Puppet MastersS


V

Iraqi commanders: In defiance of US pressure, volunteer forces continue Mosul battle


FARS News Agency
Wed, 24 Feb 2016 06:40 UTC
Iraqi volunteers
© en.farsnews.comOnward to Mosul, the Iraqi volunteer army refuses to quit despite US pressure.
The Iraqi volunteer forces (Hashd al-Shaabi) commanders reiterated that they are determined to continue their tough battle against the ISIL in a bid to take full control of the city of Mosul in Northern Iraq, and said that they will pay no heed to the US pressures aimed at preventing them from doing so.

"We are committed to the Iraqi government's decision that the Iraqi volunteer forces should play an active role in the battles against the Takfiri terrorists in Mosul," Spokesman of Iraq's Ansarullah al-Nujaba Movement Hashem al-Moussavi told FNA on Wednesday. He reiterated that the volunteer forces are waiting for the Iraqi government's decision before moving towards Mosul. "The US and the regional spy agencies are seeking to trouble the Iraqi volunteer forces' partnership in the war against the ISIL in Mosul, but to no avail," al-Moussavi added.

In a relevant development on February 16, A senior Iraqi volunteer forces commander underlined that his forces are determined to continue their war against the ISIL in the city of Fallujah. "The US and some pro-US Iraqi politicians intend to exert pressure on the Iraqi government to prevent the volunteer forces from entering the Fallujah city, but the volunteer forces will not bow to such pressures," Hassan al-Sari told FNA. He underlined that some Iraqi political figures are dissuading the volunteer forces at the order of the US. "The Iraqi volunteer forces will never given in to the demands of a few individuals who are not well-wishers of Iraq and are linked to the ISIL," the Iraqi commander added.

Comment: See also:

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Eagle

Hardline Pentagon vs 'moderate' State Department: Is Russia friend or foe?


RT
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 16:32 UTC
Kerry
© dpa
As the US-Russia brokered Syrian ceasefire looms, Secretary John Kerry has been displaying a warm attitude towards Moscow, stressing mutual goals and cooperation, but the Pentagon appears to be reading from a different playbook, calling Russia an enemy.

On Thursday, the US Secretary of State testified before Congress trying to sell legislators on a $50 billion budget for his department, calling it "the minimum price" for America's leadership for the next year.

In his fourth testimony this week, Kerry pointed out the scope of the US' "simultaneous" engagements across the world, while also stressing the need to keep national security strong and protect America's interests.

With regard to Washington's international challenges, specifically the scale of radical Islamic extremism, Kerry was asked if he agreed that Russia poses a greater threat than jihadists.

"If you wanted me to put on the table the top threat to the United States today, in terms of day to day life and the stability of the world, it is violent extremism, radical religious extremism and violence..." he began to reply. Kerry was interrupted by Congressman Dana Rohrabacher (R-California), who called the Secretary out for being "unable" to say "radical Islamic" when referring to terrorism.


Comment: Pass the sick-bag. Rohrabacher seems to be channeling McCarthy here. Or Goebbels. And of course, no acknowledgment that the U.S. is the greatest facilitator of "radical Islamic" terrorism.

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Stock Down

Just deserts? Russia cuts gas supply to Turkey by a quarter


RT
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 16:18 UTC
istanbul
© Murad Sezer / Reuters
The already strained relations between Moscow and Ankara have taken a turn for the worse. Gazprom has cut gas supplies by nearly a quarter after failing to reach an agreement with Turkish importers on discounts for Russian natural gas.

Delivery is down 23 percent, compared to the same period last year, Interfax reports, quoting data from Bulgarian gas operator Bulgartransgaz that processes about 50 percent of Russian gas going to Turkey.

According to the news agency sources, the reduction is linked to a price dispute between Gazprom and Turkey's private gas importers.

Comment: Erdogan recently bemoaned the loss of Russia as a friend due to a paltry "two pilots". As Russian foreign ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova responded, due to Turkey, Russia lost two pilots. Big difference that just goes to show how small an understanding of normal human relations Erdogan has. Turkish business, and relations with Russia, will continue to suffer until the Turkish regime gets its act together and starts acting like an adult, not a petulant schoolyard bully. Further reading:

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Clipboard

Kerry's 'Plan B' remarks condemned by Damascus


FARS News Agency
Wed, 24 Feb 2016 06:00 UTC
Kerry
© en.farsnews.com"It may be too late to keep it as a whole Syria." Plan B: Conquer and divide.
Damascus deplored US Secretary of State John Kerry's recent remarks on considering a Plan B and military option against Syria. "Kerry's remarks are aimed at diverting the public opinion from the US responsibility for the crimes committed by the terrorists against the Syrian nation," a Syrian foreign ministry official said on Wednesday. "The US and its allies and puppets are accountable for the crisis in Syria and its continued trend since they are still supporting terrorism," the official added.

According to the official, the Syrian nation and government want the end of crisis as soon as possible and are trying more than anyone else to eradicate terrorism and strengthen unity in Syria. The Syrian government on Tuesday accepted terms of the ceasefire deal as announced by the US and Russia, but the Damascus government wants the war against the ISIL to continue as planned.

But Kerry said he will move towards a plan B that could involve a partition of Syria if a planned ceasefire due to start in the next few days does not materialize, or if a genuine shift to a transitional government does not take place in the coming months. "It may be too late to keep it as a whole Syria if we wait much longer," he told the US Senate foreign relations committee on Tuesday.

Kerry did not advocate partition as a solution and refused to specify details of a plan B, such as increased military involvement, beyond insisting it would be wrong to assume that Barack Obama would not countenance further action.

Comment: Plan B is the real aim of the US/NATO terrorist war in Syria. Why trot this out before the ceasefire starts unless you want to impact action and opinion towards this end.

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Bomb

Turkey supplies new arms cargos to terrorists


FARS News Agency
Wed, 24 Feb 2016 02:46 UTC
missiles for terrorists
© unknownMissiles for militants, new shipment received.
The terrorists stationed in the Northern outskirts of Lattakia city have been equipped with new cargoes of weapons reportedly coming from Turkey. The new batch of arms includes BM-21 122-mm Grad multiple rocket launchers, sources said on Wednesday.

Lattakia is a province bordering Turkey. The Syrian army and popular forces have recently pushed the militant groups back from more territories in the Northern part of Lattakia province and took back several villages and heights.

Earlier this week, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said that more than 80 nations, particularly Turkey and Saudi Arabia, have provided financial, logistical and material assistance to terrorist groups, who are fighting in Syria. The Syrian leader described foreign sponsorship as "active" and "unlimited." Some of those countries support radicals "directly with money, with logistical support, with armaments, with recruitments," he noted in an interview with Spain's El Pais newspaper. Others help "them politically, in different international forums", he added.

Assad accused Saudi Arabia of being the key financial backer of the militants, who are trying to overthrow him. He also urged the international community to prevent "other countries, specially Turkey, from sending more recruits, more terrorists, more armaments, or any kind of logistical support" to terrorists, if it wants to see an efficient ceasefire in Syria.

Comment: Turkey is trying to maximize the effectiveness of last-minute supplies and arms to IS and further its crusade to eliminate Syrian Kurds. Will the various factions, including colluding countries, honor the ceasefire? For how long?

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Yoda

Lavrov: Middle East crisis can't be resolved until terrorists stop being used in geopolitical games


Sputnik
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 15:07 UTC
Jabhat al-Nusra militants
© REUTERS/ Mohamad BayoushJabhat al-Nusra militants
The resolution of crises in the Middle East is impossible as long as terrorists are used as pawns in geopolitical games, the Russian foreign minister said.

A solution to the Middle East crises cannot bring success if terrorists are used as pawns in geopolitical games, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said Thursday.

"The further degradation of the situation presents a serious threat for the entire international architecture...Obviously a strong stability of the situation is impossible without the destruction of the center of the terrorist threat, first and foremost Daesh, which has taken control of large expanses of territory in the Middle East."

"Obviously this work cannot be successful if attempts are not stopped at using terrorists as pawns in doubtful geopolitical games," Lavrov said at a meeting with the international Valdai Club in Moscow.
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Arrow Up

The Pentagon, Russian 'threats' and the Congress budget debate connection


RT
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 01:55 UTC
Army flag
© acemyproject.comBudgeting for threats, reassurances, and bogus adversaries.
Statements warning of a so-called "Russian threat" to US security are linked to discussions in Congress on next year's military budget, said a Russian Defense Ministry spokesman, noting the idea of this "threat" has been a "top-seller" for the Pentagon. "We were not surprised by the loud statements of US security officials who saw Russia as the main threat to US national security," said Russia's Ministry of Defense spokesman, Igor Konashenkov. "It is not a thing to be impressed by," he said, adding that the statements have the same timing each year. "The reason is simple - the discussion of the military budget in Congress for the next year."

He pointed out that the idea of a so-called Russian threat is not new. "One needs to remember that the 'Russian threat' has been the best-selling threat delivered by the Pentagon not only to Congress, but also to NATO partners since the middle of the previous century," he said. "What would they do without us?"

Earlier in February, the Pentagon proposed a $582.7 billion defense budget that emphasizes emerging threats from Russia, China, and Islamic State militants (IS, former ISIS, ISIL). The proposed budget would quadruple the last year's request for the European Reassurance Initiative (ERI) to $3.4 billion in a bid to reassure NATO allies.

Moscow's statement comes as General Philip Breedlove, Commander of US European Command (EUCOM), outlined major security challenges in Europe while speaking before the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday. He said that the top two were a "resurgent, aggressive" Russia and IS. "Russia continues to foment security concerns in multiple locations around the EUCOM AOR. Concurrently, we deal with a variety of transnational threats that largely emanate from instability in Iraq, Syria, North Africa, and the rise of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL)."


Comment: And which countries are at the core of all these threats?


Comment: Same time next year..."In Fear We Trust." The US funds the narrative, not the truth, and in doing so gets what it pays for.

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Control Panel

UK vote to leave EU - Brexit and good riddance

Finian Cunningham
Sputnik
Wed, 24 Feb 2016 14:57 UTC
brexit
© AFP 2016/ Carl Court
For many European citizens, the 28-member-state Union has turned out to be a huge disappointment. It is far from the progressive, socialist bloc that many had once envisaged.

One of the reasons for the EU's historic failure is Britain. Ever since the United Kingdom joined the European project, it has been a largely negative force, carping about workers' rights, equality laws and the principle of inter-state solidarity. Now it is to vote on whether to finally leave the Union - the so-called Brexit.

When Britain first applied to join the then six-member European Economic Community back in 1963, it was rejected by co-founder France under President Charles De Gaulle. De Gaulle's shrewd reasoning was reportedly that "the British are fundamentally hostile to the European initiative".

With the French leader later out of office, Britain finally got its way and acquired membership in 1973.

But you would wonder why it ever wanted to join? For in the more than four decades of membership, Britain has been running a continual battle of dissent against Brussels, the Belgian capital where the bloc's administration is centered. The EEC has since evolved into the European Union which now comprises 28 states.
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Info

Solid progress: Nearly 100 rebel groups sign up to Syrian ceasefire deal


Sputnik
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 13:57 UTC
Syrian flag
© Sputnik/ Iliya Pitalev
The Syrian opposition High Negotiations Committee (HNC) said on Friday that nearly 100 rebel groups have agreed to the recently negotiated Russian-US ceasefire in the Arab republic.

As co-chairs of the International Syria Support Group (ISSG), Moscow and Washington announced a plan for a ceasefire between the Syrian government and rebel forces starting this Saturday.

The ceasefire does not apply to Daesh jihadist group or other designated terrorist organizations, including al-Nusra Front.

"The HNC confirms the acceptance among the Free Syrian Army and the armed opposition to adhere to a temporary truce starting at midnight on February 27 for the duration of two weeks," the HNC said in a statement.
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Attention

Putin hopes US understands UNSC declared terrorists not protected by Syrian ceasefire


Sputnik
Fri, 26 Feb 2016 13:29 UTC
Putin
© Sputnik/ Alexei Druzhinin
Russia hopes the United States understands that the fight against Daesh as well as against other terrorist groups in Syria must continue even after the cessation of hostilities agreement goes into effect, Russian President Vladimir Putin said Friday.

"However, I would like to emphasize once again that the groups of Daesh, al-Nusra Front, and other terrorist organizations recognized as such by the UN Security Council are not included [in the agreement]. The decisive fight against them will obviously continue. I would like to express my hope that no one has forgotten that besides IS there are still other terrorist organizations, as I have said already, that have been acknowledged as such by the UN Security Council," Putin said during a meeting with the members of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB).

Comment: Obama seems to understand the basics that terrorist organizations are exempt from the ceasefire but what about their 'moderate rebels'?

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