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Some sanity: Moscow and Warsaw agree to keep cargo freight moving


RT
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 19:19 UTC
Russian transport trucks
© Wojciech Pacewicz / Reuters
Russia and Poland have agreed to allow cross-border cargo transportation to continue until April 15 while a new permit deal is negotiated, announced Poland's Deputy Minister of Infrastructure Jerzy Schmidt.

Russian and Polish truck drivers have been stuck at border crossings since the previous agreement expired on January 31. Polish trucks were allowed to leave Russia up until February 15.

"Yesterday Polish and Russian experts reviewed the transitional period and discussed permits for that period which expires on April 15," Schmitt said on Friday, adding the sides are to meet again.
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Bomb

The Ankara blast: A catastrophe of convenience

Ulson Gunnar
New Eastern Outlook
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 00:00 UTC
Ankara blast
© unknown
Accusations fly and retaliation commences before the flames subside.
The fireball from this week's blast in Ankara had barely begun to fade before the world begun bracing itself for the predictable accusation that Syria's Kurdish YPG (People's Protection Units) were behind the blast. This is because Turkey has developed a transparently cynical strategy of staging blasts throughout its territory and beyond to stoke fears, justify condemnation and retaliation and demonize not only it own enemies, but those of its partners in NATO and particularly, those of the United States.

Syria's YPG was the obvious target of this blast and the barrage of accusations and threats that quickly followed because it is the YPG together with Syrian and Russian forces that now threaten to finally foil the US-NATO-GCC proxy by closing the Afrin-Jarabulus corridor, and specifically, the pivotal city of Azaz, located in Syria right along the Syrian-Turkish border.

For years Azaz has served as a nexus for foreign-backed militant operations not only in northern Syria, but as a logistical hub supplying terrorist operations all throughout the country. Its seizure by either Syria's Kurdish YPG or the SAA (Syrian Arab Army) would effectively hobble US-NATO-GCC's proxy war, at least in the north.

Comment: Without solid investigation and proof, the Ankara attack is a question mark. The most obvious scenario would be a false flag ploy by Erdogan, and/or his covert affiliates, giving him immediate retaliative provocation against the enemy of his desire: the Kurds.

See also: Syrian Kurds: Nothing to gain from terror attacks in Turkey

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Blackbox

More on the Azaz pocket: Who exactly are the SDF and Jaish al-Thuwar?


Moon of Alabama
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 17:30 UTC
azaz
© Twitter / @miladvisor
Yellow = Kurds. Green = CIA Rebels. Brown = Daesh. Beige = Syrian Army.
A few days ago we asked the speculative question: Are Green Berets Leading The YPG In Taking The Azaz Pocket? That question was, as we will see, wrong. It is not the YPG that is the relevant part here but some other groups fighting next to it. We wrote:
The Kurds in the Azaz pocket have also some support from a professional military. Their moves are very purposeful and controlled. They are clearly coordinated with the Syrian army. The coordination with the Russian airforce works well and there is ground fire coordination with the SAA.
...
Who are the professionals that are helping the YPG to take the Azaz pocket?

My first thought was of course Russian Spetsnaz. But I asked around and none of my usual sources would confirm this. The sources acknowledged that the YPG in west Syria has special force support but there was some quite unexpected silence over who these forces were. It is clear to me that these are not Syrian special forces. The YPG does not want to be seen as an adjunct to the Syrian government. No one would confirm to me that these are Russian forces even as that would be of no great surprise to anyone. This leads me to speculate that some U.S. special forces are directing the YPG in the Azaz pocket. This in coordination with the Syrian army and the Russians.
The idea presumed a split between the CIA, which arms the jihadis with TOWs and other toys, and the U.S. military, which helps the Kurds against the Islamic State jihadis in north-east Syria.

big

Comment: Any acknowledgment within the American military-intelligence establishment that Russia has the right strategy in Syria must be covert. If MoA's analysis is anywhere close to the truth, at least there are some sane individuals within the Pentagon. They may be crazy in all sorts of other ways, but all the situation in Syria right now requires is some basic pragmatism and common sense.

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Fire

Dick Cheney's toxic legacy: Media silence on the disastrous effects of burn pits

Justin Gardner
The Free Thought Project
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 17:38 UTC
dick cheney
The legacy of death and misery from the invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan continues today, and, once again, Dick Cheney plays a central role. A new book by Joseph Hickman, a former U.S. Marine and Army sergeant, titled "The Burn Pits: The Poisoning of America's Soldiers" details how soldiers and local civilian populations were exposed to constant streams of toxic smoke from the burning of waste.

The infamous Kellog, Brown, and Root (KBR), which was a part of Dick Cheney's corporate empire under Halliburton, operated about 250 burn pits which contributed to the $40 billion that Halliburton made during the Iraq occupation. "Every type of waste imaginable" was burned, including "tires, lithium batteries, asbestos insulation, pesticide containers, Styrofoam, metals, paints, plastic, medical waste and even human corpses."

This reprehensible practice proves yet again that nothing is sacred when it comes to the military machine.

Just as the U.S. laid waste to Vietnam's human health and jungle environment with Agent Orange, it wrecked human health and environmental quality in Iraq. That country will suffer from this toxicity for decades, as evidenced by sharp increases in birth defects and cancer and leukemia rates.

Comment: Leaked Memo Exposes Toxic US 'Burn Pit' in Afghanistan Another 'Agent Orange scenario'?

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Magnify

Syrian Kurds: Nothing to gain from terror attacks in Turkey


Sputnik
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 13:18 UTC
kurds under attack
© www.makewarshistory.co.uk
Kurds subjected to a bombing for an attack they say they didn't perpetrate.
Syrian Kurds have nothing to gain from carrying out terrorist attacks on civilians in Turkey, Merab Shamoyev, the chairman of the International Union of Kurdish Public Associations, said Friday. The Turkish authorities blamed Kurdish organizations for Wednesday's blast in Ankara that killed 28 and left 61 people wounded.

"Syrian Kurds immediately denied these allegations. Why would Syrian Kurds do this? The Kurds currently have a good reputation," Shamoyev said during a press conference in Moscow. The politician added that the terror attack could have been a provocation carried out by Turkey's Justice and Development Party to justify Ankara's shelling of Syrian Kurds and to start a ground operation in Syria. According to Shamoyev, Kurds do not want to secede from Turkey and only desire autonomy.

In recent weeks, Turkish forces have repeatedly attacked Kurdish People's Defense Units' positions in northern Syria, claiming the Kurdish militia threatens Turkish security. The Kurds are a Middle Eastern ethnic group with a population of some 30-35 million, living mainly in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria. They do not have their own state, however, the Kurds have made several attempts to gain independence and have already obtained autonomy within the framework of the Iraqi state.

Comment: As stated, it is unlikely the Syrian Kurds had anything to do with this attack. The co-leader of the YPG's political wing denied that the affiliated YPG perpetrated the Ankara bombing and said Turkey was using the attack to justify an escalation in fighting in northern Syria. Erdogan's rush to blame Kurdish organizations without facts or evidence, suggests all he needed was an excuse to increase the shelling of Syrian Kurds and expand his operation against Iraqi Kurds as well, which he did within two hours of the explosion.

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Jet1

Shame! British Air Force not targeting ISIS with Brimstone missiles in Syria


RT
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 17:10 UTC
tornado jet
© Stringer / Reuters
Britain's sophisticated air-to-surface Brimstone missiles have not killed any terrorists in Syria so far, although at least nine missiles have been fired. A single missile using radar homing and laser guidance technology costs £100,000.

The Huffington Post UK made a freedom of information (FOI) request to the British Defense Ministry and discovered the much-touted Brimstone missiles with promised standalone precision have not claimed any terrorist scalps yet.

After British MPs voted in favor of the Royal Air Force joining the Syria campaign in December, the expensive missiles were held back for at least the first month of operations.

Brimstone's first recorded deployment took place on January 10, the Independent reports. It was aimed against terrorist supply trucks in Raqqa. By the end of January, Brimstone missiles had been used in nine raids.

"We are playing a crucial role in a campaign that will take time and patience. Using the right weapon for each scenario, RAF jets have struck Daesh [Arabic acronym for Islamic State] almost 600 times," a British MoD spokeswoman said, adding that the RAF is driving Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) out of Sinjar and Ramadi in Iraq and has "severely weakened" key terrorist infrastructure in Syria.

Comment: So the UK's telling us they've bombed 600 targets over a period of 2 months, and killed 7 guys? Sounds legit... Not. The 'not targeting ISIS' knife cuts both ways, guys. Either you're fighting Daesh for real, or you're not. The answer looks pretty clear.

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Map

MSF doctors refused to disclose hospital coordinates to Syria and Russia


RT
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 16:57 UTC
msf hospital
© doctorswithoutborders / Instagram
Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) does not provide GPS coordinates of health facilities it supports in Syria to either Damascus or Moscow over fears of "deliberate" attacks, the medical charity said, blaming a recent strike on "probably" Syrian or Russian forces.

"We gave to the Russian ambassadors in Paris [and] in Geneva coordinates for three hospitals located in very intense conflict zones, but not for all of them, and it was a decision taken together with the medical staff of the health facilities that we support," said MSF operations director Isabelle Defourny.

At least 25 people were killed, including nine medical personnel and 16 patients, when airstrikes destroyed a hospital supported by MSF. Ten others were wounded when four missiles reportedly struck the hospital initially at around 9:00am local time Monday, according to accounts provided by medical staff on site. Forty minutes later, after rescuers arrived, the hospital was allegedly bombed again.

According to MSF, the coordinates had not been shared with the authorities or relevant Russian representatives because of safety concerns that were voiced by doctors operating in Syria.

Comment: Further reading on the recent reports of bombed hospitals in Syria: The Syrians and Russians do not deliberately target civilians (that's a job for the U.S., Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Daesh). That at least raises the possibility of an accidental strike of this hospital, given that MSF withheld vital information that would've protected it. But even more likely is that the U.S. is doing what they do best: lying. Knowing that the Russians don't know, it's entirely possible that the MSF hospital was targeted with the intention of blaming it on Russia.

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Propaganda

Shameless and blatant BBC propaganda describes murderous US as a reluctant global security guard

Graham Vanbergen
True Publica
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 15:26 UTC
gassed syrian children
Mark Urban is the diplomatic and defence editor of BBC's Newsnight that goes by the strap-line "This is where the global struggle for peace and security gets incisive, informed, coverage"

He has just written and headlined with "US remains reluctantly tied to global security role" - categorized under US/Canada.

Urban's article starts with "America's military finds itself pulled in several directions - and even the $582bn (£403bn) defence budget rolled out earlier this month will not be enough to satisfy all of its needs. New challenges - from Russia and the so-called Islamic State (IS) group - are forcing the Pentagon to change its plans, and reopening old arguments about whether its allies are doing enough. One of the headlines to come out of the new budget was a quadrupling of spending on US military preparations to defend allies in Europe. When Nato boss, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, says the alliance is facing its "most challenging security environment in a generation", he is thinking principally of the challenge posed by a "newly assertive Russia".

Comment: Despite Mark Urban's attempt to paint the US as some kind of reluctant hero for truth and justice, which is in such stark contrast to reality that it is both disgusting and pathetic, the US' actions prove it to be a bloodthirsty and power-hungry bully that the world would be much better without.

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Bulb

Russia requests UN Security Council meeting over Turkey's plans to put boots on the ground in northern Syria


RT
Fri, 19 Feb 2016 15:27 UTC
Maria Zakharova
© Maksim Blinov / Sputnik
Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova
A UN Security Council meeting is to be called at Russia's request on Friday to discuss Ankara's plans for a ground operation in Syria, the Russian Foreign Ministry has said. Turkey's actions in the region are threatening Syrian sovereignty, Moscow said, adding it would table a resolution demanding its prevention. Moscow is concerned about the escalation of tensions on the Syrian-Turkish border, and "Turkey's announced plans to put boots on the ground in northern Syria," Maria Zakharova, Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson, said on Friday, adding that the situation in the region is worrying because Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) fighters are entering Syria and creating terrorist bases there.

"It undercuts efforts to launch a political settlement in the Syrian Arab Republic," Zakharova said, announcing that Russia plans to call a Security Council meeting to discuss the situation. A draft resolution will include demands to "end any actions that undermine the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Syria, that are at odds with UN Security Council resolution 2254, as well as [interfere] with the launch of the Syrian peace process." In December last year, the Security Council unanimously adopted the 2254 resolution that endorsed a road map for a peace process in the Middle Eastern country. The document, adopted by members of the International Syria Support Group, outlined a nationwide ceasefire to begin in the country in parallel with a political process.

Comment: Turkey sent 100 armed Turkish provocateurs riding in 12 heavy machine gun mounted pickup trucks across the border into Syria to instigate more conflict. The US politely asked Turkey to stop firing on forces that the US is arming. It's a little confusing because the US supports the Kurds inside Syria, but sides with Ankara's brutally oppressive anti-Kurd policy in Turkey. But then that's just the typically convoluted mess the US Empire is notorious for causing.

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Black Cat

Israel: An extreme aggressor claiming the status of 'a victim'


RT
Thu, 18 Feb 2016 15:55 UTC
Israeli troops
© www.rt.com
Patrolling for new victims on a daily basis.
Occupation is the greatest provocation, says Mustafa Barghouti, a human rights activist, Palestinian presidential candidate and Nobel Peace Prize nominee.

An Israeli soldier has been sentenced by a military court for torturing Palestinian prisoners with electric shocks. His actions were filmed on a cell phone. The Israeli Defense Force condemned the torture saying they're in violation of the IDF's code of conduct.

RT: Please give us your comment on this situation as a prominent defender of human rights.

Mustafa Barghouti: Unfortunately, during the last five months we've witnessed several crimes committed by the Israeli army, including the torture that has happened to this guy. This is not the first time torture has been practiced against Palestinian people. More than that, so many people have been killed in cold blood; they were assassinated in extrajudicial killings. Most of the 180 Palestinians who have been killed during the last five months have been killed in a format of extrajudicial killing and there is no justification for that.

The whole world watched two days ago how a young girl, no more than 15 years old, was shot and killed and was left on the ground bleeding to death, and when some people tried to approach her, they were attacked by the Israeli army - including a handicapped man who was thrown from his wheelchair. This is unacceptable behavior and torture is only one reflection of this racist and inhuman behavior of the Israeli army.


Comment: Violence against Palestinians is an everyday occurrence and has become a video-shared amusement for Israelis. Sadistic pleasure outweighs the rights and health of innocent people, especially those imprisoned for the past 50 years at the mercy of a pathologically-infested country. Persecution and demoralization of Palestinians has nothing to do with Israeli "security" but it has a lot to do with the aggressive usurping and occupation of Palestinian land for Israeli settlers, in violation of international law.

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