Puppet Masters

Trump 'awaits full report' as CIA pins Khashoggi murder on MBS

RT
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 00:02 UTC

The US government has yet to reach a "final conclusion" on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi and until then won't undermine the strategic relationship with Riyadh, amid reports the CIA has linked the murder to the Saudi Crown Prince.

"We'll be having a very full report over the next two days," Trump said, acknowledging having discussed Khashoggi's murder with CIA Director Gina Haspel. Calling media reports about the CIA's conclusions "very premature," Trump stressed that "they haven't assessed anything yet." But at the same time, Trump stopped short of explicitly rejecting the idea that the Crown Prince might have been linked to the murder, saying anything was "possible."

"We're going to come up with a report as to what we think the overall impact was and who caused it. And who did it. We're talking about the killing. We are not talking about anything else. "

Trump did not touch the question of who was preparing the report or whether it would assess who might have ordered the assassination. Earlier, State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert also avoided directly rejecting reports that the CIA had somehow implicated Mohammed bin Salman: "There remain numerous unanswered questions with respect to the murder of Mr. Khashoggi."

Comment: MbS' authority and control have taken a severe hit - instant vulnerability on the world stage. Whether he was involved, or (unlikely) not, he has been damaged. Does the CIA have a stake in the outcome of the investigation? Trump does.

Trump won't listen to Khashoggi 'suffering tape'

Sputnik
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 21:27 UTC

Riyadh has denied claims that the Saudi crown prince or any other member of the royal family was involved in Khashoggi's murder amid media reports that the CIA suspects otherwise. The White House insists that a thorough investigation needs to be concluded before making any claims as to who is responsible.

President Donald Trump has confirmed that the US has an audio recording that allegedly sheds light on the murder of Jamal Khashoggi, a Saudi journalist, in the Saudi Consulate in Istanbul on October 2. At the same time, Trump said in an interview with Fox News on Sunday that he hadn't heard the recording himself, but had been briefed on its contents.

"I don't want to hear the tape. No reason for me to hear the tape, because it's a suffering tape. I've been fully briefed on it. There's no reason for me to hear it," he said. He described the tape's contents as "very violent, very vicious and terrible," judging by what he had been told in the briefing.

Comment: See also:
'Sawed alive?' Gruesome 'taped' details of Khashoggi's alleged murder surface

Bellingcat claims FSB tried to influence UK visa process - another 'fantasy gone wild'

RT
Sat, 17 Nov 2018 18:29 UTC

Claims by "investigative" website Bellingcat that the FSB pressured a UK visa center to facilitate the issuance of travel permits to the alleged Skripal poisoners is a self-exposing joke, the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

"Great! There are certainly no limits to the imagination of our partners," Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova wrote on Facebook, commenting on another report by the controversial Bellingcat group claiming that Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) had tried to infiltrate the British visa center system in Moscow to organize entry papers for "a couple of guys who need to visit the UK."

The authors hint that the "guys" were Aleksandr Petrov and Ruslan Boshirov, who London accuses of being Russian Main Intelligence Directorate (GRU) agents, responsible for the chemical poisoning of double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in Salisbury in March. The two men denied the accusations and said they only visited the UK as tourists. The GRU stated that they have never employed them as agents.

Comment: That Bellingcat is still in business and putting out fake information, via MSM, reveals the level to which the public has been indoctrinated to not question disqualified 'information sources.' This is how the 'absurd' gains qualification to support a grand distortion.

Rouhani on Iran-Iraq plan: Create free trade zone, boost trade to $20B

Sputnik
Sat, 17 Nov 2018 14:29 UTC

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani told reporters on Saturday that he and his Iraqi counterpart Barham Salih had agreed to create a free trade zone.

"We have agreed to create a free trade zone between the two countries, which will enable us to launch joint ventures," Rouhani said at a press conference held after the meeting, as broadcast by Press TV.

Rouhani added that while the Iranian-Iraqi trade currently amounted to around $12 billion, it could be raised to $20 billion in near future if both sides made an effort.

Earlier in the day, Rouhani and Salih held a meeting in the Iranian capital of Tehran, during which they discussed bilateral cooperation and regional development.

Comment: See also:

Turkish DM Akar: Khashoggi's body parts may have been removed from Turkey in suitcases

Sputnik
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 18:01 UTC

The dismembered body of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi could have been taken out of Turkey, where he was murdered, in suitcases, with those transferring the body taking advantage of their diplomatic immunity, Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar said.

"They [Saudi nationals suspected of having murdered Khashoggi] left Turkey in three or four hours after the murder. Perhaps, they have secretly taken out Khashoggi's dissected body in suitcases, facing no problems because of their diplomatic immunity," Akar said at the Halifax International Security Forum on November 17, as quoted by Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak.

Earlier this day, US President Donald Trump announced that he would receive a full report on the murder of Khashoggi on November 19 or 20.

The statement comes days after, the Saudi Prosecutor General's Office stated that the journalist had been killed with a drug injection, and his body had been dismembered and taken out of the consulate, adding that a total of 21 people had been detained in relation to the case.

Comment: There are many theories spinning this story, especially on this 'disappeared' aspect of the murder.

Netanyahu thanks the US for opposition to UN resolution on Golan Heights

Sputnik
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 18:56 UTC

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu thanked the United States on Sunday for voting against the UN resolution condemning Israel for occupying the Golan Heights area located at the Israeli-Syrian border.

"On Thursday, US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman informed me on the US decision to vote against the regular resolution slamming us for our presence in the Golan Heights. And this really happened... I would like to thank [US] President [Donald Trump] and [US] Ambassador [to the United Nations, Nikki] Haley for this important and fair decision that fully complies with my policy. Israel will forever remain in the Golan Heights. The Golan Heights will forever remain in our hands," Netanyahu said during his weekly cabinet meeting.

On Friday, the United States voted at the UN General Assembly committee against the resolution for the first time ever after constantly abstaining from voting before. However, the resolution, which the UN General Assembly renews annually, was easily passed, with 151 countries supporting it, 14 others abstaining, and only the United States and Israel voting against it.

Comment: Some loyalties lie face down in the sand, oblivious to the encroaching tide.

Mostly women and children among the 40 murdered by another US-led airstrike in Syria's Deir Ez-Zor

Sputnik
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 19:51 UTC

On November 16, the US-led coalition confirmed that it had carried out strikes in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province but insisted that no civilian casualties resulted from the operations, according to US military spokesman Col. Sean Ryan.

The US-led coalition killed some 40 people, mainly women and children, in airstrikes in Syria's Deir ez-Zor province, the Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) reported.

The reports come after Col. Sean Ryan, spokesman for Combined Joint Task Force Operation Inherent Resolve, confirmed on Friday that coalition strikes had taken place in the area on Thursday, insisting that no civilian casualties have been recorded.

Prior to the spokesman's statement, SANA reported on Thursday that 17 civilians had been killed in Bu-Badran. However, later in the day, it said the civilian death toll from the US-led coalition airstrikes in Deir ez-Zor province had reached 23. According to the news agency, the strikes targeted the residential areas of the villages of Bu-Badran and al-Sousa.

Comment: See also:

What anglophone world empire? US and Australia to 'expand Pacific military base' to 'protect freedom of the seas' (contain China)

RT
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 21:45 UTC

The US has said it will join Australia in the development of a naval base on Papua New Guinea's Manus Island to "protect the freedom of the seas," in a move apparently aimed at curbing China's presence in the Pacific.

Australia, a staunch US ally in the Pacific, had already set its sights on Papua New Guinea's Lombrum Naval Base on Manus Island earlier in November, seeking to build a deep-water facility for its Navy. Now, Washington apparently has also decided to join the effort, in a move clearly aimed at sending a signal to Beijing, which is already locked in a trade war with Washington and in disputes over the South China Sea.

"We will work with these nations to protect the sovereignty and maritime rights of Pacific islands as well," the US Vice President said on Saturday, referring to Australia and Papua New Guinea, as he spoke about the US plans on the Lombrum base.

Comment: For more on the US' plans in the area, check our John Pilger's documentary: The Coming War on China

See also:

And check out SOTT radio's: Behind the Headlines: 'Containing' Russia-China and Global Economic Collapse

Afghan President Ghani reveals number of Afghan troops killed since 2015

RFE/RL
Sat, 17 Nov 2018 17:36 UTC

The death toll among Afghanistan's security forces since 2015 is close to 29,000, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani has revealed, providing a figure far higher than anything previously acknowledged by the government.

Ghani disclosed the figure during a video appearance this week before the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, a school where he once taught as a professor of anthropology.

Ghani said that since the start of 2015, when Afghan police and army units took over primary responsibility for Afghanistan's security after a partial withdrawal of NATO troops, "28,529 of our security forces have lost their lives and become martyrs for our freedom."

In the same time frame, 58 Americans were killed, he said.

"I would like to salute the patriotism of the Afghan security forces, every single one of whom is a volunteer," Ghani said.

"We have no conscription, nobody is forced, and if there was not a patriotic impulse, I don't think that people would sacrifice their lives for a pay of $200."

Comment: 29,000 more reasons to end the war in Afghanistan. See: US envoy predicts peace in Afghanistan by April after talks with ex-Guantanamo Taliban negotiators

US envoy predicts peace in Afghanistan by April after talks with ex-Guantanamo Taliban negotiators

RT
Sun, 18 Nov 2018 17:18 UTC

The long-awaited peace deal between the Afghan government and the Taliban may be reached by April next year, a US special envoy for Afghanistan said following a meeting with insurgent group's emissaries in Qatar.

Zalmay Khalilzad, the US special representative for Afghanistan reconciliation, said on Sunday that he hopes "a peace deal is reached before April 20 next year," according to Reuters. The war-torn country will hold a presidential election on that day.

"Peace and a successful Afghanistan, one that doesn't pose any threats to itself and to the international community" would be among final outcomes of the ongoing peace talks.

The promising remarks came on the back of his meeting with two Taliban envoys in Qatar, where the insurgent movement has its liaison office. What was on the agenda for the talks remains unclear, but the Taliban had previously announced that it will push for US military withdrawal from Afghanistan and seek recognition as a political force.

Comment: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff U.S. General Joseph Dunford echoed the new U.S. commander in Afghanistan by acknowledging that the Taliban "are not losing", and that there isn't a military solution to Afghanistan:

"They are not losing right now, I think that is fair to say," Dunford said of the Taliban during a discussion at a security forum in Halifax, Canada on November 17.

Dunford, the top U.S. military officer, said the United States and its NATO allies were working to leverage military, political, and economic pressure to convince the Taliban to negotiate an end to the war.

"We do believe the Taliban know that at some point they do have to reconcile," he said. "The key to success is to combine all that pressure to incentivize the Taliban" to negotiate.

Winternights3 There's probs a good connection! Just think about it.

sbc

Moving the goalposts. and people are too shit stupid to notice or care

sbc

Hang em... All the jab pushers. At this point they are trying very hard to continue blatant bullshit lies in a bid for total societal control

sbc

It was interesting when the brothers (their family owns the dealerships/service center that were vandalized - something of like 130+ cars burned...

Scoot Over

I ain't going to watch any more than I didn't watch the OJ trial, which ended exactly as I predicted. The thing is that the state should have...

Rowan Cocoan

Puppet Masters

Trump 'awaits full report' as CIA pins Khashoggi murder on MBS

Trump won't listen to Khashoggi 'suffering tape'

Bellingcat claims FSB tried to influence UK visa process - another 'fantasy gone wild'

Rouhani on Iran-Iraq plan: Create free trade zone, boost trade to $20B

Turkish DM Akar: Khashoggi's body parts may have been removed from Turkey in suitcases

Netanyahu thanks the US for opposition to UN resolution on Golan Heights

Mostly women and children among the 40 murdered by another US-led airstrike in Syria's Deir Ez-Zor

What anglophone world empire? US and Australia to 'expand Pacific military base' to 'protect freedom of the seas' (contain China)

Afghan President Ghani reveals number of Afghan troops killed since 2015

US envoy predicts peace in Afghanistan by April after talks with ex-Guantanamo Taliban negotiators

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