Puppet MastersS


Bad Guys

Brit MPs - tackling ISIS with military force alone against will just push it to Africa or Asia


RT
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 18:01 UTC
jihadist ISIS military force
© Stringer / Reuters
The success of airstrikes against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) in Iraq and Syria may be undermined unless military force is coupled with political progress in the region, a committee of MPs has warned.

The Commons Defense Committee said that the government needs a "grand strategy" to defeat the terrorist group. Taking territory by force was "necessary but not sufficient," the cross party committee warned in a report published on Wednesday.

Though the committee said UK airstrikes in Iraq were effective in winning back militant-held territories, it noted that without coordinated political reform IS could be replaced by other radical Islamist groups.

"Assuming Daesh [IS] is squeezed out of both countries, we have to focus too on what happens next - both in other countries to which Daesh may migrate and in Syria especially where there is no shortage of other Islamist groups, just as dangerous, which are planning to take control," committee chairman Julian Lewis, a conservative MP, said in a statement.

The report also suggested that if forced out of Iraq and Syria, IS is likely to form affiliate groups in Africa or Asia.


Comment: They're just figuring this out? The good MPs are a little late. It's already in play.
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Chess

Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov to join the anti-terrorist mission in Syria


RT
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 17:26 UTC
Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier
© Alexei Danichev / Sputnik The Admiral Kuznetsov aircraft carrier.
Russian aircraft carrier the Admiral Kuznetsov will join the country's naval group operating in the eastern Mediterranean, the Defense Ministry has announced. Officials say the carrier could be used to aid the anti-terrorist mission in Syria. The decision was announced on Wednesday by Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu during a meeting of ministry officials.

"Currently, the Russian naval group in the eastern Mediterranean includes at least six warships and three or four support vessels from all fleets. To increase the combat capabilities of the group, [we] plan to include the cruiser Admiral Kuznetsov into its ranks," Shoigu said. The minister added that the deployment is part of the Russian naval presence in the eastern Mediterranean, renewed in 2013, which ensures the country's interests and helps "to maintain peace."

Comment: Russia's Mediterranean fleet has its modernized anti-aircraft missiles - S300 systems - which have been fitted to all but its smallest ships. NATO officials are now alarmed that it creates an anti-access area-denial problem - a no fly-zone - directed against the west.
See also:

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Dominoes

Will Uzbekistan survive the death of Islam Karimov?

Brian Kalman
South Front
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 14:49 UTC
Uzebekistan muslims
Introduction

The history of Uzbekistan after the break-up of the former Soviet Union in the early 1990s is replete with ethnic division, civil strife and Islamic militancy. It is widely acknowledged that only the successful, yet often repressive leadership of one man, Islam Karimov, has been able to keep the nation together. Islam Karimov ruled the nation for over 26 years, and his death on September 2nd, 2016 now casts doubt on any potential successor's ability to keep the nation from fragmenting along ethnic, religious and geographic lines.

The Fergana Valley, a fertile valley that is also a major strategic gateway in Central Asia that straddles the old Silk Road, has been a hotbed of Islamic militancy and ethnic strife for generations. A number of Islamic terrorist organizations have found their genesis in this region since 1991, including the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan (IMU). The IMU has been active in the neighboring countries of Pakistan, Afghanistan, Kirghizstan, and Tajikistan. The IMU has splintered into pro-ISIS and pro-Taliban factions over the past decade, and continues to pose a destabilizing force to the future of Uzbekistan and all of Central Asia.
Population density in Fergana Valley
The Fergana valley is a hotbed of Islamic fundamentalist activity and a strategically important crossroads for all of Central Asia. This fertile valley is densely populated in comparison to the surrounding dry and arid Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan that surround it, as well as the bottleneck of land that connects it to the rest of Uzbekistan to the West.
The coming months will witness whether or not the Uzbek political bureaucracy, the armed forces and internal security apparatus possess the leadership and capability to keep the nation together and in a state of peace. Although rather small and reliant on soviet era weapons and equipment, the Uzbekistan Armed Forces have been able to provide security to the nation. More importantly, the National Security Services (SNB), which has received far more investment and attention under the Karimov regime than the armed forces, will most likely bear the brunt of countering any internal or foreign attempts to foment unrest. The coming year will test the capabilities of the SNB on many fronts.

Comment: See also:

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Vader

Sycophantic media propaganda supports America's worldwide impunity

Robert Parry
Consortium News
Mon, 19 Sep 2016 16:45 UTC
Deir Ezzor
© Google Earth
The mainstream U.S. media is treating the U.S.-led airstrike that killed scores of Syrian troops as an unfortunate boo-boo, ignoring that the U.S. and its allies have no legal right to operate in Syria at all.

After several years of arming and supporting Syrian rebel groups that often collaborated with Al Qaeda's Nusra terror affiliate, the United States launched an illegal invasion of Syria two years ago with airstrikes supposedly aimed at Al Qaeda's Islamic State spin-off, but on Saturday that air war killed scores of Syrian soldiers and aided an Islamic State victory.

Yet, the major American news outlets treat this extraordinary set of circumstances as barely newsworthy, operating with an imperial hubris that holds any U.S. invasion or subversion of another country as simply, ho-hum, the way things are supposed to work.

On Monday, The Washington Post dismissed the devastating airstrike at Deir al-Zour killing at least 62 Syrian soldiers as one of several "mishaps" that had occurred over the past week and jeopardized a limited ceasefire, arranged between Russia and the Obama administration.

But the fact that the U.S. and several allies have been routinely violating Syrian sovereign airspace to carry out attacks was not even an issue, nor is it a scandal that the U.S. military and CIA have been arming and training Syrian rebels. In the world of Official Washington, the United States has the right to intervene anywhere, anytime, for whatever reason it chooses.
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Snakes in Suits

One world order cheerleader: Former NATO chief Rasmussen wants US 'to police the world'


RT
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 17:23 UTC
Anders Fogh-Rasmussen painted red
Anders Fogh-Rasmussen, NATO war criminal, painted red in an anti-war protest in 2003
Former NATO head Anders Fogh Rasmussen has called on the US to act as the world's policeman to "counter autocrats like President [Vladimir] Putin." He made the comments in an editorial for the Wall Street Journal.

In his opinion, only the US has the "credibility" to be a "policeman to restore order, a firefighter to put out the flames of conflict, and a kind of mayor, smart and sensible, to lead the rebuilding."

Central to his desire to have a strong America is his belief in the necessity to counteract President Putin, who he called an "autocrat," while adding that "Russia is obsessed with rebuilding the empire the Soviet Union lost."

Comment: More Rasmussen follies:

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Bullseye

Projecting their guilt: Duterte says EU aims to atone for own 'sins' by picking on Philippines drug war


RT
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 10:44 UTC
Duterte
© Manman Dejeto / AFP Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte.
The sharp-tongued Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte has not shied away from using a four-letter word responding to the "hypocritical" EU blaming him for stoking up anti-drug violence. He accused EU states of mass killings in US-led campaigns in the Middle East.

Duterte, who has already acquired some fame for being no stranger to emotional statements and strong language, has told off the European Union for passing a resolution on extrajudicial killings of suspected drug dealers and users within the large-scale "war on drugs" in the Philippines.

"I have read the condemnation of the European Union. I'm telling them, 'F**k you. You're doing it in atonement for your sins," Duterte said, speaking in his home town of Davao City before local authorities on Tuesday, as citedby the Inquirer Global Nation.

Comment: Duterte in the western media crosshairs, and the truth about the Philippines' drug war

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Snakes in Suits

Just like the war mongers: Theresa May proclaims UK troops will be protected from Iraq War 'vexatious allegations'


RT
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 17:04 UTC
British Prime Minister Theresa May
© Eduardo Munoz / Reuters
False or dubious allegations of abuse against UK troops must be put to an end, Prime Minister Theresa May has said after a week of clashes over the impact of the Iraq Historic Allegations Team's investigations on service personnel.

The PM said that while allegations should be properly investigated, a culture of abusing the system had to be avoided.

"We can be proud also of the disciplined way in which our armed forces operate. But what is important is, if there are allegations - proper allegations - of criminal activity, those need to be investigated," she told the BBC.

"But what we do need to make sure is that there isn't an industry of vexatious allegations coming forward. I think measures have been taken."

Comment: Yes, soldiers must be held accountable for war abuse but this only distracts from the real war mongers who need to be put on trial and convicted:

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Bulb

Stating the obvious: Boris Johnson admits Russia is needed to end Syria war during first face-to-face with Lavrov


RT
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 16:47 UTC
Lavrov and British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson has admitted the civil war in Syria will only come to an end with Russian involvement after meeting with his counterpart from Moscow for the first time.

In a tweet posted after his face-to-face meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, Johnson said "only #Russia can bring #Syria conflict suffering to swift end."

The meeting took place on the sidelines of the 71st UN General Assembly in New York.

During the discussion, the ministers discussed the Syrian civil war and the situation in Ukraine, according to a Foreign Office spokesman.
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Cowboy Hat

Two Utah congressmen propose a 'modern-day Indian land grab' that would turn 26% of the Ute Tribe's land into oil and gas drilling zones


RT
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 16:12 UTC
Ute Mountain
© Nationalparks / WikipediaUte Mountain, of the Sleeping Ute Mountain range.
Two Utah congressmen are proposing a piece of legislation that would set Native American land rights back over 100 years. The Utah Public Lands Initiative is a proposal that would turn 26 percent of the Ute Tribe's land into oil and drilling zones.

The US has not made a treaty with a Native American nation since the 1800s, but a proposal for Eastern Utah is bringing back feelings of mistrust from tribes. Republican Congressmen Rob Bishop and Jason Chaffetz, along with Senator Mike Lee (R-Utah) have proposed The Public Lands Initiative that they claim "is a locally-driven process to bring resolution to some of the most challenging land disputes in the state of Utah."

Not everyone sees it that way, however. The proposal would remove federal protections from 18 million acres of land and could allow them to be turned into oil and gas drilling zones that are exempt from environmental protections, Telesur reported.

The bill will not be presented to the House for a few more weeks, but the Ute Business Committee is already preparing to fight it.

"The actions of Bishop and Chaffetz would seek to divest the Ute Indian Tribe of their ancestral homelands," the committee wrote in an op-ed for the Salt Lake Tribune. The committee said that this proposal runs the risk of returning to "failed policies of tribal land dispossession that have had a devastating and lasting impact upon tribal nations for the past century."

This bill would directly impact 100,000 acres of Ute reservation lands, home to more than half of the tribe's population, according to their website.

"This modern day Indian land grab cannot be allowed to stand," the committee said.

Comment: The Ute tribe sees right through the lies and empty promises of these vultures. Their tribe wouldn't see a dime of the money from the "economic development" of their homelands, and if any accidents were to occur the drillers wouldn't be held responsible for damages or clean up.

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Cut

Michigan has stripped the city of Flint the ability to sue over the lead contamination of their water supply

Claire Bernish
The Free Thought Project
Tue, 20 Sep 2016 16:42 UTC
Flint water
As the Detroit Free Press reports, Flint Mayor Karen Weaver filed a notice of intent to sue the State of Michigan with the Court of Claims back on March 24 — the last day of a 180-day limit from the time the city became aware of potential claims it could make against the state, according with court rules.

Weaver and Flint officials, at the time of filing notice, "had no plans to sue the state but had to take action to reserve the city's rights" should that legal action have been warranted in the future, according to the Free Press.

In April 2015, Flint gained back some autonomy with the removal of a controversial emergency managership, but — underlying the lawsuit issue — the "state still exerts partial control over the city through a five-member Receivership Transition Advisory Board, whose members are appointed by Gov. Rick Snyder," wrote the Free Press.

That board apparently didn't find the notice to sue too amusing, and — despite it being a pure formality and preservation of protection for the people of Flint who had been poisoned by their government — cruelly and almost certainly retributively changed the rules.
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