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Dutch Josh View Drop Down
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    Posted: February 14 2016 at 9:55pm
The Syria-conflict is getting "out of hand". There are reports that Turkey is shelling and air attacks on both Kurdish and Syrian Arab Army positions while sending fighters (both Turkish and IS) thru the corridor from Turkey to Aleppo. Kurdish fighters claim they made POW one Turkish soldier inside Syria. 

After finding Israeli morters with "rebels" Russiais giving Hezbollah "better" radar to track (Israeli) planes. 

Both Turkey and Saudi Arabia claim to have the right to end the Assad regime by force. Russia wants to close all bordercrossings between Syria and Turkey by force. 

Iraq has told Saudi Arabia that it will not allow KSA (and Kuwait, Qatar etc.) forces to move to Syria via Iraq. 

Russia is sending more navy to the mediterrean sea via the Bosporus before that gets closed. Also large columns of military trucks/tanks on the Crimea (for embarkment ?). 

Veterans Today is warning that Saudi Arabia and Turkey want to control nuclear weapons on Incirlik-NATO-Airbase. 

A large scale ground war only is possible if the US is providing protection. So far there are no reports of large scale ground troops moving in from Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Turkey into Iraq/Syria. 

Iran has made clear it will asist Syria. (This may lead to a direct war in the Persian Gulf)

Before a ground war starts Turkey, Saudi Arabia need control of the sky. So far there is not yet a war for air-control yet. 

Russia seems to concentrate on goals they want to reach inside Syria. Raqqa is a major goal. With IS defeated KSA/Turkey have no excuse in claiming they want to fight IS as well. So far Turkish/KSA action did not stop Syria/Russia/Kurdish forces (backed by US and Israel) to fight the rebels (backed by US, Israel, KSA, Turkey, NATO). 

Without US support further KSA/Turkish moves are hard to imagine. Russia has very good air defence that will shoot down any enemy plane. Before any major KSA/Turkish action Russian (and Syrian) radar and air defense has to get blocked. 

This is a very serious development but not World War 3 yet. The coming hours will tell us more. 
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 14 2016 at 9:57pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 15 2016 at 12:04am
What is next and why ?

The coming 24hrs may bring "limited escalation". Israel may start shelling Hezbollah in southern Lebanon. Turkey will continue to delay Kurdish gains inside Syria (while the fighting inside Turkey between the Army and Kurds may escalate).  In a further escalation on the southern front Saudi Arabia and allies will test what happens when they move into Iraq western dessert. Iraq may not be able to stop such an action. 

There was a carbomb explosion in Dagastan (southern Russia) according to RT. The conflicts in the South China Sea, Korea, Urkraine may get "more active". 

Turkey will again try to blackmail the EU with refugees. It could send/push them towards Greece. There have been reports that the Turkish cost Guard even sank boats with refugees to increase pressure on the EU. 

Pakistan is the only Islamic country with nuclear weapons. It has good relations with Saudi Arabia and Turkey. How far Pakistan may go in this conflict, at what price, is an open question. Pakistans secret service ISI is behind the Afghanistan Taliban (and also supporting IS in eastern Afghanistan-close to China ?)

Egypt is keeping some distance from the present escalation. It has enough troubles in the Sinai and Libya. Sudan is involved in the Yemen war (Egypt also), wich could put "some pressure on the Red Sea"towards the Suez Canal. 

In my opinion it is not impossible the US has again lost initiative in the Middle East. The present crisis is worse than the 2014 situation after gas-attacks near Damascus wich were done by "rebels" but by the west blamed on the Assad regime. Russia then stopped further action wich made Saudi Arabia very angry and started the "oil-price-war".
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 15 2016 at 12:07am
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 15 2016 at 8:28am
Some short news: 

Iranian defense minister in Moscow to acquire advanced weapons: report 
DEBKAfile February 15, 2016, 2:50 PM (IDT)

Iran's Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan arrived in Moscow on Monday for an official visit aimed at deepening defense ties and discussing the acquisition of advanced weapons including S-400 ground-to-air missile systems, Sukhoi Su-30 and Su-35 fighters, and T-90 tanks, according to the Russian media. Meanwhile, the Russian Foreign Ministry said the country will start shipping S-300 ground-to-air missile systems to Iran in the very near future.


https://www.rt.com/news/332457-car-bomb-explosion-dagestan/


Two people have died and a further 17 were injured after a car bombing in southern Russia's Dagestan at a police checkpoint near the city of Derbent. Islamic State terrorists have claimed responsibility in a tweet. FSB says a local terrorist group was used for the job.

Reports say a Lada Priora approached the police checkpoint and the bomb was detonated. It was later determined that a police officer pulled the driver over to check their papers. Witnesses say this is when they heard a powerful blast.

Two police officers were killed in the blast and 17 people were injured, including police personnel and civilians, Russian media report, citing the Dagestan Health Ministry.

https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/money/897

Flash message via the SWIFT Banking Communication System urges Bankers / Investors to immediately remove their capital (cash/stocks) from Turkey and Saudi Arabia. 

The message allegedly says war "imminent" -- Turkey and Saudi Arabia to suffer "staggering" losses to Russia once invasion of Syria begins.

Message suggests only forty eight hours remain for banks/investors to get assets out safely!

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Global-News/2016/0215/Is-Saudi-Arabia-wavering-on-sending-troops-to-Syria?

After announcing its willingness to deploy ground forces in Syria last week, Saudi Arabia’s officials now appear to be more hesitant about their initial plans.

Saudi Arabia's foreign minister, Adel al-Jubeir, said on Sunday that the decision whether to have a ground component on the ground is up to the US-led coalition.

http://www.dw.com/en/is-pakistan-aiding-syrian-rebels/a-17528187

Pakistan denies claims it is arming Syrian rebels at Saudi Arabia's behest. Experts, however, say Islamabad is not only providing military equipment to anti-Assad groups, it's also helping jihadists to go fight in Syria.

http://www.dawn.com/news/1239517/pakistan-joins-thunder-of-the-north-military-exercise-in-saudi-arabia

http://www.dawn.com/news/1239725/turkey-renews-shelling-of-syria-warns-kurds (interesting comments underline Pakistan is divided in its position towards Iran, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Turkey.)




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 15 2016 at 10:00pm
There are several reports of schools and hospitals being hit by airstrikes. The western media puts the blame on Russia or Syria while those attacks on civilian targets could provide an excuse for Turkey to start creating a "safe zone"or "no-fly-zone" that mostly would protect IS. 


IS fighters are forcing people to flee towards Turkey so they can hide among the refugees. 

From Zerohedge: 

The latest news strongly suggests to me that the White House has taken the decision to let Turkey and Saudi Arabia invade Syria. Turkish officials are openly saying that an invasion is imminentand that the goal of such an invasion would be to reverse the Syrian army gains along the boder and near Aleppo. The latest reports are also suggesting that the Turks have begun shelling Aleppo. None of that could be happening without the full support of CENTCOM and the White House.

The Empire has apparently concluded that Daesh is not strong enough to overthrow Assad, at least not when the Russian AeroSpace forces are supporting him, so it will now unleash the Turks and the Saudis in the hope of changing the outcome of this war or, if that is not possible, to carve up Syria into ‘zones of responsibility” – all under the pretext of fighting Daesh, of course.

The Russian task force in Syria is about to be very seriously challenged and I don’t see how it could deal with this new threat by itself. I very much hope that I am wrong here, but I have do admit that a *real* Russian intervention in Syria might happen after all, with MiG-31s and allIn fact, in the next few days, we are probably going to witness a dramatic escalation of the conflict in Syria.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 3:05am
good updates:


remarkable :

Superstation is claiming to have contacts inside the US military indicating the US (NATO) will get ready to get involved. The US will lose its position as the "only superpower" when Russia can claim victory over US allies (Turkey, Saudi Arabia-Gulf States supporting IS) in Syria. NATO is getting involved to safe the US/EU global position. When Syria remains under Assad control due to Russia the US/EU will lose influence globally. It is not longer about energy pipelines it is about global domination. And that is a very serious development. 

The coming hours will see more schools/hospitals/civilian targets being attacked inside Syria "by the Russians", also "IS terrorist attacks" inside Turkey, to provide an excuse for NATO to get a "safe zone/no-fly zone/intervention" "to fight IS in Syria"(even when IS is totally wiped out by the Russians NATO must "show leadership"-a total failure of US/EU foreign policy for decades !).

Ukraine is getting more involved blocking Russian transports. Turkey may close the Bosporus for Russian ships. Also Turkey will continu shelling positions inside Syria, alowing jihadist to reinforce IS positions. Inside Turkey Erdogan may get more isolated. Turkey Army wants to fight Kurds but does not see IS as " a friend". 

Also inside Israel increase of violence. Israel does not want Hezbollah or Iran to close to its borders or with some weapons. 

From Jordan/Saudi Arabia most likely to see an increase of activity. Western Iraq may be hard to defend for the Iraqi Army because it is mostly desert. 

In the summer of 2015 the US expected that IS would take over Damascus by october 2015. http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/russias-ambassador-uk-drops-bombshell-us-expected-isis-seize-damascus-october/ri12860
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 8:10am
Kurds capture Syrian town of Tel Rifaat despite Ankara's threats 
DEBKAfile February 16, 2016, 3:41 PM (IDT)

Fighters from the Kurdish YPG militia on Tuesday captured the town of Tel Rifaat, one of the largest rebel strongholds after Aleppo, in Syria's Idlib province near the Turkish border. The move came despite threats from Ankara that it would launch a military operation within Syria if the Kurds continue to advance.
DEBKAfile's military sources: Turkey is making empty threats and has no intention to launch such an operation. It also has no intention to establish a ground force consisting of troops from Islamic countries to depose Syrian President Bashar Assad, which it has proposed, or to invade Syria.  


http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-16/victoria-nulands-appointed-prime-minister-ukraine-about-replaced


Nearly two years after Victoria Nuland decided that "Yats" should be her puppet prime minister in Ukraine as part of the CIA-organized presidential coup, the latest embarrassment for the U.S. State Department is about to become a fact when moments ago Ukrainian billionaire president Petro Poroshenko called on Prime Minister Arseniy Yatsenyuk to resign and urged the formation of a technocratic government to end a political crisis and reignite an overhaul of the economy.


http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/02/16/300-erdogan-terrorists-slaughtered-by-russia/

Russia promises to eradicate any Turkish or Saudi forces that enter Syria

TEHRAN (FNA)- A Tal Rifat-bound column of fresh militants recruited and trained in Turkey was targeted by the Syrian and Russian warplanes on a road near the newly-liberated city in the Northern part of Aleppo on Tuesday, sources said, adding that 300 terrorists were killed in the air raid.

The Russian and Syrian fighter jets, in a joint operation, tracked and targeted an over 300-member convoy of fresh militants, who had earlier crossed the Syria-Turkey border to join the terrorist groups operating in Tal Rifat and its surroundings.

The militants column was on a road connecting Azaz and Tal Rifat.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Diligent Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 8:50am
Dutch Josh, thank-you for all you are doing.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 9:08am
Dilligent, I thank Albert/AFT-forum for giving me room to do this. http://www.newsnow.co.uk/h/World+News/Middle+East/Syria is a good source of independent information. 

The outcome of the Syria-conflict is going much further than Syria. If the US/NATO can not think of a constructive role in this conflict what role the US can play in the South China Sea ? Israel will re-think its international position-closer ties with Russia (Russian is the second language in Israel, spoken by over 1 million Israeli), The EU may think again over the Silk Road in stead of deals with the US.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Johnray1 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 9:22am
Dutch Josh, this could happen.Johnray1


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 16 2016 at 9:58pm
Both Veterans Today http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/02/16/analyst-saudi-arabia-has-nukes-will-test-soon/ and Superstation ( 1:24 PM   CIA official: Saudi Arabia has several nuclear bombs already from #Pakistan")  mention Saudi Arabia has nuclear weapons. 

The only way a groundwar can start for Turkey/KSA is with weapons that can stop Russian superior airdefense. The story that Saudi Arabia is working with Pakistan is not new. Veterans Today claims KSA has already used a nuclear warhead in Yemen. 

Superstation is repeating its warning that the Syria conflict may escalate into a nuclear war https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/903

Also from Superstation the news that Turkish forces moved into Qashmili a Syrian town on the Turkish border to stop Kurdish forces.

Iraq may ask Russia to fight IS in Iraq. Russiaand Iran warn KSA/Turkey that an invasion of Syria (or Iraq) will be a declaration of war. 

In the Ukrain to pro-NATO "government-gang" has fallen. Incresing tensions with Russia.

see also 

Main-stream media are not reporting or giving incorrect/incomplete information. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote carbon20 Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2016 at 3:56am
johnny Ray, sorry to say it is happening and the USA might get sucked into a war with Russia when the

 real enemy is Sunni Islam......

 

Everything we hear is an opinion, not a fact. Everything we see is a perspective, not the truth.🖖

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2016 at 9:11am
Some links: 


With Turkey on the brink of going to war with Russia and, implicitly, Iran, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is looking for an excuse to invade Syria. 

The rebels Turkey and Saudi Arabia back are staging what amounts to a last stand at Aleppo and the Kurdish YPG is moving to cut the Azaz corridor, which would effectively mean that Turkey has no way of resupplying the insurgency.

For the past five days, Ankara has been shelling the YPG in a futile attempt to stop their advance. 

The only thing that can save the rebellion against Bashar al-Assad is an outright ground operation by the rebels' Sunni benefactors, including Turkey. 

All Erdogan needs is a pretext and he may have just gotten one as reports indicate there's been a huge explosion in Ankara near parliament.

Early indications are that military barracks were targeted. A "large number of casulaties" are rumored. Expect this to be pinned on either ISIS or the PKK. If it's the latter, Ankara will once again claim that the group is working in concert with the YPG and that will be all the evidence Erdogan needs to march across the border.


comments: will BBC/Erdogan blame Putin for the bombs in Ankara, or the PKK or IS ? Erdogan wants an excuse/false flag for going into Syria to make a "safe zone" for IS and other refugees backed by NATO. 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2016 at 9:16pm
http://cyprus-mail.com/2016/02/18/erdogans-aims-in-syria-curtailed-by-army/?

When the Nusra Front, with increased Turkish and Saudi support, overran much of northwestern Syria last spring, Russia finally went to the aid of its long-standing ally, the Syrian government. Russian air power helped the Syrian army push back the troops of both the Nusra Front and Islamic State, and Erdogan was so irked by this that he actually had Turkish fighters shoot down a Russian bomber last November.

It was clear at the time that the Turkish army was very unhappy about the prospect of a military clash with Russia. It does not share Erdogan’s dream of an Islamist-ruled Syria either. So the Russian bombs kept falling, the Syrian army went on advancing, and now it has cut the main supply line from Turkey to the rebels in and around Aleppo.

This angered Erdogan greatly, and he now has an equally reckless ally in Prince Muhammad bin Salman, the Saudi deputy Crown Prince and defence minister. Over the past week these two men appear to have talked themselves into a limited military incursion into Syria to push the regime’s troops back and reopen the supply lines to the rebels.

This would also have allowed the Turkish army to whack the Syrian Kurds, who are building a de facto independent state in the Kurdish-majority territory along Turkey’s southern border. (Erdogan is already at war with Turkey’s own Kurdish nationalists, having broken a four-year truce with them last summer.)

On Saturday the Turkish army began shelling Syrian Kurdish forces, and on Sunday Assad’s government objected to the UN about a hundred “Turkish soldiers or mercenaries” who had crossed the border into Syria. At which point the grown-ups took over, and the Turkish defence minister denied that there was any intention to invade Syria.

https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/904

According to local media reports, Turk President Erdogan, has convened an emergency Cabinet Meeting over this "attack."  It is widely expected his decision will be Blame the Kurds, claim that Syria is helping the Kurds, and send ground troops into Syria.

If that takes place, those ground troops will be engaged by Russia forces inside Syria, who have repeatedly warned that "If foreign ground  troops enter Syria without Damascus' permission, it will be a declaration of war."

Russia means what it says; a rarity in today's world.

Hence, if Turkish troops enter Syria, and are engaged by Russia, today or tomorrow, it will likely be the hot-start of World War 3 which may result in a whole slew of us getting killed.

. . .  and the mass media of the west provides no information to its people to help them see thatthe whole thing is a "set-up" by terrorist supporting governments like Turkey and Saudi Arabia .

http://www.debka.com/article/25238/Israeli-missile-attack-reported-Syrian-army-outposts-on-the-Damascus-Daraa-road

Three Israeli missiles reportedly struck Syrian military outposts on the road between Daraa and Damascus after Wednesday midnight, according to Syrian human rights monitors. The IDF declined to comment on this report, while the Syrian army and Hizballah deneied it.

If this report is true, it would mean that Israel’s patience is running out with the Russian-Syrian aerial campaign that threatens to open the door for Syrian, Iranian and Hizballah forces to take up positions on its northern border. The triple missile strike looks as though it was meant to draw a line in the sand against this happening.


Senior ISIS leader al-Shishani surfaces in Libya 

DEBKAfile February 17, 2016, 9:17 PM (IDT)

Tarachan Batirashvili, also known as senior Islamic State leader Omar al-Shishani, has fled from Syria to the Libyan city of Sirte where he is trying to expand the terrorist organization's presence in the country . The terrorist known for his cruelty, his ability to escape capture and his recruitment of "Jihadi John" was born in 1986 and served in the Georgian army. Today he is one of the most wanted terrorists by both Western and Russian intelligence services. The fighting in Syria has resulted in the doubling of the ISIS fighters in Libya to about 6,500. 


Iran to start receiving S-300 missile batteries tomorrow: report 

DEBKAfile February 17, 2016, 7:42 PM (IDT)

Russia will start sending Iran S-300 ground-to-air missile batteries on Thursday, the Iranian media quoted a senior defense official as saying. It comes after Iranian Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan visited Moscow and met Russian President Vladimir Putin this week. It was also announced that Russia will sign a contract to sell Sukhoi Su-30 and Su-30SM warplanes to Iran. 


Nasrallah threatens missile strike on Haifa ammonia plant 

DEBKAfile February 16, 2016, 10:38 PM (IDT)

Shiite leader Hassan Nasrallah Tuesday threatened to shoot missile at the ammonia plan in Haifa Bay. In a broadcast speech, he quoted Israeli experts as comparing the effect of a direct hit to an ammonia storage depot to that of a nuclear bomb. The death toll could rise to 800,000, he said.


http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/18/450926/ISIL-gas-attacks-Syria-Iraq-US


The US State Department says Washington believes Daesh terrorists carried out chemical attacks in Syria and Iraq.

Spokesman Mark Toner made the announcement after the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) confirmed that Syrians were exposed to sulfur mustard north of Aleppo last August.

“We believe that the Islamic State for Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, or Daesh, was responsible for a sulfur mustard attack in Marea in August 21st, 2015, largely based on photographic evidence as well as Syrian opposition's description of the event. We also believe, based on the available information, that Daesh, or ISIL, was likely responsible for some of the alleged attacks using sulfur mustard in Iraq," said Toner.

The OPCW also said 35 Iraqi Kurdish fighters were sickened by sulfur mustard on the battlefield back then.

A confidential October 29 report by the OPCW concluded that at least two Syrians were exposed to sulfur mustard in Marea, north of Aleppo.


http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/18/450911/china-john-kerry-us-south-china-sea-militarization

US Secretary of State John Kerry has expressed “serious concern” over China’s alleged militarization in South China Sea.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/18/450912/militants-Turkey-Syria-500

At least 500 Takfiri militants have crossed the Turkish border with Syria and are heading towards a northern Syrian border town, a UK-based monitoring group says.

"At least 500 rebels have crossed the Bab al-Salam border crossing on their way to the town of A'zaz, from which they want to help the insurgents in the face of gains made by Kurdish forces in the north of the province," said Rami Abdel Rahman, the head of the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights.

The Wednesday's crossing marks the second time a large group of militants have crossed the Turkish border and entered Syria in less than a week. On Sunday, 350 heavily armed terrorists entered Syrian soil via the Atme border crossing with Turkey.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/17/450898/Erdogan-Turkey-Ankara-revenge

“Our determination to respond in kind to attacks taking place inside and outside our borders is getting stronger with such acts," Erdogan said in a statement issued after the blast on Wednesday.

He added that his country will not “shy away from using its right to self-defense” when in danger.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-17/bigger-watergate-hillary-clinton-and-syrian-bloodbath

In 2012, Clinton was the obstacle, not the solution, to a ceasefire being negotiated by UN Special Envoy Kofi Annan. It was US intransigence - Clinton's intransigence - that led to the failure of Annan's peace efforts in the spring of 2012, a point well known among diplomats. Despite Clinton's insinuation in the Milwaukee debate, there was (of course) no 2012 ceasefire, only escalating carnage. Clinton bears heavy responsibility for that carnage, which has by now displaced more than 10 million Syrians and left more than 250,000 dead.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2016 at 9:25pm
From zerohedge Clinton article:

Saudi Arabia and Turkey, the leading Sunni powers in the Middle East, view Iran, the leading Shia power, as a regional rival for power and influence. Right-wing Israelis view Iran as an implacable foe that controls Hezbollah, a Shi'a militant group operating in Lebanon, a border state of Israel. Thus, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and Israel have all clamored to remove Iran's influence in Syria.

This idea is incredibly naïve. Iran has been around as a regional power for a long time--in fact, for about 2,700 years. And Shia Islam is not going away. There is no way, and no reason, to "defeat" Iran. The regional powers need to forge a geopolitical equilibrium that recognizes the mutual and balancing roles of the Gulf Arabs, Turkey, and Iran. And Israeli right-wingers are naïve, and deeply ignorant of history, to regard Iran as their implacable foe, especially when that mistaken view pushes Israel to side with Sunni jihadists.

Yet Clinton did not pursue that route. Instead she joined Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and right-wing Israelis to try to isolate, even defeat, Iran. In 2010, she supported secret negotiations between Israel and Syria to attempt to wrest Syria from Iran's influence. Those talks failed. Then the CIA and Clinton pressed successfully for Plan B: to overthrow Assad.

When the unrest of the Arab Spring broke out in early 2011, the CIA and the anti-Iran front of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey saw an opportunity to topple Assad quickly and thereby to gain a geopolitical victory. Clinton became the leading proponent of the CIA-led effort at Syrian regime change.

In early 2011, Turkey and Saudi Arabia leveraged local protests against Assad to try to foment conditions for his ouster. By the spring of 2011, the CIA and the US allies were organizing an armed insurrection against the regime. On August 18, 2011, the US Government made public its position: "Assad must go."

Since then and until the recent fragile UN Security Council accord, the US has refused to agree to any ceasefire unless Assad is first deposed. The US policy--under Clinton and until recently--has been: regime change first, ceasefire after. After all, it's only Syrians who are dying. Annan's peace efforts were sunk by the United States' unbending insistence that U.S.-led regime change must precede or at least accompany a ceasefire. As the Nation editors put it in August 2012:

The US demand that Assad be removed and sanctions be imposed before negotiations could seriously begin, along with the refusal to include Iran in the process, doomed [Annan's] mission.

Clinton has been much more than a bit player in the Syrian crisis. Her diplomat Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Benghazi was killed as he was running a CIA operation to ship Libyan heavy weapons to Syria.Clinton herself took the lead role in organizing the so-called "Friends of Syria" to back the CIA-led insurgency.

The U.S. policy was a massive, horrific failure. Assad did not go, and was not defeated. Russia came to his support. Iran came to his support. The mercenaries sent in to overthrow him were themselves radical jihadists with their own agendas. The chaos opened the way for the Islamic State, building on disaffected Iraqi Army leaders (deposed by the US in 2003), on captured U.S. weaponry, and on the considerable backing by Saudi funds. If the truth were fully known, the multiple scandals involved would surely rival Watergate in shaking the foundations of the US establishment.

The hubris of the United States in this approach seems to know no bounds. The tactic of CIA-led regime change is so deeply enmeshed as a "normal" instrument of U.S. foreign policy that it is hardly noticed by the U.S. public or media. Overthrowing another government is against the U.N. charter and international law. But what are such niceties among friends?

This instrument of U.S. foreign policy has not only been in stark violation of international law but has also been a massive and repeated failure. Rather than a single, quick, and decisive coup d'état resolving a US foreign policy problem, each CIA-led regime change has been, almost inevitably, a prelude to a bloodbath. How could it be otherwise? Other societies don't like their countries to be manipulated by U.S. covert operations.

Removing a leader, even if done "successfully," doesn't solve any underlying geopolitical problems, much less ecological, social, or economic ones. A coup d'etat invites a civil war, the kind that now wracks Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria. It invites a hostile international response, such as Russia's backing of its Syrian ally in the face of the CIA-led operations. The record of misery caused by covert CIA operations literally fills volumes at this point. What surprise, then, the Clinton acknowledges Henry Kissinger as a mentor and guide?

And where is the establishment media in this debacle? The New York Times finally covered a bit of this story last month in describing the CIA-Saudi connection, in which Saudi funds are used to pay for CIA operations in order to make an end-run around Congress and the American people. The story ran once and was dropped. Yet the Saudi funding of CIA operations is the same basic tactic used by Ronald Reagan and Oliver North in the Iran-Contra scandal of the 1980s (with Iranian arms sales used to fund CIA-led covert operations in Central America without consent or oversight by the American people).

Clinton herself has never shown the least reservation or scruples in deploying this instrument of U.S. foreign policy. Her record of avid support for US-led regime change includes (but is not limited to) the US bombing of Belgrade in 1999, the invasion of Afghanistan in 2001, the Iraq War in 2003, the Honduran coup in 2009, the killing of Libya's Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, and the CIA-coordinated insurrection against Assad from 2011 until today.

It takes great presidential leadership to resist CIA misadventures. Presidents get along by going along with arms contractors, generals, and CIA operatives. They thereby also protect themselves from political attack by hardline right-wingers. They succeed by exulting in U.S. military might, not restraining it. Many historians believe that JFK was assassinated as a result of his peace overtures to the Soviet Union, overture he made against the objections of hardline rightwing opposition in the CIA and other parts of the U.S. government.

Hillary Clinton has never shown an iota of bravery, or even of comprehension, in facing down the CIA. She has been the CIA's relentless supporter, and has exulted in showing her toughness by supporting every one of its misguided operations. The failures, of course, are relentlessly hidden from view. Clinton is a danger to global peace. She has much to answer for regarding the disaster in Syria.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 17 2016 at 11:30pm
The present Syria-crisis is the outcome of a proces. If that proces does not change the outcome only can be global war. The US has to realize that a "petro-US-dollar"is not realistic, the US can not rule the world on its own. If the US is not willing to accept other powers as equal and tries to limit them war is unavoidable. 

Turkey and Saudi Arabia (not to mention Pakistan, EU, Japan/South Korea) have been long time "friends"of the US. When they get involved into war(s) with Russia/China it will be with US support. 

Turkish troops moving into Kurdish-held parts of Syria and Iraq has to be seen as a NATO attack in support of IS and against Russia, Iran, China. 

The real problem is the elite-in-power in the US and Europe. 


We must not be fooled by the grand deception this time around but confront the deceitful evildoers in our treasonous government both past and present, and like the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that the great Nelson Mandela spearheaded in 1995 in South Africa to help encourage those individuals in our government to be forthcoming to tell the truth that will bring those most responsible for past war crimes against humanity to justice. We must hold those in our government accountable for their criminal transgressions that include treason against our nation and people, ultimately sending the message to every nation that we citizens of the world demand that war, violence and mayhem be stopped on our planet. The choice is either life or death and as a human species we must choose life.
written by:Joachim Hagopian [send him mail] is a West Point graduate and former US Army officer. He has written a manuscript based on his unique military experience entitled “Don’t Let The Bastards Getcha Down.” It examines and focuses on US international relations, leadership and national security issues. After the military, Joachim earned a master’s degree in Clinical Psychology and worked as a licensed therapist in the mental health field for more than a quarter century. He now concentrates on his writing and has a blog site athttp://empireexposed.blogspot.com. He is also a regular contributor to Global Research andSott.net.


The threats Wang named – besides North Korea’s tests – included the United States’ decision to send an aircraft carrier, strategic bombers and nuclear submarines to South Korean and Japanese bases, and the deployment of an anti-ballistic missile system in South Korea.

http://agonist.org/the-587688-man-isis-army/?

Thus, the facilitating role of the Turkey’s military may become even more active than the current shelling. The commander in chief of the Turkish military, Erdogan, is threatening to invade Syria and secure Azaz for the benefit of ISIS and other terrorists.

How much more proof do NATO and others need to realize that the 587,688 person Turkish military is now part of the ISIS alliance?


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Kurdish underground carried out Ankara bombing, Turkish PM says 
DEBKAfile February 18, 2016, 11:42 AM (IDT)

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday morning that the Syria-based Kurdish YPG militia was responsible for the deadly bombing in Ankara the previous day in which 28 people were killed and dozens were wounded. He said nine people had been arrested on suspicion of helping carry out the attack and are now being investigated by the security forces. "The attack in Ankara was carried out by the PKK using a person who infiltrated into Turkey from Syria," the prime minister said in a speech. About an hour later, a Turkish military convoy was struck by a powerful roadside bomb detonated by remote control, leaving at least eight people dead.  


Pyongyang plans to attack S. Korea, Seoul's intelligence agency says 

DEBKAfile February 18, 2016, 9:35 AM (IDT)

South Korea's intelligence service, the National Intelligence Agency, said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has ordered his army to prepare a large-scale attack on South Korea. At a closed-door briefing fot senior members of the ruling party in Seoul, the NIS said the attack would target South Korean government ministries, bodies supporting defection from North Korea, and public areas such as shopping centers, among others. 


Dispute erupts between Russia, Iran over S-300 missile batteries 

DEBKAfile February 18, 2016, 8:29 AM (IDT)

A ceremony marking the first transfer of Russian S-300 ground-to-air missile batteries to Iran, which was scheduled to be held Thursday at a Russian naval base in the port city of Astrakhan on the Caspian Sea with the defense ministers of the two countries in attendance, was cancelled at the last minute. A senior official at the Russian Defense Ministry said Wednesday night that "The beginning of deliveries of the first consignment of Favorit missile systems cannot take place since the Iranian side has not paid the price enshrined in the contract." There is no doubt that it was a very unfriendly statement intended to hurt the Iranians at a time when the Iranian defense minister, Gen. Hossein Dehghan, is visiting Moscow.

 

Syrian peace talks will fail if more countries join fighting: UN's Ban 

DEBKAfile February 18, 2016, 8:57 AM (IDT)

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said Wednesday that the Syrian peace talks and other efforts for a political and diplomatic solution to the five-year-old war will be in jeopardy if fighting escalates and more countries join the fighting. He made the comments in a 14-page report to to the UN Security Council in which he repeated his call for the council to refer the crisis to the International Criminal Court in the Hague, describing the actions of the Syrian regime as war crimes. 


https://www.rt.com/news/332845-turkey-military-convoy-blast/


Six military personnel have been killed and one seriously wounded in an explosion that hit a military convoy in the southeast of Turkey, the armed forces said in a statement. The convoy was traveling along a highway linking Diyarbakir and Bingol.

The military also said that a handmade bomb was detonated by remote control while the military vehicle was searching for mines on the highway linking Diyarbakir to the district of Lice, Reuters reports.

The Turkish Army says more than 800 militants have been killed in their operations in the southeast. The pro-Kurdish HDP, the biggest party in the region, says 128 civilians have been killed during the curfews.

The Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) has been waging a guerrilla war with the Turks for decades, seeking autonomy for the Kurdish regions. An estimated 40,000 people have been killed on both sides from the violence.

The current escalation erupted last year after a two-year ceasefire, as Ankara was worried by the Kurds’ growing influence in the region. Kurdish militias became some of the key forces fighting against the terrorist group Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, winning support from the US-led anti-IS coalition. Turkey, technically part of the coalition, has been using its military hardware to hit Kurdish targets, deeming the Kurdish forces a threat to its national security.

https://www.rt.com/news/332848-ankara-blast-syrian-kurds/

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has accused forces linked with the Syrian Kurdish YPG militia of the terrorist attack in Ankara on Wednesday. Ankara promised to continue to shell the YPG, with the Syrian Kurds denying all allegations and saying Islamic State is behind the attack.

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http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/18/450986/US-airstrikes-Syria-civilians-killed-

US airstrikes kill at least 15 civilians, including three children, in northeastern Syria, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights says.

The strikes hit four Daesh-controlled villages in Hasakeh province on Thursday, the group said, saying the toll could rise further.


http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/18/450969/US-South-Korea-drill-North-Korea


The number of the US forces that will participate in an annual joint military exercise with South Korea this year will be four times as many as the figure last year, amid a recent uptick in tensions with North Korea over its recent nuclear and long-range rocket tests.

Washington will dispatch 15,000 troops to the annual computer-simulated “Key Resolve” drill, up from 3,700 last year, South Korea’s Yonhap news agency quoted South Korean Defense Minister Han Min-goo as saying on Thursday.

The minister also added that Seoul, too, will increase the number of the troops it will be sending to the war games next month.

Key Resolve, which lasted 10 days in 2015, usually begins simultaneously with a field exercise known as Foal Eagle, another joint military maneuver that lasts about 50 days.

Pyongyang regularly slams the joint US-South Korea military exercises as rehearsals for war on North Korea.


http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/18/450976/Syria-army-recapture-town-militants-


The Syrian army says it has recaptured the strategic town of Kansaba in the northern countryside of Latakia Province after heavy clashes with militants.

The retaking of the town allows the army to move on to regain the militant-held town of Jisr al-Shughour, northeast of Kansaba in Idlib Province, as well as other areas held by extremist groups in Idlib.

The Syrian army has been able to regain large parts of the Latakia countryside in recent weeks. Earlier, the army regained control over the two main militant strongholds of Salma and Rabiya in Latakia.

Syrian government forces have been fighting a foreign-backed militancy since March 2011. Several regional countries — among them Turkey, which has a long border with Syria — has been aiding the militants fighting the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

Just on Thursday, reports emerged that Turkish forces have “covertly escorted” at least 2,000 militants through the border into Syria over the last week. The militants headed to the Syrian province of A’zaz, where, conspicuously, Kurdish fighters have been battling extremist groups.


http://www.globalresearch.ca/the-war-on-syria-waiting-for-washingtons-green-light-we-want-a-ground-operation-turkey-will-take-part/5508428


Neither Turkey or Saudi Arabia intend launching ground and/or air operations without US permission, an American proxy force if unleashed, a reckless act, upping the stakes hugely, risking war with Russia.

Its forces will challenge any threat to their security, authorized by Moscow, local commanders given discretion to act on their own. Make no mistake. They won’t hesitate.

http://www.todayszaman.com/op-ed_was-turkeys-nov-1-election-rigged_412569.html

Analyzing preliminary results right after the Nov. 1 Turkish general election, Swedish economist Erik Meyersson noticed several statistical anomalies. For example, the distributions of the last digits in the ballot box votes of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) were very different from the June 7 general elections. He concluded that “this analysis shows evidence that would be consistent with widespread voting manipulation, not proof of it.” I found his findings important and interesting enough to feature in my semi-weekly Hürriyet Daily News column on the Turkish economy (and politics with an economics twist). However, Hürriyet Editor-in-Chief Murat Yetkin rightfully disagreed. When he refused to print my column, I took it to the Independent, a British daily. I was then summarily fired for “publishing a column I knew to be against Hürriyet's editorial policy in another newspaper as a Hürriyet columnist,” becoming yet another casualty of the Turkish press.

Enter Walter R. Mebane, a University of Michigan professor of political science and statistics known for his work on detecting electoral fraud. In a recent working paper, he puts his Sherlock Holmes skills to use for the two recent Turkish elections. Along with two of his colleagues, all of whom are part of a project to develop an “election forensics toolkit,” he summarized his findings in The Washington Post on Feb. 15.

Since “no statistic offers definitive proof of frauds, but when several statistics differ significantly from what we would expect to see in a normal election process, frauds are likely,” Mebane & co. use different approaches. In addition to conducting “digit tests” similar to Meyersson's, they also analyze the relationship between voter turnout and the AKP's vote share -- and are alarmed by instances of many ballot boxes with values of almost 100 percent for both. Finally, they show that “the high probabilities of AKP-favoring frauds” occur in areas where the HDP is the dominant party. They conclude that whereas many districts have anomalous features, the AKP is the party that by most measures benefited from the extensive frauds they detect, especially in eastern and southeastern Turkey.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 18 2016 at 3:06am
The above article from todayszaman was written by :Emre Deliveli is an economist, freelance consultant and a blogger. You may follow him at@EmreDeliveli on Twitter, or at medium.com/@EmreDeliveli.

It me be good to remind people that critical comments in most countries can cost lives. Speaking up is not risk-free. 

This past week, Turkish papers reported of a police raid to a workshop producing defective life vests, to be sold to Syrian refugees risking their lives to cross the Aegean to Greek islands, i.e. the European Union (EU).

To add insult to injury, there were at least two Syrian girls working there, probably for less than a quarter of the new minimum wage of 1300 liras (roughly $430, but probably less by the time you read this article- but the perils of the Turkish lira and other Emerging Market currencies is for a future post… so is the effect of the 30 percent hike to the minimum wage).

I have to agree with the Washington Post’s Sarah Kaplan that it really does not get any sicker. However, the EU, offering nice perks, such as 3 billion euros and visa-free travel, to Turkey in exchange for curbing the flow of refugees, is not far behind. It seems both the EU and Turkey fare much worse in their conscience development indices and their human development ones:(

https://medium.com/turkish-economy/a-new-medium-on-the-turkish-economy-22d11fb2a3a3#.ir8tc84zx

As you may (or may not) know, I recently became yet another Turkish press casualty by getting sacked from English-language Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily News (HDN), where I had been writing economics columns, mainly on the Turkish economy, twice a week since November 2008.

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Countdown to latest Iranian rocket launch underway: US intel officials 
DEBKAfile February 18, 2016, 3:23 PM (IDT)

Iran is preparing to conduct a rocket test this month, the latest violation of Tehran's nuclear deal with Western powers, as part of its secret development of long-range nuclear missiles, American intelligence officials said Thursday. The rocket has already been spotted on a launch pad at a base east of the Iranian capital.


http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/18/450963/Turkey-explosion-military-convoy-security

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu accuses the Syrian government of being directly responsible for a bombing in Ankara, saying Turkey will continue to shell Kurdish positions inside the Arab country. 

Davutoglu on Thursday said a member of the Syria Kurdish YPG militia working with PKK militants was behind the Ankara bombing that killed 28 people a day before. The premier also accused Russia of using YPG against Turkey.

Davutoglu said 26 of the 28 killed in the Ankara blast were soldiers.

Shortly after the bombing, Turkish warplanes bombed northern Iraq overnight, killing 60-70 militants, including senior PKK figures, he added. 

In a live television speech, Davutoglu said the Ankara bombing showed that the YPG was a terrorist organization and that Turkey expected cooperation from its allies against the
group.

http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/18/450979/Turkey-airstrikes-PKK-positions-Haftanin-Iraq

Turkish bombers have carried out airstrikes in northern Iraq following a deadly car bomb explosion in Turkey’s capital, Ankara.

The attacks hit the Haftanin area in Dohuk Province of Iraq’s semi-autonomous Kurdistan region, Turkey's General Staff said in a statement on Thursday.

RT:


Bombs detonated at Kurd checkpoints in NE Syria – reports

Militants of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) detonated two explosive-laden cars on Thursday near Kurdish checkpoints in northeast Syria, TASS reported. There were killed and wounded among Kurdish militiamen, according to Al-Mayadeen TV. One of the explosions took place just outside Al-Hasakah, a provincial center 612km from Damascus. The second was in Ain Issa, north of Raqqa and 520km from the capital. The Kurdish YPG-led forces, aided by US-led airstrikes, took full control of Ain Issa from IS in June last year. The latest terrorist attacks followed the successes of the Syrian Democratic Forces in Al-Hasakah province, mainly populated by Kurds.


Iraq govt to cut paramilitary forces, cites shortage of funds

The Iraqi government has decided to shrink the number of state-financed paramilitary forces due to a shortage of funds as the international oil price declines, AP reported. Around 30 percent of paramilitary troops are expected to be laid off, according to Karim al-Nouri, the spokesman for the Popular Mobilization Forces, an umbrella group made up predominantly of Shiite militias. Some 130,000 fighters in Iraq are affiliated with pro-government paramilitary forces. The decision is not expected to affect the fight against Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), which controls areas in northern and western Iraq.


No-fly zones in Syria 'won’t contribute to anti-terrorism fight' – Kremlin

Imposing no-fly zones in Aleppo, Syria, will not help the fight against terrorism, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Thursday. “The case is that active actions are conducted there aimed at fighting against terrorist organizations hiding in those areas,” TASS quoted Peskov as saying. “That’s why such regimes will hardly contribute to efficiency of our fight against terrorism.” The proposal to create a no-fly zone along the Syrian-Turkish border was earlier voiced by Ankara and German Chancellor Angela Merkel. Spokesman for the US-led military campaign against terrorists in Syria, Army Colonel Steve Warren said Wednesday it was not the right time for a no-fly zone over northern Syria.

http://www.todayszaman.com/national_davutoglu-says-syrian-kurdish-ypg-behind-ankara-attack-warns-allies-against-backing-group_412632.html

http://www.todayszaman.com/national_turkish-air-strikes-hit-pkk-camps-in-n-iraq-after-ankara-bomb-kills-28_412630.html

http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_syrian-rebels-say-reinforcements-get-free-passage-via-turkey_412634.html


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 18 2016 at 9:27am
The US has been supporting Kurds in Syria-mainly when they were fighting Assad. Now these groups are fighting with Assads army and under Turkish/NATO-fire. The US will drop them and use the excuse Turkey has created with the bomb-attack in Ankara. 

If the US/NATO does NOT act the US will lose alies all over the world-from Israel to the South China Sea. To get some support the main stream media is claiming that Russian bombs kill more civilians than NATO bombs. A "safe-zone" to "protect Turkey from "Kurdish terrorists"(and a safe place for IS etc.) will be the first goal for "the West". 

For Russia these plans are not acceptable. If you want to finish IS you must finish IS and not give them a safe place. I expect Turkish forces moving into Kurdish held area's (in Iraq and Syria) within 48 hrs. NATO will back this Turkish/Saudi/Qatar etc initiative-with whatever it takes. 


"The assailants have all been identified. It was Syrian national Salih Necar who was born in the northern Syrian city Amuda in 1992," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on Thursday. "YPG is a pawn of the Syrian regime and the regime is directly responsible for the Ankara attack. Turkey reserves the right to take any measure against the Syrian regime," he added.

Obviously, that's utter nonsense. Assad is fighting for his life. Both figuratively and literally. The idea that he spends his days plotting Ankara car bombs with the Kurds (who do not, by the way, wholeheartedly support the regime) is patently absurd.

For their part, the YPG says this is nonsense and also says Turkey’s self defense claim (used as an excuse to justify the shelling at Azaz) is equally absurd. “We are completely refuting that," Saleh Muslim, co-chair of the PYD, told Reuters. "I can assure you that not even one bullet is fired by YPG into Turkey [because YPG doesn’t] consider Turkey as an enemy.”

Needless to say, this "terror attack" is exceptionally suspicious. Turkey is one of the countries with the most to lose if the effort to usurp Assad fails. And as you're likely aware, the rebellion is on the ropes. Aleppo is surrounded by Russia and Hezbollah and it will fall in a matter of weeks. Once it's recaptured by Assad, the rebel cause is lost. The rebellion will be over. 

Sending supplies to the hodgepodge of Sunni rebels operating in and around the city is no longer sufficient and even if it were, the YPG is about to cut the last supply line. As we said last week, it's do or die time for Ankara and Riyadh. Either go to war on behalf of the rebels orconcede defeat to Moscow and Tehran. The question, we said, is how Ankara will ultimately be able to pitch an intervention at Aleppo as a fight against terror when the ISIS presence there is relatively minimal. 

Well, now we know. 

Turkey will use the Ankara bombing - which killed 28 people - to justify a ground incursion to punish the YPG which, you're reminded, are not only backed by Russia, but the US as well. "All necessary measures will be taken against [YPG and PKK] anywhere and under any circumstances. No attack against Turkey has been left unanswered," Davutoglu promised. "All those who intend to use terror pawns against Turkey must know that [playing] this game of terror will hit them like a boomerang," he added.

So there you have it: the excuse for Turkey to invade Syria and it's the same as it ever was. Ankara is just "fighting terror," like everyone else in the world. 


http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/02/18/rights-group-erdogan-murdering-his-own-blaming-kurds/


Brussels (VT) Dr. Riccardo Baretsky of the European Center for Information Policy in Brussels today announced that Turkey’s claims that recent attacks, killing dozens in Turkey, were done by PKK or even YPG Kurdish groups is baseless.  Baretzky cites a rush to judgement lacking in facts that places deep suspicion on the Ankara regime as being potentially complicit in these recent attacks, conveniently timed to coincide with the UN call for Turkey to end shelling Northern Syria.

The Geneva based Turkish Rights and Freedom Observatory cited sources inside Turkey as blaming Erdogan’s intelligence services for staging the two recent attacks, one on an army convoy.  The rights group stated that Erdogan’s open alliance with Saudi Arabia and his rapid move toward embracing extremist views has alienated key members of Turkey’s military.  The recent attack on a military convoy, the group stated, is an attempt to stifle criticism of his crackdown on political opponents in the military and his plan to integrate Wahhabist teachings into military training.

On another note, the group cited that Turkey, in the last few days, has sent nearly 1000 fighters into Syria, many of whom are known terrorists or who have long criminal histories.

“Turkey has become  a transit and staging zone, not only for Syrian opposition fighters but criminal groups, drug dealers, human traffickers, even mass murderers, all receiving full protection from Turkey’s intelligence services and army.  With the worst criminals from dozens of nations roaming Turkey, placed above the law by Erdogan’s government, it is no wonder Turkey itself is descending into mayhem.”


http://southfront.org/turkey-blames-syrian-kurds-for-ankara-blast/


http://southfront.org/the-critical-moment-in-syria-or-between-chess-and-russian-roulette/


http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_UNITED_STATES_RUSSIA_SYRIA?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2016-02-18-12-24-35

WASHINGTON (AP) -- U.S. defense officials say the U.S. has asked Russia to avoid airstrikes in an area of northern Syria where American special operations forces have been working with Syrians fighting the Islamic State group.

The U.S. request was disclosed Thursday by Lt. Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., commander of U.S. air forces in the Middle East.

Brown says that in making the request, U.S. officials did not pinpoint the U.S. troops' location but did ask that Russian strike aircraft avoid broad areas.

Pentagon press secretary Peter Cook says the request was made directly from the Defense Department to the Russian Ministry of Defense, but he isn't saying when it came.

Cook says the Russians have honored the request so far.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 18 2016 at 9:47pm
Superstation giving an update february 18: Turkish troops moved in into Syria north of Aleppo-asmall stretch 200 meters-but a "bridgehead" fur further intervention. http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/19/451088/Turkey-Syria-Aleppo-YPG-PKK

At least at 20 locations across the Turkish Syrian border Turkish artillery is shelling Kurdish and Syrian Army positions. At least 2500 jihadis crossed the border-did get supply-logistics from Turkey. Main objective for IS and Turkey is to keep open/reopen supplylines from Turkey to IS in Syria.

Also in Turkey itself and in Iraq Turkish army in offensive against Kurdish fighters with shelling/airraids. At least in one case Kurdish fighters returned fire. 

According to Superstation NATO will not support Turkey when it moves into Syria. At the end of their report the have the news that US/UK airforce planes have left the UK (to move to Turkey ? Cyprus ?)


EFRÎN – Military vehicles of the Turkish army have crossed into Rojava land over the Efrîn border today.

According to a report by ANHA, dozens of Turkish military vehicles have advanced into 200 meters of Rojava land over the Meydan Ekbise  village of Efrîn city.

Turkish troops have started to dig a trench in the area between Sorka and Meydan Ekbise villages. Turkish military’s construction of a wall in the area also continues.

https://www.rt.com/news/332938-syria-turkey-going-crazy/

https://www.almasdarnews.com/article/isis-offensive-at-maheen-ends-in-failure/

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-17/gov-officials-admit-turkey-has-repeatedly-carried-out-false-flag-terror

http://thenewsdoctors.com/fomenting-war-how-come-turkey-became-an-evil-state-martin-berger/

http://www.veteransnewsnow.com/2016/02/18/524241isis-declares-the-us-dollar-as-its-official-currency/

comment from Dutch Josh: I do not believe the US/NATO will drop Turkey or Saudi Arabia/Gulf States in support for the Kurdish fighters. NATO has been giving aid to Turkey for decades to fight Kurdish claims for independence. Also NATO will not accept a Russian victory in Syria because that would "degrade" the US to "equal"with Russia (or even make Russia-Iran-China the number 1 in part of the world). Eventhough Ankara's "proof"of Syria(n Kurds) behind the Ankara bombing is a lie the "Weapons of Mass Destruction"in Iraq-lie was accepted by most NATO members to start war with Iraq. Also the refugee-crisis would make the EU willing to accept "a safe zone in Syria close to the Turkish border for refugees (and IS)". 

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Satori Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 19 2016 at 3:08am

Risking Nuclear War for Al Qaeda?


https://consortiumnews.com/2016/02/18/risking-nuclear-war-for-al-qaeda/

A source close to Russian President Vladimir Putin told me that the Russians have warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow is prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons if necessary to save their troops in the face of a Turkish-Saudi onslaught. Since Turkey is a member of NATO, any such conflict could quickly escalate into a full-scale nuclear confrontation."



Erdogan is a corrupt megalomaniac

he has got to go

if there is anywhere that needs "regime change" it is Turkey

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 19 2016 at 3:56am
http://www.unian.info/world/1270037-ft-turkey-and-saudi-arabia-consider-syria-intervention.html?

Turkey is thought unlikely to intervene directly without U.S. consent. But it continues to funnel Syrian rebels through its territory onto the battleground: on Thursday night several hundred fighters crossed the border close to Kurdish held areas, Syrian-based activists said.

Meanwhile, Saudi Arabia is concerned it is rapidly losing influence over the Syrian civil war and scope to influence any subsequent peace talks, as the leverage of its regional arch-rival, Iran, grows by the day.

One regional diplomat said Riyadh views the deployment of force as a precondition of maintaining influence not just in Syria but also in Washington. In a clear signal to Iran, the Kingdom unveiled a 34-strong "military alliance" of Muslim nations in December. It has also just begun unprecedented military exercises that involve some 20 other countries, including the Arab Gulf states, Sudan, Egypt, Morocco, Jordan, Nigeria, Pakistan and Malaysia.

Some officials say the Saudis are considering the option of an operation in Syria's south east — near the border with Jordan — rather than the more heavily contested north, possibly accompanying Jordanian forces.

According to senior Saudi officials, Jordan proposed deploying special forces near the al-Tanf crossing last year. Syrian tribal leaders in eastern Syria said the Saudis have already conducted reconnaissance missions in the area.

Publicly, Saudi Arabia follows Washington's lead. Adel al-Jubeir, Saudi foreign minister, has said any potential move to insert Saudi and UAE special forces into the Syrian conflict would have to come under the umbrella of a U.S.-led operation.

Read mo

http://sputniknews.com/world/20160219/1035029292/russia-military-navy-missiles-syria.html?

MOSCOW/ZELENODOLSK (Sputnik) – New Russian Navy cruisers from the Black Sea Fleet armed with Kalibr cruise missile systems will be on permanent duty in Russia’s naval group in the Mediterranean Sea that are tasked with operations in Syria, Black Sea Fleet Commander Adm. Alexander Vitko said Friday.


http://www.debka.com/article/25246/Iran-to-Russia-Take-14bn-and-build-us-a-modern-army">http://www.debka.com/article/25246/Iran-to-Russia-Take-14bn-and-build-us-a-modern-army

Iran’s shopping list is vast and formidable, as revealed here by DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources.  It is topped by highly advanced ballistic missile technology, together with the special metals the Russians have developed for upgrading their own missiles and their engines.

Other items are:

  • Advanced SU-30 and SU-35 fighter-bombers
  • Spy planes, especially the latest model of the Tu-214R intelligence surveillance and reconnaissance aircraft that was posted last week in Syria
  • Submarines and different types of warships including missile ships
  • A large number of the top-of-the-line T-90 tank as standard equipment for both branches of the Iranian military. The Russians are to build factories for its production in Iran
  • The latest armored personnel carriers
  • MRLS rocket launchers of diverse calibers
  • Heavy, self-propelled artillery

Tehran appears to have taken Russian consent to this giant transaction as a given and regime officials are already enthusing over the “Russian weapons revolution” about to overtake its military. President Putin was quoted as agreeing in principle to the transaction, although he proposed first setting up a Russian-Iranian military team for examining the items on order and its financial aspects. Its conclusions would then be submitted to the decision making authorities of both governments before implementation goes ahead.


http://www.presstv.ir/Detail/2016/02/19/451114/Syria-Russia-Saudi-Arabia--Daesh-Jubeir-Bogdanov


Russia has urged Saudi Arabia to provide a detailed explanation of its plans to participate in a potential ground intervention in Syria, saying any such move should be coordinated with relevant authorities.

Mikhail Bogdanov, a Russian deputy foreign minister, said Thursday Moscow had no “specifics” at the time about the plan for a possible ground incursion into Syria, the TASS news agency reported.

Bogdanov said any military action in Syria must be coordinated with the Syrian government or the United Nations Security Council.

“We believe that, just like Iraq, Syria is a sovereign state. It has a central authoritative power, and [military actions] should be coordinated with it,” the Russian official said.

Riyadh announced its readiness to send ground forces to Syria earlier this month. Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir said on Thursday that Saudi forces would only focus on targeting Daesh terrorists if they were deployed to Syria.

“Ye



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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 19 2016 at 4:13am
In my opinion the chances of the Syria-war escalating out of control are limited. Russia need the Bosporus-connection to the Black Sea. It does not want war with Turkey-still it can beat IS. Turkey has to show that it is "unpleased" by the events. But Erdogan is not getting much support from both inside and outside of Turkey. 

Saudi Arabia wants to keep influence in the world-limit the power of Iran. But also Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States face many problems. The Yemen-war is already a big  burden. 

The international support Turkey and Saudi Arabia wanted for intervention is limited. They can get more support by talking than by fighting. 

Russia will not allow escalation on the Turkish-Syrian border. The Kurdish people will need to find some unity when they want to have a chance for their own state. 

Russia and the US will re-start peacetalks on Syria. The US may be allowed to claim "victory on the negotiatingtable". Assad will not rule for very much longer in Syria. Maybe some sort of elections can become part of a peacedeal. 

Maybe I am wrong-I will keep following events.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 19 2016 at 11:08pm
Even though KSA openly admitting they have nuclear weapons https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/916-in very limited numbers-via Pakistan-is (old) bad news in my opinion over the present Syria-crisis I remain optimistic. 

If Turkey wants to invade Syria https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/915 some considerations: 

1-A "surprise attack" is not longer possible.

2-Russia by now is aware of any movement of the Turkish army inside Turkey.

3-Russia did have enough time to prepare for any foreign intervention in Syria.

4-Saudi Arabia must move over Jordan or Iraq to get into Syria. Both countries do not cooperate.

5-International backing for a Syria-invasion is very limited. NATO/US may have better chances to safe their face with talking than by war. 

6-The Turkish Army and Erdogan are enemies. Erdogan/AK-party now also managed to get bad relations with the US over supporting Kurds fighting IS. (relations with Israel, Russia, Iran, the EU worsened already-Erdogan proberbly won elections by fraud. Erdogan is most likely to step down earlier than Assad.)

7-IS did lose so much ground, is collapsing-it may get hard to find rebel-groups to give support to. 

8-Both Russia and Iran will treat an invasion into Syria as an attack on their country. Without large support Saudi Arabia (losing the Yemen war, surpressing shia muslems in Bahrein and NE KSA) and Turkey (Kurdish uprising, several groups protesting) see increasing internal problems. 

9-It may get very hard under these sircumstances to make a plan for intervention. If you do not have a plan do not invade !

Still people do stupid things-there is a chance that Turkey/KSA decide to invade and hope to get support in the proces. http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-19/experts-invasion-syria-could-lead-nuclear-war The price would be extremely costly, to high proberbly.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 20 2016 at 10:15pm
The Syrian-war can backfire-bringing to collapsepoint Turkey and Saudi Arabia. http://time.com/4231009/turkey-syria-war-refugees/? 

Turkey has 2,4 million refugees from Syria(and proberbly a lot more from elsewere and internal), the trade-embargo with Russia cost 10 billion US$ per year, collapse of tourism, the war with the Kurds that did take over 40,000 lives, a collapse of trade with Syria, Iran (after lifting sanctions). 

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160217/1034896955/russia-air-force-syria-turkey-invasion.html The Turkish Army does not want to risk moving into Syria when that would bring severe losses. The army does want a secular state-may get fed up with Erdogans religious fanatism. They want to go to war with the Kurds/PKK butthey do not want to join IS in Syria. 

Erdogan now wants NATO to see the Kurdish groups as terrorists-like IS. https://www.rt.com/news/333149-turkey-demands-unconditional-us-support/ NATO is getting split over Syria, Ukraine. 

Saudi Arabia may have 4 to 7 nuclear bombs. https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/918 They even may be willing to use them. But were ? In the Yemen war, in the Syrian war, against a possible Shia-uprising in NE-Saudi Arabia, against Iran, against Russia ? Wars are very expensive, oil-prices are that low that when oil-productioncosts are covered at the moment (state)oil companies are lucky. 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-20/mapping-russias-syrian-air-campaign-february-strikes-glance Russia has clear goals in Syria; IS out, rebels that are willing to cooperate (Kurdish most) will get support, for the moment Assad can stay. Western/Arab-goals are about a Qatar-oil/gas pipeline towards Turkey and the EU. 

There is more than enough reason for EU/US te depend less on fossil fuels from wereever it may come. Climate change, fracking-destruction to oil-wars should mean that the west goes for durable-clever used-energy. 


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 20 2016 at 10:56pm
Media owned by a few big global companies that also have (nuclear) power plants, produce weapons, have interest in energy and farmacy means that "the news" is meant to increase profit. Internet can provide another layer of "news"that may be closer to reality. 

As 0,1% claim to "own" almost half the planet "news" is not independent, democracy is impossible. 

On the Syria-war issue western media have failed-alternative (internet) media and RT, Press-TV-state run-media did a better job. 


By Stephen Kinzer   

COVERAGE OF the Syrian war will be remembered as one of the most shameful episodes in the history of the American press. Reporting about carnage in the ancient city of Aleppo is the latest reason why.

For three years, violent militants have run Aleppo. Their rule began with a wave of repression. They posted notices warning residents: “Don’t send your children to school. If you do, we will get the backpack and you will get the coffin.” Then they destroyed factories, hoping that unemployed workers would have no recourse other than to become fighters. They trucked looted machinery to Turkey and sold it.

This month, people in Aleppo have finally seen glimmers of hope. The Syrian army and its allies have been pushing militants out of the city. Last week they reclaimed the main power plant. Regular electricity may soon be restored. The militants’ hold on the city could be ending.

Militants, true to form, are wreaking havoc as they are pushed out of the city by Russian and Syrian Army forces. “Turkish-Saudi backed ‘moderate rebels’ showered the residential neighborhoods of Aleppo with unguided rockets and gas jars,” one Aleppo resident wrote on social media. The Beirut-based analyst Marwa Osma asked, “The Syrian Arab Army, which is led by President Bashar Assad, is the only force on the ground, along with their allies, who are fighting ISIS — so you want to weaken the only system that is fighting ISIS?”

This does not fit with Washington’s narrative. As a result, much of the American press is reporting the opposite of what is actually happening. Many news reports suggest that Aleppo has been a “liberated zone” for three years but is now being pulled back into misery.

Americans are being told that the virtuous course in Syria is to fight the Assad regime and its Russian and Iranian partners. We are supposed to hope that a righteous coalition of Americans, Turks, Saudis, Kurds, and the “moderate opposition” will win.

This is convoluted nonsense, but Americans cannot be blamed for believing it. We have almost no real information about the combatants, their goals, or their tactics. Much blame for this lies with our media.

Under intense financial pressure, most American newspapers, magazines, and broadcast networks have drastically reduced their corps of foreign correspondents. Much important news about the world now comes from reporters based in Washington. In that environment, access and credibility depend on acceptance of official paradigms. Reporters who cover Syria check with the Pentagon, the State Department, the White House, and think tank “experts.” After a spin on that soiled carousel, they feel they have covered all sides of the story. This form of stenography produces the pabulum that passes for news about Syria.

Astonishingly brave correspondents in the war zone, including Americans, seek to counteract Washington-based reporting. At great risk to their own safety, these reporters are pushing to find the truth about the Syrian war. Their reporting often illuminates the darkness of groupthink. Yet for many consumers of news, their voices are lost in the cacophony. Reporting from the ground is often overwhelmed by the Washington consensus.

Washington-based reporters tell us that one potent force in Syria, al-Nusra, is made up of “rebels” or “moderates,” not that it is the local al-Qaeda franchise. Saudi Arabia is portrayed as aiding freedom fighters when in fact it is a prime sponsor of ISIS. Turkey has for years been running a “rat line” for foreign fighters wanting to join terror groups in Syria, but because the United States wants to stay on Turkey’s good side, we hear little about it. Nor are we often reminded that although we want to support the secular and battle-hardened Kurds, Turkey wants to kill them. Everything Russia and Iran do in Syria is described as negative and destabilizing, simply because it is they who are doing it — and because that is the official line in Washington.

Inevitably, this kind of disinformation has bled into the American presidential campaign. At the recent debate in Milwaukee, Hillary Clinton claimed that United Nations peace efforts in Syria were based on “an agreement I negotiated in June of 2012 in Geneva.” The precise opposite is true. In 2012 Secretary of State Clinton joined Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Israel in a successful effort to kill Kofi Annan’s UN peace plan because it would have accommodated Iran and kept Assad in power, at least temporarily. No one on the Milwaukee stage knew enough to challenge her.

Politicians may be forgiven for distorting their past actions. Governments may also be excused for promoting whatever narrative they believe best suits them. Journalism, however, is supposed to remain apart from the power elite and its inbred mendacity. In this crisis it has failed miserably.

Americans are said to be ignorant of the world. We are, but so are people in other countries. If people in Bhutan or Bolivia misunderstand Syria, however, that has no real effect. Our ignorance is more dangerous, because we act on it. The United States has the power to decree the death of nations. It can do so with popular support because many Americans — and many journalists — are content with the official story. In Syria, it is: “Fight Assad, Russia, and Iran! Join with our Turkish, Saudi, and Kurdish friends to support peace!” This is appallingly distant from reality. It is also likely to prolong the war and condemn more Syrians to suffering and death.

Stephen Kinzer is a senior fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University. Follow him on Twitter @stephenkinzer.
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 21 2016 at 9:57pm
The US and Russia are talking about the end of violence in Syria. That is a good thing-it limits them to escalate the war(s) further. 

According to https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/923 Turkey has a plan to block the Russian Navy from the Bosporus. Russia is giving aid to Kurdish fighters that Turkey claim to be terrorists. https://www.rt.com/news/333179-erdogan-terror-operations-syria/

Erdogan can be "playing" an "all-or-nothing-game" in which Turkey (with a limited number of Gulf States) could still start invading Syria http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/02/21/neo-erdogans-plan-islamic-empire-or-armageddon/ hoping that NATO will come to aid when those acts escalate. 

NATO has nuclear weapons at Encirlik-airbase in SE Turkey. Turkey may push millions of refugees towards the EU (Turkey has 2.4 million Syrian refugees, but also refugees in large numbers from Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran etc.). 

Russia is sending weapons to Iran, troops/planes to Armenia. A large scale Turkish operation inside Syria could put Russian forces into action. 

Turkey and Saudi Arabia both are close to collapse and may be able to do-without much international support-unwise action. 


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 22 2016 at 9:40pm
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 22 2016 at 11:21pm
From the http://rinf.com/alt-news/editorials/saudi-arabias-dictator-demands-regime-change-in-syria-otherwise-ww-iii/ article: 

As has been recently reported, many experts on international relations are saying that the danger of a nuclear war between NATO and Russia is greater now than it was during the Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 — in other words: greater than ever before in history. But it has just ratcheted a bit higher still:

The owner of Saudi Arabia, King Salman al-Saud, speaking through his spokesperson and chosen Foreign Minister, in an interview that was published on February 19th in Germany’s magazine Spiegel, says that he demands the resignation or else the overthrow of Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad, who is allied with both Iran and Russia.

In the UAE, the TV network of Dubai telecast on 22 January 2016 an interview with the former Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca Saudi Arabia, a high authority on the Sauds’ faith, which is likewise the faith of the six royal families of UAE, and this interview was telecast in Arabic, so the expectation was naturally to be speaking to the locals instead of to foreigners. However, a youtube on January 27th included subscripts in English, and is headlined “Former Imam of the Grand Mosque in Mecca, Adel Kalbani: Daesh ISIS have the same beliefs as we do.” He states there that the only difference between ISIS and their faith is that (1:55-) “We follow the same thought but apply it in a refined way,” because Saudis believe that (1:12-) “if we execute them [people] in a way that does not show us in a bad way, then that’s fine,” whereas ISIS’s way is so (1:09-) “brutal that it ruins our image in front of the world.” But that’s just the Saudi faith as it’s represented by the ‘holy men.’ What about the royals themselves?

Here is the evidence on this matter, which Spiegel’s interviewer failed even to bring up: The individual who had been the bookkeeper, accountant, and bagman for Al Qaeda, and who personally collected (in cash) each one of the million-dollar-plus donations to Al Qaeda, from which donations the “salaries” (as he referred to them) of each one of the terrorists and terrorists-in-training were being paid, testified under oath in an American court case, saying that almost all of that money came from Saudi Arabia’s royal family, from their Princes, including from the one — Prince Bandar bin Sultan al-Saud — who was, at the very time of 9/11, serving in the United States, as the Saudi Ambassador. Bandar subsequently became the chief of Saudi intelligence. The Saudi King appointed a man like that — a big donor to Al Qaeda — to be his Kingdom’s chief of intelligence. The current King of Saudi Arabia, King Fahd al-Saud, was mentioned by that bagman as having been among the people to whom Osama bin Laden had him deliver letters to at the time when the Saud family were planning whom to select to become the next King; 

The counsel or advice from Osama bin Laden was respected by the members of the Saudi royal family, in order to help them to determine which one of them should become the next King. Presumably, Osama’s advice was necessary in order for them to learn which ones of themselves could become appointed to lead as King without sparking attacks by Al Qaeda and by the clergy (whose faith they spread) against the Saud family, and which ones would be unacceptable to Al Qaeda and to the clergy. Al Qaeda were, in a sense, the clergy’s enforcers, and they could do this at home in Saudi Arabia.


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 22 2016 at 11:34pm
The US and Russia claim to want an end to the war in Syria, some problems:

1. The Saudi royal family IS al qaeda. Did finance al nusra, is a terrorist organization. (Just like ISI-the Pakistan secret service-funding the Afghan Taliban is considered to be a terrorist organization). 

2. The Kurds want their own country. Turkey (and Iran-to make things even more complicated) do not want a (semi) autonomous Kurdistan. 

3. Russia and the US agree dictator Assad from Syria has to go. Assad, backed by Iran, wants to stay. 

4. The main reason why a large scale invasion into Syria by Turkey (Erdogan financing IS, IS pushing citizins towards Turkey-Turkey pushing them to the EU as refugees) and the KSA did not happen yet is that it would lead to a Russian-Iranian attack on Turkey and KSA. (With possible Pakistan getting at war with India, China-total global chaos). 

5. Turkey is run by Erdogan who won by fraud the november 2015 election and wants to pull NATO in a religious war against Shia-muslims backed by other "friends of the west" KSA, Gulf States, Pakistan. With that kind of friends who needs enemies ? 

As if global climate change and economic collapse is not enough the west has to rethink of who to deal with and wich countries it should drop.  
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 23 2016 at 9:33pm
According to Superstation 95 Turkey, KSA and other Gulf States together with Lebanon, Jordan and Israel would plan an invasion of Syria. 

Superstation claims to have contacts inside the Pentagon. 

-Turkish Navy would disable Russian Navy in Latakia, first stage would be to unable Russian airdefense inside Syria. 

-Turkey would attack Syria north of Aleppo

-Arabian forces would move from Lebanon (30.000 troops) and Golan Heights (Israel) to take Damascus.

-Other forces would attack from Jordan (50.000 troops) towards Damascus.

The idea would be to "end" Assad and bring to power a Sunni-government (and stop Russian/Iran influence first in Syria)

Comment DJ: This might be a plan that was considered. The plans to move over Iraq would mean long supply-lines that would be destroyed by Russia. An (meant as surprise) attack from Golan/Lebanon on a large scale in the direction of Damascus could go very fast. (This plan would leave NATO aside may include Pakistan-just like Israel a country with nuclear weapons. There are nuclear weapons under US command in Turkey. KSA may have bought a limited number of nuclear weapons from Pakistan. I would not rule out that IS-cells elsewere than the Middle East could get "activated" to create chaos.) 

The Russian presence in Syria is vulnarable. That was one of the reasons Russia sold more modern weapons to Iran/Hezbollah. 

The Russian navy is aware of being attacked by other ships and would defend themselves. Also Russia would use missiles from Russia itself to stop such an attack (and proberbly disable targets inside the attacking countries). 

My (DJ) conclusion: Turkey and KSA proberbly are unable to give up their plans  for Syria. But this plan would not work since the Russian defense in Syria isan integrated part of total Russian defense. Russia also has troops on the Russian-Armenian border. 
Ukraine would proberbly integrated in the Arab-Turkish plans-Kiev-forces would attack Crimea/Eastern "Novo-Rossia". 
According to some sources the US would consider supporting this Arab/Turkish plans but Europe would be against it. 
In my opinion Israel would be foolish to let a large salafist/wahabist empire to be created on its borders. The whole idea was that Israel would weaken its enemies-this plan would bring a large country in wich only one form of religion would be allowed-that would sooner or later turn against all other religions (thus Israel, Iran).
Talks of the cease-fire would be part of the plan. 

I have my doubts on this (supposed) plans. No confirmation (yet) elsewere. Bringing this "news" could be meant to stop such plans-or to get more attention to Superstation 95.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 25 2016 at 11:39pm
http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/02/24/top-secretsc-raw-intel-report-on-turkey-syria-and-iraq/

The Veterans Today-story in short: 

-2nd Turkish Army is much to busy fighting the PKK inside Turkey to be able to start invading Syria.
-There was a plan in december 2015 to move via Iraq-Mosul towards Syrian Kurds but in January Turkey found out A. The US choose to support the Syrian Kurds B. Russia had their Awacs from South Osetia, could use airbases in Iran and was able with missiles from the Caspian Sea to attack any large scale Turkish move via Iraq to Syrian Kurds.
-Within Erdogans AKP there is so much opposition against the disaster-foreign-politics that Erdogans possibilities are limited. 

Yesterday Debka had the news that Saudi Arabia did consider Lebanon as a country run by Hezbollah and that was the reason for not selling KSA-weapons to Lebanon (eventhough KSA needs the money desperately-KSA needs oil prices to be above 100 US$ to cover their spending, it is now around 30 US $). 

VT earlier has reports about "flu-virusses being spread as a bio-weapon in Eastern Ukraine/Russia"from a US laboratory in Georgia (north of Turkey)
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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 26 2016 at 7:02am
RT.com feb26:

Saudi Arabia lists 4 firms, 3 Lebanese men over ‘Hezbollah links’

Saudi Arabia has designated four companies and three Lebanese men as having links to the Shiite Muslim group Hezbollah, state news agency SPA said. “The kingdom will continue its fight against the terrorist activities of the so-called Hezbollah in all available means,” the Interior Ministry said on Friday. Last week, Saudi Arabia suspended aid worth $3 billion to the Lebanese Army over the failure of the government in Beirut to sign up to statements condemning attacks on Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran, Reuters reported.


https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/942

More than two dozen Saudi Air Force personnel and a cargo of military equipment have arrived in Turkey to prepare for a joint air campaign in Syria.

Turkish media said on Thursday that some 30 officers had arrived onboard two C-130 military cargo planes at Incirlik military airbase south of Turkey two days ago. The military personnel are expected to prepare for the deployment of Saudi fighter jets which are due to arrive in Turkey in the coming hours.

Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said on Thursday that he expects the warplanes, which are to allegedly take part in an air campaign against ISIS "Takfiri" group in Syria, to be stationed at the Incirlik on Friday. However, some reports said the Saudi jets had already been deployed to Incirlik. The deployment would be the first ever for Saudi warplanes in Turkey.

There are already jets belonging to the United States, Britain and France at Incirlik, all allegedly involved in ongoing US-led air strikes against ISIS in Iraq and Syria.

Despite having an array of differences on regional issues, Turkey and Saudi Arabia have coordinated efforts aimed at ousting the government of Syrian president Bashar al-Assad. The two countries recently announced potential plans for dispatching ground troops to Syria to fight ISIS. The plan was later apparently withdrawn with Cavusoglu saying that sending troops to Syria is not on the agenda.




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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 26 2016 at 7:58am
It is now getting clear witch "terrorists" Turkey and Saudi Arabia (members from the US-led coalition) want to fight-now also from Turkey. 

Saudi Arabia will attack Hezbollah (proberbly sometimes in coordination with Israel-allthough I get the impression that the "Red-Line"between the Israeli Naval HQ in Tel Aviv and the Russians in Latakia is avoiding Iran/Hezbollah getting to close to the Golan Heights). 


There were proberbly several plans made by Turkey and the Gulf States to get "more involved" in the Syria-war. Via the Iraqi-Kurds (also involved in doing oil-bussines with the Erdogan-family and IS), and a groundoffensive via western Iraq and from Turkey towards Aleppo. 

Russian presence in the air (Russian AWACS-radar planes) in Iraq and from Russia itself in combination with the US supporting the Syrian Kurds stopped these plans. 

I do not have any doubt that both Turkey and Saudi Arabia-with the present leadership-will continue on the path of war. Change-of-Government in both countries may come sooner than some expect.

From VT:

Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared on Feb.24 that Syrian Kurdish forces must be excluded from a ceasefire agreement between the warring sides in Syria. Turkey continues to aggressively shell the Kurdish YPG units which are fighting terrorists in Northern Syria.

On Thursday, local media reported that The German government expects some 3.6 million refugees to arrive in the country by 2020, citing the German Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy. However, at the moment it is impossible to calculate the exact future of migrant inflow to make an official forecast.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has announced plans to call a referendum on mandatory migrant quotas proposed by the EU as a solution to the current crisis engulfing Europe. Orban hinted that he hoped Hungarians would reject the plan.

The European Parliament has adopted a resolution calling for the introduction of an arms embargo against Saudi Arabia until alleged breaches of international humanitarian law in Yemen have been investigated.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 26 2016 at 10:35pm
“Russia is not an enemy,” said Israel’s Air Defense Commander 
DEBKAfile February 26, 2016, 7:20 PM (IDT)

Brig. Gen. Tzvika Haimovich, commander of Israel’s Air Defense Forces, told reporters Thursday that Russian aircraft had violated Israeli air space at least twice in the past half year. But, he added, “The Russians are not an enemy” and the Israeli Air Force “has no intention to create needless friction” with Russian air power plying the skies of neighboring Syria.
Haimovich spoke alongside US Lt. Gen. Timothy Ray, 3rd Air Force commander and the man charged with commanding a US-Israel Joint Task Force for air and missile defense, in a press briefing on the ongoing Juniper Cobra US-Israeli missile defense drill.
DEBKAfile: There were many more Russian air intrusions of Israeli skies over the Golan and the Sea of Galilee than disclosed by the Gen. Haimovich.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 27 2016 at 1:04am
Does the US want peace or "plan B"?


US Secretary of State, John Kerry, recently announced his Plan B: if the upcoming Syrian ceasefire agreed to by the US and Russia will fail, then Syria must be divided.

Kerry should not expect others to take his threats seriously. After all, only two months ago Kerry visited Moscowwhere he said that US has in effect given up on its intentions for a regime change in Syria, only for the US to switch its version, as Obama said a mere three days later that “Assad must go.” 

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-26/quagmire-end-all-quagmires

There are few good reasons to go to war, but the US faces the danger of being dragged into World War III for the worst of reasons. It will be fighting in a region in which it has no overriding interest, picking a side in a sectarian battle far older than the US, and allied with Machiavellian, despotic regimes who have no regard for its interests. Even proponents of the war cannot specify what a “victory” would look like. They nourish a vague hope that the two primary antagonists will somehow be vanquished and a government cut to the specifications of the US will be imposed by force and magically accepted by its subjects. Such a miracle would require a huge military commitment, trillions of dollars, and years, if not decades, of sustained effort. That miracle would require another miracle: after the last fifteen years of counterproductive and costly warfare in the Middle East, US politicians and the public nevertheless supporting the engagement for its lengthy duration.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-26/caught-tape-us-test-fires-nuclear-icbm-warns-we-are-prepared-use-nuclear-weapons

Less than two years ago, news of Russia test-firing an ICBM just as the east Ukraine civil war was heating up, was sufficient to send the stock market into a brief tailspin. Since then, the launches of nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles has become an almost daily occurrence, with the market hardly batting an eyelid.

In fact, it happened just last night at 11:01pm PST at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, where - for the second time this week - the US test-fired its second intercontinental ballistic missile in the past seven days, seeking to demonstrate its nuclear arms capacity at a time of rising strategic tensions with Russia, North Korea, China and the middle east.

The unarmed Minuteman III missile roared out of a silo at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California late at night, raced across the sky at speeds of up to 15,000 mph (24,000 kph) and landed a half hour later in a target area 4,200 miles (6,500 km) away near Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands of the South Pacific.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/02/26/lavrov-no-progress-in-syria-talks-over-opposition-figures-their-sponsors/

The success of the deal hammered out by Russia and the US on Monday depends on a whole range of factors, Lavrov said. “First, this is ability of all foreign actors to place interests of the Syrian people and interests of stability in the region above their own neo-imperial and other geopolitical ambitions.”

This means that all the foreign actors should exert pressure on those forces in Syria who rely on support of this or other side. “This pressure should be in one direction – everyone must comply with the ceasefire conditions as they will be approved by the UN Security Council.”

The success will also depend on “ability of international community to fulfill the decisions that have been already taken” including the UN Security Council resolutions on curbing flows of terrorists to Syria from abroad and illegal trade of oil and other goods.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 27 2016 at 10:36pm
In the "shadow of the ceasefire"in Syria several groups are taking new positions: 

The ceasefire seems to be working: https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/947
eventhough the US and Russia have some difference over "moderate opposition" https://www.rt.com/news/333848-zakharova-toner-syria-truce/.

http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/02/27/saudi-arabia-opts-out-of-syria-cease-fire-unleashes-frenzy-of-attacks-on-civilians/ The Saudi led and financed Jaysh al Islam group, the largest operating inside Syria other than ISIS and overtly under the control of the Saudi Royal family, is using the cease fire to hide among other groups and wreak havoc on Syria’s population.  The Turkish backed al Nusra (al Qaeda) group is following the same path, trying to turn Damascus into what they have done to Baghdad, a graveyard.

This same Saudi led group is the same one Saudi Arabia fought to have included as part of the “moderate head choppers” over strong Russian objection.  Now they are openly not only boycotting the cease fire but involved in full scale terrorism as well

http://www.debka.com/article/25264/Iran-uses-Syrian-truce-to-deploy-hundreds-of-Palestinian-terrorists-on-Golan-border-">http://www.debka.com/article/25264/Iran-uses-Syrian-truce-to-deploy-hundreds-of-Palestinian-terrorists-on-Golan-border-


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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 27 2016 at 10:41pm
From Debka (Israel):

Under cover of the Syrian ceasefire that went into effect Saturday, Feb. 27, and the Russian air umbrella, Iran’s Revolutionary Guards Corps finally managed to secretly install hundreds of armed Palestinian terrorists on the Syrian-Israeli border face-to-face with the IDF’s Golan positions.

This is reported exclusively by DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources.

These Palestinians belong to Al-Sabirin, a new terrorist organization the Iranian Guards and Hizballah are building in the refugee camps of Lebanon and the Gaza Strip. Their agents clandestinely recruited the new terrorists from among young Palestinians who fled the Yarmouk refugee camp outside Damascus and sought refuge in Lebanon. Hizballah organized their return to Syria through south Lebanon – but not before training and arming them for penetration deep inside Israel to carry out mass-casualty assaults on IDF positions, highways and civilians.


(DJ) For the moment Hezbollah/Iran have enough to do in Syria. It would be "wise" when Russia would create a (10 mile wide ?) "safe zone" east of the Golan Heights. Israel will not allow build-up of what it considers enemy-formations close to its borders. Saudi Arabia also want to fight "Palastinian and Iranian terrorists" in Syria.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 27 2016 at 10:53pm
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-02-27/us-government-sells-680-million-bunker-buster-bombs-turkey

And while there was at least some mystery whether Turkey was supplying ISIS with weapons, supplies and others goods and services in exchange for "ISIS oil" there has never been any doubt as to who provides Turkey with its own weapons. The following disclosure by the US Department of Defenserevealing a $683 million procurement order by Turkey for BLU-109 "bunker buster" bombs makes sure of that:

Contracts

 

Press Operations

 

Release No: CR-036-16
February 26, 2016

 

Ellwood National Forge Co., Irvine, Pennsylvania (W52P1J-16-D-0041); and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, Garland, Texas (W52P1J-16-D-0042), were awarded a $682,900,000 firm-fixed-price, foreign military sales contract (Turkey) for BLU-109 penetrator bomb bodies and components.  Bids were solicited via the Internet with three received, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2020. Funding and work location will be determined with each order. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity.

Yes, the "war against ISIS" in which Turkey both drops US-made "bunker buster" bombs on the Kurdish opponents of Turkey's "president for life" Erdogan, and provides weapons to ISIS, sure is profitable... to US corporations.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: February 28 2016 at 9:53pm
Russia warns Turkey to step shelling Kurdish positions in Syria (and thereby breaking the ceasefire) or face the consequences. 



The REN-TV journalists spoke to the mostly Kurdish locals, who openly accused Turkey of being “friends” with the Islamic State fighters that had earlier raided nearby houses. The extremist fighters took the most expensive things from the homes, including “money and jewelry,” they said. 

The residents also provided evidence proving that various military crimes had taken place and described how Turkey and Islamic State forces had opened fire on locals trying to flee the area – and then stolen their cars.

“There were 30 cars moving towards the border when Turkish military and Daesh fighters opened fire on the vehicles, a lot of them caught fire. Terrorists ended up taking the vehicles that could still drive,” resident Beker Ramadon told REN-TV.

Moreover, in the city of Jarabulus, which is located in the north of Syria near the Turkish border, residents told the journalists that local houses are being destroyed by Turkish tanks.

“Turkish tanks fired at and destroyed a house five days ago,” a Kurdish fighter said, pointing to the rubble. 


First Russian air strikes in 48 hours of Syrian truce 

DEBKAfile February 28, 2016, 10:38 PM (IDT)

Following day-long reports that the Syrian truce was more or less holding on its second day Sunday, It turned out that Russian forces had carried out air and artillery strikes from early morning in the northern districts of Aleppo, Hama and Idlib. 


Netanyahu: Israel has red lines in Syria against Iranian aggression, terror 

DEBKAfile February 28, 2016, 12:10 PM (IDT)

“We welcome the ceasefire efforts for Syria - anything to stop the dreadful slaughter is important,” said Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu at the Sunday cabinet session, "But above all, any settlement for Syria must incorporate the cessation of Iranian aggression against Israel from Syrian soil.” He stressed: “We won’t stand for the delivery of weapons to Hizballah, or the creation of a terrorist front on the Golan. Those are red lines for the State of Israel. 
DEBKAfile: At least one of those red lines has been crossed already: See our report on the Palestinian Al-Sabirin terror group deployed by Iran on the Golan under cover of the Syrian ceasefire.


Russia asks US for clarifications of Turkish shelling in Syria 

DEBKAfile February 28, 2016, 1:01 PM (IDT)

The Russian center for reconciliation in Syria asked its US counterpart in Amman for clarifications after a Turkish attack on the Syrian city of Tel Abyad Saturday night. Otherwise, apart from sporadic local clashes, Syria remained relatively quiet Sunday, the second day of the cessation of hostilities. Lt. Gen. Sergei Kuralenko, head of the Russian center said Turkey had staged an attack of armed units supported by artillery on the Syrian town of El Abyad.  DEBKAfile:  The Kurdish PYD-PYG mlit8ia and ISIS forces are fighting for control of the town. The Turks intervened on the side of ISIS, although Ankara is a member of the US-led anti-ISIS coalition. Russia and the US have set up reconciliation committees in the region to deal expeditiously with any problems arising from ceasefire violations.

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Post Options Post Options   Thanks (0) Thanks(0)   Quote Dutch Josh Quote  Post ReplyReply Direct Link To This Post Posted: March 04 2016 at 1:48am
North Korea preparing for "tests". https://www.superstation95.com/index.php/world/970



According to VT the CIA is behind to power"faillure"in Syria http://www.veteranstoday.com/2016/03/03/breaking-us-sabotages-syrian-power-grid/

My impression is that the US has decided to go for "plan B" dividing Syria. Proberbly with false flag-terrorist attacks as an excuse. The only thing stopping them (US, NATO, Gulf States) is that Russia, Iran etc. may be able to do so much damage that "the West"has to reconsider. Also developments in East Asia (North Korea, South China Sea) means "the West" is facing problems at more places. 

The war in Syria has Assad in control of most of western Syria. The Kurds control much of the northern sections. The eastern part is mostly not under Assad control but by various groups-mainly helped by Saudi Arabia/Gulf States. 

Russia could be given the choice to accept this situation in change for peace and talks about the Syrian future. The alternative would be that the war in Syria will continue for several months-worsening relations with "the West". 
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