Puppet MastersS


Pirates

Iran letter to UN condemns Israeli terrorist aid, refutes claims regarding the Iranian drone

Marjohn Sheikhi
MEHR News Agency
Sat, 12 May 2018 10:35 UTC
Iranian diplomat
© Unknown
In a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Iran has condemned the Israeli regime for assisting terrorists in Syria.
"Israeli reckless action in this instance only helped [ISIL] and other terrorist groups in Syria. There is, indeed, enough evidence of the Israeli support to these terrorist groups... and this incident clearly demonstrates their destructive policy in assisting those groups for the purpose destabilizing the region,"
wrote Iranian Ambassador to the United Nations Gholamali Khoshroo, in a letter addressed to Antonio Guterres, and revealed in parts by Sputnik.

Khoshroo was referring to the February 10 incident, in which Syria downed an F-16 fighter jet belonging to Israel, in response to the regime's airstrikes on the Syrian Army positions.

The Israeli regime insists that the Feb. 10 airstrikes on Syria was due to an Iranian drone crossing into the Israeli-held Golan Heights; a claim that was refuted by Iranian officials.

Comment: Israel is the boy who cries 'wolf' to antagonize its enemies and divert attention from its own infractions.

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Attention

The US cannot afford to lose Pakistan to China

Matthew Reisener
The National Interest
Wed, 09 May 2018 00:00 UTC
Hussain,Xi,Modi,Trump
© YouTube/Daily Pakistan/Washington Examiner/AsiaNews/KJNPakistan's Mamnoon Hussain, China's Xi Jinping, India's Narendra Modi, USA's Donald Trump
China has aggressively courted Pakistan as a potential ally.

Nearly two decades into America's War on Terror, policymakers remain perplexed about how to navigate the United States' relationship with Pakistan, an ostensible ally that has long been accused of offering tepid support or creating outright impediments to American counterterrorism operations. While America's relations with Pakistan were weakened by the Trump administration's January decision to withhold over one billion dollars in security assistance from the Islamic Republic, Pakistan's relations with neighboring China have been greatly strengthened by China's promise of $57 billion in economic investment through its One Belt One Road Initiative. U.S. policymakers should be concerned by America's rocky relationship with Pakistan, as well as Pakistan's deepening economic and security ties with China. A Pakistan that is squarely in China's orbit could contribute to a dramatic rise in security competition and an increased risk of great power conflict in South Asia. It is in America's best interest to repair its relationship with Pakistan to prevent such a scenario from coming to pass.

Comment: Pakistan's strategic alignments greatly rest on the premise of which ally will offer the most cash/value. And, in Pakistan's case, it may never quite be enough as monetary issues mount from defaulted projects, repositioned funds, changed parameters or non-delivery on terms of agreement. While useful, there is a backlog of reasons to be wary of partnering with Pakistan. An alliance is only as good as its weakest component.

See also:

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Footprints

Ecuador makes ready to hand Julian Assange over to the UK


Sputnik
Sun, 13 May 2018 13:25 UTC
Assangebywindow
© AP Photo/Kirsty WigglesworthJulian Assange
More than six years after Julian Assange moved himself into the confines of the Ecuadorian embassy building in London, the WikiLeaks founder finds himself in danger again.

Remarks made earlier this week by Ecuador's Foreign Minister Maria Fernanda Espinosa suggest that her government may be depriving Assange of the political asylum it granted him in in 2012 and hand him over to British and then US authorities, the World Socialist Website wrote on Saturday.

In an interview on Wednesday, Espinosa said that the Ecuadorian government and Britain "have the intention and the interest that this be resolved." She added that the two sides were working to reach a "definite agreement" on Assange.

In March, the Ecuadorian government cut Assange's phone and Internet contact with the outside world and barred his friends and supporters from visiting him.

The Ecuadorian authorities explained their action by stating that "Assange's behavior, through his messages on social media, put at risk good relations this country has with the UK, the rest of the EU and other nations."

Comment: A sad day for an uncommon hero.

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Snakes in Suits

Pakistan assesses the cost of Trump nixing Iran deal


The Express Tribune
Wed, 09 May 2018 00:00 UTC
Pakistan official
© APP/FileForeign Office spokesperson Qazi Khalilullah
Pakistan joined other countries on Wednesday to question US President Donald Trump's controversial move to pull out from the Iranian nuclear deal. "Pakistan believes that International treaties and agreements concluded through painstaking negotiations are sacrosanct," said a statement issued here by the foreign office.

The statement suggests that Pakistan was upset with the Trump administration's unilateral move.
"Arbitrarily rescinding such agreements will undermine confidence in the value of dialogue and diplomacy in the conduct of international relations and the peaceful resolution of disputes," it added.
The statement further read Pakistan believes that the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) represents a very good example of a negotiated settlement of complex issues, through dialogue and diplomacy.
"We had welcomed the JCPOA when it was concluded and hope that all parties will find a way for its continuation, especially when the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly verified Iran's compliance."

Comment: Choice words coming from Pakistan, a country that has a record of not living up to agreements. That said, in nixing The Deal, did Trump take into account the multiple secondary benefits attributable to the JCPOA such as enterprises that came to fruition within the framework of stability furthering the economies of amicable and strategic partners? Should there be a responsibility on the quitter to evaluate all ramifications?

See also: Pakistan asks Iran to restart gas pipeline negotiations after defaulting on the deal

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Rocket

'Improving anti-precision warfare means': Putin calls to prepare S-500 missile system for mass production


TASS
Tue, 15 May 2018 20:28 UTC
Launching a missile
© The Russian Ministry of Defense
The Russian leader also called for rearming 14 regiments with Yars ballistic missile systems

Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday further efforts are needed to improve anti-precision warfare tools and called to prepare S-500 missile systems for mass production.

"One of the key tasks is to improve anti-precision warfare means. It is necessary to develop and build up technological groundwork in the area of air defense, to continue modernization of Pantsir systems, to finish the development and preparations for mass production of the S-500 newest systems capable of hitting targets at super-high altitudes, including near-the-earth space," he said at a meeting with Russia's top brass and executives of defense-sector enterprises.
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Star of David

Israeli Ziofascists supported by US in state terror against Palestinians

Stephen Lendman
stephenlendman.org
Mon, 14 May 2018 18:06 UTC
Israel-US flags
Israel gets away with mass murder and much more because Washington supports and encourages its ruthlessness.

Both nations partner in each other's high crimes - raging on Monday in besieged Gaza. As of 4:00 PM local time, 44 Palestinians were murdered in cold blood by Israeli snipers, another 1,700 injured, many seriously - the death and injury toll sure to rise.

Trump and other administration Ziofascists are ruthlessly contemptuous of Palestinian rights. They deplore peace and stability, instigating and supporting endless violence and chaos.
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Bad Guys

US blocks UN Security Council call for investigation into Israeli use of mass violence against Palestinian protesters


RT
Tue, 15 May 2018 18:02 UTC
Palestinians protester killed
© Mohammed Salem / ReutersPeople gather around the body of Palestinian Ahmed al-Rantisi, who was killed during a protest at the Israel-Gaza border.
A damning UN Security Council draft statement on Israel's use of force against protesters at the Gaza border was blocked by the US. Nearly 60 people were killed as the new US Embassy opened in Jerusalem.

Monday was the bloodiest day in six weeks of protesting by Palestinians at Israel's border wall, during which hundreds of people have been killed and thousands injured by Israeli soldiers. The IDF (Israel Defense Forces) has used tear gas and small arms against demonstrators, saying the use of force is justified due to the threat they pose. Palestinian protesters have burned tires, thrown stones, and launched incendiary kites during the stand-off.

The draft statement, which was blocked by Washington on Monday, expressed outrage over the scale of violence and called for an independent investigation of the situation.
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Arrow Down

US ambassador to UK suggests Brits should prioritize funds for defense over health to fight phantom Russian threat


RT
Tue, 15 May 2018 17:00 UTC
Woody Johnson
© Reuters
Woody Johnson, the US ambassador to the UK, has said that Britain should spend more on military defense at the expense of the NHS, insisting there needs to be 'trade-offs' to ensure security and to remain a strong US ally.

Johnson seemed to indicate to journalists assembled in London that, if increasing spending on defense was to the detriment of national treasures such as the NHS, then that was a price worth paying. He said: "Healthcare is always going to be an issue, education is always going to be an issue, transportation and infrastructure are always going to be issues, etc. But how important is it to defend yourself?"

The current owner of American Football team, the New York Jets, Johnson has been serving as Donald Trump's US ambassador to the UK since January this year. Parroting a Trumpian trope, Johnson warned that his boss doesn't want to bankroll fellow NATO countries such as Britain to safeguard their security - claiming they needed to pay their way on the world stage.
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Bad Guys

Darrell Issa accuses intel officials of 'lying through their teeth' and DOJ of 'slow-walking' congressional subpoena demands

Kathryn Blackhurst
Lifezette
Mon, 14 May 2018 17:09 UTC
Issa
© Fox NewsRep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.)
Former House Oversight Committee chairman accuses DOJ of political motives in noncompliance with lawmakers' subpoenas

Department of Justice officials are "lying through their teeth" while "slow-walking" congressional document requests until after the 2018 midterm elections, "in the hopes that the Democrats will take over the House or the Senate," Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) claimed on Fox News' "Sunday Morning Futures."

Issa, former chairman and still a member of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, rebuked DOJ and FBI officials for refusing to cooperate fully and in a timely manner with lawmakers' repeated requests and subpoenas for documents.

"The reality is [that the documents] are being slow-walked until after the election, in the hopes that the Democrats will take over the House or the Senate, and then the investigations will be covered up," Issa warned. "No question in my mind that this would be something that would just go away if we lose the gavel."

Comment:

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Eiffel Tower

French govt defends anti-terror strategy after another attack by a known radical - opposition calls for expulsion of those on watchlist

Pol O. Gradaigh
Bakersfield.com
Sun, 13 May 2018 16:59 UTC
paris attack police may
© ReutersPolice guard the scene of a knife attack in Paris, France May 12, 2018
The French government defended its anti-terrorism measures over the weekend after it turned out that the perpetrator of a deadly knife attack in Paris was on a state security watchlist.

Government spokesman Benjamin Griveaux said the man, a naturalized French citizen who was born in Chechnya in 1997, had been on the watchlist since 2016.

It was the second deadly attack in two months by a person flagged on the watchlist, and the conservative opposition renewed calls for people on the list to be detained or deported.

Griveaux said security forces had foiled 22 attacks over the past 15 months.

"When we live through a tragedy like yesterday, it is visible," Griveaux told broadcasters LCI and RTL. "What's unfortunate is that our successes, by definition, are invisible."

The attack was claimed by Islamic State. French authorities have not confirmed any link with the organization but are treating the incident as a terrorist attack.

Comment: Both sides have a point. Assuming the numbers are correct, Griveaux is right that failures get more attention than unpublicized successes (it's also basic human psychology). And premature arrests can disrupt intelligence gathering. But something's gotta give. The sheer number of attackers "previously known to police" is enough for people to call for harsher measures taken. And it gets to the point where one has to wonder if there is not some collusion between elements of the security services and these very "terror cells". How about meeting each other half-way? Detain or deport the foreigners on the list. That might disrupt some intel gathering, but not all of it, and it would make the public feel safer. It would also free up resources to focus on the remaining individuals on the watchlist.

Unfortunately, there are individuals within every Western nation who benefit from terror attacks and have no incentive to stop them. Combine that with bureaucratic inertia and general incompetence, and we're unlikely to see any positive changes in policy.

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