Posted tagged ‘Russia’

Russia Missile Attacks Embarrass Obama, Warn Israel

October 9, 2015

Russia Missile Attacks Embarrass Obama, Warn Israel, American ThinkerJonathan Keiler, October 9, 2015

Beyond heaping yet another humiliation on Obama and signaling American admirals to keep their distance, the missile attack probably also sent a very pointed message to Israel. Israel currently deploys four advanced German-made and Israeli equipped Dolphin submarines, with two more on the way.

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Russia’s October 7 cruise missile bombardment of anti-Assad Syrian rebels from ships stationed nearly 1000 miles away was probably the most expensively ineffectual display of military firepower since Bill Clinton launched a similar strike against al Qaeda in 1998. Clinton’s feckless and spendthrift action was supposedly in retaliation for the embassy bombings in Tanzania and Kenya and succeeded by most accounts in wiping out a few empty tents with several tons of explosives and several million dollars’ worth of advanced ordnance.

It is unlikely that Vladimir Putin’s strike did much damage to Syrian rebels either. But unlike Clinton (and the current Democrat in the White House) Putin doesn’t use force to shirk greater national responsibilities, he uses it to pursue clear strategic objectives. In this case, the Russian decision to launch brand-new Kalibr-NK missiles from the Caspian Sea fleet was clearly intended as yet another poke in the eye to President Obama, and a demonstration of Russian firepower, from diminutive but still dangerous Russian warships.

The 26 missiles were launched by three patrol boats and a frigate (a warship smaller than a destroyer.)  Russian spokesmen claimed all landed within nine feet of their targets, a degree of accuracy probably not needed against dispersed irregular infantry, but necessary to hit opposing warships, like those flying American flags. The Syrian rebels served as live practice targets for the Russian missile crews, who got to shoot off the new and previously unproven (in combat) missile.

Beyond heaping yet another humiliation on Obama and signaling American admirals to keep their distance, the missile attack probably also sent a very pointed message to Israel. Israel currently deploys four advanced German-made and Israeli equipped Dolphin submarines, with two more on the way. Most analysts presume that these advanced boats are intended to penetrate the Persian Gulf in the event of war with Iran, and from their launch cruise missiles in support of Israeli air action.

However, several years ago, in this article I proposed that the Israeli purpose was probably otherwise. Israeli is widely presumed to have equipped the subs with Israeli Popeye turbo cruise missiles with a range similar to that of the Russian Kalibr-NK. With such a weapon, Israeli subs need not make the long and dangerous journey to the Persian Gulf, but could launch from off the coast of Syria, the missiles following a flight plan very similar to those the Russian weapons took (but in reverse) where they could strike targets across northern Iran.

If I could conceive of such a plan, so could Russian intelligence services, which have probably backed this idea with hard, but secret intelligence. The Russian attack is a clear signal to Israel, demonstrating that cruise missiles which can go from the eastern Mediterranean to Iran can go the other way too. It is unlikely that it was a message lost on the Israelis, and more evidence that Russia’s movement in to the Syrian arena is proving disastrous for America and her allies.

 

Turning point? EU Commission head says relations with Russia ‘must be improved,’ US ‘can’t dictate’

October 9, 2015

Turning point? EU Commission head says relations with Russia ‘must be improved,’ US ‘can’t dictate’ Published time: 9 Oct, 2015 04:13 Edited time: 9 Oct, 2015 09:10

Source: Turning point? EU Commission head says relations with Russia ‘must be improved,’ US ‘can’t dictate’ — RT News

 

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker © Vincent Kessler

European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker © Vincent Kessler / Reuters

Europe must treat Russia with more decency, improve the relationship, and not let EU policies be dictated by Washington, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said in a surprise speech in Germany.

READ MORE: NATO to create new HQs in Hungary & Slovakia, boost response forces – Stoltenberg

It is now critical for the EU to work on its relations with Russia, Juncker said in the southern German town of Passau: “We must make efforts towards a practical relationship with Russia. It is not sexy but that must be the case, we can’t go on like this.”

Moreover, the US needs to keep its influence out of EU relations with other countries, Juncker added.

“Russia must be treated decently … We can’t let our relationship with Russia be dictated by Washington.”

EU-Russia relations have deteriorated since the EU imposed sanctions on Russia for its alleged role in the Ukrainian conflict. The Russian government has unswervingly denied these allegations.

In the meantime, some progress has recently been reported in eastern Ukraine, as the armed forces of the self-proclaimed Lugansk People’s Republic (LNR) have begun withdrawing weapons under 100 mm caliber from the conflict zone. Ukraine’s Joint Staff has also announced the start of a withdrawal of artillery from the region.

The withdrawal of weapons is part of the Minsk agreements, which was agreed upon by the leaders of the Normandy Four, namely France, Germany, Ukraine and Russia, in February. The deal required a ceasefire, a weapons withdrawal, constitutional reforms, legislative recognition of a special status for the unrecognized republics, and release and exchange of prisoners on an all-for-all basis.

READ MORE: Top Ukraine official backs idea ‘to help ISIS take revenge on Russian soldiers in Syria’

However, lasting truce was only reached in late August. Kiev and the self-proclaimed Donetsk and Lugansk republics maintain the armistice has been holding since September 1, although both sides still occasionally accuse each other of violations.

Moscow continues to stress the importance of direct dialogue between Kiev and representatives of the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told CBS’s ‘60 Minutes’ at the end of September that all countries need to respect Ukraine’s sovereignty.

“At no time in the past, now or in the future has or will Russia take any part in actions aimed at overthrowing the legitimate government,” Putin said, adding that Moscow “would like other countries to respect the sovereignty of other states, including Ukraine. Respecting the sovereignty means preventing coups, unconstitutional actions and illegitimate overthrowing of the legitimate government.”

READ MORE: Moscow ready for more sanctions, regardless of Ukraine crisis – Foreign Ministry

EU sanctions against Russia could be renewed at the end of this year, however, even though some European countries have been hit hard by the fall in trade triggered, in part, by Moscow’s counter-sanctions on food imports.

EU sanctions include restrictions on lending to major Russian state-owned banks, as well as defense and oil companies. In addition, Brussels has imposed restrictions on supplying weapons and military equipment to Russia, as well as military technology, dual-use technologies, high-tech equipment, and technologies for oil production. A number of Russian and Ukrainian officials have also been blacklisted by the West.

The Missiles of October, 2015 Edition

October 8, 2015

The Missiles of October, 2015 Edition

Author By Doug Hagmann —

Bio and Archives October 8, 2015

Source: The Missiles of October, 2015 Edition

When the farmer in Iowa plowing his field suddenly and unexpectedly hears a noise and feels the ground shake from missiles being fired from a hidden underground silo in retaliation against Russia, perhaps then Americans will wake up to the litany of lies we’ve been fed by our leaders and a complicit media. Even then, I suspect that most Americans will continue to believe the lies of the U.S. leaders and succumb to revisionist history that has little-to-nothing to do with the truth.

We are at the precipice of World War III, yet the average American has no idea. The average American is oblivious to the fact that America has been captured from within, its leadership is traitorous, and the media complicit in all aspects of seditious criminality. Many of those who might have a level of understanding however, don’t know the real story about how we arrived at this point in time. For both, we have our elected officials in Washington to thank…or to blame… or perhaps congratulate, depending upon which agenda you’re pushing.

In the event you missed the news, twenty-six cruise missiles were fired into Syria by Russian warships yesterday as Syrian ground troops launch an offensive against ISIS and U.S., NATO and Saudi-backed anti-Assad terrorists. Who didn’t see this coming?

Three years ago to the day – October 8, 2012, I wrote Lemmings…On the precipice of World War III, explaining that Barack Hussein Obama, in his capacity as the man selected for the Oval Office, was overseeing a private war in the Middle East at the direction of the Saudis. What was taking place in Syria at that time was the result of the Obama-Clinton parallel CIA/State Department’s “Fast & Furious, Libyan Edition.” To Hillary Clinton’s cackling delight, Gaddafi was deposed and killed, and Libya was being used as a supply depot for weapons funneled to Syria via Turkey and other areas in close proximity. The primary staging area in Libya was Benghazi, and specifically, the CIA complex that was attacked on September 11, 2012.

The actions by this rogue element within the U.S. government, many who are still in power and continue to hold positions of influence, led to the attack on the CIA compound that caused the murder of a U.S. Ambassador and three others. Although the attack was conducted by proxy groups, those groups were acting on behalf of Russia. Accordingly, the United States did not respond, as doing so would have certainly widened the conflict and exposed the largest weapons running operation in the Middle East. Stevens, having a rolodex full of unsavory contacts including those he met while on assignment in Syria, reportedly oversaw a portion of this operation, according to my contacts in the intelligence venue.

To fully understand the perilous situation the Renegade-in-Chief has created for us as a nation, it is critical to understand the truth regarding how we arrived here. That, of course is something that Obama, Clinton and their facilitators cannot have exposed at any cost. To understand Russia’s response in Syria, the current situation must be viewed through the larger lens of past events for accurate historical context, and those events include Benghazi. It is for this reason that the American people will never get the truth about Benghazi or the mysterious Clinton e-mails, as any truthful revelation would expose the criminally traitorous activities of this unlawful administration.

How deep the lies

The lies, however, go much deeper than most reasonable people can comprehend, as we are not dealing with reasonable or rational people. We do not have truth in the media, as all media outlets are controlled by only six corporations that act as chokepoints for truth. The large media conglomerates dutifully report only what they are told to report and nothing more. Included in this pattern of control are those media pundits, including most who are identified as conservative, and most who host talk shows and television panels.

The above, therefore, explains why the background of Barry Soetoro, a/k/a Barack Hussein Obama II, the Renegade-in-Chief was declared “off-limits” to discussion by even those “conservative” pundits. Anyone out of compliance was (and still is) publicly ridiculed. This complete takeover is overtly obvious even in Hollywood, where many night-time talk show hosts often mock and ridicule anyone daring to question the bona-fides and allegiance of the Communist Muslim occupant of the White House.

I stress the above in this report as it is relevant even today, for the events we are watching unfold could have been prevented with a true conservative effort and media pundits who could have chosen to place the fate of their nation over their careers. They chose their paycheck over the truth, and bowed to their corporate handlers as deeply as Obama bowed to his handler, the king of Saudi Arabia.

We have grown to expect as much from the toxic liberal “progressive” Marxists, but find it difficult to accept such from the self-proclaimed conservative media and pundits. Depicted as intellectual talking heads, they never seem to break through the thin veneer of lies that covers the truth. They entertain rather than inform, which appeals to the average, non-thinking American. They offer just enough “us versus them,” play-by-play action of the long-dead partisan paradigm to satisfy those addicted to mainstream news.

What every thinking American needs to understand is that the lies that have been and continue to be perpetuated by those in elected positions emanate from members of both political parties, for most members of both parties have chosen to take their assigned seats at the globalists’ table. It is easy to see how others may have been blackmailed into taking their assigned seats, especially after drinking from the fountain of power and wealth within the beltway. That assertion also applies to certain members of the Supreme Court, a body that has become an activist arm of the globalists.

We did not, however, arrive here overnight. The subjugation of America’s sovereignty was an incremental process. It seems that the tactics of the Fabian Socialists won out over those of the Communists. Their goals are the same, only their approach is different. The ultimate objective is nearly complete, and each of us has a front seat to the next act of this Orwellian play. From Woodrow Wilson to the Clinton cabal to the globalists currently in power, Americans have been led into servitude. Sadly, many Americans are enjoying their servitude, or have no idea that they are being held captive. Feel free to call it Stockholm syndrome, but dare not call it “battered wife syndrome,” for this phrase has been deemed off limits by the thought police.

For those reasons and many more, don’t expect to learn the truth about Benghazi, for the next act of this Orwellian play has already been written. While most Americans could not find Benghazi on a globe, those who could seem to have long forgotten about the attack and its implications. A dutiful and complicit press has made sure of that.

While many quickly dismiss ludicrous explanations concerning the Benghazi attack, including the embarrassingly laughable narrative relating to the anti-Muslim video The Innocence of Muslims, they will often stop there, purposely neglecting the evidence that is highly suggestive of a rogue CIA, Clinton, Obama and Brennan cover-up.  As I detailed in my report of that video, its creation appears to trace back to people and groups close to the CIA. Additionally, the same people and entities whose fingerprints appear on the video also appear to be involved in the breach of the passport office files in 2008. It was that breach that prompted the admission by Obama that he traveled to Pakistan in 1981, and also appears to have played a role in the murder of one of those involved at the periphery of that incident.

Although seemingly tedious and arguably off-topic, it is vital to understand that everything we are presently seeing taking place has been carefully orchestrated. We are not living in a world of coincidence, but one of conspiracy. Laugh if you must, but do so only after you’ve investigated all of the facts. And then, laugh at your own peril.

Three years ago, I wrote that World War III would begin in Syria, not Iran. Admittedly, Iran would play a role, but the flashpoint, Putin’s red line in the sand runs directly through Damascus. It still does, and now over two-dozen sophisticated Russian cruise missiles have served to emphasize and validate my assertions.

Obama’s deliberately destabilizing actions across the Middle East, known as the “Arab Spring,” was planned long ago in the bowels of a Saudi mansion. With the approval of Washington leadership of both parties, including the “gang of eight,” Obama was selected to oversee the operation. Obama is acting on orders from his Saudi and globalist handlers. John Boehner and other Republican leaders provided the necessary cover for Obama to complete his task. He was assisted by the Clinton criminal cabal, and given a pass by a complicit media.

If you look long enough and close enough, the evidence is there. Sadly, there are too few with the intellectual and moral integrity to report it. Or, they have already submitted their reservations for their seats at the globalists’ table.

For those with the temerity to report the truth, there is a solution to deal with you. If you’re not silenced by the restrictions of the soon-to-be-passed Trans-Pacific Partnership Treaty or its Atlantic counterpart, there’s always room for you at one of your local non-existent re-education centers. They’ll even leave the light on for you.

From there, you’ll have a front row seat to the series of final acts of the screenplay of the globalists. The “Missiles of October 2015 edition,” produced and written by the Globalista’s studios, although a bit behind schedule, has been “launched.” Pun intended.

Prepare. Pray.

‘Which side are you fighting for?’ Russia blasts US for refusing to share intel on ISIS

October 8, 2015

Which side are you fighting for?’ Russia blasts US for refusing to share intel on ISIS

Published time: 8 Oct, 2015 09:26

Edited time: 8 Oct, 2015 12:50

Source: ‘Which side are you fighting for?’ Russia blasts US for refusing to share intel on ISIS — RT News

A still image captured from U.S. Navy video footage shows a Tomahawk Land-Attack Missile (TLAM) is launched against ISIL targets from the guided-missile cruiser USS Philippine Sea in the Gulf, September 23, 2014. © Abe McNatt / U.S. Navy / Handout
Washington’s failure to share data with Russian intelligence about terrorist positions in Syria makes one question the goals that Americans have in their anti-ISIS campaign in Syria and Iraq, a senior Russian diplomat has said.

The refusal to share intelligence on terrorists “just confirms once more what we knew from the very start, that the US goals in Syria have little to do with creating the conditions for a political process and national reconciliation,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergey Ryabkov said Thursday.

“I would risk saying that by doing this the US and the countries that joined the US-led coalition are putting themselves in a politically dubious position. The question is: which side are you fighting for in this war?”

Sergey Ryabkov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation © Mikhail Voskresenskiy

Earlier, the Russian military said they would welcome American intelligence on the forces of terrorist group Islamic State (formerly ISIS/ISIL) to help with Russia’s bombing operation in Syria. But the US State Department said it would not be possible because Russia and the US do not share the same goals in Syria.

“I don’t know how you can share intelligence when you don’t share a basic, common objective inside Syria. We’re not at that – we’re nowhere near that point. There’s no shared, common objective here about going after ISIL,” said John Kirby, a State Department spokesman.

The US has accused Russia of failing to target ISIS and instead bombing moderate rebel forces, which Washington wants to replace the government of President Bashar Assad. Russia denies the allegations.

Ryabkov said that without US intelligence Russia would remain quite effective in the Syrian operation, considering that it has plenty of other sources.

“There are our own means of reconnaissance. We get intelligence from a number of other countries and coordinate its flow through the Baghdad information-sharing center,” the Russian diplomat said, referring to a facility in the Iraqi capital that is used by Syria, Iraq, Iran and Russia to coordinate their efforts in fighting ISIS.

The US-led coalition has been bombing ISIS targets for over a year and provided supplies and assistance to forces such as Iraqi and Kurdish militias, which are fighting the terrorists on the ground. But it has refused to deal with either Damascus or its key regional ally Tehran, saying that the downfall of the government of President Assad is part of the solution to the crisis. Despite the coalition’s efforts, ISIS has enlarged the territory under its control over the last year.

Senior Syrian and Iranian officials questioned America’s determination to defeat ISIS, saying that the coalition airstrikes are more of a show and are not intended to actually harm the terrorists. Instead Washington is trying to get ISIS topple the Assad government, hoping to deal with them later.

Russia voiced similar concerns on Wednesday, after reporting that its week-long effort had done serious harm to the jihadists in Syria.

“The US Air Force and other parties has been conduction airstrikes for a year. We have reasons to believe that they don’t often hit terrorist targets, or rather do so very rarely,” said Igor Konashenkov, the spokesman for the Russian Defense Ministry.

Meanwhile Russia’s effort seems to have paid off, as on Tuesday the Syrian Army announced a major offensive against various terrorist groups. Commenting on what role Russia’s support played in turning the tables on the jihadists, Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Mekdad said that Russia “has produced significant results in several days that greatly surpass those achieved by the [US-led anti-ISIS] coalition in over a year.”

ISIS training militants from Russia in Afghanistan, ‘US and UK citizens among instructors’

October 8, 2015

ISIS training militants from Russia in Afghanistan, ‘US and UK citizens among instructors’

Published time: 8 Oct, 2015 10:27

Edited time: 8 Oct, 2015 12:48

Source: ISIS training militants from Russia in Afghanistan, ‘US and UK citizens among instructors’ — RT News

Islamic State is training militants from Russia in Afghanistan as part of its efforts to expand into Central Asia, a senior Russian diplomat told a security conference in Moscow. He added that US and UK passport holders are among the instructors.

“There are several camps operated by [Islamic State, previously ISIS/ISIL, in Afghanistan] that train people from Central Asia and some regions of Russia. They speak Russian there,” said Zamir Kabulov, President Putin’s special representative for Afghanistan.

He added that there is a wide national variety of instructors in those camps. There are Arabs, Pakistanis and even people with US and British citizenship, he said.

Russian intelligence estimates the number of militants in Afghanistan who have pledged allegiance to the Syria- and Iraq-based Islamic State, at 3,500, Kabulov said, and the number is rising.

“The rise of [Islamic State] in Afghanistan is a high-priority threat. Just think about it: [ISIS] showed up in Afghanistan for real just a year ago, and now it has 3,500 fighters plus supporters who may be recruited into the ranks of the militants,” he said.

Overall, there are some 50,000 fighters belonging to more than 4,000 militant groups in Afghanistan, said Army General Valery Gerasimov, who heads the Russian General Staff. He was addressing the same conference in Moscow, which is discussing the security situation in Afghanistan. The Afghan Taliban is by far the strongest militant movement in the country, with some 40,000 fighters in their ranks.

But their dominant position is being challenged by Islamic State, which sees Afghanistan as a recruiting ground, a source of income and a foothold for further expansion over Central Asia, reported Colonel General Igor Sergun, the head of the Main Intelligence Directorate, Russia’s military intelligence agency.

“ISIL [a former name for Islamic State, along with ISIS] uses the worsening of the situation in Afghanistan to strengthen its position,” he said, adding that such development poses a real threat to Russia’s security.

“We estimate that ISIL gets new troops by bribing field commanders of Taliban, the Islamic movement of Uzbekistan and other radical religious organizations operating on Afghan territory,” Sergun said.

Russia believes that if Islamic State is allowed to grow in Afghanistan unchecked, the group could spread its influence north toward Russia and east to China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, the general said. There the jihadists would be recruiting people from national minorities and local terrorist organizations.

The Afghan government in Kabul is unable to turn the tables on the militants, despite having superior weapons and numbers, Sergun said. He blamed poor planning skills of Afghan commanders and bad training of their troops for it.

On the other hand, Afghan tribal society resists ISIS’s ideology, which makes the terrorist group’s effort to gain support somewhat more difficult, the general said.

“The will to fight for ISIL in most cases comes from financial interest. But at the same time, the ISIL message is spreading quickly among the educated youth who have access to the internet and other media that is spreading the radical version of Islam,” Sergun warned.

slamic State is targeting radical fighters in Afghanistan who are falling for ISIS propaganda, accusing Taliban leaders of abandoning the fight against the United States and the government in Kabul, Sergun reported. This year alone clashes between the Taliban and ISIS have claimed an estimated total of 900 lives on both sides, he added.

Russian officials accused Washington of orchestrating the deterioration of security in Afghanistan and the expansion of Islamic State there.

“It seems like someone’s hand is pushing freshly trained ISIL fighters to mass along Afghanistan’s northern border. They don’t fight foreign or Afghan government troops,” Kabulov said.

He added that on several occasions Taliban groups that refused to join Islamic State were “set up” to be targeted by airstrikes.

“The Afghan Army practically has no aircraft. Only the Americans do. These details bring some very bad thoughts and concerns. We have to take them into account and draw conclusions accordingly,” he said.

Sergun said the US has a long-term goal of preventing stabilization in Central Asian countries and surrounding Russia and China with a network of regimes loyal to America and hotspots of tension.

Russia ready to consider Iraqi request for airstrikes

October 8, 2015

Russia ready to consider Iraqi request for airstrikes – Upper House speaker

Published time: 6 Oct, 2015 12:25

Edited time: 6 Oct, 2015 14:10

Source: Russia ready to consider Iraqi request for airstrikes – Upper House speaker — RT Russian politics

The crew of a Russian Su-30 fighter prepare to take off at Hmeimim aerodrome in Syria. © Dmitriy Vinogradov
Russia would consider an Air Force operation against ISIS in Iraq if that country’s authorities make such a request, Federation Council speaker Valentina Matviyenko told reporters, adding that Russia’s only interest was in defeating ISIS.

In case of an official address from Iraq to the Russian Federation, the leaders of our country would study the political and military expediency of our Air Force’s participation in an air operation. Presently we have not received such an address,” Matviyenko told reporters on Tuesday during an official visit to Jordan. She also asked the press “to stop reading tea leaves” before actual events take place.

I want to emphasize that Russia has no other political objectives and no interests other than the defeat of ISIS [formerly ISIS/ISIL] and that differs us from other nations that participate in another coalition,” Interfax news agency quoted Matviyenko as saying at a meeting with the head of the Jordanian Senate, President Abdur-Ra’uf Rawabdeh. She also said that Russian authorities understood the necessity of political reforms in Syria, but the final decision on the nature of these reforms and future head of the Syrian state must be made by Syrian people without any external pressure or direct interference of foreign nations.

READ MORE: Federal Security Service calls for broader international anti-ISIS coalition

During the meeting with her Jordanian colleague, Matviyenko stated that Russia was calling upon all states that see the Islamic State as a threat to join the information center in Baghdad used by Russian, Iraqi, Syrian and Iranian security specialists and military. She added that Russia was ready for other forms of cooperation with all nations that share the common goal of fighting international terrorism.

Last week, Russia started to carry out surgical airstrikes on terrorist positions in Syria after a request for such military aid was made by President Bashar Assad. The head of Russia’s presidential administration, Sergey Ivanov, emphasized that Moscow would not be involved in any ground operation – aid would only be in the form of airstrikes.

READ MORE: 39% of Russians approve Putin policies on Syria

In comments on the Upper House’s license on use of Russian military forces abroad, Valentina Matviyenko said that fighting against the Islamic State was in Russia’s national interests because terrorists posed a threat to Europe, Russia and the whole world. She also expressed confidence that the operation would be supported by an absolute majority of the world’s nations.

Russia’s endgame in Syria: Follow the Money

October 7, 2015

Russia’s endgame in Syria: Follow the Money, Center for Security Policy, John Cordero, October 6, 2015

(Is Putin engaging in a holy war against the Islamic State, an oily war or both? — DM)

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The one strategic motivation for Russia that has been widely ignored is the economic one.  Qatar, the richest country in the world per capita and also owner of the world’s largest natural gas field, proposed in 2009 to jointly construct a gas pipeline running through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and into Europe.  Assad, not wanting to provoke Moscow, refused to sign on.  Instead, he floated an alternative: an Iran-Iraq-Syria and possibly Lebanon pipeline, to then follow under the Mediterranean to Europe. The Qatar-Turkey pipeline would run through majority Sunni countries with the exception of Syria’s Alawite regime. Assad’s counter proposal follows the Shia crescent.

Russia, not wanting to lose its primary market in Europe, is adamantly opposed to a prospective Qatari project.  A military presence in Syria will guarantee that even if Assad is removed from power, the pipeline will not be built.  It will look on favorably to the Iranian proposal, provided Gazprom and other state-owned companies get their share of the pie.

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As Vladimir Putin orders airstrikes against rebels of all stripes fighting Bashar al-Assad’s regime, there are important strategic economic goals behind Russia’s actions in Syria.  The short term goal is easy to discern: prevent Assad’s collapse as no alternative suitable to Russian interests exists, preserve Russia’s only naval base in the Middle East at Tartus, and promote Russia both at home and abroad as a world power that counterbalances American hegemony.

Much of the media has focused on Putin as a personal driver of Russian behavior.  While forays into Georgia and Ukraine have accomplished the tactical goals of preventing increased European Union presence in Russia’s sphere of influence, these have come at a high cost both politically and economically in the form of isolation and sanctions. Putin seems to have concluded that intervening in Syria in the name of fighting terrorism can only help repair Russia’s battered image.

It is important to at least try to understand Putin’s motivation without delving too much into psychoanalysis.  He is on record as lamenting the collapse of the Soviet Union as “the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century.”  In power since 2000, the former KGB officer is an ardent Russian nationalist, a promoter of a personality cult concerned with his country’s standing and perception in the world.  With his career spent in the service of the state, he is not one to take a background role in world affairs. Putin has effectively used Russia’s alliance with Iran as an effective tool to undermine the US, both regionally in the Gulf and globally with the nuclear deal.

The current buildup at Tartus and Latakia is nothing new: since Hafez al-Assad’s rise to power in 1970, the Former Soviet Union and then Russia was and is a stalwart ally, long attempting to position Syria as a counterbalance to American and Israeli military superiority in the Middle East.

Russia’s actions are also a message to the world: unlike the US, which abandoned long-time ally Hosni Mubarak during his time of need in Egypt, Russia is prepared to intervene, militarily if necessary, to preserve a friendly regime in danger.  Therefore, it pays for autocrats to court Moscow, especially if they possess valuable resources or are in prime strategic locations.

While Vladimir Putin ostensibly espouses the acceptable goal of a global alliance against IS, the strategic context is that he has entered into a sectarian alliance with Shia Iran, Iraq, Syria, and the proxy army Hezbollah (The P4+1) against the American-backed Sunni alliance of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and the UAE, all of whom insist that Assad has no future in Syria.

Through its airstrikes, Russia continues to advance the prior Syrian strategy of focusing efforts against pro-Western rebels, with the recognition that, while dangerous, the Islamic State is the one party in the conflict the West will never support.

The Islamic State will take advantage of both the respite, and the propaganda value of being the recognized number one enemy of the infidel coalition, which it uses to rally supporters simply by pointing out that its enemies are gathering to destroy the renewed Caliphate.

The one strategic motivation for Russia that has been widely ignored is the economic one.  Qatar, the richest country in the world per capita and also owner of the world’s largest natural gas field, proposed in 2009 to jointly construct a gas pipeline running through Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria, Turkey, and into Europe.  Assad, not wanting to provoke Moscow, refused to sign on.  Instead, he floated an alternative: an Iran-Iraq-Syria and possibly Lebanon pipeline, to then follow under the Mediterranean to Europe. The Qatar-Turkey pipeline would run through majority Sunni countries with the exception of Syria’s Alawite regime. Assad’s counter proposal follows the Shia crescent.

Russia, not wanting to lose its primary market in Europe, is adamantly opposed to a prospective Qatari project.  A military presence in Syria will guarantee that even if Assad is removed from power, the pipeline will not be built.  It will look on favorably to the Iranian proposal, provided Gazprom and other state-owned companies get their share of the pie.

Pipeline politics in the region have a long and varied history of Russian involvement.  The Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan oil pipeline was built only after Moscow’s demand for an alternative pipeline for Azeri oil to Russia was met.  During the 2008 Russia-Georgia war, US intelligence officials determined that an explosion on the pipeline near the Turkish-Georgian border was carried out via Russian government cyber warfare.  Days after the explosion, Russian fighter jets bombed positions in Georgia close to the pipeline. Although the BTC pipeline was built precisely to avoid Russian interference, the Kremlin has never let that stop them.

Turkey and Azerbaijan have also begun construction on a joint natural gas pipeline, theTANAP. This project’s stated goal is to reduce the EU’s dependence on Russian natural gas, a prospect that cannot please Moscow.   Both the BTC and TANAP bypass Armenia, a Russian ally and wary of its neighbors in the Caucasus.

As the endpoint for the Qatari project, Turkey is adamant in calling for Assad to step down or be removed, which dovetails with the proposed Sunni pipeline.  By clearing the way through Syria, Qatar and Saudi Arabia can receive a handsome return on their investment in backing jihadis fighting Assad.  On the other hand, Iran will not sit idly by and leave potential billions of dollars in the hands of its ideological and regional enemies.

Russian intervention in Syria is just beginning. There is every possibility that it will expand as more targets are found, perhaps those that are in the way of the proposed Iranian pipeline, directly threatening Damascus and by extension, the Russian monopoly of gas exports to Europe.  For the time being, Putin has the world’s attention.

Bravo Codevilla — and a note on Russian-Turkish Fighter Contact

October 7, 2015

Bravo Codevilla — and a note on Russian-Turkish Fighter Contact

By David P. Goldman

October 6, 2015 in Chatham House Rules

Source: Bravo Codevilla — and a note on Russian-Turkish Fighter Contact | Asia Times

Angelo Codevilla’s terse and magisterial reading of Putin’s war aims is simply the best thing I have read on a subject which elicits the sort of heavy breathing that belongs in pulp scenario novels (e.g., Commentary Magazine’s post this week entitled “It’s Not a New Cold War– It’s Something Worse“). The US ambled about in a fantasy world after the misnamed Arab Spring, searching for “moderate Sunnis” who might represent a viable alternative to the Assad regime in Syria. Like most sleepwalkers, Washington is grouchy about the rude wake-up, but there is no risk of war, hot or cold.

Something additional, though, needs to be said about Russia and Turkey, which the estimable M.K. Bhadrakumar (India’s past ambassador to Turkey) neglected to say in his note today (“Russia Outflanks Turkey in Syria“). NATO has protested Russia’s violation of Turkish air space, and the usual commentators have been wheeled out to warn that air-space infractions followed by fighter interception can lead to nasty accidents. But that is beside the point. In order to suppress the emergence of a Kurdish zone in northern Syria linked to the de facto Kurdish state in northern Iraq, Turkey has been supporting whatever Islamists it find, including ISIS, to harry the Kurds. It has been using fighter cover to favor its Islamist allies in its war on the Kurds.

Turkish journalist Kadri Gursel last week explained the game in AI-Monitor:

Using some imagination, one could foresee the adverse impacts Russia’s move will have on Ankara’s policies on the ground. Ankara is now likely to be forced to end the de facto situation — virtually a no-fly zone — it has enforced casually in border areas since 2012. In June 2012, after a Turkish reconnaissance plane was shot down by an air defense system in Syria, Ankara announced new rules of engagement, including the interception of Syrian aircraft flying close to Turkish airspace. There has been no indication so far that these rules of engagement have changed. Since the summer of 2012, Turkish media have occasionally reported incidents of Turkish fighter jets taking off from their bases to chase off Syrian planes and helicopters flying “too close” to the border.

Ankara-backed Islamist groups fighting Assad’s regime have emerged as the main beneficiary of these rules of engagement, which have effectively served as a Turkish air cover for their military and logistical operations in border regions.

NATO let the Turks go rogue in their campaign against the Kurds, who will outnumber ethnic Turks among Turkey’s under-25 population in less than twenty years. The Obama administration has given the Turks a pass even when Turkish actions blatantly violate Washington’s declared policy. Evidently Putin has decided to punch Erdogan in the nose, just as he punchd Obama in the nose by blasting some American-sponsored Sunni fighters. Someone has to take the fall in the region, and that someone would be Turkey.

Judge Jeanine: New world order emerging thanks to Obama

October 6, 2015

Judge Jeanine: New world order emerging thanks to Obama, Fox News via You Tube, October 4, 2015

 

Russia Violates Turkish Airspace Again in Direct Challenge to NATO

October 6, 2015

Russia Violates Turkish Airspace Again in Direct Challenge to NATO North Atlantic Council notes ‘extreme danger of such irresponsible behavior’

BY:
October 6, 2015 12:26 pm

Source: Russia Violates Turkish Airspace Again in Direct Challenge to NATO – Washington Free Beacon

Look at the word use , typical creating a false narative .

Russia has now violated Turkish airspace on two separate occasions, according to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

NATO’s North Atlantic Council said in a statement after a Monday meeting that the Russian actions against Turkey, a NATO member, posed “extreme danger”:

Russian military actions have reached a more dangerous level with the recent violations of Turkish airspace on 3 October and 4 October by Russian Air Force SU-30 and SU-24 aircraft in the Hatay region. The aircraft in question entered Turkish airspace despite Turkish authorities’ clear, timely and repeated warnings. In accordance with NATO practice, Turkish fighter aircraft responded to these incursions by closing to identify the intruder, after which the Russian planes departed Turkish airspace.

Allies strongly protest these violations of Turkish sovereign airspace, and condemn these incursions into and violations of NATO airspace. Allies also note the extreme danger of such irresponsible behavior. They call on the Russian Federation to cease and desist, and immediately explain these violations.

Analysts say Russia’s recent deployment of fighter jets, troops, and other equipment to Syria allows the Kremlin to challenge NATO on another front in the Middle East. President Vladimir Putin has already led the invasions of Georgia and Ukraine, former Soviet countries that the United States once planned to integrate into NATO.

Russian officials have also said that their “volunteer” forces might soon begin operations in Syria—the same description the Kremlin used for troops fighting in eastern Ukraine. More than 8,000 people have died in the conflict between Ukrainian forces and Russian-backed separatists.