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Best of the Web: Syria Sit-Rep: 16 October - SAA and Syrian Kurds Join Forces to Repel Turkish Incursion


South Front
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 21:10 UTC
syria war map south front october 2019
© South Front
On October 16, units of the Syrian Army entered the city of Raqqah, currently controlled by the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces, for the first time since 2014, Russia's RIA Novosti reported, citing a local military source.

The report says that the Syrian Army has already established observation posts in the area of the city.

Elsewhere, the U.S.-led coalition has withdrawn from the Kharab Ashk military base in the eastern Aleppo countryside.

According to the Hawar News Agency (ANHA), the coalition destroyed the large base after completing the withdrawal process.

"Coalition forces destroyed the base after moving as much as it could equipment out of it," the agency's report reads.

The agency, which is affiliated with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), released a video showing the withdrawal process. The footage shows black smoke rising from the base, which was located inside the Lafarge cement factory.


Comment: And so, finally, the reunification of Syria is taking place. All it took was for the US to get out of the way...

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Info

The EU's conditional aid and suppression of Palestinian rights means complicity with its subjugation by Israel

Ramona Wadi
Middle East Monitor
Mon, 14 Oct 2019 14:11 UTC
Josep Borrell
© Burak Akbulut/Anadolu AgencyIncoming European Union (EU) foreign policy chief Josep Borrell in Madrid, Spain on 17 September 2018
The European Union's incoming Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell has already signalled a continuation of the bloc's prevailing politics when it comes to Palestine - preserve the two-state compromise by ensuring funding to the Palestinian Authority.

"If anyone helps the Palestinians today and their right to have their own state, that is Europe," Borrell declared at the European Parliament's Committee on Foreign Affairs. The truth is Europe does neither; it is merely concerned with maintaining its influence when it comes to the two-state compromise and peace-building narratives, all of which serve the EU's political agenda.

Summarising the gist of the EU's foreign policy when it comes to Palestine, Borrell tweeted: "The EU contributes almost one million € a day to attend the Palestinian Authority. We must continue to defend a peaceful coexistence and the two states solution." A succinct description of what EU funding constitutes - providing the PA with the necessary backing to function without the existence of a Palestinian state.

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Target

UK sends EU draft plans regarding future relationship; sides scramble to seal Brexit deal


RT
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 10:21 UTC
TuskJohnson
© AFP/Don EmmertPresident of the European Council Donald Tusk • UK PM Boris Johnson
The UK government has confirmed that the all-important draft texts for the political declaration required to complete a Brexit agreement have been submitted to Brussels for approval, with time running out to seal a deal.

During questions by UK lawmakers on the parliamentary select committee on Wednesday, Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay revealed that the government had sent the critical documents that outline the future relationship to EU officials.

Barclay also confirmed that PM Boris Johnson will write a letter to the EU on Saturday requesting a delay to Brexit if no deal is agreed at the European Council meeting later this week. He told MPs that Johnson will "comply with the law and comply with undertakings given to the court." Under the terms of the Benn Act, it would mean an extension until January 31, 2020.

However, Barclay was insistent that the UK would be leaving the bloc on October 31 - the Brexit deadline day - and would not accept a delay, even to tie up some loose ends on a deal.

Comment: RT, 16/10/2019: Tusk says 'basic foundations' for Brexit deal are ready
President of the European Council Donald Tusk has reportedly claimed that a Brexit agreement between the bloc and the UK could be signed off tomorrow in what could be a momentous event in the intractable two-and-a-half year saga.

Tusk told journalists in Brussels on Wednesday afternoon that a deal was within sight, as London and Brussels intensify negotiations that center on solving the Northern Irish border issue.

"The basic foundations of an agreement are ready and theoretically tomorrow we could accept this deal with Great Britain," Tusk said via a live broadcast on Poland's TVN24 news channel.
Earlier in the day, Tusk had reportedly claimed that "theoretically, in seven or eight hours everything should be clear" - implying that Brexit negotiations had arrived at a highly significant juncture.

The growing positive soundings from UK and EU officials around prospects of a Brexit deal finally being agreed in time for the crucial European Council Summit on Thursday and Friday has been somewhat tempered by key Brexit players in the UK.

Talk of an agreement including a customs border in the Irish Sea, ostensibly meaning Northern Ireland would be treated differently to the rest of the UK, has antagonized the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), PM Boris Johnson's allies in government.

A spokesperson for the UK prime minister reported that Johnson said "we are not there yet" on an agreement and that negotiations are still ongoing with the DUP.

It comes after UK Brexit Secretary Stephen Barclay revealed to a select committee of MPs on Wednesday morning that the government had sent the all-important critical documents outlining the future relationship to EU officials.

"Everything is going in the right direction, but you will have noticed yourselves that with Brexit and above all with our British partners anything is possible," Tusk said, adding that there were still "certain doubts" on the UK side.

Johnson has until Saturday to finalize a deal with Brussels, otherwise UK law states he must request a delay past the October 31 Brexit deadline.
.

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X

Pelosi denies vote for formal impeachment, robs GOP of subpoena power

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 21:55 UTC
PelosiSchiff
© Kirk McKoy/Los Angeles TimesRep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Burbank) • House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco)
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi announced on Tuesday that there would be no vote to launch formal impeachment proceedings against President Trump for the time being.

Pelosi, after discussing with the House Democratic caucus, said:
"There's no requirement that we have a vote, and so at this time we will not be having a vote.

"We're not here to call bluffs -- we're here to find the truth, to uphold the Constitution of the United States. This is not a game for us. This is deadly serious."
A formal vote would allow Republicans to subpoena their own documents and witnesses, something the minority party was allowed in both the Nixon and Clinton impeachment inquiry resolutions - which is why the Trump administration won't cooperate until a vote is held.

Pelosi has called pressure to do so a "Republican talking point."

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Quenelle - Golden

SOTT Focus: 'Catalonia Separatists Bad, Hong Kong Pro-democracy Protesters Good' - Western Media Treating Orwell's 1984 as User Manual

George Galloway
RT
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 16:27 UTC
Catalonia/HongKong protests
© AFP/Pau Barrena/Reuters/Tyrone SiuProtesters clash with Spanish policemen near El Prat airport in Barcelona on October 14, 2019 • Anti-government protesters at Sham Shui Po, in Hong Kong, October 6, 2019
When supporters of Catalan leaders jailed for organizing a democratic vote advance on Barcelona airport, media make a fuss over 'separatists' causing chaos. When the same tactic's used in Hong Kong, it's a 'pro-democracy' protest.

In George Orwell's 1984, The War Ministry was renamed the Ministry of Peace. Truth was Lies, Hate was Love. But author Lewis Carroll got there first.

In Through the Looking Glass, first published in 1871, Humpty Dumpty tells Alice, and in rather a scornful manner:
"When I use a word, it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less."

"The question is," said Alice "whether you CAN make words mean so many different things."

"The question is," said Humpty Dumpty, "which is to be master - that's all."
Humpty Dumpty has indeed been put back together again, in our newsrooms and in the mouths of our politicians. As so often happens, it finds its apogee in Syria.

Comment: They're into their third evening of mass protests in Barcelona, which show no signs of calming down:


The police are clearly under instructions to use maximum force:


Which is fuelling, no pun intended, a spiral of increasing violence:

Protests against the state have broken out across Spain, even in the capital Madrid:


This is the scene tonight in Girona, another city in the breakaway Catalonia region:



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Dollar

US indicts Turkish bank for $20B+ in Iranian oil money; Dems may try to link it to Trump impeachment


RT
Tue, 15 Oct 2019 22:41 UTC
Halkbank
© Reuters/Osman Orsal
Charges against the Turkish Halkbank announced by federal prosecutors has critics of US President Donald Trump hopeful of his impeachment, due to reports he tried to intervene on behalf of one of its convicted executives.

Halkbank - officially Turkiye Halk Bankasi AS - was charged on Tuesday with six counts of conspiracy, fraud and money laundering in the Southern District of New York, for allegedly helping Iran circumvent US sanctions on oil exports between 2012 and 2016 to the tune of $20 billion. The Turkish government is the bank's majority shareholder, and US Attorney Geoffrey S. Berman claimed that its "audacious conduct was supported and protected by high-ranking Turkish government officials."

The charges come amid the Turkish invasion of northern Syria, for which Trump has threatened to impose economic and financial penalties on Ankara. However, the president's critics at home hope this might turn into a scandal that helps them bring him down.
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Snakes in Suits

Tehran, ready to mediate Yemen war, criticizes US efforts to obstruct improving ties between Iran and SA


Sputnik
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 13:12 UTC
Ali Largijani
© iranobserver.orgSpeaker of Iran Parliament Ali Larijani
Tensions between the Gulf neighbours reached new highs in recent months after a string of drone and missile attacks targeting tankers and oil facilities. Last week, the US announced that it would be sending thousands of troops to Saudi Arabia in response to 'Iranian aggression' against Saudi oil infrastructure. Tehran has denied any involvement.

Iran is ready to work to improve relations with Saudi Arabia, and to mediate the long-running war in Yemen, but the United States is trying to hinder these efforts, Ali Larijani, speaker of Iran's parliament, has said.

"If Saudis accept a diplomatic solution, Iran will adopt a mediatory role in the issue of Yemen; but of course, the US thinks that the era of milking Saudi Arabia is not yet over," Larijani said, speaking with Bundestag vice president Claudia Roth on the sidelines of the Inter-Parliamentary Union conference in Belgrade, his remarks quoted by Mehr News.

According to Larijani, the US was largely responsible for the chaos which plagues the Middle East, including the poor relations between Tehran and Riyadh. "The US is the main reason for the dispute between Iran and Saudi Arabia," he claimed.

Comment: See also:

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X

Pence and Giuliani ignore Congressional summons in impeachment probe


RFE/RL
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 08:19 UTC
Pence
© Jacqueline Martin/APUS VP Mike Pence
U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and President Donald Trump's personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani said on October 15 they won't comply with a Congressional impeachment investigation into Trump's efforts to prod Ukraine to investigate a political foe.

Pence through his lawyer said he will not provide a long list of documents related to the Ukraine case that three House of Representatives' panels have requested.

Giuliani also said he will not cooperate and could face contempt of Congress charges.

The House inquiry was prompted by a government whistle-blower's account of a July 25 phone call between Trump and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy during which Trump asked Zelenskiy to work with Giuliani and Attorney General William Barr on probing Biden and his son, Hunter, for alleged corruption.

On October 17, Gordon Sondland, the U.S. envoy to the European Union, is scheduled to testify before the House panels. His testimony has been anticipated ever since Democrats released text messages between Sondland and other ambassadors, including former special envoy to Ukraine Kurt Volker, discussing the possibility of Zelenskiy securing a visit to the White House.
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Yoda

UN envoy Melzer: Assange subjected to torture & violations of due process rights - mainstream press ignores it


RT
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 19:00 UTC
Melser Assange UN press conference
© UNNils Melzer, Special Rapporteur on Torture, addresses a near-empty press briefing room
WikiLeaks publisher Julian Assange has been subjected to "psychological torture" and his due process rights have been "systematically violated" by all the states involved, according to UN Special Rapporteur on Torture Nils Melzer.

Two medical experts accompanied Melzer when he visited Assange at Belmarsh prison in the UK, he said on Tuesday.
We came to the conclusion that he had been exposed to psychological torture for a prolonged period of time. That's a medical assessment.
Melzer's message fell largely on deaf ears, as only a handful of reporters attended Tuesday's press conference at the UN headquarters in New York.

Comment:

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Light Saber

'Schiffty' in the hot seat: 135 House Republicans co-sponsor resolution to censure Schiff over 'parody' reading of Trump-Zelensky call

Andrew O'Reilly
Fox News
Wed, 16 Oct 2019 18:33 UTC
Adam Schiff
Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif
A motion to censure House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., for his "parody" reading of President Trump's July phone call with Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky during a hearing last month is gaining steam with House Republicans, as Fox News has learned 135 lawmakers have now signed on as co-sponsors.

The resolution to censure Schiff -- who has become a favorite target of Republicans for his role in the Trump impeachment inquiry -- was first introduced late last month by Rep. Andy Biggs, the Arizona Republican who chairs the conservative House Freedom Caucus, and has the support of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., and House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., among other ranking Republicans in the lower chamber of Congress.

Democrats have the majority and control the floor in the House, but Republicans could still attempt to force a vote on the matter.

Comment: As the inimatible John Howard Kunstler put it:
Sometimes, if you open up a big enough gate and stand in the void, the gate will swing back and slap you on the ass — which is where serial bungler and arch-schlemiel Rep. Adam Schiff (D-CA) finds himself at the end of an exhausting week's dissembling in the WhistleGate matter. Long about now, his reluctant partner in the latest impeachment gambit, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, must feel date-raped just a little bit as every unraveling thread in the story leads back to another exposed deception by Schiff, the Inspector Clouseau of impeachment politics.


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