Russia Begins Operations in Syria: End Game for the US Empire?
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angelburst29
The Living Force
EXCLUSIVE: Saudi Arabia Assassinating Defecting Mercenaries in Yemen
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211000952
The Saudi regime has resorted to the targeted killing of its mercenaries who have changed their stances and defected to the opposition camp in Southern Yemen.
Those assassinated in Lahij province have been killed for changing sides from the US and Saudi Arabia; most of the slain militants have formerly been allies of former fugitive President Mansour Hadi or his former Prime Minister Khaled Bahah.
Most of those assassinated had changed their stance on Saudi Arabia and defected coalition-backed Hadi and Bahah groups after they found out about the realities of the war.
In a relevant development on Sunday, pro-Hadi commander Ali al-Yafe'yee was gunned down by unknown assailants in Shalal military base in Ma'ala region in Aden province.
Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for more than 11 months now to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 8,550 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.
Hadi stepped down in January 2015 and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.
Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.
Over 3,750 schools have been closed and at least 1.2 million Yemeni people have been displaced so far.
Syrian Air Fleet Drops Surrender Leaflets over Militants in Damascus Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211001015
The Syrian Air Force dropped a series of leaflets over the militant-held part of Eastern Ghouta on Tuesday, giving the Takfiri terrorists yet another chance to lay down arms and surrender to the government forces.
As the Syrian government forces are advancing against the militant groups in different parts of Damascus province, the country's air fleet began dropping the leaflets, the practice that the government follows in parallel with hitting the militants.
Reports said earlier today that the Syrian army continued to advance against the militant groups, mainly the al-Nusra Front, and seized back more lands in the Eastern part of Damascus province known as Eastern Ghouta.
80 Militants Surrender to Syrian Authorities in Damascus
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211001076
The militants formerly fighting in the Damascus province's al-Ghadam region surrendered to the Syrian government as the forces loyal to the Syrian President Bashar Assad continue gaining ground across the country.
Leader's Aide Suspicious about US Support for Syrian Ceasefire
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211000631
Iranian Supreme Leader's Top Adviser for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati raised doubt about Washington's real intentions in supporting the current ceasefire in Syria.
"The Americans don’t have good intentions for supporting the Syrian ceasefire. They seek to affect regime change in Damascus," Velayati told reporters in Tehran on Tuesday.
He said the current ceasefire is a pretext to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad, adding that a UN resolution supporting truce in Syria is unprecedented.
Stressing that the future of Syria should be decided by its people, Velayati said the UN and outside powers have no right to make decision for the Syrian people.
In relevant remarks on Monday, former MI6 agent and EU foreign policy adviser Alastair Crooke said the cessation of hostilities in Syria almost certainly does not mean the end of the Syrian war, as US, Turkish and Saudi proxies are using the timeout to regroup, rearm and prepare.
The Syrian ceasefire deal, brokered between the US and Russia, almost certainly will not last long and definitely does not mean the end of the war on the ground, Alastair Crooke, former MI6 agent, who was Middle East advisor to Javier Solana, High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union (CFSP) from 1997 to 2003, said.
The British diplomat analyzed the possible intentions of the parties of the deal.
“And one of the intentions is to have a break, a pause, I think, so that your own proxies — the American, Turkish, Saudi proxies — can regroup, can rearm and prepare,” he therefore suggested.
“In a sense, this is a timeout, which is why I said that I don’t think this is the beginning of the end. I think there is another chapter in this, and what we are going to see and why are they doing this, is because precisely they want to rearm, to push back the rapid advance that is taking place across Syria of the coalition forces led by Syrian army, and to stop that progress, in order to give them position to continue their negotiations, in order to have something in their hand to negotiate with.”
At the moment, Crooke explained, for the rebels, the negotiating hand is vanishing day by day and if the Syrian forces reach Raqqa, they will have almost nothing.
Their major purpose is stopping the government forces getting to Raqqa, because then what’s there to negotiate about? The negotiations are taking place on the ground, in the battlefield, Idlib and Aleppo in the North of Syria, he suggested.
NATO chief says concerned about Russian military build-up in Syria
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-nato-idUSKCN0W212Y
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that a fragile truce in Syria appeared to be largely holding but the alliance was concerned by a Russian military build-up in Syria.
France, though, said it had information about fresh attacks on zones held by moderate rebels, and called for an immediate meeting of the Syria task force to address breaches of the cessation of hostilities that came into force on Friday.
The cessation of hostilities deal is the first of its kind to be attempted in four years. Syria's conflict began in 2011.
[...] The deal, which is less binding than a formal ceasefire and was not directly signed by Syria's warring government and rebel forces, does not cover action against militants from Islamic State or the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his big power ally, Russia, say they will continue to fight militant forces. Other rebels say they fear this stance may be used to justify attacks against them too.
We are concerned," Stoltenberg said, "about the significant Russian military build-up we have seen in Syria with the ground troops, with the naval forces in eastern Mediterranean and with air forces conducting air strikes."
Pentagon Seeks $35 Billion to Beef Up Cybersecurity Over 5 Years
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-29/pentagon-seeks-35-billion-to-beef-up-cybersecurity-over-5-years
The Pentagon is seeking $34.7 billion through 2021 for cybersecurity, in part to beef up offensive military capabilities such as those deployed in newly disclosed operations against Islamic State.
“This is something that’s new in this war, not something you would’ve seen back in the Gulf War” 25 years ago, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Monday at the Pentagon. He discussed efforts, especially in Syria, to disrupt the terrorist group’s “command and control, to cause them to lose confidence in their networks, to overload their network so that they can’t function.”
The new plan calls for spending about $28 billion in fiscal 2017 through 2020, up from $22 billion for the same period in last year’s five-year plan.
The biggest slice of the $34.7 billion five-year budget would be $14.3 billion for cyberspace activities, including $2.87 billion for fiscal 2017. That includes offensive operations to disrupt adversaries and defensive military activities in space.
Russia, China
In a budget statement last week to the House defense appropriations committee, Dunford outlined cyberthreats posed by top U.S. adversaries.
“We suspect Russia has conducted a range of cyber operations against government, academic and private networks,” Dunford wrote. He said Russia has the capability to “potentially cause considerable damage” throughout the U.S. and Europe “to critical network equipment and national infrastructure.”
Similarly, China’s “use of computer network attacks” against the U.S. or allies “could seriously limit access to cyberspace.” North Korea’s cyber capabilities today “remain modest and pose the greatest threat to poorly defended networks,” Dunford said.
Iran’s current cyber capabilities “present a limited but increasing threat,” he said. But the Islamic Republic “has demonstrated some degree of success targeting vulnerable critical infrastructure networks.”
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211000952
The Saudi regime has resorted to the targeted killing of its mercenaries who have changed their stances and defected to the opposition camp in Southern Yemen.
Those assassinated in Lahij province have been killed for changing sides from the US and Saudi Arabia; most of the slain militants have formerly been allies of former fugitive President Mansour Hadi or his former Prime Minister Khaled Bahah.
Most of those assassinated had changed their stance on Saudi Arabia and defected coalition-backed Hadi and Bahah groups after they found out about the realities of the war.
In a relevant development on Sunday, pro-Hadi commander Ali al-Yafe'yee was gunned down by unknown assailants in Shalal military base in Ma'ala region in Aden province.
Saudi Arabia has been striking Yemen for more than 11 months now to restore power to fugitive president Mansour Hadi, a close ally of Riyadh. The Saudi-led aggression has so far killed at least 8,550 Yemenis, including hundreds of women and children.
Hadi stepped down in January 2015 and refused to reconsider the decision despite calls by Ansarullah revolutionaries of the Houthi movement.
Despite Riyadh’s claims that it is bombing the positions of the Ansarullah fighters, Saudi warplanes are flattening residential areas and civilian infrastructures.
Over 3,750 schools have been closed and at least 1.2 million Yemeni people have been displaced so far.
Syrian Air Fleet Drops Surrender Leaflets over Militants in Damascus Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211001015
The Syrian Air Force dropped a series of leaflets over the militant-held part of Eastern Ghouta on Tuesday, giving the Takfiri terrorists yet another chance to lay down arms and surrender to the government forces.
As the Syrian government forces are advancing against the militant groups in different parts of Damascus province, the country's air fleet began dropping the leaflets, the practice that the government follows in parallel with hitting the militants.
Reports said earlier today that the Syrian army continued to advance against the militant groups, mainly the al-Nusra Front, and seized back more lands in the Eastern part of Damascus province known as Eastern Ghouta.
80 Militants Surrender to Syrian Authorities in Damascus
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211001076
The militants formerly fighting in the Damascus province's al-Ghadam region surrendered to the Syrian government as the forces loyal to the Syrian President Bashar Assad continue gaining ground across the country.
Leader's Aide Suspicious about US Support for Syrian Ceasefire
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211000631
Iranian Supreme Leader's Top Adviser for International Affairs Ali Akbar Velayati raised doubt about Washington's real intentions in supporting the current ceasefire in Syria.
"The Americans don’t have good intentions for supporting the Syrian ceasefire. They seek to affect regime change in Damascus," Velayati told reporters in Tehran on Tuesday.
He said the current ceasefire is a pretext to overthrow the government of President Bashar al-Assad, adding that a UN resolution supporting truce in Syria is unprecedented.
Stressing that the future of Syria should be decided by its people, Velayati said the UN and outside powers have no right to make decision for the Syrian people.
In relevant remarks on Monday, former MI6 agent and EU foreign policy adviser Alastair Crooke said the cessation of hostilities in Syria almost certainly does not mean the end of the Syrian war, as US, Turkish and Saudi proxies are using the timeout to regroup, rearm and prepare.
The Syrian ceasefire deal, brokered between the US and Russia, almost certainly will not last long and definitely does not mean the end of the war on the ground, Alastair Crooke, former MI6 agent, who was Middle East advisor to Javier Solana, High Representative for Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union (CFSP) from 1997 to 2003, said.
The British diplomat analyzed the possible intentions of the parties of the deal.
“And one of the intentions is to have a break, a pause, I think, so that your own proxies — the American, Turkish, Saudi proxies — can regroup, can rearm and prepare,” he therefore suggested.
“In a sense, this is a timeout, which is why I said that I don’t think this is the beginning of the end. I think there is another chapter in this, and what we are going to see and why are they doing this, is because precisely they want to rearm, to push back the rapid advance that is taking place across Syria of the coalition forces led by Syrian army, and to stop that progress, in order to give them position to continue their negotiations, in order to have something in their hand to negotiate with.”
At the moment, Crooke explained, for the rebels, the negotiating hand is vanishing day by day and if the Syrian forces reach Raqqa, they will have almost nothing.
Their major purpose is stopping the government forces getting to Raqqa, because then what’s there to negotiate about? The negotiations are taking place on the ground, in the battlefield, Idlib and Aleppo in the North of Syria, he suggested.
NATO chief says concerned about Russian military build-up in Syria
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-nato-idUSKCN0W212Y
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said on Monday that a fragile truce in Syria appeared to be largely holding but the alliance was concerned by a Russian military build-up in Syria.
France, though, said it had information about fresh attacks on zones held by moderate rebels, and called for an immediate meeting of the Syria task force to address breaches of the cessation of hostilities that came into force on Friday.
The cessation of hostilities deal is the first of its kind to be attempted in four years. Syria's conflict began in 2011.
[...] The deal, which is less binding than a formal ceasefire and was not directly signed by Syria's warring government and rebel forces, does not cover action against militants from Islamic State or the Nusra Front, an al Qaeda affiliate.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his big power ally, Russia, say they will continue to fight militant forces. Other rebels say they fear this stance may be used to justify attacks against them too.
We are concerned," Stoltenberg said, "about the significant Russian military build-up we have seen in Syria with the ground troops, with the naval forces in eastern Mediterranean and with air forces conducting air strikes."
Pentagon Seeks $35 Billion to Beef Up Cybersecurity Over 5 Years
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-02-29/pentagon-seeks-35-billion-to-beef-up-cybersecurity-over-5-years
The Pentagon is seeking $34.7 billion through 2021 for cybersecurity, in part to beef up offensive military capabilities such as those deployed in newly disclosed operations against Islamic State.
“This is something that’s new in this war, not something you would’ve seen back in the Gulf War” 25 years ago, Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Monday at the Pentagon. He discussed efforts, especially in Syria, to disrupt the terrorist group’s “command and control, to cause them to lose confidence in their networks, to overload their network so that they can’t function.”
The new plan calls for spending about $28 billion in fiscal 2017 through 2020, up from $22 billion for the same period in last year’s five-year plan.
The biggest slice of the $34.7 billion five-year budget would be $14.3 billion for cyberspace activities, including $2.87 billion for fiscal 2017. That includes offensive operations to disrupt adversaries and defensive military activities in space.
Russia, China
In a budget statement last week to the House defense appropriations committee, Dunford outlined cyberthreats posed by top U.S. adversaries.
“We suspect Russia has conducted a range of cyber operations against government, academic and private networks,” Dunford wrote. He said Russia has the capability to “potentially cause considerable damage” throughout the U.S. and Europe “to critical network equipment and national infrastructure.”
Similarly, China’s “use of computer network attacks” against the U.S. or allies “could seriously limit access to cyberspace.” North Korea’s cyber capabilities today “remain modest and pose the greatest threat to poorly defended networks,” Dunford said.
Iran’s current cyber capabilities “present a limited but increasing threat,” he said. But the Islamic Republic “has demonstrated some degree of success targeting vulnerable critical infrastructure networks.”
angelburst29
The Living Force
UN Secretary General, Lavrov meet in Geneva
http://rbth.com/news/2016/03/01/un-secretary-general-lavrov-meet-in-geneva_571995
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in a separate meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The interlocutors shook hands in front of the media and began their negotiations behind closed doors.
Presumably, they may speak about the fulfillment of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria and the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations on March 7.
Earlier on March 1, Lavrov and Ban Ki-moon unveiled 'the Russian room' in the UN Geneva office, the Palace of Nations.
The 'Russian room' was first opened in the Palace of Nations in 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. Designer Juan Pablo Molino was invited to do the refurbishments. The project was supported by Norilsk Nickel.
Moscow suggests drafting convention to combat chemical terrorism
http://rbth.com/news/2016/03/01/moscow-suggests-drafting-convention-to-combat-chemical-terrorism_572025
Russia has come up with an initiative to draft a convention on the fight against acts of chemical terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
"The drafting of an individual convention on the fight against acts of chemical terrorism appears to be a more realistic, reliable and promising way of tackling this task," Lavrov said at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on March 1.
"There is a whole number of international platforms upon which this issue can be tackled," the minister added.
"But we suggest doing it here, at the Conference on Disarmament, which has already made an invaluable contribution to the reduction of the chemical threat by successfully agreeing upon the CWC (the Chemical Weapons Convention)," he said.
"Thereby, a two-fold task would be accomplished - on one hand, [the task of] combating chemical terrorism, and, on the other hand, [the task of] unblocking the work of the Geneva disarmament forum," Lavrov added.
Syrian Army Seizes More US, Israel-Made Ammo of Militants in Sweida Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211000977
The Syrian army troops informed by the intelligence agents and local forces in the Southern part of the country, seized two trucks of arms cargos, including US and Israel-made mines, in two parts of Sweida province.
The cargos of militants' weapons and ammunition, including RPG, landmines and various types of ammunition, were seized by the Syrian army in two separate operation in the Eastern and Northeastern deserts of Sweida province.
There were 90 anti-tanks Israeli and US made mines, 25 RPG Shells, a number of BKS machinegun boxes in the seized cargoes.
Over 800 militants lay down arms in Syria's Daraa Province
http://rbth.com/news/2016/03/01/over-800-militants-lay-down-arms-in-syrias-daraa-province_572063
More than 800 members of armed groups in Syria's Daraa Province have laid down their arms and have returned to a peaceful life, the Russian Defense Ministry has reported.
A meeting between the heads of Daraa Province and residents from the localities of Etbaa, al-Samein, Mesmia, Nava, Saida and Nahta was held with Russian representatives' mediation, the ministry said, adding that more than 1,000 people took part in it.
"As a result of this event, 842 members of the groups Jaysh al-Islam, the Free Syrian Army and the al-Yarmouk Brigade signed statements on abandoning the armed fight and returning to a peaceful life." the ministry said in its daily bulletin published on its website.
Iran Joins With China, Russia as Key Guarantors of Stability in the Middle East
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/russia-iran-and-china-could-soon-be-sole-guarantors-stability-middle-east/ri13110
Europe too will ultimately have to rely on this axis for its security.
The Russian Federation was one of the prime movers of the negotiations that resolved the Iranian nuclear issue through the P5+1 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran.
For Russia, the nuclear deal expands to the economy, as well to as the strategic reputation of an ally, namely Iran, which Russia needs, both in the Middle East and in terms of an increase in crude oil prices, a life or death matter.
Russia is not involved in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, supporting everything that can create better relations between the two Islamic nations, aware that tensions in the Middle East could cause a "domino effect".
If the Greater Middle East were to flare up, the Syrian crisis, the Shi’ite Houthi insurgency in Yemen, the destabilization of Shi’ite areas in the Saudi Kingdom and the de facto closure of the sea routes south of Suez, Russian engagement could not continue indefinitely without creating severe economic and strategic problems.
Not even Iran wants a real war along its borders, since it has every interest in taking full advantage of the new economic and political climate, especially with Europe, after the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan.
[...] The position of Ali Akbar Velayati, a close foreign policy aide of Rahbar Khamenei, is that stabilization of the area stretching from Central Asia to the Maghreb and the Middle East, via the Caucasus, can only be permanently guaranteed by a tripartite agreement between China, Russia and Iran.
While Europe is currently swinging between a useless and a ridiculous strategy, and the United States have made it clear they are leaving the Middle East, there is no effective alternative.
Europe, which still delights in useless and expensive "peace operations" that exacerbate conflicts rather than solving them, will have an Eastern border controlled by this Sino-Russian-Iranian axis. The European Union will have no say in this new configuration, allowing the US to pursue a new "cold war" along the Euro-Russian border.
Without a reliable centre of gravity in the Middle East that interrupts ISIS’s forward march, enabling the European Union to remain safe within its borders, there will no security in the Mediterranean basin, since terrorism can turn into open warfare.
http://rbth.com/news/2016/03/01/un-secretary-general-lavrov-meet-in-geneva_571995
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is in a separate meeting with UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
The interlocutors shook hands in front of the media and began their negotiations behind closed doors.
Presumably, they may speak about the fulfillment of the agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria and the resumption of intra-Syrian negotiations on March 7.
Earlier on March 1, Lavrov and Ban Ki-moon unveiled 'the Russian room' in the UN Geneva office, the Palace of Nations.
The 'Russian room' was first opened in the Palace of Nations in 1995, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the United Nations. Designer Juan Pablo Molino was invited to do the refurbishments. The project was supported by Norilsk Nickel.
Moscow suggests drafting convention to combat chemical terrorism
http://rbth.com/news/2016/03/01/moscow-suggests-drafting-convention-to-combat-chemical-terrorism_572025
Russia has come up with an initiative to draft a convention on the fight against acts of chemical terrorism, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has said.
"The drafting of an individual convention on the fight against acts of chemical terrorism appears to be a more realistic, reliable and promising way of tackling this task," Lavrov said at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on March 1.
"There is a whole number of international platforms upon which this issue can be tackled," the minister added.
"But we suggest doing it here, at the Conference on Disarmament, which has already made an invaluable contribution to the reduction of the chemical threat by successfully agreeing upon the CWC (the Chemical Weapons Convention)," he said.
"Thereby, a two-fold task would be accomplished - on one hand, [the task of] combating chemical terrorism, and, on the other hand, [the task of] unblocking the work of the Geneva disarmament forum," Lavrov added.
Syrian Army Seizes More US, Israel-Made Ammo of Militants in Sweida Province
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211000977
The Syrian army troops informed by the intelligence agents and local forces in the Southern part of the country, seized two trucks of arms cargos, including US and Israel-made mines, in two parts of Sweida province.
The cargos of militants' weapons and ammunition, including RPG, landmines and various types of ammunition, were seized by the Syrian army in two separate operation in the Eastern and Northeastern deserts of Sweida province.
There were 90 anti-tanks Israeli and US made mines, 25 RPG Shells, a number of BKS machinegun boxes in the seized cargoes.
Over 800 militants lay down arms in Syria's Daraa Province
http://rbth.com/news/2016/03/01/over-800-militants-lay-down-arms-in-syrias-daraa-province_572063
More than 800 members of armed groups in Syria's Daraa Province have laid down their arms and have returned to a peaceful life, the Russian Defense Ministry has reported.
A meeting between the heads of Daraa Province and residents from the localities of Etbaa, al-Samein, Mesmia, Nava, Saida and Nahta was held with Russian representatives' mediation, the ministry said, adding that more than 1,000 people took part in it.
"As a result of this event, 842 members of the groups Jaysh al-Islam, the Free Syrian Army and the al-Yarmouk Brigade signed statements on abandoning the armed fight and returning to a peaceful life." the ministry said in its daily bulletin published on its website.
Iran Joins With China, Russia as Key Guarantors of Stability in the Middle East
http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/russia-iran-and-china-could-soon-be-sole-guarantors-stability-middle-east/ri13110
Europe too will ultimately have to rely on this axis for its security.
The Russian Federation was one of the prime movers of the negotiations that resolved the Iranian nuclear issue through the P5+1 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran.
For Russia, the nuclear deal expands to the economy, as well to as the strategic reputation of an ally, namely Iran, which Russia needs, both in the Middle East and in terms of an increase in crude oil prices, a life or death matter.
Russia is not involved in the conflict between Saudi Arabia and Iran, supporting everything that can create better relations between the two Islamic nations, aware that tensions in the Middle East could cause a "domino effect".
If the Greater Middle East were to flare up, the Syrian crisis, the Shi’ite Houthi insurgency in Yemen, the destabilization of Shi’ite areas in the Saudi Kingdom and the de facto closure of the sea routes south of Suez, Russian engagement could not continue indefinitely without creating severe economic and strategic problems.
Not even Iran wants a real war along its borders, since it has every interest in taking full advantage of the new economic and political climate, especially with Europe, after the signing of the Joint Comprehensive Plan.
[...] The position of Ali Akbar Velayati, a close foreign policy aide of Rahbar Khamenei, is that stabilization of the area stretching from Central Asia to the Maghreb and the Middle East, via the Caucasus, can only be permanently guaranteed by a tripartite agreement between China, Russia and Iran.
While Europe is currently swinging between a useless and a ridiculous strategy, and the United States have made it clear they are leaving the Middle East, there is no effective alternative.
Europe, which still delights in useless and expensive "peace operations" that exacerbate conflicts rather than solving them, will have an Eastern border controlled by this Sino-Russian-Iranian axis. The European Union will have no say in this new configuration, allowing the US to pursue a new "cold war" along the Euro-Russian border.
Without a reliable centre of gravity in the Middle East that interrupts ISIS’s forward march, enabling the European Union to remain safe within its borders, there will no security in the Mediterranean basin, since terrorism can turn into open warfare.
So I was reading this:
Newly Translated WikiLeaks Saudi Cable: Overthrow the Syrian Regime, but Play Nice with Russia
http://www.globalresearch.ca/newly-translated-wikileaks-saudi-cable-overthrow-the-syrian-regime-but-play-nice-with-russia/5510655
and among other things, the Saudi cable says:
Which is a clear admission that the Saudis are backing terrorist groups in Syria. Thanks, WikiLeaks.
And now that Turkey is firing across the border in coordination with ISIS, and after the many revelations about its sponsorship, it's all out for the world to see. At the same time, the US sends fighter jets from Turkish bases to protect the Kurds from ISIS. Thus, the US and Turkey reveal themselves as fools, and it's like watching a dog chasing its own tail. Thanks, Mr Putin.
Newly Translated WikiLeaks Saudi Cable: Overthrow the Syrian Regime, but Play Nice with Russia
http://www.globalresearch.ca/newly-translated-wikileaks-saudi-cable-overthrow-the-syrian-regime-but-play-nice-with-russia/5510655
and among other things, the Saudi cable says:
Which is a clear admission that the Saudis are backing terrorist groups in Syria. Thanks, WikiLeaks.
And now that Turkey is firing across the border in coordination with ISIS, and after the many revelations about its sponsorship, it's all out for the world to see. At the same time, the US sends fighter jets from Turkish bases to protect the Kurds from ISIS. Thus, the US and Turkey reveal themselves as fools, and it's like watching a dog chasing its own tail. Thanks, Mr Putin.
angelburst29
The Living Force
We will participate’: Saudi military admits US coalition mulling ground invasion in Syria
https://www.rt.com/news/334048-saudi-syria-ground-invasion/
Saudi Arabia has acknowledged that the US-led anti-ISIS coalition has held a “political” discussion about a potential ground troop deployment in Syria. Riyadh’s statements have been criticized by Damascus as destructive and a threat to regional security.
In an interview with Reuters, an aide to Saudi Arabia's defense minister, Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, confirmed that defense ministers from the anti-Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) coalition debated placing ground troops on the ground in Syria during a ministerial meeting in Brussels last month.
“It was discussed two weeks ago in Brussels,” Asseri said, clarifying that the discussions took place on the “political” level only without going into details of a potential “military mission.”
The general stressed that if the decision is made, Saudis would be more than willing to contribute troops – a move that Syria strongly warned against on a number of occasions. Asseri also acknowledged that Riyadh has been working on the military implementation of a possible Syria invasion.
The Saudi general stressed that for the time being, the Kingdom’s air force is ready to strike Islamic State targets from Turkey’s Incirlik air base, where four Saudi fighter jets were deployed last month.
Washington also confirmed Saudi Arabia’s’ willingness to strike targets in Syria, with State Department spokesman John Kirby saying that the US would welcome the Kingdom's participation.
Artillery attacks in Syria wound Russian and foreign journalists
http://rbth.com/news/2016/03/01/artillery-attacks-in-syria-wound-russian-and-foreign-journalists_572153
A group of journalists, including several Russians, came under artillery fire in the northern Syrian province of Latakia.
The incident took place near the border town of Kessab, on March 1, when the reporters were on their press tour to the residential communities that had signed the agreement on the truce, and where residents had started to come back to.
Eight shells have been fired in total. The shells have landed some 150-400 meters from the journalists, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.
"The journalists have received light grazes," Konashenkov said.
He went on to clarify that the representatives from Bulgarian, Canadian and Chinese media were injured in the incident.
"The fire was conducted from the Turkish border, particularly from the area of Dama, the residential community outside of Idlib," Konashenkov said.
According to the information received from an officer of the Syrian government army, the shelling was carried out by Jabhat al-Nusra, the terrorist group outlawed in Russia, which is not affected by the ceasefire.
https://www.rt.com/news/334048-saudi-syria-ground-invasion/
Saudi Arabia has acknowledged that the US-led anti-ISIS coalition has held a “political” discussion about a potential ground troop deployment in Syria. Riyadh’s statements have been criticized by Damascus as destructive and a threat to regional security.
In an interview with Reuters, an aide to Saudi Arabia's defense minister, Brigadier General Ahmed Asseri, confirmed that defense ministers from the anti-Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) coalition debated placing ground troops on the ground in Syria during a ministerial meeting in Brussels last month.
“It was discussed two weeks ago in Brussels,” Asseri said, clarifying that the discussions took place on the “political” level only without going into details of a potential “military mission.”
The general stressed that if the decision is made, Saudis would be more than willing to contribute troops – a move that Syria strongly warned against on a number of occasions. Asseri also acknowledged that Riyadh has been working on the military implementation of a possible Syria invasion.
The Saudi general stressed that for the time being, the Kingdom’s air force is ready to strike Islamic State targets from Turkey’s Incirlik air base, where four Saudi fighter jets were deployed last month.
Washington also confirmed Saudi Arabia’s’ willingness to strike targets in Syria, with State Department spokesman John Kirby saying that the US would welcome the Kingdom's participation.
Artillery attacks in Syria wound Russian and foreign journalists
http://rbth.com/news/2016/03/01/artillery-attacks-in-syria-wound-russian-and-foreign-journalists_572153
A group of journalists, including several Russians, came under artillery fire in the northern Syrian province of Latakia.
The incident took place near the border town of Kessab, on March 1, when the reporters were on their press tour to the residential communities that had signed the agreement on the truce, and where residents had started to come back to.
Eight shells have been fired in total. The shells have landed some 150-400 meters from the journalists, Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said.
"The journalists have received light grazes," Konashenkov said.
He went on to clarify that the representatives from Bulgarian, Canadian and Chinese media were injured in the incident.
"The fire was conducted from the Turkish border, particularly from the area of Dama, the residential community outside of Idlib," Konashenkov said.
According to the information received from an officer of the Syrian government army, the shelling was carried out by Jabhat al-Nusra, the terrorist group outlawed in Russia, which is not affected by the ceasefire.
angelburst29
The Living Force
This has the word "Stupid" written all over it!
NATO Operation in Aegean Sea Heightens Threat of War with Russia
http://www.globalresearch.ca/nato-operation-in-aegean-sea-heightens-threat-of-war-with-russia/5511016
A NATO convoy under German leadership is to begin operations in the Aegean Sea in the next few days, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday.
The official goal of the mission is the complete closure of the Aegean to refugees, militarily strengthening “Fortress Europe” against refugees from the war zones in the Middle East. The dispatch of warships to the strategic Aegean Sea also heightens the risk of NATO intervention in the Syrian civil war and war with Russia.
Stoltenberg said in a press release that the goal of NATO was “the disruption of the routes used by smugglers and for illegal migration in the Aegean.” He boasted that the ships of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2) had already arrived in the mission area 48 hours after the decision of NATO defence ministers was taken two weeks ago. Now it was a matter of collectively finding “solutions” for the “crisis.”
By “solutions” of the refugee crisis, Stoltenberg and NATO mean the military strengthening of the Greek and Turkish coast guard and the European border protection agency Frontex in order to detect and stop refugee boats, also possibly forcing them back.
Stoltenberg said, “Our ships will provide information for the Greek and Turkish coast guard and other national authorities, allowing them to act even more effectively against illegal trafficking networks. We will also establish direct connections to European Frontex … so that it can do its ‘job’ more effectively.”
In other words, Frontex, supported by NATO warships, should conduct its notorious “push-back” operations more intensively, i.e. a refugee boat being tracked should be “towed back where it came from—for example, to Turkey”. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière demanded this last December in an interview with Die Welt. Now it is official EU and NATO policy. Stoltenberg said, “If people are rescued who have come through Turkey, they will be returned to Turkey.”
The operation comes from an initiative by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, agreed at a meeting of NATO defence ministers on 11 February. Berlin is taking over the management of the NATO alliance. In a statement last Thursday, von der Leyen praised the NATO decision “under German leadership” as being “quick and clear”. Last Friday, the German supply ship Bonn, which will lead the naval group, set off from the NATO base at Souda in Crete. On board was the German Commodore Jörg Klein, commander of SNMG 2.
With the military mission, the German government wants to “drastically and sustainably” reduce the number of refugees coming to Greece via Turkey, as de Maizière declared on the periphery of an EU meeting in Brussels. This should happen by March 7. Then a special EU summit would take place attended by Turkey.
The official goal of the Merkel government is to commit the Erdogan regime to a dirty deal on fully closing the borders for refugees and to detain refugee boats before they can even leave Turkey. As “compensation”, the German government will provide financial support to Ankara. Last week in a government statement, Merkel reaffirmed her support for a no-fly zone in Syria, a central demand of the Erdogan government and an important condition for Ankara’s military invasion of Syria.
The NATO mission in the Aegean not only entails increased support for Turkey’s war drive against the Kurds and the Syrian government, but is a direct part of the NATO war preparations against Russia.
An official NATO report indicates that the SNMG 2 force had conducted “intensive operations with the Turkish Navy” in early February. This included carrying out air defence operations, submarine war operations and live firing exercises (GUNEX). Turkish F-16 fighter jets were also involved in the exercise.
According to Klein, the aim was to develop the force’s “own abilities” and “to consolidate a team” out of the units. As well as the German flagship, the “team” that he is currently leading in the Aegean includes two heavily armed frigates, the Canadian vessel HMCS Fredericton and the Greek ship Salamis (F-455), and a Turkish warship. The SNMG 2 group is part of the NATO Response Force (NRF), the NATO rapid reaction force, which was systematically upgraded last year against Russia.
The location and organisation of the exercise alone underscore what NATO is preparing. Russia is currently the only power that is active in the region with larger naval units and warplanes, and is considered as an enemy by NATO. The Russian Air Force is supporting Syria’s Assad regime being combatted by the West, and warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet regularly transit the Aegean between their home ports in the Crimea and Tartus in Syria, where the only Russian naval base is located in the Mediterranean Sea.
The increasing NATO presence in the Aegean heightens the risk of a direct clash between NATO and Russia. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, there was a near-collision off the Greek island of Lemnos in December, between a Turkish fishing boat and the Russian destroyer Smetliwij. Russia regarded the incident as a deliberate provocation by the Turkish Navy, and summoned the Turkish military attaché in Moscow. Since the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkey on November 24, 2015, tensions between Turkey and Russia have steadily increased.
In its latest edition, news weekly Der Spiegel describes the consequences, including those unintended, of the NATO mission. It says of the growing “risk of war between Russia and Turkey”:
“It is the year in which the world stands as close to a nuclear war as never before in the history of the Cold War. Provocations, red lines, which are crossed, airspace violations, a shot-down aircraft. A missile fired in error or a submarine commander who loses his nerve can trigger a world war.”
NATO Operation in Aegean Sea Heightens Threat of War with Russia
http://www.globalresearch.ca/nato-operation-in-aegean-sea-heightens-threat-of-war-with-russia/5511016
A NATO convoy under German leadership is to begin operations in the Aegean Sea in the next few days, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen said Thursday.
The official goal of the mission is the complete closure of the Aegean to refugees, militarily strengthening “Fortress Europe” against refugees from the war zones in the Middle East. The dispatch of warships to the strategic Aegean Sea also heightens the risk of NATO intervention in the Syrian civil war and war with Russia.
Stoltenberg said in a press release that the goal of NATO was “the disruption of the routes used by smugglers and for illegal migration in the Aegean.” He boasted that the ships of the Standing NATO Maritime Group 2 (SNMG 2) had already arrived in the mission area 48 hours after the decision of NATO defence ministers was taken two weeks ago. Now it was a matter of collectively finding “solutions” for the “crisis.”
By “solutions” of the refugee crisis, Stoltenberg and NATO mean the military strengthening of the Greek and Turkish coast guard and the European border protection agency Frontex in order to detect and stop refugee boats, also possibly forcing them back.
Stoltenberg said, “Our ships will provide information for the Greek and Turkish coast guard and other national authorities, allowing them to act even more effectively against illegal trafficking networks. We will also establish direct connections to European Frontex … so that it can do its ‘job’ more effectively.”
In other words, Frontex, supported by NATO warships, should conduct its notorious “push-back” operations more intensively, i.e. a refugee boat being tracked should be “towed back where it came from—for example, to Turkey”. German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière demanded this last December in an interview with Die Welt. Now it is official EU and NATO policy. Stoltenberg said, “If people are rescued who have come through Turkey, they will be returned to Turkey.”
The operation comes from an initiative by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, agreed at a meeting of NATO defence ministers on 11 February. Berlin is taking over the management of the NATO alliance. In a statement last Thursday, von der Leyen praised the NATO decision “under German leadership” as being “quick and clear”. Last Friday, the German supply ship Bonn, which will lead the naval group, set off from the NATO base at Souda in Crete. On board was the German Commodore Jörg Klein, commander of SNMG 2.
With the military mission, the German government wants to “drastically and sustainably” reduce the number of refugees coming to Greece via Turkey, as de Maizière declared on the periphery of an EU meeting in Brussels. This should happen by March 7. Then a special EU summit would take place attended by Turkey.
The official goal of the Merkel government is to commit the Erdogan regime to a dirty deal on fully closing the borders for refugees and to detain refugee boats before they can even leave Turkey. As “compensation”, the German government will provide financial support to Ankara. Last week in a government statement, Merkel reaffirmed her support for a no-fly zone in Syria, a central demand of the Erdogan government and an important condition for Ankara’s military invasion of Syria.
The NATO mission in the Aegean not only entails increased support for Turkey’s war drive against the Kurds and the Syrian government, but is a direct part of the NATO war preparations against Russia.
An official NATO report indicates that the SNMG 2 force had conducted “intensive operations with the Turkish Navy” in early February. This included carrying out air defence operations, submarine war operations and live firing exercises (GUNEX). Turkish F-16 fighter jets were also involved in the exercise.
According to Klein, the aim was to develop the force’s “own abilities” and “to consolidate a team” out of the units. As well as the German flagship, the “team” that he is currently leading in the Aegean includes two heavily armed frigates, the Canadian vessel HMCS Fredericton and the Greek ship Salamis (F-455), and a Turkish warship. The SNMG 2 group is part of the NATO Response Force (NRF), the NATO rapid reaction force, which was systematically upgraded last year against Russia.
The location and organisation of the exercise alone underscore what NATO is preparing. Russia is currently the only power that is active in the region with larger naval units and warplanes, and is considered as an enemy by NATO. The Russian Air Force is supporting Syria’s Assad regime being combatted by the West, and warships of the Russian Black Sea Fleet regularly transit the Aegean between their home ports in the Crimea and Tartus in Syria, where the only Russian naval base is located in the Mediterranean Sea.
The increasing NATO presence in the Aegean heightens the risk of a direct clash between NATO and Russia. According to the Russian Defence Ministry, there was a near-collision off the Greek island of Lemnos in December, between a Turkish fishing boat and the Russian destroyer Smetliwij. Russia regarded the incident as a deliberate provocation by the Turkish Navy, and summoned the Turkish military attaché in Moscow. Since the shooting down of a Russian fighter jet by Turkey on November 24, 2015, tensions between Turkey and Russia have steadily increased.
In its latest edition, news weekly Der Spiegel describes the consequences, including those unintended, of the NATO mission. It says of the growing “risk of war between Russia and Turkey”:
“It is the year in which the world stands as close to a nuclear war as never before in the history of the Cold War. Provocations, red lines, which are crossed, airspace violations, a shot-down aircraft. A missile fired in error or a submarine commander who loses his nerve can trigger a world war.”
angelburst29 said:
Int’l Journalists Thank Russia for Saving Their Lives in Latakia Shelling
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160302/1035638900/journalists-shelling-latakia.html
Syrian government troops eliminate 28 terrorists south of Hama city
http://tass.ru/en/world/860098
Hasty Retreat: Syrian Army Destroys Daesh Defenses in Raqqa
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160302/1035639499/syria-army-offensive.html
SeekinTruth said:
On the topic of Israel, in my current research, I've just finished two really outstanding books about the "History of Israel" that goes a long way toward explaining how we got where we are. The first one is Victor Tcherikover's "Hellenistic Civilization and the Jews"
http://www.amazon.com/Hellenistic-Civilization-Jews-Victor-Tcherikover/dp/1565634764/ref=sr_1_1
and
Mario Liverani's "Israel's History and the History of Israel"
http://www.amazon.com/Israels-History-Israel-BibleWorld/dp/1845533410/ref=sr_1_3
Both are by very eminent historians and NOT by Bible thumpers. Tcherikover was a Jew and something of a Zionist, and there is a whiff of apologetic, but his training rises to the top and he is really straightforward about why people hated/hate the Jews. Liverani makes it pretty clear that this situation was the result of the creation and imposition of a certain form of Judaism on the ordinary people.
A third, most interesting book is Gabriele Boccaccini's "Beyond the Essene Hypothesis: The Parting of the Ways between Qumran and Enochic Judaism"
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Essene-Hypothesis-Parting-between/dp/0802843603/ref=sr_1_4
What is interesting about all of the above books is seeing certain behaviors and dynamics repeat over and over again so that one could easily think they are reading about modern times. That is, in my opinion, very useful for understanding both the deeper nature of the problem as well as the likely result of the ideological trajectory.
There is nothing new under the sun.
angelburst29
The Living Force
Pentagon OKs $683 Million Smart Bomb Deal for Turkey
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160301/1035619764/pentagon-turkey-bomb-deal.html
As the Turkish government escalates tensions across the Middle East, the Pentagon has authorized a multimillion dollar deal to sell smart bombs to Ankara.
Now, with all parties honoring the Syrian ceasefire, Turkey is threatening to plunge its neighbor back into the five-year civil war.
"[The Turkish government] view themselves as victims and losing parties in the Syrian war," Germany’s Telepolis magazine noted. "For this reason they will resort to provocations until the ceasefire is shattered."
Despite Turkey’s destabilizing influence in the region, Washington has chosen to award a $682.9 million contract which will provide Ankara with an undisclosed number of smart bombs.
"The deal came timely as we are deeply engaged in asymmetrical warfare and need smart bombs," one Turkish military official said, according to Defense News.
The contract was granted to Ellwood National Forge and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, and includes the sale of of an unnamed number of BLU-109 bunker busters. These bombs contain roughly 550 pounds of a high explosive compound known as tritonal, and thanks to tail fuse delays, the bomb’s detonation is stalled until it reaches its intended underground target.
This is the first such sale to Turkey by US defense contractors, and Ankara expects the transaction to be completed by 2020.
The US has also played an active role in Saudi Arabia’s Yemen campaign, providing the bombs used during Riyadh’s air campaigns.
"Saudi Arabia has engaged in war crimes, and the United States is aiding and abetting them by providing the Saudis with military assistance," Marjorie Cohn writes for teleSUR.
"In November 2015, the US sold $1.29 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia. It included more than 10,000 bombs, munitions, and weapons parts manufactured by Raytheon and Boeing, as well as bunker busters, and laser-guided and 'general purpose' bombs."
Nuclear Red Alert. Saudi Fight-Bombers Equipped with Nuclear Warheads (Videos)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/nuclear-red-alert-saudi-arabia-equipped-with-nuclear-bombs/5511402
Warning: Saudi Arabia, although a signatory to the Nuclear Weapons Non- Proliferation Treaty has just, in violation of its pledge, acquired atomic bombs from Pakistan.
We have nuclear bombs”: this is what was said on February 19 on Russia Today by the Saudi political analyst, Daham al-Anzi, de facto spokesman for Riyadh.
He repeated it on another Arab channel. Saudi Arabia had already declared [1] its intention to acquire nuclear weapons from Pakistan (not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty), of whom it finances 60% of the military nuclear program. Now, through al-Anzi, the Saudis have indicated that they started buying them two years ago. Of course, for Riyadh, this is to confront the “Iranian threat” in Yemen, Iraq and Syria, where “the Russians aid Assad.” That is to say, where Russia supports the Syrian government to free the country from Daesh (Islamic state) and other terrorist groups, financed and armed by Saudi Arabia as part of the US / NATO strategy.
Riyadh has over 250 fighter-bombers with dual conventional and nuclear capability, provided by the US and by the European powers. Since 2012, Saudi Arabia is part of the “Nato Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency,” the NATO agency that manages European Eurofighter and Tornado fighters, of which Riyadh bought from Britain twice the number of that of the whole Royal Air Force.
In the same context, enter the imminent 8 billion EUR maxi contract – thanks to Minister Roberta Pinotti, efficient sales representative for the supply of weapons – to supply Kuwait (ally of Saudi Arabia) with 28 Eurofighter fighter Typhoons, built by a consortium including Finmeccanica with British, German and Spanish industries. This is the largest order ever obtained by Finmeccanica whose coffers will absorb half the 8 billion. Guaranteed with 4 billion in funding by a pool of banks, including Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, and the group Sace Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
And thus accelerates the conversion of military Finmeccanica, with outstanding results for those who enrich themselves with war: in 2015 Finmeccanica share value grew by 67%. Right in the face of the “Arms Trade Treaty” ratified by parliament in 2013, which states that “no State Party shall knowingly authorize the transfer of arms if the weapons could be used for attacks against civilian targets or subjects, or for other war crimes. ” Faced with the denunciation that the weapons provided by Italy are used by Saudi and Kuwaiti air forces for the massacre of civilians in Yemen, Minister Pinotti replies: “Let us not transform the states that are our allies in the battle against Daesh into enemies. This would be a very serious mistake. ”
This would be especially a “mistake” to allow it to be known who are our “allies” Saudi and Kuwaiti: absolute monarchies, where power is concentrated in the hands of the ruler and his family circle, where parties and trade unions are banned; where immigrant workers (10 million in Saudi Arabia, about half of the labor force; 2 million to 2.9 million people in Kuwait) live in conditions of exploitation and slavery, where those who call for the most basic human rights are hanged or beheaded.
In these hands, “democratic” Italy places bombers capable of carrying nuclear bombs, knowing that Saudi Arabia already has them and that they can also be used by Kuwait.
At the “International Humanitarian Law Conference,” minister Pinotti, after stressing the importance of “respecting the norms of international law,” concluded that “Italy is a immensely credible and respected country.”
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160301/1035619764/pentagon-turkey-bomb-deal.html
As the Turkish government escalates tensions across the Middle East, the Pentagon has authorized a multimillion dollar deal to sell smart bombs to Ankara.
Now, with all parties honoring the Syrian ceasefire, Turkey is threatening to plunge its neighbor back into the five-year civil war.
"[The Turkish government] view themselves as victims and losing parties in the Syrian war," Germany’s Telepolis magazine noted. "For this reason they will resort to provocations until the ceasefire is shattered."
Despite Turkey’s destabilizing influence in the region, Washington has chosen to award a $682.9 million contract which will provide Ankara with an undisclosed number of smart bombs.
"The deal came timely as we are deeply engaged in asymmetrical warfare and need smart bombs," one Turkish military official said, according to Defense News.
The contract was granted to Ellwood National Forge and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, and includes the sale of of an unnamed number of BLU-109 bunker busters. These bombs contain roughly 550 pounds of a high explosive compound known as tritonal, and thanks to tail fuse delays, the bomb’s detonation is stalled until it reaches its intended underground target.
This is the first such sale to Turkey by US defense contractors, and Ankara expects the transaction to be completed by 2020.
The US has also played an active role in Saudi Arabia’s Yemen campaign, providing the bombs used during Riyadh’s air campaigns.
"Saudi Arabia has engaged in war crimes, and the United States is aiding and abetting them by providing the Saudis with military assistance," Marjorie Cohn writes for teleSUR.
"In November 2015, the US sold $1.29 billion worth of arms to Saudi Arabia. It included more than 10,000 bombs, munitions, and weapons parts manufactured by Raytheon and Boeing, as well as bunker busters, and laser-guided and 'general purpose' bombs."
Nuclear Red Alert. Saudi Fight-Bombers Equipped with Nuclear Warheads (Videos)
http://www.globalresearch.ca/nuclear-red-alert-saudi-arabia-equipped-with-nuclear-bombs/5511402
Warning: Saudi Arabia, although a signatory to the Nuclear Weapons Non- Proliferation Treaty has just, in violation of its pledge, acquired atomic bombs from Pakistan.
We have nuclear bombs”: this is what was said on February 19 on Russia Today by the Saudi political analyst, Daham al-Anzi, de facto spokesman for Riyadh.
He repeated it on another Arab channel. Saudi Arabia had already declared [1] its intention to acquire nuclear weapons from Pakistan (not a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty), of whom it finances 60% of the military nuclear program. Now, through al-Anzi, the Saudis have indicated that they started buying them two years ago. Of course, for Riyadh, this is to confront the “Iranian threat” in Yemen, Iraq and Syria, where “the Russians aid Assad.” That is to say, where Russia supports the Syrian government to free the country from Daesh (Islamic state) and other terrorist groups, financed and armed by Saudi Arabia as part of the US / NATO strategy.
Riyadh has over 250 fighter-bombers with dual conventional and nuclear capability, provided by the US and by the European powers. Since 2012, Saudi Arabia is part of the “Nato Eurofighter and Tornado Management Agency,” the NATO agency that manages European Eurofighter and Tornado fighters, of which Riyadh bought from Britain twice the number of that of the whole Royal Air Force.
In the same context, enter the imminent 8 billion EUR maxi contract – thanks to Minister Roberta Pinotti, efficient sales representative for the supply of weapons – to supply Kuwait (ally of Saudi Arabia) with 28 Eurofighter fighter Typhoons, built by a consortium including Finmeccanica with British, German and Spanish industries. This is the largest order ever obtained by Finmeccanica whose coffers will absorb half the 8 billion. Guaranteed with 4 billion in funding by a pool of banks, including Unicredit and Intesa Sanpaolo, and the group Sace Cassa Depositi e Prestiti.
And thus accelerates the conversion of military Finmeccanica, with outstanding results for those who enrich themselves with war: in 2015 Finmeccanica share value grew by 67%. Right in the face of the “Arms Trade Treaty” ratified by parliament in 2013, which states that “no State Party shall knowingly authorize the transfer of arms if the weapons could be used for attacks against civilian targets or subjects, or for other war crimes. ” Faced with the denunciation that the weapons provided by Italy are used by Saudi and Kuwaiti air forces for the massacre of civilians in Yemen, Minister Pinotti replies: “Let us not transform the states that are our allies in the battle against Daesh into enemies. This would be a very serious mistake. ”
This would be especially a “mistake” to allow it to be known who are our “allies” Saudi and Kuwaiti: absolute monarchies, where power is concentrated in the hands of the ruler and his family circle, where parties and trade unions are banned; where immigrant workers (10 million in Saudi Arabia, about half of the labor force; 2 million to 2.9 million people in Kuwait) live in conditions of exploitation and slavery, where those who call for the most basic human rights are hanged or beheaded.
In these hands, “democratic” Italy places bombers capable of carrying nuclear bombs, knowing that Saudi Arabia already has them and that they can also be used by Kuwait.
At the “International Humanitarian Law Conference,” minister Pinotti, after stressing the importance of “respecting the norms of international law,” concluded that “Italy is a immensely credible and respected country.”
angelburst29
The Living Force
Syrian Army Captures Terrorist Helping Murder of Downed Russian Bomber's Pilot
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211000689
The Syrian army captured a terrorist of the notorious Turkish nationalist organization, the Grey Wolves, who had played a role in the killing of one of the pilots of Russia's Su-24 bomber which was downed by Turkey's Air Force on November 24, 2015.
"The captured terrorist was among the first group of militants who arrived at the Su-24 crash scene on November 24, killing one of the pilots and stealing his personal belongings," the Arabic service of Russia Today news channel reported.
Russia's Su-24 bomber with two pilots onboard was shot down by the Turkish Air Force on November 24, 2015.
The crew of the Su-24 bomber managed to eject but one of the pilots, Oleg Peshkov, was killed by gunfire from the ground. The second pilot, Konstantin Murakhtin, was rescued and taken to the Russian air base.
In late December, leader of the Turkish nationalist organization, the Grey Wolves Alparslan Celik claimed responsibility for killing the pilot of the downed Russian bomber.
In an interview with Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper in late December, Celik openly admitted that he had directly taken part in the murder of the Russian pilot. Moscow had repeatedly called on Ankara to find and detain Celik.
Ankara made no moves to detain Celik, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov said at the time.
"Turkish authorities have taken no steps to detain him (Celik). He appears in TV programs and a number of newspapers have published his interview so Mr. Celik walks freely in Turkey," Karlov told the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Russia moves extra drones, radars to Syria to monitor truce
http://tass.ru/en/defense/859934
Russia has created a system for full monitoring of the conflict zone situation
The Russian Defense Ministry has redeployed to the Hmeimim air base in Syria three drone complexes and two radars, the ministry’s press-service said.
"Over the past three days the Russian Defense Ministry has redeployed to Hmeimim three advanced complexes equipped with drones and two radars capable of identifying small targets and of exposing the use of artillery systems by terrorists," says a news release obtained by TASS.
In order to spot the positions of multiple rocket launchers, artillery pieces and mortars being used by truce abusers "two sets of artillery instrumental reconnaissance have been delivered to Syria and deployed there."
According to the ministry, Russia has created a system for full monitoring of the conflict zone situation.
"In order to strengthen control over the regime of the cessation of hostilities in Syrian territory the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have created a system for the full monitoring of the situation in the conflict zone. Drones, a grouping of satellites and other technical reconnaissance equipment are used in the control," the ministry said.
"The airspace control is exercised by radio-technical facilities of the air defense systems, including Syrian systems and aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces," the press service said.
The ceasefire regime between the Syrian government forces and armed opposition groups came into force from 00:00 (01:00, Moscow time) on February 27. Ceasefire is not applicable to terrorist groups Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra.
An hour before the ceasefire came into force, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution in support of cessation of hostilities in Syria. The document was initiated by Russia and the United States and won support from all the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council. United Nations Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, told a briefing after the United Nations Security Council meeting that 97 armed groups in Syria had accepted the ceasefire terms.
According to the Russian military, the ceasefire regime in generally observed, but 15 violations of the regime have been recorded over the past 24 hours alone.
US to work through nuclear attacks at Russian borders
http://www.pravdareport.com/news/world/europe/01-03-2016/133689-norway-0/
The US strategic bombers B-52 will work through nuclear strike attacks under the NATO drills Cold Response in Norway. Three bombers set off on 1 March from the Spanish airbase Moron, where they had been dispatched from the continental part of the US. Delegations of the exercises' member-countries will observe acts of the bombers. According to the local media, they should have arrived in the town of Namsos at 11a.m. London time. Noteworthy, that B-52 will carry out a range of flights from the airbase in Spain to conduct exercises in the territory of the Norwegian region Trøndelag. The American Air Force Times believes that involvement of bombers of such a level aims at the US support of its NATO allies to defend them from the Russian 'aggression'. The drills will be conducted till 9 March.
(Note - Next Total Solar Eclipse Takes Place On March 8th.)
ISIL Relocates Iraqi Prisoners to Syria's Raqqa, Executes Large Numbers in Iraq
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941212001241
The Iraqi prisoners who are under ISIL captivity have been transferred from the city of Mosul in Iraq's Nineveh province to Raqqa and Deir Ezzur in Syria while scores of others have been executed by the Takfiri terrorist group, sources disclosed on Wednesday.
"The ISIL has executed a large number of its prisoners in Mosul city and taken some others to unknown destinations in Raqqa and Deir Ezzur provinces," an Iraqi security agent told FNA this morning.
The executed Iraqi prisoners have been thrown into a well in the Eastern part of Mosul, known as al-Houta, he said.
The ISIL move came as the Iraqi army is preparing for military operations to win back full control of Mosul city.
In a relevant development on Monday, the ISIL terrorists executed scores of residents of the city of Mosul in Nineveh province on treason charges.
A sum of 35 of Mosul residents were shot dead by the ISIL for spying and treason in al-Qazlani military base in the Western part of Mosul on Sunday, the Arabic-language al-Sumeria news website quoted an unnamed Iraqi security source as saying on Monday.
Earlier today, Head of Iraqi Awakening Councils Wissam al-Hardan disclosed that the ISIL has killed a large number of Fallujah citizens for the fear of their imminent uprising as the country's army and volunteer forces are preparing for large-scale military operations to win back the city in Anbar province.
"The ISIL executed many Fallujah residents who are fed up with the Takfiri terrorist group over the past two weeks," al-Hardan told FNA.
He underlined that the psychological pressures exerted on the tribes and citizens in Fallujah is to such an extent that they prefer to die rather than stay under the ISIL's yoke.
Al-Hardan reiterated that the people of Fallujah have carried out several retaliatory measures against the ISIL.
EXCLUSIVE: Iraqi Volunteer Forces Seize Back 9 More Key Villages Near Samarra
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941212001294
The Iraqi volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) backed by the country's army won back nine more strategic villages in the Western part of Salahuddin province.
The Takfiri terrorists were purged from Al-Awaqeleh, Um Jahir, Ala al-Nayef, Ala al-Manfa, Tarki al-Zafir, Ala al-Hamid, al-Fayaziyeh, Sarsar Hayef and Taha al-Bu Wasma villages in Western Salahuddin.
Scores of terrorists were killed and injured in tough battle with the Iraqi army and volunteer forces.
In a relevant development earlier today, the Iraqi army and volunteer forces had captured three strategic regions near the city of Samarra.
The Iraqi joint forces took full control over Um al-Tus, al-Bukadod and al-Shananeh villages to the West of Samarra city.
Scores of militants were killed and wounded in fierce clashes with the Iraqi army and volunteer forces near Samarra city.
Also today, Iraqi volunteer forces voiced their readiness to seize back two key regions in Salahuddin province.
"The volunteer forces will begin their military operations to take control of the strategic Sharqat and al-Sarsar regions in Salahuddin province," Iraqi volunteer forces commanders said.
Al-Sarsar region is located to the West of Samarra and to the North of Ramadi city. This highly strategic region links several Iraqi provinces to each other.
Meantime, the Iraqi forces are purging terrorists from more areas in the Southwestern part of Kirkuk to pave the way to Sharqat region in the Northern part of Salahuddin, the popular commanders added.
The Iraqi volunteer forces' commanders reiterated that their next objective will be capturing Fallujah city after taking full control of more strategic regions in Salahuddin province.
On Tuesday, the Iraqi and volunteer forces made considerable advances in the Western part of Salahuddin province just hours after they started their Samarra operations.
The Iraqi forces started moving towards Samarra region from the Western part of al-Siniya town, al-Salam village, Spiker region, Tikrit Island, Mokshefiya and Samarra Island.
Meantime, a group of volunteer forces attacked the ISIL's military positions in Samarra region, destroying nine military vehicles of the Takfiri terrorists and killing several of their snipers.
Also on Tuesday, the Iraqi army and volunteer forces started their massive operations against the ISIL terrorist group in Samarra region.
The Iraqi joint operations command center confirmed the beginning of new operations against the ISIL militants in Samarra.
In a relevant development on Monday, a senior commander of Iraqi volunteer forces disclosed that his forces have thwarted the ISIL's toughest attacks on strategic heights in Salahuddin province.
Spacecraft carrying 3 cosmonauts successfully lands in Kazakhstan
http://tass.ru/en/science/860088
Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, US astronaut Scott Kelly and spacecraft commander Sergey Volkov returned to Earth from the International Space Station.
The Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, US astronaut Scott Kelly and spacecraft commander Sergey Volkov has successfully landed in Kazakhstan, Moscow-based Mission Control Center told TASS on Wednesday.
"The spacecraft has landed," the center said.
Russia’s Roscosmos state corporation earlier said Kelly and Kornienko, who spent 11 months at the International Space Station (ISS), would exit the capsule themselves thus imitating landing on Mars where no search and recovery teams will meet them, however they failed to leave it without any outside help.
"Specialists of the search evacuation service helped the cosmonauts to get out of the capsule," the center said.
Volkov, who spent 182 days aboard the ISS, was the first crew member to be evacuated from the capsule, followed by Kelly and Kornienko.
Weather conditions in Kazakhstan’s steppe were ideal for evacuation, said Grigory Melekhov, who heads a search and rescue unit and paratroopers service in the central military district.
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941211000689
The Syrian army captured a terrorist of the notorious Turkish nationalist organization, the Grey Wolves, who had played a role in the killing of one of the pilots of Russia's Su-24 bomber which was downed by Turkey's Air Force on November 24, 2015.
"The captured terrorist was among the first group of militants who arrived at the Su-24 crash scene on November 24, killing one of the pilots and stealing his personal belongings," the Arabic service of Russia Today news channel reported.
Russia's Su-24 bomber with two pilots onboard was shot down by the Turkish Air Force on November 24, 2015.
The crew of the Su-24 bomber managed to eject but one of the pilots, Oleg Peshkov, was killed by gunfire from the ground. The second pilot, Konstantin Murakhtin, was rescued and taken to the Russian air base.
In late December, leader of the Turkish nationalist organization, the Grey Wolves Alparslan Celik claimed responsibility for killing the pilot of the downed Russian bomber.
In an interview with Turkey's Hurriyet newspaper in late December, Celik openly admitted that he had directly taken part in the murder of the Russian pilot. Moscow had repeatedly called on Ankara to find and detain Celik.
Ankara made no moves to detain Celik, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov said at the time.
"Turkish authorities have taken no steps to detain him (Celik). He appears in TV programs and a number of newspapers have published his interview so Mr. Celik walks freely in Turkey," Karlov told the Rossiya 24 TV channel.
Russia moves extra drones, radars to Syria to monitor truce
http://tass.ru/en/defense/859934
Russia has created a system for full monitoring of the conflict zone situation
The Russian Defense Ministry has redeployed to the Hmeimim air base in Syria three drone complexes and two radars, the ministry’s press-service said.
"Over the past three days the Russian Defense Ministry has redeployed to Hmeimim three advanced complexes equipped with drones and two radars capable of identifying small targets and of exposing the use of artillery systems by terrorists," says a news release obtained by TASS.
In order to spot the positions of multiple rocket launchers, artillery pieces and mortars being used by truce abusers "two sets of artillery instrumental reconnaissance have been delivered to Syria and deployed there."
According to the ministry, Russia has created a system for full monitoring of the conflict zone situation.
"In order to strengthen control over the regime of the cessation of hostilities in Syrian territory the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation have created a system for the full monitoring of the situation in the conflict zone. Drones, a grouping of satellites and other technical reconnaissance equipment are used in the control," the ministry said.
"The airspace control is exercised by radio-technical facilities of the air defense systems, including Syrian systems and aviation of the Russian Aerospace Forces," the press service said.
The ceasefire regime between the Syrian government forces and armed opposition groups came into force from 00:00 (01:00, Moscow time) on February 27. Ceasefire is not applicable to terrorist groups Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra.
An hour before the ceasefire came into force, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution in support of cessation of hostilities in Syria. The document was initiated by Russia and the United States and won support from all the 15 members of the United Nations Security Council. United Nations Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, told a briefing after the United Nations Security Council meeting that 97 armed groups in Syria had accepted the ceasefire terms.
According to the Russian military, the ceasefire regime in generally observed, but 15 violations of the regime have been recorded over the past 24 hours alone.
US to work through nuclear attacks at Russian borders
http://www.pravdareport.com/news/world/europe/01-03-2016/133689-norway-0/
The US strategic bombers B-52 will work through nuclear strike attacks under the NATO drills Cold Response in Norway. Three bombers set off on 1 March from the Spanish airbase Moron, where they had been dispatched from the continental part of the US. Delegations of the exercises' member-countries will observe acts of the bombers. According to the local media, they should have arrived in the town of Namsos at 11a.m. London time. Noteworthy, that B-52 will carry out a range of flights from the airbase in Spain to conduct exercises in the territory of the Norwegian region Trøndelag. The American Air Force Times believes that involvement of bombers of such a level aims at the US support of its NATO allies to defend them from the Russian 'aggression'. The drills will be conducted till 9 March.
(Note - Next Total Solar Eclipse Takes Place On March 8th.)
ISIL Relocates Iraqi Prisoners to Syria's Raqqa, Executes Large Numbers in Iraq
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941212001241
The Iraqi prisoners who are under ISIL captivity have been transferred from the city of Mosul in Iraq's Nineveh province to Raqqa and Deir Ezzur in Syria while scores of others have been executed by the Takfiri terrorist group, sources disclosed on Wednesday.
"The ISIL has executed a large number of its prisoners in Mosul city and taken some others to unknown destinations in Raqqa and Deir Ezzur provinces," an Iraqi security agent told FNA this morning.
The executed Iraqi prisoners have been thrown into a well in the Eastern part of Mosul, known as al-Houta, he said.
The ISIL move came as the Iraqi army is preparing for military operations to win back full control of Mosul city.
In a relevant development on Monday, the ISIL terrorists executed scores of residents of the city of Mosul in Nineveh province on treason charges.
A sum of 35 of Mosul residents were shot dead by the ISIL for spying and treason in al-Qazlani military base in the Western part of Mosul on Sunday, the Arabic-language al-Sumeria news website quoted an unnamed Iraqi security source as saying on Monday.
Earlier today, Head of Iraqi Awakening Councils Wissam al-Hardan disclosed that the ISIL has killed a large number of Fallujah citizens for the fear of their imminent uprising as the country's army and volunteer forces are preparing for large-scale military operations to win back the city in Anbar province.
"The ISIL executed many Fallujah residents who are fed up with the Takfiri terrorist group over the past two weeks," al-Hardan told FNA.
He underlined that the psychological pressures exerted on the tribes and citizens in Fallujah is to such an extent that they prefer to die rather than stay under the ISIL's yoke.
Al-Hardan reiterated that the people of Fallujah have carried out several retaliatory measures against the ISIL.
EXCLUSIVE: Iraqi Volunteer Forces Seize Back 9 More Key Villages Near Samarra
http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13941212001294
The Iraqi volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) backed by the country's army won back nine more strategic villages in the Western part of Salahuddin province.
The Takfiri terrorists were purged from Al-Awaqeleh, Um Jahir, Ala al-Nayef, Ala al-Manfa, Tarki al-Zafir, Ala al-Hamid, al-Fayaziyeh, Sarsar Hayef and Taha al-Bu Wasma villages in Western Salahuddin.
Scores of terrorists were killed and injured in tough battle with the Iraqi army and volunteer forces.
In a relevant development earlier today, the Iraqi army and volunteer forces had captured three strategic regions near the city of Samarra.
The Iraqi joint forces took full control over Um al-Tus, al-Bukadod and al-Shananeh villages to the West of Samarra city.
Scores of militants were killed and wounded in fierce clashes with the Iraqi army and volunteer forces near Samarra city.
Also today, Iraqi volunteer forces voiced their readiness to seize back two key regions in Salahuddin province.
"The volunteer forces will begin their military operations to take control of the strategic Sharqat and al-Sarsar regions in Salahuddin province," Iraqi volunteer forces commanders said.
Al-Sarsar region is located to the West of Samarra and to the North of Ramadi city. This highly strategic region links several Iraqi provinces to each other.
Meantime, the Iraqi forces are purging terrorists from more areas in the Southwestern part of Kirkuk to pave the way to Sharqat region in the Northern part of Salahuddin, the popular commanders added.
The Iraqi volunteer forces' commanders reiterated that their next objective will be capturing Fallujah city after taking full control of more strategic regions in Salahuddin province.
On Tuesday, the Iraqi and volunteer forces made considerable advances in the Western part of Salahuddin province just hours after they started their Samarra operations.
The Iraqi forces started moving towards Samarra region from the Western part of al-Siniya town, al-Salam village, Spiker region, Tikrit Island, Mokshefiya and Samarra Island.
Meantime, a group of volunteer forces attacked the ISIL's military positions in Samarra region, destroying nine military vehicles of the Takfiri terrorists and killing several of their snipers.
Also on Tuesday, the Iraqi army and volunteer forces started their massive operations against the ISIL terrorist group in Samarra region.
The Iraqi joint operations command center confirmed the beginning of new operations against the ISIL militants in Samarra.
In a relevant development on Monday, a senior commander of Iraqi volunteer forces disclosed that his forces have thwarted the ISIL's toughest attacks on strategic heights in Salahuddin province.
Spacecraft carrying 3 cosmonauts successfully lands in Kazakhstan
http://tass.ru/en/science/860088
Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, US astronaut Scott Kelly and spacecraft commander Sergey Volkov returned to Earth from the International Space Station.
The Soyuz TMA-18M spacecraft carrying Russian cosmonaut Mikhail Kornienko, US astronaut Scott Kelly and spacecraft commander Sergey Volkov has successfully landed in Kazakhstan, Moscow-based Mission Control Center told TASS on Wednesday.
"The spacecraft has landed," the center said.
Russia’s Roscosmos state corporation earlier said Kelly and Kornienko, who spent 11 months at the International Space Station (ISS), would exit the capsule themselves thus imitating landing on Mars where no search and recovery teams will meet them, however they failed to leave it without any outside help.
"Specialists of the search evacuation service helped the cosmonauts to get out of the capsule," the center said.
Volkov, who spent 182 days aboard the ISS, was the first crew member to be evacuated from the capsule, followed by Kelly and Kornienko.
Weather conditions in Kazakhstan’s steppe were ideal for evacuation, said Grigory Melekhov, who heads a search and rescue unit and paratroopers service in the central military district.
angelburst29
The Living Force
anka said:
Interesting .... SANA News Agency seems to be the initial report and other news outlets (Reuters, U.S. Today, CBS, UK Daily Mirror) have repeated the report. Nothing yet in Sputnik or Fars News.
Nothing on RT News?
https://www.rt.com/politics/
Power goes out in all provinces
http://sana.sy/en/?p=71136
Damascus, SANA – The Ministry of Electricity announced on Thursday a sudden power outage to all the provinces.
A source at the Ministry said maintenance teams are working to identify the causes of the outage and fix them in order to restore electricity as quickly as possible.
In a relevant context, the Syrian Telecommunications Establishment said internet service is back after a fault that earlier caused a partial outage to all the provinces has been fixed.
H. Said
I did come across this:
_https://twitter.com/michaelh992/status/705384697854103552/photo/1
Before the blackout, the #Syrian Electricity Ministry reported that mortars impacted Zara power station in Hama.
The Zara power station is right next to the opposition-held town of Hirbnafsah that was heavily shelled during the past days #Syria.
angelburst29 said:
There's a short article in Spanish Sputnik that says:
http://mundo.sputniknews.com/orientemedio/20160303/1057324873/hama-centrales-electricas-ataque.html
http://es.sott.net/article/44742-Centrales-electricas-en-la-provincia-siria-de-Hama-fueron-atacadas-por-los-terroristas
[Quick translation]
