Puppet MastersS


Vader

Russian Security Council Secretary: US pressured nations to cancel participation in Sochi security conference


RT
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 17:31 UTC
Nikolai Patrushev
© Grigoriy Sisoev / SputnikRussian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev speaks at the 7th Moscow Conference on International Security
A senior Russian security official has said that several nations had to cancel their participation in a recent security conference in Sochi and quoted US pressure as the main reason behind their decisions.

"As this event was in preparatory stages, certain nations which I will not name here said that they had experienced pressure from the US and because of that they could not participate in multilateral events, but at the same time they expressed readiness to develop bilateral cooperation," the secretary of Russia's Security Council, Nikolai Patrushev, was quoted as saying by TASS.


Comment: The Russians want to cooperate with other countries and create a unified front against terrorism, but the US would rather play geopolitical chess games and make cooperation more difficult.


The official was referring to the 9th International Meeting of High-Ranking Security Officials which took place in the Russian Black Sea resort of Sochi on April 25 and 26.

He also noted that some of the officials who participated in the conference had also said that US colleagues had subjected them to pressure, but nevertheless the event gathered representatives of 118 nations, which is a record. "The pressure is present and we can feel it, but they have not achieved the result they desired," Patrushev noted.
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Gear

Defense Secretary Mattis: US to expand role in Syria


RT
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 19:05 UTC
A US fighter stands near a military vehicle
© Rodi Said / ReutersA US fighter stands near a military vehicle, north of Raqqa city, Syria November 6, 2016
The United States will expand its role in Syria, Secretary of Defense James Mattis has said. The expansion comes in response to increased Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) offensives in the region.

"Right now we are not withdrawing," Mattis told the Senate Armed Services Committee. "We are continuing the fight, we are going to expand it and bring in more regional support. This is the biggest shift we're making right now."

In his statement, Mattis maintained that the US was not stepping in to take sides in the ongoing conflict in Syria. "No military solution is possible in the Syrian civil war," Mattis said.


Comment: LOL!


Comment: See also:

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Mr. Potato

Mad Maxine's advice to Trump: 'Just get out, so I won't have to keep up impeachment fight'

Kyle Olson
The American Mirror
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 00:00 UTC
Maxine Waters
© Lucy Nicholson / ReutersHouse Representative
Mad Maxine is having a temper tantrum because the facts are prevailing.

The Time 100 honoree (why?) told the magazine during its ceremony that she wants Trump to "just get out" of office.

If you had to give some advice to President Trump, what advice would you give him?" a Time reporter asked Waters on the red carpet.

"Please resign so that I won't have to keep up this fight of your having to be impeached, because I don't think you deserve to be there.

"Just get out!" she declared.


Comment: Mad Maxine is well past her sell date and should be removed from office. She's a continual embarrassment and has done nothing but enrich herself while in office.

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War Whore

Russian Foreign Ministry: Western countries are concealing military drills from Russian inspectors


TASS
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 16:22 UTC
Russian Foreign Ministry building
© Mikhail Dzhaparidze/TASS
Western countries are concealing information about their military drills from Russian inspectors in violations of their liabilities under the 2011 Vienna Document on measures to build up measures of confidence and security (VDOC11), the Russian foreign ministry said on Tuesday after the publication of the US Department of State's 2017 Compliance Report.

"Regrettably, as before, the United States' report is 'humbly' silent about numerous problems with the implementation of the Vienna Document the United States and their allies have," the ministry said.

"For instance, a number of signatory nations (Denmark, Spain) keep on dodging notifying of other VDOC11 signatories about large-scale military exercises in a period of 42 days before their beginning. Apart from that, notifications from certain states lack information that is needed for comprehensive planning of inspection activities in a period of such drills," the ministry noted.

According to the ministry, some states (Poland, Slovakia, Romania, the United Kingdom, Belgium) barred Russian inspectors from counting basic weapons systems and military hardware.
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Star of David

Beyond grotesque: The case of US aid to Israel

Khelil Bouarrouj
Palestine Square
Mon, 23 Apr 2018 16:15 UTC
US aid to Israel
As part of Donald Trump's "America First" campaign, he pledged to substantially cut foreign aid. As a result of this campaign promise, during the first year of his presidency, foreign aid declined to $23b from $49b in 2016, and 2018 is on trend to be roughly $10b less than 2017. This has meant sudden and devastating massive cuts in health, education and other vital programs in numerous countries around the world.

But one country stands out as an exception to this trend: Israel. In the most recent fiscal budget, the U.S. Congress approved $705.8m for Israel's missile defense program, a boost from the $600m allocated last year. This aid is on top of $3.1b in annual military aid to Israel through a ten-year Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), which will increase to $38b during the 2019-2028 period.
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Jet4

Trump lends his deal making skills to the Military-Industrial Complex, and sets up US arms sales with Syria demo

Whitney Webb
Mint Press News
Thu, 19 Apr 2018 16:04 UTC
Donald Trump
© AP/Pablo Martinez MonsivaisDonald Trump tours the nuclear aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford, at Newport News Shipbuilding in Newport News, Va., Thursday, March 2, 2017.
The week after the U.S., along with the U.K. and France, launched unilateral strikes against the Syrian government, the Trump administration is rolling out a "Buy American" weapons-selling initiative aimed at allowing other nations to buy even more weapons from U.S.-based arms manufacturers. According to Reuters, the initiative, set to be announced today, will speed up the approval of arms deals to U.S. allies and will call for members of President Donald Trump's cabinet, as well as the president himself, to act as "closers" in major arms deals and salesmen for U.S. weapons companies at international air shows and weapons showcases.

"This policy seeks to mobilize the full resources of the United States government behind arms transfers that are in the U.S. national and economic security interest," a White House official told Reuters. After news of the initiative first broke in the media, U.S. weapons manufacturers made massive gains in the stock market and Raytheon's stock hit an all-time high. In addition to helping the military-industrial complex secure more business, Trump may be pushing the initiative, at least in part, because of his personal investments in U.S. weapons giants like Raytheon, Boeing and General Electric.

The initiative comes less than a week after the U.S. strikes launched against Syria, and the strikes themselves were likely part of a PR bid to boost U.S. weapons manufacturers and international arms orders leading up to the "Buy American" announcement. In addition, doubts have been raised that the strikes were planned to cause any major damage to the Syrian government, as the Syrian and Russian governments were allegedly "tipped off" by Trump prior to the attack, and given ample time to prepare by evacuating nearly all key military hardware.

This suggests that the purpose of the strike was not actually to harm the Syrian government as much as showcase U.S. military might and weaponry in the lead-up to the official announcement of Trump's new weapons selling initiative.
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Star of David

The power of the Israel Lobby in the US - How many politicians can you buy with $6.3billion?

G. Edward Griffin
Need To Know
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 16:14 UTC
map middle east
Grant Smith, the author of Big Israel: How Israel's Lobby Moves America, reveals the revenue of the Israeli lobby's will reach $6.3 billion in 2020, with 17,000 employees and 414,000 volunteers! (Please re-read that statement.)

The purpose of the lobby is to influence the US government to serve its foreign-policy objectives and fund its military.[It is understandable that the Israel government would desire this outcome, but it is unfortunate that the Israel lobby seeks to label those who criticize this relationship as "Anti-Semitic".

That is like saying anyone who criticizes US foreign policy or monetary policy is anti-American. For this commentary, we expect to be called, if not outright anti-Semitic, then at least unfair. It is true that, to be totally fair, we would need to run articles on the horrendous actions of other governments as well - and, in fact that is exactly what we do.
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Bad Guys

New 'Authorization For Use Of Military Force' bill will invert constitutional check on declaring war

William A. Cohn
Information Clearing House
Mon, 23 Apr 2018 15:48 UTC
US military
© Thinkstock/Istock
As Congress pretends to restrain the already vast powers to wage war acceded to the executive branch we see further dereliction of duty resulting in shameful sorrows of empire and untold suffering abroad. A draft bill touted as reigning in the AUMF (authorization for use of military force) passed shortly after 9/11 in fact gives the executive branch an even greater blank check to wage war. In part, it allows the President to proclaim new enemies against whom any amount of force may be used, requiring two-thirds of Congress to reject that determination.

The Authorization for Use of Military Force of 2018 which was released (pdf) one week ago in essence "takes Congress's constitutional power to declare war, in which the president can only act when provided congressional authorization, and inverts it, by giving the president the ability to act unless a supermajority of Congress stops them."
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Chess

Macron wants to create 'Syria of tomorrow' with new Western-led contact group


RT
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 15:06 UTC
us soldier
© Khalil Ashawi / Reuters
Paris is seeking to bridge the moribund Geneva talks with the Russian-led Astana process in order to build peace in Syria, French President Emmanuel Macron said on his last day of a state visit to Washington.

The US, the UK, France, Jordan and Saudi Arabia have formed a "contact group" on Syria, which is coordinating with Turkey and Germany, Macron told reporters gathered at the George Washington University on Wednesday evening. The group is seeking to "build a bridge" between the UN-led Geneva talks that have so far gone nowhere, and the Astana process led by Russia, Turkey and Iran.

The Astana talks are not satisfactory to the West and would "lead to the partition of Syria," Macron said. The new contact group is aiming to "open a line" with Russia and Turkey and bring all sides to the table.

Comment: It really doesn't make any sense to try and create a 'Syria of tomorrow' without actually consulting the Syrian government and its people. This is what empires do, they plan the fates of other countries and then walk away as it burns to the ground.

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Rocket

S-300? Russia says it will deliver new air-defense systems to Syria soon


RFE/RL
Thu, 26 Apr 2018 14:55 UTC
s-300
Booyah.
The Russian military has said it will soon deliver new air-defense systems to Syria in light of missile attacks launched on alleged Syrian chemical-weapons facilities by the United States, Britain, and France nearly two weeks ago.

Russian General Staff Colonel General Sergei Rudskoi said on April 25 that Moscow will supply Syria with "new missile-defense systems soon," though he did not specify the type of weapons.

His remark follows Russian media reports saying Moscow is considering selling its sophisticated S-300 surface-to-air missile systems to Syria.

In the days since the April 14 Western air strikes, top Russian officials have said they may reconsider a pledge Moscow gave a decade ago not to provide Syria with the S-300 system.

The Western strikes were in retaliation for a suspected chemical-weapons attack in the town of Douma that killed more than 40 people on April 7. The Western allies blamed the incident on President Bashar al-Assad's government.

Russia and Syria denied that Damascus was behind the attack. They also claimed to have shot down most of the Western missiles launched on April 14 -- a claim denied by the Pentagon.
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