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Alleged plans to divide Iran, Iraq, Turkey and the ME


YeniSafak
Thu, 30 Nov 2017 00:00 UTC
Editor-In-Chief İbrahim Karagül
© TVNET
Editor-In-Chief İbrahim Karagül
Yeni Şafak daily and TVNET Editor-In-Chief İbrahim Karagül assessed developments throughout the U.S., Middle East and Europe in an online discussion shared on social media platforms on Thursday.

"The U.S. wants to get its hands on the money in banks in the Gulf," said Karagül during a program with Yeni Şafak's Digital Publications Manager Ersin Çelik that was posted on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. "The greatest bribery and corruption in the world is in the U.S.," he added.

Foreign threats to Turkey

Karagül also discussed ongoing regional projects that aim to split Turkey and the Middle East. "There is a project to dismantle this region. There are plans to divide Iran, Iraq, Syria, Turkey and the Middle East. Those who oppose these plans are being targeted," he said.

"Daesh is made to look Islamic, but it operates entirely under the command of Israeli and American intelligence. Saudi Arabia is referring to Israel as an ally. This project is being conducted not on religion but on power balances. The PKK and PYD are external threats. So is FETÖ," Karagül added.

Comment: From an Editor-in-Chief of two news outlets, is this the unreferenced creation of an inflammatory news story, a case of paranoia-sharing to move his audience or an implausible scenario based on bits of truth?

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Dollar Gold

Trump's first major success: Senate passes bill to rewrite US tax code


RT
Sat, 02 Dec 2017 06:51 UTC
Capitol Hill
© Jason Reed/Reuters
Late into the night, the Senate passed the Republican bill to rewrite the American tax code. This marks the last major hurdle before the bill becomes law. Democrats complained they weren't able to read the bill, as Republicans added handwritten amendments.

The tax reform bill was passed by a vote of 51-49, with Senator Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) the only Republican voting against. It must now be reconciled with the version passed by the House. The bill is expected to become law before the end of the year, which would make it the first major piece of legislation the Trump administration has been able to get through Congress.

Republicans aim to cut taxes for businesses and the rich and to finance the overall changes by adding $1.4 trillion to the $20 trillion existing national debt over a period of 10 years. The GOP says the bill will boost the growing US economy and also help the middle-class.

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Chess

Israel betrayed its ally Russia and used team Trump against Palestine

Adam Garrie
The Duran
Sat, 02 Dec 2017 14:15 UTC
Putin Bibi
While Israel has meddled in US policy making and the US tried to meddle in Russian policy making, Russia hasn't meddled in anyone's policy making.

There are many angles to the revelations surrounding Mike Flynn's guilty plea, in respect of lying to the FBI about his conversations with the former Russian Ambassador to the US, Sergey Kislyak.

One is that far from Russia trying to influence US policy, it was in fact Israel that tried to influence the policy of many nations and ultimately the UN itself.

Interestingly, rather than trying to lobby multiple-nations directly, Israel used members of the then incoming Trump administration to do its lobbying for them.

In this sense Mike Flynn and almost certainly Jared Kushner, were acting as Israel lobbyists not just in the US but among many nations of the world.

Comment: See also: Forget Russia's few hundred thousand for Twitter ads - Take a look at Israel's multi-millions spent interfering in US elections

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Arrow Down

Trump's EPA will no longer require mining companies to prove they can clean up after themselves and would "impose an undue burden"


RT
Sat, 02 Dec 2017 17:36 UTC
Gold King Mine waste water
© EPA / Reuters
Yellow mine waste water from the Gold King Mine is seen in San Juan County, Colorado, 2015.
The Trump administration will no longer require mining companies to prove they have the means to clean up the pollution left in their wake, despite a long history of contamination.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) had a December 1 deadline to take action on an Obama-era proposal which would have required hardrock mining companies to prove they had the financial means to clean up mining sites. The proposal was met with opposition from mining groups and Republican lawmakers in western states.

EPA administrator and climate change skeptic Scott Pruitt claimed that safe-checking mining companies with a long history of pollution was unnecessary, and would "impose an undue burden." Pruitt, who sued the EPA 14 times when he was Oklahoma's attorney general, said modern mining techniques and existing rules are enough to keep the risk of pollution at bay.

"After careful analysis of public comments, the statutory authority, and the record for this rulemaking, EPA is confident that modern industry practices, along with existing state and federal requirements address risks from operating hardrock mining facilities," Pruitt said.
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Die

Little rocket man's risky game against US

Patrick J. Buchanan
Patrick J. Buchanan
Sat, 02 Dec 2017 19:28 UTC
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un
© The Indian Express

In the morning darkness of Wednesday, Kim Jong Un launched an ICBM that rose almost 2,800 miles into the sky before falling into the Sea of Japan.

North Korea now has the proven ability to hit Washington, D.C.

Unproven still is whether Kim can put a miniaturized nuclear warhead atop that missile, which could be fired with precision, and survive the severe vibrations of re-entry. More tests and more time are needed for that.

Thus, U.S. markets brushed off the news of Kim's Hwasong-15 missile and roared to record heights on Wednesday and Thursday.
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Snakes in Suits

Is Jared Kushner a Trump loyalist or Kissinger protege?

Robert Bridge
Strategic Culture Foundation
Wed, 22 Nov 2017 17:45 UTC
Jared Kushner
© Kevin Lamarque / Reuters
Never before in the annals of US politics has a top presidential adviser had more of an inside track for influencing the White House than Donald Trump's son-in-law Jared Kushner. Will this turn out to be a problem for Trump in the future?

Name any major event over the course of Trump's first year in office and you will undoubtedly find the doleful face of Jared Kushner lurking somewhere in the crowd, gazing on with rapt attention (or is it somber satisfaction?), a bit like an apprentice trapped in the floodlights of ultimate power.

Beyond the question of Jared's omnipresence is his apparent knack for political survival. Although Trump tends to go through officials as rapidly as tweets, Jared has managed thus far to ride out the storm. Yet firing Jared - husband of Trump's daughter, Ivanka - would be more than your average political decision, which is probably why Trump should never have dabbled in nepotism to begin with. Or perhaps Jared Kushner remains in his top-level position not because he is the son-in-law of Donald Trump, or because he is so politically astute (thus far it would seem he is not), but precisely because some high-ranking people in the establishment want him there.
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Star of David

An ominous warning? 'Netanyahu needs a war with Iran and he needs it soon'

James North
Mondoweiss
Sat, 02 Dec 2017 17:50 UTC
Netanyahu and Trump
In a dangerous escalation, Israel last night attacked a military base near Syria's capital, Damascus, using both warplanes and surface-to-surface missiles. News sources in Syria said the target was an Iranian installation near Al-Kiswa, 7 miles south of the city.

This attack - Israeli officials declined comment - is just the latest ominous sign from Israel that the unholy alliance of Donald Trump, Benjamin Netanyahu and the Saudi Crown Prince, Mohammed bin Salman, may be planning to greatly expand war in the Mideast, targeting Hezbollah in Lebanon, and its ally and patron, Iran.

The veteran journalist Larry Derfner reports from Israel that "everybody here feels war is coming." He adds, "There's so much tough talk from Israel, and the Saudis would love Israel to fight a war for their interests, and the tension is very high - all this is in the news all the time." Derfner does not believe Hezbollah or Iran would start the conflict, "because they know they'd get crushed." He explains, "The only one I see starting it is Israel, because Israel is both strong and paranoid."

Comment: And this latest news may also fuel Neetanyahu's rage: UN General Assembly calls on Israel to withdraw from Syrian Golan: Munzer says Syria's sovereignty over Golan is non-negotiable

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Control Panel

China slams U.S. policy, threats and rhetoric on North Korea: Calls strategy "an abysmal failure"

Alexander Mercouris
The Duran
Thu, 30 Nov 2017 21:16 UTC
Trump Xi talk
During tense call between US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping China rejects US demands for oil embargo on North Korea

US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping spoke to each other over the telephone on Wednesday 29th November 2017 following North Korea's ICBM test.

China's official news agency Xinhua has provided an account of the call, which reads as follows:

Comment: For some 'must read' context about these developments, see: What You're Not Hearing From The U.S. Media About North Korea's Missile Tests

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Map

The not-so-minor China presence in mineral rich Zimbabwe

F. William Engdahl
New Eastern Outlook
Sat, 02 Dec 2017 16:35 UTC
Robert Mugabe
Who stands to benefit from the recent military toppling of Mugabe in Zimbabwe? The military and his own party have "convinced" 93-year-old Robert Mugabe to surrender office after 37 years of iron-fisted rule over one of resource-rich Africa's richest lands. Little discussed is the fact that the country holds some of the world's most valuable mineral deposits and that China, USA, and former colonial power Britain all have their eyes on that wealth. The problem is that the US and Britain have soured their chances by years of severe economic sanctions, leaving China in a very positive position.

The basic facts leading up to the military intervention are well documented. Mugabe's ambitious wife, the 52-year-old Grace Mugabe, nicknamed "Gucci Grace" by her political opponents for her lavish lifestyle in one of the world's poorest countries, apparently persuaded her husband to fire her main rival to succeed Mugabe as president. Days before the military intervened,on November 6, Mugabe fired Vice President Emmerson Mnangagwa, his long-term ally since the war of independence from British rule, who went into exile in neighboring South Africa.

The Mugabe plan was reportedly to make his wife his successor as President. Mugabe's two sons, Robert Jr. and Bellarmine Chatunga Mugabe, and Grace Mugabe's son by a previous marriage, Russell Goreraza, were also being positioned to take key posts in the Mugabe regime. All sons were notorious in the country for their playboy lifestyle, sharing the lavish spending habits of their mother, Grace.
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Blackbox

Are Chinese troops on the way to Syria? (Update - China says No!)

Brandon Turbeville
Activist Post
Fri, 25 Sep 2015 15:57 UTC
chinese plane
The situation is heating up in Syria yet again. If reports coming from Almasdar News are accurate, another troop deployment will soon be about to take place - in addition to the 2,000 Russian troops who arrived earlier this week. This time, however, the troops are coming from China.

On September 23, Leith Fadel of Almasdar News (the Arab Source), reported that China has now decided to commit troops and military aircraft to Syria within the next six weeks. Although the reports have not been independently confirmed, the outlet cited a senior Syrian officer in the Syrian military for the claims regarding the Chinese plans. Fadel's information has proven accurate many times in the past.

Comment:
(Update Dec 2): China's envoy at the Syrian Peace Talks in Geneva has stated that there are no plans to send their forces to Syria. Although they are participants in the peace negotiations, China says it does not have any plans to join the ongoing Syrian war.

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