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Blackmail: EU leaders court Turkey in bid to stem flow of refugees


Bloomberg
Thu, 12 Nov 2015 22:07 UTC
Image
© Aris Messinis/AFP/Getty Images
Refugees and migrants jump off a dinghy upon their arrival on the Greek island of Lesbos after crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey. European Union governments will solicit Turkey’s help in stemming the flow of refugees by offering financial aid, visa waivers for Turkish travelers and the relaunch of Turkey’s membership bid.
European Union governments will solicit Turkey's help in stemming the flow of refugees by offering financial aid, visa waivers for Turkish travelers and the relaunch of Turkey's membership bid.

EU leaders will debate the incentives package for Turkey at a summit in Valletta, Malta, on Thursday, before the bloc's top officials meet Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Group of 20 summit starting Sunday.

Chancellor Werner Faymann of Austria, one of the refugees' main destinations, said the EU has to move faster to seal an agreement to step up aid for Turkey as the price for Erdogan's cooperation in halting the refugee tide.

"When are we going to pick up the pace?" Faymann told reporters Wednesday in Valletta.

Comment: So EU's desperation puts Turkey in a position to blackmail the EU for its assistance in the refugee crises. Erdogan proposes it has the solution. But Turkey released the refugees from its camps to migrate to Europe. It's all Syria's fault and Russia is only making it 'worse' therefore the EU needs NATO for protection. Instead of following Russia's lead in Syria to bring back stability in the Middle East, fear and Western propaganda has overtaken their thinking faculties and setting themselves up for fear and war.

Middle East confusion? Can we sort it out?

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Bad Guys

Who let the dogs out? Erdogan makes 'friendly warning' to Russia and threatens military operation in Syria


Sputnik
Thu, 12 Nov 2015 21:03 UTC
Recep Tayyip Erdogan

I'll huff and I'll puff ...
The victory of the pro-presidential party in the parliamentary elections in Turkey inspired Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan to make sharp statements against Russia, the German newspaper Der Spiegel wrote.

The President issued "a friendly warning" to Moscow regarding Russian airstrikes in Syria and said that those who would fuel the conflict in the Middle East would soon find themselves in this fire.

Inspired by his party's victory in the parliamentary elections, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan apparently decided that his country can play a more serious part in resolving regional problems and said that "political uncertainty" in his country is over, Der Spiegel wrote.

Comment: The US will send in their lap dog Turkey to try and force Russia into a ground war. See how well that turns out.

Syrian Army triumph at Kuweires air base throws wrench into planned US-Turkey invasion
A fool's game: First 6 of 12 US fighter jets deployed to Turkey to 'defeat ISIS' and deter 'Russian aggression'

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Snakes in Suits

Say what? John Kerry blames Assad for creation of Islamic State


Sputnik
Thu, 12 Nov 2015 20:47 UTC
John Kerry
© REUTERS/ Brendan Smialowski/Pool
Speaking at the US Institute of Peace in Washington, DC, US Secretary of State John Kerry discussed Washington's foreign policy in Syria.

"The stakes could not be higher," Kerry said on Thursday, before insisting that the United States is "on the right track and we are making gains and we are clear on the road ahead."

The secretary of state also reiterated the Obama administration's three principle goals for ending the conflict. The first is the necessity for defeating the self-proclaimed Islamic State terrorist group, the second is the intensification of diplomatic efforts, and the third being a determination to support regional allies to ensure that Syria's instability does not spread beyond its borders.

Comment: Well that certainly was clear, US stomping its feet because they lost Syria.

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Airplane

Israeli warplanes strike targets in Syria


PressTV
Thu, 12 Nov 2015 20:17 UTC
Israeli warplanes

File photo of Israeli warplanes
Israeli warplanes have struck targets near the international airport in the Syrian capital, Damascus, Syrian media says. The reports said the attack happened Wednesday morning. There were no immediate comments from the Syrian government on the issue.

In October, the Israeli military launched a number of artillery attacks against Syrian army posts in the Golan Heights. Syria says Israel and its Western and regional allies are aiding Takfiri militant groups operating inside the Arab country.

The Syrian army has repeatedly seized huge quantities of Israeli-made weapons and advanced military equipment from the foreign-backed militants inside Syria. The Tel Aviv regime has a long history of supporting militant groups against the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad over the past few years of turmoil in the Arab country.

Comment: This report, if confirmed, signals an escalation of Israeli involvement in Syria. Perhaps this reveals the intentions behind Netanyahu's recent visit to D.C..

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Monkey Wrench

Syrian war-hawk Lindsey Graham goes berserk, advocates shooting down Russian planes


Sputnik
Thu, 12 Nov 2015 18:41 UTC
Lindsey Graham
One of GOP presidential hopefuls, South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, is deadly serious when he says that he would bring down Russian military aircraft taking part in Moscow's counterterrorism efforts in Syria because they allegedly attack US-backed rebels.
"I would literally shoot [Putin's] planes down if he attacked the people we trained because we have to do that," he told AM 970 The Answer.
In other words, the Senator, who is still harboring hopes of becoming America's next commander-in-chief, believes that a country unauthorized to operate in Syria's airspace has a right to shoot down military planes of a nation which was officially asked to assist Damascus-led forces in their fight against radicals trying to overthrow Bashar al-Assad. And to what end?

Relations between the US and Russia are at an all-time low prompting many to call this era the "Cold War 2.0." An incident in the Syrian skies would have unpredictable and extremely grave consequences. Shooting a Russian military aircraft means taking a huge leap towards a major (possibly military) confrontation.

Comment: Many people are seeing through the charade, and Graham is clearly blowing a gasket trying to maintain it.

See Graham falling apart at the seams:



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Pirates

Feeling the heat: Saudi al-Nusra commander begs terrorists to fight in Aleppo, fears Syrian Army offensive


FARS News Agency
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 19:15 UTC
Nusra Front in Aleppo
© AFP 2015/ AMC / FADI AL-HALABI
A top Saudi commander of the Al-Nusra Front - Al-Qaeda's official branch in Syria - urged all militant groups across Syria to leave their positions for Aleppo, warning that the strategic territory near the border with Turkey will soon be completely lost if thousands of fresh forces do not join them in coming days.

Abdullah al-Muhsini, the al-Nusra's senior commander, wrote on his social network pages that in case all militant groups do not join their comrades in Aleppo, the entire province "which is of vitally strategic value will soon be lost" to the Syrian army.

The Saudi Sheikh who is also a religious leader voiced deep concern over militants' status quo in Aleppo, saying that the Syrian army and its allies have increased the momentum of their advances in the last few days.

Comment: Aleppo borders Turkey. ISIS still controls that border region. Losing it would cut ISIS off from their supply line coming in from Turkey. In other words, ISIS needs to hold on to Aleppo if they're to continue receiving troops, weapons and other support from their real masters, via Turkey. No wonder Muhsini is desperate!

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Monkey Wrench

Syrian Army triumph at Kuweires air base throws wrench into planned US-Turkey invasion

Mike Whitney
Counterpunch
Wed, 11 Nov 2015 19:00 UTC
Syria airbase siege broken

Syrian Army soldier celebrates after 3 year long siege of Kuweires airbase in Aleppo by ISIS was finally broken
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) achieved its greatest victory in the four year-long war on Tuesday when it recaptured the strategic Kuweires military airbase in North Syria. Hundreds of ISIS terrorists were killed in intense fighting while hundreds more were sent fleeing eastward towards Raqqa. The victory was announced just hours after Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour that Turkey would be willing to invade Syria as long as Washington agreed to provide air support, create a safe zone along the Syrian-Turkish border, and remove Syrian President Bashar al Assad.

Now that Kuweires has been liberated, Davutoğlu will have to reconsider his offer taking into consideration the fact that Russian warplanes will now be within striking distance of the border while troops and artillery will be positioned in a way that makes crossing into Syria as difficult as possible. The window for Turkish troops to enter Syria unopposed has closed. Any attempt to invade the country now will result in stiff resistance and heavy casualties.

To fully understand the significance of Kuweires, we need take a look at Amanpour's interview with Davutoğlu and see what was being planned. Here's an excerpt:
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V

Breaking of ISIS siege on Syrian airbase leaves ISIS wide open to further defeats


The Arab Source
Thu, 12 Nov 2015 18:58 UTC
al-bab kuweires

Map showing the cities of Al-Bab and Deir Hafer in the east Aleppo countryside
The end of the Kuweires Military Airport's long siege has created a world of problems for the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS) inside the Deir Hafer Plains, as their once untouched supply route that stretched from the from the provincial capital of the Aleppo Governorate to the provincial capital of the Al-Raqqa Governorate has been cutoff by the Syrian Armed Forces.

The Kuweries Military Airport is strategically located 8km west of ISIS' stronghold at Deir Hafer and 17km south of the imperative city of Al-Bab - both of these cities are separated by the Aleppo-Raqqa Highway.

Deir Hafer is situated along the Aleppo-Raqqa Highway and it provides ISIS a gateway from their capital at Al-Raqqa to the entire eastern Aleppo countryside; without control of this highway, they will have to rely on the season roads that are within range of the Syrian Arab Army's anti-tank missiles.

Without direct access to Al-Bab from Deir Hafer, ISIS will be forced to find another supply route that will likely take them much longer to travel through, which, in turn, will leave them vulnerable to airstrikes and other militaristic obstacles.

Comment: Despite Russian airstrikes taking out over 2000 ISIS targets, and the SAA and NDF retaking several towns and villages, the Syrians hadn't won a major strategic victory on the ground -- until now. It's a morale booster for the troops that have been besieged for 2-3 years and the army as a whole.

See also: Syrian Army launches operation to take back second strategic airbase

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Black Magic

Former advisor to the State Dept.: Victoria Nuland and the war party's answer to everything is 'it's all Putin's fault'


Sputnik
Thu, 12 Nov 2015 20:23 UTC
Image
© AP Photo/ Pablo Martinez Monsivais
It seems that the US war party's primary goal is to forever ruin US-Russian relations, former advisor to the US-Russia Presidential Commission at the US State Department James Carden notes.

A hearing held by the House Foreign Affairs Committee last Wednesday has indicated clearly that the US war party is determined to drive a wedge between the United States and Russia, according to James Carden, a Washington-based expert and former advisor to the US-Russia Presidential Commission at the US State Department.

The war party's stand, or goal, is to forever ruin US-Russian relations. But rather than being preoccupied by Russia's much-decried invasion of Ukraine, it is now focused on Russia's 'escalation' over Syria," Carden pointed out in his article for the Nation.


Comment: It would be more accurate to say that the war party's stand or goal is not merely "forever ruin US-Russian relations" but to ruin and subugate Russia period. But, of course, Mr. Carden cannot go that far writing for a fairly mainstream publication, even if he believes it.

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Arrow Down

Pentagon and Co. epic fail: Why U.S. weapons systems are worse than Russia's

Jacob Dreizin
Russian Insider
Thu, 12 Nov 2015 18:10 UTC
US F-35 fighter jet

The F-35: Insanely expensive, its costs keep soaring - and it's worse than Russian planes which cost 20 times less
The US military is in serious trouble, unable to compete with Russia, and unlikely to change going forward. Two reasons: complexity, and too much money.

Lately we have seen some good analysis on the limits and vulnerabilities of the American military in light of events in the former Ukraine and especially Russia's demonstrated competence in Syria.

So we have the "what" of the issue, but how about the "why"?

As a U.S. Army veteran and a longtime resident of the Beltway—including four-and-a-half years living on Crystal Drive in Arlington, Virginia, which has probably the densest concentration of "defense" contractors anywhere in America—I think I understand what is fundamentally wrong with the U.S. military-industrial complex (MIC.)

First and foremost, the MIC has long been incapable of producing durable, efficient, versatile weapons.

We don't even have to look to the F-35 on this one.

Just consider the most basic item, the M-16.

Comment: It would seem that Russia has indeed called the US bluff, both politically and militarily, in the most decorous of diplomatic terms, possibly privately gaping in wonder at Washington's clownish ineptitude.

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