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Thank you all for those that take the effort to assist this site in keeping the public informed. Below, typically people can find the latest enemy propaganda, news items of related materials from multiple countries and languages, op-eds from many excellent sites who write on our topics, geopolitics and immigration issues and so on.
Government official: where are 4,000 asylum seekers who were refused residency?
Government official Rhodia Maas has said that of the 8,000 asylum seekers in the Netherlands who were refused residency this year, the government is sure that 4,000 have left the country, 2,500 voluntarily, and 1,500 through forced deportation. What happened to the remaining 4,000 is not clear, even though some may indeed have left the Netherlands.
http://nos.nl/nieuwsuur/artikel/2073318-minder-dan-50-procent-afgewezen-asielzoekers-zeker-vertrokken.html
Report: Iran Withdrawing Special Forces From Syria as Tensions With Russia Intensify
Iran has started to withdraw its elite Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) forces from Syria, the Saudi-aligned London-based daily Asharq Al-Awsat reported on Sunday.
Among the reasons for the retreat cited in the report is the heavy losses suffered by Iran during the two months since Russia has begun conducting military operations there.
According to the report, one Free Syrian Army officer claimed that tensions between the Russians and Iranians have been mounting, due to near-daily casualties incurred by the latter, purportedly as a result of the former’s pushing for increased ground operations. The officer said he learned of this while eavesdropping on their communications.
Reports have also been circulating that the commander of the IRGC-Quds Force, Qassem Soleimani, was seriously wounded during a battle in Aleppo.
In addition, citing Iranian media sources, Al Arabiya reported recently that four IRGC members were “erroneously” killed in a Russian airstrike this week.
Iran has long been backing the embattled regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in the years old civil war plaguing the country that has now left hundreds of thousands dead.
http://www.algemeiner.com/2015/12/13/report-iran-withdraws-special-forces-from-syria-as-tension-with-russia-intensifies/#
Interesting they are claiming the high number of causalities as the reason but Iran is not what you would call causality shy, I have to wonder if there are other reasons for the tension of is Iran getting ready to take a more direct role in the fighting in Yemen?
Russia Digging In for Long Haul in Syria
MOSCOW — Russia is digging in for the long haul in Syria. Whereas two months ago Russian officials insisted the Kremlin’s military adventure in the shattered Arab republic would last no longer than a few months, the Defense Ministry is gradually surging its force strength in the country.
Analysts told Defense News that the gradual expansion of Russia’s air contingent reflects that Russia’s ultimate goal in Syria — to forestall the demise of President Bashar Assad, or at least his Alawite government — is proving harder to reach than initially anticipated.
“Some kind of enlargement of the Russian contingent was almost inevitable from the beginning, but the pace of enlargement is a matter of interpretation … many experts said that from the beginning it was not enough,” said Ruslan Pukhov, a member of the Defense Ministry’s public advisory board.
http://www.defensenews.com/story/defense/policy-budget/warfare/2015/12/13/russia-digging-long-haul-syria/77148866/
We all knew this was coming, remember how J.E. Dyer said that Russia was going to make Syria a colony.
We’ve opened a window of opportunity for Putin.
RAW – Iran: USA, UK, Israel sowing division in Syria says commander of Basij forces
Ok, here’s some more. Eli Lake:
Western Officials: Iran Retreating From Syria Fight
…U.S. officials tell me they are seeing significant numbers of Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps troops retreat from the Syrian combat zone in recent weeks, following the deaths and wounding of some of top officers in a campaign to retake Idlib Province and other areas lost this year to opposition forces supported by the West and Gulf Arab States. As a result, the Russian-initiated offensive that was launched in September seems to be losing an important ally.
On Friday at the Saban Forum at the Brookings Institution, Israeli Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon said that Russia’s initial plan was to take back Idlib and other cities that had fallen under rebel control within three months. “It’s not going to happen because of the military difficulties,” he said, adding that the campaign to date looked to be a “failure.” He cited the “incompetence” of Syria’s army as well as “the lack of determination of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
This is a surprising turn of events. A number of Western media outlets reported this fall that Qassem Suleimani, the leader of Iran’s elite Quds Force, and Russia’s defense ministry had negotiated an infusion of Iranian forces into Syria over the summer, shortly after the conclusion of the nuclear negotiations between Iran and six other world powers. That surge was supposed to change the tide of the Syrian war that the dictator Bashar al-Assad was losing, as more of his territory fell to a coalition of rebels supported by the U.S., Saudi Arabia, Qatar and others.
In October, the Wall Street Journal reported on experts’ assessments there more than 7,000 Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps members and other militia volunteers were aiding the Syrian regime. In late October, General Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, testified there were 2,000 Iranian troops in Syria leading the fight to save Assad.
Today that number has dwindled, according to U.S. and other Western officials. One estimate shared with me by a senior Western defense official said there were only 700 Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps members now fighting in the Russian-led offensive. (That estimate does not include Iranian military advisers who have embedded with the Syrian armed forces since 2012.)
[…]
The question for U.S. policy makers is what an Iranian withdrawal will mean for Russia’s campaign. Both countries remain steadfast that Assad should remain in power for the foreseeable future. Russia’s president, Vladimir Putin, even mused this week about using nuclear weapons against the Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in territory it has conquered in eastern Syria and western Iraq.
[…]
The conflict has also increased its leverage over Iran. “If the Iranians feel over the long term they need a deal, if the cost of maintaining the Assad government is too great for them, then these developments are a positive,” Ford, who is now a scholar at the Middle East Institute, told me. “If they feel the costs of the battle can be sustained for months, if not years, they may be able to pay that price. They put a high value on maintaining the Assad government as it is now.”
http://www.bloombergview.com/articles/2015-12-10/western-officials-iran-retreating-from-syria-fight
The Costs of Russia’s Air Expeditionary Campaign
The air campaign in Syria, Russia’s first expeditionary force deployment in decades, comes with numerous challenges and a growing price tag.
In recent months, Russia has been trying its hand at expeditionary operations, which entail conducting military activities away from established bases and tailoring a force based on specific goals. Not since the invasion of Afghanistan has Moscow tested its combat reach in this manner — between 1989 and this year’s Syria intervention, all of its military engagements were against adversaries along or inside Russia’s borders or in the former Soviet Union.
A critical facet of expeditionary force deployment is managing the logistics support required to maintain operations far from their comfort zone. It is costly.
[…]
CONCLUSION
While appearing strong militarily has proven to be an effective strategy for Vladimir Putin in the short term, it comes at a price tag higher than many observers realize. Russia is well aware that extending the operation will incur greater costs. And the logistical requirements for an expeditionary force may compel Moscow to increase its footprint in Syria, which could raise the risk of Russian casualties. Such burdens may provide leverage as Washington and other parties push Putin to cooperate more with the U.S.-led coalition in Syria.
http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-costs-of-russias-air-expeditionary-campaign
When you want to be a major power on the worlds stage you have to spend big bucks, this is why Obama has been trying to spend us into bankruptcy. Russia is hurting and the OPEC tactic of flooding the worlds market with oil to try and stop the US from becoming energy self sufficient is also hurting Russia because something like 60%of the Russia revenue comes from crude oil and natural gas. If OPEC keeps the price down long enough Russia will go bankrupt before the US. The problem is that Saudi and others are also going bankrupt.
What the self centered legacy media ignores is that Saudi wants Russia out of the middle east and has three targets for the lower oil prices: 1) Stopping the US oil fracking so we are once again dependent on Saudi for our energy needs, 2) hurting Iran so Iran won’t be able to carry out is apocalyptic plans, 3) Stop Russia from gaining a major foot hold in the Middle East and becoming the 600 pound gorilla in the region.
All true.
Let’s see if the Saudis can it it through to the end before they’re bankrupt or overthrown.
France
What defeat?: Le Pen and far right on the up
While the far-right party failed to win control of any regions, Sunday’s second round vote was hardly a loss for the National Front as a record number of French voters backing Marine Le Pen’s party as she now turns her attention to the presidency.
In Sunday’s second round Marine Le Pen’s party picked up 6.8 million French votes, a record high, after beating the 6.4 million they picked up in the second round of the presidential election in 2002 and nearly 800,000 more than last week’s first round.
http://www.thelocal.fr/20151214/france-hardly-a-defeat-for-the-national-front
New TERROR ATTACK in France
Teacher stabbed near Paris by man citing Isis
http://www.thelocal.fr/20151214/teacher-attacked-in-paris-suburbs-by-man-citing-isis
Teacher stabbed in Aubervilliers, France; anti-terror section of Paris prosecutor opens investigation
http://www.breakingnews.com/topic/aubervilliers-ile-de-france-france/
France teacher stabbed in class by man shouting ‘Islamic State’
The attacker shouted: “It’s Daesh [Islamic State]. It’s a warning”, stabbing the teacher with a box cutter or scissors before fleeing.
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35091362
Twitter warns of government ‘hacking’ (BBC, Dec 13, 2015)
http://www.bbc.com/news/business-35089309
“Twitter has sent warnings to a number of users that their accounts may have been hacked by “state-sponsored actors”.
It is the first time that the social media company has issued such a warning.
Twitter emailed users to say that the hackers may have sought their email or IP addresses, or phone numbers, which it recently began collecting.
The number of accounts affected by the suspected hack is unclear…”
Australian teen pleads guilty to terror charge (BBC, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-35089386
“An Australian teenager detained during raids in Melbourne in May has pleaded guilty to a terror-related charge.
The 17-year-old boy pleaded guilty to engaging in an act in preparation for, or planning, a terrorist act between 25 April and 8 May this year.
He admitted the charge ahead of a committal hearing and prosecutors dropped two other charges.
Earlier hearings were told he prepared to make explosives after obtaining instructions online, said local media…”
The way the BBC have slanted this story of that of an Australian boy who was most likely a lone individual dabbling in terrorist activities with just a passing note, “Police also told the court radical Islamic propaganda was found during the raids.”
The Journalism training in colleges to hide a story in full view. Keep Calm, Nothing To See Here Until It Is Too Late, at its finest. Lenin would be pleased.
Illegal border crossings in Europe ‘reached nearly 1.3 million’ (DW, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.dw.com/en/illegal-border-crossings-in-europe-reached-nearly-13-million/a-18915505
“German newspaper ‘Die Welt’ has published EU figures showing 1.28 million illegal border crossings in 2015. European leaders have come under pressure to do more to secure the EU’s external borders.
Between January and November this year, 1.28 million illegal border crossings were detected, the Germany daily “Die Welt” reported on Monday.
Citing figures from the European Commission, the paper said illegal immigration had reached an all-time high in the 28 member bloc over the past 11 months.
The latest tally compares to 813,000 illegal crossings registered between 2009 and 2014, it added, and follows a months-long migration crisis that has seen refugees from the Middle East and Africa arrive in southern EU states before heading to more prosperous northern countries to attempt to settle.
Record numbers
The data is included in a report the European Commission is due to publish on Tuesday, the paper said, calling for more effective plans for the management of the EU’s external borders.
The report takes aim at the bloc’s current border strategy, saying it had “proven to be totally insufficient in achieving an effective and integrated securing of the frontiers.”
Hundreds of thousands of illegal migrants have been able to cross into the EU illegally without being identified, registered and security screened, it said.
The Commission said the future of the Schengen zone, where passport controls have been abolished at the EU’s internal borders, was under threat due to the ongoing crisis….”
Egyptian court upholds Morsi fine of LE250 million in prison break case (ahram, Dec 13, 2015)
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/173414/Egypt/Politics-/Egyptian-court-upholds-Morsi-fine-of-LE-million-in.aspx
“An Egyptian judical panel upheld Sunday a LE250 million fine imposed on former president Mohamed Morsi and other Muslim Brotherhood figures as compensation for damages caused during the Wadi Natroun Prison break during the 2011 uprising.
In June 2015, a Cairo criminal court sentenced Morsi and five other top Brotherhood figures, including Mohamed Badie, Saad El-Katatni and Essam El-Erian, to death over charges of “damaging and setting fire to prison buildings,” “murder,” “attempted murder,” “looting prison weapons depots” and “releasing prisoners” while escaping from the prison located outside Cairo.
The court also ruled that defendants should pay the interior ministry LE250 million as compensation, before the defendants appealed the verdict.
However, Ahmed Massoud, a litigator for Egypt’s State Lawsuits Authority, which is a judicial entity that represents the state in lawsuits, told Aswat Masriya that a special civil panel for compensation issued a final verdict upholding the same fine amount. The death sentence is still being appealed…”
Egypt court sentences 3 Morsi supporters to death in absentia (ahram, Dec 13, 2015)
http://english.ahram.org.eg/NewsContent/1/64/173399/Egypt/Politics-/Egypt-court-sentences–Morsi-supporters-to-death-i.aspx
“Cairo criminal court, led by judge Nagy Shehta, sentenced three supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi to death for violence-related charges in Imbaba district during the fourth anniversary of the January 2011 uprising.
The convicted were charged with possessing weapons, ‘showing force,’ and belonging to a terrorist group.
During the fourth anniversary of the uprising, violence broke out in multiple districts in Cairo between security forces and protesters, which led to the death of over 20 people and the injury of over 100.
The verdict can only be appealed if those convicted turn themselves in.
Since Morsi’s ouster in July 2013, hundreds of his supporters have been rounded up, arrested, and given strict prison sentences as well as death sentences. Most of these sentences are being appealed.”
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi claims responsibility for deadly blast in Shia dominated area in Pakistan (khaama, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.khaama.com/lej-claims-responsibility-for-blast-in-shia-dominated-area-in-pakistan-4392
“Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ), A Sunni militant group, has claimed responsibility for a deadly explosion in a Shia dominated area of Pakistan.
Ali Bin Sufiyan who identifies himself as spokesperson for LeJ has said in a message sent to media that they had planted an IED (Improvised Explosive Device) in Eidgah Bazar of Parachinar in retaliation for Shia support to Iran and Bashar al-Asad.
“We claim responsibility for the Eidgah Bazar, Parachinar bomb blast. It was a revenge of the crimes against Syrian Muslims by Iran and Bashar al Assad.”
Sufiyan has warned more attacks in his message. “We warn the Shia parents that if they don’t stop their children from participating in the war of Bashar al-Assad, they would face more attacks like this,” the message adds…”
Parliament criticizes Pakistan for interfering in Afghan affairs (khaama, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.khaama.com/parliament-criticizes-pakistan-for-interfering-in-afghan-affairs-4393
“After Presidential Palace “ARG” slammed Pakistan’s Minister of Defense for his remarks regarding the safety of trans-Afghan gas pipeline project, Parliament also strongly criticized Pakistan for interfering in Afghan affairs.
Abdul Rawouf Ibrahimi, speaker of Wolesi Jirga or Lower House of Parliament said during Monday’s session that Khwaja Mohammad Asif has clearly interfered in Afghan Affairs.
Ibrahimi said Asif asks terrorists for safety of TAPI project. “We condemn the act,” he added.
Mohammad Salih Saljuqi, another member of parliament while pointing to the matter said Afghan militant groups would be possibly benefited from TAPI project.
Haji Abdul Zahir Qadir also pointed to the matter saying that government does not have control over its foreign policy.
Khwaja Mohammad Asif had said that Turkmenistan-Afghanistan-Pakistan-India (TAPI) gas pipeline is in the best interest of all stakeholders especially in reducing the energy crisis in Pakistan and therefor Pakistan would use its influence on Afghan militant groups including the Taliban for its safety.
“Of course, we would use it. For our interests, we would take any positive step.” he said during an interview with BBC Urdu when asked if Pakistan would use its influence on Afghan militant groups, especially the Taliban, for the security of TAPI pipeline project.
Afghan government says it can maintain security of TAPI project.”
US special forces secretly take more role in suppressing militants in Helmand (khaama, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.khaama.com/us-special-forces-secretly-take-more-role-in-suppressing-militants-in-helmand-1807
“The US Special Operations Forces have secretly taken more role in suppressing the growing insurgency activities by the anti-government armed militant groups in southern Helmand province of Afghanistan, it has been reported.
According to Afghan and American officials quoted in a report by New York Times, the excessive central role taken by the American special forces is aimed at saving crucial areas of Helmand.
The officials further added that the engagement of American special forces during the pst weeks comes amid more aid power and ground troops committed to the battle.
Senior local Afghan government officials have said they are under orders not to divulge the level of cooperation, especially by Special Operations forces on the ground…”
This is known as mission creep and is to be expected in any action where special forces are involved. Special Forces `were set up to train and lead indigenous forces fighting for their freedom, it takes time and training for the indigenous leaders to gain competence in the operational arts, especially large unit command.
Teacher stabbed near Paris by ‘Isis supporter’ (thelocal, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.thelocal.fr/20151214/teacher-attacked-in-paris-suburbs-by-man-citing-isis
“An elementary school teacher has been attacked in the northern suburbs of Paris by a man claiming support for Isis, police reported.
The attack occurred at around 7am out the front of the Jean Perrin d’Aubervilliers school in the northern suburbs of Paris, when an unidentified man stabbed an elementary school teacher with a box cutter, reported Le Parisien newspaper.
It is not clear what the attacker said but he is believed to have claimed support for Isis or Deach as the group is called in French.
Police said the man fled the scene and he’s still believed to be on the run…”
Refugees cancel asylum claims as residency cut (thelocal, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.thelocal.se/20151214/refugees-cancel-asylum-claims-as-sweden-limits-residency
“Rising numbers of asylum seekers in Sweden are withdrawing their applications, in the wake of the government’s decision to introduce temporary permits and limit family reunification.
Despite making perilous and expensive journeys from the Middle East to the Nordics, hundreds of people who earlier sought asylum in Sweden are now attempting to return home, according to an investigation by Swedish broadcaster SVT.
The network has seen figures which suggest that an average of 300 people a month withdrew their applications throughout this year, with this figure more than doubling to 627 in November. The reduction coincided with the government introducing tougher border checks and turning back on its promise to offer permanent residency to all Syrian refugees granted asylum.
Figures seen by the public broadcaster also reveal that during the first ten days of December, 239 people withdrew their asylum applications…”
Passengers beat taxi driver nearly to death (thelocal, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.thelocal.de/20151214/two-passengers-beat-munich-taxi-driver-nearly-to-death
“A fight between two passengers and a taxi driver in Munich turned violent on Sunday, leaving the driver gravely injured.
The conflict broke out at about 3am on Sunday while the taxi driver was parked at a curb, police reported.
When the driver got out of the cab, the men reportedly pushed him and then hit him with a “forceful punch” so hard that he fell to the ground. The man then suffered many kicks to the head that left him unconscious.
The two men fled before police arrived and the driver was taken into intensive care at a hospital. The man is reported to be in near-death condition, and thus the homicide unit is investigating the case, police reported.
It is still not clear what led to the dispute.
Police said the two men are between the ages of 20 and 30 with dark hair and athletic figures.”
France forced to step up security at schools
France’s education minister announced on Monday that the government would be stepping up security at schools after a teacher was stabbed by a man shouting about the terror group Isis.
http://www.thelocal.fr/20151214/france-forced-to-step-up-security-at-schools
ISIS Issues Fatwa Calling For Mass Killing Of American Dogs And Puppies
Posted by EU Times on Dec 12th, 2015
A chilling report issued by the Main Intelligence Directorate General Staff of the Armed Forces (GRU) is warning today that the pet dogs and puppies of American owners have now become “targets for death” after the Islamic State’s (ISIS/ISIL/Daesh) top religious scholar, Turki al-Bin‘ali, issued a fatwa authorizing the immediate mass slaughter of these beloved animals by their terrorist supporters currently residing in the United States.
http://www.eutimes.net/2015/12/isis-issues-fatwa-calling-for-mass-killing-of-american-dogs-and-puppies/
It will be a real big mistake for the Moslems to start killing the pet dogs, that will do more to create a massive backlash then any other action on their part.
Sweden
Two Gothenburg men have been sentenced to life in prison after a court ruled that graphic video evidence showed the duo taking part in the beheading of another two people in Syria.
Hassan al-Mandlawi, 32, and Al-Amin Sultan, 30, both Swedish nationals, were found guilty by Gothenburg District Court on Monday of a series of terror offences, including taking part in the April 2013 decapitation of two people in Syria’s second city of Aleppo.
http://www.thelocal.se/20151214/swedish-pair-get-life-in-jail-for-syria-terror-crimes
This one is caus9ing mixed feelings, on one side the terrorists are being punished for their crimes but on the other hand since the crimes took place outside of Sweden the swedes don’t really have jurisdiction to punish them for the crime. The attitude of universial
Turkey says its patience with Russia ‘has a limit’: newspaper
http://www.oann.com/turkey-says-its-patience-with-russia-has-a-limit-newspaper/
ROME (Reuters) – Turkey’s foreign minister said Ankara’s patience with Russia “has a limit” after Moscow’s “exaggerated” reaction to a weekend naval incident between the two countries, an Italian newspaper reported on Monday.
A Russian destroyer fired warning shots at a Turkish vessel in the Aegean on Sunday to avoid a collision and summoned the Turkish military attache over the incident..
“Ours was only a fishing boat, it seems to me that the reaction of the Russian naval ship was exaggerated,” Mevlut Cavusoglu told Italian daily Corriere della Sera in an interview.
“Russia and Turkey certainly have to re-establish the relations of trust that we have always had, but our patience has a limit,” Cavusoglu said.
The incident is likely to heighten tensions between the two nations who are at odds over Syria and Turkey’s downing of a Russian warplane last month.
Cavusoglu said Russia had already “put itself in a ridiculous position” with accusations by its President Vladimir Putin that Turkey had shot down the jet to protect oil supplies from Islamic State.
“No-one believed it” he said.
In American mosques, growing safety concerns — and more armed guards
http://www.oann.com/in-american-mosques-growing-safety-concerns-and-more-armed-guards/
CORONA, Calif. (Reuters) – From the suburbs of Los Angeles to the outskirts of Washington, D.C., mosques around the United States are warily stepping up security in the face of growing fears about reprisals on American Muslims.
The increasing safety concerns described by American Islamic leaders – and the steps they are taking in response, including hiring armed guards – represent the flip side of the rising public anxiety about Islamic State-inspired terror after attacks in Paris and San Bernardino, California.
The call by Republican presidential contender Donald Trump to ban Muslims from entering the United States only amplified concerns about an anti-Islamic backlash at mosques and community centers, religious leaders and organizers say.
At least two mosques – one in Phoenix and the other in suburban Virginia – are working with the Department of Homeland Security to check up on the security their facilities provide for worshippers in recent weeks. Others report taking a range of steps, including hiring armed guards, because of fears that an American mosque could be a target for an attack.
“We are always concerned about lone wolf attacks,” said Usama Shami, president of a Phoenix mosque that has been working with the Department of Homeland Security to review its security measures since the Paris attack last month.
They are playing the victim card again.
That’s been played to death.
Egypt says no evidence of terrorism in Russian plane crash
http://www.oann.com/egypt-completes-preliminary-report-on-russian-plane-crash-in-sinai/
CAIRO (Reuters) – Egypt said on Monday it had found no evidence so far of terrorism or other illegal action linked to the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Sinai that killed all 224 people on board on Oct. 31.
Russia and Western governments have said the Airbus A321 operated by Metrojet was likely brought down by a bomb, and the Islamic State militant group said it had smuggled an explosive on board.
But Egypt’s civil aviation ministry said it had completed a preliminary report on the crash and said it had so far found no evidence of a criminal act.
Participant in China Xinjiang attack was brainwashed
http://www.oann.com/participant-in-china-xinjiang-attack-was-brainwashed-report/
BEIJING (Reuters) – A participant in a September attack on a coal mine in China’s far western region of Xinjiang that killed 16 people said he had been brainwashed to believe he was going to heaven, a state-run paper reported on Monday.
Hundreds of people have been killed in the past few years in the region, which is home to the mainly Muslim Uighur people, in violence blamed by the government on Islamist militants seeking an independent state called East Turkestan.
China only admitted last month the mine attack had happened, when it said its security forces had killed 28 of the “terrorists” involved. Since then it has released further details in dribs and drabs.
In the latest report on the incident and government efforts to hunt down the perpetrators, the official Xinjiang Daily said one of the suspects could not stand life on the run, and gave himself up to his grandfather, a former Communist Party official.
“They said killing people means you can get into heaven as a martyr,” the man, identified as Tuerhong Aimaiti, told the newspaper in comments published on Monday. “I’ve been brainwashed and have become a criminal.”
Turkish troops leave Iraqi camp after Baghdad orders them out
http://www.oann.com/some-turkish-troops-leaving-bashiqa-camp-in-northern-iraq-as-part-of-new-arrangement-source/
ANKARA (Reuters) – Some Turkish troops started leaving their camp in Iraq and moving north on Monday, a Turkish military source and a senior official said, days after Baghdad protested to the United Nations and ordered them out.
Any move northwards would take them back closer to Iraq’s border with Turkey, but the officials did not say where they were going and it was unclear how far Ankara was bowing to pressure to bring its soldiers home.
Iraq said in early December hundreds of Turkish troops had arrived in its territory without its knowledge, calling it a hostile act.
Turkey said at the time the troops were meant to guard an international mission training and equipping Iraqi forces who are preparing for an offensive to retake the Iraqi city of Mosul, seized by Islamic State militants more than a year ago.
Security fears blight European tourism, oil and economy offer relief
http://www.oann.com/security-fears-blight-european-tourism-oil-and-economy-offer-relief/
LONDON (Reuters) – Europe’s travel industry could lose over $1 billion in revenues because of the impact of the Paris attacks, analysts say, though low oil prices and a recovering economy will offset security worries for the best-placed companies.
Keen to benefit from the positive factors, investors are focusing on groups that offer a wide range of destinations, can avoid places where safety is in doubt, and have robust enough finances to absorb potential shocks.
“Big companies may be better prepared because they have more … and further destinations that will be tempering the losses,” said Ipek Ozkardeskaya, market analyst at London Capital Group.
The full impact of the Nov. 13 attacks that killed 130 people in Paris will become clearer with fourth-quarter results, but there is already evidence of a significant hit to Europe’s tourism industry, worth $500 billion according to the U.N.’s World Tourism Organisation.
Russian Navy chases off Turkish vessel impeding drill platform transit in Black Sea
A Russian missile cruiser and a coast guard powerboat had to intervene after a merchant vessel flying the Turkish flag blocked a convoy transporting two drill platforms to a new location in Moscow’s territorial waters.
The decision to relocate them closer to Crimea was caused by the complicated international situation, according to a press release from the Russian Chernomorneftegaz state company which owns the platforms.
While the two rigs were being moved to their new location, a vessel under the Turkish flag crossed the convoy’s path.
“Acting in violation of regulations for preventing collisions and against the generally-accepted conventions of navigation, the Turkish vessel failed to get out of the way of the convoy. It approached crossways and attempted to stop its course, thus creating potential for a collision,” Chernomorneftegaz said in a statement, stressing that the captain of the Turkish vessel operated radio silence despite requests to respond.
https://www.rt.com/news/325840-russian-navy-platform-turkish-vessel/
Turkey: Russian ship shadowed by Turkish sub as it passes through Bosphorus
Turkish journalists face 45yrs in jail over claims Ankara supplied arms to jihadists
Chemical agent sarin smuggled from Turkey to ISIS – Turkish MP
ISIS terrorists in Syria received all necessary materials to produce deadly sarin gas via Turkey, a Turkish MP claimed, citing evidence from an abruptly closed criminal case. Speaking to RT, Eren Erdem said there is grounds to believe of a cover up
Turkey: At least two killed in Diyarbakir clashes amid curfew protests
Merkel: Migrant crisis ‘historic test’ for Europe (BBC, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35091960
“The German Chancellor, Angela Merkel, has described the migrant crisis as a “historic test” for Europe.
Defending her policy on migrants at the annual conference of her CDU party, Mrs Merkel said that Germany was standing by its humanitarian duties.
But she said the flow of migrants would be reduced – a step that some members of the party have been calling for.
More than one million refugees have come to Germany so far this year, officials there say.
Her decision to welcome refugees fleeing Syria’s civil war has not been popular within her own party.
Mrs Merkel told the conference in Karlsruhe that the influx would be “noticeably reduced” – the wording of a compromise agreement reached on Sunday with her CDU colleagues.
Such a reduction was in the interest of Germany and in the interest of the migrants themselves, she told the conference….”
Migrant crisis: EU to launch new border force plan (BBC, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-35093827
“Controversial plans for an EU Border and Coast Guard force are to be set out on Tuesday – part of an EU drive to curb the record influx of migrants.
Some national governments are wary of granting the EU new powers in such a sensitive area of sovereignty.
The European Commission is proposing a force with a stronger mandate than the EU’s current Frontex border teams.
Poland says it will oppose any move to send in EU border guards without the host country’s approval.
Polish Foreign Minister Witold Waszczykowski said such powers “would mean that this would be an undemocratic structure, not controlled by the member states”.
But he said strengthening Frontex “is necessary in every sense”….”
Yemen conflict: Gulf commanders ‘killed in missile strike’ (BBC, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35091675
“A Saudi military commander and an Emirati officer are reported to be among a number of Gulf, Yemeni and Sudanese soldiers killed in Yemen.
They appear to have been killed by a missile fired by Houthi rebels at troops from the Saudi-led coalition seeking to restore Yemen’s government.
Rebel and government sources said the attack, in the province of Taiz, left dozens of coalition troops dead.
The incident comes ahead of UN-brokered peace talks in Switzerland on Tuesday.
The government says a seven-day ceasefire will begin at midnight (21:00 GMT) to coincide with the talks.
‘Enemy command centre’
The Saudi state news agency quoted a coalition statement as saying Saudi Col Abdullah al-Sahyan and Emirati officer Sultan al-Ketbi were killed early on Monday while “carrying out their duties in following up the progress of operations of liberating” Taiz province…”
Islamic State ‘moving to access Libya oil’ – France (BBC, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-35093777
“The Islamic State group is extending its territory inside Libya, aiming to gain access to the country’s oil wells, France’s defence minister says.
The group has started to move inland from its stronghold in the coastal town of Sirte, Jean-Yves Le Drian told France’s RTL radio.
Libya’s rival governments are due to sign a UN-backed agreement on Wednesday to form a unity government.
Libya has descended into chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011…”
Turkey, EU open new chapter in membership talks: officials
Turkey and the European Union on Monday officially opened a new section in Ankara’s long-stalled membership process as part of a deal aimed at tackling the migrant crisis, officials said.
“EU-Turkey Intergovernmental Conference opens negotiations on Chapter 17 in accession talks,” said current EU president Luxembourg, referring to one of 35 “chapters” Turkey must complete to join the bloc.
https://en-maktoob.news.yahoo.com/turkey-eu-open-chapter-membership-talks-officials-173511196–finance.html
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Turkey relaunches EU membership bid with economic talks
European Union foreign ministers on Monday revived Turkey’s efforts to join the bloc by agreeing to open talks on the EU’s financial rules, as part of a bigger deal to help Europe solve its migration crisis.
Turkey’s Deputy Prime Minister Mehmet Simsek, in Brussels for the opening of a new accession chapter with the European Union, said he expected quick progress on bringing Ankara in line with the EU’s economic and monetary policy, despite concerns about central bank independence in Turkey.
“Turkey does not have major shortcomings regarding this chapter,” Simsek, who is also in charge of the economy in the new Turkish government, told a news conference.
The opening of the so-called chapter 17, one of 35 in the EU’s membership talks, marks not just the first formal discussions since 2013 but what many in Brussels see as a fresh start for EU-Turkey ties after years of uneasy relations.
Underlying that change is Turkey’s promise to help stem the flow of migrants to Europe in return for cash, visas and renewed talks on joining the European Union, to which Ankara formally started its membership talks a year ago.
France’s minister for European affairs, Harlem Desir, said he expected to see a “willingness to implement reforms in Turkey that contribute to the modernization of Turkish society, the Turkish economy”.
The decision to open the chapter on economic and monetary policy comes at a time of concern from investors over whether the programme of Turkey’s new government will curtail central bank independence.
In May, during the European Union’s yearly economy review of Turkey’s EU candidacy, EU finance ministers expressed displeasure at President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s demands for lower interest rates.
http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_turkey-relaunches-eu-membership-bid-with-economic-talks_406911.html
Just keep talking. Have some lunch, go back home to confer with higher ups, long vacations…
IS militants launch counter-attacks in Iraq’s Ramadi (BBC, Dec 14, 2015)
http://www.bbc.com/news/world-middle-east-35091680
“Islamic State militants have reportedly launched several counter-attacks in the Iraqi city of Ramadi, which government forces are trying to recapture.
A security source told the BBC that at least 35 soldiers and allied Sunni tribesmen were killed in a series of suicide car bomb attacks.
A senior IS leader was also said to have been killed east of the city.
Government forces have encircled Ramadi and are preparing for a final assault on the city, which IS overran in May.
Last week, troops retook the key western district of Tamim, which is only separated from the city centre by a tributary of the Euphrates, and the headquarters of the Iraqi military’s Anbar Operations Command…”
GREECE -Refugee Tensions: Over 100 detained amid violence in Greek camp
Around 100 migrants have been detained after scuffles broke out among refugees accommodated at a stadium in Paleo Faliro outside Athens. Riot police had to intervene after tensions flared up when a group of migrants attempted to blackmail people.
Nigerian Shiites Say Soldiers Have Killed Hundreds (abcnews, Dec 14, 2015)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/nigerian-shiites-soldiers-killed-hundreds-35751973
“Soldiers killed hundreds of Shiite Muslims this weekend after their group opened fire on the convoy of Nigeria’s army chief, the Shia Islamic Movement and military reports said Monday. Other reports put the number of dead at about 20.
Shiite leader Ibraheem Zakzaky and his wife, Zeenah Ibrahim, are in military custody, Gov. Nasir El-Rufai of Kaduna state told The Associated Press. The movement had earlier reported that Zakzaky’s wife was among the dead from the military raids in northern Zaria town, along with two of their sons and Zakzaky’s deputy.
“They were arrested alive and are receiving medical attention,” El-Rufai said in an email message that implied the couple may have been wounded.
Zeenah Ibrahim called AP early Sunday to report that soldiers were besieging her home in a “pre-planned attack to assassinate the sheikh.” She said hundreds of Zakzaky’s followers surrounded the house to protect the leader.
Witness Ojo Momodu said the Shiites barricaded the road with burning tires as Buratai approached and then stoned his convoy. Momodu said residents are frequently harassed by the Shiites’ unlawful blocking of roads for processions.
Army spokesman Col. Sani Usman called the stoning of Gen. Tukur Buratai’s convoy “a deliberate attempt to assassinate.”
A report from the Nigerian Army Corps of Military Police said some Shiites were crawling through tall grass toward Buratai’s vehicle “with the intent to attack the vehicle with (a) petrol bomb” while others “suddenly resorted to firing gunshots from the direction of the mosque.” It said other Shiites were armed with swords and daggers. The report, marked “restricted,” is dated Dec. 12 and said the incident began around 11:30 Saturday.
The military raids on Zakzaky’s home and spiritual centers in two other areas in Zaria took place hours later and lasted into Sunday morning.
Ibrahim said the military has targeted the movement in the past, and last year killed three of her sons who had come home from studies in Beijing and Beirut for a religious procession.
Movement spokesman Ibrahim Musa said the military retaliated with “indiscriminate killing.” His statement received Monday said, “The killing was so brutal at Gyallesu (one area of Zaria) that even those injured in the shooting were identified and killed in cold blood by the soldiers.”
Reports from human rights activists and Nigerian newspapers said about 20 people were killed.
It was impossible to independently verify the toll as the military Monday continued a lockdown preventing access to the areas.
The Shiites two weeks ago suffered a suicide bombing by Boko Haram that killed 22 people. Boko Haram often attacks Muslims who oppose its radical vision of Islam.
In 2009, Nigerian armed forces attacked Boko Haram’s headquarters and killed about 700 people, including its leader. The group re-emerged as a much more violent entity.”
Iran Summons Nigerian Diplomat Over Killing of Shiites (abcnews, Dec 14, 2015)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/iran-summons-nigerian-diplomat-killing-shiites-35760450
“Iran’s state TV is reporting that the country’s Foreign Ministry has summoned the Nigerian Charge d’Affaires to protest the killing of Shiite Muslims in northern Nigeria.
The broadcast says a senior Foreign Ministry official condemned the killings and said the Nigerian government is responsible to protect Shiite Muslim lives and properties. Iran is the world’s largest Shiite Muslim state.
Nigerian soldiers raided the home of Ibraheem Zakzaky, leader of the Shiite Islamic Movement, this weekend in Zaria, a town in northern Nigeria. The movement says soldiers killed hundreds of Shiite Muslims after their group stoned the convoy of Nigeria’s army chief. Other reports put the number of dead at about 20.”
Lebanon Issues Arrest Warrant for Gadhafi’s Son (abcnews, Dec 14, 2015)
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/lebanon-issues-arrest-warrant-gadhafis-son-35758693
“Lebanese authorities issued an arrest warrant for the son of late Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi Monday on charges of hiding information related to the disappearance of a top Lebanese Shiite cleric in Libya 37 years ago.
Judge Zaher Hamadeh issued the warrant after questioning Hannibal Gadhafi Monday at the main courthouse, known locally as the Justice Palace. Hamadeh had asked that Gadhafi be brought in for questioning on whether he has information related to the case of Imam Moussa al-Sadr.
Al-Sadr and two companions went missing in 1978 during an official visit to Libya at the invitation of Moammar Gadhafi. Lebanon has blamed Moammar Gadhafi for his disappearance, and relations between the two countries have been tense over the case ever since.
Hannibal Gadhafi, who was three in 1978, was briefly kidnapped by Shiite militants in Lebanon before they handed him over to police late Friday. He appeared in a video aired late Friday on local Al-Jadeed TV saying anyone with information about al-Sadr should come forward. He appeared to have been beaten…”
Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric says government should not tolerate infringement of sovereignty
Iraq’s top Shi’ite cleric, Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, called on the government on Friday to show “no tolerance” of any infringement of the country’s sovereignty, after Turkey deployed heavily armed troops to northern Iraq.
Sistani’s spokesman, Sheikh Abdul Mehdi Karbala’i, did not explicitly name Turkey, but a row over the deployment has badly soured relations between Ankara and Baghdad, which denies having agreed to it.
Sistani also said Iraq’s neighbours should not send any troops to Iraq “under the pretext of fighting terrorism”, except with the approval of the Baghdad government.
“The Iraqi government is responsible for protecting Iraq’s sovereignty and must not tolerate and side that infringes upon on it, whatever the justifications and necessities,” Karbalai’i said in a weekly sermon.
Ankara says the troops were sent as part of an international mission to train and equip Iraqi forces to fight Islamic State. Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday a withdrawal was “out of the question for the moment”.
Sistani urged citizens to show restraint towards foreign residents of Iraq, after Shi’ite paramilitary groups threatened to use force against Turkey and target its interests to force it to pull out.
http://www.reuters.com/article/us-mideast-crisis-iraq-turkey-idUSKBN0TU10W20151211
Pentagon changed the name of rebel groups that the US is arming from “Syrian Arabic Coalition” to “Syrian Democratic Forces”`
https://twitter.com/MicahZenko/status/675319528956522496
TURKEY -Armed men storm raki festival in Turkey in anti-alcohol protest
ISTANBUL (Reuters) – A group of armed men stormed a festival in southern Turkey devoted to the traditional alcoholic drink raki over the weekend, firing shotguns into the air and shouting anti-alcohol slogans, Dogan News Agency reported on Sunday.
The Hurriyet newspaper showed footage online of a group of men running through a crowded bazaar in the city of Adana, shouting and firing a gun into the air.
Plainclothes police later arrested four suspects for allegedly hitting tables with the long knives used to carve up kebabs, Dogan said. The festivities later continued.
Now its sixth year, the event was previously called the “World Raki Festival” but organizers changed the name this year because of pressure from conservative anti-alcohol groups who had wanted it banned, Dogan said.
Although Turkey is constitutionally secular, the overwhelming majority of the population is Muslim. Many, like President Tayyip Erdogan, are pious Muslims who shun alcohol.
Under the AK Party founded by Erdogan, Turkey has banned alcohol advertising and tightened restrictions on its sale, to the ire of many secularists, who say they are increasingly finding themselves having to adapt to stricter Muslim values.
This year, the Adana authorities changed the festival’s name to the “Adana Kebab and Turnip Festival,” Dogan said.
http://news.yahoo.com/armed-men-storm-raki-festival-turkey-anti-alcohol-164906639–sector.html
NIGERIA – At least 60 killed as Nigerian army raids Shi’ite sect, hospital says
ABUJA, Dec 14 (Reuters) – At least 60 people were killed this weekend when the Nigerian army raided a Shi’ite sect and arrested its leader in the northern city of Zaria, the director of a local hospital said on Monday.
The army said the Islamic Movement was trying to assassinate the chief of army staff, Lieutenant General Tukur Buratai, when members of the sect blocked his convoy in Zaria on Saturday. The sect was conducting an annual ritual to usher in the month of Maulud, the birth month of the Prophet Mohammed.
On Sunday, the army raided several buildings connected to the sect and the home of its leader, Ibrahim Zakzaky. They arrested him and killed key members of the group, including Zakzaky’s second-in-command and spokesman.
“As of yesterday, we had 60 corpses in our morgue,” Khalid Lawal, the chief medical director of Ahmadu Bello University Teaching Hospital, told Reuters by phone.
Residents said they heard loud blasts during the raid. A Reuters reporter was barred entry to the cordoned-off area.
Most of Nigeria’s tens of millions of Muslims are Sunni, including the Boko Haram jihadist militants that have killed thousands in bombings and shootings, mainly in northeastern Nigeria, since 2009.
But there are also several thousand Shi’ites, mostly followers of Zakzaky, whose movement was inspired by the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Shi’ite Iran.
Iran condemned the attack on Monday and summoned Nigeria’s representative there, according to its state news agency. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif called on the Nigerian government to take “prompt and serious” action.
The Shi’ite sect claimed that hundreds of their members were killed. The army took most of the bodies away, making it impossible to verify the claim.
Spokesmen for Nigeria’s presidency declined to comment and referred Reuters to the army spokesman, who did not answer multiple requests for comment.
A similar altercation between the sect and the army occurred last year during a procession. Zakzaky said that 30 followers and three of his children were killed.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-3359758/At-60-killed-Nigerian-army-raids-Shiite-sect-hospital-says.html
Zaria residents robbing killed shiite members, takes cash, handsets and belongings
jackals
Germany launches plan to protect migrant women, children from attacks
BERLIN, Dec 14 (Reuters) – Germany launched a programme on Monday to improve the safety of asylum-seeking women and the roughly 300,000 refugee children who have arrived here this year, saying these vulnerable groups were not being given sufficient protection in refugee homes.
Almost a million refugees fleeing war, violence and poverty in countries like Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan flocked to Germany in the first 11 months of this year and the authorities have had difficulty finding sufficient accommodation for them all. Some have ended up sleeping in sports hall and empty office blocks.
In assessing the situation, the German government and United Nations children’s agency (UNICEF) agreed that children living in refugee shelters were at risk of becoming victims of violence, misuse and exploitation, especially in temporary accommodation and reception centres.
“After their long and often dangerous flight, refugee children in Germany are in a relatively safe place,” said Christian Schneider, executive director of UNICEF Germany.
“Countless staff and volunteers are doing a fantastic job. However, there are no binding standards for the protection of children,” he said in a statement.
German Family Minister Manuela Schwesig told journalists that there were some cases of staff and volunteers at refugee accommodation assaulting children.
She said a recent UNICEF report showed that there were some documented incidents of violence, rape and sexual attacks in centres for new arrivals as well as suspected cases of sexual exploitation of women and girls.
She said there were no statistics on how often women and children were becoming victims of such attacks, with very few reporting such incidents due to concerns that this could affect their asylum application or that they might be blamed.
Refugee homes need to be fitted with protected rooms for children and separate sanitary facilities for men and women, Schwesig said in presenting a three-pronged plan to improve the safety of refugee women and children.
One of the measures is a plan for the family ministry and the KfW state development bank to provide up to 200 million euros ($220.40 million) in investment loans to build new refugee accommodation and modify existing shelters so that women and children can be better protected.
A second measure will see the ministry work with UNICEF to train people who work at refugee homes in child protection and how to spot incidents of sexual violence.
Thirdly, the ministry said it would provide centres for torture victims with 4 million euros to ensure that refugee women who have experienced violence are well looked after
http://www.trust.org/item/20151214180103-aj0oj
Its about time they did something,
Charges against Bergdahl referred to trial by court-martial
Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl’s high-profile desertion case was referred for trial by court-martial on Monday, in a blow to his defense team which had urged a lower-level referral.
Bergdahl was released from captivity last year in exchange for five Taliban detainees from Guantanamo Bay. He was later charged with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy, accused of abandoning his post before he was captured.
U.S. Army Forces Command announced Monday that both charges are being referring to a general court-martial.
An arraignment hearing date at Fort Bragg, N.C., has not yet been set.
Eugene Fidell, Bergdahl’s attorney, said the convening authority did not follow the advice of the preliminary hearing officer who had recommended Bergdahl’s case be moved only to a special misdemeanor-level military court.
Fidell said in a statement Monday that he had hoped the case would not go in this direction.
Bergdahl, of Hailey, Idaho, was held by the Taliban for nearly five years after he walked off his post in Afghanistan on June 30, 2009.
The trade of five Taliban leaders for his release fueled tensions between the Obama administration and Congress, as some lawmakers said they were not properly informed of the deal — and said the trade itself raised security concerns.
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2015/12/14/charges-against-bergdahl-referred-to-trial-by-court-martial.html
In August, Trump called Bergdahl “a dirty, rotten traitor” during a town hall meeting in New Hampshire.
NYT – Bowe Bergdahl to Face Court-Martial on Desertion Charges
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/us/bowe-bergdahl-to-face-court-martial-on-desertion-charges.html
Novelist Cynthis Ozick says “Depravity is a moral choice.” She rejects the concept of a “moral duty” to understand or identify with these really other others.
Understanding Terror
[N]otions of . . . impoverishment, grievance, impotence at the hands of powerful faraway forces, humiliation, spiritual misery (a fresh coinage particularly worthy of the novelist’s art) . . . have become unassailably commonplace to the point of vacuous triteness. And more: terror can now be counted among matters urgently spiritual.
What comes of these divinings is, finally, a confusion of categories. The Paris atrocities, the Jerusalem stabbings, the San Bernardino shootings are not chapters in a novel to be intensively parsed. A novel is a cultural artifact. A human mind, whatever culture it is born into, is privately, even instinctively, free to enact individual will. Everyone . . . can choose whether to murder or not to murder. . . .
At bottom, an open-hearted willingness to understand everyone is an appalling distraction from the intrinsic depravity of the act of premeditated murder. The evil deed speaks for itself; to search out the evildoer’s “backstory,” to look for some exculpating raison d’être, is no more useful or edifying or moral than an attraction to pornography.
http://www.weeklystandard.com/understanding-terror/article/2000198
Iran Breaches The Nuclear Deal
While Obama continues to remove the sanctions.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/261078/iran-breaches-nuclear-deal-dr-majid-rafizadeh
Not long after signing the nuclear deal, the ruling clerics of the Islamist state of Iran have clearly breached the agreement and several of the United Nations Security Council Resolutions. What is the Obama administration’s response? He is turning a blind eye to this vital issue. The administration is ignoring these blatant violations and continuing with its efforts to lift sanctions on the Ayatollah’s regime.
The Joint Plan of Action Agreement (JCPOA), which was reached between the six world powers and Iran, clearly mentions “addressing UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions” regarding the Islamic Republic. Specifically, the JCPOA (UNSCR 2231 Annex II, paragraph three) states that Iran should not undertake any ballistic missiles activity “until the date eight years after the JCPOA Adoption Day or until the date on which the IAEA submits a report confirming the Broader Conclusion, whichever is earlier.”
Despite agreeing to the nuclear deal, Iran has repeatedly test-fired long-range ballistic missiles and laser-guided surface-to-surface missiles. In fact, last week, the Islamic Republic tested a new ballistic missile capable of carrying multiple warheads. This is in direct breach of two UN Security Council resolutions and the JCPOA.
Iranian leaders make no attempt to hide this. Instead they are projecting their military power, and flaunting their breach of the agreement and the UNSC resolutions. When his country was unveiling a new missile, Fateh 313, the Iranian President Hassan Rouhani previously pointed out that “we will have a new ballistic missile test in the near future that will be a thorn in the eyes of our enemies.” An Iranian state news agency, Fars, also posted a video of Iran’s underground missile testing facility.
Turkey-Russia Turmoil
The deadly consequences of America “leading from behind” in the fight against ISIS.
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/260905/turkey-russia-turmoil-arnold-ahlert
Leading from behind, or more accurately, failing to lead at all, has its consequences. Turkish jets shot down a Russian Su-24 fighter jet Turkey claimed was over its airspace, and both pilots were reportedly killed. In addition, American-backed Syrian rebels shot down a Russian rescue helicopter, killing one crew member. Russian guided missile cruiser Moskva will now be deployed off the Syrian coast, with Lieutenant General Sergey Rudskoi warning that “every target posing a potential threat will be destroyed,” and all military contacts with Turkey “will be suspended.” As PJ Media’s Richard Fernandez deftly explains, the latest turn of events is “a clear sign of how dangerous Obama’s Syria policy has become. The vacuum left by his policy has not only engendered a chaos which has destroyed whole countries, but it has drawn in great powers whose armed forces are operating in dangerously close proximity.” In short, this is how wars begin.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has warned Turkey there will be “significant consequences” for what he characterized as a “stab in the back” committed by “accomplices of terrorists.” The Turkish military insists that two jets approached their border and were warned “10 times” before one of the planes was shot down. Putin disagreed. “The Russian bomber was shot down over Syria by an air-to-air surface fired from a Turkish F-16 plane when the bomber was at an altitude of 6,000 meters at a distance of 1 km from the Turkish bomber,” he stated.
Army Col. Steve Warren, the top military spokesman in Baghdad, backed Turkey’s version of the event, but hedged in the process of doing so. “The incident happened at the border,” Warren said. “These things are not as clean as they are in the movies.” He further explained command was studying radio chatter, radar images and other data before making a definitive conclusion. Later, however, a U.S. official reported to Reuters that the Russian jet did appear to have been shot down over Syrian airspace after briefly entering into Turkey.
War comes home: Russia v. Turkey; Jet shootdown; Rebels attack Russian helos with U.S. TOW missiles
http://libertyunyielding.com/2015/11/24/war-comes-home-jet-shootdown-russian-helos-hit-with-u-s-tow-missiles-by-rebel-group-they-attacked-earlier/
The war in Syria is metastasizing, as long predicted by this author and others. It’s perilously close to a direct confrontation of Turkey and Russia in combat — a situation that didn’t start with the warplane shootdown today, but rather seems to have culminated in it. The ground picture in the area of the shootdown is the key
What we know for sure today is that Turkey shot down a Russian Su-24 Fencer attack aircraft, which the Turks say was violating their air space. The Turks report that an F-16 fighter pair took out the Russian aircraft.
It also appears that Russian helicopters sent on a rescue mission for the Su-24 air crew were destroyed. If a video posted by Syrian rebels (below) is valid – assuming it shows something the rebels pulled off today (24 November) – it looks like the rebels used TOW missiles to attack the Russian helos while they were on the ground at the Su-24 crash site.
Michael Ledeen: Obama Carrying Out Iranian Foreign Policy
http://www.frontpagemag.com/fpm/260898/michael-ledeen-obama-carrying-out-iranian-foreign-frontpagemagcom
Iran – forgive me if I do not say “I-ran” but all those years of “I-ran” and “I-raq” drummed that out of me. Iran is on the one hand very easy to understand. On the other hand hardly anybody seems to get it. So here’s Iran, the short version. The Iranian regime hates us. They are committed enemies of the entire Western world, especially the United States. If a Shiite Muslim theocratic dictatorship calls you the “Great Satan” you should take is seriously. I often say to people, you’ve all seen these demonstrations in the streets of Iran, thousands of people chanting, “Death to America.” What do you think they mean? What is that all about anyway? Is that some local street festival? Is it something they do to amuse themselves? And the answer is no. That’s exactly what they have in mind. It’s exactly what they want to do. And it’s worthwhile to spend a little bit of time looking at the way they treat their own people because that is what they have in mind for us.
So that when you see that the Iranians oppress women, treat women according to the Iranian constitution as half a man — if a pregnant woman is killed in an automobile accident in Iran, the person who killed them has to pay a full share for a male fetus and half a share for the pregnant mother; they are formally, technically, legally in detail worth half a man. That’s what they want here for us. When they silence all manner of opposition, that’s what they will do here.
When they execute political dissidents that’s what they will do here. And their behavior in their region of sending terrorist forces all over the place – whether it’s to Lebanon or Iraq or Syria or Yemen or Somalia or all over Africa – they’re big supports of Boco Haram in Nigeria, they support Muslim terrorists in Congo and so forth. That’s what they do. So recently you may have noticed they arrested yet another American in Iran. This time a business man – put him in jail. People called me up — said why are they are they doing that? Why are they arresting this guy? And I keep saying to them that’s what they do. Arresting Americans, putting them in jail, torturing them – that’s what Iran does and they’re doing it on a small scale now. They only get to do it to Americans – usually Iranian-Americans who are stupid enough to go visit relatives back in Iran. But if they could come here and arrest lots of us they’d do it happily. I’m attacked all the time. Not a week goes by in Iran where I’m not attacked by name with my photograph and so forth in the Iranian press or on Iranian television. They would be delighted to be able to arrest me. I don’t travel in that part of the world.
So, that’s what they are about. They intend to do us i