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Not the end...the Great Game continues in Syria

Chris Doyle
Arab News
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 01:53 UTC
Syria hands gun
© politpuzzle.ru
A routine refrain among casual observers in recent months has been a sense of relief that the conflict in Syria is coming to an end. However, the alleged shooting down of an Iranian drone, major Israeli air attacks in Syria, the downing of a Russian fighter jet and a Turkish helicopter, and a Turkish invasion of the northwest should shake this bout of wishful thinking to the core. The multiple wars in Syria have life and plenty of death left in them yet.

The Syrian versus Syrian component is still ongoing, though the opposition is struggling for survival, at least in its armed form. As regime forces edge ever further into Idlib and decimate East Ghouta, it is tough to see a reverse in this process without a major change in the balance of power.

This phase of the Syrian wars, and there are many wars, is all about the international and regional powers feasting on the cadaver of the Syrian state. Turkey is shaping the contours of a new power arrangement in the north, which will be deprived of any meaningful Kurdish threat. Yet the real long-term fallout for Syria will be the resentment caused by the numbers of Syrian Arab fighters who have become Turkey's tool for this. Kurds, Arabs and Turks will have to learn to live with each other again at some point.

Comment: This is a rather left-field approach to the ever-changing strata and power plays in the Syrian region. There was no mention of the US -- which will factor as the heavy-weight, albeit Israel's dupe. Perhaps also underestimated is the alliance between Russia and Iran and the added construct and purposes of other local players in the mix.

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Light Sabers

Munich Security Conference descends into Russia-bashing and warmongering nonsense

Finian Cunningham
RT
Mon, 19 Feb 2018 15:27 UTC
Mattis at MSC

Munich Security Conference: General James Mattis at the podium
For an event designed to address real global security issues, the Munich Security Conference has shown itself to be a useless talking shop. But it does add more propaganda fodder for Russia-bashing. How ironic. A forum proclaiming to uphold global security is acting like a bullhorn for war.

The release on Friday of the US Department of Justice's indictment of 13 Russian citizens for alleged meddling in the 2016 US presidential election went on to dominate the conference being held in Munich over the weekend.

Rather than being a peripheral matter owing to its dubious claims, the Washington hobby horse of "Russian meddling" was given free rein in Munich. Instead of parsing the latest Russophobia with intelligent skepticism, the conference added fuel to the bonfire of warmongering.

Comment: Western Crazy Virus is spreading globally. Does anyone have a really large supply of Truth Serum?

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Windsock

Ex-CIA Director Woolsey thinks US' hypocrisy of election meddling is hilarious

Caitlin Johnstone
Medium
Sat, 17 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
CIA Dir James Woolsey
© Fox News
Former CIA Director James Woolsey
Take off the terrorist's mask, and it's the CIA. Take off the revolutionary's mask, and it's the CIA. Take off the Hollywood producer's mask, and it's the CIA. Take off the billionaire tech plutocrat's mask, and it's the CIA. Take off the news man's mask, and guess what? It's the motherf*cking CIA.

CIA influence is everywhere. Anywhere anything is happening which could potentially interfere with the interests of America's unelected power establishment, whether inside the US or outside, the depraved, lying, torturing, propagandizing, drug trafficking, coup-staging, warmongering CIA has its fingers in it.

Which is why its former director made a cutesy wisecrack and burst out laughing when asked if the US is currently interfering in other democracies.


Comment: When the US bothers to look in the mirror, it always sees someone else.

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Bullseye

New wrinkle: Mueller charges lawyer with lying regarding role of Manafort partner, Rick Gates


RT
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 14:47 UTC
RickGates
© Joshua Roberts / Reuters
Rick Gates
US Special Counsel Robert Mueller has charged the lawyer of Paul Manafort's business partner Rick Gates with lying to Russia probe investigators. Both Gates and former Trump adviser Manafort have already been indicted.

As well as allegedly lying about his communications with Manafort partner Gates, lawyer Alex Van der Zwaan has been accused of deleting, or failing to produce, emails sought by the Mueller's investigation team which is looking into alleged collusion between Donald Trump's presidential campaign team and Russia.


Comment: Mueller is grasping at straws. If you are basing an international investigation that goes to the top of national pyramids on nothing but straws, you best have one more than you need!

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Handcuffs

More Israeli officials arrested with corruption ties to Netanyahu


Sputnik
Mon, 19 Feb 2018 20:18 UTC
womansignbibi
© AP Photo/ Geert Vanden Wijngaert
New legal problems for embattled Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have erupted less that a week after police in the Middle Eastern nation recommended that the leader be indicted on charges of corruption.

Seven members of Netanyahu's closest cabal were arrested Sunday in the deepening 'Case 4000' corruption probe into Netanyahu and his innermost circle of cronies.

The most recent arrests follow what investigators say were interventions by the suspects with telecommunications regulators in the country to fastrack permissions for communications giant Bezeq in exchange for a media reputation whitewash of Netanyahu and his wife, Sara.

Case 4000 has not yet directly named Netanyahu as a suspect although several news outlets have reported that he will be questioned by investigators 'under caution,' a phrase used to describe defendants in criminal cases, according to the Los Angeles Times.

The seven Netanyahu associates arrested have not yet been named, although prior to the imposition of a quickly-leveraged gag order surrounding the investigation, Haaretz was reporting that they included Netanyahu close friend Nir Hefetz, a former communications director for the Israeli prime minister, and associate Shlomo Filber, a former Communications Ministry director general.

On Tuesday February 15, investigators unveiled recommendations to the attorney general that Netanyahu be charged with fraud, breach of trust and bribery in two cases not related to Case 4000. Both of the additional cases accuse the Israeli prime minister of using his influence and power to provide favorable deals to those close to him.

Comment: See also:

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Attention

NSC advice: Russia should prepare for hack attack on presidential elections


RT
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 11:19 UTC
Prepare!
© Computer Business Review
Key Russian election infrastructure could be targeted by a cyberattack during the March presidential vote, said the head of the National Security Council in a report on cybersecurity.

The warning came from Nikolay Patrushev, who outlined on Tuesday the damage caused by hacking attacks in Russia last year and the government's response to the threat. He said over 500,000 computers in Russia were disabled in 2017, many of them targeted during three major waves of ransomware infection. Computer networks belonging to the Russian Interior Ministry and companies Rosneft and Evraz were among those affected by the attacks, he said.

He added that Russian law enforcement had established some flaws in the cybersecurity of certain critical elements of infrastructure, particularly in the south of Russia, identifying "a high accessibility to IT resources to espionage penetration."

The Russian government may consider a centralized approach to protecting potential targets, banning governing bodies from outsourcing their cybersecurity to providers not vetted by the Kremlin.

One of the major potential targets for cyber interference this year will be the national ballot-tallying system, Patrushev said. "We expect cyber operations, the introduction of malware into critical parts of the [electronic system used by Russia for elections]," he said.
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Russian Flag

Giving credit where credit is due: Putin has prevailed in Syria

Danny Makki
openDemocracy
Sun, 18 Feb 2018 00:00 UTC
Assad, Putin
© Syrian Presidency/Xinhua News Agency/Press Association
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad (2nd L, Front) and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin (2nd R) view a military parade in the Russian-run Hmeimim Air Base in the coastal city of Latakia, Syria, on Dec. 11, 2017.
The end game is clear: Assad, Russia and Iran will emerge victorious.

The conflict in Syria has been the most vicious in contemporary history, creating a geo-political hall of mirrors pitting Syrian against Syrian, Saudi Arabia against Iran and Russia against the United States.

To say that it is the most complicated proxy war of our times is an understatement. The war has had international and regional dimensions which have served to prolong, fuel and perpetuate the crisis.

The latest of which, a dramatic clash between Syria and Israel leading to the unprecedented downing of an Israeli F-16 after the latter targeted a group of Iranian installations in Syria, has threatened to further escalate to conflict. But in stepped Russia, and after promises made to either side, the situation calmed down, for now.

This only highlighted the growing importance of Moscow in Syria and the increasingly brave power plays Putin is making in the region.

Comment: Russia defeated ISIS in Syria so what was the US doing?

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Safe

Putin extends capital amnesty to Russian businesses for reporting foreign profits


RT
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 16:43 UTC
businessman
© Yuya Shino / Reuters
Russian President Vladimir Putin has signed a package of laws extending a capital amnesty until February 28, 2019. It allows Russians to voluntarily declare assets and accounts in banks.

A total amnesty for all funds returning to Russia follows an anti-offshore bill requiring individuals and businesses to report foreign profits. The bill was aimed at curbing the outflow of capital from Russia, which was estimated at over $2 trillion in recent years.

The bill was explained by Deputy Prime Minister Igor Shuvalov as allowing people who have made any mistakes in their business activities to declare the property and become completely law-abiding citizens.
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Gear

Kurds claim that Russia is the reason Syrian army has not entered Afrin

Paul Antonopoulos - Translated from Al-Akhbar
Fort Russ News
Tue, 20 Feb 2018 19:23 UTC
Kurdish fighter
Afrin is waiting for Damascus to stop the Turkish attack. It seems that the Kurdish project and the Kurdish self-management in Syria are facing their first defeat since 2012, and the gradual withdrawal from the West Euphrates to settle in the areas where the Americans are located and under their umbrella.

Hostage to the next conflict between Russia and America

It is more likely that the turning point that makes all the areas where the Arab presence is intertwined in Kurdish in northern Syria, especially in Manbij, Tel Labid, Ras Al Ain and around it, is subject to a similar fate.

The Kurdish project is locked in Qamishli.

Comment: See also: Kurdish official claims deal reached for Syrian army to enter Afrin - Putin, Erdogan discussing situation - UPDATE

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Arrow Up

Michael Flynn could reverse guilty plea in light of government misconduct, federal corruption

Margot Cleveland
The Federalist
Mon, 19 Feb 2018 18:20 UTC
mike flynn
On Friday, Judge Emmet Sullivan issued an order in United States v. Flynn that, while widely unnoticed, reveals something fascinating: A motion by Michael Flynn to withdraw his guilty plea based on government misconduct is likely in the works.

Just a week ago, and thus before Sullivan quietly directed Special Counsel Robert Mueller's team to provide Flynn's attorneys "any exculpatory evidence," Washington Examiner columnist Byron York detailed the oddities of Flynn's case. The next day, former assistant U.S. attorney and National Review contributing editor Andrew McCarthy connected more of the questionable dots. York added even more details a couple of days later. Together these articles provide the backdrop necessary to understand the significance of Sullivan's order on Friday.

What's Happened in the Michael Flynn Case So Far

To recap: On November 30, 2017, prosecutors working for Mueller charged former Trump national security advisor Flynn with lying to FBI agents. The following day, Flynn pled guilty before federal judge Rudolph Contreras. Less than a week later - and without explanation - Flynn's case was reassigned to Judge Emmet G. Sullivan.

One of Sullivan's first orders of business was to enter a standing order, on December 12, 2017, directing "the government to produce to defendant in a timely manner - including during plea negotiations - any evidence in its possession that is favorable to defendant and material either to defendant's guilt or punishment." Sullivan's standing order further directed the government, if it "has identified any information which is favorable to the defendant but which the government believes not to be material," to "submit such information to the Court for in camera review."

Comment: For what it's worth, Mike Cernovich claims to have the scoop on what's really going on here:

Here's the text of the tweet thread he posted:
  1. The FBI cannot provide a *clean* history of revisions for the 302 interview with General Flynn. That's why Judge Emmett Sullivan, who is very tough on unethical prosecutors, had ordered the Special Counsel to disclose exculpatory evidence, which would include these revisions.
  2. The IG knows McCabe changed Peter Strzok 302 / notes with General Flynn. Yet issuing a report to this effect would call thousands of FBI investigations into question. It's full on freak-out mode, as no one know how to spin this.
  3. Why did a federal judge order Muller to disclose exculpatory evidence AFTER Flynn pled guilty? Do you know how unusual this is? Flynn waived the right to exculpatory evidence in his plea deal. That's because the 302 was altered, and everyone knows it.
  4. Who is Judge Emmett Sullivan? *This* is Judge Sullivan: "A federal judge took the extraordinary step of naming a special prosecutor to investigate whether the government lawyers should themselves be prosecuted for criminal wrongdoing." (Link: Tables Turned on Prosecution in Stevens Case)
  5. "2 Prosecutors in Case of Senator Ted Stevens Are Suspended" Who was the judge who demanded they be investigated - which almost never happens, as federal judges are boot lickers for DOJ? The same judge assigned to Flynn's case. Judge Sullivan.
  6. How corrupt is Obama's DOJ? They cleared the prosecutors who framed an innocent man. (Link: Review board clears U.S. prosecutors accused of botching Sen. Ted Stevens's corruption trial)
  7. You don't think Obama's DOJ framed people? They were caught doing this! It's literally not debatable. The Feds trained under Obama frame people for crimes. (Link: Report: Prosecutors Hid Evidence in Ted Stevens Case)
  8. "The 500-page report by investigator Henry F. Schuelke III shook the legal community, as law professors described it as a milestone in the history of prosecutorial misconduct." This was Obama's Department of Justice. This is who framed General Flynn.


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