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Fri, 05 Nov 2021
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Red Flag

Less provocative? Germany blocked flying NATO's flag during Anaconda 2016 war games

NATO headquarters in Brussels
© AP Photo/ Geert Vanden Wijngaert
NATO has not flown its white-on-blue flag during the course of its massive Anaconda-2016 war games aimed at demonstrating European solidarity and unity in the face of a purported "Russian threat," suggesting that there are deep divisions within the alliance over the portrayal of Moscow as an enemy.

The drills, with over 30,000 personnel from 24 nations participating, are the largest event of its kind since the end of the 20th-century Cold War. Following Kremlin observances that the maneuvers near Russian borders threaten regional security, the US called for a bigger military buildup.

US Army Europe Commander Gen. Ben Hodges lamented that the war games were not big enough, saying that all the troops involved in the drills would not fill an average soccer stadium.

Rocket

S. Korea military reports North Korea fired 3 ballistic missiles

North Korea missle launch
© KCNA / Reuters
Pyongyang launched three missiles Tuesday morning in the latest in a set of controversial ballistic tests, according to South Korea's military, which claimed the projectiles had a range of up to 600 kilometers (360 miles).

The three missiles were launched from the North's east coast into the sea at between 5:45am and 6:20am local time.

Previously, South Korea's Ministry of Unification warned that the North was "fully prepared" and could conduct a fifth nuclear test.

"North Korea seems to be fully prepared to carry out a nuclear test at any time (when the order is given by its leader Kim Jong-un). South Korea is closely monitoring every move at the North's test site in close cooperation with the United States," unification ministry spokesman Jeong Joon-hee said at a regular press briefing.

Comment: Looks like N. Korea is following up on its threats: Deployment of THAAD in South Korea: Reaction and potential consequences


Rocket

Israel tries to intercept drone from Syria with Patriot air defense - all three missiles fail

drone israel patriot missile iron dome
© Josh Smith / Reuters
An unidentified unmanned aircraft violated Israeli airspace over the Golan Heights on Sunday. Neither two Patriot missiles, nor one air-to-air missile fired from an Israeli fighter reportedly managed to take down the mystery UAV that retreated into Syria.

The drone was reportedly spotted by Israeli air defenses as it was approaching Israeli airspace.

"Moments ago two Patriot air defense missiles were fired towards a drone which infiltrated Israeli airspace from Syria," the military said in a statement on Sunday.

Comment: The reason for the failure is simple: the Patriot system, like Iron Dome, doesn't work, plain and simple. This has been known from the beginning, but true to form, the U.S. and Israel went ahead with it. Profits over functionality. All it's good for is giving Israelis a false sense of security, and lack of security, as it can be used to defend against imaginary Hamas rockets, simultaneously demonizing Palestinians and keeping Israelis in a fearful, bunker mentality.


Chess

NATO's Stoltenberg warns Erdogan to 'ensure full respect for democracy' in coup aftermath

Nato Turkey stoltenberg
© Francois Lenoir / Reuters
NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg.
NATO-Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg denounced the military coup attempt in a phone call with Turkey's president. Stoltenberg assured him of NATO's full support, yet reminded Erdogan of the need to observe the rule of law in the coup aftermath.

"Being part of a unique community of values, it is essential for Turkey, like all other Allies, to ensure full respect for democracy and its institutions, the constitutional order, the rule of law and fundamental freedoms," Stoltenberg's statement reads.

A similar statement was issued earlier by US Secretary of State John Kerry. "NATO also has a requirement with respect to democracy," Kerry said during a joint press conference with EU Foreign Policy chief Federica Mogherini on Monday.

Turkey is NATO's second largest member and its Ingirlik air base is used by the US and its allies to launch airstrikes on Islamic State (formerly known as IS, ISIL/ISIS).

Kerry reiterated his support for the legitimate Turkish government as well as its efforts "in bringing the perpetrators of the coup to justice," according to the Independent. He cautioned Ankara "against a reach that goes beyond that and stress the importance of the democratic rule being upheld," however.

Comment: Pepe Escobar nails it:
"This is obviously a badly-scripted joke. The only thing the figurehead Norwegian Wood cares about - his job is on the line - is to keep Incirlik."



Boat

Countering U.S. hegemony: China announces South China Sea exercises, foreign military patrols could end "in disaster"

chinese ship
© Edgar Su / Reuters
Beijing has announced that it is closing off part of the South China Sea for military exercises this week, warning that freedom of navigation patrols by foreign navies could end "in disaster."

Hainan's maritime administration said an area southeast of the island province would be closed from Monday to Thursday, but failed to give any details about the nature of the exercises, AP reported. The navy and Defense Ministry gave no immediate comment.

The announcement came during a three-day visit to China by US Chief of Naval Operations Admiral John Richardson to discuss the South China Sea dispute and ways to increase interaction between the two militaries, which continue to have a tense relationship.

Airplane

Anonymous ex-Turkish officer claims rebel jets had Erdogan's plane in their sights, didn't open fire

erdogan
© REUTERS/ALKIS KONSTANTINIDIS
Erdogan, after a funeral service for a victim of the coup, taken July 17.
At the height of the attempt to overthrow Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, the rebel pilots of two F-16 fighter jets had Erdogan's plane in their sights. And yet he was able to fly on.

The Turkish leader was returning to Istanbul from a holiday near the coastal resort of Marmaris after a faction in the military launched the coup attempt on Friday night, sealing off a bridge across the Bosphorus, trying to capture Istanbul's main airport and sending tanks to parliament in Ankara.

"At least two F-16s harassed Erdogan's plane while it was in the air and en route to Istanbul. They locked their radars on his plane and on two other F-16s protecting him," a former military officer with knowledge of the events told Reuters.

"Why they didn't fire is a mystery," he said.


Comment: Interesting story, if true. But who is this "former military officer"? Was he booted out of the military by Erdogan, by any chance? If true, it begs the question: why didn't they fire? Did they have orders to the contrary? Did they refuse to follow orders to shoot? Any other options?


Info

Behind the CIA's desperate Turkey coup attempt

turkey coup
On the evening of July 15, a group of Turkish army officers announced that they had staged a military coup d'etat and had assumed control of the country. They claimed that Erdogan was in a desperate flight for his life and that they were now in the process of restoring order.

The only problem for those army officers and their sponsors far away in Langley, Virginia and Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania - where Turkish political operator, Fetullah Gülen, hides in exile under CIA protection - is that they did not succeed. Behind the coup attempt is a far more dramatic story of the huge geopolitical shift that the often unpredictable political survivor, President (still) Recep Erdogan, was in the midst of making when Gülen's loyalists made their desperate, now apparently failed coup attempt.

What follows is a series of Q&A remarks to the background of the dramatic events unfolding in a pivotal part of the geopolitical order.

Attention

Coup aftermath: Turkish Army leaves Iraq

Turkish army
The Turkish Army officially left the Bashiqa Military Camp in Iraq on Friday after the attempted coup in Istanbul and Ankara put the entire country in a state of emergency.

The Turkey Army used the Bashiqa Military Camp to allegedly train militiamen to fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS); however, the camp was often used to scope out members of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Attention

RNC chaos after party ignores last-minute attempt to change convention rules

republican convention
© Reuters
Republican National Convention delegates yell and scream as the Republican National Committee Rules Committee announces that it will not hold a recorded vote on the Rules Committee's Report and rejects the efforts of anti-Trump forces to hold a roll-call vote, at the RNC in Cleveland, Ohio.
The GOP ignored a group seeking to change the rules for the Republican National Convention's presidential nominating process, which said it has enough signatures to force a vote on the matter.

A majority of delegates from ten states are prepared to demand a floor vote over convention rules, according to Delegates Unbound, the group organizing the rebellion.

"Despite every obstacle thrown in our way, the movement of all the stakeholders involved in this effort have gained a majority of the delegates in 10 states," said M. Dane Waters, co-founder of Delegates Unbound, in a statement. "Now we take this fight to the floor."

The vote is less about preventing Trump from becoming the official nominee, and is more about upending the convention planning and forcing the party establishment to recognize that all is not well.

"There is no convention, the highest authority of the Republican Party, until the delegates arrive and effectively create it," Delegates Unbound said in a statement. "In the same way one Congress cannot bind a future Congress to adopt certain policies or programs, it defies all sense to suggest that the convention that creates and governs the Republican Party can somehow be bound by rules established by a previous convention."

Jet3

Two Turkish pilots who shot down Russian Su-24 arrested

Russian Su-24 jet
© REUTERS/ Shamil Zhumatov/Files
The bomber was shot down last November. Turkey claimed the Russian plane entered its airspace, while Russia categorically denied these accusations.

"Two Turkish pilots who shot down a Russian Su-24 near the Syrian border were taken into custody, according to a senior Turkish official speaking on condition of anonymity," Bloomberg reports, citing a high-level Turkish official.

One of the pilot's responsible for downing the Russian jet reportedly took part in last week's failed Turkish coup attempt.