Puppet Masters
A large Turkish military unit has been filmed in the town of Karkamis at the Turkey-Syria border. Right across it lies the Syrian town of Jarablus, controlled by the Turkey-backed Syrian anti-government militants since mid-2016, when Turkey left the territory during Operation Euphrates Shield.
The video shows a number of mine-resistant, ambush-protected MRAPs, which are also used by the Turkish army and gendarmerie, as well as several covered self-propelled multiple rocket launchers.
Other vehicles were also present at the scene, namely army trucks with tarpaulins and shipping containers, presumably carrying troops and equipment.
"If Turkey says that it will enter Syria, it will be so," Cavusoglu told reporters. "We plan to enter areas east of the Euphrates River as soon as possible."
Turkey said earlier this month that it would launch a new military operation in the area. Last week, U.S. President Donald Trump announced a decision to withdraw all U.S. troops from Syria, prompting Turkey to delay the campaign until the withdrawal is completed.
Trump has said the withdrawal from Syria will be slow and coordinated with Turkey, without providing a timetable. Turkey said the two countries are coordinating to ensure there is no "authority vacuum" once the U.S. troops leave.
Comment: Turkey wants autonomy in Northern Syria to eliminate the Kurds. It is sending strong warnings to any force willing to step in and protect the YPG.
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The news comes as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's spokesman revealed that American military officials are set to meet with their Turkish counterparts to discuss coordination on Syria following Washington's decision to withdraw troops from the Arab Republic.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu has commented on Paris' plans to remain in Syria amid the withdrawal of US troops, saying that "there will be no benefit to anyone", according to the Anadolu news agency.
Meanwhile, Hurriyet, another Turkey-based news outlet, reported that the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday the country's military is determined to enter northern Syria as soon as possible. Earlier, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said Ankara had completed preparations for the operation.
The development comes on the heels of reports of the Turkish president inviting Donald Trump to Ankara, as well as reports stating that military officials of both states are set to hold a meeting to better coordinate their actions in Syria.
Subsequent media speculation suggested that Trump made the move only after being reassured by Erdogan that Turkey would eliminate terrorist remnants in Syria.
The youthful Trudeau, who's meagre credentials include part-time drama teacher, pulled off an admirable victory in the last election, pulling his party from third place to first place.
Carefully planned photo ops of yoga poses at work, showing off his tattoos, crashing weddings, running topless through city streets and smiling broadly for the cameras promising "sunny ways" was all it took apparently. He also promised deficits, which I thought would sink him.
But no - he prevailed through sheer charisma and by contrasting himself to former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, who many Canadians had grown to view as a dull and angry man.
A new Angus Reid Institute survey has some sobering news for our flash-in-the-plan PM. Trudeau's approval rating is net negative 23% (just 35% approve; 58% disapprove).
In Trudeau's magical world of wonders, all you have to do is look good and incessantly pursue ideological gender-based ideas. The deficit? Don't worry about it. It'll balance itself - which we know is pure lunacy. It's now many times larger than he promised. In the event of the predicted economic downturn in the year to come, where is our landing cushion? We have none.
Comment: Not a stunning endorsement. Will the Canadian public agree? See also:
- Trump calls Trudeau 'weak' over 'false statements' and pulls back on G-7 communique endorsement
- Canadian PM Justin Trudeau's trip to India a "colossal failure" (Video)
- Following the Empire's orders: Justin Trudeau calls Putin a bully, tells him to leave Ukraine
- Trump warns about souring relations with Trudeau in trade war - 'It will cost the people of Canada a lot of money'
- Looks are deceiving, Justin Trudeau is a member of the old-boys' club at heart
- Trudeau government signs UN Global Compact On Migration, dealing a devastating blow to Canadian sovereignty
"As for Russia's participation in gold-mining or other mining projects, Venezuela has made a wide range of interesting proposals that are currently under consideration by interested Russian operators," the ambassador said.
The official added that Caracas is deeply interested in cooperating with Russia in the sector of exploration of the country's solid extractable resources, including gold, diamonds and coltan, which is used for the extraction of elements such as niobium and tantalum.
Apart from proven oil deposits, considered the richest in the world, Venezuela is considerably rich in natural resources such as diamonds, gold, iron ore, aluminum, bauxite, natural gas, and petroleum. According to a report by the World Gold Council published in June, the country has 150 metric tons of gold reserves, which makes it the 25th largest gold reserve in the world.
On December 17, two reports detailing ongoing Russian interference operations commissioned by the Senate Intelligence Committee were made public. They generated a week's worth of headlines and sent members of Congress and cable news pundits into a Cold War frenzy. According to the report, everything from the Green Party's Jill Stein to Instagram to Pokemon Go to the >African American had been used and confused by the deceptive Facebook pages of a private Russian troll farm called the Internet Research Agency. Nevermind that 56% of the troll farm's pages appeared after the election, that 25% of them were seen by no one, or that their miniscule online presence paled in comparison to the millions of dollars spent on social media by the two major presidential campaigns and their supporters to sway voters. This was an act of war that demanded immediate government action.
The resurrection within the military contractors' market of notorious Blackwater, which, after numerous scandals and several rebrandings, is now known as Academi, has analysts looking deeper into US intent to withdraw from the wars in the Middle East. The advertisement in Recoil, made public after Defense Secretary Jim Mattis announced his resignation, prompted concerns that president Donald Trump might be seeking to privatize ongoing American engagements in Afghanistan and Syria, following the declared troops' withdrawal from the region.
The main supporter of the idea of privatizing the US fighting in the Middle East has been Erik Prince, the former head of Blackwater. The longtime Republican sold the company in 2010 but has maintained communications with Trump, reportedly trying to lobby his inner circle to replace the US military presence in the region with mercenaries. Mattis, who served in the Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan and Iraq, firmly rejected the idea.
"The support of domestic business, increasing its capabilities is one of the most important tasks, especially today, when Russian companies are facing certain external restrictions," Putin said during the meeting in Moscow.
Referring to Western sanctions, the Russian president stressed that the Kremlin sees foreign players trying to hide behind the "political screen" that they use "in unfair competition, elimination of rivals and division of markets."
To address those challenges Russia needs to boost its industrial development and strengthen its scientific and technological base, according to Putin. He promised that the Russian government will continue to support the country's exporters, especially in non-resource sectors, like high-tech and agriculture.
At the same time Moscow is not going to build barriers for international economic cooperation and isolate itself, stressed the Russian president.
"There's an idea to introduce a list or a register of the most odious foreign politicians, government and public figures, who were spotted making the most slanderous claims about our country and our people," Konstantin Kosachev, the head of the Senate's Foreign Affairs Committee, said as the lawmakers met with the President on Tuesday.
"Such a register could be named the 'Browder List'" due to UK investor, Bill Browder, becoming "the first to turn lies against Russia into a tool of hostile state policy," he suggested.
Comment: For a man who supposedly cares about the Western values of human rights, free speech and all the rest, to the point of galvanizing Congress to punish Russia for violating them, Browder spends an inordinate amount of time and money attempting to shut down his critics. Wouldn't the truth simply stand for itself?
- Alex Krainer: Why I Wrote Grand Deception - The Truth About Bill Browder
- Amazon.com 'burns' book exposing Bill Browder
- Russian Filmmaker Nekrasov Demolishes Bill Browder's Magnitsky Fiction
- Bill Browder tries to shut down film about his $230 million theft from Russia and how he left Magnitsky to die in prison
- Some hard facts about Bill Browder, Mikhail Khodorkovsky and other Putin enemies
First we had US government envoy Kurt Volker announcing this week that an additional $250 million in military weapons were being packaged in Congress for Ukraine. Then the DC-based international lending institutions, the IMF and World Bank, signed off on multi-billion-dollar loans for Poroshenko's regime.
US government-owned Radio Free Europe described the new financial loans as a "victory" for Poroshenko. The apparent investor confidence bestowed by the Washington-based "development agencies" will boost the incumbent president's re-election prospects in the forthcoming ballot in March. Up until recently, Poroshenko was trailing in opinion polls and looked set for a trouncing defeat in the election. How convenient that the IMF and World Bank - under the control of US government - should step up to the plate with a very big helping hand. And that's not seen as interference in a country's sovereign affairs?
Comment: And with that kind of support, is it any wonder Kiev is already planning it's next provocation? 'Cruising for a bruising'? Ukraine plans another incursion into Kerch Strait aimed to draw in NATO
See also:
- Drama in the Kerch Strait: A desperate ploy by West to undermine upcoming Trump/Putin meet
- Secrets of the 'dead souls' of Ukraine's population
- Putin: Poroshenko sent Ukrainians to die in Kerch Strait in hopes of boosting approval rating
- The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism (Documentary)
Dr. Mohammed Al-Goddi, political advisor to Ph.D. Saif Al-Islam Al-Qadhafi, answers the questions.
How do you assess the current situation in Libya?
Since 2011 (March 19, 2011, the NATO alliance began bombing Libyan cities and towns. -N.S.) The situation in Libya continues to deteriorate. Elections were partially held in 2014, but not all Libyan citizens were admitted to these elections; Yes, and those who have chosen are in great disagreement among themselves. As a result of the elections, the government of the so-called national accord came to power, but, unfortunately, there is no agreement, the discord has deepened even more, and external forces constantly intervene in Libya's affairs. All the terms of operation of the government and the parliament, which they agreed upon, are already overdue, and so far they have not been able to agree on the extension of the agreements. As a result, there are two governments in Libya, one in Tripoli, the other in El-Baida, and another organ has been created - the Supreme Legislative Council; it is also called upon to play the role of parliament.















Comment: Turkey's one irrefutable desire has been to eradicate the Kurds. Deals have been made. We shall see how they play out. See also: