Syrian military and political expert Hamza Abbas wrote an article for "Russkaya Vesna" outlet, titled "The Failure of the US in Syria: Pentagon abandons the militants in the southern regions of the country."

According to the article, there are 500 US special operation units and trainers based at At Tanf. Several militant groups supported by the US are also based in the region that previously were a part of a so-called New Syrian Army, formed by the US in 2015. Thanks to their help and their links with the groups in Eastern Qalamoun and Eastern Ghouta, the US managed to put pressure on Damascus from the north-east. Adding to that, a few thousand US-supported militants tried to stop ISIS from increasing their presence in Central and West Syria, as foreign powers designated these territories for Al-Qaeda and the Al-Nusra Front.

The article then outlines how despite Pentagon's plans, the Syrian Arab Army managed to free Deir ez-Zor by itself, which provoked the US-affiliated militants to start fighting the Syrian Army instead of terrorists in order to stay in control over the roads in the Syrian desert.


The militants lost, and had to retreat to At Tanf under the cover of the US air forces. Despite the US claiming it no longer supported the militant groups, the US protected them and let them stay at the Rukban camp among the refugees.

The US presence of 500 people is not enough, the Pentagon claims, to control the situation at the Rukban camp. It is, interestingly enough, deemed sufficient to guarantee the safety of the humanitarian convoys arriving at the Rukban camp and control the distribution of their cargo in the camp. It's clear that they wouldn't be capable of doing that, if they really couldn't "control the situation" at the camp.

The Trump Administration sees no point in spending money on militants and refugees in At Tanf. The flow of US supplies and money to the south Syrian militants will be completely cut off by the end of the year. The Mahavir As-Saura group, the only group the US still supports officially, has been downsized significantly, according to local sources. The "fired" militants dislocated to the Rukban camp, just like many members of other groups.

The situation, the article claims, cannot remain unchanged, as the coming winter and bad humanitarian state of the camp will be a recipe for disaster. The Jordan border is still closed. Many At Tanf militants try crossing the border and get killed by the Jordan border security that claim that the militants were ISIS members.

The US covertly transfer the militants it has further plans for. The author stipulates that the US waits for At Tanf militants to engage the Syrian Army, once the US Air Forces stop protecting them, which would allow western media to demonize the Syrian regime once again.

This is not a viable solution. The Rukban camp militants should heed the Russian Reconciliation Center and begin negotiating with the Syrian government. They may receive amnesty and return with their families to their homes. Some may leave the country with Russia's help, as some militants had already done in different regions. Only open dialogue may save the At Tanf militants from death. Any delay may prove fatal, as winter is coming, and the Americans are leaving.

Rep. Devin Nunes (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, has instructed his staff to draw up a contempt of Congress citation for FBI Director Christopher Wray and his deputy, Rod Rosenstein, after it was revealed Saturday that a top FBI agent was removed from the Trump-Russia investigation for possible anti-Trump bias.

What happened?

The New York Times and Washington Post both reported Saturday FBI special agent Peter Strzok - who played key roles in the FBI's initial Russia investigation, special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation and the Clinton email investigation - was removed from Mueller's investigation after it was discovered he exchanged anti-Trump text messages with FBI lawyer Lisa Page, whom he was having an extramarital affair with. Strzok was re-assigned to the FBI's human resources department, a move many saw as a demotion.

Plea agreement includes clause showing Flynn consented to participate in 'covert law enforcement activities" if required

The least-noticed sentence in Michael Flynn's plea agreement with special counsel Robert Mueller may also be the most important one.

Section eight of the deal reached by Donald Trump's former national security adviser in the inquiry into Russian meddling in the US election is entitled "cooperation". It specifies that as well as answering questions and submitting to government-administered polygraph tests, Flynn's cooperation "may include ... participating in covert law enforcement activities".

There has been a reported falling out between U.S. Special Counsel Robert Mueller and ex-FBI Chief James Comey in recent weeks which leaves Comey potentially vulnerable to possible criminal charges, according to Justice Department and FBI sources.

The stakes have changed in the sweeping Russia collusion investigation that has spread far beyond the 2016 presidential election timeline.

Any immunity agreement that was previously on the table protecting Comey is now off the table, according to multiple DOJ sources. For months since he was fired by President Donald Trump in June, Comey has been testifying and acting like a major D.C. player with little to worry about.

But at some point in recent weeks, that has changed based on new information about Comey's tenure at FBI which has been uncovered during Mueller's probe, sources said.

EU President Juncker wants to allow Romania into the border-free Schengen zone, no doubt as an additional Muslim migration route, now that other Eastern European countries have closed their borders to it. Judging by Romania's disdain for Muslims, it looks to be a non-starter. Romanians insist "our children must also grow up in safe and civilized conditions. We don't want to end up like Western Europe where they are afraid to let children walk to school alone, or for their wives to be alone in the streets."

Romania is using technology and extra border control agents to prevent Muslims from using Romania as an alternate destination after borders in Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic have been shut down to Muslim invaders.

A community in the Northwestern county of Satu Mare in Romania threatened to unleash violence if the Government proceeds with its partnership with an NGO to build a "refugees" centre for Muslims in their hometown.

Conservative Republican Judge Roy Moore is steaming toward victory in Alabama's U.S. Senate special election on Dec. 12, and as it appears less and less likely that radical leftist Democrat Doug Jones has a chance, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has backed off his ardent criticisms of Moore.

Appearing on ABC News' This Week with George Stephanopoulos on Sunday, McConnell dropped his previous call for Moore to "step aside" as the GOP nominee for the U.S. Senate - backing down into his new position which is that the people of Alabama should decide who wins.

"Well, I think - we're going to let the people of Alabama decide a week from Tuesday who they want to send to the Senate. And then we'll address the matter appropriately," McConnell said, insinuating that he would back a Senate Ethics Committee investigation of the allegations against Moore when Moore wins on Dec. 12. "I have already said in the past that I thought this was a matter that would have to be considered by the committee. Ultimately, it would be up to them to make that decision. And they'll make it, depending upon whether Judge Moore ends up coming to the Senate."

President Donald Trump disparaged the FBI after reports uncovered investigator Peter Strzok's bias against the president and for Hillary Clinton.

"After years of Comey, with the phony and dishonest Clinton investigation (and more), running the FBI, its reputation is in Tatters - worst in History!" he wrote on Twitter. "But fear not, we will bring it back to greatness."

Moscow says the claim that conversations between Donald Trump's former national security adviser, Michael Flynn, and the Russian ambassador to the US could have influenced Russia's response to US sanctions is "absurd."

"Flynn was in no position to request anything of Sergey Ivanovich [Kislyak, Russia's former US ambassador] let alone to expect any requests to be relayed to Vladimir Putin - the whole thing is completely absurd," said the Russian President's press secretary Dmitry Peskov during a media briefing in Moscow.

In his capacity as part of Donald Trump's transition team, following Trump's victory in last November's presidential election, Flynn has admitted lying to the FBI over the nature of his contact with the Russian diplomat.

The US security services say that he lied when he told them earlier this year that he did not ask Kislyak to "refrain from escalating the situation in response to sanctions" adopted by the outgoing administration last December, which included the expulsion of 35 diplomats.

Catalonia's sacked vice president and three other separatist leaders will remain in prison pending a probe over their role in the region's independence drive, a Supreme Court judge decided Monday.

Oriol Junqueras, who was sacked as vice-president when the Catalan parliament declared independence on October 27, Joaquim Forn, who used to be in charge of interior matters in Catalonia, and the leaders of two pro-independence associations will stay in prison, the court said.

Six other former ministers who were also remanded in custody will be released on bail as an investigation into charges of rebellion, sedition and misuse of public funds continues, it added in a statement.

"There's no foreign leader who I've met with more frequently," Obama said last November, of Netanyahu.

Former Trump aide Mike Flynn's guilty plea in federal court to lying to the FBI makes all-but transparent Benjamin Netanyahu's meddling in U.S. politics. As the United Nations Security Council was preparing to condemn Israeli settlements one year ago, Netanyahu was calling everyone he could to try to block the measure. There can be little question that he or his dear friend Sheldon Adelson reached out to the Trump transition team. Now two members of that transition team are in trouble for trying to stop the resolution, Flynn and (reportedly) Jared Kushner, whose family Netanyahu is close to. But the resolution went through anyway, with the Obama White House abstaining.

Netanyahu famously once said that the United States "can be easily moved." There are many examples of his seeking to move United States policy. Let's forget about the Russians for a moment and look at Netanyahu's record. Here are nine examples of interference that would make Vladimir Putin blush.