Puppet MastersS


Snakes in Suits

Bolton reportedly behind breakdown of Russia-US ceasefire efforts in South Syria


Sputink
Sat, 23 Mar 2019 15:13 UTC
John Bolton
© AP Photo / Cliff Owen
Earlier, White House officials speaking to US media on the condition of anonymity reportedly said that Bolton helped to ensure that the US decision to pull out of a key nuclear arms control treaty with Moscow was made without consulting any of the relevant departments or agencies.

Senior Trump administration officials with knowledge of Russia-US negotiations on the possible joint withdrawal of US and Iranian forces from Syria said the talks 'largely fell apart' after National Security Advisor John Bolton announced that US troops would stay put in the Middle Eastern country indefinitely until "all Iranian forces" were pulled out, the Washington Post has reported, citing officials.

According to the newspaper, President Trump's decision on Thursday to get the ball rolling on recognizing the Israeli-occupied Syrian Golan Heights as part of Israel really began "to gain real traction" only after Bolton arrived in the White House last April.

Comment: This report isn't really surprising given Bolton's stance on many issues:

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Magic Wand

Against all reality, Russiagaters are hell-bent to press on for imaginary possible indictments


RT
Sun, 24 Mar 2019 12:41 UTC
US department of Justice building
© Reuters / Joshua RobertsTelevision cameras stand in front of the Department of Justice the day after Special Counsel Robert Mueller delivered his report, US, March 23, 2019.
Media and politicians who've spent about two years anticipating Robert Mueller's probe and to kick Donald Trump out of the White House, seem to have survived the first shock of its mundane end, but believe their fight is not over.

The Special Counsel sent his report to the US Attorney General on Friday. Although the results are still not known to the public, it's been leaked that it contains no new indictments. The news seemed to have sent mainstream media and pundits into disarray, and even drove some to tears.

However, by Saturday they all seemed ready for a new fight, brandishing statements and casting headlines that it is not over.

Comment:
forrest gump mueller democrates
© imgflip.com


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Newspaper

Pakistan deploys Chinese air defense systems along border after India's "terror camp" strike

Manish Shukla
DNA India
Sat, 23 Mar 2019 09:58 UTC
Mirage jet
Indian Mirage jets attacked Balakot terror camps
Pakistan which is hugely concerned after Indian jets destroyed terror camps in Balakot have now fallen back on its trusted option. It has deployed Chinese made ground-to-air (SAM) missiles for air defence of military bases. As per latest intelligence reports, Pakistan has decided to deploy Chinese made LY-80 ,a medium range surface to air missile.

LY-80 missiles from China, also called HQ-16, were included in the Pak Army in 2017.The Chinese made mobile air defence system LY-80 missiles can be easily moved from one place to another according to need and can hit any moving target up to 40 kilometres. Fearing attack from India in the future of greater intensity than Balakot, Pakistan is strengthening the security of its military establishments. According to an officer in central security establishment, deployment of LY-80 missiles is part of that increased vigil.

Comment: See also: Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: What's The Problem With Nationalism?

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Sherlock

Abducted Iranian border guards rescued by Pakistani forces return to Tehran


RFE/RL
Sat, 23 Mar 2019 12:45 UTC
Pakpour
© (file photo)Iranian Brigadier-General Mohammad Pakpour greeted the guards on their return home.
Four Iranian border guards rescued by Pakistani security forces after they were abducted by militants have returned to Tehran, state media report.

State television showed a video of the border guards on March 22 stepping off a transport plane to a hero's welcome.

Their commander, Brigadier-General Mohammad Pakpour, who heads Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC), greeted the guards.

Pakistani military officials said earlier that their security forces had rescued four Iranian soldiers who were being held by a militant group in the country's Chaghi district of Balochistan Province, near the Afghan border.

Comment: Is Pakistan trying to make nice after messing with Iran (and India)? Also check out SOTT radio's: NewsReal: What's The Problem With Nationalism?

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Question

What will become of Hillary now that Russiagate is over?

Tom Luongo
Gold, Goats 'N Guns
Sat, 23 Mar 2019 00:00 UTC
Hillary Putin
During most of the RussiaGate investigation against Donald Trump I kept saying that all roads lead to Hillary Clinton.

Anyone with three working brain cells knew this, including 'Miss' Maddow, whose tears of disappointment are particularly delicious.

Robert Mueller's investigation was designed from the beginning to create something out of nothing. It did this admirably.

It was so effective it paralyzed the country for more than two years, just like Europe has been held hostage by Brexit. And all of this because, in the end, the elites I call The Davos Crowd refused to accept that the people no longer believed their lies about the benefits of their neoliberal, globalist agenda.

Comment: One can only hope that the author is correct and that we will see Hillary receive some semblance of justice. But even if this occurs, we will still be stuck with Trump - or any sitting president - who will be compelled to act on the worst most pathological interests of a cabal that is determined to enforce world 'freedom and democracy' at the end of gun.

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Blue Planet

Pepe Escobar: Nazarbayev 'resigns' and Kazakhstan's pivotal role in Eurasian integration

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Wed, 20 Mar 2019 12:00 UTC
Nazarbayev
© AFPNazarbayev at the inauguration ceremony for new leader Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

The exit of Kazakhstan's strongman after 28 years at the helm won't end its pivotal regional role
At first, it sounded like a geopolitical bombshell: Kazakhstan president Nursultan Nazarbayev, 78, in power since 1991, dramatically announced his resignation. In a "special" address, significantly delivered in both Kazakh and Russian, Nazarbayev said: "As the founder of the independent Kazakh state, I see my future task in ensuring the coming to power of a new generation of leaders who will continue the ongoing reforms."

This "new generation of leaders" for the moment is personified by Senate Speaker Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, who assumes the role of interim president. Tokayev is a former foreign minister, deputy prime minister and prime minister.

Kazakh analysts stress that Nazarbayev has been preparing his succession for years now, very careful not to cause any geopolitical turbulence. Before the official announcement of his resignation, he called Russian president Vladimir Putin. As much as Nazarbayev prides himself in having crafted a multi-vector foreign policy - which includes good relations with both China and the United States - the top geopolitical alliance is with Russia.

Comment: See also: Also check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: Trump Ditches Europe, Europe Bluffs, Russia and China Carry on With Eurasian Integration

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Star of David

Flashback Despite oil, water and Iran as targets, US is close to recognizing Israel sovereignty over Golan Heights

Whitney Webb
MintPress News
Wed, 27 Feb 2019 00:00 UTC
Neti/soldiers GHeights
© AP/Bax RatnerNetanyahu talks with Israeli soldiers at military outpost on Mount Hermon in Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.
Israel is now pushing for the U.S. to recognize its sovereignty over the Golan for fear of losing it completely, even though such recognition could result in an all-out war between Israel and Syria, as well as with Syrian allies such as Iran and Lebanon's Hezbollah.

A new bill recently introduced in the Senate, along with its companion bill in the House, would result in the United States government recognizing Israel's sovereignty over Syria's Golan Heights, which has been occupied by Israel since 1967. The territory was later annexed in 1981, but the international community - including the United States - has not recognized Israel's claim to the Syrian territory.

In addition, the bill would also promote the U.S. conducting "joint projects" with Israel in the Golan, including "industrial research and development." This is sure to result in joint U.S.-Israeli efforts to extract the large oil reserves recently discovered in the Golan Heights, as the rights to extract that oil were granted to the joint U.S.-Israeli venture Genie Energy soon after its discovery was made public.

Comment: A lie told many times does not turn it into a truth. Neither the President nor the US Congress can, by declaration, determine Israeli ownership of the Golan Heights, nor can the US and Israel legitimately exploit the resources of the area. These actions should be an alarm bell for all American citizens. Israel is in violation of international law and its business propositions for the area are illegal. The US would do well to avoid this bedfellow arrangement and instead support and respect an international court determination, one that involves Syria. Trump's recent endorsement of Israel's unproven sovereignty over the Golan Heights spoke otherwise. Will Congress follow suit?

See also:

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NPC

O'Rourke says 'special relationship' with Israel goes against US values of equality and dignity, but still ducks question on BDS

Philip Weiss
Mondoweiss
Sat, 23 Mar 2019 20:57 UTC
Beto O'Rourke
© University of New Hampshire/TwitterBeto O'Rourke speaking at the University of New Hampshire on March 20, 2019.
On Wednesday night, Beto O'Rourke spoke at the University of New Hampshire and said that Palestinian conditions don't meet American values of "fundamental human rights and human dignity" and that the relationship with Israel is hurting America's image in the world.

Asked if he would condemn Israeli, Saudi and Turkish human rights violation, O'Rourke said:
These truths that we hold so dear - that we are all created equal- "all of us" needs to mean, "All of us," not relationships of convenience for short term security gains but relationships that allow us to continue to be the example for so much of the rest of the world. And we cannot be that if we do not believe in the fundamental human rights and human dignity and safety of our fellow human beings regardless of what side of the line they may stand or sit on.

The only way that I know that we can help to secure that in the Middle East specifically with the Palestinian Authority and Israel is to have two states whose people are guaranteed their security, their safety, their dignity and their political rights. Right now of course we do not have that.

Comment: The trickle is becoming a flood.

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Attention

A new Turkey-Iran-Qatar axis rising in the ME has Saudi Arabia furious

Darius Shahtahmasebi
RT
Fri, 22 Mar 2019 16:34 UTC
3 cities ME
© Wikipedia/Ben Morlok; AFP/Atta Kenare; Wikipedia/Francisco Anzola
A new alliance being formed by Qatar, Turkey, and Iran, with the potential to receive the backing of Russia and China, is a major concern to the US, Israel, and Saudi Arabia.

The aftermath of over eight years of war in Syria has changed the regional dynamics in a way almost certainly never envisioned by the United States and its allies. Through leaked documents, we have known for some time now that Washington's interim goal was to, at the very least, destabilise the Assad government in the hopes of scaling back Iranian influence. (Its ultimate goal was quite clearly regime change, which was very close to fruition during at least one stage of the war).

This anti-Assad strategy has, of course, backfired to the point where Iranian-backed forces have essentially amassed along the Syria-Israel border, threatening Washington's most beloved ally in the region. The other notable - and realistically, most important - development is that Russia, not the United States, emerged out of the rubble of Syria as the major power-broker and military tactician.

However, it seems as though the aftermath of Syria is just the beginning of a tectonic move in a massive direction away from the status quo. Eight years on since the war in Syria broke out, and we are now beginning to see some other major concrete shifts within the regional alliances which has Washington's traditional allies, particularly Saudi Arabia, starting to tremble.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

Russia slams Trump announcement on Golan Heights as a direct violation of international law


Sputnik
Fri, 22 Mar 2019 09:36 UTC
Golan Heights outpost
© AP/Ariel SchalitOld military outpost with view of Golan Heights
US allies in the Middle East have reaffirmed their position on the Golan Heights, with the Arab League emphasising that it fully supports Syria's sovereignty over the territory annexed by Israel.

Spokeswoman for the Russian Foreign Ministry Maria Zakharova, commenting on US President Donald Trump's statement about the Golan Heights, said that changing the status of the Golan Heights in order to bypass the UN Security Council constituted a direct violation of UN decisions. Zakharova said:
"Russia, as you know, takes a principled position on the issue of the Syrian Arab Republic's ownership of the Golan Heights. This is confirmed by UN Security Council Resolution 497 of 1981. Our assessment of the unlawful nature of Israel's decision to extend its sovereignty to the Golan Heights remains unchanged. Changing the status of the Golan Heights bypassing the Security Council is in direct violation of UN decisions."
The Kremlin has said Friday that the recent statement by US President Donald Trump on the necessity to fully recognize Israel's sovereignty over the Golan Heights hinders the Middle East settlement and expressed hope that the relevant decision will not be taken.

Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov said:
"Undoubtedly, such calls may significantly destabilize the already-tense situation in the Middle East. In any case, the idea per se by no means contributes to the Middle East settlement, quite the opposite. In any case, so far it is only a call. We hope that it will remain this way," Peskov added

Comment: Trump's move prompted a backlash from a number of other states, including Syria and Turkey. Erdogan refuted Trump's legitimization of Israel's occupation of Golan Heights as sovereignty:
'We Cannot Allow the Legitimisation of Invasion of Golan Heights' - Erdogan told a meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation on Friday.

Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has warned that US President Donald Trump's recent statement on the Golan Heights puts "the Middle East region on the brink of a new crisis".

The statement comes after the Syrian Foreign Ministry condemned US President Trump's comments on the Golan Heights as "irresponsible", adding that the Syrian people are determined to recover the area through "all available means".

The Ministry pointed out that Trump's statement "confirms the US's blind commitment to Israel and support for its aggressive behaviour". According to the Ministry, Washington is violating a UN resolution which describes Israel's intentions to establish its laws in the Golan Heights as invalid and illegal.
The UN and other countries also voiced strong opposition :
UN reiterated Golan Heights status remains same after Trump's call. In particular, the UN does not recognise the annexation of the territory that has been occupied by Israel since the 1967 Six-Day War and formally annexed in 1981.

Meanwhile, Reuters reports, citing sources, that the Trump administration is working on a document to formally recognise the Golan Heights as Israeli territory. The US president might sign it next week during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's visit to the White House.

Trump's call has prompted strong opposition from European and Middle Eastern countries. France bashed the move, recalling that it contradicts international law, while Germany noted that the national borders should be changed through peaceful means.

A similar position has been voiced by Russia, Iran, Palestine and Egypt, with some of the states stressing that the territory falls under Syria's sovereignty.


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