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Destroying Daesh: 20,000 square meters of Syrian territory freed past two months, less ceasefire violations


Sputnik
Mon, 24 Jul 2017 14:39 UTC
Kalibr missiles
© Russian Defence Ministry
Over the past two months the Russian Aerospace Forces carried out at least 2,000 sorties and 5,850 airstrikes on terrorists in Syria, the chief of the Russian General Staff said Monday.

Moreover, Kalibr missiles destroyed six objects of the Daesh terrorist group on Syrian territory. Russian Tu-95MC jets also destroyed four terrorist objects with Kh-101 air-to-surface cruise missiles, chief of the Russian General Staff's Main Operational Directorate Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said.

"The most important objects of the Daesh terrorists were struck by high-precision long-ranged weapons. So, Kalibr cruise missiles destroyed six objects. T95MS aircraft destroyed four objects with Kh-101 missiles," he said.

Rudskoy added that over the past two months some 20,000 square meters of Syrian territory have been freed from terrorists, which is 40 percent of the whole liberated territory.
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Map

Syrian army breaks through ISIS lines as it approaches Al-Sukhnah

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Sun, 23 Jul 2017 14:08 UTC
Syrian SAA tank
Syrian army is close to liberating from ISIS Al-Sukhnah, last important ISIS stronghold on the way to Deir Ezzor.

The Al-Masdar news agency - possibly the single most reliable news outlet covering the Syrian war, with seemingly extensive contacts inside the Syrian army - has just reported that the Syrian army has broken through the last hill top defense lines before the ISIS held town of Al-Sukhnah.
The Syrian Arab Army (SAA), led by the 5th Assault Corps, and other pro-government combat outfits have burst open the last feasible defensive line that ISIS has before the strategic town of al-Sukhnah.

After capturing a number of key points and hilltops earlier today, the SAA and its allies continued their advance, taking new points and a series of important hilltops north of Al-Hayl gas field to a distance of 4 kilometers.

In particular, the mountain chain the SAA has just entered into possesses the very last series of hilltops within a great tangle of mountain chains that stretches all the way back to Palmyra. Ironically, the rough Arabic translation for the name (rather be it an expression) of this last mountain chain before al-Sukhnah is "the end of the Palmyra chain hills."

These last aforementioned hilltops are extremely important insofar as their capture will give pro-government forces total fire control over al-Sukhnah.

This reality alone will likely push ISIS to withdraw from the town instead of fighting the SAA under conditions in which the terrorist group's forces will be completely annihilated.

Thus, after a slow advance over past week and suffering relatively high casualties, the SAA has finally been able to breach the Islamic State's most pivotal defensive line in the area around al-Sukhnah and advance into the last strategic terrain before the town itself.

Now al-Sukhnah's liberation is within sight and pro-government forces could reach the gates of the town, or even take it back from ISIS completely, within a single week now.
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Star of David

Former FM Tzipi Livni: Israel is a 'step away' from war with Muslim world


Sputnik
Mon, 24 Jul 2017 14:01 UTC
Muslims praying
© AP Photo/ Ariel Schalit
Tzipi Livni, former Israeli Foreign Minister, has said she fears the country is on the verge of a religious battle with the Muslim world. Her comments follow days of violent clashes after security forces imposed controversial security measures at a disputed shrine in Jerusalem.

Speaking to local media, Livni said Israel was "a step away" from turning its conflict against the Palestinians into a "pan-Muslim event" against the state of Israel. As a result, she believes Benjamin Netanyahu's government must be assertive and prevent such a scenario from arising.

Metal detectors were imposed at the shrine - known to Muslims as the Noble Sanctuary and to Jews as the Temple Mount - in response to an attack on the site by Palestinian gunmen that killed two policemen.
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Radar

Corbyn divides Labour with definite pledge to leave single market after Brexit


RT
Mon, 24 Jul 2017 13:53 UTC
Jeremy Corbyn
© Neil Hall / Reuters
Labour would take Britain out of the European single market were it in charge of negotiating Brexit, leader Jeremy Corbyn has said, creating more divisions with his pro-EU MPs.

Corbyn said the UK must quit the common market because it is "inextricably linked" to the EU. He said, however, his party had not decided its position on membership of the Customs Union, which places tariffs on imports from around the world and stops Britain negotiating trade deals.

Labour's 2017 election manifesto pledged to focus on "retaining the benefits of the single market and customs union" but was not explicit on whether Britain would actually remain inside the institutions.

"The single market is dependent on membership of the EU. What we have said all along is that we want a tariff free trade access to the European market and a partnership with Europe in the future," Corbyn told the BBC.

"The two things are inextricably linked so the question then is the kind of trade relationship of the future and we have made it very clear we want a tariff free trade access with the European market."
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Star of David

The Israel Lobby: Time for a Second Edition

Paul Craig Roberts
Institute for Political Economy
Mon, 24 Jul 2017 13:42 UTC
Israel lobby in Washington graphic
A decade ago in 2007 John J. Mearsheimer, the R. Wendell Harrison Distinguished Service Professor of Political Science and co-director of the Program on International Security Policy at the University of Chicago, and Stephen M. Walt, the Robert and Renee Belfer Professor of International Affairs at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and Academic Dean of the Kennedy School from 2002-2006, published The Israel Lobby and U.S. Foreign Policy. The publisher was the prestigious publishing house, Farrar, Straus and Giroux. The authors made a convincing case that Israel operating through its American lobbies, which are not registered as foreign agents, succeeds in using US foreign policy in Israel's interests. The authors conclude that the use of US foreign policy in Israel's interests is damaging to both America's national interests and to Israel's long-term security.

Many were pleased that two distinguished experts had breached a taboo issue. But the Israel Lobby was not among them. Instantly, the authors and the book were denounced as anti-semetic. The demonstration that Israel had influence was misrepresented as the claim that Israel controlled the US government. The authors were denounced for their "extremism" which some alleged could result in a new holocaust.
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Cell Phone

Another Trump tweet storm: Democrats and Russians 'laughing' at 'witch hunt' collusion probe


RT
Mon, 24 Jul 2017 12:22 UTC
Donald Trump
© Michael Reynolds / Global Look Press
Democrats and Russians are laughing at the investigation into Moscow's alleged US election interference, Donald Trump tweeted, once again calling the probe a "witch hunt."

The US president took to Twitter on Sunday afternoon to denounce the "witch hunt," calling it an "excuse for a lost election."

Trump also took aim at fellow Republicans just minutes later, saying it was "sad" that they are "doing very little to protect their president."

Trump has long voiced his opposition to allegations that and his team he colluded with Russia to win the election, repeatedly calling the special counsel's investigation a "witch hunt."
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Info

Kushner says he had four contacts with Russians during Trump campaign, none improper


RT
Mon, 24 Jul 2017 12:11 UTC
Jared Kushner
© Brendan Smialowski / AFP
Jared Kushner says he only had four contacts with Russians during the presidential campaign of his father-in-law, Donald Trump, but none of them were improper. He added that his meeting with a Russian-American lawyer was "a waste of time."

"I did not collude, nor know of anyone else in the campaign who colluded, with any foreign government... I had no improper contacts. I have not relied on Russian funds to finance my business activities in the private sector," he said in a written statement before his meeting with the Senate.

His comments come hours before he is to be interviewed by the Senate Intelligence Committee, which is investigating Russia's alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election. The interview will be held behind closed doors.

Kushner says he had "perhaps four contacts with Russian representatives" during the election campaign and the presidential transition period that followed.
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Document

Brussels internal memo states it will act 'within days' if US sanctions hurt EU trade with Russia, Moscow also sends warning


RT
Mon, 24 Jul 2017 12:03 UTC
EU building
© Francois Lenoir / Reuters
The EU should act "within days" if new sanctions the US plans to impose on Russia prove to be damaging to Europe's trade ties with Moscow, an internal memo seen by the media says. Retaliatory measures may include limiting US jurisdiction over EU companies.

An internal memo seen by the Financial Times and Politico has emerged amid mounting opposition to a US bill seeking to hit Russia with a new round of sanctions. The bill, if signed into law, will also give US lawmakers the power to veto any attempt by the president to lift the sanctions.

The document reportedly said European Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker was particularly concerned the sanctions would neglect the interests of European companies. Juncker said Brussels "should stand ready to act within days" if sanctions on Russia are "adopted without EU concerns being taken into account," according to the Financial Times.
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Eye 2

John McCain: Spreading the cancer of conflict

Patrick Henningsen
21st Century Wire
Fri, 21 Jul 2017 03:36 UTC
McCain
This week some devastating news befell John Sidney McCain III.

On Wednesday, his staff announced that the US Senator had been diagnosed with a brain tumor called glioblastoma discovered during recent testing at the Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona.

Since then warm wishes and tributes have been pouring in for the former Republican Presidential candidate. Both the US media and political establishment have closed ranks and are rallying around the Senator to help soften the blow.

Putting previous feuds aside, President Donald Trump was magnanimous and cordial to the Arizona Senator, wishing him and his family the very best." Melania and I send our thoughts and prayers to Senator McCain, Cindy, and their entire family," said Trump. "Get well soon."

Even former electoral rival President Barack Obama pitched in a little love for the 80 year old:


Regarding McCain's diagnosis, we all can acknowledge the difficulties and risks involved with various cancer treatments, especially with brain cancer. Likewise, nearly everyone these days can attest to losing a friend, a loved one or family member to the disease.

As with anyone suffering from this terrible condition, we wish the Senator well, along with a successful treatment and recovery.

Still, McCain has a lot in his favor. Unlike most Americans, he will not have to worry about his medical care, and will be receiving the best cancer treatment money can buy, if not the best in the world, and with absolutely no expense spared. In this way, the Senator is extremely fortunate.

And for those reasons, this is not an easy article to write. For fear of appearing too cruel in the face of his dramatic medical disclosure, one would be expected to suspend any political critique for now. Hence, the media has placed an unofficial moratorium on any negative coverage of McCain.

That said, he is a special case. As much as any political leader - he deserves to be panned, even under the present circumstances, because his geopolitical handiwork continues to cause havoc in certain corners of the world.
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War Whore

Commander of US Special Operations Command confirms suspension of aid to Free Syrian Army


Southfront
Sun, 23 Jul 2017 00:00 UTC
General Raymond Thomas
General Raymond Thomas, commander of the United States Special Operations Command, confirmed in his speech during the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado that the United States have suspended the program to arm and train the Syrian opposition.

General Thomas defended the US administration's decision and asserted that its aim wasn't to appease Russia.

Comment: We will have to wait and see whether this actually happens because the 'Deep State' and CIA may have other plans that run counter to the direction the President wants to go.

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