Puppet MastersS


Snakes in Suits

Kerry proclaims Syrian opposition will not surrender despite Assad army's advances


Sputnik
Sat, 13 Feb 2016 14:05 UTC
John Kerry
© REUTERS/ Yuri Gripas
The war in Syria could be impossible to end while ruling President Bashar Assad remains in power, and the opposition is not going to surrender despite the government army's advances, US Secretary of State John Kerry said Saturday.

Kerry also welcomed the recent agreement on a cessation of hostilities in the war-torn country.

"The Syrians who have rejected Assad have endured four years of shelling, barrel bombs, gas, Scud missiles, chemical attacks, torture, and they may be pushed back here or there, but they are not going to surrender. I don't believe there's anybody who believes they will," Kerry said at the Munich Security Conference.


Comment: What a totally backwards statement.


Comment: Want to bet on that statement Kerry?

Syria's Sunnis reject jihadism: The West supports sectarian divisions

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Bad Guys

Saudi Arabia deploys warplanes to Turkish air base for missions in Syria


Sputnik
Sat, 13 Feb 2016 13:08 UTC
Saudi Arabia jets warplanes
© REUTERS/ Umit Bektas
Saudi Arabia is deploying warplanes to the Turkish Incirlik base to fight Daesh, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

"They (Saudi officials) came, did a reconnaissance of the base. At the moment it is not clear how many planes will come," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the Yeni Safak and Haberturk newspapers after taking part in the Munich Security Conference.

The deployment is part of the US-led effort to defeat Daesh terrorist group, he added. Incirlik is a key hub for US-led coalition operations againstDaesh (ISIL/ISIS/IS).

Comment: Sure Foreign Minister, you and the Saudis want to see Daesh lose so badly, right? That's why you did nothing while Daesh dismantled Syria and brought it to you on a silver platter? That's why now, only after Russia started eradicating these thugs, you decided it's time to invade a country that wants nothing to do with you?

No, be honest - you are seeking to prop up your terrorist thugs before they are completely cut off in Syria.

See: Race to Raqqa: A battle the Syrian Army must win

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Bizarro Earth

NATO Cold War 2.0: Turkish aggression given a free hand?


Sputnik
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 13:51 UTC
teeter totter
© russia-insider.comCold War 2.0, teetering on the brink.
NATO's latest initiative - a buildup in Eastern Europe which officials have called "the most significant boost" to the alliance's military readiness "since the end of the Cold War," threatens to untie Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's hands, Russian experts warn.

Following a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels on Wednesday, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced that the alliance would significantly strengthen its eastern flank, and increase its presence in the Baltic, Black and Mediterranean seas. The buildup, the official added, would include increased air and naval patrols, increased exercises, and "more boots on the ground with more exercises and troops," together amounting to "the most significant boost to our collective defense since the end of the Cold War."

Commenting on the new NATO buildup for Russian news agency RIA Novosti, Retired Col. Gen. Leonid Ivashov, the president of the Academy of Geopolitical Affairs, said that NATO's expansion is entirely in line with Washington's national security strategy, which names Russia as the primary obstacle to the preservation of a unipolar world led by the United States.

"We need to start from the national security strategy and military doctrine of the United States, adopted in 2015," Ivashov suggested. "There Washington set the vector for the actions of all of its satellites and allies, and declared that there would be no multipolar world. Banking on military power to consolidate the existing world order, [the strategy also] announced Russia to be the main enemy and a threat to the entire world." It is in accordance with this strategy that Washington's NATO allies are forced to act, the military analyst suggested.

Comment: Whether Erdogan's hands become untied is not the big question. The US/NATO alliance is systematically dismantling the Middle East. Washington has openly declared its right to unilateral use of force anywhere to uphold its own interests, and uninvited military interference has become the norm. The result is a deterioration of political, military, societal and financial stability...with or without the likes of Erdogan. Does anybody truly want a unipolar world run by the USA?

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Windsock

Kiev crazies still unwilling to implement Minsk agreements - Europe finally losing patience with them


Sputnik
Sat, 13 Feb 2016 11:14 UTC
merkel poroshenko hollande
© AgenciesThe forced marriage foisted on Europe by the US coup in Kiev. How long will it last?
Paris and Berlin are seriously concerned about Kiev's unwillingness to adhere to the Minsk peace agreements on eastern Ukraine, according to the French newspaper Le Monde.

Kiev has failed to take steps to implement the Minsk peace agreements on eastern Ukraine, which continues to alarm Paris and Berlin. The countries' leaders remain doubtful regarding the implementation of the accords, the French newspaper Le Monde said, citing a senior French official.

According to the newspaper, this skepticism stems from the behavior of Ukrainian politicians, who had earlier played the role of "good students." Le Monde quoted the official as saying that the situation remains the EU's main concern, and "in the short term there is no reason for optimism in the matter."

Comment: So people in the West are finally admitting that it is not Russia disregarding the Minsk agreements, but Kiev. Looks like Paris and Berlin are beginning to regret throwing in their lot with the US empire and its pro-Nazi puppets currently playing "government" in Kiev. To say that the current Ukrainian government is an 'unreliable partner' is a profound understatement, and all logic says that Europe would do well to disassociate from these mad men and instead form closer relations with Russia. Will they see which way the wind is blowing?

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Propaganda

'We need more lies!' - Obama's new budget calls for massive increase in propaganda spending


Sputnik
Sat, 13 Feb 2016 03:55 UTC
antenna lies propaganda media
© Flickr/ fliegender
Western governments routinely sound the alarm over Russian "propaganda." But President Obama's new budget calls for a drastic increase in spending to America's own foreign media arm, the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which already spends millions more than its Russian counterpart.

Last year, the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), the US federal agency responsible for Voice of America and Radio Liberty/Radio Free Europe, among others, requested a substantial budget increase. Seeking a boost of $30 million, the BBG's budget soared to $751.5 million.

That was, evidently, not enough money. President Obama's newly proposed budget for fiscal year 2017 proposes another massive increase in spending for the BBG. If granted, the agency will receive nearly $778 million, a roughly $27 million increase.

That sum is even more surprising given that the US repeatedly accuses Russia of spending vast sums on a "propaganda war" against the West through news outlets like RT and Sputnik. Yet the BBG's budget is approximately twice that of Russia's foreign media budget.

Comment: Further reading:
The American and British governments are launching yet another media campaign to demonize Russia, with tall claims that the Kremlin is infiltrating European political parties and news media. The dastardly Russian aim, we are told, is to destroy the European Union.

We've already seen versions of this scare tactic with regard to Ukraine and "Putin the new Hitler". But what this yawn-inducing exercise illustrates is that the old former spell over the Western public held by their rulers no longer works. The opiate of Western propaganda has expired.

The Western propaganda of a Russian Red Menace no longer works


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Quenelle - Golden

Iran's Foreign Minister slams US & Saudis for talk of deploying forces to Syria


Sputnik
Sat, 13 Feb 2016 04:05 UTC
Iran Foreign Minister
© AFP 2016/ ATTA KENARE
As Saudi Arabia considers deploying ground forces to Syria, Iran's foreign minister has stressed the importance of pursuing a political solution, especially in light of ceasefire reached during the Munich talks.

Early Friday morning, world leaders reached a last minute ceasefire agreement aimed at ending the violence in Syria. Expected to be implemented within one week, the agreement was praised by both US Secretary of State John Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov.

But ahead of the talks, Kerry spoke of the need for a backup plan, saying "there has to be consideration of a Plan B." This referred to the possibility of sending ground forces into Syria, something the Saudi Arabian government has expressed a willingness to do.

Comment: Further reading:
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has agreed to ramp up support for the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, by resuming air strikes in Syria and providing military advisers for Sunni fighters in Iraq and Syria, US Department of Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters at a news conference on Friday.

Peace negotiations? UAE to resume air strikes in Syria and train Sunni fighters in Iraq


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Snakes in Suits

Peace negotiations? UAE to resume air strikes in Syria and train Sunni fighters in Iraq


Sputnik
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 22:35 UTC
Ashton Carter
© AP
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has agreed to ramp up support for the US-led coalition against the Islamic State, by resuming air strikes in Syria and providing military advisers for Sunni fighters in Iraq and Syria, US Department of Defense Secretary Ashton Carter told reporters at a news conference on Friday.

The UAE indicated its willingness "to restart their participation in the air campaign, which is very important," Carter said following a meeting with Defense Minister Mohammed Al Boward. "Secondly, [UAE agreed] to work with us on the ground in various ways."

Comment: So this is how the US negotiates peace settlements:

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Radar

U.S. in a tizzy: Russia destroys CIA's arms smuggling operation in Syria

Rudy Panko
Russia Insider
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 00:00 UTC
moderate rebel
No more CIA-supplied guns for 'moderate' rebels
No wonder Washington is suing for peace

Let's cut to the chase: The closing of the Azaz corridor, a major supply artery for the "moderate rebels" in Syria, should be viewed as a crippling military defeat for the United States.

As analysts have pointed out, US Secretary of State John Kerry repeatedly implored Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to keep the Azaz corridor open.

The New York Times now explains why Kerry was so anxious:
Mr. Kerry enters the negotiations with very little leverage: The Russians have cut off many of the pathways the C.I.A. has been using for a not-very-secret effort to arm rebel groups, according to several current and former officials. Mr. Kerry's supporters inside the administration say he has been increasingly frustrated by the low level of American military activity, which he views as essential to bolstering his negotiation effort.

Comment: U.S. imperial ambitions in Syria are now seeing one failure after the next, after the next. It's also one less revenue stream for U.S. arms companies and the military industrial complex. Keep 'em coming, Putin!

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Rocket

This is how the US negotiates peace: Syrian rebels receive more missiles from Assad's enemies

Tom Perry
Reuters
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 22:22 UTC
Syrian rebel
© Reuters/Goran Tomasevic
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's foreign enemies have sent rebels new supplies of ground-to-ground missiles to confront a Russian-backed offensive by the government near Aleppo, stepping up support in response to the attack, two rebel commanders said.

The commanders told Reuters the missiles with a range of 20 km (12 miles) had been provided in "excellent quantities" in response to the attack that has cut rebel supply lines from the Turkish border to opposition-held parts of the city of Aleppo.

Facing one of the biggest defeats of the five-year-long war, rebels have been complaining that foreign states such as Saudi Arabia and Turkey have let them down by not providing them with more powerful weapons, including anti-aircraft missiles.
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Vader

Henry Kissinger, war criminal extraordinaire: What you need to know about his real history — and why the Sanders/Clinton exchange matters

Greg Grandin
Salon
Fri, 12 Feb 2016 21:19 UTC
Kissinger hillary clinton
© Associated PressSenior war criminal Henry Kissinger and war criminal apprentice Hillary Rodham Clinton interviewed by media shill Charlie Rose
Sanders is right about Kissinger. His civilian death toll nears 4 million, his policies built today's Middle East

Vote Hillary, get Henry. That seemed to be the message Hillary Clinton wants to send; she's spoken highly of Kissinger in her last two debates with Bernie Sanders. Last night, Sanders fired back at Clinton for seeking foreign-policy wisdom from the Vietnam-era secretary of state. "I find it rather amazing," Sanders said, "given that I happen to believe that Kissinger was one of the most destructive secretaries of state in the modern history of this country. I am proud to say that Henry Kissinger is not my friend. I will not take advice from Henry Kissinger."

Maybe Kissinger will be the Dick Cheney of this campaign, angling for a shot at a dark-lord VP, you know, like Cheney himself. I doubt it. Though, at 92 and still a congenital publicity seeker, he must be enjoying himself.

In my most recent book, Kissinger's Shadow, I tried to use Kissinger as a window onto both the collapse of the national security state, brought about by Vietnam, its reconstruction on new footings reading to meet the challenges of 1970s and beyond. It is in that reconstruction, in which Kissinger was key, that one can find the beginning of the militarization of the Persian Gulf - that is, the seeds sprouting the catastrophe we now find ourselves in.

Comment: Of course there is also those famous Kissinger quotes:

"Military men are just dumb, stupid animals to be used as pawns in foreign policy."

and

"Control oil, and you control nations; control food and you control the people."

Further reading (if you can stomach it):

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