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https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018/12/06/582124/Iran-shooting-Chabahar
A terrorist car bomb explosion has hit near a police post in Iran’s southeastern port city of Chabahar, leaving two police officers dead and dozens of other people wounded.

Local officials said terrorists attacked the police headquarters in Chabahar, located in the southeastern province of Sistan-and-Baluchestan, with an explosives-laden vehicle on Thursday morning, local officials said.

The so-called Ansar al-Furqan terrorist group claimed responsibility for the assault, according to reports on social media.

Sistan-and-Baluchestan – which borders Pakistan -- has seen several terror attacks targeting both civilians and security forces over the past years.

more on Ansar al Furqan https://www.longwarjournal.org/arch...adist-group-claims-attack-on-oil-pipeline.php - Saudi dirty money maybe?

see also http://forum.cyclingnews.com/viewtopic.php?f=23&t=3377&p=2324915&hilit=karachi#p2324915
 
https://www.smh.com.au/politics/fed...trust-in-democracy-melts-20181207-p50ktx.html
A major survey released during the week - a joint effort by the Museum of Australian Democracy and the Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra - reported that public satisfaction with the way democracy works in Australia had fallen off a cliff, and only one in three voters now trusted the federal government.

Called Trust and Democracy in Australia, the survey of 1021 people shows a precipitous plunge in political trust over the past few years. (see http://apo.org.au/node/208536 )

In 2007, 86 per cent of voters were satisfied with Australia’s democracy. By 2010 it had dropped to 72 per cent. From 2013, it crashed.

In 2018, satisfaction with Australia’s democracy in 2018 languishes at 41 per cent.

Have a good Summer Oz! :)
 
https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/rick-perry-iraq-invest-us-firms-iran-waiver-sanctions-149242297
US Energy Secretary Rick Perry has urged Iraq to partner with American companies to become more energy independent, as Baghdad's waiver exempting it from US sanctions on Iran nears its end.

Perry's paradoxical comments on Tuesday came during a visit by the largest-ever US trade delegation to Iraq, which saw more than 50 US companies largely linked to the petrol or security industries attend a two-day conference in Baghdad.

"Working together, the US and Iraq can develop Iraq's oil, gas and water industries," Perry told those in attendance.

"The time has come for Iraq to break its dependence ... on less reliable nations seeking domination and control," he said, in an apparent reference to US rival Iran.

Iraq imports vast amounts of gas and electricity from Iran.

Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi also said on Tuesday that he will send a delegation to the US to attempt to secure another exemption from US sanctions against Iran that would allow Baghdad to keep importing Iranian gas.

When Washington reimposed tough sanctions on Tehran's energy sector last month, it gave Iraq a 45-day waiver to plan how it would stop depending on imports from Iran.

"The American side is cooperating with Iraq to find solutions that would remove pressure on Iraq because the [Iranian] gas is linked to a very sensitive issue, which is electricity," Mahdi told a news conference.

Washington is seeking to roll back Iranian influence in the Middle East, including in Iraq, where it holds broad sway over politics and trade.

The US granted eight exemptions to the sanctions on Iran, a measure that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said at the time were handed out "only because [the recipients] have demonstrated significant reductions in their crude oil and cooperation on many other fronts".

Under US law, such exceptions can only be granted for up to 180 days.

On Tuesday, Perry said he discussed sanctions with Iraqi Oil Minister Thamer al-Ghadban and Electricity Minister Luay al-Khateeb, but did not say whether Baghdad would receive an extension to the waiver, which ends next week.

"Sanctions were mentioned; they're a reality, they're there," Perry told reporters in Baghdad after his meeting with Iraqi officials.

He also met Mahdi, who said it was "necessary to expand coordination" on oil, energy, and trade between the two countries, and Iraq's president, Barham Saleh. Perry then travelled to Erbil, in Iraq's northern Kurdish region, to meet Kurdish leaders.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/111220183
Comparing the Kurdistan Region’s energy resources to his native state of Texas, a comment that drew chuckles from Barzani, Perry highlighted the potential for the people of Kurdistan.

“Our opportunity to secure a future of prosperity, of opportunity has never been better,” he said.

No agreements or plans were announced by either party.

The United States is invested in its relationship with the Kurdistan Region. Its new consulate in Erbil, now under construction, is America’s largest consulate complex worldwide.

The guy with the "smart glasses", who's going to shut down 3 agencies when he can remember what they are, goes to Iraq on behalf of GE etc. Buy US or face Iranian sanction problems seems to be the gist of it.

US builds massive consulate in Erbil http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/ffad700c-404f-4d1a-b06a-8d058839ec12
USConsulateGeneral(EYPOfAlbany).jpeg
 
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...return-as-europe-grumbles?srnd=premium-europe
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s long march toward one-man rule in the heart of the European Union is about to hit a new milestone.

Shrugging off the threat of sanctions from Brussels, Orban plans to push a bill through Budapest’s pliant parliament Wednesday that will further tighten his hold over the country’s court system. The legislation will strip the supreme court of its ultimate authority over so-called administrative disputes -- cases involving everything from elections and corruption to taxes and police abuse -- and create a new court overseen by his justice minister.
...
In filing the bill to parliament, Justice Minister Laszlo Trocsanyi pledged to respect the “principle of judicial independence and separation of powers.” But he also said he needed to take “greater political responsibility” over the administrative courts. He’ll pick the new court’s judges and control its budget.

Don't like the courts? Then start your own! Brilliant! Just don't tell Trump. :)
 
Sep 25, 2009
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China says second Canadian being probed for harming state security
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-icg-ministry/china-says-two-canadians-suspected-of-harming-state-security-idUSKBN1OC0NS?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

not the main story in the msm, but imo very telling of the us/china ongoing spat and how china is reacting. below is my little analysis...

in summary, the canadians arrested a high chinese business woman on the request of the us judiciary. the cause for the arrest was...violation of the us law. that is, some american law spreading on anyone in the world who trades with iran. iow, it was a tool to force the eu, china and everyone who refused to quit the nuclear treaty w/iran. essentially, a political blackmail weapon masked as a law. the canadians have nothing against the arrested, but duly and automatically arrested a business woman at the american request. they cite the mutual legal agreement. china reacted with a warning to canada. there was no response. and now 2 canadians are in the chinese custody. the officials deny the connection, but only stupid dont understand what's is going on.

that's how the us arrogance in the international affairs - weaponizing the legal system, the dollar etc - creates problems for both the allies and enemies.
 
Re:

python said:
China says second Canadian being probed for harming state security
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-icg-ministry/china-says-two-canadians-suspected-of-harming-state-security-idUSKBN1OC0NS?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

not the main story in the msm, but imo very telling of the us/china ongoing spat and how china is reacting. below is my little analysis...

in summary, the canadians arrested a high chinese business woman on the request of the us judiciary. the cause for the arrest was...violation of the us law. that is, some american law spreading on anyone in the world who trades with iran. iow, it was a tool to force the eu, china and everyone who refused to quit the nuclear treaty w/iran. essentially, a political blackmail weapon masked as a law. the canadians have nothing against the arrested, but duly and automatically arrested a business woman at the american request. they cite the mutual legal agreement. china reacted with a warning to canada. there was no response. and now 2 canadians are in the chinese custody. the officials deny the connection, but only stupid dont understand what's is going on.

that's how the us arrogance in the international affairs - weaponizing the legal system, the dollar etc - creates problems for both the allies and enemies.

How well do you know the enemies, bro?
 
Sep 25, 2009
7,527
1
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Re: Re:

Alpe73 said:
python said:
China says second Canadian being probed for harming state security
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-icg-ministry/china-says-two-canadians-suspected-of-harming-state-security-idUSKBN1OC0NS?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

not the main story in the msm, but imo very telling of the us/china ongoing spat and how china is reacting. below is my little analysis...

in summary, the canadians arrested a high chinese business woman on the request of the us judiciary. the cause for the arrest was...violation of the us law. that is, some american law spreading on anyone in the world who trades with iran. iow, it was a tool to force the eu, china and everyone who refused to quit the nuclear treaty w/iran. essentially, a political blackmail weapon masked as a law. the canadians have nothing against the arrested, but duly and automatically arrested a business woman at the american request. they cite the mutual legal agreement. china reacted with a warning to canada. there was no response. and now 2 canadians are in the chinese custody. the officials deny the connection, but only stupid dont understand what's is going on.

that's how the us arrogance in the international affairs - weaponizing the legal system, the dollar etc - creates problems for both the allies and enemies.

How well do you know the enemies, bro?
you wanna say something, bro ?
 
At least she has been released on bail, something that would never happen in China. And China complaining about lack of human rights is a bit rich. China has a history of doing similar things especially with critics of their government from overseas or otherwise. Remains to be seen whether she has actually breached the conditions of the sanctions and Trump is taking advantage of it or it's been concocted to needle China but China like Russia don't mind a bit of tat for tat as has been seen. The surprise would be that she is guilty and Canada doesn't have her extradited. I am sure that this is irritating the hell out of China who usually get their own way these days.
 
http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/13122018
US Defense Department warns Turkey not to attack Syria

Following Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan saying on TV that its military would commence a campaign across its southern border, the US Department of Defense cautioned an incursion into northeast Syria would be "unacceptable."

"Unilateral military action into northeast Syria by any party, particularly as US personnel may be present or in the vicinity, is of grave concern. We would find any such actions unacceptable," Cmdr. Sean Robertson, a Defense Department spokesman, told CNN.

Earlier on Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reported military vehicles loaded with equipment traveling to the Turkey-Syria border in the Elbeyli region of Kilis province, on the west side of the Euphrates River.

and off we go ...
http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/131220181
Turkey’s Defence Ministry announced one of their soldiers was killed in an attack on their forces north of Syria’s Aleppo on Thursday.

The ministry accused Kurdish forces of the People’s Protection Units (YPG) of opening fire on their soldiers from Tall Rifat city, state-run Anadolu Agency reported.

The Turkish military responded to the attack, according to the ministry’s statement.

The YPG has not immediately commented on the incident. The force regularly carries out attacks on Syrian forces allied with Turkey in Afrin, the Kurdish enclave that the Turkish army took control of after a military offensive at the start of the year.

Media close to the Damascus regime, however, reported an altercation between the Syrian Arab Army and Turkish forces in the Tall Rifat area.

The US are acting peacekeepers on the border - http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/211120182
The United States is setting up observation posts on the northern Syria border with Turkey to deter any aggression against Turkey, US Defense Secretary James Mattis announced on Wednesday.

“Turkey, a NATO ally, has legitimate concerns about terrorist threats and from where they’re emanating,” he said in a press briefing at the Pentagon. “We don’t dismiss any of their concerns.”

Turkey considers the Kurdish groups in northern Syria, the political party PYD and armed forces YPG, YPJ, and SDF, to be branches of the PKK and has threatened military action against them numerous times.

Ankara has accused the Kurdish forces of firing across the border into Turkey. The Kurdish forces deny the charge.

The US has been playing peacekeeper between their NATO ally Turkey and the Kurdish forces who they are fighting alongside in the war against ISIS.

These observation posts are the latest effort to prevent conflict. They will be manned by forces already present in northern Syria and will provide intelligence to Turkey of any possible “terrorist elements” moving across the border, Mattis explained.

The decision was made after consultation between Washington and Ankara, he added.
 
Re:

movingtarget said:
At least she has been released on bail, something that would never happen in China. And China complaining about lack of human rights is a bit rich. China has a history of doing similar things especially with critics of their government from overseas or otherwise. Remains to be seen whether she has actually breached the conditions of the sanctions and Trump is taking advantage of it or it's been concocted to needle China but China like Russia don't mind a bit of tat for tat as has been seen. The surprise would be that she is guilty and Canada doesn't have her extradited. I am sure that this is irritating the hell out of China who usually get their own way these days.


Yep.

"Arrogant, imperialist dog" ... is a coin flip away from ... "Wo ai NY." :rolleyes:
 
Re: Re:

python said:
Alpe73 said:
python said:
China says second Canadian being probed for harming state security
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-icg-ministry/china-says-two-canadians-suspected-of-harming-state-security-idUSKBN1OC0NS?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

not the main story in the msm, but imo very telling of the us/china ongoing spat and how china is reacting. below is my little analysis...

in summary, the canadians arrested a high chinese business woman on the request of the us judiciary. the cause for the arrest was...violation of the us law. that is, some american law spreading on anyone in the world who trades with iran. iow, it was a tool to force the eu, china and everyone who refused to quit the nuclear treaty w/iran. essentially, a political blackmail weapon masked as a law. the canadians have nothing against the arrested, but duly and automatically arrested a business woman at the american request. they cite the mutual legal agreement. china reacted with a warning to canada. there was no response. and now 2 canadians are in the chinese custody. the officials deny the connection, but only stupid dont understand what's is going on.

that's how the us arrogance in the international affairs - weaponizing the legal system, the dollar etc - creates problems for both the allies and enemies.

How well do you know the enemies, bro?
you wanna say something, bro ?

Yeah ... I do.

Don't let media hype cloud your shyte, bro. :geek:
 
Sep 25, 2009
7,527
1
0
Re: Re:

Alpe73 said:
python said:
Alpe73 said:
python said:
China says second Canadian being probed for harming state security
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-icg-ministry/china-says-two-canadians-suspected-of-harming-state-security-idUSKBN1OC0NS?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+Reuters%2FworldNews+%28Reuters+World+News%29

not the main story in the msm, but imo very telling of the us/china ongoing spat and how china is reacting. below is my little analysis...

in summary, the canadians arrested a high chinese business woman on the request of the us judiciary. the cause for the arrest was...violation of the us law. that is, some american law spreading on anyone in the world who trades with iran. iow, it was a tool to force the eu, china and everyone who refused to quit the nuclear treaty w/iran. essentially, a political blackmail weapon masked as a law. the canadians have nothing against the arrested, but duly and automatically arrested a business woman at the american request. they cite the mutual legal agreement. china reacted with a warning to canada. there was no response. and now 2 canadians are in the chinese custody. the officials deny the connection, but only stupid dont understand what's is going on.

that's how the us arrogance in the international affairs - weaponizing the legal system, the dollar etc - creates problems for both the allies and enemies.

How well do you know the enemies, bro?
you wanna say something, bro ?

Yeah ... I do.

Don't let media hype cloud your shyte, bro. :geek:
then say...dont hype your own perceptions of what others may or may not think
 
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2018...stan-joint-antiterror-operation-border-attack
Six Pakistani soldiers were killed when a paramilitary convoy came under attack by gunmen during a routine patrol in the mountainous district of Kech on Friday.

Pakistan authorities said some 30 militants attacked the Frontier Corps convoy, also wounding 14 soldiers.

The separatist Pakistani group the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility for the attack, which also left four attackers killed in the shootout.
...
Pakistan's Foreign Ministry said Saturday it had lodged a protest with Iran over the killing of the troops. It summoned Iran's ambassador to demand it take action against the armed group responsible for the attack.

In the past, Iran has repeatedly announced its readiness for joint operations with Pakistan from where militants launch cross-border attacks against Iranian troops and civilians.

Last month, Iran's Interior Minister Abdolreza Rahmani-Fazli called for intelligence sharing between the two neighbors as he suggested Iranian operations on Pakistani soil under Islamabad’s supervision.

The proposal came after 12 Iranian border guards were abducted near the town of Mirjaveh in Iran's Sistan and Baluchestan province and taken into Pakistan in April.

more on attack on Chinese Consulate -
https://www.globalresearch.ca/brita...ttack-on-chinas-consulate-in-pakistan/5661025
The Pakistani authorities have officially charged “Balochistan Liberation Army” (BLA) leader Hyrbyair Marri and 12 others for last week’s terrorist attack against the Chinese consulate in Karachi, which the group’s fugitive UK-based leader is suspected of masterminding.

Marri received political asylum from the island nation in 2011 and has been living there since then, meaning that Britain has blood on its hands for the crime that he’s accused of cooking up while under their protection. This doesn’t necessarily mean that the British government had a role in carrying it out, but just that they’re nevertheless culpable for at the very least indirectly facilitating it by granting him a safe haven from which to organize it. Understandably, Islamabad might seek his extradition, but there’s little that it can do to ensure London’s compliance.

The UK officially regards the terrorist mastermind as being a “political refugee”, and it’ll probably stick to its guns by refusing to extradite him on that basis.

https://web.stanford.edu/group/mappingmilitants/cgi-bin/groups/view/297
Pakistani intelligence agencies accuse Indian consulates in Kandahar and Jalalabad, Afghanistan, of providing covert arms, financial support, and training to the BLA in an attempt to destabilize Pakistan and block Chinese influence in Balochistan. However, some analysts argue that such interference would be against Indian interests, as India, like Pakistan, also seeks to profit from Balochi oil and gas resources.
...
Experts have also speculated that since Balochistan is a key smuggling route for many products, with a very large portion of the world’s opium passing through its borders, smuggling could also be a large source of income for the BLA

(See posts on Erik Prince in Mozambique about heroin trade from Afghanistan to East Africa)
 
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018...ation-syria-start-moment-181217153154007.html
Turkey may launch a new military operation in northern Syria at any moment, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, adding US President Donald Trump had given a positive response to Turkey's plans.

Erdogan's remarks on Monday came days after he announced Turkish forces would launch a new cross-border operation against the US-backed Syrian Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG) to the east of the Euphrates River in northern Syria.

The YPG is considered a terrorist organisation by Ankara. American troops are also located to the east of the Euphrates River.

So the US is officially dumping the Kurds for Erdogan's support?

http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurdistan/171220181
Masoud Barzani, the president of the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP), "expressed concern" about the future of Kurds in Syria during a meeting on Monday with US Special Presidential Envoy Brett McGurk in Erbil.


“President Barzani expressed his concern about the future of the Kurdish nation in Syria and explained his opinion and advice about how to resolve the problems and challenges facing the Kurdish nation in Syria,” a statement from Barzani's office read.

The meeting comes at a critical time as the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have cleared much of the Hajin pocket of ISIS and are closing in on the eastern banks of the Euphrates.

The SDF's primary fighting component has been the Peoples' Protection Units (YPG) which is the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The KDP is the largest party in the Kurdistan Region of Iraq and their powerbase in Duhok borders the PYD-controlled Northern Syrian Federation that has self-administered governance without Damascus' assistance through the conflicts.

The KDP and PYD have been unable to reach a consensus on the deployment of Peshmerga from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) to northeast Syria, or Rojava as it is called by Kurds.

“In the meeting, the situation of Syria and the latest developments were discussed," added Barzani's statement.

A conflict monitor reported on Sunday that delegation of 100 Rojava Peshmerga (Kurds originally from Syria but loyal to the KDP) were unable to reach a deal with the SDF regarding bolstering security along the border with Turkey in Syria.

Turkey has repeatedly threatened an offensive into northeast Syria, with the YPG and Turkish forces reportedly digging trenches on their respective territories.

"The visiting delegation presented to President Barzani the latest political and security developments of Syria and the field conditions of the war against ISIS terrorists in Syria and their country’s strategy for Syria,” Barzani's statement added.

McGurk, Trump's envoy to the international anti-ISIS coalition, was joined by Ambassador to Iraq Douglas Silliman, US State Department advisor Ambassador William Roebuck and US Consul General to Erbil Steven Fagin.
 
Some good from the talks in the ol' "socialist hellhole" -
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2...-dare-to-hope-as-first-day-of-ceasefire-holds
Residents trapped in Hodeidah were daring to hope on Tuesday that the misery facing the besieged Yemeni city was abating, after the first day of a UN-brokered ceasefire appeared to hold.

Both Houthi rebels in control of the city and forces loyal to Yemen’s exiled government agreed to a cessation of hostilities at midnight on Monday night.

Residents said sporadic gunfire punctured the truce but there has been no movement on the east and southern fronts in the battle for the city – a marked improvement after six weeks of intense fighting for Hodeidah’s vital port, Yemen’s main aid lifeline.

“I could only sleep two hours last night because I was so alert and kept watching for any signs of breaches of the ceasefire,” said resident Baseem al Janani.

“The first day has been good. It is quiet. God willing it will hold.”
 
https://www.rawstory.com/2018/12/u-...om-syria-rushed-and-quickly-cobbled-together/
On Wednesday morning President Donald Trump announced that there would be a “full” and “rapid” withdrawal of U.S. troops in Syria.

However, sources close to Trump have criticized his action as a “snap decision.”

The Daily Beast is reporting that officials were unaware of Trump’s decision and that it sowed confusion surrounding the goals that the U.S has in Syria.

“Multiple foreign and U.S. officials told The Daily Beast that Trump’s announcement came as a surprise, without prior briefings or warnings,” Spencer Ackerman from The Beast wrote.

“To them, Wednesday’s leaks and subsequent public confirmation by Trump and his White House team was rushed, quickly cobbled together, and formed without any clear timeline,” he added.

Republicans have criticized Trump for his decision, and said the president should have consulted Congress about his decision, which he tweeted out.

“We have defeated ISIS in Syria, my only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency,” he tweeted.

So Turkey's free to invade & the Kurds are f**ked - hope Bibi does nothing rash.

http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/syria/191220181
Trump’s decision has come as a shocking reversal of US policy in Syria, especially in light of ongoing operations against ISIS.

The US-led coalition conducted 208 strikes against ISIS in Syria last week alone, it announced in its weekly report released on Wednesday.

While Trump tweeted that the militants were defeated in Syria, Peshmerga commander Sirwan Barzani informed Rudaw that the coalition was bombing ISIS militants on Mount Qarachogh, in Makhmour, more than a year after the group was declared defeated in Iraq.
...
Just last month, the Trump administration detailed its three goals for Syria: lasting defeat of ISIS, empowerment of the political process, and de-escalation of the conflict that includes a full withdrawal of Iranian forces from the country.

This policy means an open-ended mandate for US troops to stay in Syria beyond the military defeat of ISIS, James Jeffrey, Washington’s special envoy for Syria, said at the time.
...
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan reiterated his concerns about the Kurdish forces in northern Syria when he spoke with Trump by phone last Friday. Ankara alleges the Syrian Kurdish forces are a branch of the PKK and pose a threat to Turkey – a charge Washington and the Kurds have denied.

In their phone call, the two presidents agreed to better coordination in Syria.

“Everything that has followed is implementing the agreement that was made in that call,” a US official told Reuters.

According to the official, the pull out is expected to take place within 60 to 100 days.

The US State Department has approved a possible $3.5 billion dollar deal to sell 80 Patriot guidance-enhanced missiles to Turkey, a move that might persuade Ankara to drop a planned purchase of Russia’s S-400 system.
 
Turkey & Iran plan Syrian cooperation -
http://www.rudaw.net/english/middleeast/20122018
Turkey, Iran vow to work closer on Syria after US announcement

"There are many steps that Turkey and Iran can take together to stop the fighting in the region and to establish peace," said Erdogan, without elaborating, at a joint news conference with Rouhani in Ankara.

"Syria's territorial integrity must be respected by all sides. Both countries are of the same opinion regarding this," Rouhani said in translated remarks.

The two leaders' meeting had been arranged before Trump's announcement about the US pull-out, a move already welcomed on Thursday by Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Some Western analysts consider the US presence a key counterweight to Iranian influence in the region.

Ankara has repeatedly called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's ouster and supported Syrian opposition fighters.

Tehran and Moscow meanwhile are Damascus's strongest allies and have helped to turn the war in Assad's favour.

Turkey, despite its differences with Iran and Russia over Syria, has worked closely with both countries to find a political solution to the war through the Astana process launched last year.

Bibi feels betrayed and abandoned -

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5430012,00.html
Trump is now responsible for abandoning Israel, which has to face Iranian aggression in the region alone. As long as Russia is the region's boss and there is no American deterrence in Syria, what is to prevent Iran and its heavily armed sidekick Hezbollah from turning the Syrian side of the Golan Heights into a military outpost?

The Americans' strategic umbrella has also weakened on the international stage. It is true that none of Israel's policymakers on defense are counting on American soldiers to fight for us, but there is no doubt that the Jewish state has enjoyed informing our enemies that in event of emergency, the Land of the Free stands with us.

The American move points to Washington's weakness, and perhaps even a betrayal of its allies. The Kurds in Syria are the first to be affected by the decision, for by pulling out of Syria, the US is essentially spilling the blood of allies who helped liberate swathes of the country from IS.

Jerusalem is also worried, with good reason. Netanyahu managed to prevent any Israeli intervention in the Syrian civil war, relying heavily on the American presence to ensure our interests. But now it seems that Netanyahu could've been wrong: Syria is being divvied up between our bitterest enemies. They are sitting around the table and cutting the Syrian cake—and there is no one there to ensure Israel's interests.

One can only pray that changes are being made beneath the surface in this wild part of the world, perhaps in establishing new strategic alliances that might help Israel defend itself in the future. After all, today's enemies can still become our friends tomorrow.

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5429949,00.html
Israel will escalate its fight against Iranian-aligned forces in Syria after the withdrawal of US troops from the country, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Thursday.

"We will continue to act very aggressively against Iran's efforts to entrench in Syria," he said in a statement. "We do not intend to reduce our efforts. We will intensify them, and I know that we do so with the full support and backing of the United States."

and the Kurds have not forgotten the last time the US left them high and dry -
Arin Sheikmos, a Kurdish journalist and commentator, said "we have every right to be afraid."

"If the Americans pull out and leave us to the Turks or the (Syrian) regime our destiny will be like the Kurds of Iraqi Kurdistan in 1991 -- million of refugees, there will be massacres. Neither the regime, not Iran nor Turkey, will accept our presence here," he said.
 
https://www.stripes.com/news/the-us...-it-has-in-any-year-in-over-a-decade-1.558577
The United States dropped more bombs and other munitions in Afghanistan during the first ten months of 2018 than in any other full year since documentation began, new Air Force data shows.

Between the start of the year and the end of October, U.S. forces released 5,982 munitions in Afghanistan, said the latest monthly report by U.S. Air Forces Central Command. Coalition aircraft flew nearly 6,600 sorties, about 12 percent of which carried out strikes during that period.

AFCENT didn’t begin publishing munitions data regularly until 2006.

The latest figures surpass the previous annual record of about 5,400 recorded in 2011 at the height of the U.S. troop surge.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...35f874-04a3-11e9-b5df-5d3874f1ac36_story.html
President Trump has directed the Pentagon to come up with a plan to withdraw nearly half of the more than 14,000 troops deployed to Afghanistan, U.S. officials said Thursday, a move that many of Trump’s senior advisers and military officials have warned will plunge the country further into chaos.
...
The Afghanistan directive also comes as the United States attempts to negotiate a peace deal with the Taliban, potentially undercutting leverage that American diplomats have. It marks a significant departure from Trump’s August 2017 decision to slightly increase the number of U.S. troops there and keep them in place with conditions on the ground dictating withdrawal.
...
The news, first reported Thursday by the Wall Street Journal, is certain to worry senior officials in Afghanistan, who already are battling deteriorating security in the country despite the existing U.S. military presence there. And it will be greeted wearily by many senior U.S. military officers, who have launched more airstrikes in Afghanistan this year than in any during the 17-year-old war, the longest in American history.
 
Erdogan fires up his base - and hopefully just pre-election chest-thumping

https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5431693,00.html
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed Saturday "Jews in Israel" beat defenseless Palestinian people, including women and children, and threatened to "teach them a lesson."

“The Jews in Israel kick people when they're lying on the ground. In fact, Jews kick not only men, but women and children as well…as Muslims, we will confront these people if they have courage to deal with us. We’ll teach them a lesson” Erdogan told Turkish youth at a meeting of Turkey Youth Foundation.

Since local elections in Turkey are to take place in about three months, the Israeli assessment is that Erdogan, who has long been a harsh critic of Israel, was politically motivated to incite against the Jewish State.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to Erdogan's comments Saturday. "Erdogan—the occupier of northern Cyprus, whose army massacres women and children in Kurdish villages, inside and outside Turkey– shouldn't preach to Israel," he said.

At a Foreign Ministry conference in early December, Netanyahu referred to Israeli-Turkish relations: "There is an 'improvement' in our relations with Turkey—Instead of every two days, Erdogan now calls me Hitler only every six days, despite the fact that Turkey has received several warnings from Israeli intelligence that prevented major terror attacks on Turkish soil. Israel has prevented dozens of catastrophic terrorist attacks and aircraft's downings. No country in the world has our intelligence."
 
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/sout...mpound-gun-battle-ensues-181224115249492.html
The death toll in an hour-long coordinated attack on a government building in Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, has risen to at least 43 people, according to health officials, making it one of the deadliest assaults on the Afghan capital this year.

Hundreds of people were trapped on Monday on a site where the Ministry of Public Works and other offices are located when gunmen stormed the building and began moving from floor to floor targeting employees.
...
An official working in another government building close by said employees had locked themselves in their offices after hearing the explosions and gunfire. During the standoff, which reportedly went on for eight hours, the building's second floor caught fire, according to local media.
...
The assault also comes a day after President Ashraf Ghani appointed Amrullah Saleh and Assadullah Khaled, both former spymasters known for their anti-Taliban and Pakistan stance, to head the interior and defence ministries, respectively.

When the US goes home, there'll be more reports like this. :sad:
 
https://www.straitstimes.com/asia/s...ila-bays-magnified-cesspool-for-next-clean-up
After cleaning up the resort island of Boracay, environment officials here are now turning their attention to what may be the dirtiest body of water in the Philippines: Manila Bay.

"The next war we are going to wage is against #ManilaBay," Environment Secretary Roy Cimatu said in a tweet this week.

He announced that the government, using the same methods it used to rehabilitate Boracay, will set about next month making Manila Bay safe to swim in again.

He described Manila Bay, which at 1,900 sq km is nearly three times as large as Singapore, as a "magnified cesspool".

The bay is known for the bright, stunning colours of its sunsets.

Yet, it is also reviled for its malodorous, garbage-strewn, murky waters.

It has three times as many disease-causing coliform bacteria than a normal body of water.

Dr Janette Garin, a former health secretary, said swimming in Manila Bay is akin to "drinking others' urine", and worse. "That's how dirty it is," she said.

She said swimmers there risk diarrhoea, cholera, typhoid fever, hepatitis B and skin allergies.

Shame not more countries do the same thing.
 
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5433711,00.html
Sources in the US Defense Department claim that several senior Hezbollah officials had been hit in an alleged Israeli airstrike near Damascus, according to a report Wednesday by Newsweek.

Tuesday night’s strike, apparently targeting Iran and Hezbollah’s arms depots located southwest of Damascus, occurred shortly after the terror group’s officials had boarded a plane bound for Tehran. The source said the information was obtained from a senior Israeli military officer directly linked to the attack, Newsweek reported.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a war monitor, said Israeli airstrikes targeted three positions south of Damascus and at least three Syrian soldiers were also wounded in the attack.

The source also said one of the main targets of IDF bombing was Iranian shipments of advanced GPS components meant to help Hezbollah convert its arsenal of unguided rockets into precision-guided missiles, thereby increasing the threat to Israel.

As in previous reports of attacks in Syria, this attack is also connected to an Iranian plane. On Tuesday morning, the Boeing 747 of Iranian airline Fars Air Qeshm, which is affiliated with the Revolutionary Guards, took off from Tehran International Airport (THR) to Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA).

At 5:30pm, the plane took off for Damascus International Airport where it landed shortly after 7:45 pm. The plane was apparently used to transport military equipment to the Syrian army and Hezbollah.

Hezbollah's information channel reported that S-200 missiles were launched against the attack missiles. The Syrian Assad regime has yet to respond to the reports.
 
Ex-GRU defector Viktor Suvorov interview with an interesting point -

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2018/dec/29/ex-soviet-spy-viktor-suvorov

As well as attempted murder in Salisbury, did the Kremlin interfere in British politics by assisting the Brexit vote? Suvorov admits he has no inside information here but, based on his knowledge of Moscow’s methods, he thinks it was an opportunity: “If there is any kind of internal problem in the camp of your enemy, you try to exploit that.”
 
$2 billion? Sounds good but ... defrauding a Russian bank? I hope they have "good security"! :)

https://www.bbc.com/news/business-46755159
Three former Credit Suisse bankers have been arrested over their alleged role in a $2bn (£1.5bn) fraud scheme connected to firms in Mozambique, according to US authorities.

The men have been released on bail in London while the US seeks their extradition.

The scheme allegedly involved loans to state-owned companies in Mozambique.

Two others, including the country's former finance minister, have also been arrested.

The former employees of the Swiss investment bank were arrested in London on Thursday.

The men - Andrew Pearse, Surjan Singh, and Detelina Subeva - were charged in an indictment issued by a US District Court in New York.

The indictment says that through a series of financial transactions between approximately 2013 and 2016, more than $2bn was borrowed through loans guaranteed by the Mozambican government.

It said over the course of the transactions, the co-conspirators acted to defraud investors.

They created maritime projects as fronts to raise money to enrich themselves, and "intentionally diverted portions of the loan proceeds to pay at least $200m in bribes and kickbacks to themselves, Mozambican government officials and others," the indictment read.

In a statement, Credit Suisse said the three former employees had been accused by US authorities of "circumventing our internal controls" in a fraud connected to the Mozambican government.

"No action has been taken against Credit Suisse. The indictment alleges that the former employees worked to defeat the bank's internal controls, acted out of a motive of personal profit, and sought to hide these activities from the bank," it said.

more at https://clubofmozambique.com/news/n...debt-in-near-future-says-maleiane-aim-report/
What is tactfully referred to as a commercial debt is, in reality, the illegal debt of the three security-related companies Ematum (Mozambique Tuna Company), Proindicus and MAM (Mozambique Asset Management), who took out loans of over two billion US dollars in 2013 and 2014 from the European banks Credit Suisse and VTB of Russia.

The two banks granted the loans despite a complete lack of due diligence. Even a cursory glance at the three companies would have shown that they had recently been set up by the Mozambican State Security and Intelligence Service (SISE), and had no track record of any kind.

Nonetheless the banks were eager to offer the money, once the Mozambican government of the time, under President Armando Guebuza, provided guarantees for the loans. But, as the banks could easily have discovered, those guarantees were illegal. They smashed through the ceiling on guarantees established in the 2013 and 2014 budget laws, and violated a clause in the Mozambican constitution which states that such debt can only be authorised by the country’s parliament.

Robber gang planned to get very rich, but ...
https://clubofmozambique.com/news/former-presidents-lawyer-has-no-knowledge-of-arrest-warrant/
Alexandre Chivale, the lawyer of Mozambique’s former president, Armando Guebuza, told Lusa on Thursday that he had no knowledge of any arrest warrant issued against his client for fraud and money laundering.

Chivale said he could not speculate regarding the possibility of there having been an arrest warrant issued against the former president, as has been claimed on Mozambican social networking sites.

Lusa contacted the United States Department of Justice asking for more information regarding whether an arrest warrant had been issued against the former president but has not received any response so far.

Asked whether the detention of the former minister of finance Manuel Chang in South Africa this week could be the first of many or whether it was an isolated case, Chivale said he did not know the terms of the detention and therefore could not answer that question.

Chang was detained in South Africa on 29 December when he was trying to embark for Dubai following an extradition request issued by the American authorities.

... they needed a better getaway plan :D
 
With Bolton & Pompeo doing the Middle East roundtrips trying to repair Trump's damage, questions are being asked of US policy -
Israel -
https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5441742,00.html
But the bond between Israel and the United States, like any pact between free nations, can only endure if the deeds match the rhetoric and if they both radiate strength. This is not the reality here.

With a series of statements, some out of ignorance and some of impulsiveness, Trump has positioned Israel in an inferior position in which the world can see that the White House is not embracing Israel or spreading its security umbrella over it. And in the violent Middle East, one can easily detect weakness.

Turkey -
https://www.washingtonpost.com/worl...ory.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.a89e91dae395
Turkey wants the United States to disarm Syrian Kurdish forces it has trained and supplied for the fight against the Islamic State, and to provide air and logistical support for Turkish troops and allied Syrian opposition forces who plan to pick up the anti-militant battle after a U.S. withdrawal.

The list of Turkey’s “concerns and expectations” will be conveyed next week to White House national security adviser John Bolton when he visits Ankara to explain the still-unspecified U.S. plan for a withdrawal from Syria, according to Turkish officials.

Bolton’s trip comes as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is also heading to the region to try to persuade Arab partners and allies that “the United States is not leaving the Middle East. Despite reports to the contrary and false narratives surrounding the Syria decision, we are not going anywhere,” a senior administration official said Friday in a briefing for reporters.

Jordanian view point -
http://jordantimes.com/opinion/amer-al-sabaileh/regional-effects-us-withdrawal-syria
The US decision to withdraw its troops from Syria should be considered from a political perspective, as well as from its military implications. It is a clear sign that the deteriorating relations between Ankara and Washington are being mended, as Turkey is replacing US troops in Syria, suggesting that Turkey has resumed its role as a close American ally in the region.

American cooperation with the Kurds in Syria was the major pont of contention between Ankara and Washington, pushing Ankara closer to Iran and Russia as Iran is similarly suspicious of the Kurds. The Russian-Iranian-Turkish alliance has contained much of the Syrian crisis over the past few years, and has been responsible for the de-escalation zones announced in Astana and the accomplishments in Sochi, where they agreed on the beginning of a political solution. As such, Turkey moving back to its alliance with America could have a profound impact on Middle Eastern politics.

This move from the US is said to be part of a new Middle Eastern strategy for the Trump administration, which appears to be based on dismantling the Russian-Iranian-Turkish alliance, by bringing Turkey back into the fold. Effectively appointing Turkey as its proxy in Syria, the US is pitting Turkey against Iran as they are now responsible for containing Iranian influence.

Iraqis not pleased -
https://www.mangalorean.com/us-withdrawal-from-syria-negative-for-iraq/
Iraqi Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi on Monday said that the US troops’ withdrawal from neighbouring Syria would have a negative impact on Iraq.

“We have discussed… the US decision to withdraw troops from Syria, because this has great repercussions on Iraq,” Abdul Mahdi told a press conference after a weekly cabinet meeting, Xinhua news agency reported.

“If there is a security tension in Syria (by the US pullout), there will be a wave of migration, and Iraq will be one of the first countries to be exposed to such issue,” Abdul Mahdi said.

“The terrorists may leave the Syrian territory and try to go to Iraq, and this also would have repercussions on our country,” Abdul Mahdi added.

and the Brookings Institute view of the whole "debacle" -
https://www.brookings.edu/blog/orde...syria-means-for-isis-iran-and-kurdish-allies/
In short, the U.S. withdrawal from Syria means that: ISIS may re-group and re-emerge, Iran will gain an even stronger foothold in the country, and Kurdish allies will likely be forced to strike a deal with the Assad regime. That leaves the Assad regime and its predominant on-the-ground partner, Iran, as the likely winners to emerge from this debacle.
 
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