IS, REBELS MOBILIZING AGAINST RUSSIA, IRAN

With the Russian military action in Syria the game has changed. What is Putin up to, and will he be successful? The internal conflict in Syria is just one part of the equation. There's a regional conflict raging between Sunnis and Shias, but there are also global tensions between Russia, the US and their proxies. And what about IS and Nusra? 

Iran ramps up troop deployment in Syria in run-up to 'anti-rebel offensive' http://t.co/RWivKxFh6m

— Golnoush (@TehranBureau) October 14, 2015

UPDATE: If the report about the Cuban involvement is true, about half the former Eastern bloc is back in action in the region. Information surfaced today that IS is mobilizing the male population over the age of 14 under its control. According to reports, the Russians have killed 150 of Obama "moderate" Syrian rebels. Only last Monday they announced a new coalition, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) made up of #YPG, #FSA, #MSF and a few other rebel groups (tweet). Not against ISIS, but against Assad, Russia and Iran. Read also Yaroslav Trofimov @yarotrof excellent analysis  (tweet).

Welp. I guess another Cold War has started. #ThanksObama #WakeUpAmerica #tcot #Syria #Russia #Cuba #PJNET http://t.co/MI274SI09G

— #MakeDCListen™(R-VA) (@RickCanton) October 15, 2015

Russians and Saudis Agree On Common Goals

Russia has ramped up its presence in Syria, allegedly in order to fight ISIS, but also to prop up the Assad regime. Obama and his pro Muslim Brotherhood policies have made the West an irrelevant force in the Middle East. 

What will Putin's next move be @POTUS Math 57 States - 1 equals 49 pic.twitter.com/xER8ZHmYA0

— AppSame (@AppSame) October 12, 2015

UPDATE: The West's traditional allies are jumping the sinking ship of the Coalition of the Willing. Putin's star is rising. The damage Obama has done will take years to undo.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Saudi Arabia’s defense minister have agreed that Moscow and Riyadh should pursue common goals in Syria, including national reconciliation and combating terrorists, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov said. “First of all, they are to prevent a terrorist caliphate from getting the upper hand in Syria.” The second goal that we share with Riyadh is “ensuring the triumph of national reconciliation in Syria so that all Syrians, regardless of their nationality or religion, will feel masters of their land,” he said. 

In the meantime a new opposition coalition has been forged. Its goal is not to fight ISIS (there's another coalition to do that), but to combat the Assad-Russia-Iran axis.

JOHN KERRY: "100 PERCENT OF CHEM WEAPONS OUT OF SYRIA"

President Trump has vowed to destroy ISIS. The coalition offensive to retake Mosul and Raqqa is on the way. But removing the Sunni vanguard creates a power vacuum that will give the Iranian opponents free reign for more terror. With President Trump, the reinvigorated coalition is tasked with shaping a new paradigm for peace in the larger Middle East. 

US intel community confident chemical attack carried out by Assad regime; DOD releases image showing flight path of Syrian aircraft ~ FOX pic.twitter.com/5Myu6ATMqI

— Brian Fraser (@bfraser747) April 7, 2017

UPDATE: A few random observations. It is unclear who used the chemical weapons, but this much is certain: the Assad forces bombed the hospital where the victims were being treated, probably in an effort to cover up the attack. While the West likes to believe the war in Syria is about democracy versus tyranny (which it is not!), the larger conflict is about Shia versus Sunni Islam, or on the level of states, between Iran and the Sunni Arabs. Morality is not going to help us make sense of this conflict. It is also true that in foreign policy, states do not have friends. They have interests and allies. Aside from the morality concerning the use of chemical weapons, there is still the issue of the violation of (internal) agreements and treaties. While it is debatable if there is such a thing as international law, contracts are still legally binding documents. Russia and Syria are signatories to the Geneva convention. Russia is in serial violation of weapon treaties. This is not happening in a vacuum. There is a context.

Secret video smuggled out the IS capital, Raqqa

The Coalition is engaging in limited 'kinetic' strikes against the Islamic State in Syria. John Kerry has said the objective of this long term counter-terrorist op is not the destruction of IS. It is consistent with the Western contradictory strategy to combat Assad as well. 



An activist group that secretly operates inside ISIS's home base talks about how they risk their lives to get the story out. 

UPDATE: In an exclusive in-person interview with The Wall Street Journal, one of the founders of an activist group that secretly operates inside ISIS's home base talks about how they risk their lives to get the story out. Produced by Reem Makhoul. (Transcript)

Retired Generals: Obama's War Plan Like Vietnam

ISIS has joint its conquered territories in Syria and Iraq together (maps) in a new Caliphate simply named the Islamic State, or IS. IS is demanding that all Sunnis pledge allegiance to the Caliph, al Baghdadi. After the genocides on Christians and Yazidi Kurds, and three hostages were publicly beheaded, the world is ready to strike back at Mordor. 

Aug, 29, 2014: IS lessons for making bubonic plague bombs and weapons of mass destruction, by @JenanMoussa and @HaraldDoornbos. Read English, Dutch. UPDATE: Part II: ISIS LAPTOP OF DOOM - HOW TO MAKE RICIN, SEMTEX, BANANA MOUSSE (SOURCE)

UPDATE: There's better news from Syrian Kurdistan. Obama's top brass have shredded his war plan against the Islamic State; Obama is about to tell the UN he wants a global travel ban for Jihadists, assuring radicals will turn against their home countries; Islamic State has got Lebanon and Egypt in the crosshairs. And cries about dying babies has already started. Let's hope people are able to withstand sentimental anti war propaganda that hands a moral victory to the enemy - the Islamic State - as if that was possible in a rational world!

@bluedevildavey #WillObamasISISstrategysucceed? | http://t.co/85u4XT6Pnx pic.twitter.com/jSDZrb3Py0
— BUD PARRIOTT (@THERKTMAN) September 22, 2014

Gas Plays an Explosive Role in the War in Syria

Gas as an aspect of the war in Syria is very much underexposed. Actually it's about a pipeline that is of vital interest to Europe and Qatar. It's a game of chess on a global stage

There's another side to the war in Syria that is of strategic importance: at stake are the economic future of the region and its natural resources

In "Build up of the Russian war fleet largest since the Cold War" we have seen that Syria is the battle field in the fight over the hegemony of the Islamic Middle East between Sunni and Shia Islam. The Russians are not the only ones building up their presence in the region. An American marine vessel just arrived in the Israeli port of Eilat; the Russian Pacific Fleet just passed the Suez Canal and has arrived in the East Med. It seems the stage is now set for a major confrontation. 

NEWS SPLASH: ISRAEL CONFIRMED ATTACK ON HEZBOLLAH ARSENAL

UPDATES

Update

• Israel has confirmed the attack last night on an advanced weapons storage facility of Hezbollah.
• The rumors that Assad will declare war following the attack, keep coming. Fox video
• Israel deploys Iron Dome missile defenses in the north

Update

FIRST FOOTAGE OF SYRIA BOMB SITE

The Israeli PM Netanyahu has postponed his trip to China until the next meeting of the Cabinet. Here is the first footage of the facility in Damascus that was bombed by Israel in the early hours of this morning. It has now been confirmed as an arsenal, storing weapons for Hezbollah:

by Ya'akov

The Chickens From Syria Are Coming Home to Roost

The scum of the earth has descended on Syria. These evil Jihadists are Western allies. Some countries are having regrets. How are they going to handle this policy U turn of sleeping with the devil? 

The West is now realizing it has made a colossal mistake in supporting the Sunni Jihadists. 

In the US criticism is mounting against Obama's inconsistent policies. The news that Western intelligence agencies have been in touch with the Syrian regime is an embarrassment. But what was even more embarrassing, but has hardly been noted, was a report in the Kuwaiti newspaper Al-Rai. It quoted well informed sources close to Assad and reported that Germany, Switzerland, the UK, Italy, Austria and Spain have begun rapprochement talks with the regime in Syria that go further than just security and the re-opening of embassies in Damascus.

Build up of Russian War Fleet in Syria Largest Since the Cold War

Many in the West see the war in Syria through the prism of the Arab Spring. But this rose colored frame is the result of war propaganda. The situation is in fact much more explosive

The build up of Russian military power in the East Mediterranean is dating back at least 18 months 

Reposted from May 18, 2013

The war is Syria is in essence a battle between Shia and Sunni Islam over the hegemony of the Islamic Middle East. On the one hand there's Iran and her proxies - Assad's Socialistic regime and Hezbollah - and on the other end of the divide, the Sunni autocracies of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey.

From Russia With Love: Letter From Putin

In September of last year a letter from Vladimir Putin to the American people was circulating around the Internet. Since we're on the brink of war, let's see if we understand the enemy

In the letter Putin re-introduces Americans to some unpleasant events from his perspective.

A letter from Russian President Vladimir Putin to the American people has been circulating around the internet for the past couple of days. In the letter, Putin re-introduces Americans to some unpleasant facts about history and life they’d rather forget, such as Nixon’s reasoning behind massive carpet bombing of millions or North Vietnamese for the purpose of ‘looking good’ while exiting the war, and how Pakistan has been using the U.S. as a ‘false ally’ to gain foreign aid, while using the funds to embolden the Taliban in Afghanistan. 

Fighting an Existential War With Demoralized Leaders

"Islam has nothing to do with terrorism, Jihad or the Islamic State", "no religion condones terrorism"... we know the politically correct libations to the gods of multiculturalism all too well. But what is really behind this obvious nonsense?



Not Ayn Al Arab nor Kobani, it became Ayn Al Islam. ISIS latest video. With English translation. - H/t @HananShamounNL

The Islamic State has produced a 20 minute film, including an English translation. It's a must see for every student as it may lead to specific insights that can easily be missed watching events from the same Western conceptual framework. For those who are prepared to see it, interviews with American military brass touch the essence of the problem. In any war, but especially one which is existential, the equation couldn't be worse. A lack of weapons would have been preferable to demoralized leadership. 

Did Israel Bomb a Chemical Weapons Site in Syria?

Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren told Chris Wallace at Fox News last Sunday that the US armed Libyan rebels with missiles that showed up in Israel’s backyard. They don't want that to happen in Syria. But it's bound to, isn't it. Realistically speaking. In the meantime...

BREAKING! OBAMA AND CAMERON AGREE MILITARY ACTION AGAINST SYRIA

The Sunday People have reported that David Cameron and Barack Obama last night agreed to take military action against Syria

Photo from SANA.sy by M. Ismael/Mazen: chemicals uncovered by the Syrian army disproving the claim (Source)

"David Cameron and Barack Obama last night agreed to take military action against Syria. The US president sealed the deal in a 40-minute phone call to the Prime Minister at his holiday retreat in Cornwall. The two leaders agreed that Syrian tyrant Bashar al-Assad was responsible for using chemical weapons against children. Mr Obama and Mr Cameron will discuss the military options in the next few days. They include missile strikes, ­disabling the Syrian air force or ­enforcing a no-fly zone across the country".

Shia Rebels Overrun US Training Base in Yemen

Yemen is the ground zero where the forces of Islam's two great traditions -- Sunnism and Shi'ism -- collide over the hegemony of the Middle East. It also happens that whoever controls Yemen, controls shipping through the Red Sea. 

UPDATE:

#BREAKING: Houthis take over US-trained special forces base in Sanaa, #Yemen. http://t.co/GBEly3E77O
— Conflict News (@rConflictNews) February 25, 2015

Obama's 'Red Line' on Syria is a Red Herring

Yaron Brook is sorting out the issues regarding Syria while the world's media are chasing a hoax casus belli, false flag incidents, and Western alignment with the scum of the earth

Yaron Brook, director of the Ayn Rand Institute discusses Western involvement in Syria.

While the world is chasing a red herring - the use of chemical weapons, either by the Assad regime or by the terrorist rebels in an effort to actively draw in the US on their side of the war - it is becoming more obvious by the day that the West is already embroiled up to its eyeballs for some time, and has in fact been running arms shipments from Zagreb, Croatia despite the embargo. The infamous Benghazi scandal involved a shipment of Stingers from the war in Libya. 

The EU's Terror Listing of Hezbollah is Going Nowhere

The EU today finally put Hezbollah on its list of terrorist organizations. They cite the attack in Bulgaria as the reason, but the Western alliance against Assad is a transparent motivation

Decades of attacks against the US and Israel could not motivate the EU to label Hezbollah a terrorist organization.

UPDATE: By preserving contact with, and funding of, Hezbollah's "political wing" without substantial measures against its "military wing," the EU not only legitimizes Hezbollah's "political" leadership, but also promotes the entire organization as an important actor in both Lebanese politics and the Arab-Israeli conflict. (Source)

Read the Uncut Interview with Dutch Jihadists

The exact and shocking motives why so many Muslims from the West are leaving home to fight in Syria. Exclusively translated for our international audience

There are two main groups fighting together against Bashar; the secular democratic FSA and several Islamic groups, among them Jabhat An-Nusra, associated with Al Qaeda

Note: Text in (brackets) is part of the email exchange. Text in [brackets] is from the editor. 

Q: How will you answer my questions? I understand you are the spokesman for the group. Are you going to give me a consensus? Please indicate where someone in the group has another opinion. The psychological experience must be different for each and everyone of you.

(VIDEO) US WITHDRAWAL FROM SYRIA EXPLAINED

Donald Trump called Barack Obama the founder of ISIS and Hillary Clinton its co-founder, echoing the words of Gen. Michael Flynn that Obama made a willful decision to allow Islamic State to form as a weapon against Assad, known as Operation Timber Sycamore. It made the war in Syria a strategic mess. Geopolitically there's even more at stake after President Trump announced US withdrawal from Syria in December 2018.

JackPosobiec's broadcast: Debunked Navy SEAL story, Project Birmingham update https://t.co/QCbimapHfp

— ☆ Ƙαѕѕαη∂яα 🎄🏺 (@KassandraTroy) December 29, 2018

Jack Posobiec deals at length with Operation Timber Sycamore from the 22:00 minute mark.

UPDATE: On Boxing Day President and Melania Trump emerged at the Al Asad Airbase in Iraq to thank the troops. We will dispense here with the role of the media in this as completely irrelevant. The matter at hand is the President's announced troop withdrawal from Syria, thereby reversing his predecessor's strategic mess to load the dice in the Middle East in favor of Iran.

Obama's Statement on Syria Throws the West in Disarray

Since Obama's statement yesterday about military action in Syria, the Western world has descended into chaos. Obama is waiting Congressional approval after September 9

Consensus isn't truth and it certainly doesn't bring a solution any closer. 

Obama yesterday hasn't laid down a vision, nor has he made things any clearer. Channeling every thinkable, uninformed opinion doesn't bring the conflict any closer to a resolution either. The world is in chaos. The war for the moment is focusing on Syria. But this conflict can't be viewed from under a telescope. It must be watched from a great distance for the ligaments and the cross currents to become apparent. 

RUSSIAN MEDIA: TURKEY JOINS WAR IN SYRIA

The war in Syria has reached a crucial stage. The regional war has already begun. And it has the potential to grow into a full scale world war. There are reports Turkish forces entered Syria. So far, it is the Russian media that it taking the lead in reporting about this movement.



Map of Syria, Turkey, Iraq, Iran, Jordan, Saudi Arabia. More maps.

UPDATE: There are international news reports that claim that Turkish military forces have entered Syrian territory and have established positions near the towns of Azaz and Afrin. If these international news reports are true, then Turkey has essentially declared war on the Assad regime. Back in February, I warned that escalating tensions in the region could be the spark that sets off World War III, but things seemed to cool down a bit in March and April. However, this latest move by Turkey threatens to take the war in Syria to a whole new level, and everyone will be watching to see how the Russians and the Iranians respond to this ground incursion. So far, it is the Russian media that it taking the lead in reporting about this movement of Syrian forces. For example, the Sputnik news agency was one of the first to report Turkish military activity around the town of Azaz. (More)