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

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Breaking: Israel bombs Syrian Army in Golan Heights amid new advance against Al-Qaeda 19/10/2017
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-israel-bombs-syrian-army-golan-heights-amid-new-advance-al-qaeda/

According to the Syrian Army’s 90th Brigade, an Israeli warplane bombed the SAA’s positions at the town of Qaws Al-Sandiyanah, which is located approximately 1km south of Harfah.

As a result of the Israeli airstrike, the Syrian Army’s 130mm field artilley gun was destroyed – no casualties reported.

The Israeli airstrike comes just hours after the Syrian Army advanced against the Al-Qaeda linked Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham terrorist group in the Beit Jinn pocket of the Golan Heights.

Mortar units of the Israeli Army shelled the Syrian Army troops' strongholds in the Southern province of Quneitra.

Israeli Forces Target Syrian Army Positions in Quneitra Again
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960728000137

The Israeli Army's mortar units opened fire at the Syrian Army's positions in Quneitra province, alleging that its forces had come under attack by Damascus' forces.

In the meantime, Spokesman for the Israeli Army Efikhai Adra'ei confirmed that the Israeli mortar units targeted the Syrian army positions in the village of Hafra in Quneitra province, claiming that the Israeli attack was in response to the Syrian mortar units' attack on the Israeli positions in the occupied territories, Palestine.

The Israeli forces have many times targeted the Syrian Army troops on the pretext of mortar attack on their positions.

The General Command of the Syrian Army announced in a statement in September that the Israeli warplane's airstrikes on army positions in the Western parts of Hama city killed 2 Syrian soldiers.

The statement said that the Israeli fighter jet launched missile attacks on one of the Syrian army bases near Masyaf region in Southwestern Hama through the Lebanese airspace, killing two Syrian soldiers.

It added that the attack was a desperate attempt to heighten the lost morale of the ISIL terrorists after the Syrian army's major victories against the terrorism in several regions.

The Syrian Army soldiers have found a large volume of Israel-made arms and ammunition in ISIL positions in the newly-liberated town of Al-Mayadeen in Southeastern Deir Ezzur, field sources revealed on Friday.

Gov't Forces Discover Israeli Arms at ISIL Positions in Eastern Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960728000250

The Arabic-language Elam al-Harbi quoted a commander of the army as saying that the Syrian army soldiers discovered a large volume of heavy and semi-heavy arms and ammunition, a part of them made in Israel, while carrying out mop-up operation in regions that were under terrorists' occupation in the newly-freed town of al-Mayadeen.

"The army had also previously found Israeli weapons at captured ISIL positions several time," the sources said, adding that the last case was a couple of days ago when the army men discovered different weapons, including Israeli cannons, a large number of bullets and telecommunication systems in Jubb al-Jarah region in Eastern Homs.

Field sources said on Monday that a large volume of arms and munitions was seized by the army men while carrying out mop-up operation across regions that were previously under terrorists' occupation in the provinces of Hama and Homs.

The sources said that the seized arms and ammunitions were mainly made in Israel.

The Syrian state news agency reported in May that the army's engineering units found a large number of B10, US-made (light anti-tank weapon) LAW, Cobra, Katyusha and RPG missiles and rockets in their cleansing operation in one of the positons of the terrorists in al-Wa'er district North-West of Homs city.

In the meantime, the army men discovered a large volume of Israeli bombs, mortars, missile launchers, protection masks, sniper rifles, binoculars and other munitions in the terrorists' position in al-Wa'er.

The Syrian Army's artillery units pounded terrorists' positions in Northern Quneitra on Friday, killing the entire members of the group.

Quneitra: Terrorists Suffer Heavy Casualties in Syrian Army Heavy Fire
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960728000307

The artillery units shelled heavily the positions of a group of terrorists in Taranjeh-Harash region in Northern Quneitra, killing all the militants stationed there.

Relevant reports said in August that the army killed all members of a terrorist group, and destroyed their pick-up truck, vehicle, and a motorcycle in Housh al-Zabadi village in Talbiseh in the Northern countryside of Homs.

A number of terrorists were also killed and others were injured in a military operation in Jarjeiseh village in the vicinity of al-Rastan Lake.

Meanwhile, the army killed Takfiri terrorists in Jebata al-Khashab, al-Hamidiya and Roweyhine villages in the countryside of Quneitra.

Russian military helicopters paid a visit to both Turkish and Kurdish forces in northern Syria today making a serious of stop-offs throughout Aleppo province.

VIDEO: Russian helicopters visit Turkish, Kurdish military bases in north Aleppo
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-russian-helicopters-visit-turkish-kurdish-military-bases-north-aleppo/

Russian military helicopters paid a visit to both Turkish and Kurdish forces in northern Syria today making a serious of stop-offs throughout Aleppo province.

According to sources, at least two Russian military helicopters – one Mi-8 transport helicopter and a Ka-50 scout-attack helicopter – conducted today’s mysterious mission.

Reports say that the helicopters first stopped off at a Turkish military base in Al-Bab and then flew on to land at a Kurdish base near Tel Riffat.

The reason for the Russia’s visit to either Turkish or Kurdish forces in north Aleppo remains unknown at the present time.

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Maj. Gen. Konashenkov said on Friday that the US State Department has finally admitted that the Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board) that is in control of Syria's Idlib province has chemical weapons and used them against civilians.

Russia: US Admits Al-Nusra Front Terrorists' Use of Chemical Weapons in Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960728000268

"The Al-Nusra Front, which uses 'small and heavy arms, improvised explosive devices, and chemical weapons', operates in that province (Idlib). This is the first official recognition by the (US) State Department not simply of the presence, but, I emphasize, the use of chemical weapons by Al-Nusra terrorists in that part of Syria to commit terrorist attacks, about which we repeatedly warned," Konashenkov said.

Igor Konashenkov also recalled that in Idlib province, "only one case of the use of chemical weapons is known — in Khan-Sheikhoun."

"However, the US accused government troops of (conducting) the chemical attack. And those who (actually) organized it, they called a "moderate opposition," Konashenkov said.

On April 4, media and news sources affiliated to opposition released news about chemical attack in Khan Sheikhoun, accusing Syrian government of carrying out the attack via its Sukhoi 22 fighter jets that left tens of people dead or wounded.

Meantime, a senior Syrian military official underlined that the Al-Nusra Front is the only side in Syria which had access to chemical weapons, raising speculations about certain western spy agencies' role in chemical attack against Idlib.

"The Syrian army has not used any chemical gases against the citizens in Idlib and it is not logical for the army to kill the residents of a city that it is trying to set free," the official said.

He underlined that the Syrian army had no chemical weapons since 2012 when the terrorist groups stole and transferred its chemical weapons to their caches.

Stressing that Al-Nusra Front was the only side which possesses chemical weapons, including toxic gases, the source raised the possibility that certain western spy agencies also played a role in the chemical attack which killed dozens of people in Idlib province.

The General Command of the Syrian Army and Armed Forces categorically denied allegations and claims circulated by media outlets about the use of chemical substances in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib countryside.

“The armed terrorist groups used to accuse the Syrian Army of using toxic gases against them or against civilians at anytime they fail to implement the targets of their sponsors and operators or when they are unable to achieve any advantages on the ground in an desperate attempt to justify their failure and to maintain the support of their masters,” the Army’s general command said in a statement.

It categorically denied any use of chemical or poisonous materials in the town of Khan Sheikhoun in Idlib countryside, affirming that it didn’t and would never use those materials in any place or time, nor in the future.

The army’s general command held the terrorist groups and those behind them responsible for the use of chemical and toxic substances and the disregard for the lives of innocent citizens to achieve their goals.

As was predicted by some military analysts at and since the beginning of this year, the operation by the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces to capture Raqqa from ISIS has resulted in the city’s complete annihilation.

US-backed forces succeed in making Raqqa 80 percent “uninhabitable”
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/us-backed-forces-succeed-making-raqqa-80-percent-uninhabitable/

According to the United Nations, the campaign by US-backed, Kurdish-led militias to capture Raqqa from Islamic State terrorists resulted in some 80 percent of the city now becoming “uninhabitable.”

The statistic might also serve to explain why Kurdish militias are constantly evacuating civilians from the city, even in areas where ISIS mines and traps have been cleared. It appears that there is simply no place left for people to live.

Power in the Syrian city of Raqqa will be passed to the local population, according to the statement of the US-backed coalition.

US-Led Coalition Confirms Syria's Raqqa Completely Liberated From Daesh
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710201058407874-us-led-coalition-daesh-raqqa/

Earlier in the day the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by the US-led coalition, announced the complete liberation of the city of Raqqa from Daesh terrorist organization militants.

"The SDF is proud to announce from the center of the city of Raqqa the victory of our forces in the great battle in which IS [Daesh] terrorists lost.
Their forces were defeated in the center of the pseudo-caliphate. The city… has been liberated," the Arab-Kurdish detachments said in a press release.

According to the press release, 655 members of the detachments had been killed during the fight for the city.

The US-led coalition in a Friday statement confirmed that Raqqa had been freed from Daesh and congratulated its Syrian Democratic Forces partners on their announcement of the victory over terrorist group.

 

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World's top politicians are speaking at the 14th annual meeting of the Valdai Discussion Club that is currently being held in the southern Russian resort city of Sochi.

Last Day of 14th Valdai Club Meeting (VIDEO) Video and outlined transcript.
https://sputniknews.com/russia/201710191058371503-putin-valdai-discussion-club-sochi/

While Russia was holding it's Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) conference - China held its once-every-five-years Congress on Wednesday with an extensive three hour speech from President Xi Jinping.

Xi Jinping Rallies Communists in Three-Hour Speech: ‘Time for Us to Take Center Stage’
http://www.breitbart.com/national-security/2017/10/18/xi-jinping-rallies-communists-speech-time-take-center-stage/

China’s Communist Party opened its once-every-five-years Congress on Wednesday with an extensive speech from President Xi Jinping, who debuted plans for the nation extending into 2050 that include extensive military buildup, economic hegemony, and “sweeping victory” against “corruption,” often interpreted as any dissenting thought within the party.

“It is time for us to take centre stage in the world and to make a greater contribution to humankind,” Xi declared, according to the BBC, as he welcomed over two thousand Communist Party delegates to Beijing.

He added a promise to turn China into a “prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious and beautiful” country between 2035 and 2050.

Prior to the opening of the Communist Party of China (CPC) Congress, outside observers noted that Chinese state-run media had begun laying the groundwork for the debut of “Xi Jinping Thought,” a new philosophy towards China’s role in the world that would seek to centralize power in Xi’s person and elevate him to greater status within the party. Experts already consider Xi one of the most powerful leaders in modern Chinese history, but reports in outlets like Reuters suggest Xi may be seeking to elevate his position to that of “chairman”—a title no president has held in decades—and to introduce a “Xi Jinping Thought” doctrine into the Communist Party Constitution, immortalizing him within the party.

Xi appeared to avoid any specific power-grabs in his speech, judging from extensive coverage in the state-run outlets Global Times and Xinhua. Instead, Xi repeatedly called for a “new era” in Chinese history, one in which the communists could promise the Chinese people “moderately prosperous society in all respects and of moving on to all-out efforts to build a great modern socialist country.”

Xi’s speech introduced to the party the doctrine of “Xi Jinping Thought,” debuting a report titled “Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.” Xi’s tenure has been marked by an emphasis on the “Chinese Characteristics” part of that title, heavily invoking nationalist sentiments and a brand of Chinese exceptionalism meant to elevate him and justify the hallmark mass arrests of “corrupt” officials and repeated invasions of neighboring territories that have defined his tenure.

The report itself offers vague descriptions of Xi’s vision for the future, summarized by the Global Times as:

In the first stage from 2020 to 2035, the CPC will build on the foundation created by the moderately prosperous society with a further 15 years of hard work to see that socialist modernization is basically realized.

In the second stage from 2035 to the middle of the 21st century, the CPC will, building on having basically achieved modernization, work hard for a further 15 years and develop China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.

The principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved to be that between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life.

Among other contradictors are Xi’s insistence in the speech that “China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion,” coupled with his promise to use a fully modernized military to assert Chinese dominance in the region and eradicate separatist movements in breakaway regions like Hong Kong and Taiwan.

“We will never allow anyone, any organisation, or any political party, at any time or in any form, to separate any part of Chinese territory from China,” Xi vowed while adding, “No political party or group in Taiwan will have any difficulty conducting exchanges with the mainland.”

For Hong Kong, Xi promised that Beijing would work to reap the benefits of their capitalist system without allowing for capitalism in mainland China. “We will continue to support Hong Kong and Macao in their own development into the overall development of the country,” he asserted.

In addition to imposing Xi’s personal philosophy, the CPC serves as a marketing tool to entice Western leftists to support the unilateral autocracy of the Communist Party over free societies. This the government articulated in a column in Xinhua, where the publication declares, “Chinese-style democracy has never been healthier and China has absolutely no need to import the failing party political systems of other countries.”

Xinhua refers to competitive republics as “confrontational” and claims the West has been engulfed in “crises and chaos” due to its embrace of classical liberal values. “Endless political backbiting, bickering and policy reversals, which make the hallmarks of liberal democracy, have retarded economic and social progress and ignored the interests of most citizens,” the article claims.

The Communist Party Congress is expected to continue through next Wednesday.

Xi Jinping delivered a report to the opening of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) on Wednesday. The following are the highlights of the report:

Highlights of Xi's report to 19th CPC National Congress
http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/1070853.shtml

A NEW ERA WITH NEW THOUGHT

Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era.

The CPC has given shape to the Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, a long-term guide to action that the Party must adhere to and develop.

The Thought builds on and further enriches Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development. It represents the latest achievement in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context.

GREAT MODERN SOCIALIST COUNTRY

The CPC has drawn up a two-stage development plan for the period from 2020 to the middle of the 21st century to develop China into a "great modern socialist country."

In the first stage from 2020 to 2035, the CPC will build on the foundation created by the moderately prosperous society with a further 15 years of hard work to see that socialist modernization is basically realized.

In the second stage from 2035 to the middle of the 21st century, the CPC will, building on having basically achieved modernization, work hard for a further 15 years and develop China into a great modern socialist country that is prosperous, strong, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful.

The principal contradiction facing Chinese society has evolved to be that between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people's ever-growing needs for a better life.

Now the needs to be met for the people to live a better life are increasingly broad. Not only have their material and cultural needs grown, their demands for democracy, rule of law, fairness and justice, security, and a better environment are increasing.

ECONOMY

China's economy has been transitioning from a phase of rapid growth to a stage of high-quality development.

In developing a modernized economy, the country must focus on the real economy. China will support state capital in becoming stronger, doing better, and growing bigger, turn Chinese enterprises into world-class, globally competitive firms.

China will leverage the fundamental role of consumption in promoting economic growth and improve the framework of regulation underpinned by monetary policy and macro-prudential policy, and see that interest rates and exchange rates become more market-based.

OPENING UP

China will not close its door to the world; it will only become more and more open.

China will implement the system of pre-establishment national treatment plus a negative list across the board.

China will significantly ease market access and protect the legitimate rights and interests of foreign investors.

LAW

The CPC will set up a central leading group for advancing law-based governance in all areas.

It will strengthen oversight to ensure compliance with the Constitution, advance constitutionality review, and safeguard the authority of the Constitution.

ECOLOGICAL PROGRESS

The CPC has incorporated Beautiful China into its two-stage development plan for building a great modern socialist country.

The modernization is one characterized by harmonious coexistence between man and nature.

China will establish regulatory agencies to manage state-owned natural resource assets and monitor natural ecosystems, and develop a nature reserves system composed mainly of national parks.

ARMED FORCES

By the year 2020, military mechanization will be basically achieved, with IT application coming a long way and strategic capabilities seeing a big improvement. The modernization of the national defense and armed forces should be basically completed by 2035.

The people's armed forces will be transformed into world-class military by the mid-21st century.

DIPLOMACY

No matter what stage of development it reaches, China will never seek hegemony or engage in expansion.

PARTY BUILDING

Having gained overwhelming momentum in its fight against corruption, the Party is determined to secure a sweeping victory over the greatest threat to the Party.

 

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[quote author= article angelburst29]Furthermore, it is not clear if the F-35 can become operational again because its stealth coating was damaged. Thus, according to the Israeli version, the warplane reportedly became no longer operational after the bird collision despite the fact that the F-35 earlier passed the bird strike certification with great results (official info here). The F-35 is the world’s most expensive warplane. The price of developing the F-35 is now about $406.5 billion.

Israel is actively buying the world’s self-proclaimed most advanced fighter paying about $100 million for each plane.

So what did really hit the F-35?

Well, the F35 doesn't need to get hit by a missile to get out of service. It is perfectly capable of retiring itself out of the line of duty well before it's expiration date.

https://sputniknews.com/military/201709261057691172-pentagon-considering-retiring-f35-early/
Pentagon Considering Retiring 100 F-35s Before They Ever Fly

Still I can imagine that Israel would first want to test the F35 in real combat before buying it. Perhaps it did get by a Syrian missile.

If it did, I doubt Israel will be willing to purchase more. That's said, they are not the ones really buying it. It's the US who is giving billions in aid to the Israeli war machine each year.
[/quote]

I hear - the F-4 jet's are really "HOT" - shame that they are due to be replaced with the new Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs. What could go wrong?

The dramatic moment two fighter pilots battle to unstrap themselves from their burning jet and then run for their lives after it catches fire on take-off in Japan (Videos) 20 October 2017
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5000410/Pilots-battle-unstrap-burning-jet.html

A fighter pilot had to run for his life when his jet burst into flames just before takeoff.

The airman and his co-pilot had to leap out of the cockpit when the plane caught fire on the runway at a Japanese air force base. They were just about to go on a training flight from Hyakuri Air Base in Ibaraki Prefecture in eastern Japan.

But shocking video footage shows the moment the F-4 jet was engulfed by thick black smoke. A pair of men can be seen climbing from the plane and sprinting across the runway with the burning wreckage in the background.

It is thought the blaze on Wednesday morning was caused by a malfunction in the landing gear.

It is unknown what caused this malfunction but it managed to ignite the fuel. It is believed that there was also leak in the fuel tank which contributed to the plane going up in flames.

The blaze was put out after about 20 minutes, but the fighter jet suffered extensive damage.

What looks like a missile mounted under the wing can be seen in footage covered in foam after the blaze was extinguished.

No one was hurt as a result of the fire, with both men on board managing to escape.

The military base shares the airfield with Ibaraki Airport although no commercial flights were impacted by the fire.

All similar jets in the Japan Air Self-Defense Force fleet will now be checked to ensure they are safe. Japanese Defence Minister Itsunori Onodera said: 'It is a serious problem regarding flight safety.' He also added that he was not aware of any similar accidents having taken place in recent times.

The Japanese government first purchased McDonnell-Douglas F-4EJ 'Kai' Phantom II jets in the late 1960s.

The aging fighter jets are due to be replaced with new Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning IIs.

 

[angelburst29]

On the Lockheed Martin F-35's - NATO's system of keeping everything compartment-ized might be some of the problems? Look at what the U.K. has to go through - just to get an engine repair or overhaul?

Yes, British F-35 engines must be sent to Turkey for overhaul 19 Oct 2017
https://www.theregister.co.uk/2017/10/19/f35_fighter_engines_turkey_overhaul/

Britain’s F-35B fighter jets currently cost around $123m each – and British officials are quite content that the only engine overhaul facility for the stealth aircraft’s engines is located in Turkey.

The House of Commons’ Defense Committee questioned British ministers, civil servants and senior officers on the F-35 purchase program, revealing that Britain is still publicly committed to buying 138 F-35Bs.

Speculation had mounted that Britain may not buy its full complement of the aircraft thanks to well-publicized holes in the defense budget, which – in a break with tradition – caused Defense Secretary Sir Michael Fallon to publicly call for a bigger defense budget.

The committee, consisting of mostly Conservative MPs along with a smattering of Labor MPs and sole representatives from each of Scotland’s SNP and Northern Ireland’s DUP, initially questioned executives from Lockheed Martin about the F-35. This, rather predictably, resulted in the execs insisting everything was fine with the F-35 – including questions over the aircraft’s handling in the transonic region, where it goes from sub-sonic flight to supersonic flight.

“All F-35 variants display objectionable or unacceptable flying qualities at transonic speeds, where aerodynamic forces on the aircraft are rapidly changing,” we reported the Straus Military Reform Project as saying in a report earlier this year.

Peter Ruddock, Lockheed’s UK chief exec, said in reply to the committee's questions: “The problem here is the different parts of the aircraft become supersonic at different times and there's always a controllability issue with that. I've spoken to some of the test pilots involved … the quality of the handling is more than satisfactory or better throughout the flight regime.”

Unfortunately, in his later questions, committee chairman Julian Lewis MP once again focused on the bizarre notion that the NATO-standard Link 16 data comms standard, as fitted to the F-35 for talking to older aircraft, is somehow inherently insecure. He asked, after correctly identifying that the new MADL (Multi-function Advanced Data Link) system allows talking to older aircraft such as the RAF’s Eurofighter Typhoons, whether Link 16 meant using an “older system that might reveal their presence?”

Lockheed’s Steve Over, director of F-35 business development, told the committee in response: “It doesn’t affect the stealthiness of the aircraft but it’s an omnidirectional transmitter. If someone has a receiver listening for a Link 16 transmitter…”

This is what Reg readers will recognize as a basic principle of RF transmission and direction-finding. You can encode it and compress it into as short and low-powered a burst as you like, but you’ve got to light up the airwaves somehow to get your message out.

Defense procurement minister Harriet Baldwin also revealed, in response to a separate question, that the UK does not negotiate directly with Lockheed Martin over future F-35 purchases. Instead, she said, “We have an MOU [memorandum of understanding] with the Joint Program Office who do the contracting for us.”

The F-35 Joint Program Office is a US Department of Defense body that does not answer to the UK. Its website explains: “The F-35 Lightning II Program is a joint program with no lead service, staffed by [US] Air Force, [US] Navy, and [US] Marine Corps personnel. The Program Executive Officer position alternates between the [US] Departments of Navy and Air Force, and reports to the [US] Service Acquisition Executive (SAE) of the other service.

Engine failure before takeoff

The only other major item from the committee hearing, other than Labor MP Ruth Smeeth having a pop at DDC – the Ministry of Defense’s Directorate of Defense Communication, its spin doctor battalion – was SNP MP Martin Docherty-Hughes questioning Baldwin on engine overhauls. As El Reg reported last year, the Pratt and Whitney F135 engines of Britain’s frontline carrier fighter jets can only be overhauled in Turkey, by decree of the American Joint Project Office managing the F-35 project.

“In terms of the engine program,” said Baldwin in response to Docherty-Hughes’ questions, “that will happen again within Turkey. I believe the warehousing [of other aircraft components] is happening in the Netherlands, and there’s a series of ongoing competitions. Turkey is a NATO country.”

“This has never happened before,” shot back Docherty-Hughes.

“The UK is doing a significant part of those repairs, overhauls and upgrade for all 3,000 planes as I understand it. Not surprisingly, if you’re Australia, Holland, one of the other partner nations, you’re keen to have that ongoing global support,” retorted Baldwin, continuing to talk about the UK’s avionics overhaul deal instead of Docherty-Hughes’ question. She emphasized that support contracts are awarded as part of a “series of competitions the JPO are running.”

Docherty-Hughes refused to be deterred. “The minister didn’t answer the question. Is it value for the UK taxpayer? Are we one step away from a disaster? This is unprecedented, it’s never happened before. It’s clearly the United States directing the MoD to put the engines in for overhaul in another country. Has this happened before?”

Baldwin spoke briefly about the “net benefit” of having a Turkey overhauling mission-critical major components of the only fast jets capable of flying from Britain’s new aircraft carriers, in exchange for avionics repairs being carried out in North Wales, and described the latter as “good for the UK industrial base”

Lewis, catching onto the general idea, prodded the minister further: “Is it the case that we’re having some of our F-35, if not all our F-35 engines, serviced by Turkey, and we will be doing things to F-35s that belong to the Turkish air force?”

A grateful Baldwin nodded: “That is the idea.” Air Commodore Lincoln Taylor, MoD senior officer in charge of military fast jet projects, sitting next to Baldwin, loyally chipped in that the avionics repair hub will be of “enormous benefit to the UK”.

Defeated in his attempt to make the minister answer a direct question about the stability of a critical British defense supply line, Docherty-Hughes said he was “not reassured” but would “take the minister and department’s answers”.

 

[angelburst29]

VIDEO: Russian helicopters visit Turkish, Kurdish military bases in north Aleppo
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-russian-helicopters-visit-turkish-kurdish-military-bases-north-aleppo/

Russian military helicopters paid a visit to both Turkish and Kurdish forces in northern Syria today making a serious of stop-offs throughout Aleppo province.

According to sources, at least two Russian military helicopters – one Mi-8 transport helicopter and a Ka-50 scout-attack helicopter – conducted today’s mysterious mission.

Reports say that the helicopters first stopped off at a Turkish military base in Al-Bab and then flew on to land at a Kurdish base near Tel Riffat.

The reason for the Russia’s visit to either Turkish or Kurdish forces in north Aleppo remains unknown at the present time.


US-backed forces succeed in making Raqqa 80 percent “uninhabitable”
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/us-backed-forces-succeed-making-raqqa-80-percent-uninhabitable/

US-Led Coalition Confirms Syria's Raqqa Completely Liberated From Daesh
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710201058407874-us-led-coalition-daesh-raqqa/

The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are mostly composed of the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), have announced the complete liberation of Raqqa from Daesh with the support of the US. Syrian military analyst, Brigadier General Muhammad Isa, explained to Sputnik what the US might be really after in this area.

How US is Playing 'Kurdish Card' in Syria
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710211058426031-syria-raqqa-us-kurds/

Commenting on the reports of the liberation of Raqqa from Daesh, Muhammad Isa pointed out to Sputnik Arabic, that there are practically no Kurds residing in the areas which now come under the control of the SDF. In Raqqa, for example, less than 3 percent of total population is Kurdish.

The military official suggested that there is an ongoing operation to change the demographics of these territories by bringing in Kurds. The process is being controlled by the US, which is now "playing the Kurdish card" in Syria to secure a further pretext for being present in the country after the defeat of Daesh.

According to the Brigadier General, the SDF now control 50,000 square meters of Syria and its forces number no more than 20,000 servicemen. Achieving this ratio of territory to force size has only been possible with the support of the US.

However he doubted that the US would be willing to get themselves entangled in an open conflict because of the Kurds. Russia has repeatedly said that it would support the Syrian army in case of any military confrontation, be it SDF or the US. The response would be immediate.

(Comment - The two Russian military helicopters that recently paid a visit to both Turkish and Kurdish forces in northern Syria "might have been a direct warning" to avoid a military confrontation?)

The military official also ruled out any possible clashes between SDF and those Turkish units stationed in Idlib and on the border between the two countries, as both sides coordinate their operations with the US. Turkey however wants to grab 12,000 square meters of the Syrian territory by annexing Idlib and Aleppo, he concluded.

Brigadier General Ali Maqsud, a prominent Syrian military analyst, has provided Sputnik with his assessment of the Syrian Army's recent advances against Daesh in the Deir ez-Zor area, and on the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces' operation to liberate Raqqa.

Raqqa's Liberation Marred By Reports That US Evacuated Daesh Leaders
https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201710201058417766-syrian-brigadier-general-sputnik-interview/

Speaking to Sputnik Arabic about the Syrian forces' recent military successes in the country's east, Maqsud stressed that "without a doubt, the Syrian Army, together with its allies, has achieved great success in recent days by liberating the city of al-Mayadin, which gives us control of the area between the city and the western part of Deir ez-Zor."

The Syrian Army's elite Tiger Forces liberated al-Mayadin in a strategic operation experts say casts a devastating blow to Daesh defenses in the Euphrates Valley.

Brigadier General Maqsud stressed that "these successes, along with the army's advances along the eastern bank of the Euphrates, are bringing about the imminent defeat of Daesh in Deir ez-Zor province.

The officer revealed that "now, the Syrian Army is on the verge of an important battle on the Syrian-Iraqi border, after which the liberation of Deir ez-Zor would take place within the space of a few hours."

Asked to comment on the situation in nearby Raqqa province, where the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces, a collection of predominantly Kurdish militia including the YPG People's Protection Units, recently announced Raqqa city's complete liberation, Brigadier General Maqsud emphasized that strategically, "while the US allies control some oil fields in this province, this does not give them the strategic advantage. Because the Syrian Army controls all the connecting roads between Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa."

Furthermore, "the SDF's reports on their liberation of Raqqa have nothing to do with reality," the officer suggested. "It's only an information screen. T The Americans were defeated in Syria, but continue to give the appearance before the international community that they are successfully fighting terrorism."

"At the same time, it's known that they secretly evacuated Daesh leaders out of Raqqa by helicopter gunship, and helped the SDF occupy areas freed from the terrorists," Maqsud said.

The analyst stressed that according to his information, contrary to SDF and US-led coalition claims, Raqqa not yet been fully freed from Daesh.

Ultimately, Maqsud emphasized that the Syrian Army respects the SDF, because it is made up of Syrians. However, he warned that if the militia forces are provoked to violate the law or the Syrian constitution, they may find themselves under attack. It is an unfortunate but obvious fact that they are being used as a political and military tool by the US, the officer concluded.

What the Syrian Kurds are actually calling for is the federalization of the whole state, Shahoz Hasan, recently elected co-chair of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), has told Sputnik Turkiye.

Syrian Kurds 'Don't Want Partition of Syria, Do Not Seek Kurdistan's Autonomy'
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710201058403594-syrian-kurds-independence/

"We are open for a dialogue with the central government. We do not want the partition of Syria, do not harbor plans of separating from the country and do not want to set up an independent Kurdistan. Such rumors are not true," Shahoz Hasan told Sputnik.

The politician described the recent remarks of the Syrian government that it is open to negotiations with Kurds over their demands for autonomy within Syrian borders as "late in coming."

Earlier in September, the country's Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem said the government could discuss the Kurdish demand once Daesh (Islamic State/ISIS) is defeated.

The PYD co-chair explained that the Syrian Kurds and the party are calling for a federalization of Syria. Their federal project is based on the principle of a "democratic autonomy," which would embrace the whole country.

"We are open for a dialogue and are eager to take part in negotiations on the political settlement of the Syrian crisis," he said.

Commenting further on the peace process to end the six-year-long military conflict in his home country, Shahoz Hasan specifically stressed Russia's position in the negotiations.

"We think that Russia's statements that any talks in Geneva or any other negotiation process are ineffective without Kurdish participation are very important. Russia can facilitate the settlement of the conflict, ensure that Kurds are invited. This could largely contribute to the settlement of the crisis and find a democratic, peaceful and political solution," he said.

Syrian Kurds and the US - Shahoz Hasan also addressed the relationship between the Syrian Kurds and the US, in particular, their cooperation in the military operation in Raqqa, which is led by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), which are mostly composed of the People's Protection Units (YPG), a mostly Kurdish militia.

"We are fighting together with the US and coalition forces against Daesh. We have gained considerable success in this fight. We also hope for American and Russian aid in the political settlement of the conflict," he said.

However, the level of military and political cooperation between Kurds and the US is far from at the desired level, although they have regular meetings with US representatives, according to the politician.

Syrian Kurds to Help Iraqi Kurdistan in Case of Embargo - While commenting on the independence referendum for Iraqi Kurdistan, which was held on September 25, and where the overwhelming majority of Iraqi Kurds voted in favor of their sovereignty, Shahoz Hasan noted that although the result was a fair representation of the will of the people, it should have been held with participation of a larger alliance of political forces.

There should have been the opening of the parliament, the referendum should have been held when political and other issues were already solved. Yes, the Majlis was opened several days before the referendum, but not all of the parties had been invited. The process should have been more democratic, involving all the parties," he said.

The Kurdish politician however assured that if, following the vote, Turkey, Iran and Iraq establishes an embargo against Iraqi Kurdistan, Syrian Kurds are eager to provide aid to the region, although it, in turn, had placed an embargo against the Syrian Kurds.

According to Shahoz Hasan, their relationship with the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Barzani is far from good, however his party won't respond in a likewise manner. They will keep their checkpoints open and will do their most to provide any assistance the can, he said.

Ba'ath Party officials in Damascus say the Syrian Army troops will soon move to take control of Raqqa city captured by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) a couple of days ago.

Syria: Damascus to Seize Control over Raqqa Soon
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960729000956

"The province (of Raqqa) will soon rejoin the motherland by the Syrian Army troops' assistance," Deputy Secretary-General of the Syria's Ba'ath Party Hilal said without elaborating on whether Damascus forces will engage in clashes with the SDF or not.

Relevant reports said earlier today that the SDF raised hostilities against Damascus after it declared that it won't hand over control of Raqqa city to the central government.

The SDF said on Friday that the political future of Raqqa city and province would be determined “within the framework of a decentralized, federal, democratic Syria.”

SDF Spokesman Talal Silo said the group would hand over the control of the city to what he called “the Raqqa Civil Council,” likely a Kurdish body.

Syrian Minister of National Reconciliation Affairs Ali Haidar reacted by saying that Raqqa’s future could only be discussed “as part of the final political structure of the Syrian state.”

The so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR), meanwhile, said that the SDF’s purported operations in Raqqa have killed civilians and damaged infrastructure in the city.

“When you’re killing around 1,200 civilians — nearly half of them women and children — and destroying 80 percent of the city, that’s not liberating Raqqa,” Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the SOHR, told Arab News daily.

Local sources said on Tuesday that the SDF drove ISIL out of more regions in the Northeastern Raqqa city, imposing full control over the city.

The sources said that the SDF hunted the remaining pockets of ISIL gunmen and seized full control over Raqqa city.

They added that the SDF further started defusing bombs and landmines planted by the ISIL in the city.

Talal Silo said at the time that the military operation in Raqqa ended, but the SDF forces would continue their cleansing operation to hunt the ISIL gunmen that were hidden in the region and to defuse bombs and landmines in the city.

France has always been actively involved in the Middle Eastern affairs and now after the US-led coalition declared that the Daesh stronghold, Raqqa, was freed from terrorists, the country decides to allocate funds of 15 Mln. euros for the restoration efforts.

Macron Says Liberation of Raqqa Not End of War Against Daesh
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710201058418977-macron-liberation-raqqa-daesh/

The liberation of Syria's Raqqa does not mean that the overall struggle against the Daesh terrorist group is over, which is why France will continue fighting terrorists in Syria until their final defeat, French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday.

Earlier in the day, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias announced the victory over Daesh militants in the Syrian city of Raqqa.

According to Macron, the stabilization and restoration of Syria are just as important as the military operation itself. As the main cause of a terrorist wave, French president cited the bloody civil war in Syria which started after "the suppression of the democratic movement by the regime of [Syrian President] Bashar Assad" that is why the political transition "is now more important than ever."

Macron also welcomed the victory of the SDF troops supported by the coalition, noting that the campaign to destroy Daesh in the Middle East has overcome an important stage.

The Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) have targeted three Syrian artillery cannons following shelling allegedly carried out by The Syrian army, the IDF's press service said Saturday.

Israeli Defense Forces Target Syrian Artillery in Response to Alleged Shelling
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710211058423770-israel-syria-shelling/

"Early this morning, 5 projectiles were launched at the N Golan Heights from Syria. In response, the IDF targeted 3 Syrian artillery cannons," the IDF said on Twitter.

​It is second such incident in a week. On October 16, the IDF stated that its military jets destroyed an anti-aircraft battery east of Damascus as a response to an alleged missile attack against an Israeli military aircraft. Syria has not confirmed the incident.

Israel and Syria have exchanged numerous tit-for-tat attacks over the disputed Golan Hights, which was seized by Israel during the Six-Day War in 1967. The latest occurred in September 2017, when the IDF attacked Syrian Arab Army forces in the province of Hama. However, the Israeli Defense Forces refused to comment on that incident.

Recently, the IDF has prioritized attacks against the Lebanese Shiite group Hezbollah, which has assisted Syrian President Assad in fighting Sunni religious extremists. Israel and the US have considered Hezbollah a terrorist group for decades, while Saudi Arabia and its Gulf Cooperation Council allies made this distinction only last year, reflecting heated Sunni-Shiite rivalry in the region. Russia, China and Iran do not use this distinction.

Iranian troops are also involved in the fight to assist Syria, which has also incited the ire of neighboring Israel. The US political journal Foreign Policy opined on September 28 that Iranian involvement was destined to draw Israel into the conflict.

Al-Qaeda-linked militants have repelled a major offensive push by Syrian pro-government forces in the countryside of West Ghouta following a recent breakthrough by the latter.

Israeli-backed terrorists reverse all Syrian Army advances in West Ghouta
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/israeli-backed-terrorists-reverse-syrian-army-advances-west-ghouta/

Two days ago, the Syrian pro-government forces scored a major operational victory against Al-Qaeda-linked terrorists of the Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham jihadist group near the strategic town of Beit Jinn in western Rif Dimashq (Damascus) province, capturing the key hilltop of Tal Bard’ayyah.

However, within 24 hours, jihadist militants near Beit Jinn re-grouped and launched a powerful counter-attack employing anti-tank guided missiles and receiving air support from Israeli warplanes.

After heavy clashes, Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham managed to drive Syrian forces from Tal Bard’ayyah, effectively reversing all army gains in the region.

Having been so firmly rebuffed and after having endured significant losses in armor, it remains unclear if Syrian pro-government forces will attempt another push on Tal Bard’ayyah which is key to liberating Beit Jinn.

The Russian Air Force destroyed an entire base filled with several Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham field commanders in the Idlib countryside last night after launching several airstrikes near the town of Sarmin.

Russian Air Force destroys base filled with Al-Qaeda commanders in Idlib
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russian-air-force-destroys-base-filled-al-qaeda-commanders-idlib/

Russian jets flying out of the Shay’rat Airbase in east Homs began their assault by targeting Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham’s positions in the quarries area of eastern Idlib.

According to a military source, the Russian Air Force was specifically using bunker busters in the quarries area to destroy a base that was being used by HTS to conduct a leadership meeting.

Many of the HTS field commanders were killed during the attack, including several emirs of local Idlibi towns.

 

[angelburst29]

Niger Green Beret Slaying Exposes West's Unacknowledged Conflicts in Africa
https://sputniknews.com/military/201710131058211549-us-africa-secret-wars/

The deadly attack on the US military and Green Berets was first published on Saturday Oct. 7th, stating that the incident happened "last Wednesday" which is October 4. Follow-up news reports skirted around the date or inserted "early October". It wasn't until the fiasco of what Trump said in a phone call to one of the Green Beret Widow's and the FBI announcing they were getting into the investigation, that articles now contain the Oct. 4th date ... starting with "Pentagon Insists It is Open About Niger Ambush"? (20.10.2017)

My impression is that the incident happened a few days earlier, on Oct. 2nd and coincided with the Las Vegas shootings? That Israel is behind - both - even catching Mattis and the Pentagon off guard? What better way of getting your point across - that the MIC isn't doing "enough" for Israel?

In the last article, you will notice this captions under one of the photos:

Defense Secretary James Mattis (R) delivers remarks to reporters about recent U.S. troops killed in Niger as he welcomes Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman and his delegation for meetings at the Pentagon in Washington, U.S. October 19, 2017

But in another photo/caption:

Defense Secretary James Mattis, center, listens as Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., left, speaks to members of the media after their meeting Friday, Oct. 20, 2017, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (Mattis and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona spoke privately at the lawmaker's Capitol Hill office on Friday.)

Why did Mattis have to meet with "Israel's Defense Minister and his delegation" before his "private meeting" with McCain the next day?


Identities of Three US Green Berets Killed in Niger Released, Fourth Found Dead
https://sputniknews.com/africa/201710071058022637-us-niger-green-berets-death/

Pentagon Confirms 4 Troops Killed in Niger Received Full Training
https://sputniknews.com/us/201710211058421508-niger-usa-soldiers-trained/

Pentagon Insists It is Open About Niger Ambush
https://sputniknews.com/us/201710201058394662-pentagon-congress-niger-attack/

The FBI has joined the investigation into the bizarre deaths of four American soldiers, including three Green Berets, in Niger earlier in October. The American soldiers were killed alongside five Nigerien troops in an ambush that the Pentagon has blamed on a new branch of Daesh based out of neighboring Mali.

FBI Joins Investigation Into Deadly Ambush of US Soldiers in Niger
https://sputniknews.com/military/201710201058418690-fbi-niger-ambush-investigation-begins/

The investigation is led by the Department of Defense, but the Wall Street Journal reported on Thursday that the FBI had thrown their hat in the ring as well. Bureau officials told the WSJ that they had the authority to commandeer the probe, but had not done so. They added that their involvement in the investigation is nothing unusual.

The FBI typically handles the investigation into the deaths of American citizens overseas as well as international terror investigations. However, the Pentagon has their own in-house investigative services. In all likelihood, the FBI has been brought on to appease critics who have argued that the White House has poorly managed the aftermath of the attack.

The American and Nigerien soldiers were on a joint patrol within striking distance of the Niger-Mali border when a force of militants attacked them. Four of the twelve-odd US troops and five of the 40 Nigeriens were killed in the fighting before French gunships and a Nigerien counterattack chased the militants off.

But weeks have passed since the initial incident and very little new information has been revealed since the first couple days. The troops also lacked sufficient air and ground support, relying on allied French forces in Mali for a rescue and evacuation. Furthermore, Sgt. La David Johnson was lost in the confusion of the fighting. His body was discovered two days later.

This has led to lawmakers, most prominently Chair of the Senate Armed Services Committee Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), to demand more transparency from the White House about the attack.

"I had a better working relationship, as far as information back and forth, with [former Defense Secretary] Ash Carter than I do with an old friend of 20 years," said McCain, referring to White House National Security Adviser Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster. "We've been waiting for weeks and weeks. We will not sit by without having a complete understanding of what's going on."

The Pentagon has insisted that they have been as forthcoming as possible with lawmakers about details regarding the attack. "The loss of our troops is under investigation," Defense Secretary James Mattis told the press on Friday. "We investigate anytime we have our troops killed, whether it be in a training accident or combat."

Mattis admitted that the Pentagon does not "have all the accurate information yet" regarding the deadly ambush, but the "US military does not leave its troops behind."

"These terrorists are conducting war on innocent people of all religions, they are conducting war on innocent people who have no way to defend themselves," he added. "In this specific case, contact was considered unlikely, but there's a reason we have US Army soldiers there and not the Peace Corps, because we carry guns."

Secretary of Defense James Mattis provided a Capitol Hill briefing about the deadly ambush in Niger that took the lives of four U.S. troops – and the emerging details describe a chaotic encounter with inadequate support.

No armor, no overhead surveillance, no quick reaction force on standby - and it took TWO DAYS to find Sgt. La David Johnson's body after ambush in Niger: First details of disaster in Africa revealed (Photos - video) (20.10.2017)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5002342/Niger-raid-took-4-troops-called-massive-failure.html

New details emerged Friday on the Oct. 4 ambush that left four special forces dead in Niger
* A 12-man force of Green Berets fell under fire by up to 50 ISIS-linked forces
* Defense Secretary James Mattis briefed Sen. John McCain on the ambush Friday
* There was no U.S. overhead surveillance during the routine patrol
* The force had light 'technical' vehicles that weren't armored
* Lured into an ambush by fighters on motorcycles
* The body of Sgt. La David Johnson wasn't recovered until 48 hours after the attack
* 'They just were not postured properly' to get him when he went missing

Secretary of Defense James Mattis provided a Capitol Hill briefing about the deadly ambush in Niger that took the lives of four U.S. troops – and the emerging details describe a chaotic encounter with inadequate support.

Mattis briefed Armed Services Chairman Sen. John McCain, who was so upset by the lack of information that he threatened to issue a subpoena.

A congressional source briefed on the mission called it a 'massive intelligence failure,' NBC reported.

A 12-man force of Green Berets fell under fire by up to 50 ISIS-linked forces, according to early accounts described by the Pentagon.

It has now emerged that after the ambush happened, it wasn't until 48 hours after the attack that the body of Sgt. La David Johnson was recovered.

The patrol took place without U.S. air surveillance.

The force had light 'technical' vehicles, but the vehicles were not heavily armored.

The force got lured into an ambush by fighters on motorcycles.

There was no U.S. quick-reaction force on standby available to rescue the troops if they came into harm's way.

Mattis and Republican Sen. John McCain of Arizona spoke privately at the lawmaker's Capitol Hill office on Friday. Emerging from the meeting, the defense secretary pledged better lines of communication with Congress.

McCain has threatened a subpoena, frustrated with what he says is a slow response for information from the Trump administration.

McCain said, "I felt we were not getting a sufficient amount of information and we are clearing a lot of that up now."

Earlier this week, McCain said he would hold up Trump's nominees for key Defense Department posts until the administration delivers details about its new strategy for the war in Afghanistan.

It is unclear if the U.S. force was intentionally delayed in a village they were visiting.

After a rescue involving French aircraft it emerged that one soldier was missing, the aide told the network. 'Movements and actions to try and find him and bring him back were considered. They just were not postured properly [to get him].' according to the account.

Mattis was emphatic in comments Thursday about the raid, and defended the conduct of both the U.S. military and its allies.

'The U.S. military does not leave its troops behind and I would just ask that you not question the actions of the troops that were caught in the firefight and question whether or not they did everything they could in order to bring everyone out at once,' Mattis said in comments to reporters Thursday.

The mission has come under fire more than two weeks after U.S. forces came under an ambush from ISIS-linked fighters, with powerful lawmakers calling for more information on what went wrong.

'We, in the Department of Defense, like to know what we are talking about before we talk and so we do not have all the accurate information yet,' Mattis said.

After the meeting with McCain, Mattis pledge better communication. "I felt we were not getting a sufficient amount of information and we are clearing a lot of that up now," McCain said.

 

[angelburst29]

NATO is holding an American nuclear weapons safety procedure exercise at a base in Büchel, Germany and in the Belgian town of Kleine-Brogel. The legitimacy of such actions and the deployment of nuclear weapons in non-nuclear countries raises several questions. The drills have also been criticized by Russia.

NATO's Hidden Agenda: What's Behind Drills With US Nuclear Weapons in Germany
https://sputniknews.com/analysis/201710221058446313-germany-drills-us-nuclear-weapons/

Drills in Europe - The airbase in Büchel still houses up to 20 American nuclear bombs and is the only facility in Germany where nuclear weapons are deployed. Currently, Bundeswehr pilots and personnel from other NATO countries are practicing nuclear weapons handling procedures.

"This exercise is nicknamed 'Steadfast Noon' within the alliance and is held annually at military bases across Europe," Otfried Nassauer, a researcher with the Berlin Information Center for Security (BITS), told Sputnik Germany.

He explained that during the drills which are supervised by the US military personnel, practice safety regulations while mounting a nuclear bomb on an aircraft and they are observed until the plane takes off. However, no real nuclear weapons are used in the drills.

Legal Dilemma - Since the 1960s, NATO’s nuclear participation has provided for the possible use of American nuclear weapons by four non-nuclear European nations in the event of war. According to NATO officials, nuclear participation complies with the nuclear non-proliferation treaty, which is often disputed by critics.

Their argument is that as a result of this situation a new group of countries emerges in between the nuclear and non-nuclear parties of the treaty. This is a group of pseudo-nuclear states, which are not mentioned by the treaty," Nassauer pointed out.

German forces are not allowed to use nuclear weapons, in accordance with international law. However, during the current drills German personnel receive orders not from the defense ministry, but from NATO’s command.

"This creates an embarrassing situation. The law prohibits the use of nuclear weapons by German troops, but they receive such orders from NATO.
They may try to disobey such orders at their own risk, because according to German laws a soldier must not obey an illegal order," the analyst said.

Signal to Russia - Retired Bundeswehr colonel Ulrich Scholz, who was involved in NATO’s air force planning, described the drills a "questionable affair" and said they are likely to be a political argument against Russia.

Scholz expressed serious concerns about Germany’s national security.

"If we’re abandoning nuclear energy due to safety concerns but stockpiling nukes on our soil and taking part in these drills, I’ve got one question: is anybody out there concerned about Germany’s security?" he said.

The former officer also noted that Washington’s "geo-strategic interests" are now again focused on Russia, as it was during the Cold War.

According to Nassauer, the US is interested in keep all of its allies bound together. For the first time, Poland, Greece and the Czech Republic have been involved in the exercise this year. Moreover, the exercise has been held at different military facilities.

"In light of the continuing tensions between Russia and the West, all of the above looks like a political signal from NATO to Moscow," he said.

On Friday, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov called for the removal of US nuclear weapons from Europe.

"We gradually stand for the withdrawal of US nuclear weapons from Europe and their return to the US," Lavrov said a nuclear weapons non-proliferation conference in Moscow.

The minister called on NATO to stop nuclear weapons drills in its non-nuclear members.

The Russian Defense Ministry "has questions" about the sudden move of the anti-Daesh coalition to help civilians in Raqqa.

Russian MoD: West Wants to Cover Tracks of 'Barbaric' Bombings in Raqqa
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710221058441405-raqqa-humanitarian-aid-coalition/

"(The only explanation of this) is an aspiration to quickly cover up the tracks of the barbaric bombings of the United States and the coalition's aircraft that have buried thousands of civilians liberated from the Islamic State [Daesh] under the ruins of Raqqa," Russian Defense Ministry spokesman said.

Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov called the urgent intention of the US-led coalition members to allocate financial aid to the Syrian Raqqa suspicious amid repeated refusals to deliver humanitarian aid to the Syrians affected by the civil war.

"Raqqa has not managed to cool down after bombings of the international coalition and the high-ranking officials from Washington, Paris and Berlin have started making statements about the urgent allocation of tens of millions dollars and euros to Raqqa. These millions should allegedly help to restore peaceful life in the city. We welcome such generosity, but we have questions," Konashenkov said Sunday.

According to the official, over the past two years, Russia has repeatedly asked the United States and European nations to send humanitarian aid to the Syrians affected by war, and has also prepared a list of settlements, where this assistance is needed most of all, without dividing Syrians into "bad" and "good" ones. However, the response was always negative, Konashenkov added.

"(The only explanation of this) is an aspiration to quickly cover up the tracks of the barbaric bombings by the United States and the coalition's aircraft that have buried thousands of civilians liberated from the Islamic State [Daesh] terrorist group under the ruins of Raqqa," Konashenkov added.

The spokesman added that the statements made by the US authorities, including the White House, the Pentagon and the State Department, about the crucial role of the Raqqa's liberation in the struggle against the terrorists and the contribution of the US-led coalition to this fight, also could puzzle.

He assumed that Washington might consider Raqqa was the only place controlled by Daesh in Syria, "a provincial town, with the prewar population of about 200,000 and with the population of no more than 45,000 before the beginning of the coalition's operation to liberate it that lasted for five months."

At the same time, Konashenkov claimed, the Syrian army supported by the Russian Aerospace Forces liberated the city of Deir ez-Zor in 10 days, while it was inhabited by more than 500,000 before the conflict.

On Friday October 20, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), along with US President Donal Trump announced the defeat of Daesh by alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias. The US president called the victory a "critical breakthrough" and announced that a "transition into a new phase" would be forthcoming.

President Trump issues statement on Syrian forces recapturing Raqqa from ISIS. “The end of the ISIS caliphate is in sight.” pic.twitter.com/nOzQSsqfQB

Raqqa has been under Daesh control for four years, since 2013. In early June the SDF and the anti-Daesh coalition launched an operation to liberate the "capital" of Daesh self-proclaimed caliphate.

Russia, along with other countries, has been taking numerous steps to settle the Syrian crisis which turned violent since the 2011 Arab Spring protests. These efforts included humanitarian aid to Syrians and contributing to the restoration of the country.

The recent military activities in the area have been purely theatrical, with the US manipulating both the SDF and Daesh like puppets. Washington's goal is to set up a Kurdish enclave there and settle into the area for the long term, Turkish and Russian military analysts told Sputnik.

Liberation of Raqqa a Puppet Show Allowing US to Extend Influence in the Region
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710211058433968-us-syria-raqqa-liberation/

On Friday, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), with the support of the US announced that they have fully cleared Raqqa from Daesh. The report has been confirmed by the US-led coalition.

Later reports revealed that SDF raised a flag with the portrait of Abdullah Ocalan, leader and one of the founding members of Kurdistan Workers' Party, (PKK), outlawed in Turkey.

Speaking to Sputnik Turkey, Turkish military analyst Koray Gurbuz, an expert at the Ankara-based Bilkent University and former chairman of Turkey's Council of Veterans, stressed that it only demonstrates the "falsity of US claims that there is no direct linkage between the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), the major comprising group of the SDF, and Turkey and Iraq-based PKK."

Koray Gurbuz noted that the operation resembles more of a "puppet show with the US pulling the strings of both the SDF and Daesh."

"The US are making attempts to set up new order in the Middle East with the support of various terrorist organizations in Syria, such as Daesh and the Syrian affiliate of Kurdistan Workers' Party, Kurdish People’s Protection Units," he told Sputnik.

For this reason, the US supplies arms to both Daesh and YPG. No matter how hard the US tries to deny it, the facts speak for themselves, the military analyst explained. Thus Washington tries to clear the way for YPG and Barzani (President of the Iraqi Kurdistan Region) to set up a Kurdish corridor in the region.

According to Koray Gurbuz, the people who now head Daesh spent many years in the Guantanamo Bay detention camp. However soon after their release, they set up this large terrorist organization and started their blood-drenched voyage to the Middle East with more arms than anyone else in the region had.

The expert further described the process of setting up a Kurdish corridor: first Daesh comes in and occupies certain territories. Then Iraqi Kurdish Peshmerga Forces, on the one side, and Syrian YPG on the other try to set up their own corridors. Similar practices have been used in Raqqa. The US wants to open these corridors up to the Mediterranean Sea through the territories of Iraq and Syria.

This point of view is echoed by Russian military analyst and president of the Academy for Geopolitical Problems Konstantin Sivkov, who told Sputnik that
the liberation of Raqqa means that the US has anchored its presence in the region and will try to destroy the territorial integrity of Syria and Iraq by creating a puppet Kurdish enclave.

The expert suggested that the US will further try to expand the zone of its influence to Deir ez-Zor and northeastern regions of Syria, which are rich in oil deposits. This will inevitably lead to serious diplomatic rows as any attempt by Syria and Iraq to preserve their territorial integrity will mean a loss of one of the zones under control of the US, which Washington will try to prevent, he concluded.

Saudi Minister of State for Arab Affairs Thamer al-Sabhan has traveled to Raqqa in Syria to rescue 30 Saudi members of the ISIL terrorist group from Syria under the guise of reconstruction talks and partnership, an Arab media outlet disclosed on Sunday.

Report: Saudi Minister's Visit to Raqqa Aimed at Saving ISIL Members
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960730001296

Informed sources in Raqqa were quoted as saying by the Arabic-language al-Arabi al-Jadid news website that al-Sabhan's visit coincided with a trip made by Brett McGurk, the top US envoy to the anti-ISIL coalition, to the region.

"Al-Sabhan's main objective was not helping the displaced people but it was saving nearly 30 Saudi ISIL members," the sources said.

They added that al-Sabhan vowed to help reconstruction efforts in Syria after extradition of the Saudi ISIL members.

Al-Sabhan is minister of state for Arab Affairs. He was previously the ambassador to Iraq.

Al-Sabhan recently caused controversy in Lebanon when he called for building a coalition to fight powerful Iran-backed Lebanese Hezbollah resistance group which is fighting alongside the Syrian army against the terrorist groups.

Saudi Arabia has been a key backer of terrorist groups fighting in Syria.

The Russian forces have raised the Russian Federation standard above a major base held by Kurdish militias in Northern Aleppo province amid a recent visit to the region by a helicopter, video footages showed.

Russian Forces Raise Flag above Major Kurdish Base in Northern Syria (Video)
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960730001031

Video footage released by opposition media sources two days ago shows Russian forces raising the Russian flag above the Kurdish-held Menagh Air Base in Afrin region of Northern Aleppo province, the English-language Lebanon-based AMN reported.

In doing so, the Kurdish YPG flag which previously flew above the military airport was taken down.

The development came after Russian forces paid a visit to both Turkish and Kurdish authorities in Northern Aleppo.

The Russian, Turkish and Kurdish military heads are currently negotiating for the establishment of a de-escalation zone in the Afrin region that is aimed at ending hostilities between Turkey-led forces and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units.

VIDEO: Russian helicopters visit Turkish, Kurdish military bases in north Aleppo
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-russian-helicopters-visit-turkish-kurdish-military-bases-north-aleppo/

Russian military helicopters paid a visit to both Turkish and Kurdish forces in northern Syria today making a serious of stop-offs throughout Aleppo province.

According to sources, at least two Russian military helicopters – one Mi-8 transport helicopter and a Ka-50 scout-attack helicopter – conducted today’s mysterious mission.

The Turkish Army is about to set up eight military bases in Idlib province in Northwestern Syria amid reports about Ankara forces' imminent operation in the province, a Turkish media outlet reported on Sunday.

Turkey to Establish Eight Military Bases in Northwestern Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960730000480

The Turkish-language Yeni Safak daily reported that Ankara is to establish eight military base in Idlib province in line with its plan to launch military operations in the Northwestern province.

The paper added that based on intelligence, locations of four the bases have been specified, adding that the first base will be set up in strategic Jabal Barakat region that overlooks the town of Afrin and Idlib city.

It said that Taftnaz airbase in the Southeastern countryside of the town of Taftnaz and Abu Dhohour military airport are two other locations for the Turkish-run bases in Idlib province.

In the meantime, the Turkish army has gained control over regions near Wadi al-Zeif that can be a good choice for the forth base.

A Kurdish media outlet reported on Tuesday that the Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board) handed over an airbase in Idlib province to the Turkish Army troops after arrival of Ankara forces and their allied militants in the province.

The Kurdish-language Hawar news quoted local sources as saying that the Al-Nusra Front has handed over Taftnaz military airport, known as one of the largest military helicopter bases in Northeastern Idlib, to the Turkish soldiers.

Hawar news further said that the Turkish army men entered the base without any clashes, announcing the base a Turkish military airport after deployment.

In the meantime, media activists said that the Turkish forces are about to do the same with Wadi al-Zeif base and Abu al-Dhohour airbase in Idlib province.

 

[angelburst29]

Israeli-backed jihadists of Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham’s (Syrian Al-Qaeda affiliate) chapter in West Ghouta have engaged and destroyed two Syrian Arab Army tanks with anti-tank missile fire.

VIDEO: 2 Syrian Army tanks blown apart by Israeli-backed jihadists in West Ghouta
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/video-2-syrian-army-tanks-blown-apart-israeli-backed-jihadists-west-ghouta/

The countryside of West Ghouta has been the site of major battles over this last week with pro-government forces attempting to overrun an Al-Qaeda’s Beit Jinn stronghold in the region.

Although achieving some success at first, pro-government forces endured heavy losses in armor and, after coming under attack from Israeli warplanes (who were acting in direct support of the jihadists), were pushed to completely withdraw from their gains.

Ha’yat Tahrir al-Sham released a video two days ago showing their forces knocking out 2 Syrian Army tanks with 9M113 Konkurs anti-tank guided missile systems during the course of the battle.

Tribal fighters linked to the Islamic State (ISIS) defected from the terrorist group to the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) at the Al-‘Omar Oil Fields in Deir Ezzor, a military source in Damascus told Al-Masdar News this afternoon.

Exclusive: ISIS tribal fighters defect and hand over Al-Omar Oil Fields to US-backed forces
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/exclusive-isis-tribal-fighters-defect-hand-al-omar-oil-fields-us-backed-forces/

According to the source, the SDF has not reached the Al-‘Omar Oil Fields, but announced they captured this imperative site in Deir Ezzor after the tribal fighters joined the Arab Liberation Council.

Furthermore, this latest move leaves the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in a difficult bind, as the US and Russia have an agreement to avoid hostilities between their forces in the Deir Ezzor Governorate.

While it is not clear whether or not the Syrian Army will attack this site before the US-backed forces reach it, their high command is furious over this move because of the loss of future profits from these large oil fields.

Minutes ago, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced that their fighters seized the largest oil field in the Deir Ezzor Governorate.

Breaking: US-backed forces allege they captured largest oil field in Deir Ezzor
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/breaking-us-backed-forces-allege-captured-largest-oil-field-deir-ezzor/

This claim by the Syrian Democratic Forces comes just a week after the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) reached the Al-‘Umar Oil Field.

While it is still difficult to confirm, if this story proves true, this will be a major economic blow to the Syrian government because of the Al-‘Umar Oil Field’s production. More details to come….

Opposition sources have released satellite photos of a major oil field in Deir Ezzor Governorate that has been torched by ISIS militants prior to their retreating from the area.

Satellite pictures: ISIS militants set fire to major oil field in Deir Ezzor
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/satellite-pictures-isis-militants-set-fire-major-oil-field-deir-ezzor/

The site in question has been geo-located and subsequently identified as the Jafra Oil Field, which is located directly east of Deir Ezzor city on the other side of the Euphrates River.

Whilst not as large as the Al-Omar Oil Field further to the southeast, the Jafra Oil Field does nonetheless sit atop a big crude reserve in respect to Syrian standards.

Opposition sources claim that the oil wells at Jafra were set ablaze just prior to ISIS militants withdrawing from the energy complex about to weeks ago.

Since Islamic State fighters retreated from the site, the Jafra Oil Field has come under the control of the US-backed, Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces.

The US-supported alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias continue to advance in Syria after Raqqa's liberation.

Syrian Democratic Forces Recapture Oil Field in Deir ez-Zor Province
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710221058442863-sdf-oil-field-capture-deir-ez-zor/

The US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announced on Sunday that their units restored full control over the Al Omar oil field in the Deir ez-Zor province.

According to the SDF's official website, the Syrian government forces are deployed nearly two miles away from the field.

In late September, the Syrian Gas Company representative in Deir ez-Zor, Amin Hamid, told Sputnik that Daesh militants (a terrorist group, outlawed in Russia) controlled nearly 80 percent of oil fields and most gas deposits in the Syrian province of Deir ez-Zor. The terrorists gained control over the facilities in April 2014.

The Syrian Army is also conducting a military operation in the province. Last month the country's forces managed to capture Deir ez-Zor from Daesh terrorists after a unmerciful three-year blockade, called by some people Syria's "Leningrad Seige." The victory enabled road traffic between Palmyra and Deir ez-Zor and thus, allowing humanitarian convoys to enter the war-torn region.

On October 20, the SDF announced the full liberation of Raqqa from terrorist militants, which was confirmed by the US-led coalition. US President Donal Trump called the SDF military gains in the region a "critical breakthrough" and claimed that a "transition into a new phase" would be forthcoming.

The US has been deploying THAAD systems in South Korea since 2016 in response to the continuing missile and nuclear tests performed by the North.

US Forces Officially Complete THAAD Unit Setup in South Korea - Reports
https://sputniknews.com/military/201710221058447655-us-korea-thaad-set-up/

US Forces Korea (USFK) officially confirmed on Sunday that it had deployed a unit in South Korea charged with operating the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) system, the Yonhap news agency reported Sunday.

According to the news agency, sources in the USFK said that an official ceremony was held on Thursday to transfer the Delta Battery of the 11th Air Defense Artillery (ADA) from Fort Bliss in the US state of Texas to the 35th ADA Brigade in South Korea.

Amid the mounting tensions over Pyongyang's ongoing nuclear program, South Korea made the decision to install the four remaining THAAD launchers, causing concern in Moscow and Beijing, since this move could deteriorate the situation in the region.

Chinese Military Urges US to Remove THAAD from S Korea Over Security Concerns
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201710131058191719-china-urges-usa-remove-thaad/

China wants South Korea to end its deployment of US ballistic missiles systems, which undermine Chinese and Russian security, a senior officer with the Chinese Defense Ministry’s Central Military Commission has said.

The deployment of the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems to the Republic of Korea is a serious blow to the strategic interests of China, Russia and other countries," Lt. Gen. Zhou Shangping said.

The statement was circulated by the ministry on the heels of a Russian-Chinese military meeting on THAAD on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly’s First Committee, which deals with international security.

China asked the United States and South Korea to "take the concerns of China and other countries in the region seriously, reverse their erroneous decision and remove the equipment."

South Korea brought in the final units of the THAAD missile defense system in early September after North Korea launched several missiles and conducted a sixth nuclear test in the past months.

The Air Force munitions stockpile in Guam recently received a ten percent boost, according to the U.S. military.

US Sends Hundreds Of Thousands Of Bombs To Guam As North Korea Threat Looms
http://dailycaller.com/2017/10/19/us-sends-hundreds-of-thousands-of-bombs-to-guam-as-north-korea-threat-looms/

A total of 816,393 munitions assets valued at over $95 million dollars were delivered to Andersen Air Force Base between Aug. 21 and Sept. 30, 36th Wing Public Affairs revealed in a statement Wednesday.

“The inbound munitions ensure required assets are available in theater to support national objectives,” explained Maj. Erik Schmid, 36th Munitions Squadron commander. “The munitions will increase the overall availability of day-to-day training assets and War Reserve Material stocks to support war fighting capabilities,” the statement introduced.

The commander of the Pacific Air Forces addressed the severity of the North Korean threat Monday while warning that the U.S. military remains ready to fight should that course of action be required.

The North Korean nuclear weapons and missile development program is truly a threat to us all,” Pacific Air Forces commander Gen. Terrence O‘Shaughnessy said in Seoul, South Korea, adding, “While the United States will always seek peace over war, we remain poised to defend our ideals, our allies, and those who help preserve these international rules and norms.”

The strategic air assets located at Andersen Air Force Base facilitate America’s continuous bomber presence in the Asia Pacific and are regularly used to warn North Korea of the dangers of threatening the U.S. and its allies.

B-1B Lancers, powerful bombers that are no longer nuclear capable but carry the largest conventional payload of any U.S. bomber, are regularly sent to Korea to train alongside South Korean and Japanese forces, conduct practice bombing raids, and carry out flybys near the inter-Korean border. These flights typically follow North Korean provocations, such as missile and nuclear tests.

With memories of the intense bombing campaigns of the Korean War still fresh in mind, Pyongyang tends to express outrage about the threat posed by U.S. flights around the peninsula. North Korean Foreign Minister Ri Yong Ho recently suggested that North Korea has the right to defend itself and could move to shoot down U.S. aircraft that get too close.

 

[angelburst29]

Niger Green Beret Slaying Exposes West's Unacknowledged Conflicts in Africa
https://sputniknews.com/military/201710131058211549-us-africa-secret-wars/

Identities of Three US Green Berets Killed in Niger Released, Fourth Found Dead
https://sputniknews.com/africa/201710071058022637-us-niger-green-berets-death/

Pentagon Confirms 4 Troops Killed in Niger Received Full Training
https://sputniknews.com/us/201710211058421508-niger-usa-soldiers-trained/

Pentagon Insists It is Open About Niger Ambush
https://sputniknews.com/us/201710201058394662-pentagon-congress-niger-attack/

No armor, no overhead surveillance, no quick reaction force on standby - and it took TWO DAYS to find Sgt. La David Johnson's body after ambush in Niger: First details of disaster in Africa revealed (Photos - video) (20.10.2017)
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5002342/Niger-raid-took-4-troops-called-massive-failure.html

US Defense Secretary Jim Mattis thanked French Defense Minister Florence Parly for France's help after four US soldiers were killed in an ambush in Niger, sparking controversy over American operations in the west African country. The Iran nuclear deal and Chad, which is affected by President Donald Trump's travel ban, were among other questions raised by Parly during her visit.

French defense minister in Washington amid Niger ambush storm
http://en.rfi.fr/americas/20171021-french-defence-minister-washington-amid-niger-ambush-storm

"Thank you for your support and for your letter of condolences for our fallen following this attack," Mattis told Parly when they met on Friday.

French helicopters, backed up by warplanes, arrived to evacuate the US victims within 30 minutes of the ambush by about 50 attackers, thought to be jihadists, near the Mali border.

Four Americans were killed and two wounded.

One of the American soldiers, Sgt La David Johnson, was separated from the joint US-Niger patrol and his body was not found for 48 hours, not by the US military but by local people. It is not clear whether he was alive when the rescue mission left the scene.

Controversy in US - The news has sparked a series of controversies in the US.

Congresswoman Frederica Wilson has accused Trump of insensitivity in a phone call with Johnson's widow and politicians have asked whether the US mission failed in information-gathering and providing backup for the patrol.

With many Americans surprised to learn their country has troops in the region, there are also questions as to whether has given enough information on the mission, the deadliest since Trump took office.

It has emerged that the US, which has been expanding iits military presence in Africa since Barack Obama's term as president, has about 1,000 troops in the Sahel region, providing support and training to a French-led operation aiming to tackle armed Islamists and smugglers.

Mattis has so far avoided saying whether Trump authorized the mission.

Chad travel ban - Another country involved in the anti-Islamist drive is Chad, which has been affected by Trump's travel ban, to the dismay of its leaders who recently withdrew their troops from Niger.

"We mentioned the fact Chad is an important, effective ally engaged in this area of the Sahel and that therefore we must help Chad answer all the questions that have been posed by the US administration," Parly said.

The minister also defended the nuclear deal with Iran, which Trump had refused to certify and threatened to pull out of.

"There's no way we should leave the Vienna agreement negotiated in 2015 as long as all the conditions made of Iran are being met," she said, adding that the International Atomic Energy Authority. (Again, no date given when this ambush occurred?)

The US must step up support for French troops fighting Islamic State in West Africa, the French defense minister said during a visit to Washington, even as US officials sparred over the ambush in Niger that left four US service members dead.

France requests more US troops to fight ISIS in West Africa
https://www.rt.com/usa/407363-france-us-troops-west-africa-isis/

“Much more needs to be done,” Defense Minister Florence Parly said after a meeting Friday with her US counterpart James Mattis and National Security Advisor H.R. McMaster, according to Reuters. “We can’t be and don’t want to be, the praetorian (guards) of sovereign African countries. They must be made able to defeat terror on their own.”

Without US support, Parly said, the mission is likely to fail.

The French-backed G5 Sahel force is intended to bolster the security capabilities of Chad, Niger, Burkina Faso, Mali and Mauritania, all former French colonies in West Africa. Mattis said the US has sent around 1,000 US troops to Niger in order to provide training and security assistance to the country’s armed forces.

Islamist insurgencies sprung up in the area after NATO-backed rebels overthrew the Libyan government in 2011. Following the murder of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi by the rebels on October 20 that year, Libya collapsed into chaos and anarchy, allowing Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS, ISIL) and other militants to establish footholds and arm their followers using weapons pillaged from Libyan arsenals.

In 2012, France intervened in Mali to stop IS-backed guerrillas. Some 4,000 French troops remain in the region as part of Operation Barkhane, working alongside 10,000 UN peacekeepers.

Washington has been providing bilateral assistance, intelligence and training for regional security operations but it is ambivalent towards the French-backed Sahel force and has pushed back against UN requests to support it.

Following the meeting with Parly, Mattis met privately with Senator John McCain (R-Arizona), head of the Armed Services Committee and a prominent backer of the Libyan intervention, who demanded answers about the Niger ambush that left 4 US soldiers dead and injured two more.

The Pentagon had said that 40-50 militants ambushed a 12-man US force on joint patrol with Nigerien troops near the border with Mali on October 4. The patrol was seen as routine and had been carried out nearly 30 times in the six months before the attack.

Emerging from the meeting, Mattis promised better lines of communication with Congress. McCain had threatened to subpoena the White House for information regarding the ambush, but said Mattis was “clearing a lot of that up now.”

While it was President Barack Obama who set up US presence in Niger, the Trump administration needs to maintain it, said Senator Lindsey Graham (R-South Carolina), another member of the committee.

“The war is headed to Africa. It is beginning to morph as we suppress the enemy in the Middle East. They are going to move, they are not going to quit,” said Graham, according to C-SPAN. “We don’t want the next 9/11 to come from Niger.”

 

[angelburst29]

In a move that surprised many observers of the ongoing war for Deir Ezzor province, the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) handed over one of Syria's largest gas fields to Russian forces on Thursday, possibly as the result of unprecedented direct talks between high ranking Russian officials and Kurdish leaders in Qamishli in northeastern Syria.

US-Backed Syrian Kurds Transfer Key Gas Field To Russians After Secret Talks Oct 20, 2017
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-20/us-backed-syrian-kurds-transfer-key-gas-field-russians-after-secret-talks

Conoco gas plant (also locally called Al-Tabiya, which is the plant's main feeder field) lies on the eastern side of the Euphrates outside of Deir Ezzor city - which was recently liberated from ISIS as the Syrian Army and Russian forces approached from the west of the Euphrates. The Conoco field had been held by ISIS since 2014, and was taken by the SDF on September 23rd as the mainly Kurdish force advanced from the east. The now fast crumbling Islamic State relied on much of its financing through its prior consolidation over many oil and gas sites in the resource rich Deir Ezzor province.

The gas field, which had the largest capacity of any in Syria prior to the conflict, is capable of producing 450 million cubic feet (13 million cubic meters) of natural gas per day. It is named for the American company which first discovered gas reserves and built a processing plant at the location, however, ConocoPhillips turned the facility over to the state-run Syrian Gas Company in 2005 and has no current association with it.

Beirut-based al-Masdar News broke the story based on Syrian military sources:

The information, disseminated by Syrian military reports, claims that an agreement has been brokered between Russia and the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces whereby the Syrian government will be allowed to assume control over the gas field.

If true, then the scope of any backdoor agreements reached between Moscow and Washington regarding the transfer of energy assets held by Kurdish-led militias back to the rightful ownership of the Damascus government may yet encompass wider dimensions (i.e. future transfers) – although there is absolutely no evidence to suggest this is in fact the case.

Nonetheless, the unexpected transfer of the Conoco Gas Field by the SDF to the Syrian government does now raise questions as to whether or not the hitherto competition between the Syrian Arab Army and Kurdish-led militias to seize control of the much larger Al-Omar Oil Field from ISIS further south is still on.

On Wednesday the Russian Deputy Foreign Minister was spotted in the self-declared Kurdish autonomous zone of Rojava to meet with Kurdish and Syrian leaders in the northern city of Qamishli (based on Zero Hedge's own sources, also confirmed by other analysts). It is very likely that Thursday's Conoco gas field handover was the result of this historic, yet unofficial, face-to-face meeting.

Russian Deputy FM Mikhail Bogdanov is the Special Presidential Envoy for the Middle East - so whatever was discussed was no doubt huge. This follows last month's "secret" and unprecedented US-Russia military to military meeting on Syria at a location somewhere in the Middle East.

Meanwhile, rapid developments in the region continue to point toward an eventual full Syrian-Russian military and strategic victory. As we explained previously, after Kirkuk city in Iraq came under complete Iraqi national control this week, the US is now forced to reconsider its presence in northeast Syria as Kurdish aspirations in Iraq were shut, and as the US was forced to side with Baghdad as the victor, along with other countries like Saudi Arabia, which quickly sent congratulations to the Baghdad government. It appears that national sovereignty will win out over what appeared to be a previous trajectory toward ethnic/sect based fragmentation in Iraq and Syria.

This week the US coalition announced that 98% of Raqqa city has been liberated from ISIS as the SDF continues to celebrate victory by raising its banners over the city. But now the question remains: if ISIS is now largely finished and clearly on the run, what will US military goals in Syria be if its 'Operation Inherent Resolve' was ostensibly all about defeating Daesh?

As we suggested before, Kurdish interests don’t lie with Washington but with Damascus, ready to establish a constructive dialogue with them if they stop being seduced by the US’ temporary interest in the Levant. So the Conoco field handover could mean that either the Syrian Kurds now see the writing on the wall (after observing events in Iraq) and know the US will eventually drop them (thus seeing the need to start directly dealing with Syria-Russia), or perhaps that the US has now been forced to save face and make good on its officially stated anti-ISIS goals.

In late September, US coalition spokesman Col. Ryan Dillon told Reuters: "From the coalition’s perspective it has not been a race, we are not in the land-grabbing business,” and added, “Our goal as I have said a dozen times is fighting ISIS. We don’t have a fight with the (Syrian) regime. We are not in a fight with the Russians. We are there to fight ISIS and that’s what we are going to do.”

It appears that the US could be forced to make good on these (initially empty) promises while making a "graceful" exit (the US will claim to have "defeated ISIS"). However, it remains true to that the US proxy SDF continues to hold vast Syrian energy resources, and US special forces still illegally maintain perhaps a dozen forward operating bases throughout the country's north.

Though the US endgame continues to be the ultimate million dollar question in all of this, it appears at least for now that this endgame has something to do with the Pentagon forcing itself into a place of affecting the Syrian war's outcome and final apportionment of power: the best case scenario for American power in the region being permanent US bases under a Syrian Kurdish federated zone with favored access to Syrian oil doled out by Kurdish partners, and we could now be witnessing the early phases of such negotiations.

But if indeed the Kurds are cutting separate deals with Russia, a US exit from Syria could be forced sooner rather than later.

Members of Congress are demanding answers two weeks after an ambush in the African nation of Niger killed four U.S. soldiers, with one top lawmaker even threatening subpoenas.

Pentagon Faces Demands for Details on Deadly Attack in Niger 20 Oct 2017
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/10/20/pentagon-faces-demands-details-deadly-attack-niger.html

The White House defended the slow pace of information, saying an investigation would eventually offer clarity about a tragedy that has morphed into a political dispute in the United States.

Among the unresolved inquiries: Why were the Americans apparently caught by surprise? Why did it take two additional days to recover one of the four bodies after the shooting stopped? Was the Islamic State responsible?

The confusion over what happened in a remote corner of Niger, where few Americans travel, has increasingly dogged President Donald Trump, who was silent about the deaths for more than a week.

Asked why, Trump on Monday turned the topic into a political tussle by crediting himself with doing more to honor the dead and console their families than any of his predecessors. His subsequent boast that he reaches out personally to all families of the fallen was contradicted by interviews with family members, some of whom had not heard from Trump at all.

And then the aunt of an Army sergeant killed in Niger, who raised the soldier as her son, said Wednesday that Trump had shown "disrespect" to the soldier's loved ones as he telephoned to extend condolences while they were driving to the Miami airport to receive his body. Sgt. La David Johnson was one of the four Americans killed Oct. 4 in southwest Niger; Trump called the families of all four Tuesday.

In an extraordinary White House briefing, John Kelly, the former Marine general who is Trump's chief of staff, described himself as "stunned" and "brokenhearted" by the criticism of Trump. He also invoked his son serving in Iraq to explain why American soldiers operate in dangerous parts of the world, saying their efforts to train local forces mean the U.S. doesn't have to undertake large-scale invasions of its own. Kelly's other son, Robert, was killed in combat in Afghanistan seven years ago.

The deadly ambush in Niger occurred as Islamic militants on motorcycles, toting rocket-propelled grenades and heavy machine guns, seized on a U.S. convoy and shattered the windows of their unarmored trucks. In addition to those killed, two Americans were wounded. No extremist group has claimed responsibility.

The attack is under official military investigation, as is normal for a deadly incident.

What is abnormal, according to Sen. John McCain, the Republican chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is the Trump administration's slow response to requests for information. He said Thursday it may take a subpoena to shake loose more information.

"They are not forthcoming with that information," McCain told reporters.

Sen. Bob Corker, the Tennessee Republican who chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said members of Congress have been provided with some information about the attack, "but not what we should."

At the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis pushed back, saying it naturally takes time to verify information about a combat engagement. He promised to provide accurate information as soon as it's available, but offered no timetable.

"The loss of our troops is under investigation," he said. "We in the Department of Defense like to know what we're talking about before we talk."

Mattis did not offer details about the circumstances under which the Americans were traveling but said contact with hostile forces had been "considered unlikely."

That would explain why the Americans, who were traveling in unarmored vehicles with Nigerien counterparts, lacked access to medical support and had no immediate air cover, although Mattis said French aircraft were called to the scene quickly. He said contract aircraft flew out the bodies of three Americans shortly after the firefight. Local Nigeriens found Johnson's body and returned it Oct. 6.

It's not clear why Johnson was not found with the three others Oct. 4.

Dana W. White, a spokeswoman for Mattis, said Johnson had become "separated." Speaking at a news conference with her, Lt. Gen. Kenneth McKenzie, director of the Joint Staff, said he knew more about what had happened to Johnson but was not willing to share it. He said U.S., Nigerien and French forces remained in the area searching for Johnson until he was found, so it would be wrong to say he was "left behind."

Mattis said the U.S. has about 1,000 troops in that part of Africa to support a French-led mission to disrupt and destroy extremist elements. He said the U.S. provides aerial refueling, intelligence and reconnaissance support, and ground troops to engage with local leaders.

"In this specific case, contact (with hostile forces) was considered unlikely, but the reason we had U.S. Army soldiers there and not the Peace Corps, it's because we carry guns."

McKenzie said last week that U.S. troops in that area had done 29 similar missions over the previous six months without encountering enemy forces.
Underlining how the attack and its response have rattled the White House this week, Trump's national security adviser, Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, also joined the defense. He said Thursday that it would be wrong for the Pentagon to provide details of the tragedy before it had fully verified them in the course of an in-depth investigation.

"Answers that are provided, oftentimes, short of that full investigation, turn out in retrospect to have been inaccurate and just cause more confusion," McMaster said.

Mattis described the mission being performed by the U.S. troops in Niger as a classic example of training that Army Green Berets have performed worldwide for decades, usually with no publicity. Known in military parlance as "foreign internal defense," the mission is to help local militaries improve their fighting skills and techniques. It requires a cultural acuity for which U.S. special operations troops are known.

Niger Attack: Final Farewell Saturday for Sgt. Johnson
http://www.military.com/daily-news/2017/10/21/niger-attack-final-farewell-saturday-for-sgt-la-david-johnson.html

A funeral service was scheduled for Saturday morning at Christ the Rock Church in Cooper City, Fla., for U.S. Army Sgt. La David Terrence Johnson, one of four Green Berets killed in Niger on Oct. 4.

Comment - Considering it's being stated "no immediate air cover" - I wonder if the drones were compromised and unable to provide reconnaissance support, reason it also took two days to retrieve the fourth Green Beret's body? Which brings to mind an article Posted in another thread
about a virus detected in late September? Could there be a connection?

A Mysterious Virus Has Infiltrated America's Drone Program Oct 9, 2017
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2017-10-08/mysterious-virus-has-infiltrated-americas-drone-program

There’s something deeply wrong at Creech Air Force Base, the notorious home of America’s drone program, where pilots remotely order US Reaper and Predator drones to unleash destructive missile strikes on unsuspecting villagers in Yemen, Libya, Iraq, Syria, Afghanistan and other war zones.

Less than a week after the Department of Homeland Security advised all federal agencies using anti-virus software created by Kaspersky Labs to remove the programs from their systems immediately Ars Technica reports that two weeks ago the Defense Information Systems Agency detected mysterious spyware embedded in the drone “cockpits” – the control stations that pilots use to control the deadly machines.

Investigators have been unable to determine the virus’s provenance, or even if it was intentionally introduced to the drone systems, or the result of an accidental infection. But perhaps the virus’s most perplexing feature is its passivity. Instead of hastening away reams of classified information, it has simply logged keystrokes.

More curious still, the virus has resisted all attempts to remove it from the Air Force’s systems.

The virus, first detected nearly two weeks ago by the military’s Host-Based Security System, has not prevented pilots at Creech Air Force Base in Nevada from flying their missions overseas. Nor have there been any confirmed incidents of classified information being lost or sent to an outside source. But the virus has resisted multiple efforts to remove it from Creech’s computers, network security specialists say. And the infection underscores the ongoing security risks in what has become the US military’s most important weapons system.

“We keep wiping it off, and it keeps coming back,” says a source familiar with the network infection, one of three that told Danger Room about the virus. “We think it’s benign. But we just don’t know.”

Military network security specialists aren’t sure whether the virus and its so-called “keylogger” payload were introduced intentionally or by accident; it may be a common piece of malware that just happened to make its way into these sensitive networks. The specialists don’t know exactly how far the virus has spread. But they’re sure that the infection has hit both classified and unclassified machines at Creech. That raises the possibility, at least, that secret data may have been captured by the keylogger, and then transmitted over the public internet to someone outside the military chain of command.

As Ars notes, drones have become America’s weapon of choice for waging stealth warfare across the Middle East and Africa, a fact that was underlined by the killing of four US green berets in Niger earlier this week. The military advisers were serving at a waystation for American drones that were used to carry out attacks on nearby Al Qaeda affiliates.

Drones have become America’s tool of choice in both its conventional and shadow wars, allowing US forces to attack targets and spy on its foes without risking American lives. (Article continues.)

Deadlock over royalties as Oxfam points out Areva's global turnover is more than four times Niger's entire annual budget

Flashback Friday 28 February 2014 - Niger fails to reach uranium mining deal with French nuclear firm Areva
https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2014/feb/28/niger-fails-uranium-mining-deal-french-firm-areva

Another deadline has passed without agreement in Niger in the government's ongoing negotiations with the French nuclear company Areva on the renewal of the company's license to operate in the country.

After months of discussions, the mining minister, Omar Tchiana, said last week that Friday would be the final deadline for the two sides to strike a deal. Now it has been agreed that talks will continue without a fixed deadline.

The negotiations are deadlocked on the issue of the royalties Areva pays Niger for the rights to two large uranium mines, Somair and Cominak in the arid north of the country. The terms of the original deal struck in the early 1970s have never been made public, but government sources say the company pays about 5.5% of its revenues in royalties. Niger wants the terms of a new mining code passed in 2006 to be implemented, which would force Areva to pay between 12% and 15% in royalties, and end a number of tax breaks on materials and equipment.

"Niger has not benefited at all from uranium production for 40 years. These contracts need to be win-win for Niger and not just for the benefit of France and Areva" said Ali Idrissa, the executive co-ordinator of the civil society group Rotab. (Article continues.)

 

[angelburst29]

Israeli media outlets suggested that currents of change flowing across the region could signal new equations under which Syria would be setting the new rules of the game for Israel thanks to its alliance with Iran and Russia.

Israeli Media: Damascus Setting New Rules of Game for Israel
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960801001233

Different-minded Israeli media have in recent days been interpreting the latest developments inside Syria — including the Syrian military’s move to intercept intruding Israeli warplanes on October 16 — as a “confident” or “defiant” message by Damascus to the Israeli regime, presstv reported.

An analysis piece published on the website of the Israeli daily Haaretzon Monday said the recent developments concerning Syria were “not encouraging.” It referred to several reported developments to conclude that the winds were shifting.

The interception of the Israeli fighter jets, a purported firing of projectiles from Syria into Israel on Saturday, and recent statements by Syrian and Iranian officials, the article said, were signs that Damascus and its allies were trying “to dictate new rules of the game to Israel.”

It said the Israeli regime had been conducting “attacks on arms convoys in… [Syrian] territory” seemingly with “freedom of action” since the Syrian conflict began in 2011.

“But, the circumstances have changed over the past few months,” it said, pointing to the Syrian government’s increasing wins against foreign-backed militants.

“Last week’s anti-aircraft fire can be seen both as Syrian retaliation and as an attempt to deter Israel by warning that its planes will no longer enjoy the broad freedom of action they have exploited in recent years,” it added.

Israel regularly hits positions held by the Syrian army in the Golan Heights, sometimes describing the attacks as “retaliatory.” Syria says the raids aim to boost the Takfiri militant groups fighting against government forces. Israel has occupied parts of the Syrian Golan Heights and is openly offering medical treatment to the militants wounded in battles with Syrian government forces.

Iran and Russia, on the other hand, have been offering advisory military support to the Syrian government in its battle against extremist militants. Russia has also been carrying out an aerial bombardment campaign against the positions of hard-line militants.

Last week, the chairman of the Chiefs of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces visited Damascus to discuss Iran and Syria’s long-time bilateral military cooperation. There, Major General Mohammad Baqeri said Israel could not be allowed to violate Syrian territory whenever it pleased.

Later, the Iranian major general said the days of Daesh in Syria were numbered.

Meanwhile, another analysis piece published by The Times of Israel on Sunday referred to the same set of reported developments concerning Syria over the recent weeks and said a “boost” was evident in Damascus’ self-confidence.

It specifically pointed to what Israeli officials have claimed was the firing of a barrage of rockets into Israel and said Damascus may be sending a message to Israel.

On Saturday, the Israeli army said that it had “targeted three artillery cannons” of the Syrian government in the Golan Heights in what it claimed to have been a “response to the [firing of] projectiles that hit Israel.”

On Thursday, Israel had struck a Syrian artillery position near the southwestern town of Quneitra.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Moscow expects Washington to answer questions on the US new strategy in Syria in a frank and comprehensible way.

Russian FM: Moscow Has Questions Concerning New US Policy in Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960801001150

"When we hear about the new line of the United States, the line, which calls for creation of some local councils on the territory of sovereign Syrian Arab Republic, it most certainly raises questions on our part. We address these questions to Washington and expect to receive an honest and comprehensible answer," Lavrov said after a meeting with Iraqi Foreign Minister Ibrahim Jaafari on Monday, Sputnik reported.

The Russian top diplomat has described the US-led coalition's actions in Syria as "some odd things," pointing out multiple cases when terrorists deployed in areas controlled by "opposition backed by the US" were transferred to maintain resistance to the Syrian government forces' offensive on Daesh (ISIS or ISIL) terrorists' positions were recorded.

"In particular, there were cases of a mass exodus of ISIS terrorists from Raqqa exactly when the US-led coalition was besieging the city. There were other incidents linked with our American colleagues trying to draw some lines beyond which the Syrian army should not go," he added.

Lavrov's statement comes just a day after the Russian Defense Ministry compared the US-led coalition's operation in Raqqa, which had been under Daesh control since 2014, to the bombing of Dresden during WWII.

The ministry's spokesman accused the coalition of trying to cover up the tracks of "barbaric" airstrikes that have allegedly "buried" thousands of Raqqa civilians during the campaign to liberate the former de-facto Daesh "capital" from Daesh.

After almost a year of the operation, the Raqqa military campaign conducted by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces with the coalition's aerial support was completed on October 20, with the US president calling the long-awaited victory a "critical breakthrough."

During the final phase of the operation, the coalition agreed on the evacuation of a few hundred Daesh fighters from Syria along with civilians from the city and later launched an offensive to wipe the rest of the terrorists, mostly of foreign origin, out.

Moscow has repeatedly voiced concern over the course of the Raqqa operation, saying that numerous "mistakes" by the coalition's aviation resulting in civilian casualties, as well as the lack of humanitarian aid had led to a humanitarian catastrophe the city.

Syrian Information Minister Mohammed Ramiz Tarjaman announced that his country considers the entry of the Turkish military into Idlib, and the US military's presence in al-Tanf an act of aggression and violation of Syria's sovereignty and UN resolutions.

Syria Considers US Military Presence in Al-Tanf Aggression
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960801000839

Tarjaman commented in an interview with RIA Novosti on the US, Turkey military presence in the country and the recent capture of Raqqa city by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

"We do not consider any city liberated until the Syrian army enters it and hoists the Syrian flag over it. This applies to any point of the Syrian map," Tardjaman said. He noted that Damascus regards the withdrawal of the ISIL terrorist group from Raqqa as a positive event, but it still requires the Syrian troops to enter into the city.

The SDF captured Raqqa on October 20, after four years of ISIL's control. The SDF operation, backed by Americans, to liberate the city from the ISIL's self-proclaimed caliphate was launched in early June.

The US-supported alliance of Kurdish and Arab militias are also currently conducting a military operation in Deir Ezzur province.

The Turkish Army sent a long convoy of military vehicles to the border region with Syria on Monday in a bid to strengthen its military forces in Idlib province in Northwestern Syria.

Turkey Dispatches More Military Hardware to Border with Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960801001352

A long column of Turkish military vehicles, including eight trucks and armored vehicles, was forwarded by Ankara to the country's Southern border with Syria. The convoy was sent to the town of Eslahiyeh in Gaziantep province.

A Turkish media outlet reported on Sunday that the Turkish Army was about to set up eight military bases in Idlib province in Northwestern Syria amid reports about Ankara forces' imminent operation in the province.

The Turkish-language Yeni Safak daily reported that Ankara was to establish eight military base in Idlib province in line with its plan to launch military operations in the Northwestern province.

The paper added that based on intelligence, locations of four the bases were specified, adding that the first base would be set up in strategic Jabal Barakat region that overlooks the town of Afrin and Idlib city.

It said that Taftnaz airbase in the Southeastern countryside of the town of Taftnaz and Abu Dhohour military airport were two other locations for the Turkish-run bases in Idlib province.

In the meantime, the Turkish army gained control over regions near Wadi al-Zeif that could be a good choice for the forth base.

The US-led coalition, consisting of over 70 members, including Turkey, has been conducting military operations in Syria without Damascus' approval or UN mandate.

Syrian Minister: US, Turkish Military Presence in Country - Aggression
https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201710231058459147-syria-us-turkey-al-tanf-idlib/

According to Syria's Information Minister Mohammed Ramiz Tarjaman, Syria considers the entry of the Turkish military into Idlib, and the US military's presence in al-Tanf as aggression violating Syria's sovereignty and UN resolutions, and the country has the right to respond, as he claimed in an interview with RIA Novosti.

"We do not consider any city liberated until the Syrian Arab army enters it and lifts the Syrian flag over it. This applies to any point of the Syrian map," Tardjaman said.

The US Air Force could put its B-52 bombers back on 24-hour alert, Defense One reported citing the USAF chief of staff. The report emerged amid the ongoing tensions over North Korea’s nuclear and missile program.

Cold War Revisited: US Reportedly Preparing to Put B-52 Bombers on 24-Hour Alert
https://sputniknews.com/us/201710231058462351-us-b-52-bombers-alert/

"This is yet one more step in ensuring that we’re prepared," USAF chief of staff Gen. David Goldfein said. "I look at it more as not planning for any specific event, but more toward the reality of the global situation we find ourselves in and how we ensure we’re prepared to move forward."

The general noticed that in the current global environment it is necessary to think about new ways of using nuclear weapons, both for deterrence and combat.

According to Defense One, Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, home of the 2nd Bomb Wing and Air Force Global Strike Command, is currently being renovated and could soon house nuclear-armed B-52 bombers at the ready.

Goldfein’s statements come on the heels of a new spike in tensions on the Korean Peninsula due to Pyongyang’s missile launches and a nuclear test as well as Washington’s repeated threats to resolve the crisis with force.

As a five-yearly leadership shake-up is underway in Beijing, President Xi Jinping is expected to fill the ruling Communist Party’s apex of decision-making, the Politburo Standing Committee, with trusted allies.

Xi Consolidates Power as New China Leadership Line-up Revealed
https://sputniknews.com/asia/201710231058455960-xi-national-congress-leadership-lineup/

Xi's line-up for his first term at the helm of the world's largest political party was a compromise influenced by his two immediate predecessors. But China's ongoing 19th party congress is seen as the new beginning for Xi, who is expected to enter his second term with a team stacked with trusted allies and followers.

China's president has assembled enough personal power in the five years since becoming general secretary of the party that he is now referred to as its "core."

"This congress is set to herald the start of Xi's era," said Chen Daoyin, an associate professor at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, as cited by South China Morning Post.

"He is certain to elevate loyalists who can firmly and thoroughly implement his political and policy agenda to the central leadership positions," Chen added.

Five of the seven current members of Standing Committee, headed by Xi Jinping, are due to step down when the national midterm Congress closes on Tuesday, with only Xi and Premier Li Keqiang projected to survive the reshuffle.

The list of the most likely candidates for promotion to the Standing Committee includes Wang Yang, expected to become executive vice-premier, and Shanghai party chief Han Zheng, who may head the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) advisory body. Both are seasoned politicians, well-connected to the top and already members of the 25-strong Politburo. (Article continues.)

The entire complement of Germany’s high-tech submarine fleet is out of service, and, to hear the Berlin’s defense minister tell it, it’s not a good thing.

Beached: Germany's Entire Submarine Fleet Out of Action
https://sputniknews.com/europe/201710221058453601-all-of-germany-subs-out/

Currently, four of the country's active-duty U-boats — short for 'unterseeboot' or undersea boat, but not to be confused with the thousands of deadly Nazi subs that terrorized the oceans during World War II are in the process of being serviced in drydock with equipment and communications upgrades, while the two remaining ships of Germany's six U-boat fleet wait their turn.

Berlin's Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen — through spokesperson Jens Flosdorff — has observed that the current state of non-readiness in the German submarine flotilla is less than optimal.

"This is obviously not a good situation," suggested Flosdorff on Friday, according to the Associated Press, citing a report first made by the Kieler Nachrichten newspaper, a German-language print publication in the town of Kiel, a port to the German Navy's Baltic fleet, and a major high-tech shipbuilding hub.

Speaking to reporters in Berlin, the spokesperson stated that "we would hope the mission readiness was higher, but sometimes with technology the devil is in the detail."

A total of ten U212 class subs, launched between 2002-2015, have been built by Germany. Aside from the six Deutsche Marine ships currently out of commission, the remaining four are owned and operated by Italy's Marina Militare navy.

A more recent variant of the German submarine class, the U214, was licensed for sale outside of the country, and some 13 of the vessels are currently operated by Greece, Portugal and South Korea, with pending purchase orders from Israel.

A $3 billion contract between the Turkish Navy and Germany to build six U-214 type subs, signed on July 2, 2009, has long been delayed following technical, financial and political hurdles.

 

[angelburst29]

The Islamic State (ISIS) recently carried out a drone attack on a Syrian Arab Army (SAA) ammo depot in the Deir Ezzor Governorate’s western countryside.

ISIS drone attack destroys Syrian Army ammo depot in Deir Ezzor
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-drone-attack-destroys-syrian-army-ammo-depot-deir-ezzor-video/

As a result of the drone attack, the Islamic State managed to destroy the entire Syrian Army ammo storage that was located at the municipal football stadium in Deir Ezzor’s Panorama area.

Since losing much of Deir Ezzor, the Islamic State has relied on drone bombings to harass the Syria Army and civilians living in the provincial capital.

NATO-produced armaments were allegedly discovered in the newly recaptured Syrian town of Mayadeen, according to Syrian Army Brigadier General Suheil al-Hassan.

NATO-made equipment found in Mayadeen – Syrian Army general
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/nato-made-equipment-found-mayadeen-syrian-army-general/

Al-Hassan gave a statement from the area on Monday: “we have a lot of foreign equipment here. Among all the equipment that you can see here, the majority was produced in Western countries,” he said.

“The cannon that we have just passed, it was made in Britain, and it is in NATO’s service,” the general asserted, adding that “even means of communication and means of command and control are also produced in Western countries. Even cars stuffed with explosives, also Western-made, of the Cobra-type.”

Mayadeen, which lies 44 kilometres (27 miles) southeast of the city of Deir ez-Zor, was liberated from the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) earlier this month.

A massive factory that was used by the Islamic State (ISIS) to produce explosives was discovered by the Syrian Arab Army, while they were conducting an operation in central Syria this weekend.

Syrian Army discovers massive explosives factory belonging to ISIS in central Syria
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/syrian-army-discoversmassive-explosives-factory-belonging-isis-central-syria-video/

According to the Syrian military, the explosives factory was discovered by the Syrian Army in the Jubb Al-Jarrah District of the Homs Governorate over the weekend.

This explosives factory was left behind by ISIS after they were partially expelled by the Syrian Arab Army in the Jubb Al-Jarrah pocket in the Homs Governorate’s eastern countryside.

The Turkish Army, alongside their allies from the Euphrates Shield, launched a fresh attack against the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in northwestern Aleppo last night, the pro-YPG ANF News reported.

Turkish Army attacks Kurdish forces in northwest Aleppo
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/turkish-army-attacks-kurdish-forces-northwest-aleppo/

“Stationed in Seman Fortress, the invading Turkish army and affiliated gangs are launching an attack on Iska village of Efrîn’s Sherawa district,” the ANF report claimed.

“Fighters of the People’s Defense Units (YPG) and Women’s Defense Units (YPJ) are retaliating the attack and clashes continue in the mentioned area,” they concluded.

While it is not clear whether or not actual firefights took place, the Turkish Army has had a history of shelling the Afrin Canton and harassing the YPG forces in this region.

Prior to the reported attack, the Turkish Army was said to have sent a large number of reinforcements from Gaziantep to the western countryside of the Aleppo Governorate.

A high ranking commander of the Al-Qaeda linked Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham rebel group was assassinated by unknown assailants in the Idlib Governorate over the weekend, opposition activists reported via social media this past weekend.

HTS emir of southern Idlib assassinated by unknown assailants
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/hts-emir-southern-idlib-assassinated-unknown-assailants/

The emir of Khan Sheikhoun, Abu ‘Abdel-Rahman Hawn, was kidnapped from the aforementioned town and found dead near the city of Ma’arat Al-Nu’man.

According to opposition activists, the HTS emir was leaving evening prayer and heading home via a local taxi before his mysterious disappearance. No group has taken responsibility for this latest assassination.

Another Al-Qaeda linked Hay’at Tahrir Al-Sham emir has been assassinated in the Idlib Governorate this month, marking the second time in the last 48 hours that a commander has been mysteriously killed.

Another Al-Qaeda commander mysteriously assassinated in Idlib
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/another-al-qaeda-commander-mysteriously-assassinated-idlib/

According to the terrorist group’s media wing, their emir, Mustafa Zahri, was killed on Monday when a bomb was detonated under this vehicle in the town of Al-Dana near the Turkish border.

Zahri was one of HTS’ top leaders in western Idlib before his death on Monday – no group has claimed responsibility for the assassination. Monday’s assassination is the 10th killing of an HTS commander in the past 8 weeks.

Another jihadist emir has been killed in the Idlib Governorate, making Tuesday’s assassination the third incident in the last 72 hours.

Mysterious assassinations of jihadist commanders continue in Idlib
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/mysterious-assassinations-jihadist-commanders-continue-idlib/

According to Syrian opposition activists, the emir of Faylaq Al-Sham, Salah ‘Aboud, was assassinated by unknown assailants after leaving a local market in the southern Idlib town of Khan Sheikhoun.

In addition to the death of the Faylaq Al-Sham emir, a field commander of Harakat Ahrar Al-Sham’s Al-Hussein Brigade, Abu ‘Abdo Al-Tair, was assassinated in the small town of Faylon in rural Idlib.

As a result of Tuesday’s assassinations, at least ten jihadist commanders have been killed in the last eleven days in the Idlib Governorate.

Israeli media say Kamal al-Labwani, one of the most prominent members of the Syrian opposition, has been in Israel where he met with Ayoob Kara, the Israeli Minister of Communications from the leading Likud party.

Senior Syrian Dissident Leader Visits Israel
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960802001685

The report was released by the Israeli Kol Hay Radio Station on Tuesday.

Since the onset of terrorist war in Syria in 2011, Israel has offered military and medical support for the terrorist groups.

Photos released on social media in August showed that the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) medical personnel have been recovering wounded terrorists from the Syrian side of the Golan Heights and then treated them in medical centers on the Israeli-occupied side of the region.

According to sources, the militants have been treated by the IDF Israel's medical centers only to then be sent back into Syria were they continue to commit terrorist acts.

Despite the fact that such gunmen are labeled as “rebels” by Western and Persian Gulf media due to their apparently “moderate” stance against the Syrian government, the actual reality stands that a vast majority of the Golan-based militants which Israel provides medical and military aid to are committed militants who pursue sectarian ideals in Syria.

Israel is known to have assisted Golan-based militants of the Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board) with medical aid and military equipment since as early as 2013.

In late-June of this year, Israel provided air support for terrorists' offensive against pro-government forces at the city of Madinat al-Baath.

Local sources disclosed in late June that several terrorists, who had been wounded in the battle with the Syrian government forces in Quneitra province, were taken to an Israeli hospital.

The sources reported that a number of injured members of Al-Nusra Front were transferred to the Israeli hospitals via al-Hamidiyeh region in Quneitra countryside.

The army troops repelled Al-Nusra Front's offensives in the Southwestern province of Quneitra, leaving tens of terrorists dead and many more wounded. Later, the Israeli aircraft attacked the Syrian government forces' tanks and artillery positions South-West of the war-hit country.

That was not the first time that Al-Nusra terrorists were transferred to Israeli hospital after sustaining injuries in clashes with the army soldiers.

Moscow accused Washington of denying access to and mishandling of diplomatic archives which remained in the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco after the building was seized by US authorities amid the ongoing diplomatic row.

Russia Slams US for Mishandling of Diplomatic Archives, Reserves Right to Tit-for-Tat Response
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960802001482

On August 31, Donald Trump’s administration ordered the closure of the Russian Consulate in San Francisco, as well as a consular annex in New York and a chancery annex in Washington DC. Giving Russian diplomats less than three days to halt their operations, on September 2 US federal agents seized control of the properties and all the documents that were left behind during the hasty evacuations, RT reported.

The San Francisco Consulate, which handled work from seven Western states, and was the oldest and most established of Russia’s consulates in the US, was forced to leave some of the paperwork behind.

Russian diplomats were told that they would be allowed collect the archives, which are covered by the diplomatic immunity. That promise was, however, neglected, the Russian Embassy in the United States said Monday, accusing Washington of violating international conventions.

“The American authorities did not provide us with access to the Russian Consulate General in San Francisco, closed by their decision since September 2, in order to evacuate its archives. Instead, they have packed the archives on their own and moved them to Washington, DC,” before turning them over to the Russians on October 23, the Embassy said in a Facebook statement.

The US mishandling of the archives, the Embassy stressed, was done despite “numerous protests” by the Russian side, which insisted that the documents should only be managed by the Russian embassy staff.

“The consulate archives and documents are inviolable at all times, wherever they may be,” the embassy said, adding that “Such a neglectful attitude coming from Washington toward international law, our diplomatic and consular missions and properties, has paved a way for similar actions towards the US missions in Russia. On the principle of reciprocity, a corner stone of diplomatic relations.”

 

[goyacobol]

It's not over till it's over but I take what I can get sometimes.

On Returning From Syria: More Convinced Than Ever Western Media Narrative Is Bullshit

_https://www.activistpost.com/2017/10/visting-syria-western-media-narrative-bullshit.html

In early October, 2017, I had the pleasure of visiting Syria on a mission to get a sense of the toll of the war, the mindset of the people, and the general situation on the ground. The goal was to see the country in person, get a sense of what life is like in Syria today, talk to the Syrian people and hear their side of things; i.e. their opinions on the government and the “rebels/terrorists,” their living conditions, Syria before the war versus Syria now, and whatever else they wanted to share. We wanted to see the areas formerly under control of the terrorists and talk to the residents there. We also wanted to visit the areas firmly under government control and speak to the residents living in these areas as well.

Having covered the Syrian crisis for the entire six years of its duration, I had a pretty good sense of the opinions of the Syrian people and the situation they are facing as a result of numerous contacts inside Syria. However, there is no substitute for examining a situation first hand and talking with Syrians themselves with whom one has no prior personal connection as well as random strangers on the street in order to get an unfiltered response to the many questions we wanted to ask.

After having the chance to visit many of the places I had written about during the course of the crisis, everything I have written has now been confirmed first hand. I am now more convinced than ever that the “information” being spread across mainstream media outlets like CNN, MSNBC, FOX, and the rest are, quite simply, complete and total bullshit. There is no wonder Americans are so tragically ignorant of what is happening in Syria and the rest of the world when the constant barrage of media propaganda they are subjected to does nothing but promote claims and statements that are in direct contradiction to the facts.

The itinerary of the trip involved seeing a number of cities – Damascus, Aleppo, Homs, Tartus – and many smaller towns and villages in between.

Upon arriving in Damascus, the first thing that stands out is not the architecture or the traffic or even the fact that life has almost fully returned to the areas liberated by the Syrian military, but the people themselves. Many Americans, constantly tortured by media propaganda telling them that everyone in every foreign country hates them for freedom, religion, and short shorts, might be surprised to know that many of the people are intelligent enough to separate the American people from the American government even if Americans are not always intelligent enough to extend the same courtesy to them.

Regardless of the propaganda peddled to Western audiences, the Syrian people mark as some of the most welcoming, friendly, human beings in the world. From the first moment of entering the country, we were greeted by Syrian soldiers who, at virtually every checkpoint, welcomed us to Syria and then on to Damascus where the Syrian people expressed their famous hospitality. Everywhere we went for the entirety of the visit, we were greeted “Welcome to Syria” by soldiers, strangers, passersby on the street, business owners, and virtually everyone we came in contact with. The welcomes were clearly genuine. Everyone was obviously pleased and felt strangely honored that foreigners were visiting Syria and many expressed happiness that “tourists” were returning to Syria after six years of war. It was a sign that things are slowly returning to normal.

While Americans may remain under the impression that Syrians are obsessed with religion, wary and hateful towards foreigners (particularly Americans due to all our alleged “freedom”), I can say without qualification that this is not true and that never once did I experience any hostility from any Syrian during my entire visit. In fact, we were shown the complete opposite with myself and others being repeatedly invited to homes for dinner, tea, and coffee following a short conversation.

While one may be quick to dismiss the content of this article as mere ramblings of a tourist, it is nonetheless important. After six years of bombing, funding terrorists, and hysterical propaganda on the screens of virtually every American, Americans know as little about Syria as they did in 2010. The average American views Syria and Syrian culture as something similar to Saudi Arabia where all the women are covered from head to toe with no rights whatsoever, where non-Muslims are persecuted, and where Islamic law dictates that such an unlucky soul who might be born there cannot even access alcohol to drown his sorrows.

The landscape of Syria to the average American is nothing but sand dunes as far as the eye can see – no water and no trees. Indeed, Hollywood and corporate media have done an excellent job at convincing middle America that these “normal” people are sand-dwelling savages from the Stone Age. This is no mistake since it is easier to hate and bomb savages than it is to murder human beings with families, jobs, and dreams of their own. American media has earned its money in this regard.

To dispel a few of these myths that should have been dispelled long ago it might be worth mentioning that the traditional depiction of the Middle East (covered women, savagery, and beheadings) is closer to the reality of America’s ally Saudi Arabia than anything in Syria. The country has deserts for sure but it also has mountains, lush green areas, coastal regions, and lakes. Women are able to drive, vote, hold public office and do virtually everything a man can do in Syria if they desire. Women are not covered. Instead, walking the streets of Damascus or any other major city, you will see plenty of uncovered women wearing tight jeans and tank tops. There are no religious police hunting them down, as the government is secular and enforces secularism in terms of law and policy. Religious freedom applies to Muslims, Jews, and Christians alike.

Bars are plentiful in the cities as are liquor stores and the general ability to be as drunk as one needs to be in order to feel like a Westerner is always present.

Religious fetishism plays harder in the minds of Americans themselves than it does in the life of the average Syrian. Muslim, Christian, Jew, and all the other branches of religion have coexisted peacefully for generations and continue to do so today. A walk on the street of any city will reveal this clear as day. No one in Syria is engaged in a religious civil war. Only in the minds of Westerners subjected to daily propaganda is the Syrian crisis related to religion and only on the teleprompters of CNN and MSNBC is the crisis a civil war.

All throughout Syria, even after six years of intense fighting and some of the most brutal atrocities the world has ever seen having been committed by America’s terrorists, the Syrian people are beginning to rebuild. Even in areas formerly controlled by America’s cave-dwelling proxies, life is returning to Syria. Shops are reopening. Homes are being rebuilt and services are being restored. This is a hallmark of Syrians which has helped see the country through; resilience in the face of unimaginable odds.

A walk in the Souk near the Aleppo citadel which, once teeming with life and shops is now reduced to rubble and pockmarked walls, revealed Syrians walking to their old shops with bags and a shovel to begin the process of digging through the dirt, rocks, and rubble and clear out their shop stalls for the eventual remodeling and reopening. Even in the midst of the constant sounds of shelling and bombing and under the hovering threat of suicide bombs, sleeper cell attacks, and counterattacks by America’s terrorists, restaurant owners and shopkeepers are back to work, carrying on with life in the aftermath and the fringe continuation of such incredible amounts of death.

Syrian Determination

It is almost impossible to put to words the determination that the Syrian people have shown in not only preserving their culture through possibly the darkest period of the country or in rebuilding their homes and businesses but also their defiant will to refuse to submit to the attempts by Western imperialists to destroy their country and their culture.

Syria is a special country and most Syrians are conscious of that. It is not an abstraction to the people who live there. Having dinner in a hotel restaurant in Damascus, we met a Syrian couple who expressed their own knowledge that Syria was a special country on every level and how they were themselves tied to that land in a way in which most people would have no understanding. Truly, the blood of the land runs in their veins.

We spoke to a group of art and theatre students and their teachers who remained in Damascus throughout the war. The girls were in their early twenties, having experienced the entirety of their teenage years in the throes of war. When they should have been learning to drive in the Damascus traffic, going on dates, and generally being teenagers, they were watching bombs drop on their city, seeing their friends and family members murdered, and struggling to get enough to eat day by day. Theirs is a youth wasted by America’s terrorists, teenage years that contain memories of the worst kind of atrocities with no room for teenage angst and resistance to the confines of schooling. Instead, bombs took the place of parties and teenage rebellion.

Despite all this, their outlook was surprisingly positive and incredibly life-affirming. “For us,” said one of the girls, “life is about living. We are surrounded by death so, for us, living is enough.”

After the conversation, as we were leaving, one member of our group thanked the women for taking the time to invite us in and to speak with us about their lives and the tragedies they each had to endure on such a beautiful day. To that, a woman responded, “Yes, but all days are beautiful. You only have to be able to recognize the beauty.” That, in a nutshell, is the Syria I experienced over ten days.

Later on, in discussions with a Syrian man, the question was asked how Syrians seem to be able to get back up on their feet and start living again, sending their children to school, working, rebuilding even as the war continues two miles away. The answer was simple: “This is Syria.” When it was suggested that the Western powers do not understand the Syrian connection to their country and their unmatched resolve to continue living and rebuilding what was lost, he agreed. “That’s right,” he said. “They don’t understand us. And that is why they lost.”

Brandon Turbeville – article archive here – is the author of seven books, Codex Alimentarius — The End of Health Freedom, 7 Real Conspiracies, Five Sense Solutions and Dispatches From a Dissident, volume 1 and volume 2, The Road to Damascus: The Anglo-American Assault on Syria, The Difference it Makes: 36 Reasons Why Hillary Clinton Should Never Be President, and Resisting The Empire: The Plan To Destroy Syria And How The Future Of The World Depends On The Outcome. Turbeville has published over 1000 articles on a wide variety of subjects including health, economics, government corruption, and civil liberties. His website is BrandonTurbeville.com He is available for radio and TV interviews. Please contact activistpost (at) gmail.com.

 

[angelburst29]

A large Russian naval vessel is making its way from the Black Sea to the Syrian port-city of Tartous on the Mediterranean

Russian ship supplied with military hardware heads to Syrian port
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/russian-ship-supplied-military-hardware-heads-syrian-port/

The Russian ship, the Alexandr Tkachenko, was reported to have traveled through the Chios Strait carrying a large about of military hardware, which is bound for Tartous.

The Alexandr Tkachenko was first rumored to be headed towards Syrian waters last week after pictures emerged from the Black Sea.

No information has been released regarding the duration of its mission in the Mediterranean.

The Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board) announced that its gunmen have captured 25 villages and hills in clashes with the rival terrorist group of ISIL in Northeastern Hama in the past 15 days.

Al-Nusra Drives Rival Terrorists out of 25 Regions in Syria's Hama, Heavy Casualties Reported
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960803000642

The Al-Nusra declared in a statement that it has pushed ISIL back from over 25 villages and hills in Northeastern Hama in the last 15 days.

It added that 170 ISIL gunmen were killed, 200 more were wounded and 10 others were captured in the clashes.

Al-Nusra further claimed that it destroyed two tanks and two BMP and several military vehicles, seizing a large volume of arms and ammunition.

Other reports said that over 41 Al-Nusra terrorists, including three commanders, have been killed in clashes with the ISIL in the last 15 days.

In relevant developments in the province on Tuesday, the Al-Nusra drove ISIL out of the village of Abu Lefeh in Northeastern Hama, killing and wounding a number of terrorists.

In the meantime, at least ten ISIL gunmen were killed in clashes with Al-Nusra near the village of al-Moshirefeh.

Capitalizing on a sandstorm that swept throughout Syria’s Deir Ezzor province yesterday, ISIS militants launched a powerful assault against pro-government forces on the western bank of the Euphrates River.

ISIS crosses the Euphrates to attack Syrian forces, massacre follows
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-crosses-euphrates-attack-syrian-forces-massacre-follows/

Whilst most of the attacks came from the west, ISIS also launched an assault across the Euphrates from the east in what was an obvious attempt to surprise pro-government forces.

The main pro-government formation to encounter the ISIS cross-river assault was the Palestinian Liwa al-Quds paramilitary group.

Fighters from the pro-government militia report that one of their positions near the Euphrates shoreline was the focus point of the ISIS assault.

In the end, Liwa al-Quds not only completely repelled the ISIS surprise attack, but also succeeded in killing dozens of Islamic State fighters as well as capturing several more.

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) met with Turkish officials and the Syrian opposition’s interim government in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, Tuesday, to discuss several topics.

FSA, Turkey agree to form ‘national’ army
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/fsa-turkey-agree-form-national-army/

The Free Syrian Army (FSA) met with Turkish officials and the Syrian opposition’s interim government in the northeastern countryside of Aleppo, Tuesday, to discuss several topics.

Among the topics discussed between the parties were the handing over of all border-crossings to the interim government and the formation of a national army.

The parties all agreed to hand over the border-crossings to the interim government and to form the national army from the existing groups in the Euphrates Shield forces.

The national army will consist of two large rebel factions: the Sultan Murad Legion and Levant Legion.

Both groups will first hand over their weapons and vehicles to the Syrian interim government.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry urged the UN Security Council to put an end to the crimes against civilians committed by the US-led coalition.

Damascus Urges UNSC to Put End to US-Led Coalition's Crimes against Syrian Civilians
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960803000438

"We once again ask the Security Council to take responsibility for preserving international peace and security and take immediate action to stop the brutal crimes committed by the illegitimate international coalition against the Syrian people," the Syrian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Wednesday, Syria's state news agency reported.

In two letters addressed to the UN secretary general and the chairman of the Security Council, the ministry mentioned Monday's deadly airstrikes conducted by an unidentified aircraft in the neighborhood of Deir Ezzur, which Damascus has blamed the US-led coalition for.

On Monday, several media outlets reported citing the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights of deadly airstrikes conducted by an unidentified aircraft on the Syrian government-held neighborhood of Deir Ezzur, killing at least 14 civilians and leaving 30 others injured.

Moscow vetoed a UN Security Council (UNSC) resolution to renew the mandate for a UN mission investigating the use of chemical weapons in Syria.

Russia Vetoes UNSC Resolution on Renewing Syria Chemical Weapons Probe
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960803000416

Ahead of the vote, Russia suggested postponing the discussion, but its proposal was rejected, RT reported.

The current mandate for UN and Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) representatives to work in Syria expires on November 17.

Washington has prepared a document to prolong the mandate, which was supported by 11 votes on Tuesday.

Two UNSC members – Russia and Bolivia – voted against the document, while China and Kazakhstan abstained.

Later this week, the UN-OPCW Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) is scheduled to deliver a report on the alleged chemical weapon attack on the Syrian town of Khan Sheikhoun on April 4.

Russia proposed hearing the mission’s findings before voting on a new document. However, Washington insisted the Security Council votes on the new mandate before a report is presented.

Describing the vote as "a directed performance," Russia's UN envoy Vasily Nebenzya said he was "amused at how some delegations had read their prepared statements condemning the use of other countries' veto power" ahead of the actual voting process.

Moscow regrets that those behind the resolution have chosen "the course of confrontation and split within the Security Council," the Russian diplomat said.

Nebenzya added that Russia will get back to the issue of the probe's mandate after the JIM report is released.

The Russian Foreign Ministry has earlier said that the US demands for the prolongation of the probe "look at the very least strange."

The Russian Federation has vetoed a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) motion, filed by the United States, that would sanction a UN probe into the alleged use of chemical weapons during the Syrian Civil War on Tuesday. The Russian envoy cited a lack of clear information on the allegations as its reason for the veto.

No ‘chemical weapons probe’ before evidence is given: Russian UN delegate
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/no-chemical-weapons-probe-evidence-given-russian-un-delegate/

The US-made document received a negative vote from both Russia and the temporary UNSC member state of Bolivia, while China and temporary member Kazakhstan both abstained from voting. According to UN regulations, a no vote by a permanent Security Council member such as Russia counts as a veto.

The UN Joint Investigative Mechanism (JIM) is currently still reviewing evidence about the alleged use of chemical weapons that is said to have taken place in Khan Shaykhun on April 4. The Russian delegation to the Security Council declared that the Council should await the JIM’s findings about the events that transpired on that day before voting should take place.

The Khan Shaykun incident occurred in the Idlib Governorate of Syria on April 4, 2017. After a bombing raid on Al-Nusra (now known as Hayyat Tahrir al-Sham or HTS) holdouts near the town of Khan Shaykun, chemical nerve agents were reported to have been released into the air, resulting in the death of at least 86 people. Rebel groups and Western governments were quick to blame the chemical gases on the Syrian government and President Bashar al-Assad, claiming that the Syrian Air Force had used chemical weapons during the attack, which is forbidden by international law.

The Turkish army troops have deployed in the Northwestern territories of Aleppo province in an agreement with Nouralddeen al-Zinki terrorist group, a Kurdish media outlet reported on Wednesday.

Turkish Forces Deploy in Northern Syria in Agreement with Terrorist Groups
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960803000935

The Kurdish-language Hawar news reported that the Turkish army reached an agreement with Nouralddeen al-Zinki and deployed in the village of Sheikh Aqil in Northwestern Aleppo.

In the meantime, some other sources in Idlib province reported that 14 armored and military vehicles of the Turkish army along with 3 fuel tankers left Turkey-Syria border for Aleppo, adding that the convoy is bout to deploy in Sheikh Aqil.

Also, Spokesman for Nouralddeen al-Zinki Abdulsalam Adbulrazaq said that they have reached an agreement with the Turkish troops over the deployment of Turkish soldiers at monitoring positions in Western Aleppo.

A terrorist commander disclosed on Tuesday that a long convoy of Turkish Army vehicles was forwarded to Idlib province in Northwestern Syria, adding that the convoy was the largest military column Ankara sent for a Syria mission.

The longest military convoy of the Turkish army, including over fifty vehicles, entered the small border town of Kafr Lusin and later moved to the small town of Qah in Northern Idlib, the militant-affiliated websites quoted Hazifah al-Taher, a commander of the Al-Nusra Front (Tahrir al-Sham Hay'at or the Levant Liberation Board), as saying.

The websites further said that 80 Turkish soldiers, deployed in Kafr Lusin, crossed the border into Northern Idlib.

Hazifah al-Taher further told the websites that the Turkish convoy was forwarded to Idlib to take control over a key base that overlooks the town of Afrin in Qala'a Sam'an in Western Aleppo.

Turkey-led militias in northern Aleppo province have asserted a clear intention to launch an offensive to capture the large town of Manbij, currently held by US-backed forces.

Turkey-led militias prepare offensive to seize Manbij from US-backed forces
https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/turkey-led-militias-prepare-offensive-seize-manbij-us-backed-forces/

Yesterday, the Turkish-backed factions of the Free Syrian Army in northern Aleppo dispersed leaflets saying that Syrian rebels will seize the town of Manbij from US-backed forces “no matter what the cost is.”

Manbij was captured from ISIS by the Syrian Democratic Forces in June 2016 after a two month battle. Following the Turkish military intervention in northern Syria, Turkey demanded that all Kurdish militias in the Manbij region withdraw east of the Euphrates.

Officially, Manbij and the area around it is void of Kurdish fighters and only US-backed Arab factions of the Syrian Democratic Forces are present there (although there is little evidence to decisively prove this).

The town has constantly been a source of tension between Turkey-led militias and the US-backed forces.

Russia criticized the United States for conducting joint military drills with its regional allies, Japan and South Korea, over the Korean Peninsula in a declared aim of preparing to counter any potential threat posed by North Korea’s ballistic missiles.

Russia Criticizes US, Regional Allies’ Missile Warning Drills over Korean Peninsula
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960803001144

“We decisively condemn North Korea’s missile and nuclear tests. At the same time, we oppose excessive military activity of several countries of the region that provoke such tests,” said Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Defense Ministers’ Meeting on Tuesday, adding that such moves would provoke Pyongyang, World News reported.

Shoigu’s remarks came a few hours after Washington and its two allies in the Far East region, Tokyo and Seoul, kick-started a two-day Missile Warning Exercise, off South Korean and Japanese coasts aimed at tackling North Korea's nuclear and missile alleged “threats.”

According to the Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Republic of Korea, the drills are being conducted to practice the cross-navy capabilities in detecting and tracking any potential North Korean ballistic missiles.

The provocative exercise is reportedly being led by the American Arleigh Burke-class destroyer USS Stethem, Japanese Kongo-class guided missile destroyer JDS Kirishima and South Korean Sejong Great-class destroyer, which are all equipped with Aegis Combat System.

On Monday, US Secretary of Defense James Mattis, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and South Korean Minister of National Defense Song Young-moo, in a trilateral meeting in the Philippines, vowed to increase joint air exercises over the Korean Peninsula.

“The three ministers lauded collective efforts to expand information sharing on North Korea’s nuclear and missile threats and enhance response capabilities, including the execution of multiple combined flight training missions with US bomber aircraft,” the military chiefs said in a joint statement at the time.

The war games, which will not include intercepting and destroying projectiles, began at a time of increased tensions around the North’s nuclear and missile test launches.

Washington’s military maneuvers with its close allies also come ahead of US President Donald Trump's visit to Japan and South Korea scheduled to start on November 5.

Chinese President Xi Jinping was formally given a second five-year term on Wednesday, and he immediately announced the six members of his Cabinet, each one of them in their 60s, all men, and none a potential successor.

China's Xi Jinping Begins Second 5-Year Term with New Cabinet
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13960803000951

For the past several decades, it has been customary for China's leader, as he starts his final term, to nominate at least one heir to China's most powerful body, the Politburo Standing Committee, The Week reported.

No one knew who made the cut until the committee members were brought out onstage Wednesday, one day after the Communist Party congress ended. During the congress, the party voted to write Xi's name and political philosophy into the constitution, bringing him up to the same level as Mao Zedong.

Xi, 64, was elected in 2012, and during his first term he launched an anti-corruption campaign and cracked down on political opponents.

In an address to the party, he urged members to become "the backbone of our nation," and said it is his "conviction that the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will become a reality."

 

[angelburst29]

A top-secret document of the US National Security Agency (NSA) has revealed direct involvement of a Saudi prince in the attacks on several key sites in the Syrian capital city of Damascus on March 18th, 2013.

NSA document confirms Saudi prince ordered the attacks on the Syrian Presidential Palace and Damascus Airport
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/10/nsa-document-confirms-saudi-prince.html

According to the document, provided by the US whistleblower Edward Snowden, Saudi Prince Salman bin Sultan, Deputy Minister of Defense and the brother of the former head of Saudi intelligence, Bandar bin Sultan, has provided 120 tons of explosives and other weaponry to the factions of the so-called “armed Syrian opposition”, instructing them to “light up Damascus” and “flatten” the airport, the document, produced by the U.S. government surveillance on Syrian jihadist groups, reveals.

Among the targeted places were the presidential palace, the Damascus International Airport and a government security complex.

The purpose of the attacks was to deliver a message to the Syrian government about the expansion of the Free Syrian Army's grip on the country after two years of struggling against it, as well as to commemorate the second anniversary of the outbreak of the so-called “Syrian revolution.”.

The attacks were ordered directly by a member of the ruling Saudi regime, the prince Salman bin Sultan.

The Saudis have long been attempting to overthrow the Syrian President Bashar Al Assad.


On August 6th, 2013, Salman bin Sultan was appointed deputy defense minister, replacing Fahd bin Abdullah Al Saud in the post.

On May 14th, 2014, he was relieved of his duty upon his request , and was replaced by Khalid bin Bandar Al Saud.

The document gives a glimpse into how the war developed, and shows the extension of the involvement of foreign powers in arming the terrorist groups, even going as far as to prepare certain special operations.

“A revolution, a proxy war, and a civil war are not necessarily mutually exclusive of each other. All these things can exist simultaneously in the same country, as seems to have been the case in Syria. There appear to be several different groups involved, all identifying themselves as different factions of the “Free Syrian Army”, and all apparently linking back to the same sponsor”, the website Intercept quoted Aron Lund, an expert on Syria at The Century Foundation, a New York-based think tank, as saying.

The Intercept website also noted that the Free Syrian Army factions belong to a jihadist front supported by Saudi Arabia and Jordan.

Russian Presidential Press Secretary Dmitry Peskov said that Turkey, a country which is participating in the Astana process on the settlement of the Syrian crisis and also acts as one of the guarantor states of de-escalation zones agreement for Syria, is coordinating its work in Syria with Russia.

Moscow responds to the alleged Turkey-Al Nusra Front cooperation
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/10/moscow-responds-to-alleged-turkey-al.html

Regarding the position of Moscow on the Turkish attempt to strike a deal with the Al Qaeda-linked terrorist group Hay’at Tahrir Al Sham (Al Nusra Front), Peskov said that Turkey, as a guarantor state is responsible for ensuring security in de-escalation areas in Syria, adding that the question of the supposed Turkish cooperation with the notorious terrorist group should be addressed to the Russian Ministry of Defense.

When asked if Turkey was coordinating with Russia on Syria, Peskov said that so far Turkey has coordinated with Russia and has not breached the de-escalation zones agreement.

It is noteworthy that Damascus strongly objects to the presence of the Turkish Army on its soil, especially because Turkey is still providing covert support for the terrorist groups fighting against the Syrian Forces.