Posted tagged ‘USA’

Caddell: Electing Clinton Will Institutionalize Corruption

October 27, 2016

Caddell: Electing Hillary Clinton Will Institutionalize Corruption like a Third World Banana Republic

by Dan Riehl

27 Oct 2016Washington, DC

Source: Caddell: Electing Clinton Will Institutionalize Corruption

Greg Allen/Invision/AP

Democratic pollster and analyst Pat Caddell, in speaking of a potential Hillary Clinton presidency, told Breitbart News Daily SiriusXM host Alex Marlow on Thursday, “We’re talking about institutionalizing corruption in a way that is like a third-world Banana Republic if she’s elected.”

Caddell added, “And that is not being presented to the American people, who are quite concerned about corruption.”

Caddell was pointing out the degree to which the media have mostly ignored the details behind the questionable financial practices involving the Clintons, instead focusing far more on negative coverage of Donald Trump.

The two also discussed recent WikiLeaks revelations about Hillary Clinton’s indifference to corruption, as Breitbart News reported: “[Hillary Clinton] seems indifferent to the systemic corruption that makes it impossible for government to act for the middle class or address big problems, like climate or health care. She may be immune to pay-to-play, but the systemic isn’t. She’s got to distinguish between self and country — and needs to.”

Turkey threatens to attack Kurdish-held Manbij, Syria

October 27, 2016

Turkey threatens to attack Kurdish-held Manbij, Syria

Published time: 27 Oct, 2016 12:45

Source: Turkey threatens to attack Kurdish-held Manbij, Syria — RT News

A man walks on the rubble of damaged buildings in Manbij, in Aleppo Governorate, Syria © Rodi Said / Reuters

Turkish forces in Syria will attack the Kurdish-held town of Manbij after taking the town of al-Bab from Islamic State, the Turkish president has said. He added that Turkey would not allow the Kurds to hold an area west of Mosul, Iraq.

In addition to threatening Kurdish forces in Syria and Iraq, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech on Thursday reiterated Ankara’s willingness to send troops to Islamic State’s (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) Syrian stronghold Raqqa after dealing with al-Bab. Erdogan also said he had informed the US of the plans on Wednesday.

Read more

US Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter speaks as French Defence Minister listens on during a joint press conference following a meeting with ministers from 12 other countries on October 25, 2016 in Paris. © Martin Bureau

Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik told state broadcaster TRT on Thursday that Ankara does not want Kurdish forces to take part in a future offensive on Raqqa, and has asked the US not to call them in. The US military had earlier said Kurdish YPG militias would be part of the offensive against IS in Syria.

Turkey launched a ground incursion into Syria in August, attacking both IS and Kurdish militias. The force includes both Turkish regular troops and Turkish-backed Syrian militias fighting as the Free Syrian Army (FSA). The Turkish Air Force supports the offensive.

Kurdish militias have been a key ally of the US-led coalition fighting Islamic State both in Syria and Iraq. Iraqi Kurds are taking part in the ongoing offensive against Mosul, another stronghold of the terrorist organization. In Syria, coalition airstrikes helped a mixed Kurdish-Arab force dominated by the YPG to take Manbij from IS in August.

The US support for the Kurdish fighters has angered Ankara, which considers them terrorists and a major security threat to Turkey. The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in Turkey waged a decades-long guerrilla war against the Turkish government. Ankara says Kurds in neighboring Syria and Iraq are helping the PKK in the hostilities and regularly attacks Kurdish positions in both countries.

The Mosul operation in Iraq highlighted the disarray in the coalition, with Turkey forcing its way into taking part in the campaign despite objections from the Kurds and the Iraqi government. It also insisted that Shiite militias, which helped the regular Iraqi Army fight IS, were not part of the offensive.

On Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu threatened that Turkey will use its ground forces in Iraq to attack the Kurds if it felt threatened. In his Thursday speech, President Erdogan said Turkey would not allow the Kurdish militias holding the region of Sinjar west of Mosul to turn it into a new base for the PKK.

Launching an offensive in Raqqa is reportedly an option that the administration of President Barack Obama may take before he leaves office in January. Providing more weapons to the Kurds is considered a possible element for such an operation, but Turkish actions, which have already disrupted the White House’s timetable for Raqqa, have put the plan into question, the New York Times reported last week.

READ MORE: What could go wrong? Obama mulls arming Syrian Kurds against ISIS

Meanwhile, the operation in Mosul seems to be making slow progress, as IS fighters have avoided direct confrontation with the overwhelming – if disunited – forces surrounding the city. The terrorists have also used hit-and-run tactics to attack their opponents’ logistics.

Ash Carter: Raqqa Invasion Will Begin Before Mosul Campaign Ends

October 26, 2016

Ash Carter: Raqqa Invasion Will Begin Before Mosul Campaign Ends

BY:

October 25, 2016 6:00 pm

Source: Ash Carter: Raqqa Invasion Will Begin Before Mosul Campaign Ends

 

Secretary of Defense Ash Carter revealed Tuesday that Western allies fighting the Islamic State have already begun preparing to invade the terrorist group’s de facto capital of Raqqa in Syria before the ongoing military campaign to recapture the ISIS-controlled Iraqi city of Mosul is complete.

In anticipation of potential security threats and repercussions from the Islamic State’s expulsion from Mosul, Carter was hosted by his French counterpart, Jean-Yves Le Drian, in Paris and met with defense ministers from 12 other nations to discuss plans for Raqqa, the Wall Street Journal reported

“We’ve already begun laying the groundwork with our partners to commence the isolation of Raqqa,” Mr. Carter said. “As we meet here, we’re helping to generate the local forces that will do so.”

The question of what ground forces will lead the invasion of Raqqa is proving to be a thorny problem for the U.S. and its allies. Turkey, a key member of the anti-Islamic State coalition, has objected to Kurdish fighters, longtime foes of Ankara, being involved in the operation.

Mr. Carter on Tuesday described the soldiers that he hopes will take Raqqa as “capable and motivated local forces that we identify and then enable. The lasting defeat of ISIL can’t be achieved by outsiders; it can only be achieved by Syrians enabled by us.” ISIL is one acronym for Islamic State.

 

Carter and other senior officials believe that ISIS militants may begin retreating from Raqqa to plan other terrorist attacks in the region or Europe, raising the urgency to take Raqqa to prevent further attacks. French President François Hollande said Tuesday at the start of the meeting that the U.S.-led coalition would need to focus on picking out ISIS fighters from civilian masses expected to flee when combat reaches Mosul itself, Iraq’s second largest city.

“We must clearly identify them, and we must be extremely vigilant about the return of foreign fighters,” Hollande said.

Iraqi and Kurdish forces, with American advisers, began their operation to reclaim Mosul last week and have been largely successful, getting closer to the outskirts of the city of 1.2 million people. Iraqi security forces anticipate more resistance as they get closer to the central part of the city.

ISIS jihadists are expected to flee from Iraq and Syria as they lose territory, which concerns American advisers due to their likely tactic of reverting back to bombing civilian targets  or using guerrilla tactics, the Journal noted.

“Those who are hatching those plots, we’re killing the leadership of ISIL,” Mr. Carter said in Erbil on Sunday. “We’re getting more and more effective at doing that.”

Defense officials hoped the meeting Tuesday would get the coalition to focus on what happens after Islamic State loses its main territories and becomes more of a traditional terrorist threat.

“This meeting will follow up those themes, and start to push the conversation in a more focused way beyond Mosul and Raqqa,” a senior defense official said.

Hours prior to the Paris meeting, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg warned in Brussels that Russian naval ships headed towards the Mediterranean could strike targets and civilians in eastern Aleppo in Syria.

“The battle group may be used to increase Russia’s ability to take part in combat operations over Syria and to conduct even more airstrikes against Aleppo,” Stoltenberg said. “The concern is that the carrier group can be used as a platform for increased airstrikes against civilians in Aleppo.”

America’s Moment Of Truth

October 25, 2016

Published on Oct 25, 2016

Finally a real choice. The American way, or the European way?

Pat Condell

H/T  E.J.Bron

Clinton ally gave $500K to wife of FBI agent on email probe

October 24, 2016

Clinton ally gave $500K to wife of FBI agent on email probe.

By Daniel Halper

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (right) hugs Hillary Clinton as she arrives to speak at a campaign rally in Norfolk, S.C. Photo: AP

Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, a longtime Clinton confidant, helped steer $675,000 to the election campaign of the wife of an FBI official who went on to lead the probe into Hillary Clinton’s use of a private email system, according to a report.

The political action committee of McAuliffe, the Clinton loyalist, gave $467,500 to the state Senate campaign of the wife of Andrew McCabe, who is now deputy director of the FBI, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The report states Jill McCabe received an additional $207,788 from the Virginia Democratic Party, which is heavily influenced by McAuliffe.

The money directed by McAuliffe began flowing two months after the FBI investigation into Clinton began in July 2015. Around that time, the candidate’s husband was promoted from running the Washington field office for the FBI to the No. 3 position at the bureau.

Within a year, McCabe was promoted to deputy director, the second-highest position in the bureau.

In a statement to the Journal, the FBI said McCabe “played no role, attended no events, and did not participate in fundraising or support of any kind. Months after the completion of her campaign, then-Associate Deputy Director McCabe was promoted to Deputy, where, in that position, he assumed for the first time, an oversight role in the investigation into Secretary Clinton’s emails.”

The governor’s office claimed the FBI’s McCabe met the governor only once — on March 7, 2015, when McAuliffe persuaded Jill McCabe to run.

The 2015 Virginia state Senate run — her first attempt to gain public office — was unsuccessful as she lost to the incumbent Republican.

McAuliffe “supported Jill McCabe because he believed she would be a good state senator. This is a customary practice for Virginia governors … Any insinuation that his support was tied to anything other than his desire to elect candidates who would help pass his agenda is ridiculous,” a spokesman for the Virginia governor told the Journal.

McAuliffe has been a longtime backer of the Clintons, even serving as Hillary Clinton’s campaign chair in 2008.

Watergate’s Bob Woodward: “Clinton Foundation Is Corrupt, It’s A Scandal”

October 24, 2016

Watergate’s Bob Woodward: “Clinton Foundation Is Corrupt, It’s A Scandal”

Source: Watergate’s Bob Woodward: “Clinton Foundation Is Corrupt, It’s A Scandal” | Zero Hedge

It’s one thing for the right-wing press to accuse the Clinton foundation of cronyism, corruption, and scandal (especially if the facts, and internal admissions by affiliated employees, confirm as much) – it tends to be generally ignored by the broader, if left-leaning, media. But when the Watergate scandal’s Bob Woodward, associate editor at the liberal Washington Post, says very much the same, Hillary Clinton’s campaign has no choice but to notice. This is precisely what happened today when journalist Bob Woodward told a Fox News Sunday panel that the Clinton Foundation is “corrupt” and that Hillary Clinton has not answered for it.

Here, courtesy of RealClearPolitics, is the transcript of today’s exchange:

CHRIS WALLACE, FOX NEWS SUNDAY: Then there are the allegations about the Clinton Foundation and pay to play, which I asked Secretary Clinton about in the debate, and she turned into an attack on the Trump Foundation.

 

But, Bob, I want to go back to the conversation I was having with Robby Mook before. When — when you see what seems to be clear evidence that Clinton Foundation donors were being treated differently than non-donors in terms of access, when you see this new — new revelations about the $12 million deal between Hillary Clinton, the foundation, and the king of Morocco, are voters right to be troubled by this?

 

BOB WOODWARD, THE WASHINGTON POST: I — yes, it’s a — it’s corrupt. It’s — it’s a scandal. And she didn’t answer your question at all. And she turned to embrace the good work that the Clinton Foundation has done. And she has a case there. But the mixing of speech fees, the Clinton Foundation, and actions by the State Department, which she ran, are all intertwined and it’s corrupt. You know, I mean, you can’t just say it’s unsavory. But there’s no formal investigation going on now, and there are outs that they have.

 

But the election isn’t going to be decided on that. I mean Karl was making the point about this, I’m not going to observe the result of the election. I mean that’s — that’s absurd. I mean it has no consequence. If Trump loses, they’re not going to let him in the White House. He’s not going to have a transition team. And — and to focus on that, I think, is wrong. I think the issue is, what’s going to be the aftermath of this campaign.

So it’s corrupt, it’s a scandal, and… it will have no consequences at all. It’s time to look up the latest definition of Banana republic again.

Here’s The 30 Seconds After The Last Debate That CNN Would Rather You Didn’t See

October 23, 2016

Here’s The 30 Seconds After The Last Debate That CNN Would Rather You Didn’t See

Source: Here’s The 30 Seconds After The Last Debate That CNN Would Rather You Didn’t See | Zero Hedge

Despite CNN’s embarrassingly aberrant claims that Hillary Clinton dominated the final debate…

And continued and constant propaganda-peddling that the race is over because Trump’s sexual assauly allegations are “sucking all the air out of the room” compared to Hillary’s stream of WikiLeaks facts.

CNN made the mistaike of asking its focus group of real Americans who won the final debate… and instantly regretted it…

So when the CNN focus group was asked “did this debate help anyone make up their mind or possibly change their vote”, the results did not turn out how Goebbels they expected…

  • 5 Clinton
  • 10 Trump
  • 0 3rd Party
  • 6 Undecided

Lesson learned – don’t let ‘average joes’

Which might help explain this:

  • CLINTON’S LEAD OVER TRUMP SLIPS TO 4 POINTS, FROM 7 POINTS LAST WEEK – REUTERS/IPSOS

It appears it is time for another ‘tweak’ to that polling methodology.

And some polls have him leading…

Israel Will Not Sign On to US Regulation of Israeli Drone Exports

October 23, 2016

Israel Will Not Sign On to US Regulation of Israeli Drone Exports

By: JNi.Media

October 23rd, 2016

Source: The Jewish Press » » Israel Will Not Sign On to US Regulation of Israeli Drone Exports

Lockheed M-21 Blackbird and D-21 Drone
Photo Credit: Bill Abbott

Israel is refusing to sign a document on drone usage which is being circulated by the US State Department, with guidelines on the use and export of armed drones, Haaretz reported Sunday. The one-page document covers international legal standards, oversight of exports, and transparency.

So far, the documents has been signed by more than 40 governments, including Austria, Germany and Italy, but Israel appears to be a stubborn holdout.

The State Department unveiled back in March of 2015 its policy permitting US companies to export military and commercial drones, including armed systems like the Predator and Reaper to US allies. According to a Defense News report last August, the State Department is now asking countries to sign onto a set of international norms for the sale and use of armed unmanned systems, adding that top agency officials held meetings with delegates from several countries at the Arms Trade Treaty conference in Geneva on the subject.

According to DN, the document offers five key principles of international norms, including applying International law and human rights when using the armed drones; following existing arms control laws in selling armed drone systems; considering the buyer country’s history on “adherence to international obligations and commitments”; following “appropriate transparency measures”; and ensuring that the sold unmanned system’s capabilities “are transferred and used responsibly by all States.”

Sources in Israel’s defense industry have told Ha’aretz they think the American document could limit their export business, and, in fact, constitutes yet another American attempt to damage Israeli exports. They cite another US move in admitting India to the multilateral Missile Technology Control Regime, this removing barriers to the sale of American drones to India. Shortly thereafter, India went shopping for the US made Predador drone over its Israeli competitors. Ha’aretz reported earlier about a lawsuit by an American company, General Atomics, trying to block Israel from leasing the Heron TP drone to Germany. Slowly but surely, these and other American companies have been encroaching on a field where in the past Israeli products ruled.

A senior Israeli Air Force official told Ha’aretz that the one advantage the Israeli drones still possess is the promise to potential buyers to train with Israel’s drone squadron, because the Israel Air Force is considered the world’s expert in the use of drones.

​DONALD J. TRUMP DELIVERS GROUNDBREAKING CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN VOTER IN GETTYSBURG

October 23, 2016

DONALD J. TRUMP DELIVERS GROUNDBREAKING CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN VOTER IN GETTYSBURG

Source: DONALD J. TRUMP DELIVERS GROUNDBREAKING CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN VOTER IN GETTYSBURG | Donald J Trump for President

Presents 100-Day Plan To Make America Great Again – For Everyone

 

Gettysburg, PA: Today, in historic Gettysburg, PA, Donald J. Trump presented a game-changing plan for his first 100 days in office. This revolutionary “Contract with the American Voter” will ensure that America’s economy is revitalized and citizens are protected.

 

“I’m not a politician, and have never wanted to be one. But when I saw the trouble our country was in, I knew I couldn’t stand by and watch any longer. Our country has been so good to me, I love our country, I felt I had to act,” said Mr. Trump in his address.

 

“Change has to come from outside this broken system. The fact that the Washington establishment has tried so hard to stop our campaign is only more proof that our campaign represents the kind of change that only arrives once in a lifetime,” he continued.

 

“I am asking the American people to rise above the noise and the clutter of our broken politics, and to embrace that great faith and optimism that has always been the central ingredient in the American character. I am asking you to dream big.

 

“What follows is my 100-day action plan to Make America Great Again. It is a contract between Donald J. Trump and the American voter – and begins with restoring honesty, accountability and change to Washington,” he concluded.

 

DONALD J. TRUMP CONTRACT WITH THE AMERICAN VOTER

“Therefore, on the first day of my term of office, my administration will immediately pursue the following six measures to clean up the corruption and special interest collusion in Washington, DC:

  • FIRST, propose a Constitutional Amendment to impose term limits on all members of Congress;
  • SECOND, a hiring freeze on all federal employees to reduce federal workforce through attrition (exempting military, public safety, and public health);
  • THIRD, a requirement that for every new federal regulation, two existing regulations must be eliminated;
  • FOURTH, a 5 year-ban on White House and Congressional officials becoming lobbyists after they leave government service;
  • FIFTH, a lifetime ban on White House officials lobbying on behalf of a foreign government;
  • SIXTH, a complete ban on foreign lobbyists raising money for American elections.

On the same day, I will begin taking the following seven actions to protect American workers:

  • FIRST, I will announce my intention to renegotiate NAFTA or withdraw from the deal under Article 2205
  • SECOND, I will announce our withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership
  • THIRD, I will direct my Secretary of the Treasury to label China a currency manipulator
  • FOURTH, I will direct the Secretary of Commerce and U.S. Trade Representative to identify all foreign trading abuses that unfairly impact American workers and direct them to use every tool under American and international law to end those abuses immediately
  • FIFTH, I will lift the restrictions on the production of $50 trillion dollars’ worth of job-producing American energy reserves, including shale, oil, natural gas and clean coal.
  • SIXTH, lift the Obama-Clinton roadblocks and allow vital energy infrastructure projects, like the Keystone Pipeline, to move forward
  • SEVENTH, cancel billions in payments to U.N. climate change programs and use the money to fix America’s water and environmental infrastructure

Additionally, on the first day, I will take the following five actions to restore security and the constitutional rule of law:

  • FIRST, cancel every unconstitutional executive action, memorandum and order issued by President Obama
  • SECOND, begin the process of selecting a replacement for Justice Scalia from one of the 20 judges on my list, who will uphold and defend the Constitution of the United States
  • THIRD, cancel all federal funding to Sanctuary Cities
  • FOURTH, begin removing the more than 2 million criminal illegal immigrants from the country and cancel visas to foreign countries that won’t take them back
  • FIFTH, suspend immigration from terror-prone regions where vetting cannot safely occur. All vetting of people coming into our country will be considered extreme vetting.

Next, I will work with Congress to introduce the following broader legislative measures and fight for their passage within the first 100 days of my Administration:

1. Middle Class Tax Relief And Simplification Act. An economic plan designed to grow the economy 4% per year and create at least 25 million new jobs through massive tax reduction and simplification, in combination with trade reform, regulatory relief, and lifting the restrictions on American energy. The largest tax reductions are for the middle class. A middle-class family with 2 children will get a 35% tax cut. The current number of brackets will be reduced from 7 to 3, and tax forms will likewise be greatly simplified. The business rate will be lowered from 35 to 15 percent, and the trillions of dollars of American corporate money overseas can now be brought back at a 10 percent rate.

2. End The Offshoring Act Establishes tariffs to discourage companies from laying off their workers in order to relocate in other countries and ship their products back to the U.S. tax-free.

3. American Energy & Infrastructure Act. Leverages public-private partnerships, and private investments through tax incentives, to spur $1 trillion in infrastructure investment over 10 years. It is revenue neutral.

4. School Choice And Education Opportunity Act. Redirects education dollars to gives parents the right to send their kid to the public, private, charter, magnet, religious or home school of their choice. Ends common core, brings education supervision to local communities. It expands vocational and technical education, and make 2 and 4-year college more affordable.

5. Repeal and Replace Obamacare Act. Fully repeals Obamacare and replaces it with Health Savings Accounts, the ability to purchase health insurance across state lines, and lets states manage Medicaid funds. Reforms will also include cutting the red tape at the FDA: there are over 4,000 drugs awaiting approval, and we especially want to speed the approval of life-saving medications.

6. Affordable Childcare and Eldercare Act. Allows Americans to deduct childcare and elder care from their taxes, incentivizes employers to provide on-site childcare services, and creates tax-free Dependent Care Savings Accounts for both young and elderly dependents, with matching contributions for low-income families.

7. End Illegal Immigration Act Fully-funds the construction of a wall on our southern border with the full understanding that the country Mexico will be reimbursing the United States for the full cost of such wall; establishes a 2-year mandatory minimum federal prison sentence for illegally re-entering the U.S. after a previous deportation, and a 5-year mandatory minimum for illegally re-entering for those with felony convictions, multiple misdemeanor convictions or two or more prior deportations; also reforms visa rules to enhance penalties for overstaying and to ensure open jobs are offered to American workers first.

8. Restoring Community Safety Act. Reduces surging crime, drugs and violence by creating a Task Force On Violent Crime and increasing funding for programs that train and assist local police; increases resources for federal law enforcement agencies and federal prosecutors to dismantle criminal gangs and put violent offenders behind bars.

9. Restoring National Security Act. Rebuilds our military by eliminating the defense sequester and expanding military investment; provides Veterans with the ability to receive public VA treatment or attend the private doctor of their choice; protects our vital infrastructure from cyber-attack; establishes new screening procedures for immigration to ensure those who are admitted to our country support our people and our values

10. Clean up Corruption in Washington Act. Enacts new ethics reforms to Drain the Swamp and reduce the corrupting influence of special interests on our politics.

On November 8th, Americans will be voting for this 100-day plan to restore prosperity to our economy, security to our communities, and honesty to our government.

This is my pledge to you.

And if we follow these steps, we will once more have a government of, by and for the people.”

Kiev threatened to send fighter jets to ground Belarusian passenger plane

October 22, 2016

Kiev threatened to send fighter jets to ground Belarusian passenger plane – air carrier

Published time: 22 Oct, 2016 15:44 Edited time: 22 Oct, 2016 16:03

Source: Kiev threatened to send fighter jets to ground Belarusian passenger plane – air carrier — RT News

Belavia’s Boeing 737 © Andrey Rudakov / Sputnik

Ukraine’s Security Service (SSU) turned around a passenger plane en route from Kiev to Minsk, the capital of Belarus, threatening to launch fighter jets to intercept it, a statement issued by Belavia airlines claims.

According to the aviation company’s statement, its passenger plane bound for Minsk was forced to return to Zhulyany airport after departing from Kiev after the aircraft’s pilot received an order from a Ukrainian traffic controller to immediately head back, with no further explanation.

“On October 21, 2016, Belavia Boeing 737-800 number EW-456PA, carrying out flight V2-840 from Zhulyany (Kiev) to Minsk was forced to return to the departure airport. There were 136 passengers and six crew members on board,” Belavia said in a statement, noting that, according to the flight schedule, the plane was a mere 50 kilometers from the Belarusian border when it was ordered to turn back.

Read more

© Alexandr Maksimenko

“It was also stated [by the traffic controllers] that in case the order was not fulfilled, fighter jets would be sent into the air,” the statement continued. The conversation between the pilot and air traffic controllers, including the threat to send fighter jets to intercept the plane, has been recorded and is currently in possession of Belavia, the company’s deputy director general, Igor Cherginets, told RIA Novosti news agency.

Upon landing in Kiev, one of the passengers was taken off the flight by Ukrainian law enforcement before the plane was refueled and allowed to continue its flight to Minsk.

Belavia airlines offered an apology to its passengers for the inconvenience, saying it intends to request compensation for the detour from Ukraine’s aviation authorities. However, Ukraine’s aviation authorities, insist the plane was ordered to return to Kiev to comply with an order from the Security Service of Ukraine (SSU), which explained that they had received intelligence about a possible threat to national security on board the plane in question.

“Yesterday, our office received information about a foreign citizen and a possible threat to national security of our country. At the time we received this information, the person in question, as it appeared, was on board the Belavia airlines aircraft, which was supposed to depart to Minsk,” the chief of staff of the SSU, Alexander Tkachuk, told 112 Ukraine broadcaster, claiming that the SSU had acted within the framework of the law. He also refuted claims that Ukraine had threatened to scramble fighter jets to intercept the plane, calling them “absurd.”

The passenger who appears to have been the cause of the incident was later released by authorities the same day and left Kiev for Minsk at 7pm. According to Strana.ua news outlet, he has been identified as Armen Martirosyan, a journalist, blogger, and anti-Maidan activist.

According to the outlet, Martirosyan left Kiev and moved to Moscow back in 2014 after the Maidan revolution in Ukraine. In a Facebook post published after the incident, he wrote that he has already returned to Moscow and will reveal the details of his detention in Kiev and plans for further action after he speaks to his lawyers. Responding to a question about how he had managed to get away so quickly in the comments to this post, he wrote that “a friend’s call can solve many problems.”

Belarus’ Foreign Ministry has filed a note of protest with the Ukrainian authorities over the forced return of the aircraft, and, on Saturday, called in the Chargé d’affaires of Ukraine in the Republic of Belarus, Valery Dzhigun, to express its discontentment with the incident. Belarus now expects an official apology and is demanding compensation for all financial costs and expenses incurred as a result of the actions of the Ukrainian authorities. Belarusian Ambassador to Ukraine Igor Sokol has also been instructed to submit a similar note of protest with Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry.