continue to enrich uranium, in limited quantities, for peaceful purposes. In this sense, he noted, negotiations began following a change in US policy, not as a result of Iran bowing to US sanctions pressure.

In any case, according to Beheshtipour, the embarrassing lapse, and the State Department's apparent failure to consider that the video would be made available elsewhere, including YouTube, has only served to damage US credibility.

According to the leader of the Party for Syrian State Building, a transitional governing body in Syria may be formed as early as in August.

Transitional Governing Body Might Be Formed in Syria by August - Party
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160602/1040653588/syria-transitional-governing-body.html

A transitional governing body in Syria may be formed as early as in August, following the work carried out in this direction by Russia and the United States, the leader of the Party for Syrian State Building, told Sputnik.

“I think that in August we will already have some transitional power. May be it will fail afterwards, but the desire to form it comes ‘from above,’ from Russia and the United States,” Luai Hussein said.

When analyzing American ballistic missile capabilities and anti-aircraft missiles with long range ballistic capabilities, Russian experts have found that the problem is that Americans rockets cannot intercept any ballistic missile in the mesosphere (the altitude of 35000-80000m). Therefore, Russia has focused on developing means of hypersonic cruise flight running for long distances at this difference of heights.

Russia to respond to NATO aggression with hypersonic vectors (Photos & Diagrams)
http://katehon.com/article/russia-respond-nato-aggression-hypersonic-vectors

The principle used by the US antiballistic shield is to send a rocket into space or within a point of impact before calculating the trajectory of ballistic missile. Therefore, American interceptor missiles are operating as suborbital rockets with solid fuel. Once they are started they cannot be stopped and traction cannot be adjusted. If it does not comply with ballistic missile target trajectory calculations or avoidance maneuvers, missile intercepting misses.

Two of the three types of anti-ballistic American missiles of SM-3 Block 1b are THAAD and SR19, which are based on the same engine with solid fuel derived from one of the two engines of the second stage, missile intercontinental MX Peacekeeper (decommissioned) and Minuteman II. This engine is produced by Aerojet General, and develops a thrust of 27,226 kg.

SR19 rockets have a mass of 15t, are manufactered at Fort Greely (Alaska) at Vandenberg (California) and in Hawaii, and are designed to hit ballistic missiles in cruise flight between 150 km and 500 km altitude. The THAAD (Terminal High Altitude Area Defense) missiles weigh 900 kg, form also a ground-based shield against ballistic missiles, which in the terminal phase of the flight, immediately before re-entering the atmosphere or during reentry, act between 80 km and 150 km altitude. Rocket SR19 is heavier, has slower speeds, and has more fuel than THAAD.

The third antiballistic interceptor, SM-3 Block 1b, is based on US AEGIS ships at Deveselu in Romania, is aimed at striking ballistic missiles in flight cruising at heights between 100 and 300 km. SM-3 Block 1b weighs 1.5t has three solid rocket stages, the first being Aerojet MK 72, which constitutes the third stage of US intercontinental ballistic missile Minuteman-II and develops only 15,600 kg. Besides the three types of ballistic missiles, anti-aircraft long-range Patriot missiles can hit ballistic descent path below the altitude of 35,000 m.

The first Russian weapon designed to penetrate US ballistic shields is the ground-to-ground missile system Iskander, which has a range of 500 km, a cruise ceiling of 50,000m, and a speed of 7600-9300 km/h.

3M22 Zirkon has a smiilar path meant for striking aircraft carriers. Its launching tests began on March 18th, 2016. The rocket Zirkon, which weights 5t, is launched from an aircraft and is equipped with a scramjet engine type, which compress air before it enters the combustion chamber, there is no stage compressor, using only dynamic compression, obtained via the intake device. Scramjet engine imprints Zirkon rockets at a speed of Mach 6.2 (6500 km/h) at a cruising altitude of 30,000 m and a kinetic energy of impact with the target 50 times higher than air-ship missiles available.

Another means of hypersonic fighting, which is now in testing in Russia, is space glider Yu-71 (Project 4202), which between 2013 and 2016 was launched 4 times from Dombarovsky Cosmodrome using the first stage of intercontinental ballistic missile UR-100. At an altitude of 70 km, the rocket begins corrections for applying space gliding at a horizontal tragectory giving it a cruising speed of 11.200-12.500 km/h, then separation occures. The entire space glider flight distance of 5500 km was overcomed in 16 minutes. Unlike warheads of ballistic missiles, space gliding of the Yu-71 creates lift and can maneuver so that its flight is one of the variables that can not be calculated by computers of ballistic shields centers of the American leadership. Starting from 2020, Russia will have 24 Yu-71’s at the Dombarovsky strategic nuclear base.

50% of the fuel missile is used for lifting from the ground and climbing through dense layers of the atmosphere up to 10,000 m. Therefore, Russian researchers are turning to adapt a stage rocket that works with liquid fuel, with adjustable trajectory, a running time of 300-400 seconds, as a launcher for a space glider. The weight of the space rocket and glider must be about 40 tons, and launched from an altitude of 8-10,000 m from transport plane IL-76m.

 

[angelburst29]

Evo Morales said that it is irrelevent which presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, wins the upcoming elections because the country is controlled by industrialists and bankers.

Bolivia's Morales Considers Clinton Vs Trump Battle Irrelevant
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160603/1040729138/clinton-trump-us-morales.html

It is irrelevent which presidential candidate, Hillary Clinton or Donald Trump, wins the upcoming elections because the country is controlled by industrialists and bankers, not the president, Bolivian President Evo Morales told Sputnik.

"Unfortunately, nothing will change, it doesn't matter who the US president becomes. Unfortunately, the American people are being cheated, they are forced to vote. Will their chosen one rule? Does [current President Barack] Obama rule? Industrialists, bankers rule, they are the ones who are in control. In my opinion, it doesn't matter who becomes the US president, he [or she] would still not rule," Morales said in an interview.

Also: President Morales Casts Doubts on Donald Trump's Mental Health
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160603/1040730912/us-trump-mental-health-morales.html

Bolivian President Evo Morales told Sputnik in an interview that the Republican candidate for the United States Presidency Donald Trump is a wrong choice due to his mental health problems.

"I think, pardon me, but he [Donald Trump] needs psychiatrist. I doubt if such a candidate would be beneficial for the United States. I doubt that," Morales said.

During his campaign, the Republican frontrunner has been making controversial statements, including in relation to immigrants, Muslims and women, which have triggered sharp criticism among politicians and public worldwide.

The United States is expected to elect its new president on November 8, 2016.

US and Greek authorities in a joint operation intercepted a container carrying 26 million prescription opioid painkillers that were destined to be supplied to the Daesh jihadists by sea, Greek media reported Friday.

Massive Seizure of Painkillers in Greece Spells Agony for Daesh Terrorists
http://sputniknews.com/world/20160603/1040736303/daesh-painkillers-greek-port.html

According to the Ekathimerini newspaper, the container with Tramadol was discovered by officers of the Greek Financial Crimes Squad’s narcotics unit and agents of US Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

The container, which, according to the declaration carried towels and tablecloths, had reportedly arrived from India last month and was expected to be delivered to Libya.

Last February, another container with opioid painkillers ordered by the same Libyan company with alleged ties to Daesh was confiscated in Dubai by the local authorities.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has called for a NATO-Russia Council meeting ahead of the military alliance's July summit in Warsaw as she reiterated her wariness over the build-up of NATO forces in Eastern Europe and the Baltic States.

Merkel Calls for NATO-Russia Council Meeting to Ease Tensions
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160603/1040726361/merkel-nato-russia-defense.html

Speaking at a joint news conference in Berlin, with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, Merkel said it would be "desirable" to hold a NATO-Russia Council meeting before the main NATO summit in Warsaw in July.

In particular, she referred to the NATO-Russia Founding Act from 1997, which states that "the alliance will carry out its collective defense and other missions by ensuring the necessary interoperability, integration, and capability for reinforcement rather than by additional permanent stationing of substantial combat forces."

Merkel said the Founding Act was an "important document" that Germany would "not violate". Her comments come amid divisions within NATO over the deployment of four rotating battalions in Eastern Europe.

​NATO Build-Up NATO has been gradually building up its forces in Europe for over a decade, but has recently undertaken a huge increase in its presence in the Baltic region and Eastern Europe.

The NATO Response Force (NRF) was originally set up following the Prague summit in 2002 as a multinational force made up of land, air, maritime and Special Operations Forces (SOF) that could deploy quickly.

Since then, there has been a steady build-up of forces, particularly around Russia. NATO Allies decided to enhance the NRF in 2014 by creating a 'Spearhead Force' within it, known as the Very High Readiness Joint Task Force (VJTF).

In June 2015, the alliance held a huge exercise in the Baltic, with 49 ships, 61 aircraft, one submarine, and a combined amphibious landing force of 700 US Finnish and Swedish troops alongside NATO partners Finland, Georgia and Sweden. Overall, 5,600 troops took part.

In November 2015, the leaders of Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Poland and Slovakia have called for an increased NATO presence in Eastern Europe and the Baltic.

Polish Defense Minister Antoni Macierewicz said May 31, that the decision to deploy four NATO battalions in Poland and the Baltic states has been already made and that only technical details were left to discuss.

"Our conversation confirmed that four combat battalions on a rotating basis, which would represent an important element of NATO's expanded permanent presence in Eastern Europe, would be deployed in Poland, as well as in Baltic states," Macierewicz said during a meeting with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, as quoted by the local TVN24 broadcaster.

Israeli Ambassador to Russia Zvi Heifetz said that Israel and Russia will sign a joint statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between countries.

Israel, Russia to Sign Statement on 25th Anniversary of Diplomatic Ties
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160603/1040726114/russia-israel.html

Israel and Russia will sign a joint statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between the two states during the upcoming visit of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to Russia, Israeli Ambassador to Russia Zvi Heifetz told Sputnik.

On June 6-8, Netanyahu will visit Russia to meet Russian leadership and to sign a number of agreements on bilateral cooperation.

"In addition [to the agreements], a joint statement on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between our states," Heifetz said.

Despite the fact that Moscow supported the creation of the State of Israel, the Soviet Union broke off the diplomatic ties with the Middle Eastern state in 1967. The diplomatic relations were resumed only on October 18, 1991, shortly before the collapse of the Soviet Union.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

In Hitler's Steps: Huge US Military Convoy to Advance From Germany to Russia's Border (Video)

http://russia-insider.com/en/hitlers-steps-huge-us-military-convoy-advance-germany-russias-border/ri14784

Remember "Dragoon Ride" of 2015? It was a company of US stryker vehicles returning from an Estonia independence day parade (which was inexplicitly held not in the nation's capital but 300 metres from the Russian border) not by rail or ship as is usual but across Europe's highways.

Well say hello to 2016. This time it's an entire regiment of 1,200 American troops with 400 vehicles which has hit the road -- and in the opposite direction. Yupp that's right. A Regiment of US troops has driven out from their Germany bases en route to Estonia and the neighborhood of Russia old imperial capital of Sankt Petersburg (once Leningrad) in the Baltics -- ie they are retracing the steps taken by the Third Reich's Army Group North taken during the invasion of the Soviet Union. Once there they will join a 14,000 strong multinational NATO military exercise.

What a remarkable lack of self-consciousness. Germany, Poland and the western media scoff every year when Russian bikers perform their annual ride from Moscow to Berlin. Yet those are private Russian citizens and furthermore unarmed. These are soldiers en route for war drills on Russia's border.

Russia is famously and understandably hyper-sensitive about anything WWII in which it lost 25 million people, most of them civilians a to genocidal policies of the western occupier. US knows this but still pulls up stunts like this. Is US military really this oblivious to the paralels here or is somebody at the Pentagon going out of their way to provoke the Russians and cook up a budget-enhancing crisis?

US Preparing for War on Russia and China?

http://www.globalresearch.ca/us-preparing-for-war-on-russia-and-china/5528573

Russian and Chinese sovereign independence are the main obstacles to unchallenged US global dominance.

America’s provocative military buildup close to their borders risks a likely inevitable confrontation – how serious the fullness of time will tell.

The risk of possible nuclear war should give world leaders serious concern about allying with America’s potentially catastrophic imperial agenda.

China may declare an Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) in the South China Sea to counter increasing US military provocations. Foreign aircraft and vessels could be interdicted for entering without authorization.

America and Japan refused to recognize Beijing’s East China Sea ADIZ, declared in 2013. It includes waters and territory claimed by other countries.

According to the Washington-based US-China Economic and Security Review Commission, “(a) Chinese ADIZ in the South China Sea could lead to tense mid-air encounters between US and Chinese aircraft”- the commission irresponsibly blaming Beijing for increasingly hostile US actions.

In February, US Pacific Command head Admiral Harry Harris criticized what he called “destabilizing and provocative” Beijing actions, saying America will ignore a South China Sea ADIZ if declared.

The Commander’s Handbook on the Law of Naval Operations states: “US military aircraft not intending to enter national airspace should not identify themselves or otherwise comply with ADIZ procedures established by other nations, unless the United States has specifically agreed to do so.”

Last week, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter warned China about what he called building “a great wall of self-isolation,” claiming regional US allies “are voicing concerns publicly and privately at the highest levels, regional meetings and global forums.”

America seeks a different Asia/Pacific future, one it intends to dominate, he didn’t explain, claiming it’s committed to upholding freedom of navigation and commerce – by enforcing Washington rules, he left unsaid.

On June 1, China’s ambassador to America Cui Tiankai asserted his country’s right to defend its territorial claims and maritime rights.

He accused Washington of escalating regional tensions, abusing the freedom of navigation principle, warning America’s imperial agenda “risk(s) the very militarization we all wish to avoid.”

On Monday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying said Carter’s hostile remarks “laid bare the stereotypical US thinking and hegemony,” maintaining a Cold War era mindset.

Beijing “has no fear of and will counter any actions that threaten and undermine (its) sovereignty and security,” she stressed, accusing Washington of increasing Asia/Pacific militarism, a plot to undermine her nation’s sovereign independence.

US hegemonic aims threaten Russia the same way. Increasingly encroaching on its land and sea borders risks an eventual confrontation.

Possible nuclear war should focus global leaders on prioritizing ways to prevent it, starting with rejecting America’s imperial agenda – the greatest threat to world peace.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Russia to respond to NATO’s activity in Poland, Baltic region — diplomat

http://tass.ru/en/politics/880072

The Russian military will watch with much attention what means might be necessary to neutralize the risks associated with NATO’s growing activity

MOSCOW, June 3. /TASS/. Intensification of NATO’s activity in the areas adjoining the Baltic Sea will call for Russia’s military and political response, Alexander Grushko, the Russian ambassador to NATO told Kommrersant FM business news radio on Friday.

"A decision to deploy (NATO’s) extra battalions changes the regional situation in the sphere of security qualitatively," he said. "Today this situation is acquiring new parameters and it’ll surely require not only a political response but also the appropriate military precautions."

The Russian military "will watch with much attention what means might be necessary to neutralize the risks" associated with NATO’s growing activity.

"It’s all too obvious that measures will be taken and our partners at the Russia-NATO Council shouldn’t get surprised over it," Grushko said. "All the realistically thinking politicians and military realize that any action will trigger an equal counteraction sooner or later."

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said earlier four combat battalions will be deployed in Poland and three former Soviet Baltic republic of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

From June 3 to June 19 NATO holds BALTOPS 16 exercise involving fifteen member-states of the pact, as well as Finland and Sweden. The war games will the manpower of 6,100 men.

Almost simultaneously, the Saber Strike 16 war games began in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia on May 27. They involve thirteen countries all in all and will continue through to June 22.

US getting increasingly aggressive towards Russia: Analyst

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/06/04/468801/Russia-NATO-USS-Harry-Truman-Wilayto

The United States has become more aggressive towards Russia and is taking extremely dangerous measures to prove the “superiority” of its military forces, says an analyst in Richmond, Virginia.

Phil Wilayto, an author and editor of the Virginia Defender, made the comments over Washington’s move in launching airstrikes against Daesh (ISIL) terrorists from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean Sea.

The strikes were launched on Friday from the USS Harry Truman, marking the first time since 2003 that such attacks were being conducted from an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean on targets located in the Middle East.

A senior US Navy official told the media that the airstrikes demonstrated the warship’s ability to carry out sustained missions even when moving from one region to another.

Wilayto said the move by Washington is “dangerous” and amounts to a “demonstration of power” to Russia by the US.

It shows “the ability of the US to collaborate with its allies and project serious military force wherever it wants to by means of the aircraft carriers,” he told Press TV on Friday.

The analyst said the move has far less to do with the fight against Daesh and is rather intended to show Washington’s “superior” military.

NATO’s military buildup on its eastern frontier with Russia was more proof that the US was “creating a situation that is forcing Russia to take defensive measures on its own soils which are then characterized as aggressive acts on the part of Russia,” the analyst argued.

The US and its allies are set to hold two major military drills in the Baltic, namely the annual Baltic Operations (BALTOPS) involving 6,100 forces (June 3-19) and NATO’s Saber Strike drills that will be held with 10,000 troops (May 30- June 22).

Russia does not favorably look upon the increased presence of NATO troops close to its borders and has pledged to respond accordingly to any threats posed by the alliance.

Wilayto said the media need to raise more awareness about Washington’s “aggressive action” towards Russia, a major issue that is missing from the US presidential debates.

Joint US-Japan-S Korea Drills Directed Against N Korean 'Provocations'

http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160604/1040773112/us-korea-drills-provocations.html

Forthcoming joint (US, Japan andSouth Korea) ballistic missile defense drills will be conducted in order to improve coordination against Pyongyang's "provocations".

TOKYO (Sputnik) — US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter said Saturday that the forthcoming joint ballistic missile defense drills between Washington, Tokyo and Seoul will be held in order to improve coordination against Pyongyang's "provocations".

Earlier in the year, it was announced that the United States, Japan and South Korea planned to hold joint missile defense exercises on the sidelines of the scheduled Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises in June and July.

"For instance, the U.S.-Japan-Republic of Korea trilateral partnership helps us coordinate responses to North Korean provocations. And I’m pleased to announce that the United States, Japan, and the Republic of Korea will conduct a trilateral ballistic missile warning exercise later this month," Carter said at Singapore’s Shangri-La Dialogue conference, as quoted by The Straits Times newspaper.

Tensions on the Korean Peninsula escalated after North Korea successfully carried out a hydrogen bomb test in early January and put a satellite into orbit a month later, violating UN Security Council resolutions and triggering condemnation from the international community.

Japanese MoD 'Deeply Concerned' Over China’s Activity in Disputed Waters

http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160604/1040771426/japanese-dm-concerned-south-china-sea.html

Japan’s Defense Minister Gen Nakatani expressed serious concern on Saturday regarding China’s activities in the East China Sea.

TOKYO (Sputnik) – Speaking at a security summit in Singapore, Nakatani stressed, as quoted by Japan's Kyodo News Agency, that he was "deeply concerned" over the construction of military outposts in some of the disputed areas and emphasized that no country can be an "outsider" when it comes to regional stability.

Japan and China have rival claims to the Tokyo-controlled Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea. The conflict became aggravated in 2012 when China sent warships to the waters around the islands after Japan claimed to have purchased them from private owners.

In 2014, Japan and China agreed to reduce tensions over the disputed islands. However, Chinese vessels repeatedly intruded into Japanese territorial waters around the Senkaku Islands in 2015.

US asks Russia not to target Al-Qaeda branch in Syria – Russian FM Lavrov

https://www.rt.com/news/345378-russia-us-nusra-extremists-syria/

Washington has asked Moscow not to conduct airstrikes against al-Nusra Front, which is Al-Qaeda’s branch in Syria, for fear that members of the “moderate opposition” could also be hit, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov has reported.

“They [the US] are telling us not to hit it [al-Nusra Front], because there are also ‘normal’ opposition groups [on those territories],” Lavrov said in an interview with local Russian media that was published on the Russian Foreign Ministry’s website.

The minister also stressed that “such opposition groups should leave terrorist positions,” adding that “we have long agreed on that.” Russia first set a deadline for the “moderate” opposition to leave territories occupied by al-Nusra Front extremists, but then agreed to give them more time to withdraw.

In the interview, Lavrov said that Russia believes that taking specific and more effective measures to fight the Islamic State (IS, former ISIS/ISIL) and al-Nusra Front terrorist groups should be the top priority for Russia and the US if the Syrian crisis is to be resolved.

“It is important to provide humanitarian access to the settlements blocked by one side or another, to secure the ceasefire and to prevent its violation, as well as to launch the political process… but, as important as these goals are, terrorism is our common threat, and there should be no doubt about that,” he said, adding that, in the meantime, al-Nusra Front has been attempting to merge with other armed opposition groups.

Lavrov also said that the political process in Syria is being held back by radical opposition groups that refuse to come to the negotiating table and set preconditions for peace talks. He added that it is important to set aside these demands and focus on the fight against terrorism.

The minister also emphasized that Russia and the US are involved in a close and intensive dialog on Syria that includes regular telephone calls between Lavrov and his US counterpart, John Kerry, and a video-conference channel set up between the Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria located at the Khmeimim airbase in Latakia and the US base in the Jordanian capital of Amman, as well as a joint US-Russian center in Geneva.

Lavrov had held a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry at the initiative of the US side earlier the same day, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

The two ministers discussed “the fight against ISIS and the need to urgently distance the moderate opposition from the Jabhat al-Nusra group, as well as efforts to cut off the flow of weapons and militants coming from abroad to beef up terrorist organizations,” the statement said.

In the meantime, Kerry, who is in Paris, told journalists that he had discussed the upsurge in violence in Syria during the phone call with Lavrov, explaining that the two had worked specifically on “ways to try to strengthen the enforcement and accountability for this cessation,” AP reported.

In the meantime, the US State Department said that Washington has asked Russia to be “more careful” in targeting its airstrikes against al-Nusra Front, as hitting civilians or opposition groups while attacking the jihadists could eventually give more support to the terrorist groups.

“[The US State] Secretary conveyed to Russia and the Assad regime that they need to carefully distinguish between these terrorist groups operating on the ground and those parties to the cessation of hostilities,” US State Department Deputy Spokesman Mark Toner said during a briefing on Friday, adding that the US agrees that IS and al-Nusra Front “pose a real threat to the security on the ground in Syria.”

‘US trying to play both sides to continue Syrian conflict’

Geopolitical analyst Patrick Henningsen told RT he believes Washington is not doing enough to convince so-called “moderate” rebel groups to part ways with terrorists.

By designating militants who share the same areas and positions with terrorists as “moderate opposition,” the US is actually providing the terrorists with a safe haven, Henningsen reasoned. The terrorist groups are profiting from such neighborly relations the same way they make use of civilians.

“The classification of moderate rebels is a type of the human shield,” he said.

Hennigsen claims that the lack of a clear signal to the rebel groups coming from Washington is the result of a deliberate strategic choice made by the US government, which wants the military conflict to drag on.

“All this talk of co-mingling, this is all double-speak,” he noted, adding that Washington is “trying to play both sides this to continue this conflict” and has no intention of actually resolving the issue.

 

[goyacobol]

As we are observing, the final "show down" seems to be between the US and Russia. It also is not a new strategy for the US. I found what I thought was an interesting connection to Henry Kissinger.

Kissinger: The goal of the US is a break up of Russia

August 25, 2015

Mikhail Sergeyev

Nezavisimaya Gazeta

Translated by Kristina Rus
​

Today's goal of the U.S. is a break-up of Russia, said the former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in an interview to the American press. "To break the backbone of the Russian government", – said the interviewer, the editor of a leading foreign policy publication. Clear signs of economic schism in Russia already have been already seen during the 1998 default. Then the regions refused to remit taxes to the federal government and tried to create their own gold and currency reserves.

A break-up of Russia became a goal, whereas a long-term perspective should be its integration, says former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor of the United States, Henry Kissinger. He said this in an interview with the editor of a reputable foreign policy publication "National Interest", Jacob Heilbrunn. The latter agrees that politicians in Washington "aim to break the backbone of the Russian government." However, the interview makes it clear that "to break the backbone of the Russian government" is a short-term goal under the strategic course for "disintegration of Russia".

The Russian Empire and the USSR have already demonstrated a propensity for break-up. Over the past 100 years our country has been split at least twice - during the revolutions of 1917 and 1991. Numerous signs of economic separatism manifested in modern Russia in the early 90s and especially during the economic crisis of 1998. Then the regions experienced the inability of the Centre to solve pressing economic problems and tried to do it autonomously.

The most vivid manifestation of economic separatism were attempts to manufacture regional currencies, the creation of regional gold and currency reserves, resistance to transfer taxes to the Federal budget. A more complete list of signs of economic separatism is shared by a former advisor to the President and the deputy chief of analytical department of the presidential administration of the Russia, Emil Pain in the article on federalism and separatism in Russia.

"After the announcement of default by the federal government almost all regions have taken measures of economic self-defense, which actually threatened the economic integrity of the country," - recalls Pain. According to official statistics, by September 1998, 79 regions have introduced administrative regulation of prices for food and restrictions on their export outside the region. The greatest threat was created by the atomization of regional financial systems. In the Samara region the work of the branches of Moscow banks was limited, a pool of local banks was established as well as a local cash settlement system.

Bashkiria, Kalmykia, Tatarstan, Tomsk oblast and Khabarovsk Krai suspended the transfer of taxes to Moscow. Kalmykia unilaterally transferred federal taxes to the local budget, Kaliningrad announced "a state of emergency economic situation," and Kemerovo began to collect their own gold reserves. The then authorities of Sakhalin and the Yaroslavl region announced a change of form of administration.

A wave of economic separatism during the default of 1998 in many respects, was even stronger than in the early 90s when there were attempts to create the so-called Ural Republic with its own currency – the Ural Franc. However, after the change of government in 1998, the new Russian authorities quickly dealt with economic separatism. Local banks which didn't transfer taxes to Moscow lost their licenses. And the regions which prohibited the export of food, were deprived of deliveries of fuel. The rapid growth of the economy helped defeat separatism due to the devaluation of the ruble.

(...)

"To look for possible ways and methods of disintegration of Russia in an interview with Kissinger is wrong in principle. Kissinger is talking about a systemic choice after the cold war by the States of policy of domination without regard to the interests of our country", – says the head of the Council on foreign and defense policy, Fyodor Lukyanov. The crises of the 90s, he said, were caused by the ineptitude of the Center. Then the regional authorities were just preparing to survive on their own. When the threat of a deepening of the crisis passed, local officials forgot about economic separatism. "In the current climate I can't imagine what should happen to repeat the scenario of the 90s," says Lukyanov.

In February 2016 Kissinger made a visit to Moscow to speak with Putin.

Kissinger Delivered a Plan for a New World Order to Putin
Translated by Ollie Richardson for Fort Russ
9th February, 2016

Henry Kissinger is one of the "bisons" of American politics. One of those who ruined the Soviet Union. It was he who put in a lot of effort to finally tear China away from the USSR and thus, weakening the latter. He is a patriot who put himself on the altar of victory in the "cold war". Even after retiring, he did not give up on the battle throughout his life. He continued to struggle with the remnants of the Soviet Empire.

Four years ago, speaking about "the drums of war", which could already be heard, he said:

"The coming war will be so severe that only one superpower can win, and that's us. That is why the EU is in such a hurry to form the superpower, because they know what is coming, and to survive, Europe will have to be one whole cohesive state. This urgency tells me that they know what to expect from us. Oh, how I dreamed of this delightful moment. From the ashes we shall build a new society, there will remain only one superpower, and it will be the global government that wins. Do not forget that the United States has the best weapon, which no other country has, and we will introduce those weapons to the world when the time is right". (Henry Kissinger January 2012).


On January 20th 2012, he arrived in Moscow to give Vladimir Putin an ultimatum and "friendly advice" not to run again for President of Russia. Because otherwise the U.S. will grind Russia into powder: "the third term of Vladimir Putin, this is a war that Russia will lose".

An important guest

It's already been four years. On February 3rd 2016, Russian President Vladimir Putin received the former U.S. Secretary of State in his suburban residence in Novo-Ogaryovo. Like the previous encounter, what they said is not known. It is clear that Kissinger arrived on very important business that cannot be trusted with Victoria Nuland, nor Barack Obama.

The visits of Henry Kissinger to Moscow have recently become quite frequent. He came twice in 2013 (spring and autumn), most likely trying to convince Russia to withdraw from Ukraine.

His opinion and the opinion of his circles that he is in (the clan of the Rockefellers) is often ignored by the top political leadership of the US, which has become a cause of many geopolitical defeats of Washington. Henry Kissinger never ceases to remind us that the key to American dominance in the world is the disunity of Eurasia. Washington's biggest defeat was the creation of a political and economic alliance between Beijing and Moscow. The accession of Berlin will completely negate the last victory of American diplomacy and will create a condition of rapid decline of the political weight of the United States.

But these powers soon will be able to occupy the White House, and it will be time to talk about the future, the future in which Russia and the United States have to live in.

"New world" by Kissinger

Immediately upon returning to the States, Henry Kissinger wrote a column for the magazine The National Interest, in which he outlined his vision for the future of the world. The most significant points being:

Firstly, the relationship between the U.S. and Russia is currently probably even worse than they were before the end of the cold war. Experts in both countries believe that Moscow and Washington have entered a new phase of confrontation and are unlikely to be able to cooperate effectively on issues of world order. Secondly, he pointed out that Russia and the U.S. should cooperate. According to him, the country needs to develop a concept of partnership, which will set out the roles each country will play in shaping the new world order and the concept of a coordinated approach to it.

Kissinger noted that the U.S. and Russia should cooperate not only among themselves but also with other states. Instability in the world today is unprecedented. Threats arise because of the destruction of state power and the growing number of uncontrolled territories. Such problems cannot be solved by one country, so the United States must continually cooperate with Russia and other world powers.

Henry Kissinger did not ignore Ukraine, which, in his opinion should become a bridge between Russia and the West, and not an outpost of one of the parties. Also the diplomat stressed that if the U.S. and Russia were to work together in Syria, along with other major powers, they will be able to create a model for a peaceful settlement of the conflict, not only in the Middle East, but possibly in other areas.

Over the past few years, Washington and Moscow cooperated only sporadically, but great progress was made, which is not surprising: discussions were held outside the agreed strategic format. Therefore, Kissinger stated the need to perceive Russia as an integral element of any new global equilibrium, not only as a threat to the United States.

The forgotten superpower

Let us try to understand the diplomatic lexicon of politics and look at the problem from a great height. How does the U.S (Henry Kissinger) approach problem-solving at the highest, that is, strategic level?

This catches the eye. No one in the States (even Kissinger) doubts that the future of the world, at any point, must be addressed with Russia and possibly with even some major countries.

Has the rhetoric changed in the last four years? It has long forgotten the concept of a singular global hegemon, which for last 20 years was the USA. Also forgotten are world governments (American), and the strongest army with the most modern weapons.

It should be understood that Russia's "right to decide" was not due to the fact that the United States was flexible, but because the events of recent years and the efforts of the leadership of the Russian Federation has forced Washington to reconsider their opinions and make concessions.

An important marker is the desire of the former "masters of the world" to share the burden of responsibility for Ukraine with Moscow, and return it to its dominant period, when this area was once the bridge between Europe and Russia. In fact, the U.S. is ready to retreat and lose half of its influence, until they lose everything.

It's the same thing in Syria. Six months ago it seemed that the days of the Assad regime were numbered, and the entire Middle East would remain not only as eternal pain for Europe and Russia, but also in full orbit of the political power of the United States. Six months later and there has been enormous change. An outpost of the U.S - Saudi Arabia - is on the verge of defeat. Turkey found itself in the situation of Ukraine two years ago, and may simply fall apart. At the same time, Russia and Iran are increasing their presence and influence by leaps and bounds in the Middle East, threatening in the medium term to squeeze the U.S. out of the strategic region.

But because of the mouth of Henry Kissinger, Vladimir Putin has apparently also heard the suggestion to "divide" the region. And this (according to the American political elite) must become a "model" for similar agreements in other parts of Eurasia.

The bridge through Alaska

What did the President of Russia say? I think he said he would think about it for another four years. Through which he will be able to offer Henry Kissinger, or someone else, to make Alaska a "bridge" between Russia and America, and will promise to consider also the interests of Washington and other major powers in Europe.

But if they are not satisfied with the American political elite, they will have to wait for the next offer, which is expected in four years. But it seems to me that it will be even worse for them.

 

[bjorb]

[quote author= Henry Kissinger?]"The coming war will be so severe that only one superpower can win, and that's us. That is why the EU is in such a hurry to form the superpower, because they know what is coming, and to survive, Europe will have to be one whole cohesive state. This urgency tells me that they know what to expect from us. Oh, how I dreamed of this delightful moment. From the ashes we shall build a new society, there will remain only one superpower, and it will be the global government that wins. Do not forget that the United States has the best weapon, which no other country has, and we will introduce those weapons to the world when the time is right"[/quote]

Is that quote legit? If it is he really let his mask fell for a moment. And what a joker, best weapons in the world. Wishfull thinking reigns supreme. Unless he is referring to exotic weaponry of the consortium? But that's simply not their property.

And why is he speaking about the EU like that. The EU is their tool? Or am I missing something?

Seems Russia is standing in the way for them to usher in world government.

 

[goyacobol]

[quote author= Henry Kissinger?]"The coming war will be so severe that only one superpower can win, and that's us. That is why the EU is in such a hurry to form the superpower, because they know what is coming, and to survive, Europe will have to be one whole cohesive state. This urgency tells me that they know what to expect from us. Oh, how I dreamed of this delightful moment. From the ashes we shall build a new society, there will remain only one superpower, and it will be the global government that wins. Do not forget that the United States has the best weapon, which no other country has, and we will introduce those weapons to the world when the time is right"

Is that quote legit? If it is he really let his mask fell for a moment. And what a joker, best weapons in the world. Wishfull thinking reigns supreme. Unless he is referring to exotic weaponry of the consortium? But that's simply not their property.

Seems Russia is standing in the way for them to usher in world government.
[/quote]

bjorn,

Who knows for sure about the authenticity, but if it is true then yes, I think you are right that it could be a 4D inspired weapon that may or may not be permitted in the game. It certainly got my attention and I hope this is not just a distraction. Fort Russ is one of the sources being used by us but of course there may be deliberate intentions to draw our attention away from the truth as well.

I have to say the thought had been on my mind even before reading the article, that a super weapon is at least a possibility. It seems no weapon ever invented has not been too tempting to use just to see if it works. Yes, a few comets/meteors are sounding not so bad as an alternative.

 

[angelburst29]

The Russian Center for coordination and monitoring the cessation of hostilities agreement confirmed that about 1000 terrorists launched an attack on Syrian army positions southwest of Aleppo city, noting that Turkish troops were seen near Aleppo city.

Russian center: 1000 terrorists in “moderate opposition” areas attack army positions in southwestern Aleppo
http://sana.sy/en/?p=79215

A spokesman for the center, based at the Russian airbase in Hmeimim said, in a statement on Saturday that about 1000 terrorists attacked positions of the Syrian Army in al- Breij area in southwestern Aleppo, noting that the assault was launched from the direction of al-Ansari area where the so-called “moderate opposition” groups are positioned.

Fierce clashes broke out between the terrorists and units of the Syrian army in an area located 800 m from a camp in al-Nassr neighborhood as the terrorists are trying to gain access into part of the highway, the spokesman added.

He quoted local sources as saying that terrorist groups with Turkish soldiers among them were seen in areas near neighborhoods in Aleppo city where hostilities are going on.

In a statement on Friday, the Russian center confirmed that new terrorist groups arrived in Daret Ezza and Azaz areas in northern Aleppo and referred to an increased flow of big trucks crossing the Turkish border into Syria and the infiltration of 200 Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists into Aleppo.

According to the center’s spokesman, 40 civilians were killed and 100 others were injured in terrorist attacks on al-Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood in Aleppo city.

The Russian Center explained that Jabhat al-Nusra terrorists used artillery, anti-aircraft systems and mortars in shelling the neighborhoods of al-Sheikh Maqsoud, al-Muhafaza, al-Zahraa neighborhoods in Aleppo city and al-Nairab airport, in addition to shelling Syrian army positions in Handarat area in the north.

The center’s spokesman told reporters that Jabhat al-Nusra took advantage of the cessation of hostilities and the presence of factions of the so-called “moderate opposition” to re-position its fighters and increase its arms and ammunition supplies and launched activities on neighboring areas.

According to the locals of Marea in Aleppo, fighters of the so-called “Syrian Free Army” are moving through checkpoints and regions controlled by ISIS terrorist groups.

This information, the center said, confirms contacts between commanders of terrorist groups of ISIS and the “Free Syrian Army” and agreement to prepare for joint operations against local areas in northern Aleppo, noting that the weapons, ammunition and supplies dropped by US aircrafts in Marea have fallen into the hands of ISIS terrorists.

The cessation of hostilities agreement came into effect on February 27 and it doesn’t include ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra and other groups designated as terrorist organizations by the UN Security Council.

Armed units of the terrorist group Al-Nusra Front launched a massive artillery strike, targeting Aleppo's residential areas and the city's airport as well as Syrian Armed Forces positions near Handarat, a representative of Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria said on Saturday.

Al-Nusra Front Terrorists Deliver Massive Strike on Aleppo Homes, Airport
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160604/1040783809/syria-aleppo-nusra-strike.html

Armed units of the Al-Nusra Front terrorist group delivered a massive strike on the neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsood, Al-Muhafaza and Al-Zahra and on Al-Nayrab airport in Aleppo. The terrorists also hit the Syrian Arab Army position in the city of Hndarat," the representative said.

Over 40 people were killed and at least 100 were injured when terrorists shelled residential areas of Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood of Aleppo, the representative said.

"A police station and a number of residential buildings were destroyed as a result of a shelling of [Aleppo's] Sheikh Maqsood quarter by militants from terrorist groups. More than 40 civilians, police and military personnel were killed and about 100 sustained injuries," the spokesman said.

According to him, Nusra Front group, outlawed in Russia, also carried out a massive artillery strike on Aleppo airport and the Syrian Army positions near the town of Handrat.

Over 1,000 militants launched an offensive on the Syrian government positions southwest of Aleppo, a spokesman for the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation at the Hmeimim airbase said Saturday.

"In the southwest to the city of Aleppo, armed units of more than a thousand people have launched an offensive on the Syrian Arab Army positions in the Buraij area and a training military camp in Nasr quarter," the spokesman said.

According to him, the attacks are being carried out from the areas, where so-called moderate opposition forces are stationed.

The spokesman added that militant groups partly made up of Turkish troops emerged close to the areas of hostilities.

Russia’s Permanent Representative at the UN Vitaly Churkin said Russia rejects the “opposition’s” attempts to complicate Syrian-Syrian dialogue by imposing new conditions.

Churkin rejects “opposition” attempts to complicate Syrian dialogue by imposing new conditions
http://sana.sy/en/?p=79170

Churkin stressed on Friday that the statements made about there being no talks unless the proposed conditions are met are erroneous and immoral, adding that Moscow calls on all sides involved in the talks to deal with the negotiations process in a serious manner.

In response to a question on the possibility of airdropping humanitarian aid to needy civilians in Syria, Churkin said that this can be implemented under safe conditions, adding that ensuring the aerial security of such operations requires dialogue with the Syrian government, urging Security Council members to send representatives to Damascus to address this issue.

He also said that Security Council members can help improve the humanitarian situation by lifting the sanctions imposed on Syria, noting that the UN’s analysis shows that these sanctions have had a negative impact on the humanitarian situation in Syria.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter is pushing for a "principled security network" for Asia which would protect against “Russia's worrying actions” and the growing strategic impact of climate change. The Pentagon chief also threatened China with isolation over its “actions in the South China Sea.”

Carter Pushes for ‘Principled Security Network’ for Asia Against Russia
http://sputniknews.com/asia/20160604/1040787487/carter-network-asia.html

US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has called for creation of a "principled security network" for Asia.

“Forward thinking statesmen and leaders must… come together to ensure a positive principled future,” he said at the Shangri-La Dialogue, a regional security forum in Singapore on Saturday, adding that the network he envisaged could also help protect against “Russia's worrying actions” and the growing strategic impact of climate change.

The Pentagon chief’s main focus however was on China and “its actions in the South China Sea.”

Any action by China to reclaim land in the Scarborough Shoal, an outcrop in the disputed sea, would have consequences, Carter warned, at the same time threatening Beijing with isolation.

I hope that this development doesn't occur, because it will result in actions being taken by the both United States and… by others in the region which would have the effect of not only increasing tensions but isolating China,” he said.

He further elaborated that China’s actions in the South China Sea are already isolating it at a time when the entire region is coming together and networking.

“Unfortunately, if these actions continue, China could end up erecting a Great Wall of self-isolation,” he warned.

The US defense secretary however said he would welcome China's participation in a “principled security network” for Asia.

He gave further assurances that “the United States will remain the most powerful military and main underwriter of security in the region for decades to come – and there should be no doubt about that.”

Russia as the Guarantor of the Regional Security

Meanwhile, one of the most important agendas of the recent ASEAN-Russia Summit was reconstructing the Asia-Pacific security architecture.
The Association of Southeastern Asian Nations (ASEAN) is concerned about the ongoing US-China rivalry in the region.

“The United States has been conducting its “rebalance to Asia” strategy, most notably by enhancing its role in maintaining the security order,” The Diplomat magazine says in its analysis on the issue.

“Despite statements to the contrary from Washington, many in the region believe this policy, coined by the Obama administration, was intended to contain China’s growing power in Asia. The rivalry between the two great powers is undoubtedly shaping the security order in the Asia-Pacific,” it says.

The outlet further explained what role ASEAN sees there for Russia.

“Accommodating Russia in the managing Asia-Pacific security would split the concentration of power in the region,” it says.

The more major powers are involved, the more difficult it is for one country to dominate.

This argument challenges the classic balance-of-power logic, which assumes that the concentration of power in the hand of two great powers – bipolarity – is more stable than multipolarity.

“But letting China and the United States act freely in the region risks repeating the situation in the Cold War era, when many countries were forced to choose among three options: being an ally, enemy, or neutral,” it says.

In order to prevent this “back to the future” scenario in the Asia-Pacific, ASEAN needs Russia and other rising powers to prevent both China and the United States from dominating the region as they wish.

Aside from being a major power, Russia could also play a crucial role in establishing the security architecture due to its foreign policy agenda in the region.

According to a spokesman for Russia's Center for Syrian Reconciliation at Hemymim Airbase, Daesh and Nusra Front terrorists have been conducting artillery target reconnaissance in Handrat, Syria.

Daesh, Nusra Front Conducting Artillery Reconnaissance in Syria's Aleppo
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160604/1040774902/daesh-nusra-syria-aleppo.html

The terrorist groups Daesh and Nusra Front have been conducting artillery target reconnaissance in Aleppo, Syria and the town of Handrat, a spokesman for the Russian Center for Syrian Reconciliation at Hmeymim Airbase said Saturday.

He added that terrorists attack residential areas, administrative buildings and position of the Syrian army, as well as pro-government militias.

The second-largest economy of the European Union has nowadays become a pathetic sight: its problems are so grave that they pose a serious danger to all of its partner countries, especially to Germany, according to an analysis of economic correspondents of the German daily Die Welt.

Struggling France Turning Into Threat for the Entire European Union
http://sputniknews.com/europe/20160604/1040783487/france-threat-eu.html

In the follow up to the ongoing labor law disputes in France, which led to violent street protests and a massive strike by the country’s railroad workers, Die Welt’s economic experts, Holger Zschaepitz and Anja Ettel have given five reasons to be worried about the country’s future.

A Fear of Frexit “While everybody is talking about the referendum on the United Kingdom’s membership of the European Union [Brexit] many are ignoring other problems which threaten the common goal of a powerful Europe,” the authors write in their article for the newspaper.

They then cite recent trends in the so-called ‘Frexit Index’ — a rating of the chance of France crashing out of the Euro within the next year.

For France, the odds tripled over the month of May, even though the recent indicator remains fairly low.

Among the key reasons for the increase are the present inability of the French administration to deliver reforms and the country’s political development which now sees a dominant position for Marine Le Pen’s National Front.

The recent polls suggest that 74 percent of the French expect that the Party Chairman and top candidate Marine Le Pen will reach the decisive second round of the presidential elections, the authors say.

Currency Devaluation One of the major concerns about France’s relationship with the Euro is the inability of their government to devalue their currency to help balance trade and “nourish” the economy.

According to the analysis, in order to adjust its currency to the economic strength of the country, France needs to devalue their currency by at least ten per cent — impossible within the straitjacket of the Euro — and to restructure their labor market.

Otherwise the country only has at its disposal debt-financed economic stimulus packages — or radical reforms. These, however, may not have any effect only in the long term.

Exorbitant Debt Until the financial crisis, debts grew synchronously in both France and Germany. Since then however, Germany has taken a curve and is now heading for a debt ratio of below 70 percent. Meanwhile, France does not have any control of its growing debt, which could soon reach 100 percent of its economic output.

In other words, all the French people will have to work without pay for the whole year only to pay off the debt of their country.

Surprisingly, France’s struggle with its debt comes at a time when the rate of interest charged by the European Central Bank (ECB) has never been lower.

Rigid and Inflexible Labor Market The socialist government is attempting to introduce legislation to end France’s traditional 35 hour working week.

It is these reforms which have triggered violent protests across France, leaving the nation’s railways paralyzed, motorists suffering petrol shortages, and police under attack from rioters. Despite the disruption, some 46 per cent of French citizens polled still support the strike action.

However the labor market needs serious reforms, the authors say.

The “Code du Travail,” the 4000-page labor law of the country, regulates every single detail from the length of the bathroom breaks up to the size of the office window. This is the main reason why the labor market is so rigid.

For example, layoffs may last for many years and are very expensive.

The authors also suggest that the French labor law has also been behind the sharp increase in the country’s unemployment rate in recent years.

They say that the labor market is the key to the comeback of the “Grande Nation”.

Should the French reform their labor market using the German model, the country’s potential growth could double from one to two percent.

And a more flexible labor code with longer working hours may help it along this path.

Eroding Industrial Base France still has a firm place among the seven most industrialized nations (G7). In terms of economic performance, the country is in the sixth place of the global ranking, but recently it has fallen behind Britain.

And the industrial basis for its economic strength is eroding rapidly.

Compared with Germany, whose products are still in demand around the world, France has far less sophisticated industries.

The country has also benefited to a much lesser extent from the upturn in China. Its market share of global exports has also declined significantly.

 

[bjorb]

[quote author= angelburst29]The spokesman added that militant groups partly made up of Turkish troops emerged close to the areas of hostilities.[/quote]

If this is correct. We are entering a new fase. If Turkish troops really blend in with direct assault. Troops from SA will surely follow. This is really bad news. That's basically their plan B but than without air-support.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Armed units of the terrorist group Al-Nusra Front launched a massive artillery strike, targeting Aleppo's residential areas and the city's airport as well as Syrian Armed Forces positions near Handarat, a representative of Russian Center for Reconciliation in Syria said on Saturday.

Al-Nusra Front Terrorists Deliver Massive Strike on Aleppo Homes, Airport
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160604/1040783809/syria-aleppo-nusra-strike.html

Nusra Front Attacks Kurdish Militia in Northern Aleppo

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160604/1040788858/nusra-front-aleppo-attacks.html

According to a spokesman for the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation at the Hmeymim airbase, Nusra Front militants attacked the positions of the Kurdish militia in the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood of the Syrian Aleppo city on Saturda.

HMEYMIM (Syria) (Sputnik) – Nusra Front militants attacked the positions of the Kurdish militia in the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood of the Syrian Aleppo city on Saturday, a spokesman for the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation at the Hmeimim airbase said.

"After an intense artillery preparation fire, Nusra Front and Ahrar ash-Sham armed groups attacked the positions of Kurdish militia and volunteers from local residents in the neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsood in northern Aleppo," the spokesman said.

According to him, Kurds managed to destroy several armored vehicles of the adversary as fierce fighting in the neighborhood continued.

The spokesman added that over 2,000 militants from various terrorist groups and units of so-called moderate opposition were stationed in Sheikh Maqsood vicinity.

He stressed that the Russian Aerospace Forces and the Syrian Air Force were not carrying out strikes against the positions of moderate opposition.

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.

The ceasefire in Syria worked out by Russia and the United States took effect on February 27. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic State and the Nusra Front, outlawed in a number of countries worldwide including Russia and the United States.

Terrorist Offensive Forcing Kurdish Militia From Their Positions in Aleppo

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160604/1040791859/aleppo-kurdish-militia.html

According to a spokesman for the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation at the Hmeymim airbase, Kurdish militia was forced to leave their positions in the Syrian Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood by a terrorist groups offensive on Saturday.

HMEYMIM (Syria) (Sputnik) – Kurdish militia was forced to leave their positions in the Syrian Aleppo's Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood by a terrorist groups offensive on Saturday, a spokesman for the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation at the Hmeymim airbase said.

"Kurdish militia units left the defended positions in the neighborhood of Sheikh Maqsood in Aleppo and retreated as a result of intense artillery fire and non-stop attacks by the militants from Nusra Front and Ahrar ash-Sham terrorist groups on the positions of Kurdish militia and volunteers from local residents," the spokesman said.

The militants commenced the offensive earlier in the day.

The ceasefire in Syria worked out by Russia and the United States took effect on February 27. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to terrorist organizations, such as the Islamic State and the Nusra Front, outlawed in a number of countries worldwide including Russia and the United States.

[quote author= angelburst29]The spokesman added that militant groups partly made up of Turkish troops emerged close to the areas of hostilities.

If this is correct. We are entering a new fase. If Turkish troops really blend in with direct assault. Troops from SA will surely follow. This is really bad news. That's basically their plan B but than without air-support.
[/quote]


Syria: Turkish Army Troops Deploy in Aleppo Province

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950315000625

"The local people have informed that Turkish army troops are now in Aleppo province," the Russian-language Interfax news agency quoted the Russian defense ministry as saying on Friday.

The Russian defense ministry warned against the negative consequences of the presence of the Turkish army in Northern Syria.

In late May, the Kurdish sources announced that several units of the Turkish Army had deployed forces to the surroundings of the towns of Azaz and Marea.

Member of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PDS) Ahmet Arac said that the hundreds of the Turkish soldiers crossed the Syrian border at Bab al-Salameh border-crossing and deployed their forces in al-Shahba'a region near Marea and Azaz.

"The Turkish Armed Forces are preparing an offensive in the Azaz and Marea regions that have been the scenes of tough battles between the ISIL terrorists and its rival group of the Free Syrian Army," Arac added.

“Also the Turkish Army carried out rocket attacks on the positions of Democratic Forces of Syria,” he went on to say.

ISIS launches major assault in southwest Deir Ezzor

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-launches-major-assault-southwest-deir-ezzor/

On Saturday morning, the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) launched another large-scale offensive in the southwestern countryside of the Deir Ezzor Governorate, targeting the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) positions in the Thardeh Mountains.

ISIS began the assault by storming the Syrian Arab Army’s defenses at the western perimeter of the Thardeh Mountains; this resulted in a fierce battle that is still ongoing between the two parties.

According to a source at the Deir Ezzor Military Airport, the Syrian Arab Army’s 137th Artillery Brigade of the 17th Reserve Division sent reinforcements from their headquarters near Tal Kroum in order to help drive back the Islamic State terrorists from the Thardeh Mountains.

So far, no gains have been reported by either side; however, ISIS is still on the offensive at the Thardeh Mountains, despite their losses.

Syrian Army Repels ISIL Offensive in Deir Ezzur

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950315000529

In addition to stopping the militants' advance in several regions near Jabal Sarda and Panorama regions, the Syrian army and popular forces also killed scores of terrorists and wounded others, forcing them to flee the battle ground.

The Syrian air force also hit the ISIL gatherings and vehicles equipped with machineguns which were moving towards the Southeastern parts of Panorama area.

In a relevant development on Wednesday, the Syrian military forces discovered a long tunnel of the ISIL terrorists dug under the neighborhoods of the Eastern city of Deir Ezzur and exploded it, leaving dozens of terrorists dead or wounded.

The Syrian army men alongside engineering units found a 50-meter tunnel connecting the ISIL strongholds to al-Orfi neighborhood and exploded it heavily, which ended in the killing or wounding of tens of the terrorists.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Still Much to Be Done to Support Syrian Army' - Russian Defense Ministry

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160605/1040801377/syrian-army-russia-support.html

A lot should be done to help the Syrian Army which has been liberating the country from terrorists, Russia's deputy defense minister said.

SINGAPORE (Sputnik) — The situation in the war-torn Syria is still complicated and Syrian government forces needs more assistance, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Sunday.

"At the same time we are mindful that the situation in this country [Syria] remains complicated. There is still much to be done to support the Syrian army, which with Russia's assistance has managed to liberate over 500 towns, including the pearl of the world cultural heritage — the city of Palmyra," Antonov said at the "IISS Shangri-La Dialogue" Asia Security Summit in Singapore.

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.

US Leaves Russia's Proposals on Security Cooperation Unanswered - Official

http://sputniknews.com/military/20160605/1040800812/us-ignores-russian-cooperation-proposals.html

Moscow and Washington could cooperate in a more effective way in Syria, according to Russia's deputy defense minister.

SINGAPORE (Sputnik) — Moscow and Washington have a number of areas for cooperation, but Russian proposals 'remain unanswered,' Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said Sunday.

"Russia and the United States could have done more to settle the situation in Syria and there is scope to do more in combating international terrorism in other regions. There are many areas, where we could undertake joint efforts. Yet, our proposals on cooperation remain unanswered," Antonov said at the "IISS Shangri-La Dialogue" Asia Security Summit in Singapore.

He added that at the same time cooperation between Russia and the United States contributed to deliveries of humanitarian aid to the war-torn country and restoration of peace in Syria.

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.

US Guided Missile Destroyer Porter to Enter Black Sea

http://sputniknews.com/us/20160605/1040799624/uss-porter-enters-black-sea.html

The US guided missile destroyer Porter will enter the Black Sea for bilateral drills with partner navies, aimed at enhancing "maritime security and stability, readiness and naval capability," the US Navy announced.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — The USS Porter, a guided-missile destroyer, will enter the Black Sea on Monday for bilateral exercises with partner navies, the US Naval Forces press office said Saturday.

"The ship’s operations in the Black Sea are meant to enhance maritime security and stability, readiness, and naval capability with our allies and partners," the press statement read.

The USS Porter will support Operation Atlantic Resolve, which covers all US Department of Defense action in Eastern Europe. The ship is also expected to make port calls on the way.

The Burke-class warship has been forward-deployed to the Spanish naval base Rota and is part of the US 6th Fleet, headquartered in Naples, Italy.

Columns of US military equipment will pass through the territory of Lithuania

http://ria.ru/world/20160605/1443137604.html

VILNIUS, June 5 -. RIA News Columns US military equipment will travel through Lithuania on Sunday as part of the relocation of the NATO exercises mimicking in Central and Eastern Europe, Dragoon Ride II, according to the Ministry of Defence of Lithuania.

"From early morning till evening every hour on the route from Calvary to Panevezys through Marijampole, Kaunas and Kėdainiai will be held column of military vehicles in the amount of 10-20 units," - says the Ministry of Defence.

The US military will stay in Vilkavishkese at the Culture Centre in Panevezys at the mall in order to show the residents of military equipment and weapons, added the defense establishment.

Teachings Dragoon Ride II - part of large-scale exercises of the US Army in Europe Saber Strike-2016. During the relocation of the order of thousands of US troops with 400 units of military equipment, among which - the Stryker combat vehicles, howitzers and machine combat support - will move two routes from Germany to Estonia, with stops in the Czech Republic, Poland, Lithuania and Latvia.

The maneuvers are carried out for the second time. For the first time the doctrine of such a plan were carried out in March last year, when on the way to a permanent place of deployment in Germany Vilsek US ground forces stayed in six Lithuanian cities.

 

[angelburst29]

In a matter of two years, the Syrian Desert Hawks (var. Liwaa Suqour Al-Sahra) have become one of the most effective fighting forces in the Syrian War; however, very little is known about this paramilitary group.

Who are the Syrian Desert Hawks?
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-desert-hawks/

Often described as a unit from the pro-government “National Defense Forces” (var. NDF), the Desert Hawks actually have no affiliation with the latter or the Syrian Arab Army (SAA).

The man behind the Desert Hawks: The Desert Hawks were originally started by a retired Syrian Army officer, General Mohammad Jaber, in early 2013. Following his retirement from the Syrian Armed Forces, General Jaber used his contacts in the government to secure lucrative business deals that included the purchase of oil and natural gas refineries. General Jaber would quickly become the J.D. Rockefeller of Syrian businessmen, accumulating a large fortune that afforded him the ability to travel around the world and purchase lucrative villas in several Mediterranean countries. When the Syrian conflict turned violent, General Jaber found his economic interests facing a grave threat from armed groups.

Formation of the Desert Hawks: Syria is not known for its prevalence of defense contracting companies; so when General Jaber went searching for mercenaries to protect his oil assets in the Syrian Desert, he quickly realized he was alone in this matter. With his hundreds of millions of dollars, General Jaber decided to recruit former soldiers from the Syrian Arab Army’s Special Forces. General Jaber offered generous wages to these men in return for their allegiance and protection. Unlike the Syrian Arab Army, General Jaber purchased most of the equipment for his mercenaries from western arms dealers. From desert camouflage battle fatigues to U.S. manufactured pick-up trucks; these soldiers-for-hire were well-equipped for their future assignments.

War in the desert: Not long after their formation, the Desert Hawks faced an incredible threat from local rebel groups; however, nothing could prepare them for the emergence of the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) in the Summer of 2014. ISIS swept through much of Syria’s eastern countryside, capturing all of the rebel-held territory in the provinces of Al-Hasakah, Deir Ezzor, Al-Raqqa, and east Homs.

As a result of their expansion, ISIS was position to attack the government controlled “Al-Sha’ar Gas Fields” in northeast Homs. Before ISIS’ presence in northeast Homs, the Desert Hawks rarely participated in battles against the anti-government forces. When the predominately Armenian city of Kessab was captured by the jihadist rebels in 2014, several Desert Hawks from rural Latakia received permission from General Jaber to help drive back Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham and reclaim the Turkish border-crossing.

Following the Kessab battle, the Desert Hawks returned to their posts, until they were asked by the Syrian government to help liberate the Al-Sha’ar Gas Fields in late 2014. The Desert Hawks honored this request from the government and helped liberate the Al-Sha’ar Gas Fields.

Russia enters the war: Russia’s entry into the Syrian Conflict brought about many changes; particularly, the designation of troops at the battle fronts. The lack of experienced militiamen created a serious problem for the Russian military advisers that were attempting to recruit citizen soldiers to handle their new equipment.

Known for his theatrical appearances and large presence, General Jaber reached out to the Russians and offered his force in exchange for weapons and armor. The war was losing General Jaber money; this was an opportunity for him to reclaim his wealth, while also displaying his patriotism. The Desert Hawks would prove to be a very effective fighting force, capturing over 200 km of territory in northern Latakia, while also liberating the ancient city of Palmyra (Tadmur).

Rivalry with the Tiger Forces: The Syrian Arab Army’s “Tiger Forces” are considered the most popular unit among the pro-government crowd. The emergence of the Desert Hawks in late 2015 created an instant rivalry with the Tiger Forces, who are led by the prominent field commander, Colonel Suheil Al-Hassan.

Unlike the Desert Hawks, the Tiger Forces are considered Syria’s premier special forces unit; they did not exist prior to this war.

Prior the founding of the Tiger Forces in 2013, the Syrian paratroopers were considered some of Syria’s most elite soldiers. Many of the Desert Hawks are former paratroopers that served alongside Colonel Hassan, until he was promoted to the intelligence branch of the Syrian Arab Army in the 1990s. Whether it is fueled by resentment or egotism, both pro-government units make sure to avoid one another at all costs.

Present-day: The Desert Hawks are now leading the charge to the provincial capital of Al-Raqqa, where they are looking to expel the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham before the U.S. backed rebels reach the city. General Jaber mobilized and redeployed all of his soldiers from the Latakia Governorate to east Hama in order to participate in this large-scale offensive. The Desert Hawks are currently 35 km west of the Tabaqa Military Airport, which is the closest any government force has been to this military installation since they lost it in August of 2014.

Terrorist shelling of Syrian cities took the lives of over 270 civilians within the last 24 hours, Russia’s Defense Ministry said.

270 Civilians Killed in Terrorist Shelling in Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950316001104

The Al-Nusra Front, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria, has managed to recuperate, "regroup its forces" and "launched active warfare," reads a bulletin by the Russian center for reconciliation of the opposing sides, RT reported.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the offensive was made possible due to the fact that Al-Nusra Front fighters share territory with the “moderate opposition” and therefore has not been targeted by airstrikes.

Exploiting the opportunity, Al-Nusra Front together with Ahrar al-Sham carried out attacks in the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood of Aleppo, which is controlled by Kurdish militia, destroying police headquarters and killing more than 40 people and injuring over 100 in the heavy fighting.

At the same time, more than 1,000 members of unspecified armed groups, stationed in Aleppo’s Ansari neighborhood, supposedly under the control of the "moderate" rebels, attacked the Syrian army.

The terrorist groups also targeted residential areas in Lattakia, Homs, Damascus and Dara’a provinces.

Despite the increasing number of settlements that adhere to the ceasefire regime that came into force on February 27, brokered by Russia and the US, not all the groups claiming to belong to the opposition are observing the truce.

Another armed group, Jaysh al-Islam, which regularly participates in the UN-endorsed peace talks, reportedly shelled Aleppo with mortars and missiles, according to the bulletin.

Russia has long sought to exclude Ahrar Al-Sham as well as Jaysh al-Islam from the talks and designate them as terrorists. However, the Western members of the UN Security Council repeatedly refused to do so.

Jaysh al-Islam is a member of the Saudi-backed High Negotiation Committee along with Ahrar al-Sham. The former has recently pulled out from the peace talks in Riyadh.

Informed sources disclosed that the leadership of al-Nusra Front has recently arrested the terrorist group's commander in the Northern province of Aleppo on charges of leaking top-secret information and misuse of his post.

Syria: Gaps Further Widening among Senior Al-Nusra Commanders
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950316001158

"Abu Hajar al-Homsi has been arrested by the security officials of the al-Qaeda-affiliated al-Nusra amid widening of the rift among the leadership of the terrorist group," the sources said.

"Some of the notorious commanders of al-Nusra have accused al-Homsi of leaking information about a secret meeting of the group's commanders in last month which ended in the killing of Abu al-Dhuhour al-Asqari another notorious leader of al-Nusra. One of the accusations of al-Homsi is his without-reason absence in the leaked meeting," the sources added.

"Al-Homsi has been transferred to Idlib to be trailed in the group's court whose judge will be Abdullah al-Moheisini with the Saudi nationality," the sources went on to say.

Reports said earlier today that a senior commander of Ahrar al-Sham terrorist group was replaced after he refused to go on war against the al-Nusra Front rival militant group.

Abu Saleh Tahan has been replaced with Abu Abdullah al-Shami, the Arabic-language Al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

Al-Shami is originally a Turkmen who has assumed several military positions since the establishment of the terrorist group.

Political analysts said Ahrar al-Sham is trying to boost the morale of its militants by appointing a new commander.

A Senior commander of Ahrar al-Sham terrorist group was replaced after he refused to go on war against the Al-Nusra Front rival militant group, media reports said.

Report: Ahrar Al-Sham's Commander Replaced for Not Going to War with Al-Nusra Front
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950316000640

Abu Saleh Tahan has been replaced with Abu Abdullah al-Shami, the Arabic-language Al-Akhbar newspaper reported.

Al-Shami is originally a Turkmen who has assumed several military positions since the establishment of the terrorist group.

Political analysts said Ahrar al-Sham is trying to boost the morale of its militants by appointing a new commander.

On Saturday, a senior commander of Ahrar al-Sham was killed in the Southern part of Idlib province.

Abu Khaled Talmanas was killed in an attack on his car in the road between Talmanas and Ma'ar Shourin in Southern Idlib province.

In late May, a notorious commander of Ahrar al-Sham was killed in the Syrian Army troops' offensives in the Northeastern part of the coastal province of Lattakia.

Ismayeel Ali Pasha known as Abi Ziya Banash was killed in a tough battle with the Syrian soldiers and popular forces near Tal al-Hadada.

The Syrian army has been engaged in heavy fighting with the terrorists in the Northeastern part of Lattakia, mainly in Tal al-Hadada, Rabi'eh and Salma to root out militancy in the region.

Since the start of the Syrian crisis, the Syrian government has routinely accused Israel of playing a hidden role, from Qusayr in the Homs countryside in May 2013 to the emergence and advances of the southern front rebels in September 2014. UN reports published in December appear to vindicate the government’s arguments that Israel is involved with the southern rebels.

Uncovering the tacit cooperation between Israel and Jabhat al-Nusra
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/uncovering-tacit-cooperation-israel-jabhat-al-nusra/

According to a UN report covering the period from March to May 2014, the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF) detected contact between rebels and the Israeli army across the Golan cease-fire line, particularly during fierce clashes between the Syrian army and the rebels.

The report also confirmed that the UN forces spotted rebels transporting 89 wounded across the cease-fire line into the Israeli occupied zone, where they were handed over 19 people who had received medical treatment in addition to two dead.

The UN forces also noted that the Israeli army delivered two boxes to rebels on the Syrian side of the Golan Heights. Communications increased between rebels and the Israeli army before the eruption of the southern front in Daraa and Quneitra in September, according to Quneitra opposition activist Mohammad Qasim, a pseudonym due to the sensitivity of the subject.

Qasim, who was active in a support capacity to the rebels during the September offensive, told an Arabic news site via Skype, “The battle to capture Quneitra on Sept. 27 was preceded by coordination and communications between Abu Dardaa, a leader of Jabhat al-Nusra, and the Israeli army to pave the way for the attack. And according to an FSA commander who partly participated in this battle, the Israeli army provided Abu Dardaa with maps of the border area and the Syrian army’s strategic posts in the southern area.”

The rebels’ battle, led by al-Qaeda’s affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra, to control the Quneitra crossing took place in coordination with the Israeli army through Abu Dardaa, according to Qasim. He added, “During the clashes, the Israelis heavily bombarded many of the government’s posts, shot down a warplane that was trying to impede the progress of the fighters and targeted other aircraft.”

The media reported that on Sept. 23, Israel downed a MiG-21 Syrian military aircraft over the occupied Golan Heights during the intensification of fighting between rebel fighters led by Jabhat al-Nusra and the Syrian army. Prior to this battle, Israel provided rebel fighters with communication devices and medical equipment, according to Qasim. He also said that the devices have improved communication among rebel fighters, while the medical assistance helped equip four new makeshift hospitals in Syria’s south and southwest.

Qasim added that Israel allowed the establishment of a small Syrian refugee camp on the border in the occupied Golan Heights, saying, “The camp hosts dozens of Syrian families, which was confirmed by UN reports, and Israel is providing it with the necessary humanitarian assistance. Rebel fighters — who frequently go to the Israeli zone …, some of whom have crossed the border more than three times a day — go to [this camp].”

On the transfer of Syrian wounded to the occupied Golan Heights, Qasim explained, “Any fighter or civilian with severe injuries who cannot be treated in our hospitals on the ground are immediately transferred to the Israeli part of the occupied Golan, and there, he will be transferred in a civilian ambulance accompanied by an Israeli army patrol to a hospital for treatment. Later on, the Israeli army will be contacted by the rebels to learn about the situation of the wounded there.”

The Syrian army in the area has also taken note of Israel’s assistance to rebels. The forces of Gen. Rami al-Hasan are stationed at the entrances of the town of Madinat al-Baath in Quneitra governorate. Armored vehicles, tanks and dozens of checkpoints are scattered around the city, which lies adjacent to rebel-controlled areas.

“The first outcomes of the cooperation between the Israeli army and the gunmen took place in Quneitra, when they took control over the border crossing. Back then, Israel supported gunmen by providing them with cover under the pretext of ‘shooting back,’ hindering any attempts by the Syrian air force to intervene and bringing down one of our planes. It has also provided gunmen with the necessary equipment to face the fortifications of the Syrian army.” Hasan added, “Israel wants to exert control over the entire Golan, and contributed significantly to the intimidation of UN observers to push them to withdraw from most of their positions.”

On Oct. 4, rebel fighters and Jabhat al-Nusra captured Tal al-Hara in the northwest Daraa countryside, which is adjacent to the countryside of Quneitra. This significant victory could not have happened without Israeli support, according to Daraa opposition activist Ghazwan al-Hourani, also a pseudonym, who witnessed communication between Jabhat al-Nusra and Israel.

“Israeli support in the battle of Tal al-Hara was at a high level, and the Israeli army was the mastermind of this battle in terms of plans, tactics and follow-up. The communication devices released precise instructions in Arabic about what should be done by the fighters, moment by moment,” he told Al-Monitor. Dozens of monitoring, broadcast and jamming devices as well as sophisticated radar equipment were found in the government communication center in Tal al-Hara, according to Hourani, who added that the papers, maps and portable devices in the center were placed in closed box trucks and moved to an unknown destination by Jabhat al-Nusra.

The aerial reconnaissance station in Tal al-Hara, the last government reconnaissance center operating in southern Syria, was bombed by Israeli warplanes on Sept. 5, a month before the rebels captured it on Oct. 7. This cannot be considered a coincidence, according to Hasan.

“What pushed Israel to raid Tal al-Hara and to later order the gunmen to attack it was that this radar station was upgraded in 2012-2013 and again in early 2014 with new technology to expand the station’s sensing scope to the south of occupied Palestine, northern Saudi Arabia and Cyprus in the Mediterranean Sea, which the Syrian Ministry of Defense worked on in cooperation with its Russian counterpart.

Israel wants to prevent the Syrian army from monitoring its movements in the occupied Golan, and to stop any attempts to intercept its aircrafts,” he said. The general said that Israel is not only supporting the rebels militarily and logistically and treating their wounds, but is also training them in the occupied Golan. “We have delivered a complaint about this [training] camp to the head of UNDOF, and we threatened to target it. Yet the observers have not responded and the camp is still there.”

Qasim and Hourani were nervous about discussing this sensitive subject. Their interrupted talk, trembling voices and sudden breaks in communication whenever someone approached them underline the danger they face if they were found out to have revealed such details. They are in the same boat as many opposition activists working with rebel groups, who consider any cooperation with Israel a betrayal of the revolution’s objectives.

“This coordination is a betrayal. There are thousands of people who died, and they did not die for dozens of people to conspire with the enemy,” Qasim said, adding, “We started the revolution and we will end it without anyone’s help, especially not those who killed and continue to kill, who displaced and continue to displace thousands of people on a daily basis in Palestine while occupying part of our country.”

 

[angelburst29]

SYRIA: US Requests Protection for Al Qaeda as Terrorist Atrocities in Aleppo Escalate
http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/06/04/syria-us-requests-protection-for-al-qaeda-as-terrorist-atrocities-in-aleppo-escalate/

This morning as the US, NATO & Gulf backed terrorists continue to rain missiles down upon the Syrian people besieged [by the terrorists] in the western sectors of Aleppo that are refuge to the majority of Aleppo’s population, a further 8 Syrian Arab Army soldiers have been taken prisoner and paraded on camera, blindfolded and shackled. Their fate is in the hands of drug fuelled terrorists supported, armed and defended by the US who has just requested that Russia desists from targeting Al Qaeda in Syria, Al Nusra.
_https://twitter.com/I_____Qm07xa67/status/738762799199997952

We have taken a decision not to show the disturbing video of these prisoners out of sensitivity for the suffering of their families who know how badly they will be treated after a previous video [also not shown] was released showing the public torture, humiliation and final execution of two other SAA prisoners at the hands of the terrorists and their associates, the US-NATO funded White Helmets.

We were told second hand [via Twitter] that Raed Saleh, himself deported from the US for “extremist connections” had “sacked” one of the so-called voluntary White Helmet agents for his involvement in and evident enjoyment of this criminal act of cruelty that violates the Geneva Convention relative to treatment of prisoners of war. However, no official statement has been made by the White Helmets to categorically condemn this criminal brutality.

The following report is from SANA 3rd June 2016:

“Two children were killed and 27 others were injured in terrorist attacks with rocket shells which targeted neighborhoods in Aleppo city on Friday.

A source at Aleppo Police Command told SANA that terrorist groups targeted al-Hamadaniah neighborhood with a number of rocket shells, claiming the lives of two children and injuring 4 others who were rushed to the city’s hospitals for treatment.

Later in the day, the source said terrorist groups fired rocket shells at Saif al-Dawla neighborhood and Project 1070 area in al-Hamadaniah, injuring 11 people, and that terrorists also fired rocket shells on al-Midan neighborhood in the afternoon, injuring 12 people including a child who is in critical condition.

The source added that the attacks caused material damage to citizens’ homes and properties and infrastructure in the targeted neighborhoods.”

This from the 2nd June 2016:

A girl was killed and five other civilians were injured Thursday in terrorist groups’ rocket shells and sniper shootings at al- Ramouse neighborhood in Aleppo.

A police command source told SANA reporter that terrorists positioned in al-Ameriya neighborhood launched rocket shells and snipers opened fire at locals of al-Ramouse claiming the life of a university-girl student, injuring five other civilians and inflicting damages to citizens’ properties and houses.

Later, SANA correspondent in Aleppo said that the terrorist organizations targeted al-Sheikh Maqsoud, Midan and Suleiman al-Halabi neighborhoods with a number of rocket shells, killing one person and injuring 15 others.

Meanwhile, more than 40 rocket shells were fired by terrorist organizations on the neighborhoods of al-Midan and Suleiman al-Halabi, claiming the lives of 4 citizens and injuring 16 others.

Earlier Wednesday, a woman was killed and 39 other civilians were injured by terrorist groups’ attacks on several residential neighborhoods of Aleppo in a violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement which came into effect since 27 February 2016.

This morning Reverend Andrew Ashdown shared this important testimony from Aleppo on social media.

“Message sent by a friend who is an Armenian priest In Aleppo yesterday. the bombardment of civilian areas of the city – both Christian and Muslim districts- by western-backed rebels, is continuing unabated -unreported by the mainstream media.”

The Message The situation in Aleppo has taken a turn for the worse since 19h of May 2016. Dozens of mortar bombs have damaged or completely destroyed buildings in the predominantly Christian and Muslim neighborhoods of Midan, Suleyman Halabi, Sheikh Maksoud, Jabrieh as the opposition intensified its offensive in areas of Aleppo held by regime forces .

It is worth to mention that the rockets in Nor Kyugh also targeted the “Verjin Gulbenkian Hospital” building, which some years ago was turned into the Armenian Old People’s Home.

There has been systematic shelling of Aleppo in the past eight days with the help of artillery, mortar and other kinds of shells. Although the firing is carried out from the same positions it is not clear which group is conducting it.

One thing that seems rather transparent is that militants are specifically targeting civilian areas.

A girl was killed and five other civilians were injured Thursday, 2nd of June 2016, in terrorist groups’ rocket shells and sniper shootings at al- Ramouse neighborhood in Aleppo. The terrorists positioned in al-Ameriya neighborhood launched rocket shells and snipers opened fire at locals of al-Ramouse claiming the life of a university-girl student, injuring five other civilians and inflicting damages to citizens’ properties and houses.

The situation in Aleppo has taken a turn for the worse since 19h of May 2016. Dozens of mortar bombs have damaged or completely destroyed buildings in the predominantly Christian and Muslim neighborhoods of Midan, Suleyman Halabi, Sheikh Maksoud, Jabrieh as the opposition intensified its offensive in areas of Aleppo held by regime forces .

It is worth to mention that the rockets in Nor Kyugh also targeted the “Verjin Gulbenkian Hospital” building, which some years ago was turned into the Armenian Old People’s Home.

There has been systematic shelling of Aleppo in the past eight days with the help of artillery, mortar and other kinds of shells. Although the firing is carried out from the same positions it is not clear which group is conducting it.

One thing that seems rather transparent is that militants are specifically targeting civilian areas.

A girl was killed and five other civilians were injured Thursday, 2nd of June 2016, in terrorist groups’ rocket shells and sniper shootings at al- Ramouse neighborhood in Aleppo. The terrorists positioned in al-Ameriya neighborhood launched rocket shells and snipers opened fire at locals of al-Ramouse claiming the life of a university-girl student, injuring five other civilians and inflicting damages to citizens’ properties and houses.

Meanwhile, more than 40 rocket shells were fired by terrorist organizations on the Armenian neighborhood of al-Midan, claiming the lives of 4 Armenian citizens and injuring 16 others. A repair house owned by an Armenian burnt down. Three of the killed Armenians were found totally burnt. Their charred bodies were moved to hospital. The other Armenian died later in Nor Kyugh.

The deceased have been identified as Vazgen Tchapaghjurian, Levon Kelkhacherian, Hovsep Janetsian and Khachik Abulatian. Hovsep Janestian Levon Kelkhacherian.

Yesterday, after approving the German parliament a resolution recognizing the mass killing of Armenians by Ottoman Turks during World War I as genocide, the predominantly Armenian neighborhood of Aleppo Nor Ghugh came under heavy artillery attack by the terrorist groups, which resulted in number of civilian causalities and material damage caused to the district’s facilities.

Earlier Wednesday, a woman was killed and 39 other civilians were injured by terrorist groups’ attacks on several residential neighborhoods of Aleppo in a violation of the cessation of hostilities agreement which came into effect since 27 February 2016. As a result of these sad and unhuman situation in Aleppo, hundreds of families have been forced to leave their homes and have tried to find refuge in the more safer areas of the city.

Nowadays, Aleppo’s everywhere is becoming unsafe.”

This report has just come in from Sputnik: Aleppo: About 40 Wahhabi preachers from Saudi Arabia arrived in war-torn Syria in order to convince local militants to fight during the holy month of Ramadan, the head of one of the settlements in Syria’s Aleppo province said.

“Some 40 Wahhabi preachers — graduates of specific educational institutions located in… northwestern Saudi Arabia — arrived in the region of Aleppo and eastern Qalamoun in the vicinity of Damascus… Saudi preachers arrived with a mission to convince Nusra Front terrorists, as well as [militants] from Ahrar ash-Sham and Jaish al-Islam, who consider themselves part of opposition, that the limitations imposed on Muslims during Ramadan do not extend to jihad,” the settlement head said.

Aleppo is indeed ‘burning,’ thanks to the US, NATO and their Gulf, and also Zionist allies. The Syrian people need us to stop believing the propaganda and start listening to the barely concealed truth of the “Dirty War against Syria“.

Watch this recent report filed by RT International, partly featuring 21WIRE’s Patrick Henningsen, detailing Washington’s doublespeak on the issue of al Nusra terrorists ‘co-mingling” with the illusive ‘moderate’ rebels in northern Syria: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwGHpspTumc (RT)