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Flashback Judicial Watch: Obama administration knew day after that Benghazi attack was planned 10 days in advance


Judicial Watch
Mon, 18 May 2015 00:00 UTC
Bengazi burning
© CNN.comUS Consulate in Benghazi. September 11, 2012
Administration knew three months before the November 2012 presidential election of ISIS plans to establish a caliphate in Iraq

Administration knew of arms being shipped from Benghazi to Syria

Judicial Watch announced today that it obtained more than 100 pages of previously classified "Secret" documents from the Department of Defense (DOD) and the Department of State revealing that DOD almost immediately reported that the attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi was committed by the al Qaeda and Muslim Brotherhood-linked "Brigades of the Captive Omar Abdul Rahman" (BCOAR), and had been planned at least 10 days in advance. Rahman is known as the Blind Sheikh, and is serving life in prison for his involvement in the 1993 World Trade Center bombing and other terrorist acts. The new documents also provide the first official confirmation that shows the U.S. government was aware of arms shipments from Benghazi to Syria. The documents also include an August 2012 analysis warning of the rise of ISIS and the predicted failure of the Obama policy of regime change in Syria.

The documents were released in response to a court order in accordance with a May 15, 2014, Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit filed against both the DOD and State Department seeking communications between the two agencies and congressional leaders "on matters related to the activities of any agency or department of the U.S. government at the Special Mission Compound and/or classified annex in Benghazi" (Judicial Watch v U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Department of State (No. 1:14-cv-00812)).

Comment: These revelations were from 2012. The public was sold a very different story by Obama, Clinton and Kerry. The mechanisms which afforded informational security also generously protected the guilty. With a ten day advance, was someone in the loop, didn't tell, didn't stop it? What we do know is who took part in the shameful cover-up.

See also: District Court Judge orders new searches for Clinton Benghazi emails

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Target

Saudi Arabia wants Iraq to mediate the dispute with Iran

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Tue, 15 Aug 2017 00:00 UTC
IranSaudi standoff
© Latuff-Opera MundiGrasping the situation?
Far from being a good will gesture, Saudi intents to drive a wedge between Iraq's Shi'a dominated government and the Islamic Republic.

Saudi Arabia has extraordinarily asked Iraq to mediate in the prolonged schism between Saudi Arabia and Iran. According to Iraq's Interior Minister Qassim Araji,
"Mohammed bin Salman (the Saudi crown prince) officially demanded me that Iraq mediate between Iran and Saudi Arabia to reduce tensions. King Salman had also earlier raised such a demand. We believe that friendly relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia will help the regional security".
Taken at face value, the move might appear to be a Saudi attempt to de-escalate tensions with Iran whose military power is objectively superior to the expensively armed but poorly trained and infamously un-disciplined Saudi armed forces. However, the deeper meaning is quite different.

Saudi Arabia realistically does not want good relations with Iran. It's continued support of terrorist groups who have executed violence in Iran such as ISIS is one such way to ascertain this reality. Furthermore, it is Saudi which has consistently funded groups which aim to destroy Iran and her allies while Iran's position on Saudi is one of defensive preparedness but never aggression and certainly never terrorism.

The reality is that Saudi's move is a kind of psychological warfare directed not at Iran but at Iraq. Ever since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein in 2003, a man who was deeply anti-Iranian and also increasingly anti-Saudi, Iraq has become increasingly pro-Iranian, with Shi'a Arabs whose sympathies often lie more with Tehran than the Arab countries of the Persian Gulf, being the new dominant political force in Baghdad.

Comment: Iraq's leaning to Iran is also an indication of pushback to 'regime changer' US, whose 'partners-in-overthrow' are the Saudis. Perhaps Iraq should lean a little farther? We shall see.

Update, August 14, from RFE/RL:
An Iraqi leader has said his country will take the role as mediator between rivals Saudi Arabia and Iran, media in Iraq and Iran are reporting.

Iraqi Interior Minister Qasim al-Arraji on August 13 said Saudi Crown Prince Muhammad bin Salman had requested Iraq get involved to help ease tensions between Riyadh and Tehran, according to Iran's semiofficial ISNA news agency and Iraqi satellite channel Alghadeer.

"The calm and stability and the return of relations between Iran and Saudi Arabia have positive repercussions on the region as a whole," Arraji was quoted saying after visiting Tehran on August 12.


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Rocket

Kiev denies N. Korea used Ukrainian engines for missile 'success'


RT
Mon, 14 Aug 2017 20:38 UTC
Rocket launch
© KCNA/ReutersThe little engine that could.
Western experts have suggested that Pyongyang's "astounding progress" with its missile program might be directly linked to an illegal acquisition of engines produced by a Ukrainian factory. Kiev appeared to be extremely infuriated with the reports, with top officials and agencies releasing official disclaimers.

"No other country has transitioned from a medium-range capability to an ICBM [intercontinental ballistic missile] in such a short time. What explains this rapid progression? The answer is simple. North Korea has acquired a high-performance liquid-propellant engine (LPE) from a foreign source," a report published Monday by the London-based International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) claimed.

The publication titled The secret to North Korea's ICBM success was quickly picked up by the New York Times, who also cited "classified assessments by American intelligence agencies" to support the claims of Pyongyang's possible links with Ukrainian producers.

The man behind the study, IISS expert on missile defense, Michael Elleman came up with "the first solid evidence" that North Korea's "astounding progress with its long-range missile program over the last two years" is the result of Pyongyang having put its hands on a Soviet-era LPE

Comment: "And...the rocket's 'red' glare, accusals bursting in air..." There is an incumbent question as to the expedient progress achieved by NK in so short a time, but as in any technological or scientific achievement, those at the rear benefit greatly from those who lead the way. And, those who have been sidelined due to the march of progress, may be willing to sell to anyone with the right price.

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Ice Cube

Hell freezes over: Washington Post admits Russia NOT to blame for Charlottesville violence

Marko Marjanovic
Russia Insider
Tue, 15 Aug 2017 00:00 UTC
Charlottesville riot
Amazingly there are still things that happen in the Russian-occupied US without being ordained by Vladimir Evilovich Putin. Who knew? Yet even The Washington Post, which has led the charge in exposing Russia's dark hand behind POTUS, now says so.

Take the recent Nazi and Bolshevik marches in Charlottesville, Virginia. WaPo first notes that some are holding Russia responsible for Americans attacking Americans:
Some observers also saw a far more direct foreign influence at work in Charlottesville. Molly McKew, a writer and foreign policy consultant, argued on Twitter that far-right protests should prompt a conversation about "Russian influence, and operations, in the United States." Jim Ludes, a vice president of Public Research and Initiatives at the Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy, added that there were "unmistakable ties between alt-right groups in Charlottesville and Russia."
But then goes on to completely debunk that notion:
Even so, many Russian experts have expressed concern that Moscow's influence in the U.S. is being dramatically exaggerated. The seeming affinity between Russia and the American far right is undermined by the fact that the two are hardly a neat ideological fit. Vladimir Putin's government has crushed most of the political ambitions of Russia's own far right. Putin is a critical ally of Chechen ruler Ramzan Kadyrov and allows Chechnya, a Muslim-majority Russian republic, to follow its own conservative brand of the religion.

Comment: 'Made in America', but likely assisted by a foreign influence of a different sort: Charlottesville: Happy Birthday George Soros, American society controlled demolition and civil war

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Megaphone

Setting the ground for re-election, Trump ads boast of administration's achievements


RT
Mon, 14 Aug 2017 06:36 UTC
Trump adverts re-election
© Donald J. Trump for President / YouTube
President Donald Trump has released a new television ad boasting of his administration's achievements, setting ground for the campaign for his re-election three and a half years down the line.

"Let President Trump do his job" starts by attacking politicians and the media. "Democrats, obstructing," the ad begins, "The media, corrupting. Career politicians standing in the way of success."

The ad, which was also shared on the Donald J Trump for President YouTube page, goes on to point to 1 million jobs created, falling unemployment, the stock market at an all-time record high, and the strongest military "in decades," as achievements of the president.

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Eye 1

Saudi Arabia prosecutor prepares charges against Twitter users for 'harming public order'


RT
Tue, 15 Aug 2017 16:58 UTC
saudi arabia capital
A group of Twitter users have been called upon by a top Saudi prosecutor on charges of "harming public order" by threatening the "safety and moderate ideology of society" through extremism, according to a statement on state news agency SPA.

The country's top prosecutor summoned the Twitter users on Sunday, the statement said, without naming them or specifying how many were accused.

"Judicial officials confirmed that those who were summoned are under processing for criminal indictment and will be subject to the legal procedures," Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.

Saudi Arabia has recently stepped up efforts to silence political dissent, using strict new cybercrime laws to sentence offenders to prison for online posts, which are considered insulting to rulers or threatening to public order.

Comment:

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Map

ExxonMobil, Kochs and Israel pushing Washington to partition Iraq and Syria

Whitney Webb
MintPress News
Mon, 14 Aug 2017 16:08 UTC
Iraqi Kurds unfurl a giant Kurdish flag
© APIraqi Kurds unfurl a giant Kurdish flag during Nawruz celebrations in Dahuk, 260 miles (430 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad, Iraq.
Years before the U.S. illegally invaded and then occupied Iraq, plans were circulating within the Pentagon to partition the country along "sectarian" lines, with the express purpose of allowing the U.S. and its regional allies to better control oil resource production and movement within the Middle East.

In Syria, the same narrative of partition has more recently been circulated as the "only" solution to the nation's sectarian divisions, divisions which did not emerge until they were artificially created in 2011 when the current conflict began and later fomented by hostile foreign actors.

While the Bush and Obama administrations pushed for the partition of Iraq on several occasions, it was largely corporate actors during that time that took the most active steps towards creating an independent state within the Iraqi region controlled by the U.S.-allied Kurds, an area with sizeable energy reserves and other strategic resources.

The area of Syria controlled by the U.S.-backed Kurds conveniently connects directly with the Kurdish "statelet" in Iraq, making the possibility of a larger independent Kurdistan more feasible. This area also boasts the largest concentration of many of Syria's most critical resources.

While past administrations avoided openly recognizing the partition of Iraq, the administration of President Donald Trump is striking a different tone, largely due to the influence within the administration of some of the biggest players who actively sidestepped Iraq's government in favor of the Kurds years ago.

Chief among such players was ExxonMobil - whose CEO at the time, Rex Tillerson, is now Trump's Secretary of State - along with other corporations whose financial and political support for the Trump administration is well-documented.
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Map

Flashback Stratfor chief George Friedman on the roots of the Ukraine crisis

Interview by Elena Chernenko and Alexander Gabuev: Translation: Paul R. Grenier
US-Russia.org
Wed, 21 Jan 2015 03:56 UTC
Image
George Friedman, the well-known American political scientist, recently visited Moscow. Stratfor, the private analytical and intelligence agency which he directs, is often referred to in the US as a "shadow CIA." In an interview with "Kommersant" he talked about what goals the United States is pursuing in Ukraine, and explained why these goals are incompatible with Russian interests.

Comment: This interview doesn't offer any great insights but does offer a point of view of US policy towards Russia, EU and NATO. Friedman talks as if the US is making moves based on military might and a desire for balance of power. But the US doesn't want any country to be able to fend for itself that could threaten US hegemony. The EU better wake up and realize the US could care less about them.

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Eye 2

Why repress when one can kill on sight? Saudi Arabia's campaign in Qatif

Catherine Shakdam
New Eastern Outlook
Tue, 15 Aug 2017 15:34 UTC
Awamiyah destruction
The mainstream media is finally catching on to Saudi Arabia's mad race for absolute ownership of its nationals by way of a grand religious cleanse. For those who breath under the skies of al-Saud's kingdom absolutism is a burden those who resist have paid in blood and agony.

The city of Awamiyah sits today besieged by its very own government under allegations its residents pose a threat so grave that they ought to be slaughtered where they stand, never to be spoken of again ...

Breaking that silence which of late has surrounded the many grave ignominies the kingdom has perpetrated against those infamous 'others' it has judged 'disposable', The Independent wrote on THAT Shia genocide:
"Traditionally Shia, Awamiyah - a 400-year-old town in the eastern Qatif province home to around 30,000 people - has been surrounded by siege barricades put up by the security services turned violent on 10 May. Since then, the situation has rapidly deteriorated. Locals report at least 25 people have died in shelling and sniper fire, and pictures purportedly of streets covered in rubble and sewage look more like a scene from Syria than an oil-rich Persian Gulf city."
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Bad Guys

Amnesty International: Egyptian security forces practicing extrajudicial killings, carrying out enforced disappearances


Sputnik
Mon, 14 Aug 2017 00:00 UTC
Egypt security forces
© REUTERS/ Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Egyptian security forces abuse their power by abducting people over unlawful charges and mistreating them in custody, a major human rights watchdog said Monday, attributing the situation to the legacy left by the 2013 mass killings of ousted President Mohammed Morsi's supporters in Cairo.

According to the human rights activists, the brutal dispersal of mass protests in Cairo's Rabaa al-Adawiya square in 2013 marked the critical moment when the Egyptian police started to plunge into unlawfulness and extrajudicial executions.

"Not a single person has been held to account for the events on 14 August 2013, widely known as the Rabaa massacre. Instead, hundreds who attended the protests, including journalists and photographers who were covering the events, have been arrested and are facing an unfair mass trial. This vacuum of justice has allowed security forces to commit serious human rights violations, including using excessive lethal force and carrying out enforced disappearances, entirely unchecked," Amnesty International said.
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