Syria

[American Patriot]

So the Israelis went to the Soviets... er.. I mean "Russians" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) for help now....

Wow.

[Avvakum]

So the Israelis went to the Soviets... er.. I mean "Russians" (nudge, nudge, wink, wink) for help now....

Wow.

That was inevitable, what with the exodus of russian jews, many of them communistic, into Israel after the 'collapse' of Communism. And there are rumors in some circles that very powerful russian jewish Israelis who were 'dissidents' in the Soviet Union-like Avigdor Leiberman and Natan Sharansky-are actually Communist change agents. The links between the two powers have become very strong, and the USA is no longer a reliable ally.

[Avvakum]

PRESS RELEASE

---

Russia Signs Oil Exploration
Agreement with Syria

Dec. 26, 2013 (EIRNS)—On Christmas Day, the Russian state-owned Soyuzneftegaz oil and gas company signed an agreement with the Syrian government for offshore oil and gas drilling, development, and production. The agreement defies European Union and United States efforts to crush the Syrian government and its people through the imposition of destructive unilateral economic sanctions, which the Russian government charges are violations of international law.
Under the 25-year contract, the first-ever-granted for oil and gas exploration in Syrian territorial waters, the Russian company will assume the costs of exploration in the offshore waters between the cities of Tartous and Banyas, which it will recover should oil and gas be discovered in commercial quantities. Soyuzneftegaz will also be responsible for training Syrian staff at the Syrian General Establishment of Petroleum, according to SANA news agency.
Soyuzneftegaz "will not follow the unfair economic sanctions imposed on oil fields especially, as well as on all economic sectors in Syria," Syrian Oil Minister Suleiman al-Abbas told reporters after the signing, and will start work soon.
EU sanctions, in particular, have targetted oil produced by the government; the EU modified its sanctions last April to specifically permit oil shipments from jihadi-controlled areas. Between those sanctions and the war's effect on the nation's infrastructure, Syria's oil production has fallen by 90% since March 2011, and gas production is down by almost by half, according to RT.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov today reiterated Russia's principled opposition to any such unilaterally imposed sanctions, stating that "we believe that passing unilateral sanctions without the UN Security Council's approval should be illegal, as it breaches international laws."

[American Patriot]

hmmm...

Kerry talking on TV right now about Syria.

I'm thinking this is an "Uh oh" moment.

[American Patriot]

Well, he's blathering, as usual.

I have no idea what he's talking about.

He's talking around something.

[American Patriot]

Internal Syrian opposition group rejects Geneva 2 talks

By Erika Solomon
BEIRUT Thu Jan 16, 2014 12:14pm EST

5 Comments

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Damaged buses lie near the Tameko pharmaceutical factory, after the Free Syrian army claimed to have taken control of the factory, in eastern al-Ghouta, near Damascus January 14, 2014.
Credit: Reuters/Yaseen Abelall





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(Reuters) - Syria's centrist internal opposition group, which rejects the armed insurgency against President Bashar al-Assad, said on Thursday that it will not attend peace talks in Switzerland next week, in a setback for the negotiations.
Khaled Dahowd, an executive member of the National Coordination Body (NCB), accused Russia and the United States of rushing the conference to promote their own interests in the region, rather than those of the Syrian people.
The NCB has tense relations with the main umbrella opposition body in exile, known as the National Coalition, which is rife with internal divisions and will only decide whether it will send representatives at a meeting on January 17.
The peace talks are set to start in Montreux on January 22.
"There will be four days between the (National) Coalition's decision to attend Geneva and the start of the conference. How can we create a unified delegation with a unified democratic platform four days before an international conference?" Dahowd asked.
"Under these conditions we will not attend ... The Geneva conference as planned now will fail."
Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N. special envoy to Syria, said in a statement he deeply regretted but respected the NCB's decision.
The NCB, which is based in Damascus and tolerated by Assad, is viewed with suspicion by many groups in the National Coalition, who see it as a front for Assad.
It is hard to gauge the extent of popular support for any of Syria's political groups amid the chaos of the country's nearly 3-year conflict.
The NCB has rejected the armed insurgency and has long called for a negotiated settlement, which it argues should not hinge on Assad's role but should focus on setting up democracy.
The National Coalition says Assad, whose family has ruled Syria for over four decades, should have no part in the transitional government that is the stated aim of Geneva 2.
Syria's uprising began as peaceful protests but transformed into a violent uprising as Assad's forces cracked down on demonstrations.
More than 100,000 people have been killed in what has now become a civil war whose unrest regularly spills across Syria's borders and has revived regional branches of al Qaeda.
"REAL SOLUTION" DELAYED
The United States, which backs the opposition, and Russia, Assad's main arms supplier, have pushed Syria's warring parties to meet at the talks under the auspices of the United Nations.
Dahowd argued the two world powers were forcing the conference now to increase their own regional influence, not to help Syrians reach a final political settlement.
"(U.S. ambassador) Robert Ford knows this conference is going to fail but that is what he wants because it will probably degrade Syria further and will allow Washington to get more power over the outcome when the real deal comes," Dahowd said, speaking by telephone.
"And Russia is also happy with this set up, because they think that in the meantime Assad will be gaining more power and territory. They are both delaying a real solution."
The NCB said it was reaching out to other Syrian opposition groups, including some armed forces, to launch its own talks.
At least two leading members of the NCB are currently imprisoned by Assad's forces, like many of the president's opponents in Syria. Dahowd said Russia should have required Assad to release such figures, as well as females and minors, before talks could begin.
"Otherwise the talks will be over releasing prisoners and getting humanitarian aid, and not over creating a transition to democracy," Dahowd said.
Dahowd, who is based in London, said that the opposition should have had a month to prepare after attendance was agreed.

[vector7]

McRINO Has A Temper Tantrum During Meeting With Syrian Christian Leaders After They Detail Atrocities Carried Out By His Rebel Allies…



It was so bad McRINO’s best bud Lindsey Graham apologized for his behavior.

Hell-bent on arming opposition forces in Syria—despite strong evidence that they’re run by Islamic terrorists—John McCain displayed behavior unbecoming of a United States Senator during a recent meeting with Syrian Christian leaders touring Capitol Hill.

[...]A number of churches have been destroyed or burned, children were killed when rebels fired mortar rockets at an Armenian Christian school in Damascus and countless others have been abducted by Islamic fighters, the Syrian delegation reveals in a statement published by the research group, Westminster Institute, that brought them to Washington. Eleven nuns have also been abducted and are still in captivity and two bishops are still missing after getting kidnapped during a humanitarian mission.

But Senator McCain, an Arizona Republican, evidently doesn’t want to hear negative stories about the rebels he’s working to arm. So he stormed out of a closed-door meeting with the Syrian clergy officials last week. Held in the Senate Arms Services Committee meeting room, the reunion also included senators Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Sheldon Whitehouse of Rhode Island, Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Graham is a Republican and the rest are Democrats.

McCain marched into the committee room yelling, according to a high-level source that attended the meeting, and quickly stormed out. “He was incredibly rude,” the source told Judicial Watch “because he didn’t think the Syrian church leaders should even be allowed in the room.” Following the shameful tantrum McCain reentered the room and sat briefly but refused to make eye contact with the participants, instead ignoring them by looking down at what appeared to be random papers.

The outburst was so embarrassing that Senator Graham, also an advocate of U.S. military intervention in Syria, apologized for McCain’s disturbing outburst. “Graham actually apologized to the group for McCain’s behavior,” according to the source, who sat through the entire meeting. “It was truly unbelievable.”

http://www.judicialwatch.org/blog/20...medium=twitter

[American Patriot]

Why do we have all these senile fucks in office???????????????????????????????

[Ryan Ruck]

Because more than half the electorate is a bunch of ignorant, selfish, takers that are only concerned with "getting theirs" and getting all they can for "free".

[American Patriot]

Its time to remove them then.

Cut them off.


Remove their power, their ability to take and their "free" shit.

[Ryan Ruck]

Not going to happen. At least not through conventional means.

[American Patriot]

I guess I don't mean by "conventional means" any more.

[Avvakum]

I guess I don't mean by "conventional means" any more.

This, my friends, is one among many reasons why I had decided to 'think outside the box' when it comes to the 'Rulers and the Ruled', by throwing away the 'Box' altogether.

Nobody in the American government gives a rat's ass about ethnic christian churchgoers in the Middle East, whether Orthodox, Monophysite, Nestorian, Eastern-Rite Catholic, or Protestant. Not a powerful voting bloc with money. The only people who are somewhat allies with the Middle Eastern Christians are the Israelis, but even there the Israelis have their hands full and AIPAC is less of an Obama ally than CAIR is, to put it mildly.

[vector7]

Russia supplying military planes to Syria

Source : Tanjug



Moscow - Russia plans to Syria by the end of the year to send the first series aircraft for training , " Yakovlev Yak - 130 " . The plan is to get into in 2016. Implemented a contract to send 36 planes .

The Moscow Treaty was signed earlier with Damascus.

In Damascus will be sent to nine aircraft by the end of this year , while the 2015th be delivered to 12 , and in 2016. Yet 15 , wrote today the Russian newspaper " Komersant " , citing a source close to the Russian company " Rosoboroneksport " exporting weapons .

Will obey the obligations in accordance with the previously signed contract for the delivery of 36 fighter jets ' strong - 130 ' , "said the same source .

" Komersant " last June he wrote that Syria Russia forwarded a payment of about $ 100 million on behalf of the advance payment for the delivery of the first six aircraft " strong - 130 ," according to the contract signed in December 2011. , Reminds agency RIA Novosti .

At this point, all the " yaks - 130 " were ready and waiting only to the political decision to install the necessary equipment and the aircraft is then sent to Syria , said the source , which was then called the Russian agency .

Russia has repeatedly announced that Syria , which leads to a civil war since March 2011. , Supplies only defensive weapons while not in violation of international law .

[Avvakum]

Russia supplying military planes to Syria

Source : Tanjug



Moscow - Russia plans to Syria by the end of the year to send the first series aircraft for training , " Yakovlev Yak - 130 " . The plan is to get into in 2016. Implemented a contract to send 36 planes .

The Moscow Treaty was signed earlier with Damascus.

In Damascus will be sent to nine aircraft by the end of this year , while the 2015th be delivered to 12 , and in 2016. Yet 15 , wrote today the Russian newspaper " Komersant " , citing a source close to the Russian company " Rosoboroneksport " exporting weapons .

Will obey the obligations in accordance with the previously signed contract for the delivery of 36 fighter jets ' strong - 130 ' , "said the same source .

" Komersant " last June he wrote that Syria Russia forwarded a payment of about $ 100 million on behalf of the advance payment for the delivery of the first six aircraft " strong - 130 ," according to the contract signed in December 2011. , Reminds agency RIA Novosti .

At this point, all the " yaks - 130 " were ready and waiting only to the political decision to install the necessary equipment and the aircraft is then sent to Syria , said the source , which was then called the Russian agency .

Russia has repeatedly announced that Syria , which leads to a civil war since March 2011. , Supplies only defensive weapons while not in violation of international law .

Well, it's almost all over, the Syrian Civil War, what with this news and the news that the rebels are going to evacuate Homs, their one major stronghold, into government hands. Bashar al-Assad is learning how to deal with Jihadi scumbags, a little late but still....

The Russians will expect a return on their investment for helping him and the Baathist government survive.

[American Patriot]

‘ Two Cylinders Seized by Syrian Troops Found to be Sarin Gas by OPCW ‘

1 Vote

#AceWorldNews – UNITED NATIONS – July 08 – Deadly chemical sarin was discovered in two cylinders reportedly seized by Syrian government troops in August 2013 in an area claimed to be controlled by armed opposition groups, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said in a letter to the UN Security Council published Monday, Reuters reported.

​The cylinders were declared "abandoned chemical weapons" by the government.
The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) monitoring the destruction of Syria’s chemical weapons stockpile analysed the contents of the cylinders on June 14 and “confirmed that these contained sarin," Ban Ki-moon’s letter said.
Syrian government pledged in September to destroy its entire chemical stockpile under a US-Russia brokered deal following a deadly sarin gas attack on the outskirts of the capital, Damascus on August 21, 2013.
#ANS2014

[American Patriot]

US Surveillance Planes Fly Over Syria

Tuesday, 26 Aug 2014 08:03 AM




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The U.S. has begun surveillance flights over Syria after President Barack Obama gave the OK, U.S. officials said, a move that could pave the way for airstrikes against Islamic State militant targets there.

While the White House says Obama has not approved military action inside Syria, additional intelligence on the militants would likely be necessary before he could take that step. Pentagon officials have been drafting potential options for the president, including airstrikes.

One official said the administration has a need for reliable intelligence from Syria and called the surveillance flights an important avenue for obtaining data.

Two U.S. officials said Monday that Obama had approved the flights, while another U.S. official said early Tuesday that they had begun. The officials were not authorized to discuss the matter by name, and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday that the U.S. wants more clarity on the militants in Syria, but declined to comment on the surveillance flights.

"Clearly the picture we have of ISIS on the Iraqi side is a more refined picture," said Dempsey, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State group. "The existence and activities of ISIS on the Syrian side, we have ... some insights into that but we certainly want to have more insights into that as we craft a way forward."

The U.S. began launching strikes against the Islamic State inside Iraq earlier this month, with Obama citing the threat to American personnel in the country and a humanitarian crisis in the north as his rationale. Top Pentagon officials have said the only way the threat from the militants can be fully eliminated is to go after the group inside neighboring Syria as well.

Obama has long resisted taking military action in Syria, a step that would plunge the U.S. into a country ravaged by an intractable civil war. However, the president's calculus appears to have shifted since the Islamic State announced last week that it had murdered American journalist James Foley, who was held hostage in Syria. The group is also threatening to kill other U.S. citizens being held by the extremists in Syria.

Dempsey, who was in Kabul for the U.S. military's change of command ceremony, has said he would recommend the military move against the Islamic State militants if there is a threat to the homeland. He didn't rule out strikes for any other critical reasons, but listed the homeland threat as one key trigger.

Dempsey also said the U.S. has been meeting with allies in the region to help develop a better understanding of the Islamic State group's threat. He said he believes those talks are now beginning to "set the conditions for some kind of coalition to form."

He said they are "trying to better understand the threat that ISIS poses, not just in Iraq and Syria but regionally." Dempsey has said he believes key allies in the region — including Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia — will join the U.S. in quashing the Islamic State group.

White House spokesman Josh Earnest said Monday that Obama has demonstrated his willingness to order military action when necessary to protect American citizens.

"That is true without regard to international boundaries," he said.

The White House would not comment on Obama's decision to authorize surveillance flights over Syria.

"We're not going to comment on intelligence or operational issues, but as we've been saying, we'll use all the tools at our disposal," said Caitlin Hayden, spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council.

The U.S. had already stepped up its air surveillance of the Islamic State inside Iraq earlier this year as Obama began considering the prospect of airstrikes there. And the administration has run some surveillance missions over Syria, including ahead of an attempted mission to rescue Foley and other U.S. hostages earlier this summer.

The U.S. special forces who were sent into Syria to carry out the rescue mission did not find the hostages at the location where the military thought they were being held. Officials who confirmed the failed rescue last week said the U.S. was continuing to seek out intelligence on the other hostages' whereabouts.

Administration officials have said a concern for Obama in seeking to take out the Islamic State inside Syria is the prospect that such a move could unintentionally help embattled Syrian President Bashar Assad. A top Syrian official said Monday any U.S. airstrikes without consent from Syria would be considered an aggression.

The Islamic State is among the groups seeking Assad's ouster, along with rebel forces aided by the U.S.

The White House on Monday tried to tamp down the notion that action against the Islamic State could bolster Assad, with Earnest saying, "We're not interested in trying to help the Assad regime." However, he acknowledged that "there are a lot of cross pressures here."

[Avvakum]

Check this out; Syria's intel is basically run completely by Russia...Russia commanded spy operation against Israeli forces and Syria rebels, footage shows

Recent footage uploaded by fighters from the Free Syrian Army after their capture of a Golan Heights base indicates deep Russian involvement in the espionage operations of President Bashar Assad's regime.
By Anshel Pfeffer | Oct. 7, 2014 | 12:31 PM


Recent footage apparently taken of an intelligence base in the Syrian Golan Heights, uploaded by fighters from the Free Syrian Army (FSA) after their capture of the base, indicates deep Russian involvement in the espionage operations of President Bashar Assad's regime.

The base in Tel Al-Hara, south of the Quneitra border crossing with Israel, was seized over the weekend by the FSA, after pitched battles that included a number of rebel groups, including the al-Qaida-aligned Nusra Front.

The footage shows that the base, used to carry out electronic surveillance of both rebels and of Israeli military forces, had been under Russian command.

The video posted by the FSA seems to be have been filmed in the office building of the base. It shows what appears to be a Syrian officer conducting a tour of the facility for the rebels, pointing at photographs, maps and captions on the walls, in Russian and Arabic. The symbols of Syrian intelligence and the 6th Directorate of Russian military intelligence (GRU) which deals with signal intelligence (SIGINT) are shown there side by side.

In the photographs, Russian and Syrian officers can be seen collecting and analyzing intelligence together. Further photographs captured Russian defense officials visiting the base, along with a list of current and previous commanders of the base, Russian officers with the rank of colonel.

The officers are directed, according to standing orders on the wall, to listen in to communications of the rebel groups. Also on the wall, is a map detailing locations of Israel Defense Forces positions in the north of Israel.

One question that arises from viewing the video is why the footage was taken only from the office building. A different video shows what the rebels claim to be an air-defense system, but the radio dishes inside the building look more like listening devices.

The Russian and Syrian officers that evacuated the base most likely took with them most of the sensitive hardware and intelligence material, but it is highly likely that valuable material remained behind, in addition to the photographs and maps on the office building walls.

The FSA has close ties to the CIA, and the Americans are certainly interested in analyzing whatever has been left behind at the base before it is seen in public.

New details of the ties between the FSA and Israel have also recently emerged, in an article written by Channel 2's Arab affairs commentator, Ehud Yaari, published Monday by the Washington Institute of which he is a research fellow.

Details of this relationship include coordination meetings in Israel, the operation of an Israeli field hospital on the Golan Heights for wounded Syrians, and a limited amount of weapons supplies, mostly rocket-propelled grenade launchers.

Israel naturally has a huge interest in the spy base which operates on its border, especially as any intelligence gathered would have been shared by Syria with Assad's allies, Iran and Hezbollah.

Jerusalem has a deeply sensitive relationship with the Kremlin and there have been extremely few public recriminations over the military and intelligence support Russia extends to Syria and Iran.

There have been no official comments so far from America or Israel regarding the footage, and probably will not be in the near future.

A swift American response has emerged though, from Senator John McCain, the former Republican presidential candidate, who tweeted that the "Shocking revelation of (the) secret Russian base in Syria shows how much Putin is helping Assad's war machine."

Haaretz

[vector7]

Turkey says it's reached deal with US on training Syrian rebels, but not on who enemy is

Date February 19, 2015 - 1:48AM

• 8 reading now

Duygu Guvenc


Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is at odds with US President Barack Obama over military priorities in Syria. Photo: AFP

Ankara, Turkey: The United States and Turkey will soon sign an accord to train and equip at least 2000 Syrian fighters this year, but the two NATO allies have been unable to agree on what enemy the Syrians will be preparing to fight, Turkish officials said on Tuesday.

Tanju Bilgic, a Foreign Ministry spokesman, said the memorandum of understanding will permit the training of moderate rebels to begin next month. The training site previously announced is Kirsehir-Hirfani, in central Anatolia.

Despite six weeks of talks, the two sides couldn't agree on whether to train the Syrians to fight the Islamic State extremists, the US priority, or the Assad regime, the Turkish preference. "It's open," said a senior Turkish diplomat, who could not be identified because he was not authorised to speak on the record.

Turkey blames Syrian President Bashar Assad for the rise of the Islamic State group, which now controls up to one-third of Syrian territory and a similar swath of territory in Iraq, and wanted the Syrians to be trained to fight both the regime and the Islamic State.

But the Obama administration, which daily sends US aircraft into Syrian airspace to bomb Islamic State targets, says its campaign is aimed only at Islamic State and is not intended to overthrow Mr Assad.

The two sides agreed that either can nominate potential trainees and that the other could veto the selection. "If Turkey gives the name of a Syrian, US has to approve and vice versa," said another Turkish diplomat. "If US gives the name, Turkey has to approve."

The plan is for US and Turkish military personnel to train groups of 200 to 300 Syrians for up to four months, with priority given to those with experience in armed combat.

The program will last for three years, with the US paying for equipment and Turkey covering the cost of lodging and overheads, the diplomats said. Saudi Arabia and Jordan also have agreed to host training programs, with the stated US aim to create a trained force of 15,000 Syrian rebels over three years.

President Barack Obama and his Turkish counterpart, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, have been at odds for more than a year over how to respond to the Syrian war, which began four years ago.

TNS

[MinutemanCO]

Would we not, for all practical purposes, be training ISIS? There is an awful gray fuzzy line between ISIS members and the so-called moderate Syrian rebels.