WAR 12-15-2018-to-12-21-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

[Housecarl]

(346) 11-24-2018-to-11-30-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...1-30-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

(347) 12-01-2018-to-12-07-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...2-07-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

(348) 12-08-2018-to-12-14-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****
http://www.timebomb2000.com/vb/show...2-14-2018___****THE****WINDS****of****WAR****

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

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.defensenews.com/congres...tagon-ramps-down-bolton/#.XBKhbgDkUAw.twitter

US Africa strategy hinges on local forces stepping up as Pentagon ramps down: Bolton

By: Joe Gould  
1 day ago

WASHINGTON — As the Trump administration pulls back America’s military presence in Africa, it’s calling for more African regional security organizations to step up, U.S. national security adviser John Bolton said Thursday.

In a speech at the Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, Bolton unveiled the administration’s strategy to counter the rapidly expanding financial and political influence of China and Russia across Africa and work through allies to curb radical Islamic terrorism.

Overall, Bolton also sought to contrast America’s straight-forward approach — to “help African nations take control of their economic destinies and their own security needs” — with China’s “predatory” investments in local infrastructure projects.

“China uses bribes, opaque agreements, and the strategic use of debt to hold states in Africa captive to Beijing’s wishes and demands,” Bolton said. “Its investment ventures are riddled with corruption, and do not meet the same environmental or ethical standards as U.S. development projects.”

On the military front, China opened its first overseas military base last year in the Horn of Africa nation of Djibouti, the site of the only permanent U.S. military base on the continent. Bolton warned of a possible shift of the strategic region, along the lucrative and busy Red Sea shipping lane, to China.

But the plans to develop U.S. economic ties and protect the independence of African countries comes as the U.S. military will cut 10 percent of its 7,200 forces deployed in Africa. America hopes to foster African self-reliance, Bolton said.

“What we’d like to do is empower the African countries to do more security, to do it more of their own security, to do it in coordination with one another — they’re the ones who know the neighborhood — rather than have the deployment of American forces who are comparatively very well paid and well equipped,” Bolton said.

Bolton also emphasized the potential of the G5 Sahel Joint Force, a band of 5,000 troops comprised of Mauritania, Niger, Chad, Burkina Faso, and Mali — formed to counter militants linked to al-Qaeda and Islamic State in the Sahel.

The U.S. almost doubled its pledge of financial support for the force that began deploying last year to fight a surge in Islamist militant attacks, Bloomberg reported last month. Assistance was set to jump to $111 million, from an initial pledge of $60 million made in October 2017.

But the G5 Joint Force, according to the United Nations, is suffering from “equipment shortfalls, capability gaps, insufficient infrastructure and a lack of secured operational bases [that] continue to delay its full operationalization.”

U.S. special operations forces in Central and West Africa have been focused on training up African host-nation forces to combat growing insurgencies from Islamist militants. But the military is ramping down on the continent, following a national report that the U.S. military lacks the global resources to meet China or Russia in a potential future conflict.

“Our goal is for the nations of the region to take ownership over peace and security in their own neighborhood,” Bolton said.

“Under our new strategy, we will also take several additional steps to help our African friends fight terrorism and strengthen the rule of law,” Bolton said. “We will assist key African governments in building the capacity of partner forces and security institutions to provide effective and sustainable security and law enforcement services to their citizens.”

That said, Bolton expressed support for the idea of moving U.S. Africa Command headquarters to Africa from Germany, where it’s been since its founding in 2007. “I think the Pentagon has been clear that it ought to be in the theater it’s responsible for,” he said.

Bolton said the U.S. wants to see more regional cooperative security organizations like the G5 Sahel Joint Force emerge around the world.

As the force seeking to build regional capability to combat terrorism, transnational organized crime, and human trafficking in the Sahel, “G5 countries must remain in the driver’s seat—this initiative cannot be outsourced to the U.N. for funding and other support.”

Bolton, who has long denounced the United Nations, said the U.S. will a reevaluate its support for U.N. peacekeeping missions — only supporting those it deems “effective and efficient.” He blasted the peace-keeping operation in the Western Sahara for lasting 27 years.

“All too often at the United Nations, establishing the peace-keeping force and deploying it is the end of creative thinking,” he said. “There needs to be a lot more focus on resolving the conflict. Success is not simply continuing the mission ad infinitum."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

1 Comment

Frank Blangeard
In Vietnam it was called Vietnamization. In Afghanistan it no doubt has a similar name. The problem of course is that the Vietnamese didn't want to fight for some puppet government supported by the United States. Neither do the people in Afghanistan. Africa will be no different.
Like · Reply · 12h

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
http://iswresearch.blogspot.com/2018/12/russia-sees-opportunity-in-europes.html

Thursday, December 13, 2018
Russia Sees Opportunity in Europe's Crises

By Jason Zhou with the ISW Russia Team

Key Takeaway: Russia is poised to escalate its campaign in Ukraine at a time when domestic crises, partly fueled by the Kremlin, distract key U.S. allies in Europe. America’s three most important allies in NATO - France, Germany, and the United Kingdom - face ongoing political instability even as events in Eastern Europe divert the attention of NATO. These crises all have domestic roots, but nearly all of them are being fanned or influenced by the Kremlin. The crises occupy the attention of critical political leaders in NATO and have already contributed to weak responses by NATO and the EU to Russia’s aggression in the Kerch Strait. Russian President Vladimir Putin likely calculates that crucial NATO leaders are currently too weak and preoccupied with domestic affairs to respond meaningfully to further escalation. This calculus increases the likelihood that Putin may commit additional acts of aggression, such as the seizure of additional territory in Eastern Ukraine.

CLICK IMAGE TO ENLARGE

Update (December 14, 2018): The text for the fourth point in the map has been updated to reflect a significant development in Kosovo's Parliament.

https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-RlE4hJPN...e+for+Exploitation+by+Putin+December+2018.png

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.yahoo.com/news/turkey-enter-syrias-manbij-u-doesnt-remove-ypg-084414879.html

Turkey will enter Syria's Manbij if U.S. doesn't remove YPG fighters, Erdogan says

Reuters 14 hours ago

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - Turkish forces will enter the Syrian town of Manbij if the United States does not remove YPG Kurdish fighters, and it will also target Kurdish-controlled areas further east, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday.

Erdogan said this week that Turkey would launch a new operation within days against the U.S.-backed Syrian Kurdish YPG militia which controls swathes of Syria's northern border region, in what will be Turkey's third military campaign in Syria in two years.

Ankara and Washington have long been at odds in Syria, where the United States has backed the YPG in the fight against Islamic State. Turkey says the YPG is a terrorist organization and an extension of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).

Turkey has complained over the slow implementation of a deal with Washington to pull YPG Kurdish fighters out of Manbij, which lies in mainly Arab territory west of the Euphrates, back to the eastern bank of the river.

"Manbij is a place where Arabs live, but they have surrendered the area to the terror organization," Erdogan told members of the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation in a speech in Istanbul. "Now we are saying that you should cleanse, remove them, or else we will enter Manbij. I am speaking very clearly."

Erdogan said Turkey was also determined to bring "peace and security" to areas east of the Euphrates, where the YPG controls an area stretching more than 400 km (250 miles) along the border towards Iraq.

He compared the promised military campaign to an incursion into northern Syria in 2016 and one earlier this year by Turkish forces and their Syrian rebel allies, who still hold territory there seized from YPG and Islamic State fighters.

A spokesman for the Syrian rebels said on Thursday that up to 15,000 fighters are prepared to support Turkey's latest operation.

The United States, which has set up observation posts on the Syrian side of the border, has warned Turkey against a new incursion and said the newly constructed positions would help deter any security threat against Turkey coming from Syria.

Erdogan, however, said Turkey had waited long enough to act against the YPG militia, which it says is indistinguishable from PKK militants who have waged an insurgency against the state in southeastern Turkey for 34 years.

"We are not only providing security for our country when taking steps in Syria but we are also protecting the honor of people," he said.

Kurdish commander Mazloum Kobanin said on Thursday the Syrian Democratic Forces, which are spearheaded by the YPG, will respond strongly to any attack.

(Reporting by Gulsen Solaker and Ezgi Erkoyun; Writing by Dominic Evans; Editing by David Dolan)

272 reactions

 

[Housecarl]

Hummm….same French company is in negotiations with the Australian government for 12 boats....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.yahoo.com/news/brazil-first-step-program-join-nuclear-powered-sub-175209248.html

Brazil take first step in program to join nuclear-powered sub club

By Pilar Olivares, Reuters • December 14, 2018

ITAGUAI, Brazil (Reuters) - Brazil on Friday launched the first of five attack submarines built with French technology in a 35 billion-real ($8.9 billion) program planned to end in 2029 with delivery of a nuclear-powered submarine.

President Michel Temer and his right-wing successor, President-elect Jair Bolsonaro, both pressed the button that lowered into the sea the 1,700-ton submarine named Riachuelo at a Rio de Janeiro naval base. Temer's wife, Marcela, had christened the vessel, by smashing a champagne bottle against its hull.

The submarines being built by the Brazilian Navy in partnership with France's defense company Naval Group, formerly known as DCNS, are a modified version of the Scorpene class diesel-powered submarine.

While the first four submarines in the deal with Naval Group are conventional subs, the fifth will place Brazil in the club of only six nations with nuclear-powered submarines - the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, China and India.

The program has been delayed by budget cuts and corruption scandals involving contractors such as Brazil's largest engineering and construction firm Odebrecht. The launch date of the last submarines has been put back until 2029.

The launch of the Riachuelo gives the Brazilian Navy six submarines, adding to five older ones of German technology.

Admiral Bento Albuquerque, who will be mining and energy minister in Bolsonaro's cabinet when he takes office Jan. 1, said investment in the new sub program would total 35 billion reais at today's prices.

The new submarines are planned to equip the Navy to patrol Brazil's 3.5 million square-kilometer off-shore deep waters that contain vast wealth in oil and gas reserves of the so-called pre-salt region.

"Brazil has a vocation for peace and is building its submarine not to threaten anyone or unsettle the calm of international waters," Temer said.

"Brazil is building submarines because a nation with more than 7,000 kilometers of coastline cannot do without tools to defend its sovereignty and it marine riches," he said.

(Additional reporting by Rodrigo Viga Gaier in Rio de Janeiro; Writing by Anthony Boadle; Editing by Bill Trott)

220 reactions

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-serb-opposition-nato-criticism-idUSKBN1OD16S

World News December 14, 2018 / 2:45 AM / Updated 7 hours ago

Kosovo approves new army despite Serb opposition, NATO criticism

Fatos Bytyci
4 Min Read

PRISTINA (Reuters) - Kosovo’s parliament voted on Friday to create a 5,000-strong standing army, a week after Serbia’s premier suggested the move could provoke military intervention by Belgrade.

The move, coming 20 years after Kosovo Albanians’ uprising against Serbian rule and a decade after independence, was lauded as “historic” by the United States but NATO criticized it as unhelpful in efforts to ease tensions between Kosovo and Serbia.

Legislation to transform the lightly armed Kosovo Security Force, which was created mainly for crisis response, civil defense and removal of ordnance from the 1990s conflict, into an army was approved by 105 deputies in the 120-seat assembly.

Eleven minority Serb deputies boycotted the vote. Kosovo’s constitution mandates the creation of a national army but no action was taken for years while Pristina sought, in vain, to obtain the approval of Kosovo Serbs.

The move is also strongly opposed by Kosovo Serbs’ patron Serbia, which has refused to recognize the independence of its former province and warned that a national Kosovo army could destabilize the Western Balkans.

“I regret that this decision was made despite the concerns expressed by NATO,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said in a statement on Friday.

“The North Atlantic Council will now have to re-examine the level of NATO’s engagement with the Kosovo Security Force,” he said.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres was concerned by the move, said U.N. spokesman Farhan Haq.

“The Secretary-General calls on all parties concerned to exercise restraint and refrain from actions that could raise tensions and cause a further setback in the European Union-facilitated dialogue for the normalization of relations between Belgrade and Pristina,” Haq said in a statement.

Though creating an army could take years, Serbian politicians maintain that it could be used to expel remaining Serbs from Kosovo - an accusation denied by Kosovo Albanian leaders who rely on European Union and U.S. support for reforms and development of the small, impoverished Balkan country.

On Dec. 5, Serbian Prime Minister Ana Brnabic suggested one possible response by Belgrade could be military intervention.

Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic will be inspecting troops along the Kosovo border over the next three days, his office said on Thursday.

A NATO-led peacekeeping mission to Kosovo still has around 4,000 troops in the landlocked country.

Balkans analysts, however, said any action by Serbia’s 28,000-strong army against Kosovo is highly unlikely given Belgrade’s aspirations to join the EU and that Brnabic’s remarks appeared to be a sop to Serbian nationalists.

With the new law in place, Kosovo will set up a defense ministry and the future army is to be comprised of 5,000 active soldiers and 3,000 reservists. Pristina government officials said the process would last at least 10 years.

Kosovo’s independence came almost a decade after a NATO air war halted a two-year counter-insurgency war by Serbian security forces that included arrests, killings and expulsions of ethnic Albanian civilians.

Reporting by Fatos Bytyci; Additional reporting by Michelle Nichols at the United Nations; Editing by Mark Heinrich, Raissa Kasolowsky and Sandra Maler

 

[Housecarl]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...offices-in-crackdown-on-dissent-idUSKBN1OD2G9

World News December 14, 2018 / 10:40 AM / Updated 11 hours ago

Police raid Nicaragua journalist's offices in crackdown on dissent

Ismael Lopez
3 Min Read

MANAGUA (Reuters) - Nicaraguan police raided the offices of a prominent journalist often critical of President Daniel Ortega, the latest sign of a broad crackdown on civil society and independent media organizations.

Carlos Fernando Chamorro, the son of former president Violeta Chamorro, runs the digital newspaper Confidencial and hosts television news programs. He blamed the Thursday night raid and seizure of equipment on increasingly authoritarian efforts to purge the country of domestic dissent.

“This was an absurd attack on free expression,” the award-winning Chamorro told Reuters on Friday.

Police seized computers and other equipment after breaking open door locks purportedly seeking to enter the offices of Cinco, a separate organization run by Chamorro that earlier in the week was ordered closed by lawmakers loyal to Ortega, he said.

Cinco, described on its website as a research organization focused on communications, culture, democracy and public opinion, had moved to another location years ago, but the police were not deterred, Chamorro said.

Nicaragua has been seized by eight months of anti-government protests, which have left at least 322 people dead and more than 500 people in jail, according to the Nicaraguan Center for Human Rights, or Cenidh.

The human rights organization was one 10 non-governmental organizations that was stripped of legal status on Wednesday by Nicaragua’s Congress, which is controlled by Ortega’s allies. The move prohibits the groups from operating.

Earlier in the week, Nicaragua’s telecommunications regulator ordered a satellite television network to remove from its offerings the opposition television news channel 100% Noticias.

Ortega’s opponents accuse the veteran leftist of attempting to cement an authoritarian family dynasty along with his wife, Rosario Murillo, who he chose to be his vice president.

Chamorro is the son of slain journalist and businessman Pedro Joaquin Chamorro, who opposed right-wing dictator Anastasio Somoza in the late 1970s while at the helm of La Prensa newspaper.

Ortega was also a fierce opponent of Somoza but many of his critics today accuse him of employing similar tactics of repression.

(This story has been refiled to move extraneous word in second paragraph)
Reporting by Ismael Lopez; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Bill Trott

 

[Pinecone]

Thank you, Housecarl for all the work you do on this thread. I don't know how you manage all the news these days. The winds of war are blowing hotter every day and spreading across the globe at an ever increasing temperature. May you still find peace in your heart after reading all of this.

 

[Housecarl]

Thank you, Housecarl for all the work you do on this thread. I don't know how you manage all the news these days. The winds of war are blowing hotter every day and spreading across the globe at an ever increasing temperature. May you still find peace in your heart after reading all of this.

Thanks back Pinecone. To be honest I haven't been hitting the newshounding as hard as I have in the past for a couple of reasons though I'm working on correcting that. I've been devoting time to physical therapy and the rest I need after it. As my stamina increases and my keyboarding comes back I'll be doing more. When they let me go back to work then things may change again.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Global: MilitaryInfo
‏ @Global_Mil_Info
55m55 minutes ago

#BREAKING: North Korea on Sunday condemned the U.S. administration for stepping up sanctions and pressure on the nuclear-armed country, warning of a return to "exchanges of fire" and that disarming Pyongyang could be blocked forever - @Reuters

 

[Zagdid]

Iran Guards general dies of self-inflicted accidental gunshot: report

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...icted-accidental-gunshot-report-idUSKBN1OF0S8 (fair use)
DECEMBER 16, 2018 / 2:09 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

DUBAI (Reuters) - A Revolutionary Guards general, who headed a military base in a sensitive security area in northeastern Iran, died on Sunday after he accidentally shot himself in the head while cleaning his gun, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The report identified the commander as General Qodratollah Mansouri, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

Eastern Iran, which borders Afghanistan — the world’s top opium producer — and Pakistan, has long been plagued by clashes with drug smuggling gangs. Southeastern Iran is also the scene of unrest by separatists and Sunni militant groups.

Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by David Evans

 

[Housecarl]

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...icted-accidental-gunshot-report-idUSKBN1OF0S8 (fair use)
DECEMBER 16, 2018 / 2:09 PM / UPDATED 2 HOURS AGO

DUBAI (Reuters) - A Revolutionary Guards general, who headed a military base in a sensitive security area in northeastern Iran, died on Sunday after he accidentally shot himself in the head while cleaning his gun, the official news agency IRNA reported.

The report identified the commander as General Qodratollah Mansouri, a veteran of the Iran-Iraq war in the 1980s.

Eastern Iran, which borders Afghanistan — the world’s top opium producer — and Pakistan, has long been plagued by clashes with drug smuggling gangs. Southeastern Iran is also the scene of unrest by separatists and Sunni militant groups.

Reporting by Dubai newsroom; editing by David Evans

Yeah, right....

 

[Zagdid]

Protest lodged with Iran over attack on FC patrol

clue .... perhaps
https://www.dawn.com/news/1451672 (fair use)

The Newspaper's Staff Reporter Updated December 16, 2018

ISLAMABAD: Iranian Ambassador Mehdi Hona*rdoost was on Saturday summoned to the Foreign Office to receive protest over a terrorist attack on a Frontier Corps patrol near the Pakistan-Iran border.

“The Iranian Amba*ssador to Pakistan was called to the Foreign Office to lodge a strong protest against the ghastly incident. The government of Iran was urged to carry out effective operation against the terrorist group responsible for the attack on its side of the border,” the FO said in a statement.

Six soldiers embraced martyrdom on Friday night when terrorists attacked the Frontier Corps convoy in Wakai region.

The Inter Services Public Relations said in a press statement on Friday night that terrorists had targeted one of the FC vehicles with an improvised explosive device when an intelligence-base operation was conducted on a terrorists’ hideout in Wakai area near Buleda, Turbat.

 

[danielboon]

EndGameWW3
EndGameWW3
@EndGameWW3
Saudi Arabia denounces US Senate resolution implicating Crown Prince MBS in Khashoggi murder — RT World News (link: https://www.rt.com/news/446614-saudi-arabia-denounce-khashoggi-resolution/) rt.com/news/446614-sa…
5:55 PM · Dec 16, 2018 ·

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-warns-denuclearization-at-risk-idUSKBN1OF0EZ


World News December 16, 2018 / 4:30 AM / Updated 12 hours ago

North Korea condemns U.S. sanctions, warns denuclearization at risk

Hyunjoo Jin, Josh Smith
2 Min Read

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea on Sunday condemned the U.S. administration for stepping up sanctions and pressure on the nuclear-armed country, warning of a return to “exchanges of fire” and that disarming Pyongyang could be blocked forever.

The North’s stinging response came after the United States said on Monday it had introduced sanctions on three North Korean officials, including a top aide to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, for alleged human rights abuses.

Denuclearizing North Korea has made little progress since Kim Jong Un and U.S. President Donald Trump met in Singapore in June in a historic summit. The two sides have yet to reschedule working-level talks between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and senior North Korean official Kim Yong Chol, which were canceled abruptly in November.

While crediting Trump for his “willingness” to improve relations with the North, also known as DPRK, Pyongyang accused the U.S. State Department of being “bent on bringing the DPRK-U.S. relations back to the status of last year which was marked by exchanges of fire.”

North Korea’s foreign ministry said in a statement that Washington had taken “sanctions measures for as many as eight times against the companies, individuals and ships of not only the DPRK but also Russia, China and other third countries...”

If the U.S. administration believed that heightened sanctions and pressure would force Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons, “it will count as (its) greatest miscalculation, and it will block the path to denuclearization on the Korean peninsula forever - a result desired by no one,” according to the statement.

The foreign ministry statement was released under the name of the policy research director of the Institute for American Studies.

Reporting by Hyunjoo Jin and Josh Smith; Editing by Mark Potter

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-says-airstrike-in-somalia-killed-8-militants/4702335.html

Africa

US Says Airstrike in Somalia Killed 8 Militants

December 15, 2018 5:49 PM
Abdulaziz Osman

The U.S. military said it conducted an airstrike Saturday in Somalia, killing at least eight al-Shabab militants.

No civilians were involved in the airstrike near Gandarhse, a coastal area south of Mogadishu, according to the U.S. Africa Command.

https://gdb.voanews.com/0FA227F1-97E0-4158-A023-44CBF904D426_w650_r1_s.png

The military said the strike was conducted in close coordination with the Somalia government to degrade al-Shabab's freedom of movement. So far this year, the U.S. military has conducted at least 40 airstrikes against al-Shabab in various parts of Somalia.

Chaos in Baidoa
Also on Saturday, in the Somali city of Baidoa, chaos and protests continued for a third day over the arrest of Mukhtar Robow, the former deputy leader of al-Shabab, who was a top candidate for the presidency of South West State in upcoming elections.

12 fatalities in clashes
Robow was arrested Thursday and transferred to Mogadishu. The move angered his supporters, who clashed with police. At least 12 people have been killed, including a lawmaker.
Authorities said at least 200 civilians were arrested following the clashes.

The rights group Amnesty International condemned the killing of civilians in Baidoa.

"Somali and Ethiopian security forces in Baidoa must refrain from using lethal force against protesters. ... No one should have to die for simply expressing their views," said Sarah Jackson, Amnesty International deputy director for East Africa.

African Union forces operating in Somalia (AMISOM) said in a statement that its troops did not help in the arrest of "Mr. Robow and his subsequent transfer to Mogadishu."

The statement was made after it was reported that Ethiopian troops, who are part of AMISOM, were involved in Robow's arrest.

Speaker urges release
Somalia's Parliament Speaker Mohamed Mursal Abdirahman called on the government on Saturday to release Robow and postpone the regional election, where Robow is competing with other candidates for the presidential post.

The Somalia government accuses Robow of bringing Islamic militants and weapons back to Baidoa, the capital of South West State.

 

[Shacknasty Shagrat]

EndGameWW3
EndGameWW3
@EndGameWW3
Saudi Arabia denounces US Senate resolution implicating Crown Prince MBS in Khashoggi murder — RT World News (link: https://www.rt.com/news/446614-saudi-arabia-denounce-khashoggi-resolution/) rt.com/news/446614-sa…
5:55 PM · Dec 16, 2018 ·

Officially, I would like to denounce the impotent US Senate denunciation, OK, in Caps!
[BI WOULD LIKE TO DENOUNCE THE IMPOTENT US SENATE DENUNCIATION[/B]
Whatever....er , no,
WHATEVER.
SS

 

[Housecarl]

Hummm…..

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.voanews.com/a/us-taliban-to-meet-monday-in-uae/4703115.html

South & Central Asia

US, Taliban to Meet Monday in UAE

December 16, 2018 3:15 PM
Ayaz Gul

ISLAMABAD — A Pakistan-arranged meeting between U.S. and Taliban officials will be held Monday in the United Arab Emirates to push a political settlement to the war in Afghanistan.

The special representative for Afghan reconciliation, Zalmay Khalilzad, will lead the U.S. team at the talks in Abu Dhabi, the capital of the gulf state, a senior Pakistani official privy to the development confirmed to VOA on Sunday.

The official, requesting anonymity, said Islamabad has facilitated the dialogue after President Donald Trump wrote to Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier this month seeking his cooperation in bringing the Taliban to the table for peace negotiations.

Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid, in a brief statement sent to VOA, has confirmed participation of its political negotiators in Monday's meeting with American officials, but said that representatives of the host country, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia will also be in attendance.

Initially, it was Khan who disclosed on Friday that Pakistan-aided talks between U.S. and Taliban officials would take place on December 17, though he would not say where.

The Pakistani prime minister, while speaking in the northwestern city of Peshawar, explained his country has agreed to assist in Afghan peace efforts because Washington has changed its position by requesting help, instead of saying Islamabad is not doing enough, as U.S. leaders have previously insisted.

A spokesperson for the U.S. embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Saturday hailed Khan's remarks and support for a political reconciliation in the war-ravaged neighboring country.

"The United States welcomes any actions by the Pakistani government to promote greater cooperation, including fostering negotiations between the Taliban, the Afghan government, and other Afghans," the spokesperson told VOA.

"Special Representative Khalilzad has met, and will continue to meet, with all interested parties, including the Taliban, to support a negotiated settlement to the conflict in Afghanistan," noted the U.S. embassy official.

In his speech on Friday, Khan said that if peace were achieved in Afghanistan, his country will be the immediate beneficiary in terms of security, economic stability and regional connectivity.

Khalilzad, is visiting regional countries to gather support for Afghan peace talks. He is 14 days into an 18-day visit to the region and has already visited Pakistan, Afghanistan, Russia, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Belgium.

Since taking office in September, the Afghan-born U.S. special envoy has held two meetings with the Taliban in Qatar, where the insurgent group operates its so-called "political office."

But those talks have been for the sake of talks, say insurgent and Pakistani officials.
Demands, accusations

Pakistani officials privy to Khalilzad's interaction with the Taliban have told VOA that until now no progress has been achieved because the insurgents adamantly demand "a date or timeframe" for all U.S. and NATO troops to withdraw from Afghanistan before the Taliban decides to participate in an intra-Afghan peace process.

Washington has long maintained Taliban leaders are sheltering in Pakistan with covert support from the country's intelligence agency. Washington has been urging Islamabad to use its influence to bring the insurgents to the negotiating table.

Pakistani officials say their influence over the Taliban has significantly declined over the years because the insurgents have gained control over large areas of Afghanistan and continue to pose serious battlefield challenges for U.S.-backed Afghan security forces.

The United States and its allies invaded Afghanistan 17 years ago and the war with the Taliban has since killed nearly 150,000 people, including Afghan civilians, security forces, insurgents and more than 2,400 American soldiers, according to an American University study released recently.

The longest war effort in U.S. history has also cost Washington nearly one trillion dollars. The Taliban has expanded its insurgent activities and currently controls or hotly contests about half of Afghanistan. The conflict is said to have killed more Afghan civilians and security forces in 2018 than in any other year.

 

[Housecarl]

Considering Beijing has reportedly put a million Uighurs into "camps" yeah there's reason to be worried.....

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.voanews.com/a/analysts-uighur-jihadi-group-in-syria-could-pose-threat/4702665.html

Extremism Watch

Analysts: Uighur Jihadis in Syria Could Pose Threat

December 15, 2018 9:49 PM
Mehdi Jedinia
Sirwan Kajjo

WASHINGTON — Analysts are warning that the jihadi group Turkistan Islamic Party (TIP) in northwestern Syria could pose a danger to Syria’s volatile Idlib province, where efforts continue to keep a fragile Turkey-Russia-brokered cease-fire between Syrian regime forces and the various rebel groups.

The TIP declared an Islamic emirate in Idlib in late November and has largely remained off the radar of authorities and the media thanks to its low profile. Founded in 2008 in the northwestern Chinese region of Xinjiang, the TIP has been one of the major extremist groups in Syria since the outbreak of the civil war in the country in 2011.

The TIP is primarily made up of Uighur Muslims from China, but in recent years it also has included other jihadi fighters within its ranks.

“Now they recruit non-Uighurs and some Syrians as well,” said Aymenn Jawad al Tamimi, a Syrian researcher at the Middle East Forum, a U.S.-based think tank. “They featured a video recently that showed some Europeans in their ranks. So they have certainly expanded their recruitment base beyond the Uighur refugees who were in Turkey.”

At the peak of the Syrian conflict in 2013, there reportedly were an estimated 3,000 TIP fighters across the country, mainly in Idlib, Aleppo, Hama, Homs and the northern part of Latakia province. Their numbers, however, have significantly declined because of major military advances by the Syrian regime troops, backed by Russia and Iran.

Sadradeen Kinno, a Syrian researcher who closely follows Islamist groups in the country, told VOA the reason TIP fighters “came to Syria in the first place was that they adhere to the jihadi ideology. For jihadi groups, Syria, or the broader Levant, is a holy land for global jihad. In their doctrines, the doomsday final battle takes place in Dabiq [a town in northern Syria].”

Kinno said the TIP has been largely inspired ideologically by jihadi networks like al-Qaida and the Taliban.

The group has claimed responsibility for several attacks against Syrian troops and their allies, including a 2016 attack in Khan Touman in Idlib, where dozens of Iranian soldiers and militiamen were killed.

Chinese Special Forces
In late 2017, Syrian regime officials said they had discussed with Chinese officials the possibility of deploying Chinese Special Forces to Syria to counter the threat of the TIP. China, however, has not publicly discussed such a deployment. Beijing considers TIP a terrorist organization.

In August of this year, a pro-regime Syrian newspaper, al Watan, reported that China’s ambassador to Damascus had expressed Beijing’s readiness to join the Idlib operation to back the Syrian regime against rebels, one month before Russia and Turkey agreed on a cease-fire there.

By targeting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, the TIP fighters “think they’re fighting China, because China is an ally of Assad,” researcher al Tamimi said.

Along with Russia, China repeatedly has vetoed U.N. Security Council resolutions aimed at condemning Syrian government actions against civilians in Syria.

Syyed Mohammad Hadi, a Tehran-based analyst, says there are two explanations for why Chinese troops might be involved in Syria.

“From a security viewpoint, China will pursue its objectives of targeting trained and experienced fighters in Syria and preventing them from potentially transferring those fighting skills to their counterparts in the west of China,” Hadi told VOA.

“Beijing also sees itself as one of the main players in Syria’s reconstruction when the war is over,” he added. “So having a military presence will strength its stance in Syria and guarantee any future investments there.”

With Syria’s military continuing to make advances, analysts assert that the fate of Uighur fighters in Idlib and elsewhere in Syria depends on whether Turkey can crack down on such jihadi groups.

“If that doesn’t happen in the long run, then eventually [TIP fighters] could begin an offensive in Idlib,” al Tamimi said. “These groups won’t desist. They reject all diplomatic approaches, so I think they will continue their jihad in one way or another.”

 

[TammyinWI]

Bttt

 

[danielboon]

EndGameWW3
‏

@EndGameWW3
22m22 minutes ago
More
BREAKING: "#Russia is establishing a long-term military deployment on the Venezuelan island of La Orchila, in the Caribbean" - Venezuelan & Russian media

 

[Shacknasty Shagrat]

EndGameWW3
‏

@EndGameWW3
22m22 minutes ago
More
BREAKING: "#Russia is establishing a long-term military deployment on the Venezuelan island of La Orchila, in the Caribbean" - Venezuelan & Russian media

Russia Moves West
Book of the Year-2020
SS

 

[danielboon]

Russia says it will begin tests of most advanced Sarmat ICBM in “nearest perspective” Russia’s Strategic Missile Force Commander Colonel-General Sergei Karakayev said that flight tests of the most advanced Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) will begin in “the nearest perspective.”

According to Karakayev, the necessary infrastructure for the flight tests of Sarmat ICBM is being constructed at the Plesetsk Cosmodrome in north Russia.

“Flight tests of the complex will start in the nearest perspective and its success will provide for the serial production of its components,” he said.

The rearmament of the Russian Strategic Missile Forces with the most advanced Sarmat intercontinental ballistic missile will begin with the the Uzhur-based strategic missile force division in 2021, Karakayev said.

“Wе plan to start the rearmament with this missile complex starting in 2021 in the Uzhur-based missile force division, which currently has in operation its predecessor – the Voyevoda missile complex,” Karakayev said.

The Sarmat is scheduled to replace an older generation of Russian missiles as the RS-20B Voyevoda in the 2020s.

According to earlier reports, the serial production of the Sarmat ICBM is expected to begin from 2020 and in 2021 the first regiment armed with this missile is expected to assume combat duty.

The RS-28 Sarmat is the Russian promising silo-based missile complex with the heavy liquid-propellant ICBM capable of carrying nuclear charges.

It weighs about 200 tonnes and has a throw weight of about 10 tonnes. https://defence-blog.com/news/russi...anced-sarmat-icbm-in-nearest-perspective.html

 

[danielboon]

Putin: Russia can easily make intermediate-range missiles if US quits nuclear treaty
Reuters|Published: 12.18.18 , 14:48
MOSCOW—Russian President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that Russia could easily make and deploy land-based intermediate-range missiles if the United States made good on a threat to quit a landmark nuclear arms control treaty.


The United States has accused Russia of flouting the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty signed by Washington and Moscow during the Cold War and has said it will quit it unless Russia comes back into compliance.

Putin on Tuesday denied his country was in violation of the agreement, but said it had developed powerful airborne and sea-based cruise missiles and could easily roll out land-based missiles if Washington walked away from the pact. https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5428464,00.html

 

[danielboon]

Putin: Nothing to stop new states joining nuclear pact with US, Russia
Reuters|Published: 12.18.18 , 15:44
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that there was nothing to stop Russia and the United States holding talks with other countries about the possibility of them joining a landmark arms control treaty that is at risk of unravelling.

The United States delivered Russia a 60-day ultimatum earlier this month to come clean about what Washington says is a violation of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty between Moscow and Washington.

The pact keeps intermediate-range US and Russian missiles out of Europe. Washington has spoken of quitting the treaty altogether unless Russia returns to what it calls "full and verifiable compliance." https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5428487,00.html

 

[Housecarl]

Putin: Nothing to stop new states joining nuclear pact with US, Russia
Reuters|Published: 12.18.18 , 15:44
President Vladimir Putin said on Tuesday that there was nothing to stop Russia and the United States holding talks with other countries about the possibility of them joining a landmark arms control treaty that is at risk of unravelling.

The United States delivered Russia a 60-day ultimatum earlier this month to come clean about what Washington says is a violation of the Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty between Moscow and Washington.

The pact keeps intermediate-range US and Russian missiles out of Europe. Washington has spoken of quitting the treaty altogether unless Russia returns to what it calls "full and verifiable compliance." https://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-5428487,00.html

Hummm.....that's a "hole card" I don't see the PRC giving up.....

 

[Zagdid]

Russia says it won't let U.S. see missile at heart of nuclear dispute

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...ile-at-heart-of-nuclear-dispute-idUSKBN1OI1BJ (fair use)
DECEMBER 19, 2018 / 7:20 AM / UPDATED 11 HOURS AGO
Andrew Osborn, Tom Balmforth

MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Wednesday it would not let the United States inspect a new nuclear-capable cruise missile at the heart of a dispute between Washington and Moscow that risks unraveling a landmark arms control treaty.

Washington has threatened to pull out of the 1987 Intermediate-range Nuclear Forces Treaty (INF), alleging that the new Russian missile, the Novator 9M729 (called SSC-8 by NATO), violates the pact, which bans either side from stationing short and intermediate-range, land-based missiles in Europe.

Russia says the missile’s range puts it outside the treaty altogether and is not as long as Washington alleges, meaning that it is fully compliant with the INF. It has accused the United States of inventing a false pretext to exit a treaty it wants to leave anyway so as to develop new missiles.

The United States issued Russia a 60-day ultimatum earlier this month to come clean about the alleged missile violation and return to “full and verifiable compliance.” That means Moscow is under pressure to scrap the new missile and its launchers.

However, Russia said on Wednesday it had no intention of letting U.S. inspectors look at the missile, which it said had not been tested at the longer range that Washington alleges.

“We don’t feel right now that such a step would be justified from either a political or a technical point of view,” Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov said in an interview with the Kommersant daily newspaper published on Wednesday.

Ryabkov accused Washington of “extremely intrusive” attempts to shine a light on Russian rocket manufacturing and said that Washington had in the past rebuffed Russian requests to look inside U.S. submarines under another arms control treaty.

Any such inspections - if they were to happen - should not be unilateral but should take place in both countries, he added.

U.S. Director of National Intelligence Daniel Coats said on Nov. 30 that Russia has already deployed multiple battalions of 9M729 missiles and that they posed a direct threat to most of Europe and parts of Asia.

Russian military experts asked their U.S. counterparts several days ago to hold consultations on the missile dispute, but had not yet received any response, Ryabkov said.

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.realclearpolitics.com/a...day&utm_term=0_d519acabbf-8cb6b13709-84735137

The New Threat to Iraq's Christians

COMMENTARY
By Benedict Kiely
December 18, 2018

In March of 2017, with the battle for control of Mosul, Iraq’s second largest city, raging just miles away, I was driven into the town of Karamles, recently liberated from ISIS control. Together with a journalist friend, the parish priest of the town and an American adviser to the Catholic Archdiocese of Erbil, we walked among the ruined buildings surveying the results of ISIS occupation, which included a burnt church.

Virtually none of the former inhabitants had yet returned. There was nothing in the way of functioning infrastructure -- no water or electricity -- and many of the buildings were still booby-trapped with IEDs. The parish priest’s own house, intact because it had been used as an ISIS base, also had a bomb left inside it, which was discovered and disarmed when he returned.

Before ISIS, Karamles had some 10,000 residents, most of them Christians. Father Thabet Habib, the enthusiastic pastor, was determined that they should return and that the town would rebuild and thrive. As we left, the U.S. adviser told me to turn and look at the large metal structure that formed an official entrance to the town. Three flags flew from it. One was the flag of the Iraqi army, the second was that of the local Christian militia, the NPU. But it was the third banner that he wanted me to notice: the flag of Ali, the fourth Caliph of Islam, revered by Shia Muslims, and the official emblem of one of the Shia “Popular Mobilization Units.”

Why, he asked, was that flag flying as there were virtually no Shabak, the ethnic Shia population, living in this Christian town. Fr. Thabet interpreted its ominous significance: “The next attack on Christians,” he said, “will come from the Shabak.”

I returned to Karamles this past May, and much of Fr. Thabet’s positive dream is coming true. Due in great part to the generous help of the U.S.- based Knights of Columbus, the town is coming back to life, with houses and infrastructure being restored and families moving back. Many challenges remain, however, principally the need for jobs and security. At the entrance to the town is the ancient monastery of St. Barbara, desecrated and used as an ISIS base, complete with large tunnels. It has been restored and celebrations have resumed.

So far, the issue with the Shabak in Karamles has stayed relatively calm. But not so in the town of Bartella, liberated from ISIS in October 2016. It had a pre-ISIS population of 30,000 people, the majority of whom were Syriac Christians.

I have known the pastor of Bartella, Fr. Behnam Benoka, since I first visited Iraq in early 2015, when all of the Christians of the Nineveh Plain, some 120,000 people, had been driven out by ISIS. Fr. Benoka was then running a medical clinic in one of the largest refugee camps in Erbil, dealing with families traumatized after having fled their towns and villages with only the clothes on their backs. Fr. Benoka, widely regarded as one of the most able and effective Christian leaders in Iraq -- he speaks multiple languages, including excellent English -- was the priest telephoned by Pope Francis in December 2014 to share his concern for all the persecuted Christians terrorized by the Islamist terrorists.

In May of this year, I walked through the Old City of Mosul, perhaps the first Western priest to ever do so, accompanied by armed Iraqi police. Much of the Old City was still dangerous, with IEDs that had yet to be cleared and, sadly, many unrecovered bodies. However, driving into the town of Bartella, I felt a much greater sense of oppression than I’d felt in Mosul just hours before. Those in the town have a feeling of being surrounded. Meeting with Fr. Benoka in his parish, he confirmed my feelings.

Bartella, a Christian town for centuries, was controlled by the Shabak militia’s “Brigade 30,” one of the Hashd al-Shaabi PMU forces backed and resourced by Iran. Fifteen years ago, U.S. military forces assisted in settling some 2,000 Shabak families from Mosul and placed them in and around Bartella. That was already a considerable change to the demography, but after the entire Christian population fled from ISIS in 2014, it could be argued that Bartella’s fate was sealed.

Last week I spoke with Fr. Benoka for over 40 minutes on FaceTime. A few weeks ago, the Shabak militia blocked the road to his church, preventing his congregation from attending. They also strafed the church with gunfire. Fr. Benoka told me that this was the second time his church had been attacked in the last nine months. One of the militiamen held a handgun to the priest’s face when he went out to demand that they clear the street and stop shooting.

Later, in a provocation unreported in any media, the same hostile militia went to Qaraqosh, the largest Christian town on the Nineveh Plain, and menaced the people living there. Fr. Benoka told me that the Shabak want to drive the Christians from the area. “They are the new ISIS,” he told me. “We are really vulnerable.”

The Iraqi army controls the entire Nineveh Plain, at least in theory, but it has failed to intervene. This is unsurprising since the PMU militias were legalized by the Iraqi parliament in 2016 and are, effectively, an army within the army. It is also important to note that Kurdish forces, the Peshmerga, are not allowed to enter much of the territory of the Al-Hamdinya District, which critically includes Qaraqosh, thus leaving the Hashd al-Shaabi in effective control.

Since the removal of ISIS control of the Nineveh Plain (“defeat” is perhaps an unwise word as ISIS attacks are continuing on an almost weekly basis), the area -- which has had a Christian population since the time of the Apostles -- is now described as “the disputed territories.”

Although never ethnically Kurdish, the Kurds are making claims to the land, as are the Shabak and, of course, the central government in Baghdad. In the middle, with no support, no protection, and no influence, is the Christian population.

On Dec. 11, President Trump signed the Iraq and Syria Genocide and Relief Accountability Act of 2018, the long-promised legislation authorizing U.S. aid to communities being targeted with genocide or war crimes. Already, assistance is beginning to arrive, helping rebuild towns destroyed by ISIS. Another positive development is the presence of Max Primorac, USAID special representative for minority assistance, who is on the ground in Erbil. Primorac is highly regarded locally as someone who is deeply committed to helping religious minorities under threat in the region.

There is much to applaud and commend about the new proactive polices of the Trump administration, especially in contrast to the frustrating indifference of the Obama administration. Yet, a real and present threat remains in spite of the rebuilding efforts. Unless the security situation is addressed, which means powerful U.S. pressure applied to the Iraqi government to stop the ethnic cleansing of Christians by the Shabak and Shia militias, Fr. Thabet’s ominous words in Karamles will come true: “The next attack on Christians will come from the Shabak.”

Fr. Benedict Kiely is the founder of Nasarean.org, a charity helping the persecuted Christians of the Middle East.

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[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-...-eliminating-u-s-nuclear-threat-idUSKCN1OJ0J1

World News December 19, 2018 / 10:36 PM / Updated 3 hours ago

North Korea state media says denuclearization includes 'eliminating U.S. nuclear threat'

Jeongmin Kim, Josh Smith
4 Min Read

SEOUL (Reuters) - North Korea’s commitment to the “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula” also includes “completely eliminating the U.S. nuclear threat to Korea,” North Korean state media said on Thursday.

U.S. President Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un issued a joint statement after their historic meeting in Singapore in June that reaffirmed the North’s commitment to “work toward complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula” and gave U.S. guarantees of security to North Korea.

Conflicting or vague views of what exactly “denuclearization” means, however, have complicated negotiations that now appear stalled.

Thursday’s commentary, released by North Korea’s state-run KCNA news agency, is one of the clearest explanations since the June summit of how Pyongyang sees denuclearization.

“When we refer to the Korean peninsula, the term encompasses the area of DPRK plus South Korean territory where U.S. nuclear weapons and other forms of aggression forces are deployed,” the editorial said, using the initials of North Korea’s official name, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea.

“When we refer to the ‘denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula’ as well, it should be correctly understood as removing all nuclear threat factors from not only the North and the South but from all neighboring areas."

North Korea rejects American calls for it to unilaterally denuclearize, and Washington should abandon the “delusion” of forcing Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear weapons “via pressure and oppression,” the article said.

The United States has said that it will not lift sanctions on North Korea until more progress has been made toward the verifiable denuclearization of North Korea.

Washington has also rejected any suggestion that it would reduce its military presence in the region as part of a deal with North Korea, but in a surprise move after the summit, Trump announced that the Pentagon would cancel most of its largest military exercises conducted with the South Koreans.

The exact definition of denuclearization is likely to be raised again as Trump has said he is working to meet again with Kim sometime early next year.

“It is obvious that denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula is a joint business that cannot be achieved unless both Korea and the United States strive together,” the KCNA commentary said. “In this sense, the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula should be defined as ‘completely eliminating the U.S. nuclear threat to Korea’ before it can eliminate our nuclear deterrent.”

The United States deployed nuclear weapons in South Korea from 1958 to 1991. Since they were withdrawn, the United States has extended its “nuclear umbrella” of support to Japan and South Korea using bombers and submarines based elsewhere.

At a press briefing in Washington on Tuesday, U.S. State Department spokesman Robert Palladino said he would not “split words” when asked about whether the promise of “denuclearization of the Korean peninsula” means only North Korea or the broader region.

“We are focused on the denuclearization of North Korea,” Palladino said. “We remain confident and we look forward to the commitments that Chairman Kim and that President Trump have made.”

Reporting by Josh Smith; Editing by Michael Perry

 

[Housecarl]

For links see article source.....
Posted for fair use.....
https://www.france24.com/en/20181220-breaking-bad-nigeria-fear-new-narco-state

'Breaking Bad' Nigeria? Fear of a new narco-state

Date created : 20/12/2018 - 05:06

In the early hours of a humid November morning, a 16-car convoy rolled into Obinugwu village in southeast Nigeria and stopped outside the iron gates of a non-descript house.

More than 50 drug enforcement officials crept through the compound and surrounded the methamphetamine lab hidden by overgrown jungle behind the property.

The bust happened just before daybreak. Dozens were arrested, including the suspected kingpin at his mansion in the nearby city of Owerri.

"It took one year of surveillance," a National Drug Law Enforcement Agency (NDLEA) officer, who was involved in the raid, told AFP. "They were all sleeping. We took them by surprise."

Inside the lab there was 78 kilograms (171 pounds) of meth -- a drug as notorious for its exhilarating highs as its life-destroying, addictive lows.

But the haul, worth tens of thousands of dollars, was not for domestic consumption.

Instead, it was probably destined for South Africa and Asia, investigators said.

Drug trafficking is nothing new to Nigeria, which has long been a transit point for cocaine and heroin going to Europe and North America.

The difference is that now Nigerians are producing the drugs.

With vast quantities of chemicals entering the country, porous borders and corrupt law enforcement, Nigeria is an ideal place to produce the drug.

Since the country's first meth lab was discovered in 2011, authorities have found 14 more producing mass quantities of the stimulant, while seizures of the drug have jumped from 177 kilos in 2012 to 1,363 kilos in 2016.

"It (meth production) is on the increase, significantly on the increase. Meth today is a serious threat to Nigeria," said Sunday Zirangey, NDLEA Special Enforcement Team commander.

"If this continues, Nigeria may turn into a narco-state."

Glen Prichard, Nigeria project coordinator with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, agreed.

"Nigeria is potentially following the same footsteps as Mexico that led to instability, organised crime and an infiltrated government," he added.

- Church massacre -
Reliable data on meth production in Nigeria is hard to come by and seizures are small compared with global giants Mexico and Myanmar.

But evidence on the ground points to a much larger industry.

Nigeria's estimated need for the stimulant ephedrine, which is used as a medical decongestant, is 771 kilos, according to a US State Department report on international narcotics.

Yet Nigeria imports over eight tons a year, with the difference suspected of either being used to produce meth or trafficked elsewhere.

Despite the risks of arrest and even execution for traffickers in Asia, the profits are irresistible in a country where the minimum wage is just 18,000 naira ($50, 44 euros) a month.

A kilo of meth sells for $3,500 on the streets of Lagos but by the time it reaches South Africa it is worth $12,000 and $150,000 in Japan -- and the stakes are rising.

Last year, the fight for control of the lucrative South African market more than 6,000 kilometres (3,700 miles) away came to St Philip's Parish in Ozubulu, a village in the southeast Nigerian state of Anambra.

Thirteen people were shot dead in an apparent reprisal attack between Nigerian drug barons operating in Johannesburg.

Piles of trash line the dirt road leading to Ozubulu, where an endless stream of people hawk everything from adulterated fuel to plastic flip-flops.

But among the grinding poverty are huge villas with grand columns and intricate wrought iron gates -- glaring anomalies in a region with epileptic power and disintegrating roads.

In August last year, unknown gunmen interrupted the 6:00 am Sunday mass in Ozubulu, hoping to kill Aloysius Nnamdi Ikegwuonu, a Johannesburg drugs kingpin known as "The Bishop".

He wasn't there but his father and a one-year-old child were among the victims. Details of the shooting remain clouded in secrecy.

"What we had is gunshots, sporadic and reckless shootings. That's what I can say," said parish priest Father Jude Onwuaso standing by the victims' marble graves wearing a sky-blue cassock.

Ozubulu has made headlines for drugs before. In 2015, the NDLEA busted a meth lab belonging to Ikejiaku Sylvester Chukwunwendu, also known as "Blessed Benita".

He was charged with meth production and trafficking in the village.

"He's one of the biggest kingpins we've got," said state prosecutor Lambert Nor, who said some of Chukwunwendu's couriers had been executed in China for drug trafficking.

- Ideal conditions -
As the popular US television series "Breaking Bad" showed, meth can be made by almost everyone in their own kitchen if they have the right ingredients and background knowledge in chemistry.

Cocaine and heroin, on the other hand, are bigger-ticket enterprises. They require land dedicated to plantations and a specific climate to grow the crop.

But Nigerians were paying thousands of dollars a week to Mexicans, Colombians and Bolivians to teach them a new form of production that pumps out bigger, purer batches of meth.

Two years ago, Nigerian authorities arrested four Mexicans from Sinaloa, the epicentre of one of the world's biggest drug trafficking cartels and birthplace of the infamous drug lord Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman.

"When you found labs before you always had Mexicans and Bolivians behind it but now the Nigerians are on their own and they do even better," said Kayode Raji, NDLEA assistant commander in Imo State.

Experts fear that as production increases, meth will find a domestic market like in South Africa, where "tik" -- as it's known on the street -- has been described as an "epidemic" and is the most abused drug in the Western Cape province.

But there is no easy way to stop the rise of meth in Nigeria.

"It will become uncontrollable unless decisive measures are taken," said Nor, warning: "Otherwise what we have in Mexico will be a small thing compared to Nigeria."

2018 AFP

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
41m41 minutes ago

#BREAKING Protests in #Sudan spreads to the capital Khartoum: Reuters

IntelSky
��
‏ @Intel_sky
15m15 minutes ago

The regime in Sudan will fall in 48 hours

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
41m41 minutes ago

#BREAKING Protests in #Sudan spreads to the capital Khartoum: Reuters

IntelSky
��
‏ @Intel_sky
15m15 minutes ago

The regime in Sudan will fall in 48 hours

Wasil Ali
‏ @wasilalitaha
22h22 hours ago

Scenes from anti-Gov demonstrations in the city of Atbara in north east Sudan triggered by bread crisis.


Al Jazeera English
‏Verified account @AJEnglish
3h3 hours ago

Protesters in Sudan set fire to ruling party's HQ as anger grows over rising bread and fuel prices https://aje.io/ezx5z


Al Jazeera English
‏Verified account @AJEnglish
1h1 hour ago

Anger boils in Sudan over soaring food and fuel prices, with a state of emergency declared after protesters set fire to the ruling party's HQ.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Instant News Alerts
‏ @InstaNewsAlerts
51m51 minutes ago

#BREAKING: #Trump mulling significant force reduction in #Afghanistan

 

[Lilbitsnana]

pushed out per what FOX is saying. (ETA: now FOX is reporting that the Def Dpt said he was not forced out)

His statement said he should get someone more aligned with his (Trump's) policies and views on alliances.


Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
6m6 minutes ago

#BREAKING US Defence Secretary Mattis to retire at the end of February: Trump

 

[Housecarl]

Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
41m41 minutes ago

#BREAKING Protests in #Sudan spreads to the capital Khartoum: Reuters

IntelSky
��
‏ @Intel_sky
15m15 minutes ago

The regime in Sudan will fall in 48 hours

Begs the question of what replaces it...

 

[Zagdid]

Chinese shipbuilder CSIC races to get aircraft carriers fully operational

https://www.scmp.com/news/china/mil...uilder-csic-races-get-aircraft-carriers-fully (fair use)
PUBLISHED : Thursday, 20 December, 2018, 3:00am
UPDATED : Thursday, 20 December, 2018, 2:41pm

State-owned shipbuilder CSIC is working against the clock to get its two aircraft carriers ready for military use, and in time for 70th anniversary celebrations marking the founding of the People’s Republic of China in October next year.

At present, both warships are being worked on at China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation’s shipyard in Dalian, in northeastern Liaoning province.

The Liaoning, the country’s first and only operational aircraft carrier, is undergoing a revamp – its first major upgrade since it was commissioned in 2012.

Meanwhile, China’s first domestically developed aircraft carrier, the Type 001A, has yet to go into service but is expected to begin a fourth sea trial in the coming days.

Photos circulating on the internet show two aircraft on its deck, along with arresting gear that is used to decelerate aircraft as they land, indicating the warship is being readied for another sea trial.

The Type 001A design is based on that of the Liaoning, a Kuznetsov-class carrier that China bought from Ukraine in 1998 when it was half-built and spent a decade refitting.

Hong Kong-based military expert Song Zhongping said the Type 001A could be handed over to the Chinese navy as early as August next year, to mark the 92nd anniversary of the establishment of the People’s Liberation Army.

“The carrier is likely to be named the Shandong because Shandong province is right next to [CSIC’s] shipyard in Dalian, Liaoning, and both Liaoning and Shandong are coastal provinces,” said Song, a former PLA officer who is now a military commentator with Phoenix Television.

China named its first aircraft carrier the Liaoning because the vessel was refitted at the Dalian shipyard.

Sources close to CSIC said the company was under great pressure to deliver the two warships on schedule, especially after Sun Bo was sacked as its general manager.

The Central Commission for Discipline Inspection made that announcement on Monday, saying Sun had also been expelled from the Communist Party and was being investigated by the country’s judicial bodies. He had been in charge of China’s aircraft carrier programme for more than a decade.

The anti-corruption watchdog said Sun, 57, was found guilty of trading power for financial gain and accepting bribes, but sources said he was being investigated for allegedly passing state secrets to foreign intelligence agents. They said he could face the death penalty or a suspended death sentence if convicted.

But a source close to the PLA Navy said he believed the Sun case would have limited impact on China’s aircraft carrier programme because the allegations concerned confidential information about the Liaoning – and the technology used for its latest warship, the Type 002, was more advanced.

The Type 002, which is still being built, will be fitted with the world’s most advanced aircraft launch system – an electromagnetic system known as EMALS that was used on the nuclear-powered USS Gerald Ford supercarrier.

However, work has slowed on the third aircraft carrier, as tensions between China and the United States have escalated and amid budget pressure from Beijing, military sources told the South China Morning Post last month.

Song said the Type 001A also had weapons and electronics systems that were more advanced than the Liaoning’s, though the first aircraft carrier’s combat capabilities were being upgraded.

“This means China will have two fully operational aircraft carriers when the Shandong is commissioned next year,” Song said.

Beijing-based naval expert Li Jie said the Liaoning revamp would also include a new and streamlined island command centre to provide more space on the flight deck for aircraft operations, and the installation of more advanced radar and electronics systems, and damage control equipment.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

pushed out per what FOX is saying. (ETA: now FOX is reporting that the Def Dpt said he was not forced out)

His statement said he should get someone more aligned with his (Trump's) policies and views on alliances.


Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
6m6 minutes ago

#BREAKING US Defence Secretary Mattis to retire at the end of February: Trump

Instant News Alerts
‏ @InstaNewsAlerts
1h1 hour ago

Instant News Alerts Retweeted Brian J. Karem

#BREAKING: From a senior U.S. official: "Mattis isn't the only one leaving."

Instant News Alerts added,

Brian J. Karem
Verified account @BrianKarem
From a senior U.S. official: "Mattis isn't the only one leaving." - Which shoe drops next?

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Instant News Alerts
‏ @InstaNewsAlerts
12m12 minutes ago

#BREAKING: President #Trump orders more than 7,000 US troops in #Afghanistan to return home. That amounts to half of all US troops serving there.

 

[Lilbitsnana]

Guy Elster
‏Verified account @guyelster
1h1 hour ago

Guy Elster Retweeted MSNBC

Mueller report is coming

Guy Elster added,

MSNBC
Verified account @MSNBC
Exclusive: Special Counsel Robert Mueller may submit report to attorney general as soon as mid-February, sources say https://on.msnbc.com/2ECPlaG

the article that was linked in the tweet
posted for fair use and discussion


Mueller may submit report to attorney general as soon as mid-February, say sources
"They clearly are tying up loose ends," said a lawyer who has been in contact with the Mueller team.
Where the Mueller investigation stands and what may be coming next
Dec. 20, 201803:18
Dec. 20, 2018 / 5:30 PM CST
By Pete Williams and Ken Dilanian

WASHINGTON — Special counsel Robert Mueller is nearing the end of his historic investigation into Russian election interference and is expected to submit a confidential report to the attorney general as early as mid-February, government officials and others familiar with the situation tell NBC News.

"They clearly are tying up loose ends," said a lawyer who has been in contact with the Mueller team.

The sources either did not know or would not say whether Mueller has answered the fundamental question he was hired to investigate: Whether Trump or anyone around him conspired with the Russian intelligence operations to help his campaign.

Mueller has not made public any evidence proving such a conspiracy, though he has rebutted in court filings the president's assertion that neither he nor any of his top aides had met or talked with Russians during the 2016 race. They did, according to Mueller; and, in the case of his lawyer's negotiations over a Trump Tower in Moscow, Trump knew about it, court filings say.

Mueller has also examined the question whether the president obstructed justice, and is expected to address that matter in his report. Whether the special counsel will accuse the president of wrongdoing on that score is unclear.

Mueller was appointed in May 2017 in the wake of Trump's decision to fire the FBI director, James Comey. He inherited an FBI investigation that had been launched in July 2016, when intelligence agencies saw indications that people around Trump might be trying to help a Russian effort to boost the Trump presidential candidacy.

He has charged 33 people and convicted three senior Trump associates — former campaign chairman Paul Manafort, former National Security Adviser Mike Flynn and lawyer Michael Cohen — who have cooperated with him to varying degrees.

One sign that Mueller is close to finishing, legal experts say, is that he has moved forward with the sentencing of those men — particularly Flynn, who he credited with substantial cooperation, much of which remains secret. Flynn's lawyers agreed to postpone his sentencing this week after it became clear the judge was considering imposing a prison sentence despite Mueller's recommendation of probation.

Generally, prosecutors prefer to delay the sentencing of cooperating witnesses until the case in which they are helping is over, to retain leverage over them and secure their testimony in court.

Mueller's spokesman, Peter Carr, declined to comment. The president's lawyer, Jay Sekulow, said, "We don't discuss conversations we've had or have not had with the office of special counsel."

Defense lawyers in the case have been talking among themselves about their belief that the investigation is coming to an end, two of them said.

The sources who spoke to NBC News warn that a few major outstanding matters could complicate Mueller's endgame. One is Mueller's desire to interview the president about all aspects of his investigation, including obstruction of justice matters about which the president has refused to answer questions.

If Mueller moved to subpoena the president, that could spark months of litigation that could delay his report. A source familiar with the matter says Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker would have to approve any such subpoena.

Vice President Pence has not been interviewed by the special counsel and has not appeared before his grand jury, according to a person familiar with his status in the investigation. Pence turned over emails to Mueller covering the presidential transition, the person said.

Whitaker, who made a series of disparaging comments about the Mueller probe as a television commentator, has not recused himself from supervising the investigation, NBC News reported Thursday.

It's not clear whether the president's son, Donald Trump Jr., has been interviewed by Mueller. The president's son-in-law, Jared Kushner, spent seven hours answering the special counsel's questions in May, according to his lawyer, Abbe Lowell.

Another piece of unfinished business involves Trump associates Jerome Corsi and Roger Stone. Corsi has said he expects to be indicted for lying to investigators, which he denies, while Stone has told supporters, "Robert Mueller is coming for me," without offering specifics. The House Intelligence Committee voted Thursday to release a transcript of its interview with Stone at Mueller's request, a sign that that the special counsel could be moving to charge him. Corsi and Stone say they have done nothing wrong.

Mueller's report is not expected to address the separate investigation by New York federal prosecutors in which Cohen has implicated the president in a campaign finance felony. That investigation appears to be continuing, and Trump also will still have to contend with inquiries by the New York Attorney General and Congress.

U.S. officials familiar with the matter say the Justice Department and Congress have been planning for the delivery of a report by Mueller, on the assumption that at least some part of it would be made public. That would not be an easy process, given the extent to which the investigation has relied on classified information and grand jury testimony that is secret by law.

A Vietnam combat veteran who led the FBI after the 9/11 attacks, Mueller is not operating under the Independent Counsel statute that governed Kenneth Starr, whose salacious and controversial report about Bill Clinton's affair with a White House intern was delivered to Congress and the public at the same time in 1998, causing a sensation.

In Mueller's case, the acting attorney general, Whitaker, would receive the report and would have to decide what do to with it.

The regulations governing the special counsel say the special counsel "shall provide the Attorney General with a confidential report explaining the prosecution or declination decisions reached by the Special Counsel."

The Justice Department is likely to make some aspect of the report public, sources say. House Democrats, who will have subpoena power as of January, have said they will do everything they can to make sure it sees the light of day.
Pete Williams