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© AP Photo/ Str/HOIsraeli F-16 fighterjet
Each year, the US and its allies conduct a series of joint aerial combat exercises known as Red Flag. Divided into two teams, a wide range of fighter jets perform simulated dogfights over Nellis Air Force Base.
This year marks the fourth Red Flag, and will be held between August 15-26. In preparation, the Israeli Air Force (IAF) has sent eight F-15s and F-16s, a "Ram" type refueling jet, and land and air crews to the United States, to take part.
Israel isn't the only Middle Eastern country participating, as Pakistan and the UAE will join, along with the United Kingdom, Australia, Turkey, Italy, and Spain.
© AFP
They adopted flexible tactics, supporting and shedding different allies to eliminate rivals.
In 2010 in support of Erdogan, they played a major role in arresting and purging 300 Kemalist - military officials. Subsequently the Gulenists moved to prosecute and weaken the Erdogan regime via revelations of family corruption uncovered by their intelligence officials and publicized by its mass media outlets.
The Gulenists shared several important policies with Washington which favored "the convergence" that led up to the July 15, 2016 coup.
© Ralph Orlowski / Reuters
German Interior Minister Thomas de Maizière has put together proposals from several political parties to create an updated catalogue of counterterrorism measures and legislation aimed at curbing domestic extremism that will be presented on Thursday, Bild reports.
As Interior Minister De Maizière reportedly wants to deal with foreign troublemakers and offenders in an effective manner, deporting undesired migrants will become a quick and unhindered procedure, and asylum applications will be considered much more quickly as well.
The new laws will also change some long-standing policies, such as respecting doctor-patient confidentiality. In fact, under the new legislation, health professionals will be obliged to report on their patients if they suspect them of having committed a crime or think they might be planning one.
© Press TVTurkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus
"They and their collaborators may engage in lone wolf attacks and assassinations. They would turn to cyber attacks," Turkey's Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said in reference to the fugitive rebel soldiers.
"We need to stay alert from now on. All state institutions and departments are on alert. It is important to exercise caution in the face all forms of potential threats," he added, speaking to Haberturk television on Tuesday.
On the night of July 15, a faction of the Turkish military declared itself in charge of the country. Tanks and helicopters were used by the rebel faction to fight government loyalists on the streets of the capital, Ankara, and the city of Istanbul.
The coup attempt was suppressed as people turned out on the streets to support the incumbent government.
Turkish authorities have dismissed or detained tens of thousands of people from the military, judiciary, civil services and education in the aftermath of the botched putsch.
Comment: There may some substance to this warning. Today TASS reported:
Five servicemen killed in Turkey's explosion — TV report
A military armored vehicle was blown up by a homemade bomb
ANKARA, August 10. Five soldiers died and eight others were wounded in an explosion in southeastern Turkey, the Haberturk TV channel has reported.
The military armored vehicle was blown up by a homemade bomb in the Uludere district in the Sirnak province, according to the report.
© foreignpolicynews.org
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced a joint decision to resume the projects of the Akkuyu nuclear power plant and the Turkish Stream gas pipeline. The mega gas and nuclear deals announced put another stake in the heart of the false western narrative of Russia's isolation. If anything the deals highlight how impossible it is to remove Russia from the Europe/Eurasia equation...as the opposite of what the White House wanted has just occurred. Russia is now about to become even more embedded in the energy future of the European and Eurasian land mass.
Another Obama foreign policy victory? Let's see how the western main stream media spins the latest, in what is becoming a long list, of Putin victories, over the teleprompter [Mr.] President. We are sure Obama is mobilising his late night talk show hosts and TV news pundits to start demonising both leaders asap. Realpolitik wins the day over neo-liberal, progressive hissy fits.
Comment: Realpolitik: a pragmatic relationship. The US veil of manipulation is lifting as the world sees a new alliance forming between Turkey and Russia. Assuming they are still in the game, what will be the US' countermove?
See also: Turkish Stream pipeline back on track following Putin-Erdogan meeting, will be 'implemented swiftly'
© Alexander Vilf / SputnikRally in front of US Embassy in Moscow to support Russian pilot Konstantin Yaroshenko, serving a sentence in the US.
"The issue cannot be solved by diplomacy alone, we need harsh measures; we need to file lawsuits in Strasbourg and Geneva. There are a lot of structures that could make Barack Obama stop this," Lyubov Yaroshenko, the mother of the Russian pilot, told reporters. "There is a Council of Europe convention on prisoner handover, but the United States does not recognize this convention. But they will have to exchange him for someone," she added.
Konstantin Yaroshenko himself said in a video message played to reporters that there were at least three fundamental laws signed by the United States that could allow for his transfer to Russia. These were the Vienna Convention, the International Covenant on Civil Rights, and the United Nations Convention against Torture.
Comment: The US system of justice is corrupt, playing into the pathological hands of political movers and shakers at the mercy of innocent and unsuspecting dupes. And, if they happen to be Russian, deemed all the better.
Syria
Putin and Erdogan both said that they had not discussed Syria prior to the news conference and that their discussion about Syria would take place after.
This could be for any of various reasons: that restoring their bilateral relations was the bigger priority with the contentious issue of Syria being put off till later; that Putin and Erdogan did not want to spoil the mood at the press conference by revealing how far apart they still are on this issue; or that the discussions they were about to have on Syria touched on such sensitive topics that they did not want to be questioned and reveal information about them at the news conference. Probably all of these reasons were in play.
© Regis Duvignau / Reuters
On August 3, US blogger Richard Silverstein announced on his website that he had received an email from Twitter which informed him that the social media site had been contacted by the Israeli State Attorney's Office (AG) regarding a tweet he had published on May 18.
"The correspondence claims that the following Tweet is in violation of Israeli law," the message stated, adding that Silverstein should "let us know by replying to this email as soon as possible if you decide to voluntarily remove the content identified on your account."
The tweet in question refers to Israeli Judge Shamai Becker, who was, according to Silverstein, accused of either raping his own daughter or fondling her breasts. Due to an Israeli gag order preventing the judge's identification, Silverstein decided to publish his name from US soil.
© CSIS / AMTIA satellite image of Fiery Cross reef shows the landing strip sprinkled with hangars and a control tower
When President Xi Jinping of China visited President Obama at the White House last September, he startled many with reassuring words about his intentions for the Spratly Islands, a contested area where the Chinese government has been piling dredged sand and concrete atop reefs for the past few years and building housing and runways on them.
"China does not intend to pursue militarization," Mr. Xi said, referring to the area as the Nansha Islands, a Chinese name for what most of the rest of the world calls the Spratlys in the South China Sea.
The most recent satellite photographs suggest a different plan. The photos, collected and scrutinized by the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington-based research organization, show the construction of what appear to be reinforced aircraft hangars at Fiery Cross, Subi and Mischief Reefs, all part of the disputed territories.
Comment: More analysis: