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From Hitler to Erdogan: Liberal Passivity in the Face of Another Rising Fascist Empire

February 19, 2016

From Hitler to Erdogan: Liberal Passivity in the Face of Another Rising Fascist Empire

By Saladdin Ahmed

Thu, 18 Feb 2016, 01:07 PM

Source: From Hitler to Erdogan: Liberal Passivity in the Face of Another Rising Fascist Empire — The Jerusalem Post

Had Hitler been confronted in Spain, the world could have been spared World War II, saving many millions of lives both in Germany and elsewhere. Instead, international passivity in the face of Hitler’s aggressions in Spain from 1936 to 1938 emboldened him to invade the rest of Europe and launch his genocidal campaigns. Today, 80 years on, Erdogan is building a similar fascist front, and the revolution in North and West Kurdistan stands alone in its uncompromising opposition to that Neo-Ottoman project.

In 1936, the fate of the anarcho-communist revolution against fascists and nationalists led by Franco was met with similar indifference on the part of foreign governments. The struggling republic, which was born after the fall of the monarchy only five years prior, had the sympathy of liberal governments in the West (with the exception of some Catholic and conservative fractions that sympathized with the nationalists), but it was a cowardly sympathy completely lacking in action.

Progressive intellectuals around the world recognized that the Spanish Civil War would be a turning point in history, that it was the last hope to stop fascism from spreading to all of Europe. Yet, in spite of the tens of thousands of volunteers who joined the International Brigades, not a single Western government came to the aid of the poorly-armed revolutionaries. This continued even as Hitler and Mussolini ordered warplanes to bombard Barcelona and Madrid on daily bases and openly shipped weaponry and troops to bolster Franco’s forces. As the Munich Agreement proved, as late as October 1938, France and Britain were still trying to avoid any confrontation with Hitler, preferring to submit to his bullying politics.

Today’s Middle East and North Africa share striking parallels with late 1930s Europe. It is a region teeming with fascism, albeit of an Islamist persuasion, and at the very heart there is again a powerful populist leader with a deadly vision for the world.

Notwithstanding the influence of Saudi Arabia and Qatar, Erdogan is for Sunni Islamism what Hitler was for fascism. Turkey under Erdogan has been the single most powerful ally of Sunni Islamists from the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas to Al-Nusra and the Islamic State. Moreover, Erdogan’s popularity among Sunni Islamists of all backgrounds exceeds that of any other populist leader, and, to make things worse, his agenda has gone largely unnoticed, especially amidst the chaos in Iraq and Syria.

While Kurds and their allied progressive forces struggle to stop this rise of Islamism, the West has done little more than yield to Erdogan’s bullying politics with bad faith, hoping that he would one day stop supporting the Islamic State and other Islamist forces. Passive solidarity or sympathy alone will not enable Kurds and allied forces to stop Islamists in Syria. This is particularly the case given that Turkey, with the silent approval of NATO, continues to use all its power to destroy Kurds in both Turkey and Syria, just as Nazi Germany was directly involved in suppressing the ant-fascist revolution in Spain.

If the world remains reluctant to stop Erdogan, the impending disaster will indeed be comparable to World War II. While his two-faced politics with the liberal West – again resembling those of Hitler from 1936 to 1938 – continue for the time being, Erdogan’s imperialist Caliphate is already taking shape. At the same time, his politics of blackmailing the European Union with the refugee crisis and the United States with the prospect of (largely unmaterialized) support in the war on the Islamic State have proven extremely effective.

Erdogan intends to establish an Islamist empire by 2023, and if the popular support he enjoys at present is any indication, the coming empire will have the backing of the vast majority of Sunni Islamists. Turkey’s genocidal campaign against Kurds is therefore just the beginning. With time, the world will no doubt realize that Erdogan is a fatal threat to international peace; unfortunately, however, it will likely be too late. Just as world leaders were too late in putting a stop to Hitler in 1939, just as they failed to support Catalonian, Basque, and Spanish progressives, not to mention Jews, the world today stands idly by as the revolutionaries in Kurdistan confront NATO’s second largest army.

saladdinahmed.com

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Erdogan, Islamic Jihad, Islamic slaughter, Islamic State, Israel, Jihad, Middle East War, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Terrorism, Turkey, USA

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‘Turkey going crazy, jumps in to save & help terrorists tools’ – Assad’s adviser to RT

February 19, 2016

Turkey going crazy, jumps in to save & help terrorists tools’ – Assad’s adviser to RT

Published time: 19 Feb, 2016 01:41

Source: ‘Turkey going crazy, jumps in to save & help terrorists tools’ – Assad’s adviser to RT — RT News

Ankara is going “crazy” over Kurdish and Syrian army advances, which is why it ramped up its support of the so-called “moderate terrorists” and direct violations of Syria’s sovereignty, Assad’s political adviser Bouthaina Shaaban told RT.

Rejecting the avalanche of claims that Damascus and Russian air forces were involved in the bombing of schools and hospitals in Idlib and Alleppo provinces, that according to reports left dozens of civilians dead, Shaaban told RT that the media and politicians are basing their accusations on “unfounded claims…about what the Russians and the Syrian army are doing.”

“What the Syrian army in cooperation with Russian aircraft are doing is fighting terrorism in Syria… And what we are hopeful for is that other countries [will] join, because this terrorism is a threat to the entire[ty of] humanity,” Shaaban stressed.

Read more

The success of the anti-terror campaign on the ground, especially along the Turkish border, is making other regional players such as Ankara and Saudi Arabia “go crazy” in their statements and reactions, because they are the ones who are invested so much in “supporting terrorism in Syria,” Shaaban said.

Shaaban accused Ankara of leading the war against Syria by taking advantage of the shared border to allow the infiltration of jihadists “from all over the world” into the Arab Republic.

At a time when the Syrian army and Kurdish forces are making gains on the ground, Turkey is “attacking our cities and villages directly” in order to “save” their investments in the jihadist force they sent into Syria, the adviser said.

“Once Turkey saw that these terrorists are failing or they are being defeated, Turkey jumped in to save them and to help them,” Shaaban said.

READ MORE: Dozens of Turkish military vehicles cross Syria border, dig trenches – report

The UNSC is yet to respond with an official reaction to a letter from Damascus which requested the world body to “stop” Turkish shelling of the Syrian border towns, the adviser noted, adding that in total Syria has sent “over 300 letters” from the beginning of the crisis outlining Turkish violations.

While violating Syrian sovereignty at the same Ankara is “accusing the Kurds of the things that they are not doing,” Shaaban added.

READ MORE: Turkey launched 100+ artillery strikes on Syrian towns in Aleppo – Russian military

Turkey leadership’s ambitions, according to Assad’s adviser, go as far as to resurrect the Ottoman Empire and they are using every means possible, including the refugee crisis, to achieve their agenda.

“It is Turkey who started the refugee crisis four years ago. It was Turkey who put tanks on the borders well before any Syrian refugee was at any border,” she said. The only way out of the refugee crisis is for “Europe and Syria to speak together.”

Read more

“Turkey dismantled our factories, stole our heritage; has ambitions to recreate the Ottoman Empire in the Arab world…plus Erdogan government is a Muslim Brotherhood government and that is why they are launching this war with all the terrorist tools,” Shaaban added.

The Damascus spokesperson also once again stressed that there is no such a thing as “moderate” terrorism.

“Anyone who carries arms against civilians, against government, against institutions is a terrorist. Political opposition should be dealing with politics, should be in opposition against the government but by political means, without using arms, without killing people, without beheading people,” she said.

“Can terrorism be moderate?,” Shaaban asked rhetorically, noting that the gruesome 2013 footage showing a Syrian rebel commander who cut out the heart of a fallen enemy soldier before eating it, was a fighter with the Free Syrian Army, which the US and their coalition consider to be part of the “moderate” force.

The adviser did not deny that the conflict results in unfortunate collateral damage and accidental civilian deaths, but insisted that the only way to stop innocent people from dying is to “put an end to terrorism” and to stop arming and funding the extremists by strictly following the United Nations security council resolution that forbids countries supporting jihadist groups in Syria.

There are all the means available if there is a real will to put an end to terrorism. There is the Security Council resolution 2235, which should force countries to stop financing, arming, facilitating and sending mercenaries and terrorist into Syria,” Shaaban told RT.

“I hope that the Western world would stop looking at Erdogan’s government as the means to help them whether in fighting terrorism or stopping the refugee crisis,” Shaaban said. “We would wish that Russia and America and all countries in the world would join forces in fighting terrorism…instead of exchanging accusations which lead nowhere.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Iran Scam, Islamic Jihad, Islamic slaughter, Islamic State, Middle East, Syria, Terrorism, Turkey, USA

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Turkey wants secure line made 10 km within Syria, including Azaz, Deputy PM says

February 17, 2016

Turkey wants secure line made 10 km within Syria, including Azaz, Deputy PM says

DAILY SABAH WITH REUTERS

Source: Turkey wants secure line made 10 km within Syria, including Azaz, Deputy PM says – Daily Sabah

Displaced Syrians fleeing areas in the northern embattled province of Aleppo, walk past tents at the Bab al-Salama camp, set up outside the Syrian city of Azaz on Syrias northern border with Turkey (AFP Photo)

Displaced Syrians fleeing areas in the northern embattled province of Aleppo, walk past tents at the Bab al-Salama camp, set up outside the Syrian city of Azaz on Syria’s northern border with Turkey (AFP Photo)

Turkey wants a secure strip of territory 10 km (6.2 miles) deep on the Syrian side of its border, including the town of Azaz, to prevent attempts to “change the demographic structure” of the area and for humanitarian purposes, Deputy Prime Minister Yalçın Akdoğan said on Wednesday.

Assad forces backed by Russian air strikes have advanced towards the Turkish border in a major offensive in recent weeks. YPG fighters, regarded by Ankara as terrorists, have taken advantage of the violence to seize territory from Syrian rebels.

Turkey has accused the YPG of pursuing “demographic change” in northern Syria by forcibly displacing Turkmen and Arab communities.

“There is a game being played with the aim of changing the demographic structure. Turkey should not be part of this game,” Akdoğan said in an interview on the AHaber television station.

“What we want is to create a secure strip, including Azaz, 10 km deep inside Syria and this zone should be free from clashes,” he said.

Azaz is the last rebel stronghold before the border with Turkey north of the Syrian city of Aleppo, part of what was, before the Assad offensive, a supply route from Turkey to the rebels fighting Assad.

It has come under heavy assault in recent days, but Turkey has said it will not let the town fall into the hands of the Kurdish YPG militia.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel had also said that she supports Ankara’s proposal for a no-fly zone in northern Syria.

Ankara has been requesting that the U.N. establish “safe zones” in Syria since 2012 but could not find the necessary international support.

Turkey, home to more than 2.6 million Syrian refugees, has long pushed for the creation of a safe zone in northern Syria to protect displaced civilians, avoiding the need to bring them into Turkey.

But the proposal has so far gained little traction with Washington or NATO allies who fear it would require an internationally patrolled no-fly zone which could put them in direct confrontation with Assad and his allies.

Akdoğan said another 600,000 people could flee to the Turkish border if Aleppo falls to the Syrian army.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Aleppo, Azaz, Isis, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Islamic slaughter, Islamic State, Jihad, Merkel, Middle East War, Russia, Syria, Terrorism, Turkey, USA, YPG

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China Puts Advanced Missiles on Disputed Southeast Asian Island

February 17, 2016

China Puts Advanced Missiles on Disputed Southeast Asian Island Obama: U.S. military will sail, fly freely in South China Sea

BY: Bill Gertz Follow @BillGertz
February 17, 2016 5:00 am

Source: China Puts Advanced Missiles on Disputed Southeast Asian Island

President Obama defended U.S. naval and aircraft operations near disputed South China Sea islands claimed by China on Tuesday as new intelligence revealed Beijing recently placed advanced air defense missiles in the Paracels.

“Freedom of navigation must be upheld,” Obama said, adding “the United States will continue to fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows, and we will support the right of all countries to do the same.”

The remarks followed a meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, in Sunnylands, Calif. Obama and leaders from 10 ASEAN nations agreed to defend the sea from Chinese encroachment.

“We discussed the need for tangible steps in the South China Sea to lower tensions, including a halt to further reclamation, new construction, and militarization of disputed areas,” Obama said.

The president said the United States would continue to help regional states bolster maritime capabilities and resolve disputes peacefully and legally.

Obama said “the United States will continue to stand with those across Southeast Asia who are working to advance rule of law, good governance, accountable institutions, and the universal human rights of all people.”

At the Pentagon, defense officials said recent intelligence revealed that China deployed advanced HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles on Woody Island, in the Paracel island chain in the northwestern part of the sea.

The missile deployment was detected in the past several days, said officials familiar with reports of the deployment.

The buildup of air defense missiles highlights what defense officials said is China’s continuing militarization of disputed islands in the sea.

China has demanded a halt to all U.S. warship transits through the sea, and aerial reconnaissance flights over it.

The HQ-9 is an advanced anti-aircraft system that can also shoot down short-range missiles.

The missiles are likely to heighten tensions as they could be used against U.S. reconnaissance aircraft that frequently fly over the sea.

Retired Navy Capt. Jim Fanell, a former Pacific Fleet intelligence chief, said the HQ-9 is a formidable air defense missile that can cover 125 miles.

“We should not be surprised in the least about this turn of events, as it is in keeping with the strategic trend line of China’s ‘maritime sovereignty campaign’ that has been in place since 2010,” Fanell told the Washington Free Beacon.

China’s Navy chief, Adm. Wu Shengli, announced last month that that China would determine when and how to justify the militarization of new islands. The missiles on Woody appear to be a first step, Fanell said.

“The question now remains whether or not the U.S., Japan, Australia, and the representatives of ASEAN will continue to accede to Beijing’s bullying or will they band together in a ‘unified front’ and begin conducting joint patrols within China’s unofficially asserted territorial seas,” he said. “The time to act is fleeting, each hour, each day of delay will render the situation more dangerous or untenable.”

Rick Fisher, a China military affairs analyst, said the advanced missile deployment is a major military escalation by China in the South China Sea.

“China’s deployment of up to 64 HQ-9 surface-to-air missiles to Woody Island just before the ASEAN summit in California constitutes a major slap against ASEAN and the Obama administration,” said Fisher, who is associated with the International Assessment and Strategy Center.

“It should now be clear that Obama administration diplomacy and freedom of navigation operations are useless in stopping China from militarizing its islands in the Paracel and Spratly island groups,” he said.

China’s military has said the recent passage of a warship near Triton Island in the Parcels could trigger a further military buildup.

Fisher said China could supplement the HQ-9s with long-range YJ-62 anti-ship cruise missiles or DF-21D anti-ship ballistic missiles, which have a range of 870 miles.

“Nobody is suggesting that the U.S. attack China’s dangerous island bases, but the administration can deploy sufficient counterforce to deter China from using its bases,” Fisher said.

China deployed J-11 jet fighters to Woody Island last October.

Two months later a U.S. B-52 bomber overflew the disputed Spratly Islands, drawing a sharp rebuke from China’s government.

The commander of the U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Harry Harris, has rejected China’s expansive South China Sea claims. Harris said in a recent speech that the South China Sea is “no more China’s than the Gulf of Mexico is Mexico’s.”

The Pentagon has said some $5.3 trillion in international trade passes through the sea each year.

China is claiming some 90 percent of the South China Sea as its maritime domain, and has built up some 3,200 acres of new islands where military facilities, including deepwater ports and airfields, are being built.

Woody Island, called Yongxing Island by China, is located about 100 miles southeast of Triton Island, where the guided-missile destroyer USS Curtis Wilbur made a close-in passage on Jan. 30. The Pentagon said the transit was designed to demonstrate freedom of navigation to three claimants to the island, China, Vietnam, and Taiwan.

China has denied it is militarizing the sea and has criticized the United States for what it says are provocative freedom of navigation operations. In addition to the Curtis, the USS Lassen passed within 12 miles of Subi Reef in the Spratlys last October.

The HQ-9 deployment was first reported by Foxnews.com on Tuesday.

The missiles were revealed on commercial satellite imagery along a beach on Woody Island. The missiles were sent there between Feb. 3 and Feb. 14.

During a summit meeting between Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping, the Beijing leader promised not to militarize newly-created South China Sea islands.

It is not clear if the September commitment included Woody Island, about 1 square mile in size that has had a military garrison since 2012.

The Communist Party-affiliated newspaper Global Times published a commentary Saturday criticizing U.S. military operations in the South China Sea as a serious political and military provocation.

“On the surface, Washington calls for international laws and norms, such as freedom of navigation, to be the guiding principle in the South China Sea,” wrote Zhang Tengjun, a research fellow at the China Institute of International Studies in Beijing.

“In fact, it tries to hype up China’s ‘threat’ to regional security and ASEAN’s interests so more ASEAN members will join a US-led front to counter China.”

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: China, Freedom of navigation, Obama, South China Sea, United States, USA

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Exclusive: Whistleblowers Warned Top Spy About Skewed ISIS Intel

February 17, 2016

Exclusive: Whistleblowers Warned Top Spy About Skewed ISIS Intel It wasn’t just the generals who were warned that ISIS intelligence assessments were overly rosy. The office of the director of national intelligence knew, too.

Source: Exclusive: Whistleblowers Warned Top Spy About Skewed ISIS Intel – The Daily Beast

U.S. military analysts told the nation’s top intelligence official that their reports on ISIS were skewed and manipulated by their bosses, The Daily Beast has learned. The result: an overly optimistic account of the campaign against the terror group.

The complaints, lodged by analysts at U.S. Central Command in 2015, are separate from allegations that analysts made to the Defense Department inspector general, who is now investigating “whether there was any falsification, distortion, delay, suppression, or improper modification of intelligence information” by the senior officials that run CENTCOM’s intelligence group.

This second set of accusations, which have not been previously reported, were made to the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI). They show that the officials charged with overseeing all U.S. intelligence activities were aware, through their own channels, of potential problems with the integrity of information on ISIS, some of which made its way to President Obama.

The analysts have said that they believe their reports were altered for political reasons, namely to adhere to Obama administration officials’ public statements that the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS is making progress and has put a dent in the group’s financing and operations.

Administration officials have denied that the intelligence reports came under political pressure. But Republican lawmakers and presidential candidates have questioned whether the public is being given an honest account of what effect hundreds of U.S. airstrikes have had on ISIS. The allegations of skewed intelligence have come up in several congressional hearings and figured in an early Republican presidential debate.

The analysts made their claims to the ODNI in response to written surveys that were sent out by its Analytic Integrity and Standards Group last year, as part of a “periodic assessment” to take the pulse of the intelligence community, according to U.S. officials.

Director of National Intelligence James Clapper was asked about the defense inspector general investigation in September during a congressional oversight hearing. At the time, he gave no indication that his own office was aware through its own channels of the analysts’ accusations.

“It is an almost sacred writ… in the intelligence profession never to politicize intelligence. I don’t engage in it. I never have and I don’t condone it when it’s identified,” Clapper told the Senate Armed Services Committee.

But Clapper sought to downplay what he called “media hyperbole” about the substance of the analysts’ complaints. “I think it’s best that we all await the outcome of the DOD I.G. investigation to determine whether and to what extent there was any politicization of intelligence at CENTCOM,” Clapper said.

A spokesperson for the defense inspector general declined to comment for this story.

In the survey from the ODNI, the analysts accused their superiors of editing or rejecting reports that cast doubt on whether the U.S.-led campaign against ISIS was dealing a crippling blow, and they accused senior CENTCOM intelligence officials of attempting to delete emails and other reports that provided evidence of their manipulations, according to a source familiar with the survey who spoke on condition of anonymity.

CENTCOM said no emails were deleted.

“It is important to allow the DoD IG investigation to run its course. However, I can tell you that neither Maj. Gen. Grove nor Mr Ryckman deleted any e-mails associated with the investigation. In fact, as a matter of CENTCOM policy, all senior leader e-mails are kept in storage for record keeping purposes. CENTCOM continues to cooperate fully with the DOD IG investigation,” Air Force Col. Patrick Ryder said in a statement to the Daily Beast.

It’s not clear when the survey responses were reviewed by ODNI officials, but they were included in a report that was finished by December 2015.

The ODNI chose not to investigate the claims of impropriety on its own because the Defense Department’s inspector general had already launched an investigation, sources familiar with the matter told The Daily Beast. That investigation, which hasn’t been completed, began after more than 50 CENTCOM analysts filed complaints with the Pentagon watchdog in July 2015.

U.S. Central Command, based in Tampa, Florida, is responsible for U.S. military operations across the Middle East, from Egypt to Afghanistan. There are more than 1,000 analysts assigned to assessing intelligence and other data on the security situation of the region. They include troops and civilian intelligence analysts who work for the nation’s various intelligence agencies.

The ODNI oversees all intelligence agencies, military and civilian, and is ultimately responsible for ensuring that intelligence reports are free from political influence and bias and that they’re based on sound, verifiable sources of information.

The ODNI standards group was set up by law following the botched intelligence community analysis of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction program in 2002 (PDF), which suppressed dissenting views that doubted Saddam Hussein had a viable chemical weapons program. That report, which has been effectively disavowed, was seized upon by senior Bush administration officials to make a public case for invading the country.

The standards group “conducts regular periodic assessments of finished analytic products” and reviews them “for timeliness, objectivity and independence from political considerations, and ensures that the products are based upon all sources of available intelligence and employ the standards of proper analytic tradecraft,” Timothy Barrett, a spokesperson for the ODNI, told The Daily Beast in a written statement. “Intelligence analysis from CENTCOM was reviewed by [the group] in 2015 as a part of the periodic assessment, and the information is available to Congress and the [Defense Department inspector general],” Barrett said.

It wasn’t clear whether the congressional committees that oversee intelligence activities had seen the comments from CENTCOM analysts. According to one source familiar with the document, it has been classified at the “secret” level and cannot be widely shared with lawmakers beyond the two intelligence committees.

A task force composed of staff from three House committees—on intelligence, armed services, and appropriations—is investigating the analysts’ allegations and whether they reflect any systemic problems with intelligence analysis.

It remains unclear whether the analysts’ complaints to the ODNI led to any corrective actions or halted what they saw as an inappropriate practice of selectively altering reports. Three sources who are familiar with the defense inspector general’s investigation told The Daily Beast that the watchdog had conducted interviews with analysts at CENTCOM’s headquarters in Tampa, and had reviewed documents allegedly showing that senior officials, including Maj. Gen. Steven Grove, the command’s intelligence director, and his civilian deputy, Gregory Ryckman, had deleted emails and files from computer systems before the inspector general could examine them.

“The cancer was within the senior level of the intelligence command,” one defense official told The Daily Beast. The pushback by the analysts has been described as a “revolt.”

One person who knows the contents of the written complaint they sent to the defense inspector general said it used the word “Stalinist” to describe the tone set by officials overseeing CENTCOM’s analysis.

Two officials at CENTCOM told The Daily Beast they were not aware of the ODNI’s efforts or the survey that analysts had completed. They said the biggest changes to intelligence practices came in the days after analysts filed their complaint with the inspector general. Army Gen. Lloyd Austin, the commander of CENTCOM, urged analysts to speak up if they felt their assessments were being altered.

In the wake of the allegations of politicizing intelligence, some of the people who receive CENTCOM reports told The Daily Beast that they read them more skeptically.

But the reliability of CENTCOM’s analysis has only become more important since the accusations first emerged. In Afghanistan, the Taliban is resurgent and both ISIS and al Qaeda are trying to expand their footprint. In Iraq, U.S. and Iraqi forces pushed ISIS out of Ramadi, raising hopes that the two nations could launch a similar campaign in Iraq’s second-biggest city, Mosul, which serves as ISIS’s Iraqi capital.

In Yemen, ISIS is weaker but al Qaeda is stronger. And in Syria, Russian strikes are helping forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reclaim territory in the city of Aleppo. Should that city fall squarely to the regime, Syria would devolve into a war largely between the regime and ISIS, leaving the Western world with no good outcomes for the fate of that state.

Were that to happen, unvarnished analysis on ISIS and the state of the war would be more important than ever.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Al Qaeda, CENTCOM, Isis, James Clapper, Middle East, Middle East War, Obama, ODNI, Syria, Taliban, USA

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UNSC urges Turkey to ‘comply with intl law’ in Syria after Russia requests meeting

February 17, 2016

UNSC urges Turkey to ‘comply with intl law’ in Syria after Russia requests meeting

Published time: 16 Feb, 2016 21:01 Edited time: 16 Feb, 2016 22:30

Source: UNSC urges Turkey to ‘comply with intl law’ in Syria after Russia requests meeting — RT News

Following a briefing requested by Russia, the UN Security Council has urged Ankara to comply with international law in Syria. The closed-door meeting was called to discuss recent Turkish shelling of Kurdish YPG militia targets in Syria’s north.

READ MORE: Turkey shells Kurdish forces in Syria for 4th successive day

“UN Security Council members are concerned with the Turkish attacks on a number of Syrian regions,” Venezuelan Ambassador Rafael Ramirez, who now chairs the UNSC, said after the meeting, as cited by TASS.

The UN Security Council received a letter from the Syrian government in which Damascus condemned Turkey’s attacks in the north of Syria, Ramirez explained, noting that the entire council expressed “concern” about these violations.

“All members of the Security Council … agreed to ask for Turkey to comply with international law,” he added.

The UNSC also reiterated its commitment to the Munich agreement, expecting that all parties involved in the discussions will work toward a ceasefire to “allow humanitarian access for every place in the Syrian territory.”

Read more

When asked if the UNSC discussed the shelling of the hospitals and schools in Northern Syria on Monday which left close to 50 people dead, Ramirez said the Council indeed discussed the issue, but reached “no agreement” or “consensus” because of “different sources” of information on the incidents.

“Everybody is concerned about air strikes over humanitarian installations,” said Ramirez, stressing that the UNSC is trying to get “more information.”

The UNSC president highlighted the need to have Kurds represented in the Syrian peace process, and for Ankara not to escalate the situation even further.

“One of the issues expressed by some countries, including Venezuela, is that the Kurdish people have to be included in the discussion. Now that is the principle concern of Turkey,” Ramirez said during the briefing.

“Something that is important – the Kurds are fighting against the terrorist groups on the ground and this is an important factor for everybody,” Ramirez emphasized.

Turkish artillery units have been shelling targets in Syria for the fourth day in a row, as Ankara maintains its commitment to stopping the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) from claiming more territory in the north of the country. According to the Russian Ministry of Defense, both government and opposition-held towns over the border from Turkey have fallen under Ankara’s shelling.

While the Kurdish forces remain one of Washington’s main allies on the ground in Syria, Turkey being a NATO member is also a key partner in the US-led anti-ISIS coalition. The US State Department on Tuesday urged all sides to avoid escalation of tensions on the Syria-Turkey border.

“I am aware of the reports… that they [Turkish forces] have struck the YPG affiliated forces,” State Department spokesperson Mark Toner said. “We have urged the YPG to avoid moves that will heighten tensions with Turkey. But at the same time we have also urged Turkey to cease any artillery… its artillery fire across the border.”

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Islamic Jihad, Islamic slaughter, Islamic State, Jihad, Middle East, Middle East War, Russia, Terrorism, Turkey, U.S. Congress, UN Security Council, UNSC, USA, YPG

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Turkey launched 100+ artillery strikes on Syrian towns in Aleppo

February 17, 2016

Turkey launched 100+ artillery strikes on Syrian towns in Aleppo

Russian military Published time: 16 Feb, 2016 20:55

Source: Turkey launched 100+ artillery strikes on Syrian towns in Aleppo – Russian military — RT News

© Abdalrhman Ismail

Both government and opposition-held towns in Syria over the border from Turkey have fallen under Ankara’s shelling that began last week, according the Russian Ministry of Defense.

Turkey’s artillery has fired more than 100 shells at bordering areas in the northwest province of Aleppo, targeting both Syrian government forces and the opposition, MoD spokesman Igor Konashenkov told reporters on Tuesday.

Read more

“Since the end of the last week Turkey has been launching massive artillery strikes on the Syrian government and the Syrian opposition at the border areas. Impartial monitoring bodies have detected more than a hundred rounds of fire that targeted border towns in the province of Aleppo,” Konashenkov said.

Last week Turkey started pounding Syrian Kurdish forces with fire in northern Syria in an apparent attempt to stop them from taking over the city of Azaz, Aleppo.

On Monday, at least 14 people were killed after missiles hit a children’s hospital, a school and other buildings, witnesses told Reuters. Ankara was quick to blame Russia for the strikes in Azaz.

Monday’s attacks have been condemned by the international community, with the UN calling on war parties to reduce hostility ahead of the planned ceasefire in Syria.

On a separate occasion, members of the United Nations Security Council expressed their concern with the aggressive actions carried out by Ankara in Syria and will urge it to follow international law.

“The UN Security Council members are concerned with the Turkish attacks on a number of Syrian regions,” UNSC President Rafael Ramirez said, according to TASS news agency, after a meeting held upon Russia’s request, adding that the members “have agreed to ask Turkey to obey international law.”

Russia’s ministry of defense statement came as a response to Turkish officials who accused Moscow of conducting a deadly attack on Syrian civilians. On Monday, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu claimed a Russian warship in the Caspian Sea launched a ballistic missile that hit a hospital in the Idlib province. Following the hospital, reports of five medical facilitates and several schools being attacked in the city of Azaz also emerged.

Russia shrugged off the fresh claims on Tuesday saying there are no warships in the Caspian fleet “capable of launching ballistic missiles.”

The allegations, described as “empty” and “unfounded” were overturned by Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov as well.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Aleppo, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Islamic slaughter, Islamic State, Middle East, Middle East War, Russia, Syria, Terrorism, Turkey, USA

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Turkey shells Kurdish forces in Syria for 4th successive day

February 16, 2016

Turkey shells Kurdish forces in Syria for 4th successive day

Published time: 16 Feb, 2016 12:49

Source: Turkey shells Kurdish forces in Syria for 4th successive day — RT News

Turkish tanks stationed at a Turkish army position near the Oncupinar crossing gate close to the town of Kilis, south central Turkey, fire towards the Syria border, on February 16, 2016. © Bulent Kilic

Turkey has shelled Syrian Kurdish forces in northern Syria for the fourth day in a row. Ankara is trying to stop Kurdish YPG forces from claiming the town of Azaz, which is just eight kilometers from the Turkish border.

Turkish artillery units in the southeastern province of Kilis fired shells at Kurdish targets on Tuesday morning, in areas that were under the control of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), Today’s Zaman daily reports citing the Dogan news agency.

The sound of shelling could be heard from Kilis city center, just kilometers from the Syrian border.

A Turkish official said on Tuesday that Ankara will ask its coalition partners, including the US, to take part in a joint ground operation in Syria. However, Turkey is adamant that it will not launch such an offensive on its own.

“Turkey is not going to have a unilateral ground operation. We are asking coalition partners that there should be a ground operation. We are discussing this with allies,” the official told reporters at a briefing in Istanbul, as cited by Reuters.

“We want a ground operation. If there is a consensus, Turkey will take part. Without a ground operation, it is impossible to stop this war.”

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmed Davutoglu said on Monday Ankara will not allow the town of Azaz in northern Syria to fall to the YPG forces. The PM promised the “harshest reaction,” if the group attempts to re-take the city.

“YPG elements were forced away from around Azaz. If they approach again they will see the harshest reaction. We will not allow Azaz to fall,” Davutoglu told reporters on his plane bound for Ukraine, Reuters reported.

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He said the Turkish military would render Syria’s Menagh airbase “unusable” if YPG forces do not retreat from the area, which they previously captured from Islamist militants. He warned the YPG not to move east of its Afrin region or west of the Euphrates River.

Turkey regards the YPG militia as a hostile insurgent force and is worried about the Syrian Kurds seizing more territory along the Turkish-Syrian border.

The United Nations Security Council will discuss Turkey’s shelling of Kurdish targets in Syria on Tuesday following a request from Russia. Moscow is backing the Kurdish militia fighters by offering them air support as they battle anti-government forces and Islamic State.

“It’s an absolutely unacceptable situation – what’s going on there on the Turkish-Syrian border. Syria complained to the Security Council, and provided all the materials on this issue. We will definitely support raising this issue in the Security Council,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova told RT on Monday.

“The international community and the global media is so concerned about the humanitarian situation in Syria, about accusing Russia of doing this or that and they paid no attention to what’s going on just on the Turkish-Syrian border, what the Turks are doing and the humanitarian situation there – it’s a disaster.”

Washington and Paris have both called on Turkey to cease its massive artillery bombardment against Kurdish targets and de-escalate tensions on all sides.

“We are concerned about the situation north of Aleppo and are working to de-escalate tensions on all sides,” State Department spokesman John Kirby said in a statement. “We have also seen reports of artillery fire from the Turkish side of the border and urged Turkey to cease such fire.”

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Tags: Islam, Islamic Jihad, Islamic slaughter, Islamic State, Middle East War, Russia, Syria, Turkey, Turkey shells Kurdish forces, USA, YPG

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Merkel calls for ‘no-fly zone’ in Syria

February 16, 2016

Merkel calls for ‘no-fly zone’ in Syria

Published time: 16 Feb, 2016 04:53 Edited time: 16 Feb, 2016 10:34

Source: Merkel calls for ‘no-fly zone’ in Syria — RT News

Russian Sukhoi Su-24 frontline bomber takes off from the Hemeimeem airbase in the Latakia province, Syria. © Dmitriy Vinogradov

German Chancellor Angela Merkel has backed the controversial idea of imposing a no-fly zone over northern Syria to alleviate the refugee crisis as the country plays along with Ankara’s demands for the creation of a “buffer area” along its border.

“In the current situation it would be helpful, if there could be such an area, where none of the parties are allowed to launch aerial attacks, that is to say, a kind of no-fly zone,” Merkel told the daily Stuttgarter Zeitung, when asked by the publication about opening up areas to host refugees.

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Echoing a long-standing call from Turkey to establish a no-fly zone over parts of Syria, Merkel stressed that while it is impossible to negotiate with terrorists from Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), she said it would be helpful if the “anti-Assad coalition and the Assad-supporters … come to an agreement.”

Berlin’s rhetoric, which has been aimed at appeasing Turkey for months, goes against NATO policy. The body turned down the no-fly zone proposal as late as last week.

The Alliance’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg stressed that NATO will leave the issue of enforcing a potential no-fly zone over Syria to the US anti-IS coalition. Stoltenberg’s reaction last Thursday came after Turkey’s president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, renewed calls for the establishment of a secure zone in Syria, arguing it was the only way to deal with the influx of migrants and refugees.

Russia, which is leading an effective air campaign against terrorists in Syria, has on numerous occasions warned that creating such a zone will aid only terrorists and divide the war-torn country. While a no-fly zone would ensure that aircraft are not allowed to enter the protected air space, it would not, however, prevent the continuation of hostilities on the ground.

READ MORE: ‘Huge step forward’: Russia’s FM spox Zakharova on Syria peace commitments and challenges

On Monday, Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov insisted that his country will continue striking jihadist positions.

“Airstrikes on terrorist groups’ facilities will be continued in any case, even if the Syrian ceasefire agreement is reached. Because the point is that this ceasefire should apply to those who are really interested in the beginning of the negotiating process, and not to the terrorists,” Gatilov said in an interview with the German magazine Der Spiegel.

Yet Merkel continues to side with Ankara, believing that Erdogan’s proposed solution is the only way out of the refugee crisis.

“I can totally understand Turkish politicians reproaching us Europeans for not being able to explain not taking refugees in Europe while at the same time urging them to keep their Turkish borders open for further needy Syrian refugees,” she said.

Merkel’s call for the creation of the no-fly zone is supported by German military and political heavyweights, journalist Michael Opperskalski told RT. Yet, the journalist noted, Merkel faces tough opposition in Berlin.

“She is supported by Foreign Minister Steinmeier, the German foreign intelligence service – BND, and other high ranking government responsible forces,” Opperskalski noted, stressing that some see it as part of the “anti-Russian campaign.”

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He explained that Merkel and her government are “pressured” by Turkey to advocate the no-fly zone, “to follow the Turkish regime interest due to the refugee crisis.” The second reason behind Merkel’s rhetoric he says is Berlin’s “open agenda” for a “regime change by all means in Syria.”

The call for the buffer zone also stems from the massive Syrian army advances in Northern Syria against terrorist groups, aided by the Russian air campaign, which makes both Germany and Turkey “very nervous,” the journalist says.

“They are not interested in peace, but they want to stop the advance by the forces on the ground,” Opperskalski believes.

Calling Berlin’s move a “big and very dirty game,” the German journalist noted that the military establishment in the country is being split on the matter, with some being “very much against” the creation of a no-fly zone.

Forces who argue against the move say “it will not be useful as fight against ISIS,” with some arguing, as Opperskalski notes, that “Russian intervention is the real force opening the peace perspective for Syria.”

“The government and the institutions are getting more and more divided on the course of the direction of the activity, and especially when it comes to possible confrontation on political and other levels with Russia, and on perspective of the regime change in Syria,” Opperskalski told RT.

Categories: Uncategorized
Tags: Merkel, Merkel calls for ‘no-fly zone’ in Syria, Russia, Syria, Turkey, USA

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Turkey vows ‘harsh reaction’ if Kurds try to take Syrian town

February 15, 2016

Turkey vows ‘harsh reaction’ if Kurds try to take Syrian town

February 15, 2016, Monday/ 12:05:44/ REUTERS | KIEV | ISTANBUL

Source: Turkey vows ‘harsh reaction’ if Kurds try to take Syrian town

Turkey vows ‘harsh reaction’ if Kurds try to take Syrian town

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu speaks to reporters on his plane en route to Ukraine on Monday. (Photo: DHA)

Turkey will not allow the northern Syrian town of Azaz to fall into the hands of Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and its fighters will face the “harshest reaction” if they approach it again, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said on Monday.

A major offensive supported by Russian bombing and Iranian-backed Shiite militias has brought the Syrian army to within 25 km (15 miles) of the Turkish border. The YPG has exploited the situation, seizing ground from Syrian rebels to extend its presence along the Turkish border.

Turkey is infuriated by the expansion of Kurdish influence in northern Syria, fearing it will encourage separatist ambitions among its own Kurds. The YPG, which Ankara considers to be a terrorist group, controls nearly all of Syria’s frontier with Turkey.

Speaking to reporters on his plane en route to Ukraine, Davutoğlu said YPG fighters would have taken control of rebel-held Azaz and the town of Tal Rifaat further south had it not been for Turkish artillery firing at them over the weekend.

“YPG elements were forced away from around Azaz. If they approach again they will see the harshest reaction. We will not allow Azaz to fall,” Davutoğlu said.

He said Turkey would make the Menagh air base north of the city of Aleppo “unusable” if the YPG, which seized it over the weekend from Syrian insurgents, did not withdraw. He warned the YPG not to move east of the Afrin region or west of the Euphrates River, long a “red line” for Ankara.

Azaz came under heavy fire again on Monday. At least 14 civilians were killed when missiles hit a children’s hospital, a school and other locations, a medic and two residents said.

Syria’s rebels, some backed by the United States, Turkey and their allies, say the YPG is fighting with the Syrian military against them in the five-year-old civil war. The YPG denies this.

Ankara views the YPG as an extension of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). Washington, which does not see the YPG as terrorists, supports the group in the fight against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Syria.

NATO member Turkey is now at risk of being dragged ever deeper into the Syrian conflict. Turkish financial markets including the lira currency were weaker on Monday on fears about the situation.

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Tags: Ahmet Davutoglu, Azaz, Islam, Islamic Jihad, Islamic slaughter, Islamic State, Middle East War, Russia, Syria, Turkey, USA, YPG

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