Puppet MastersS


Blue Planet

Russia's nuclear diplomacy reinstates and redefines Moscow's global strategic reach

Andrew Korybko
The Duran
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 15:31 UTC
cogs alignment
© Washington Times/photobucket.com/KJN
Russian foreign policy has undergone a renaissance over the past couple of years as its "progressive" faction emerged at the fore of decision-making and bravely pioneered non-traditional partnerships all across the "Ummah" (global Muslim community). This took place concurrently with the country's "Pivot to Asia", more accurately described as a "Rebalancing to Asia", which also saw Russia engage in a diplomatic balancing act with Japan, Vietnam, and India - all of which has been to its Chinese ally's benefit. Both Eastern (or in the case of the Ummah, Southern) vectors of contemporary Russian foreign policy were greatly enhance by Moscow's use of military diplomacy in selling (or seeking to sell) weapons to competing sides of any given rivalry in order to maintain the strategic equilibrium between them and therefore preserve the overall peace.

The Core Concept Of Nuclear Diplomacy

Lost amid the more "newsworthy" and "headline-grabbing" manifestations of Russia's foreign policy resurgence has been its use of nuclear diplomacy as a means of regaining its global strategic reach. This concept can be described as Russia's effort to clinch nuclear energy partnerships with countries all across the world, and considering that it's the global leader in this field, it's been highly successful in this regard. Nuclear energy deals are important for much more than "green"/"clean energy" considerations, as they imply a very high-level and trusted relationship between the two parties. Moreover, every agreement that Russia reaches with its partners includes educational and technical components, meaning that Moscow usually ends up training a new cadre of scientific elites in the partner countries and continues to provide assistance to them for years after the reactor is built.

Comment: Moscow is smart. It sees the future in positive and productive alliances and shared responsibility, a network to benefit all members.

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Attention

Tillerson: Iraqi Kurd independence referendum has no legitimacy


RT
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 19:12 UTC
Kurd ballot
© Safin Hamed/AFPA voting ballot book and voting station in Arbil, Kurdish region northern Iraq.
The US does not recognize the legitimacy of the unilateral independence referendum staged by the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government, US State Secretary Rex Tillerson has said in a statement.

"The United States does not recognize the Kurdistan Regional Government's unilateral referendum held on Monday. The vote and the results lack legitimacy and we continue to support a united, federal, democratic and prosperous Iraq," Tillerson said.

Washington also called on all parties, including Iraq's neighbors, to calm down and renounce the use of force following the referendum, apparently referring to the earlier remarks made by Turkey. It also urged all parties to put an "end to vocal recriminations and threats of reciprocal actions" in the aftermath of the plebiscite.

The Iraqi Kurds held a unilateral independence referendum on September 25. A day later, the President of the Kurdistan Regional Government, Masoud Barzani, said most voters cast their ballots in favor of independence.

According to local media, some 3.45 million people took part in the plebiscite and more than 91 percent of them supported the idea of independence. Baghdad immediately denounced the move as "unconstitutional."

Comment: See also:

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Nuke

Fearmongering graphic predicts the radioactive aftermath of a North Korean nuclear launch


RT
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 09:21 UTC
red plume
© Business Insider
In "response to inquiries," a graphic has been posted online showing the expected range of a radioactive cloud resulting from a North Korea-launched nuclear bomb over the Pacific Ocean. While quite alarming, it was found too rough by some users.

The simulation was posted on Twitter by Lassina Zerbo, the head of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty Organization, which is tasked with monitoring weapons tests. Zerbo called it a "rough simulation" of a "radio-isotope cloud" from a "hypothetical atmospheric burst" over the Pacific.


Comment: The antidote to the bombardment of disinformation and speculation is discernment, an acquired skill.

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Target

CIA's Russian speaker recruitment mocked by Twitterati


RT
Sat, 30 Sep 2017 06:25 UTC
CIA cross
© unknown
With the anti-Russia hysteria in the US reaching unprecedented proportions, the CIA has announced it's looking for US nationals with a perfect command of Russian to work as linguist analysts to protect the US national security and "unveil the truth," whatever that means.

In a Twitter post with a picture message in Russian, the Central Intelligence Agency asks: "Do you know what you can do as a CIA linguist?" The answer, "Unveil the Truth," is provided in Russian without any details, leaving many to wonder what secrets the agency was seeking to uncover.

The CIA is looking for Language Officers who, according to the agency, are "key" players in "foreign intelligence, counterintelligence, cyber, and covert action operations."


Comment: A CIA cattle call? Surely they have more covert and nuanced means of wrangling linguists. Is there another motive for this advertisement?

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Question

US ambassador to Israel goes rogue

Maureen Clare Murphy
The Electronic Intifada
Sat, 30 Sep 2017 20:29 UTC
David Friedman
David Friedman, appearing in an interview with Walla! News, claims that Israel’s settlement enterprise is sanctioned by international law
What is Donald Trump's policy towards Israel and the Palestinians? No one from within the president's administration seems able to say.

During an interview with an Israeli news site, David Friedman, Trump's ambassador in Tel Aviv, advanced views contradicting decades of US policy, as well as the professed positions of the administration.

The State Department's response to his comments further suggests a foreign policy in total disarray.

Asked about Israel's settlements in the occupied West Bank, Friedman told Walla! News: "I think the settlements are part of Israel. I think that was always the expectation when Resolution 242 was adopted in 1967."
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Info

Iranian Commander Massoud Jazayeri says Iraqi, Iranian forces to hold joint drills amid Kurdish referendum


Sputnik
Sat, 30 Sep 2017 20:02 UTC
Members of Iran's Revolutionary Guards
© REUTERS/ MORTEZA NIKOUBAZLMembers of Iran's Revolutionary Guards
The Armed Forces of Iran and Iraq will hold joint border drills within several days, Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Massoud Jazayeri said on Saturday.

"The joint drills... will be held within several days in border areas," Jazayeri said, as quoted by the ISNA news agency.

Comment: Jazayeri further said high-ranking commanders of Iran's Armed Forces held a meeting, chaired by Chairman of the Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Baqeri, earlier in the day to discuss the Iraqi government's official requests from Tehran in the wake of the referendum.
He added that the meeting was "in line with the declared policies of the Islamic Republic of Iran to help safeguard Iraq's solidarity and territorial integrity and following a request by the central Iraqi government for cooperation with the Islamic Republic of Iran on the establishment of the central government's authority on the two countries' border terminals."

Jazayeri emphasized that participants at the meeting once again stressed the importance of safeguarding Iraq's territorial integrity and voiced their opposition to the "illegal" referendum held in the northern Kurdistan region.

They also adopted the "necessary decisions to establish security along borders and receive forces of the Iraqi central government for deployment at border posts," he added.

The Saturday meeting was held three days after the chief of staff of the Iranian Armed Forces and his Iraqi counterpart Major General Othman al-Ghanmi held talks in Tehran.
Iran bans oil shipments to and from Iraqi Kurdistan
Iran's Ministry of Roads and Urban Development has warned companies against shipping oil to and from Iraqi Kurdistan "until further notice" following on from the region's unconstitutional independence referendum held on Monday, Iranian news agencies reported on Saturday.

This is the latest blow to Iraqi Kurdistan that has been barred from receiving or departing international flights and has had its international border with Turkey taken over by Iraqi federal authorities, rendering the region isolated.

"Given the recent developments in the region, it is suitable that international transportation companies and drivers active in this field avoid loading and carrying oil products to and from the Iraqi Kurdistan Region until further notice," a directive by the ministry's Road Maintenance and Transportation Organization said.

It remains to be seen how the Kurdistan Regional Government will respond to the latest move that seeks to completely isolate the region that is yet to declare independence since the referendum results were in favor.


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Arrow Up

The second anniversary of the Russian army's involvement in the Syrian conflict: ISIS shrinking, Iran & Turkey linking, conflict risk with US lurking


RT
Sat, 30 Sep 2017 18:57 UTC
Russian pilot
© Ministry of Defence of the Russian FederationThe Hmeimim military base
This Saturday marks the end of the second year of Russia's military operation in Syria. It's seen some setbacks, a few major victories, the potential to end the bloody conflict and the risk of rapid descent into a conflict between Russia and the US.

Russia's campaign in Syria was officially launched on September 30, 2015, following several weeks of preparing a base of operations near Latakia and transporting military assets there.

Acting on a request from the Syrian government, Moscow said its involvement was necessary to prevent jihadist forces from taking over the country and turning it into a major hotbed of terrorism, which would threaten Russia as well as other countries.

Comment: Russian air strikes in Syria between September 19 and 29 resulted in the deaths of 2,359 militants with a further 2,700 or so wounded, the Russian Ministry of Defense has announced. 16 field commanders, and over 400 citizens from the former USSR are among the casualties.
"Terrorist organizations Islamic State and Al-Nusra have sustained their most serious losses for the last several months. Due to the effective operations of the Russian forces, they have been seriously weakened," said a statement from the ministry, released on Saturday.

The ministry said that over 11 days Russian aircraft destroyed 67 militant outposts, 51 armories, 27 tanks, 21 rocket launchers and nearly 200 specialized vehicles belonging to the Islamist groups.


The ministry said that the air strikes helped repel counter-offensives by militants in the provinces of Idlib and Deir ez-Zor. A region on the Iraqi border, Deir ez-Zor has seen some of the heaviest fighting anywhere in Syria over the past few months.

"With help from the Russian Air Force, the Syrian army is currently completing the encirclement and destruction of a large Islamic State force, numbering about 1,500 fighters, which invaded from Iraq, in the eastern part of Deir ez-Zor," said the ministry.




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Info

You're fired: Moscow is cleaning house of corrupt regional governors before 2018 elections

Eduard Popov (translated by Jafe Arnold)
Fort Russ
Fri, 29 Sep 2017 15:53 UTC
President Vladimir Putin
© SputnikPresident Vladimir Putin seen while surveying the Russia and Belarus Union State armed forces activities at the main stage of the joint strategic exercises "Zapad-2017" on the Luzhsky range, September 18, 2017
On September 25th, the famous Russian newspaper, Kommersant, citing sources close to President Putin's administration, revealed that a number of governors would soon resign or be dismissed. The total number of regions whose administrations could soon change is supposedly close to 10. According to Kommersant, moreover, administrative shake-ups are possible in one or two of the crucial regions of the North Caucasus.

Some of these resignations have already since taken place. On September 27th, reports surfaced - with no official confirmation as of yet - that the head of the Krasnoyarsk territory, which makes up an enormous part of the Siberian region (more than 2,366,000 square kilometers) and is rich in natural resources, had resigned along with the head of the Nenets Autonomous Okrug (a region in the European part of Russia).

Back on September 26th, moreover, the governor of the Nizhny Novgorod region and the Yeltsin-era beneficiary, Shantsev, had been dismissed. As has been reported, dismissals are also in the works in not only Russia's regions, but also in the national republics. For those who are unfamiliar with the Russian state system, the structure of national and administrative-territorial policy encompasses both "Russian" regions and territories and those national republics and districts which the contemporary Russian Federation inherited from the USSR.
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Red Flag

A New McCarthyism has taken hold in America

Robert Parry
Consortium News
Tue, 26 Sep 2017 15:19 UTC
trump
As the New McCarthyism takes hold in America, the neocon Washington Post makes Russia the villain in virtually every bad thing that happens, with U.S. dissidents treated as "fellow-travelers," writes Robert Parry.

Make no mistake about it: the United States has entered an era of a New McCarthyism that blames nearly every political problem on Russia and has begun targeting American citizens who don't go along with this New Cold War propaganda.

A difference, however, from the McCarthyism of the 1950s is that this New McCarthyism has enlisted Democrats, liberals and even progressives in the cause because of their disgust with President Trump; the 1950s version was driven by Republicans and the Right with much of the Left on the receiving end, maligned by the likes of Sen. Joe McCarthy as "un-American" and as Communism's "fellow travelers."

The real winners in this New McCarthyism appear to be the neoconservatives who have leveraged the Democratic/liberal hatred of Trump to draw much of the Left into the political hysteria that sees the controversy over alleged Russian political "meddling" as an opportunity to "get Trump."
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Bullseye

Ron Paul to RT - anti-Russia campaign stems from bias & desire to limit free speech


RT
Sat, 30 Sep 2017 15:39 UTC
Ron Paul
The investigation into the alleged Russian meddling in the US elections and the supposed use of social media by Moscow to sway public opinion is just a "witch hunt," former US Congressman Ron Paul told RT.

Watch interview here:
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