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EJ Magnier: Assad told Putin Syria has run out of patience with Israel - Iran will stay as long as Israel occupies Golan

Elijah J. Magnier
ejmagnier.com
Thu, 26 Jul 2018 16:16 UTC
lavrov netanyahu
The Syrian president Bashar al-Assad has communicated to the Russian leadership that "Israel has exhausted our patience" ... "Israeli jets will be a legitimate target for our defence systems if Tel Aviv doesn't cease its provocation and stop targeting our military positions and jets". According to decision makers, "Assad has no intention of asking Iran and its allies to leave the Levant as long as any Syrian territory is occupied". Assad has included the Golan Heights in 'all occupied Syrian territories', as well as the north of Syria where the Turkish and the US forces, unlike the those of Iran, are present without the consent of the Syrian government.

Moreover, according to the source, "Assad believes that the Syrian government will not be tamed by offers presented by Russia for a plan which would propose the return of all refugees, so as to be able to run the forthcoming elections over the entire Syrian territory, and the reconstruction of Syria by the international community in exchange for an Iranian withdrawal. However, the implementation of UN resolution 242 (1967) (withdrawal of Israeli armed forces from territories occupied in the recent conflict) and the respect of Syrian sovereignty (cessation of Israeli violations of Syrian air space) is the right path for the withdrawal of all forces from Syria, including those of Iran", said the source.

Russia is trying to create stability in the Levant, considered a permanent base for its forces and an essential platform for a much larger economic future and link to the world. Tass news agency said Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and Chief of the General Staff Army Valery Gerasimov "visited the Israeli prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to discuss issues concerning the Syrian conflict". The two hour meeting is part of the pre-organised exchange of visits established during Netanyahu's last visit to Moscow where he met the Russian President Vladimir Putin.
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Life Preserver

The vindication of Carter Page, victim of a political witch hunt

Julie Kelly
American Greatness
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 15:48 UTC
Carter Page
© Wall Street JournalCarter Page
Carter Page's nightmare began exactly two years ago this week.

On July 26, 2016, a reporter with the Wall Street Journal sent him a text, asking the then-Trump campaign advisor about his ties to Russia, including alleged meetings with Kremlin officials: he responded that the suggestion was "ridiculous." But other media calls followed. Page, a Ph.D. and Naval Academy graduate, rebuffed the inquiries and continued to go about his business as a global energy financier.

What Page did not know at the time is that - aside from unwittingly becoming the latest human slab tossed into the Clinton machine's meat grinder - his own government was already watching him, perhaps even setting him up. As Team Clinton, the DNC, and the Obama White House ratcheted up the Trump-Russia collusion fairy tale before the presidential election, Page emerged as the villain. In October 2016, at the behest of Jim Comey's FBI, a secret court gave the government permission to spy on Page. The surveillance lasted one year, during which time his personal and professional life imploded; he was the target of persistent media harassment and even death threats.

Now, thanks to the partial release of documents submitted by the Justice Department to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in 2016 and 2017, we know that Page is far from a villain: He was framed by Democratic Party operatives (with their own ties to Russia); had his constitutional rights stripped away by the government; was forced to testify before Congress, and to submit to questioning from the FBI and perhaps a special counsel; and endured painful, humiliating public scrutiny while most of the media ignored - even cheered - his plight.
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Briefcase

Manafort trial could reveal Dem's dirty laundry about its consultants

Alex Pappas
Fox News
Tue, 24 Jul 2018 15:37 UTC
Tad Devine Paul Manafort
© ReutersProsecutors could show the jury evidence related to Tad Devine, left, the chief strategist for Sanders' 2016 presidential campaign, in the federal case against , right.
The upcoming federal court trial for President Trump's former campaign chairman, Paul Manafort, will be closely watched for revelations about Trump's campaign for the White House in 2016.

But it's also poised to potentially reveal embarrassing information about several Democratic political consultants, including a top adviser to 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders and others who have worked in lucrative elections both in the United States and abroad, court filings indicate.

Manafort, facing charges of bank and tax fraud related to his work in Ukraine, has pleaded not guilty to the charges. His trial is scheduled to start in Alexandria, Virginia next week.
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Attention

Jihadists attack Russia's Syrian Hmeymim airbase - again!

Leith Aboufadel
Al Masdar News
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 15:37 UTC
hmeymim
The jihadist rebels launched another heavy attack on Russia's Hmeymim Airbase last night, targeting the northeastern perimeter of this strategic installation.

According to a source in Latakia, the jihadist rebels launched their attack using armed drones late last night, prompting the Russian air defense to activate their rocket sirens.

The military source added that the armed drones got within a few kilometers of the Hmeymim Airbase before they were intercepted by the Russian air defense.

Not long after the jihadist attack, the Russian Aerospace Forces resumed their military operations at the Hmeymim Airbase.

The Russian Aerospace Forces would then carry out a large number of airstrikes over the Islamic State's (ISIS) pocket in southwest Syria.

For the jihadist rebels that launched the assault on the Hmeymim Airbase, they will likely come under attack by the Russian Aerospace Forces later this week, as the latter intensifies their strikes on the northern countryside of Latakia.

Comment: This is the eighth such attack this month: According to Elijah Magnier, these attacks are one reason why Russia is eager to retake the territory still held by al-Qaeda in eastern Latakia:
Although there is no time allocated to end the ISIS pocket, military commanders believe it might take less than two months to end ISIS's control completely. That is also linked to the following battle expected in the north of Syria after the month of September, where preparations are ongoing for the biggest, last battle in Syria.

Russia is already preparing for its share in rural Lattakia and the high ground surrounding Jisr al-Shoughour and the Lattakia province under the control of Jabhat al-Nusra. The reason why the Russians are determined to liberate the area is mainly due to repetitive armed drone attacks against its main military base and airport in Hmaymeem, also the centre of coordination with Moscow.


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Biohazard

Best of the Web: Latest novichok poisoning: The silence of the media whores

Craig Murray
craigmurray.org.uk
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 15:09 UTC
amesbury poisoning sturgess rowley
Dawn Sturgess and Charlie Rowley
The mainstream media are making almost no effort today to fit Charlie Rowley's account of his poisoning into the already ludicrous conspiracy theory being peddled by the government and intelligence agencies.

ITV News gamely inserted the phrase "poisoned by a Russian nerve agent" into their exclusive interview with Charlie Rowley, an interview in which they managed to ask no penetrating questions whatsoever, and of which they only broadcast heavily edited parts. Their own website contains this comment by their journalist Rupert Evelyn:
He said it was unopened, the box it was in was sealed, and that they had to use a knife in order to cut through it.

"That raises the question: if it wasn't used, is this the only Novichok that exists in this city? And was it the same Novichok used to attack Sergei and Yulia Skripal?
But the information about opening the packet with a knife is not in the linked interview. What Rowley does say in the interview is that the box was still sealed in its cellophane. Presumably it was the cellophane he slit open with a knife.

Comment:

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Rocket

Israeli air defense reportedly fails to intercept Syrian army missiles targeting ISIS


Fars News Agency
Tue, 24 Jul 2018 15:20 UTC
missile
The Israeli Air Defense System know as Maqla David (David's Sling) failed to intercept two of the Syrian Army's Tuchka missiles used by the Damascus forces to target terrorists' positions near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

The army launched missile attacks on ISIL's positions in Hawz al-Yarmouk region in Southwestern Dara'a.

One of the missiles was an advanced Russia-made Tochka ballistic missile that struck its target, causing sirens in the occupied Golan to start.

The sources further said that the Israeli Air Defense units operated to intercept the missile but failed.


Comment: Why are the Israelis trying to destroy missiles whose target is ISIS?


In the meantime, Israeli media quoted a military analyst as saying that the Israeli air defense system of David's Sling Missile System failed to intercept the Syrian Tochka missile in its first experience of facing such attacks.

The Israeli media further said that one of the David's Sling missiles was detonated automatically in the Golan, while the fate of the second missile is unknown even to the Israeli air force.
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Bullseye

Georgia state rep resigns after making a fool of himself in Sacha Baron Cohen prank

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 14:52 UTC
jason spencer
Georgia state lawmaker Jason Spencer resigned Tuesday night after he was duped into an appearance on comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's new Showtime series, Who Is America.

Spencer, a Republican, initially refused to resign after the segment aired, which features him baring his buttocks, shouting the n-word, and doing a terrible impression of a Chinese tourist. He changed his tune on Tuesday after harsh rebuke, with a terse resignation letter which reads: "This email/letter is to serve as an official resignation notice to your office that I will be resigning my post effective July 31, 2018."
Spencer appeared in a segment in which Cohen portrays an Israeli military expert who is making a video about how to mount a personal defense against potential terrorists. In one scene Cohen's character urges Spencer to draw attention to an unfolding attack.

The lawmaker responds by shouting the n-word.

In another, Cohen says that Muslim extremists are religiously repulsed by human buttocks. He persuades Spencer to fend off an attacker by charging at him backwards ― he shouts "USA!" and "America!" ― with his bare bottom exposed. -NBC News

Comment: Conservatives are irate at Cohen's latest antics. They should grow a pair and get over it. Whatever you think of Cohen, he's effective at getting morons to reveal just how moronic they actually are. And Spencer isn't the only one who reveals just how tone-deaf he really is. Compare his behavior with Trump's above. Trump can actually spot BS. Cohen is so over the top that you have to be a special kind of stupid to get taken in by him, and thankfully for Cohen and his admirers, that's a special kind of stupid that is overrepresented among U.S. legislators. Even worse than the fact that Spencer seemingly believed showing his buttocks, shouting America, and pretending to be a Chinese tourist would actually work on real terrorists is the fact that he didn't see anything off about his behavior after the fact. He has the mentality of an 8-year-old, and a not very bright or mature 8-year-old at that.

At least Joe Walsh responded with at least a bit of self-reflection:



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Megaphone

Iran continues war of words: 'Troublemaker' Trump pursuing 'ignorant diplomacy'


RT
Tue, 24 Jul 2018 14:26 UTC
iran protest
© ReutersIranian women protest against Donald Trump's decision to walk out of a 2015 nuclear deal, in Tehran, Iran, May 11
US President Donald Trump's recent anti-Tehran comments are the "words of a troublemaker" pursuing "ignorant diplomacy," Iranian officials have declared, as the angry exchanges between Iran and the US rapidly escalate.

Recent anti-Iran tirades by the US angered a number of Iranian officials. On Tuesday the country's parliamentary speaker called the comments of the US president "the words of a troublemaker." "Trump is pursuing ignorant diplomacy," Ali Larijani stressed on Tuesday, as cited by local media.

US attempts to block Iranian oil exports will not be left unanswered, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi added. "If America wants to take a serious step in this direction it will definitely be met with a reaction and equal countermeasures from Iran," he said.

Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps Commander Mohammad Bagheri also vowed to implement a "strong, unimaginable and regrettable" response from Tehran. Bagheri stressed that Trump is attempting "to create a rift" among the Iranian people.

The wrath of Iranian politicians has apparently been directed at the widely-cited Trump tweet - all in capital letters - addressed to Tehran. The US leader warned his Iranian counterpart to "never, ever threaten the United States again" or suffer "consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before."

Comment: Today, Iran's Quds Force Leader Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani gave Trump an additional warning:
The war with Iran "will destroy everything you own," Major General Qassem Soleimani warned Trump on Thursday, local TV channel Al-Alam reported. His comment comes after US and Iranian leaders exchanged public threats, and Washington proposed to block Iranian oil shipment.

Speaking at a memorial event in the western Iranian city of Hamadan, Soleimani said that the Red Sea, an important shipping route, "is no longer safe" due to the American presence in the region.

The head of the Quds Force also cautioned Trump against further public outbursts against Tehran. "You must understand what you're saying when insulting the Iranian people and our president," he said.
This is all shaping up to be a repeat - like Zarif observed - of the war of words between Kim and Trump, and we all saw how well that turned out... Which was actually very well.

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Nuke

Trump ready to negotiate 'real' nuclear deal with Iran


RFE/RL
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 03:16 UTC
Trump
© 123Yahoo
Two days after exchanging harsh warnings with Iranian leaders, U.S. President Donald Trump says he is still eager to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Tehran.

"We'll see what happens, but we're ready to make a real deal, not the deal that was done by the previous administration, which was a disaster," Trump said on July 24 in a speech to veterans in the U.S. state of Missouri.

Trump over the weekend had threatened Tehran with "consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before" after Iranian President Hassan Rohani had warned Trump not to "play with the lion's tail."

The exchange of harsh rhetoric was reminiscent of the threats that volleyed back and forth between Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un last year -- exchanges that disappeared after the two adversaries agreed to negotiate a nuclear deal at a summit this spring.

Comment: Iran has other options for its oil as other countries such as China, India, Russia will close the gap. Given Trump knows this, the sooner a deal is struck with Iran, the more face he will save and the closer he will come to the result he is attempting to achieve.

See also: Oil economist predicts 'US sanctions on Iran will not have any impact and will fail'

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Arrow Up

Bernie Sanders upholds the anti-Russian campaign

Patrick Martin
World Socialist Web Site
Mon, 23 Jul 2018 00:00 UTC
Bernie Sanders
© CBS/TwitterVermont Senator Bernie Sanders
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders appeared on the CBS interview program Face the Nation Sunday and fully embraced the anti-Russia campaign of the US military-intelligence apparatus, backed by the Democratic Party and much of the media.

In response to a question from CBS host Margaret Brennan, Sanders unleashed a torrent of denunciations of Trump's meeting and press conference in Helsinki with Russian President Vladimir Putin. A preliminary transcript reads:

SANDERS:
"I will tell you that I was absolutely outraged by his behavior in Helsinki, where he really sold the American people out. And it makes me think that either Trump doesn't understand what Russia has done, not only to our elections, but through cyber attacks against all parts of our infrastructure, either he doesn't understand it, or perhaps he is being blackmailed by Russia, because they may have compromising information about him.

"Or perhaps also you have a president who really does have strong authoritarian tendencies. And maybe he admires the kind of government that Putin is running in Russia. And I think all of that is a disgrace and a disservice to the American people. And we have got to make sure that Russia does not interfere, not only in our elections, but in other aspects of our lives."
These comments, which echo remarks he gave at a rally in Kansas late last week, signal Sanders' full embrace of the right-wing campaign launched by the Democrats and backed by dominant sections of the military-intelligence apparatus.

Comment: So for all of Sanders' socialistic efforts, he was considered a mere stooge by the DNC, a 'position holder' to balance out and camouflage their true intentions for the election and deliver voters their way. Used, abused, and little learned. He now spouts their talking points regarding Trump and Russia instead of offering an intelligent assessment that might signify he has a unique perspective and is a free thinker. He doesn't; and he's not; and he doesn't know it.

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