WAR 07-25-2015-to-07-31-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

[Housecarl]

(173) 07-04-2015-to-07-10-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...10-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

(174) 07-11-2015-to-07-17-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...17-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

(175) 07-18-2015-to-07-24-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...24-2015_____****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

_____

Looks like the Turks are going after everyone......

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150724/eu-turkey-syria-iraq-d4889c6678.html

Reports: Turkish jets hit IS targets in Syria, Kurds in Iraq

Jul 24, 7:07 PM (ET)
By SUZAN FRASER

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — Turkish jets flying from a base in Turkey's southeast have struck Islamic State group targets across the border in Syria for the second straight night, Turkish news reports said Saturday. The fighter jets also hit camps of Kurdish PKK militants in northern Iraq, the reports said.

There was no immediate official confirmation of the airstrikes reported by the state-run TRT television and other media. If confirmed, it would be the first time Turkey has struck Kurds in northern Iraq since a peace deal was announced in 2013 between Ankara and the rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

The private Dogan news agency said the Turkish jets were targeting PKK training facilities, shelters and anti-aircraft batteries in northern Iraq.

Tensions have flared with Kurds in recent days after an IS suicide bombing in the southeastern Turkish city of Suruc on Monday killed 32 people. Kurdish groups blame the Turkish government for not combatting IS.

On Wednesday, the PKK claimed responsibility for the killing of two Turkish policemen near the Kurdish majority city of Sanliurfa, near the Syrian border.

In other attacks, seven police officers were injured after suspected PKK militants hurled a small bomb at a police station in Bismil town, near the mainly Kurdish city of Diyarbakir, the Dogan news agency reported Friday. Assailants also hurled a small bomb at officers inside a police vehicle in the town of Semdinli, near the border with Iraq, the agency said.

Turkey started attacking IS positions after the suicide bombing and an IS ambush that killed a Turkish soldier.

On Friday, three F-16 jets struck IS targets that included two command centers and a gathering point near the Turkish border in Syria. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said nine IS militants were killed in the raids.

In a related development, Turkey announced Friday that it was allowing its air bases to be used by the U.S.-led coalition forces for operations against IS extremists.

___

Turkish army engages in first gunfight with ISIL after soldier killed
Started by Lilbitsnana‎, Yesterday 08:33 AM
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...first-gunfight-with-ISIL-after-soldier-killed

Turkey Plans To Build 560-mile Concrete Wall Along Syrian Border
Started by Shacknasty Shagrat‎, Yesterday 11:00 AM
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...ld-560-mile-Concrete-Wall-Along-Syrian-Border

Main Islamic State (ISIS) thread
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/showthread.php?451597-Main-Islamic-State-(ISIS)-thread/page139

 

[Housecarl]

Saudi Arabia/10 Nation coalition are bombing YEMEN
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...-Arabia-10-Nation-coalition-are-bombing-YEMEN


For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150724/ml-yemen-3aba0ac8e4.html

Saudi-led coalition airstrikes kill more than 120 in Yemen

Jul 24, 7:42 PM (ET)
By AHMED AL-HAJ

SANAA, Yemen (AP) — Saudi-led coalition airstrikes killed more than 120 civilians and wounded more than 150 after shelling a residential area in the Yemeni province of Taiz on Friday evening, security officials, medical officials and witnesses said.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to reporters, said that most of the houses in the area were leveled and a fire broke out in the port city of Mokha. Most of the corpses, including children, women and elderly people, were charred by the flames, they said.

Ahmed Mohammed al-Mouzay, a resident of the area who participated in rescue operations, said most of his neighbors had passed away. Many of the dead and wounded were transported in private cars or in animal-drawn carts drawn to hospitals, he added.

A security official said it was not possible to move the injured into the provincial capital because of road closures due to ongoing fighting.

Security officials said this comes after Saudi-led coalition planes launched dozens of airstrikes on positions of Shiite Houthi rebels and their allies in Mokha. The closest Houthi outpost to Friday evening's deadly strike is at least 5km away, officials and area residents said.

Saudi officials could not immediately be reached for comment.

The fighting in Yemen pits the Houthis and troops loyal to former President Ali Abdullah Saleh against southern separatists, local and tribal militias, Sunni Islamic militants and loyalists of exiled President Abed Rabbo Mansour Hadi, who is now in Saudi Arabia.

Fierce battles between Shiite Houthi rebels and pro-government forces in Yemen's Marib province and in Taiz Friday killed 20 people, according to officials.

Nine rebels and seven anti-Houthi tribesmen were killed in clashes in Marib, medical officials said. Houthi shelling killed four civilians in the city of Taiz, according to medical and security officials.

All officials spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to reporters.

The Saudi-led coalition backed pro-government fighters in Friday's clashes, bombing rebel positions.

Clashes also raged north of the strategic southern port city of Aden, according to a security official. Anti-Houthi fighters in Aden said Thursday they seized full control of the city, after they pushed the rebels from their last holdout.

This current push north of Aden is the start of a wide-scale campaign to clear the city's surrounding area of rebels, a security official said. The anti-Houthi forces made significant gains in Aden over the past week, with battles to drive the rebels and their allies out of the city stretching on for days.

The battle for Aden has become the epicenter of Yemen's conflict over the past several weeks. The Iran-allied rebels seized the Yemeni capital, Sanaa, last September and then began pressing their advance south. Fierce fighting over Aden broke out in March, sparking the Saudi-led airstrikes that have been targeting the rebels to halt their advance.

 

[Housecarl]

November Sierra............

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.breitbart.com/national-s...cerned-iran-might-not-obey-nuclear-agreement/

Pentagon Chief Now ‘Concerned’ Iran Might Not Obey Nuclear Agreement

by Edwin Mora
24 Jul 2015
Comments

U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, while talking to American troops during an unannounced visit to Iraq on Thursday, cast doubt on whether Iran will abide by the terms of a nuclear agreement between Tehran and U.S.-led world powers.

Carter told a staff sergeant who asked how the deal will affect U.S. troops in Iraq:

I continue to be concerned about Iranian malign activity in the region to include here [in Iraq], and the possibility of Iranian aggression and the possibility that Iran will not obey the agreement, which we’ll find out, because there’s got to be inspections and [verification] and so forth.

He added, “We will keep the military option, which was the alternative to a deal.”

The nuclear accord “doesn’t solve all problems over in this part of the world, and it doesn’t solve all problems emanating from Iran. …It’s an agreement that places important limitations upon Iran, places no limits on us, and it doesn’t place any limits on anything we do with anybody in this region,” explained Carter.

Carter echoed critics of the nuclear deal who also think Iran may break the agreement. Iran has been accused of violating nuclear deals in the past. Critics believe it is unlikely that the Shiite powerhouse will change its ways under the agreement.

The Obama administration argues that the deal was not meant to function as a magic bullet that would solve all problems associated with Iran’s behavior. Rather, its goal is to prevent Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

Carter told U.S. troops in Iraq, “The Iran nuclear deal, which is a good deal, in the sense that it will stop Iran from getting a nuclear weapon. It’s about Iranian nuclear weapons. It’s not about everything else Iran does.”

Repudiating the agreement based on the notion that it fails to reform Iran’s conduct “defies logic,” Obama told reporters after the deal was announced, adding that he was “not betting” on Iran changing its ways.

“It makes no sense; and it loses sight of what was our original No. 1 priority, which was making sure they don’t have a bomb,” he added.

Defense Secretary Carter has maintained that the military option remains on the table despite the agreement.

 

[Housecarl]

Hummm..........

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/24/us-mideast-crisis-syria-kerry-idUSKCN0PY1VL20150724

Politics | Fri Jul 24, 2015 11:52am EDT
Related: World, Politics, Syria, Davos

Kerry to talk with Russia on Islamic State fight and role Iran might play

NEW YORK | By Michelle Nichols


U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that he planned to discuss combating Islamic State militants in Syria and what role Iran could play when he meets with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, in Qatar in coming weeks.

Kerry told the Council on Foreign Relations think tank in New York that "we have to change the dynamic in Syria" to kill off radical Islamic State, which has declared a caliphate in swathes of territory it has seized in Syria and Iraq.

"And that's part of why we have been negotiating with Turkey in these last weeks and now have some shift in what the Turks are prepared to do, and there is also a shift in some of the things that we're engaged in," Kerry said, without elaborating.

Turkish warplanes pounded Islamic State targets in Syria for the first time on Friday, and officials in Washington have said Turkey has agreed to let U.S. jets launch air strikes from a base near the Syrian border.

Kerry said he hoped to follow up with Lavrov on previous discussions about Syria.

"We want to bring the Saudis in, we want to bring the Turks in, and ultimately, probably, we will have to see what the Iranians are prepared to do," said Kerry.

Russia is trying to bring about rapprochement between the Syrian government and regional states hostile to it, including Saudi Arabia and Turkey, to forge an alliance to fight Islamic State.

Following a historic accord between world powers and Iran last week to curb Tehran's nuclear program, Kerry said, "both (Iranian) President (Hassan) Rouhani and Foreign Minister (Javad) Zarif have made it clear that with the agreement they are prepared to discuss the regional issues."

Kerry plans to travel to Doha in the next couple of weeks to meet with the Gulf Cooperation Council, which is made up of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar.


(Reporting by Michelle Nichols; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

 

[Housecarl]

FUNG WAR ADVISORY #2: China....Back Down or We'll Wage War Against CONUS
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...ck-Down-or-We-ll-Wage-War-Against-CONUS/page4

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://thediplomat.com/2015/07/chinas-elegant-flawed-grand-strategy/

China’s Elegant, Flawed, Grand Strategy

Elegant in theory, Beijing’s grand strategy is triggering an Asian security dilemma.

By Leon Whyte
July 25, 2015

38 Shares
5 Comments

China is a country with more than a billion people, but as Ross Terrill observed, when we ask what China wants, we are really attempting to discern the goals of the nine “male engineers” who make up the Standing Committee of the Politburo of the Chinese Communist Party. This clarification makes the answer straightforward: Like any bureaucracy or interest group the CCP wants to ensure its survival, which depends on maintaining legitimacy with the Chinese people. To meet this goal, the CCP under President Xi Jinping has articulated a strategy of peaceful development; however, increasing Chinese military capabilities and strategic coercion will cause other states to balance against China, making it harder for the CCP to protect its core interests and continue its economic and strategic rise.

China’s Long-Term Goals

The CCP considers foreign policy directly related to maintaining domestic stability and regime survival. Chinese Scholar Ye Zicheng expressed the nationalist sentiment: “If China does not become a world power, the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation will be incomplete. Only when it becomes a world power can we say that the total rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has been achieved.” This has become widely accepted among both common and elite Chinese citizens. To maintain control of Chinese nationalism, and to channel it as a source of legitimacy for the regime, the CCP has established the two concepts of “core interests” and a “new type of great power relationship.”

The 2011 Chinese White Paper “China’s Peaceful Development,” lists the six core Chinese interests as 1) state sovereignty; 2) national security; 3) territorial integrity; 4) national reunification; 5) China’s political system established by the Constitution and overall social stability; 6) basic safeguards for ensuring sustainable economic and social development. The concept of core interests is how the CCP signals the issues it is willing to go to war over. In the past, Chinese spokespeople have referred to both contested South and East China Sea territorial claims as core interests, but officially at least, the CCP has maintained ambiguity about their status. Still, the CCP has been clear that it considers its territorial claims to be sovereign Chinese territory, so maintaining these claims would fall under the core interests listed in the 2011 White Paper. In addition, in contrast to the ambiguity of its maritime claims, the CCP has been clear that Taiwan is a core interest, and it is unwilling to rule out the use of force to reunify China.

China’s pursuit of its core interests has the potential to trigger great power rivalry or conflict with the United States and other regional powers. This is why in 2010 then Chinese President Hu Jintao told U.S. President Barack Obama that “China and the United States should respect each other’s core interests and major concerns. This is key to the healthy and stable development of bilateral ties.” Current Chinese President Xi Jinping has articulated a similar concept in his vision for a “new type of great-power relationship” between China and the United States. This slogan has now become commonplace in Chinese official speeches and media when describing the U.S.-China relationship. Together, the concepts of “core interests” and a “new type of great power relationship,” demonstrate the CCP’s vision of China’s future. In this vision, China and the United States will enjoy an equal relationship with clearly defined core interests that the other will not interfere with. This will result in China assuming a preeminent place in Asia, with a large sphere of influence encompassing much of the South and East China Seas, and a reunification with Taiwan.

Chinese Grand Strategy

Currently the United States and other Western powers control the international order and benefit by creating the rules. China is currently a rule-taker in this international system, but it has developed a new ideal for international relations based on non-interference in other state’s affairs. Xi has articulated this as part of China’s peaceful development strategy, saying China should “abide by the principle of non-interference in other countries’ internal affairs, respect the independent choice of development path and social system by people of other countries, promote peaceful resolution of differences and disputes between countries through dialogue and consultation, and oppose the willful use or threat of force.”

This strategy of non-interference has the benefit of attracting developing countries that are wary of Western interference in their domestic affairs. For example, China, unlike the United States, is often willing to give aid to countries without attaching political conditions such as human rights or anti-corruption requirements. A recent example is Xi’s trip to Pakistan and pledge of $46 billion dollars in investment. Xi articulated the strategic intent behind the investment and the visit, saying “China appreciates Pakistan’s consistent support on issues related to Taiwan, Xinjiang, Tibet and South China Sea,” and “China will continue to staunchly support Pakistan for its sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity.”

The CCP also relies on increasing military deterrence to prevent other states from interfering in Chinese core interests. Xi has made it clear that some issues are non-negotiable, saying “While we pursue peaceful development, we will never relinquish our legitimate rights and interests, or allow China’s core interests to be undermined.” In line with this strategy China’s defense spending has been steadily increasing, its 2015 budget of $145 billion is a 10 percent increase of its 2014 budget, which was a 12.2 percent increase over its 2013 budget, and is a larger defense budget than Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, and Vietnam’s combined.

Military Component

Much of Chinese strategic thinking is based on the writings of Sun Tzu, who wrote Art of War during the Spring and Autumn period of Chinese history. Sun Tzu believed that “all warfare is based on deception,” and that “supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting.” This latter concept is not a pacifistic notion, but demonstrates the primacy of psychological factors over purely military ones. The PLA put this belief into practice during the 1996 Taiwan Strait Crisis. The 1996 Taiwan Straits crisis occurred due to the CCP’s perception that the United States was changing its relationship with Taiwan, and that Taiwan was moving towards independence from China, which threatened China’s core interest of national reunification. To coerce the United States and Taiwan into changing their behavior, China conducted naval exercises and fired off shore missiles in the waters near Taiwan. When these displays of force were insufficient to convince the U.S. and Taiwan to change their behavior, China escalated by conducting military exercises two weeks before Taiwan’s upcoming November 15 election, including a simulated amphibious landing on Taiwan-held islands.

Chinese escalation of force did change U.S. behavior towards Taiwan, gaining a U.S. recommitment to the one China principle and deterring Taiwan from declaring independence. However, this success came at a price: The United States sent two carrier battle groups through the Taiwan Straits. At the time, China was unable to prevent U.S. naval access to the Taiwan Straits. After this incident, the PRC decided on an anti-access strategy that would depend on asymmetric capabilities and tactics designed to prevent a repeat of the humiliating incident. A key component of this strategy is the idea of active defense, articulated in this passage from the PLA’s 2001 Science of Military Strategy: “We should do all we can to dominate the enemy by striking first. Once the enemy invades our territory and offends our national interests, it means that the enemy has already fired the first shot strategically and crossed the border of our strategic defense.” This passage’s vagueness presents potential adversaries with a difficult situation when trying to gauge what constitutes an offense to Chinese national interest or Chinese territory, making it difficult to anticipate PLA action if they enter what China considers its airspace or maritime territory.

The PLA is enhancing the deterrent effect of its active defense concept through anti-access strategy and capabilities. While the Chinese military is much less developed than its U.S. equivalent, this advantage fades the closer the United States is to Chinese territory. Because of this, China does not have to match U.S. military might; rather, it has to develop the capability to create a contested zone where China has a good chance of damaging U.S. forces. In this contested zone, the PLA is seeking the capability to win air and sea control from enemy forces by concentrating its forces at strategic points, denying access to outside powers. To accomplish this, the PLA has developed a range of capabilities and tactical strategies including using water mines, submarines and air capabilities to create a blockade to prevent an enemy force from leaving its naval bases or accessing key sea-lanes.

The goal behind developing anti-access capabilities and promoting active defense is not to wage a major power war with the United States, but to present the U.S. with unacceptable risk if it interferes with what China considers a core interest. This strategy incorporates both Sun Tzu’s concept of deception and of winning without fighting. Because of the ambiguity of China’s active defense concept any U.S. president would be unsure of what China’s threshold is for a first strike should the U.S. commit to a show of force near Chinese territory. The U.S. president would also know that China had the capability to inflict significant damage on any U.S. asset near the Chinese mainland. Moreover, China bases this strategy on the judgment that the United States understands that China places a greater value on Taiwan, or other maritime claims, than the U.S. does, and thus Washington will either hesitate or decline to engage in a show of force. In either case, it would present China with a window of opportunity to create facts on the ground that the United States or other powers would find difficult to reverse.

New Great Power Relationship

In the CCP’s perfect world, its growing military and political capabilities will allow it to create a new great power relationship with the United States based on the understanding of non-interference in each other’s core interests. Through the CCP’s “humane authority,” it will establish an alternative international system based on a new set of norms that will win it friends and allies. China’s ambiguous policy of active defense along with its anti-access capabilities will deter any outside threat to its core interests. This will ensure the proper environment for the CCP to continue its peaceful development, and will strengthen CCP legitimacy, meeting the overarching objective of regime survival.

In a sterile environment, this strategy is elegant and comprehensive, but in reality the other side always gets a vote and often does not act as planners predict or prefer. American strategic thinker Edward Luttwak describes this problem as the paradoxical logic of strategy. According to the logic of strategy, as China grows economically, it will spend more on military capabilities, as it develops more military capabilities other states will fear China’s rise and will counter-balance against China and seek to constrain China through economic and strategic means. For China, pursuing its current grand strategy has not resulted in increased moral legitimacy and attractive power; instead it is triggering an Asian security dilemma, encouraging increased military spending by other powers in the region like Japan and South Korea while driving countries like Vietnam and Singapore to closer alignment with the United States. In addition, even if China can deter the United States from using forcing through its anti-access strategy, the U.S. and others can respond through geo-economic means, such as targeted financial sanctions, trade barriers for sensitive technology, or even restrictions on trading raw materials. Any of these geo-economic strategies has the potential to undercut China’s economic growth and threaten the CCP’s legitimacy, undermining the original goal of long-term regime survival.

Leon Whyte is a graduate of the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University as well as the Senior Editor for the Current Affairs section of the Fletcher Security Review. His research interests include transnational security and U.S. alliances in East Asia. You can follow him at @leon_whyte

 

[Housecarl]

Main Russia/Ukraine invasion thread - NATO: Russian Tanks and Artillery Enter Ukraine
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...ian-Tanks-and-Artillery-Enter-Ukraine/page424

Hummm..........

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/25/us-ukraine-crisis-usa-idUSKCN0PY28A20150725

World | Sat Jul 25, 2015 4:53am EDT
Related: World

U.S. troops to train regular Ukrainian military troops: State Department

WASHINGTON


U.S. troops will begin training regular Ukrainian military forces later this year in an expansion of their current mission, which so far has been limited to instructing Interior Ministry national guard units, the State Department said on Friday.

"This training is part of our long-running defense cooperation with Ukraine and is taking place at the invitation of the Ukraine government. This additional program brings our total security assistance committed to Ukraine since 2014 to over $244 million," State Department Mark Toner said.

Lieutenant General Ben Hodges, head of U.S. Army forces in Europe, said earlier this month that U.S. officials were discussing expanding the military training to include regular Ukrainian troops under the Defense Ministry.

The training is part of U.S. efforts to strengthen Ukraine's security following Russia's seizure of the Crimea last year and the spread of separatist unrest in eastern, Russian-speaking regions of Ukraine.

Hodges said officials were looking at training army and special operations troops, likely focusing on skills like tactics and combat medicine. He said the expanded training mission did not mean the administration would be providing Ukraine with lethal arms.


Related Coverage
› Biden welcomes heavy weapons-free zone proposal for Ukraine: White House

The United States has provided Ukrainian forces with non-lethal aid to help them battle Russian-backed rebels, but the administration has resisted providing lethal arms in hopes of preventing an escalation of the conflict.

Some U.S. officials have called for giving Ukraine more sophisticated counter-battery radar to help them fight back against artillery and mortar fire from the rebels.

Toner said he had nothing to announce on any new weapons for Ukraine and that the focus was on providing non-lethal aid.

"There's no plan to change that," he said.

He said the training would begin in western Ukraine near the Polish border later this autumn. The Pentagon said the training offered to regular Ukrainian military troops would be similar to that given to the national guard forces.

U.S. forces in Europe have been training the Ukrainian guard since this spring, focusing on strengthening internal defense capabilities.


(Reporting by David Alexander and Bill Trott; Editing by Bernard Orr)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/25/us-afghanistan-talks-idUSKCN0PZ0DK20150725

World | Sat Jul 25, 2015 8:57am EDT
Related: World

Ceasefire on agenda for next Taliban talks: Afghan negotiator

KABUL | By Hamid Shalizi


An Afghan government delegation due to meet Taliban representatives for a second round of official peace talks next week will press for a ceasefire in the fighting, a negotiator said on Saturday.

Any temporary reduction in attacks would represent a breakthrough and boost the legitimacy of the budding peace process aimed at ending the 13-year-old war that kills hundreds of Afghans each month.

However, it is unclear whether the Taliban, who have been on the offensive in several parts of the country this year and inflicting record casualties, would agree.

It's also uncertain any ceasefire would be enforceable, since the insurgents' leaders are divided on negotiating.

Mohammad Nateqi, an Afghan government negotiator who attended the first official talks in Pakistan earlier this month, said the subject of a ceasefire was broached then but it was decided to resume discussions at the next round.

"We will ask for a complete ceasefire and hope that the other side agrees," Nateqi said. "A ceasefire will give our people hope that these talks will bear good results."

He said the government side would press the issue in the next talks, tentatively set for July 30 in China. Beijing is increasingly worried about insurgency in the region spilling over into its territory and has been playing a role to broker a peace deal between Kabul and the Taliban.

Nateqi said Taliban negotiators this time will also include representatives from its top leadership, known as the Quetta Shura, and its political office based in Qatari city of Doha.

Taliban statements and spokesmen have not directly commented on the recent talks, though a statement issued in the name of elusive supreme leader Mullah Mohammad Omar recently said it was not against Islamic law to talk to enemies in times of war.

Violence has risen sharply this year in most parts of Afghanistan as the Taliban insurgents show no sign of letting up in their bloody summer offensive campaign, causing a record number of casualties to Afghan security forces.

The Taliban have been fighting the Afghan government to restore their hard-line Islamist regime that was ousted by U.S. and Afghan forces in late 2001.


(Editing by Kay Johnson and Tom Heneghan)

 

[Be Well]

U.S. troops to train regular Ukrainian military troops: State Department

Total crap. So the US has been "giving" all kinds of hardware to ISIS, now they're going to distribute same to Pravi Sektor, apparently.

 

[Housecarl]

Total crap. So the US has been "giving" all kinds of hardware to ISIS, now they're going to distribute same to Pravi Sektor, apparently.

Yeah.

Unless they're setting up the "regular" Ukrainian Army to be a stabilizing force against the "Nazi" forces within the country so that they can get a cease fire and political solution put together, they're just pouring more gasoline onto the already gasoline soaked ground.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/25/us-yemen-security-idUSKCN0PZ03T20150725

World | Sat Jul 25, 2015 9:43am EDT
Related: World, Yemen

Saudi-led warplanes hit Yemen's Taiz killing 80

SANAA

The death toll from Saturday's Saudi-led airstrike on the central Yemeni city of Taiz rose to 80 people with at least 150 people injured, local medical sources said.

The Houthi-controlled Saba news agency earlier on Saturday reported the strike on Taiz had killed 55 people but said the casualty figure was expected to rise.

A coalition of Arab states, led by Saudi Arabia, has been bombarding Iran-allied Houthi forces in Yemen since late March in a bid to reinstate President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who has fled to Riyadh.

The Saba agency had quoted a local source in Taiz as saying that the bombing early on Saturday morning had targeted the Mokha area inhabited mostly by engineers and workers of a power station and some displaced families.

Related Coverage
› Saudi-led coalition forces announce five day truce in Yemen: SPA

The frontlines of Yemen's war shifted to the favor of the Gulf Arab coalition earlier this month when in coordination with forces loyal to Hadi they managed to drive the Houthis out of the southern port city of Aden and much of the surrounding areas.

Since then warplanes have been landing in Aden airport carrying equipment necessary to help re-open the facility which had been shut down by the fighting.

Aden and the other southern provinces have been largely inaccessible to U.N. food aid, and about 13 million people - more than half the population - are thought to be in dire need of food.

In the Red Sea port city of Hodaida, Saba said a bomb that was planted in an oil tanker on its way to some oil facilities was diffused and an investigation of the incident was ongoing.


(Reporting By Mohammed Ghobari; Writing By Maha El Dahan; Editing by Toby Chopra)

 

[doctor_fungcool]

Turkey wants a 25 mile buffer zone inside Syria. They have bombed both the PPK and supposedly ISIS.
There are Iranian troops in Syria supporting Assad. Iran has warned Turkey that if their troops ever come under attack from Turkey, they will retaliate....and a state of war will exist. If the Iranians bomb Turkey, then expect the Turks to call on NATO to help defend them. If NATO decides to help Turkey, then expect Russia to intervene. A WWIII scenario is developing before our very eyes. We are coming closer by the day to a conflagration in the middle east...........all by plan, by the way.

 

[Housecarl]

Turkey wants a 25 mile buffer zone inside Syria. They have bombed both the PPK and supposedly ISIS.
There are Iranian troops in Syria supporting Assad. Iran has warned Turkey that if their troops ever come under attack from Turkey, they will retaliate....and a state of war will exist. If the Iranians bomb Turkey, then expect the Turks to call on NATO to help defend them. If NATO decides to help Turkey, then expect Russia to intervene. A WWIII scenario is developing before our very eyes. We are coming closer by the day to a conflagration in the middle east...........all by plan, by the way.

It's either that or the Iranians and Turks with the facilitating of the Russians are going to divvy up Syria into "manageable" regions for their individual interests and stymying of Sunni "radical" interests in the region.

I was listening to Michael Vlahos on John Batchelor's pod cast from last night and his comparison and contrast of the situation in the Middle East now to South East Asia in the mid and late 1970s.

http://johnbatchelorshow.com/podcas...l-war-college-bob-zimmerman-behindtheblackcom

He figures that the areas that the Iranians can secure with their allies, by either ideology or "enemy of my enemy" in Syria, Lebanon and Iraq and that those efforts are going to keep them seriously occupied while they're also working to take advantage of their post-Vienna status.

Vlahos figures Saudi will eventually succumb to the Sunni extremists in part because they won't have any other place to go and that will threaten the other Sunni Arab powers in the area as well.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://in.reuters.com/article/2015/07/25/yemen-security-truce-idINKCN0PZ0EX20150725

Top News | Sat Jul 25, 2015 7:15pm IST
Related: Top News, World, Yemen

Saudi-led coalition forces announce five day truce in Yemen - SPA

CAIRO

Saudi-led coalition forces announced a humanitarian truce in their campaign against Houthi forces in Yemen would take effect on Sunday evening at 11:59 p.m local time, Saudi state news agency SPA said.

The truce is to last for five days to allow for humanitarian aid to be delivered to Yemen.

The statement on Saturday by the Arab coalition stressed that they would respond to any violation of the truce by the Houthis.


(Reporting By Omar Fahmy; Writing By Maha El Dahan; Editing by Toby Chopra)

 

[vestige]

Turkey wants a 25 mile buffer zone inside Syria. They have bombed both the PPK and supposedly ISIS.
There are Iranian troops in Syria supporting Assad. Iran has warned Turkey that if their troops ever come under attack from Turkey, they will retaliate....and a state of war will exist. If the Iranians bomb Turkey, then expect the Turks to call on NATO to help defend them. If NATO decides to help Turkey, then expect Russia to intervene. A WWIII scenario is developing before our very eyes. We are coming closer by the day to a conflagration in the middle east...........all by plan, by the way.

Do we still have nukes in Turkey?

 

[Housecarl]

Do we still have nukes in Turkey?

From what I've been able to find in a short search, YES!

 

[doctor_fungcool]

There's an ultimatum given by Syria concerning hostile foreign aircraft within their territorial borders.
The ultimatum begins at 12 a.m. of this evening or tomorrow evening....not sure on that.

Israel is also mulling over creating a buffer zone within Syria.

What's happening could easily lead to a huge middle east conflict.........

 

[vestige]

There's an ultimatum given by Syria concerning hostile foreign aircraft within their territorial borders.
The ultimatum begins at 12 a.m. of this evening or tomorrow evening....not sure on that.

Israel is also mulling over creating a buffer zone within Syria.

What's happening could easily lead to a huge middle east conflict.........

Kinda have a lotta conflict going on now.

If it increases much more someone will pop a crowd pleaser.

 

[doctor_fungcool]

Kinda have a lotta conflict going on now.

If it increases much more someone will pop a crowd pleaser.

Remember this vestige: It's a given that the world wide financial system is caving. It's just a matter of time before our stock market bubble............bursts. I already am seeing signs that the real estate market has already peaked and is starting to lose momentum. When TPTB see that a gigantic depression is facing us, they will opt for war. That.....IMHO.....has been the template for big governments for eons. Russia has been low key. They will probably spice up their rhetoric as the middle east gets hotter. I've always maintained that the Russians will use nukes...........I am still in that camp.

 

[Housecarl]

There's an ultimatum given by Syria concerning hostile foreign aircraft within their territorial borders.
The ultimatum begins at 12 a.m. of this evening or tomorrow evening....not sure on that.

Israel is also mulling over creating a buffer zone within Syria.

What's happening could easily lead to a huge middle east conflict.........

Kinda have a lotta conflict going on now.

If it increases much more someone will pop a crowd pleaser.

Yeah, the thing of it is of the current "active parties" in Syria, most are either exhausted or under supplied. The AQ affiliated "rebels" and IS have ideological fervor going for them. Add that to the spread out and MOUT nature of the fighting sucking up everyone's resources, the introduction of any WMD "crowd pleaser" by any group could be just enough for that party to solidify their position enough to have at least a sustainable satrap, if not create a collapse of their opponent.

In the case of the Assad regime and their allies including Hezbollah, the Russians and Iranians have too much to loose in the event of a collapse. If things got to that point, I could see Putin doing whatever it takes to assist the Syrian government in holding a defendable and sustainable territory.

For the AQ and IS supporters to do the same would require a level of "open commitment" that would be counter productive for their international positions. And the US's "moderate" opposition just doesn't have the numbers to make any difference at this point, even as a "beard" for "less moderate" groups.

 

[doctor_fungcool]

Yeah, the thing of it is of the current "active parties" in Syria, most are either exhausted or under supplied. The AQ affiliated "rebels" and IS have ideological fervor going for them. Add that to the spread out and MOUT nature of the fighting sucking up everyone's resources, the introduction of any WMD "crowd pleaser" by any group could be just enough for that party to solidify their position enough to have at least a sustainable satrap, if not create a collapse of their opponent.

In the case of the Assad regime and their allies including Hezbollah, the Russians and Iranians have too much to loose in the event of a collapse. If things got to that point, I could see Putin doing whatever it takes to assist the Syrian government in holding a defendable and sustainable territory.

For the AQ and IS supporters to do the same would require a level of "open commitment" that would be counter productive for their international positions. And the US's "moderate" opposition just doesn't have the numbers to make any difference at this point, even as a "beard" for "less moderate" groups.

The article I'm about to post is one journalist's opinion. I surmise that many others throughout the world more than likely think the same thing about the inhabitants of CONUS....(just a guess)

This is O.T., but it gives all of us some perspective as to what our enemies are thinking....for IF our enemies consider the population of CONUS 'mad', then they may deal with us(ultimately) in a harsh and uncompromising fashion(JMHO)



= ‘US society conducive to insanity’
Caleb Maupin

http://www.rt.com/op-edge/310665-us-shooting-gunman-louisiana/Caleb Maupin is a radical journalist and political analyst who lives in New York City. Originally from Ohio, he studied political science at Baldwin-Wallace College. In addition to his journalism, analysis, and commentary, he has engaged in political activism. He is a member of the Workers World Party and Fight Imperialism – Stand Together (FIST). He is a youth organizer for the International Action Center and was involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement from its planning stages in August 2011. He has worked against police brutality, mass incarceration, and imperialist war. He works to promote revolutionary ideology, and to support all who fight against the global system of monopoly capitalist imperialism.
Published time: 24 Jul, 2015 12:52
Edited time: 24 Jul, 2015 16:47
Get short URL
Lafayette, Louisiana July 23, 2015. © Lee Celano
Lafayette, Louisiana July 23, 2015. © Lee Celano / Reuters
US society is unhealthy, because there are not isolated cases of individuals performing horrendous acts of violence, said Caleb Maupin from the International Action Center. This mass phenomenon can’t be separated from the whole of society, he added.

An armed man opened fire in a movie theater in Lafayette in US state of Louisiana. He killed two people and wounded seven according to police. The gunman then turned his weapon on himself.

RT: We have seen several violent shootings in the US so far this year. What are the main reasons for such repeated violence?

Caleb Maupin: It seems almost like clockwork here in the US. We hear about yet another mass shooting. Someone is just engaging in a mass shooting attempting to take people’s lives. It seems like barely a week goes by without this happening. As much as people try to say that this is an isolated incident, these are lone individuals who just lose their minds and engage in this. This is a pattern and it seems to happen so frequently. And when it gets down to that you can’t separate it from the fact that at the same time as people are losing their minds and committing these horrendous acts of violence, every day the president is killing people with drone strikes, and innocent people are being killed. The US is also the primary exporter of arms around the world. When you have a society that is so violet, in so many ways, so many people in prison, and so much everywhere, things like this tend to take place. We have a big problem here in the US. That needs to be recognized that there is a huge problem with the US society.

RT: What's the main force driving these shooters to resort to this type of violence?

CM: US society is based on money and capitalism with so much violence everywhere and so much state repression. This society is highly conducive to insanity; this is not a healthy society. So many people around the world are kind of drawn into this illusion that the US is some ... free market paradise where everyone has loads of iPads and electronic technology and just lives a happy live. US society is very unhealthy and is highly conducive to the kind of insanity that we see so frequently with people going and committing these mass shootings. Something is wrong. It’s not just a case of isolated individuals - it keeps happening over, and over, and over again. We see these horrendous acts of violence taking place... You can’t separate this mass phenomenon of people going out and committing mass murder, you can’t separate it from the society in which it takes place.

READ MORE: Multiple casualties as gunman opens fire, kills self at Louisiana movie theater

RT: What should be done to prevent similar cases of violence in the future?

CM: Efforts need to be taken to make a society in which people’s lives are valued. All that seems to really matter in US society is money. We have politicians and leaders who are unconcerned about the suffering people are living in. In addition to this mass shootings taking place so frequently we have homeless people on the streets. Millions of people in the richest country in the world sleep on the streets every night, and most of them are military veterans - people who served in the military. We can’t even provide them with decent housing when they return. US society is a society filled with such alienation. People have not bound to one another, people have no concern for each other, and everyday we’re seeing war, and the government is pushing for war, further attacks around the world exporting arms and weapons, the police are everywhere searching people, frisking them, we see the violence committed by police officers against civilians so frequently. We live in a society that is extremely unhealthy and extremely conducive to violence and insanity. And something must be done to address it. The way US society has been established, the way US society continues to function is just not healthy. If changes don’t come about, we are only going to see more and more of these incidents.

RT:What kind of measures do you think the government could introduce to restrict access to weapons for certain individuals who could pose a threat?

CM: Gun control isn’t working. I’m talking to you from New York City which has the strictest gun laws than any section of US society in a country. You can’t even have a hunting rifle here without a permit, the police have the right to stop you and search you for weapons at any point, and there are still all kinds of violence that goes on in New York City. Gun control doesn’t work... There is a deeper problem- the problem isn’t simply access to weapons. The problem is the way US society is set up, and the way the US society functions. If the problem were only gun control, the New York City would be the most peaceful place in the world. But that is simply not the case.

 

[Housecarl]

The article I'm about to post is one journalist's opinion. I surmise that many others throughout the world more than likely think the same thing about the inhabitants of CONUS....(just a guess)

This is O.T., but it gives all of us some perspective as to what our enemies are thinking....for IF our enemies consider the population of CONUS 'mad', then they may deal with us(ultimately) in a harsh and uncompromising fashion(JMHO)



= ‘US society conducive to insanity’
Caleb Maupin

http://www.rt.com/op-edge/310665-us-shooting-gunman-louisiana/Caleb Maupin is a radical journalist and political analyst who lives in New York City. Originally from Ohio, he studied political science at Baldwin-Wallace College. In addition to his journalism, analysis, and commentary, he has engaged in political activism. He is a member of the Workers World Party and Fight Imperialism – Stand Together (FIST). He is a youth organizer for the International Action Center and was involved in the Occupy Wall Street movement from its planning stages in August 2011. He has worked against police brutality, mass incarceration, and imperialist war. He works to promote revolutionary ideology, and to support all who fight against the global system of monopoly capitalist imperialism.
Published time: 24 Jul, 2015 12:52
Edited time: 24 Jul, 2015 16:47
Get short URL
Lafayette, Louisiana July 23, 2015. © Lee Celano
Lafayette, Louisiana July 23, 2015. © Lee Celano / Reuters
US society is unhealthy, because there are not isolated cases of individuals performing horrendous acts of violence, said Caleb Maupin from the International Action Center. This mass phenomenon can’t be separated from the whole of society, he added.

An armed man opened fire in a movie theater in Lafayette in US state of Louisiana. He killed two people and wounded seven according to police. The gunman then turned his weapon on himself.

RT: We have seen several violent shootings in the US so far this year. What are the main reasons for such repeated violence?

Caleb Maupin: It seems almost like clockwork here in the US. We hear about yet another mass shooting. Someone is just engaging in a mass shooting attempting to take people’s lives. It seems like barely a week goes by without this happening. As much as people try to say that this is an isolated incident, these are lone individuals who just lose their minds and engage in this. This is a pattern and it seems to happen so frequently. And when it gets down to that you can’t separate it from the fact that at the same time as people are losing their minds and committing these horrendous acts of violence, every day the president is killing people with drone strikes, and innocent people are being killed. The US is also the primary exporter of arms around the world. When you have a society that is so violet, in so many ways, so many people in prison, and so much everywhere, things like this tend to take place. We have a big problem here in the US. That needs to be recognized that there is a huge problem with the US society.

RT: What's the main force driving these shooters to resort to this type of violence?

CM: US society is based on money and capitalism with so much violence everywhere and so much state repression. This society is highly conducive to insanity; this is not a healthy society. So many people around the world are kind of drawn into this illusion that the US is some ... free market paradise where everyone has loads of iPads and electronic technology and just lives a happy live. US society is very unhealthy and is highly conducive to the kind of insanity that we see so frequently with people going and committing these mass shootings. Something is wrong. It’s not just a case of isolated individuals - it keeps happening over, and over, and over again. We see these horrendous acts of violence taking place... You can’t separate this mass phenomenon of people going out and committing mass murder, you can’t separate it from the society in which it takes place.

READ MORE: Multiple casualties as gunman opens fire, kills self at Louisiana movie theater

RT: What should be done to prevent similar cases of violence in the future?

CM: Efforts need to be taken to make a society in which people’s lives are valued. All that seems to really matter in US society is money. We have politicians and leaders who are unconcerned about the suffering people are living in. In addition to this mass shootings taking place so frequently we have homeless people on the streets. Millions of people in the richest country in the world sleep on the streets every night, and most of them are military veterans - people who served in the military. We can’t even provide them with decent housing when they return. US society is a society filled with such alienation. People have not bound to one another, people have no concern for each other, and everyday we’re seeing war, and the government is pushing for war, further attacks around the world exporting arms and weapons, the police are everywhere searching people, frisking them, we see the violence committed by police officers against civilians so frequently. We live in a society that is extremely unhealthy and extremely conducive to violence and insanity. And something must be done to address it. The way US society has been established, the way US society continues to function is just not healthy. If changes don’t come about, we are only going to see more and more of these incidents.

RT:What kind of measures do you think the government could introduce to restrict access to weapons for certain individuals who could pose a threat?

CM: Gun control isn’t working. I’m talking to you from New York City which has the strictest gun laws than any section of US society in a country. You can’t even have a hunting rifle here without a permit, the police have the right to stop you and search you for weapons at any point, and there are still all kinds of violence that goes on in New York City. Gun control doesn’t work... There is a deeper problem- the problem isn’t simply access to weapons. The problem is the way US society is set up, and the way the US society functions. If the problem were only gun control, the New York City would be the most peaceful place in the world. But that is simply not the case.

First thing that came to my mind was the similarity to this author's group's name and positions and those of KGB funded groups during the "Cold War". That aside, considering the view given of "US culture" over seas being shapeable just about into any form someone would want by picking US sourced MSM video, the view of the author is easily perpetuated, just as any skilled propagandist could do with such a treasure trove of material available to them.

That people are still beating down the door to get into the US despite this kind of perception also says something.

Thing of it is, just about every culture currently on the planet has a similar history of violence to one degree or another, else wise they would no longer be about today.

Could that be used as an excuse for a foreign nation state or movement to break out "the black flag"; sure. IS and AQ already have done so. Any leadership of a nation state that would go there have more to loose than a religious ideologically based group. Not saying they couldn't "go there", but they're easier to target in kind and at that level you're looking at the strategic nukes eventually being involved.

That very orneriness of Americans is why we're still here. This country is made up of the descendants of survivors, those who could endure. The rest of the world is made up of those who never left. That doesn't mean that they can't be as mean as a junk yard dog either, but the source of it and its triggering is going to be at different thresholds.

 

[doctor_fungcool]

First thing that came to my mind was the similarity to this author's group's name and positions and those of KGB funded groups during the "Cold War". That aside, considering the view given of "US culture" over seas being shapeable just about into any form someone would want by picking US sourced MSM video, the view of the author is easily perpetuated, just as any skilled propagandist could do with such a treasure trove of material available to them.

That people are still beating down the door to get into the US despite this kind of perception also says something.

Thing of it is, just about every culture currently on the planet has a similar history of violence to one degree or another, else wise they would no longer be about today.

Could that be used as an excuse for a foreign nation state or movement to break out "the black flag"; sure. IS and AQ already have done so. Any leadership of a nation state that would go there have more to loose than a religious ideologically based group. Not saying they couldn't "go there", but they're easier to target in kind and at that level you're looking at the strategic nukes eventually being involved.

That very orneriness of Americans is why we're still here. This country is made up of the descendants of survivors, those who could endure. The rest of the world is made up of those who never left. That doesn't mean that they can't be as mean as a junk yard dog either, but the source of it and its triggering is going to be at different thresholds.

Well said....and above all, food for thought.

 

[Housecarl]

I can already hear the gnashing of teeth by the usual parties over this statement.....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.wsj.com/articles/europes...ux-of-migrants-says-hungarys-orban-1437827281

World | Europe

Europe’s Existence Threatened by Influx of Migrants, Says Hungary’s Orban

But granting Brussels more power won’t solve the bloc’s problems, prime minister adds

By Margit Feher
Updated July 25, 2015 10:20 a.m. ET
4 COMMENTS

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban said Saturday that Europe’s existence is under threat from the huge influx of migrants to the region, but that granting Brussels more power isn’t the way to solve the bloc’s problems.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaking in Baile Tusnad, Romania. He believes that rising illegal immigration is a threat to Hungary and all of Europe. ENLARGE
Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban speaking in Baile Tusnad, Romania. He believes that rising illegal immigration is a threat to Hungary and all of Europe. Photo: Associated Press
.
Escalating political unrest in the Middle East and North Africa has led to a surge of migrants to the European Union this year. In the first half of 2015, 137,000 migrants reached Greece, Italy, Malta and Spain—an 83% increase compared with the same period last year, according to the United Nations.

“For us, Europe is at stake today; Europeans’ way of life; European values; the survival or demise of European nations, or rather, their transformation beyond recognition,” Mr. Orban said in a speech in Baile Tusnad, which is part of neighboring Romania and has a large number of ethnic Hungarians.

Hungary has become a major transit country for migrants this year with some 71,200 entering the country in the first six months, almost double the amount for the whole of 2014, Hungarian police data showed. After crossing the Balkans, migrants, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, enter Hungary to seek registration for EU asylum before heading to the bloc’s more developed western and northern countries.

“The question is not what sort of a Europe we Hungarians would like to live in but whether what we call Europe today will continue to exist. We would like Europe to continue to belong to Europeans,” Mr. Orban added.

Hungary’s government supports a solution that lets each EU member state deal with its border protection the way it sees fit, an asylum system that provides shelter for “real” asylum seekers but is tough on illegal immigrants, and provides aid to the countries which their people are fleeing, a government spokesman has said.


Related Reading

Number of Migrants Reaching Europe Rises Sharply, U.N. Says (July 1)
Five Things: What’s Behind Europe’s Migrant Smuggling Crisis?
Real Time Brussels: How Europe Will Try to Save Face on Migration (June 15)
.

Mr. Orban criticized certain unnamed factions in the EU and Brussels, accusing them of wanting to destroy the current form of the union and replace it with a “united states of Europe,” while weakening national sovereignty and eliminating national identity—something that Hungary strongly rejects, he added.

“The left has always looked upon nations, national identities with suspicion. They reckon that an escalation of immigration could terminally weaken, even eliminate the [EU’s] structure of nation states, and thus bring about the left’s unfulfilled historic goal,” Mr. Orban said.

Unlike other EU member countries, Hungary rejects giving a home to “masses of people coming from a different civilization,” Mr. Orban said. There is a clear connection between the rise of terrorism, higher unemployment, increasing crime rates with the rise in illegal immigration, he added.

Mr. Orban’s remarks drew criticism from opposition parties in Hungary.

Leftist party Egyutt called them “truly terrible,” saying the premier fails to represent European values as “he would favor a disintegrating European Union while Hungary’s national interests would require a stronger and more unified and more cohesive union than today’s.”

Liberal party MLP said his comments linking people fleeing wars with terrorism and crime “is nothing else but extremist and hate-mongering statements that every European democrat should reject.”

In an effort to deter migrants, Hungary has started the construction of a 4-meter (13-foot) high fence on its 175-kilometer (110-mile) border with non-EU member Serbia, where most of the migrants en route to Austria and Germany enter Hungary.

Hungary’s plan to build a fence to stop migrants is “ill-advised,” human rights organization Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights Nils Muiznieks said last month. “Focus should be on ensuring access to asylum, not impeding it,” Mr. Muoznieks added.

Hungary will complete the fence by the end of August, Mr. Orban said.

Write to Margit Feher at margit.feher@wsj.com

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/26/us-colombia-rebels-idUSKCN0Q001720150726

World | Sat Jul 25, 2015 10:35pm EDT
Related: World

Colombia's Santos orders halt to air raids on FARC rebels

BOGOTA

Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos ordered a halt to air raids against FARC rebel camps as the government seeks to cool hostilities with the Marxist group while the two sides hammer out a peace accord to end five decades of war.

Santos's decision on Saturday came just days after a unilateral ceasefire by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) went into effect, providing a breakthrough in talks threatened by a recent escalation of battlefield violence.

"This will mean fewer deaths, less suffering and fewer victims," Santos said in the coastal city of Cartagena.

"From today, any bombing raids will only be conducted with the explicit order of the president," he said.

The two sides have been engaged in peace talks in Cuba for 2-1/2 years in an attempt to end Latin America's longest war, which has killed some 220,000 people and displaced millions over 50 years.

However, the negotiations have been overshadowed by an increase in fighting this year.

In March, Santos suspended bomb attacks against the FARC but resumed them a month later after the rebels broke their ceasefire and killed 10 soldiers.

Santos has said he would like to reach a peace agreement in 2015, but the five-point agenda remains complicated.

The FARC's latest unilateral ceasefire - its sixth - began on Monday and runs for a month. Santos has said he will analyze progress in four months to decide if talks will continue.

The FARC has long advocated a bilateral ceasefire, which the government has rejected saying the group has used previous attempts at such truces to rearm.

Santos has emphasized that the military's de-escalation of the conflict is not tantamount to a government ceasefire, and that the armed forces would respond based on FARC actions.


(Reporting by Helen Murphy; Editing by Paul Tait)

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/...wont-kill-off-Europes-revolutionary-Left.html

Europe braces itself for a revolutionary Leftist backlash after Greece

Athens' ritual humiliation was a cautionary tale for Leftists in the Mediterranean but it won't be enough to kill them off just yet

By Mehreen Khan
1:00PM BST 25 Jul 2015
Comments 1085

A pre-revolutionary fervour is sweeping Europe.

“The atmosphere is a little similar to the time after 1968 in Europe. I can feel, maybe not a revolutionary mood, but something like widespread impatience”.

These were the words of European council president Donald Tusk, 48 hours after Greece’s paymasters imposed the most punishing bail-out measures ever forced on a debtor nation in the eurozone’s 15-year history.

A former Polish prime minister and a politician not prone to hyperbole, Tusk’s comments revealed Brussels’ fears of a bubbling rebellion across the continent.

“When impatience becomes not an individual but a social experience of feeling, this is the introduction for revolutions” said Tusk.

“I am really afraid of this ideological or political contagion.”

His unease reflects a widespread conviction that Europe’s elites had no choice but to make an example out of Greece.

Alexis Tsipras was forced to submit to a deal that punished his government’s insolence, so the argument goes, and destroy the fantasy that a “new eurozone” could be forged for the economies of the southern Mediterranean.

Having emerged from the talks, Tusk declared victory, dismissing the “radical leftist illusion that you can build some alternative to this traditional European vision of the economy.”

Syriza's unprecedented rise to power in January marked a watershed in post-crisis Europe, hitherto dominated by conservative-leaning governments from Portugal to Finland.

The first radical-Left regime in Europe’s post-war history, Syriza vowed to tear up the Troika’s austerity contract, forge a Mediterranean alliance against the dominant northern creditor bloc, and transform the terms of Greece’s euro membership.

Seven months later, these dreams are in tatters.

A tortuous 30-hour weekend in Brussels led to Tsipras capitulating to austerity terms more egregious than any negotiated by Greece's previous centre-right and Socialist governments.

Greek assets will now be sequestered into a private fund to pay off debts, external monitors will return to the country, and everything from the price of milk and bakery bread will be subject to Brussels’ scrutiny.

“Syriza was the big Leftist experiment and it has gone disastrously wrong in a short period of time,” says Luke March, author of Radical Left Parties in Europe and lecturer at Edinburgh University.

“The Left elsewhere are now being forced to take stock and say 'we are not Greece'.”

But the shadow of 1968 - a year when Europe was gripped by mass discontent, student rebellions, and labour strikes - looms over Europe’s institutions.

Over the course of the next 10 months, the entire complexion of the European south could be transformed. General elections in Portugal, Spain and Ireland are poised to bring anti-austerity, Left leaning parties to power.

It is the wildfire of political contagion that spooks Europe’s federalists. Greece's humiliation, rather than cowing the revolutionary Left, is set to embolden the southern calls for mass debt relief and cease the enforcement of the euro's contractionary dogma.

From indignados to kingmakers

The anxiety is most pronounced in Spain. Podemos, the country’s grassroots anti-austerity movement, is seen as the closest resemblance to another Syriza of the south.

Born out of the mass street movement of Spain’s indignados (outraged) which gripped the country in 2011, Podemos has taken Spanish politics by storm.

The movement has harnessed the energies of the disenfranchised who occupied city squares, to become a rebel party with 1.2 million votes and five seats in the European Parliament after only three months in existence.

Now still only 18 months old, the insurgents have become a third force in Spanish politics.

In May, a Podemos-backed Left platform dismantled 40 years of Spain’s two-party parliamentary dominance. Regional elections saw the left-wing take power in Madrid, Barcelona, and eight other major cities.

Much of this runaway success has been attributed to its leader, Pablo Iglesias, a charismatic 36-year-old political science professor and former television presenter.

Pony-tailed, tieless and often seen wearing a trademark red-shirt, the hirsute Iglesias is as comfortable talking about Gramscian theory as he is hit US television shows, The Wire and Game of Thrones.

His appeal has drawn direct comparisons with his Greek compatriot. A photograph of the two men, arm in arm, adorns Iglesias’s Twitter profile, where he expounds his aims and ambitions to 1.2 million followers.

In the aftermath of Greece’s defeat, Iglesias hailed Tsipras for showing “courage” in the face of a German ultimatum over Grexit.

But Podemos, which translates as "We can” and takes its inspiration from Bolivarian movements of Latin America, is no Iberian Syriza.

The neo-liberal critique of Syriza is replaced by a fight against domestic corruption, promoting environmentalism, and protecting the rights of expelled housing tenants.

“We represent ordinary people from across the political spectrum, who've had enough of corrupt politicians governing in their own self-interest and who believe a new type of politics is possible”, says Sirio Canós, a Podemos representative in London.

But Greece’s defeat has led to a gradual centrist shift by the movement.

Iglesias has gradually toned down his demands for a restructuring of Spain’s household and government debt after the Greeks lost a similar battle. Podemos have also rowed back on a pledge to introduce a basic "citizens' wage" in favour or a salary rise for the poorest earners.

“Turmoil and capital controls in Greece are likely to turn undecided Spanish voters away from Podemos, since they will think the party won’t be able to keep its promises,” says Vincenzo Scarpetta of Open Europe.

Latest polling shows support for Podemos is on the wane. The anti-establishment movement was on course to win only 41 parliamentary seats in this year’s national elections, down from an estimated 89 in January. Another set of polling found national support for Podemos had dropped to 15pc.

“The bottom line of the Greek negotiations is that a different euro is not on offer. There is a clear path of fiscal discipline and structural reforms, and if you don't agree with that you can be shown the door”, says Scarpetta.

The green shoots of economic recovery have also dampened Podemos’s popularity. Spain is set to grow 3.1pc this year according to the IMF, more than double that forecast for the eurozone.

“There are signs that the tide is turning - the recovery is real,” says Angel Talavera at Oxford Economics, who notes that exporters have begun to reap the benefits from a process of internal devaluation in the cost of goods and labour.

But with unemployment at 22.4pc and youth joblessness overwhelming half the young adult population, Podemos’s mantra of social justice and a “bail-out for the people” is still set to fall on receptive Spanish ears.

Podemos are in line to become the kingmakers come elections at the end of the year.

“Iglesias understands that you need to get into power to change things”, says Miguel Otero of the Elcano Institute in Madrid.

“He knows you need to drop the dogmatic discourse of the old Left in favour of courting allies and seeking compromise."

This practical attitude to power makes the current crop of Europe’s young leftists a departure from their intellectual forefathers in Europe's traditional Marxist and Communist parties.

“Syriza’s hardliners have just dropped out now, but in Podemos, the ideologues, including one of the intellectual inspirations, have already left complaining the party has become too institutionalised already,” says Otero.

Podemos are now ripe to form a coalition with Spain’s traditional Socialist party (PSOE), revived by their own young, telegenic leader, Pedro Sanchez. The Socialists are currently neck and neck with the incumbent conservative Partido Popular party of prime minister Mariano Rajoy.

“We know that it is very important to occupy institutional power in order to change things,” Iglesias said earlier this year. ”It is important to be in parliament, to win elections.”

“There are no poster children for austerity”


October 5 2015 will mark a momentous day for Portugal. It is set to be the first day in office for a new government after four years of brutal austerity, and auspiciously will fall on the 105th anniversary of the birth of the Portuguese republic.

But there will be no national celebrations to mark the overthrow of the monarchy. Portugal's Republic Day was abolished as a bank holiday under a Troika diktat in 2012.

For some, the abolition is a symbol of the subservience successive Portuguese government’s have shown to their creditor powers following a €78bn rescue in 2011.

Portugal is now lauded as a poster-child for austerity, swallowing its medicine and slowly returning back to health. The country exited its bail-out programme last year, returned to the international markets, and now benefits from ultra-low borrowing costs.

Politically, the country boasts no mass social movement on a scale of Podemos, or a populist Left party such as Syriza. But its ascendant Socialists, in combination with a series of smaller Left movements are on track to take more than 50pc of the national vote come elections on October 4.

Socialist leader and former mayor of Lisbon, Antonio Costa has vowed to roll back austerity measures, halt fire-sales of the country’s assets and reverse laws on hiring and firing workers.

With aggregate debt levels higher than Greece, youth unemployment over a third, and a record brain drain of approximately 400,000 people last year in a nation of only 10 million, Portugal’s chronic euro problems are far from over.

“There are no poster children for austerity” says Rui Tavares, founder and leader of the up-start leftist Livre party.

“We are living under very difficult social and economic conditions”.

The 42-year-old cuts a similar figure to his Leftist Spanish and Greek counterparts - a former university professor who founded his party after serving as an MEP with Portugal’s Left Bloc and Green party. Livre (Freedom) is a citizen driven anti-austerity movement fighting for a more democratic EU.

Tavares is also a vocal advocate of comprehensive debt relief in country where combined public and private debt is more than 370pc - the highest in Europe. He echoes claims made by former Greek finance minister Yanis Varoufakis for a debt conference for all member states modelled on the post-war Bretton Woods institutions.

 

[doctor_fungcool]

This sketchy info from the BBC. No link.

Terrorists have ignited a car bomb near Ankara. Soldiers killed and wounded.

The war, imho, has spread to Turkey. This is a very big deal, since Turkey is a NATO member. As stated previously, if NATO intervenes in Syria, then Russian and Iran will more than likely make a move.

 

[Housecarl]

This sketchy info from the BBC. No link.

Terrorists have ignited a car bomb near Ankara. Soldiers killed and wounded.

The war, imho, has spread to Turkey. This is a very big deal, since Turkey is a NATO member. As stated previously, if NATO intervenes in Syria, then Russian and Iran will more than likely make a move.

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150726/eu--turkey-syria-iraq-f8e1e5b830.html

Car bomb kills 2 Turkish soldiers in mainly Kurdish province

Jul 26, 6:02 AM (ET)
By SUZAN FRASER

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A car bomb struck a military vehicle in southeast Turkey, killing two soldiers and wounding four others in an attack blamed on Kurdish rebels, authorities said Sunday, a day after Turkey launched airstrikes against Kurdish insurgents in northern Iraq.

The Kurdish rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, has said the airstrikes likely spelled the end of a cease-fire announced in 2013. Turkey has simultaneously bombed Islamic State positions near the Turkish border in Syria and carried out widespread police operations against suspected Kurdish and IS militants and other outlawed groups inside Turkey. Hundreds of people have been detained.

The car bomb exploded late Saturday on a road in the town of Lice as a vehicle carrying military police officers was traveling to intervene against Kurds who had blocked a main intersection and set cars on fire, said the governor's office in Diyarbakir, a mainly Kurdish province.

The military said the PKK militants also fired on the troops in the attack it called a "treacherously pre-planned" ambush. The military statement said a large-scale operation was underway to capture the attackers.

Assailants also opened fire at police stations in the southeastern cities of Diyarbakir, Siirt and Mardin, Turkish media reported. No one was injured in the attacks.

The PKK has fought Turkey for autonomy for Kurds in a conflict that has claimed tens of thousands of lives since 1984.

On Saturday, Turkish fighter jets struck Kurdish rebel shelters and storage facilities across the border in northern Iraq, its first such strikes since the peace process with the Kurds was launched in 2012. A cease-fire was announced the following year.

Tensions have been flaring with the Kurds in recent days following an IS suicide bombing in a town near the border with Syria. Kurdish groups have blamed the government for not doing enough to prevent IS operations. On Wednesday, the PKK claimed responsibility for the killing of two policemen in the Kurdish majority city of Sanliurfa.

Late Saturday, the White House said Turkey has the right to defend itself against attacks by Kurdish rebels. Spokesman Alistair Baskey strongly condemned recent attacks by the PKK, which the U.S. has designated a terrorist group, and said the PKK should renounce terrorism and resume talks with Turkey's government.

But Baskey also said both sides should avoid violence and pursue de-escalation.

Meanwhile, a deputy national security adviser to President Barack Obama, said Sunday that Washington welcomed Turkey's "increased focus and accelerated efforts" against IS militants.

Authorities banned a peace rally, scheduled for Sunday in Istanbul to denounce this week's suicide bombing, on grounds that it may be used by outlawed groups for "provocative" acts. Organizers canceled the rally and said they would read out a brief statement instead.

---

Associated Press writers Josh Lederman and Darlene Superville in Washington contributed to this report.

___

ETA: The Turks in "intervening" are going to both be suppressing IS and the Kurds which does feed into Iran's agenda.

 

[Housecarl]

I'm putting this here only because of the potential for this to be more than some drunks who got away very lucky.....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20150726/eu--tour_de_france-barricade_crash-3b511c3e49.html

Paris police open fire on car at Tour de France barricades

Jul 26, 5:54 AM (ET)

PARIS (AP) — Paris police officers opened fire on a car that tried to crash through barricades about eight hours before the final arrival of the Tour de France cycling race on Sunday, a police official said.

The car escaped with its two occupants apparently unharmed after coming under fire around 11 a.m. (0900 GMT; 5 a.m. EDT) in the Place de la Concorde, where the cyclists make their final triumphant rounds to conclude the race, said Luc Poignant, a spokesman with the SGP police union. Police are hunting for the people in the car.

Tour de France race director Thierry Gouvenou said that he didn't have much information about the incident, but he didn't foresee any impact on the race.

The final stage of the Tour de France is due to begin at 4:35 p.m. (1435 GMT; 10:35 a.m. EDT), leaving from Sevres, a town southwest of Paris. The riders are then due to arrive in the French capital at around 5:30 p.m. (1530 GMT; 11:30 a.m. EDT) and do 10 laps around the Champs-Elysees before finishing at Place de la Concorde at about 7 p.m. (1700 GMT; 1 p.m. EDT).

Hundreds of thousands of people gather in the Place de la Concorde and the Champs Elysees for the race's final leg.

Poignant said officers were finishing setting up the barricades for the race when the car tried to crash through the barriers. Officers opened fire on the car, which ultimately drove away. Poignant told the BFM television network that no officers were injured.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.smh.com.au/world/preside...army-amid-troop-shortage-20150726-gikyfv.html

President Assad urges Syrians to join army amid troop shortage

Date July 26, 2015 - 9:45PM

President Bashar al-Assad urged more Syrians to join the army, saying a shortage of troops is the main obstacle preventing the military from winning the war.

Assad, speaking a day after he issued an amnesty for deserters, said that while more people have been joining the army, the number of soldiers wasn't enough to win a conflict fought on multiple battlefronts. He also said that his appeal doesn't mean the military is collapsing.

The amnesty "is one step, and the rest is up to society," he said in a televised address on Sunday. "The people who don't defend the homeland have no homeland."

The remarks are a rare public acknowledgment of the government's struggle to crush a four-year rebellion seeking to end Assad's rule. Government troops, supported by gunmen from the pro-Iranian Hezbollah group, are fighting dozens of rebels and militant groups including the U.S.-backed Free Syrian Army, as well as Islamic State and an al-Qaeda affiliate.

Progress on the battlefield is the key to solving the crisis, Assad said.

"We are at a fateful stage that doesn't allow for compromises," he said. "We are steadfast and we will win."

Iran has provided economic support and "military expertise" during the war, Assad said in the address. He also commended Russia and China for supporting the government at the United Nations Security Council.

Bloomberg

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.voanews.com/content/taliban-seize-key-afghan-military-base/2878909.html

Taliban Seizes Key Afghan Military Base

Ayaz Gul
July 26, 2015 5:34 AM

ISLAMABAD—Authorities in northeastern Afghanistan confirmed Sunday the Taliban has captured a key military base in overnight clashes after more than 100 Afghan security forces surrendered to the insurgents.

Fighting in the Tirgaran area of Badakhshan province erupted Friday night when scores of rebels staged coordinated attacks on several security outposts, the provincial police chief told reporters.

He said border police force personnel at the base surrendered to the Taliban because they were besieged and did not get reinforcement from the government.

In a statement, the Taliban has claimed its fighters have taken control of several security installations in the area and captured 110 national security forces.

Some officials are reported as saying that the commanders “made a deal” with the Taliban and the surrender included handing over all the weapons and equipment a the base to the Taliban.

Badakhshan borders China and Tajikistan and has been the scene of major clashes between Taliban and Afghan security forces in recent weeks.

While the Taliban has so far in this fighting season failed to maintain control over territories it has captured, the militants have inflicted heavy battlefield casualties on Afghan security forces.

The New York Times reported Wednesday a more than 50 percent rise in the casualty rate among Afghan security forces this year compared with the first six months of 2014. It quoted officials with the US-led military coalition as saying that about 4,100 Afghan soldiers and police officers have been killed and around 8,000 wounded.

Meanwhile, Afghan government and Taliban representatives are preparing to meet in neighboring Pakistan on Friday for a second round of peace negotiations to explore ways to end hostilities.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.voanews.com/content/fresh-attack-in-cameroon-kills-at-least-20/2878923.html

Fresh Attack in Cameroon Kills at Least 20

Moki Edwin Kindzeka
July 26, 2015 7:09 AM

YAOUNDE— At least 20 people have been declared dead and 70 wounded after a suicide bombing late Saturday in the Cameroon town of Maroua. Officials say the suicide bomber was a 13-year-old girl.

Cameroon Defense Minister Edgard Alain Mebe Ngo'o said the young girl detonated a series of explosives in the popular Pont Vert neighborhood, barely a kilometer from the scene of last Wednesday's twin suicide bomb attacks. He said the population must develop a culture of vigilance because Boko Haram has changed strategy.

Mebe Ngo'o said all suspects should be reported to the military that more than ever before needs the collaboration of the populace. He said he was urging business people, traditional rulers, administrative authorities and everyone to constitute themselves in self-defense groups to save lives.

There has been no claim of responsibility, but Mebe Ngo'o blamed the terrorist group Boko Haram.

The group founded in neighboring Nigeria pledged its allegiance to the the Islamic State group, and its leader Abubakar Shekau vowed to attack the central African country because it supported Nigeria in its efforts to defeat Boko Haram.

Last Wednesday, dozens of people were killed in Maroua in a twin suicide bomb attack in which two teenage girls disguised as a merchant and a beggar detonated bombs in a market and a popular neighborhood called Barmare.

 

[Housecarl]

With everything else I missed this one....Likelier than not its probably a total of 100, not all of them tankers. Figure the C-130s and B-747s in the Iranian AF fleet are beyond long in the tooth.....Still a big deal. HC

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.defenseworld.net/news/13...eling_Aircraft__Claims_DEBKAfile#.VbTZb8vH_mI

Iran Has Ordered 100 Russian Refueling Aircraft, Claims DEBKAfile

Source : Our Bureau ~ Dated : Wednesday, July 22, 2015 @ 03:00 PM

Iran has ordered 100 Russian IL78 MKI Tanker Aircraft to extend its air force’s range up to 7,300 km, DEBKAfile, an Israel based Intelligence website has claimed.

DEBKAfile intelligence and security news service reported today that the move is in opposition to international arms sanctions. The trade is against the terms of the nuclear agreement signed between the six world powers and Iran in Vienna this month.

These tanker planes can simultaneously refuel six to eight warplanes. Their acquisition brings Israel, 1.200km away as well the rest of the Middle East within easy range of Iranian aerial bombardment.

Moreover, It also helps Iran’s air force to overtake Israel in terms of the quantity and range of its refuelling capacity.

DEBKAfile claimed that some of the tactics and escape clauses Iran has had built into its nuclear agreement with the world powers has helped it to strike the tanker purchase.

The purchase of Russian refuelling craft is an example of this kind of evasion because the deal confirms the arms embargo in force until 2020, both Moscow and Tehran can maintain that the Russian aircraft industry cannot produce 100 new planes before the five years are over, and so the transaction is not a violation.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL5N1060CF20150726

UPDATE 2-Houthis, Saudi-led forces battle for Yemen's biggest air base

Sun Jul 26, 2015 12:59pm GMT

* Yemen ceasefire due to start on Sunday evening

* Houthi chief reported as rejecting truce

* Al-Anad air base in strategic southern location

* More than 3,500 killed in 4 months of war (Adds Houthis holding 16 aid trucks between Hudayda and Taiz)

By Mohammed Mukhashef and Mohammed Ghobari

ADEN/SANAA, July 26 (Reuters) - Yemeni forces allied with a Saudi-led coalition fought Houthi militia for control of the country's largest air base north of Aden on Sunday, local residents said, hours before a humanitarian truce declared by the coalition was meant to start.

The al-Anad base, 50 km (30 miles) from the major southern port city, has been held by the Iranian-allied Houthi movement for much of a fourth-month-old civil war, and is regarded as a strategic asset commanding the approaches to Aden.

The Arab coalition on Saturday announced a ceasefire to take effect at 11.59 p.m. (2059 GMT) on Sunday evening for five days to allow for the delivery of humanitarian aid.

But the truce was cast into doubt when Houthi leader Abdel-Malek al-Houthi was reported to have rejected it, arguing it would benefit only militant groups Islamic State and al Qaeda.

"The battle goes on and the war is not over," al-Houthi was quoted as saying in a message posted on the group's Twitter account. The Iranian-allied Houthi movement accuses its Saudi-supported foes of being in cahoots with Islamist militants like al Qaeda, something the coalition denies.

A spokesperson for the Houthis was not immediately available for comment on the posting.

Houthi forces held up 16 trucks carrying humanitarian aid from the World Food Programme through Yemen's Al Hudaydah province to support displaced persons in the major city of Taiz.

Four months of air raids and war have killed more than 3,500 people in the Arabian Peninsula state. Aden has suffered especially, with severe shortages of fuel, food and medicine.

The Arab coalition, allied with southern secessionist fighters, retook much of Aden last week in the first significant ground victory in their campaign to end Houthi control over much of Yemen and restore exiled President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi.

Houthi fighters and army units loyal to former president Ali Abdullah Saleh captured Aden at the outset of the war, prompting Hadi to flee to Saudi Arabia, an ally along with the United States.

Aden and other southern provinces have been largely inaccessible to U.N. food aid, and about 13 million people -- over half the population -- are thought in dire need of food.


WARPLANES ATTACK

Coalition warplanes carried out raids near Sanaa late on Saturday and shortly after dawn on Sunday, residents reported, adding that the targets included a military base near the city.

In the city itself, a bomb exploded underneath a passenger bus, killing three people and wounding five in the southern district of Dar Selm, police said. No further details were immediately available.

Ali Ahmedi, a spokesman for anti-Houthi forces in Aden, said they continued to fight Houthi forces at the al-Anad base and had damaged aircraft, tanks and equipment stationed there.

Residents said forces of the so-called Southern Resistance, a secessionist movement allied with the coalition, had taken and Sabr, a northern district of Aden. The residents reported 25 Houthis and 10 Southern Resistance fighters had been killed.

The Saudi-led coalition began its campaign on March 26, striving to reverse months of advances by the Houthis after they moved from their northern stronghold last year, capturing the capital Sanaa and pushing south to Aden.

A senior Houthi commander, Abdul-Khaliq al-Houthi, was captured on Saturday by the Southern Resistance, the secessionist movement said on its official Twitter account.

Houthi officials could not immediately be contacted for comment. Reuters could not independently verify the information.

Yemenis say Abdul-Khaliq al-Houthi, a brother of Houthi leader Abdul-Malek al-Houthi, played an important role in the militia's capture of Sanaa in September.

(Writing by Hadeel El Sayegh and William Maclean; Editing by Mark Heinrich)


© Thomson Reuters 2015 All rights reserved

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://www.koreaherald.com/view.php?ud=20150726000314

N.K. rocket threats escalate

Published : 2015-07-26 17:27
Updated : 2015-07-26 17:28

North Korea’s recent deployment of four multiple rocket launchers on a border island is raising questions whether South Korea is sufficiently prepared to handle threats from these rockets and other artillery targeting Seoul and its surrounding areas.

In recent years, defense discourse here has centered on countering the North’s strategic weapons systems such as ballistic missiles and nuclear arms, while attention to more existential threats -- long-range artillery and multiple rocket launchers -- appears to be insufficient.

Though its intentions remain unclear, Pyongyang’s dispatch of the four 122 mm-caliber rocket launchers on Galdo Island, just 4.5 kilometers away from South Korea’s Yeonpyeongdo Island, was a stern reminder that the artillery threats continue to escalate and need greater policy attention, analysts said.

“North Korea’s long-range artillery, multiple rocket launchers and short-range missiles are the most serious security challenge facing South Korea, as these could inflict huge damages in the beginning phase of an armed conflict, even if the South may ultimately win,” said Park Won-gon, security expert at Handong Global University.

“When those weapons are used against the South all at once, there are virtually no viable means to counter them -- a reason why it is crucial for us to maintain deterrence by communicating a clear, repeated message to the North that a provocation would trigger a stronger, costly retaliation.”

According to Seoul’s 2014 defense white paper, the communist state has a total of 14,100 artillery pieces including 5,500 multiple rocket launchers, a majority of which have been deployed near the heavily-fortified border.

The South, however, has only 5,800 artillery pieces including just 200 multiple rocket launchers -- a reason why the North’s artillery is still seen as an “asymmetric threat.”

The North’s major long-range artillery pieces are 170 mm-caliber self-propelled howitzers and 240 mm multiple rocket launchers, which have ranges of up to 65 kilometers -- long enough to strike military targets in Seoul and its surrounding areas.

The North has also been developing the longer-range 300 mm multiple rocket launcher, which is thought to be equipped with a GPS navigation system. This rocket system can strike key U.S. military installations in Pyeongtaek and Osan in Gyeonggi Province, and the headquarters of South Korea’s Army, Navy and Air Force in the Gyeryongdae military compound in South Chungcheong Province.

In close cooperation with the U.S. Forces Korea, South Korea has been working to improve its defense against North Korea’s artillery forces. But their responses to the threats can only be limited given the overwhelming size of the North’s artillery.

“Yes, in tactical terms, threats from North Korea’s artillery are greater (than those from long-range missiles). We have been striving hard to deal with these threats with a plan to strengthen counterfire capabilities of regional units,” a defense official told The Korea Herald on condition of anonymity.

“Although the media and experts have focused on the issues of threats from North Korea’s development of intercontinental missiles, submarine-launched ballistic missiles, nuclear warheads and other weapons of mass destruction, our military has also paid due attention to our counter-fire capabilities.”

Despite the escalating threats from the North’s artillery, Seoul’s allocation of defense budgets and policy attention have been focused on developing counters to Pyongyang’s missile and nuclear arsenal, such as the Korea Air and Missile Defense program and the Kill Chain preemptive strike system.

Many ideas have been put forward to deal with North Korea’s artillery, though budgetary issues have always come in the way. Among them was purchasing a weapons system called, “counter-rocket artillery mortar,” or C-RAM.

One of the most well-known C-RAM platforms is the Israeli-made Iron Dome, which Israel has effectively used to fend off rocket attacks from Hamas in the Gaza Strip, which is home to 1.26 million Palestine refugees.

Seoul defense officials are known to have conducted research on the feasibility of applying the Iron Dome defense system to protect key state facilities in the Seoul metropolitan area. But they are said to have decided against it due to the cost effectiveness and the peninsula’s mountainous terrain that analysts say would make the system less effective.

Military experts say that since it is impossible to successfully counter massive rocket attacks, Seoul needs to strengthen its capabilities to monitor the North’s artillery movements with advanced surveillance and reconnaissance assets, and capacity to strike key artillery units in the North promptly should deterrence fail.

Close coordination with the U.S. artillery force is also important, they noted. Earlier this year, the U.S. military decided to deploy another multiple-launch-rocket-system battalion to Korea on a rotational basis.

By Song Sang-ho (sshluck@heraldcorp.com)

 

[vestige]

'Curiouser and curiouser!' cried Alice.

bump

 

[doctor_fungcool]

There are 18 pro western nations practicing in western Ukraine.

Turkey is bombing both Syria and Iraq. It looks like Turkey wants to widen this conflict. The wild card will be Russia and Iran.

 

[doctor_fungcool]

http://news.sky.com/story/1525638/turkey-calls-for-nato-meeting-over-syria-crisis



Turkey Calls For NATO Meeting Over Syria Crisis

NATO says it stands "in solidarity with Turkey" ahead of a meeting to discuss the threat of Islamic State and Kurdish militants.

18:29, UK, Sunday 26 July 2015
A Turkish Air Force A400M tactical transport aircraft is parked at Incirlik airbase in the southern city of Adana, Turkey

A Turkish tactical transport aircraft at Incirlik airbase


Turkey has called for an extraordinary meeting of NATO to discuss the escalating violence caused by the crisis in Syria.

The meeting, which will be held in Brussels on Tuesday, was invoked under Article 4 of the NATO treaty.

This allows any of the organisation's 28 members to request assistance when they consider "their territorial integrity, political independence or security is threatened".

A statement from NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said: "Turkey requested the meeting in view of the seriousness of the situation after the heinous terrorist attacks in recent days, and also to inform Allies of the measures it is taking.

"NATO Allies follow developments very closely and stand in solidarity with Turkey."
Video: Turkey Bombs Islamic State Targets

The move comes as Turkey continued its airstrikes against Islamic State extremists in Syria and widened its anti-terror campaign to hit Kurdish militant targets inside Iraq.

Sky News Foreign Affairs Editor Sam Kiley said: "They are asking for surveillance aircraft to help with problems along the border.

"It is part of its argument for safe zones inside Syria along its border that would be policed by armed forces presumably from NATO and members of the US-led coalition."

He added: "The other concern for NATO partners would be that this has been a period in which Kurdish separatist groups have been targeted by Turkish airstrikes and these very same armed groups are working hand in glove with the US-led coalition on the ground in Syria.
1/5

 

[doctor_fungcool]

We have all the makings of a huge war in the middle east.

 

[Housecarl]

There are 18 pro western nations practicing in western Ukraine.

Turkey is bombing both Syria and Iraq. It looks like Turkey wants to widen this conflict. The wild card will be Russia and Iran.

We have all the makings of a huge war in the middle east.

Of every one in the region probably the biggest wild cards are the Turks, Qatar/Saudi (with their near open Jihadi support) and Iran with their current regime. All three have hegemonic goals in the area. The difference is the degree of reliance on surrogates and "covert direct action" to further those goals.

As I see it, the Russians are pretty consistent in terms of their interests and concerns. Their only claim to "wild card" status is their willingness to make it quite clear what they are and that they'll do something about it.

The Turks, with Erdogan and his party running things, are abutting the Iranians in their hegemonic goals while at the same time have parallel interests in suppressing the Kurds. The IS movement is a direct competitor to Erdogan's AKP political party's Neo-Ottoman goals. They've got the military, in terms of numbers and gear (and are working on MRBMs/IRBMs; they've already got SRBMs via the PRC to pair with their F-16s) that Iran will now be able to afford with the sanctions going completely away.

The Russians want a presence in the region and are going to balance the Iranians and Turks along with the Egyptians to get it and contain the IS/Waahabiist movement, the Saudis and their influence within Russia's south east Urals and the 'Stans.

To the degree that can be played to gain influence and negate competing EU and US goals, as well as the PRC, the Russians will play things. The fact is its their neighborhood and they are in as close missile range as the Israelis to those armed parties.

The problem "we've" got with the Russians is a direct result of parties within the EU and the US trying to game them to such a degree that they'd be placed in a corner in such a way that they'd act out accordingly when that wasn't necessary. We're now reaping the results of that.

 

[vestige]

We have all the makings of a huge war in the middle east.

No sh*t!

From#37:

"The meeting, which will be held in Brussels on Tuesday, was invoked under Article 4 of the NATO treaty."

I assume they will be at SHAPE. (Is it still there? Last visit late 70s.)

They don't talk about Brussel sprouts there.