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

I think having a continuous thread with all the stuff lined up in it is very useful. Articles on sott are in a sea of other things and you don't get that perspective of the flow of things.

We don't know which if the clues that might get tossed in here will be one of the dots that connects to the next thing, but we can surely learn to "see" by having it all before our eyes and observing what happens next.
 
Laura said:
I think having a continuous thread with all the stuff lined up in it is very useful. Articles on sott are in a sea of other things and you don't get that perspective of the flow of things.

We don't know which if the clues that might get tossed in here will be one of the dots that connects to the next thing, but we can surely learn to "see" by having it all before our eyes and observing what happens next.

Got it.
 
T.C. said:
sitting said:
goyacobol said:
I find it difficult to keep everything in a cohesive perspective when I have to jump back and forth to separate incidents in Putin's/Russia's attempts to make a difference in the new "timeline". This is just my opinion.
It's my opinion as well.

I get the feeling the forum focus (this thread) has shifted to "news" -- and away from key concepts (as expounded by C's.) This is fine as long as we all understand and agree with it.

I suggest more links and less full frontal printouts. The important purely "news" items can appear on Sott perhaps ... instead of on Sott forum.

But I could be wrong.

FWIW.

Well, I get where you guys are coming from, however this session does come to mind:
[...]

I think everything being posted is important, and we need to all train ourselves to see a big a picture as possible, as things are never just black and white. The more info we can take in and then bear in mind during analyses, so as to be able to cross-reference it all, the better chance we have of seeing objective reality and the machinations of the man behind the curtain.

Just from my perspective, the Forum is "the Work" - the combined efforts of a diverse group of individuals, who gather information, in it's many forms and present it in a medium, as a form of documentation - to separate fact from fiction and elicit discussion.

To "suggest more links and less full frontal printouts" only gives the viewer a headline and a link, minus the reason the Poster entered it? In some cases, adding commentary is beneficial or quoting a sentence or paragraph is sufficient, in getting a point of interest across. In other situations, it best to add documentary of the article, so as, not to "cherry-pick" certain bits of information, but to present it in the "format" in which it is presented - unaltered.

Take for incidence, right after President Putin's Military entered into Syria, The Washington Post published an article of the event and within the course of 36 hours, had changed "title" 4 different times - on the same article and altered the first paragraph to reflect the changes (or corrections) how ever you want to deem it. The New York Times often pulls the same stunt. The Forum Members noticed the alterations, due to documentation of the earlier articles.

On a personal note, I have entered dated links (same day as publication) into the Forum, only to discover in a 24 hour period, the link is no longer available as "News" but listed in the Monthly Archives. In rare incidences, the article is scrubbed from the publishing site, altogether within a week and you have to search the Internet to get to the same article. (Articles from Ft. Russ and Press TV, as examples.) So, sometimes, documentation of the contents of an article are important, for future reference.
 
angelburst29 said:
On a personal note, I have entered dated links (same day as publication) into the Forum, only to discover in a 24 hour period, the link is no longer available as "News" but listed in the Monthly Archives. In rare incidences, the article is scrubbed from the publishing site, altogether within a week and you have to search the Internet to get to the same article. (Articles from Ft. Russ and Press TV, as examples.) So, sometimes, documentation of the contents of an article are important, for future reference.

Got it.
 
angelburst29 said:
Just from my perspective, the Forum is "the Work" - the combined efforts of a diverse group of individuals, who gather information, in it's many forms and present it in a medium, as a form of documentation - to separate fact from fiction and elicit discussion.

To "suggest more links and less full frontal printouts" only gives the viewer a headline and a link, minus the reason the Poster entered it? In some cases, adding commentary is beneficial or quoting a sentence or paragraph is sufficient, in getting a point of interest across. In other situations, it best to add documentary of the article, so as, not to "cherry-pick" certain bits of information, but to present it in the "format" in which it is presented - unaltered.

Take for incidence, right after President Putin's Military entered into Syria, The Washington Post published an article of the event and within the course of 36 hours, had changed "title" 4 different times - on the same article and altered the first paragraph to reflect the changes (or corrections) how ever you want to deem it. The New York Times often pulls the same stunt. The Forum Members noticed the alterations, due to documentation of the earlier articles.

On a personal note, I have entered dated links (same day as publication) into the Forum, only to discover in a 24 hour period, the link is no longer available as "News" but listed in the Monthly Archives. In rare incidences, the article is scrubbed from the publishing site, altogether within a week and you have to search the Internet to get to the same article. (Articles from Ft. Russ and Press TV, as examples.) So, sometimes, documentation of the contents of an article are important, for future reference.

Exactly! And your efforts are stellar and highly appreciated!
 
Laura said:
I think having a continuous thread with all the stuff lined up in it is very useful. Articles on sott are in a sea of other things and you don't get that perspective of the flow of things.

We don't know which if the clues that might get tossed in here will be one of the dots that connects to the next thing, but we can surely learn to "see" by having it all before our eyes and observing what happens next.

I have found this "continuous thread" idea to be a useful way to assemble the "mosaic" for this topic. Within this one area of focus there has been a multitude of events some of which are almost expected but others happen that leave us wondering what is coming next. In my collection of topics I filed this in a folder that I named "Chessboard" because the events being initiated by Putin are almost like watching a chess match. For me this topic is certainly focused mainly on Putin and Russia's role in the new "timeline". Maybe if China starts to become more involved a separate thread would be useful but for now this topic seems to be a very hot one.

I am amazed at the "mosaic' quality of the forum as it has grown and expanded to include so many interesting topics. The health section is another topic that is a "hot" one for me. That doesn't mean everyone will need the same topic at the same time. I certainly can see what a difficult job it is to keep things even semi-organized. I guess I don't see that there is any lack of "mosaics" but I see it as more of a challenge to not further fragment the streams of information as they flow into the forum.

I think some of the other observations are worth considering as we post. Maybe sometimes it would be OK to "cherry pick" a part of an article instead of posting the whole article as long as a link is given. But as angelburst29 mentioned sometimes the links come and go and information would be lost. So I am OK with whatever suits others the best.

Thanks
 
FWIW I find the current threads quite workable and Angelburst's points important too. Likewise Goyacobol I have a file named 'checkmate'! (for Putin in Syria/Syria) I keep a separate file on Turkey since the jet incident and will continue to update that on further Turkey incidents, as they will not stop to soon I guess with 'Sultan'.

RE Syria/Turkey and the border issue:

The senior Russian diplomat said the problems at the Turkish-Syrian border could be solved by simply closing it, as suggested by French President Francois Hollande during his meeting with US President Barack Obama in Washington.

“President Hollande suggested measures to close the Turkish-Syrian border to stop the flow of militants and finances to terrorists. It is remarkable that President Obama didn’t react to it. I believe it is a good suggestion and that during the visit tomorrow President Hollande will tell us details. We are prepared to consider these measures in earnest. Many people say that sealing the border would effectively eliminate the terrorist threat in Syria,” Lavrov said.

I think Lavrov/Hollande have good points here (though most probably for different reasons)

I feel it is time that Syria itself closed all its borders. However, as the border along the north/Turkey side is approx 900kms long it is impossible to to patrol/control. Thus Turkey et al having a hey day crossing at will wherever. Same Golan Heights/Israel. At least a total no fly zone will help (with the Russian defences now). But Syria itself is a mosaic/sieve 360 degrees so preserving her sovereignty/security of defence, once she has 100% regained it, will be a nightmare issue. The Kurds genuinely holding Northern Syria border/S.E. Turkey area/ Iraq may well be the only answer (with pos support from Iraq/Iran/Syria/Russia). Getting that to actually happen, of course, will be Erdogan's worst nightmare and could involve the entire Turkish military! A buffer zone the Turkish side of the Syrian border? - like they assume to take Syrian land?

If we are having problems with the threads Lord only knows what problems Putin is going to have with US/France/Germany/Uk/Israel/Turkey (not to mention Saudi or any Gulf states), all pretending to fight ISIS and descending on Syria to deflect his operations. US/Turkey already proves it doesn't communicate!! I hope with the new defences they will have to or shot down. What a hornets nest.

Edit: typo
 
bjorn said:
Hi goycobal,

At that right moment when I posted that comment we had 3 topics discussing the same event. We had to divert it to one. I don’t see any problems bringing it all to one topic or separating the events by topic. Whatever works best for everyone else.

Yeah, I did the merging into the separate thread here

https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,40140.0.html

for the above reasons.

If you all think it's best to keep all info here, just let me know and I'll merge it all together under this subject.
 
Alana said:
bjorn said:
Hi goycobal,

At that right moment when I posted that comment we had 3 topics discussing the same event. We had to divert it to one. I don’t see any problems bringing it all to one topic or separating the events by topic. Whatever works best for everyone else.

Yeah, I did the merging into the separate thread here

https://cassiopaea.org/forum/index.php/topic,40140.0.html

for the above reasons.

If you all think it's best to keep all info here, just let me know and I'll merge it all together under this subject.

Maybe bjorn should decide on this one. I do think it falls under this topic so it would be fine with me to have it under this subject/topic.

Thanks
 
[quote author=goyacobol]Maybe bjorn should decide on this one. I do think it falls under this topic so it would be fine with me to have it under this subject/topic.[/quote]

Its all fine by me but what Laura said rings true :

[quote author=Laura]I think having a continuous thread with all the stuff lined up in it is very useful. Articles on sott are in a sea of other things and you don't get that perspective of the flow of things.

We don't know which if the clues that might get tossed in here will be one of the dots that connects to the next thing, but we can surely learn to "see" by having it all before our eyes and observing what happens next. [/quote]

I think its best to let angelburst29 decide because she is making great work of collecting all relevant articles. Thank you angelburst.
 
Putin’s State of the Nation Address: 'No Refuge for Terrorists'
http://sputniknews.com/russia/20151203/1031199383/putin-address-nation-highlights.html#ixzz3tHejekF0

1031197531.jpg


The fight against international terrorism, which Russia is familiar with only too well, was the core of President Putin’s State of the Nation Address. Russia is fully capable of defeating it, but in its fight it should have respect for itself and know its own value. Here are the highlights of the president’s speech.

This was President Putin’s twelfth annual State of the Nation Address to Russian MPs and dignitaries, but probably one of the most emotional ones, being delivered so close to the heinous shootdown of a Russian bomber in Syrian airspace and preceding air crash of the Russian passenger plane in Egypt.
File Photo: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, accused by critics of an increasingly authoritarian style of government, has argued that the country would be better served by a strong presidential system


The solemnity of the speech was emphasized by the location – the St George’s Hall of the Moscow Kremlin, a historic hall of Russian military glory.

The president started with words of gratitude to all the Russian servicemen who are fighting international terrorism, directly addressing the combat pilots and representatives of the Armed Forces currently taking part in the anti-terrorist operation who were invited into the Kremlin.

Those in attendance included the widow of the Russian pilot who was gunned down in Syria and the widow of the naval infantry soldier who was killed during the rescue operation.

The president asked everyone to honor the memory of the soldiers who gave up their lives while fulfilling their duty and all Russian citizens who fell at the hands of terrorists with a moment of silence.

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Vladimir Putin delivers annual Presidential Address to Federal Assembly


Later in his speech the president returned to this incident and bluntly blamed the Turkish authorities who are directly responsible for the deaths of our servicemen in Syria.

“We will never forget their collusion with terrorists,” he assured. “We have always deemed betrayal the worst and most shameful thing to do, and that will never change. I would like them to remember this – those in Turkey who shot our pilots in the back, those hypocrites who tried to justify their actions and cover up for terrorists.”

“I don’t even understand why they did it. Any issues they might have had, any problems, any disagreements we knew nothing about could have been settled in a different way. Plus, we were ready to cooperate with Turkey on all the most sensitive issues it had; we were willing to go further, where its allies refused to go.”


“Allah only knows, I suppose, why they did it. And probably, Allah has apparently decided to punish the ruling clique in Turkey by taking their sanity.”

However the Russian leader ruled out any hasty reaction from Russia despite the hurt it still feels.

“But, if they expected a nervous or hysterical reaction from us, if they wanted to see us become a danger to ourselves as much as to the world, they won’t get it. They won’t get any response meant for show or even for immediate political gain. They won’t have it.”

“Our actions will always be guided primarily by responsibility – to ourselves, to our country, to our people. We are not going to rattle the sabre. But, if someone thinks that while committing war crimes, killing our people they will get away with some tomato [import ban], or a few restrictions in construction or other industries, they’re profoundly mistaken. We’ll remind them of what they did, more than once. They’ll regret it. We know what to do.”

Meanwhile, President Putin stressed again that his words were aimed only at the country’s ruling elite and have nothing to do with ordinary Turks.

“Meanwhile, the Turkish people are kind, hardworking and talented. We have many good and reliable friends there. Allow me to emphasize that they should know that we do not equate them with the authorities that are directly responsible for the deaths of our servicemen in Syria.”


‘The evil is still out there.’

President Putin paid a special attention to Russia’s fight against international terrorism stressing that Russia unfortunately is only too familiar with what it is.

“Russia has long been at the forefront of the fight against terrorism. This is a fight for freedom, truth and justice, for the lives of people and the future of the entire civilization.”

“We know what aggression of international terrorism is. Russia faced it back in the mid-1990s, when our country, our civilian population suffered from cruel attacks. We will never forget the hostage crises in Budyonnovsk, Beslan and Moscow, the merciless explosions in residential buildings, the Nevsky Express train derailment, the blasts in the Moscow metro and Domodedovo Airport,” he reminded.


Russia has almost succeeded in expelling terrorists from the country, he said, but it is still fighting the remaining terrorists underground. This evil is still out there.

International terrorism will never be defeated by just one country, especially in a situation when the borders are practically open, and the world is going through another resettlement of peoples, while terrorists are getting regular financial support.

‘Terrorism is a growing threat today.’

The president stressed that the Afghanistan problem has not been resolved. The situation there is alarming and gives no optimism, while some of the relatively peaceful and stable countries in the Middle East and North Africa – Iraq, Libya and Syria – have now plunged into chaos and anarchy that pose a threat to the whole world.

“We all know why that happened. We know who decided to oust the unwanted regimes and brutally impose their own rules. Where has this led them? They stirred up trouble, destroyed the countries’ statehood, set people against each other, and then “washed their hands”, as we say in Russia, thus opening the way to radical activists, extremists and terrorists.”


The militants in Syria, he stressed, pose a particularly high threat for Russia. Many of them are citizens of Russia and the CIS countries. They are issued money and weapons and are accumulating strength. If they get sufficiently strong to win there, they will return to their home countries to sow fear and hatred, to blow up, kill and torture people. Thus Russia must fight and eliminate them there, away from home.

‘The international community should have learned from the past lessons.’

President Putin drew some historical parallels.

“Unwillingness to join forces against Nazism in the 20th century cost us millions of lives in the bloodiest world war in human history.”
“Today we have again come face to face with a destructive and barbarous ideology, and we must not allow these modern-day dark forces to attain their goals.”

Every civilized country, he stressed, must contribute to the fight against terrorism, reaffirming their solidarity, not in words but through their actions.

“This means that the terrorists must not be given refuge anywhere. There must be no double standards. No contacts with terrorist organizations. No attempts to use them for self-seeking goals. No criminal, bloody business with terrorists.”

“We know who are stuffing pockets in Turkey and letting terrorists prosper from the sale of oil they stole in Syria. The terrorists are using these receipts to recruit mercenaries, buy weapons and plan inhuman terrorist attacks against Russian citizens and against people in France, Lebanon, Mali and other states.”

Only a strong and united Russia is able to defeat the terrorist threat

The Russian leader stressed that the country has mobilized its Armed Forces, security services and law enforcement agencies to repel the terrorist threat. Everyone must be aware of their responsibility, including the authorities, political parties, civil society organizations and the media.

“Russia’s strength lies in the free development of all its peoples, its diversity, the harmony of cultures, languages and traditions, mutual respect for and dialogue between all faiths, including Christians, Muslims, Judaists and Buddhists.”


“We must firmly resist any manifestation of extremism and xenophobia while defending our ethnic and religious accord, which is the historical foundation of our society and the Russian statehood.”

President Putin urged Russians to unite and “know their value.”

“Those who have no respect for themselves cannot hope to be respected by others. That does not mean that love for our homeland must blind us into saying that we are better than all others in everything we do. But Russians must know their value,” the president quotes a famous Russian historian Nikolai Karamzin.

However his words sound only too true nowadays.

The president also touched upon some internal issues: demography, health care, economy, business and other and came to the final conclusion:

“Russia has no right to be vulnerable. We must have a strong economy, excel in technology, and advance our professional skills. We must fully use our current advantages today as we are not guaranteed we will have them tomorrow.”
 
BOMBSHELL: Russian Military reveals new details of Daesh funding
https://syrianfreepress.wordpress.com/2015/12/02/russian-army-briefing/



Following is the Full Speech of Anatoly Antonov :-

FULL SPEECH of the Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov during the briefing “Russian Federation Armed Forces fighting against international terrorist. New data”

International terrorism is the world’s biggest threat today. It is not an imaginary threat. It is very real, and many countries, particularly Russia, have firsthand experience of suffering from it.

The notorious Islamic State is the absolute leader of international terrorism.

But there are ways to combat the raging monster of international terrorism, and defeat it. Russian Aerospace Forces have evidently demonstrated that over the past two months.

We are convinced that, in order to defeat ISIS, it is instrumental to deal a crushing blow to its sources of funding, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has pointed out on many occasions. Terrorism without money is a beast without its fangs.

Illegal oil revenues are one of the main sources of income for the terrorists in Syria. According to some reports, they make about $2 billion a year on illegal oil trade.

Turkey is the main destination for the oil stolen from its legitimate owners, which are Syria and Iraq. Turkey resells this oil. The appalling part about it is that the country’s top political leadership is involved in the illegal business — President Erdogan and his family.

We have warned on many occasions how dangerous it is to court terrorists. It is the same as pouring gasoline on fire. Fire may spread onto other countries, and that is exactly what we are seeing in the Middle East.

Today, we will present to you only part of the available facts that prove there is a single team at work in the region, composed of extremists and the Turkish elites conspiring to steal oil from their neighbors. Oil is transported to Turkey in industrial quantities along the “rolling pipelines” made up of thousands of tanker trucks.

We are certain that Turkey is the destination for that stolen oil, and today we will present you with irrefutable facts to prove it.

We have a lot of media people with us today, and many more of your colleagues will see broadcasts of this briefing. In view of this, there is one thing I would like to tell you.

We appreciate the work of journalists. We know there are many brave, courageous people in the press community, who do their job with integrity.

Today, we showed you how illegal oil trade is carried out, resulting in the funding of terrorism. We have presented you with hard evidence, which we believe could be used for journalist investigations.

We are confident that, with your help, truth will prevail.

We know how much Erdogan’s words are worth. He has already been caught red-handed by Turkish journalists, who have unearthed arms and munitions shipments from Turkey to the extremists, masked as humanitarian convoys. For that, those journalists have been jailed.

Turkish leaders, including Mr. Erdogan, would not step down or admit anything even if their faces were smeared with stolen oil. Maybe I am being a bit too blunt, but our comrades in arms have fallen at the hands of the Turkish military.

The Turkish leadership has demonstrated extreme cynicism. Look at what they are doing! They have invaded the territory of another country and are brazenly plundering it. And if the hosts are standing in their way, they must be removed.

I would like to emphasize that Erdogan’s resignation is not our goal. It’s up to the people of Turkey to decide.

Our purpose is fighting terrorism. Our objective is to shut down the sources of financing of terrorism. We call upon all those present here to join us in this effort. We are prepared to make your findings available to the public. We will continue to present you and the general public with evidence related to the financing of international terrorism.

Maybe, I would be too straightforward, but the control over this larcenous business can be trusted only to the closest people. It is interesting that no one in the West do not ask themselves a question, why the son of the Turkish President is the head of one of the largest energy companies and the son-in-law – the Minister of Energy and Natural Resources?

There are no opinions in the western media on this matter, but I am sure that the truth cannot be hidden.

Of course, the dirty oil dollars will work. I am sure that there will appear conversations that all the data demonstrated here is a fake. Well, if there is nothing to hide, let the journalists visit those areas, which are shown during the briefing.

It is evident that it was just a part of published information about heinous crimes committed by the Turkish elite, who were financing the international terrorism directly. Any sober-minded journalist is considered to fight the plague of XXI century.

The global experience has repeatedly proved that objective journalism can be an effective and dangerous weapon against different finance corruption schemes.

We encourage the colleagues for conducting a journalistic investigation on disclosure of schemes of financial support providing and delivering oil products from terrorists to the customers. Moreover, oil produced by the terrorists is transferred to other regions from the Turkish ports.

The Russian Defence Ministry will continue publishing materials concerning delivering oil products by terrorists to the foreign countries and informing about operations carried out by the Russian Aerospace Forces.

Let’s join our efforts.

We will be liquidating income sources of terrorism in Syria. Join us and do the same out of the Syrian borders.

Lt.Gen. Sergei Rudskoy-1
(2) FULL SPEECH of the Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces Lt.Gen. Sergei Rudskoy

It will be impossible to achieve a real victory against ISIS without shutting down its sources of funding.

As Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov has already mentioned, illegal oil trade is the main source of income for terrorists.

To terminate this source of funding, the Russian Aerospace Forces have been delivering airstrikes on oil extraction, storage, refining and transportation facilities in ISIS-controlled areas.

Over the past two months, Russian air strikes have inflicted damage on 32 oil production facilities, 11 refineries and 23 oil pumping stations. A total of 1,080 tanker trucks carrying oil and petroleum products have been destroyed.

This has enabled us to reduce the illegal oil turnover in Syria by almost 50 percent.

According to the most conservative estimates, the terrorist group’s revenues from its illegal oil operations have gone down from $3 million to $1.5 million a day. Multiply that figure by 4 years. After Russian strikes the terrorists’ income has decreased and constitutes 1,5 million dollars a day.

However, terrorist organizations continue to receive considerable financial resources, as well as weapons, ammunition and other supplies for their activities. Certain nations, primarily Turkey, are directly involved in Islamic State’s large-scale business project, thereby aiding the terrorists.

The General Staff of the Russian Federation Armed Forces has irrefutable evidence of Turkey’s involvement based on aerial and space reconnaissance data.

Today only a part of available information is to be presented.

We have identified three main oil transportation routes from ISIS-controlled Syrian and Iraqi territories into Turkey.

The Western route leads to the Mediterranean ports, the Northern route leads to the Batman oil refinery and the Eastern one ends at a large transshipment base in Cizre.

We will show you the entire chain of oil supplies into Turkey, from extraction to refining facilities.

Along the Western route, hydrocarbons produced from the oil fields near Al-Raqqah are transported to the north-west of Syria by motor vehicles.

The image made on November 13, 2015 shows the stretch of the highway near the town of Azaz linking Turkey and Syria where you can see a concentration of vehicles carrying petroleum products.

The area “A”, located on the Turkish side, shows 240 oil tanker trucks and semi-trailer vehicles. In the area “B”, located at the Syrian side, you can see 46 oil tanker trucks and vehicles waiting to cross the border.

According to available data, a number of tanker trucks are disguised as simple heavy vehicles.

Similar map can be seen near Reyhanli

Despite the fighting in the Aleppo province, you can see a constant two-way flow of motor vehicles, as well as a large amount of motor vehicles on Turkish territory.

The video shows vehicles, which are freely crossing of the border. Here the Syrian territory is controlled by the Jabhat al-Nusra illegal armed grouping, which allow the oil tanker trucks and heavy vehicles with oil to enter the territory of Turkey. These vehicles are not checked at the Turkish side of the border. There are hundreds of such vehicles.


Heavy vehicles are crossing Syrian-Turkish border with no restrictions near Reyhanli

The image taken on November 16 shows up to 360 oil tanker trucks and heavy vehicles close to the Syrian border.

Up to 160 oil tanker trucks that just crossed the border are located in area “B”. In the direction of the checkpoint located in the area “A”, a convoy of 100 vehicles is heading to the Syrian border.

Space reconnaissance data confirmed that after crossing the border oil tank trucks and semi-trailers are heading to the ports of Dörtyol and Iskenderun, where special mooring places for tankers are equipped. There, one part of the oil is loaded into the vessels and is sent to oil proceeding facilities beyond the borders of Turkey. The other is sold on the domestic Turkish market. On average, one tanker is loaded with oil in these ports every day.

The space images of this ports dated November 25, 2015, show a concentration of petrol tank vehicles, which are waiting for shipment.

395 petrol tank vehicles were detected in Dörtyol, and 60 in Scanderoon.

The next route leads to Turkey from the oil fields located at the Euphrates right bank. The region near Deir ez-Zor is one of the largest oil extracting and oil refining centers that is currently under the ISIS control

A large number of oil refining facilities is located here, one of them can been seen at the screen.

In this region, a concentration of petrol tank vehicles awaiting shipment is constantly registered. Photos of automobile columns with little distance between each other are presented.

In the area of Deir-ez-Zor, space intelligence means detected 1722 oil transporting vehicles on October 18, 2015. Most vehicles were on the unequipped parking areas.

It is worth mentioning that the number of trucks at waiting areas, located in Deir-ez-Zor as well as in other Syrian regions has been significantly decreased since the beginning of the operation carried out by the Russian Aerospace Forces against the ISIS oil infrastructure.

There is no need to speak about ecology consequences of barbarian oil production.

Terrorists built oil lakes in the sand. One of them is located in Raqqah.

After being loaded with oil, columns of trucks are moving from the Eastern regions of Syria to Kamisli border town and waiting for their turn.

The presented photos, which were made this August, demonstrate hundreds of oil trucks and heavy vehicles moving both to and from the Turkish border.

Finally, the most part of oil is being transferred from the Eastern Syria to a large oil refinery plant in Batman (Turkey), which is located 100-kilometers far from the Syrian border.

The third oil transportation route to Turkey is laid from oil fields located in the North-East of Syria and North-Western areas of Iraq through Karachok and Cham Khanik Syrian towns and Zakho and Tatvan Iraqi ones.

The photos demonstrate concentration areas of trucks and heavy vehicles located near these towns.

On 28 November, 50 oil trucks were registered near Karachok on the territory of oil transferring point.

The photo demonstrates waiting areas of oil trucks located at the Syrian-Iraqi borderline near Cham Khanik. There were registered 380 vehicles in August. Everything has remained the same.

Reconnaissance is still registering movement of a large number of tanker vehicles crossing the Turkish and Iraqi borders. Even more tanker vehicles are registered on the Iraqi-Turkish border. Their amount has not decreased for the last three months.

Therefore, footage, dating from November 14, allowed detecting 1,104 oil trucks and heavy vehicles near Zakho and Tatvan.

They can’t fail to be noticed.

However, there not strikes on these columns from the coalition party. Only significant increase in the number of strategic UAVs is being observed.

Taking into consideration the fact that there are no strikes by the US-led coalition, the coordinates of active concentration areas with tanker trucks near certain inhabited areas will be published on the Russian Defence Ministry web-site after the briefing.

Then the trucks are crossing the borderline near Zakho with no restriction. Oil products are transported from Zakho to refinery plants. The nearest one is located in Batman. Oil products can be also transported to the large logistics center of the route, which is located close to the border between Iraq and Turkey, near Silopi.

The photo taken from the space on November 14 demonstrates presence of 3,220 oil trucks and vehicles. There is no need in further comments. The scale of the illegal business are truly impressive.

In total, in their illegal oil business, terrorists are using no less than 8,500 trucks transporting up to 200,000 tons of oil every day. Most of the vehicles are entering the Turkish territory from Iraq.

The Russian aviation group will continue performing tasks concerning liquidating oil infrastructure facilities of the ISIS terrorist organization in the Syrian Arab Republic. The Russian Defence Ministry also encourages the coalition colleagues to such actions.

Lt.Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev-1
(3) FULL SPEECH of the Chief of the Main Operational Directorate of Chief of National Centre for State Defence Control Lt.Gen. Mikhail Mizintsev

Convincing and irrevocable facts of a large-scale and harsh of theft energy resources from the sovereign state of Syria have been demonstrated today.

It is to be stressed that financial flows from the resale of oil products aim not only to enrich the leadership of Turkey; they are partially, but in large quantities, returned to the Syrian Arab Republic in terms of weapons, ammunition and mercenaries of different kind.

This week, ISIS and Jabhat al-Nusra has been reinforced with up to 2,000 militants, approximately 120 tons of munitions and 250 pieces of automobile hardware coming from Turkey.

According to the hard evidence gained in the course of intelligence, the Turkish party has been providing such activities regularly and for a long time. They do not even plan to stop doing it.

Certainly, next week we will inform you about delivery of weapons, ammunition, components of explosives, communication and other means by the Turkish party, training of terrorists in camps in the Turkish territory.

Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation briefing-2
Russia says Turkish leadership involved in illegal oil trade with DAESH ~ [summary]

(RussiaToday Report, 2 Dec. 2015) ~ Turkey’s leadership, including President Erdogan and his family, is involved in illegal oil trade with Islamic State militants, says the Russian Defense Ministry, stressing that Turkey is the final destination for oil smuggled from Syria and Iraq.

The Russian Defense Ministry held a major briefing on new findings concerning IS funding in Moscow on Wednesday.

According to Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, Russia is aware of three main oil smuggling routes to Turkey.


“Today, we are presenting only some of the facts that confirm that a whole team of bandits and Turkish elites stealing oil from their neighbors is operating in the region,” Antonov said, adding that this oil “in large quantities” enters the territory of Turkey via “live oil pipelines,” consisting of thousands of oil trucks.

Antonov added that Turkey is the main buyer of smuggled oil coming from Iraq and Syria.



“According to our data, the top political leadership of the country – President Erdogan and his family – is involved in this criminal business.”

However, since the start of Russia’s anti-terrorist operation in Syria on September 30, the income of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) militants from illegal oil smuggling has been significantly reduced, the ministry said.



“The income of this terrorist organization was about $3 million per day. After two months of Russian airstrikes their income was about $1.5 million a day,” Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy said.

At the briefing the ministry presented photos of oil trucks, videos of airstrikes on IS oil storage facilities and maps detailing the movement of smuggled oil. More evidence is to be published on the ministry’s website in the coming says, Rudskoy said.

The US-led coalition is not bombing IS oil trucks, Rudskoy said.
 
Turkish Opposition MP Set to Reveal Evidence Linking Erdogan to Daesh Oil
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151203/1031213958/turkey-daesh-oil-proof.html

Eren Erdem, a lawmaker from the Republican People's Party, Turkey's largest opposition party, says that he may have found the evidence linking President Recep Erdogan's son-in-law to the dirty oil trade with Daesh.

Commenting on the sensational allegations put forth by Russia on Wednesday that Turkish President Recep Erdogan and his family are directly connected to the trade of dirty oil, Erdem revealed that he is ready to publicize information next week linking Berat Albayrak, President Erdogan's son-in-law and the Turkish Minister of Energy and Natural Resources, to the Daesh oil trade.

In the course of his press conference, covered by Sputnik Turkey, Erdem explained that on the basis of his investigation, which is still in progress, "I have been able to establish that there is a very high probability that Berat Albayrak is linked to the supply of oil by the Daesh terrorists."

The lawmaker told media that "there is one company, headquartered in Erbil, which in 2012 acquired oil tankers, and which is currently being bombarded by Russian aircraft. I am now studying this company's records. It has partners in Turkey, and I am checking them for links to Albayrak."

Erdem noted that he will conclude his investigation next week, after which he will hold a press conference bringing the information before the public.
"This investigation is aimed at trying to figure out which illegal operations are taking place in our country's oil trade," he emphasized.

Moreover, he noted that since he began discussing the possible linkage between Albayarak and Daesh oil, he has been subjected to an all-out informational attack by pro-government media.

"Today, the Takvim newspaper called me an American puppet, an Israeli agent, a supporter of the [Kurdish] PKK, and the instigator of a coup…all in the same sentence. I am inclined to view this attack on me as an attempt to belittle my significance, to attack my reputation in the eyes in the public, given that my investigation is a real threat to the government. Such a sharply negative reaction suggests that my assumptions are fair, and I am moving in the right direction to find the truth."

Ultimately, the lawmaker noted that the state-connected media's reaction "have only convinced me further on the need to carry this investigation through to the end."



Russia to Open Second Military Base in Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940912000604

Thurs. Dec. 3, 2015 - TEHRAN (FNA)- Russia has plans to open its second military base in Syria, media reports said.

The Kuwaiti newspaper al-Rai reported that Russia is preparing to deploy a second military base in Syria. Group of Russian Air Force as well as relief-and-rescue and monitoring units will be deployed in Shairat airbase in Homs. The number of Russian aircraft based in Syria may then rise up to 100.

"Shairat base has 45 reinforced aircraft hangars protecting jets from shelling," reported the Arabic-language newspaper.

According to the Kuwaiti daily, the airbase has a 3-km primary runway capable of accommodating aircraft of any type, and a reserve runway whose preparation is nearing complition.

The Arab paper believes that the operation of Shairat airbase under the Russians would mean an increase in the number of Russia's air fleet deployed in Syria up to 100 aircraft and more. Additional Russian troops to secure and maintain the base will be deployed in the region as well.

A source in the Russian defense ministry said Shairat base is essential for further operations in the Southern and Eastern parts of Syria.



German Air Force Not to Inform Russia of Flight Plans in Syria
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940910001317

Wed. Dec. 2, 2015 - TEHRAN (FNA)- German Defense Minister said the country's Air Force will not inform Russia about the flight plans in Syria.

Russia will not receive any flight plans or other information on Germany’s Air Force operating in Syria, German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Tuesday, Sputnik News reported.

“I would like to specify once again, images and information on where we’re flying is maintained exclusively by the participants of the [US-led] coalition that I was talking about. These will not be presented to Russia,” von der Leyen said on Germany’s N24 television station.


“Only who’s flying where will be told to Russia in order to avoid collisions,” she added.

The German defense minister added that Berlin would only share information on "who's flying where" with Moscow to avoid collisions in the Syrian airspace.

Russia has been conducting anti-terrorist airstrikes in Syria since September 30 at the request of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

On November 26, Russian President Vladimir Putin reaffirmed calls to the international community for united efforts in the fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL, or Daesh in the Arab world) jihadist group, outlawed and classified as a terrorist organization in Russia, in Syria.



American destroyer "Ross" and three NATO frigates entered in the Black Sea
http://fakti.org/oruzje/americki-razarac-ros-i-tri-fregate-nato-usli-u-crno-more

US destroyer "Ross" entered - at the forefront of marine groups that NATO is in "constant readiness" - the Black Sea.
Accompanied by US destroyers are three missile frigates, "Francis Almejida" (Portugal), "Blas de Lezo" (Spain) and "Winnipeg" (Canada).


Destroyer "Ross" is equipped with anti-missile system "Aegis". In October he participated in the first test missile defense systems in Europe. It is alleged that anti-missile missile launched from its deck successfully intercepted and shot down a school ballistic missile over the Atlantic, which was launched with the polygons in the northwest of Scotland.

Command of the US Sixth Fleet Operations announced that "Ross" versed in the Black Sea "in order to maintain peace and stability in the region", together with its allies.



No Enemy Needed: US Jammed Its Own Satellites 261 Times This Year Alone
http://sputniknews.com/military/20151203/1031152378/america-jammed-own-satellites.html

A high-ranking US general confessed that the most dangerous adversary of the United States in the realm of electronic warfare these days just may be… the United States itself.

He also indicated he has no clue how many times American satellites were jammed by China or Russia

In total, there have been more than 250 cases – 23 times a month on average – of shutting down US satellite communications, Hyten said.

Moscow carried out the first successful flight test of its new anti-satellite missile last month, becoming just the second nation after China to arm its military with space warfare weapons.

A February 2015 unclassified Defense Intelligence Agency report to Congress stated that “Chinese and Russian military leaders understand the unique information advantages afforded by space systems and are developing capabilities to deny US use of space in the event of a conflict.”

But as far as can be seen from General Hyten’s comments, there may be no need for adversaries to use weapons against the US – Americans are capable of destroying their satellite communications all on their own.
 
bjorn said:
[quote author=goyacobol]Maybe bjorn should decide on this one. I do think it falls under this topic so it would be fine with me to have it under this subject/topic.

Its all fine by me but what Laura said rings true :

[quote author=Laura]I think having a continuous thread with all the stuff lined up in it is very useful. Articles on sott are in a sea of other things and you don't get that perspective of the flow of things.

We don't know which if the clues that might get tossed in here will be one of the dots that connects to the next thing, but we can surely learn to "see" by having it all before our eyes and observing what happens next. [/quote]

I think its best to let angelburst29 decide because she is making great work of collecting all relevant articles. Thank you angelburst.
[/quote]

I deeply appreciate the kind words and compliments but I have to admit, they have caught me by surprise - often leaving my mind blank for a few moments. In reality, my efforts here - are a type of byproduct, of a personal and instinctual need to educate myself on World Events and geopolitical climate, including associate players on the International scene.

I have never been one, who has had a vested interest in Politics. I consider myself "Common Folk" and have followed a Generational path of taking care of myself and family, tending to domestic needs, paying bills and keeping food on the table. I have worked a lifetime, of hard physical labor to keep every thing on an even keel and afloat, including abiding to mandated laws and local customs - yet I'm living "an existent life" with nothing to show for it. Sadly, my family and the Community around me, are all in the same boat.
And it's not - due to a lack of not "trying" - but due to insurmountable odds against us.

While everyone is counting pennies to make it to the end of the month, why is the government increasing prices on basic goods and services, while shipping our jobs and infrastructure overseas, allocating themselves 'Bonus's" for showing up at the office a couple times a month and taking extravagant vacations (paid by the taxpayers)? Why is that? In this case, what's good for the Goose - doesn't apply to the Gander! Now, the high echelon "Gander's" have switched from playing Cowboy's and Indian's - to Robo Cop and Elite Robber's - placing us into a Police State and stripping away anything that holds any value in our immediate environment, including putting our individual lives at stake. It has my undivided attention. Before I can decipher "what I'm really up against" and how to protect myself and others, I need to grasp a better understanding of the Political environment around me, the players involved, their positions/actions, where they fit in - in the over all picture of governance and where or how it interacts on the International level.

Think of the SOTT Forum - as a developmental "Living Library" in this time and space (timeline) of our human condition. This Forum is unique, in that, it focuses on the mandates of dissimulation of "Truth" - the gathering of relevant data, documentation, scrutiny of sources, collocation and intellectual discussions on a wide variety of subjects, affecting individual, group and National interests in current events.

The Work done in this Forum, helps in gathering pertinent information, in which, "each of us" are granted a rare opportunity to be part of that process. The more data and documentation gathered, on any one subject, helps in deciphering the facts verses disinformation. Information gained, once documented and verified can then be dissimulated to a wider audience. I tend to think in terms - that the SOTT Newsletter - is a form "of Code?" Hints - given of behind the scenes processes - that point to trends or possible outcomes. Participation in the Forum, also helps in giving the needed data to formulate SOTT FOCUS articles, to help others sift through the dissimulation bombardment of disinformation on the wide web. By helping ourselves figure out what's going on around us, we are then able to help other's. Truth can stand alone - on it's own but it needs help to break through the veil. That's where we come in?

So, in short, my efforts on the Forum are two-fold. I rely heavily on feedback, either additional links, opinions or corrections. I find it amazing, to go back to the beginning of a thread and read through the individual entries. What's interesting, the data and expressed opinions begin to form a pattern that helps separate fact from fiction and lay the Truth - bare. From there, the deeper secrets are exposed. Sorry, if I'm not making much sense?

On the topic - "Turkey shot down Russian bomber over Syria" entered into a separate thread by RedFox, my opinion is to keep it separate from this thread. Turkey deserves it's own space. I speculate that Erdogan will eventually, be ousted and he's not going to go without a bloody fight. I can envision, Turkey as a Country being dissolved and former boundaries re-established. My concern now, is the NATO Countries trying to cover up their actions or non-actions in Erdogen's oil scheme and hidden profit base and their incursion, without permission of the Assad Government, into Syria, complicating Putin's Military position? You have French President Hollande claiming to help Putin but has a War Ship stationed in the water - eye shot of Russian Frigates and battleships. The U.S. is sending help to cover the French ship. German Chancellor Merkle is sending her Air Force but won't share flight plans with Assad or Putin. British PM Cameron is deploying ground troops. Israel's planes have been in and out of Syrian airspace and who knows what the U.S. is really doing? Ever wonder why Russia uses terms like, "Russian Aerospace Forces" and "Russian Federation Armed Forces" instead of Air Force, Navy, etc.? With all the documented evidence brought to light by Putin, his Deputy Defense Minister Antonov and Lt, Gen. Rudskoy against Erdogen's illegal activities .... is it possible, the San Bernardino shooting and all the News hype was a cover, in case, Putin disclosed the U.S./Obama ties and personal gain - along with Erdogen's misdeeds? Wasn't there a recent report of a fleet of crude oil tankers stationed in U.S. waters (Atlantic ?), for months off shore and still stationed "for delivery?" How about another fleet of them still stationed off the shores of the Delaware Bay since November 2014? Syrian oil?

Oil tankers idle for months off Delaware waters, puzzling some
http://www.reuters.com/article/usa-oil-tankers-delaware-idUSL1N0VK37320150222

I guess, we'll have to wait for: FULL SPEECH of the Russian Deputy Defence Minister Anatoly Antonov during the briefing “Russian Federation Armed Forces fighting against international terrorist. New data” Part II?
 
Thanks Angel burst and well said. I think you explained this well. We all try to do what we can, what we have time to do and where we feel we can contribute best at the time. There are not enough hours in the day as I would like to also help more on the forum however in these times I feel the call to activate is more important (as well as learning at the same time re their strategies etc as you rightly say).

It takes me about 7+ hours a day or more on my posts/reading etc. (Many times until the wee hours in the morning). If I can push in more time it is to catch up on the threads eg Iodine atm.

I find all your articles very helpful as extra 'ammunition' to post, much of which is still hot of the press, as are the Sott Focus Exclusives, so I don't get the usual comments from people saying most of what we post is available elsewhere on the web. So what, that is not the point, our point is to get the truth out there asap and encourage people to share as much as possible.
 

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