Puppet Masters

Turkey predictably blames Syrian Kurds for Ankara attack, independent analysts say it was ISIS

RT
Thu, 18 Feb 2016 12:12 UTC

© Umit Bektas / Reuters
Forensic experts arrive near the site of last night's explosion in Ankara, Turkey, February 18, 2016

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has accused forces linked with the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia of the terrorist attack in Ankara on Wednesday. Ankara promised to continue to shell the YPG, with the Syrian Kurds denying all allegations and saying Islamic State is behind the attack.

In a live television speech, Prime Minister Davutoglu said Turkey has identified the perpetrator of the Ankara bombing attack, in which 28 people were killed and 61 were injured on Wednesday, as a Syrian national with links to the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia. Davutoglu added the alleged attacker received assistance from the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is outlawed by Ankara.

Davutoglu said the attack showed the Syrian Kurdish YPG is a terrorist organization and that Turkey expects cooperation from its allies against the group.

Comment: Further reading:

Kurdish commander: 'We have proof' Turkey backs ISIS terrorists

Has Washington hatched a new Machiavellian plan for Syria and Iraq?

South Front: Turkish military protecting ISIS and killing Kurds, Syrians and Kurds killing ISIS

Erdoğan proclaims Turkey's terror state the 'voice of global conscience'

Sputnik
Thu, 18 Feb 2016 11:59 UTC

"Turkey has become the voice of the global conscience in the Syrian crisis and has given a lesson in humanity to the whole world," ambitiously claimed Recep Tayyip Erdogan, referring to the European refugee crisis, conveniently neglecting to mention the cost of this virtue - 3 billion Euros.

"In this process, where the oppressors and oppressed people's supporters are divided, Turkey has become the voice of the global conscience," Erdogan said on Wednesday during his speech to district governors at the Presidential Palace in Ankara.

The Turkish leader was referring to the European refugee crisis, highlighting the West's incapability of slowing the flow of refugees from Syria.

Comment: Further reading: Has Washington hatched a new Machiavellian plan for Syria and Iraq?

Syrian Army liberates one of the last terrorist strongholds in Latakia region

Sputnik
Thu, 18 Feb 2016 11:51 UTC

Syrian government forces broke through the militants' defense and gained control over the town of Kessab, one of the last terrorist strongholds in the country's Latakia region, according to Lebanon's media.

Syrian government forces have gained control over the town of Kessab, one of the last terrorist strongholds in the country's Latakia region, Lebanon's Al Mayadeen television reported Thursday.

Comment: Further reading:

Syrian forces backed by Russian airpower have made major advances across the battlefield along multiple fronts.

Around Aleppo, Syrian forces have cut supply lines from Turkey that were for years, supplying terrorists operating inside the country. Just east of a growing encirclement of the city of Aleppo, a secondary encirclement of so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS) forces is forming as the offensive to relieve Kuweris Airbase has evolved into a northern advance toward Al Bab - a critical logistical hub used by US-NATO-GCC backed terrorists during the initial invasion of Aleppo in 2012 and onward.

Deeper within the interior of Syria, Syrian forces have advanced eastward into the Al Raqqa Governorate, approaching the Tabaqa Airbase. The airbase is a crucial waypoint toward seizing back the city of Al Raqqa itself, which has become the defacto capital of ISIS.

Syria: At the Gateway of Greater War

Currency Wars: China leads global U.S. debt dump

Patrick Gillespie
CNN Money
Wed, 17 Feb 2016 00:00 UTC

China dumped billions of America's debt in December.

The largest owner of U.S. debt, China sold $18 billion of U.S. Treasury debt in December.

And it's not alone. Japan sold even more: $22 billion. In the past year, Mexico, Turkey and Belgium have also lowered their holdings of U.S. debt, all of which have led to a record annual dump by central banks.

Many countries are suffering from the global economic slowdown, forcing central banks to pull out all the stops to help buttress their economies.

Central banks in Japan and Sweden have resorted to negative interest rates to spur banks to lend more; the European Central Bank is buying bonds issued by its member countries; the People's Bank of China is injecting cash into its financial system.

Start preparing for the fall of the Saudi Kingdom

Sarah Chayes
Defense One
Tue, 16 Feb 2016 00:00 UTC

For half a century, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has been the linchpin of U.S. Mideast policy. A guaranteed supply of oil has bought a guaranteed supply of security. Ignoring autocratic practices and the export of Wahhabi extremism, Washington stubbornly dubs its ally "moderate." So tight is the trust that U.S. special operators dip into Saudi petrodollars as a counterterrorism slush fund without a second thought. In a sea of chaos, goes the refrain, the kingdom is one state that's stable.

But is it?

Comment: See also... Russia, Syria and the anglo-American existential gas war in the Middle East

Former IPCC czar in hot water again over sexual harassment allegations

Rhitu Chatterjee
Science
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 00:00 UTC

The former chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), Rajendra Pachauri, is once again in the crosshairs of the Indian media and women's rights activists. The reason: his recent promotion at The Energy Research Institute (TERI) in New Delhi despite allegations that he sexually harassed a female colleague.

Pachauri, 75, served as TERI's director and director-general from April 2001 until his promotion on Monday to executive vice chairman. He is facing charges of sexual harassment made against him in February 2015 by a 29-year-old TERI employee who has since resigned from her position. Pachauri denied the allegations and stepped down from IPCC last year. Last May, an internal TERI investigation concluded that his alleged actions constituted harassment, according to Indian media outlets. TERI has not commented on these reports, and it has taken no disciplinary action against him.

Syria: At the Gateway of Greater War

Tony Cartalucci
Land Destroyer Report
Thu, 18 Feb 2016 00:20 UTC

Syrian forces backed by Russian airpower have made major advances across the battlefield along multiple fronts.

Around Aleppo, Syrian forces have cut supply lines from Turkey that were for years, supplying terrorists operating inside the country. Just east of a growing encirclement of the city of Aleppo, a secondary encirclement of so-called "Islamic State" (ISIS) forces is forming as the offensive to relieve Kuweris Airbase has evolved into a northern advance toward Al Bab - a critical logistical hub used by US-NATO-GCC backed terrorists during the initial invasion of Aleppo in 2012 and onward.

Deeper within the interior of Syria, Syrian forces have advanced eastward into the Al Raqqa Governorate, approaching the Tabaqa Airbase. The airbase is a crucial waypoint toward seizing back the city of Al Raqqa itself, which has become the defacto capital of ISIS.

Obama at the Syrian crossroad

Joe Lauria
Consortium News
Mon, 15 Feb 2016 03:09 UTC

© Pete Souza/White House

President Barack Obama, with Vice President Joe Biden, attends a meeting in the Roosevelt Room of the White House, Dec. 12, 2013.

President Obama must decide if he will let the Syrian civil war come to an end with Russian-backed President Assad still in power or if he will escalate by supporting a Turkish-Saudi invasion, which could push the world to the brink of nuclear war

With the Russian-backed Syrian army encircling Aleppo, cutting off Turkish supplies to rebels and advancing on the Islamic State's capital of Raqqa, a panicked Saudi Arabia and Turkey have set up a joint headquarters to direct an invasion of Syria that could lead to a vast escalation of the war. And there's only one man who could stop them: President Barack Obama.

It is probably the most important decision Obama will make in his eight years in office since a Turkish-Saudi invasion risks a direct showdown between Russia and NATO, since Turkey is a member of the alliance.

The U.S. traditionally has held tremendous power over client states like Turkey and Saudi Arabia. So, an order from Washington is usually enough to get such governments to back down. But Ankara and Riyadh are being led by reckless men whose continued existence in power might well depend on stopping a Syrian government victory - helped by Russia, Iran and the Kurds - and a humiliating defeat of the Turkish-Saudi-backed Syrian rebels, who include some radical jihadist groups.

Comment: Inasmuch as the POTUS is only a figurehead, whether to back off or escalate the Syrian situation is a decision being made at much deeper levels.

Russian Defense Ministry denies reports on dispatching S-300 systems to Iran on Feb 18

ITAR-TASS
Wed, 17 Feb 2016 03:17 UTC

Russia's Defense Ministry has denied reports on the alleged dispatch of the S-300PMU-2 Favorit missile systems from Astrakhan to Iran on February 18.

Earlier, media outlets announced that the first batch of the S-300 systems would be dispatched to Iran on Thursday. The reports claimed that the Iranian defense minister was expected to be present at the ceremony held behind closed doors.

"The beginning of deliveries of the first consignment of Favorit missile systems cannot take place since the Iranian side has not paid the price enshrined in the contract as of February 16," a high-ranking representative of the Russian Defense Ministry told TASS on Wednesday commenting on these media reports.

"Therefore, the presence of the Iranian defense minister in Astrakhan at the mythical ceremony of dispatching the first Favorit systems to Tehran is out of the question," he added.

Iranian general: Russia will send first S-300 missile defense system to Iran this week

RT
Wed, 17 Feb 2016 22:24 UTC

Moscow will deliver the first S-300 air defense system to Iran on Thursday, Iran's General Staff told Russia's Sputnik news agency. "Tomorrow, Russia will make the first S-300 delivery to Iran," Deputy Chief of Staff Mostafa Izadi said.

Earlier, a source told Sputnik that Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan, who arrived in Moscow on February 15, would participate in the delivery ceremony.

This month, Hossein Dehghan announced Tehran would get Russian air defense systems by the end of the year, which in Iran ends on March 20, 2016.

The initial S-300 deal between Moscow and Tehran was signed in 2007, and envisaged the delivery of five S-300 squadrons, worth over $800 million. In 2010, the contract was put on hold by then-President Dmitry Medvedev due to the UN imposing sanctions on Iran. Tehran hit back, lodging a $4-billion lawsuit at an international court in Geneva against Russia's Rosoboronexport arms export agency.

Comment: Israel must be fuming mad! How long before they force the US to lodge some form of complaint, or even worse, engage in clandestine action against Russia as payback? Either way, Israel must now realize that Iran will soon be equipped with the best military hardware in the world: Iran aims to spend $8bn on Russian military hardware

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tekdude

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Puppet Masters

Turkey predictably blames Syrian Kurds for Ankara attack, independent analysts say it was ISIS

Erdoğan proclaims Turkey's terror state the 'voice of global conscience'

Syrian Army liberates one of the last terrorist strongholds in Latakia region

Currency Wars: China leads global U.S. debt dump

Start preparing for the fall of the Saudi Kingdom

Former IPCC czar in hot water again over sexual harassment allegations

Syria: At the Gateway of Greater War

Obama at the Syrian crossroad

Russian Defense Ministry denies reports on dispatching S-300 systems to Iran on Feb 18

Iranian general: Russia will send first S-300 missile defense system to Iran this week

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