Puppet Masters
According to a leaked letter written to the UN Security Council by the Turkish Ambassador, Turkey's military justified the shooting down of a Russian bomber by claiming that the aircraft had entered Turkish airspace for 17 seconds.
But flight data released by Russian Ministry of Defense shows that the Su-24s never entered Turkey, and were attacked while performing legitimate maneuvers over Syria.
On Tuesday, Turkish F-16s shot down a Russian Su-24M Fencer bomber. One of the pilots has been confirmed dead by Russian authorities, shot by rebel ground units after ejecting.Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as a "stab in the back, carried out against us by accomplices of terrorists."

Syrian Turkmen fighters are seen with an anti-aircraft artillery weapon near the northern Syrian village of Yamadi, near the Turkish-Syrian border, Syria, November 24, 2015.
During the regular press briefing, Mark Toner said the Syrian government did not have such a right, though.
When asked by RT's Gayane Chichakyan if the State Department considered the rebels who reportedly killed the Russian pilots "moderates," Toner replied:
"We've seen conflicting reports. One pilot may not have been killed. If these 'Turkomen' were actually being attacked by Russian strikes, they have every right to defend themselves."
Comment: What can we say? The utter stupidity coming from the State Department is so glaringly obvious, the US sponsors terrorism.
"Turkey has officially entered the war on the side of ISIL by downing at the order of [President Recep Tayyip] Erdogan a Russian aircraft which has participated in operations against Islamic terrorists in Syria," the leading member of the Northern League (Lega Nord) Party wrote on his Facebook page.According to Calderoli, Turkey is a "'Trojan Horse' with which assistance the Islamic fundamentalism would like to take a clear shot at the West."
"Why is Turkey still in NATO after what happened? What else can be expected of the UN apart from taking a strong stand on ISIL and its allies?" Calderoli wondered.The politician has also criticized Rome's official stance. "The Government [of Matteo Renzi] is on the wrong side with [German Chancellor Angela] Merkel, instead of taking the side of Putin in this war to defend our values, our freedom and our traditions," Calderoli wrote.
Comment: Indeed, Turkey is fighting for ISIL in more way than one, and they've just exposed themselves for the world to see.
The Russian General Staff said that two Mi-8s were involved in the operation to save the crew of the downed Su-24.
One helicopter was been shot down, its crew evacuated to the Russian base at Hmeymim.
"A search and rescue operation involving two Mi-8 helicopters was carried out, charged with evacuating the pilots from the landing site. During the operation, as a result of small-arms fire, one of the helicopters was damaged, and forced to make a landing on neutral territory. One naval infantry soldier was killed," Lieutenant-General Sergei Rudskoi, the head of the Main Operations Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces, told reporters on Tuesday.
Comment: This report published by RT yesterday takes on new significance in light of the Turkish military today shooting down a Russian plane involved in the (real) war on terrorism in Syria. Most of the oil in this 'ratline' is smuggled out of Syria into Turkey...

Explosions after airstrikes carried out by Russian Air Force on an Islamic State training camp in the Syrian province of Idlib.
"Russian bombers taking off from the Khmeimim airbase flew on combat missions to destroy tanker convoys and oil refineries in the areas of oilfields in the north and east of Syria," Konashenkov said. "A major oil depot was destroyed 15 kilometers southwest of the city of Raqqa." Russian airplanes have destroyed over 1,000 ISIS tankers with crude oil in the last five days, Konashenkov added. Sukhoi Su-34 bombers also hit a terrorist-controlled oil refinery some 50 kilometers south of Raqqa, the unrecognized capital of the Islamic State terrorists.
Journalist who returned from #ISIS HQ tells RT how jihadists can be defeated https://t.co/EO1nr5UOGA pic.twitter.com/xq7Q2mgeKE
— RT (@RT_com) November 22, 2015Russia began counterterrorist operation in Syria on September 30, after Moscow received an official request from Syrian President Bashar Assad. Initially, the military operation was conducted by a task force of more than 50 aircraft and helicopters, including the Sukhoi Su-34 and Su-24M bombers, Su-25 attack aircraft, Su-30SM fighters and Mil Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters.Last week, a decision was made to bolster the strike group with 37 new planes, including long-range aircraft carrying out sorties from Russian airfields.
Comment: The U.S. recently claimed to have hit Islamic State oil tankers in Syria... a claim they backed up by claiming RUSSIAN footage of tankers being destroyed as their own.
Meanwhile, Kuwait just arrested a gang that was smuggling weapons from the Ukraine to the Islamic State.
Also, new research reveals extensive cooperation between NATO member and U.S. ally Turkey and the Islamic State: the U.S. is asking for more cooperation with Turkey to shuffle more weapons into the Syria conflict and thereby, inevitably, also to the Islamic State. Some other U.S. allies are likewise deeply involved in financing and equipping ISIS.
It's inconceivable Turkey acted on its own, independent of US-dominated NATO. Its action is a major geopolitical incident - a premeditated act of war against Russia in Syrian airspace.
Ankara claiming the aircraft entered Turkish airspace, ignoring multiple warnings, has the distinct aroma of a bald-faced lie to cover up a hostile act.
Erdogan's recklessness has ruptured Turkish/Russian relations, at least for the time being. Sergey Lavrov cancelled his scheduled Wednesday trip to Istanbul, saying "(a) decision has been made to cancel the meeting at the level of Russian and Turkish foreign ministers..."
He urged Russian citizens to avoid visiting Turkey, leaving themselves vulnerable to terrorism, adding:
"It's necessary to emphasize that the terror threats with their roots in Turkey have been aggravated. And that's true even if we don't take into account what happened today. We estimate the threats to be no less than in Egypt."Russia's state tourism agency Rostourism recommended suspending tour package sales to Turkey. Moscow-based Natalie tours already did so.
Putin minced no words blasting Erdogan, saying:
"(t)his incident stands out against the usual fight against terrorism.Our troops are fighting heroically against terrorists, risking their lives. But the loss we suffered today came from a stab in the back delivered by accomplices of the terrorists."He also warned of grave consequences for Russian-Turkish relations.
Comment: The fallout from this insane act could well have far-reaching consequences for the Empire. If the Washington elite thinks this will magically provide it with leverage at the Vienna talks on Syria's future, or help it eke out a piece of northern Syria in which to provide a 'safe zone' for its head-choppers and heart-eaters, it's very much mistaken.
Russia, in the meantime, is nothing if not cautious. It can absorb this asymmetrical attack - albeit one that was done through conventional means of warfare - and essentially continue its mission in Syria as before. The writing is still on the wall for ISIS and the 'moderate head-choppers' in Syria.
In the meantime, Turkey has completely exposed itself as a funder and facilitator of 'Islamic' terrorism, and a dire fate awaits that double-dealing war criminal, the 'neo-Ottoman Sultan', Recep Erdogan.
The area has been cordoned off by police, RTL reported, adding that gunfire can be heard.
La Voix du Nord newspaper says the hostage takers are armed with Kalashnikovs. Witnesses told the daily that the incident occurred at around 7:00pm local time at a gas station.
He pointed to the close cooperation between Egypt and Russia, and said Israel cannot undermine the ties between Moscow and Cairo through such actions. "The Russian and Egyptian presidents have agreed on the construction of a nuclear power plant by Russia in Egypt."

A still image from video footage shown on Turkish TV shows the plane with a burning trail.
Four years on, Assad looks set to hold onto power and his regime will be a central part of a transition plan, one that foreign powers were negotiating last weekend. Turkey's regional rival, Iran, is a key player which can no longer be ignored by the West. Not only does the pro-Assad alliance now have Russian support firmly on its side, but the international community is no longer focused on defeating the regime - instead, it is concerned with defeating jihadist groups like Isis.
The shift in focus is a significant drawback for Erdogan. Years of support for, and investment in, Islamic fundamentalist groups like Jabhat al-Nusra (Al-Qaeda's affiliate in Syria) and Ahrar al-Sham are about to go to waste. Ankara has played a significant role in allowing Isis and other jihadists to flourish in Syria and the region. Turkey has acquiesced to jihadist groups entering Syria via Turkey as well as their use of Turkey as a transit point for smuggling arms and funds into Syria.












Comment: The facts don't support insane Turkey's claims.
Turkey shoots down Russian warplane: NATO's act of war