WAR 06-09-2018-to-06-15-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

[Housecarl]

(324) 05-19-2018-to-05-25-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...5-25-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

(325) 05-26-2018-to-06-01-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...6-01-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

(326) 06-02-2018-to-06-08-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...6-08-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

-----------------------

Today: To avoid Israeli strikes, Iran-backed fighters said disguising selves as Syrians Rebel commanders
Started by China Connection‎, Yesterday 11:56 PM
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...disguising-selves-as-Syrians-Rebel-commanders

Main Israel/Hamas thread, Significant Gaza Escalation In Progress - 5/29/2018
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...Gaza-Escalation-In-Progress-5-29-2018/page133

Iran Admits To Facilitating 9/11 Terror Attacks
Started by Be Well‎, Today 05:10 PM
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?537526-Iran-Admits-To-Facilitating-9-11-Terror-Attacks

China hacked a Navy contractor and secured a trove of highly sensitive data on submarine warfare
Started by Zagdid‎, Today 04:22 PM
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...of-highly-sensitive-data-on-submarine-warfare

Austria to expel up to 60 imams, shut 7 mosques
Started by Be Well‎, Today 05:24 PM
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?537528-Austria-to-expel-up-to-60-imams-shut-7-mosques

US plan to release alleged American ISIS fighter in Syria draws ACLU legal challenge
Started by Dennis Olson‎, Today 05:49 AM
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...S-fighter-in-Syria-draws-ACLU-legal-challenge

Ongoing Military Conflict In Syria
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?534447-Ongoing-Military-Conflict-In-Syria/page75

-----------------------

For links see article/podcast source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.armscontrolwonk.com/arc...icbms-shahrud-and-an-important-safety-lesson/

Iranian ICBMs, Shahrud, and an Important Safety Lesson

by ACW Podcast | June 8, 2018 | No Comments

This is a full end-to-end OSINT episode, buckle up.

Podcast. Run time (44:40)

Using satellite imagery, SAR data, Farsi-language television coverage, one rocket scientist’s favorite color, and one very important box, the team at CNS/MIIS tracked down a second solid-propellant rocket production facility in Iran.

We suspect it may be moving towards ICBM research.

Scott ventures out to California to join Jeffrey and Dave Schmerler in person to talk about Shahrud, the history of the Iranian missile program, and one very eccentric military scientist.

Links of Note:
New York Times coverage of the Shahrud research
Support us over at Patreon.com/acwpodcast!

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.stripes.com/news/for-sp...e-baltic-exercise-was-barely-noticed-1.531730

For special operations, a marker of success: Large Baltic exercise was barely noticed

By JOHN VANDIVER | STARS AND STRIPES
Published: June 8, 2018

STUTTGART, Germany — American commandos in Europe concluded one of their largest combat drills since the end of the Cold War on Friday, quietly bringing firepower to the Baltics as an example of the expanding U.S. special operations mission on the Continent.

Special Operations Command Europe is anticipating more assets as part of efforts to counter a newly aggressive Russia, Special Operations Command Europe chief Gen. Mark Schwartz said in an interview at his Stuttgart office Thursday.

“I believe with the new guidance coming to us strategically that we are going to see an increase in capability out here,” Schwartz said.

With Schwartz set to relinquish command next week, any influx in manpower will be overseen by the incoming SOCEUR leader, Air Force Brig. Gen. Kirk W. Smith. Schwartz is set to become deputy commander for the Joint Special Operations Command at Fort Bragg, N.C.

On Schwartz’s wish list are more troops to help build up allied special operations units, additional joint fire capabilities and more Russia experts on the command staff.

“I have some very smart Russia analysts within my team here, but certainly I don’t have the number I would like,” he said.

Also in the works is a plan to replace the command’s antiquated Patch Barracks headquarters building with a modern command center on post that’s fit for its expanded activity.

SOCEUR’s growing mission in Europe was reflected in the just-completed Trojan Footprint 18 exercise, which took place on the ground, in the air and in the Baltic Sea over a two-week span.

The war games involved the rapid deployment of special operators into the Baltics and Poland for a crisis-response mission. U.S. warplanes also took part, including F-16s and a B-1 bomber that conducted its first-ever live drop in Estonia.

The main aim was to deploy without attracting attention and to set up command structures capable of leading allies in the early stages of a crisis.

Unlike conventional military drills that involve distinguished visitor days and heavy media coverage, the SOCEUR exercise was designed to test the ability of commandos to operate under the radar.

“With what we’ve monitored in social media and intelligence, we’ve done a pretty good job of getting in (quietly),” Schwartz said.

About 2,000 special operations forces and armed forces from 13 countries joined the U.S.-led exercise, which is conducted every two years.

“It was a tenfold increase from 2016. We wanted to make this more rigorous and complex,” Schwartz said. “We were able to demonstrate a lot of capabilities that we have been working on the past couple of years.”

For special operations forces in Europe, the mission has returned to its roots as the military shifts its focus from counterterrorism threats to great power competition that puts countering Russia at the top of the agenda.

That means commandos must relearn some skills that have “atrophied,” such as building up paramilitary forces in contested areas and communicating without being detected by a high-tech foe, Schwartz said.

The efforts at SOCEUR fit into a broader U.S. European Command push to transform. EUCOM’s Gen. Curtis Scaparrotti has sought to pivot the headquarters from a peacetime footing to one that can carry out command and control in a high-end fight.

“At EUCOM — and the majority of allies and partners in Europe — they certainly look to this headquarters, and I know Gen. Scaparrotti does, to serve as the overall (special operations) operational headquarters in the event of a major contingency in Europe,” Schwartz said.

vandiver.john@stripes.com
Twitter: @john_vandiver

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.thecipherbrief.com/article/north-america/weeks-dead-drop

This Week’s Dead Drop

June 8, 2018 | Anonymous

Each week, we hope to give our readers tidbits of gossip from the world of national security and intelligence. The Dead Drop is a source of fun or intriguing news you can’t get anywhere else.

GLAD HE DIDN’ T TAKE IT PERSONALLY: Late last week, former CIA Director John Brennan published an op-ed in the Washington Post responding to critics who have suggested that as a former Agency director, he should bite his tongue and mute any criticism of the current Commander in Chief. Doesn’t sound like he plans to stifle himself any time soon, saying: “Mr. Trump grandstands like a snake-oil salesman, squandering his formidable charisma and communication skills in favor of ego, selfishness and false promises.” The op-ed, which went on line on Friday June 1 and appeared in the hard copy edition of the Post on Sunday, June 3, attracted a lot of attention. (Over 6000 comments were posted on line by early this week.) On Saturday, Former Secret Service officer Dan Bongino appeared on Fox & Friends saying of Brennan “…no single figure in American history has done more to discredit the intelligence community than this liar. Not only is he a liar, he’s a liar about being a liar.” As luck would have it, President Trump was watching Fox & Friends and tweeted out Bongino’s slam against Brennan. Last we checked, the president’s tweet had landed 87K “likes” and 24K retweets. The folks at Putin-run “RT” piled on Brennan as well suggesting he had turned a blind eye when (in their view) the Bush ’43 administration lied about Iraq WMD, when the Obama administration was mean to whistleblowers and when President Clinton’s sexual misconduct trumped that of Trump’s. The one place you might not read a debate about Brennan’s views is inside the CIA itself. Sources tell The Cipher Brief that the CIA’s daily compilation of intelligence-related news clippings mysteriously omitted Brennan’s op-ed. Usually, opinion pieces written by former directors are included in the clippings which, we are told, are made available to Agency employees worldwide. Dead Drop sources say the omission wasn’t intentional and that things sometimes get missed. Nothing to see here, move on.

EVEN PARANOID PEOPLE HAVE ENEMIES: We had somehow missed a book that has been out for a couple months called “Killing the Deep State: The Fight to Save President Trump.” According to The Daily Beast, author, Jerome Corsi says: “The central premise of this book is that President Trump is the target of a coup d’état being undertaken by the Deep State, including the CIA, NSA, and other intelligence agencies that maintain a commitment to a globalist New World Order.” Corsi, who has a PhD from Harvard, argues that the Deep State hopes to force Trump to resign. But if that doesn’t work, they’ll resort to “impeachment or a charge under the 25th Amendment that (Trump) is mentally incompetent.” And if that doesn’t work, he claims, the deep state operatives may take “‘executive action’—a CIA plan to assassinate Trump… as their last resort. There are millions of books on sale at Amazon.com. When we checked on Wednesday, “Killing the Deep State” was in the mid-200’s on the Amazon sales rankings – in other words – it is a hot seller.

SOVIET-ERA MUSIC: NOT AS BAD AS IT SOUNDED: We stumbled across a story in a publication called “Slipped Disc” about early 1950’s CIA efforts to use propaganda channels to criticize classical music written by Soviet-era composers like Dmitri Shostakovich and music performed by outfits like the Leningrad Philharmonic. Interesting tactic, though such criticisms are out of tune with modern practices, obviously, where current U.S. intelligence efforts applaud the lineal descendants of Shostakovich like the Russian group “Pussy Riot.”

JIMMY (NOT) DEAN: Last week’s Dead Drop reported that departing Tuft’s University Fletcher School Dean Admiral Jim Stavridis was likely to end up with a gig with Washington’s Carlyle Group. Nailed it. This week, Carlyle, the mega global asset manager, made it official naming Stavridis as an “Operating Executive.” But wait, there’s more. Stavridis also signed on to become Chair of the Board of Advisors at McLarty Associates, an international advisory group headed by Mack McLarty, former chief of staff to President Bill Clinton. Both new jobs are based in DC. The rumor mill has it that among those under consideration to follow Stavridis at the Fletcher School are Roberta Jacobson, former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico, and former Ambassador to NATO Nick Burns, now at Harvard’s Kennedy School.

POCKET LITTER: Bits and pieces of interesting /weird stuff we discovered:

• Poster Secrets: Slate has a piece outabout declassified NSA security posters from the 1950’s and beyond. The whole collection can be seen here. Some are quite whimsical, a few kind of creepy (like one showing what appear to be NSA employees walking out of a building with safe combination dials stuck in their mouths) and a few are kind of arty (like one of Mona Lisa all in red with the caption “Mona only smiles about her secrets.”)
• You can catch more with honey: The news is full of stories lately of former CIA, DIA and other U.S. government officials being charged with espionage. But it’s not just U.S. officials facing charges. Late last week in Paris, officials charged a former French intelligence officer with treason and being caught in a “honeytrap” where he reportedly fell victim to the charms of a Chinese interpreter in Beijing. The retired spy (identified only as “Henri M. 71,”) first fell under suspicion in 1998 and was recalled from his post in China to Paris. Why it took two decades to charge him is unexplained. And President Trump thinks the Mueller investigation is moving slowly.
• Assisted (Prison) Living: Carol Rosenberg, the Miami Herald reporter who covers GITMO the way People Magazinecovers the Kardashian’s, reports that the Commanders of the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba are asking Congress to fund a new $69 million wheelchair-accessible prison with a “hospice-care cellblock.” Prison spokeswoman, Navy Commander Anne Leanos suggests: “Picture in your mind elderly detainees, brothers taking care of one another. That is the humane way ahead.”
• Condor Minimum: NPR reportsthat the classic movie “Three Days of the Condor” has been converted into a TV series to air on the “AT&T Audience Network” (whatever that is.) In the 1975 movie, Robert Redford played a New York-based CIA analyst whose co-workers are all mysteriously assassinated by their own Agency. The TV version (simply called “Condor”) stars Max Irons, son of British actor Jeremy Irons, and is more realistically set in Washington, D.C. NPR says the series is entertaining – but pales in comparison with the big screen original.

IF YOU SEE SOMETHING, SAY SOMETHING: Got any tips for your friendly neighborhood Dead Drop? Shoot us a note at TheDeadDrop@theCipherBrief.com.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

ELINT News
‏ @ELINTNews
3m3 minutes ago

#BREAKING: Ballistic Missile launched from Yemen has hit Saudi Arabia and caused fatalities


ETA: unless there was another one, this happened over 16 hours ago

ETA: original tweeter made a correction...not a ballistic missile. see post #9

 

[Lilbitsnana]

DAILY SABAH
‏Verified account @DailySabah
8m8 minutes ago

2 civilians killed in the south of Saudi Arabia from a missile launched from Yemen by Houthi rebels, Saudi state media reports





https://www.dailysabah.com/mideast/...d-in-saudi-arabia-after-houthi-missile-attack

2 civilians dead in Saudi Arabia after Houthi missile attack
REUTERS
RIYADH
Published 16 hours ago

Two civilians were killed in the south of Saudi Arabia from a missile launched from Yemen by Houthi rebels, Saudi state media reported on Saturday night.

The Houthis, an Iran-allied group that controls much of Yemen including the capital Sanaa, have fired a series of missiles into the kingdom in recent months, part of a three-year-old conflict in Yemen widely seen as a proxy battle between Saudi Arabia and Iran.

A U.S.-backed, Saudi-led military coalition is fighting against the Houthis on behalf of the government of President Abd Rabbu Mansour al-Hadi, who lives in exile in Riyadh.

The two citizens were killed in Saudi's Jizan province in southern Saudi Arabia. The coalition said it would retaliate against anyone who threatens the safety of its citizens and residents.

Last month, the group fired a salvo of missiles at the capital Riyadh, saying it was targeting economic targets.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

ELINT News
‏ @ELINTNews
3m3 minutes ago

#BREAKING: Ballistic Missile launched from Yemen has hit Saudi Arabia and caused fatalities


ETA: unless there was another one, this happened over 16 hours ago

I'm still not sure if new or the old event
ETA: further info makes it seem to be a new event? not sure



ELINT News
‏ @ELINTNews
5m5 minutes ago

#BREAKING: Impact in southern Saudi Arabia, at least 2 killed- initial reports

 

[Lilbitsnana]

seems to be a new event


SaadAbedine
‏ @SaadAbedine
2m2 minutes ago

SaadAbedine Retweeted قناة الإخبارية

3 civilians were killed in the south of #Saudi Arabia from a missile launched from #Yemen by the #Houthi movement, Saudi state media reported on Saturday night.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

seems to be a new event


SaadAbedine
‏ @SaadAbedine
2m2 minutes ago

SaadAbedine Retweeted قناة الإخبارية

3 civilians were killed in the south of #Saudi Arabia from a missile launched from #Yemen by the #Houthi movement, Saudi state media reported on Saturday night.

ETA:

okay, so current time is 10:55 PM (Saturday night) in Riyadh

 

[Lilbitsnana]

ELINT News
‏ @ELINTNews
2m2 minutes ago

ELINT News Retweeted الجزيرة - عاجل

#BREAKING: ‘Projectile’ possibly mortars/artillery rockets fired into Southern Saudi Arabia causing at least two fatalities (not missile, translation messed it up apologies)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.yahoo.com/news/china-hosts-russia-iran-summit-us-tensions-rise-211038252.html

China hosts Russia, Iran for summit as US tensions rise

Becky Davis, AFP • June 9, 2018

Chinese President Xi Jinping will open late Saturday a two-day regional security summit attended by Russia, Iran and other allies confronting rising tensions with the US over trade and Washington's withdrawal from the Iranian nuclear deal.

Armoured vans lined the streets of the coastal city of Qingdao as world leaders arrived Friday for the 18th annual summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO), a regional security bloc led by China and Russia.

Its member states also include four ex-Soviet Central Asian republics, Pakistan and India. Iran is an observer member.

Authorities emptied an entire oceanside swathe of the city -- clearing out shopkeepers, residents and day-trippers to make way for Xi, his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin and Iran's President Hassan Rouhani.

Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also attend the meeting.

The leaders will be addressed by Xi this evening at an opening banquet from 7.45pm (1145 GMT), according to the official schedule, before taking in a fireworks display.

The SCO meeting comes after President Donald Trump controversially pulled Washington out of the 2015 international pact with Iran that placed limits on its nuclear programme in return for easing economic sanctions.

Though not officially on the agenda, analysts say that one key topic of discussion this year may focus on whether Iran will be allowed to ascend from its position as an SCO observer to become a full member state -- a development it has sought since 2008 but has been unable to achieve while subject to UN sanctions.

The 2015 nuclear deal lifted that barrier.

Now in the wake of the US withdrawal from the pact, "SCO members may use granting full membership to Iran as a way to demonstrate support for (Tehran) and the nuclear agreement," said Dawn Murphy, professor of international security studies at the US Air War College.

Speaking Saturday to AFP in Lithuania's capital Vilnius, senior Iranian official Massoumeh Ebtekar said Iran hoped European powers, Russia and China would confirm their willingness to uphold the deal "as soon as possible because Iran cannot wait forever."

"We have been a faithful player to this commitment, we've done our best, we've shown our good intentions. We are facing a very volatile region," she said.

The tensions over Iran come as another nuclear issue dominates headlines, with Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un preparing for an unprecedented summit in Singapore.

- Trade and security -
Trade, investment and development cooperation issues will also feature prominently at the SCO, Murphy said, given the climate of "rising anti-globalisation and strains on global multilateral economic institutions", stoked by Trump's nationalist "America First" policy.

SCO nations may discuss the potential of a joint free trade area, she said, as China also pushes for participation in its Belt and Road global infrastructure project.

"Member states of the SCO are key to the success of the Belt and Road initiative and China's growing influence as a Eurasian power," said Murphy.

China may, however, be hindered from gaining robust support for its project at this summit due to India, the only SCO member that does not endorse it, she noted.

Regional security issues will also feature, because terrorism is the most severe security challenge facing the SCO, according to Liao Jinrong, head of the Chinese ministry of public security's international cooperation department.

"No matter what country has terrorists, we must strengthen our regional cooperation and not allow them to affect regional security," he told a press conference Friday, adding that the SCO bloc had stopped "hundreds" of terrorist acts.

The summit will boost cooperation on combating terrorism, drug trafficking, organised cross-border crimes and cybersecurity, he said.

147 reactions

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Guaranteed it's no accident



i24NEWS English
‏Verified account @i24NEWS_EN
5m5 minutes ago

#BREAKING: Fire hits Iraq's biggest ballot warehouse before election recount

 

[Lilbitsnana]

blah, blah, blah

Germany has no problem with G7 members mocking/insulting Trump behind his back, but they think his tweets are a problem?

Trump would be pissed if he had heard the mocking Trudeau had been doing before he walked in the other day.



i24NEWS English
‏Verified account @i24NEWS_EN
10m10 minutes ago

#BREAKING: Trump 'destroys trust' with G7 tweets, says Germany

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Guaranteed it's no accident



i24NEWS English
‏Verified account @i24NEWS_EN
5m5 minutes ago

#BREAKING: Fire hits Iraq's biggest ballot warehouse before election recount

Kurdistan 24 English
‏Verified account @K24English
4m4 minutes ago

LIVE: Fire breaks out at May 12 election ballot box warehouse in Baghdad
http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/4d9aef79-cc1d-4cba-99bd-be31a89bc26e …
#Iraq #IraqiElections2018

http://www.kurdistan24.net/en/news/4d9aef79-cc1d-4cba-99bd-be31a89bc26e


Middle East
LIVE: Fire breaks out at May 12 election ballot box warehouse in Baghdad
Baxtiyar Goran Baxtiyar Goran |
24 minutes ago
LIVE: Fire breaks out at May 12 election ballot box warehouse in Baghdad
Iraq Iraqi Elections

ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – A fire broke out at a warehouse in Baghdad where the May 12 election ballot boxes are being kept.

An Iraqi Interior Ministry official confirmed that a fire broke out in al-Rusafa district in the country’s capital and stated firefighters are attempting to contain the blaze.

This comes as the Iraqi Supreme Judicial Council named nine judges to take over the country’s electoral commission’s work on Sunday amid widespread allegations of fraud.

Updates to follow...

 

[Lilbitsnana]

i24NEWS English
‏Verified account @i24NEWS_EN
3m3 minutes ago

Fire hits Iraq's biggest ballot warehouse before election recount http://i24ne.ws/u5HW30kqsU0

posted for fair use
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/inte...gest-ballot-warehouse-before-election-recount

Fire hits Iraq's biggest ballot warehouse before election recount
06/10/2018
8:33:00 AM
Updated on
06/10/2018
8:33:11 AM
Written by
i24NEWS - AFP
Iraqi youth dismantle campaign posters in the city of Mosul on May 12, 2018, as they collect the scrap metal to sell
AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (AFP)

A fire ripped through Iraq's biggest ballot warehouse on Sunday where votes for the eastern Baghdad district were stored, before a recount ordered by parliament, a security official said.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known but it comes as Iraq prepares for a manual recount of around 10 million votes following allegations of fraud during the May 12 legislative election that saw a surprise victory for populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.

Since last month's victory of anti-establishment electoral lists, long-time political figures pushed out by Iraqi voters hoping for change have been calling for a recount.

According to intelligence services, tests of electronic voting machines -- used for the first time in Iraqi elections -- produced varied results, appearing to give credence to the fraud claims.

Parliament already voted to annul the ballots of displaced Iraqis and those living abroad.

More to come.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

UPDATE

shocked...not



Baxtiyar Goran
‏Verified account @BaxtiyarGoran
4m4 minutes ago

"All ballot boxes got burned... only few boxes have been saved," the guy behind the camera say.
#Iraq




updated article
https://www.i24news.tv/en/news/inte...gest-ballot-warehouse-before-election-recount

Fire hits Iraq's biggest ballot warehouse before election recount
06/10/2018
8:33:00 AM
Updated on
06/10/2018
9:19:39 AM
Written by
i24NEWS - AFP
Iraqi youth dismantle campaign posters in the city of Mosul on May 12, 2018, as they collect the scrap metal to sell
AHMAD AL-RUBAYE (AFP)

A fire ripped through Iraq's biggest ballot warehouse on Sunday where votes for the eastern Baghdad district were stored, before a recount ordered by parliament, a security official said.

The cause of the blaze was not immediately known but it comes as Iraq prepares for a manual recount of around 10 million votes following allegations of fraud during the May 12 legislative election that saw a surprise victory for populist Shiite cleric Moqtada Sadr.

The senior security official, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity, said the fire broke out in a warehouse located in Al-Russafa, one of the largest voting districts in eastern Baghdad.

Around 60 percent of Baghdad's two million eligible voters had cast their ballots in the May election in Al-Russafa district.

A column of black smoke billowed from the warehouse and could be seen across the capital.

Two hours after the blaze erupted firefighters backed by 10 trucks were still struggling to put out the fire, an AFP reporter said.

"The room where voting machines and other election equipment were stored was destroyed by the fire," Imed Jamil, an election commission official for Al-Russafa told AFP.

"The ballot boxes were stored in another room," he said, adding that the fire would not affect the recount.

Interior ministry spokesman General Saad Maan visited the scene and told reporters that "most of the ballot boxes were stored in another building and have been preserved".

On Wednesday Iraq's parliament ordered a manual recount at all polling stations -- although no timetable has been announced -- and sacked the commission which oversaw the polls.

The election was won by Sadr's electoral alliance with communists, with long-time political figures pushed out by Iraqi voters who were hoping for change.

But the result was contested following allegations of fraud namely by the veteran politicians, including parliamentary speaker Salim al-Juburi.

According to intelligence services, tests of electronic voting machines -- used for the first time in Iraqi elections -- produced varied results, appearing to give credence to the fraud claims.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

parallel universe
Retweeted
Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
17m17 minutes ago

Guy Elster Retweeted Kurdistan 24 English

#BREAKING Ballot box storage site catches fire in Baghdad, #Iraq parliament speaker calls for election rerun

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/arti...ify-growing-eastern-bloc-as-trump-rattles-g-7

politics
China, Russia Solidify Growing Eastern Bloc as Trump Rattles G-7

Bloomberg News
June 10, 2018 6:06 AM PDT

• Scenes of unity in Qingdao contrast with discord in Canada
• Rivalries lurk below surface of regional group’s summit

As U.S. President Donald Trump left the Group of Seven nations in turmoil this weekend, China’s Xi Jinping and Russia’s Vladimir Putin were putting on a very different show on the other side of the world.

On Sunday, Xi and Putin toasted the expansion of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, an eight-member bloc designed to coordinate security policies across Asia. The group, which welcomed new members India and Pakistan, as well as the presidents of Iran and Mongolia, pledged to increase cooperation on energy and agriculture and create more favorable conditions on trade and investment.

The carefully choreographed affair contrasted with the discord in Canada, as Trump disavowed the G-7’s joint statement and criticized his host, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau. Even as the scope of the breakdown over U.S. tariffs became clear, Xi was taking the podium to criticize what he said were new forms of “unilateralism” and “protectionism.”

“We oppose the practice of sacrificing other countries’ security for their own absolute security,” Xi told a gathering of the SCO’s heads of state in the Chinese port of Qingdao. “We need to reject selfish, short-sighted and closed policies, uphold the rules of the World Trade Organization, support the multilateral trading system and build an open world economy.”

China’s state-run media had fun with the contrasting images of the feuding democratic states and the orderly proceedings of the China- and Russian-led bloc. The English-language Twitter of account of the Communist Party’s People’s Daily newspaper posted photos of a tense scene in La Malbaie, Quebec, and another of Xi and Putin smiling, with the caption, “G7 vs SCO: two meetings on the same day.”

Regional Rivalries
The comparison only goes so far. While the 17-year-old SCO has increasingly extended into trade and economic cooperation -- the G-7’s central focus -- it was founded as a security group. The bloc, which also includes Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan has rallied around opposition of the “three evils” of terrorism, separatism and religious extremism.

The SCO has its own tensions lurking below the surface, as China seeks to use the group as a vehicle to promote its Belt and Road Initiative, a vast infrastructure-building program that runs through Russia’s strategic backyard. The addition of South Asian rivals India and Pakistan have also raised questions about the group’s long-term cohesiveness.

Pang Zhongying, a senior fellow at Pangoal, a Beijing-based research institution, said the SCO faced the same underlying tensions as the G-7 as governments favor unilateral actions over collective ones.

“The golden era of multilateralism is over, facing a crisis not only in the G-7, but also in the SCO,” Pang said. “Even though China’s state-owned media touted the so-called rich fruits of the SCO, only a few tangible achievements were in fact generated from this summit.”

The group demonstrated solidarity in pledging to uphold the Iran nuclear deal, a major source of G-7 contention after Trump’s withdrawal last month. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, whose country has observer status at the SCO, attended the summit, making his first foreign trip since the U.S.’s decision.

— With assistance by Dandan Li, and Stepan Kravchenko

LISTEN TO ARTICLE
3:07

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/...ss-and-crescent-over-austria-mosque-closures/

Erdogan Predicts ‘War Between the Cross and Crescent’ over Austria Mosque Closures

10 Jun 2018
Comments 7,270

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attacked Austria’s impending closure of mosques and consequent expulsion of Turkish-funded imams, saying the move is anti-Islamic while promising a response.
“These measures taken by the Austrian prime minister are, I fear, leading the world towards a war between the cross and the crescent,” Erdogan said in a speech in Istanbul covered by AFP.

Austria’s populist government made the announcement on Friday morning at a press conference as part of the governing coalition’s campaign against radical Islamic ideology and the influence of countries like Turkey in the Austrian Islamic community, Kronen Zeitung reports.

Media reports that between 40 and 60 imams, including their families, could be expelled in total. The imams all stand accused of receiving funding from abroad. Official investigations have been launched in 11 cases. Two of the imams had already been denied extensions to their residency permits.

Among the mosques facing closure is the Mosque of the Grey Wolves on Antonsplatz, in the working-class Vienna district of Favoriten, where the Gallipoli reenactment took place.

The other six mosques are in Vienna, Upper Austria and Carinthia, in all of which hardline salafist teachings are said to be widespread.

Mr. Erdogan, speaking Saturday, said: “They say they’re going to kick our religious men out of Austria. Do you think we will not react if you do such a thing?”

“That means we’re going to have to do something,” he added without elaborating.

Around 360,000 people of Turkish origin live in Austria, including 117,000 Turkish nationals.

Relations between Ankara and Vienna have been strained since a failed coup against Erdogan in 2016 which was followed by a wave of arrests. Mr. Erdogan’s speech precedes presidential and legislative elections on June 24 in which he faces stiff opposition.

During last year’s Turkish referendum on expanding the president’s powers, tensions ran high between Vienna and Ankara after Austria said it would not allow campaign-related events.

The new policy comes after a number of scandals involving mosques in Austria, including one in which Islamists were plotting to overthrow the government to replace it with an Islamic caliphate. The ATIB association came under fire last week when a Turkish mosque posted images of young children swearing oaths to the Turkish state.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.yahoo.com/news/saudi-arabia-says-yemen-missile-intercepted-185317972.html

Saudi Arabia says new Yemen missile intercepted

AFP • June 10, 2018

Riyadh (AFP) - Saudi air defences on Sunday intercepted a ballistic missile over the southern city of Jizan after being fired from rebel-held territory in neighbouring Yemen, a Saudi-led military coalition said.

Debris from the missile landed in residential areas of Jizan without causing casualties, the coalition said in a statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency.

Iran-backed Huthi rebels have in recent months ramped up missile attacks against neighbouring Saudi Arabia, which leads a military coalition that has fought the insurgents since 2015.

The attack comes a day after three civilians were killed in Jizan when Huthi rebels fired a "projectile" at the province, according to the coalition.

The strike coincides with the advance of coalition-backed Yemeni forces on the rebel-held Red Sea port of Hodeida, the main conduit for humanitarian supplies into a country teetering on the brink of famine.

In late May, air defences intercepted Huthi missiles over the southern cities of Najran and Jizan, according to the coalition, which said there were no casualties.

Saudi Arabia last month tested a new siren system for the capital Riyadh and the oil-rich Eastern Province, in a sign of the increasing threat posed by the rebels' arms.

Riyadh accuses its regional rival Tehran of supplying the Huthis with ballistic missiles, a charge Iran denies.

Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and other allies intervened in Yemen in 2015 to push back the rebels and restore the internationally-recognised government to power after the Huthis ousted it from swathes of the country including the capital Sanaa.

Nearly 10,000 people have been killed since the alliance launched its intervention in Yemen in March 2015, contributing to what the UN has called the world's worst humanitarian crisis.

9 reactions

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.military.com/daily-news...rect-gunfights-isis-syria-commander-says.html

Marines Engaged in Direct Gunfights with ISIS in Syria, Commander Says

Military.com 9 Jun 2018 By Matthew Cox
U.S. Marines, attached to special operations forces in Syria, often found themselves in direct-fire gunfights with Islamic State fighters earlier this year, according to the commander of the Special-Purpose Marine Air-Ground Task Force-Crisis Response for Central Command.

The unit, designed with capability to launch combat forces within six hours anywhere in the CENTCOM theater, sent two rifle companies to support Special Operations Command units operating in Northern Syria between January and April, Marine Col. Christopher Gideons, commander of the task force, said Friday at the Potomac Institute.

"When Marines deploy, they want to get involved," he said. "When there is a gunfight out there ... they want to find that opportunity to feel like they are making a meaningful contribution. We did exactly that."

Gideons initially deployed a platoon-size element that linked up with Army Special Forces Operational Detachment Alpha (ODA) teams.

"They were integrated with [special operations forces], absolutely integrated. We were providing Marine infantry, we were providing indirect fires, and we were providing anti-tank fires," he said.

The SOF elements would push forward, advising Syrian Democratic Forces, "the ones that were primarily engaged in the direct firefights with ISIS," Gideons said.

"You would have Marines integrated with those ODAs ... providing fires down at that lower tactical level," he said.

During its 243-day deployment, the unit had to conduct several "rapid planning processes" to deploy forces on short notice, he added.

Over time, more support was needed in Syria, so Gideons deployed more Marines to grow the platoon-size element to "two infantry [companies minus]" that were located in two separate locations in Northern Syria.

"We anticipated that that requirement would grow with a need for Marine Corps capabilities, and it did," he said.

Soon the fighting intensified.

"On a number of different occasions, there would be various engagements, some direct, some indirect," Gideons said. "As the SDF would close in sometimes, they would outstretch particularly what our mortar fires could provide.

"We would displace out of our small [forward operating bases] we were operating out of, move closer in behind the SDF and then provide fires -- a lot of times mortar fire ... and of course as you were getting into an engagement, there is the potential for stuff to come back at you," he said.

Marines operated in both mounted and dismounted roles. F/A-18s coming out of Bahrain provided close-air support when needed, Gideons said.

Despite the action Marines saw, there were no casualties.

"I am very happy and proud to say that we brought everybody home," Gideons said.

He described the deployment as "dynamic."

"What was unique on our watch is over our 243 days in theater ... from our perspective, we were more distributed than any other SPMAGTF up until that point," he said. "We had Marines operating in 10 different countries and 24 separate locations. I had Marines from Egypt to Afghanistan.

"I didn't own missions in Iraq or Syria, but I had capabilities that could augment and support that mission's successful accomplishment."

-- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com.

 

[night driver]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.breitbart.com/jerusalem/...ss-and-crescent-over-austria-mosque-closures/

Erdogan Predicts ‘War Between the Cross and Crescent’ over Austria Mosque Closures

10 Jun 2018
Comments 7,270
.

Does he REALLY think that these guys have all died out?

 

[Housecarl]

Hummm....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.realcleardefense.com/ar...d_turkish_troops_to_patrol_manbij_113521.html

U.S. and Turkish Troops to Patrol Manbij

By Associated Press
June 09, 2018

ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey’s defense minister says Turkish and U.S. soldiers will patrol the key northern Syrian town of Manbij as part of a deal reached this week for the withdrawal of a Syrian Kurdish militia.

Speaking in Brussels after a NATO summit late Friday, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli said he met his American counterpart James Mattis. “We had a very detailed, constructive and positive meeting on the Manbij roadmap,” he said.

Turkey has repeatedly called on the U.S. to stop backing the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, which it considers terrorists and an extension of a Kurdish insurgency within its own borders.

The U.S.-backed force has been instrumental in fighting the Islamic State group and pushing them out of northern Syria, including in Manbij.

Canikli’s comments were carried by Turkey’s official Anadolu news agency.

 

[Housecarl]

Does he REALLY think that these guys have all died out?

You know the saying about "writing checks your body can't cash"?.... Erdogan has been assuming that all of the population of the EU are as cowed as their governments say they are... Considering the amount of killing Europeans have been doling out against one another for thousands of years, never mind the last 100 and it has only gotten easier to do so, that bill Erdogan may well receive from the butcher is going to be an eye opener...

 

[Housecarl]

Hummm....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.axios.com/xi-jinping-vl...mit-4119f4f5-f531-49c2-a382-23574fb739b3.html

Steve LeVine12 hours ago

Why Xi and Putin think "the West is in free fall"

Chinese leader Xi Jinping and Russia's Vladimir Putin are strategizing how to reposition themselves for a new, more powerful future amid a rapid deterioration of the U.S.-led global order.

What we're hearing: Xi and Putin, meeting Friday in Beijing and again yesterday in the city of Qingdao, don't appear to think they have the cachet — even combined — to create an entirely new system. Nor is it clear that at the moment they would want to trash the U.S.-led institutions that have anchored the global economy and political order since World War II.

But look for the mutually distrustful pair to feel out ways to transition to a new world in which a loose grouping of China, Russia and their allies can become more or less the geopolitical equals of the West.

• In a special report yesterday, Axios' Jim VandeHei and Jonathan Swan wrote that President Trump is shaking up U.S.-led institutions.
• Yesterday, for instance, Trump threw down lightning bolts from Air Force One when Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau dared challenge him on trade. He angrily tweeted that he withdrew the U.S. signature from a just-finished G7 summit communique.
• Such spectacles feed Xi's and Putin's conviction that "the West is in free fall," says Mathew Burrows, former counselor at the National Intelligence Council, and now at the Atlantic Council. He tells Axios, "Both Xi and Putin have been surprised and shocked by the rapidity of the U.S. decline."
• Burrows adds: "We’re descending fast into a Hobbesian world. Only the U.S. think tank community believes it can restore the liberal rules-based order: Such grand illusions!"

What this new world might look like: China's long-term vision is a world structured within its various big infrastructure initiatives. But Ian Bremmer, president of Eurasia Group, tells Axios that he does not see Xi and Putin for now attempting to replace the post-war multilateral architecture. He believes it will remain in place.

• Rather, they are both looking for advantage from the mayhem — separately, Bremmer says, because, notwithstanding Xi and Putin's shows of bonhomie, "they don't trust each other."
• "They both see opportunities, to be sure. Russia — to undermine the U.S. and divide the West. China — to expand their political and economic influence globally."
• Bremmer's take: "Long term, China is the emerging superpower; Putin's a master tactician but doesn't have a plan."

 

[Lilbitsnana]

This is the second or is it third time an ammunition explosion was blamed on "heat"



parallel universe
Retweeted
Michael A. Horowitz
‏Verified account @michaelh992
28m28 minutes ago

Large explosion reported in al-Qutayfah northeast of Damascus #Syria



parallel universe
Retweeted
News_Executive
‏ @News_Executive
22m22 minutes ago

BREAKING: Reports of huge double explosion reported in al-Qutayfah northeast of Damascus, Syria, a number of Military bases are located in the area. Cause of the explosion unknown as of now.




parallel universe
Retweeted
Julian Röpcke
‏Verified account @JulianRoepcke
6m6 minutes ago

#Update
Regime sources say "overheating of ammunition" caused the explosion.
#Syria

 

[night driver]

Ah, yes. "Overheating." Of COURSE if you heat ammo with a half-kilo chunk of something that burns at around 2K degrees F, it's gonna burn FAST.

 

[Housecarl]

For links and graphics see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2018-06-10/china-s-master-plan-a-global-military-threat

Politics & Policy

China’s Master Plan: A Global Military Threat

From the East China Sea to Africa, Beijing is flexing its muscles.

by Hal Brands
82 Comments
June 10, 2018 7:00 AM PDT

(This is the first in a series of columns on China's effort to supplant the U.S. as the world's pre-eminent geopolitical power.)

I wrote a column recently about how a longstanding assumption of America’s China policy -- that economic integration between the two countries is an unalloyed good -- has now been overtaken by events. But this isn’t the only area in which China’s rise is forcing a re-evaluation of old beliefs.

Now, as the first in a series of columns on this phenomenon that Bloomberg Opinion will publish in the coming days, I'll delve into another issue with enormous implications for U.S.-China relations and American interests: the rise of China as a more globally oriented military power.

For years, most experts believed that China’s military challenge to the U.S. was regional in nature -- that it was confined to the Western Pacific. After decades of tacitly free-riding on America’s global power-projection capabilities, however, Beijing now is seeking the capabilities that will allow it to project its own military power well outside its regional neighborhood.

The fact that China is building up its military strength is hardly news, of course. The 1995-96 Taiwan crisis, during which the U.S. responded to Chinese intimidation of Taiwan by sending two carrier strike groups to the area, underscored to the Chinese leadership that America's military dominance gave it the capability to intervene at will even in China’s own backyard.

Since then, Beijing has been developing the capabilities -- advanced fighter jets, anti-ship ballistic missiles, and stealthy diesel-electric attack submarines among them -- meant not just to give it leverage over its East and Southeast Asian neighbors, but also to prevent the U.S. from intervening effectively in their defense.

This effort to build what are known as “anti-access/area-denial” capabilities has borne fruit, and the U.S. will now face high and continually growing obstacles to defending Taiwan or other partners and allies in the event of conflict with China.

Even as Beijing challenged U.S. dominance in the Western Pacific, however, it was simultaneously one of the greatest beneficiaries of America’s global military superiority.

U.S. power-projection capabilities have underpinned the stability and freedom of the global commons and ensured the free flow of energy supplies and other key commodities. U.S. military power has thus fostered the relatively benign global climate in which China has grown rich and powerful.

This is just one of the many paradoxes of the U.S.-China relationship. Washington has underwritten the economic rise of its greatest long-term strategic rival by protecting the global commercial flows that have made that rival so wealthy. China, for its part, has been a free-rider on America’s provision of global stability even while challenging the U.S. ever more sharply in the Asia-Pacific.

This situation could not last forever, though, because it represented a vulnerability that a rising China would not tolerate indefinitely. After all, if the U.S. can secure the global commons, then it can also dominate and even restrict access to them if it so chooses.

So, as the U.S.-China relationship has become more contentious, China has become less willing to accept that its economic prosperity requires the forbearance of the U.S. Navy. Chinese strategists have become acutely aware of the “Malacca Dilemma” -- the prospect that the U.S. could severely constrain China’s imports of oil and other critical commodities by interdicting shipping at a few crucial maritime chokepoints.

U.S. strategists are also fully aware of this possibility, as proposals for a far-seas blockade meant to starve Beijing of vital resources have figured prominently in the debate on how to defeat China in a possible war. Any great power would chafe at a situation in which its foremost rival has such enormous power over its own economic well-being, and China is no exception.

At the same time, the growth of Chinese military strength is giving Beijing greater ability to start redressing this vulnerability. In the mid-1990s, the People’s Liberation Army was still an antiquated force that would have faced enormous difficulty projecting power anywhere beyond China’s borders. Chinese defense spending amounted to only around 2 percent of the global total.

Now, after decades of rapid economic growth and steadily rising defense spending, China has the second-largest defense budget in the world, and the PLA is a more sophisticated, modern force capable of taking on ever-more ambitious missions.

As a result, Chinese military officials are looking beyond the Western Pacific and considering how to project power ever farther abroad.

Naval strategists are thinking about how to exert Chinese military influence in the Indian Ocean, the Horn of Africa and other critical waterways that represent China’s maritime lifelines to key regions such as Persian Gulf. The Belt and Road Initiative, a vast trade and infrastructure project meant to link China with countries throughout Asia and Europe, serves a similar purpose.

And even though China’s force posture is still focused on the country’s maritime and territorial peripheries (as well as on internal security), Beijing is gradually building a more global military footprint. Chinese forces have carried out counter-piracy missions, crisis evacuations and naval exercises thousands of miles from China’s coast. They have ventured into the Arctic Ocean, Baltic Sea and other faraway waterways. The PLA Navy is developing capabilities, such as aircraft carriers, that may eventually provide some type of global power-projection capability.

China is also working to secure the logistical facilities necessary to sustain such operations. Beijing has opened its first overseas military base in strategically located Djibouti, among other developments elsewhere along the Indian Ocean littoral, and it is reportedly using economic leverage and coercive diplomacy to seek access to ports and other facilities in countries from Vanuatu to Sri Lanka and beyond.

Additionally, Chinese forces have engaged in exercises in Africa, as part of an effort to protect China’s growing overseas presence in that continent. This more global outlook is even evident in pop culture. A blockbuster movie recently depicted a Chinese battleship rescuing overseas Chinese from the chaos of a civil war in a fictional African country.

It will be decades, at earliest, before China can even come close to equaling the global military reach of the U.S. But Beijing is moving, clearly and deliberately, in that direction.

From an American perspective, this trend is troubling for what it says about China’s long-range ambitions. It shows that, at a time when U.S.-China relations are becoming increasingly antagonistic, Beijing is already looking ahead to a period when it will compete with America not just regionally but globally as well.

And if China is aspiring to a more global presence now, at a time when the areas just off its coast are still heavily contested, how ambitious might it become if and when it succeeds in establishing itself as the dominant power in the Western Pacific?
This is just one of several ways in which Beijing is steadily taking on more of the trappings of an aspiring global power, one whose objectives and interests expand with its capabilities.

The silver lining is that China may be getting ahead of itself. Its efforts to develop a larger overseas footprint -- particularly to secure access to ports and other facilities -- have created greater international suspicion of its motives and designs. That, in turn, will probably lead to more international resistance to China’s strategic rise.

Moreover, if one assumes that Chinese military spending is not infinitely expandable, then there is a tradeoff between developing power-projection capabilities that may be useful in a global context -- a carrier strike group, for instance -- and those that would provide the greatest bang for the buck in a war against the U.S. over Taiwan, such as anti-ship missiles.

Global powers are continually confronted with hard decisions about resources and priorities. China will become more familiar with such predicaments as its ambitions grow.

(The next column in this series will focus on the global ideological competition between China and the democratic West.)

This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.

To contact the author of this story:
Hal Brands at Hal.Brands@jhu.edu
To contact the editor responsible for this story:
Tobin Harshaw at tharshaw@bloomberg.net

 

[Lilbitsnana]

didn't know where to put this; not war, but definitely could put a few crimps in things



Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
4m4 minutes ago

#URGENT:
Larry Kudlow has reportedly suffered a heart attack and is recovering in Walter Reed Medical Center. Larry Kudlow is the Director of the United States National Economic Council.



ETA 7:45 PM CDT


ELINT News Retweeted
Donald J. Trump
‏Verified account @realDonaldTrump
9m9 minutes ago

Our Great Larry Kudlow, who has been working so hard on trade and the economy, has just suffered a heart attack. He is now in Walter Reed Medical Center.


ETA2

a thread had been posted while I was posting here
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?537667-Larry-Kudlow-has-had-a-heart-attack

 

[mzkitty]

Gonna starve some more, looks like. Egads, it never stops with them:


ArdilMir
‏ @ardil_mir
2m2 minutes ago

#BREAKING: A huge explosion grain silos in #Raqqa city now.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

The Intel Crab Retweeted
SURA
‏ @AlSuraEnglish
3m3 minutes ago

#BREAKING - #Yemeni forces have struck #Saudi-led Coalition warship near the port city of #Hudaydah.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

The Intel Crab Retweeted
SURA
‏ @AlSuraEnglish
10m10 minutes ago

#BREAKING - #Saudi-led Coalition helicopters now conducting rescue mission on warship struck by #Yemeni forces. Remaining warships pulling back from coast of Hudaydah city.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Haaretz.com
‏Verified account @haaretzcom
2h2 hours ago

Turkey coordinating with Iran on possible military incursion into Kurdish Iraq



Haaretz.com
‏Verified account @haaretzcom
2h2 hours ago

Turkey Coordinating With Iran on Possible Military Incursion Into Kurdish Iraq
https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east...ssible-military-incursion-into-iraq-1.6174052 …
@DRUDGE_REPORT



Haaretz.com
‏Verified account @haaretzcom
2h2 hours ago

Turkey Says Troops Already Inside Iraq and Ready to Move on Kurdish Stronghold



posted for fair use and discusion

https://www.haaretz.com/middle-east...ssible-military-incursion-into-iraq-1.6174052



Turkey Coordinating With Iran on Possible Military Incursion Into Kurdish Iraq

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu says Turkey is in contact with Iran about conducting a possible military operation against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in the region of Qandil

Reuters
Jun 13, 2018 2:51 PM

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici

Turkish opposition gets creative as Erdogan tightens grip on media ahead of elections
Israelis or Arabs – who owns falafel - and does it matter?
How Dutch satirical TV became the latest 'anti-Israel' enemy

Turkey is in contact with Iran about conducting a possible military operation against Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) militants in the northern Iraq region of Qandil, close to the Iranian border, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

"We are in contact with Iran," Cavusoglu told broadcaster Haberturk. "PKK is a threat to them as well. Qandil is very close to the Iran border...We will improve cooperation with Iran."

Turkish forces are stationed 30 km inside northern Iraq and could advance further to target Kurdish PKK militants in their Qandil Mountains stronghold, Turkey's Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said Sunday.

Stepping up Turkish warnings about expanding its military presence in Kurdish-controlled areas of Iraq, Yildirim told Reuters that Ankara would not hesitate to escalate an offensive against militants across its southern border.

The prospect of a major military operation comes less than three months after Turkish forces drove Kurdish fighters from the Syrian border region of Afrin. Turkey says that Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) bases in north Iraq are next in its sights, despite protests from the central government in Baghdad.


"Our forces have now been positioned some 30 km into northern Iraq, working to prevent infiltrations and terror activities there," Yildirim said in an interview on his plane as he campaigned for June 24 elections in eastern Turkey.

Accusing the PKK of carrying out "provocations and traps", and long-distance attacks, he said Turkey would "of course go further" if such actions continued. "We will show no hesitation here until these elements are neutralised," he said.

"Every option (on Qandil) is on the table," he added.

Turkey already carries out regular cross-border air strikes against the PKK in northern Iraq. On Friday, the military said warplanes had struck shelters and weapons stations in Qandil and other areas.

On Thursday night, President Tayyip Erdogan said if Iraq did not clear the region of PKK militants, Turkey would strike Qandil and the Sinjar area further west where it says the PKK is also concentrated.

Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said on Tuesday that Baghdad was ready to coordinate with Ankara to prevent cross-border attacks into Turkey, and said Turkish soldiers had been in northern Iraq since the 1980s.

But he called on Turkey to "respect Iraqi sovereignty" and accused Turkish politicians of raising tensions for domestic purposes.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

News_Executive
‏ @News_Executive
4h4 hours ago

BREAKING: Iran has completed the planning stage of the project of a new nuclear reactor in #Arak and can proceed to the construction within 2-3 months, if the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is terminated, spokesperson for the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran says.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Yesterday 11:40 PM #30
Lilbitsnana


The Intel Crab Retweeted
SURA
‏ @AlSuraEnglish
3m3 minutes ago

#BREAKING - #Yemeni forces have struck #Saudi-led Coalition warship near the port city of #Hudaydah.

Today 12:18 AM #31
Lilbitsnana




The Intel Crab Retweeted
SURA
‏ @AlSuraEnglish
10m10 minutes ago

#BREAKING - #Saudi-led Coalition helicopters now conducting rescue mission on warship struck by #Yemeni forces. Remaining warships pulling back from coast of Hudaydah city.

ELINT News
‏ @ELINTNews
4h4 hours ago

#BREAKING: Yemeni Army begins massive assault on Houthi controlled key port city and airport of Al-Hudaydah



ELINT News
‏ @ELINTNews
4h4 hours ago

#BREAKING: Yemeni Army in 30 minutes has advanced 5km towards airport, very quick, and controls all key farms and the main road the the airport, Houthis reportedly fleeing the battle - Via @SkyNewsArabia_B


ELINT News
‏ @ELINTNews

#BREAKING: Coloumns of hundreds of armoured vehicles and tanks of the Yemeni Army and UAE/Saudi Forces are advancing rapidly towards the airport, airstrikes reported

 

[Lilbitsnana]

This might be nothing and it could be something

If it is "something" it could apply to any number of threads, so putting it here.





Brad
‏ @usafshortwave
16m16 minutes ago

The White House has apparently called a lid a few minutes ago.



Brad
‏ @usafshortwave
9m9 minutes ago

This means there will be no news from the White House until the lid is lifted. Last time this happened was when the strikes on Syria happened.



Jordan
‏ @Jordan_SP1
9m9 minutes ago

Replying to @usafshortwave

Nothing to worry about, though. Right?


Brad
‏ @usafshortwave
7m7 minutes ago

Could be something to worry about. Last time this happened was right before Trump announced the strikes on Syria. It would be a good idea to keep an eye on it.


Jordan
‏ @Jordan_SP1
4m4 minutes ago

Ah, OK. I just read about a press lid (as was unsure about it) but thanks for letting me know about that. Will keep an eye out. Cheers.



kyle wheeler
‏ @kylewhe19442697
12m12 minutes ago

Replying to @usafshortwave

A what?


Brad
‏ @usafshortwave
11m11 minutes ago

Press lid


kyle wheeler
‏ @kylewhe19442697
10m10 minutes ago

Thank you.



David M.
‏ @altGOP93
39s39 seconds ago

Replying to @usafshortwave

It might not be too serious. Could be just related to Larry Kudlow's release from the hospital, or it could be news about the North Korean negotiations. The craziest possibility might be a new firing of someone like Rosenstein given that Michael Cohen might flip on him soon.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
5m5 minutes ago

The White House has called a "lid" at approximately 1252. A "lid" is a term often used by the White House that essentially means the White House is going silent and there will be no major news coming out of the White House until the "lid" is lifted.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Iran does seem a likely possibility




Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
2m2 minutes ago

I almost wonder if this press lid was called because of Turkey coordinating with Iran on a possible incursion into Iraq.. But speculation is rather pointless because we won't know otherwise until the lid is lifted.


Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
39s39 seconds ago

Knowing this administration there's a chance we'll see leaks come out from the White House regardless of a press lid.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
2h2 hours ago

#BREAKING Assad says there are no #Iran|ian military bases in #Syria, but will not hesitate to allow them if there is a need

 

[night driver]

Iran does seem a likely possibility



Intel Doge
‏ @IntelDoge
39s39 seconds ago

Knowing this administration there's a chance we'll see leaks come out from the White House regardless of a press lid.

Ahh, Dogey, Dogey, Dogey. That was the LAST admin.



As an aside: Where he gets his name: A doge (/ˈdoʊdʒ/; Italian: [ˈdɔːdʒe]; plural dogi or doges) was an elected lord and chief of state in many of the Italian city-states during the medieval and renaissance periods. Such states are referred to as "crowned republics".

https://www.google.com/search?q=dog...95j0j7&client=ubuntu&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Interesting times ahead


ShiaPulse
‏ @ShiaPulse
1h1 hour ago

Assad to Iran's al-Alam TV channel: The Russian plan for settlement in south Syria is welcomed by Syria but is foiled by the US & Israel. They push the terrorists to stay in this region



ShiaPulse
‏ @ShiaPulse
22m22 minutes ago

Assad to Iran's al-Alam TV channel: Syria-Iran relations are strategic. These ties are not subordinated to political games. Once we make a decision regarding Iran('s military presence in Syria) we would talk about it with Tehran, not with anyone else



ShiaPulse
‏ @ShiaPulse
8m8 minutes ago

ShiaPulse Retweeted Matthew Levitt

Israeli Army chief of intelligence met today with foreign officials behind closed doors, presented a map showing the Iranian military bases across Syria

ShiaPulse added,
Matthew Levitt
@Levitt_Matt
Assad: No Iran Bases in Syria, Premature to Talk of Hizbullah Withdrawal http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/247303 …



http://www.naharnet.com/stories/en/247303


Assad: No Iran Bases in Syria, Premature to Talk of Hizbullah Withdrawal
by Naharnet Newsdesk 2 hours ago


Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Wednesday that it is “premature” to talk about the possibility of Hizbullah's withdrawal from Syria.

“Hizbullah is an essential element in this war and the battle is long and the need for these military forces will continue for a long time,” Assad told Iran's al-Alam TV when asked whether Damascus has asked Hizbullah to pull its forces out of the country.

He added: “When Hizbullah, Iran or other forces consider that terrorism has been eradicated, they will tell us that they want to return to their country, because as the Sayyed (Hassan Nasrallah) said, they have families and daily interests and this is the normal thing but it is premature to talk about this issue.”

Separately, Assad denied the presence of Iranian military bases or regular Iranian soldiers in his country while acknowledging that there are Iranian officers who are leading “groups of Iranian volunteers.”

“Should we find, in coordination with the Iranians, that there is a need for the presence of Iranian military bases, we will not hesitate, but the Iranian support in its current form is sufficient and effective,” the Syrian leader added.

Hizbullah chief Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah had announced Friday that the “entire world” cannot force his group to withdraw its fighters from Syria.

Nasrallah noted however that Hizbullah would pull out its militants at the Syrian government's request.