Puppet MastersS


Radar

Pepe Escobar: When in doubt, nuke China

Pepe Escobar
Asia Times
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 14:02 UTC
Scott Swift
© ReutersCommander of the U.S. Pacific Fleet Admiral Scott Swift aboard the USS Ronald Reagan in Brisbane, Australia, July 25, 2017.
A situation in which the US military feels 'unhampered' has precedent - and, as General MacArthur's endeavors in Korea prove, it's something to be afraid of.

The current collapse of the unipolar world, with the inexorable emergence of a multipolar framework, has enabled a terrifying subplot to run amok - the normalization of the idea of nuclear war.

The latest exhibit comes in the form of a US admiral assuring everyone he's ready to follow President Trump's orders to launch a nuclear missile against China.

Forget about the fact that a 21st century nuclear war involving great powers will be The Last War. Our admiral - admirably named Swift - is simply preoccupied by democratic minutiae, as in "every member of the US military has sworn an oath to defend the constitution of the United States against all enemies foreign and domestic and to obey the officers and the president of the United States as commander and chief appointed over us."

So it's all about loyalty to the President, and civilian control over the military - irrespective of the risk of incinerating untold masses of said civilians, Americans included (as there would be an inevitable Chinese response).
Read More...
Attention

South Korea and US missiles launched in response to North Korea test


RT
Sat, 29 Jul 2017 13:41 UTC
US and South Korea missile launches
© AFP
The US and South Korean militaries responded to North Korea's latest missile test with its own display of military strength, firing live surface-to-surface missiles from rocket launchers, amid renewed tension on the peninsula.

Videos posted by the South Korean Ministry of Defense show the US-made Tactical Missile System, known as ATACMS, as well as its own Hyunmoo Missile II.

The missiles hit the East Sea on Saturday morning, where North Korea's ballistic missile is believed to have landed, as part of a live-fire exercise to demonstrate its "precision firing ability," the US 8th Army said.

US Forces in Korea said two missiles were fired from the ATACMS along with two Hyunmoo system missiles.
Read More...
Chess

Russian Official: US sanctions will force Russia & EU into 'closer strategic relationship'


Sputnik
Sat, 29 Jul 2017 12:59 UTC
Putin Merkel
© Sputnik/ Host photo agency
The Russian-EU relations will become more constructive amid the US decision to introduce new sanctions against Moscow, the Russian State Duma's International Affairs Committee Chairman Leonid Slutsky told the Rossiya 24 broadcaster.

On Thursday, US Senate approved a bill that would impose sweeping sanctions on Russia and seeks, in particular, to target companies that invest in Russian energy projects. The bill now has to be either signed or vetoed by US President Donald Trump.

France and Germany have so far spoken out against the bill as it affects European industries while advancing US commercial interests.
Read More...
Propaganda

'The story that never was': Washington Post forced to admit Russia 'collusion just isn't there'

Alex Christoforou
The Duran
Sat, 29 Jul 2017 12:53 UTC
Mike Flynn and Jared Kushner
CIA backed, Jeff Bezos owned Washington Post today admitted that the Russia election meddling story is a pack of lies.

The WaPo op-ed by Ed Rogers has of course been ignored by the main stream media and the liberal left.

Here is the full op-ed here.

Via The Gateway Pundit...
In a stunning op-ed in The Washington Post titled, "The Quest to Prove Collusion is Crumbling", the writer actually admits that the whole Russian collusion narrative is 'the story that never was'.

Ed Rogers penned this piece following Jared Kushner's testimony. Rogers said, instead of igniting the Russian collusion narrative, Jared Kusner's testimony stifled it, causing the media to "quietly back out of the room unnoticed".

Comment: Of course there is a new clown in town: Russian lawyer Veselnitskaya says Browder will lie in Senate testimony, and she has proof - UPDATE: Browder doesn't disappoint

Read More...
Attention

Kim Jong-un proudly proclaims entire US mainland in range of N. Korean nukes after latest test


RT
Sat, 29 Jul 2017 12:28 UTC
Kim Jong-un
© KCNA / Reuters
The North Korean ICBM system is now able to fire at "random regions and locations at random times" with the "entire" US mainland within its range, according to the latest statement by North Korean leader Kim Jong-un.

He spoke shortly after the second flight test of yet another long-range missile, the Hwasong-14.

According to the Korean Central News Agency as cited by AP, Kim expressed "great satisfaction" with the test aimed at reaffirming that the missile was able to deliver a "large-sized, heavy nuclear warhead."

Kim said that the latest launch confirmed that the missile system is reliable, and is able to fire at "random regions and locations at random times," with the "entire" US mainland now within range.
Read More...
Radar

US Navy fires warning shots at Iranian vessel in Persian Gulf for 2nd time this week


RT
Sat, 29 Jul 2017 12:23 UTC
USS Nimitz
© U.S. NAVY
US warships fired several warning shots at Iranian patrol boats in the Persian Gulf in what Tehran calls another "provocative and unprofessional move." A similar incident involving the US and Iran took place in the region on Tuesday.

The US Nimitz-class aircraft carrier and another warship fired warning shots at Iranian vessels in the middle of the Persian Gulf on Friday, according to Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), as cited by local media.

"With only a few days since a provocative move in the northern end of the Persian Gulf in which the US Navy ships fired warning shots at an Iranian vessel, the American warships have once again taken the same action in the middle of the Persian Gulf," the IRGC said in a statement.
Read More...
War Whore

Cheerleaders for the war industry: MSM compliantly mourns ending CIA killing of Syrians and empowering Al Qaeda

Ben Norton
Fair.org
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 00:00 UTC
syrian rebels, syria al qaeda
The US government has finally announced an end to its years-long program to arm and train Syrian rebels. The initiative, one of the CIA's largest covert operations, with billions of dollars of funding, fueled mass killing in Syria and significantly prolonged the country's horrific war. Widely respected experts have also acknowledged that it greatly strengthened murderous extremist groups like ISIS and Al Qaeda.

If one only read corporate media reporting, however, you would likely think that the termination of the CIA program was an abject tragedy. Spin doctors at major news outlets depicted the Trump administration's decision as variously a spineless concession to the evil Russian puppet master and/or a wretched abandonment of a supposedly noble US commitment to "freedom and democracy."

The Washington Post (7/19/17) took the lead with the article "Trump Ends Covert CIA Program to Arm Anti-Assad Rebels in Syria, a Move Sought by Moscow," which framed the development almost entirely as a concession to the Kremlin. It cited Charles Lister, a hawkish analyst who has for years lobbied for US-led regime change in Syria. "We are falling into a Russian trap," lamented Lister, who works for think tanks funded by the US, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE, and never fails to toe the line.


Comment: Trump's end to CIA backing for Syrian terrorists was a gift to the Pentagon, not Russia


Comment: Time to wrap it up: Trump's decision to end CIA's covert arming of Syrian terrorists admits Empire's defeat in Syria

Read More...
Attention

US and South Korea discuss 'military response' to North Korean missile test


RT
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 21:50 UTC
US and SK soldiers
© Kim Hong-Ji / Reuters
Top US and South Korean military officials discussed "military options" in response to North Korea's latest test of what the Pentagon called an intercontinental ballistic missile. South Korea has requested additional missile defense units from the US.

Following Friday's launch, Marine General Joseph Dunford, chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, and head of the US Pacific Command Admiral Harry Harris called General Lee Sun-jin, chairman of the South Korean Joint Chiefs of Staff.

"During the call, Dunford and Harris expressed the ironclad commitment to the US - Republic of Korea alliance. The three leaders also discussed military response options," said a statement from the Pacific Command, confirmed to Reuters by Dunford's spokesman Captain Greg Hicks.

US and South Korean militaries staged a "joint ballistic missile exercise" in response to the North Korean launch, South Korean news agency Yonhap reported.
Read More...
Popcorn

You're fired! Trump replaces Priebus with General John Kelly as chief of staff


RT
Fri, 28 Jul 2017 21:10 UTC
Trump and John Kelly
© Kevin Lamarque/ReutersUS President Donald Trump (L) and US Department of Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.
Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly is the new White House chief of staff, President Donald Trump has announced via Twitter.



Trump tweeted Friday that retired Marine Corps general Kelly had "done a spectacular job at Homeland Security."
Read More...
Gear

Distorting reality: Western media twists the truth as the people and army unite to battle ISIS in Philippines

Andrew Vitchek
21st Century Wire
Tue, 25 Jul 2017 00:00 UTC
Andre Vltchek with military leaders Marawi, Philippines.
© Andre VltchekAndre Vltchek with military leaders in Marawi, Philippines.

Covering the recent battle for the city of Marawi on Mindanao Island in the Southern Philippines, the Western media has been grossly exaggerating unconfirmed reports and rumors. It has been spreading twisted information and 'facts'.

At the beginning of July, I visited Mindanao as one of only a few foreigners allowed inside the besieged city of Marawi and to its surrounding area.

I spoke to local people, to the IDPs - those who managed to escape the city taken over by the jihadists. I also managed to discuss the situation with the highest commanders of the military in charge of the combat, including General Ramiro Rey and Lt. Colonel Jo-Ar Herrera. I encountered many soldiers, civil servants, and relief workers.

My contacts in the capital informed me via text messages that I had been "red-flagged," clearly, by the pro-US faction in the Philippine military. So before my presence was finally cleared from Manila, I was detained and held in a provisional military base in the city of Saguiaran. Here I was "softly" interrogated by military intelligence. A few steps away, a howitzer was firing artillery toward ISIS positions in Marawi, some 10 kilometers distant.

"So you believe the United States is responsible for spreading terrorism all over the world," I was asked late at night by one of the officers, point blank, while local starlet was imitating old Chuck Berry's hit "Johnny B. Goode" on TV, sound blasted all over the barracks. It was clear that someone 'behind the scenes' was busy studying my published work.
Read More...