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Trump slams Saudi 'lies' over Khasoggi as Erdogan promises to release details Tuesday


RFE/RL
Sun, 21 Oct 2018 21:35 UTC
trump
© Evan Vucci / AP
U.S. President Trump criticized Saudi Arabia's explanation for the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, saying that "obviously there's been deception, and there's been lies."

Trump's comments on October 21 came as Britain, Germany, and France issued a joint statement condemning the Khashoggi's killing at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, saying there is an "urgent need for clarification of exactly what happened."

On the same day, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he would make public on October 23 the "naked truth" about the killing of the dissident, who was last seen entering the consulate on October 2.

Riyadh's explanation that Khashoggi was killed involuntarily in a "fistfight" was met with international skepticism. Saudi Arabia said 18 Saudis were arrested and several top intelligence officials were fired.

In an interview with The Washington Post published on October 21, Trump said "their stories are all over the place," in his strongest comments to date.

Comment: See also:


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Cardboard Box

"Putin's Puppet" Advances Nuclear Missile Escalations Against Putin

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Sun, 21 Oct 2018 20:07 UTC
putin puppet master trump
Yesterday the news broke that Swamp Monster-In-Chief John Bolton has been pushing President Trump to withdraw from the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty, the 1988 arms control agreement between the US and the Soviet Union eliminating all missiles of a specified range from the arsenals of the two nuclear superpowers. Today, Trump has announced that he will be doing exactly as Bolton instructed.

This would be the second missile treaty between the US and Russia that America has withdrawn from since it abandoned the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty in 2002. John Bolton, an actual psychopath who Trump hired as his National Security Advisor in April, ran point on that move as well back when he was part of the increasingly indistinguishable Bush administration.

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Star of David

Murderous intentions: Israel announces new 'zero tolerance' policy against Gaza protesters

Jessica Corbett
Mint Press News
Fri, 19 Oct 2018 00:00 UTC
Gaza protests 10.19.18
© Ariel Schalit | AP
Israeli soldiers are positioned as Palestinian protesters arrive during a protest along the Israel Gaza border in Israel, Oct. 19, 2018.
Ahead of Great March of Return protests slated to continue at the fenced border of the Gaza Strip on Friday, Amnesty International condemned Israel's reported "zero tolerance" policy toward such demonstrations, warning it likely will lead to more bloodshed after more than six months of confrontations during which Israeli forces have killed more than 150 Palestinians and injured thousands more.

"Given Israeli forces' horrific track record of using deadly force against Palestinian demonstrators in Gaza, as well as journalists, medics, and others, the announcement of a 'zero tolerance' policy is deeply alarming," declared Saleh Higazi, deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa at Amnesty International.

Noting that "Israel has repeatedly used lethal force unnecessarily and excessively against unarmed protesters in shameless violation of international law," Higazi emphasized that "there are serious fears that this policy will further sanction the use of deadly force against unarmed protesters during today's demonstrations, and that Israeli forces will be given carte blanche authorization to carry out large-scale, unlawful killings escalating the bloodshed."

Comment: Words of denouncement are merely tokenisms - nothing will restrain Israeli violence toward Palestinians until the international community takes action to force Israel to abide by international law...and we aren't holding our breath.

Neither justice nor morality: Israeli impunity from crimes against humanity

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Whistle

'Open-border propaganda on steroids': New UN document declares that migration is a human right


Free West Media
Fri, 12 Oct 2018 20:15 UTC
Migrant camp
© Frederic Legrand / Shutterstock.com
There goes the neighborhood.
German AfD MP Markus Frohnmaier says he is most disconcerted by the latest developments. Piled up on his desk, is a mountain of papers with the headers showing the logo of the United Nations.

"Every MP of Europe, every MEP and even every mayor should be forced to read this", says 27-year-old Frohnmaier, one of the youngest deputies in the Bundestag.

In September 2017, he was elected to parliament on the list of the Eurosceptic party Alternative für Deutschland (AfD). "If there had not been the AfD in the German parliament, no other political force would dare to criticise this monstrous document."

The document in question, is the draft text for the so-called Global Compact for Migration for UN member states. It is more or less a globalist project where all signatory states declare their will to abolish the current different categories of migrants in order to declare migration a blanket "human right".
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Biohazard

Syrian minister says OPCW has been granted access to research centers as requested


Sputnik
Sun, 21 Oct 2018 20:12 UTC
chemical protection suit hasmat
© Associated Press / Alfonso Perez
A marine officer of the Cape Ray, a ship equipped to neutralize Syrian chemicals, shows a chemical protection suit to reporters
Syria's government has approved an inspection by the joint panel of UN experts and a chemical weapons watchdog to two research centers, the deputy foreign minister told Sputnik.

"We have approved all visits requested by the OPCW, including this one. It is an official inspection that pursues a specific goal. We will by no means hinder the OPCW and will let it get acquainted with our achievements - which is our commitment to obligations," Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said.

Comment: A good move by Syria, but there's little chance the visit won't be turned into another opportunity to smear the Assad government.

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No Entry

First real response to Khashoggi dismemberment: Germany suspends arms sales to Saudi Arabia


RT
Sun, 21 Oct 2018 20:02 UTC
German Leopard 2 tank
© Reuters / Fabian Bimmer
German Leopard 2 tank.
The sale of arms to Saudi Arabia by Germany cannot take place under the current circumstances, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has announced, referencing the death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi.

Merkel's statement comes just hours after Germany, the UK, and France issued a joint statement in which they said there is an "urgent need for clarification of exactly what happened" to the Washington Post journalist, adding that "hypotheses" proposed in the Saudi investigation must be backed up with facts.

Comment: Good on her. Of course, that's probably because Germany is less reliant on Saudi bucks than France, the UK and US.

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Question

Could there be any sort of peaceful future for Afghanistan?

Martin Berger
New Eastern Outlook
Sat, 20 Oct 2018 00:00 UTC
Army guy and other
© Unknown
In early October, the world commemorated the 17th anniversary of the American invasion of Afghanistan. As it's been pointed out by the Hill, it's been a tragic failure from the get-go, but for reasons few people understand.

Those countries that sent their troops in the early 2000s to Afghanistan to destroy hotbeds of terrorism, exile the Taliban and ensure a lasting peace are now forced to recognize that the security situation is deteriorating rapidly in this Central Asian state. While the better part of Afghan territories are formally controlled by the government, certain key junctions are under constant attack by the Taliban. To make matters worse, all of the sins that have been plaguing this country for decades still persist to this very day. Among them is chaotic mismanagement, as the country is governed by two leaders playing against each other, namely Afghanistan's president Ashraf Ghani and the sitting prime minister Abdullah Abdullah. Further still, there's the growing weakness of Afghan security forces; rampant corruption and massive drug trafficking.

Moreover, US military instructors have found out last year that Afghan security forces are shrinking rapidly, with the number of police and military officers showing an 11% decline. And this trend occurs in spite of the fact that the United States, if the statement made by the special inspector general for Afghanistan reconstruction (SIGAR), John Sopko, is to be believed, perceives the build up of Afghan security forces to be its top priority.

Comment: Afghanistan is the never-ending conflict complexity that sucks the marrow out of the bones of war. As to the dual negotiations contest between the US and Russia for an Afghan settlement...win or lose, all or nothing, any bets?

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Footprints

Honduras and Soros behind migrant caravans?

Daniel John Sobieski
American Thinker
Thu, 18 Oct 2018 00:00 UTC
Soros Migrants
© magneettimedia.com
George Soros and Migrants
Just in time for the midterms, another "spontaneous" migration from Central America began with a bevy of allegedly oppressed and downtrodden Hondurans leading the way. Pressured by a threat from President Trump to cut aid to Honduras, Guatemala, and El Salvador if the caravan is not stopped, some moves by these governments have been made. Yet evidence exists that these migrations are not spontaneous, with both of the governments in question encouraging them as a political and economic safety valve and a source of foreign currency, financed in part by foreign leftists with connections to George Soros.

As Fox News's Laura Ingraham noticed in a tweet, this is not a walk in a national park, but an expensive and arduous journey:
Who is funding the migrant "caravan"? Each migrant's passage can cost as much as $7K each. Per capita income Honduras is $2.3 K.
It is doubtful that such sums came from the kiddies' college funds. Evidence of Soros funding of an earlier "spontaneous" migration have been found among the tentacles of support that flow from his Open Society group coffers:

Comment: See also:

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Nuke

Trump says he'll pull US out of 'unacceptable' nuclear arms deal with Russia


RT
Sat, 20 Oct 2018 20:34 UTC
Trump
© Reuters/Brian Snyder
Nuclear posturing.
The US will pull out of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF) with Russia, AP reports President Donald Trump saying. He cited Russia's alleged treaty violations, while at the same time vowing to "develop the weapons."

"We are going to terminate the agreement and then we are going to develop the weapons" unless Russia and China agree to a new deal, Trump said on Saturday. Although Trump claims that Russia has violated the deal, he provided no evidence of that claim during his Saturday announcement.

Trump made the announcement following a campaign stop in Elko, Nevada, just one day after the Guardian reported that National Security Adviser John Bolton was pushing the president to leave the treaty.

Russia has repeatedly said it will keep strictly observing the INF treaty as long as the US does. However, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated in October 2017 that any withdrawal from Washington would see an "immediate and mirror-like" response from Moscow.

Comment: Unfortunately, the 'word' of man is either never good enough nor true long enough. Trust is one of those things that can never be broken in order to remain the goal and binder. When one party fails this test, everyone fails. Trump has left the door open for negotiation.

See also: US should consider consequences of leaving Nuclear Arms Treaty - German Foreign Minister

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Russian Flag

DM Shoigu: Russian AF destroyed 122,000 Syrian terrorist targets; militants threaten Asia Pacific region


Sputnik
Sat, 20 Oct 2018 07:46 UTC
Russian bomber
© Sputnik/Dmitriy Vinogradov
Russian SU-24 Bomber
The Russian Aerospace Forces have carried out over 40,000 missions, including over 21,000 sorties during the night time, in the course of their operation in Syria, Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu said at the fifth ASEAN and Dialogue Partners Defense Ministers Meeting (ADMM-Plus) in Singapore.

"In the course of the military actions, over 122,000 terror targets have been eliminated. The main part of the militants has been killed. In Syria, we have received the vast fighting experience which we are ready to share," Shoigu pointed out.

Peaceful life was being restored in Syria, the defense minister added, noting that over 2,500 settlements across the country have joined the reconciliation process due to the work of the Russian Reconciliation Center in Syria. The key focus of the Middle Eastern country's authorities was on solving humanitarian issues and returning refugees to their homes, the minister noted.

Shoigu also said that the return of militants to the Asia Pacific region after fighting in Syria and Iraq boosts terror threat in Southeast Asia.
"The return of terrorists, who have received fighting experience in Syria and Iraq, to the Asia Pacific region remains an acute problem. They represent the ready force for joining local terror cells... Terrorism becomes the more and more grave threat for Asia Pacific states. This is caused by the activities of the significant number of extremist organizations in Southeast Asia."

Comment: Has the war in Syria been 'a look here not there' bonus to the dispersement of terror cells in other regions? Reports also warn of the spread to Afghanistan, Russia and Europe, nor is the US immune. See also:

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