Puppet MastersS


Stormtrooper

Not the world's policeman? US expands overseas military presence: 300k troops in 177 states


RT
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 16:57 UTC
US soldiers Afghanistan
© Reuters / FileUS soldiers fire a mortar shell during a mortar registration exercise in Afghanistan, 2012
Trump is sticking to the policies of past administrations despite campaign claims that the US shouldn't be 'world policeman', experts told RT regarding Pentagon figures of 300,000 US troops in 177 states.

"Today more than 300,000 Americans are deployed or forward stationed in 177 countries," Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Joseph Dunford said on Monday. These missions include those in Iraq and Syria, activities on the Korean Peninsula, and "enhancing interoperability with allies" in Poland, according to the man acting as principal military adviser to the US president.

The number announced by Dunford is much higher than the one given by Pew Research Center in 2017. The Washington-based fact tank reported that 200,000 US troops were stationed overseas at that time, adding that the largest US military presence was in Japan, Germany, South Korea, Italy, and Afghanistan.

Comment: The MIC is deeply entrenched in the government. Reducing US military presence around the world will cut into their profits. Trump has an uphill battle here. Not only that, a good deal of the economy is dependent on defense industries. Trump would have to grow other employment opportunities to replace the jobs that would be lost should he manage to rein in the MIC. A complicated problem indeed.

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Jet3

ISIS posts photos of Syrian jet downed by Israel, what appears to be pilot's remains


Sputnik
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 16:53 UTC
sukhoi wreckage
Israel shot down the Syrian Air Force Sukhoi fighter jet on Tuesday in response to what Tel Aviv claimed was a violation of its airspace in the Golan Heights.

Daesh (ISIS/ISIL) has released photos of what it alleges is the pilot and the wreckage of the Syrian warplane shot down in southern Syria by an Israeli Patriot missile, Reuters has reported, citing a media resource affiliated with the terror group.

The SITE Intelligence Group, engaged in the monitoring of terrorist activity, has released what are believed to be the images. Their authenticity has yet to be independently verified.


In a video released by Haaretz, a group of what are assumed to be Daesh militants inspect the aircraft shortly after it crashed, shouting "Allahu Akbar" as they walk around its flaming wreckage.

Comment: So basically, here's what happened: the Syrian air force were flying sorties over the remaining ISIS pocket on the border with Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The Israelis - because they say the jet got too close to Israel - shot down the jet over ISIS-controlled territory, knowing full well that the pilot would either die from the missile, or be mutilated by ISIS psychopaths on the ground. ISIS, of course, is thrilled that the Israelis had their back, taking boasting videos and photos of the wreckage. And then Israeli-intel-connected SITE posts the photos. Even with ISIS in its death throes, Israel just can't help supporting their barbarism. Which should be expected, given that the Israelis are just as barbaric.


See also: Israel intercepts and shoots down Syrian warplane over contested Golan Heights

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Chess

Trump tempers anti-Iranian rhetoric at VFW speech

Zeke Miller
Associated Press
Tue, 24 Jul 2018 16:57 UTC
trump
President Donald Trump tempered his threatening rhetoric toward Iran Tuesday, two days after he sent an all-caps warning of future conflict.

Addressing the national convention of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, Trump took credit for pulling the U.S. out of the Iran nuclear accord, but said his administration stands ready for Iran to come back to the negotiating table.

"We're ready to make a real deal, not the deal that was done by the previous administration, which was a disaster," he said. While U.S. intelligence agencies maintained that Iran complied with the Obama-era agreement to halt its nuclear program, Trump had complained that the deal didn't do enough to curb Iran's malign influence in the region.

Trump also highlighted part of his agreement with North Korea's Kim Jong Un last month to transfer some remains of Americans killed during the Korean war back to the U.S. as an example of his support for the nation's veterans as his new VA secretary begins his work.
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Bad Guys

Bizarro world: #Resistance embraces Russian president to counter Trump?


RT
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 15:40 UTC
Donald Trump
© CNNPresident Donald Trump
The very same people who roasted President Donald Trump for rejecting evidence-free claims of Russian meddling in US elections are now demanding evidence for his claim Moscow will favor Democrats in November midterms.

"I'm very concerned that Russia will be fighting very hard to have an impact on the upcoming Election. Based on the fact that no President has been tougher on Russia than me, they will be pushing very hard for the Democrats. They definitely don't want Trump!" the president tweeted on Tuesday, before giving a speech to the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

Comment: Strange times.

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Chess

Erdogan announces Turkey will continue to receive oil from Iran despite US efforts to block Iran's oil exports


RT
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 16:01 UTC
oil cap
© Luisa Gonzalez/REUTERS
Turkey is happy to receive oil from Iran and won't be joining US efforts to block Iranian crude exports, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, refusing to cut economic ties with "strategic partner" Tehran.

"Iran is both our neighbor and our strategic partner," and severing ties with Tehran on America's whim goes against Turkey's "understanding of sovereignty," Erdogan said on Wednesday.

Earlier this month, the US vowed to boost economic pressure on Iran, targeting its energy sector. Washington is planning to hit Tehran by "reducing to zero its revenue on crude oil sales," Brian Hooks, the US State Department's director of policy planning declared two weeks ago.
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Stock Down

Trump unveils $12 billion bailout proposal for farmers hit by US trade war


RT
Wed, 25 Jul 2018 13:05 UTC
American farmer
© Aleksandra Michalska / Reuters
The Trump administration has unveiled plans to offer billions of dollars in aid for farmers hurt by the escalating trade war. US farmers have been hit by retaliatory tariffs on goods like soybeans, pork, and beef.

"President Trump has promised since day one that he had the back of every farmer and rancher," Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue told reporters Tuesday. He said the assistance was a short-term solution, but that it would offer "Trump and his administration time to work on long-term trade deals."

The aid is intended to protect the industry as countries started raising levies on US products such as soybeans in response to Trump's trade tariffs. Washington plans to provide subsidies to farmers and buy unsold crops, distributing them to food banks and other government nutrition programs. The first assistance is expected to be provided by the beginning of September.
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Bullseye

Best of the Web: Trump drops the EU's value as an ally to zero

Alastair Crooke
Strategic Culture Foundation
Mon, 23 Jul 2018 00:01 UTC
EU puzzle
Maybe we are misreading things. Not a small number of commentaries have suggested that President Trump intended for Helsinki to re-set the Kissinger-esque triangulation between the US, Russia and China. And there are good grounds for making such a hypothesis. At a 2015 press conference, Trump, himself, took the Kissinger line - that the US should always try to keep Russia and China divided, and never allied together against America):
"...One of the worst things that can happen to our country, is when Russia ever gets driven to China. We have driven them together - with the big oil deals that are being made. We have driven them together. That's a horrible thing for this country. We have made them friends because of incompetent leadership. I believe I would get along very nicely with Putin - okay? And, I mean [that] where we [the US] have the strength. I don't think we need the sanctions. I think that we would get along very, very well."
This makes a lot of sense, but maybe in Helsinki Trump was doing something a little less strategic and more down-to-earth - something more in line with his Art of the Deal philosophy.

Comment: This analysis makes a lot of sense. Trump has been hinting at dissolving NATO and generally treating his EU counterparts with disdain for the last little while. The idea that the Helsinki summit was, at least in part, theater with the goal of sticking it to the EU is actually a refreshing take amid all the 'treason' hysteria, and actually lines up rather nicely with Trump's "art of the deal" methods.

See also:

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Megaphone

Russian Foreign Ministry: Rescue op by Israelis of White Helmets shows who payrolled them


RT
Mon, 23 Jul 2018 19:38 UTC
white helmets
© Hosam Katan / Reuters
The pullout of the White Helmets from Syria, carried out by Israel on the US' and Canada's request, reveals "true colors and hypocrisy" of the controversial group, showing who actually controls it, Russia's Foreign Ministry said.

The rescue operation, which emerged Sunday, "speaks for itself" and clearly shows who exactly the group serves, the ministry said in a statement on Monday, calling its members "pseudo-humanitarians." Some 422 of them were picked by the Israeli military and transferred to Jordan after the evacuation was requested by the US, Canada and some European countries. It has emerged that a total of 800 people were expected to be pulled out initially.

The White Helmets group has advertised itself as a volunteer force and Syria's "civil defense." The group has been praised in the West, even receiving an Oscar for a "documentary" movie, yet it has been repeatedly accused of cooperating closely with jihadist groups and effectively serving as their media branch.

Comment: Sputnik translates the statement a little differently:
"It is well known that the White Helmets has been involved in the most odious provocations during the Syrian conflict. It was carrying out activities only on the territories controlled by Islamic radicals. It was preparing blatant fakes, which were then used as a pretext for making accusations against the Syrian authorities," the ministry said in a commentary.

"It is symbolic that the White Helmets activists have opted to flee Syria with foreign support thus revealing their true nature and exposing their hypocrisy to the whole world," it added.


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Bullseye

Turkey's Erdogan says 'spirit of Hitler' manifests in leadership of 'fascist, racist' Israel

Simon Kent
Breitbart
Tue, 24 Jul 2018 11:23 UTC
Netanyahu Erdogan
© Ronen Zvulun,Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty
Israel is the "most fascist, racist state" in the world, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday, adding that the "spirit of Hitler" finds a home amongst some of the Jewish state's leadership.

Mr. Erdogan's extraordinary outburst follows last week's move by Israel's parliament to pass a new law defining the country as the nation state of the Jewish people.

The legislation, adopted after a tumultuous Knesset session, makes Hebrew the national language and defines the establishment of Jewish communities as a vital part of the national interest.


Comment: Not simply "Jewish communities", but illegal settlements in occupied land.


Arabic, previously considered an official language, was acknowledged with special status.

Comment: Much can be criticized of Erdogan, but it's hard to argue with him on this one!

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Cowboy Hat

Trump trumps NATO

Patrick Armstrong
Strategic Culture Foundation
Mon, 23 Jul 2018 09:31 UTC
Trump NATO
© Evan Vucci / AP
Those of us who regard NATO as one of the primary sources of international instability thanks to its wars of destruction in the MENA and provocation of Russia were looking forward with delighted anticipation to Trump's appearance at the NATO summit. We were not disappointed. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when Trump came late to the meeting where Ukraine and Georgia were banging on about the Russian threat, started ranting about spending and blew up the decorous charade. Ukraine and Georgia were then dismissed and a special meeting was convened. (A side effect of his "creative destruction" was that the Ukrainian President delivered his speech to a practically empty room). He started his assault before the meeting, opening Twitter fire on Germany, returning to the attack in his breakfast meeting with NATO's GenSek:
Germany is totally controlled by Russia because they will be getting from 60% to 70% of their energy from Russia, and a new pipeline, and you tell me if that's appropriate because I think it's not and I think it's a very bad thing for Nato.
Good fun for some of us but a stunner to the Panjandrumocracy: "meltdown", "tantrum", "latest diplomatic blowup", "making bullying great again" and so on.

As ever, Trump's statements were extreme and his numbers might not stand up to examination but most commenters (typically) left out the context. Which was a piece by German Chancellor Merkel herself in which she called for NATO to focus on the threats from Russia: "the alliance has to show determination to protect us".

This gave Trump the opening to pose these questions (posed in his own way, of course, in a strategy that most people - despite the example of North Korea - have still not grasped).

Comment: It appears that Trump has them where he wants them. See also:

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