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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
ISIS leader Yasir Khurasani killed with 5 comrades in Nangarhar drone strike
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Arabia
Yemeni minister says ‘disastrous’ UN report described Houthi as leader of the revolution
[ARABNEWS] Yemen’s Information Minister Muammar al-Iryani condemned the United Nations
...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense...
on Wednesday over its report on war crimes in Yemen, in which he says the leader of the Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ...
militia was referred to as a "leader of the revolution."

The UN Security Council designated sanctions on Abdul Malik al-Houthi in April 2015 for engaging in acts that threatened the peace, security, and stability of Yemen.

Describing the report as "disastrous," al-Iryani said on his Twitter account that it was based on "a number of fabrications" aiming to harm the internationally recognized government and the member states of the Saudi-led Arab coalition fighting the militias.

The minister said the report did not mention all the "terror acts" carried out by the militia group on officials, government headquarters and military and security sites of the government.

The report ignored hundreds of rockets launched by the Houthi militia under Iranian pretexts targeting the Saudi capital Riyadh and Makkah and a number of other cities in the Kingdom, the minister said.

There was no mention of the killing of a number of civilians, in addition to the targeting of oil tankers in international waters, he added.

The Arab coalition also refuted the UN report on Yemen, saying it made a series of accusations against the alliance.

In a strongly worded statement, the coalition, which supports forces loyal to the internationally recognized government, rejected the claim that it did not provide information requested by the UN.

The coalition dismissed as "false" and "inaccurate" claims in the report that its forces were obstructing humanitarian access to civilians in the country.

Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336078 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Caribbean-Latin America
Colombia’s Duque again orders ELN rebels to release hostages
[JOURNALDUCAMEROUN] Colombia President Ivan Duque reiterated on Thursday his call for ELN Marxist rebels to release hostages as a prerequisite to restarting suspended Cuban-hosted peace talks.

Duque said he would only speak to the guerrillas if they "suspend all criminal activities" and agree to "demobilize, disarm and reinsert" into civilian life.

But the starting point for that is "the liberation of hostages."

"We cannot legitimize violence as a mechanism to put pressure on the state," said Duque during a presser with Spain Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez.

The ELN, the last recognized rebel group fighting government forces since the 2016 peace accord with FARC guerrillas, said two weeks ago it was prepared to release the nine hostages: four military, three police, and two civilian contractors.

But since then they have failed to agree with the government on the security protocols to carry out the handover.

Peace talks have been on hold since August 1 after Duque’s predecessor Juan Manuel Santos admitted defeat in his bid to agree a disarmament plan with the ELN before his mandate came to an end.

The nine hostages were captured after those talks concluded.

Duque has promised a more hardline approach to the ELN and after his inauguration he said he would take a month to decide whether or not to resume rebel talks.

"These 30 days expire on September 7," said Duque. "We’ve analyzed it and have seen worrying acts of violence.

"Kidnappings, extortion, terrorist attacks, which obviously demonstrates everything but a genuine desire for peace."

The ELN, or National Liberation Army, has around 1,500 guerrillas and an extensive support network.

Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Commies


China-Japan-Koreas
China Holding One Million Muslims in Internment Camps
The Atlantic headline is "China Is Treating Islam Like a Mental Illness"
[TheAtlantic] One million Muslims are being held right now in Chinese internment camps, according to estimates cited by the UN and U.S. officials. Former inmates‐most of whom are Uighurs, a largely Muslim ethnic minority‐have told reporters that over the course of an indoctrination process lasting several months, they were forced to renounce Islam, criticize their own Islamic beliefs and those of fellow inmates, and recite Communist Party propaganda songs for hours each day. There are media reports of inmates being forced to eat pork and drink alcohol, which are forbidden to Muslims, as well as reports of torture and death.

The sheer scale of the internment camp system, which according to The Wall Street Journal has doubled in China’s northwestern Xinjiang region just within the last year, is mindboggling.
China-worshiping NYT columnist Tom Friedman, Islamic countries and human rights organization have been quiet or restrained in their criticism.
Posted by: lord garth || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336078 views] Top|| File under:

#1  ummm, should i i give 2 fucks?
Posted by: chris || 08/31/2018 0:20 Comments || Top||

#2  "Dance, little sister, dance!"
Posted by: Raj || 08/31/2018 0:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Yeah, the Islamic countries are really quiet about this. It's almost as if they only care when they can bash Jews or Christians. Why aren't they sending suicide bombers into Beijing subways?
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 08/31/2018 2:12 Comments || Top||

#4  Instapundit's comments.
Hmm. So will this (1) end under international pressure; (2) go on despite international pressure; or (3) serve as a model for other countries with troublesome Muslim populations?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/31/2018 2:53 Comments || Top||

#5  Why aren't they sending suicide bombers into Beijing subways?

Because the Chinese are likely to send heavy bombers back.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/31/2018 3:15 Comments || Top||

#6  I kind of agree with the "Atlantic" headline. Isn't it an illness?
Posted by: 3dc || 08/31/2018 5:43 Comments || Top||

#7  #4 Instapundit's comments.
Hmm. So will this (1) end under international pressure; (2) go on despite international pressure; or (3) serve as a model for other countries with troublesome Muslim populations?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru 2018-08-31 02:5
3


...The Chinese have sufficient money and/or force to insure the answer is #2. Xinjiang is sufficiently remote that not too many people can get in there unless the Chinese let them in. And the Muslim nations that might be most likely to protest are sufficiently scared of the one nation that, when provoked, might be even crazier than they are.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 08/31/2018 5:48 Comments || Top||

#8  There are media reports of inmates being forced to eat pork and drink alcohol

Where is this again?
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/31/2018 9:36 Comments || Top||

#9 
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 08/31/2018 9:49 Comments || Top||

#10  Seriously, China wants a direct sipping line for mid-east oil. Any country between Xinjiang and the oil is just lebensraum to be tamed by Han.

None of those lands are upstanding righteous folk so I don't really have a problem with it.
Posted by: 3dc || 08/31/2018 11:07 Comments || Top||

#11  China is less concerned about the Muslim aspect of the Uighurs than their desire for autonomy and independence- that will not be tolerated.
Posted by: Glenmore || 08/31/2018 15:20 Comments || Top||

#12  Glenmore: further, their means is to treat them in the way they treated everyone in the Han majority (and all the other minorities) in the first thirty years of Red China's existance.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 08/31/2018 16:21 Comments || Top||

#13  And yeah, Make Them Eat Pork And Drink Alcohol is a lot better than a lot of people got in the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 08/31/2018 16:22 Comments || Top||


China blames local officials for protest over mosque razing
[ARABNEWS] A rare public protest by thousands of Hui Moslems this month was caused by local officials’ recklessness, Chinese authorities said Thursday, without settling concerns a large mosque in the northwestern region would be razed.

The governor of the region of Ningxia and a regional Communist Party official said tensions had died out in the city of Weizhou, where thousands protested in early August to prevent authorities from demolishing the towering Grand Mosque. The protests were an unusually bold display of resistance against the party’s efforts to dictate how religion is practiced.

"This incident is a result of an oversimplified administrative decision by the local government. It originally should not have happened," said Bai Shangcheng, director-general of the regional Communist Party committee’s United Front Work Department, which oversees religious groups. Local officials have been ordered to review the incident and "handle it properly," Bai said at a news conference in Beijing.

"Now, overall, the situation is under control," he said.

The Hui are an Islamic ethnic minority descended from Chinese converts and Moslems who came to China as traders. Unlike China’s other main Moslem group, the Uighurs, Hui generally speak Chinese and follow many Chinese cultural practices.

The Weizhou protest came as religious groups have seen their freedoms shrink as the government seeks to "Sinicize" religions by making the faithful prioritize allegiance to the officially atheist Communist Party. Mosques and churches have been stripped of religious imagery and Tibetan children moved from Buddhist temples to public schools.
Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336082 views] Top|| File under: Commies


Europe
Wilders cancels offensive cartoon contest
[ARABNEWS] Geert Wilders said on Thursday he was canceling plans to hold a highly inflammatory contest for cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
Mainly because he's made his point.
The MP said he would never personally stop his campaign against Islam but the risk to innocents, and of attacks on the Netherlands, stemming from the proposed contest were too great, Rooters reported.

Earlier this week, Dutch police nabbed
Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages!
a 26-year-old man suspected of threatening to attack Wilders over his plan.

On Thursday, the suspect briefly appeared in a Dutch court. He "is being suspected of committing a terrorist act, planning to commit murder and incitement," Dutch prosecutors said in a statement.

Police arrested the man at one of The Hague's main railway stations after he posted a film on YouTube saying he planned an attack on Wilders or the Dutch parliament.

The man, believed to be from Pakistain, also called on other Moslems for support.

"Authorities are taking the threat very seriously," the Dutch public prosecution service said in the statement.

"The investigation is ongoing" and the man is in jug "with maximum restrictions" meaning that he is only allowed to consult his lawyer.

Prosecutors did not release the suspect's name, saying at this stage they were reluctant to release further information.

He will remain in jug for another two weeks before a next appearance.

Plans by Wilders, an avowed anti-Islamist, to hold a cartoon competition at his PVV party's offices in parliament have stirred anger among Moslems, particularly in Pakistain.

The Netherlands on Wednesday updated its travel advice to Pakistain urging its citizens "to avoid demonstrations in Islamabad, Lahore and Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
."
Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336088 views] Top|| File under: Salafists


The Grand Turk
Against The Backdrop Of The U.S.-Turkey Crisis, Qatar Mobilizes To Help Turkey
[MEMRI] Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
has mobilized to come to the aid of its ally The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire....
, as reflected in Qatari Emir Tamim bin Hamad Aal Thani's and other Qatari officials' expressions of support for it, and in an economic aid package totaling $15 billion. Qatar's mobilization is also expressed in articles and op-eds in the Qatari press that emphasize the warm relations and the alliance between the two countries and note that they have always helped each other. The articles in the Qatari press stated that Qatar was the first to extend help to Turkey in the current crisis, just as Turkey had stood by Qatar during the Gulf crisis and is still supporting it in light of the Saudi, UAE, Bahraini, and Egyptian boycott against Qatar that has continued for over a year. They also harshly criticized the U.S. and reiterated Turkey's argument that the economic sanctions against it were part of a U.S. conspiracy, after the U.S. failed to harm Turkey with the 2016 coup attempt. Other articles praised Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...
for his valor in standing up to the U.S., and criticized the other Arab countries for failing to stand alongside him, and for even rejoicing in Turkey's troubles.

Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336073 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Qatar (MB)

#1  How's that Saudi moat coming?
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/31/2018 9:41 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
Arrest of Iranian Spies in U.S. Just ‘Tip of the Iceberg,’ Lawmaker Warns
[FreeBeacon] Iran spies stationed across U.S. a result of Obama-era cash payouts

The recent arrest of two Iranian agents alleged to have been running spy operations on U.S. soil is just "the tip of the iceberg" in terms of the Islamic Theocratic Republic's efforts to conduct intelligence operations in America that could result in a terrorist attack, according to a leading politician and U.S. officials who spoke to the Washington Free Beacon about the matter.

Following the arrest of two Iranian individuals charged with spying on Jewish and Israeli facilities in the Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, area, Rep. Peter Roskam (R., Ill.) told the Free Beacon it is likely Iran has stationed multiple regime-tied agents in the United States to conduct intelligence operations.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies

#1  Let’s not forget the 2500 ‘visas’.
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/31/2018 1:44 Comments || Top||

#2  And the connexes full of Euros and USD.
Posted by: newc || 08/31/2018 2:57 Comments || Top||



India-Pakistan
Interpol not ready to issue red warrants for Musharraf
[DAWN] The special court hearing treason charges against former president retired Gen Pervez Perv Musharraf
... former dictator of Pakistain, who was less dictatorial and corrupt than any Pak civilian government to date ...
was informed on Wednesday that Interpol had refused to issue red warrants for his repatriation from the United Arab Emirates where he has been living since 2016.

Interior Secretary Yousuf Naeem Khokhar told the court comprising Lahore High Court Chief Justice Yawar Ali and Justice Nazar Akbar that Interpol had explained to Islamabad that the high treason case being a political one in nature did not encompass the charter of the international law enforcement organization.

The special court, however, asked the secretary to furnish copies of the correspondence between Islamabad and Interpol before postponing the proceedings till Sept 10.

The previous government had in April requested the special court to proceed and conclude the treason trial without waiting for the former military ruler’s personal appearance.

But before adjourning the treason case, the court also sought assistance from the parties, including the federal government, asking whether the court could record Mr Musharraf’s statement under Section 342 of criminal procedure code through video facility or Skype ‐ a social media application ‐ when the accused was not appearing before the court, and whether it could proceed in the absence of any statement of the accused under Section 342.

Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336070 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Iraq
Iraq PM sacks paramilitary chief
[JOURNALDUCAMEROUN] Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi on Thursday announced the dismissal of the head of the powerful Hashed al-Shaabi paramilitary force, which played a major role in stinging defeats of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
jihadist group.

The prime minister in a statement reproached the force’s head Falih Alfayyadh for "having been implicated in partisan political matters which contravene the rules of neutrality which apply to members of the security and intelligence forces".

Alfayyadh, 62, was also dismissed from his position as national security advisor.

Despite being on the PM’s electoral list ahead of legislative polls that took place in May, the prime minister suspected Alfayyadh of negotiating behind his back with rival Hadi al-Ameri as post-election talks were underway.

The Hashed al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilisation) auxiliary force was created by the government in 2014, after a call to jihad by the spiritual leader of the Shiite community, Grand Ayatollah Ali Sistani to help in the fight against IS.

Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336093 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq


Iraq sending team to US to seek deal on transactions with Iran
[ARABNEWS] Iraq will send a delegation to the United States seeking an agreement on financial transactions with Iran following Washington’s reimposition of sanctions on Tehran, Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday.

His statement was the first by an Iraqi official since Rooters reported last week Baghdad was going to ask Washington for exemptions from some of the sanctions because Iraq’s economy is closely linked with neighboring Iran.

"We are not with economic sanctions against any country and that is our strategic position," state television
... and if you can't believe state television who can you believe?
quoted Abadi as saying at a weekly news conference.

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...
withdrew the United States in May from world powers’ 2015 nuclear deal with Iran, calling it flawed, and reimposed trade sanctions on the Islamic Theocratic Republic.
Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Iraq is in recovery and Iran is a part of that for them. Not enough logtrains.
Posted by: newc || 08/31/2018 1:25 Comments || Top||

#2  Iraq will send a delegation to the United States seeking an agreement on financial transactions with Iran and to PARTAY!
Posted by: Skidmark || 08/31/2018 9:39 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Jordan PM who signed Israel peace deal: Haifa should be taken by force if we can
Good to know it was never more than a hudna until the impossible comes to pass.
[IsraelTimes] 'If we ever have military power, will we let them keep Haifa? We'll take it,' Abdelsalam al-Majali says in TV interview, while praising Israel for water supply

The former Jordanian prime minister who signed the peace treaty with Israel said in a recent interview that his country would "take Haifa by force" if it ever has the military power to do so, despite the 1994 treaty.

Abdelsalam al-Majali, 93, served as prime minister in 1993-1995, during which he signed the accord with his Israeli counterpart Yitzhak Rabin, and took office again in 1997-1998.

But in a TV interview aired on August 18, he said: "The Arabs do not have any power. If we ever have military power, will we let them keep Haifa? We’ll take it."

"If tomorrow we become stronger and can take Haifa by force, will we really decline just because we have an agreement with them?" Majali told Jordan Today TV in remarks translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute.

Earlier in the interview, Majali and the TV host had been discussing the "right of return" which Paleostinians claim five million people ‐ tens of thousands of living original refugees from what is today’s Israel, and their millions of descendants ‐ are eligible for. Israel rejects the demand, saying that it represents a bid by the Paleostinians to destroy Israel by weight of numbers and that no other population of refugees has been dealt with in that manner.

"There are millions of Jordanian Paleostinians who have property in Israel," Majali said. "They have the right to get it back or get compensation for it."

The host was opposed to the idea of compensation, equating it with the Paleostinians "sell[ing] their land for a price."

Majali said that people would collect the compensation from "Haifa, Jaffa, and elsewhere beyond the West Bank," adding that retaking the land wasn’t possible for the time being because "[The Israelis] own that land. They live and build there, while you are not there, and you don’t have an army or anything."

When the host argued it was better for the Paleostinian cause to refuse the compensation and leave the land "occupied," Majali said: "Well, what can you do? You lost the land to a military force. You do not have any power. All you do is talk."

It was then that he made the remark about conquering Haifa if Jordan ever got stronger.

At the beginning of the interview, Majali defended the peace treaty he signed 24 years ago, which is opposed to this day by many Jordanians, saying that "my mentality is a mentality of peace."

"As long as you do not have force of another kind, peace is your only option," he added.

He said that contrary to what many Jordanians believe, "Israel continues to give us more water than we are due."
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2018 00:32 || Comments || Link || [336106 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Surprise, surprise.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 08/31/2018 2:49 Comments || Top||

#2  ...In fairness, the Arabs have had power on several occasions and completely bollixed it up. Not too worried, though the Jordanians are still the most professional and capable of the Arab militaries and warrant watching.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 08/31/2018 5:44 Comments || Top||

#3  Asia Times'> US cuts to Palestinians raise existential fears in Jordan
Jordan views the prospect of absorbing its entire Palestinian refugee population as a threat to its demographic balance.
For one thing they might need to move them out of a refugee camp mode and into constructive employee mode....
Posted by: 3dc || 08/31/2018 6:24 Comments || Top||

#4  He's 93. Say hello to Yasser
Posted by: Frank G || 08/31/2018 8:40 Comments || Top||

#5  The Arabs lost when they had massive support from the Soviet Union. I have trouble seeing how they could manage better now.
Posted by: ruprecht || 08/31/2018 9:51 Comments || Top||

#6  Considering Arab armies have a history of fighting about as well as Antifa, I would say good luck on that fucktard.
Posted by: DarthVader || 08/31/2018 10:14 Comments || Top||

#7  I think that giving Jordan a path to the sea that they own would be feazable if they took over the “Palestine” and “Gaza”. Tunnels have been built from England to France so why not built one from what is euphemistically known as Palestine to Gaza. This would have to be done with israelly permission of course.
Posted by: Thor Angaise2145 || 08/31/2018 19:43 Comments || Top||

#8  Would Gazans huzzah the big dig?
Does Faðmbyggvir Friggjar like Frigg?
Would they go for the graft
But take pride in their craft?
Does a Little Rock rooter like pig?
Posted by: Zenobia Floger6220 || 08/31/2018 22:16 Comments || Top||

#9  Looking at a map, one sees that Jordan’s southwestern tip lies on the Gulf of Aqaba, which opens onto the Red Sea, and thence to the Arabian Sea and freedom. ;-)
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2018 22:44 Comments || Top||


Liberman: International agreements on ending Syrian civil war don’t apply to us
Of course. Treaties are only binding on the signatories, and then only once ratified by all the parties involved.
[IsraelTimes] Israel will continue to act in Syria as it deems necessary for its security, without consideration for the international agreements now being discussed to formally end the country’s brutal seven-year civil war, Defense Minister Avigdor Liberman says.

"From the viewpoint of Israel, with all due respect and appreciation for the agreements and the understandings ‐ they do not apply to us," he says during a tour of the northern border.

"The only thing that concerns us is the security interests of the State of Israel," he says.
Posted by: trailing wife || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336072 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Lavrov warns West ‘don’t play with fire’ in Syria
[ALMASDARNEWS] Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem warned Western powers "not to play with fire" in Syria during a presser in Moscow on Thursday.

"With facts in our disposal through Defense Ministry and Ministry of Foreign Affairs we clearly and sternly warned our Western partners not to play with fire," Lavrov said regarding any possible provocation using chemical weapons.

Russia’s top diplomat added that the West’s meddling in OPCW investigation process of two previous cases of using chemical weapons in Khan Shaykhun and Ghouta was a violation of Chemical Weapons Convention.

Muallem stated the USA was a loser from military perspective and is now trying to take advantage of the situation.
Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336086 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  If that fucker gasses his People - The Souls like cockroaches with chemical stock you removed under Obama, You have a problem, Russia.
Posted by: newc || 08/31/2018 2:39 Comments || Top||


Syrian opposition rejects UN’s plan of Idlib evacuation
[ARABNEWS] The UN called on Russia, Iran and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund....
on Thursday to forestall a battle in Syria’s Idlib province, which could affect millions of civilians and see both snuffies and the regime potentially using chlorine gas as a chemical weapon.

UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura said that there was a high concentration of imported muscle in Idlib, including an estimated 10,000 snuffies designated by the UN as terrorists.

He offered to travel to Idlib himself to help ensure that civilians could leave through a humanitarian corridor amid fears of full-scale military operations in the area.

"I am once again prepared ... personally and physically to get involved myself, with the government cooperation this time ... to ensure such a temporary corridor would be feasible and guaranteed for the people so that they can then return to their own places once this is over," de Mistura said.

The Syrian opposition swiftly rejected De Mistura’s offer. Its front man Yahya al-Aridi told Arab News: "I cannot understand this suggestion by de Mistura about corridors. In the past, the destination for war-displaced people was Idlib. De Mistura himself said that there would be no other Idlib. How could he suggest a corridor now? Where would over 3 million people go? Turkey would close its doors. Could they go to another planet?"

The only solution to this, al-Aridi said, is to stop "this devilish and criminal act" against civilians.

"Is it the UN’s specialization to find corridors for the Syrians who have been thrown out of their homes by this brutal regime and its supporters?" he asked.

The Turks and the Russians are still discussing ways to get al-Nusra
...formally Jabhat an-Nusrah li-Ahli al-Sham (Support Front for the People of the Levant), also known as al-Qaeda in the Levant. They aim to establish a pan-Arab caliphate. Not the same one as the Islamic State, though .. ...
to dissolve itself, al-Aridi said, adding: "Russia is saying that there are parties who want a political settlement on the part of al-Fasaail (another gang)."

Al-Aridi said that Idlib itself is a de-escalation area and Russia, along with Iran and Turkey, is a co-signer to that. "If anything happens, it would be another proof that Russia doesn’t honor any promise or any word it utters or paper it signs."

He said that the "storm" that de Mistura warned about could be avoided by getting rid of the source of the tension ‐ "the regime of oppression and aggression" in Damascus.

Al-Aridi questioned the figure of 10,000 Death Eaters mentioned by de Mistura. "We don’t know how Mr. de Mistura calculated this number. It is not his job to decide who is a terrorist and who is not. All we know is there are over 3 million civilians in Idlib and there is a party that doesn’t care about them ‐ the regime and its backers."

Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336074 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra


France says Iran ‘cannot avoid’ expanded talks on nuclear issue
[ARABNEWS] Iran "cannot avoid" talks on thorny issues like its ballistic missile program and role in Middle East conflicts, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian warned Thursday, as La Belle France leads the work to rescue the beleaguered nuclear deal with Tehran.

"Iran must respect the fundamentals of the JCPOA (nuclear deal) and I think that is the case, but Iran cannot avoid discussions, negotiations on three other major subjects that worry us," Le Drian said as he arrived for a meeting of EU foreign ministers in Vienna.

La Belle France are among several countries, including Germany, UK, Russia and China, continuing to try and salvage the deal after 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...
decided to pull the US out unilaterally in May.

The comments came after a confidential quarterly report seen by AP released by the ineffective International Atomic Energy Agency, which shows Iran continues to comply with the nuclear deal even after the withdrawal of the US.
Posted by: Fred || 08/31/2018 00:00 || Comments || Link || [336080 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran



Who's in the News
43[untagged]
5Govt of Iran
3Islamic State
3Commies
2Govt of Syria
2al-Nusra
2Govt of Iran Proxies
2Govt of Pakistan
2Houthis
2Human Trafficking
2Moslem Colonists
1Salafists
1Sublime Porte
1Arab Spring
1Taliban
1PLO
1Govt of Qatar (MB)
1Govt of Iraq
1Hamas

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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.
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Two weeks of WOT
Fri 2018-08-31
  ISIS leader Yasir Khurasani killed with 5 comrades in Nangarhar drone strike
Thu 2018-08-30
  Egyptian forces kill 20 militants in Sinai operation: Army
Wed 2018-08-29
  Syrian Army foils ISIL breakout attempt in east Sweida
Tue 2018-08-28
  Idlib: Nusra arrest 20 ISIS turbans, Gov’t closes key crossing
Mon 2018-08-27
  Elite Army units moving to Idlib for major assault
Sun 2018-08-26
  John McCain dies at 81
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

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