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

[angelburst29]

Evidence Points to the CIA Targeting Assad, Not Daesh in Syria
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160414/1038026738/cia-syria-rebels-daesh-assad.html

Washington has jumped at the opportunity to provide massive amounts of weapons to Syria's so-called moderate rebels amid the ongoing ceasefire; it seems that the White House is not bothered by the fact that half of its arms have found their way into the hands of al-Qaeda, Ron Paul and Daniel McAdams note.

The Syrian ceasefire is hanging in the balance, former Republican congressman Ron Paul and political analyst Daniel McAdams note in their Liberty Report; however, Washington continues to push ahead with its military program aimed at training and arming the so-called Syrian rebels.

To complicate matters further, there is enough evidence that the moderates have repeatedly teamed up with al-Qaeda affiliate al-Nusra Front on the ground, calling it a "marriage of necessity."

Even State Department spokesman Mark Toner has recognized that "there is some co-mingling" of al-Qaeda militants and the US-backed Syrian rebels.

Commenting on the issue, Daniel McAdams, the Executive Director of the Ron Paul Institute for Peace and Prosperity, referred to the Wall Street Journal article that shed some light on Washington's plans to send various types of anti-aircraft weapons to Syrian rebels.

"Throughout this ceasefire the US is taking the opportunity to provide a lot of arms to the so-called moderates — three thousand tons by one estimate. But the logic is insane: [these arms] only will be available if the ceasefire fails. That is like telling a kid: 'You only get a cookie if you don't eat your broccoli'," McAdams noted.

But what looks even more suspicious is that the CIA has been supplying advanced anti-tank and anti-aircraft systems to the Syrian rebels. There is no doubt that these types of weapons are primarily aimed against Bashar al-Assad's tanks and aircraft, not at Daesh's Toyota trucks.

"The CIA agenda is definitely not anti-ISIS [Daesh], it's primarily anti-Assad. And I think that is evident by the kinds of weapons they provided. They provided TOW missiles which are only effective against the Syrian government's tanks. The Manpads, the shoulder fired missiles, which shot down two Syrian Air Force planes over the past couple of weeks. And even the Soviet-era "Grad" rockets, which are used to fight against the Syrian [Arab] Army. So, the types of weapons, I think, tell us a lot about what the CIA is focused on," McAdams remarked.

Therefore, the CIA is turning a blind eye to the fact that the Syrian rebels and al-Nusra Front's terrorists are "co-mingled."

There is yet another issue that prompts concern: it seems that the CIA and the Pentagon have two different agendas regarding Syria.

To add to the confusion, the CIA is supporting one faction of the Syrian rebels, while the Pentagon is backing another group of fighters. It turns out that in February, 2016 the CIA-armed group Knights of Righteousness was attacked by the Pentagon-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in Syria. "One hand of our government does not even know what the other hand is doing," Dr. Ron Paul noted.

The former US congressman expressed his concerns regarding Washington's unstoppable militarism in the region.

"What if what we are doing is making things worse — worse for us, worse for the people, worse for the cause of peace?" Paul asked.

However, this question remains largely neglected by the US policymakers. The lessons of the past remain unlearnt and what Washington is doing right now in Syria and Iraq is "the reactivation of the militarism," he stressed.

The former Republican congressman emphasized that while pursuing the idea of regime change overseas, the US establishment is not bothered by the fact that the nations' current governments may be better than anything Washington is going to suggest.

"We are sending more weapons in [Syria] because the foreign policy remains the same: it is a militant foreign policy of intervention, it's based on the assumption that we are responsible for the world at large, that we are policemen of the world, and chaos would break out if we weren't there to bring about order. And all you have to do is look at history and look at the Middle East, chaos, you know, follows our interventions," Paul underscored.

The former owner of two defense contracting businesses was jailed for four years and nine months for conspiring to send sensitive military technical data to India, the US Department of Justice said in a press release on Thursday.

US Defense Contractor Jailed for Sending Military Tech to India
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160414/1038033971/us-defense-contractor-india.html

From June 2010 to December 2012, Robert conspired to export to India defense technical drawings including parts used in the torpedo systems for nuclear submarines, military attack helicopters and F-15 fighter jets, the release stated.

"Hannah Robert, 50, of North Brunswick, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty… to conspiracy to violate the Arms Export Control Act by exporting to India military technical drawings without prior approval of the US Department of State," the release stated.

Robert circumvented the US government and provided export-controlled technical data related to various types of military technology to an individual in India, Assistant US Attorney General for National Security John Carlin said in the release.

"Hannah Robert conspired to send to another country thousands of technical drawings of defense hardware items and sensitive military data," US Attorney Paul Fishman added.

Pentagon officials are reacting with their usual fury at the “unprofessional” behavior of the Russian military today, claiming a “simulated attack” by Russian “attack aircraft,” which sailors conceded were a pair of Russian Su-24 aircraft that were visibly unarmed.

Pentagon Officials Furious At Russian Military, But Su-24 Russian Aircraft Were Visibly Unarmed
http://novorossia.today/pentagon-officials-furious-russian-military-su-24-russian-aircraft-visibly-unarmed/

Pentagon officials say the move violates a 1973 treaty between the US and Soviet Union about overflight of warships. The planes flew within 30 feet of the USS Donald Cook, a missile destroyer parked in international water off the coast of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad.

The US has been adding to the number of troops and warships built up around Kaliningrad, along with the rest of the Russian border with NATO member nations. Officially, the excuse is “Russian aggression,” citing the civil war in Ukraine, which Russia brokered a ceasefire to more than a year ago. The US buildup continues.

The 1973 treaty with the Soviets bars “simulating attacks” and dropping hazardous objects near ships. It is likely arguable that flying unarmed planes near a ship is not necessarily a “simulated attack.”

U.S. Navy ship encounters aggressive Russian aircraft in Baltic Sea DSC 0015
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e-pLgvJULOM
And here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HhuFosOM7mU

Published on Apr 14, 2016

Headquarters, United States European Command
Media Operations Division

US Secretary of State John Kerry will raise with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov the recent Russian military aircraft overflight of a US ship, which Kerry found alarming and needlessly provocative, US Department of State spokesperson John Kirby said in on Thursday.

Kerry to Raise 'Alarming' Russian Aircraft Flyover With Lavrov - US DOS
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160414/1038032433/kerry-russian-jets-overflights.html

Two Russian Su-24 bombers jets flew over the US Navy destroyer Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea in manner that resembled an attack and ignored safety advisories, US European Command said in a press release on Wednesday.

USS Donald Cook operating in the Baltic Sea experienced several close interactions by Russian aircraft on April 11 and 12, according to EUCOM.

"The Secretary [Kerry] was alarmed at seeing the imagery and the reports of these [Russian] overflights, these passes on the USS Donald Cook," Kirby stated. "He found it unprofessional, needlessly provocative and indeed dangerous. He will raise it directly with Foreign Minister Lavrov."

 

[angelburst29]

Syrian Elections 2016: US, NATO Criminals, Liars & Hypocrites’ Failed Attempt to Deny the Will of the Syrian People (Photos)
http://21stcenturywire.com/2016/04/14/syrian-elections-2016-us-nato-criminals-liars-and-hypocrites-failed-attempt-to-deny-the-will-of-the-syrian-people/

Yesterday Parliamentary elections were held in Syria. 7000 polling booths were opened across the country. 11, 341 candidates were proposed from across Syria with 250 to be elected to Parliament, including a number of female candidates.

Candidates were spread out as follows: 988 in Damascus, 817 in Damascus countryside, Aleppo 1437, in Aleppo regions 1048, In Idleb 386, in Homs 1800, Hama 700, Lattakia 1653, Tartous 634, Deir Ezzor 311, Hasaka 546, Raqqa 197, Daraa 321, Sweida 263 and in Quneitra 240

Voting centres opened at 7.30 am and were obliged to extend their sessions by five hours to accommodate the high turn out of voters.

“The voting centers include over 2,000 centers in Damascus, 17 in Deir Ezzor, 1,047 in Lattakia, 661 in Homs, 347 in Sweida, 741 in Hama, 368 in Hasaka, 816 in Tartous, and 347 in Sweida are receiving voters.

It should be noted that voting centers were opened in Damascus, Damascus Countryside, Hama, Lattakia, Aleppo, Tartous, Hasaka, and Deir Ezzor to receive voters staying in these provinces who are originally from other areas, namely the provinces of Idleb, Raqqa, Aleppo, Deir Ezzor, and Daraa.” ~ SANA

So contrary to spurious claims from western governments and media, efforts were made to open the voting to all Syrian civilians including those who have fled terrorists held areas. We must also bear in mind that over 90% of IDPs [Internally displaced persons] have fled to Government controlled areas, thus further discrediting claims that these elections are non representative.

On an equally positive note, of course ignored in the western and gulf media, 1.7 million of these internally displaced refugees have been able to return home thanks not only to the SAA [Syrian Arab Army] liberation of whole swathes of Syrian villages and towns from US NATO terrorist occupation but also due to the Syrian Governments laudable efforts to rebuild and restore infrastructure in these areas. (Article continues.)

 

[LQB]

This is a bit late in response but I do find Joseph Farrell to be mirroring a lot of what the sessions are saying. Either he is using our material or he is tuning into some very "accurate" stuff when "convenient". I have checked some of his other YouTube videos or videos that he is the lecturer and he is very interesting to say the least.

JPF usually does a pretty good job of referencing the material he talks/writes about. From my communications with him, I know that he is aware of Laura's work and has respect for it. He has written many (interesting) books - central themes revolve around tracing Elite/Nazi influence through to today's world. He's a good researcher and has developed a good (healthy) sense of humor. He admits very freely of going out on a limb often with his speculations. He does have one foot in the camp with Catherine Fitts (and others) on the "breakaway civilization".

Yes, I've got some of his books and he's pretty good. And yes, he goes out on a limb... I don't like to do that.

Here's a good example in JPF's latest video newsletter:

http://<iframe width="702" height="...7w" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Six civilians killed during shelling of Syria’s Aleppo and Handrat by militants - Russia

http://tass.ru/en/politics/869916

The center also reported that a detachment of over 150 militants arrived at the northeast of the Latakia Governorate from Turkish territory

MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. Militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist organization keep shelling inhabited localities and positions of the Syrian government troops to disrupt the ceasefire in the Syrian governorate of Aleppo, the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring sides in Syria said in a news bulletin posted on the Russian Defense Ministry’s website.

"In the northwest of the city of Aleppo, after mortar shelling by militants of the Jabhat al-Nusra terrorist group on April 13 there were two attempts of offensive on the positions of the pro-government forces in the Sheikh Maqsood neighborhood," the news bulletin said.

"The districts of Az-Zagra, Er-Rashidin and the locality of Handrat came under fire with the use of multiple launch rocket systems," it said. "As a result of shelling, six civilians were killed and 12 received wounds of varying severity."

Besides, in the morning of April 14, Jabhat al-Nusra detachments with the strength of up to 400 people supported by tanks and infantry combat vehicles after mass shelling from artillery and mortars launched an offensive on the positions of government troops in the locality of Handrat.

The center also reported that a detachment of over 150 militants arrived at the northeast of the Latakia Governorate from Turkish territory.

On the whole, the regime of cessation of fire has been observed in most Syrian governorates. Four violations have been registered over the past day in Latakia.

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

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

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

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

Syrian politician: Antiterror efforts near Aleppo won't hinder political settlement

http://tass.ru/en/world/869919

GENEVA, April 15. /TASS/. The fight against terrorists near the city of Aleppo will not hinder the political process in Syria, Qadri Jamil, a leader of Syria’s Popular Front for Change and Liberation and a representative of the Syrian oppositional "Moscow platform" (posing at the talks within the framework of the Moscow-Cairo Group), said.

Jamil commented, on a TASS request, on the words of Russian President Vladimir Putin on the situation in that Syrian region.

During his annual televised Q&A session officially known as "The Direct Line with Vladimir Putin" on Thursday, the Russian leader noted the complicated situation around Aleppo.

Putin said the groups fighting in Aleppo "make attempts to improve their situation", whereas the Syrian army "does not need to improve its positions."

"I think the concern of President Putin is justified. I think the speeding up of a political solution will lead to the resolution of difficulties not only near Aleppo, this is a main line that will make it possible to solve problems across Syria," Jamil said.

"But it should be remembered that the United Nations Security Council resolution envisions, along with the political process, the fight against terrorists, while Jabhat al-Nusra are terrorists," he said. "So I think the fight against terrorists and the political process may proceed simultaneously."

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

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

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

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

Churkin urged to block the Turkish-Syrian border, and an embargo against IG

http://www.interfax.ru/world/503881

Russia's permanent representative at the UN spoke about the readiness of some countries to use terrorists for political manipulation

Moscow. April 15. INTERFAX.RU - Russia's permanent representative to the UN Vitaly Churkin considers necessary to enter the full economic and trade embargo against LIH group (IG, banned in Russia), as well as to block the Turkish-Syrian border, reports the UN News Center.

"The largest volume of exported oil products LIH, artefacts and other goods from the territories controlled by this group is still being implemented across Turkey with its connivance or inaction," - said Churkin, speaking on Thursday at a meeting of the UN Security Council on terrorism.

According to him, "across the border of this country (Turkey - IF) with Iraq, and in particular with Syria, and are the main transit routes for foreign terrorists, militants and arms supplies, much of which goes to the terrorists."

In addition, he noted that "the willingness of some countries to use terrorists and extremists as a means of influencing the legal government," double standards "in the radical action assessments ultimately led to binge such groups as LIH and" Dzhebhat en-Nusra "(prohibited in Russian). "

"These" double standards "are evident and in the implementation of anti-terrorism Security Council decisions", - the Russian diplomat said.

"In this regard, we consider relevant the question of overlap in the anti-terrorism to the Turkish-Syrian border," - said Churkin.

He added that "it would be necessary also to think about introducing a comprehensive economic and trade embargo against LIH".

Permanent Representative of the Russian Federation to the United Nations also expressed concern that militants of various radical groups only in 2016 several times used the toxic chemical agents.

"It is known, for example, the use of mustard gas LIH in Deir ez-Zor," - said Churkin.

He stressed that Russia has long expressed concern that terrorist groups, a tool in the Middle East region, have acquired considerable potential for fighting with poisonous substances.

"In this regard, yesterday, together with our Chinese partners, we have made to the draft resolution, the Security Council, confirmed the anti-terrorism mandate for the Joint OPCW-UN mechanism to investigate incidents of chemical weapons in Syria, established by resolution 2235. We look forward to its early adoption," - added Churkin.

 

[angelburst29]

The "color revolution" world tour
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/04/the-color-revolution-world-tour.html

"The Cold War, from its origin to the end of World War II to this day, has never stopped"

There was a time when I wrote that we were in a Second Cold War. There was also a time when I, like many others, looked upon the fall of the Soviet Union as a great victory for peace.

There is much to say yet about the USSR, certainly the giant had long since been a "dead man walking," frozen, paralyzed, and cornered by a race against the great American enemy, a competition which ended in the complete destruction of a system which was no longer viable neither knowing how to resist the onslaught of the West over time, or how to reform to find the resources to continue the fight some other way. No matter how far from me the idea of a nostalgia that I never had for the defunct union, the fact of the matter is that the cold war never stopped.

It should have.

A documentary from 11 years ago sheds much light on what has been happening in Ukraine and Europe from an American offensive that looks like an overall plan that the CIA developed probably in the early 2000s. For the collapse of the Soviet Union didn't mean peace, far from it. The 2005 film "The US: for the conquest of the East" is a good tool for understanding the mindset of the US deep government and the CIA at the time.

In a very relaxed and open manner, participants clearly explain US plans to destabilize an entire sequence of regimes, all in the backyard of the Russian Federation and with the ultimate aim being Russia itself. an orange T-shirt, the film shows the revolutions already accomplished and those yet to accomplish, from Belarus, on to Russia, and the countries of Central Asia.

The nonchalance of the participants is disturbing, an American publisher in Kyrgyzstan, a known CIA agent who is behind a revolution organized by the US, passing among activists on the American dole with a large-scale very select menu of several countries with revolutions achieved and those still to come.

Amid unabashed laughter, it's a question of methods, symbols, choosing a color, contamination of the People, especially the young people born after the fall of the Berlin Wall, with unlimited funding by the United States, the money that will flow, the tomorrows that will sing.

All this is alarming because of a great cynicism, notably about the human cost. Certainly, to arrange the "democratic" cause, the CIA officers say they must find the ways and means to engage these muffled and almost game-like revolutions. But all told, it sounds very false; many a time, the cameras are cut, and the participants get annoyed.

Manon Loiseau, the person who shot the film, is a journalist, a watchdog faithful to the system, Russian-speaking, but committed to fighting Russia, she has a series of Russophobic and anti-Putin documentaries. If Russia is mentioned as objective, the devil to be eliminated throughout her productions is Vladimir Putin. It is a veritable business, with eight films between 1996 and 2014 produced to attack Russia, stooping to such propaganda as her 2009 Serial Murders in the Land of Putin [ Meurtres en série au pays de Poutine].

There will be of course no movies about the serial murders of politicians and journalists in Ukraine ... [This translation here omits a paragraph on the credentials and prizes of the film maker].

The end of the documentary clearly announces the final target: destroy Russia. Yet it falls within the tragicomic, focusing on a group of activists funded by the United States via the famous NGOs with their more or less grandiloquent names. We have here 300 protesters who make the public weep and the director noting full face, that hundreds of thousands, millions of Russians firmly await the "democratic" vanguard of the United States. And there is the comic also clumsy appearance of Saakashvili asking Bruce Jackson whether he's said anything stupid ... we know the rest.

The result is that after successful revolutions in Serbia, Slovakia, Ukraine, Kyrgyzstan and Georgia -- most of them stalled out,
demonstrating that there hasn't been any democracy that has come in to replace the "dictatorships" but only that they have put in power men, oligarchs, and paid agents of the United States. This is how these color revolutions end up that stir the hearts of Western audiences to reprise these violent events funded with billions of dollars, as we have seen in Syria and in Ukraine.

The plans have collapsed. Georgia was a damp petard against Russia, and it fizzled into 2008, ending up in the absolute hatred of the majority of his people against Saakashvili.

They had to revert to the techniques of another age for the Orange Revolution Ukraine to be devastated thoroughly by the Brown Maidan in violence and war, the Ukrainian people failing to realize that the paradise, generously offered by the United States, was not an option, but an obligation.

The Cold War, from its origin to the end of World War II to this day has never stopped. The US could not act concretely in Russia after the Soviet Union's fall, hoping to guide the elites who had overthrown the old system -- they were disappointed by the unexpected arrival of a certain Vladimir Putin.

For this documentary where the Americans say unvarnished truth, it is certain that through Yugoslavia, the Balkans, Ukraine to Central Asia, the great struggle continues relentlessly: the US wants the fall of Russia, and some in this film seem to gloat and rejoice, smiles on their faces. ... It was the sale of the skin of the Russian bear -- before killing the bear. I judge you and wish you a good viewing.

Among those actively working for the ruin of of Russia, the CIA agent cited less than others, there is one Bruce Pitcairn Jackson.

Born in 1952, founder and president for the CIA's POTD project and NGOs that help the "democratic" transitions in the world with coups de dollars and American intentions. Note that the organization is also a platform and a rear base for the means to implement the integration of all the countries "pacified" into NATO. Intelligence officer in the US Army from 1979 to 1990, he joined a New York bank that year, Lehman Brothers, while from 1993 until 2002, Vice President for Strategy and Planning activities of the US monster Lockheed Martin Corporation (the first global company in the field of defense and security, 45 600 million, please, designer of the F-16, 22 and 35 among others).

This pure creature of the American machine has held numerous positions, including the presidency of the US Committee on NATO, an organization funding the strengthening of ties between his country and Europe, probably at the origin of the push that saw Presidents Sarkozy and Hollande betray France by putting it back into the unified NATO command.

He has played an active role in disorder and revolutions and manipulations in Europe from 2004 as a member of the International Commission on the Balkans, on the board of an NGO, the We Remember Foundation working to destabilize the Belarus, but also the revolutions in many countries of Central Europe and the East.

He is one of the main figures behind the revolutions in Georgia (the end of 2003, as shown in the film associated with the article), Ukraine, Orange Revolution (2004), integration of Slovakia into NATO and the EU (March and May 2004), integration of the Czech Republic in the EU (May 2004), same for Lithuania, for Estonia and Latvia entering the NATO and the EU in the same year, in Kyrgyzstan the Tulip Revolution coup of 24 March 2005, the integration of Slovenia into the EU and NATO (2004), integration of Hungary and Poland in the EU (2004, already NATO members since 1999) integration of Romania and Bulgaria into NATO (2004) and the EU (2007), integration of Croatia into NATO (2009) and the EU (2013).

Among other manipulations the push for integration, by EU candidacy, of Macedonia (2004), Turkey (2005), Serbia (2009), Montenegro (2010), not to mention fomented unrest in Moldova (elections of April 2009) and an association agreement between that country and the EU signed in soft (June 2014) in exchange for its refusal to join the Eurasian Union, manipulated independence of Kosovo (2012) and of course in the Maidan in Ukraine (2013-2014), being also a man of the unspeakable Senator John McCain since 2008. He is known for his anti-Russian actions and sworn hostility also towards Russian President Vladimir Putin.

 

[angelburst29]

Moscow Fully Backs Russian MoD's Position on Incident With USS Donald Cook
http://sputniknews.com/world/20160415/1038055694/russia-us-incident-baltic.html

On Thursday, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the jets were holding planned training in the area of where the US warship was located and the flights were completed “in strict compliance with international laws on airspace over neutral waters.”

On Thursday, the US State Department said that State Secretary John Kerry would personally speak with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov about the incident.

"We condemn this kind of behavior. It is reckless. It is provocative. It is dangerous. And under the rules of engagement that could have been a shoot-down," Kerry said in an interview with CNN Espanol and the Miami Herald.

US officials are still on about yesterday’s incident, in which a pair of unarmed Russian jets flew within 30 feet of a US destroyer in the Baltic Sea, something US officials described as a “simulated attack” that proved Russia’s “unprofessional” nature.

Warmonger Kerry Declares Provocative And Insisted A Shoot Down Of Russian Jets !
http://novorossia.today/warmonger-kerry-declares-provocative-insisted-shoot-russian-jets/

Today, Secretary of State John Kerry declared the flights “provocative” and insisted the USS Donald Cook would’ve been well within its rights to shoot down the planes under the “rules of engagement” they are placed under.

Which is a stunning claim, since the USS Donald Cook is deployed in the peaceful Baltic, off the coast of the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad, and the US and Russia are not at war. That they have rules of engagement allowing them to unilaterally attack Russian aircraft at all seems unwise.

Russian Major General Igor Konashenkov says he is “baffled” by the US reaction, saying the Russian jets were operating well within their safety guidelines, and that the US freedom of navigation near a Russian naval base “does not at all cancel the principle of freedom of flight for Russian aircraft.”

The delegation that represents the official Syrian government at intra-Syrian talks arrived in Geneva to participate in a new round of negotiations.

Syrian Government Delegation Arrives in Geneva to Join Intra-Syria Talks
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160415/1038054574/syria-government-delegation.html

The delegation of the Syrian government led by Permanent Representative to the United Nations Bashar Jaafari arrived in Geneva on Friday to take part in a new round of intra-Syria talks, a Sputnik correspondent reported.

The delegation's plane landed in Geneva at 11:12 a.m. local time (09:12 GMT).

The arrival of the government's delegation means that all the participants of the talks gathered in the Swiss city. Later in the day, Jaafari is expected to meet with UN Special Envoy for Syria Staffan de Mistura, who held meetings in the past two days with the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee (HNC) delegation, as well as the Moscow-Cairo opposition group.

US Secretary of Defense Ash Carter today announced the US will be escalating its “regular rotations” of troops and warplanes into the Philippines, though despite a growing number of troops in the country at any given time, he insisted this was not an increased “permanent footprint.”

Escalating Tensions With China, U.S. Regime Sending Massive Troops To The Philippines
http://novorossia.today/escalating-tensions-china-u-s-regime-sending-massive-troops-philippines/

300 Air Force commandos, along with a number of additional US combat aircraft are heading to the Philippines this go around, with an eye on escalating tensions with China over maritime claims in the South China Sea.

Despite officials making no secret that the deployments directly target China, Carter insists they aren’t meant to provoke any sort of conflict with China, and that his policy is to “tamp down” tensions with them.

That’s difficult to claim credibly, with the US repeatedly making incursions into the airspace and waters around manmade Chinese islands in the South China Sea. Though such overflights are perfectly legal under international law, Pentagon officials seem to regularly make it a point to present such moves as being done to spite the Chinese government.

A sophisticated solar panel has been developed by a group of researchers from the Moscow-based National University of Science and Technology, according to information published on its website.

It's Time to Catch Some Rays: Russia Rolls Out Unique Solar Battery
http://sputniknews.com/russia/20160415/1038063858/russia-solar-battery-development.html

A group of researchers from the National University of Science and Technology (MISIS) in Moscow, in cooperation with their colleagues from the University of Texas at Dallas, managed to develop a flexible solar battery which is at least three times cheaper than its silicon analogues, the MISIS website reported.

Led by Professor Anvar Zakhidov, MISIS scientists created a thin-filmed photoelectric cell based on hybrid metal-organic compounds called perovskites, which in turn made it possible to hammer out an advanced solar battery, according to the website.

It said that "these perovskites can convert solar energy radiation into electric energy with a performance coefficient of more than 15 percent, and with a planned rate of 20 percent."

Before long, this new technology will give way to light, flexible, and cheap solar panels based on perovskites to be used for charging and powering a bevy of electronic devices, from tablets to buildings' electrical grids," the website said.

With the fragile silicon solar panels currently costing about 300 dollars per square meter, the estimated cost of perovskite solar panels will be less than 100 dollars per square meter.

During mass production of the solar batteries, this price difference is most likely to be increased by at least six times, scientists said, also pointing to toxic production of the silicon solar batteries.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

US asked to help stop the Russian offensive Syrian army in Aleppo

http://www.interfax.ru/world/504124

The White House believes that the activity of the government troops threatens truce

Moscow. April 16. INTERFAX.RU - Washington urged Russia to help bring an end to the offensive Syrian government forces involved in the armed opposition to the truce in Aleppo, reported http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-15/u-s-urges-russia-to-halt-assad-aleppo-offensive-as-truce-frays Saturday by Bloomberg, citing a source in the US State Department.

"The Obama administration has expressed serious concern in Russia, which took upon itself the obligation not to participate in military operations against the groups that are involved in the truce, said the State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity", - the report says.

According to the agency, "the United States asked the Russian Federation to help bring an end to the offensive of President Bashar Assad's forces in the opposition in Aleppo, warning at the same time, that such an offensive is increasingly jeopardizing entered into force nearly seven weeks ago the truce."

Bloomberg notes that the leaders of the opposition groups claim that in the area of ​​Aleppo against them has been fighting the Syrian government army.

The agency also reported that the Russian side said that military action is a response to the attacks of terrorist groups.

April 12 became known that the Syrian government forces launched an offensive against militants south of Aleppo. The army is trying to regain control of the strategically important town of Tel al-Ace.

In turn, the Russian Defense Ministry said that the holding of the storming of the city of Aleppo is planned. According to the military authorities, the terrorists are planning a large-scale offensive to cut the road linking Aleppo to Damascus.

Moscow says noted reports on arms supplies to Syria from Eastern Europe

http://tass.ru/en/politics/870162

The diplomats say the case in hand is AK-47 automatic assault rifles, RPK and DSK machineguns, ammunitions for 14.5 mm small arms and 82 mm mortars

MOSCOW, April 15. /TASS/. Russian Foreign Ministry has noted mass media reports suggesting that Syrian militants might be getting weaponry of Soviet manufacture from East-European countries.

"An intensification of the flows of contraband weaponry and shells across the Turkish-Syrian border has been registered," the ministry said in a commentary on Friday. "A number of international media have claimed a big consignment of Soviet-made weaponry has been dispatched to the Syrian militants from the depots in an East-European country."

The diplomats say the case in hand is AK-47 automatic assault rifles, RPK and DSK machineguns, ammunitions for 14.5 mm small arms and 82 mm mortars, and also rounds of ammunitions for antitank complexes meant for destroying targets with explosive reactive armor.

Russian reconciliation center: 3 tons of humanitarian cargoes delivered to Syria’s Meshera

http://tass.ru/en/world/870199

Most of these cargoes were food products

MOSCOW, April 16. /TASS/. Three tons of humanitarian cargoes have been delivered to the settlement of Meshera in Syria’s province of Homs, the Russian center for reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria said in a regular daily bulletin posted on the Russia’s defense ministry’s website on Friday.

Most of these cargoes were food products. According to the bulletin, the Russian center’s medics offered medical assistance to 28 local residents.

"Syria’s government has delivered 22 tons of food products to the city of Deir ez-Zor besieged by Islamic State gunmen with the help of Russian parachute platforms," the center said, adding that another humanitarian convoy is being formed for people temporarily living in camps for internally displaced persons in the province of Latakia.

A ceasefire regime brokered by Russia and the United States on February 22 officially came into effect in Syria at midnight Damascus time on February 27. This does not cover terrorist groups such as Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra, both outlawed in Russia, and other groups recognized as terrorist by the United Nations Security Council.

An hour before the ceasefire came into force, the United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution in support 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.

Majority of US Marine Corps jet fighters not airworthy: Report

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/16/461098/US-Marine-Corps-jets-decay/

A new report says some 70 percent of the US Marine Corps combat aircraft are not airworthy over years of wear and tear and maintenance costs.

The report by the Fox News television channel says out of 276 F/A-18 Hornet strike fighters in the US Marine Corps, only about 30 percent of the fleet are ready to fly.

Also, out of 147 heavy-lift Super Stallion helicopters, only 42 are operational.

Marine Corps officers at airbases in North and South Carolina told the channel pointed to several reasons in this regard, including years of service in Afghanistan and Iraq as well as military spending cuts.

The US invaded Afghanistan in 2001 to drive Taliban out of power. It then raided Iraq in 2003 to oust former dictator Saddam Hussein.

American combat aircraft have over the years suffered wear and tear and had little time to see renovation, noted the report.

Fox also said the US military spending was slashed from $691 billion in 2010 to $560 billion in 2015, thus contributing to Marine Corps fighter jets being grounded.

It said lack of money forced the Marines to seek unconditional ways to procure the needed parts for the planes. They were reduced to ‘cannibalizing’, or taking parts from one aircraft to get another one airborne.

This even led to the snatching of aircraft parts from museums in order to keep planes flying.

The report said many Marine Corps mechanics left their jobs as a result of cost-cutting measures and had to seek vacancies at the private sector.

 

[angelburst29]

Already involved in the Saudi war in Yemen, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the Obama Administration are in talks to launch a completely separate conflict in Yemen, this time focused against al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).

More Misery In Yemen As The Obama Regime, Blackwater And UAE Continue More Horror
http://novorossia.today/more-misery-in-yemen-as-the-obama-regime-along-with-blackwater-and-uae-will-continue/

Details are still scant, and US officials declined to offer specifics because of “operational security,” but the UAE has apparently sought US air support and logistics help for the offensive, knowing the administration is eager to go after AQAP.

While we don’t know who is doing the fighting, the smart money is on the UAE using their “second army,” a group of mostly Colombian mercenaries initially created by Blackwater founder Erik Prince, as the UAE has already been using these mercenaries in the other Yemen war.

AQAP holds considerable territory in Yemen, including virtually the whole Abyan Province and the major southern port of al-Mukallah. Ironically, though AQAP had some territory in Abyan before, the Saudi war, which both the US and UAE are involved in, was the opportunity by which AQAP gained much of its territory.

Russia is more dangerous than the Islamic State group, Poland’s Clown Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski told reporters Friday during a visit to Slovakia.

More Absurdity From Poland As Prime Minister Says Russia Is More Dangerous Than ISIS (Islamic State)
http://novorossia.today/absurdity-poland-prime-minister-says-russia-dangerous-isis-islamic-state/

“By all evidence, Russia’s activity is a sort of existential threat because this activity can destroy countries,” said Waszczykowski, who was speaking in a debate on the future of terrorist organization NATO at the annual Globsec security forum in Bratislava.

“We also have non-existential threats like terrorism, like the great waves of migrants,” he added, according to Poland’s PAP news agency.

He described the Islamic State group as a very serious threat but added that “it is not an existential threat for Europe”. ???

Waszczykowski also called for terrorist organization NATO to approve the deployment of troops on the alliance’s eastern border at its upcoming July summit due to be held in Warsaw.

“This will be a symbol of the determination to defend the eastern flank. We can discuss the scale of this deployment,” he said.

Czech Defence Minister Martin Stropnicky said at the conference that strengthening the alliance’s collective defence capability would be the main point on the agenda at the summer summit, while warning that Russia “should not be isolated”.

He added that Russia was actively “testing the defensive capabilities of NATO in the Baltic region” where a number of countries have come under pressure, the Czech CTK news agency reported.

Russia will use rare talks with NATO next week to protest the alliance’s “absolutely unjustified” military buildup in the Baltic states, Moscow’s ambassador to Brussels said Friday, adding the alliance was using the Ukraine crisis as a pretext.

The Russian and NATO ambassadors will meet in Brussels on April 20 for their first formal talks in nearly two years to discuss security issues, including the crisis in Ukraine where Moscow is accused of backing pro-Russian rebels against the pro-Western government in Kiev.

According to official UK Government statistics, only four airstrikes have been conducted by the Royal Air Force during March and the first week of April, despite the prime minister’s claims of a ‘vital’ role of the country in Syria.

Formidable Force? UK Commit Only Four Airstrikes In Syria In Five Weeks
http://sputniknews.com/military/20160417/1038141910/British-Air-Force-Four-Airstrikes.html

The United Kingdom Ministry of Defense posts monthly official statistics of airstrikes in Iraq and Syria since October 2014. According to its latest publication, only three or four air strikes took place during last five weeks. This is less than 14 strikes that took place in January or seven in February.

This barely corresponds to British Prime Minister David Cameron's claims that UK forces would play a "vital, battle-winning" role in the conflict.

Saudi authorities have threatened Obama administration to sell the US assets of the Kingdom to the sum of $ 750 billion if Congress approves the project, which allows to bring to justice the Saudi government for involvement in the September 11 attacks, the New York Times writes.

Saudis threatens Obama to sell all the US assets
http://katehon.com/news/saudis-threatens-obama-sell-all-us-assets

Foreign Minister of Saudi Arabia, Adel al-Dzhubeyr, according to the newspaper during his visit to Washington in March this year, warned American authorities saying that Saudi Arabia would be forced to sell securities and other assets worth up to $ 750 billion in the case of threat of frost American courts.

According to the publication, the Obama administration held talks with members of Congress and tried to persuade them to reject the bill because it threatens the country's diplomatic and economic relations with the Saudi Arabia, the key American ally in the region.

The Obama Administration has been lobbying Congress to block a bill that would allow Saudi Arabia’s government to be held accountable in American courts for any role it played in the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Obama Sides with Saudis, Opposes Bill to Release 9/11 Findings (Video)
http://sputniknews.com/us/20160416/1038136433/obama-sides-saudis-bill-release-911-findings.html

In addition to Obama's efforts to keep information about 9/11 confidential, Saudi Arabia has threatened to sell hundreds of billions of dollars worth of its American assets if Congress passes the bill. In recent weeks, administration officials have been warning lawmakers of the bill’s potential economic fallout.

The Obama Administration’s strict opposition to the 9/11 bill has left many family members of the terror attacks’ victims outraged.

The US Embassy in Pakistan issued a warning about a potential threat against the Marriott hotel in Islamabad, calling on US citizens to avoid the area.

US Embassy in Pakistan Warns of Potential Attack on Islamabad Hotel
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160417/1038142457/us-embassy-pakistan.html

Earlier in April, the US Department of State advised tourists and businessmen against traveling to Pakistan, citing the threat of militants who may be targeting US citizens amid terrorist violence in the country.

“The embassy is aware of a general but uncorroborated threat against the Marriott hotel in Islamabad. US citizens are advised to avoid the area for the next several days to allow time to assess the situation,” the statement posted on the embassy’s website on Saturday said.

The latest attack by Islamist extremists last month targeted Christian families who were celebrating Easter at a public park in the city of Lahore. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar, a breakaway faction of the Taliban militant group in Pakistan, claimed responsibility for the bombing that killed more over 70 people.

Thousands of people protested peacefully in the Macedonian capital late Friday on a fourth night of demonstrations against President Gjorge Ivanov’s decision to grant pardons that halted criminal proceedings against dozens of politicians, including a former prime minister, amid a wiretapping scandal.

Four Nights Of Protests As Demonstrators Demand Macedonian President Ivanov’s Resignation
http://novorossia.today/113676-2/

Protesters in Skopje in recent days have demanded Ivanov’s resignation. Five police officers and two others have been injured in clashes with police and 13 people arrested.

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier, chairman in office of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, expressed concern, saying the presidential pardon “damages the rule of law.”

The demonstrations come ahead of June 5 early general elections, called to resolve the months-long political crisis triggered by wiretapping and corruption scandals.

The opposition had accused Gruevski and his government of being behind a massive scandal in which 20,000 people were illegally wiretapped, including politicians, judges, police, journalists and diplomats. Gruevski has strenuously denied the claims and has accused opposition head Zoran Zaev of plotting a coup.

“Our position is clear, everybody who committed crimes has to be punished,” VMRO said. The Social Democrats are demanding Ivanov resign and reiterated they will boycott the June 5 elections, claiming there were no democratic conditions to hold a free and fair vote.

“This is a coup, the Constitution has been violated,” opposition leader Zoran Zaev told reporters Friday. He said the protests will be “intensified” and accused Gruevski of “preparing another election theft.”

Speaking during a live televised address to the nation, Ivanov said he would not change his decision to issue the pardons, saying he had done so in the interests of protecting national interests.

Investigations have been opened against government officials in the wiretapping scandal, including former ministers of the interior and transportation. They deny the charges.

The Czech Republic is poised to change its name to “Czechia” to make it easier for companies and sports teams to use it on products and clothing.

“CZECHIA” IF APPROVED BY PARLIAMENT WILL BE THE NEW NAME FOR CZECH REPUBLIC
http://novorossia.today/czechia-approved-parliament-will-new-name-czech-republic/

The country will retain its full name but Czechia will become the official short geographic name, as “France” is to “The French Republic”.

If approved by parliament, the name will be lodged with the United Nations.

Along with Slovakia, the Czech Republic was established when Czechoslovakia broke in two in 1993.

Some of the country’s best-known exports, including its Pilsner Urquell beer and ice hockey team, currently use the word “Czech”.

But “Czech” is an adjective and cannot properly be used as a name for the country.

Some have criticised “Czechia” as ugly, or too similar to “Chechnya”, the semi-autonomous Russian republic

Macedonian president Gjorge Ivanov in Tuesday cut the Gordian knot of the political paralysis in which the Republic of Macedonia and its citizens have been affected by for the last two years as a result of the “hybrid war” imposed by foreign structures in cooperation with the opposition SDSM party.

Will the West stop in Macedonia?
http://katehon.com/article/will-west-stop-macedonia

Ivanov announced that he will sign a decision to pardon all politicians who were charged, as a result of an investigation, not only by the Special prosecution office, created recently as a parallel structure of the State Prosecution office, but also the opposition politicians who are under criminal investigation by the State prosecution office.

He cancelled an investigation into claims of an abuse of power, which was revealed by published covert phone recordings. The leaked recordings said that the major political crisis in Macedonia is in favor of foreign interests. He explained that he wanted to "put an end to the agony" ahead of the early elections in June. Ivanov stressed that the induced political crisis was not in the interests of Macedonia, but in interests of foreign entities. The representatives of the international community were visting the Macedonian courts to pressure the judges, behaving as if they are governors of the country, , he said. He stressed that it is illegal to record the phone calls of top politicians, journalists, businessman, intellectuals, and to give illegal material to someone for political blackmailing. One year ago, the SDSM opposition party started publishing the so-called “bombs” - secretly taped private telephone calls of the top Governmental politicians from VMRO-DPMNE party. The Special prosecution office was created with the help of the Western protagonists, which so far have only prosecuted the people from the party in power.

This imposed political instability is actually a foreign plan to destabilize the country and to fulfill a final goal – to change the name of Macedonia. Why it is so important for the West to force the Macedonians to change their name and identity is a kind of enigma because there is no such an example in human history. The SDSM is very cooperative with the West in this question and they hope once they put them in power again, so they can finish the process that was started 100 years ago when Macedonia and Macedonians were first divided between neighboring countries.

Thus, President Ivanov disables the “Umbrella” over Macedonia made by the followers of Leo Strauss - a philosopher who created the “Chaos Theory”. The foreign agents “masked” as diplomats of Western countries have been working on the ground in the Republic of Macedonia using a powerful weapon of psychological warfare against the Macedonian citizens, keeping them in permanent stress and fear about their future. These leading figures are followed by domestic “sorosoidi” making a kind of “Umbrella” for the SDSM opposition party, who one year ago started to publish the so called “bombs” - secretly taped private telephone calls.

That is why Macedonian president Ivanov stated that he took this decision in order to disable the foreign agenda against Macedonia from achieving their goals via blackmail and political pressure.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

"Dzhabhat en-Nusra" twice attacked a Syrian army position in Aleppo

http://www.interfax.ru/world/504145

Moscow. April 16. INTERFAX.RU - gangs "Dzhabhat en-Nusra" (banned in Russia) shelled a village in Hama province, and attacked the Syrian army in Aleppo, according to the newsletter of the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the warring parties in Syria.

The armed formations "Dzhabhat en-Nusra" twice attacked the positions of units of the Syrian army near the village of Handarat in Aleppo province. All units of the terrorist attacks of the armed forces of the Syrian Arab Republic were reflected ", - the report says.

In addition, the part controlled by the terrorists of the village of Bab Attack province of Hama shelled the village Skalbiya.

"The shelling killed 1 and 7 civilians were wounded", - stressed in the military.

Also, the Russian Centre for Reconciliation in conjunction with the mission of the Syrian Red Crescent Society provided humanitarian assistance to refugees in the province of Latakia. They sent 2.5 tons of cargo.

In addition, in the liberated from the terrorists LIH (banned in Russia), the city of Al-Qaryatayn maintenance crews cleared 150 meters of streets, restored 1.5 kilometers of power lines, renovated one building.

Russian jet intercepts US reconnaissance plane over Baltic Sea — CNN

http://tass.ru/en/world/870303

NEW YORK, April 17 /TASS/. A Russian Su-27 jet has intercepted a United States Air Force RC-135 reconnaissance plane over the Baltic Sea, the CNN reported on Saturday.

The incident occurred on Thursday, April 14, when the Su-27 "flew within 50 feet of the U.S. aircraft’s wing tip," CNN said citing the words of Danny Hernandez, a spokesman for the U.S. European Command. According to him, the U.S. plane was over international waters and did not violate the Russian airspace.

"The unsafe and unprofessional actions of a single pilot have the potential to unnecessarily escalate tensions between countries," the CNN quoted Hernandez as saying.

"This encounter comes just days after the U.S. Embassy in Moscow issued formal concerns with the Russian government over an incident in which Russian fighter jets flew very close to the USS Donald Cook in the Baltic Sea this week," Hernandez said.

On April 14, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry described the behavior of Su-24 pilots as irresponsible and provocative.

Russian Defense Ministry Spokesman Major General Igor Konashenkov said that his ministry did not understand the reason for such a painful reaction of the American colleagues. "The principle of freedom of navigation for the US destroyer, which is staying in close proximity to a Russian naval base in the Baltic Sea, does at all not cancel the principle of freedom of flight for Russian aircraft," the official said.

Konashenkov also said that Russia’s Sukhoi Su-24 fighters, having discovered a US destroyer in the Baltic Sea, turned away from the vessel observing all safety measures.

"On April 13, the crews of the Su-24 aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces were performing scheduled training flights over neutral waters of the Baltic Sea. The Russian planes’ flight route passed through the area where the USS Donald Cook destroyer was sailing, at a distance some 70 km from the Russian naval base," Konashenkov said. "Spotting the ship within the visibility zone, the Russian pilots turned their aircraft away from the vessel fully observing the safety measures," he said.

According to him, "all flights of aircraft of the Russian Aerospace Forces are performed strictly in accordance with the international regulations on the use of airspace over neutral waters.".

Russian, Syrian Bombers Drop Big Surprise on Daesh Supply Line Near Raqqa

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160417/1038146368/syria-russia-warplanes-daesh.html

Russian and Syrian Air Forces have reportedly carried out several coordinated air strikes on Daesh near a strategic military airbase in the northeastern province of Raqqa, west of the de facto capital of the self-proclaimed caliphate.

Syrian and Russian warplanes conducted a spate of coordinated air strikes against Daesh (ISIL/ISIS) near Tabqa Air Base which resulted in the destruction of many of the terrorists’ military and logistics vehicles, according to the Iranian news agency FARS.

The attacks have impaired Daesh’s ability to supply its forces near the recently-liberated city of Palmyra with arms, medical equipment and food, FARS reported.

The airstrikes came shortly after sources said that scores of Daesh terrorists had been killed and many more wounded after the pro-government battalions of Raqqa province's tribal forces clashed with the terrorists in the area.

"The tribal forces and the Syrian Army have advanced against the ISIL terrorists in Qabaqeb and al-Tim oil well and are pushing towards the city of Raqqa," the sources said.

Meanwhile, fighting has erupted between a militant group and Daesh near Damascus, where Jaysh al-Islam (the Brigade of Islam) stormed Daesh positions to the northeast of the capital, according to the sources, which cited a heavy death toll from the fighting.

Syria has been mired in a civil war since 2011, with forces loyal to the country's President Bashar Assad fighting a number of opposition factions and extremist groups, including Daesh and the Al-Nusra Front, which have been blacklisted as terrorist organizations by many countries, including Russia.

In February 2015, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2268, endorsing a Russia-US agreement on the cessation of hostilities in Syria; the ceasefire came into force shortly thereafter, on February 27, and fighting throughout much of the country subsided. However, Daesh and the Al-Nusra Front were not included in the truce.

Between September 30, 2015 and March 14, 2016, the Syrian Army's anti-terror efforts were backed by an extensive Russian air campaign. During that period, more than fifty Russian warplanes, including Su-24M, Su-25 and Su-34 jets, conducted precision airstrikes on Daesh and Al-Nusra targets in Syria at the behest of President Assad.

However, on March 14 Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that the Russian Aerospace Forces unit had fulfilled its mission in Syria and that its withdrawal would begin the following day. Nonetheless, Russian air power was used by Assad's forces in the liberation of the ancient city of Palmyra.

Moscow will maintain a military presence in Syria, although a deadline for a complete pullout has not yet been announced. Putin also indicated that Russian forces will remain at the port of Tartus and Hmeymim Airbase.

Syrian army liberates airport near Damascus from Daesh

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/17/461165/Syria-Damascus-Daesh-Air/

The Syrian army forces have wrested control of a military airport near the capital, Damascus, marking the latest in a string of victories over the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group.

The recapture of the strategic al-Sin air base took place late on Saturday as the Syrian army continues its advances against militants, Arabic-language Syria Now news website reported.

The Syrian soldiers further liberated the Safa resort in eastern Qalamoun region.

Meanwhile, 20 terrorists were killed while four of their vehicles were destroyed in heavy clashes with the Syrian troops in a village located in the southern Suwayda Province.

The Syrian forces further foiled a Daesh attack on a village in the eastern province of Dayr al-Zawr.

The country’s air force further struck positions held by Daesh in the southeastern part of the recently-liberated city of Palmyra in Homs Province.

In another development on Saturday, a roadside improvised explosive device went off in the suburb of the city of Dara'a, killing one person and injuring four other members of a family.

In addition, mortar attacks by terrorists in a district in the northern province of Aleppo left two Syrian dead and five more wounded.

The Syrian forces recently thwarted terrorist attacks on al-Dumayr military airfield, located in the eastern countryside of Damascus.

Last week, Russia’s Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the Damascus government currently controls sizable parts of Syria, with fresh gains made by the Syrian forces against Daesh over the past few months.

Backed by the Russian air cover, the Syrian army has vowed to press ahead with its counter-terror military operations and drive Daesh elements out of their major strongholds in the war-wracked country.

Syria has been grappling with a deadly conflict it blames on some foreign states for more than five years. The militancy has left over 470,000 people dead so far, according to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research.

Deir Ezzur: ISIL Sustains Heavy Losses in Syrian Army, Air Force Attacks

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950129000499

The ISIL sustained heavy losses in the Syrian airstrikes in Tal Kroum (hill of Kroum) near Deir Ezzur military airport on Saturday.

The Takfiri terrorists' military vehicles equipped with heavy machineguns were destroyed in Syrian airstrikes.

Meantime, the ISIL's military positions and gathering centers in the village of al-Mura'yeh were razed down in the Syrian airstrikes.

The ISIL's armored and military vehicles equipped with heavy machineguns were also destroyed in the Syrian fighter jets' raids.

In the city of Deir Ezzur, the battlefield sources conformed that an army unit destroyed the ISIL's gathering centers in Al-Roshdiyeh neighborhood.

The Syrian warplanes also destroyed the ISIL's gathering centers in al-Sina'ah (Industrial) Area, al-Orfi, Souq al-Hab and al-Kanamt neighborhood in Deir Ezzur.

In Eastern Deir Ezzur, the Syrian army pounded and destroyed the ISIL's military positions and gathering centers in al-Jafrah village.

In a relevant development on Saturday, the Syrian Army inflicted a heavy death toll on the ISIL inside the Eastern city of Deir Ezzur after hours of non-stop clashes with the Takfiri terrorists.

The Syrian army men stormed the ISIL positions in al-Roshdiyeh neighborhoods, which ended in the killing or wounding of several terrorists.

The ISIL's military hardware also sustained major damage in the attacks.

Reports also said on Friday that the ISIL suffered a heavy death toll and its military vehicles sustained major damage in the Syrian air fleets' combat sorties over its strongholds in the Eastern part of Deir Ezzur province.

The Syrian fighter jets bombed the ISIL concentration centers near the villages of al-Mura'yeh and al-Jafrah, which ended in the killing or wounding of tens of the terrorists.

The ISIL's machinegun-equipped vehicles were also destroyed in the attack in large scale.

 

[angelburst29]

Israel affirms its hold on Golan ahead talks with Putin on Syria
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-israel-russia-idUSKCN0XE0KX

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared on Sunday that Israel would never relinquish the Golan Heights, in a signal to Russia and the United States that the strategic plateau should be excluded from any deal on Syria's future.

"The Golan Heights will remain in Israel's hands forever," Netanyahu told his cabinet, which met for the first time on the Golan since the area was captured from Syria in a 1967 war and annexed in 1981, in a move that has not won international recognition.

Netanyahu, who made a similar statement during an election campaign in 2009, said he had spoken by telephone with U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry on Saturday and told him that Israel's security must not be compromised by any peace agreement to end Syria's five-year-old civil war.

That would mean, Netanyahu said, that "at the end of the day Iranian, Hezbollah and ISIS forces would be expelled from Syrian territory".

Iran, one of Israel's main foes, as well as Tehran's Lebanese proxy, Hezbollah, have supported Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the conflict against rebel forces and Islamic State militants.

Echoing a previous call from the Jewish Home party, a key ultranationalist partner in his governing coalition, Netanyahu urged the international community "to recognize finally that the Golan will remain permanently under Israeli sovereignty".

Though Russia is committed to keeping Syria intact under Assad, it has not publicly broached the future of the Golan.

"Whatever happens beyond the border, the (Golan) line is not going to change," Netanyahu said, in his remarks on his conversation with Kerry.

Having sent in Russian forces last year to turn the tide against a rebellion raging since 2011, Putin, who meets Netanyahu in Moscow on Thursday, wants to preserve Assad's central rule as part of national reconciliation efforts. Other powers want him gone.

Rebuilding war-ravaged Syria may be as much as $180 billion, according to World Bank President Jim Yong Kim.

Cost of rebuilding Syria may reach $180bn – World Bank
https://www.rt.com/business/339703-world-bank-syria-costs/

“Once hostilities end, many Syrian refugees will unlikely return unless schools and health clinics are rebuilt,” said Kim at a news conference at the start of the International Monetary Fund-World Bank spring meetings, Thursday.

Due to the plunge in oil prices, Kim expressed concern about who would fund the rebuilding of the basic Syrian infrastructure.

Last month, Syrian President Bashar Assad put the estimated economic loss to the country from the five-year war at $200 billion. Assad said he expects many Western countries to try to get profitable contracts to rebuild the country, but Damascus plans to lean to its proven allies Russia, China and Iran.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent two separate letters to the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, calling for the condemnation of the Israeli government's Sunday meeting held in the occupied Golan Heights internationally recognized as Syrian territory.

Damascus Urges UN to Condemn Israeli Cabinet Golan Heights Meeting
http://sputniknews.com/politics/20160417/1038170372/israel-syria-golan-un.html

The Syrian Foreign Ministry has called on the United Nations to condemn the Israeli government's Sunday meeting held in the occupied Golan Heights internationally recognized as Syrian territory, local media reported.

Earlier on Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu held a government meeting in the Golan Heights. During the meeting, the prime minister stressed that the decision to hold the meeting there had been taken to show that Israel does not intend to give up the territory, adding that the international community should recognize it as Israeli.

The Syrian Foreign Ministry sent two separate letters to the UN Security Council and the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, calling for the condemnation of the actions of the Israeli government, the SANA news agency reported.

The ministry urged the international community to condemn Israeli terrorism directed against the population of the occupied territory and to support Syria's territorial integrity as per the UN Security Council resolution 497, which declares the Israeli occupation as null and void.

The Golan Heights is a disputed territory that was a part of Syria before Israel seized the area in 1967 during the Six-Day War.

Syria insists that Israel should fully withdraw to the pre-1967 border, however, Israel is unwilling to accept such terms as it would give Syria access to the Sea of Galilee, which is Israel's main source of fresh water.

Hillary Clinton's attempt to shift the blame for the effective destruction of the country of Libya has been met with blistering criticism by analysts, anti-war activists and ordinary people around the world. Joining them is Alexei Pushkov, the head of the foreign affairs committee of Russia's lower house of parliament.

Russian Lawmaker Joins Chorus Slamming Clinton for Destroying Libya
http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160417/1038158880/clinton-slammed-over-libya-blame-shifting.html

At Thursday's Democratic Debate, prodded by Senator Bernie Sanders over her efforts as secretary of state to push for the intervention in Libya, Clinton attempted to brush off responsibility for the disaster, saying that the 2011 intervention in Libya "was the president's."

"Did I do due diligence? Did I talk to everybody I could talk to? Did I visit every capital and then report back to the president? Yes, I did. That's what every secretary of state does," Clinton said. "But at the end of the day, those are the decisions that are made by the president to in any way use American military power, and the president made that decision."

Furthermore, rubbing salt into the wound, which President Obama recently admitted was the biggest mistake of his presidency, Clinton actually suggested that the intervention in Libya failed only "because of the Libyans' obstruction of our efforts."

In fact, she boasted, "I think we did a great deal to help the Libyan people after Gaddafi's demise," despite the fact that Libya, once one of the wealthiest and most developed states on the African continent, has split into several warring states, including Daesh (ISIL/ISIS), and become the very definition of a failed state.

​Slammed by Sanders, who insisted that Clinton had "led the effort" for regime change in Libya, and added that "this is the same type of mentality that supported the war in Iraq," Clinton and her comments have since gone on to cause ire among analysts and commentators around the world.

IN ITS ANNUAL human rights report on Saudi Arabia, the State Department ignored thousands of civilian casualties from the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen and overlooked the widespread use of illegal cluster munitions by the bombing coalition.

Shocking ! The U.S. Ignores Thousands Of Death’s In Yemen And Cluster Bombs Is Not A Human Rights Violation
http://novorossia.today/shocking-u-s-ignores-thousands-deaths-yemen-cluster-bombs-not-human-rights-violation/

Saudi Arabia launched an air campaign in Yemen last March after Houthi rebels in Yemen threatened the rule of the Saudi-backed president. The Saudi military has been widely criticized for targeting civilians, destroying homes, schools, and hospitals, and using internationally banned cluster munitions.

The Obama administration has supported the Saudi-led campaign throughout, providing the coalition with intelligence and selling them at least $20 billion in weapons since the campaign began in March.

The report, which was released Wednesday and covers all of 2015, attributes to Human Rights Watch a report “that 13 people total were killed, including three children, in seven rocket attacks from April to mid-July.”

But Human Rights Watch also tallied more than 550 civilian deaths in 2015 from 36 airstrikes by the Saudi-led coalition, and documented 15 attacks where the coalition used banned cluster munitions, according to Belkis Wille, the group’s Yemen researcher.

The group estimates that coalition bombing has killed a total of nearly 2,000 civilians since the war began.

And the Human Rights Watch report the State Department referenced specifies that Saudi forces used U.S.-made M26 cluster bombs in all seven attacks. Each rocket released more than 600 explosives, which spread out over miles. Human Rights Watch found that the U.S.-made explosives had scattered over fields “normally used for agriculture and grazing,” threatened “the livelihood of local farmers,” and badly injured at least three workers who stepped on them.

Cluster bombs are widely recognized as unlawful because their unexploded duds act like land mines, killing civilians years after the conflict. The United States is not among the 119 countries that have signed an international convention banning them.

As has happened repeatedly since 9/11, the US and countries like Britain fail to combat terrorism because they give priority to retaining their alliance with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies.

Thanks to UK and US intervention, al-Qaeda now has a mini-state in Yemen. It's Iraq and Isis all over again
http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/thanks-to-uk-and-us-intervention-al-qaeda-now-has-a-mini-state-in-yemen-its-iraq-and-isis-all-over-a6986086.html

They have done it again. The US, Britain and regional allies led by Saudi Arabia have come together to intervene in another country with calamitous results. Instead of achieving their aims, they have produced chaos, ruining the lives of millions of people and creating ideal conditions for salafi-jihadi movements like al-Qaeda and Islamic State.

The latest self-inflicted failure in the “war on terror” is in Yemen, where Saudi Arabia and a coalition of Sunni states intervened on one side in a civil war in March 2015. Their aim was to defeat the Houthis - labelled somewhat inaccurately as Shia and pro-Iranian - who had seized most of the country in alliance with the former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who retained the loyalty of much of the Yemeni army. Yemeni politics is exceptionally complicated and often violent, but violence has traditionally been followed by compromise between warring parties.

The Saudi intervention, supported in practice by the US and Britain, has made a bad situation far worse. A year-long campaign of air strikes was supposed to re-impose the rule of former president Abd Rabbo Mansour Hadi, whose dysfunctional and unelected government had fled to Saudi Arabia. Relentless bombing had some success and the forces fighting in President Hadi’s name advanced north, but were unable to retake the capital Sanaa. Over the last week there has been a shaky truce.

The real winners in this war are al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) which has taken advantage of the collapse of central government to create its own mini-state. This now stretches for 340 miles – longer than the distance from London to Edinburgh – along the south coast of Yemen. AQAP, which the CIA once described as the most dangerous protagonist of “global jihad” in the world, today has an organised administration with its own tax revenues.

Unnoticed by the outside world, AQAP has been swiftly expanding its own statelet in Yemen in 2015/16, just as Isis did in western Iraq and eastern in Syria in 2013/14. Early last year, President Obama contemptuously described Isis as being like a junior basketball team that would never play in the big leagues. Likewise in Yemen, the American and British governments misjudged the degree to which AQAP would benefit from Operation Decisive Storm, the ill-chosen Saudi name for its military intervention that has proved predictably indecisive.

The Saudi intervention turned a crisis into a catastrophe. Some 6,427 people are known to have been killed in the fighting, but these are only the figures for casualties known to the health authorities. Since the UN says that 14.1 million Yemenis, 54 per cent of the population, have no access to health care, this is likely to be an underestimate. Even before the war, Yemen was the poorest Arab nation and its people are now starving or malnourished. OXFAM estimates that 82 per cent of Yemen’s 21 million population are in need of humanitarian assistance.

The disaster is not only humanitarian, but political, and does not only affect Yemen. As in Iraq, Libya, Syria and Afghanistan, foreign intervention energises and internationalises local difference as factions become the proxies of outside powers.

Yemen has always had Shia and Sunni, but it is only recently that sectarian hatred has begun to get anywhere near the level of Syria and Iraq. Saudi Arabia portrays the Houthis as pawns of Iran, though there is little evidence for this, so Yemen is drawn into the regional confrontation between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

A point seldom given sufficient weight is that AQAP is expanding so fast, not because of its own strength, but because its opponents are so weak. The Saudi and Gulf financed media often refer to pro-President Hadi forces as taking territory, but in reality the government-in-exile remains in Saudi Arabia. It recaptured the port city of Aden last summer, but its few officials who are there dare not leave their heavily-defended compound except by helicopter. Even where Saudi-backed fighters advance, they leave anarchy behind them, conditions in which the arrival of disciplined AQAP forces may be welcomed by local people.

I have been struck, ever since the US and British invasion of Iraq in 2003, by the extent to which their whole strategy depends on wishful thinking about the strength and popularity of their local ally who usually, on the contrary, is feared and hated. I seldom spoke to Afghans who truly supported the Taliban, but I was always impressed by the number who detested the Afghan government. Yet when one UN official stated publicly that the foreign powers fighting the Taliban, supposedly in support of the government, had “no local partner”, he was promptly fired.

There was the same lethal pretence by Western powers in Libya and Syria that the rebels they backed represented the mass of the population and were capable of taking over from existing regimes. In reality, the weakening or destruction of central government created a power vacuum promptly filled by extreme jihadi groups.

The dire consequences of the Saudi intervention and the rise of AQAP has been largely ignored by Western governments and media. Contrary to their grim-faced declarations about combating terrorism, the US and UK have opened the door to an al-Qaeda mini-state.

This will have an impact far beyond the Middle East because what makes the atrocities orchestrated by Isis in Paris and Brussels so difficult to stop is that they are organised and funded by a real administrative apparatus controlling its own territory. If one terrorist cell, local leader or bomb expert is eliminated, they can be replaced.

As has happened repeatedly since 9/11, the US and countries like Britain fail to combat terrorism because they give priority to retaining their alliance with Saudi Arabia and the Gulf monarchies, even when their policies – as in Yemen – wreck a whole country and enable al Qaeda and Isis to use the chaos to establish safe havens.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Jaysh al-Islam Leader Denies Calling for End of Syrian Ceasefire

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160417/1038169519/syria-ceasefire-jaysh-al-islam.html

Mohammed Alloush, leader of the Jaysh al-Islam group who heads the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee at the intra-Syrian talks said that he did not call on to stop Syrian ceasefire.

GENEVA (Sputnik) — The leader of the Jaysh al-Islam group who heads the Syrian opposition's High Negotiations Committee at the intra-Syrian talks told Sputnik on Sunday that he did not call on the ceasefire in the war-torn country to be canceled.

Earlier in the day, Mohammed Alloush wrote in his Twitter that he does not agree to forget the idea of revolution and would support any position of battalions.

"This is a message to defense groups. This is not an appeal for the escalation… It's just a call for self-defense forces against the triple attack in Aleppo by Kurds, IS [the Islamic State group banned in Russia] and the regime attracting outside forces," Mohammed Alloush said commenting on his statement.

Russian ambassador: Ahrar Ash-Sham sides with al-Nusra near Aleppo

http://tass.ru/en/politics/870376

"It is an alarming tendency", he said

DAMASCUS, April 17. /TASS/. The Ahrar ash-Sham group has sided with Jabhat al-Nusra (a terrorist group outlawed in Russia) near Aleppo which fact can mean that attempts by a number of member countries of the International Syria Support Group to distinguish terrorists from the ‘moderate armed opposition’ have failed here, Russian Ambassador to Syria Alexander Kinshchak told TASS on Sunday.

"According to the Syrian side and according to information from opposition internet resources, not only Jabhat al-Nusra militants are fighting here but also their allies from other armed groups, in particular Ahrar ash-Sham," he said. "It is an alarming tendency. As a matter of fact, it means that attempts by our partners from the International Syria Support Group to somehow distinguish Jabhat al-NUsra terrorists from ‘moderate armed opposition and revolutionary groups’ that could and must be covered by ceasefire have practically failed in this region.".

Russian diplomat: Syrian army to take counter steps to prevent blockade of Aleppo

http://tass.ru/en/politics/870371

"The situation in Aleppo remains very complicated. It is not ruled out that it might further deteriorate, which cannot but be alarming," he said

DAMASCUS, April 17. /TASS/. It is not ruled out that the situation around Syria’s Aleppo may further deteriorate as jihadists are seeking to block the city forcing the Syrian army to take response steps, Russian Ambassador to Syria Alexander Kinshchak told TASS on Sunday.

"The situation in Aleppo remains very complicated. It is not ruled out that it might further deteriorate, which cannot but be alarming," he said.

In his words, fierce fighting between the Syrian army and militants are now taking place for the city of Al-Eis located between Aleppo, Hama and Homs. "If militants block the road it will entail a blockage of several hundred thousands of civilians in Aleppo," he said. "So, the army will spare no effort to take counter steps.".

Russian ambassador: Islamic State, al-Nusra fighting each other in Damascus suburbs

http://tass.ru/en/politics/870375

"Problem districts are Eastern Ghouta, Darayya and adjacent al-Maadamiya where fighting goes on practically non-stop," he said

DAMASCUS, April 17. /TASS/. Islamic State and Jabhat al-Nusra (both outlawed in Russia as terrorist groups) have been fighting against each other in Damascus’ suburbs for more than a week, Russian Ambassador to Syria Alexander Kinshchak told TASS on Sunday.

"Problem districts [in Damascus and its suburbs from the point of view of observance of the ceasefire region] are Eastern Ghouta, Darayya and adjacent al-Maadamiya where fighting goes on practically non-stop," he said. "Further on, in Qadam, Tadamon and Yarmouk, intensive fighting between Islamic State and al-Nusra have been going on for more than a week.".

Shoigu invited the international community to restore Palmyra

http://www.interfax.ru/culture/504224

Moscow. on 17 April. INTERFAX.RU - Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu Army General invited the international community to restore the Syrian Palmyra, which used to be destroying a lot of talk.

"It was a lot of talk, the noise:" This Palmyra, a world monument, suffering, dying, explode, and no one cares ... "And now we say:" Come, take care, you can all: restore, defuse "a little bit more. should be succumbing to the people gone, "- he said Shoigu during a nationwide media festival" Media Ac - 2016 ".

He also suggested that the head of VGTRK Oleg Dobrodeev remove "a great and good," a documentary about Palmyra, its history.

"Further, I hope that we will all be together to watch the big beautiful history of the recovery of this remarkable monument," - said the Minister.

Palmyra was freed from militants in Russia banned group "Islamic State" on March 27th. Russian sappers demining monuments of the ancient city.

EXCLUSIVE: Syrian Army Continues Mop-Up Operations in Aleppo's Khanasser

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950129001218

The army's fresh operations came after the ISIL terrorists attacked the Syrian army's military positions in strategic heights, including Shabith and Al-Qaliya which overlook the villages of Atshana, Kharbeh Zobd, al-Toubeh and Akil located to the Eastern side of Khanasser-Aleppo road.

In a relevant development earlier on Sunday, the Syrian army continued pounding and destroying the military positions of the Al-Nusra Takfiri terrorists in the Northern parts of the city of Aleppo.

The army units hit hard the Takfiri terrorists in al-Sheikh Lutfi, al-Sheikh Saeed and al-Shaqief in the Northern outskirts of Aleppo city and destroyed the Al-Nusra Front terrorists' gathering centers and military positions in those areas.

The Al-Nusra Front terrorists sustained heavy casualties and losses in the Syrian army attacks in Northern Aleppo city.

The Takfiri terrorists' military equipment was also destroyed in the army attacks on their positions.

Other army units also destroyed the Takfiri terrorists' military positions in Daret Izza region in the Western part of Aleppo city on Sunday.

Meantime, the ISIL Takfiri terrorists sustained heavy losses in the villages of Hemmimeh al-Kabir, Rasm al-Kama, al-Sarbas and Shuweilikh in the Eastern part of Aleppo province.

In a relevant development on Friday, a report said that the Syrian Army troops continued to target the gatherings and concentration centers of the ISIL and al-Nusra Front in the Southern, Northeastern and Eastern parts of Aleppo province, inflicting heavy casualties on the militants.

The Syrian soldiers stormed al-Nusra Front's positions near the villages of al-Eis and Kafar Naha in the Southern part of the province, which ended in the killing or wounding of several terrorists.

The ISIL concentration centers near the villages of Abu Taltal and al-Madiouniyeh near the town of al-Bab and the village of Souran in the Northeastern territories of the province came under the heavy offensives of the Syrian army men and their popular allies, which claimed the lives of several terrorists and destruction of their military hardware.

The Eastern part of Aleppo was also the scene of heavy fighting between the Syrian government forces and the ISIL terrorists, whose positions in Rasm al-Alam sustained major losses in the army troops' assaults.

CIA, Mossad coordinated 9/11 attacka: Scholar

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/17/461275/911-CIA-Mossad-Fetzer/

The US Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and the Israeli spy agency Mossad played a crucial role in the “sophisticated intel operation” that was the September 11, 2001 attacks in New York, says an American scholar and political analyst.

The New York Post said in a report on Sunday that the kingdom’s involvement was deliberately covered up at the highest levels of the American government.

The extent of the cover-up goes beyond hiding 28 pages of a congressional report on 9/11 which was released in 2002, the report noted.

Pointing to investigations by case agents interviewed at the Joint Terrorism Task Forces (JTTF) in Washington and San Diego, along with police detectives who investigated the incident, the Post said, “Virtually every road led back to the Saudi Embassy in Washington, as well as the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles.”

In an interview with Press TV, James Henry Fetzer, founder of the Scholars for 9/11 Truth, said the report had an “unusual significance” because it cites sources that have been directly involved in the investigations about the incident.

“We know that 15 of the 19 alleged hijackers were from Saudi Arabia; we know that none of them were from Iraq. We know that the 28 missing pages report on Saudi funding for 9/11,” he said Sunday.

Citing its sources, the Post said the 28-page report comprises the entire final chapter of the congressional report, dealing with “foreign support for the September 11 hijackers,” and offers “incontrovertible evidence” by the CIA and the FBI that reveals official Saudi assistance for at least two of the Saudi hijackers who settled in San Diego.

Fetzer said the US also flew several Saudi nationals to their country on 9/11, although all commercial flights were ordered to be grounded.

“We also know that the 9/11 appears to have as its director Dick Cheney,” Fetzer noted.

Former US President George Bush and his vice president, Cheney, reportedly told the congressional commission investigating the 9/11 that they would not be formally interviewed in relation to the attacks that killed 3,000 people.

Fetzer said strong evidence “substantiates that this was a very sophisticated intel operation, involving coordination between the CIA and the Mossad.”

He said “dual Israeli citizens” in the US Department of Defense also played a significant role in facilitating the attacks by “keeping the airports from responding to the attacks.”

President Barack Obama and his Vice President Joe Biden are also involved in the cover-up, Fetzer said, arguing that they deliberately neglected their obligations upon taking office.

The 9/11 incident is expected to overshadow Obama’s visit to Saudi Arabia on April 21.

 

[sToRmR1dR]

Russian Su-30 jets escort UN aid delivery to ISIS-besieged Syrian town (VIDEO)

https://www.rt.com/news/339999-russian-jets-escort-wfp-aid/

Russian Su-30 fighter jets have provided a safety corridor for an IL-76 cargo plane freighted by World Food Program to carry out the delivery of vital humanitarian cargo to the Syrian city of Deir Ezzor, besieged by the Islamic State militants.

The delivery, protected by the Russian Air Force, was carried out as part of the UN World Food Program in order to help some 200,000 residents of Deir Ezzor, who are in urgent need of foodstuffs, medicine, fuel and other prime necessity goods.

“The delivery of the UN humanitarian goods under the cover of Russian fighters was successful,” the military said in a statement, adding that the IL-76 dropped pallets full of food and medicine.

The Russian military added that Sunday's airdrop was just the first batch of aid to be delivered to the besieged city this week, as Russia plans to fly in daily humanitarian cargo drops.

“The Russian fighter jets’ escorts in the Syrian skies of Russian transport company’s aircraft, which at the UN’s request are carrying out deliveries and airdrop of relief supplies to the much necessitous population in remote and besieged areas of the Syrian Arab Republic, will take place over this week,” the military said in a statement.

The WFP food assistance deliveries started to trickle in to the besieged areas of Deir Ezzor in late February this year, for the first time since March 2014. On February 24, WFP carried out its first high-altitude airdrop of supplies ever.

Russia however began airdropping its humanitarian cargo on the city some six weeks before the UN mobilized their efforts. On January 15, 2016, Russia said it had started humanitarian operations as a response to aid ending up with extremists in rebel-held areas, rather than civilian population the aid was destined for.

“The inhabitants are gradually coming back to Syrian cities and peaceful life is returning,” the head of the Russian General Staff’s operations department Lt. Gen. Sergey Rudskoy told reporters at the time. “In this context, the implementation of humanitarian operations will be a new line of work for the Russian armed forces in Syria.”

The first airdrops were made even before the ceasefire went into effect on February 27. The truce doesn’t apply to Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Al-Nusra Front, or other organizations designated by the United Nations’ Security Council to be terrorist.

ISIS militants besieged Deir Ezzor in May 2015, about the same time the jihadist groups captured the ancient city of Palmyra. While technically under Damascus command, the city has been cut off by the terrorists, who also run free inside the city, and regularly undermine the supply deliveries by assaulting the city’s airbase. For almost a year the elite Republican Guards of the 104th Airborne Brigade has successfully repelled the jihadist attacks.

On Saturday the Syrian army once again drove back the Islamic State's assault on the Deir Ezzor airport which tried to storm the strategic airfield from the west and the south flanks. According to reports 48 jihadists were killed as the Syrian army stood ground.

After retaking Palmyra last month, the Syrian army with the help of the Russian air force has broadened its operations against ISIS and vowed to retake Deir Ezzor, before moving on to the terrorists’ so-called capital of Raqqa.

Daesh Income Drops 30% Amid Territorial Loss, Infrastructure Damage

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160418/1038178544/daesh-income-drop.html

The Daesh jihadist group’s income fell by nearly a third since mid-2015 as the group has been losing its territory and suffering damages to its infrastructure amid US-led coalition airstrikes and a Russian aerial campaign against Daesh in Syria, a report revealed.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — According to the report by the IHS, the analytical firm which issues regular reports on Daesh-controlled territories, half of the militants’ revenues come from taxation and confiscation of businesses and property, while 43 percent of the revenues are contributed to oil production and smuggling. The group lost 22 percent of its territories in the past 15 months, according to the report.

"In mid-2015, the Islamic State’s overall monthly revenue was around $80m. As of March 2016, the Islamic State’s monthly revenue dropped to $56m," senior analyst at the IHS Ludovico Carlino said.

Daesh oil production has declined from 33,000 to 21,000 barrels per day in the same period, the report said.

According to the report, the damage from the airstrikes on Daesh targets has forced the group to introduce a range of new taxes to compensate for the financial losses. Fines are reportedly being imposed on Daesh-controlled territories for driving on the wrong side of the road and not answering questions about the Koran correctly.

The US-led coalition of over 60 nations has been conducting airstrikes in Syria and Iraq against the jihadists since summer 2014.

Russia had been conducting an aerial campaign in Syria for six months since September 2015 at the request of Damascus.

Syrian rebels declare new 'battle' against government forces after truce violations

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-syria-rebels-idUSKCN0XF0FG?il=0

Syrian rebel groups on Monday announced a new "battle" against government forces which they said was a response to violations of a fragile cessation of hostilities deal in place since the end of February.

The groups, which included factions fighting under the banner of the Free Syrian Army and powerful Islamist Ahrar al-Sham, said in a statement they would respond "with force" against any army units that fired on civilians.

The statement was sent to Reuters by Mohamed Rasheed, head of the media office of the Jaysh al-Nasr rebel group. It said the groups were setting up a joint operations room.

It gave no geographic location for the new battle.

Saudi-backed opposition threatens to leave Syria talks

http://www.presstv.com/Detail/2016/04/18/461309/Syria-opposition-HNC-Geneva-peace-talks-Assad-ouster/

The Saudi-backed Syrian opposition has threatened to abandon the UN-brokered talks if there is no progress on its demand for a political transition away from President Bashar al-Assad.

Representatives of the High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said Sunday that the Geneva peace talks could collapse if Damascus refuses to negotiate Assad's fate.

“We might suspend (our participation in) the talks if things carry on this way, and then there will be no prospect for any political solution,” HNC member Abdulhakim Bashar said, AFP reported.

The opposition insists on Assad’s resignation. The government says the fate of Assad is “a red line” and only the Syrian people can decide about it.

Government representatives and a coalition of opposition groups are engaged in talks in Geneva aimed at finding a political solution to the Syrian conflict.

The last round of talks came to a halt on March 24 over disagreements on the role of President Assad in Syria’s future.

Mohammed Alloush, the chief negotiator of the HNC, also said that there could be “no compromise” on Assad’s ouster, calling for the resumption of attacks on government forces despite a UN-brokered ceasefire deal in the Arab country.

“Don't trust the regime and don't wait for their pity,” Alloush wrote on Twitter on Sunday. “Strike them at their necks. Strike them everywhere.”

A few figures of the opposition group, however, said that Alloush’s comments did not represent the HNC’s stance.

“Alloush's position is personal. We as the HNC cannot adopt this position,” Yahya al-Aridi, a member of the HNC who is in Geneva, said.

Alloush is among senior figures of the Jaish al-Islam militant group and has reportedly spent most of his life in Saudi Arabia.

A truce, brokered by the US and Russia, went into effect across Syria on February 27. However, it does not apply to terrorist groups such as Daesh and al-Qaeda’s Syria branch al-Nusra Front.

The foreign-sponsored conflict has left over 470,000 people dead since it began in March 2011, according to a February report by the Syrian Center for Policy Research.

The tally represents a dramatic increase from the 270,000 fatalities reported by the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which stopped independently counting Syria’s death toll early in 2014.

Syrian forces have managed to liberate many militant-held areas over the past few months.

 

[LQB]

This morning I got up very early (having misread the clock) and turned on CSPAN – since many of their most interesting broadcasts occur in the early morning hours. I caught the last half of Putin’s April 14 Annual Call-in Program. What a pleasure to listen to a real Statesman address a wide range of (unprepared) questions!

http://www.c-span.org/video/?408134-1/russian-president-putins-annual-callin-program

At 1:30:06 a speaker begins a new subject with:

>> NOW IT'S TIME FOR US TO GET IN TOUCH WITH SALIN, THIS REMOTE REGION OF RUSSIA.

This involved a group of (Siberian) fish factory workers that had been attracted to a remote island to process fish. They were promised high wages, but in reality, wages were delayed while they continued to occupy company dorms – the result being that they ended up in debt to the company with no way to leave. Typical forced labor scam. Putin seemed surprised that local law enforcement had not addressed the complaints.

Putin then addressed an associated scam in which Russian trawlers export their fish catch to China, China freezes the fish, the fish are then exported back to the Russian fish factory for processing – the solution being to outlaw frozen fish processing.

Jeeze – the degree of corruption everywhere is just horrendous. At least Russia has a leader committed to ending this kind of corruption.

Anyway, the whole call-in program is well worth the watch/listen.

 

[angelburst29]

This morning I got up very early (having misread the clock) and turned on CSPAN – since many of their most interesting broadcasts occur in the early morning hours. I caught the last half of Putin’s April 14 Annual Call-in Program. What a pleasure to listen to a real Statesman address a wide range of (unprepared) questions!

[...]

Jeeze – the degree of corruption everywhere is just horrendous. At least Russia has a leader committed to ending this kind of corruption.

Anyway, the whole call-in program is well worth the watch/listen.

Listening to Putin, no matter the dialog or what the presentation might be, either a statement on a subject or public platform where he answers questions like this Call-in, he always demonstrates a knowledgeable background in reference to the topics and conveys the information or his opinion in a casual, yet disciplined way. There's no cocky answers or a feeling of being "talked down to" or he's more superior and you get the feeling - he would rather be some place else, doing something entirely different. Yet, these are the qualities I see in "our" President. I try to give Obama equal billing, so to speak, for it seems I'm always Posting about something Putin did or said.

It's like the difference between night and day - there is no comparison between the two, yet both hold the same position over a given population. One - is very much in touch with reality and it's corresponding responsibilities, the other gives the distinction - he holds "place and title" and problems will work themselves out, one way or the other. There's no dialog between the people, their concerns or any hope for "change".

 

[seek10]

First major bad news on BRICS front since Putin's intervention in Syria. :( Brazil's congress gave needed 2/3 vote for impeachment of Dilma. What is surprising is they are going full naked in attacking larger democracies. Color revolutions to coups based on leaked data is new operating procedure?. Irony is people who voted for impeachment are the people who are more locked up in corruption than Dilma. That seems to not matter, as fickle people go along with wind of media euphoria.