Hi there, !
Today Tue 08/28/2018 Mon 08/27/2018 Sun 08/26/2018 Sat 08/25/2018 Fri 08/24/2018 Thu 08/23/2018 Wed 08/22/2018 Archives
Rantburg
531689 articles and 1855967 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 59 articles and 198 comments as of 11:15.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Syrian Army launches powerful assault in northern Hama
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
3 09:55 Herb McCoy [] 
4 20:12 Cruth Protector of the Nebraskans1105 [] 
5 15:48 Thrairong Thud9159 [1] 
1 09:51 magpie [] 
3 10:23 ed in texas [] 
1 10:24 ed in texas [1] 
0 [] 
0 [3] 
8 14:25 ed in texas [] 
1 09:50 magpie [1] 
2 03:15 g(r)omgoru [] 
0 [] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
2 15:55 Whiskey Mike []
1 08:38 M. Murcek []
0 []
0 [1]
2 02:10 Gruque Sforza3051 [1]
0 [1]
0 []
0 []
0 [2]
2 03:32 g(r)omgoru [1]
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
2 14:42 Airandee []
8 15:22 ruprecht [1]
3 11:27 746 []
4 14:09 ed in texas []
2 17:48 Frank G [1]
0 []
0 []
2 16:24 Frank G []
0 []
11 11:29 M. Murcek []
2 14:15 ed in texas []
1 09:08 Mike Kozlowski []
0 []
4 12:47 Anguper Hupomosing9418 []
1 17:39 Jack Salami [1]
0 []
3 19:05 magpie []
2 14:33 ed in texas []
Page 4: Opinion
7 23:28 JohnQC []
3 15:59 Dale []
3 14:21 ed in texas []
1 09:28 Woodrow []
14 14:44 Airandee []
7 11:21 M. Murcek []
4 13:30 Dino Guelph5507 [1]
5 10:12 Abu Uluque []
15 19:27 badanov []
0 [2]
Page 6: Politix
1 11:22 NoMoreBS [1]
10 21:59 Zenobia Floger6220 []
2 10:04 Skidmark [1]
10 14:34 ruprecht [1]
9 17:29 Procopius2k []
3 14:11 charger []
3 10:07 Abu Uluque []
21 23:19 JohnQC [1]
Africa Horn
UK Trains Soldiers For Southwest State Of Somalia
[RADIOSHABELLE] Military experts from the UK trained 500 soldiers for Somalia’s southwest state as part of its support in the fight against al-Shabaab
... an Islamic infestation centering on Somalia...
, an al-Qaeda ally in the Horn of Africa country.

The new soldiers have on Thursday concluded training course in Baidoa town of the interim capital of the southwest state.

The new recruits graduated after successfully completing a three-month military course, conducted by UK training commanders.

A pass out ceremony for the soldiers which attended by officials from Southwest state, UK officials, SNA officials was held in Baidoa town.

Addressing the trained officers, the Force Commander of the 60th battalion of SNA, Ismail Mukhtar commended them for their zeal during the training.

The officials from the UK said they would continue to enhance the capabilities of the Somali security institutions to prepare them for eventual takeover.

Posted by: Fred || 08/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A pass out ceremony for the soldiers?
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/25/2018 1:55 Comments || Top||

#2  Wouldn't it been better to train then for anti jihad ops inside UK?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/25/2018 3:10 Comments || Top||

#3  If they find a group of locals pimping out young girls, they'll know just what to do.
Posted by: ed in texas || 08/25/2018 10:23 Comments || Top||


Caribbean-Latin America
Mexico's Lopez Obrador says military to keep crime-fighting role
[Al Jazeera] Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, Mexico's president-elect, says he will not order the military off the country's streets but continue using them in the efforts to stamp out organised crime.

Mexico deployed its armed forces to fight drug trafficking in 2006.

Since then, the military has enjoyed some successes but the overall crime rate has not been improved. Soldiers have also been embroiled in several rights scandals, including the extrajudicial killings of gang members.

"Without the aid of the army and the navy, we would not be able to solve the security problem," Lopez Obrador said on Friday, outlining his plan for when he assumes office in December.

"We are not in a position to pull out the armed forces, because that would leave the populace unprotected."

In the lead-up to the election, Lopez Obrador had proposed to rewrite the rules of the drug war, suggesting negotiated peace and amnesties for some of those who are currently being targeted by members of the security forces.

"The failed strategy of combating insecurity and violence will change," Lopez Obrador said in his victory speech on July 1.
Posted by: Fred || 08/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Narcos

#1  Which is essentially to stay out of the way.
Posted by: ed in texas || 08/25/2018 10:24 Comments || Top||


Europe
U.S. official says EU aid for Iran sends 'wrong message'
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. envoy on Iran criticized a European Union decision to give $20.7 million in aid to Tehran on Friday, saying it sent "the wrong message at the wrong time," and he urged Brussels to help Washington end the Iranian threat to global stability.

"Foreign aid from European taxpayers perpetuates the regime’s ability to neglect the needs of its people and stifles meaningful policy changes," Brian Hook, the U.S. special representative for Iran, said in a statement.

"The Iranian people face very real economic pressures caused by their government’s corruption, mismanagement, and deep investment in terrorism and foreign conflicts," he added. "The United States and the European Union should be working together instead to find lasting solutions that truly support Iran’s people and end the regime’s threats to regional and global stability."

The EU decision on Thursday to provide 18 million euros ($20.7 million) in aid to Iran was aimed at offsetting the impact of U.S. sanctions as European countries try to salvage the 2015 agreement that saw Tehran limit its nuclear ambitions.

President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the nuclear deal in May and is reimposing sanctions on Tehran, even as other parties to the accord are trying to find ways to save the agreement.
Posted by: Besoeker || 08/25/2018 02:12 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  IMO, exactly the right message if you want to understand what EU is all about.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/25/2018 3:11 Comments || Top||

#2  How blind do you have to be to understand that this is who they are and why the hell are we taxing our citizens a single penny to pay for their defense? If they are our equal, let them carry their own load and flaunt their own agenda.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 08/25/2018 6:31 Comments || Top||

#3  They're actively sabotaging us now. Someone tell me why we're "allied" with them?

USA out of NATO.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 08/25/2018 9:55 Comments || Top||


Italy clashes with EU over migrants stranded on rescue boat
[ARABNEWS] Italia’s populist government said on Friday it would cut funds for the EU unless other states take in boat migrants colonists stranded in an Italian port, earning a rebuke from Brussels for making unacceptable "threats."

Diplomatic sources told Rooters a meeting of EU state envoys in Brussels found no agreement on how to deal with the 150 mostly Eritrea
...is run by the People's Front for Democracy and Justice (PFDJ), with about the amounts of democracy and justice you'd expect from a party with that name. National elections have been periodically scheduled and cancelled; none have ever been held in the country. The president, Isaias Afewerki, has been in office since independence in 1993 and will probably die there of old age...
n migrants colonists on board the Diciotti, an Italian coasties ship docked in Catania since Monday.

More than 650,000 people have reached Italian shores since 2014 and Rome has begun to take a rigidly anti-immigration line, saying it will not let any more rescue ships dock unless other EU states agree to take the people in.

"There has not been a deal on Diciotti," one diplomat said after the Brussels talks.

Interior Minister Matteo Salvini, who heads the anti-immigrant League party, has said they will not be allowed ashore until other EU states agree to take them in ‐ prompting a criminal investigation into whether the migrants colonists are being held against their will.

Salvini’s government ally, Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio, who leads the 5-Star Movement, has said his party will not approve next year’s European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
funding if there is no action soon.

"The soft line does not work, the hard line will be to withhold funds if they don’t listen to us," Di Maio said.

Rejecting the Italian threats as unacceptable, the EU’s executive European Commission said a solution to the Diciotti case was its "main priority."

"Unconstructive comments, let alone threats ... will not get us any closer to a solution," front man Alexander Winterstein told a news conference on Friday.

The issue of how to handle migrants colonists has bitterly split the EU, although arrivals are down dramatically from their 2015 peak of more than a million.

Italy threatens to pull EU funds over migrant boat crisis

[Dhaka Tribune] Italia's deputy prime minister has threatened to pull the country's EU funding if the bloc does not come to the aid of 150 people stranded aboard an Italian coastguard ship.

The migrants colonists have been blocked at the Sicilian port of Catania on the Diciotti vessel since Monday night because the Italian government is refusing to allow them to disembark without commitments from the EU to take some of them in.

A meeting of high-level representatives from around a dozen EU member states is due to be held on Friday to discuss the issue, according to the Commission.

"In recent months we have had the chance to see how a soft line with the European Union worked and how a hard line works," Italia's Deputy Prime Minister Luigi Di Maio said in an interview published on Facebook on Thursday.

"If tomorrow (Friday) nothing comes out of the European Commission meeting, if they decide nothing regarding the Diciotti and the redistribution of the migrants colonists, I and the whole Five Star Movement will no longer be prepared to give 20 billion euros ($23 billion) to the European Union every year."

EU figures for 2016 say Italia contributed just under 14 billion euros to the EU budget -- less than one percent of its gross national income -- while the bloc spent 11.6 billion euros in Italia.

Di Maio, who heads the anti-establishment Five Star, said Italia didn't want the "mickey taken out of us by the union's other countries" on the distribution of migrants colonists.

"The EU was born of principles like solidarity. If it is not capable of redistributing 170 people it has serious problems with its founding principles," he said in an interview with state broadcaster RAI.
Posted by: Fred || 08/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


Home Front: WoT
Google blocks accounts in ‘influence operation’ linked to Iran
[IsraelTimes] Move by tech giant comes a day after Facebook and Twitter announced shuttering of pages tied to Iranian misinformation campaign

Google said Thursday it blocked YouTube channels and other accounts over a misinformation campaign linked to Iran, on the heels of similar moves by Facebook and Twitter.

Google said that working with the cybersecurity firm FireEye, it linked the accounts to the Islamic Theocratic Republic of Iran Broadcasting as part of an effort dating to at least January 2017.

"We identified and terminated a number of accounts linked to the IRIB organization that disguised their connection to this effort," Google vice president Kent Walker said in a statement.

"Actors engaged in this type of influence operation violate our policies, and we swiftly remove such content from our services and terminate these actors’ accounts."

Google became the latest online service to crack down on misinformation efforts stemming from Russia and Iran, with the apparent aim of sowing discord and confusion ahead of the November US elections.

The tech giant said it blocked 39 YouTube channels that had racked up to total of 13,466 views in the US
Golly. What an effective project.
on "relevant videos" and disabled six accounts at Blogger and 13 accounts at its Google+ social network.

"In addition to the intelligence we received from FireEye, our teams have investigated a broader range of suspicious actors linked to Iran who have engaged in this effort," Google said.

The internet firm added that it has updated US politicians and law enforcement about what its investigation uncovered, including associated political content.

Google also said it has blocked state-sponsored phishing attacks in which deceptive messages were sent to users of its free email service in an effort to trick people into disclosing information such as passwords.

"In recent months, we’ve detected and blocked attempts by state-sponsored actors in various countries to target political campaigns, journalists, activists, and academics located around the world," Google said.

The Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,-based internet giant added that in the past year it has also intensified its defenses against "actors linked to" the Russia-backed Internet Research Agency (IRA).

Google has removed 42 YouTube channels and a Blogger account as a result of watching IRA activities, according to the company.

A FireEye report released on Thursday detailed its findings and expressed confidence in attributing influence campaigns to Iran.

Evidence turned up in the investigation included phone numbers, website registration information, and promotion of content in sync with Iranian political interests, according to the report.

"The activity we have uncovered highlights that multiple actors continue to engage in and experiment with online, social media driven influence operations as a means of shaping political discourse," FireEye said.

"These operations extend well beyond those conducted by Russia."
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/25/2018 00:08 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  Caught red-handed censoring anti-Progi channels, laying down false trails?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/25/2018 3:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Google bans conservative sites, candidates. Now we find out these Americans are basically grouped in with Iran.

FEC?
Posted by: Woodrow || 08/25/2018 8:28 Comments || Top||

#3  Now do China.
Posted by: Whiskey Mike || 08/25/2018 10:09 Comments || Top||

#4  Gmail is also sending Trump and GOP mail to the junk folder.
Posted by: Cruth Protector of the Nebraskans1105 || 08/25/2018 20:12 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Ahmadi place of worship damaged, set on fire following spat between two youth groups in Faisalabad
[DAWN] Thirty-one people were maimed and an Ahmadi place of worship was damaged and set on fire following a verbal spat between two groups of youth in Faisalabad
...formerly known as Lyallpur, the third largest metropolis in Pakistain, the second largest in Punjab after Lahore. It is named after some Arab because the Paks didn't have anybody notable of their own to name it after...
's Ghaseet Pura RB-69 area on Thursday evening, area police said on Friday.

According to an FIR registered on behalf of the state by the Balochni cop shoppe ‐ in the remits of which the incident took place ‐ the dispute took place at 7:30pm between a group of youth belonging to the Ahmadi community residing in the area and another group from which one person's cycle of violence allegedly hit a chicken belonging to the former group.

A heated argument ensued which soon blew out of proportion, according to the police report, which further describes that slogans were raised, shots were fired, stones were pelted, and a nearby Ahmadi place of worship was damaged and set on fire ‐ all in the presence of police officials ‐ causing panic among the residents. Thirty-one people were maimed as a result, including six belonging to the Ahmadi community.

Saleemuddin, a spokesperson of the Ahmadi community, told Dawn.com that what began as a verbal altercation "was given a religious colour" and soon turned into a full-blown fight.

Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry, while addressing a presser, described the incident as a "personal conflict" and " a law and order situation" between two groups.

A police vehicle on routine patrol received word from Rescue 15 about the fight. The situation was later defused when the superintendent police (SP) and the district police officer (DPO) arrived at the scene and took control. No arrests were made and as many as 70-80 unknown people from either side are on the run, said the police report.

The injured were taken to Allied, Civil and THQ Khorianwala hospitals.

The police recovered 10 spent bullet casings and five spent bullet cartridges from the scene along with burnt materials from within the place of worship as evidence.
Posted by: Fred || 08/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
UN official: Palestinian refugee issue can’t be wished away
[ARABNEWS] The head of the UN agency for Paleostinian refugees suggested that the US slashed his budget early this year to punish the Paleostinians for their criticism of the American recognition of Jerusalem as Israel’s capital, but he warned that the Paleostinian refugee issue will not go away.

The comments by Pierre Kraehenbuehl came amid signs that the US, with Israeli support, is aiming to abolish UNRWA in an apparent attempt to remove one of the most contentious issues in the Israeli-Paleostinian conflict from the negotiating agenda.

"One cannot simply wish 5 million people away," Kraehenbuehl, commissioner of the UN Relief and Works Agency, said in an interview with The News Agency that Dare Not be Named.

In January, the US, the largest donor to the agency, slashed some $300 million from its annual contribution to UNRWA, prompting what Kraehenbuehl called an unprecedented financial crisis.

Although he has made up some of the deficit by raising money from other countries, the agency still lacks over $200 million. It recently laid off over 100 people in the Gazoo Strip and cut back the hours of 500 other employees. The upcoming school year for hundreds of thousands of Paleostinian children across the Middle East has been threatened.

Kraehenbuehl said he was caught off guard by the American decision, which came just weeks after he had held what he described as a successful meeting with Jared Kushner, President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
’s son-in-law and chief Mideast adviser.
Posted by: Fred || 08/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  "One cannot simply wish 5 million people away,"

Not my circus, not my monkeys.
Posted by: SteveS || 08/25/2018 0:56 Comments || Top||

#2  Why not an UNRWA for Syrian refugees, that will provide food shelter clothing health services and education for all Syrian refugees and their descendants for ever?
UNRWA has been such a success for Palestinian refugees, in keeping them cooped up in camps. Hey how about doing it for the Rohinga refugees?
And you could give control of the new UNRWA's to the militants among their residents. That's sure to help.
Surely the Europeans will be happy to pay billions each year for these blessed UN organizations.
That way you could get them out of Europe. Or maybe the camps should be set up in Europe.
Time to make a plan!
Posted by: Daniel || 08/25/2018 1:36 Comments || Top||

#3  Paleostinian refugee issue will not go away

Yep, it will have to be carted away.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/25/2018 3:04 Comments || Top||

#4  "One cannot simply wish 5 million people away," Kraehenbuehl, commissioner of the UN Relief and Works Agency, said

you mean like 8.7 Million Israelis?
Posted by: Frank G || 08/25/2018 7:02 Comments || Top||

#5  As opposed to Obama insisting on wishing Israel away.
Posted by: Woodrow || 08/25/2018 8:36 Comments || Top||

#6  Or maybe the camps should be set up in Europe.

I understand there are rooms available in Chernobyl.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/25/2018 9:44 Comments || Top||

#7  Some tens of thousands are all that remain of the original refugee generation, I believe. The rest have settled wherever they ended up and merely need to be redefined, which President Trump’s administration is working on doing.

Posted by: trailing wife || 08/25/2018 12:12 Comments || Top||

#8  But the same official seems to believe that US dollars can fix the problem?
Posted by: ed in texas || 08/25/2018 14:25 Comments || Top||


US cuts aid to Palestinians by more than $200 million
[ARABNEWS] The Trump administration has decided to cut more than $200 million in bilateral aid to the Paleostinians, following a review of the funding for projects in the West Bank and Gazoo, the State Department said Friday.

The department notified Congress of the decision in a brief, three-paragraph notice sent first to politicians and then to news hounds. It said the administration will redirect the money to "high priority projects elsewhere."

The move comes as President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
and his Middle East pointmen, Jared Kushner and Jason Greenblatt, staff up their office to prepare for the rollout of a much-vaunted but as yet unclear peace plan for Israel and the Paleostinians.

"At the direction of President Trump, we have undertaken a review of US assistance to the Paleostinian Authority and in the West Bank and Gazoo to ensure these funds are spent in accordance with US national interests and provide value to the US taxpayer," the department said. "As a result of that review, at the direction of the president, we will redirect more than $200 million ... originally planned for programs in the West Bank and Gazoo."

"This decision takes into account the challenges the international community faces in providing assistance in Gazoo, where Hamas, the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood, control endangers the lives of Gazoo’s citizens and degrades an already dire humanitarian and economic situation," the notice said, without providing additional details.

Palestinians accuse US of ‘blackmail’ over aid cut

[IsraelTimes] PLO envoy blasts White House for 'fully embracing Netanyahu’s anti-peace agenda'; Democratic senator calls move 'callous and ill-advised'
Posted by: Fred || 08/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  Palestinians accuse US of ‘blackmail’ over aid cut

Talk about sense of entailment
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/25/2018 3:03 Comments || Top||

#2  Maybe try the same with Chicago & Baltimore next?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/25/2018 3:15 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
UN Court Will Hear Iran's Challenge against US Sanctions
[AnNahar] Iran's legal challenge against renewed sanctions by the United States goes before the UN's top court Monday, as Tehran seeks to avert painful punitive measures that could hurt its still fragile economy.

Tehran filed a suit against US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
's decision to reimpose economic sanctions at the Hague-based International Court of Justice last month.

After unilaterally pulling out of a historic hard-won deal aimed at curbing Iran's nuclear programme in May, Trump slapped a first round of sanctions on the country in early August.

And a second round is set to come into effect in early November, this time blocking Iran's valuable oil and energy sales.

But Tehran argues that Washington has no right to reinstate such measures and is calling on the ICJ to order the US to "immediately suspend" them.

It is also demanding compensation.

The ICJ is expected to take a couple of months to decide whether to grant Tehran's request for a provisional ruling, while a final decision in the case could actually take years.

International sanctions against Iran were lifted in 2015 when it a struck a landmark accord with the US, Britannia, China, La Belle France, Germany, Russia, agreeing to rein its nuclear ambitions.

- 'ONE-SIDED DEAL' -
But Trump described it as a "horrible one-sided deal (that) failed to achieve the fundamental objective of blocking all paths to an Iranian nuclear bomb."

And even though all of the other parties pleaded with him not to abandon the pact, Trump pulled out and announced he would reinstate sanctions.

Tehran -- which argues that the move violates a little-known Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations signed by the two countries in 1955 -- says that the new sanctions are already hurting its economy. And its currency, the rial, has lost around half its value since April.

A raft of international companies -- including La Belle France's Total, Peugeot and Renault, and Germany's Siemens and Daimler -- have already suspended operations in Iran in the wake of the US move.

Washington "is besieging Iran economically, with all the dramatic consequences that a siege implies for the besieged population," Tehran said in court papers.

Iran "requests that, pending final judgement in the case, the Court indicate... that the USA shall immediately take all measures at its disposal to ensure the suspension of the implementation of all the May 8 sanctions," it said.

Eric De Brabandere, professor of international dispute settlement at Leiden University in the Netherlands, said that the support of many European states for the nuclear deal meant that "Iran's position is strengthened."

And the publicity generated by Iran filing a lawsuit at the ICJ could work in Iran's favour, the expert suggested.

"One of the objectives is to publicly denounce the acts of the United States," De Brabandere told AFP.

- 'MALIGN' ACTIVITIES -
In his executive order, Trump argued that the sanctions would turn up the financial pressure on Tehran to come to a "comprehensive and lasting solution" regarding the activities that the international community regarded as "malign", such as its "ballistic missile programme and its support for terrorism."

But earlier this month, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei appeared to rule out any immediate prospect of talks, saying "there will neither be war, nor negotiations," with the US.

Meanwhile,
...back at the laboratory the smoke and fumes had dispersed, to reveal an ominous sight...
both the US and close ally Israel have called on European countries to do more to pressure Iran.

A separate 2016 complaint lodged by Iran against the US for freezing around $2 billion of its assets abroad is due to begin in October, when the United States will argue the ICJ has no authority to hear the case.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Lets hope the UN kicks us out and we can stop paying for UN corruption.
Posted by: 49 Pan || 08/25/2018 0:40 Comments || Top||

#2  I can't help wondering, does somebody - except Mossad - is monitoring the judges' numbered Swiss accounts?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/25/2018 3:09 Comments || Top||

#3  Not.A.Treaty.
Posted by: Frank G || 08/25/2018 7:23 Comments || Top||

#4  Tehran -- which argues that the move violates a little-known Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations signed by the two countries in 1955

I'd say that "treaty" was rendered null and void by Iran's behavior over the last forty years.
Posted by: charger || 08/25/2018 13:43 Comments || Top||

#5  Eric De Brabandere, professor of international dispute settlement at Leiden University in the Netherlands, said that the support of many European states for the nuclear deal meant that "Iran's position is strengthened."

They can pay for it any time they want since it’s so important to them.
Posted by: Thrairong Thud9159 || 08/25/2018 15:48 Comments || Top||


Turkey ready to help Moscow eliminate Idlib militants -- FM
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
is ready to work together with Russia in Syria’s Idlib province to eradicate bandidos Death Eaters in the region, Ottoman Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said at a joint presser with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov in Moscow on Friday.

According to Cavusoglu, it is also important to make sure that the fight against bandidos Death Eaters does not threaten the civilians in the region.

Lavrov noted that Moscow and Ankara "are interested in establishing conditions for Syrian citizens’ secure and decent return to their motherland."

Speaking about the establishment of the Syrian constitutional committee, the Russian diplomat said reports about a disagreement between Russia and Turkey on the issue are false.

Posted by: Fred || 08/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  What, there are still some Kurds left in Idlib?
Posted by: magpie || 08/25/2018 9:51 Comments || Top||


Turkey says military solution for Syria’s Idlib would be a disaster
[ARABNEWS] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
’s foreign minister said on Friday it would be disastrous to seek a military solution in the northern Syrian region of Idlib, a rebel-held enclave which the Syrian government says it aims to recapture.

Idlib is a refuge for civilians and rebels displaced from other areas of Syria as well as for powerful Death Eater forces. It has been hit by a wave of air strikes and shelling this month in a possible prelude to a full-scale government offensive.

Turkey has backed some rebel groups in the region and set up a dozen military observation posts. It is trying to avert an attack by forces loyal to Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Leveler of Latakia...
, who is backed by Moscow.

"A military solution here would be a disaster, not just for the Idlib region, but a disaster in terms of Syria’s future," Mevlut Cavusoglu told a news conference in Moscow with his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov.

The two ministers met in Ankara 10 days ago and Cavusoglu then gave a similar message, saying it would be a "massacre" to bomb Idlib, even though there are gunnies there.

"Where will some 3.5 million civilians go to?" Cavusoglu said on Friday.

"It is important for all of us to neutralize these radical groups," he said. "But we have to distinguish the civilians from the terrorist groups."

Idlib is controlled by an array of krazed killer groups, with Sunni Moslem gunnies believed to be the dominant force there.

Lavrov told the same news conference that tens of thousands of gunnies were trying to obstruct Turkey’s efforts to separate them from more moderate forces.

He said further talks on Idlib would take place in Moscow later on Friday involving the two countries’ defense ministers and intelligence services.

Russian President Vladimir Putin
...President-for-Life of Russia. He gets along well with other presidents for life. He is credited with bringing political stability and re-establishing something like the rule of law, which occasionally results in somebody dropping dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substance. Under Putin, a new group of business magnates controlling significant swathes of Russia's economy has emerged, all of whom have close personal ties to him. The old bunch, without close personal ties to Putin, are in jail or in exile or dead from poisoning by polonium or other interesting substances...
is expected to hold talks with Cavusoglu later on Friday.
Posted by: Fred || 08/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  "Where will some 3.5 million civilians go to?" Cavusoglu said on Friday.
History does have its ironies -- that a Turk would publicly wonder about what to do with an unwanted minority.
Posted by: magpie || 08/25/2018 9:50 Comments || Top||


Government
DoD: Global Nuclear Landscape 2018
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/25/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:



Who's in the News
36[untagged]
4Islamic State
2Govt of Iran
2Sublime Porte
2Commies
2Govt of Syria
2Hamas
2Palestinian Authority
1Islamic Jihad (Palestian)
1Govt of Iraq
1Moslem Colonists
1Narcos
1Govt of Pakistan
1al-Shabaab (AQ)
1Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.

Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.

Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has dominated Mexico for six years.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2018-08-25
  Syrian Army launches powerful assault in northern Hama
Fri 2018-08-24
  Arab coalition thwarts Houthi boat bomb targeting commercial ships off Yemen
Thu 2018-08-23
  Syrian Army cuts all supply lines to ISIL’s last stronghold in southern Syria
Wed 2018-08-22
  ‘IS militants’ launch attacks in Chechnya; five killed
Tue 2018-08-21
  U.S. Rejects Turkey's Offer to Release Ransom Pastor, Report Says
Mon 2018-08-20
  ‘Allahu Akbar!': Knife-Man Shot Dead After Attacking Spanish Police
Sun 2018-08-19
  Yemeni army inflicts heavy casualties on Houthi militants in Taiz
Sat 2018-08-18
  HTS executes 6 people accused of being ISIS members in Idlib
Fri 2018-08-17
  American Couple Dies Tragically While Biking Through ISIS Territory Trying to Prove Evil Does Not Exist
Thu 2018-08-16
  ISIS Killer Caught in Sacramento
Wed 2018-08-15
  101st Airborne, US Special Forces Called Into Ghazni Battle
Tue 2018-08-14
  Islamic State member sentenced to death over killing security personnel in Nineveh
Mon 2018-08-13
  The FBI Finally Makes Peter Strzok Redundant
Sun 2018-08-12
  Antifa to Protest ‘Alt-Right’ in D.C.: Abolish ICE, No Borders, Close Prisons
Sat 2018-08-11
  Iraqi cleric "Tater" Sadr wins election vote recount

Better than the average link...



Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
44.200.82.195
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (11)    Non-WoT (18)    Opinion (10)    (0)    Politix (8)