SOTT
SIGNS
OF THE
TIMES
OF THE
TIMES
Welcome to Sott.net
The World for People who Think
Puppet MastersS
Al-Qaeda attacked a Syrian Arab Army position in Madinat al-Baath (map) next to the Israel occupied Golan heights. Al-Qaeda requested Israeli fire-support by launching some mortars towards empty space in the Israel occupied area. The Israeli Defense Force accepted the request and destroyed two Syrian Arab Army tanks. Two Syrian soldiers were killed. The SAA held steady and the al-Qaeda attack on its position failed.
This was very easy to predict. Israel has supported al-Qaeda in the area since at least 2014. The al-Qaeda fire-request-by-mortar scheme has been in place for at least three years. In October 2014 the UN Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF), which back then still covered the area, reported to the UN Security Council:
Tomahawk missiles from the "USS Porter" on the way to the Shayrat Air Base on April 6, 2017
The available intelligence made clear that the Syrians had targeted a jihadist meeting site on April 4 using a Russian-supplied guided bomb equipped with conventional explosives. Details of the attack, including information on its so-called high-value targets, had been provided by the Russians days in advance to American and allied military officials in Doha, whose mission is to coordinate all U.S., allied, Syrian and Russian Air Force operations in the region.
Some American military and intelligence officials were especially distressed by the president's determination to ignore the evidence.
"None of this makes any sense," one officer told colleagues upon learning of the decision to bomb. "We KNOW that there was no chemical attack ... the Russians are furious. Claiming we have the real intel and know the truth ... I guess it didn't matter whether we elected Clinton or Trump."Within hours of the April 4 bombing, the world's media was saturated with photographs and videos from Khan Sheikhoun. Pictures of dead and dying victims, allegedly suffering from the symptoms of nerve gas poisoning, were uploaded to social media by local activists, including the White Helmets, a first responder group known for its close association with the Syrian opposition.
© Press TV
The Israeli military said several projectiles fired from Syria "hit an open area" in the northern Golan Heights. No injuries were reported.
Calling the incident an "unacceptable violation of Israeli sovereignty," IDF aircraft targeted the "origin of launches and two Syrian tanks".
Comment: Another 'signal' from ISIS needing help?
Democratic leaders have been beating the drum this year over the ongoing probes into the Trump administration's potential ties to Moscow, taking every opportunity to highlight the saga and forcing floor votes designed to uncover any business dealings the president might have with Russian figures.
But rank-and-file Democrats say the Russia-Trump narrative is simply a non-issue with district voters, who are much more worried about bread-and-butter economic concerns like jobs, wages and the cost of education and healthcare.
© LHVNews
Recall: Moscow announced on Monday that it would "paint" all Coalition aircraft flying west of the Euphrates. But what can Russia really do if Coalition planes (without invitation) provide air support for the Syrian Army?
Here's the report from CENTCOM:
SOUTHWEST ASIA — On June 22, Coalition military forces conducted 32 strikes consisting of 103 engagements against ISIS terrorists in Syria and Iraq.In Syria, Coalition military forces conducted 28 strikes consisting of 49 engagements against ISIS targets:
* Near Abu Kamal, seven strikes engaged two ISIS tactical units and destroyed nine ISIS oil stills, four dump trucks, three cement mixers, three vehicles, three tactical vehicles, two cranes, a weapons cache, a pump jack, and a manifold.
* Near Dayr Az Zawr, one strike destroyed six ISIS oil stills.
* Near Palmyra, one strike destroyed four ISIS tunnel entrances.
* Near Raqqah, 19 strikes engaged 14 ISIS tactical units; destroyed 12 fighting positions, two vehicles, and an IED cache; and damaged an ISIS supply route.
Comment: Russia's 'tracking and painting' is a means to keep US coalition jets on task within agreed boundaries, purpose and scrutiny of radar surveillance. While Russia's watching, US is behaving (this time).
© YouTube
On Tuesday, the top two lawmakers of the Strategic Forces Subcommittee, Representatives Mike Rogers and Jim Cooper, added the legislation to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The subcommittee oversees military space operations and works within the umbrella of the House Armed Services Committee.
"There is bipartisan acknowledgement that the strategic advantages we derive from our national security space systems are eroding," Rogers and Cooper said in a joint statement. "We are convinced that the Department of Defense is unable to take the measures necessary to address these challenges effectively and decisively, or even recognize the nature and scale of its problems."Under the proposed legislation, the Space Corps would serve under the direction of the Air Force much like the Marine Corps serves under the direction of the Navy. But the military branch would have its own chief, equal in rank to that of Chief of Staff of the Air Force. Additionally, the Space Corps head would have a seat on the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
The Air Force itself, however, seems somewhat cool to the congressmen's idea.
Comment: House: nice try, but the military outranks you in this matter. Here's a silly comparison: What if the military tried to add another legislative branch to Congress?
© Getty ImageTough guy Pompeo failed in diplomatic efforts to secure the release of Austin Tice.
The talks, said to be the highest-level contact between American and Syrian secret services in years, took place in early February, according to the New York Times. At the time, Mike Pompeo, as incumbent CIA director, had a telephone conversation with Ali Mamlouk, the head of Syria's National Security Bureau, who is a high-ranking intelligence official subject to US sanctions.
The intelligence chiefs reportedly discussed the fate of Austin Tice, a former Marine captain who was freelancing for the Washington Post, McClatchy Newspapers, CBS, and other news outlets. Back in August of 2012, Tice disappeared in Syria and surfaced a month later in a video showing him blindfolded while surrounded by masked men carrying assault rifles.
American security officials told the New York Times they believe the reporter has been detained by Syrian government forces, but offered no hard proof to back their claims. The Tice family, the CIA, and the FBI declined to comment. Damascus has rejected the claim, saying it has no credible information on Tice's whereabouts.
"Austin Tice is not in the hands of Syrian authorities, and we don't have any information about him at all," Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad, Syria's former UN envoy, told AP last year.
Comment: What truly complicates Tice's release? He disappeared in 2012 and no one claims to have an inkling where he is. If someone knows, it isn't the Syrians.
© The GuardianMecca: Hajj pilgrimage
On Friday, the Saudi Interior Ministry said it had foiled an attack on the Grand Mosque.
According to the sources, the interior ministry received the information about the terror attack months ago and has been closely watching the suspects since then, Saudi Ajel news portal reported.
Three terrorist cells were reportedly involved and were going to attack worshipers who gathered at Islam's holiest site to celebrate the end of Ramadan feast month. The investigators believe the attack was plotted from abroad.
As of now 5 suspects have been detained including a woman. All of them are reportedly Saudi nationals and are currently being questioned.
Comment: According to the Guardian:
Saudi Arabian security forces have foiled a terror plot targeting the Grand Mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca, exchanging gunfire with one of the suspects who blew himself up inside a home on Friday, the interior ministry said. The ministry described the plot as part of "self-serving schemes managed from abroad". Five security force members and six other people were injured, the report said.
In dawn raids on Mecca and the Red Sea city of Jeddah officers arrested suspects before surrounding the bomber's location close to the Grand Mosque.
"Unfortunately he started shooting towards security personnel once he noticed their presence in the area, which led to an exchange of fire before he blew himself up," Turki said. The blast partially collapsed the building where he had taken refuge, injuring six pilgrims, Turki said. He added that four had already been released from hospital, and five security men were also slightly hurt.
The interior ministry said in a statement it "confirms that this terrorist network, whose terrorist plan was thwarted, violated, in what they would have perpetrated, all sanctities by targeting the security of the Grand Mosque, the holiest place on Earth.
"They obeyed their evil and corrupt self-serving schemes managed from abroad whose aim is to destabilise the security and stability of this blessed country," the statement said.
© REUTERS/ ALAA AL-MARJANIThe death of more than a mosque.
The Syrian city of Raqqa and the second biggest Iraqi city of Mosul remain two main strongholds of Daesh (a terrorist group outlawed in Russia). Currently, fierce fighting is ongoing to conquer the cities.
"We appeal to all sides to protect civilians and respect the rules of war. Civilians still inside Raqqa and Mosul must be spared and allowed free passage if they want to leave ... It's a lot easier to rebuild, to reconcile, to reconstitute if the war itself was kept within some bounds, where humanitarian considerations were respected. If not, a new generation will grow up in a conflict incubator and the vicious cycle of violence will continue," Mardini said in a statement.The operation to recapture Mosul began in October 2016 and resulted in the liberation of the eastern part of the city this January. However, fighting continues in western areas of the city.
As for Raqqa, the operation to liberate the city was launched by the Kurdish-Arab Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), supported by the US-led international coalition, in early June. On Thursday, spokesman for the Syria's Tomorrow Movement, a national opposition party, Monzer Akbik told Sputnik that the city would hopefully be completely liberated within three months.
Comment: The liberation of Mosul is estimated to culminate in the next few days, according to the Iraq's Prime Minister, ending the reclamation operation that has been ongoing since October 2016.
© Chelsea GilmourA sign at the Women’s March on Washington points out that the demonstration attracted a larger crowd than Donald Trump’s inauguration. Jan. 21, 2017.
The Democrats' disappointing loss in a special election to fill a congressional seat in an affluent Atlanta suburb is just the latest indication that the strategy of demonizing Trump and blaming Russia for Hillary Clinton's 2016 defeat may not be the golden ticket that some Democrats had hoped.
Though it's still early to draw conclusive lessons from Karen Handel's victory over Jon Ossoff - despite his raising $25 million - one lesson may be that a Middle America backlash is forming against the over-the-top quality of the Trump-accusations and the Russia-bashing, with Republicans rallying against the image of Official Washington's "deep state" collaborating with Democrats and the mainstream news media to reverse a presidential election.
Comment: While the information presented by Hersh is interesting in that it confirms our take on the alleged 'chemical weapon' attack at the time - that it was a lie - we are under no illusions that this is the full story.
As noted by Hersh in his article, one week before the bombing, Nikki Haley and Rex Tillerson stated publicly that the Trump administration was no longer seeking the removal of Assad. What are the odds that within one week of that statement, the tired old 'chemical weapon' allegation would be pulled out to demonize Assad (and Russia) and, in theory, put his removal 'back on the table'?
The odds are therefore, in favor of the agents of Western powers, most notably the CIA, having placed chlorine and other compounds in the building that was to be bombed. After all, the Russians have given 48 hours advance warning and the location of the target building.
From this perspective, Trump's response makes more sense. His hand was, to some extent, forced by these 'deep state' actors in that he was required to accept the mainstream media/intel agency narrative that "Assad had gassed his own people", make a strong statement and take action.
Yet, assuming Trump knew the nature of this set up, it seems that he refused to swallow the bait entirely, and instead opted to make an apparent show of force that had some mainstream media pundits metaphorically wetting their pants, while inflicting no damage on the Syria military or Assad's position as president.