I have mentioned in a previous article about the need to achieve a decisive victory in Syria in order to get rid of the terrorism that threatens the global body as well as the Syrian body. The focus was on the threat of terrorism in the world. I would like to point out that the analysis of the Syrian situation from the standpoint of terrorism is only the analysis that takes into consideration the symptoms of the disease without examining the real causes of it. Terrorism was and will remain the product of a real disease, from which the world suffered today. Let me remind you of the statements and analyses of the famous Russian philosopher Alexander Dugin, that most problems of the world today are related to the nature of new liberalism, which increasingly becomes more brutal and greedy. The forces of capital are looking more and more for power and control of the whole world to be like a game controlled by them, and all what we hear about freedom, democracy, and human rights are, from their point of view, only tools for more power and more control.

Neo-liberalism has come to the conclusion that there is no life, no future without it taking over the world, including Russia, and that uni-polarity is an essential condition of its existence. It does not accept a partnership with anyone and cannot continue with a multi-polar world. Therefore, the Russian vision of a multi-polar world, which started from a correct understanding of the nature of the world today, is an existence war for the United States. The nature of neo-liberal forces in the United States does not accept multi-polarity or even regional countries with weight and ability to maintain their national interests. Perhaps this is one of the causes of the hostility from the US to Iran and Syria.

I've been saying this for a long time, and I'll say it again here — in life there are only two kinds of people: those who know and those who don't. Some might claim there is a third option: those who don't want to know. In any case, if you want to be able to foresee geopolitical and social trends, you have to be one of the people who know.

Above all else, in order to know you must be willing to step outside of the confusion and theater of the circus and look at developments from above. If you are biased and retain too many sacred cows you will never understand how the world works. You will be too busy trying to reinforce your own fantasies to see anything else.

Beyond this, you must also understand that political and social developments are not random; they are either reactions to deliberate policies of special interests or they are driven by policies of special interests. Therefore, these developments are predictable and can be calculated (to a point).

I usually refer to these "special interests" as global elites, or globalists, because that is how they often refer to themselves. The point is, most of the events you see in the political world are engineered events designed to elicit a specific psychological response from you and the people around you. You are not a human being to these people; you are either an asset to be molded or an obstacle to be disposed of. This is how our world works. Period. And until we fully understand this and accept it, things will never change.

Kurds may be among local forces remaining in the Syrian city of Manbij to secure it against potential attack by Daesh terror group, but the People's Protection Units (YPG) have moved east of the Euphrates, US Department of Defense spokesman Peter Cook said on Tuesday.

Cook explained that a number of the fighters now in Manbij may be Kurds who lived in the city before it was occupied by Daesh. "There are local forces in Manbij now that are securing Manbij against the threat of [Daesh] returning, and we'll continue to address Turkish concerns about the makeup of those forces, but we heard very publicly from the YPG that they were moving east of the Euphrates," Cook told reporters.

The United States views the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) as a credible source of information for confirming who is responsible for bombing hospitals in the Syrian city of Aleppo, US Department of State spokesman John Kirby said in a briefing on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Russia's Defense Ministry denied allegations reported by SOHR and Qatari television channel Al Jazeera that claimed Russian combat jets bombed hospitals in Aleppo.

The Knesset has preliminarily approved a bill which would exempt security forces from having to record the interrogations of terror suspects. Authorities say the move will help to counter terrorism, while critics fear possible human rights violations.

Israeli lawmakers approved the bill in its first reading on Monday, Haaretz reported.

Currently, all interrogations in Israel must be recorded, but several years ago the Knesset suspended the rule for terrorism-related cases. The new bill basically aims to turn the temporary legislation into a permanent law, exempting the Israel Police and Shin Bet security service from being obliged to record the interrogation process.

The EU Parliament is debating a resolution that aims to establish measures "to tackle Russian and ISIS propaganda." In the latest wake of anti-Russia sentiment, the British parliament will also hear a report denouncing public figures with alleged Russia links.

On Wednesday, MEPs in Strasbourg will vote on a non-legislative resolution which calls for the EU to "respond to information warfare by Russia and Islamist terrorists with more positive messaging, awareness raising, and education in information literacy."

Washington has expressed discomfort over Russia's deployment of Iskander missiles and air defenses in Kaliningrad, saying that NATO is a "defensive alliance" and is not threatening Moscow. Meanwhile, more tanks and troops are being deployed to the Baltics.

"NATO is a defensive alliance, it's always been a defensive alliance, it will remain a defensive alliance," State Department spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Tuesday. "There is no reason why Russia should view NATO in any way, shape or form as a threat."

On Sunday, NATO kicked off "Iron Sword 2016" exercises in Lithuania, the largest such maneuvers to date, involving 4,000 troops from across the alliance. The exercises in 2015 and 2014 involved 2,500 and 2,000 troops, respectively.

"There is no reason for anybody in Russia to feel threatened by NATO's military activities or preparations." Kirby continued. "In terms of recent months and years, there would have been no reason for NATO to advance and commit additional capabilities on the European continent - including American capabilities - had it not been for Russia's move in Ukraine."

The Russian Navy will be bolstered by six additional Su-30SM fighter jets, two Il-38 anti-submarine aircraft, as well as 10 helicopters of various modifications by the end of the year, according to Commander-in-Chief Admiral Vladimir Korolev.

"Naval aviation has already received several pieces of the latest military equipment and weaponry as part of an arming process. By the end of the year it will also be equipped with six additional Su-30SM fighter jets, two Il-38 aircraft, as well as 10 helicopters of various modifications," the Russian Navy commander announced on Tuesday.


An expanded meeting of the Navy's Military Council took place in St. Petersburg on Tuesday, and was attended by the North, Pacific, Black and Caspian Sea flotilla commanders. The commander of the Western Military District, Colonel Andrey Kartapolov, was also present.

The production of the Su-30SM is carried out at the Irkutsk aircraft factory. According to a contract signed with the Ministry of Defense, the Air Force should receive 88 fighters, while 28 will go to the Navy. At the same time the Ilyushin Aviation Complex is to supply the Defense Ministry with a total of 20 modernized anti-submarine aircraft Il-38N by 2020, according to the contract.

Seeking contacts with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, the Russian leadership has turned to its connections in Jewish business circles, Gazeta.ru has learned. Despite accusations of xenophobia, Trump maintains good relations with the Jewish community and intends to involve his son-in-law Jared Kushner in his administration.

A high-ranking and well-informed source has told online Russian news publication Gazeta.ru that in their search for channels of communication with U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Kremlin representatives have used members of Russia's Jewish business circles who have contacts with the family of his daughter Ivanka's husband Jared Kushner, an Orthodox Jew.

In an interview with Gazeta.ru, the president of the Russian Jewish Congress, Yury Kanner, said he could neither confirm nor deny reports that the Kremlin had tried to establish communication with Trump via members of the Jewish business community.

"Generally speaking, attempts to use representatives of global business, including Jewish business, are absolutely normal in this situation. I am convinced: Not only members of the Russian leadership are seeking contacts with Donald Trump," he said.

According to Kanner, following Trump's victory in the U.S. presidential election, traditional political and diplomatic channels lost their relevance for a while: The elected American leader is a businessman and prior to the election campaign was not involved in politics.

There is no warrant for the media to talk about a chaotic transition when Donald Trump has made more and smoother appointments at this stage in his transition than did Barack Obama and Bill Clinton did during theirs.

Less than 2 weeks since his unexpected election victory, it is already becoming clear that one of the major problems Donald Trump is going to face is the established media's hostility to everything he does.

A case in point is the way the media is misreporting his discussions aimed at setting up his new administration. There has been much talk about how this process has supposedly be chaotic, with much talk of a backlash against Trump for some of his appointments.

On the contrary my opinion is that the process has been going quite smoothly. Trump acted decisively and quickly to replace Christie with Pence as head of the transition team, rather than remove Christie too late when it was already obvious that he was not up to the job, whilst the appointments of Reince Priebus as Chief of Staff and Stephen Bannon as chief strategist seem to be carefully judged to balance the appointment of a seasoned political insider and professional manager (Priebus) against a loyal publicist and ideologue (Bannon), whilst his appointments of Michael Flynn as National Security Adviser, Jeff Sessions as Attorney General and Mike Pompeo as CIA chief bring in seasoned professionals who in the cases of Sessions and Pompeo should not have difficulty getting Senate confirmation.

The latter is important because the way Trump obtained the Presidency set him at odds with the Republican Party establishment, which means he has few obvious allies in the Senate. In order to ensure a smooth transition and to avoid embarrassing defeats in the Senate during the confirmation process, Trump has to win over the leading Republican Senators and the leaders of the Republican Party's establishment.