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US declassifies key name in Saudi-9/11 lawsuit, but WILL NOT release it publicly


RT
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 17:42 UTC
ground zero
© Pixabay / 12019
The US Justice Department has agreed to declassify the name of a Saudi official who allegedly helped mastermind the 9/11 terrorist attacks, but refuses to release it to the public or reveal any other information sought by victims.

The Trump administration has finally opted to declassify the name of an individual - believed to be a Saudi official - who allegedly directed two men with links to the Saudi government in assisting the September 11, 2001 hijackers, announcing on Thursday they'd release the name to the families after a lengthy court battle.

The name won't be available publicly, however, and the administration refuses to declassify any of the other documents the families are seeking, citing the "exceptional nature of the case."

Terry Strada, chair of 9/11 Families and Survivors United for Justice Against Terrorism, called it "a good result," while the FBI pointed out that the name was "the primary piece of information that the plaintiffs in the 9/11 litigation have been seeking." However, the 9/11 victims resented having to jump through legal hoops in return for crumbs.
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Light Sabers

'Loser' v 'warmongering chickenhawk': 2 Republican lawmakers in epic Twitter beef


RT
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 17:29 UTC
rand paul and liz cheney
© REUTERS/Erin Scott; REUTERS/Mark Makela
Senator Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyoming)
A disagreement on 9/11 over John Bolton and US withdrawal from Afghanistan descended into a full-on Twitter war between Rep. Liz Cheney and Senator Rand Paul, in a sequel to the beef between their fathers over invading Iraq.

It all started when Paul (R-Kentucky) backed two state legislators who blasted Cheney (R-Wyoming) for demanding a more aggressive foreign policy. "Why do some neocons continue to advocate for endless wars?" he quipped. "Let's focus on America First, not Afghanistan!"

Cheney snapped back that she stands with Trump and US troops in not surrendering to terrorists, "unlike [Paul], who seems to have forgotten that today is 9/11."
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Boat

US says Iran 'broke promise' not to sell oil to Syria


RFE/RL
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 17:25 UTC
adrian darya 1 tanker

A satellite image reportedly shows the oil tanker Adrian Darya 1 near the Syrian port city of Tartus, on September 6.
Iran has been breaking "promises" after the Iranian tanker Adrian Darya 1 allegedly delivered oil to Syria despite assurances to the contrary, the U.S. State Department said on September 12.

Previously named Grace 1, the vessel was held for six months by the British overseas territory of Gibraltar until authorities received written assurances from Iran that it wouldn't sail to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.

"This fits into the web of lies perpetrated by the Iranian regime for 40 years," State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus told reporters in Washington. "Their deception and broken promises are not just aimed at the international community, but the Iranian people too. Despite the revolutionary promises of a better society, the thugs in Tehran have consistently repressed women, minorities, and human rights advocates."


Comment: Either way, selling oil to Syria (or Syrians) is the morally right thing to do.


When asked if the United States has evidence that Adrian Darya 1 transferred oil to Syria, Ortagus said: "I wouldn't say that if we didn't."

Britain on September 10 also accused Iran of back pedaling on its promise.

Iran's envoy to Britain, Hamid Baeidinejad, was summoned by the British Foreign Ministry. He denied Tehran had broken assurances and said a private company bought the tanker's oil cargo.

The private buyer "sets the sale destination," Baeidinejad was quoted as saying.

Comment: The fact that the tanker made it to Syria shows that the U.S. wasn't concerned enough to do anything about it. Either they calculated that is was best to just stay out of it, or (as Magnier claims) made a deal with Iran to let the oil make its way to Syria. Either way, Iran wins another round in their confrontation with the US beast.

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Chess

'Bolton held me back!' Blustering Trump says he's a BIGGER hawk on Venezuela & Cuba than fired adviser


RT
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 17:23 UTC
trump and bolton
© Reuters / Leah Millis
After the abrupt termination of National Security Advisor John Bolton, US President Donald Trump insists that the White House appointee only held back his hawkish policy views on Latin America - but does someone else have his ear?

Piggybacking on a tweet from Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) on Thursday, the president affirmed that any "policy changes" post-Bolton would be headed in a more hostile direction, noting that his views on Venezuela and Cuba "were far stronger than those of John Bolton," and that "he was holding me back!"

He repeated those claims to reporters outside the White House on Thursday evening, adding that "it's going to be a very interesting period of time" when it comes to the forthcoming US actions in Venezuela. He did not elaborate what those might entail.

Beyond intermittent threats from US officials, Venezuela appeared to be on the White House back-burner as of late, with a US-sponsored coup attempt in April failing to unseat Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, or inspire mass defections from the military.
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Star of David

'Vote for me, I'll start a war!' Netanyahu says war in Gaza could start before elections


Sputnik
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 17:20 UTC
gaza explosion
© AP Photo / Khalil Hamra
The statement comes amid an escalation on the Gaza border after Hamas launched several attacks against Israel, while the IDF responded with airstrikes against the militants.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Friday morning that war against armed groups in the Gaza Strip could break out at any moment, even before the upcoming Knesset elections.

"An operation in Gaza could happen at any moment, including four days before the elections. The date of the elections does not factor [into a decision to go to war]", he said after returning from Russia, where he met with President Vladimir Putin.


Comment: Translation: "I'll do anything for votes, including upping the risks of large-scale war and mass devastation!"


Netanyahu's comment echoes his previous statement when the head of the government claimed that due to the rising tensions there "won't be a choice but to launch an operation, a war with the terror forces in Gaza". The politician also announced that if he is re-elected, he intended to order the annexation of considerable parts of the West Bank.

Comment: Netanyahu is a cheap demagogue and a criminal to boot. Which means he'll probably be re-elected. But even if he isn't, his replacement will be no better.

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Bullseye

We Are All Hostages of 9/11

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Wed, 11 Sep 2019 18:00 UTC
Pakistanis
© AFP /Tariq Mahmood
Pakistanis raise their weapons in the border town of Bajour as they shout anti-US slogans before leaving for Afghanistan in October 2001. Thousands from this tribal area go to join the Taliban in its 'holy war' against the US.
After years of reporting on the Great War on Terror, many questions behind the US attacks remain unresolved

Afghanistan was bombed and invaded because of 9/11. I was there from the start, even before 9/11. On August 20, 2001, I interviewed commander Ahmad Shah Massoud, the "Lion of the Panjshir," who told me about an "unholy alliance" of the Taliban, al-Qaeda and the ISI (Pakistani intel).

Back in Peshawar, I learned that something really big was coming: my article was published by Asia Times on August 30. Commander Massoud was killed on September 9: I received a terse email from a Panjshir source, only stating, "the commander has been shot." Two days later, 9/11 happened.

And yet, the day before, none other than Osama bin Laden, in person, was in a Pakistani hospital in Rawalpindi, receiving treatment, as CBS reported. Bin Laden was proclaimed the perpetrator already at 11am on 9/11 - with no investigation whatsoever. It should have been not exactly hard to locate him in Pakistan and "bring him to justice."

Comment: For more on the conspirators behind 9/11, see: Mossad and Moving Companies: Masterminds of Global Terrorism

And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: No Ordinary Inside Job - The 9/11 Psy-Ops

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Dollar

Russia will only borrow in currencies other than US dollar - finance minister


RT
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 17:09 UTC
yuan
© Reuters / Petar Kujundzic
Russia will not take out loans in US dollars for the remainder of this year and the whole of 2020, turning instead to the yuan and euro, according to the Finance Ministry.

"We will borrow in currencies other than the dollar," Russian Finance Minister Anton Siluanov said on Thursday. He added that the country will not be taking any more loans in 2019.

"This year we have no plans to borrow any more on foreign markets, we have fulfilled our program and even overfulfilled it. Next year, we'll see. Probably it will be not only in euro but maybe in Chinese yuan," Siluanov stated.
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War Whore

War is imposed on us by US, we can fight it for 100 years, Taliban tells RT after talks cut off


RT
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 16:53 UTC
car bomb
© Noorullah Shirzada / AFP
Talks with the Taliban to put an end to the longest of America's forever wars were killed off by the US last week. The Afghan militant movement is prepared to fight a hundred more years, its chief negotiator told RT.

The peace negotiations between the US and the Taliban were called off by President Donald Trump days ahead of a planned signing of a formal agreement. The draft has even been initialed by both parties and Qatar, which mediated in the talks, Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai, who headed the Taliban's delegation, told RT. As far as the Taliban is concerned, the US decision can be easily reversed and the agreement put into force as agreed, he said.

"We are still committed to the negotiations. Our stance is that there is no solution to the conflict except negotiations and except peace on the table. We hope that Mr. Trump rethinks his announcement and comes back to where we were," the official said.
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Light Sabers

'Hit them!': Duterte tells Filipinos to shoot corrupt officials, promises no prison time


RT
Fri, 13 Sep 2019 16:49 UTC
duterte
© REUTERS/Eloisa Lopez
Philippines President Rodrigo Duterte has invited citizens to shoot, but not kill, any public officials they witness taking bribes, promising immunity from prosecution, provided the corrupt bureaucrat survives.

The unorthodox presidential 'order' also called on Filipinos to beat up corrupt officials they encounter, the Manilla Bulletin reports, despite the likely disastrous consequences for law and order.

"If you pay a tax, a fee or get a certificate, and the officials ask for a bribe, hit them. If you have weapons, you can shoot them, but don't kill, because during the proceedings you may not receive a pardon," the outspoken leader said. He added that those who take him up on the offer "will not be sent to prison, but will only be seriously punished physically."
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Hardhat

Security, terrorism & Iran: What Netanyahu talked to Putin about, days ahead of Israeli election


RT
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 21:28 UTC
netanyahu putin
© Sputnik / Sergey Guneev
Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu is in Russia meeting President Vladimir Putin and top ministers. The little we know from the talks suggests Netanyahu may be trying to drag Moscow into his fight against Iran-linked "destabilization."

The two leaders met in the Russian Black Sea resort city of Sochi late on Thursday. Officially, the talks were outlined as a discussion on bilateral relations and various security issues - international terrorism and the situation in Syria. Putin said that both Russia and Israel are "well aware" of what terrorism is and said that cooperation is particularly important to combat it.

Netanyahu, for his part, singled out the issue of Iran, stating that Tel Aviv "won't tolerate Tehran's threats," yet again accusing it of using Syria's territory to wage "aggression" against Israel. The Israeli PM would like Moscow to share such a stance and ultimately see Iranian presence eliminated in Syria, Netanyahu's spokesman Evan Gary Cohen suggested.

Comment: RFE/RL provides more details on the meeting:
Israel must be given free rein to act against Iran, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on September 12 as talks concluded in Sochi where he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin to discuss security coordination in Syria.

His visit comes as an expected tight general election vote for Israel's legislature, the Knesset, nears and as both sides work to avoid clashing in Syria, where Russia and Israel are engaged.

Israel has targeted Iranian elements in Syria with hundreds of strikes in a bid to prevent Tehran from establishing a permanent military presence there.

Both Russia and Iran, as well as Iran-backed Lebanese militia Hizballah have backed President Bashar al-Assad in the Syrian civil war.

"Security coordination between us is always important, but it is especially important now, since in the past month there has been a serious increase in attempts by Iran to hit Israel from Syria and to place there precision missiles to use against us," Netanyahu said.

The leaders spoke for close to three hours after which Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said both Russia and Israel agreed to maintain dialogue regarding their militaries' engagement in Syria.

After a separate meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, Netanyahu said Israel's military needed to have "freedom of action" against Iran in the region.

The Israeli prime minister's right-wing Likud party is heading toward a close race against rivals in the September 17 elections in which voters from the former Soviet Union play an important role.

Moscow this week also expressed concern over Netanyahu's plan to annex part of the West Bank that Israel captured in the 1967 Middle East war and which Palestinians seek for a state, saying its implementation could escalate tensions in the region

Netanyahu was accompanied during his visit by Israeli national-security adviser Meir Ben-Shabbat and Air Force chief Aviv Kochavi.

Last month, he met Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskiy in Kyiv during the first visit of an Israeli prime minister to the former Soviet republic in two decades.
See also:

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