Puppet MastersS


Top Secret

US angry after Turkish media publishes list of classified American base locations in Syria

US soldiers ride a military vehicle
© Khalil Ashawi / ReutersUS soldiers ride a military vehicle in al-Kherbeh village, northern Aleppo province, Syria October 24, 2016
The ongoing feud between NATO allies United States and Turkey over American support of Kurdish militias has reached a new low, after Turkish state news outlet Anadolu Agency published a list of classified US bases and outposts in Syria.

Without citing specific sources, on Monday night Anadolu news agency unveiled a list of ten US outposts located in areas controlled by "terrorist" Kurdish militias in the provinces of Aleppo, Hasakah and Raqqa.

While locations of two of the bases, in Rmeilan district (in Hasakah province) and Harab Isk village (near Kobani, in Aleppo province), had already been widely publicized, the others had been mentioned only in outside reports, or were completely unknown. Anadolu's story also provided systematic and detailed information about troop numbers, equipment, and US operational procedures at the outposts.

Comment: See also: Erdogan warns Turkey will not tolerate Kurdish state and 'terror havens' on its borders


Chess

UK think tank reportedly paid by Japan to churn out propaganda; hypes Chinese threat to UK security

henry jackson society
© Doug McKinlay / Getty Images
A British neoconservative think tank, recently accused of being paid by the Japanese embassy to churn out propaganda against Beijing, has claimed in a new report that Chinese investment in the UK presents a serious risk to data security.

The Henry Jackson Society, which is well known for its hawkish views on foreign policy, has released a new report on the risks posed by China's growing investment in UK infrastructure.

The study, titled 'Safeguarding our Systems: Managing Chinese Investment into the UK's Digital and Critical National Infrastructure', lays out a number of recommendations for current and future governments to head off Beijing's supposedly nefarious plans.

It is also endorsed by a number of former leading political figures including Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a Conservative Foreign Secretary under Prime Ministers Margaret Thatcher and John Major.

War Whore

Uniting the war-hawks: Newly formed security advocacy group unites Democrats with America's most militant neocons

budget blame game, Kristol Panetta Carville
© David Royal/Monterey County Herald/APWilliam Kristol, right, answers a question as Leon Panetta and James Carville watch during a forum titled “The Budget Blame Game” at the Panetta Institute at CSU Monterey Bay in Seaside, Calif. on Monday May 6, 2013.
One of the most under-discussed yet consequential changes in the American political landscape is the reunion between the Democratic Party and the country's most extreme and discredited neocons. While the rise of Donald Trump, whom neocons loathe, has accelerated this realignment, it began long before the ascension of Trump and is driven by far more common beliefs than contempt for the current president.

A newly formed and, by all appearances, well-funded national security advocacy group, devoted to more hawkish U.S. policies toward Russia and other adversaries, provides the most vivid evidence yet of this alliance.
Calling itself the Alliance for Securing Democracy, the group describes itself as "a bipartisan, transatlantic initiative" that "will develop comprehensive strategies to defend against, deter, and raise the costs on Russian and other state actors' efforts to undermine democracy and democratic institutions," and also "will work to publicly document and expose Vladimir Putin's ongoing efforts to subvert democracy in the United States and Europe."
It is, in fact, the ultimate union of mainstream Democratic foreign policy officials and the world's most militant, and militaristic, neocons. The group is led by two longtime Washington foreign policy hands, one from the establishment Democratic wing and the other a key figure among leading GOP neocons.

Comment: Democratic Party rebranding itself as America's 'war party' alongside the neoconservative wing of the Republican Party


Footprints

No end to the long reach of the US border

tilted man
© F. Otero PerandonesA new slant on US borders.
No matter where you are in the world, you are likely to stumble upon the US border-without-borders.

Earlier this summer, an American friend of mine was returning home from Tunisia, where he had been conducting PhD research. Checking in for his connecting flight in Paris, he was put on the phone with a representative of US Customs and Border Protection for questioning - since we all know France shares a border with the United States.

Upon reaching America proper, my friend was hauled off for interrogation at the airport in New York on subjects ranging from the details of his Twitter account to the issue of whether or not anyone had suggested he join an armed group in Libya.

You can pick your own moral of the story. One possibility, perhaps, is that academics that insist on showing an interest in certain parts of the world should build detention time into their travel itineraries.

Another - more broadly applicable to the general global population - is that, no matter where you are, the US border can be brought to you.

Comment: Apparently the US has neither borders nor boundaries.


Rocket

The logic of North Korea's 'madness'

Kimmy
© Intelhub
North Korea's nuclear deterrent is a logical - not crazy - reaction to U.S. "regime change" wars in Iraq and Libya, two countries attacked after they surrendered their WMD stockpiles, reports retired Col. Ann Wright.

Despite the rhetoric from the Trump administration about military confrontation with North Korea, the common theme of many U.S. experts on North Korea is that the U.S. presidential administration must conduct a dialogue with North Korea — and quickly. Military confrontation is not an option, according to the experts.

And most importantly, the new President of South Korea Moon Jae-in was elected in May 2017 on a pledge to engage in talks with North Korea and pursue diplomacy to finally officially end the Korean conflict. Nearly 80 percent of South Koreans support a resumption of long-suspended inter-Korean dialogue, according to a survey by a presidential advisory panel showed in late June.

Comment: Ignoring the problem will not make it go away and goading the problem will not make it better. It's well past time for the US to grow up and deal with its run-away hubris, learn some self-control and a measure of finesse, including a modicum of acknowledgment to one's opponent. Until then, folks...it's diplomatic Romper Room and military one-upmanship. We see how well this approach has worked with Kim Jong-un. Lower the stakes or the opponent will rise to the occasion.


Cut

Back pedalling: Gulf countries cut list of demands, revoke deadlines for Qatar

Arab group
© Dunya News
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Egypt cut back their demands for Qatar by half, also allowing the country to meet the requests without specific deadlines, media reported on Wednesday.

According to The Wall Street Journal newspaper, the new list includes six demands instead of 13, with such requests as to shut down the Al Jazeera broadcaster and to immediately expel all clerics with extremist Islamic ideas from the country excluded from the ultimatum. The new list also does not impose any deadlines for Doha, the media added.
"Of course we are all for compromise but there will be no compromise on these six principles," Abdallah Al-Mouallimi, the ambassador of Saudi Arabia to the United Nations, told reporters, as cited by the media.
Qatari ambassador to the United Nations Alya bint Ahmed Al Thani said that the four Arab states scaled back their demands not as a sign of good faith, but in attempt to save their image amid international pressure over the initial list of demands, the newspaper added.

In June, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates broke off diplomatic relations and communication with Qatar, accusing it of supporting terrorism and interfering in their internal affairs. The four Gulf nations presented Doha a 10-day ultimatum with 13 demands, including the request to severe diplomatic relations with Iran, close Turkey's military base in Qatar, as well as to end support for the Muslim Brotherhood, a terrorist organization outlawed in Russia. Doha refused to comply with the demands.

Comment: Progress? Does it count as progress when the demanders rescind more than half of their list and remove the deadlines?


Snakes in Suits

9/11 survivors: Theresa May requested to publish 'suppressed' Saudi terrorist funding report

towersmoney
© Politico
Survivors of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attack are urging British Prime Minister Theresa May to publish a report on Saudi Arabia's alleged funding of extremists in the UK. The government last week announced the Home Office report, which was commissioned by former Prime Minister David Cameron, will not be published because of "national security reasons."

The announcement that the report, completed six months ago, is being permanently shelved has sparked widespread condemnation amid claims the government is trying to cover up substantial evidence of Saudi Arabia funding terrorist organizations in the UK. The Saudis are Britain's main trade and security partner in the Middle East.

Joining the chorus of opposition, a group of 9/11 survivors have signed a letter to the Tory leader, urging her to publish the report.
"The UK now has the unique historic opportunity to stop the killing spree of Wahhabism-inspired terrorists by releasing the UK government's report on terrorism financing in the UK which, according to media reports, places Saudi Arabia at its center of culpability," the group said in a letter signed by 15 people.

"The longer Saudi Arabia's complicity is hidden from sunlight, the longer terrorism will continue. They must be stopped; but who will stop them? We submit that you are uniquely situated to shine the cleansing light of public consciousness," the group added, according to the Independent.
The group pushed for the report to be published even if it is yet to be completed, while urging May to keep in mind the thousands of victims of terrorist attacks. The letter has also been sent to opposition representatives, including Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn.

Comment: "National security reasons": The catch-all that hides all.


Snakes in Suits

Trump picks Jon Huntsman as US ambassador to Russia

Huntsman
© Chris Keane/reutersUS Ambassador to Russia, Jon Huntsman
Jon Huntsman, former US ambassador to China will be nominated as the next US ambassador to Russia, the White House has announced. President Donald Trump and Huntsman have a mixed history together. Amid escalating political tensions over alleged Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election and investigations into whether the Trump campaign colluded with Russia, the nomination attracted even more attention.

Star of David

Mic blunder: Netanyahu overheard admitting Israel carried out dozens of strikes on Hezbollah convoys

NetiOrban
© Balazs Mohai/MTI via APPM Benjamin Netanyahu and PM Viktor Orban of Hungary, Press Conference
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has admitted that Israel carried out dozens of attacks against Hezbollah arms convoys in Syria, oblivious to the fact that his remarks were being picked up by a live mic and relayed to reporters, Haaretz reported.
"We blocked the border not only in Egypt but in the Golan Heights," Netanyahu reportedly said during a closed session with the premiers of Hungary, the Czech Republic, Poland and Slovakia in Budapest on Wednesday.

"We built the wall because there was a problem with ISIS [Islamic State/IS] and Iran trying to build a terror front there. I told [Russian President] Putin, when we see them [Iran/IS] transferring weapons to Hezbollah, we will hurt them. We did it dozens of times," he said, as quoted by Haaretz.
Netanyahu focused most of his energy during the meeting on bashing the EU, accusing it of "crazy" behavior due to conditions put on its relationship with Israel over the Palestinian peace process.
"The European Union is the only association of countries in the world that conditions the relations with Israel that produces technology and every area, on political conditions. The only ones! Nobody does it," Netanyahu reportedly said.
Although the remarks were not intended to be relayed to the press, they were accidentally transmitted to reporters through headphones.

Comment: With Israel everything 'has a price', but not everyone is 'buying it'.


Light Sabers

Iranian Army Chief: US should move its bases 1,000km away from Iran if it wants to pursue further sanctions

U.S. Marines
© Omar Sobhani / ReutersU.S. Marines walk inside their base in Afghanistan July 6, 2017
The US has to move its bases 1,000km away from Iran's borders if it plans to keep sanctions in place against Tehran, or risk paying a price, the commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, said.
"In case the US wants to insist on pursuing sanctions against Iran's defense sector and the IRGC [Revolutionary Guards], it needs to first dismantle its regional bases within a range of 1,000km around Iranian borders," Tasnim news agency quoted the commander as saying.

"Washington should be aware that it will pay dearly for any miscalculations," he went on to say.

Jafari said that Iranian missile capabilities are "rapidly growing," creating an effective deterrent against any threats, the agency reports. He added that the Islamic Republic's missile program is by no means "bargainable or negotiable."