Geopolitics

Russia evacuates citizens in Syria ahead of military strikes in the ‘next few days’

"A Russian emergency situations ministry aircraft carrying aid landed in Syria on Tuesday, and is set to take Russians and other CIS citizens out of the country on its return flight. Russia said it had evacuated all of its defence personnel from Syria in June, but a foreign ministry spokesman said at the time that about 30,000 other Russians were still living across the country. Russia's deputy prime minister, Dmitry Rogozin, said on Twitter: 'The West behaves towards the Islamic world like a monkey with a grenade.' The build up to military action continued today when Chuck Hagel, the United States defence secretary, said that American forces are now ready to act on an order to strike Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRussia evacuates citizens in Syria ahead of military strikes in the ‘next few days’

Obama’s visit to Israel gets an official logo

[February 2013] "Netanyahu won a smaller than expected victory in elections in January. In the run up to the American elections last November, Netanyahu was perceived as favoring Republican nominee Mitt Romney for president. The office of Israeli President Shimon Peres announced Monday that Obama would be presented with the Presidential Medal of Distinction in March, according to the Guardian. It would recognize Obama's 'unique and significant contribution to strengthening the State of Israel and the security of its citizens.' The prime minister's official Facebook page offers these three choices for logos to represent Obama's visit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama’s visit to Israel gets an official logo

Two U.S. sailors admit to Okinawa rape charges

"Okinawa is the reluctant host of more than half of the 47,000 US military personnel in Japan. The rape provoked outrage and led to a nationwide curfew on all American military personnel in Japan. Despite the curfew, misconduct involving US servicemen, much of it drunken, has continued to fuel anti-US sentiment in communities with bases. The attack came amid already high tensions in Okinawa, which saw demonstrations last year against the US deployment to the island of Osprey aircraft. Local activists charge they have a poor safety record. Washington sees the island as a vital strategic base in a region that is increasingly wary of the power of China’s rising military." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTwo U.S. sailors admit to Okinawa rape charges

Sanctions on Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan?

"The New York Times has confirmed that Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Quatar and Jordan are arming anti-Assad factions in Syria. The CIA is participating too. U.S. air bases are also implicated. These actions violate the U.N. charter. So, will anyone in the U.S. government raise the issue of sanctions against Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Quatar and Jordan? Don't hold your breath." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSanctions on Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Jordan?

Qatar: Rich and Dangerous

"Why would Qatar want to become involved in Syria where they have little invested? A map reveals that the kingdom is a geographic prisoner in a small enclave on the Persian Gulf coast. It relies upon the export of LNG, because it is restricted by Saudi Arabia from building pipelines to distant markets. A saturated North American gas market and a far more competitive Asian market leaves only Europe. The discovery in 2009 of a new gas field near Israel, Lebanon, Cyprus, and Syria opened new possibilities to bypass the Saudi Barrier and to secure a new source of income. Pipelines are in place already in Turkey to receive the gas. Only Al-Assad is in the way." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingQatar: Rich and Dangerous

Mystery Sponsor Of Weapons And Money To Syrian Mercenary “Rebels” Revealed

"The tiny gas-rich state of Qatar has spent as much as $3bn over the past two years supporting the rebellion in Syria, far exceeding any other government, but is now being nudged aside by Saudi Arabia as the prime source of arms to rebels. The cost of Qatar’s intervention, its latest push to back an Arab revolt, amounts to a fraction of its international investment portfolio. But its financial support for the revolution that has turned into a vicious civil war dramatically overshadows western backing for the opposition. For Qatar, owner of the world’s third-largest gas reserves, its intervention in Syria is part of an aggressive quest for global recognition, following its backing of Libya’s rebels." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMystery Sponsor Of Weapons And Money To Syrian Mercenary “Rebels” Revealed

US Refines “Military Options” Ahead Of Syrian Strikes

"Over the next week, we fully expect to wake up to news that a US and Israeli-led fly-by has crippled several key Syrian military installations in 'punishment' for a chemical attack that with virtual certainty was conducted not by the regime which knows it every action is observed by spy satellites, but by the Qatari mercenaries whose only job is precisely to topple the Assad regime so the much-delayed LNG pipeline can finally pass underneath Syria. Because if it wasn't for that, why on earth would Saudi Arabia grovel before Putin demanding just that?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingUS Refines “Military Options” Ahead Of Syrian Strikes

Bombs kill 42 outside mosques in Lebanon’s Tripoli after car bomb kills 24

The apparently coordinated blasts - the biggest and deadliest in Tripoli since the end of Lebanon's own civil war - struck as locals were finishing Friday prayers in the largely Sunni Muslim city. Lebanese officials appealed for calm. The explosions in Tripoli came a week after a huge car bomb killed at least 24 people in a part of Beirut controlled by the Shi'ite Muslim militant movement Hezbollah. Both Hezbollah and radical Sunni groups in Lebanon have sent fighters over the border to support opposing sides in Syria. Salem al-Rafei, chief cleric of the Taqwa mosque, is a staunch supporter of Syrian Sunni rebels as well as Lebanese Sunni militants who have joined the anti-Assad battle in Syria." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBombs kill 42 outside mosques in Lebanon’s Tripoli after car bomb kills 24

Military ready to act over Syria says U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

"US officials said Washington wanted to cultivate military ties with Malaysia and other governments in Southeast Asia to ensure stability in the region and to encourage a peaceful resolution of territorial disputes in the South China Sea. China’s assertive stance over the waterway has raised concerns in Washington. Beijing claims virtually all of the South China Sea and has stoked rising concern among rival claimants, particularly the Philippines, of a gradual takeover of disputed islets. The Pentagon is offering help to Southeast Asian countries with ships, aerial reconnaissance, joint training and other initiatives as they try to better monitor their coastal waters." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMilitary ready to act over Syria says U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel

The Game Changer: Syria Will Strike Israel Should U.S. Attack

"Folks, this has all the makings of the start of a World War. One misstep here and this could very quickly spread throughout the middle east and beyond – a warning that Russia gave the U.S. just a few months ago. There is, according to the Russians, no proof that Syria’s government launched a chemical attack on its own people. There doesn’t need to be. Armies are mobilizing, just as they did following the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June of 1914. By December of 1914 over a million people were dead and war lines spanning hundreds of miles were drawn across Europe. It can happen fast. And this time it just might." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe Game Changer: Syria Will Strike Israel Should U.S. Attack