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Breaking: Heckuva Job, Merkel - ISIS Terror Squads Swarm Europe

Wednesday March 23, 2016

Here's the big -- really big -- story of the day: AP is reporting that ISIS has sent at least 400 fighters into Europe in semi-autonomous cells to rain down a wave of terror that may make the Brussels attacks earlier this week look like child's play. This underground terror army is said to have trained in Syria, Iraq, and possibly some of the former republics of the USSR, and they have infiltrated themselves into Europe to await further instructions.
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Syrians Free to Choose Future...As Long As Washington Likes Their Choice

Friday March 18, 2016

Anyone wondering just how bad is US foreign policy need only turn to the daily press briefing by the US State Department for an answer. And let me tell you, the answer is it's really, really bad. Yesterday's briefing was at the same time one for the record books and par for the course, as State Department Spokesman Admiral John Kirby tried to explain Washington's uber-incoherent Syria policy.

First, AP diplomatic reporter Matt Lee -- an excellent journalist -- asked Kirby to explain Washington's opposition to a Kurdish group in Syria announcing the creation of an autonomous Kurdish area inside Syria. After all, observed Lee, Washington does not believe Assad has the legitimacy to govern Syria so the Kurds are not encouraged to put themselves under the control of the current government in Damascus.
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Bibi Cancels Meeting With Obama, Demands More Money Instead

Tuesday March 8, 2016

On his own and through his proxies in what is called the US "Israel Lobby" Benjamin Netanyahu expended enormous political and financial capital in attempt to sink President Obama's nuclear deal with Iran. Though the deal is already done, the pro-Likud lobby in Washington with the backing of a significant number of elected Members of the House and Senate is still determined to turn back the hands of time to a US war-footing against Iran. They may well succeed, particularly as most presidential candidates have promised to rip up the Iran deal on day one.
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Guess Who's Violating the Syria Ceasefire?

Sunday February 28, 2016

...the Turks, of course. According to Qadri Jamil, one of the leaders of the opposition Syrian Popular Front for Change and Liberation, the temporary ceasefire in Syria is for the most part holding. But the main violator of the agreement thus far, he says, is the Turkish government...
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The Incredible Shrinking Syrian 'Ceasefire'

Wednesday February 24, 2016

The Syria "cessation of hostilities" agreement seems all the stranger as huge unanswered questions regarding signatories, partners, monitoring, reporting, adjudication, and enforcement are raised. It seems more and more like something cobbled together without much thought as to how it might work in practice. 

Indeed, the people who are paid to explain to us how it might work seem to be as confused as we are. Take State Department Spokesman Mark Toner. Asked whether the ceasefire requirements of the agreement would apply to Turkey, which has for the past week been bombing US-allied Kurds in Syria, he was unable to give a clear answer beyond the following confusing bit from Monday's press briefing:

Well, Turkey is a member of the ISSG, the stakeholders group. Ultimately, to be a part of that, you have – you’ve committed to implementing the cessation of hostilities. So again, it – we’ve talked about this a lot – it’s not just – we certainly point a finger at Russia quite often, and other members who are, we believe, taking counterproductive actions on the ground in Syria, but it’s incumbent on all members of the ISSG to buy into a cessation of hostilities.

How's that for clear diplomacy?
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Showdown: Justice Department Escalates Against Apple

Friday February 19, 2016

The US Justice Department escalated its standoff with Apple today, filing a motion to compel Apple to create software that would facilitate the Federal Government's breaking the encryption of an iPhone in the possession of one of the San Bernardino shooters. Apple has argued that no one could depend on being secure from the prying eyes of government should it comply with the Federal government's orders. Wrote Apple CEO Tim Cook, in a letter to customers this week, "in the wrong hands, this software – which does not exist today – would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession."

The Justice Department's counterargument appears to be that this is a special case and they can be trusted to never use this "key" to our iPhones again. But ironically, this heightened encryption feature was incorporated into iPhones in response to revelations by NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden that the federal government had been illegally spying on American citizens. But apparently we are supposed to trust them this time.
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While Kerry Talks Ceasefire, US Allies Secretly Ship Grad Missiles to Syria Rebels

Friday February 12, 2016

The big news yesterday was that after some five hours of intense negotiation on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference, an agreement was reached between the major powers on a "cessation of hostilities" in Syria within the next week or so. 

According to the agreement:

The [International Syria Support Group] members agreed that a nationwide cessation of hostilities must be urgently implemented, and should apply to any party currently engaged in military or paramilitary hostilities against any other parties other than Daesh, Jabhat al-Nusra, or other groups designated as terrorist organizations by the United Nations Security Council. The ISSG members commit to exercise influence for an immediate and significant reduction in violence leading to the nationwide cessation of hostilities.

Now today -- just one day after the ceasefire agreement --  we discover that a massive shipment of ground-to-ground "Grad" missiles have been sent by US allies (and the CIA?) to rebels fighting against the Syrian government.
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You Won't Believe What This US Ambassador Said About al-Qaeda's Syrian Allies

Wednesday January 27, 2016

Robert Ford was US Ambassador to Syria when the revolt against Syrian president Assad was launched. He not only was a chief architect of regime change in Syria, but actively worked with rebels to aid their overthrow of the Syrian government. 

Ford assured us that those taking up arms to overthrow the Syrian government were simply moderates and democrats seeking to change Syria's autocratic system. Anyone pointing out the obviously Islamist extremist nature of the rebellion and the foreign funding and backing for the jihadists was written off as an Assad apologist or worse.
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Al-Qaeda Allies to Represent Opposition in Upcoming Syria Peace Talks

Wednesday January 20, 2016

A Saudi-backed opposition committee representing the rebels fighting to overthrow the Assad government in Syria have agreed on a chief negotiator for peace talks scheduled to begin in Geneva next week. The rebels will be represented by Mohammed Alloush, political leader of Jaysh al-Islam, when the talks begin. 

Mohammed Alloush's brother, Zahran, led Jaysh al-Islam until he was killed in an airstrike at the end of December. Under Zahran's rule, Jaysh al-Islam was a fiercely Islamist group that insisted strict Sharia law must govern Syria. He maintained close ties with the al-Nusra Front, otherwise known as al-Qaeda in Syria.
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That Didn't Take Long: US to Impose New Sanctions on Iran

Monday January 18, 2016

Just one day after "Implementation Day" of the Iran nuclear agreement, where international sanctions were removed with the certification that Iran had met all of its obligations under the agreement, the US has slipped back into its old habits. Citing Iran's work on ballistic missile development, the US Treasury Department announced yesterday that the US was imposing a new round of sanctions on the country. Several firms that are helping Iran develop its missile capability are also falling under the Treasury hammer.

Announcing the new sanctions, President Obama said, "We will continue to enforce these sanctions vigorously. We are going to remain vigilant about it."

The sanctions are being imposed because the ballistic missiles tested by Iran in October are capable of carrying nuclear weapons. But, as Moon of Alabama blog points out, the UN certification on Saturday means that Iran does not have nor will it pursue a nuclear weapon. So the point is completely moot.
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