Puppet MastersS


Attention

Pentagon confirms carrying out airstrike on al-Qaeda leadership in Idlib - on first day of Syrian/Russian-announced ceasefire - UPDATE

joulani
Civilians in Idlib (Syria) burning the photo of al-Golani
The Pentagon has confirmed that the US-led coalition has carried out strikes against the leaders of an al-Qaeda-linked militant group north of the city of Idlib, Idlib province, Syria, AFP has reported, citing a statement by the US Central Command.

Earlier, local media reported that the coalition had launched a missile attack against the headquarters of Hurras ad-Din, an insurgent group affiliated with al-Qaeda which has waged a war with Syrian government forces during the Syrian conflict.

US attacks on non-Daesh (ISIS) targets in Syria are relatively rare, and the coalition previously reported attacking al-Qaeda linked militants at a meeting of commanders west of Aleppo in late June.

Unconfirmed footage and photos purporting to show the damage caused by Saturday's strike has appeared online.


According to local media, Saturday's strike killed over 40 militants and field commanders, with Tahrir al-Sham (Nusra Front) commander Abu Mohammad al-Julani also reportedly present at the meeting; his fate remains unknown. Commanders of 'moderate' pro-Turkish armed opposition forces were also said to be at the meeting.

The strike is thought to have completely destroyed the two story building in which the meeting took place. It's unclear whether the coalition used aircraft or cruise missiles to carry out the strike.

Comment: The new ceasefire came into effect early today. Neither the Syrians nor Russians were in the skies when the U.S. launched its strike. Moon of Alabama reports:
The Turkish President Erdogan changed his position on Idlib after his recent visit to Moscow. He stopped the supplies to the 'rebels' to allow the Syrian campaign against them to succeed. The so called 'rebels' it has long supported now turn against it.

Another data point that confirms that take is a sudden lack of anti-armor missiles in the hand of the 'rebels':
The use of anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM) by militant groups against the Syrian Army in Idlib province has fallen to almost zero as of the final days of August.
...
Since the Syrian Army kicked-off its Greater Idlib ground offensive against Islamist groups in early May, about 100 guided missiles from various systems have been used by militant groups during the three and a half months since.
It is pretty obvious that Turkey ended its missile supply to the 'rebels':
[O]ne only needs to assess the current attitude on pro-militant social media right now - an attitude which is highly critical of Turkey's lack of intervention in Idlib, a major part of this lack of intervention being identified by these sources as the sudden "collapse" (or rather, withholding) of ATGM supplies by Turkey.
The cutting off of supplies for the Jihadists in Idlib and the closing of the borders to 'rebels' who want to flee to Turkey made the country a target for those fighters. The Turkish president may well have calculated that killing their leaders now will lessen the danger of getting attacked by them.
It looks as if this was planned, possibly with coordination between the Americans and the Russians (and Turkey?), i.e. the unilateral ceasefire is put into effect, giving 'clear skies' from which the U.S. can then bomb al-Qaeda leadership positions. It looks like the terrorists may finally have been abandoned by their masters...

UPDATE: The Russians have commented on the strike, saying it was NOT coordinated with them or Turkey:
Sending no warning to Russia or Turkey, the US bombed an array of targets within Idlib, Syria, killing numerous civilians and threatening the hard-earned truce across the province, the Russian Defense Ministry said.

The air raid led to "multiple casualties and destruction" around two villages in the Idlib province, where a fragile ceasefire between government forces and militants is still in place, the Russian Reconciliation Center said on Sunday. The airstrike, carried out on Saturday, "endangered the truce" and "violated all previous arrangements."

Earlier, US Central Command (CENTCOM) said it targeted leaders of a group it calls al-Qaeda in Syria. The strike "will further degrade their ability to conduct future attacks and destabilize the region," it claimed.

But it hit shortly after Syrian government forces began a unilateral truce in the rebel-held province, Russia's Defense Ministry noted. The Syrian Army is still sticking to the ceasefire despite militant attacks provoked by the US bombing.



Bad Guys

Hezbollah winning against Israel without firing a shot - so far

israeli dummies
The Israeli army was well able to hide its soldiers along the Lebanese-Israeli border. Hezbollah defeated the Israeli army without firing a shot by forcing the army to disappear and leave puppets behind in its military vehicles. That is to prevent any opportunity for Hezbollah to avenge the killing of its members in Syria, for sending booby-trapped drones to the southern suburb of Beirut and for attacking a Palestinian military officer in the Bekaa. Along the border with Lebanon, from the coastal city of Naqoura to the occupied town of the Shebaa Farms, for about 60 kilometres, Hezbollah is searching for Israeli military targets without finding any apparent soldier. That means Hezbollah would be obliged to target a non-visible object inland. Hezbollah's bank of objectives is rich and selecting an Israeli target will not be very difficult. It is not forced to reveal the exact time of revenge, happy to keep Israel on its toes, spreading fear and continuous anxiety over the entire country.

Hezbollah is not in a hurry to close the account and may not really need to jump the gun. Striking a far-flung target would reveal Hezbollah's capabilities: better to keep its special arsenal unrevealed for a more serious, wider military confrontation. Hezbollah is therefore in favour of using laser missiles, snipers or camouflaged booby-traps, or precision missiles and suicide drones that can inflict heavy casualties on Israeli soldiers as they gather together (if and when possible!).

For the first time since 2006 (the third war on Lebanon), a whole week has gone by without any Israeli ground violations. The number of these violations was up to five per week and about 167 per month (air, land and sea), rebuffing the UN Resolution 1701. Israel continues to violate Lebanese airspace every day, dozens of times a day.

Comment: This was written yesterday. Today there are reports that Israel has continued escalating the already tense situation on the border with Lebanon, firing artillery shells to the Kfarchouba hills and reportedly dropping fire bombs as well. The Israelis report that an anti-tank missile was fired from the Lebanese side of the border toward an Israeli border village.


That soon became "a large number" of missiles:
"A number of anti-tank missiles were fired from Lebanon towards an Israel Defense Forces base and military vehicles. A number of hits have been confirmed," the IDF said in a statement on Sunday, adding that the Israeli military is "responding with fire towards the sources of fire and targets in southern Lebanon."

An IDF spokesman said later in the afternoon that while hostilities appeared to be over, Israeli forces remain on alert.
On Friday, the IDF accused the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force of working with Hezbollah to create precision-guided missile factories inside Lebanon. Nasrallah rejected the accusation, calling it a pretext to attack Lebanon:
"We do not have factories to produce precision-guided missiles in Lebanon," Nasrallah said, speaking to supporters on Saturday night, his comments cited by Reuters.

Hezbollah already has enough precision missiles for 'any confrontation' with Israel, big or small, Nasrallah added.

Commenting on the recent drone attacks in Beirut, which Lebanese authorities blamed on Israel, Nasrallah said the attacks open a dangerous door to killings and political assassinations in Lebanon.

According to the Hezbollah leader, the appropriate "response" to Israel's "aggression" is now 'in the hands of field commanders, who know what they must do', and 'what the limits are'.

"We want the enemy to remain confused because we left all the options open," Nasrallah said. Israel "must pay a price" for its actions, he added.
Lebanese PM Hariri has asked the US and France to intervene. Good luck with that! Israel claims there were no casualties following the missiles from Lebanon. Netanyahu instructed the IDF to "be prepared for any scenario" and president Rivlin warned, essentially, that Israel will "self-defense-to-death" anyone that harms Israel.





Light Sabers

Venezuela claims it has proof of anti-Maduro plot in Colombia

Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro
© AP Photo/Ariana CubillosFILE - In this Aug. 10, 2019 file photo, Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro lead a rally condemning the economic sanctions imposed by the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump on Venezuela, in Caracas, Venezuela. Maduro announced on Thursday, Aug. 29, that his delegates will start meeting again with the opposition to restart negotiations.
The Venezuelan government presented evidence Saturday of what it called paramilitary training camps in neighboring Colombia to plot violent attacks to undermine President Nicolás Maduro.

Communications Minister Jorge Rodríguez appeared on state television to accuse Colombian President Iván Duque of doing nothing to stop the aggression against Venezuela — or even supporting it.

Rodríguez showed satellite images and coordinates that he said prove the existence of three paramilitary camps along the border inside Colombia. They are used to train 200 armed men, he said, at times directly addressing Duque.

Chess

Yemen coalition falling apart - Hadi urges end of UAE strikes, fears secession

yemen
© Yemen Today via APIn this frame grab from video provided by Yemen Today, Yemeni army vehicles enter Zinjibar, Yemen, Wednesday, Aug. 28, 2019.
Yemen's president urged Saudi Arabia on Thursday to rein in the United Arab Emirates after warplanes from his former ally staged airstrikes on Yemeni government troops, killing and wounding dozens as they headed to retake the key southern port city of Aden from separatists backed by the UAE.

In a rare statement, President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi condemned the UAE, a former ally, for "blatant intervention" in Yemen by providing "support, money and plans" for separatists who aim at "dividing up" the country.


Comment: Oh, the irony!


His government called upon the United Nations Security Council to condemn the attacks.

The development raises concerns about the future of a Saudi-led coalition that has been fighting Yemen's Houthi rebels since 2015 and adds another complex layer to the civil war that has ravaged the Arab world's most impoverished country.

Infighting has raged for weeks between forces loyal to Yemen's internationally recognized government and the southern separatists, backed by the UAE — all ostensibly allies in the coalition.


Comment: The UAE and Saudi Arabia only had overlapping interests in Yemen. But when it comes down to it, they are there for different reasons. The UAE is more interested in the port of Aden, and not so concerned who runs the rest of the country.


Col. Mohamed al-Oban, a commander of the government's special forces in Abyan province, said the troops were on the road, headed from Abyan toward Aden on Thursday, when the strikes took place, killing at least 30.

Attention

Erdogan warns of launching own offensive in northern Syria if US delays safe zone

Turkish armored carrier
© AP Photo / Turkish Defence Ministry
Turkey intends to launch its own long-promised military operation against Kurdish forces in Syria to the east of the Euphrates River if the United States fails to meet Ankara's conditions for a safe zone within several weeks, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Saturday.

"If within a few weeks our military does not control the east of the Euphrates, we'll implement our own plan of operation. We do not have a lot of time and patience. Let no one try to mislead us using the IS [Daesh] as an excuse", the Turkish president said at a military university's graduation ceremony in Istanbul.

Earlier in the month, Turkey and the United States have opened a joint control center for the prospective buffer zone, but remain at odds over the specifics of the forces structure that will operate in the area.

Laptop

US Immigration officers are officially allowed to create fake social media profiles to spy on visa applicants

facebook
© Reuters / Akhtar Soomro
US Citizenship and Immigration officers can now use fake social media accounts to surveil foreigners seeking visas and citizenship, even after years of US lawmakers blasting foreign rivals for supposedly doing the same.

Officers have until recently been banned from creating fictitious profiles, but a Department of Homeland Security (DHS) privacy review dated July 2019 but posted online on Friday has reversed that ban. According to the review, officers with the department's Fraud Detection and National Security Directorate can keep an eye on the social media profiles of suspicious visa applicants, as they decide who to allow entry to.

Twitter told AP that it would evaluate the DHS proposal, while Facebook has yet to comment. Yet, the move seems to directly contradict the policies of both social media giants, which explicitly ban impersonation on their platforms. Both platforms just recently shut down more than 200,000 "fake accounts," supposedly operated by the Chinese government to discredit the Hong Kong protest movement.

Dollar Gold

MAKS 2019 airshow brings Russia billions in military contracts

MiG-29 jet fighters of the Strizhi (Swifts) aerobatic team at MAKS 2019
© Sputnik / Mikhail Voskresenskiy
This year's MAKS airshow has proven to be an effective sales platform for Russian companies, as they expect to ink multi-billion-dollar deals on exports of military hardware, according to the state arms trade agency.

Official arms exporter Rosoboronexport said that it held more than 200 talks and consultations during MAKS 2019, which wraps up on Sunday. The main results of the international aviation and space salon are new contracts on deliveries of Russian-made jets, helicopters, and air defense systems, according to the arms corporation.

"The successful implementation of those projects that we have discussed with our partners these August days will bring Russian enterprises several billion dollars," Rosoboronexport CEO Aleksandr Mikheyev said. He added that the funds will be used to develop modern production facilities and pay for specialists' work.

Comment: Turkey's Erdoğan seeks $100 billion trade and closer ties to Russia, meets with Putin at air show


Wall Street

Is the Fed preparing to topple the US dollar?

Mark Carney
Unusual remarks and actions by the outgoing head of the Bank of England and other central banking insiders strongly suggest that there is a very ugly scenario in the works to end the role of the US dollar as world reserve currency. In the process, this would involve that the Fed deliberately triggers a dramatic economic depression. If this scenario is actually deployed in coming months, Donald Trump will go down in history books as the second Hebert Hoover, and the world economy will be pushed into the worst collapse since the 1930s. Here are some elements worth considering.

Bank of England speech

The about-to-retire head of the very special Bank of England, Mark Carney, delivered a remarkable speech at the recent annual meeting of central bankers and finance elites at Jackson Hole Wyoming on August 23. The 23-page address to fellow central bankers and financial insiders is clearly a major signal of where the Powers That Be who run world central banks plan to take the world.

Carney addresses obvious flaws with the post-1944 dollar reserve system, noting that, "...a destabilizing asymmetry at the heart of the IMFS (International Monetary and Financial System) is growing. While the world economy is being reordered, the US dollar remains as important as when Bretton Woods collapsed." He states bluntly, "...In the longer term, we need to change the game...Risks are building, and they are structural." What he then goes on to outline is a remarkably detailed blueprint for global central bank transformation of the dollar order, a revolutionary shift.

Attention

Monsanto quashed felony charges using former top DOJ official involved in Epstein case

Alice S. Fisher and the Monsanto
© Yahoo News/Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images, Babes Against Biotech/Facebook, Haven Daley/APAlice S. Fisher and the Monsanto case.
This spring, Justice Department prosecutors were on the verge of charging biotech giant Monsanto with a felony for illegally spraying a banned, highly toxic pesticide and nerve agent in Hawaii, not far from beachside resorts on Maui. But then, according to an internal April 2019 government document viewed by the Project on Government Oversight (POGO), that decision was overruled.

Monsanto, battling a slew of high-profile lawsuits contending that its Roundup weed killer causes cancer, had its Washington lawyers intervene at the highest levels of DOJ to stop the felony case, which has not been previously reported. A key attorney handling the matter for Monsanto, Alice S. Fisher, is a former senior DOJ official alleged to have played a part in keeping Jeffrey Epstein's controversial plea deal secret from his victims more than a decade ago, although some U.S. officials have provided other reasons why victims were not notified. Fisher denies playing a decision-making role in the Epstein matter.

The felony case against Monsanto was halted after the company's lawyers launched a last-minute appeal to the office of then-Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein, according to sources close to the case. Rosenstein's office, after consulting the Justice Department's top political appointee on environmental law, then "directed" federal prosecutors "to resolve the Monsanto criminal case with misdemeanors only" before July 2019, according to the document.
Rod Rosenstein.
© Former Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Andrew Harnik/APFormer Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein.
A misdemeanor is a less serious offense, carrying reduced penalties; it is also less likely to attract public attention.

Binoculars

'She was a spy from day one': Trump assistant resigns for press leaks regarding the president's family

Madeleine Westerhout
© AP/Kathy WillensFormer Texas Gov. Rick Perry enters Trump Tower with Trump aide Madeleine Westerhout, Dec. 12, 2016, in New York.
Madeleine Westerhout, President Donald Trump's personal assistant, who has been described as a gatekeeper to the president, resigned on Thursday after leaking to the press earlier this month. Several White House officials had long suspected her of disloyalty to the president. A former staffer for the Republican National Committee and Mitt Romney's 2012 campaign, she had reportedly cried when it became clear Trump had won in 2016.

"She was a spy from day one who sought to use her proximity to the president to curry favor with his detractors," a former White House official told CBS News.

Westerhout's resignation came after Trump learned on Thursday that she had "indiscreetly shared details about his family and the Oval Office operations she was part of during a recent off-the-record dinner with reporters staying at hotels near Bedminster, N.J., during the president's working vacation," The New York Times reported.

Westerhout was immediately considered a "separated employee" and was not allowed to return to the White House on Friday.