The US has no legal basis for their air intervention in Syria, let alone for combat troops ground operations. Under pressure from the effective AND legal Russian bombing of IS, the US is now pretending an increase in their military operations in Iraq and Syria. The real reason for their increased presence is not to fight IS, but to complicate issues for the Russians, and to remain an occupying force both in Iraq and Syria.
Iraq already told them We Didn’t Ask for U.S. Ground Operations, and the Russians let the US know, via the Chairman of the Russian Upper House committee for foreign affairs, Konstantin Kosachev, that sending US ground troops to Syria would be a “big mistake.”
The bombastically called ground “combat” operations, will not be such, since the US will never have the quantity of soldiers needed for large battleground offensives; they will be more similar to the raid launched last week that saw a US serviceman killed, ie hostage rescue, extrication and the like, special forces kind of operations.
This new ruse by the War Party will have to be approved by Obama, and if he gives the green light, he expects to be nominated for a second Nobel Peace Prize. Not a joke.
PS: BTW, Zero Hedge (second link above) makes mincemeat of the mess the intended US ground troops in Syraq will create among “friends” and “allies.” Have a laugh.

Posted by: Lone Wolf | Oct 28 2015 19:39 utc | 3

Last years Ukraine Presidential Election involved a Right Sector unit going to a town, barricading the voting station, then shooting a voter.
The commander of the unit, Andreiy Denisenko is now an MP.
Noone with clout in the West mentioned it. In fact they claimed that Russian terrorists were preventing people from voting.
Of course the wests ‘independent observers’ saw none of this. Being from McCaims IRI it comes as no surprise.
Full story here

Posted by: Bob | Oct 28 2015 19:46 utc | 5

@Sun Tzu
You read my mind. Boots on the ground, cover for what is already happening, and protecting “assets”.
Saudis, Pakistanians, and possibly “others” perpetrated 9/11, so why do we continue to support Saudis and Zionist goals. Seems it’s not about human rights. I see women, etc. had much more rights under the countries we have destroyed vs. the Saudi homeland. Is it oil, land, control, Israel or war profiteers?

Posted by: shadyl | Oct 28 2015 20:26 utc | 7

There are only so many strings the neocon war machine can pull: with israel currently marginalized,
and saudi atrocities ignored by western news, this leaves trotting out the usual cast of yesterday’s
mashed potatoes. POW john mccain, the mere mention of z brezienski conjures up cold war 101.
VV Putin and friends are this worlds only news makers.
Then again, there’s always the spectacle of watching rats desert the ship.

Posted by: sevenleagueboots | Oct 28 2015 20:50 utc | 9

@8 laguerre.. thanks.. i never watch video.. something about the medium i distrust.. the link b offers from mideasteye is probably slightly more balanced, but still suffers from something similar.
@10toivos.. thanks for providing that wider perspective..

Posted by: james | Oct 28 2015 20:57 utc | 11

Edward Dark from Aleppo: The flawed prescription for peace in Syria: More war

The argument from Patrick Bahzad at Patrick Lang’s Sic Semper Tyrannis is that we are now in the “grinding” phase of the offensive, where the enemy forces are retained in place, but reduced into powder by the air attacks.

Posted by: Laguerre | Oct 28 2015 21:06 utc | 13

@13 laguerre.. as i mentioned in the comments section – the article is wrongly titled.. needs to be : The flawed prescription for regime change in Syria : More war… the article needs to put the onus on those responsible for this international approach to regime change, as opposed to putting it on russia which is trying to prevent a similar mess from happening that has already happened in iraq and libya. well, there is more to it then that, and the article suffers from more then just the title.

Posted by: james | Oct 28 2015 21:10 utc | 15

@Sun Tzu@4
So, the boots on the ground rumour might be the way to prepare the public for when the Syrians or Russian present the faces of Western assets caught in Syria.
As b recently said, we will never see the faces of the many “advisers” captured in Iraq or Syria, whether Israelis, Iranians, or any other nationality. I agree with that assessment.
On the speculation of special forces on the ground in Syria/Iraq already, yes, there is that possibility, however, what’s important about the new development is that it is framed within the intense debate of potential reactions to Russia’s presence in Syria, even though it is being thinly disguised as “support” in response to a call from “friends,” the Kurds.
That’s a potential license for a “surge” of some sort, either in Iraq or Syria Kurdish regions. What’s clear from their announced intentions is they won’t give up so easily on their nefarious schemes.

Posted by: Lone Wolf | Oct 28 2015 21:27 utc | 17

…seems eons since the Ukrainian government was capsized. since the nuland ilk migrated from hell to pillage with verve and impunity and sicced their fascist pyromaniac proxies on the drowsy status in quo, the Hooligan Kingdom, savage headshots and solvent spraying TOMAs, pentium acid operation gas, as the plundering clans waited in the wings. the fracking clan, the terminator roundup clan, the nuclear detritus clan, et al. well, that’s how you run a fake country into the ground…as uncle sam absconded with the gold even vice prez joe showed his mug and cut a deal for his son (yeah, gotta think of the children, right?) with the pipeline clan. a fucking free-for-all, afterall. well, not for all, actually, but, you know, for all those duly anointed barbarian motherfuckers.

Posted by: john | Oct 28 2015 21:42 utc | 19

Iran helping build “New Syrian Army;” ISIL fighters Fleeing to Iraq from Russian Airstrikes
http://www.juancole.com/2015/10/fighters-fleeing-airstrikes.html
good map at link demonstrates active frontlines + major IDP flight routes in Aleppo, Idleb, Hama

Posted by: juan uribe | Oct 28 2015 21:50 utc | 21

If the “boots on the ground” means US special forces in Syria, then they’re going to have problems. The first rule will be: don’t tread on Saudi toes. The second rule will be: make a noise, but don’t create difficultés for the Saudis.

Posted by: Laguerre | Oct 28 2015 21:51 utc | 23

@nmb #6
Thank you here are more…. Catarina Príncipe is beautiful and intelligent. The Real News Network recorded recently and past interviews…
In a two-part interview, Catarina Príncipe of the left-bloc in Portugal, says the left needs to unify on an economic and anti-austerity platform to avoid an interim caretaker government of the president’s party……
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2360&showid=80
July 24, 2015: On Reality Asserts Itself, Ms. Principe talks about growing up in Portugal expecting the promise of the social state to be fulfilled, and becoming an activist in the fight against forces dismantling the achievements of the Portuguese revolution

Posted by: Jack Smith | Oct 28 2015 22:21 utc | 25

Ooops forgot 2nd link….
July 24, 2015: On Reality Asserts Itself, Ms. Principe talks about growing up in Portugal expecting the promise of the social state to be fulfilled, and becoming an activist in the fight against forces dismantling the achievements of the Portuguese revolution
http://therealnews.com/t2/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=832&Itemid=74&jumival=1407

Posted by: Jack Smith | Oct 28 2015 22:24 utc | 27

M.K. Bhadrakumar on Iran joining the Syria talks.
What it means to invite Iran to key Syria talks

[…] In the regional context, Iran’s inclusion in the Syrian peace process becomes yet another political and diplomatic setback for Israel (on top of its dismal failure to kill the Iran nuclear deal). Israel is now the only major country in the Middle East that stands outside the tent looking in – although it has big stakes in the Syrian settlement. The time has come for Israel to seriously introspect how it is missing the plot all over again.
Indeed, it comes as a double blow for Israel that earlier today Russia also conducted is first air attacks on targets in southern Syria near the Golan Heights. Notably, this is an unambiguous signal to Israel to stay off the Syrian skies. Israel has been insinuating so far – without Moscow contesting – that it has an understanding with Russia in regard of its operations in Syria’s southern skies. That apparently is not the case, as today’s Russian air attacks near Golan Heights signal.
Russia now effectively operates a ‘no-fly zone’ over Syria, which strips Israel of access points to not only targets in Syria but also in Lebanon. Meanwhile, according to reports, Russia is dispatching to the Eastern Mediterranean a massive guided missile carrier, Moskva, equipped with an estimated sixty-four S-300 missile defence systems.
All in all, the alignments in the regional politics have dramatically changed with the latest reversal in the US position signifying its willingness to sit with Iran to discuss Syria.

Posted by: Lone Wolf | Oct 28 2015 22:39 utc | 29

Where is foff when his subtle understanding of complex matters is most needed?

Posted by: Most Curious | Oct 28 2015 23:02 utc | 31

Syria’s Assad accuses West of supporting terrorism

“Many regional and Western countries, including France, are still supporting terrorism and provide political cover for the terrorist organizations in Syria and the region,” al-Assad said during his meeting with a visiting delegation of French lawmakers.

Supporting terrorism in the region …
US forces kill Iraqis fighting Da’esh/ISIS/ISIL …

Iraq security sources state the US led coalition airstrikes killed 22 army and volunteer militia servicemen on Tuesday. The coalition warplanes targeted the Iraqi forces positions after they advanced on al-jalma (sp?) and al-dabian (sp?) bridges near the city of Ramadi.

This, and dropping arms to Da’esh/ISIS/ISIL, is what the US led coalition forces have been doing for the last 18 months …
Iraq: We Didn’t Ask for U.S. Ground Operations

“This is an Iraqi affair and the government did not ask the U.S. Department of Defense to be involved in direct operations,” spokesman Sa’ad al-Hadithi told NBC News. “We have enough soldiers on the ground.”

Apparently the Iraqis think its their country … 2003-2015 Bush XLIII/Obama Occupation, before that the no-fly zones and Albright’s sanctions that killed 500,000 children, before that Bush XLI’s war, before that the US ginned up Iraq/Iran War …
Don’t all the people of this region now hate the USA … more even than Israel … and just want see the USA out of the Middle East?
Can it really surprise anyone that they now see the Russians as their last, best hope to be rid of American death, devastation, and destruction over, at least, the past 3 or 4 decades?

Posted by: jfl | Oct 28 2015 23:46 utc | 33

@25 Jack, thanks. Plenty to find in the independent web. Almost zero info about this matter in the mainstream media.

Posted by: nmb | Oct 28 2015 23:49 utc | 35

Most telling part for me, of the Frontline program was that Syrians that were interviewed {that supported their government}, were NOT SURE who the rebels were. Usual suspects: Israelis, Saudis, Turks and us.
Also, some rebels were fighting close to Golden Heights. Odd, that the rebels did not fight to get back the GH, but were in a frenzy over Assad. Israel Secret Intelligence Service? Hmm.

Posted by: shadyl | Oct 28 2015 23:59 utc | 37

Hi, guest77, at Russia Insider they have a kind of debate about the Katyn massacre of Polish officers during WWII. A piece by Nicolai Starikov, which sounded reasonable to me, got posted there. He is in effect being accused of “revisionism” about “the Katyn massacre of Polish officers during WWII”.
Do you have any thoughts about that? It sounds like the kind of thing that right-wing Poles would make up, to make them appear to be victims of both the Nazis and the Soviets.

Posted by: Demian | Oct 29 2015 0:25 utc | 39

Universities Face Another Push to Criminalize Speech Criticizing Israel
Students say they should be allowed to engage in human rights advocacy in defense of Palestinians
Another report released by Jewish Voice for Peace last month found that Israel advocates are conflating anti-Semitism with criticism of Israel, and equating all Jews with the Israeli state, in an effort to shut down debate on universities and campuses across the United States. This often takes the form of bullying within Jewish communities, the report states, as well as claims that the emotional discomfort of Israel supporters amounts to targeted harassment.
But the new push for strict “anti-Semitism” standards has powerful supporters. One of the regents strongly advocating for the “speech code” is Richard Blum, a wealthy defense contractor and husband of Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.). Last month, Blum threatened that his wife will unleash political consequences if the UC system fails to adopt the strict standards. UC President Janet Napolitano advocated in May for the adoption of the State Department definition.
http://www.commondreams.org/news/2015/10/27/universities-face-another-push-criminalize-speech-criticizing-israel

Posted by: shadyl | Oct 29 2015 1:14 utc | 41

b, you really need to read the following. You done goofed, and consequences will never be the same.
For one thing, I’m shocked that you’re linking to a screed from the virulently racist hack Leonid Bershidsky. And on a Bloomberg website, to boot? Have you started working for the Israeli Foreign Ministry, but forgot to tell us? And that’s not even the worst part.
Linking to “Middle East Eye” was even more shocking, offering slick lies dressed-up in empty-sounding moralising. Here’s a hint, b: a website called “Middle East Eye” run by one man out of a private home in the UK is probably as much bull droppings as the so-called Syrian Observatory For Human Rights, also run by one man out of a private home in the UK.
Can I give you some basic investigative journalism pointers, b? You need them.
– Bull droppings sign #1: The website says it is independently funded, but doesn’t say by whom.
– Bull droppings sign #2: The website doesn’t say who founded it, edits it, or otherwise runs it.
– Bull droppings sign #3: The website boasts on its footer “Registered in England & Wales, [Company] Number: 08803692” and “Only England and Wales jurisdiction apply in all legal matters.”
Numerous British registers of companies and directors all say that company number Number: 08803692 is run by a Mr. Jamal Awn Jamal Bessasso (a Dutch national, who confusingly gives his occupation as both a ‘Media Consultant’ and a ‘HR Consultant’) and is headquartered at “2 OAKWOOD CRESCENT, GREENFORD, UB6 0RQ”. Google Maps shows that this is a suburban home. The company has no other directors or employees according to records.
b, did you seriously not find flaws in the “Edward Dark” bull-droppings? Seriously?
The childishly named “Edward Dark” character stated absolutely nothing about Syria that he couldn’t have heard on the TV news. He offered no actual facts or insight at all.
He repeatedly, pointedly made the brilliantly profound (ahem!) statement that that fighting Islamic insurgents causes “suffering”. (Really? Gasp! Well, it must be wrong to fight them, then! Hey Syrians, stop fighting the insurgents, so friendly ISIS can remove all suffering from Syria!)
“Aleppo based columnist” Edward Dark” (real location probably Vauxhall Bridge, or Tel Aviv as an outside bet, if he’s emailing in his “reports” to the UK-based Middle East Eye) then made a feeble straw man argument that the ongoing war in Syria is about “the fate of one man”, Assad. (Why doesn’t the bounder Assad step down!? Boo to Assad! Boo, I say! Stop the suffering, you democratically elected prick!)
Our heroic Syrian reported “Edward Dark” (real name probably something like Mort Finklestein or Oliver Jones) then immediately did by a 180˚ and completely contradicted himself by stating that the protracted conflict was the child of many outside powers. (“Edward”, it has been said that the sign of an intelligent man is his ability to hold two mutually contradictory opinions at once. The difference between such men, and you, is that they notice the contradiction.)
b: if you don’t have time to check the “news media” sources to which you link, it is better NOT to post anything at all. Don’t feel compelled to post any old junk, just to make your website look busy. Junk isn’t useful to anyone.

Posted by: Buster Gonad | Oct 29 2015 1:25 utc | 43

In my opinion the Chinese military will have to provide assets in support of Russia and Iranian forces if NATO invades the country. The SAA needs more fighting men to cast a wider net against US/ISIS Inc. and China has the necessary manpower to blunt any advances by the western coalition.
The Spratly Islands in the SCS (South China Sea) brouhaha was an embarrassment to the Chinese PLA since the U.S. Department of War called their bluff. They will want some sort of “satisfaction” that extends well beyond diplomacy and a presence in Syria would fulfill that objective.
Russia is not going to go it alone in the region, I am confident of this as fact.

Posted by: PokeTheTruth | Oct 29 2015 1:32 utc | 45

@42
China is due to be recommended for inclusion into the IMF basket of currencies in November. Given recent developments I would say that this effort will be stillborn and give China the freedom to continue to replace all the global financial “backroom” technologies with alternative ones.
I don’t see Australia biting the hand that feeds it by aligning with the US and providing support against China. That said, is there a scorecard online that shows the sides that are forming? I will say again that the bottom line to this “war” is private finance or sovereign finance.
We live in very interesting times.

Posted by: psychohistorian | Oct 29 2015 1:52 utc | 47

@43 bg.. you broke that down a lot better then me.. thanks for that.. maybe b will buy you a coffee for your efforts.. extra double latte or something special if he is feeling nice..

Posted by: james | Oct 29 2015 1:55 utc | 49

You’ve got to admit, they’ve got chutzpah ..
US Presidential candidates asked to audition for their APAIC paymasters ?
Huffington Post article –
First-Ever U.S. Presidential Candidates’ Forum Held Abroad in Jerusalem, Israel, November 2-4, 2015
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/natasha-srdoc/firstever-us-presidential_b_8367160.html

Posted by: therealskinny | Oct 29 2015 2:03 utc | 51

@guest77 #50:
Thanks very much. That’s exactly the kind of thing I was looking for, something shows that there is indeed legitimate scientific controversy about this. There was an attack piece on Nicolai Starikov at the Irrussianality blog that got reposted at Russia Insider which claimed that everyone agrees about this, and that Starikov was making historical claims solely on “consequentialist” considerations. I just wanted to confirm my suspicion that that was an unfounded smear on Starikov.
My experience editing Wikipedia articles on post-Maidan Ukraine tells me all I need to know on where the truth about Katyn likely lies. Why the whole thing sounds fishy to me is that the Soviets had no reason to massacre any Polish officers, since Polish officers were no more competent than the officers in the present Kiev regime. All either country can do militarily is beg for help from the West.
A very interesting point that Starikov makes is that in the West, you incessantly hear about Stalin, but never about Lenin. Starikov says that that’s because Stalin was responsible for all the accomplishments that were made by the Soviet Union: industrialization and defeating the Nazis, foremost among them. And Lenin was responsible for the initial arrests and killing of intelligentsia, engineers, etc.; Stalin wasn’t in power yet when that happened. Bertrand Russell wrote about his visit to the USSR that Lenin came across as a sadistic killer, which suggests that he was as at least as “bad” as Stalin. So yes, everything Starikov said in that piece that was attacked sounded reasonable to me.
@#52:
Thanks for the link to that video. I will definitely watch it at some point. (As opposed to watching Putin’s recent Valdai appearance. I’ll agree with everything he says but I don’t think there will be much I haven’t heard, so what’s the point?)

Posted by: Demian | Oct 29 2015 3:00 utc | 53

Having Spec Ops Mission on the ground as well as the ability to deliver airdrops in Iraq and Syria, has shown that there is wriggle room to push the US empires troops into these nations even after Russia has asserted its Activity there.
It’s why the neocons; Hillary, Carter, McCain and the rest, can see a chance to get their troops into Syria and Iraq to counter Russia. It’s why theres recent talk about sending troops in and that they will be in danger.
That is a plan to Establishment US Empire zones in these countries and hoping to protect those zones helping their ISIL and/or Al Qaeda proxies.
As soon as a US soldier is killed or a US plane shot down, there will be a hell storm. That’s a real possibility.
Russia, if it’s confident or confrontational enough, should shut that shit down ASAP.
I think Sun Tzu in the comments underestimated. it’s not about getting some out, it’s about getting more in. There has been six weeks of getting Spec Ops and US agents out, so it’s not really about that I think.

Posted by: tom | Oct 29 2015 4:27 utc | 55

Demian: ” articles on post-Maidan Ukraine tells me all I need to know on where the truth about Katyn likely lies. Why the whole thing sounds fishy to me is that the Soviets had no reason to massacre any Polish officers… ”
The argument that Stalin needed some reason for killing that could be rationally explained is dubious. For example, members of my family were Polish communists. In 1937 Stalin decided that all leaders of this party should be liquidated. The top leader, Warszawski (known as Warski) was in exile in Paris at the time, and he believed that he can properly explain that in actuality, he i not a traitor to the Communist cause, so as ordered, he went to Moscow and was executed. The only top members who survived were in Polish prisons — the party was not legal there. And when Soviet Union got hold of them two years later, he got some of them because they were in “Soviet part”, and some through a deal with Hitler, but at this time the purge of 1937 was over and he had other preoccupations. Like planning to reconstitute the party that he liquidated himself.
Communists and fascists were not evil in their intentions in the sense that they did not start each that with “what is a new evil thing that we can do today”, and many of their ideas were copied, some with good reason, like Interstate Highway System. I guess American politicians were impressed with the enthusiasm of Soviet youth, young Pioniers reciting in schools, so they decided to copy some of that, of course in “Godly manner”, like Pledge of Allegiance” with words “under God” added by the decision of Congress. I would venture a guess that “In God we Trust” was put on the currency in preparations for dropping the gold standard.

Posted by: Piotr Berman | Oct 29 2015 5:03 utc | 57

@Piotr Berman #57:
I must admit that I have studiously avoided reading about Stalin because I found the subject to abhorrent. Now I would like to read something, but I have very little idea of what writers can be trusted. (Obviously, I would be able to dismiss some sources that have an anti-Soviet rather than a scholarly tone.)
Khatyn still sounds like it doesn’t fit into the Soviet M.O. to me. Khatyn was basically a massacre as far as I understand, and my impression is that was not how the Soviets did things. It was more executions, like in the case of your relatives, or throwing people into labor camps, never to come out. And my background is White Russian: my family hated the Communists. Any members of my family who fought in the war faught on the side of the Germans, because they hated the Soviets.
I wish I knew how to find trustworthy online Russian language sources on Stalinism. Russian Wikipedia is as bad as English Wikipedia on such matters. I suppose if I really wanted to make an effort, I could look for actual books. Lots of those on the Net. Also, I stopped exploring the Russian Web after the Ukrainian war died down. I guess I should start again.
I didn’t know that the Americans got the idea for the Pledge of Allegiance from the Soviets. I find it plausible that the Nazis got some of their hatred of Bolshevism from White Russian emigrés.

Posted by: Demian | Oct 29 2015 5:53 utc | 59

@Penelope #58:
Hersh is not on Twitter.
You can be if you want to. It’s not like Facebook, where you’re supposed to use your real name.

Posted by: Demian | Oct 29 2015 6:01 utc | 61

@Demian #59
In spite of all of Furr’s rah-rah over Stalin, his article on the Katyn massacre is an excellent one. The work by the Polish archaeological team is also available online somewhere – in Polish. That’s a much less controvertible source than Furr because it isn’t associated with his baggage and it is from the same nation that had the anti-Soviet grievance over Katyn.
As explained by Furr, there were executions of Polish officers in 1939 or 1940 who were accused of war crimes in the Polish-Soviet war of 1919-1921. Evidence of those executions was used by the Nazis to hang all execution or massacre sites in Polish territory that had been occupied by the Soviets on the Soviets.
Furr also makes a strong case that the “Beria letter” ordering the so-called Katyn Massacre, the supposed smoking gun from the Soviet archives released in 1992, has not been adequately authenticated. Typewriter forensics call it into question. Document falsification was normal practice among Soviet bureaucrats as far back as the Stalin era and they had everything they needed – authentic stationery, stamps, bureaucratic knowledge and so forth – to produce very good fakes. With the chaos in the Soviet state in the early 1990s it was possible for freelancers with their own agendas to do falsifications, which were previously done only with top-level authorization. Another possibility is that the “Beria letter” was produced under Kruschev, but that would beg the question of why the false document was produced and left in the archives rather than used publicly in the de-Stalinization campaign.

Posted by: Thirdeye | Oct 29 2015 7:42 utc | 63

Dangerous developments in Germany

Political developments in Germany are moving in an increasingly dangerous direction. Despite widespread popular sympathy for the plight of refugees fleeing for their lives from war-torn countries, a sinister campaign is underway, led by a cabal of military-intelligence agencies, right-wing forces in the media, and chauvinist and neo-fascist political organizations, to whip up a racially-charged atmosphere of political panic in which authoritarian rule is justified as both necessary and legitimate.
… Hardly a day goes by without the media inviting representatives of extreme right-wing parties such as the Alternative for Germany (AfD) and the viciously anti-immigrant Pegida movement to spout their fascistic demagogy before national audiences.
Last week, AfD leader Björn Höcke appeared on television with a German flag to revive national-chauvinist myths of a one thousand year-old Germany. The sub-text of his ranting — that Germany must preserve its racial purity against foreign influences —was impossible to miss.
The media also chose to give wide coverage to a rally staged by Höcke in the mid-sized city of Erfurt, in which the would-be führer declared: “Erfurt is a beautiful German city, and it must remain German.” …
In Germany, the origins and significance of such statements are well understood. A recent article in Stern magazine accused the AfD of “lapsing into Nazi jargon” and reviving the “racist theories” of the Nazis.
Only yesterday, Christian Social Union (CSU) Chairman Horst Seehofer threatened extralegal “emergency measures” if Merkel did not adopt more extreme anti-refugee policies.
Seehofer is demanding the introduction of extremely strict border controls, the construction of border walls, and large deployments of police and military forces to keep refugees out.
Spiegel magazine called Seehofer’s language “Nazi-like” and accused him of “promoting totalitarian thought.” …
Sections of the security apparatus are pushing in this direction. The Welt am Sonntag has reported that state security forces are waiting impatiently for Merkel to either take action against the refugees or resign from office. …

The disintigration of Turkey and the possibly large increase in refugees to Europe … coupled with the far-right’s play on refugees in Germany bodes ill for all of us.

Posted by: jfl | Oct 29 2015 8:56 utc | 65

Sun Tzu@26 Thanks for the Graham link. Graham to Ashton Carter and General Dunford..”What you have done gentlemen along with President Obama is you have turned Syria over to Russia and Iran” You have to feel sorry for those two dumb appointees Carter and Dunford, because US strategy is ‘half-assed. Seems the only way it can be reversed is to do as Graham wants, back up with military force the US terrorists. Only problem with that is, it is contrary to the UN charter and International law generally, oh, and it could start world war 3.

Posted by: harry law | Oct 29 2015 10:19 utc | 67

@ Tom #55 & 56. I don’t think so. Although Ashton Carter has been running his mouth his self styled prophecies remain largely unfulfilled. He said for example that Russian planes were soon going to start falling out of the sky in Syria. Yet, the Russian air force is keeping a high tempo of sorties per plane and nothing of that sort is yet happening. In my analysis the pool of mercs and special forces is limited and they do not want to get more killed by bombers, helicopters or flame throwers. This is why Saudi, Turkey, UAE & Qatari flights are shipping their liver eating head chopping brats to Yemen. It is safer there as their is no hostile air force activity. The West is used to fight with the assurance of air superiority and coverage. They do not like to fight within hostile no fly zones. Getting more people in would make Russia’s job easier like shooting fish in a barrel. Just yesterday, Russia flew bombing sorties into the Golan knowing that there are more than likely Israeli assets in there. It goes without saying that Russia will continue to bomb away whether there is more insertion of Western assets or not. So I still believe that extraction is the key and not insertion. Russia offered to cooperate with the West if their “moderate” takfiri rebel assets position / location was shared but the West “kindly” declined the offer. Thus, Russia interpreted this snub as saying: “All of them are fair game!” So the West continues with a problem of extracting these people and spiriting them away to safety to fight another day.
@ harry law #67. YW. Graham is trying to sound and look though for the MSM as he is in a presidential nomination bid. He may also be trying to force Obama’s hand to do something stupid. But he knows fully well that the options are extremely limited. Russia has a stronger hand of cards and Obama a weaker. The fact that both Jordan and Egypt are coordinating with Russia and that Iraq has stated they have not asked for American ground troops is telling. Likewise, there is no possibility of cooperation with Turkey when the USA and Turkey’s objectives vis a vis the Kurds widely diverge.

Posted by: Sun Tzu | Oct 29 2015 11:50 utc | 69

@Thirdeye, ToivoS:
Thank you for your very helpful comments. I will read the Furr piece.
A guiding principle of mine when looking at these things is something Starikov said a while back: hatred of the Soviet Union is Russophobia.
@jfl #65:
Calling organizations like Pegida “neo-fascist political organizations” is a, dare I say it, Stalinist smear. The psychological makeup of people who write for wsws sounds very like that of the neocons. And I’d be very surprised if wsws doesn’t get some of its funding from the CIA. Anything to keep leftist thought from pointing in a productive and socially beneficial direction.

Posted by: Demian | Oct 29 2015 12:24 utc | 71

Two From Xymphora – http://xymphora.blogspot.in/2015/10/cat-hoarder.html
(1) “Some more talks about talks on Syria” by M.K. Bhadrakumar.  So the deal is for the West to extract the Saudis from their quagmire in Yemen in return for the princes pretending to temporarily give up their dream of building a Wahhabist terror state on Syria and Iraq.  Yemen is becoming critical as the Saudi princes have run out of sufficient cash to bribe their subjects from killing them (note here the lie that the Saudis still control oil prices – you’d think even ‘journalists’ would be too embarrassed at this point to keep telling that one!).  The start of the Saudi royal debate is between how much they love Wahhabism versus how much they love not seeing their heads on the end of pikes.
(2) “We are making ourselves look silly in Syria and Iraq.”  The Jewish billionaires continue to pull Barry’s strings in an embarrassing way.

Posted by: Ben Gurion | Oct 29 2015 13:52 utc | 73

@66 “Those that survived the terrible purges of 1937 lived in terror of displeasing Stalin, not in fear of the real enemy which was Nazi Germany.”
This doesn’t make sense. If they “lived in terror of displeasing Stalin” then the real enemy was Stalin.
Stalin purged the officers, but won the war. How? Did new officers float down from the sky? Oh, right, the Russian people just went ahead and ignored Stalin’s orders. Got it.

Posted by: ruralito | Oct 29 2015 14:15 utc | 75

“b, you really need to read the following. You done goofed, and consequences will never be the same.
…
b: if you don’t have time to check the “news media” sources to which you link, it is better NOT to post anything at all. Don’t feel compelled to post any old junk, just to make your website look busy. Junk isn’t useful to anyone.”
Posted by: Buster Gonad | Oct 28, 2015 9:25:34 PM | 43
The most positive thing b said in the intro was “Not too bad Frontline video (59 min):” That’s hardly a ringing endorsement.
I’m yet to hear anyone talk at all, let alone coherently, about what Russia’s long term plan might be. But I’m quite convinced that the long term plan (in concert with China) is to keep applying pressure to the World’s Second ex-Superpower until it becomes obvious to everyone that AmeriKKKa is an ex-superpower. Russia seems to have a military advantage over AmeriKKKa and it’s ex-colonial friends so it won’t be long until the Axis of Evil has to decide between Yankee Go Home & Oblivion. It’s too good an opportunity to miss and Russia-China won’t miss it. Syria is just a practice run / fact-finding mission.
But it’s just the beginning of the end – of Yankee fake war-mongering.

Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Oct 29 2015 14:33 utc | 77

US combats ISIS by attacking Iraqi troops – kills 22

US “Protects” ISIS Terrorists in Ramadi.
“The US-led anti-ISIL coalition targeted the Iraqi forces’ positions instead of ISIL terrorists in the Western parts of Iraq. . . . . The coalition warplanes pounded the Iraqi forces after they advanced near the city of Ramadi after al-Jama bridge and al-Davajen bridge,” a security source said. He noted that at least 22 Iraqi forces, including volunteer forces, known as Al-Hashad Al-Shabi, were killed in the US-led airstrikes in Ramadi.
In June, fighter jets of the US-led coalition struck the Iraqi forces’ positions in Anbar province, Western Iraq.

Between the Air Drops of weapons for IS, and the Air attacks against Iraqi Army, the USAF should change it’s name to ISAF.

Posted by: Ben Gurion | Oct 29 2015 14:49 utc | 79

hmmmm.

Deutsche Bank Reports Massive Loss, Will Cut 35,000 Jobs, Exit 10 Countries In Sweeping Overhaul
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-10-29/deutsche-bank-reports-massive-loss-will-cut-35000-jobs-exit-10-countries-sweeping-ov
German and French banks got $36 billion from AIG Bailout
AIG, likely under pressure from the administration, decided to come clean about where most of the bailout money was going. In a press release with several attachments, the struggling insurer detailed which counterparties had gotten about $100 billion of the bailout funds.
snip
I added up the various lists provided by AIG by country (see below), and the results were quite revealing. About $44 billion went to counterparties headquartered in the U.S., such as Goldman Sachs and states such as California and Virginia.
But as I expected, the majority of the funds—$58 billion—went to banks headquartered outside the U.S. The big winners were French and German banks, which pulled in $19 billion and $17 billion respectively.
http://www.businessweek.com/the_thread/economicsunbound/archives/2009/03/german_and_fren.html

BTY, Ashton Cater was a consultant to Goldman Sachs

Carter had been a longtime member of the Defense Science Board and the Defense Policy Board, the principal advisory bodies to the Secretary of Defense. During the Bush administration, he was also a member of Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice’s International Security Advisory Board; co-chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee’s Policy Advisory Group; a consultant to the Defense Science Board; a member of the National Missile Defense White Team, and a member of the National Academy of Sciences Committee on International Security and Arms Control. He has testified frequently before the armed services, foreign relations, and homeland security committees of both houses of Congress.
In addition to his public service, Carter was a Senior Partner at Global Technology Partners, focused on advising investment firms in technology and defense. He has been a consultant to Goldman Sachs and Mitretek Systems on international affairs and technology matters, and speaks frequently to business and policy audiences.
He was also a member of the boards of directors of the MITRE Corporation and Mitretek Systems and the advisory boards of MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Draper Laboratory. Carter was also a member of the Aspen Strategy Group, the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Physical Society, the International Institute for Strategic Studies, and the National Committee on U.S.-China Relations. Carter was elected a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ash_Carter

Posted by: shadyl | Oct 29 2015 15:12 utc | 81

@77 hoarsewhisperer
Russia has obvious geographic interests in obliterating radical Islamist due to their own exposed underbelly. I don’t think it is a single item compelling them into this adventure, but several things. Putin’s rhetoric clearly expresses his frustrations, albeit toned down.
1) NATO expansion, including missile shield baloney
2) CIA/NGO/Mossad revolutions in his own backyard previously
3) Their sole overseas operation (Tartus) under direct threat
4) The oil price collusion between USA/KSA at Russian expense
5) Sanctions
6) Central Banking issues/currency wars
Concurrently, Russia sells arms. Their primary customers are non-aligned or aligned opposite of the empire. They have new weapons tech that they need to move, and the specs of USA equipment and operations manuals have been free to anyone with ME contacts. They are proud of their gear, and tired of being slammed as a minor player on the world stage. Shutting down the empire has already opened the doors to weapons sales discussions.
They have vested interest in maintaining peace in the Stans – rabid Islam is best stomped out, not fondled and teased into further erratic actions. Better stomped in place than in the Stans, where oilfields are easily disrupted (remember Kuwait?).
Oil from Erbil and Syria is being sold to support these rabid Islamists – and assisting the drop in oil prices – Israel being the major buyer.
Qatar wants a gas pipeline through the region, which would hurt Russian sales. Israel and Cheney want to steal the GH oil field from Syria. Israel wants the offshore Levant field. A stable Syrian state is undesirable just looking at the energy issues, whereas stable pro-Russian Syria precludes these things.
Personally, I think the currency war is yet to come, but will really ramp up when the IMF declines admission of the Yuan.
So Russia has already accomplished much for herself just by saying “Nyet” to empiric chaos in Syria. But the only reason to risk it is that there are manifold rewards other than merely ending the chaos in a faraway land.

Posted by: BOG | Oct 29 2015 15:51 utc | 83

Good News For the Climate!!
Greenland is blowing away all records for ice gain this year.
Greenland has gained almost 200 billion tons of snow and ice over the past two months, which is more than 50% above normal. The surface of the ice gained more than 200 billion tons during the previous 12 months. – Greenland Ice Sheet Surface Mass Budget: DMI
Meanwhile, the New York Times is running a huge spread claiming that Greenland is melting down.

Greenland Is Melting Away – The New York Times

Approx Five hundred billion tons of snow falls on Greenland every year. All of that has to return to the sea by either melting or glacier calving, otherwise the ice would be piled up to the top of the atmosphere.
The New York Times take pictures of that essential process, and call it “climate change”

Posted by: Nunavut | Oct 29 2015 16:37 utc | 85

S@93
The only thing actually revealed by this exchange is that Ash Carter was attempting evasive maneuvers while being stalked by Big John. Carter’s reference to Title 10 forces was a clear giveaway that the only forces the US military will actively protect, from Russian attack, are US forces.

Posted by: Wayoutwest | Oct 29 2015 17:11 utc | 87

WARNING:
Strong graphical content.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fl3mAiHF1vU
I need someone with a strong stomach with arabic language skills to confirm that these are actually dead ISIS/rebels and not unfortunate SAA soldiers. From the demeanor of the people walking around and the constant “Allahu Akhbar” it seems to me that these are dead ISIS/rebels. But one of the dead guys is sporting a black/yellow badge showing Assad.

Posted by: Norwegian Bob | Oct 29 2015 17:36 utc | 89

http://southfront.org/isis-increases-capabilities-in-aleppo-province-reasons-conditions/
ISIS increases capabilities in Aleppo province. Reasons & Conditions.
War-on-ISIS
According to American experts citing certain Syrian humanitarian groups, the Islamic State in recent days has achieved several significant successes in the South Aleppo province and has infiltrated and established control over several districts of the strategically important town of al Safira. As a result of the offensive the ISIS was able to capture about 10 checkpoints on the strategically important highway from Hama via Salmiya, Inshriach and Hanser to Aleppo. This forced government forces to suspend its offensive on other fronts, especially in Aleppo, and to redeploy its forces to unblock the strategic highway to resume the logistical support for the Syrian army. Although ISIS successes are being exaggerated by the so-called “humanitarian analysts”, it is a fact that there is heavy fighting in the South Aleppo province.
In addition, about 1,500 Hezbollah fighters and about 2,000 Iranians from the IRGC are fighting right now near Aleppo. According to the information received, the government forces and the allies had unblocked the highway Hama-Aleppo and recapture al Safira.
However, the question arises as to why and how the Islamic State had got the ability to concentrate sizable fresh and well-armed forces in Aleppo province. The answer can be obtained from a brief analysis of the US actions in Syria and Iraq over the past 10 days.
It is already clear that the US commanders are sabotaging the advance of the Kurds in Raqqa.
The intensity of the pro-US coalition air force combat missions has been reduced substantially (by an order of magnitude).
Until now the U.S. regional command has not deployed its FAC ( forward air controller) teams and commandos into Kurds forward combat forces and with the Iraqi army. The number of the US military advisers is bitterly inadequate and, for all intents and purposes, their mission largely consists of containing Kurdish forces activity and playing political games.
Last week, information appeared about the growing number of cases of US-supplied weapons and ammunition being seized by the ISIS.
These factors combined with the complete lack of the Kurdish and Iraqi forces initiative in Anbar province allows the Islamic State to maneuver freely, transferring reinforcements from Iraq to Syria.
Today, Syria is the main strategically important front. ISIS’ existence directly depends on it. If smuggled oil exports through Syria to Turkey stop, ISIS will lose the foundation of combat potential, in both human and material terms.
According to independent military experts, the current United States course aims at containing Syrian government forces successes at any price. Pentagon believes that the failure of the Syrian army can trigger the transfer to Syria Russian land forces and the beginning of a protracted and costly ground operation.

Posted by: RulaBula | Oct 29 2015 18:07 utc | 91

Demien #71 hatred of the Soviet Union is Russophobia.
I most certainly never hated the Soviet Union and nothing I said above implies that.

Posted by: ToivoS | Oct 29 2015 18:22 utc | 93

International diplomacy has collapsed
gosh, imagine my surprise
no, the American Imperium will not be graciously exiting stage right. it’s gonna be slash and burn to the bitter end.
…..
i wonder if among all this ammo and c-rations and whatnot that’s falling from the sky there’s also billions in shrink-wrapped ben franklin’s? i mean, keeping this army of psychotic nimwits motivated must be incredibly expensive. i imagine embedded bursars with gps coordinates…i keep thinking of Rumsfeld’s missing trillions…

Posted by: john | Oct 29 2015 18:29 utc | 95

With so much disinformation swirling about, it is hard to find reliable sources. I suppose that is one reason I tend to fall back on great literature written by the novelists and playwrights living in the times they write about. So it is that for Russia’s historic confrontation with Napoleon, ‘War and Peace’ tells me that land and climate plus ‘wait and see’ tactics won the day, and that I have always thought was the case also in WW2. I remember a PBS program that illustrated what winter was doing to German infantry and tanks. Then also, it was the people, ordinary people, who resisted in the siege of Leningrad, not out of any love for Stalin or Communist ideology, but because it was their city, their land, their lives.
I don’t believe Stalin was a benign leader or that people loved him because I read ‘The First Circle’; I read ‘The Gulag Archipelago’ – not that Tsardom was any kinder; it was as brutal in many respects.
No true Christian is thrilled when the state with all its imperfections pretends to be ‘under God’. There aren’t really any chinks in Christian theology; you either believe it or you do not. Fine, just be a good person. That works.

Posted by: juliania | Oct 29 2015 18:56 utc | 97

Demien #71 hatred of the Soviet Union is Russophobia.
It’s like when the idiotic Jewish ZioNazis try and dishonestly claim that criticism of Israel is Anti-Semitism
It’s dishonest when the Jewish ZioNazis do it, and dishonest when people like the idiot @71 do it.

Posted by: RulaBula | Oct 29 2015 19:10 utc | 99