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Amid ongoing NATO buildup in E. Europe, US military helicopters arrive in Germany


RT
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:24 UTC
US Chinook, Apache, and Black Hawk helicopters
© Ruptly
Dozens of US Chinook, Apache, and Black Hawk helicopters have been unloaded in the German port city of Bremerhaven, as NATO continues boosting its combat presence in Eastern Europe to counter the perceived 'Russian threat.'

The shipload of American military hardware included 49 helicopters and several trucks from the US 10th Combat Aviation Brigade stationed at the base in Fort Drum, New York, according to DPA news agency. Most equipment will then be transported to the NATO base in the German town of Illesheim, while other pieces of military hardware will be sent to other countries like Lithuania and Romania.

"Today, we are downloading a portion of the combat aviation brigade and it will be moved to Germany and Eastern Europe and will be scattered between Latvia and Romania, while a big chunk of it will be stationed in Germany," Major General Duane Gamble, the Commander of the 21st Theater Sustainment Command, which is the lead organization for the US Army Europe's logistic support and other sustainment activities, told journalists.
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Jet3

Russian-backed Syrian forces cut through ISIS positions on way to Palmyra, less than 20km to go

Rudy Panko
Russia Insider
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:08 UTC
Russian military Syria
Russian special forces are almost certainly coordinating the attack
The Syrian Army, backed by the Russian air force and special forces, is less than 20 km from ISIS-held Palmyra.

The offensive to retake Palmyra from ISIS has begun.

According to the Russian Defense Ministry, the Syrian Army, backed by Russian air support, is now less than 20 km from the ancient city:
"Syrian government troops, backed by Russian air support, continue to advance in the direction of Palmyra; less than 20 kilometers are left. The Russian Aerospace Forces carried out more than 90 sorties over the last week," the ministry said.

"The Syrian government troops destroyed over 180 militant targets, including over 60 strongholds, 15 depots with ammunition and vehicles, 43 armored vehicles as well as jeeps with heavy machine-guns. Terrorists lost over 200 people," the statement added.
We reported yesterday that Russian special forces had arrived in western Palmyra.

It seems reasonable to assume that these units are playing a large role in coordinating air support and directing the attack.

If the Syrian Army is able to keep the ground it's won and continue advancing, we imagine that the (God willing) last showdown for Palmyra could happen within a week or less.
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Megaphone

EU uses Russia as 'tool', creates hostile situation says former OSCE Assembly VP Willy Wimmer


RT
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 15:13 UTC
Willy Wimmer
© Mikhail Voskresenskiy / SputnikFormer Parliamentary State Secretary in Germany's Defense Ministry and Ex-Vice President of the OSCE's Parliamentary Assembly Willy Wimmer.
The EU tries to create a hostile situation against Russia and uses it as a "tool" in terms of the press and influencing the population, German ex-VP of the OSCE Assembly told RT, calling the situation "disastrous."

"I think we have a disastrous situation in the EU, and we face, since some years, the situation where they do their utmost to create a hostile situation against the Russian Federation..." Willy Wimmer, also former state secretary to Germany's defense minister, told RT's SophieCo.

"...And when it comes to the press and when it comes to influencing the population, they used, really, Moscow as a tool for their own purpose," he continued, responding to a question about unfounded allegations that Russia interfered with German politics in a bid to influence the federal vote.

"I think it's so interesting that even the German Security Service - Bundesnachrichtendienst [BND] - just told the public that there's no influence by the Russian Federation, which looks like a campaign of disinformation. So, I think now they face, in Berlin or in Brussels, an interesting situation. Again, they have to deal with their own problems and not to use Moscow as an excuse."


Comment: German government says it has no proof Russia is trying to hack upcoming elections


Comment: Wimmer making a lot of sense but is Europe listening?

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Heart - Black

'We didn't see any Western humanitarian organizations' in eastern Aleppo - Russian lawmakers


Sputnik
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 14:21 UTC
Syrian children Aleppo
© Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation
A member of the Russian delegation to Aleppo said Western media made provocative statements and circulated fake images about the situation in the city.

A delegation of lawmakers from the lower house of the Russian parliament, the State Duma, did not see any Western humanitarian organizations in the eastern part of the Syrian city of Aleppo during their visit last week, Aleksander Yushchenko, a member of the delegation, said Monday.

"We did not see any Western humanitarian organizations, but we have seen immense, almost nonstop work of the Russian center for Syrian reconciliation, as well as other humanitarian organizations that constantly deliver water and hot meals, providing the necessities for children," Yushchenko said at a press conference in Moscow.

He said Western media made provocative statements and circulated fake images of children in the eastern Aleppo dying.

"We saw with our own eyes that children are now going back to schools that they have not attended for five years," the lawmaker added.

The Russian delegation comprising State Duma lawmakers Yushchenko, Dmitry Sablin, Sergei Gavrilov as well as Russian medics paid a working visit to Syria last week.

The members of the Belgian parliamentary delegation, which also visited Syria last week, said that Western media presented situation in Aleppo as hopeless, ignoring the fact of provision of humanitarian aid by Russia.
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Chess

Professor Tim Anderson: The roles of Iran, Russia & Turkey in Syria's peace process


Khameini
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 13:38 UTC
irán

Professor Tim Anderson is a distinguished author and senior lecturer of political economy at the University of Sydney, Australia. In an interview with Khamenei.ir, he answers questions about the Syrian crisis, the Astana peace talks as well as the role of Iran, Russia and Turkey in the peace process. The following is the full text of the interview:
How would "Astana Talks" help solving the crisis in Syria?
I believe the Astana talks provide another opportunity for the terrorist groups and their backers to give up their useless and destructive path. What has been most significant is that those armed groups which have chosen to attend must confront Syria, Russia, Iran and Turkey, with the USA, al Saud, Qatar, Britain and France excluded. That is a step closer to reality, as the latter group has only played a destructive role, up until now, while the former group is dominated by those in alliance with the Syrian alliance. Turkey alone at Astana represents the sponsors of the al Qaeda groups. Further, the NATO-GCC terrorists come as armed groups and not with the pretence of being a political 'opposition'. If the armed groups (e.g. 'Jaysh al Islam') agree to put down their arms, that will leave the banned terrorist groups more isolated. If they do not agree, no-one can say they were not given an opportunity. What I call the Syrian Alliance (principally Syria, Hezbollah, Iran and Russia) will be seen to have made every effort to avoid bloodshed.

Comment: For more on the West's destructive role in Syria's crisis see: Interview with Flemish priest in Syria: "Putin and Assad saved my life"
"The idea that a popular uprising took place against President Assad is completely false. I've been in Qara since 2010 and I have seen with my own eyes how agitators from outside Syria organized protests against the government and recruited young people. That was filmed and aired by Al Jazeera to give the impression that a rebellion was taking place. Murders were committed by foreign terrorists, against the Sunni and Christian communities, in an effort to sow religious and ethnic discord among the Syrian people. While in my experience, the Syrian people were actually very united.


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Newspaper

NYT revealed Trump administration aborted operation that would have provoked war with Iran

Richard Brand
Russia Insider
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 14:06 UTC
Iranian military ship
The New York Times details an aborted operation that would have very likely started a shooting war with Iran.

Buried in the middle of the New York Times' story on the inner workings of Trump's National Security Council is a revelation almost too terrifying to believe: Last week, the U.S. Navy came close to intercepting and boarding an Iranian ship — allegedly in an attempt to stop the flow of weapons to the Houthis in Yemen.

We don't want to believe it, but frankly Trump's team is so hawkish on Iran, it's hard to completely dismiss:
Last week, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis was exploring whether the Navy could intercept and board an Iranian ship to look for contraband weapons possibly headed to Houthi fighters in Yemen. The potential interdiction seemed in keeping with recent instructions from Mr. Trump, reinforced in meetings with Mr. Mattis and Secretary of State Rex W. Tillerson, to crack down on Iran's support of terrorism.

But the ship was in international waters in the Arabian Sea, according to two officials. Mr. Mattis ultimately decided to set the operation aside, at least for now. White House officials said that was because news of the impending operation leaked, a threat to security that has helped fuel the move for the insider threat program. But others doubt whether there was enough basis in international law, and wondered what would happen if, in the early days of an administration that has already seen one botched military action in Yemen, American forces were suddenly in a firefight with the Iranian Navy.
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Stock Down

Corporate media 'hemorrhaging money' as it loses viewers to alternative news sources


RT
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 13:38 UTC
BBC western media london UK
© David Moir / Reuters
The current trend is that the corporate media is losing viewers, it is losing readership, says Mike Raddie, co-editor of BSNews. People are turning to other forms of journalism, and in some cases even becoming journalists themselves, he added.

WikiLeaks is accusing the BBC of spreading 'fake news' after a senior journalist suggested the whistle-blowing site's revelations lend support to particular candidates in the run-up to France's presidential election.
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Eye 2

Russian investigators find 'irrefutable evidence' Kiev using WMDs against civilians


RT
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 13:38 UTC
Ukraine Kiev OTR-21 Tochka-U mobile missile launch systems tanks army military
© Gleb Garanich / ReutersUkrainian OTR-21 Tochka-U mobile missile launch systems.
The Russian Investigative Committee says it has received rock-solid proof that Kiev's armed forces have been using weapons of mass destruction against civilians in eastern Ukraine.

"The office of the Russian State Investigative Committee, dealing with crimes involving the use of prohibited means and methods of warfare, has discovered and procedurally documented irrefutable evidence that the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been using weapons of mass destruction, namely the Tochka-U tactical missile complexes [SS-21 Scarab in NATO classification] against civilians in the armed conflict in the south-east of Ukraine," the investigative committee said in a statement published on its official website on Monday.

The committee also stated that the Tochka-U can fire a wide range of missiles, both conventional and non-conventional, nuclear or chemical.

Comment: Further reading: Furious Putin accuses Merkel of complicity in Kiev's 'destructive acts,' demands she take action
More than any other single individual Merkel is the key player in the diplomatic process known as the Normandy format. By saying that the Ukrainian regime is using the Normandy format to conceal its 'destructive acts' in eastern Ukraine, Putin is accusing Merkel of colluding in the Ukrainian regime's actions.

The Kremlin's summary does not say how Merkel responded. Almost certainly there was a furious row. It is fair to say that Merkel is not accustomed to being spoken to in this forthright fashion, and that she is more in the habit of reading out lectures to others than being on the receiving end of them. Undoubtedly she would have been shocked and furious, but also - given the extent of Putin's anger and the doubts we know she has about the support she is getting from Donald Trump - deeply alarmed.

The last paragraph of the Kremlin summary suggests that Putin warned Merkel to take steps to bring the fighting in eastern Ukraine to a stop - with the implication that action would be taken if she failed to do so - and that she agreed.


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Chess

Kremlin: Putin & Trump will meet at G20 summit in July, no deal yet on earlier meeting


RT
Mon, 13 Feb 2017 13:38 UTC
putin_trump
© Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin and US President Donald Trump are so far scheduled to meet in person at the G20 summit in July, Putin's spokesman Dmitry Peskov said, noting that there has been no specific arrangement for the meeting to take place earlier.

"We have no specific information regarding the possible meeting between Putin and Trump so far, we have not even considered the dates yet. Assuming that there is a G20 summit in July this year, one way or the other the presidents will meet there, but, as you know, there has been talk about the possibility of an earlier meeting. So far there is nothing specific in this regard," Peskov told the press on Monday.

Last week, Putin said that a possible venue for the first encounter with Trump could be Ljubljana, Slovenia, but stated that the choice of venue did not depend on Moscow alone. Putin noted that he also met with former US President Barack Obama in the Slovenian capital.
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Eagle

Best of the Web: Iran hawks have taken the White House: Flynn's anti-Iran, anti-Islam worldview is pure NeoCon

Philip Giraldi
The American Conservative
Thu, 09 Feb 2017 00:00 UTC
Michael Flynn
© Department of DefenseMichael Flynn.
The United States is adding new sanctions on Iran over that country's alleged misdeeds, and nearly all of those allegations are either out-and-out lies or half-truths. It has a familiar ring to it, as demonizing Tehran has been rather more the norm than not since 1979, a phenomenon that has included fabricated claims that the Iranians killed American soldiers after the U.S.'s armed interventions in Afghanistan and Iraq. This time around, the administration focused on the perfectly legal Iranian test of a non-nuclear-capable, medium-range ballistic missile and the reported attack on what was initially claimed to be a U.S. warship by allegedly Iranian-backed Yemeni Houthi fighters. The ship was later revealed to be a Saudi frigate.

Donald Trump's national-security adviser, Michael T. Flynn, "officially" put Iran "on notice" while declaring that "The Trump Administration will no longer tolerate Iran's provocations that threaten our interests. The days of turning a blind eye to Iran's hostile and belligerent actions toward the United States and the world community are over."

Ignoring the fact that Iran cannot actually threaten the United States or any genuine vital national interests, the warning and follow-up action from the White House also contradict Donald Trump's campaign pledge to avoid yet another war in the Middle East, which appears to have escaped Flynn's notice. The increase in tension and the lack of any diplomatic dialogue mean that an actual shooting war might now be a "false flag," false intelligence report, or accidental naval encounter away.

Comment: "Hopefully some adults in the White House..."

It's a thought millions if not billions of people around the world - including most Americans - have had for some time now.

The American people hoped that that adult might be Trump. But the 'business restructuring' he'd need to do is likely beyond the scope of even his considerable ego. We shall see...

‌Iran's proven oil reserves of 157 billion barrels are the world's third largest, while its gas reserves are the largest. Taken together, the country owns the biggest hydrocarbon reserves in the world. Now you see why the US wants it (or at least controlling influence over how those resources are used). Same goes for Israel, which has no problems at all with having an actual Islamic neighbor that is "the source and lynchpin of the massive disorder prevailing in the Middle East, with tentacles reaching throughout the region and beyond" via its promotion of radical Wahhabi Islam and head-chopper terrorists... Saudi Arabia.

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