US begins war on Syria as early as Thursday officials say

 

The guided-missile destroyer USS Gravely (DDG 107)

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/27/320762/us-war-on-syria-as-early-as-thursday/

Senior American officials say the United States has planned to launch missile strikes against Syria “as early as Thursday” in order to punish Damascus over the alleged use of chemical weapons.

The unnamed officials told NBC News on Tuesday that the “three days” of strikes would be limited in scope, and aimed at “sending a message to Syria's President Bashar al-Assad rather than degrading his military capabilities.”

On Monday night, four US warships were deployed in the Mediterranean within cruise missile range of Syria.

American defense officials said if the US wants to send a message to Assad, the most likely military action would be a Tomahawk missile strike, launched from a ship in the Mediterranean.

The US military has beefed up equipment during the past weeks. Several nuclear-powered submarines are reportedly in the water near Syria, also cruise-missile equipped.

The report came one day after US Secretary of State John Kerry accused the Syrian government of using chemical weapons.

Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem on Tuesday accused Kerry of lying about the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government, challenging Washington and its allies to provide evidence.

This is while the UN inspectors are still in Syria to investigate the chemical weapons attacks and they are not scheduled to leave the country until Sunday.

Russia and China have both warned against a US-led military intervention in Syria. Moscow says a military action would have "catastrophic consequences" for the entire region.

Russian President Vladimir Putin told British Prime Minister David Cameron in a telephone call Monday that there was no evidence that an attack had taken place or who was responsible.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov warned on Monday that the use of force without a U.N. mandate would violate international law.
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West, Arab leaders reach ‘consensus’ on Syria attack

 

 

The British Royal Navy's helicopter carrier HMS Illustrious is deployed to the Mediterranean, on August 25, 2013

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/27/320745/west-arabs-reach-consensus-on-syria/

Western and Arab military leaders have reached a “consensus” on military intervention in Syria over accusations that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons, a Jordanian security official told German news agency, DPA.

“It was decided that should the international community be forced to act in Syria, the most responsible and sustainable response would be limited missile strikes,” the official said on condition of anonymity on Tuesday following a meeting held in the Jordanian capital, Amman.

The military leaders led by Chairman of US Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey agreed to prepare for the strike as early as this week, the official added.

Meanwhile, the British Prime Minister David Cameron's spokesman said UK armed forces are devising contingency plans for military action against the Arab country over the alleged use of chemical weapons.

The UK has been reportedly sending warplanes and military transporters to its airbase in Cyprus, situated near Syria.

US defense officials also say several navy destroyers have been deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean to be used against Syria upon an order of President Barack Obama.

“[The destroyers] are in position if needed, but they, to my knowledge, have received no tasking to this point, and that would come obviously from the White House,” an American military official said on condition of anonymity.

 

On August 21, the militants operating inside Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed that 1,300 people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar.

However, the Syrian government categorically rejected the baseless claim, and announced later that the chemical attack had been actually carried out by the militants themselves as a false flag operation.

Damascus later allowed UN chemical weapons inspectors to the site of the chemical weapons attack near the Syrian capital on Monday, when they began taking samples from the victims.

Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. The United Nations says more than 100,000 people have been killed and millions displaced since the outbreak of the violence.

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

 

Iran warns against military intervention in Syria

 

 

This file photo shows Takfiri militants operating in Syria

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/27/320733/iran-warns-against-attack-on-syria/

 

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has warned against the dire consequences of a potential foreign military intervention in Syria.

 

Speaking at a press conference on Tuesday, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Araqchi said a potential military offensive against Syria will entail dangerous and dire consequences, which will impact the whole Middle East.

The Iranian official also censured Western countries for their double standards regarding the ongoing crisis in Syria, saying, “Wherever the terrorists serve Western interests, they (Western powers) support these groups.”

Araqchi said there are documents indicating that the Takfiri militants in Syria had carried out the recent chemical attacks in the country.

The Russian government has presented the documents to the United Nations Security Council, he said.

On August 23, US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the Pentagon was positioning military forces as part of “contingency options” provided to US President Barack Obama regarding Syria.

Hagel made the comments after the militants operating inside Syria and the foreign-backed Syrian opposition claimed on August 21 that 1,300 people had been killed in a government chemical attack on militant strongholds in Damascus suburbs of Ain Tarma, Zamalka and Jobar.

However, Damascus categorically rejected the baseless claim, and announced later that the chemical attack had actually been carried out by the militants themselves as a false flag operation.

Araqchi said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a victim of chemical arms, condemns the use of such weapons by any side.”

Visits by Omani leader and UN official to Iran

Commenting on the recent visit by Omani Sultan Qaboos bin Said Al Said, Araqchi said Tehran and Muscat discussed the expansion of bilateral ties and cooperation in the fields of energy, economy and culture during the trip.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman dismissed any connection between the Omani ruler’s trip to Tehran and that of UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Jeffrey Feltman, saying the two visits had different goals.

The Omani ruler arrived in Tehran at the head of a high-ranking delegation on a three-day official visit on Sunday as the first head of state to visit Iran since President Hassan Rouhani took office on August 4, 2013.

Feltman also visited Tehran on Monday to discuss regional issues, including the crisis in Syria, with Iranian officials.

Iran-Britain relations

Responding to a question regarding the possibility of the resumption of Iran-UK ties, Araqchi reiterated that reestablishing the relations between the two countries required time and expert negotiations.

He further emphasized that it must become evident that the British approach toward Iran has been changed.

Even under such circumstances, the resumption of the ties must be decided by Iran's Majlis, the foreign ministry spokesman added.

Nuclear negotiations

Araqchi said Iran's President Hassan Rouhani has made it clear that no one is to retreat from the rights of the Iranian nation with respect to the country’s nuclear energy program.

“What is important,” he said, “is entering the negotiations with new approaches, based on a win-win interaction that would result in acceptable outcomes for the Iranian nation.”

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

 

Obama reportedly considering two-day strike on Syria

 

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/usa/us-syria-strike-chemical-060/

 

White House officials say the United States may launch a limited military strike on Syria as early as this Thursday as the intelligence community prepares to release a report justifying action and allies are rallied.

Senior officials in the Obama administration told the Washington Post for an article published on Tuesday that the White House is weighing a limited strike on Syria and said on condition of anonymity that “We’re actively looking at the various legal angles that would inform a decision.”

According to the Post, the likely response from Washington would be a sea-to-land strike from the Mediterranean that would last no longer than two days and would not be directed towards targets where the chemical weapons arsenal is believed to be stored.

But while an attack is all but imminent and will likely be launched from warships already mobilized in the Mediterranean by the week’s end, public support in the US has teetered towards nil as of late. The Obama administration says there is undeniable proof that chemical weapons were used on civilians outside of Damascus on August 21, but a five-day-long Reuters poll taken during that time concluded only nine percent of Americans favor intervention.
 

 

An image grab taken from a video uploaded on YouTube on August 26, 2013 allegedly shows a UN inspectors (C) visiting a hospital in the Damascus suburb of Moadamiyet al-Sham. (AFP Photo)

 

Notwithstanding that lack of support, US Secretary of State John Kerry hinted Monday at a response which will jolt Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and ideally worsen the odds that his regime will implement chemical warheads again.

Despite insistence from Assad and allies in Russia that the Syrian government is not guilty of using chemical weapons, Sec. Kerry said during a press conference on Monday that “our understanding of what has already happened in Syria is grounded in facts, informed by conscious and guided by common sense.” Kerry called Assad’s reported attempt to cover-up the alleged use of chemical weapons “cynical” and said, “President Obama believes there must be accountability for those who would use the world’s heinous weapons against the world’s most vulnerable people.”

One day earlier, Sec. Kerry admitted that Pres. Obama was considering his options with regards to a strike and was to meet with lawmakers in Congress as well as with international leaders. According to the Post article, however, the president may forego getting approval from Capitol Hill and will instead rely on striking Syria due to “undeniable,” as the White House puts it, war crimes.

“The administration has said that it will follow international law in shaping its response,” Karen DeYoung and Anne Gearan wrote for the Post, adding, “But much of international law is untested, and administration lawyers are also examining possible legal justifications based on a violation of international prohibitions on chemical weapons use, or on an appeal for assistance from a neighboring nation such as Turkey.” Additionally, the US has already received assurance of support from Britain, France and Turkey.
 

 

(FILE PHOTO) The guided-missile cruiser USS Gettysburg (CG 64) (L) and the aircraft carrier USS Harry S. Truman (CVN 75) transiting the Strait of Gibraltar on their way to the Mediterranean Sea. (AFP Photo / Jamie Cosby)

 

According to senior administration officials who spoke to CBS News on condition of anonymity, Pres. Obama met with his national security team this past weekend and has ordered that a declassified intelligence report showing the rationale for any attack on Syria be released before it occurs.

While only nine percent of the respondents polled in the Reuters survey between August 19 and 23 said they want the White House to respond to Assad’s reported use of chemical weapons immediately, 25 percent said they would favor intervention if the US concludes with certainty that those warheads were illegally used. A Reuters/Ipsos poll from earlier in the month found that 30.2 percent of Americans would support intervention if Assad is linked to using chemical weapons.

Sec. Kerry said the indiscriminate slaughter of women and children apparently being carried out by the Assad regime constitutes a “moral obscenity.”


 

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Britain says response to Syria chemical attack possible without unanimous UN backing

 

Updated: 1:55 PM

 

 

Members of the British Royal Navy frigate HMS Westminster (Reuters / Jon Nazca)

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/news/uk-response-without-un-backing-979/

A response to the use of chemical weapons in Syria is possible without the unanimous consent of the UN Security Council, UK Foreign Secretary William Hague has said.

“I would argue yes it is, otherwise it might be impossible to respond to such outrages, such crimes, and I don't think that's an acceptable situation," Hague said on BBC radio, when asked whether it would be possible to respond to the use of chemical weapons without the backing of the UN Security Council.

Meanwhile, Britain’s Royal Navy is reportedly moving ships into place for a possible strike with the US on Syria in the next few days.

Citing government sources, British daily The Telegraph wrote that as military commanders were discussing a list of potential targets, the Royal Navy is deploying vessels for a series of cruise missile strikes on Syria.

Since last week’s chemical weapons attack on a Damascus suburb that left over 300 civilians dead, political rhetoric has been building against President Bashar Assad, alleging the regime carried out the attack against its own citizens. On Sunday, Britain added its voice to the chorus of countries urging for intervention in Syria.

Foreign Secretary William Hague condemned the Assad regime, stating that “all the evidence points in one direction.”

"We cannot, in the 21st century, allow the idea that chemical weapons can be used with impunity, that people can be killed in this way, and there are no consequences for it," he said.

Branding Assad a dictator, Hague stressed a “strong response” was essential in light of the use of chemical weapons to “slaughter” Syrian citizens.

Syrian President Bashar Assadresponded to the calls for an international reaction to the chemical attack, warning that any international intervention in Syria would end in failure.

"The comments [accusing the regime of using chemical weapons] made by politicians in the West and other countries are an insult to common sense... It is nonsense," Assad said, adding the accusations were completely “political.”

Russia also urged caution, calling on Washington to avoid “repeating past mistakes.”

“All of this makes one recall the events that happened 10 years ago, when, using false information about Iraqis having weapons of mass destruction, the US bypassed the United Nations and started a scheme whose consequences are well known to everyone,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

Moscow has also said a UN investigation into last Wednesday’s attack is of paramount importance and it was essential that its results were not influenced before time.

A team of UN experts arrived at the site of the attack on Monday in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta, however doubts have already been raised over the validity of an investigation.

Washington has already alleged that an investigation would be “too late to be credible.” The British government echoed the US, stating that valuable evidence could have been destroyed in subsequent bombing of the area or tampered with.

"The fact is that much of the evidence could have been destroyed by that artillery bombardment. Other evidence could have degraded over the last few days and other evidence could have been tampered with," Hague told reporters on Saturday.

The toxic gas attack in Ghouta triggered a wave of media hysteria with mixed reports alleging that thousands had been killed. On Saturday, French charity Medcins sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) said that 355 people had died and over a thousand were exhibiting systems related to neurotoxic poisoning. However, the non-profit organization said it was impossible to discern who was behind the attack.

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

Saudi spy chief hails UK role in persistent Syrian civil war

 

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/26/320534/saudi-spy-chief-hails-uk-role-in-syria/

Saudi intelligence chief Prince Bandar Bin Sultan has in a secret meeting briefed Britain’s MI6 chief Sir Robert Sawers on Riyadh’s role in stoking the Syrian civil war and thanked London for its strategic cooperation to that end.

"At the meeting, the Saudi intelligence chief briefed Sawers on Riyadh's latest moves on Syria, including the supply of over 400 tons of weapons to the militants in Syria via Turkey," Fars News Agency quoted unnamed sources as saying.

“We have made the Syrian army engage in a civil war and of course this strategic mission could not be accomplished without your (MI6) cooperation,” the source quoted Prince Bandar as saying during the meeting.

According to the report, the Saudi National Security Council Secretary and Intelligence Chief also reiterated that his country is sending the Salafi and other extremist fighters to Syria to get them killed and trigger religious discord among different Muslims groups in the region.

"The Prince also reminded the different advantages of the Saudi plan in Syria, saying that extremist groups, including the Salafis, have been engaged in the war in Syria and killed in there, while the Lebanese Hezbollah movement has also been pushed into direct confrontation with radical Sunni Muslims," the source said.

Prince Bandar also reportedly ensured Sawers of control over the extremist mercenaries in Syria so that they do not turn up against Saudi Arabia and its western allies.

Lebanon’s Assafir newspaper reported back in June that Prince Bandar has been an intermediary between the western governments and the Syrian militants to deliver heavy weapons to the terrorists.

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

Updated: 2013 August 26, 1:55 PM

 

US cannot afford to wait for UN to attack Syria: Officials

 

 

US President Barack Obama meets with his national security team

 

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/26/320575/us-cannot-afford-to-wait-for-un-to-attack-syria/

Rep. Eliot Engel (NY), the top Democrat on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, has said “this is time for us” to launch cruise missile strikes on Syria, and that the US government cannot afford to wait for the United Nations.

“The world is a better place when the United States takes leadership; this is time for us to do this. I hope we’ll do it soon,” the American lawmaker said on Fox News Sunday.

A growing number of Republicans and Democrats in Congress are urging President Barack Obama to approve military action against Syria following reports of a deadly chemical attack in the suburbs of Damascus last week.

Engel said that the United States had to respond quickly and could not afford to wait for the United Nations.

“We could even destroy the Syrian Air Force if we wanted to… We have to move and we have to move quickly.”

Other senior US officials have also indicated that instead of seeking a UN approval for military action, Washington could work with its partners such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) or the Arab League.

"We'll consult with the UN. They're an important avenue. But they're not the only avenue," a senior administration official said.

The Syrian government has allowed UN inspectors to visit a site that allegedly came under chemical attack on Wednesday. Obama administration officials, however, have dismissed as too late the Syrian offer.

Although there is still no evidence to blame the chemical attack on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, a senior administration official said there was “very little doubt” that Damascus was behind the attack.

“Based on the reported number of victims, reported symptoms of those who were killed or injured, witness accounts and other facts gathered by open sources, the US intelligence community, and international partners, there is very little doubt at this point that a chemical weapon was used by the Syrian regime against civilians in this incident,” the unnamed official said in a written statement on Sunday, as reported by the New York Times.

The Syrian government and the army categorically denied any role in Wednesday’s chemical attack which killed hundreds of people. Russia, a key ally of Syria, insists that the attack was "clearly provocative in nature," and that it was staged by foreign-backed militant groups to incriminate the Assad government.

In recent days, the Pentagon has moved more warships into place in the eastern Mediterranean Sea and American war planners have updated strike targets that include government and military installations inside Syria, officials said.

President Obama met with his national security advisers at the White House over the weekend to discuss “a range of options” for Syria, but officials said late Sunday that the president had yet to decide how to proceed.

Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel reiterated Sunday that the Pentagon has prepared “options for all contingencies” and is ready to use force if the president gives the green-light.

Meanwhile, the US top military leader is in Jordan to discuss possible strikes on neighboring Syria.

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Martin Dempsey was set to meet with his Jordanian counterpart and other regional defense chiefs during his visit.

"The exchange is designed to increase the collective understanding of the impact of regional conflicts on nations, foster ongoing dialogue and improve security relationships," Defense Department spokeswoman Lt. Col. Cathy Wilkinson said.

President Obama said last year that the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian government was “a red line” that would provoke a military response

 

 

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Russia warns US of extremely dangerous fallout of strike on Syria

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/26/320519/russia-warns-us-against-attack-on-syria/

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has warned the United States against the ‘extremely dangerous consequences’ of military action against Syria.

Lavrov made the remarks during a telephone conversation with US Secretary of State John Kerry on Sunday.

“Sergei Lavrov drew attention to the extremely dangerous consequences of a possible new military intervention for the whole Middle East and North Africa region,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement.

It added that Moscow was “deeply alarmed” by Washington’s statement about its readiness to intervene in Syria.

Foreign Minister Lavrov urged restraint during the conversation with John Kerry, the statement said.

US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said on August 23 that the Pentagon was positioning military forces as part of “contingency options” provided to US President Barack Obama regarding Syria.

France and the Israeli regime have also called for military action against the government of President Bashar al-Assad.

Hagel’s comments have been interpreted as a tacit suggestion that the US may be preparing for a military strike on Syria. The US defense secretary repeated similar remarks on Sunday during a visit to Malaysia.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said in a recent interview with the Russian newspaper Izvestia that any military intervention by the US would end in “failure.”

The United Nations says over 100,000 people have been killed and a total of 7.8 million of others displaced due to the turmoil that has gripped Syria since March 2011.


 

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Hamas calls on Egypt interim govt to reopen Rafah

 

Palestinians on the Palestinian side of Rafah on August 20

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/24/320220/hamas-calls-for-reopening-of-rafah/

The Palestinian resistance movement Hamas has called on the Egyptian interim government to reopen the Rafah border crossing with the Gaza Strip.

Hamas deputy foreign minister, Ghazi Hamed, said on Friday that some 1,200 people were using the crossing each day while the former Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was in power but after he was removed by the military on 3 July the number fell to about 50 a day.

Egyptian officials closed the border crossing on August 19 after at least 25 policemen were killed in an ambush near the border by suspected militants.

He told state-run BBC that thousands of Palestinians, including students and medical patients, wanting to leave or enter Gaza have been stuck due to the closure of the key border crossing.

Rafah terminal is Gaza's sole gateway to the outside world bypassing Israel.

Many people in the blockaded coastal enclave avoid traveling through the Israeli controlled Erez crossing in northern Gaza.

Many of those stranded in Gaza stand to lose their jobs or their chances to obtain education in foreign countries because they overstayed in Gaza.

After Morsi's ouster the Egyptian military tightened the restriction in Rafah and created hardships for Gazans.

Observers say that the military -controlled government in Egypt has only more trouble in store for the 1.7 million people living in Gaza.

People here say that the closure of the Rafah crossing has increased their suffering and will leave them at the mercy of the Israeli-controlled crossing


 

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Egypt’s Morsi accused of complicity in protest deaths

Egyptian women from the Muslim Brotherhood shout slogans and hold portraits of ousted president, Mohamed Morsi, as they gather in Cairo to attend a march in his support on August 11, 2013

Source: Press TV

http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/19/319523/morsi-charged-over-protest-deaths/

Ousted Egyptian president, Mohamed Morsi, has been accused of complicity in the deaths and torture of demonstrators outside his presidential palace in 2012, judicial sources say.

On Monday, Egypt’s prosecution extended Morsi’s detention for another 15 days which starts from next week. He already stands accused of crimes related to his 2011 escape from jail.

In December 2012, violent clashes erupted between Morsi’s supporters and opponents in the capital, Cairo, after he issued a controversial constitutional declaration in November of the same year to expand his powers.

On December 5, five people were killed in the clashes between backers and opponents of Morsi in the capital.

Earlier in July, a court in the Arab country ordered Morsi's detention over allegations of collaboration with Palestinian resistance movement, Hamas, “to undertake aggressive acts in the country, as well as attacking police facilities, officers and soldiers.”

On August 12, the Egyptian Judiciary extended the Morsi’s detention pending an inquiry into his alleged links with Hamas.

Morsi was due to be questioned on whether he collaborated with Hamas in attacks on police stations and prison breaks in early 2011, when he and some members of the Muslim Brotherhood escaped from jail during a revolution against the regime of former dictator, Hosni Mubarak.

Hamas reacted to the allegations on July 26 and condemned Morsi’s detention, saying “it is based on the premise that the Hamas movement is hostile.”

The movement’s spokesman, Sami Abu Zuhri, noted, “This is a dangerous development, which confirms that the current powers in Egypt are giving up on national causes and even using these issues to deal with other parties - first among them the Palestinian cause.”

Egypt plunged into chaos after the head of the country’s armed forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, ousted Morsi on July 3, suspended the constitution and dissolved the parliament.

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Egypt court orders Mubarak release

 
Source: Press TV
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2013/08/19/319478/egypt-court-orders-mubarak-release/

A court in Egypt has ordered former dictator, Hosni Mubarak, be released in one of the remaining corruption cases against him.

According to Egyptian Judiciary officials, who spoke on condition of anonymity, a court on Monday ordered Mubarak’s release in a corruption case in which Mubarak and his two sons, Alaa and Gamal, are accused of embezzled funds to renovate presidential palaces.

The officials added that Mubarak could be freed this week, but the court has decided to keep his two sons in custody.

The former dictator has been ordered released in two other cases against him which are the killing of protesters during the 2011 revolution that ousted him, and illegal earnings.

Mubarak is being retried for the demonstrators’ killing. However, he cannot be kept in custody anymore due to a two-year limit pending a final verdict.

He is also facing trial on allegations of accepting gifts from state newspapers but has already repaid their value.

The former long time ruler was sentenced to life in prison in June 2012, but an appeals court later overturned the sentence and ordered a retrial.

Many revolutionaries in Egypt believe the former US-allied strongman should be sentenced to death over his leading role in killing demonstrators.

Saudi prince seeks to stop Mubarak trial

http://worldunitednews.blogspot.ca/2011/03/saudi-prince-seeks-to-stop-mubarak.html

Saudi King Vows support for Mubarak

http://worldunitednews.blogspot.ca/2011/01/saudi-king-vows-support-for-mubarak.html


 

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Bloodbath that is not a bloodbath - Why Egypt is doomed

 

 

Egyptians mourn over bodies wrapped in shrouds at a mosque in Cairo on August 15, 2013 (AFP Photo / Mahmoud Khaled)

By: Pepe Escobar

Source: Russia Today
http://rt.com/op-edge/egypt-protests-terror-muslim-brotherhood-526/

Egypt's ‘bloodbath that is not a bloodbath’ has shown that the forces of hardcore suppression and corruption reign supreme, while foreign interests - the House of Saud, Israel and the Pentagon - support the military's merciless strategy.

Stop. Look at the photos. Linger on dozens of bodies lined up in a makeshift morgue. How can the appalling bloodbath in Egypt be justified? Take your pick. Either it’s Egypt’s remix of Tiananmen Square, or it’s the bloodbath that is not a bloodbath, conducted by the leaders of the coup that is not a coup, with the aim of fighting “terror”.

It certainly was not a crowd clearing operation – as in the New York Police Department ‘clearing’Occupy Wall Street. As a Sky journalist tweeted, it was more like “a major military assault largely on unarmed civilians”, using everything from bulldozers to tear gas to snipers.

Thus the scores indiscriminately killed – with crossfire estimates ranging from the low hundreds (the “interim government”) to at least 4,500 (the Muslim Brotherhood), including at least four journalists and the 17-year-old Asmaa, daughter of top Muslim Brotherhood politician Mohamed El Beltagy.

El Beltagy, before being arrested, said, crucially, “If you do not take to the streets, he [as in General Abdul-Fattah al-Sisi, the leader of the coup that is not a coup who appointed the interim government] will make the country like Syria.”

Wrong. Sisi is not Bashar al-Assad. Don’t expect passionate Western calls for “targeted strikes” or a no-fly zone over Egypt. He may be a military dictator killing his own people. But he’s one of “our” bastards.

What we say goes

Let’s look at the reactions. The lethargic poodles of the European Union called for “restraint”and described it all as “extremely worrying.” A White House statement said the interim government should “respect human rights” – which can be arguably interpreted as the Manning/Snowden/droning of Pakistan and Yemen school of human rights.

That pathetic excuse for a diplomat, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen, at least was blunt: “Egypt is an important partner for NATO through the Mediterranean Dialogue.” Translation: the only thing we really care about is that those Arabs do as we say.

 

A man grieves as he looks at one of many bodies laid out in a make shift morgue after Egyptian security forces stormed two huge protest camps at the Rabaa al-Adawiya and Al-Nahda squares where supporters of ousted president Mohamed Morsi were camped, in Cairo, on August 14, 2013 (AFP Photo / Mosaab El-Shamy)

Stripped of all rhetoric – indignant or otherwise – the key point is that Washington won’t cut its $1.3 billion annual aid to Sisi’s army no matter what. Wily Sisi has declared a “war on terror”. The Pentagon is behind it. And the Obama administration is tagging along – reluctantly or not.

Now let’s see who’s in revolt. Predictably, Qatar condemned it; after all Qatar was bankrolling the Morsi presidency. The Islamic Action Front, the political wing of the Muslim Brotherhood in Jordan, encouraged Egyptians to keep protesting to “thwart the conspiracy” by the former regime – as in Mubarakists without Mubarak.

Turkey – which also supports the Muslim Brotherhood - urged the UN Security Council and the Arab League to act quickly to stop a “massacre”; as if the UN and the Saudi-controlled Arab League would interrupt their three-hour-long expense account lunches to do anything.

Iran – correctly - warned of the risk of civil war. That does not mean that Tehran is blindly supporting the Muslim Brotherhood – especially after Morsi had incited Egyptians to join a jihad against Assad in Syria. What Tehran has noted is that the civil war is already on.

Let’s aim for the kill

“Byzantine” does not even begin to explain the blame game. The bloodbath that is not a bloodbath happened as the Sisi-appointed “government” had promised it would engage in a military-supported “transition”that would be politically all-inclusive.

Yet, fed up with six weeks of protests denouncing the “coup that is not a coup,” the interim government changed the narrative and decided to take no prisoners.

According to the best informed Egyptian media analyses, Deputy Prime Minister Ziad Baha Eldin and Vice President for foreign affairs Mohamed ElBaradei wanted to go soft against the protesters, while Interior Minister Gen. Mohammad Ibrahim Mustafa and the Defense Minister - Sisi himself - wanted to go medieval.

The first step was to pre-emptively blame the Muslim Brotherhood for the bloodshed – just as the Muslim Brotherhood blamed Jemaah Islamiyah for deploying Kalashnikovs and burning churches and police stations.

 

An Egyptian woman mourns over the body of her daughter wrapped in shrouds at a mosque in Cairo on August 15, 2013 (AFP Photo / Khaled Desouki)

A key reason to launch the “bloodbath that is not a bloodbath” this Wednesday was an attempt by the Muslim Brotherhood to march on the perennially dreaded Interior Ministry. Hardcore Ibrahim Mustafa would have none of it.

Sisi’s minions appointed 25 provincial governors, of which 19 are generals, in perfect timing to “reward” the top military echelon and thus solidify the Egyptian “deep state”, or actually police state. And to crown the “bloodbath that is not a bloodbath,” Sisi’s minions declared martial law for a month. Under these circumstances, the resignation of Western darling ElBaradei won’t make Sisi lose any sleep.

The original spirit of Tahrir Square is now dead and buried , as a Yemeni miraculously not targeted by Obama’s drones, Nobel Peace Prize winner Tawakkul Karman, pointed out.

The key question is who profits from a hyper-polarized Egypt, with a civil war pitting the well-organized, fundamentalist Muslim Brotherhood against the military-controlled “deep state”.

Both options are equally repulsive (not to mention incompetent). Yet the local winners are easily identifiable: the counter-revolution, as in the fulool – diehard Mubarakists – a bunch of corrupt oligarchs, and most of all the deep state itself.

Hardcore repression rules. Corruption rules. And foreign domination rules (as in Saudi Arabia, who’s now paying most of the bills, alongside the UAE).

Internationally, the big winners are Saudi Arabia (displacing Qatar), Israel (because the Egyptian army is even more docile than the Brotherhood), and – who else – the Pentagon, the Egyptian army’s pimp. Nowhere in the Milky Way this House of Saud/Israel/Pentagon axis can be spun as “good for the Egyptian people”.

Sheikh Al-Torture is our man

A quick recap is in order. In 2011, the Obama administration never said, “Mubarak must go”until the last minute. Hilary Clinton wanted a “transition” led by CIA asset and spy chief Omar Suleiman – widely known in Tahrir Square as “Sheikh al-Torture”.

 

Reporters run for cover during clashes between Muslim Brotherhood supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi, and police in Cairo on August 14, 2013 (AFP Photo / Mosaab El-Shamy)

Then a Washington inside joke was that the Obama administration had gleefully become a Muslim Brotherhood cheerleader (allied with Qatar). Now, like a yo-yo, the Obama administration is weighing on how to spin the new narrative - the ‘loyal’Egyptian army courageously wiping out the “terrorist” Muslim Brotherhood to “protect the revolution.”

There was never any revolution to begin with; the head of the snake (Mubarak) was gone, but the snake remained alive and kicking. Now it’s met the new snake, same as the old snake. Additionally, it’s so easy to sell to the uninformed galleries the Muslim Brotherhood = al-Qaeda equation.

Pentagon supremo Chuck Hagel was glued on the phone with Sisi as the July 3 “coup that is not a coup” was taking place. Pentagon spin would want us to believe that Sisi promised Hagel he would be on top of things in a heartbeat. Virtually 100% of the Beltway agreed. Thus the official Washington spin of “coup that is not a coup.”Tim Kaine from Virginia, at the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, even extolled those model democracies, the UAE and Jordan, in their enthusiasmfor the “coup that is not a coup.”

It’s essential to outline the five countries that have explicitly endorsed the “coup that is not a coup.” Four of them are GCC petro-monarchies (members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, also known as Gulf Counter-Revolution Club); Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Kuwait and Bahrain. And the fifth is that little monarchy, Jordan, the GCC wants to annex to the Gulf.

Even more pathetic than Egypt’s so-called liberals, some leftists, some Nasserists and assorted progressives defending Sisi’s bloodlust has been the volte-face of Mahmoud Badr, the founder of Tamarrod – the movement that spearheaded the massive demonstrations that led to Morsi’s ouster. In 2012, he blasted Saudi Arabia. After the coup, he prostrated himself in their honor. At least he knows who’s paying the bills.

And then there’s Ahmed al-Tayyeb, the Grand Imam of al-Azhar, the Vatican of Sunni Islam. He said, “Al-Azhar…did not know about the methods used for the dispersal of the protests except through media channels.” Nonsense; he has repeatedly praised Sisi

 

Egyptian Muslim brotherhood supporters of Egypt's ousted president Mohamed Morsi evacuate a wounded man during clashes with riot police at Cairo's Mustafa Mahmoud Square after security forces dispersed supporters Morsi on August 14, 2013 (AFP Photo / Str)

Feel free to adore my eyelashes

There’s no other way of saying it; from Washington’s point of view, Arabs can kill each other to Kingdom Come, be it Sunnis against Shiites, jihadis against secularists, peasants against urbanites, and Egyptians against Egyptians. The only thing that matters is the Camp David agreements; and nobody is allowed to antagonize Israel.

So it’s fitting that Sisi’s minions in boots asked Israel to keep their drones near the border, as they need to pursue their “war on terror” in the Sinai. For all practical purposes, Israel runs the Sinai.

But then there’s the cancellation of a delivery of F-16s to Sisi’s army. In real life, every US weapons sale across the Middle East has to be “cleared” with Israel. So a case can be made that Israel – for the moment - is not exactly sure what Sisi is really up to.

It’s quite instructive to read what Sisi thinks of “democracy” – as demonstrated when he was at the US War College. He’s essentially an Islamist – but most of all he craves power. And the MB is standing in his way. So they have to be disposed of.

Sisi’s “war on terror” is arguably a roaring success as a PR stunt to legitimize his run for a popular mandate. He’s trying to pose as the new Nasser. He’s Sisi the Savior, surrounded by a bunch of Sisi groupies. A columnist wrote in Al-Masry Al-Youm that Sisi doesn't even need to issue an order; it’s enough to “just flutter his eyelashes”. The Sisi-for-president campaign is already on.

Anyone familiar with US-propped 1970s tin-pot Latin American dictators is able to spot one. This is no Savior. This is no more than an Al-Sisi-nator – the vainglorious tin-pot ruler of what my colleague Spengler bluntly defined as a banana republic without the bananas.

About: Pepe Escobar

Pepe Escobar is the roving correspondent for Asia Times/Hong Kong, an analyst for RT and TomDispatch, and a frequent contributor to websites and radio shows ranging from the US to East Asia

 

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US is involved in ‘Hot War’ with Russia, fought by proxies

 

US President Barack Obama (L) and Russian President Vladimir Putin (AFP Photo/Jewel Samad)

RT Interview with William Enghdal

Source: Russia Today

http://rt.com/op-edge/us-russia-proxy-war-364/

Edward Snowden is a ‘red herring’ and the ‘childish’ cancelation by Obama of a meeting with Putin in September is of little significance as the US president has little to offer Russia, William Engdahl a geopolitical analyst, told RT.

The real issues of missile defense, Syria and Iran will remain unresolved because of a policy pursued by Washington of full spectrum dominance, where the sole super power the US seeks to dictate military, economic and financial terms to the entire world, Engdahl added.

RT: The Russian deputy foreign minister didn’t have a particularly productive discussion with the US Secretary of State in Brussels. Are there any indications that the same talks that are happening today will be any different?

William Enghdal: I doubt it rather seriously. The decision by President Obama to cancel the meeting with Putin before the G20 meeting is really an indication of a lack of strategy on the part of Obama rather than the putting down of Russia. The background to that is the fact that there are not only fundamental differences between the two sides, the United States government in Washington has been trying since the end of the Cold War to dismantle Russia, quite simply, with missile defense, with the plundering of their economy through using the IMF and shock therapy in the ’90s.

Now that Obama is back in the presidency they are finding a far more difficult negotiating partner over questions like Syria, over issues like the missile defense and others. Snowden, I think is a red herring, simply an excuse that is very convenient to use at this point.

RT: You are saying that if a consensus is reached on some of the issues that will be discussed that might off set the brewing tension over Edward Snowden?

WE: No, I am not saying that at all. I don’t think there will be any consensus reached between Russia and Washington on the issue of missile defense, because Washington is determined to encircle Russia with its missile defense, which is an offensive strategy, not a defensive one, by the way. It is a nuclear first strike preparation strategy. That is something that Russia understandably is not exactly overjoyed about. The issue of Syria is nonnegotiable; in terms of what the US is trying to put into power in Syria, similar to what they tried in Egypt and failed, that is a Muslim Brotherhood controlled regime that would allow Qatar to control pipeline flows into Europe and not Iran among other things.

There is not a basis of agreement on these fundamental questions. Snowden is not, as I say, the issue. The issue is this fundamental disagreement and Washington is not prepared to change its agenda and openly and honestly negotiate and resolve these differences, therefore Obama is using this childish maneuver of cancelling the meeting because of Snowden.

RT: OK I want to go back to Syria. About Syria, the peace conference keeps getting postponed. We know that the Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov wanted it to come up as soon as possible. Is he likely to achieve a breakthrough at this meeting on that subject?

WE: I don’t see it, unless Washington is prepared to literally pullback all of its attack dogs inside Syria that they have run through Turkey using Al-Qaeda and these other groups; that they pertain to not want to allow to get any weapons, but of course they know they’re getting the weapons. Until that is done and all sides’ foreign elements pull out of Syria and allow the Syrians to resolve their own issues by themselves in the elections next year don’t think any peace conference is going to take place. The Syrian ‘opposition’ is a Muslim Brotherhood externally controlled opposition that has no roots inside the Syrian society in terms of a majority.

RT: Obama said that Russia sometimes has this Cold War mentality, but isn’t he also perpetuating and provoking that by not wanting to sit down with Putin and have that one-on-one with him when he comes in September?

WE: That is the laughable irony about this. If I were president Putin I would break open a nice bottle of champagne and celebrate the fact that he doesn’t have to go through this ordeal of another photo opp with Obama who has nothing to offer Russia in any serious way. Obama’s statement on the Tonight Show about the Russians somehow occasionally reverting to the Cold War mentality as if they were cured alcoholics who would go on a drinking binge from time to time is really not only insulting, it reflects the mentality in Washington.

This is not serious statesmanship. The point is Washington has an agenda, which I talk about in my book Full Spectrum Dominance to extend NATO across the globe and use that as a global police force for the sole superpower and the Cold War didn’t end in 1991, when the Soviet Union and the Warsaw pact dissolved. Washington for its side has continued the Cold War. In fact you can say it’s a Hot War right now. The battle is being fought by proxies, by surrogates.

The battle over Syria is part of the Hot War between a coalition of countries of which Russia and China are critical factors that are resisting that one country dictates the term in military and other senses - economic and financial - to the entire world. I think that is a very unhealthy, one-sided or lop-sided state of affairs. That’s what the real issue is between Washington and the Putin administration.

About: William Engdahl

William Engdahl is an award-winning geopolitical analyst and strategic risk consultant whose internationally best-selling books have been translated into thirteen foreign languages

 

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Glacier Girl, a P-38 of the "Lost Squadron" found 200 plus feet below the ice in Greenland

the Lost Squadron - two World War II Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress bombers and six Lockheed P-38 Lightnings.

The squadron was forced to land on the Greenland ice cap on July 15, 1942 after hours of flying in bad weather and running low on fuel. Epps' adventure began as a lark when he was admiring a customer's new Learjet and the customer responded, "What I really want is a P-38". Epps certainly knew where six P-38 Lightnings were located so he joined forces with a friend and two airline pilots who already had the search and salvage rights from the Danish government.

http://www.eppsaviation.com/about-us_the-lost-squadron.php

The following story, originally published in the January 1993 issue of Air & Space/ Smithsonian,recounts adventures during the second leg of the journey, a 22-year slog through recovery and restoration that couldn’t have been completed without the ingenuity, stamina, and fortune of a Roy Shoffner, a Kentucky businessman, named the P-38 “Glacier Girl” and began to plan the completion of its mission.
http://www.airspacemag.com/history-of-flight/FEATURE-glaciergirl-backstory.html#

Fifty years later, in 1992, the plane was brought to the surface by members of the Greenland Expedition Society after years of searching and excavation. The aircraft was eventually transported to Middlesboro, Kentucky, where it was restored to flying condition. The excavation of Glacier Girl was documented in an episode of The History Channel's "Mega Movers" series, titled "Extreme Aircraft Recovery".

On 22 June 2007 Glacier Girl departed Teterboro Airport, New Jersey in an attempt to fly across the Atlantic Ocean to Duxford, England to complete the flight it had begun sixty-five years earlier. On 28 June, however, a coolant leak in the #2 (right) engine grounded the plane in Goose Bay, Labrador.

On July 22 2007 repairs were completed in Labrador, which included installation of two re-manufactured Allison engines. Glacier Girl returned to the U.S. on July 23, and can now be seen at air shows in the USA.

In 2007 Glacier Girl was sold to Lewis Energy's CEO, Rodney Lewis.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier_Girl

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the San Diego Air and Space Museum at the Gillespie Field outpost (next to the Atlas Missile)

how they talked the military into donating to the museum such a variety is amazing

so tiny it fits on a pallet!

recreation of the speed of sound breaking aircraft Bell X1 getting body and paint

fairgrounds rides Stinson

a Willys 1/4 ton

The Ryan X13 http://justacarguy.blogspot.com/2010/07/its-that-rare-occasion-when-i-found-and.html

one of the guys at the museum said this was early 1910s, and mostly original

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