Puppet MastersS


Chess

Trump halts S. Korea military drills during Singapore summit with Kim Jong-un


RT
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 14:26 UTC
f 16 fighter jets
© Reuters / Kim Hong-Ji
The United States will halt military drills with South Korea while negotiations between Washington and Pyongyang continue, Donald Trump told the press after meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Describing the exercises as "war games," Trump said that the drills were "very expensive" and required US bombers to "fly in from Guam" - a practice that he described as "provocative." Speaking about the large US military contingent based in South Korea, the president said that he would ideally "like to bring them home, but that's not part of the equation right now. But we will be stopping the war games."

The US president made the announcement after wrapping up a historic summit with the North Korean leader in Singapore. Trump thanked Kim after their five-hour meeting "for taking the first bold step toward a bright new future for his people."
Read More...
Telephone

President Rouhani: Iran will quit nuclear deal if it does not benefit from it


PressTV
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 20:54 UTC
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani (R) and his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic will quit the multilateral nuclear agreement Tehran signed with major world powers in 2015 if it does not benefit from the deal after the US pullout.

Rouhani made the remarks during a Tuesday phone call with his French counterpart, Emmanuel Macron, a month after the United States' unilateral move to withdraw from the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
"If Iran cannot enjoy the agreement's benefits, it will be practically impossible to stay in it," Rouhani said.
The Iranian president commended the statements of the European countries, including France, to salvage the JCPOA. However, he emphasized that such declarations must be accompanied by practical and tangible measures and solutions to help Iran benefit from the agreement.
Read More...
Chess

Trump promises to suspend war games with South Korea but sanctions against Pyongyang to remain in place until full denuclearization


RT
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 11:52 UTC
trump Singapore summit Kim Jong-un
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersTrump after a news conference in Singapore June 12, 2018.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has expressed "unwavering commitment" to complete denuclearization, US President Trump said after their first face-to face talks. However, sanctions against Pyongyang to stay in place, he added.

During the first press conference after his historic meeting with the North Korean leader, Trump said US war games in the region would be "provocative" amid talks with Pyongyang and promised to suspend them. He also noted that the drills are quite expensive and the move will save a considerable amount of money for the US budget.

Despite Kim's pledges for denuclearization and the optimism for further talks, the easing of restrictive measures on Pyongyang will not be coming in the near future, according to Trump. The sanctions will remain in force until full denuclearization, the US president said, noting that he is "looking forward" to it.

Comment: Further reading:

Read More...
USA

The uninvited stink: US Defense Secretary Mattis says US will stay after SDF defeats IS in Syria

Wladimir van Wilgenburg
The Region
Sun, 10 Jun 2018 18:20 UTC
james mattis
© REUTERS / Yuri Gripas


US Defense Secretary James Mattis told reporters on Friday that the US will stay in northern Syria, even after IS is defeated.

"As you know, a little over 100 hours ago, our partner forces kicked off in an offensive against one of the last remaining enclaves of the physical caliphate. So we are still engaged, ladies and gentlemen, in a fight against the -- the ISIS-Daesh caliphate," he said about an ongoing offensive of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in Deir ar Zour.

"It is not over yet and that continues. So obviously we are going to continue the U.N. mandate, being that Daesh is -- is a threat, then we are going to continue to go after them," he added.


Comment: Ahem... All ISIS remaining in Syria are in US-controlled resistance zones


Furthermore, he added that the US is going to stay in northern Syria to support local councils.

Comment: Soon they may have a further excuse to stay longer:

False Flag Alert: Free Syrian Army, US prepping chemical provocation in Deir ez-Zor - Russian MoD

Read More...
Jet5

Israeli warplanes spotted flying at low altitudes along Syrian-Lebanese border - Syrian army deploys Pantsir-S1 systems near Golan Heights

Leith Aboufadel
Al Masdar News
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 19:39 UTC
Israeli F-16 fighter jet
Israeli F-16 fighter jet
The Israeli Air Force has been conducting nonstop flights along the Syrian-Lebanese border, today, a military report read this afternoon.

According to the report, the Israeli warplanes were spotted flying at low altitudes from the southern Lebanese town of Marjeyoun to the Beqa'a Valley near the Syrian border.

The Israeli Air Force has been intensifying their flights along the border since the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) announced their intentions to retake all of the occupied Golan Heights' border in Al-Quneitra.

Comment: The Syrian Armed Forces are deploying additional Russian-made Pantsir-S1 combined short to medium range surface-to-air missile and anti-aircraft artillery weapon systems to the areas in southern and eastern Syria, according to pro-government sources.
The Hezbollah media wing in Syria claimed on June 12 that additional Pantsir-S1 systems had been deployed in the area near the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights [most likely in the province of Daraa] to strengthen air-defense capabilities of the government forces in the area.
See also: Israel launches 'surprise' military exercise in Golan Heights - Israeli warplanes and drones circle Syrian-Lebanese border, Syrian army on high alert

Read More...
Info

Trump says to end war games with South Korea - Pentagon says US troops in South Korea receive no orders to halt military exercise


PressTV
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 18:36 UTC
US President Donald Trump
© AFP photoUS President Donald Trump speaks at a press conference following the historic US-North Korea summit in Singapore on June 12, 2018
US President Donald Trump says the United States was stopping "very provocative" and expensive military exercises with South Korea to facilitate denuclearization negotiations with North Korea.

The United States and South Korea hold regular military drills to the fury of North Korea, which has long seen the drills as preparations to invade it.

"The war games are very expensive, we pay for the majority of them," Trump told a news conference on Tuesday in Singapore after a historic summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

Comment: The US forces stationed in South Korea have not received any guidance on cessation of military exercises on the Korean Peninsula, following statements made by US President Donald Trump in Singapore after his talks with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, Spokeswoman for US Forces in Korea Lt. Col. Jennifer Lovett told TASS on Tuesday.
"We have received no updated guidance on execution or cessation of training exercises - to include Ulchi Freedom Guardian. In coordination with our ROK partners, we will continue with our current military posture until we receive updated guidance from the Department of Defense (DoD) and/or lndo-Pacific Command (INDOPACOM)," she said.


Read More...
Sheriff

Austria's PM Kurz receives death threats on social media after crackdown on radicalized and "political Islam"


RT
Mon, 11 Jun 2018 23:01 UTC
Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
© Abir Sultan / Reuters / FileAustrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz.
An anti-terrorism probe has been opened into death threats Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz received on social media after his government announced a crackdown on hate preaching and "political Islam."

The Austrian government's decision to close seven mosques and expel as many as 60 imams as part of their campaign against radicalization has provoked a wave of outrage online. Some people on social media went as far as to threaten Sebastian Kurz personally. While some posts accused the chancellor of wanting a "war," others openly said he should "prepare" for death, according to the Austrian national Oesterreich daily. Some posts also said that the head of the Austrian government "will find himself in a rubbish box," while others just read: "Allahu Akbar!"

The chancellor's office confirmed to Oesterreich that Kurz received "many" death threats, particularly on Facebook and Instagram, as well as in some "instant messaging services." The situation was considered to be so grave that the Austrian domestic intelligence and counter-terrorism agency, the BVT, launched a counter-terrorism investigation into the issue, according to the interior ministry.

Comment: Any religious leader who advocates for activities which go against the norms of the country should be dealt with accordingly. Islam has been practised peacefully within Russian society for a long time but it too would not tolerate those which breaks its laws:


Read More...
Arrow Up

A 'sleepless night' in South Korea as all eyes are on Kim-Trump summit


RT
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 02:57 UTC
Trump/Kim monitor
© Mike Blake/ReutersSouth Korea watches and waits.
The South Korean government is hoping for a success of the Singapore summit between US President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, since it could lead to peace on the peninsula after almost 70 years.

President Moon Jae-in and his cabinet watched the start of the summit before their morning meeting at Cheong Wa Dae ("Blue House"), the South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
"I guess the attention of all our people must currently be directed toward Singapore," Moon said. "I too spent a sleepless night. I, along with all our people, sincerely hope that it will be a successful summit that will open a new era of complete denuclearization, peace and a new relationship between South Korea, North Korea and the United States."
The summit is only the beginning of a "long process" of re-establishing peace in the Korean Peninsula, Moon cautioned.
"The deep-rooted hostile relationship and the North Korean nuclear issue cannot be resolved in one single action in a meeting between leaders," the president said after the cabinet meeting on Monday. "Even after the two leaders open the dialogue, we will need a long process that may take one year, two years or even longer to completely resolve the issues."
Read More...
Attention

Iran warns N. Korea of possibility of Trump U-turn on Singapore deal


RT
Tue, 12 Jun 2018 12:44 UTC
Trump Singapore
© Jonathan Ernst / ReutersTrump after a news conference at the Capella Hotelin Singapore June 12, 2018.
Tehran, which has its own sad experience in dealing with the US, has warned Pyongyang that President Donald Trump may cancel the recent Singapore agreement, hours after the meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jing-un.

"We don't know what type of person the North Korean leader is negotiating with. It is not clear that he would not cancel the agreement before returning back home," Iran's government spokesman, Mohammad Bagher Nobakht, said on Tuesday as cited by IRNA new agency.

The statement came hours after Trump and Kim signed an agreement stipulating "complete denuclearization" of North Korea. Trump praised what had been achieved at the summit calling it a "new chapter" in relations with the North.

In the run-up to the Kim-Trump summit Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qassem said that the North's leader should be aware Trump's tendency to betray deals when they talk about denuclearization. "Washington has continued to sabotage international agreements and unilaterally withdraw from them," he stated on Monday.

Comment: No choice but to wait and see if President Trump can stick with his own deal. He has no qualms about nixing those made by his predecessor. See also:

Read More...
Binoculars

Carter Page: 'The US government abused its power by spying on me'


Sputnik
Fri, 08 Jun 2018 00:08 UTC
Carter Page
© AP photo/Pavel GolovkinCarter Page
Former foreign policy adviser to Donald Trump's presidential campaign Carter Page believes the US government "abused" its power by directing its vast surveillance capabilities at him under the pretext of a "dodgy dossier" that was funded by lawyers for Trump rival Hillary Clinton, Real Clear Investigations reported Thursday.
"Until the DoJ [Department of Justice] discloses full information about the dodgy dossier, amends their court filings that led to extensive abuse of process, and discloses details on the other sources of their lies, it will be impossible for Americans to fully trust them again," Page said in an interview with the outlet published Thursday.
The court that granted authorities a warrant to spy on Page, the so-called FISA courts authorized by the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, is different from US Article 3 courts, which provide the accused with the ability to defend themselves. FISA courts are secret, government-only entities, with no prosecutor or defense attorney present during their proceedings.

Comment: Ready or not, case or not, legal or not, the FBI was swift to strike - looking for some microscopic piece of leverage to validate a faux case and hamstring the new administration.

Read More...