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December 5, 2015
Open Thread 2015-46
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There’s a superb article from Crimson Alter translated on Fort Russ. It draws from Putin’s annual address the other day, and speaks of the “evolutionary” nature of Putin’s great gift to Russia. It cites how things move slowly and determinedly, and also to the great exasperation of the “hurray patriots” and those who want thrills and easily visible actions from Russia.
It’s a very engaging read, with a great translation by J. Arnoldski. I highly recommend this one for the somewhat longer view of Russia and her positioning:
A “master of political alchemy”: Putin’s speech points the way forward for Russia and the world
Apologies if this has already been posted elsewhere.
Posted by: Grieved | Dec 5 2015 19:01 utc | 3
TURKEY OBEYS?
“Turkey will have a permanent military base in the northern Iraqi region of Bashiqa near the city of Mosul as its military group training local forces in Iraq has been reinforced with additional personnel, Turkey’s Hurriyet reports.
According to Hurriyet, the deal concerning the establishment of the base was signed on November 4 between Iraqi Kurdistan President Massoud Barzani and then Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioglu during the latter’s visit to northern Iraq.”
AND HERE’S THE PAYOFF ALREADY
“The amount of oil being smuggled is extremely low and has decreased over time and is of no significance from a volume perspective – both volume of oil and volume of revenue,” said Amos Hochstein, U.S. special envoy and coordinator for international energy affairs.”
Posted by: Penelope | Dec 5 2015 19:18 utc | 4
Interesting take on the SB mass shooting from Cannonfire:
http://cannonfire.blogspot.ca/
Posted by: ben | Dec 5 2015 19:26 utc | 5
@Penelope@4
Their goal is to break-up both Iraq & Syria, using the Kurds as a wedge in both countries.
US Building Military Airbase in Northeastern Syria
TEHRAN (FNA)- US experts are reconstructing and equipping a desolate airport special to carrying agricultural products in the region controlled by the Kurdish forces in Hasaka region, Northeastern Syria, to turn it into a military base.
The Lebanese al-Akhbar newspaper reported on Saturday that a number of US experts have entered the region since 50 days ago to develop and prepare the runways with 2,500m length and 250m width to be used by fighter jets.
Abu Hajar airport which has not been used since 2010 is located in Tal al-Hajar region in the Eastern countryside of Hasaka which is controlled by the Kurdish People’s Defense Units (YPG)[…]
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Dec 5 2015 19:29 utc | 6
It seems that the obvious is not being discussed much: the new coalition of UK, France, Germany, Turkey, the US and others, gearing up to fight in Syria. This is a new strategy by the curtain people to counter Russian moves to clean up Syria. The people behind the curtains do not want to give up their plans for Syria; after all – they were so close.
The questions is how is this newly energized, anti-Russian alliance, actually going to work? For example, the fact that Germany will not cooperate with Russia means they are fully controlled by the curtain people; all very against popular German opinions. Any ideas how new alliance is going to push the Russians out? Or is it just WW3?
Posted by: Peter B | Dec 5 2015 19:37 utc | 7
nmb @ 2: Thanks for that link, and here is a link from that link that’s MASSIVE food for thought:
http://failedevolution.blogspot.gr/2014/08/the-dominant-elite-ready-to-break.html
Posted by: ben | Dec 5 2015 19:52 utc | 8
@ Penelope | Dec 5, 2015 2:18:16 PM | 4
Out slinging the propaganda again, huh Penelopy? How pathetic.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/dec/05/iraq-orders-turkey-to-immediately-withdraw-troops-sent-across-border
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Dec 5 2015 20:04 utc | 9
@ 8. Thank you Ben. Another one by Eric Draitser related to tomorrow’s crucial elections in Venezuela:
http://www.telesurtv.net/english/opinion/Venezuelas-Elections-Courage-in-the-Face-of-Economic-and-Psychological-War-20151204-0019.html
Posted by: nmb | Dec 5 2015 20:12 utc | 10
re 4
“The amount of oil being smuggled is extremely low and has decreased over time and is of no significance from a volume perspective – both volume of oil and volume of revenue,”
What a surprise! The amount of oil you can transport in road tankers is very limited. You have to have a pipeline or shipping tankers.
It was already evident that ISIS’ need for revenue was not being satisfied by the export of oil, or selling antiquities. They will have got through the millions from the Mosul banks in short order, and taxes on the local peasants are not going to yield much. Yet they pay good salaries. If they didn’t, they would be leaking people. The only real answer is continued subscriptions from the Gulf, or perhaps Turkish state aid.
I can imagine that many Gulfis continue to pay, as the thought of ISIS being destroyed is unacceptable.
Posted by: Laguerre | Dec 5 2015 20:17 utc | 11
Turkey sends reinforcements to Da’esh in Mosul …
Iraq calls in Turkish ambassador over troops deployment
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry said in a Saturday statement that the forces have entered the Iraqi territory without informing the central government in Baghdad. It said Iraq considers their presence “a hostile act.”
The Iraqi Foreign Ministry also demanded the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish forces.
The soldiers, who are reportedly armed with tanks and artillery, are positioned in a camp in Iraq’s Nineveh Province, about 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the border, where Ankara has been training forces in an attempt to retake the provincial capital of Mosul from Daesh.
“Ankara has been training forces in an attempt to retake the provincial capital of Mosul from Daesh” … anyone believe that? A hand over from Da’esh to Daddy, maybe. Terrorists are terrorists, according to the Russians?
Posted by: jfl | Dec 5 2015 20:27 utc | 12
@8 ben
Thanks for the link supporting my contention that these actions against Russia are a pretext for keeping them and China, et al from creating a sovereign alternative to private finance.
The rest of the article, if nothing else, makes a good argument for redefining “work” into “contribution to society” so humanity can evolve.
Posted by: psychohistorian | Dec 5 2015 20:30 utc | 13
Did anyone note western media blast of turkey, us breaching Iraq sovereignity? No of course, one couldnt because there was none.
Posted by: Seder | Dec 5 2015 20:30 utc | 14
@Peter B@7
Any ideas how new alliance is going to push the Russians out? Or is it just WW3?
They have not given away their strategy, and they won’t, but from their moves we can see the Kurds in both Iraq and Syria are to be used as the gate and the bridge for outside forces (See above Penelope@4 post & Lone Wolf@6 link), later to be used as a wedge for the break-up of Iraq/Syria, and to isolate Syria from Iran, cutting the Shiite Axis of Resistance in two.
Tony Cartalucci, insightful geopolitical researcher, has some inklings as to near future developments in Syria, but not much. Regardless, there is substance in what he has to say, more than presently can be found on the subject.
NATO’s Terror Convoys Halted at Syrian Border
[…] Strangling NATO’s Terrorists at the Border
Russia’s increased activity along the Syrian-Turkish border signifies the closing phases of the Syrian conflict. With Syrian and Kurdish forces holding the border east of the Euphrates, the Afrin-Jarabulus corridor is the only remaining conduit for supplies bound for terrorists in Syria to pass. Syrian forces have begun pushing east toward the Euphrates from Aleppo, and then will move north to the Syrian-Turkish border near Jarabulus. Approximately 90-100 km west near Afrin, Ad Dana, and Azaz, it appears Russia has begun cutting off terrorist supply lines right at the border. It is likely Syrian forces will arrive and secure this region as well.
For those that have criticized Russia’s air campaign claiming conflicts can’t be won from the air without a ground component, it should be clear by now that the Syrian Arab Army is that ground component, and has dealt ISIS and Al Qaeda its most spectacular defeats in the conflict.
When this corridor is closed and supplies cut off, ISIS, Nusra, and all associated NATO-backed factions will atrophy and die as the Syrian military restores order across the country. This may be why there has been a sudden “rush” by the West to move assets into the region, the impetus driving the United States to place special forces into Syrian territory itself, and for Turkey’s ambush of a Russian Su-24 near the Syrian-Turkish border.
What all of this adds up to is a clear illustration of precisely why the Syrian conflict was never truly a “civil war.” The summation of support for militants fighting against the Syrian government and people, has come from beyond Syria’s borders. With that support being cut off and the prospect of these militants being eradicated, the true sponsors behind this conflict are moving more directly and overtly to salvage their failed conspiracy against the Syrian state.
What we see emerging is what was suspected and even obvious all along – a proxy war started by, and fought for Western hegemonic ambitions in the region, intentionally feeding the forces of extremism, not fighting them.
Russian Retaliation Will Be Defeating NATO in Syria
[…] Finish Line in Sight, Losers in Tow
Syria and its allies appear to realize that despite much more work to be done, the momentum has finally and irreversibly shifted in their favor. Seizing territory from NATO-backed terrorists and cutting off their supply lines leading in from NATO territory in Turkey will essentially end the war in favor of Damascus, Tehran, and Moscow.
Attempts to provoke Russia, no matter how tempting, will be resisted by Moscow. Any retaliation Russia exacts against Turkey will be done in a matter that negates any affects carrying over to its primary mission in Syria – to win the war.
With Russian air defense systems being enhanced across the region the stakes are being raised as is the cost of any further provocations not only for Turkey, but for NATO as a whole. Should F-16s attempt to ambush another Russian warplane and end up themselves shot down, the veneer of invincibility NATO airpower has enjoyed for years will evaporate amid an already losing battle the hegemonic military alliance is fighting.
Nations being courted for NATO ascension and allies of the antiquated geostrategic bloc, will begin having second thoughts about accepting a subordinate role among an alliance seemingly incapable of winning wars, or even individual confrontations.
Already, murmurs in the halls of power around the world are noting that NATO’s “victory” over Russia’s single Su-24 came at the cost of weeks of planning, absolute treachery, tremendous expenditures in political capital, and included blatant war crimes just to kill a pilot and a Marine. It is unlikely that NATO will be able to orchestrate another ambush of this magnitude, but even if it could, it would do so only to further confirm to the world the lengths it must go through to achieve superficial primacy over Russia in a conflict it has otherwise clearly lost.
Syria and Russia’s goal now must be to raise exponentially the cost of NATO forces further entering into the Syrian conflict.US President Barack Obama’s comments regarding Turkey’s “right to defend itself” are not only supremely hypocritical – even self-incriminating, but may present Syria and its allies with an opportunity to finally clear its skies of intruding Western warplanes. If Turkey is justified in shooting down a warplane near its borders it knew had no intention of attacking Turkish territory, then surely Syria has every right to down Western planes who are most certainly attacking its territory.
Alternatively, expanding Russia’s footprint in Syria and accelerating the eradication of NATO’s terrorists proxies will leave NATO with little reason to justify further intervention in Syria’s skies, let alone on the ground. In all likelihood, Turkey’s unprecedented act of war was in part motivated by the realization of this fast approaching reality.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Dec 5 2015 20:32 utc | 15
Iran, Russia coordinating anti-Daesh efforts: Leader aide
Iran and Russia are coordinating their stance on fighting Daesh terrorist group in Syria, Ali-Akbar Velayati, a top adviser to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, says.
“Russians seek coordination with Iran in measures against terrorist groups. The Russians at times had had a different standpoint but they reached a common stance with Iran after consultation” with the Islamic Republic, Velayati said in a live televised interview on Saturday.
He added that Iran is the main front of resistance against the global arrogance in the region, saying Iraq, Syria and Lebanon are Iran’s regional allies in this campaign and Russia has recently joined this front. …
Velayati further warned that the growing threat of Takfiri groups would pose a danger to all countries and urged collective cooperation to root out terrorism.
He noted that Russia’s fight against Daesh terrorist group in Syria is carried out at the request of the Syrian government.
The Leader’s adviser said it is believed that some countries, maybe even global powers, would also join the resistance front in the near future.
Nice to see someone other than “the Leader” announcing the Leader’s diktats. A nod to secularism. Iran as pointman for the coalition? “Maybe even global powers” … maybe even China?
Posted by: jfl | Dec 5 2015 20:36 utc | 16
@14 Seder
Actually, this link
http://america.aljazeera.com/articles/2015/12/5/iraq-demands-that-turkey-withdraw-its-troops-from-northern-iraq.html
is originally a Reuters story.
That said, I wonder what the reality on the ground is today?
Posted by: psychohistorian | Dec 5 2015 20:39 utc | 17
Erdogan Launched a Military Invasion of Iraq
Erdogan has decided to take under his personal control ISIL held oil fields in Iraq, taking advantage of the fact that Russia has not been fighting the Islamsic State in this Arab country yet. …
Iraq’s Foreign Ministry labeled the incursion of Turkish troops as an “invasion’, stressing that any military operation that hasn’t been agreed on with the government in Baghdad is illegal. This situation has already commented by the US military officials, who confirmed that this “move is not part of the U.S.-led coalition’s activities.” …
Russia’s actions are carried out in accordance with international law, in particular with the Resolution 2199 of the UN Security Council on providing an adequate answer to threats to international peace presented by the illegal oil trade. This resolution explicitly states that it:Encourages the submission of listing requests to the Committee by Member States of individuals and entities engaged in oil trade-related activities with ISIL, ANF and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al-Qaida and directs the 1267/1989 Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee to immediately consider designations of individuals and entities engaged in oil trade – related activities with ISIL, the ANF and all other individuals, groups, undertakings and entities associated with Al-Qaida;
So it’s up to international community to assess Erdogan‘s actions and provide them with an adequate response, in accordance with the Resolution 2199.
Does it sound as though one member of the international community in particular is about to provide Erdogan’s actions with an adequate response?
Posted by: jfl | Dec 5 2015 20:45 utc | 18
So I’m assuming that the UK vote is the Trojan horse to build a base in Syrian Kurdistan. What will Russia do in response? They were offering to establish an operations base a few days ago.
This is quite an escalation; USA will get to ‘study’ Russian electronic warfare in an attempt to reverse-engineer it, and will probably try push Barzani to overtake the Syrian Kurdistan and steal land; maybe air-bomb more infrastructure and maybe even target high value personnel targets like Soleimani, hezbollah fghters, etc.
How much of this can Russia tolerate before taking action?
Posted by: bbbb | Dec 5 2015 20:48 utc | 19
re 8 Ben
From the link:
Hyper-automatization is the key for the ruling class to break the social contract exactly because it doesn’t need human labor anymore.
You know, Ben, that’s a load of rubbish. Yeah, you can automate factories and eliminate humans. But you end up with no humans with salaries to buy the products that the automated factories make. (Let alone the prospect of revolution by impoverished humans who are not going to disappear.)
All the capitalists can do is shift the divide somewhat in their interest. They already do it, and have been since the time of Reagan.
Posted by: Laguerre | Dec 5 2015 20:50 utc | 20
The ISIS oil billiard
1 Russia accuses Erdogan’s family to profit from ISIS oil sales via Turkey and shows satellite maps with oil tankers
2 KRG – Barzani – say the oil tankers are theirs
3 Voice of America says the Syrian oil is bought by rebels and aid organizations with Western money to keep the rebellion and North Syrian economy running
next ball?
Posted by: somebody | Dec 5 2015 21:00 utc | 21
Russia’s Appeal to Cut Off Daesh Financing ‘Leads Turkey Into Deadlock’
In December, the UN Security Council is expected to discuss the introduction of new measures that will cut off the sources of financing for terrorists.
The debate could be “unpleasant” for the Ankara government, which is suspected of being involved in the illegal oil business with Daesh terrorists in Syria and Iraq, German newspaper DWN wrote. …
As part of international counterterrorism efforts, Russia proposed to discuss further measures against the financing of terrorism within the framework of the UN Security Council.
At the meeting in New York scheduled for December 17, the finance ministers of UNSC member countries are planning to consider steps that will completely “disconnect” Daesh from its financing sources and strengthen the capacities of states involved in the counterterrorism activities, the article said.
Will the US and its European stooges veto move to defund Da’esh?
Posted by: jfl | Dec 5 2015 21:03 utc | 22
Don’t overlook the existing oil pipelines from Iraqi oilfields that enter Turkey which may seriously underestimate da’esh controlled oil entering Turkey. IIRC most of Kurdish oil flows in that direction as well.
Posted by: Formerly T-Bear | Dec 5 2015 21:16 utc | 23
@2nmb.. thanks.. more like they have put the finishing touches on a project that is essentially complete.. no freedom 24/7.. fear is the guiding and only principle directing gov’t action.. the politicians now have gov’t where the plutocrats/financiers intended all along.. selling fear benefits the security/military industry above everything else..the sale is complete… we’re stuck with the bill..
@7 peter b.. looks like ww3 to me over the creation of kurdistan..the hopeful byproduct is oil kleptocrats remain in power, and us$ supremacy continues.
@14 seder.. exactly.
my thoughts – working on making a new country ‘kurdistan’ which is independent from iraq and syria, while carving out a part of these 2 countries seems to be the game plan… thus the constant legitimization of everything to do with “kurdistan regional government” under this ongoing dictator for israel/us – barzini.. see the entry on propaganda site wikipedia for greater clarity on this.. or how about another quote from such a reliable source on the page for barzini “A major result of Saddam Hussein’s defeat in the Gulf War (1991) and Operation Provide Comfort was the ultimate establishment of Kurdish control over their traditional homeland in northern Iraq, known as Iraqi Kurdistan and “South Kurdistan”.. now, i will leave others here to speculate if this was the game plan all along.. sure looks like it to me.. things take time to bring to completion.. murdering a nation, or carving it up is all a part of the long drawn out process..
russia is so very retro to think that standing up to this affront to humanity is going to be tolerated by a financial empire that is threatened by the thought of not seeing its plans complete..
Posted by: james | Dec 5 2015 21:16 utc | 24
Thank you, Grieved @ 3 for the link. I went through the article fairly quickly, will return to read more attentively, but one thing did bother me about Putin’s speech, and that was his statement that ‘next year Russia will implement an insurance based healthcare system’. That did give me a shudder when I read it, because insurance based health care in the United States has been an ongoing disaster. The costs simply have skyrocketed. The article you link to mentions ‘affordable health care’. Well, if it is not a single payer system as many countries have, with private insurance plans an option for those tht need it, I’m afraid Russians will be not well served. I did see Putin promising a strong system of regulation, and if anyone can do that he can, but the loopholes will be there and linking healthcare to profit is a dead horse in my opinion. The public will suffer because of that.
I am hoping I am wrong about the actual system they will implement, and perhaps someone can persuade me it is going to work.
Posted by: juliania | Dec 5 2015 21:26 utc | 25
re 12& 18 jfl
Turkey sends reinforcements to Da’esh in Mosul …
This subject is somewhat confused. The basic point is that Turkey, or perhaps just Erdogan, is buddies with Barzani, the KRG president in Erbil. There have been many fruitful contracts for Turkish companies in KRG. That doesn’t mean the Syrian Kurds, the Turkish Kurds, or the Talebani clan in Sulaimaniyya.
I hadn’t connected, before, the evident lack of Peshmerga (Erbil) activity against ISIS with this friendship, but now it is obvious. The Peshmerga played very little role in the recapture of Sinjar from ISIS.
Posted by: Laguerre | Dec 5 2015 21:26 utc | 26
Posted by: Laguerre | Dec 5, 2015 4:26:30 PM | 26
I think there is a rush to “liberate Daesh oil fields” now – this here is the Times explaining Britain’s objectives
I don’t think Turkey will be the winner in this – nor the Peshmerga.
Posted by: somebody | Dec 5 2015 21:33 utc | 27
International Military Review – Syria, Dec. 5, 2015 – youtube
International Military Review – Syria, Dec. 5, 2015 – transcript
Considering the location of Tal Ziyab, Turkey wants to cover the smuggling route of the Syrian oil which is taken out of the ISIS-controlled Raqqa. It seems that Ankara has decided to escalate the situation further after the Ministry of Defense of Russia were released pictures and videos of oil delivery convoys at the border between Syria and Turkey.
Tal Zahib, Ninawa, Iraq – googlemap
It looks as though NATO is mixing Erdogan’s business with Obama/Camaroon/Hollande/Merkel’s pleasure?
Posted by: jfl | Dec 5 2015 21:37 utc | 28
@24 james ‘… working on making a new country ‘kurdistan’ which is independent from iraq and syria …’
Why not make the new country ‘kurdistan’, which is independent from iraq and syria, in turkey? Just to the west of greater armenia?
Posted by: jfl | Dec 5 2015 21:45 utc | 29
re 27
I think there is a rush to “liberate Daesh oil fields” now
I’m not convinced. (I wouldn’t believe the Murdoch Sunday Times anyway. They’re notorious these days for putting up ideas that don’t work out, but are a bit piquant.)
Who’s going to do the liberating? The Syrian Kurds? The oil-fields are in Sunni Arab territory, and the Syrian Kurds have shown a marked reluctance to head into that sort of land. If they were able to do so, they would have already taken Raqqa.
Posted by: Laguerre | Dec 5 2015 21:51 utc | 30
@20 LG ‘All the capitalists can do is shift the divide somewhat in their interest.’
The understatement of 2015 … in just under the wire.
Posted by: jfl | Dec 5 2015 22:07 utc | 31
@24 jamed ‘russia is so very retro to think that standing up to this affront to humanity is going to be tolerated by a financial empire that is threatened by the thought of not seeing its plans complete.. ‘
All resistance is futile? There is no alternative? Chin up! not Chipnik.
Posted by: jfl | Dec 5 2015 22:11 utc | 32
@27 somebody
You should post a link to the whole article … money bags 🙂
Posted by: jfl | Dec 5 2015 22:15 utc | 33
@30 LG
Maybe its time for the Iraqi Kurds and the Turks to clean their governing houses?
Posted by: jfl | Dec 5 2015 22:19 utc | 34
Here’s a worthwhile report on the situation in Yemen, published by ArabNews.com:
UAE troops dig in for a long war in Yemen
http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/844291
ArabNews.com is based in Saudi Arabia and publishes an English language paper-print newspaper sold in Saudi Arabia. It describes its news purpose as “to provide a Saudi perspective in English”. The article about Yemen is full of factual grounds to be pessimistic about the Yemen situation, I mean pessimistic from a Saudi perspective.
Posted by: Ghubar Shabih | Dec 5 2015 22:30 utc | 35
re 34 jfl
Maybe its time for the Iraqi Kurds and the Turks to clean their governing houses?
And replace them with what? New regimes are not necessarily better.
Barzani is a tribal leader. That’s why he didn’t bother to step down, when his mandate ended, or call new elections.
Erdogan, he’s won multiple elections. Who can tell him to clean his house?
Posted by: Laguerre | Dec 5 2015 22:33 utc | 36
The UAE and other Gulf States have troops on the ground in Aden in Yemen. Aden is their headquarters in Yemen. Here’s the situation in Aden:
Southern Yemeni separatist sentiment, suppressed after a failed uprising in 1994, is once again on the rise in southern Yemen. The flag of the old People’s Democratic Republic of Yemen (PDRY or South Yemen), sporting a socialist star on Arab nationalist colors, is proudly hoisted alongside the UAE and Saudi colors at militia checkpoints around the city. The Yemeni flag is nowhere to be seen. The resurgence of separatism suggests that not everyone in Aden shares a goal of reunifying Yemen. Local fighters who helped drive the Houthis from Aden may not have the appetite to chase them all the way back to Sanaa. Even within the pro-Saudi part of the Yemeni political divide, there are signs of a growing rift between the titular President, Hadi, who is pushing for total victory against the Houthis, and the titular Vice President, Khaled Bahah, whom diplomats see as more amenable to peace talks. On 1 Dec 2015, Bahah rejected a cabinet reshuffle ordered by Hadi, signaling a deepening rift between the two leaders. http://www.arabnews.com/featured/news/844291
Posted by: Ghubar Shabih | Dec 5 2015 22:55 utc | 37
re 35
Here’s a worthwhile report on the situation in Yemen, published by ArabNews.com:
It sounds as though the Houthis are winning. However, I haven’t found any maps which show where the Houthis have taken Saudi land. I think it is to the north towards Abha. The great prize would be Najran, to the northeast, a city already Shi’a, with a revolt suppressed in 2000, according to the War Nerd.
Posted by: Laguerre | Dec 5 2015 22:57 utc | 38
The Hague #1
“Hillary OR Trump”
I suspended my disbelief on Trump for about 2 weeks (since I don’t believe anything the MSM says) but at the end of that time I was actually considering voting for Hillary to stop Trump! But I probably won’t vote at all. I am convinced that Sanders could beat Trump, but Hillary – I doubt it. Trump is a racist and a maniac but he channels the Common Man (as long as that “man” iis a white Republican), and Hillary doesn’t have a shot at it – she scares a certain type of voter worse than Trump scares me. Sanders on the other hand – if he’s not afraid of fighting dirty – could cream Trump in a side by side contest.
Posted by: alberich | Dec 5 2015 23:29 utc | 39
Somebody@27. I think you are right about that. Erdogan may be being manipulated into a lose/lose situation between a war with Russia on one side or an independent Kurdistan on the other. Either way Erdogan is unlikely to survive. I believe the Kurds have historically been used and abused as proxies for empirical powers, so no good will likely come to them either in the end.
Posted by: yellowsnapdragon | Dec 5 2015 23:55 utc | 40
Why is Libya media non grata? Aside from being indescribably sad in terms of human misery, it represents a perfect case study in failed policy. US republicans opted to pounce on the the embassy deaths, yet are unwilling to dagger Hilary for being the brainchild of producing a failed state. Can someone provide me with the motives for the media blackout? Motives are my achilles.
Posted by: IhaveLittleToAdd | Dec 6 2015 0:01 utc | 41
British PM Cameron can’t wait to begin bombing Syria, now the chickens come back to roost immediately. Congratulation Cameron! Are UK citizens safer now?
‘This is for Syria’: ‘Machete-wielding’ man attacks London tube, police probing terrorist incident
https://www.rt.com/uk/324882-london-leytonstone-station-stabbing-syria/
Saturday night turned into a horror movie at London’s Leytonstone underground station as an attacker slashed a person’s throat while shouting “this is for Syria.” Police, who had difficulty detaining the man with only a Taser, are now treating the incident as a terror act…..
Posted by: Jack Smith | Dec 6 2015 0:12 utc | 42
#41 The reason the Republican opposition failed to oppose Hillary’s policies of aggressive war against Libya is that they were arguing for even more aggressive war. Therefore when it became clear that the war had turned Libya into a failed state all the Republicans could come up with is the contrived Benghazi fiasco.
Your other question about the news blackout on the Libyan fiasco has at least two reasons. The right wing media fail to mention the root causes for the same reason Republicans don’t. The more mainstream and Democrat leaning media won’t touch this story because it would hurt Hillary’s presidential aspirations. If you haven’t noticed papers like the NY Times and the Guardian work hard to suppress stories reflect poorly on Hillary.
Posted by: ToivoS | Dec 6 2015 0:14 utc | 43
@jfl@34
Maybe its time for the Iraqi Kurds and the Turks to clean their governing houses?
Maybe it’s time for Iraq to clean its governing house? And where is Ayatollah al-Sistani when you need him? Maybe it’s time for a fatwa declaring jihad on Erdogan and the invading Turks?
Why Ayatollah Al-Sistani’s Iraq Fatwa Is So Important
Thanks for the link to the Int’l Mil. Review. And the map.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Dec 6 2015 0:14 utc | 44
Trump has been talking about “taking the oil” and the media isn’t pointing out that what he is calling for is a crime.
Posted by: Tom Murphy | Dec 6 2015 0:17 utc | 45
@41 The GOP was gung ho on Libya too, but it’s a fairly simple strategy from the GOP. They want to nail the Democrats to the wall but not for something they want to do themselves*, so they have to grasp for the bizarre because the two parties are joined at the hip except for show purposes. The GOP can’t even find a way to criticize Obama for being soft on Wall Street because they don’t want to win on that promise because breaking a promise can kill political careers. Promises need to be vague, so the other team can be blamed.
As for the media, it’s always been a stenographers’ organization. Without a press release, the msm won’t report on a subject. Libya is an embarrassment for Team Blue, and Libya is a reminder of Iraq for the GOP.
*Republicans such as Senator Lindsey Graham would never be caught dead with a woman so they could turn Clinton’s affair into impeachment level proceedings.
Posted by: NotTimothyGeithner | Dec 6 2015 0:35 utc | 46
Posted by: alberich | Dec 5, 2015 6:29:42 PM | 39
The Hague #1
“Hillary OR Trump”
…. and Hillary doesn’t have a shot at it – she scares a certain type of voter worse than Trump scares me. Sanders on the other hand – if he’s not afraid of fighting dirty – could cream Trump in a side by side contest.
Well, since most Liberals going to votes for Sanders as the lesser of evils. To be fair both Democrats and Republicans (Dupoly) is evils. Sanders have said repeatedly “Israel has the right to exist and/or protect themselves.” Therefore, Palestinians continue to be slaughtered like dogs. Nevertheless, the endless talk and talk continue while the West Bank shrinks to ZERO and Gaze’s prison continues.
We know what the NeoCon will do if elected and we also know what Neoliberal will do like Obama. Clinton or Sanders more or less the same endless wars. Afghan still under US occupations. In Iraq US sending more troops and now Syria boots on the ground, Gitmo still opens. Watch it China will be next!
Go on keeping voting Dupoly and nothing going to change. Endless wars and why not end it all – WW3
Posted by: Jack Smith | Dec 6 2015 0:39 utc | 47
re 44
Ayatollah Sistani has already made his declaration. The Shi’a militia are not going to reconguer Mosil
Posted by: Laguerre | Dec 6 2015 0:40 utc | 48
@41 ihlta ‘… it represents a perfect case study in failed policy.’
I think you’ve answered your own question there, if we can believe Voltaire.net‘s fables …
When, in 2011, the United Kingdom and France launched a double war against Libya and Syria, at the request and under the control of the United States, Turkey quite logically opposed it. These wars, launched on the pretext of protecting the populations, were far too evidently neo-colonial strategies. Besides, they damaged Turkish interests, since Libya was one of its main economic partners and Syria had become one by way of the new regional common market.
That’s when everything collapsed…
In any case, and in extremis, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan supported NATO’s project, which took over from AfriCom after the revolt of its commander [1].
Immediately, Ankara mobilised the citizens of Misrata in Libya. These are mostly the descendants of the Jewish soldiers of the Ottoman Empire, the Adghams, and the nomadic merchants descended from black slaves, the Muntasirs, who had supported the Young Turks. They formed the only significant Libyan group capable of attacking Tripoli [2].
[1] Initially called « Odyssey Dawn », the operation against Libya was commanded by General Carter Ham in his role as head of AfriCom. However, he argued against the importance given to al-Qaïda on the ground in the overthrow of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, while the Coalition pretended they were only protecting civilians. He was relieved of his functions and moved to NATO, and the operations was then rebaptised « Unified Protector ».
[2] The inhabitants of Benghazi refused to attack Tripoli once they had obtained their independence de facto. The Misratas were chaperoned by al-Qaïda combatants.
The serial string of US/NATO war crimes leads right along the rat line from Libya, through Turkey, to Syria … where the empire is frenetically engaged with its perennially failed policy right now … with everyone-who-counts’ – the masters of both rebublicrat and demoblican wings of the warparty’s – fingerprints all over it.
Posted by: jfl | Dec 6 2015 0:43 utc | 49
The Hydra is rearing another head in Afghanistan, fertile soil for this type of beast.
IS ISIS Behind Not Confirmed Death of Taliban Leader? + PICS
New pictures show ISIS terrorists have set up terror training camps as it’s claimed they have Killed the Taliban’s leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour.
New pictures show ISIS terrorists have set up terror training camps as it’s claimed they have Killed the Taliban’s leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour.
Reports emerged this week that the Taliban leader was killed in a dramatic internal shoot-out during a meeting of commanders.
After Mullah Omar death and not popular selected Mullah Akhtar Mansour leadership ,the formerly united group has been severed by a bitter internal turmoil that has seen a splinter cell break away and declare loyalty to ISIS, which is steadily carving a trail of bloody destruction through the Taliban’s Afghanistan territory.
It is believed that members of the ISIS-led breakaway cell could be responsible for the as yet unconfirmed death of the Taliban’s elected leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour […]
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Dec 6 2015 0:47 utc | 50
@Laguerre@48
Ayatollah Sistani has already made his declaration. The Shi’a militia are not going to reconguer Mosil
Any links you can help us with? Thanks in advance.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Dec 6 2015 0:50 utc | 51
@44 @51
Talk about war fatigue … the poor Iraqis must certainly have it. Iraqi politicians have bribe fatigue, as always. Time to follow The Leader … always a cleric in that part of the world. If not al Sistani, al Sadr will have to do. They need to talk seriously with the Russians and Iranians about their future. Twelve … make that thirty … years of American liberation have worn them down to nothing, and more of the same will only leave them even further behind the eight-ball. Same goes for the Iraqi Kurds and their leadership. The Kurds, too, ought to join their Syrian and Turkish brothers at the Iranian-Iraqi-Syrian-Lebanonese-Palestinian+Russian board and make a serious plan for the liberation of the region. All for one and one for all. It’s their only real chance.
Posted by: jfl | Dec 6 2015 1:17 utc | 52
@44 @51
Talk about war fatigue … the poor Iraqis must certainly have it. Iraqi politicians have bribe fatigue, as always. Time to follow The Leader … always a cleric in that part of the world. If not al Sistani, al Sadr will have to do. They need to talk seriously with the Russians and Iranians about their future. Twelve … make that thirty … years of American liberation have worn them down to nothing, and more of the same will only leave them even further behind the eight-ball. Same goes for the Iraqi Kurds and their leadership. The Kurds, too, ought to join their Syrian and Turkish brothers at the Iranian-Iraqi-Syrian-Lebanese-Palestinian+Russian board and make a serious plan for the liberation of the region. All for one and one for all. It’s their only real chance.
Posted by: jfl | Dec 6 2015 1:18 utc | 53
re 51
To parse the remark, as the two are separate. Ayatollah Sistani has called for volunteers for the defence of Shi’ism. The idea the Shi’a are not going to reconquer Mosul is mine, though not original. The fact is that the Shi’te Iraqi army would have trouble in Mosul.
Posted by: Laguerre | Dec 6 2015 1:19 utc | 54
@52 @53 … said something about facebook key and failed. I hit post again and voilà. I have nothing to do with facebook. Typepad’s living in a world of dreams. Better twice than never, eh?
Posted by: jfl | Dec 6 2015 1:21 utc | 55
@48 Ah, so … so you actually said the opposite of what you really meant at first. Unfortunate affliction. And dangerous for all of us who hang on your every word and pronouncement. No problem though, I’ve made a note.
Posted by: jfl | Dec 6 2015 1:24 utc | 56
The terror the west covertly creates for the ‘print money, start war, sell guns’ formula is also used, against its own population. Feel the fear, lose your freedom.
Lets face it, for all the money pumped into security and surveillance in recent memory, these various national security agencies are either a) doing a really f**king shit job, perhaps the most inefficient public service of all time …or b) giving the green light for certain criminal acts to be knowingly unleashed upon the western public…and of course, the monster feeds itself.
Top NSA Whistleblower: “Every Time There Is a Terrorist Attack, What We Really Need to Do Is Demand that They CUT the Budgets of All the Intelligence Agencies”
http://www.washingtonsblog.com/2015/12/top-nsa-whistleblower-every-time-terrorist-attack-really-need-demand-cut-budgets-intelligence-agencies.html
Bet the Turkish spooks are really working overtime right now, trawling for dissent, and neutralising it.
Posted by: MadMax2 | Dec 6 2015 1:30 utc | 57
The Coalition of the Doomsday must have all their war machine ready if they want to enter Syrian airspace without being invited… maybe things are moving towards Iraq and the Kurdish area?
Something gotta give, or 4+1 secures the country tightly and fast, or Europe goes full retard under her master’s orders and such, or a new player (hellooo, China?, hope you’re taking notes and making plans) or new battleground shows up on scene.
Kurds, btw, better get their act together, playing pro-uncle$cam, anti-Erdogun, hello-Russia and whatever-Syraq seems a hot potato.
Posted by: citizen X | Dec 6 2015 1:32 utc | 58
There is a reason why I call them the ‘Coalition of the Terminally Insane’ (CoTI for short).
The players all have different ‘strategies’ and ‘plans’ (‘wet dreams’ in reality) for what they want to happen, the hoped for outcomes and their future plans. They are incoherent and contradictory, with each player wanting different things.
This is actually far more dangerous in terms of WW3 than if there was a ‘western master plan’, the example of WW1 being instructive.
Turkey wants a big chunk (almost certainly inc some oil parts) of Syria and Iraq and hs some vague hopes for the Kurds…extermination being the preferred option, but at least some sort of ethnic cleansing from their old (and hoped for new) lands.
Israel wants the Assad Govt to fall, it grab some part of Syria and then IS (etc) to dutifully cleanse southern Lebanon of Shiites, so they can move in and grab it.
The US wants mostly what Isarel wants, plus it wants IS (etc) to move on the Caucus region and cause havok to Russia there (and even further to China).
Saudi Araba just wants the whole region to be totally Wahabbi Sunni with everyone else ‘cleansed’.
Of course they all suppose they can control IS (etc) to do their bidding with series of carrots and sticks and that they will dutifully get out of the way of the Turkish and Israeli troops moving onto the lands that they have shed blood for. Right….
So there is little coherence in what they are doing and it is pointless to try and find some overall ‘master strategy’ because there isn’t one and none of the players have the intellect to create one even if they tried.
Read the book the ‘Sleepwalkers’ about how WW1 started and you see the parallels, different players with different motivations and goals all trying to be ‘clever’ and achieve their aims, while collectively making a huge mistake. Maybe with IS playing the modern ‘role’ of Serbia in all this?
Posted by: Lisa | Dec 6 2015 1:37 utc | 59
Laguerre@36
“…Barzani is a tribal leader. That’s why he didn’t bother to step down, when his mandate ended, or call new elections…”
The Barzani crime family heads a coalition of tribes in northern Iraq. They basically own all smuggling across Iraq’s northern border with Turkey. That’s how they made all their money and became powerful. That’s how Barzani hooked up with Mossad and the CIA to be groomed as dictator, tyrant, king and loyal ZATO puppet of the future Kurdistan. The Barzani clan has been the oil smuggling game to Turkey for decades. No I don’t have a source – this is just taken as a know fact by the Kurds in northern Syria.
Barzani didn’t step down from the KRG presidency because he never intends to leave that post, nor do his U.S., U.K and Israeli masters want him to leave it. He tried to get the KRG to change their constitution so he could remain president for life, but failed to convince them. It’s kind of disingenuous to say he wouldn’t step down. His term has officially ended and he cannot – by the KRG constitution – run again. He blocked the KRG’s efforts to organize an election for a new president. In other words, he’s stalling for time and preventing his replacement until he can bribe/kill the right people to change the constitution. Although he is not legally president anymore, he continues to act in that capacity as if nothing has happened. ZATO encourages him because they need someone to approve oil leases and (I guess) invite Turkish troops into Iraq under the pretense of authority to do so.
Barzani heads an influential tribe in northern Iraq, but they are far from the only one among the Kurds. This map illustrates the geographical areas of influence. The whole ‘tribes’ concept is becoming dated among the Kurds today. Many don’t know or care which one they came from. The few tribes/confederations that have managed to become wealthy and influential in some area are known. There are other big ‘oil’ tribes, but none as powerful and rich as the Barzani smuggling clan. The Barzanis would have been nothing but a wealthy regional criminal tribe if it were not for Mossad and the CIA’s influence to groom them as the rulers of an independent Kurdistan. The are despised by many Kurds for the criminals they always have been and are.
The KRG is stuffed to the gills with Barzanis and their cronies, so it’s not simply a matter of one man clinging to power. And his claim of ‘no illegal oil sales’ is a joke among Kurds. The Barzanis damn near invented the concept and have been in the business for decades. It has never been as lucrative as it has been in the last two years. He lives in one of Saddam Hussein’s resort palaces, for crying out loud.
Be Very Worried About Barzani Family Power Struggle
…The two ruling families dominate politics and society. Masud Barzani is president and lives in a palace complex in a resort inherited from Saddam Hussein. His nephew, Nechirvan Barzani, is prime minister. His uncle, Hoshyar Zebari, was Iraq’s foreign minister and is now finance minister. Masud’s eldest son, Masrour Barzani, leads the intelligence service; and his second son Mansour is a general, as is Masud’s brother Wajy. Barzani’s nephew Sirwan owns the regional cell phone company which, while purchased with public money, remains a private holding. Barzani’s sons are frequently in Washington D.C. They have their wives give birth in Sibley Hospital in order to ensure the next generation has American citizenship, and Masrour Barzani acquired an $11 million mansion in McLean, Virginia. Hanging out in Tyson’s Corner, Virginia, some of Masoud Barzani’s daughters-in-law have, according to Kurdish circles, been known to introduce themselves as “Princesses of Kurdistan” as they visit high-end shops accompanied by their own rather unnecessary (while in the United States) security details…
Posted by: PavewayIV | Dec 6 2015 2:07 utc | 60
5
“It could be as simple are removing the top 4 layers of management at an agency and replacing them with external people drawn from professional ranks not related to politics or government.”
That’s an hilarious double-entendre! Mil.Gov exists solely for the purpose of converting your life savings, taxed, not tithed, away at the point of a gun or a 1s and 0s keystroke, into Mil.Gov ricetent paychecks and full pensions for life.
But when you get close to the Blue Team, as they like to call themselves, you realize they have another cadre, an ISIS-esque cadre of professionals drawn from all industries, who are doing the actual work. That is, Blue Team, like NASA, for example, only ADMINISTERS the work done by Binney’s ‘external people’, AKA mercs or mercenaries, war profiteers, analysts, advisors, economists, strategists, TS-SCI intel, and so on.
And once you enter this Dark Government beneath Mil.Gov, you realize even THEY don’t do the work! They outsource it, with massive Award Fee Cost+ risers, back to Mil.Gov, through the global network of FedBizOps ‘Small Business Enterprises’, where ‘small’ means they have less than $25M in profits.
There are 32 ‘Made in USA” favored nations subcontractors, employing literally millions of foreign nationals, to help spirit away ~$4,000,000,000,000s a year last life savings, and because of this, we can never know what it’s spent on.
http://www.defense.gov/News/Contracts $2B every single day.
This 4-layers of management, 4-subtiers mercenary system of converting your last life savings taxed away at gunpoint into offshore tax-free ‘schemes’, like the Clinton Foundation or the Zuckerberg Foundation, is a Stage 5 Metastasis on the Body Politik. It will never revert our savings back. It exists solely to loot us, and fatten Corporate Socialites, until we are standing around burn barrels, drinking potato vodka rot gut, waiting for the sun to come up another day.
And now comes Papa in his white-and-gold robes, paving the way for a World Catholic as Global Warming Caliphate, the Church’s New Scientocracy, that will not only tax every last penny you haven’t hidden, but impact every human on earth in a deliberate mass genocide, behind a 5th-Horsemen screed of unelected super-authority global apparatchiks, with zero accountability and zero transparency, who are basically spitting into the 1W taxpayers’ faces, laughing at us:
“We won, you lost. It’s just business, get over it!!”
You may now return to your daily 5 Minutes of H8 war pron fest. “We have always been at war with EurAsia. News as 11!”
Posted by: Chipnik | Dec 6 2015 2:09 utc | 61
@Laguerre@54
To parse the remark, as the two are separate. Ayatollah Sistani has called for volunteers for the defence of Shi’ism. The idea the Shi’a are not going to reconquer Mosul is mine, though not original. The fact is that the Shi’te Iraqi army would have trouble in Mosul.
Wrong, Ayatollah al Sistani called for Shiites to “defend the country and fight terrorists,” as you would’ve found out if you would have bothered to open the link I posted above. I asked you to substantiate your statement and it turns out it was “your idea” but “not original.” Great. It looks like you’re a great thinker but “your ideas” lack credentials and credibility. Waste of time.
Posted by: Lone Wolf | Dec 6 2015 2:32 utc | 62
@59 lisa.. thanks. i think that is a good summation of where we are at.. many different agendas and lots of opportunity for unanticipated fallout..
@21/27 somebody.. thanks for those links and info.. i am surprised the voa openly saying all that @ 21 link.. voa is the gov’t propaganda channel for the usa..
@29 jfl.. west of armenia – yes – turkey where many kurds live.. makes sense.. i am sure sultan e would go along with it!
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2015 2:35 utc | 63
45
‘Taking the oil’ is not a crime if you live in Tel Aviv, where Trump draws most of his casino and real estate financing from. Trump was running a screen for Hillary, but now that it looks like he can hold off Rafeal al-Alberta and all the other RINOrats, you’ll see Trump’s spewings look like Neo-Liberal Neo-Con Hillary and her Dark Handlers.
“Red Army or White Army, still the same Supreme Soviet.” The Succubus
Posted by: Chipnik | Dec 6 2015 2:39 utc | 64
@60 PavewayIV.. thanks.. excellent coverage on all that..
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2015 2:42 utc | 65
@59 Lisa ‘Israel wants the Assad Govt to fall…’
Do they? or can they live with Assad in Alawitestan? As long as they get the Golan and all that oil. And the Barzani Kurds are on board?
The reason I ask is that Ted Cruz has been saying that Assad can|must stay, and Ted is Israel’s gleamish goy.
Posted by: jfl | Dec 6 2015 2:42 utc | 66
Lone Wolf @ 6,
I know they are trying to partition both countries with Kurdistan & maybe sunnistan, too. I’ve been saying it for months. T. Meyssan says they’re trying for the Juppe-Wright map: http://www.voltairenet.org/article187601.html
Erdogan & Gul actually signed a deal w Colin Powell, agreeing to the partitioning of Turkey, too. Gul, who was then President of Turkey and is CIA has admitted this on 35 occasions! At least once on TV. This is an especially nasty map cuz it extends right up into Iran. Just LOOK at the map on this next link. Hideous!
“Turkish and international analysts, in this regard, frequently point to the fact that President Abdullah Gül signed a secret document on April 2, 2003, with the then U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell. Gül admitted to the fact during a TV interview on May 24, 2004. The document reportedly pertains, among others, the establishment of the Kurdish Corridor from the Mediterranean Coast to Iraq and Iran. It is noteworthy that Turkey’s PDK-T, which is tied to Iraq’s Barzani supports the presidential candidacy of R. Tayyip Erdogan.” http://nsnbc.me/2014/07/12/western-kurdistan-plans-syria-iraq-turkey-back-track/
It’s the Atlantic Council that’s behind it, which is very powerful (Soros); I posted all the links a few days ago.
This is the reason I’ve been saying that either Iran or China needs to put many more troops in there. I think what Erdogan’s doing now, aiding the Iraqi Kurds bigtime, is what they have been pressuring him to do all along by chiming in on the oil disclosure.
Posted by: Penelope | Dec 6 2015 2:55 utc | 67
@66 jfl.. i think the agenda for all the players excluding russia/iran are to rip syria/iraq apart.. in that sense israel wants assad to fall, or fail..
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2015 2:56 utc | 68
@60 PWIV
Yes, thanks very much for fillin’ ‘er up with Knowledge of the Kriminal Kurd Barzani tribe … and for the free map as well! I’ll stop by for fuel whenever I see the Paveway IV sign!
Er, that’s some sort of monstrously lethal missile, isn’t it? Hope you’re out of the business?
Posted by: jfl | Dec 6 2015 2:57 utc | 69
Ben @ 5, No, you’ve been taken! All questions about arrests of add’l people; the correct names, the details & lives & disputes of perpetrators are all to fix in your mind that the incident happened. It’s a hoax, a non-event. Just look w your eyes at video 1 in this link.
http://winteractionables.com/?p=28206 They are bringing out of the building persons injured by gunfire & laying them down on triage mats. Not one is bleeding, not one is in pain.
This is not the correct protocol for an incident that is a couple miles from Loma Linda Hospital; the ambulance people should go in, snatch the people away in ambulances. But then we would see nothing, so they bring them out to the street to show you & me that there were victims– else why have the camera there?
Same link, 4th video: watch the director send the ambulance AWAY.
That was the earliest footage, now scrubbed because it was so ludicrously false.
The battle of the SUV with the police was shown by the helicopter newsman. SUV was parked beside a long white picket fence, cops say “We are taking fire.” Cops open fire. Afterward, the SUV’s front windows are intact & rolled up! Windshield has a few bullet-sized holes. So bullets exchanged in both directions just made these small holes in windshield?
http://www.thetruthseeker.co.uk/?p=125654
In helicopter newsvideo, neither gets out of SUV, apparently killed in it. Yet we are shown image of her body, which looks like a dummy, (blurred to try to hide that) in a running attitude, far outside the SUV.
None of this is real. Of Course they are inventing bios for everyone, names & pics & facebook accounts– just like always.
Posted by: Penelope | Dec 6 2015 2:58 utc | 70
@Penelope:
The cannonfire link @5 is in line with my previous observation that it is FAR easier for authorities to promote outlandish conspiracy theories so as to discredit critics (and dissuade discontents that might join them) than it is to stage these events.
THINK about it: every “staging” requires that dozens of people have to be kept silent for years onto the future. In addition, by my calculation, the FIRST to talk is rewarded with celebrity-like notoriety and book deals (some among the hundreds of others involved with the multiple events that are alleged to have been staged would come forward to back them up).
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Dec 6 2015 3:23 utc | 71
50
Cannonfire contains a comment you see on almost every blog report that goes counter to the MSM:
“In order to believe that, you would need to believe that all of the local, state, and federal law enforcement people investigating the case are conspiring to put out a false narrative, and that NOT ONE person with direct knowledge of the case would have the moral fiber to expose the conspiracy.”
Well, we know, for example, that Kennedy wasn’t murdered by Oswald, but nobody is jumping out of windows after admitting to the ‘conspiracy’.
And we know that most Germans knew about the work (death) camps, although they claimed ‘we did not know’. And we know the Allies let millions of Germans die in winter detention camps under horrific conditions after the war, nobody talks about that holocaust, or the multiple holocausts in Gaza. We know the CIA was behind the puppet dictator and communist purge in Indonesia that murdered millions, no conspiracy denial there.
So what does it take to start a conspiracy theory that ISIS is somehow ‘infiltrating’ into Taliban (Pashto-Pakistani) territory, routing through, what, Iran, in their fleet of white Toyotas? Are they flying in through Islamabad and heading for the NWFP, without an ISI eyebrow being raised? They sure didn’t come in through Kabul! So how are these MENA mercs with their heavy ammo belts, getting to S. Afghanistan? Are they trekking in from Turkmenistan over the Himalayan foothills? What?
Just asking. That ISIS-Taliban novella is completely unbelievable if you know Afghans and Pashto society, except … except as a CIA screed to demand more Daddy War Bucks from the RINO Congress, that they are only too glad to loot on behalf of their Uberlords, especially given the San Bernadino ‘event’ and Saudi Sheik Muqrin, who like all future Saudi godfathers, has to write his name in blood before his ascension.
Let’s see an Afghan news report by an Afghan journalist with an Afghan photographer showing a group of armed to the teeth ISIS mercs at battalion strength standing against a backdrop clearly located in Afghanistan, and holding an Afghan newspaper from December Safar 1437.
Otherwise I call bunk on that cointel war pron ‘news’ report.
Posted by: Chipnik | Dec 6 2015 3:28 utc | 72
Penelope, STOP, you’re discrediting yourself.. I live 1 hr drive away in Los Angeles/Orange County with cousins medical professionals who work at Loma Linda & friends in the area –the shooting was real with real patients –just because you saw only a short snippet of video means nothing when real ambulances & real docs did work on real patients at the emergency room
I read MoonofAlabama for the great military intel & analysis & some great comments but some of ‘it’s just a hoax’ comments discredits the site
so
hate to see the outlandish comments –omg, seeing the inanity & stupidity of websites like Truthseeker & WinterActionables .. didn’t realize such ignorance & stupidity could exist ..it’s along the lines of “moon landings are fake” & ‘Big Foot is real” & “aliens impregnate woman”
@ 71 Jack Rabbit
Your calculation is so wrong.
MSM just doesn’t work that way.
Posted by: From The Hague | Dec 6 2015 3:37 utc | 75
Peter B @ 7, I don’t think they have to kick Russia out; they just have to take ISIS territory, turning it into Kurdistan or Sunnistan, probably both. Since Turkey’s been supplying ISIS, they can probably just make a deal w them to give them Sunnistan– wherever they decide that’s going to be; ISIS will probably fight WITH them under that circumstance.
Russia is in the weaker position because she’s far from her home troops, may not be able to commit more air, cuz it cd be needed elsewhere. Donbass/Ukraine is heating up.
I don’t see how Russia can attack what they’re doing. The most she could do maybe is replace Iraqi troops so THEY can attack at least Turkey’s forces. But what can they do about the US building an airfield? Sabotage wd delay it for awhile.
Posted by: Penelope | Dec 6 2015 3:45 utc | 76
71 and 74
There is no ‘one size fits all’ dismissal to people who insist on seeing hard evidence. Where is the evidence the two people gunned down on the freeway were the ones who sprayed bullets into the facility? They were obviously on a watch list, why couldn’t they be patsies? Whatever we ‘know’ is all spoon-fed to us by the FBI and ZioMedia.
It’s an ‘open and shut case’ as they like to say. The perps are dead.
I say that because I’m personnally aware of a $100M MIL ‘conspiracy’ that was papered over and renamed to hide the loss from American taxpayers. We all know Don Rumsfeld, for example, admitted to $2.3 TRILLION being looted from Americans .. no conspiracy there, right?
I’m also personally away of a $100M GOV ‘conspiracy’ that many know about, certainly it’s widely talked about, the prima fascia evidences flies in the face of physics, (just like the ‘airliner’ that supposedly flew 270-degree diving spiral at 500 knots and 8gs into the Pentagon), but they are gonna get away with this conspiracy, because nobody will talk. And I’ve already revealed on MoA the $5B conspiracy, in plain view, when Hillary and Milliband grifted Karzai those funds out of American taxpayers ‘humanitarian aid’, aid which our own Ambassador to Afghanistan said was 85% round-tripped right back to NOVA, just before he died under the knife at Bethesda hospital. There were 100,000s of people who knew about that $5B grift payoff, and the virgin miracle of Hillary’s deadbeat -$35M in the red presidential campaign miraculously being ‘paid off by an unknown benefactor,’ … like we know the Yellow Cake was a forgery, and that Cheney’s poodle who went to prison was a flunkie. Did Hillary or Milliband go to prison? Did Bush or Cheney?
Does that mean there are no conspiracies. Is it all ‘tin foil hats’?
So spare us your withering critique for anyone who challenges the ‘Given Wisdom’, spooned up to us by the paid ZioMedia and Mil.Gov, the largest corporate criminal enterprise in the history of humankind. There are conspiracies against us happening every moment of every day, and the most egregious of which is being signed right now in Paris.
Posted by: Chipnik | Dec 6 2015 3:51 utc | 77
Obama will address the nation tomorrow at 8pm EST.
Topics: Terr0r / ISIL / Syria
With tomorrow’s address, nine of the twelve times that he has addressed the nation (not counting SOTU) will have dealt with matters in the Middle East (including Libya, Afghanistan, and the death of Osama bin Laden).
This is only the third time that Obama is speaking from the oval office and that is being highlighted by the media to play up the significance of this address.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Dec 6 2015 4:01 utc | 78
From the Hague
Please explain to us how MSM ensures that it is not influenced. Did you read the cannonfire post?
Chipnik
Hold on! I didn’t say there are no conspiracies. Nor did I say that these events could NOT have been staged. And I have said before that there are questions about these events that deserve an answer.
But you are not addressing my point. It is FAR easier and FAR less risky to provide some fodder for government skeptics than to “stage” events.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Dec 6 2015 4:19 utc | 79
Excellent punchline in Lone Wolf’s | Dec 5, 2015 3:32:15 PM | 15, extract from Journal Neo’s Syria observations…
“What all of this adds up to is a clear illustration of precisely why the Syrian conflict was never truly a “civil war.” The summation of support for militants fighting against the Syrian government and people, has come from beyond Syria’s borders. With that support being cut off and the prospect of these militants being eradicated, the true sponsors behind this conflict are moving more directly and overtly to salvage their failed conspiracy against the Syrian state.”
…and that’s the entire Syria SNAFU. In a nutshell.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 6 2015 4:36 utc | 80
Monday December 7 is the 74th anniversary of the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. On Sunday December 6, Obama is giving a speech from the White House at 8:00pm est.
The aircraft carrier USS Truman is now operating in the Mediterranean Sea. I wonder if some calamitous event is going to happen in the Middle East during that time (false flag perhaps?) that will spark a greater response militarily from the U.S. to intervene with American ground forces in Syria, Iraq, etc.
Posted by: PokeTheTruth | Dec 6 2015 5:19 utc | 81
Xi Xiaoping’s global Charm + Trade offensive continues apace. He’s struck deals with 40+ countries to date… without once feeling the need to resort to Regime Change (or bombing them back to the Stone Age) to soften them up.
Talking about contrasts, here’s Steve Gowans on Syria and what makes AmeriKKKa tick:
https://gowans.wordpress.com/2015/11/28/aspiring-to-rule-the-world-us-capital-and-the-battle-for-syria/
If he’s right (and he usually is) my hope for a military coup in AmeriKKKa is NOT the ideal solution to AmeriKKKa’s dire (and worsening) 1% problems.
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 6 2015 5:26 utc | 82
Penelope:
See Horsewhisperer’s comment @80. This is the CONSPIRACY FACT that nobody is talking about.
Saudi Arabia, Israel, and USA decided to use extremists as a weapon as described by Seymour Hersh in “The Redirection”. Other countries later joined this conspiracy: Turkey, Qatar, UAE. and it is highly likely that other “5-eyes” are also involved or know of the conspiracy as well as France. All of these conspirators have something to gain.
There are numerous direct and circumstantial facts that support the conclusion that these countries are working together and have supported/encouraged/tolerated extremists for their own gain, like:
> Seymour Hersh’s reporting;
>> Leaked documents (wikileaks and others), one of which actually stated that ME allies desired the establishment of a Sunni State/Caliphate;
>> USA’s weak air campaign and whistle-blower allegations that intel reports were distorted to exaggerate the effectiveness of bombing;
>> Saudi continued funding of madrasas and mosques (the West allows them to do that even though they pose a threat to us?);
>> anecdotal support for ISIS funding from all the Gulf monarchies;
>> recent revelations about Turkey’s support: shipping ISIS oil;
>> Turkey and Israel’s military support for extremists;
>> Turkey’s and Israel’s care for wounded extremists (including ISIS);
>> the notable silence and non-interest of MSM concerning much of the above;
>> and more.
No doubt the countries that have conspired to use extremists are happy that those who are curious about what is really happening find a multitude of “wacko” conspiracy theories rather than info about their collusion.
Posted by: Jackrabbit | Dec 6 2015 6:00 utc | 83
@71 jb and @73 jui jitsu.. i share your viewpoint, but i usually don’t bother to comment on the crazy comments that typically show up on forums, moa included.. i do comment on trolls sometimes, but overall between trolls and folks who offer ongoing conspiracy theories for everything to the point of thinking the events didn’t happen – it isn’t worth it.. these folks will continue on regardless..
what i do see though is what @77 chipnik is saying.. we can’t know if the folks accused of the crime were patsies, real or what oftentimes.. they’re always murdered before questions get asked.. this happens all the way up to folks like saddam, gadaffi, etc, down to anyone who might be able to reveal information that is contrary to the purpose these events are most often used for by the state.. which is why i’m again in agreement with jackrabbit @79… a nuanced viewpoint that can hold more then a simple black and white position seems hard for some!
@80 hoarsewhisperer.. thanks for sharing what is fairly obvious to some here.. lone wolf – thanks for that.. it’s more of the same f’king bullshite that some of us are accustomed to..lies, lies and more lies… when will it stop? probably never..
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2015 6:08 utc | 84
Interesting reading of the Montreux Convention:
Straits could be closed to Russian ships if Turkey’s security threatened – Today’s Zaman, December 05, 2015
He added that the Montreux Convention also gives Turkey the right to search civilian ships if it receives a tipoff or if there is any suspicion of them being involved in smuggling or carrying weapons.
Sinan Oğan, a former Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) deputy, told reporters on Wednesday Turkey has the right to impose restrictions on Russian civilian ships passing through the straits if they are determined to contain pollutants. He added Russian civilian ships should be searched before coming to the straits over suspicion of carrying weapons.
“Russia’s boats threaten the Bosporus and the Çanakkale Strait. Those boats pollute our straits. We have rights originating from the Montreux Convention. Maybe those ship are carrying weapons, this should be investigated. Turkey can line up those ships [at the straits] if it wishes,” said Oğan.
Posted by: Petri Krohn | Dec 6 2015 6:13 utc | 86
Jackrabbit: the notable silence and non-interest of MSM concerning much of the above
He understands at least something about MSM.
Jackrabbit: the countries that have conspired to use extremists
Is conspiring to use false flags or hoaxes beyond his imagination?
Posted by: From The Hague | Dec 6 2015 6:16 utc | 87
@86 petri.. thanks.. maybe that guy “Sinan Oğan” would be smart enough to see the logic in searching trucks that are going into syria via turkey over suspicion of carrying weapons too? short of that, i can see russia bombing the shit out of every one of them crossing into syria..
Posted by: james | Dec 6 2015 6:37 utc | 88
Posted by: PokeTheTruth | Dec 6, 2015 12:19:23 AM | 81
I’ve no idea what Obama is planning to say, but I know what he’d like to say, and won’t.
“I’m VERY pissed off with my chickenshit Neo-Colonial allies .. er .. pig-fucking Britain, Libya-fucking France and .. um .. insufficiently docile Germany. Here am I, moving Hades & Earth to carve up Syria and reshape the Middle East and my Dear Friends send a token contingent of hot air (Hurricanes & Typhoons) in a blatantly minimalist demonstration of Risk Management and self-preservation.”
Posted by: Hoarsewhisperer | Dec 6 2015 6:46 utc | 89
[OT] @Jiu Jitsu #74
Comments here are largely unmoderated, unlike Col. Pat Lang’s blog and his committee of correspondents.
Great contributors have been arriving and leaving this site since 2006 (when I first discovered MoA and SST, when Hezb kicked out the IDF from southern Lebanon).
And, all props to our host, weird and noisy and straight poisonous types have been bragging their BS ever since, and year in, year out, this bar keeps working, serving priceless nuggets of information, and trashing out the toxic stuff.
Could be better? Yes, sure. But could be a lot worse.
And, for heaven’s sake, please pick your shot because the next round’s on me!
Cheers to our b’artender 🙂
Posted by: citizen X | Dec 6 2015 6:50 utc | 90
@11 You’re such a troll. Russia claims 200k barrels a day, which is equivalent to about 1000 trucks a day, which photos showed at one site alone
Posted by: bbbb | Dec 6 2015 6:50 utc | 91
Wow TheSaker’s newest piece is great.. very worrisome conclusions however
Posted by: bbbb | Dec 6 2015 7:13 utc | 92
#92
bbbb, care to link to the great piece?
I like the guy, but since someone wrote here “the egodriven sakr”, I cannot unsee…
Latest piece: Mini-bio and autographed copies of the Saker Book??
Posted by: citizen X | Dec 6 2015 7:25 utc | 93
jfl@69 Paveways have two sets of fins – retractable tail fins which look large when extended, and steerable front fins called canards on an extended guidance control nosepiece. It gives the bomb a missile-like appearance, but Paveways have no rocket motor for propulsion. They are still only air-dropped gravity bombs. They do like to steer themselves to shiny objects on the ground. Here’s one investigating something shiney on a deuce-and-a-half.
Posted by: PavewayIV | Dec 6 2015 7:48 utc | 94
92
Anyone who hangs out on XE could have predicted this – once zFED quit feeding global commodities futures speculation with ZIRP, the question becomes, since Ukraine and its hryvinia have sunk the most, will zFED unZIRP, rally the US$ even more, and trigger the Kiev Junta junk bond default, which Kerry-Kohn has already pledged $50B to backstop zIMF, and the clap-til-their-hands-bled RINO Congress has already looted $85B for a baaksheesh ‘war chest’, bigger than any seen in human history, then isn’t that $85B just the horderve before the WW3 main course, or are we already to the cheese and port finale for the Central Banksters ready to roar in and buy up the Greatest Fire Sale since … 2008, and then where will several billion unZIRPd TBTF refugees march off too:
1. China: down more than 30 percent
2. Saudi Arabia: down 26 percent
3. Germany: down about 13 percent
4. United Kingdom: down close to 12 percent
5. Spain: down 15 percent
6. Brazil: down more than 22 percent (13,000 points overall)
7. Malaysia: down 17 percent
8. Turkey: down 16 percent
9. India: down close to 12 percent
10. Chile: down 11 percent
11. Columbia: down about 30 percent
12. Peru: down more than 40 percent
13. Bulgaria: down more than 20 percent
14. Greece: down more than 30 percent
15. Poland: down about 19 percent
16. Malaysia: down 10 percent
17. Egypt: down 32 percent
18. Indonesia: down 18 percent
19. Canada: down 12 percent
20. Ukraine: down 45 percent
21. Morocco: down 13 percent
22. Ghana: down 17 percent
23. Kenya: down 27 percent
24. Australia: down 13 percent
25. Nigeria: down more than 30 percent
26. Taiwan: down 15 percent
27. Thailand: down 20 percent
Posted by: Chipnik | Dec 6 2015 8:11 utc | 95
Alright then. The next card in the hand documenting the ISIS/Turkey oil business from Russia has been played.
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-12-05/putin-accuses-us-isis-oil-coverup
I don’t expect Obama to mention this in his fanning the flames of fear speech on Sunday.
The Empire Has No Clothes!
Posted by: psychohistorian | Dec 6 2015 8:12 utc | 96
psychohistorian
Sure they reported it but there was no “blast” / condemnation.
Posted by: Seder | Dec 6 2015 8:28 utc | 97
So another attack in the west have occured still the western msm/politicians say nothing about why it occured. Sigh.
” ‘This is for Syria’: London tube knifeman injures 3, police probing terrorist incident ”
https://www.rt.com/uk/324882-london-leytonstone-station-stabbing-syria/
Posted by: Seder | Dec 6 2015 8:30 utc | 98
81
North Korea will launch a TaepoDongII towards Guam to trigger Project for a New Asian Century, and the South China Sea as Beijing’s bathtub.
No, wait, Grey Aliens dressed as I$I$ will appear across the burning Baluchistan wastelands, like Lawrence at Aqaba, and seize Kandahar.
Hey, here’s a better one. Boko Haram will invade Cameroon and make Yaounde their provional capital, claiming the Right od Lebensraum.
It’s all war pron, like binge-watching four seasons of Breaking Bad, and all you’re left with is a big hole in a short life. Tight! Tight!
Posted by: Chipnik | Dec 6 2015 8:30 utc | 99
Governor of Aden in Yemen killed in explosion, say officials.
Our glorious leaders and their plans… At this point I don’t see how Iran can avoid getting a nuke… because, well, our glorious leaders are marching the region into hell.
Posted by: chuckvw | Dec 6 2015 8:35 utc | 100