Posted tagged ‘Middle East War’

Obama rules out Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before leaving office

November 6, 2015

Obama rules out Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before leaving office US officials say president has made ‘realistic assessment’; will discuss steps to prevent further violence with Netanyahu on Monday

By AP, Times of Israel staff and AFP

November 6, 2015, 2:17 am

Source: Obama rules out Israeli-Palestinian peace deal before leaving office | The Times of Israel

 

From left: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama and PA President Mahmoud Abbas during a trilateral meeting in New York, Sept. 22, 2009 (photo credit: Avi Ohayon/GPO/Flash90)

From left: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, US President Barack Obama and PA President Mahmoud Abbas during a trilateral meeting in New York, Sept. 22, 2009 (photo credit: Avi Ohayon/GPO/Flash90)

US officials said Thursday that President Barack Obama has made a “realistic assessment” that a peace deal between Israelis and Palestinians is not possible during his final months in office.

The stark assessment comes ahead of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit to the White House on Monday — the first meeting between the two leaders in more than a year. Preparation for that meeting has been overshadowed by Netanyahu’s appointment of a new media chief, Ran Baratz, who has previously branded Obama an anti-Semite and mocked Secretary of State John Kerry. Netanyahu was Thursday night said to have told Kerry that he was reviewing the appointment.

Officials said the two leaders will discuss steps to prevent a confrontation between the parties in the absence of a two-state solution. They said that while Obama remains committed to a two-state solution between Israelis and Palestinians, he does not believe it’s possible before he leaves office in January 2017, barring a major shift.

White House deputy national security adviser Ben Rhodes told Israeli reporters that the president would want to hear from Netanyahu on Monday ways in which the prime minister will seek to keep a two-state solution viable even in the absence of direct negotiations. Rhodes said Obama regards a two-state solution as urgent, and reiterated the US stance that settlement building undermines faith in the diplomatic process and delays such a solution.

“The main thing the president would want to hear from Netanyahu is that, without peace talks, how does he want to move forward to prevent a one-state solution, stabilize the situation on the ground and to signal he is committed to the two-state solution,” said Rob Malley, the president’s senior adviser on the Middle East, according to Haaretz.

The president expects that Netanyahu will take trust-building steps that “leave the door open for a two-state solution,” Malley said, without elaborating. “We said for some time that we expect from both parties to show that they are committed to a two-state solution. We would expect they take steps that are consistent with that,” Malley said.

A wave of Israeli-Palestinian violence, marked by dozens of Palestinian stabbing attacks on Israelis, broke out two months ago; clashes at Jerusalem’s contested Temple Mount have been followed by Palestinian terror attacks across Israel and into the West Bank, and Palestinian-Israeli clashes in the West Bank and at the border with the Gaza Strip.

At a press conference last month, Obama reiterated his long-held conviction that the only way Israel would be secure, and the Palestinians would meet their aspirations, was via a two-state solution. He indicated then, but did not spell out, that the US was not about to start a new peace effort, saying “it’s going to be up to the parties” to do that, “and we stand ready to assist.”

Kerry sought to be broker an accord in 2013-2014, but the effort collapsed amid a stream of bitter accusations and recriminations between the sides.

With no realistic prospect of substantial negotiated progress, the Obama administration is said to remain determined to keep the idea of a two-state solution viable, and it is understood the president and the prime minister will discuss possible steps in that direction.

The two leaders will likely discuss means to prevent a further deterioration on the ground, including how to thwart further terrorism; tackle incitement more effectively; deal with the strained Palestinian Authority; and safeguard Israeli-Jordanian relations.

No meeting is known to be scheduled for the near future between Obama and PA President Mahmoud Abbas.

The two leaders are also expected to announce that their allied countries are at work on a new long-term agreement for US defense assistance to Israel. The current 10-year framework, which provided for over $30 billion in US military aid, expires in 2018, and there has been talk of a new 10-year framework valued at $40-50 billion in total.

Obama and Netanyahu are expected to discuss commitments that could see Israel get more than the 33 hi-tech F-35 jets already ordered, precision munitions and a chance to buy V-22 Ospreys and other weapons systems designed to ensure Israel’s military edge over its neighbors.

The weapons said to be under discussion reflect the prominence of Iran in US and Israeli military thinking.

The F-35 is the only aircraft able to counter the S-300 surface-to-air missile system that Russia has suggested it may sell to Tehran.

Officials said Israel may also seek to ensure that other US allies in the region do not get the F-35.

The White House has so far rebuffed Arab Gulf states’ requests to buy the planes.

But while Israel has been offered some bunker-busting bombs, divisions over how to handle Tehran may put the sale of 30,000 pound “Massive Ordnance Penetrators” that could be used to target Iranian nuclear sites off the table.

“This is not something that has been raised in the context of the MoU discussions,” said senior Obama national security aide Ben Rhodes referring to the deal, known formally as a memorandum of understanding.

Military experts say Israel’s lack of bunker busting capability has limited Netanyahu’s ability to launch a unilateral strike against Iran, effectively giving Washington a veto over military action.

The visit, Rhodes said, “would be an opportunity to discuss and hear from Israel its assessment of its security challenges and the related security needs it has… whether it is something like the F-35 or a variety of others.”

Obama and Netanyahu will be meeting face-to-face for the first time since the US and its partners reached a nuclear accord with Iran. Netanyahu has been a chief critic of the deal.

On that vexed issue, the meeting could mark the day when Netanyahu finally engages with the administration on the practical implications of the deal, enabling the two sides to get down to work coordinating their positions on countering the threats posed by an emboldened and soon-to-be wealthier Iran, and on the appropriate responses to possible Iranian violations of the deal.

Cartoon added by JK

Two-Office Solution

Photo Credit: Asher Schwartz

Ya’alon Warns Israel’s Enemies Divided on Ideology But United in Hatred

November 3, 2015

Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon warns that Israel’s enemies are divided in ideology but united in their hatred of the Jewish State. By: Hana Levi Julian Published: November 3rd, 2015

Source: The Jewish Press » » Ya’alon Warns Israel’s Enemies Divided on Ideology But United in Hatred

An F-16 fighter jet takes off from Ramat David air force base.
An F-16 fighter jet takes off from Ramat David air force base.
Photo Credit: Ofer Zidon / Flash 90

Israel’s Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon warned Tuesday that Israel’s enemies are split along ideological lines, but united in their hatred of the Jewish State.

The defense minister noted there appear are several axes among those aligned against Israel: on one side are forces united with the Muslim Brotherhood, which include Turkey and Qatar. On another, there are those united with the Global Jihad movement, which include Salafi Islamists such as Al Qaeda-linked groups such as the Army of Islam, and Da’esh (ISIS).

Both are united in their hatred of Jews and Israel, and the “unwillingness… to recognize our right to exist as the nation state of the Jewish people,” Ya’alon said – as is the Palestinian Authority.

[PLO Chairman Yasser] “Arafat and [Palestinian Authority leader Mahmoud] Abbas also did not want to end the conflict on the 1967 borders,” he said.

In remarks broadcast last week on official Palestinian Authority television, Abbas said in Arabic to the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva: “Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, haven’t you wondered: For how long will this protracted Israeli occupation of our land last? After 67 years (i.e., the re-creation of the State of Israel), how long? Do you think it can last, and that it benefits the Palestinian people?”

The remarks were translated and reported by the media watchdog organization Palestinian Media Watch (PMW). Www.palwatch.org

Israel has “zero tolerance” for arms sales to terrorists, the defense minister said in remarks following alleged Israeli air strikes against Hezbollah near the Syrian-Lebanese border.

Speaking at a Kibbutz Leadership conference in Judea-based Kibbutz Ma’ale Hamisha, near Jerusalem, Ya’alon warned in a cryptic remark, “Those who cross red lines will be hit.” It is believed that Ya’alon was referring not only to standard ordnance but also to the transfer of chemical weapons by Syria to the Hezbollah terrorists who have fought to defend President Bashar al-Asssad.

Ya’alon commented that the Hamas terror organization has only withheld hostilities out of dire necessity: “not because they have turned Zionist, but due to the price they paid [last year] in Operation Protective Edge.”

Secret U.S.-Russia Deal Calls for No Targeting, Close Flybys

October 22, 2015

Secret U.S.-Russia Deal Calls for No Targeting, Close Flybys McCain calls deal immoral for legitimizing Russian strikes on anti-Assad rebels

BY:
October 22, 2015 5:00 am

Source: Secret U.S.-Russia Deal Calls for No Targeting, Close Flybys – Washington Free Beacon

The moral of the morality 

The secret deal between Moscow and Washington aimed at preventing aerial accidents calls for U.S. and Russian pilots to avoid targeting or shooting at aircraft engaged in military strikes, according to defense officials.

Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook told reporters Tuesday that details of the agreement, reached this week, are being kept secret at the request of the Russians.

According to other defense officials, the accord states that aircraft, including both jets and unmanned drone aircraft, will not illuminate aircraft from other countries with targeting radar or fire upon them.

Also, the agreement bans aerobatic maneuvers, such as barrel rolls, or what pilots call “thumps”—close passes by aircraft that involve gunning engines and causing target aircraft to be shaken by jet wash.

The agreement also covers any other unsafe aerial encounters, the officials said.

In addition to U.S. aircraft, coalition nations that are conducting airstrikes and will be covered by the accord include Australia, Canada, Denmark (which suspended operations in August), France, Jordan, the Netherlands, and Britain.

The agreement also sets up a communications mechanism on the ground that will permit officials in U.S. and Russian operations centers to talk, should other electronic communications prove insufficient.

Since Russian jets began conducting bombing missions in Syria, mainly against Syrian rebels and in support of the military forces of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Damascus, there have been what Cook said were “a handful” of unsafe aerial encounters between Russian and U.S. aircraft, involving both piloted jets and unmanned drones.

In one case, a Russian jet came with 1,500 feet of U.S. aircraft in an unprofessional encounter. Russian jets have also flown close to U.S. Predator drones engaged in surveillance missions.

Cook, the Pentagon spokesman, said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) covering what the military calls the “deconfliction” of air operations, was not intended to legitimize Russia’s military operations in support of the Assad regime.

“The MOU does not establish zones of cooperation, intelligence sharing, or any sharing of target information in Syria,” Cook said. “The discussions through which this MOU has developed do not constitute U.S. cooperation or support for Russia’s policy or actions in Syria. In fact, far from it, we continue to believe that Russia’s strategy in Syria is counterproductive and their support for the Assad regime will only make Syria’s civil war worse.”

In Moscow, however, Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said the memorandum was an important step toward joint cooperation between the two militaries against what he said were terrorist elements, the Associated Press reported.

“The memorandum contains a complex of rules and restrictions aimed at preventing incidents between Russian and U.S. aircraft,” Antonov said.

The communications between the two militaries will include 24-hour channels and “mutual assistance in crisis situations.”

“The Americans have promised to get the agreed rules to all participants of the anti-[Islamic State] coalition they lead, so that their pilots proceed from those agreements,” Antonov said.

According to the Russian official, the memorandum promises “a big potential for cooperation between Russia and the U.S., including in the fight against terrorism, which we are ready to expand and deepen.”

On Capitol Hill, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Sen. John McCain (R., Ariz.) harshly criticized the agreement, calling it “immoral.”

“This ‘de-confliction’ agreement with Russia means that the United States will now be watching and moving out of the way while Russian aircraft, together with Syrian, Iranian, and Hezbollah ground forces, attack and kill brave young Syrians, many of whom our country has supported and encouraged to fight back against a brutal dictator who has slaughtered nearly 250,000 Syrians and driven half the population from their homes,” McCain said.

“This is not only self-defeating and harmful to our national interests; it is immoral.”

McCain said Syrian rebels had placed their trust in the United States in hopes U.S. backing would help them succeed in the civil war.

“Now we are breaking those promises in our haste to give [Russian President] Vladimir Putin clearer skies from which to bomb our partners,” he said.

Russia began airstrikes in Syria on Sept. 30 using jet fighters and attack helicopters. It then launched a series of long-range cruise missile strikes, firing 26 SS-N-30 Kalibr missiles from ships in the Caspian Sea.

Russian military intervention in Syria followed Moscow’s complaints that U.S. military efforts to stop the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq were failing to stem the terrorist group’s advance.

Marine Corps Gen. Joseph Dunford, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in Iraq that he has secured assurances from the Iraqi government that Baghdad will not seek Russian airstrikes against Islamic State-controlled regions of that country.

“I said it would make it very difficult for us to be able to provide the kind of support that you need if the Russians were here conducting operations as well,” Dunford told reporters, according to a Reuters account.

“Both the minister of defense and the prime minister said: ‘Absolutely.’ There is no request right now for the Russians to support them, there’s no consideration for the Russians to support them, and the Russians haven’t asked them to come in and conduct operations.”

Dunford said the air safety accord will permit the U.S. and allied forces to continue airstrikes.

“I’m not going to tell you there’s not going to be friction,” Dunford said, noting possible course changes for U.S. jets in response to Russian flights.

“What I’m telling you is the basic execution of the plan is going to continue.”

Hillary’s Libyan Lies: Muslim Brotherhood, Terror and Dirty Money

October 22, 2015

Hillary’s Libyan Lies: Muslim Brotherhood, Terror and Dirty Money Hillary Clinton is still lying about her illegal war.

October 22, 2015

Daniel Greenfield

Source: Hillary’s Libyan Lies: Muslim Brotherhood, Terror and Dirty Money | Frontpage Mag

Hillary Clinton has only one accomplishment; the Libyan War. Bombing Libya in support of a Muslim Brotherhood takeover was Hillary’s pet project.

Obama unenthusiastically signed off on a war that he had told members of Congress “is all Secretary Clinton’s matter.”

The Pentagon fought Hillary’s illegal war every step of the way. Both the Secretary of Defense and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs opposed Hillary’s plan to bomb Libya. One of the Chairman’s top aides said that he did not trust the reports coming out of the State Department and the CIA, then controlled by Clinton loyalist Leon Panetta. When it was clear that the Clintonites had gotten their war on, an irritated Secretary of Defense Gates resigned after failing to stop Hillary’s war and was replaced by Panetta.

As the State Department set the military agenda, the Pentagon retaliated by taking over the diplomatic agenda attempting to arrange a ceasefire with the Gaddafi regime over Hillary’s objections.

Hillary was using the State Department to start a war while the military was trying to use diplomacy to stop a war. The Pentagon lost the power struggle and one of her minions took over the military to make sure that the Muslim Brotherhood’s Jihadists would be able to overrun another country.

Huma Abedin had beaten the Secretary of Defense.

Panetta, unlike Gates, shared Hillary’s Arab Spring agenda. After the war, he paid a visit to Tripoli and claimed that similar “uprisings” would be taking place around the Middle East, including in Syria.

Military people never stopped loathing Hillary Clinton for her war and its consequences, the usurpation of a defense matter, the Al Qaeda training camps and the abandonment of Americans in Benghazi. That came to the surface during the Democratic debate when Senator Webb challenged Clinton on Libya.

Hillary Clinton smugly recited the same old lies about Gaddafi “threatening to massacre large numbers of the Libyan people” and European allies begging her to stop a “mass genocide.”

In reality, Hillary Clinton was the source of the claim that Gaddafi was about to commit genocide. This claim had no basis in reality and defense officials quickly shot it down. But that didn’t stop Obama from claiming during his war speech that he had bombed Libya to save Benghazi from a massacre. There was no massacre in Benghazi. At least not until Obama helped make a massacre of four Americans happen.

By September, the New York Times was asking where all the dead were. Morgue records showed that the dead on both sides actually numbered in the hundreds. The International Red Cross put the number of missing persons at around a thousand. The largest mass grave found had 34 bodies.

Obama claimed that he had seen Gaddafi “kill over a thousand people in a single day.” That never happened. It never happened when Gaddafi had actually captured a rebel city before.

“Imagine we were sitting here and Benghazi had been overrun, a city of 700,000 people, and tens of thousands of people had been slaughtered,” Hillary Clinton had said. That would be more than the entire number of people, combatants and civilians, who had died in the Libyan Civil War.

Gaddafi was an insane dictator, but he had never done anything on that scale, nor were his forces, which had been beaten by Chad in the Toyota War (Chad militias had fought using Toyota pickups), remotely capable of pulling off Saddam level of atrocities or he might have won the war.

Hillary Clinton claimed at the debate, “We had the Arabs standing by our side saying, ‘We want you to help us deal with Gadhafi.’” But by the second night of bombing, the Secretary-General of the Arab League had already condemned the “bombardment of civilians.”

“We did not put one single American soldier on the ground in Libya,” Hillary Clinton said. That’s technically true and also a lie. It was Panetta’s CIA people who were on the ground.

Tyrone Woods and Glen Doherty, two of the Americans murdered in Benghazi, were former Navy SEAL commandos who were working as contractors for the CIA. American soldiers still died in Libya. They were just officially contractors, more of the CIA’s “Sneakers on the Ground” approach that let hacks like Hillary and Obama claim that there were no American soldiers on the ground.

“The Libyan people had a free election the first time since 1951,” Hillary Clinton said. “And you know what, they voted for moderates, they voted with the hope of democracy.”

When Hillary says “moderate”, she means Islamist. The election was fake. It was rigged between the “moderate Islamist” Muslim Brotherhood and the “moderate Islamist” National Forces Alliance. While the media was repeating talking points about the fake election, fighting in Benghazi continued. But even though Hillary and Obama had used Benghazi as the basis for the war, no one was paying attention.

That would change soon enough. And before long every American would know the name Benghazi. But Benghazi was only an early warning. Before long entire Libyan cities would fall to Al Qaeda and ISIS.

Hillary closed by insisting, “Unless you believe the United States should not send diplomats to any place that is dangerous, which I do not, then when we send them forth, there is always the potential for danger and risk.”

Sending diplomats to dangerous places means providing them with adequate security.

Hillary’s State Department failed to do that. Even the whitewashed report of her cronies admitted that much. Benghazi’s compound was being protected by “moderate Islamist” terrorists who overlapped with the other “moderate Islamist” terrorists who attacked the diplomatic compound.

While Hillary’s State Department was spending fortunes on bad art, the Benghazi compound didn’t meet security standards in a city that had more terrorists than police officers.

And, best of all, the Muslim Brotherhood Martyrs of the Feb. 17 Revolution Brigade terrorists Hillary was paying to protect the ambassador, hadn’t even been paid.

Benghazi was a city that was effectively under the control of Jihadists, some of them blatantly identifying with Al Qaeda. Hillary Clinton might as well have sent Ambassador Stevens into an Al Qaeda training camp with terrorists providing his security. And that’s effectively what she did.

Her dismissive line about sending diplomats to dangerous places whitewashes what happened.

Now that we’ve cleared away Hillary’s lies, let’s get to the truth. The Libyan War, like the rest of the Arab Spring, was about empowering the Muslim Brotherhood.

And there were cruder motives in the mix.

Hillary Clinton hid emails discussing the exploitation of Libya’s oil fields. The Clintons had made an art out of merging their political and financial agendas. They had extensive ties with figures in the energy industry and the companies that dug into Libya’s energy sector, Royal Dutch Shell and BP, were Clinton Foundation donors.

Some of the deleted emails discussed this with Clinton Foundation employee Sidney Blumenthal, who was also providing Hillary Clinton with supposed intel from business interests while promising that the Libyan War would be an easy matter. Blumenthal encouraged “shock and awe” bombing in Libya.

According to Congressman Gowdy, who has been investigating the events in Benghazi, “Blumenthal pushed hard for a no-fly zone in Libya before the idea was being discussed internally by senior U.S. government officials.” He blasted Obama for being “unenthusiastic about regime change in Libya.”

Blumenthal called for providing the Jihadists with “armor piercing weapons” and called Secretary of Defense Gates a “mean, vicious little prick” who is “losing” the debate. Blumenthal also offered the very specific “national interest” argument that Obama would later echo, suggesting that he was unknowingly repeating the talking points of a man he loathed which had been handed to him by Hillary Clinton.

He also told Hillary Clinton that the war had to be ramped up or Obama would lose the election.

Having dragged Obama into Hillary’s war, Blumenthal was now pushing Hillary to blackmail him with the threat of losing the election if he didn’t escalate the conflict. Meanwhile he was pursuing his interest in getting the Libyans to pay for military training from a private military company he was linked to.

The entire nightmarish mess of Democratic conspiracy theories about Iraq, Blood for Oil, politicians fighting wars to win elections, corporate conflicts of interest and even private military companies are all here and no one will touch it. A roster of Democratic candidates still running against the Iraq War won’t talk about an illegal dirty regime change war that took place with their backing and support.

Bernie Sanders, who sputters incoherently about the Iraq War, co-sponsored the Senate resolution supporting a No Fly Zone in Libya. This was the Senate resolution that Obama exploited as a fig leaf of Senate approval for his illegal war.

Senator Sanders can’t criticize Hillary’s illegal war because he helped make it happen.

Hillary’s war has been an unmitigated disaster. Her lies about the war have been disproven. But not even the Democrats running against her are ready to hold her accountable for it.

U.S., Russia sign Syria air safety deal but keep quarreling over war aims

October 21, 2015

U.S., Russia sign Syria air safety deal but keep quarreling over war aims

James Rosen

October 20, 2015

Source: U.S., Russia sign Syria air safety deal but keep quarreling over war aims | McClatchy DC

High Lights

Pilots will communicate on protected radio frequencies

Russian, American jets have flown as close as 500 feet in last three weeks

Pentagon rejects Kremlin proposals for closer cooperation against Islamic State

A Syrian army tank fired during fighting in Jobar near Damascus last week after the Syrian army, backed by Russian airstrikes, launched an offensive. Alexander Kots AP

Our military forces in Syria are operating at the request of the legitimate authorities of that country.

Russian Defense Ministry

While cooperating in the name of air safety, Washington and Moscow continued to criticize the legitimacy of each other’s air campaigns in Syria.

Stressing that the aviation protocols “do not constitute U.S. cooperation or support for Russia’s policy or actions in Syria,” Cook added: “In fact, far from it, we continue to believe that Russia’s strategy in Syria is counterproductive and their support for the Assad regime will only make Syria’s civil war worse.”

The rhetoric from Moscow was just as dismissive.

“The signing of the document in no way changes the Russian principled position,” the Defense Ministry said. “Our military forces in Syria are operating at the request of the legitimate authorities of that country, while the projection of force by the United States and the counter-ISIL (a common acronym for the Islamic State) coalition led by Washington on the territory of Syria is without the consent of Damascus and, in the absence of any relevant U.N. Security Council resolution, represents negligence of international law.”

The Kremlin provided the full Russian-language title of the agreement: “A Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation and the Department of Defense of the United States of American on the Prevention of Flight Safety Incidents in the Course of Operations in the Syrian Arab Republic.”

The possibility of air conflict escalating over Syria is far from just theoretical.

Turkey has scrambled fighter jets at least twice this month in response to Russian planes that it said had crossed or come close to its border with Syria. And Turkey on Monday said it had shot down an unidentified drone after it flew along the border.

Analysts said the drone was Russian, but the Russian Defense Ministry denied that claim.

“If it was a (piloted) plane, we’d do the same,” Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Tuesday. “Our rules of engagement are known. Whoever violates our borders, we will give them the necessary answer.”

60 The number of Islamist targets the Russian Defense Ministry said its planes struck in 24 hours from Monday to Tuesday.

For all the differences between Washington and Moscow, their air accord includes some sweeping provisions that will see the American and Russian militaries cooperating more closely than at any time since they were allied against Nazi Germany in World War II.

Among the accord’s provisions, specific radio frequencies will be maintained by both sides so that American and Russian pilots can communicate directly with one another.

Should those communications fail to prevent a possible conflict or other potentially dangerous situation, a special phone line will be set up on the ground for military leaders from the two countries to have urgent conversations.

Cook stopped short of likening the new phone line to the two countries’ existing “nuclear hotline,” which was established Aug. 30, 1963, at the urging of President John F. Kennedy after Moscow and Washington narrowly averted nuclear warfare during the Cuban Missile Crisis 10 months earlier.

“We have a line of communication on the ground that serves as a backup and provides the opportunity to have real-time conversations if necessary,” Cook said.

Asked whether American pilots would have the right to fire at Russian aircraft that violate the new air protocols, Cook declined to respond directly.

“Our air crews always have the right to defend themselves,” he said.

He quickly added: “Our hope, with the memorandum of understanding, is that the risk of any sort of incident in the air over Syria is reduced, at a minimum, and hopefully eliminated.”

Iraqi Parliament to Vote on Request for Russian Airstrikes

October 21, 2015

Iraqi Parliament to Vote on Request for Russian Airstrikes

10:37 21.10.2015 (updated 13:31 21.10.2015)

Source: Iraqi Parliament to Vote on Request for Russian Airstrikes

According to a member of the State of Law Coalition, Iraq’s parliament is planning to vote whether or not the country will request the support of the Russian Aerospace Forces in fighting the Islamic State militant group by the end of this month.

Iraq’s parliament is planning to vote to request support from Russia in fighting the Islamic State (ISIL) by the end of the month, a member of the State of Law Coalition told Sputnik on Wednesday.

The State of Law Coalition is Iraq’s largest political party, led by former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and is part of the ruling coalition. The legislator also told Sputnik that the vote is expected to pass with majority support. The US has been increasingly concerned about Russian influence in Iraq, and has sent envoys to the country to dissuade further cooperation.

“It doesn’t matter if the request is supported by Sunni and Kurdish factions or not, it changes nothing. We have enough strength in the parliament,” legislator Mowaffak Rubaie said.

Rubaie is also a former national security adviser in Nouri al-Maliki’s government. Iraq has spent over $20 billion on US military training since the 2003 US invasion which toppled Saddam Hussein. The new army has been unable to counter ISIL and has a dire lack of heavy equipment, such as artillery and helicopters.Iraq has recently purchased TOS-1 multiple rocket launcher systems and Mi-28 helicopter gunships from Russia to strengthen its army in the fight against the notorious terrorist group. At the same time, US airstrikes in the country have failed to help the Iraqi government mount an offensive against ISIL.

US Demand

The United States’ top-ranking general Joseph Dunford visited Iraq on Tuesday to seek assurances that Iraq would not request Russian aid in its operation against ISIL.

“Both the minister of defense and the prime minister said: ‘Absolutely.’ There is no request right now for the Russians to support them, there’s no consideration for the Russians to support them, and the Russians haven’t asked them to come in and conduct operations,” Dunford said as quoted by Reuters.

A week prior to Dunford’s visit, the US State Department envoy for the US-led anti-ISIL coalition also visited Iraq, telling Iraqi Prime Minister that the US is “disturbed” by Russian-Iraqi cooperation, according to leaks reported in regional media.

The new vote would alter these assurances, as Iraq’s government is obligated to follow decisions made by its legislature, Rubaie told Sputnik.Internal Divide

Aside from the parliamentary factions, Iraq’s Shiite militias have also pressured Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi’s government to request Russian airstrikes, according to Reuters. However, Abadi appears to remain committed to maintaining Iraq’s alliance with the US.

“Abadi told the meeting parties that it wasn’t the right time to include the Russians in the fight because that would only complicate the situation with the Americans and could have undesired consequences even on long-term future relations with America,” a senior Iraqi politician closer to al-Abadi told Reuters.

Iraq’s powerful Badr Brigade militia has also demanded Russian airstrikes, saying that they have been decisive in Syria, unlike the US airstrikes in Iraq.

“I am positive that the government will respond to pressures, especially after the official mandate of the National Alliance for prime minister Abadi to request Russia’s participation,” a senior aide to the Badr Brigade’s leader told Reuters.

 Shin Bet Report: Israeli Arabs Bring ISIS to Israel

October 21, 2015

The ISIS terror group has arrived in Israel via Israeli Arab students who study abroad, according to the Shin Bet intelligence agency.

By: Hana Levi Julian

Published: October 21st, 2015

Source: The Jewish Press » » Shin Bet Report: Israeli Arabs Bring ISIS to Israel

Shin Bet intelligence report on the presence of ISIS in Israel via Israeli Arabs.

Shin Bet intelligence report on the presence of ISIS in Israel via Israeli Arabs.
Photo Credit: Israel’s Channel One TV / YouTube screenshot

The Israel Security Agency (Shin Bet) has issued a warning that some Israeli Arab students traveling abroad are returning with new knowledge acquired outside the classrooms.

Operatives from the Da’esh (ISIS) terror organization have been recruiting Israeli Arabs while they are attending foreign universities in countries such as Jordan and Saudi Arabia.

According to a report broadcast Tuesday night on Hebrew-language Channel One TV, Israeli Arabs are using their knowledge of Israeli society to teach ISIS about Israelis. ISIS, meanwhile, is teaching the Israeli Arabs how to use weapons and attack Israel.

The video clip of the report below is in Hebrew but is provided for readers who understand the language due to its importance.

Palestinian Arab youth from Judea and Samaria are also able to make contact with these operatives in universities abroad, which they access easily by simply crossing into Jordan.

Most Israeli Arab youth do not appear as a security threat upon leaving Israel, and are not on the “watch” list.

However, upon graduation from their studies – and their terror training – they are instructed to return to Israel, where they translate their learning into terrorist operations.

The Shin Bet warns, therefore, that in its view, ISIS is already operating in Israel.

But this is not as new as it sounds. There have been in fact a number of reports over the past year attesting to this unpalatable fact.

An ISIS cell – marked by group of teachers who were disseminating ISIS ideology – was discovered in the Negev Bedouin town of Hura just a few months ago.

Several cases of Israeli Arabs disappearing from their homes and suddenly reappearing in Turkey, where they were found to be heading for the border with Syria, towards an ISIS stronghold, were also reported.

An ISIS sign was seen on a building in the Arab city of Umm al-Fahm in northern Israel this summer.

An Israeli Arab who worked for the government’s Health Ministry at a well-known hospital was convicted this month of having become a bona fide member of ISIS.

Two young Israeli Arabs were caught and convicted of having traveled to Turkey in an attempt to join Da’esh (ISIS) as well. Those two, ages 19 and 21, didn’t make it: they were turned back in time and deported by the Turkish police.

Other reports of Israeli Arabs who had already made it all the way to Da’esh and were in contact with their Israeli Arab friends “back home,” actively recruiting them to join the group, have also been in the news.

In addition, there have been numerous reports of ISIS-linked Salafi Muslim terrorist groups in Gaza, including at least one that continues to fire rockets at Israel from time to time.

ISIS is, indeed, already in Israel and on its borders.

Anyone sick of islam yet? 

October 18, 2015

Anyone sick of islam yet?

Posted on October 18, 2015 by Eeyore

Source: Anyone sick of islam yet? Links 1 on Oct. 18 – 2015 | Vlad Tepes

1. UK: “We need to kill all the Jews”

(Preserve the tribe with a .45. Protect the flock with a well oiled Glock. When it comes to protection you need to be choosey; Keep your hand right next to your Uzi. Protect yourself from islamic hate, get yourself a .38)

 

 A serious case of anti-Semitic violence occurred on Tuesday in London’s Stamford Hill, which is home to a large Jewish population, amid a day of verbal assaults targeting Jews in the British metropolis.

The Campaign Against Antisemitism reported that the first incident of the day occurred when “young Asian men,” a term often used for Muslims, shouted anti-Semitic abuse at a school bus driver even as young children were on board.

Not long afterwards, a black man shouted “we need to kill all the Jews” at a Jew as he left a synagogue in Stamford Hill. The assailant followed the man, and then smashed in the driver’s side window of his car.

The anti-Semitism continued, as another person, possibly the same man who smashed the car window, verbally abused and threatened two women on the same street. The report noted that the man “may also be linked to additional incidents in the area.”

2. French government screws homeowners near Calais

(Not enough that people have to pay taxes to support their own population replacement. Their own life’s work has its value reduced to nothing since these camps of UMIs have rendered their own formerly valuable properties worthless)

3. Here is a link to more Islamic State snuff video. But rather than watch that, watch this clip from Se5Ep1 of Homeland. Why? Because it explains the snuff video which is more important than seeing it. Watch it carefully. Admire the subtleties in it. Details such as that the character that plays the CIA leader of strike teams refers to the Islamic State as specifically, “The Islamic State” while the guy playing the congressman or senator or political class calls is ISIL, which you have to be an utter burke, as the expression goes, to go along with that absurd Obama acronym. Notice how they describe the reason for the horror, and the motivating ideology. Its so accurate its frankly amazing that it made it even to cable TV

4. UK: Scuffles break out at Britain First’s anti-‘Mega Mosque’ march

5. Great diatribe from a member of the religion of peace

6. Germany: Arson attack hits Hamburg refugee centre, 14 residential containers devastated

7. Revealed: First UK jail where half the inmates are Muslim and others are pressured to convert to Islamic ‘protection racket’

Muslims dominate a high-security jail for the first time, sparking fear among other prisoners and staff, a report reveals.

Half of inmates at Whitemoor are now Muslims. It is believed to be the highest proportion in any British jail and double the number recorded less than a decade ago.

They form the ‘biggest power bloc’ in the Category A prison, taking over from the previous ‘gangs’, according to watchdogs.

‘About half the prisoners on Whitemoor’s main wings are Muslim, profoundly affecting the social nature of the jail and disrupting established hierarchies,’ the Independent Monitoring Board said.

Its report went on: ‘Against this background we note that some prisoners and staff found the Muslim presence overwhelming. The social and religious fragmentation within Whitemoor potentially posed risks for discipline and hence

Thank you M., ML., Gates of Vienna, Richard, Wrath of Khan, Rich and all.
Tundra T posted a short clip from a 1939 film called, ‘The Real Glory’ with Gary Cooper and David Niven a few days ago. Its about how American troops trained Philippine men to defend their islands from muslim mass murderers and slave raids of the women. I am working my way through the whole film. Its amazing to watch an old movie about what we used to know and now can’t even discuss. If you can find it, watch it. The more things change….

Syrian Gambit: US at Pains to Create ‘Another Afghanistan’ for Russia

October 18, 2015

Syrian Gambit: US at Pains to Create ‘Another Afghanistan’ for Russia

20:36 18.10.2015 (updated 20:37 18.10.2015)

Source: Syrian Gambit: US at Pains to Create ‘Another Afghanistan’ for Russia

There are clear signs that the Pentagon will try to create “another Afghanistan” for Russia in Syria, US political analyst Phil Butler told Sputnik.

The Syrian chess game has evidently entered into its critical phase: Vladimir Putin has thwarted the West’s plan to overthrow Assad at every turn, prompting a fierce outcry from Washington’s war hawks.In September 2014, Kenneth M. Pollack, a former CIA intelligence analyst, proposed a plan entitled “An Army to Defeat Assad.” The CIA analyst envisaged the creation of a US Syrian proxy army that would take over the Syrian government forces (and deal a blow to Islamic State). However, the toppling of Bashar al-Assad was marked by Pollack as the overriding priority.

“Once the new army gained ground, the opposition’s leaders could formally declare themselves to represent a new provisional government. The United States and its allies could then extend diplomatic recognition to the movement, allowing the US Department of Defense to take over the tasks of training and advising the new force – which would now be the official military arm of Syria’s legitimate new rulers,” Pollack elaborated.

In January 2015, the Pentagon announced that it kicked off a plan aimed at training Assad’s opposition fighters, strikingly similar to that offered by Pollack in September 2014.So, nothing hinted at any trouble until September 30, when Russia suddenly threw a wrench in Washington’s ingenious plan.

“To get to the root of the current crisis in Syria and the Middle East overall, we must look at US policy overall,” Germany-based American political analyst Phil Butler explained in an exclusive interview to Sputnik.

“The current divisions within Syria and Northern Iraq are to a degree fabricated. Secular, religious, and even tribal differences in this region have been leveraged for centuries to divide Syria, as well as other nations in the region. You’ve mentioned Ken Pollack, and appropriately, I might add. Pollack, who’s held many official positions within the Washington policy making establishment, is actually one of the authors of chaos in this region. Discussing such “bred” academics is a deep well, but suffice it to say the division of Yugoslavia, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Arab Spring overall, the Georgia war, and the current Ukraine mess are all facets of the same flawed gem of US hegemony,” the analyst told Sputnik.

According to Butler, the current mission in Syria is not intended to be a splintering as we saw with Kosovo, in the Balkans.

“As for the ‘plan’ in Syria, I believe there were ‘contingencies’ mapped out. As amoral as these schemes may be, they are not concocted by idiots. Contingency 1, in my view, was the literal overthrow of Assad. Vladimir Putin’s moves, Russia’s, have thwarted this potential at every turn. Contingency number two obviously involves another Yugoslavia in the making. And finally, overall tribalism and chaos in the region helps the US, and particularly Israel gain strength in the region by weakening neighbors,” the political analyst stressed.

Meanwhile, Western reputable media sources have reported of an upcoming offensive on Raqqa, ISIL’s “capital,” the Pentagon is preparing to launch along with its Arab and Kurdish military allies.However, Middle East Eye reported on October 14 that there is no sign of such preparations on the ground: “The US-led anti-IS coalition dropped 50 tons of weapons to the newly created Syrian Arab Coalition on Monday in the Hasakah province, in order to avoid angering Turkey. But so far, no US weapons can be seen on the frontlines close to Raqqa, nor any sign of rebel troop preparations.”

“The reason we have not seen these latest weapons shipments being used, is the complexity of strategy on the ground has changed. No standing force, Al-Nusra, ISIL, or other jihadists put together, could withstand Russian air power. I believe we are about to see Assad’s opposition morph their strategy to full guerrilla warfare as was the case in Afghanistan. We will see fewer conventional “offensives” in the future, and far more localized attacks, the Pentagon will try and create another Afghanistan,” Butler explained commenting on the issue.

However, in contrast to the US’ covert war against the USSR in Afghanistan, there were no US jet fighters in the region and thus far, no threat of a direct confrontation between the two global powers.

Today, there are many military “actors” in the skies of Syria and Iraq. Does it mean the Pentagon’s Afghani strategy may unexpectedly transform into a direct confrontation between US/NATO and Russia?

“As for the threat of direct confrontation between the US and Russia in Syria, the possibility does exist. In this case however, I believe such a confrontation is actually another contingency for Washington,” the American political analyst underscored.

“While US military doctrine these days is set to avoid direct confrontation, on the other hand America and citizens in the “West” have been primed for it. Consider that most Americans, have been brainwashed substantially to believe Vladimir Putin has already invaded half a dozen countries. As crazy as this sounds, pretend you live in small American town and you listen to CNN or Fox before bed every night. This potential, to be dragged into a wide conflagration set up by Washington, is why you see Vladimir Putin making very conservative and precise moves on the stage,” he told Sputnik.

“Having said this, given all we have seen since 9/11, it would take a fairly major incident to excuse such a confrontation,” Phil Butler concluded.

Merkel shifts EU-Turkey stance upon migrant crisis

October 18, 2015

Merkel shifts EU-Turkey stance upon migrant crisis ISTANBUL

Sunday,October 18 2015, Your time is 11:37:21

Source: Merkel shifts EU-Turkey stance upon migrant crisis – DIPLOMACY

Turkish PM Davutoğlu (R) and German Chancellor Merkel (L) hold a joint press meeting in Istanbul on Oct. 18, 2015. Reuters Photo

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has pledged to give support to four Turkish demands on which Ankara has insisted in return for agreeing to a migrant action plan with the European Union.

“There are four elements. Germany is ready to give support on these issues,” Merkel said Oct. 18 during a joint press conference with her Turkish counterpart, Ahmet Davutoğlu.

Merkel made the trip to Turkey amid increasing pressure at home after hundreds of thousands of refugees poured into Germany over the summer.

Davutoğlu said Turkey was ready to work with Germany and the EU on the migration crisis and would take all measures to prevent human trafficking. However, Ankara is focused on four issues, the prime minister said: the opening of negotiation chapters, visa liberalization, the transfer of 3 billion euros from the EU to Turkey for migrant support and the invitation of Turkish leaders to EU summits.

Davutoğlu stressed the “fair share of the burden” on the migration problem and welcomed Merkel’s approach on the issue, while noting that the figures were of secondary importance.

Davutoğlu expressed Turkey’s expectation for the implementation of visa privileges for Turkish nationals by 2016, in return for a readmission agreement which would pave the way for the EU to send migrants back to Turkey.

“In terms of the migration crisis, we seek to contribute a new vision to relations between the EU and Turkey and get out of its frozen situation,” he said.

“We agreed on accelerating the opening of negotiation chapters 17, 23, 24,” he said.

Turkey and Germany will continue cooperation through “working groups” which will convene this week, Davutoğlu said.

Expressing support for the Turkish demands, Merkel especially highlighted that they would work to open Chapter 17, and said they would “discuss” details on Chapters 23 and 24. The German chancellor also reiterated her country’s longstanding hesitations about Turkey’s prospective membership in the union and said, “Turkey’s full membership is an open-ended issue.”

“How can we organize the accession process more dynamically?” Merkel asked.

Working groups will study the “share of burden,” Merkel said, noting that the invitation of Turkish leaders to EU summits would be evaluated by the union.

Ahead of her visit to Turkey, Merkel stated that Turkey’s help was needed to stem the flow of refugees to Europe but that this had not changed her view that Ankara should not become a member of the European Union. “I have always been against EU membership, President [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan knows this, and I still am,” Merkel told a talk show on German public broadcaster ARD on Oct. 7.

Turkey and European Union agreed to a “draft” agreement on migrants last week which will be implemented after Ankara’s political demands are met by Brussels.

The EU has suddenly rediscovered Turkey, Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu told reporters on Oct. 16. The minister identified the draft agreement on migrant action plant as an “ad referendum” which is for further consideration by one having the authority to make a final decision.

Close military cooperation 

The two leaders also discussed Syria, with Turkey informing the German chancellor about violations of Turkish airspace and the change of the power balance in the country, Davutoğlu said, adding that he delivered some intelligence information.

Despite Germany’s withdrawal of Patriot batteries from Turkey, the two countries will step up for closer military cooperation, Merkel said.

Davutoğlu also condemned an attack on the independent candidate for mayor of Cologne, Henriette Reker.

The German and Turkish foreign, defense and economy ministers will also meet in January 2016 in Berlin, Davutoğlu said.

Merkel also met with Erdoğan. Making a joint statement, Erdoğan stated that the two countries recommended an “action plan against terror.”

October/18/2015