Puppet MastersS


Target

Beat a dead horse: US Intel chiefs now warning Russia intends to meddle in midterm elections

Mike Eckel
RFE/RL
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 14:52 UTC
deadhorse/riders
© Steve Bell
The heads of the lead U.S. intelligence agencies warned that Russia intends to use cyberattacks, more propaganda, and other tactics to try and influence upcoming elections for the U.S. Congress and in some European countries.

Testifying before the Senate Intelligence Committee on February 13, the directors of the CIA, the FBI, the National Security Agency, and three other spy agencies all agreed with the assessment that Moscow had not curtailed its efforts to influence U.S. politics since the 2016 presidential election.

"Persistent and disruptive cyberoperations will continue against the United States and our European allies using elections as opportunities to undermine democracy," Dan Coats, the Director of National Intelligence, who serves as head of the 17-member U.S. intelligence community, told lawmakers.



Comment: Coats is most closely describing the actions and subversions by the USA in its history of numerous and ongoing color revolutions and empirical aspirations.


Comment: Zero (2016) + Zero (2018) = Russian meddling in the US elections...twice. Makes no sense, right? Unless it is to double down on previous falsehoods and force Trump and Congress to blindly acquiesce to a neocon agenda. And that would play nicely for Israel.

Read More...
Folder

Declassified: Comey's secret Obama 'Russia' meeting amid 'unmaskings'

Tyler Durden
Zero Hedge
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 05:10 UTC
Susie Rice
© The Gateway PunditFormer Natl. Security Advisor Susan Rice
An odd email sent moments after the inauguration by former National Security Advisor Susan Rice, apparently to herself, describes a January 5, 2017 meeting between members of the U.S. intelligence community and President Obama, while Rice and the Obama were knee deep in "unmasking" the Trump team.

We also know from recently released text messages between anti-Trump FBI agents Peter Strzok and Lisa Page that "potus wants to know everything we're doing."

In her email, Rice very deliberately notes that President Obama
"stressed his continued commitment to ensuring that every aspect of this issue is handled by the Intelligence and law enforcement communities 'by the book'" and that Obama "stressed that he is not asking about, initiating or instructing anything from a law enforcement perspective".
"Rice's "CYA" email to herself is so bizarre in light of the fact that we now know the Trump-Russia investigation was anything but "by the book," that Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) fired off a letter asking her just what in tarnation she knows.
Read More...
Star of David

NYT neglects to report Netanyahu initiated air war over Syria as distraction from corruption probes

James North
Mondoweiss
Sun, 11 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Netanyahu
© unknownNetanyahu in the Golan Heights.
Once again, the New York Times has failed in its duty to its readers to tell the full truth about Israel. This latest example of Times journalistic malpractice is on display in today's report about Israel's dangerous escalation of air attacks against Syria, during which an Israeli F-16 warplane was shot down, amid fears that Iran and even Russia might be drawn into the conflict.

First, and most important, the article, by Isabel Kershner, nowhere explains that many Israelis and others believe that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is promoting regional armed conflict to distract attention from the corruption probes that are zeroing in on him and his wife, Sara. This site back in December quoted respected Haaretz opinion writer Bradley Burston's view, that Netanyahu "needs a war with Iran," that he is "desperate because police detectives and investigative journalists are closing in on him."

Comment: In that Israel has been aggressive in its bombing raids over a number of years, puts into question the timing duo of this last raid specifically with the Netanyahu transgressions. This is not to say the convenience and overlap should go unnoticed. Bibi is more than willing to have an excuse of this magnitude that: momentarily reduces Syrian/Iranian capabilities, gives a license (according to Israel) to administer unwarranted destruction in the guise of retaliation, shape a story to fit an objective, blame Iran for starting a war, and cover Bibi's ass in distraction. What's not to love if you're Israel?

Read More...
Snakes in Suits

Minister Maliki: Palestine ready for direct talks with Israel


Sputnik
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 19:23 UTC
Maliki
© Sputnik/ Maksim BlinovPalestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki
Palestine is currently seeking experts' advice and is considering legal options in case Israel and the United States choose to derail negotiations on the Israel-Palestine settlement, Palestine Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki told Sputnik in an interview.
"We are asking an advice of many internationally recognized legal experts to help us also to focus on different specific legal tracks and to see what could we do in the near future when it comes to this, you know, if the negotiations track is closed by the rejection of Israel and the United States, that means that they are not leaving us with many options but to focus on the legal one," Foreign Minister Riyad Maliki said.
Maliki emphasized that Palestine has signed over 100 international conventions and agreements with certain conditions on how member states should or could act.
"Absolutely, we are ready for direct talks through a third party, of course... We do not think that taking Israel for 15 minutes reunion in Jerusalem will do that. We think that this will be a disaster. We think, you know, probably, coming to Sochi or maybe to Moscow could be the right one, if Netanyahu is willing to do so, you know, it's only a flight of three hours, and he will enjoy, of course, the hospitality of president Putin and the Russian people. So, I advise the Israeli ambassador to look into it and to show the positive attitude," Maliki said.

Comment: It is a travesty of monumental proportions that the issue of the Palestinian state has not been formally addressed and settled. It indicates the depth and breadth of Israel's influence on the global scale. Shutting biased US out of negotiations is mandatory.

See also:

Read More...
Jet1

Pro-government tank destroyed in second US "self-defense" airstrike in Syria this week


RT
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 19:11 UTC
Syrian Army modified T-72 tank
© Hawsh Nasri / AFPFILE PHOTO: A Syrian Army modified T-72 tank.
The Pentagon has confirmed that it destroyed a pro-government tank in eastern Syria on Sunday, marking the second US attack on Syrian forces in a week and raising concerns about a serious military confrontation in the country.

Pentagon officials claim that US special operations forces working as advisers to the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) came under attack from a Soviet-made T-72 battle tank operated by pro-government forces. In response, US forces called in a drone strike, destroying the tank.

Lt. General Jeffrey Harrigan, commander of the US Air Forces Central Command, told reporters at the Pentagon on Tuesday that the airstrike was an act of self-defense.
Read More...
Bad Guys

U.S. Intelligence community crisis poses a threat to the World

George Eliason
Consortiumnews.com
Sun, 11 Feb 2018 20:35 UTC
Intelligence Community logo
Intelligence Community logo
Back in 1991, during the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the general consensus of the intelligence community was that America needed a strong Russia. Russians bore the weight of dismantling the Soviet Union and an internally strong and stable Russia was considered the biggest stable democratic government in the hemisphere.

A strong Russia provides stability throughout the region, it was understood. Without a strong and stable Russia, the massive Russian Federation would descend into small nationalist countries. Warring nations and instability would be the norm and not the exception.

For its part, Russia also needs an internally and externally strong America, as does the world. A weak America that is susceptible to overthrow would be the largest threat that nobody wants to talk about. Such a strong America requires professional and competent intelligence services.
Read More...
Bizarro Earth

US has no evidence but claims its strike on Syria killed Russians

Stepan Kravchenko , Henry Meyer and Margaret Talev
Source
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 10:12 UTC
People celebrate with Russian and Syrian flags inside Waer district, after rebel fighters and their families evacuated the besieged Waer district in the central Syrian city of Homs, May 21, 2017 Reuters
© ReutersPeople celebrate with Russian and Syrian flags inside Waer district, after rebel fighters and their families evacuated the besieged Waer district in the central Syrian city of Homs, May 21, 2017
U.S. forces killed scores of Russian mercenaries in Syria last week in what may be the deadliest clash between citizens of the former foes since the Cold War, according to one U.S. official and three Russians familiar with the matter.

More than 200 contract soldiers, mostly Russians fighting on behalf of Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad, died in a failed attack on a base held by U.S. and mainly Kurdish forces in the oil-rich Deir Ezzor region, two of the Russians said. The U.S. official put the death toll in the fighting at about 100, with 200 to 300 injured, but was unable to say how many were Russians.

Comment: See Also:

Read More...
Gear

US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson: Control over oil fields allows Washington to influence situation in Syria


South Front
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 19:52 UTC
US State Secretary Rex Tillerson
© AP Photo/J. Scott ApplewhiteUS Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
Speaking on the sidelines of an Iraq donors conference in Kuwait on February 13, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson rejected claims that the US lacks support in Syria. The diplomat epmhasized that Washington controls a large part of the country's oil fields and area and this allows it to influence the situation.

"The United States and the coalition forces that are working with us to defeat [ISIS] today control 30% of the Syrian territory, and control a large amount of population, and control a large amount of Syria's oil fields," Tillerson told media. "This observation that the US has little leverage or role to play is simply false."

Comment: US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson addressed representatives of the coalition fighting the self-proclaimed Islamic State (IS; formerly ISIL/ISIS) in Kuwait city on Tuesday, warning that "the fight is not over"
While Tillerson acknowledged that the coalition had made "outstanding progress," he cautioned that "the enduring defeat of ISIS in Iraq and Syria means all members of the coalition must support and sustain the post-ISIS stabilisation efforts. This means continuing to provide essential aid and services to communities which are only now starting to rebuild."


Read More...
Passport

Expelled from Ukraine, stateless Saakashvili arrives in Netherlands under wife's citizenship


RFE/RL
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 18:37 UTC
Saakashvili netherlands
© Jan Hennop/Agence France-PresseMikheil Saakashvili stands in front of the Immigration and Naturalization offices in Rotterdam on February 14.
Mikheil Saakashvili has arrived in the Netherlands, his wife's home country, after being expelled from Ukraine into neighboring Poland.

Asked upon his arrival on February 14 how long he planned to stay in the Netherlands, Saakashvili said, "We will see. But for sure, it's due to the circumstances I'm here because of what happened in Ukraine."

"But, obviously, it's a country I come to very often anyway," he told Dutch national broadcaster NOS.

Saakashvili, 50, was hired in 2015 by Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko to head Ukraine's Odessa region but fell afoul of his friend over corruption and reforms and was stripped of his citizenship in July 2017.

Comment: Saakashvili exhibits an preternatural, rat-like instinct for political survival. It is unlikely he will retire gracefully under the protection of his wife's citizenship. A small sample of his political and non-political incarnations.

Read More...
Stormtrooper

'Limited offensive': Syrian Army deploys massive reinforcements to Deir Ezzor for all-out offensive against US-backed forces

Andrew Illingworth
Al Masdar News
Wed, 14 Feb 2018 19:37 UTC
Syrian army soldiers
Syrian army soldiers
The Syrian Arab Army and allied paramilitaries are rushing massive reinforcements to the Euphrates valley region within Deir Ezzor province in what early reports are saying is preparation for an all-out offensive against US-backed forces.

Already, military-affiliated sources note that Syrian Army sentries have stepped up patrols along the west Euphrates bank whilst engineering units have been building new fortified areas and trenches.

Comment: From its side, the SDF and the US-led coalition had also deployed large reinforcements to their positions on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River, according to Kurdish sources.
In cause of the escalation, the US-led coalition will carry out another series of heavy airstrikes similar to the ones conducted on February 7. However, some Syrian pro-government sources believe that the SAA may use air defense systems against US-led coalition warplanes in any future military confrontation.
...

Although of all of this tension, observers believe that the SAA and its allies will not risk to launch an attack against the US-led coalition now, as they are preparing for a more important battle around the Syrian capital, Damascus.
See also: Damascus vows Syrian Army will down 'any jet' that launches an assault

Read More...