Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin - 'The light at the end of the night'
The head of state today visited the student forum "Together Forward" in Kazan.
Puppet Masters
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin - 'The light at the end of the night'
The head of state today visited the student forum "Together Forward" in Kazan.
© Andrew Parsons/ Global Look Press
Lord Jonathan Sacks, who retains the title of emeritus chief rabbi and is an active speaker and writer, considered it a "great tribute to the Jewish people" that Pence had sought his help in coming up with the address he gave in the Knesset, Israel's parliament, on Monday.
"Rabbi Sacks was an instrumental part of crafting the vice president's speech," a White House source with knowledge of the speech-writing process said, according to the Times of Israel.
© Philippe Wojazer / Reuters
Russia is fuming at the audacity of the latest US accusations of Moscow's "ultimate" complicity in all alleged chemical attacks in Syria, voiced by Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley.
"In essence, a massive propaganda attack was conducted with the purpose of slandering Russia on the world stage and undermining efforts for a peaceful settlement in Syria," the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday. Washington is continuing in its attempts to get the international community "accustomed to the idea that our country, which - unlike the US - has destroyed its stockpiles of chemical weapons, not only condones their use in Syria but in general is always guilty of everything."
Abortion rights groups are protesting that this Trump administration initiative amounts to a frontal assault on a woman's right to choose. Abortion rights advocates say doctors and nurses who don't want to perform abortions should go into another line of work. That's ridiculous.
President Trump's initiative is intended to stop what Cardinal Timothy Dolan calls the "increasing and fierce attack on conscience rights" in medicine. This is not about access to abortion. In New York, for example, abortions are fully accessible. Yet activists want to banish anti-abortion doctors and nurses from their life's work just to ensure a woman never has to hear the words, "I don't do abortions."
Pro-life isn't a fringe position. It's nearly half the nation, according to Gallup and Marist polls.
© Andrew Harrer / Global Look Press
With the House Intelligence Committee saying it is in the preparation stages of releasing a 4-page memo, which purports to show collusion between the Obama administration, the FBI, and the Clinton campaign against Trump and his team, the DOJ has said releasing the memo would be "extraordinarily reckless."
"We believe it would be extraordinarily reckless for the Committee to disclose such information publicly without giving the Department and the FBI the opportunity to review the memorandum and to advise the [committee] of the risk of harm to national security and to ongoing investigations that could come from the public release," Assistant Attorney General Stephen Boyd wrote in a letter to Rep. Devin Nunes (R-CA). "Indeed, we do not understand why the Committee would possibly seek to disclose classified and law enforcement sensitive information without first consulting with the relevant members of the Intelligence Community."
Comment: "Because national security" = "because we'd be very embarrassed".
But for NeverTrump conservatives, the list presents a challenge. Many support the actions, like cutting taxes and reducing regulation, on Trump's list. Yet some have also staked their credibility and prestige on declaring Trump's election an unmitigated, historic disaster that will lead to an autocratic, dystopian future. Many want to force Trump out of office, either by impeachment, the 25th Amendment, or, at latest, defeat in 2020.
So how to deal with the current good news?
© AP Photo/ Lefteris Pitarakis
Military Activity
Turkey's General Staff announced Wednesday that the Turkish Air Force conducted air strikes involving 27 aircraft against 47 Kurdish and Daesh targets on Wednesday. The military estimates that a total of 287 terrorists were killed in the first four days of Operation Olive Branch, the Turkish incursion into northwestern Syria which began after the US announced plans to create a Kurdish-militia operated border security force in the region.
Moments ago, the Afrin Self-Administration Office (a regional extension of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party) posted a statement (seen above) officially calling on the Syrian government to fulfill its duty to protect the region - a part of sovereign Syrian soil - from Turkish invasion by deploying its military.
The statement did make the effort to point out that Kurdish forces had protected Afrin from terrorists and invaders for the last six years and that they would continue to do so even once the Syrian Armed Forces stepped in.
A key part of the statement reads:
"We call out for the Syrian government to protect Afrin and Syria's borders by deploying the Syrian Armed Forces to protect Afrin borders."
Comment: A truly facepalm-worthy moment. The Kurds treacherously put their lot in with the U.S., against the Syrian government and against the territorial integrity of the country they're a part of, and refused the offer of Syrian support prior to the invasion - then when their bluff is called by the Turks, they cry to the Syrian government they just refused and betrayed for help. Seriously, what did they expect?
As for what's been going on in Afrin over the past day, here are the updates. Turkey claims more than 300 Kurdish terrorists have been killed in the 6 days so far of operation "Olive Branch" (naturally Kurdish sources downplayed this, telling Sputnik that no more than "15-20" Kurdish fighters have been killed). Afrin sources say 35 civilians have been killed so far as a result of Turkish shelling. Turkish PM Yildirim says the operation is not just to protect Turkey's borders but also "Europe as a whole".
He called unacceptable the situation where "one NATO member state protects its borders from a terrorist threat, while another NATO member supplies terrorists with weapons," referring to the military assistance provided by the United States to the Kurdish militias in Syria.Today the Kurds claimed to have captured 16 Turkish soldiers in Afrin.
T urkey denied reports that Germany had ceased providing Turkey with Leopard tanks in light of the Afrin situation:
German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has expressed the country's concern over Ankara's ongoing operation in Afrin and revealed the decision to halt supplying Turkey with German-built Leopard tanks, according to Spiegel.Sputnik has a revealing timeline of U.S. support for the Kurds over the past couple years. Of note:
...
"A commission was scheduled to meet to discuss Leopard tanks, but the meeting was postponed. Meanwhile, no issue of freezing or canceling [the deliveries of Leopard tanks] has been raised," Cavusoglu told reporters.
Earlier, Turkey's foreign minister, in response to the news about freezing of the country's requests on Leopard tanks, called Germany Turkey's ally and said that Ankara expects "support and solidarity" from Berlin.
...
"Concerning the current discussions about arms exports, the Federal Government is clear about the fact that Germany can not send arms in conflict areas and is not going to do so," Gabriel told Spiegel.
Suspending of arms deliveries to Turkey is believed to be a move aimed at easing tension in German society, as images of German Leopard tanks being used by the Turkish army in its offensive in Syria are making the German public feel increasingly uncomfortable.
December 2017: There is No Need to Arm the KurdsCavusoglu answered some questions today on various issues surrounding Afrin:
Following the defeat of Daesh in October 2017, the Trump administration signaled December 2 that it was going to stop arming the Kurds. "The YPG is armed and as the coalition stops offensive (operations) then obviously you don't need that, you need security, you need police forces, that is local forces, that is people who make certain that ISIS [Daesh] doesn't come back," Mattis said.
January 14, 2018: A New Army is Established
On January 14, Colonel Ryan Dillon, the spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, told Agence France Presse (AFP) that the US will establish a new military force in Syria together with the Kurdish-dominated SDF...
January 17, 2018: 'The Entire Situation is Misdescribed'
On January 17, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson backpedaled on the Pentagon's plan: "That entire situation has been misportrayed, misdescribed. Some people misspoke. We are not creating a border security force at all."
January 23: Operation Olive Branch Undermines Anti-Terror Efforts
On January 23, Mattis denounced the Turkish Operation Olive Branch against the Syrian Kurds in Afrin and Manbij: "This clearly disrupts [anti-terror] effort," Mattis said. "The Turkish incursion disrupts that effort. So we urge Turkey to exercise restraint in the military actions and the rhetoric and ensure that its operations are limited in scope and duration."
January 24: The Kurds to Pay the Price if Resist Turkey
On January 24 Pentagon spokesman Adrian Rankine-Galloway told the state-owned Turkish news outlet Anadolu Agency that the US may cut off military assistance to the Kurdish militia in northern Syria if it continues attacking the Turks: "If they [US-backed units operating under the SDF umbrella] carry out military operations of any kind that are not specifically focused on ISIS (Daesh) they will not have coalition support," Rankine-Galloway stressed. "If we observe scenarios in which that equipment is used for other purposes, we are going to take appropriate action that could include cutting off military assistance to them."
On Ankara-Damascus Relations
Preservation of the territorial integrity of Syria is the common goal of Ankara and Damascus and the Turkish troops are not going to attack government forces in Syria, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said. "Once they (the Syrian Armed Forces) shot down our aircraft and we responded. While they do not attack us, we do not need to consider them as our target. Up to this day, we have not taken such actions, Cavusoglu told reporters.
"Damascus knows that the YPG militias (People's Protection Units) want to divide Syria. Whereas Turkey and Damascus as well as the opposition forces all support the territorial integrity of Syria within its current borders. We believe that the Syrian regime will not cooperate with terrorists," he added. ...
On US Arms Supplies to Kurds
Cavusoglu also said that Trump reassured Erdogan in phone conversation that the US stopped arms supplies to Kurdish units in Syria.
The Turkish minister added that Erdogan urged Trump to withdraw "US troops or the YPG terrorists" from Syrian Manbij, as the YPG are attacking the Turkish military and members of the opposition "Free Syrian Army" in Syrian Idlib.
© CNN
Comment: Considering the number of scandals swirling around Wasserman Schultz, it's amazing she has the brass to appear in public:
- Running her mouth: Wasserman accidentally brags about how she worked to make Killary nominee
- Ex-DNC staffer Wasserman Schultz's brother suspected of icing Seth Rich DC murder case
- Debbie Wasserman Schultz Kept DNC Server Breach a Secret From DNC Officers For Over a Month!
- Fox alleges that Awan bros aided Wasserman Schultz in making threatening phone calls to class action lawsuit attorneys
- It gets worse: Wasserman Schultz seemingly planned to continue paying IT fraudster after he left U.S. for Pakistan
- Caught on tape: Wasserman Schultz threatens Capitol police chief for investigating her IT staff's crimes
- Congressional Republicans want answers from Wasserman Schultz, Podesta about Trump dossier money
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and President Donald Trump
"Cryin' Chuck Schumer fully understands, especially after his humiliating defeat, that if there is no Wall, there is no DACA," the president tweeted around 11 p.m. ET. "We must have safety and security, together with a strong Military, for our great people!"
Earlier Tuesday evening, White House Deputy Press Secretary Hogan Gidley slammed Schumer during an appearance on Fox News' "Outnumbered Overtime."
Comment: See also: White House says they don't have approve release of FISA memo - House can de-classify it on their own