Syria

[carlotpilot]

O shit for brains needs to tried for treason and put in prison till Allah comes for him. I cannot wait till he is gone and his stench has evaporated, he and the libs are clueless to what is happening in the world, one brain dead leading another.

that stink will last years

[kscarbel2]

ISIS massacres 300 Syrian civilians

The Guardian / January 17, 2016

An attack by ISIS on the eastern Syrian city of Deir ez-Zor has left at least 85 civilians and 50 government troops dead, a monitoring group has said, with state media denouncing a “massacre”.

Syria’s state news agency Sana, quoting residents, said up to 300 civilians were killed in the onslaught.

It would be one of the highest tolls for a single day in Syria’s nearly five-year war.

The bloodshed in Deir ez-Zor came as Syrian forces battled ISIS in the northern province of Aleppo, killing at least 16 jihadis, and as airstrikes hit the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa.

The British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) said Isis had advanced into the northern tip of Deir ez-Zor and captured the northern suburb of Al-Baghaliyeh.

Initially, it reported that 35 Syrian soldiers and allied militiamen had been killed in the multi-front attack, which included a suicide bombing.

But as the day unfolded, the death toll rose. SOHR said “The [isis] terrorists carried out a massacre in Al-Baghaliyeh, claiming the lives of around 300 civilians, most of them women, children and elderly people.”

It said most of the victims were killed “execution-style” in Al-Baghaliyeh.

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Russia kills 60 militants in Deir ez-Zor, where ISIS massacred hundreds of civilians

RT / January 19, 2016

The Russian Air Force in Syria has eliminated 60 Islamic State militants in eastern Deir ez-Zor province, the Defense Ministry reported. Several days ago, mass execution of civilians were reported there.

“The Russian Su-34 bombers have struck terrorist strongholds near the village of Bagilya in the Deir ez-Zor province where ISIS has recently executed 300 civilian from the local population for the sake of intimidation,” Defense Ministry spokesman Major-General Igor Konashenkov said.

Over the weekend, Islamic State jihadists have reportedly slaughtered up to 300 people in the Deir ez-Zor province, killing “whole families” for alleged cooperation with the Syrian Army.

READ MORE: ISIS massacres 280 civilians for ‘cooperation with the Syrian army’ – reports

The airstrikes also destroyed three trucks with ammunition, two SUVs with mounted Zu-23 anti-aircraft cannons.

Konashenkov said the Russian Air Force is continuing its operation “to deliver food and essential items to areas blocked by terrorists” in Syria.

On Monday, over 40 tons of humanitarian aid from Russian Defense Ministry and Syrian government was parachuted to the encircled city of Deir ez-Zor and other areas.

READ MORE: Russian army launches humanitarian op in Syria - General Staff

"According to the reports received by the Syrian leadership from the settlements where the humanitarian aid was delivered, all the cargo has been received and is now being passed to the residents,” he said.

Over the last four days, Russian warplanes have carried out 157 sorties and struck 579 terrorist targets in the Syrian provinces of Aleppo, Deir ez-Zor, Homs, Hama, Latakia and Raqqa, Konashenkov said.

Around 20 jihadists and three SUVs with heavy machine guns were destroyed in an airstrike by Su-24 bombers on ISIS strongholds in Latakia.

Russian Su-25s eliminated an ISIS field camp in Homs province, based on information received from the Syrian opposition.

"A few days ago, one of the units of the [anti-terroist] opposition received information about the location of the ISIS field camp near the village of Kissin in the Homs province,” he said.

The air strike against the target was carried out after the information was verified via surveillance drones and the anti-terrorist information center in Baghdad.

"The command of the Russian Air Force continues its cooperation with the units of the [anti-terrorist] opposition in Syria, which are fighting Islamic State, Jabhat Al-Nusra and other terror groups,” Konashenkov said.

Russia is also continuing to target the illegal oil trade, which is the main source of income for the terrorists, the Ministry of Defense said.

Russian war planes have destroyed a large warehouse of combustive-lubricating materials and an oil pumping station in the province of Raqqa,” he said.

READ MORE: ISIS fighters’ salaries halved, 'exceptional circumstances' to blame - reports

In Aleppo province, air surveillance discovered a column of trucks carrying smuggled oil towards the Turkish border.

Twenty-three oil tankers were destroyed in an airstrike by Russian Su-24 bombers, Konashenkov added.

Russia has been bombing IS and other terror groups in Syria since September 30, 2015, at the official request of President Bashar Assad.

Related video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K4iCRnPBo18#t=49

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T-82prBykh0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uSIv4SeOgCA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nnPyLvu1REE

[kscarbel2]

Pentagon chief says some coalition partners in fight against Isis 'do nothing'

The Guardian / January 22, 2016

Ash Carter suggests there are cracks in the unity of the US-led coalition against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria

Several members of the US-led coalition attacking the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria are doing “nothing at all” to help destroy the jihadists, US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter has said.

His comments mark a departure from the Pentagon’s typical depiction of the 65-member coalition, which carries the slogan “One mission, many nations,” and is frequently touted to highlight global resolve in the predominantly US effort to defeat the Isis group.

“Many of them are not doing enough, or are doing nothing at all,” Carter said in an interview with CNBC on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

“We can do a lot ourselves ... (but) we are looking for other people to play their part,” he added, without singling any country out.

In a separate interview with Bloomberg TV, Carter called the anti-Isis alliance a “so-called” coalition, highlighting frustrations the Pentagon has with some partners – particularly Sunni Arab nations – not doing enough.

“We need others to carry their weight, there should be no free riders,” he said.

Carter has spent the past week in Europe, primarily in Paris, where he sought to persuade allies to step up their efforts against Isis.

He is meeting with representatives from another 26 allied nations next month to make the same appeal.

Carter reiterated calls for one such partner, Turkey, to bolster its fight against the jihadists.

Turkey is allowing the United States to use Incirlik, a geographically vital air base in the south, to strike Isis targets in Iraq and Syria, but Carter said Ankara needs to do more to secure its lengthy border with Syria.

“Turkey is a long-time friend of ours,” he said during a Davos question-and-answer session.

But “the reality is” that it [Turkey] has a border that “has been porous to foreign fighters.”

“They’re on the list ... it’s not a small list, of countries that I think could make contributions that are distinctive, unique and necessary to the defeat of ISIL,” he added, using an alternative acronym for Isis.

Some Arab and Gulf countries including Saudi Arabia are nominally part of the coalition, but are now more focused on fighting Iran-backed forces in Yemen.

The United States has carried out the bulk of the nearly 9,800 air strikes launched in Iraq and Syria since the summer of 2014.

But despite calls for additional help, Carter insists the coalition has the jihadists on a back foot, especially since the recapture of the Iraqi city of Ramadi and the targeting of their financial and illicit oil-selling capabilities.

In the wake of the terror attacks in Paris in November that left 130 dead, France and Britain joined efforts in Syria.

Some of the other nations to have conducted strikes in Iraq or Syria include Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Jordan, the Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates [Russia's significant efforts not mentioned.........what a way to forge a better relationship].

Dozens more countries, including Iceland, Italy and Panama, have pledged varying degrees of support, for instance through the training of local security forces.

[hicrop10]

1-17-17.For all of you that don't know this date but it's the day that the new president replaces the no good, four flushing,low laying,scum sucking,piece of crap,shit for brains that some call the president leaves office.

[kscarbel2]

1-17-17.For all of you that don't know this date but it's the day that the new president replaces the no good, four flushing, low laying, scum sucking, piece of crap, shit for brains that some call the president leaves office.

Friend, many BMT members refrain from posting their thoughts...........when they observe one or more members using a great deal of colorful metaphors (otherwise known as vulgar language and gutter talk). It lowers the quality of the discussion here on BMT (my humble opinion).

Differing thoughts from BMT members worldwide make it the world's leading website of its kind. However, profanity brings it down.

If you were to say, for example, "the man utterly disgusts me", the BMT membership would be "crystal clear" about your thought process.

[kscarbel2]

RT / January 26, 2016

Israeli defense minister Moshe Yaalon says ISIS has long been funded with “Turkish money.”

"As you know, Daesh (a.k.a. Islamic State,ISIS/ISIL) enjoyed Turkish money for oil for a very, very long period of time. I hope that it will be ended," Moshe Yaalon told reporters in Athens on Tuesday after meeting his Greek counterpart, Panos Kammenos, Reuters reports.

It's up to Turkey, the Turkish government, the Turkish leadership, to decide whether they want to be part of any kind of cooperation to fight terrorism. This is not the case so far," he said.

Yaalon’s counterpart, Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos, made similar statements, saying that a large part of the Islamic State’s oil trade, as well as the financing of terror, is going through Turkey.

Earlier, Russia had accused Turkey of shady dealings with ISIS. In December, the Russian Defense Ministry released maps and satellite images it said proved that Turkey was the main consumer of oil smuggled out of Syria and Iraq by the terrorists. The ministry also stated that the Turkish president and his family were involved in the criminal dealings.

Iran has also said it was in possession of photographic and video evidence of ISIS oil entering Turkey in trucks.

In December, Syria’s envoy to the UN Bashar al-Ja’afari also accused Turkey of supporting terrorist groups. The diplomat appealed to the UN, urging it to end Ankara’s "violations and crimes."

READ MORE: ISIS oil trucks cross into Turkey every day, captured terrorist admits

Turkey has denied the accusations, while the United States last month rejected Russia’s claims that the Turkish leadership was linked to ISIS oil smuggling.

Turkey has "permitted jihadists to move from Europe to Syria and Iraq and back, as part of Daesh's terrorist network, and I hope this will stop, too," Yaalon added.

Another force fighting against ISIS, an Iraqi Shia militia, says ISIS militants are freely crossing back and forth across the Turkish border, with Ankara providing militants with logistical support. Citing evidence gathered from prisoners and on the battlefield, the Popular Front’s Badr Organization said the data they've gathered directly implicates Turkey's involvement with Islamic State.

[kscarbel2]

RT / January 31, 2016

In a dramatic turnaround and huge loss of face, German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Saturday said:

"We need... to say to people that this is a temporary residential status and we expect that, once there is peace in Syria again, once ISIS has been defeated in Iraq, that you go back to your home country with the knowledge that you have gained,"

Germany accepted around 1.1 million refugees in 2015 and more are expected to arrive this year.

The issue of asylum seekers came to the fore after a number of sexual assaults were recorded on women celebrating New Year’s Eve in Cologne, carried out by men of North African and Arab appearance.

Support for Chancellor Merkel’s ruling coalition, which is made up of the conservative Christian Democratic Union (CDU) and its Bavarian Christian Social Union (CSU) sister party, has fallen to 34 percent.

A poll last week indicated that 40 percent of Germans want Merkel to resign, due to her handling of the refugee crisis.

The German public is questioning the wisdom of Merkel’s decision to let in over a million refugees, without capping the number of migrants, or closing Germany’s borders.

On Thursday, Chancellor Merkel’s coalition partners agreed to tighten asylum rules, which would include a two-year ban on family members being allowed to join refugees, who have been given limited protection, as well as speeding up deportations of those migrants who have had their claims rejected.

[kscarbel2]

Not a day goes by that you don’t hear that Russia is bombing civilians and making matters worse. Rather than giving them credit for knocking off bad guys, they get additional sanctions. Go figure.

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Russia says U.S. planes bombed Syria's Aleppo on Wednesday

Reuters / February 11, 2016

Russia's Defence Ministry said on Thursday that two U.S. aircraft had bombed the Syrian city of Aleppo on Feb. 10, and that Russian planes had not been operating in the area.

A Pentagon spokesman had accused Russian and Syria government forces on Wednesday of destroying Aleppo's two main hospitals with air strikes, though he did not specify when the strikes were alleged to have taken place.

The Syrian army has made rapid advances near Aleppo in recent weeks with the help of Russian air strikes.

But Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said in a statement that "only aviation of the anti-ISIS coalition flew over the city yesterday", referring to the U.S.-led alliance of countries fighting the Islamic State militant group.

"At 1355 Moscow time, two U.S. Air Force A-10 attack aircraft entered Syrian airspace from Turkish territory. Reaching Aleppo by the most direct path, they made strikes against objects in the city."

He said the Russian targets on that day had been at least 20 km (12 miles) from the city.

When asked on Wednesday whether the U.S.-led coalition could do more to help rebels in Aleppo or improve access for humanitarian aid to the city, Pentagon spokesman Colonel Steve Warren said that the coalition's focus remained on fighting Islamic State, which was "virtually non-existent in that part of Syria". {and yet, A-10s were there}

[41chevy]

This say IMO how politically correct and sorry we have become. . .

[kscarbel2]

You can’t choose your neighbors, and the odds of them all becoming your best friends with whom you agree with on every issue are slim to none.

Our world has become a much smaller place, and certainly one filled with more dangers which test our ability to intercept and neutralize them.

It mystifies me why we can’t work with Russia on the destruction of ISIS, allowing us to form a working relationship with a country that is far better as a global partner than as an enemy.

Breaking News: ISIS and radicalized Islam are a global threat. The U.S. and Russia as partners can not only neutralize this threat, but also guide the world in a better direction.

As Jack Moniker (Robin Williams) said so well in the movie “Club Paradise”:

“It's amazing how people can get themselves in these situations when, if you stop and think about it, you'll see that basically, you guys are not that far apart on this thing.”

The day likely will come when mankind realizes that it has wasted years fighting amongst itself, rather than coming together to meet the future challenges it as a whole will face.

Food for thought, renowned Cambridge professor Stephen Hawking recently said:

“Although the chance of a disaster to planet Earth in a given year may be quite low, it adds up over time, and becomes a near certainty in the next 1,000 or 10,000 years.”

Rather then continuing the centuries-old saga of trying to annihilate ourselves, Hawking hopes that mankind could escape the earth’s demise is by venturing into space.

“By that time, we should have spread out into space, and to other stars, so a disaster on Earth would not mean the end of the human race.” says Hawking.

Such an effort of course, would require a mature mankind that has gotten its priorities in order. If not, Hawking imagines that the earth’s demise will be precipitated by catastrophes of our own making, including nuclear war, genetically engineered viruses and global warming.

Imagine another scenario………If there are advanced aliens in space, there’s a 50-50 chance they’re not “nice guys.”

"Such advanced aliens would perhaps become nomads, looking to conquer and colonize whatever planets they could reach," says Hawking. "If so, it makes sense for them to exploit each new planet for material to build more spaceships so they could move on. Who knows what the limits would be?"

"We don't know much about aliens, but we know about humans. If you look at history, contact between humans and less intelligent organisms have often been disastrous from their point of view, and encounters between civilizations with advanced versus primitive technologies have gone badly for the less advanced. A civilization reading one of our messages could be billions of years ahead of us. If so, they will be vastly more powerful, and may not see us as any more valuable than we see bacteria." [worse, they might not appreciate the sight of a pre-2000 Mack truck]

If mankind managed to become less violent and shortsighted, and realize we’re all on the same boat (planet), imagine what we could do if we focused our defense spending and development on a united planetary defense system, and advanced spacecraft development (recall how far technology leaped, from 1939 to 1945....it's possible).

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The Guardian / February 13, 2016

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev at a security conference in Munich said the world is slipping into a “new cold war” after European leaders condemned his country’s airstrikes on Syria and called on Vladimir Putin to end them as a precursor for peace negotiations.

Medvedev said a lack of cooperation threatened to return the continent to “40 years ago, when a wall was standing in Europe”. He rejected the widely held belief that Russian planes had hit civilian targets in Syria.

“There is no evidence of our bombing civilians, even though everyone is accusing us of this,” he said on Saturday. “Russia is not trying to achieve some secret goals in Syria. We are simply trying to protect our national interests …

“Creating trust is hard … but we have to start. Our positions differ, but they do not differ as much as 40 years ago when a wall was standing in Europe.

“You could say even more sharply: we have fallen into a new cold war,” he said. “Nearly on a daily basis, we are being blamed for the most terrible threat to NATO as a whole, to Europe, to America, to other countries. They make scary movies where Russia starts a nuclear war. I sometimes wonder: are we in 2016 or 1962?”

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said military cooperation between the US and Russia was the “key tool” to ensuring the humanitarian supplies were delivered and hostilities ended.

“If we are moving closer to practical goals of [a] truce then, without cooperation between the military, nothing will work out,” he told the Munich conference.

[41chevy]

Now you do know why "we" can't work with Russia. The same reason "we" can't work with the Republicans. "we" are not capable of taking advise, make comprises or watching others make decisions. Because "we" are the smartest person in the room.

[kscarbel2]

MSNBC  /  July 14, 2016

Syria's President Bashar al-Assad has accused the United States of not being serious about defeating ISIS.

Assad said: 'The Russian support of the Syrian army has tipped the scales against the terrorists. It was the crucial factor.'

“The reality is telling that, since the beginning of the American airstrikes, the terrorism has been expanding and prevailing. It only shrinked when the Russians intervened,” Assad said.

He said the Americans lacked the 'will' to defeat ISIS and added: “We wanted to defeat those terrorists, while the United States wanted to manage those groups in order to topple the government in Syria.”

.

 

[kscarbel2]

Associated Press  /  July 15, 2016

Turkish military launch coup to depose President Recep Erdogan and end his Islamist government

The Turkish military says it has taken control and overthrown the government of Recep Erdogan.

Turkey's armed forces said on Friday they had taken power in the country to protect the democratic order and to maintain human rights.

Soldiers seized strategic locations across Istanbul and Ankara. 

Erdogan urged his supporters to ignore a military curfew and take to the streets to oppose the attempted takeover, putting there lives at risk, while he has safely fled the country in a private jet.  

Loud explosions have been heard across Ankara with reports of an explosion occurred at the state-run television building.

Turkey's state-run news agency reported military helicopters have also attacked the headquarters of TURKSAT satellite station on the outskirts of Ankara and the Ankara Police headquarters.

Dozens of tanks were seen moving toward a palace that is now used by the prime minister and deputy prime ministers. 

All flights from Istanbul's AtaturkAirport have been canceled.

US Secretary of State John Kerry said he hoped the crisis in Turkey would soon be resolved while preserving peace, stability and a respect for 'continuity'.

.

 

 

[kscarbel2]

Power to Turkey's Incirlik Air Base in Adana has been cut, the U.S. consulate in Turkey said Saturday.

Local authorities are preventing movement onto and off the base, according to the consulate, which warned U.S. citizens to avoid the air base until normal operations are restored.

The U.S. Air Force’s 39^th Air Base Wing (http://www.incirlik.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets) is based at Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base. The base is used by the United States to launch airstrikes against ISIS.

[kscarbel2]

It now seems that Turkey's Erdogan is playing poker. He appears to be holding the U.S. Air Force’s 39^th Air Base Wing hostage at Incirlik Air Base. That includes over 1,500 American servicemen and our A-10s, F-16s and KC-135 aerial refuelers. Erdogan has shut down the air space, blocked off access and cut the power.

To be clear, Turkish authorities are NOT allowing U.S. aircraft to depart Incirlik Air Base, and the facility has been surrounded my forces loyal to Erdogan.

The U.S. side is "seeking an explanation"  (When being held hostage, the "big stick" Teddy Roosevelt approach sends a strong message).

It seems Erdogan is holding our people hostage, in exchange for his arch enemy Fethullah Gulen, sho's been living in Pennsylvania for 16 years.

Did I mention that it's estimated that the U.S. currently has from fifty to ninety B61 nuclear bombs stored at Incirlik ?

No doubt Erdogan is upset that the US signaled it wouldn't mind a regime change (though the coup appears to have been executed more poorly than the Bay of Pigs invasion).

The US has come to fully realize that Islamist Erdogan is no longer part of the solution to the problem, rather, he has become part of the ISIS problem (driven my Erdogan's biggest supporter, Saudi Arabia). Putin has known all along that Erdogan was part of the problem, playing both sides of the fence.

Note that the U.S. ordered the families of U.S. diplomats and servicemen out of Turkey at the end of March, even though there was no known threat.

The Air Force issued the hollow statement, “All indications at this time are that everyone is safe and secure.” 

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Why did coup happen? - Jeremy Bowen, BBC News Middle East Editor

The attempted coup happened because Turkey is deeply divided over President Erdogan's project to transform the country and because of the contagion of violence from the war in Syria.

President Erdogan and his AK Party have become experts at winning elections, but there have always been doubts about his long-term commitment to democracy. He is a political Islamist who has rejected modern Turkey's secular heritage (i.e. not subject to or bound by religious rule). Mr Erdogan has become increasingly authoritarian and is trying to turn himself into a strong executive president.

From the beginning Mr Erdogan's government has been deeply involved in the war in Syria, backing Islamist opposition to President Assad. But violence has spread across the border, helping to reignite the fight with the Kurdish PKK, and making Turkey a target for the jihadists who call themselves Islamic State.

That has caused a lot of disquiet. Turkey has faced increasing turmoil and the attempt to overthrow President Erdogan will not be the last of it.

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Turkey's Labour Minister Suleyman Soylu on Saturday said the US had been behind the coup - an allegation that received a strong rebuke from Kerry who described it as "utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations".

"The US is behind the coup attempt. A few journals that are published there [in the US] have been conducting activites for several months. For many months we have sent requests to the US concerning Fethullah Gulen. The US must extradite him," said Soylu.

Erdoğan wants to formally centralise power around him as president, rather than the parliament – continuing an autocratic trend that he has led in recent years.

Commenting on the situation in the Guardian, Turkish analyst Andrew Finkel said that “many would argue that Turkey was already in the throes of a slow motion coup d’état, not by the military but by Erdoğan himself. For the last three years, he has been moving, and methodically, to take over the nodes of power.”

Turkey's Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag says that over 6,000 people have already been arrested in connection with the failed coup, including 2,700 judges.

A senior security official told Reuters that 8,000 police officers, including in the capital Ankara and the biggest city Istanbul, had also been removed from their posts on suspicion of links to Friday's coup bid.

Thirty regional governors and more than 50 high-ranking civil servants have also been dismissed, CNN Turk said.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said 7,543 people had so far been detained, including 6,038 soldiers. Work was under way to purge the civil service.

"We had to condemn the coup in Turkey, this is the least we could do,” said French Foreign Minister Jean-Marc Ayrault. “[But] we want the rule of law to function fully, this is no carte blanche for Erdogan.”

The swift rounding up of judges and others after a failed coup in Turkey indicated the government had prepared a list beforehand, the EU commissioner dealing with Turkey’s membership bid, Johannes Hahn, said on Monday.

“It looks at least as if something has been prepared. The lists are available, which indicates it was prepared and to be used at a certain stage,” Hahn said. “I’m very concerned. It is exactly what we feared.”

[Vladislav]

Ho-ho... Let's see how the cards will lay in that game.

And from where I'm sitting it looks like no one is winning. So far.

[kscarbel2]

RT  /  July 17, 2016

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s plane was in the crosshairs of coup plotters’ fighter jets while en route to Istanbul, Reuters reports.

The incident happened as Erdogan was heading back from a holiday resort during the recent attempted military coup.

"At least two F-16s harassed Erdogan's plane (Gulfstream IV) while it was in the air and en route to Istanbul. They locked their radars on his plane and on two other F-16s protecting him.”

Why they didn’t fire has not been revealed.

Coup plotters had bombed places in the coastal town of Marmaris, where Erdogan had been staying, shortly after he left.

CNN Turk reported that some 25 soldiers descended from a helicopter in an attempt to capture the Turkish president at a Marmaris hotel. “[Erdogan] evaded death by minutes,” a senior Turkish official said.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim was also directly targeted in Istanbul during the coup attempt but managed to escape.

[kscarbel2]

The Washington Post  /  July 17, 2016

Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday that the failed coup in Turkey has created only minor delays in the military campaign against ISIS in Syria and that it will not diminish Turkey’s role in the fight.

Kerry, who talked by phone three separate times Saturday with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, said he was assured that the continuing turmoil will not interrupt counterterrorism efforts based in Turkey. Missions against ISIS are flown out of Incirlik Air Base, although air space was closed Saturday after the coup attempt.

Kerry said he expected operations would return to normal “very quickly.”

“According to our commanders, there may have been a minor delay here or there or something [???], but it has not affected the fundamental direction or commitment to the fight,” Kerry said.

Kerry said Turkish officials have assured the United States that they will continue to take part in the campaign against militants in bordering Syria.

“They are fully committed to the fight,” Kerry said of the Turks. “But apparently, there was some refueling of some of the aircraft that were flying during the coup that came out of Incirlik, and I think they’re trying to chase that to ground and find out if there were conspiratorialists who were somehow involved in those flights. But they’ve assured us, and to date we don’t see a negative drag on the effort with respect to counter-ISIS.”

Kerry expressed concern that the Turkish government, in tracking down coup plotters, would overreach and become more authoritarian.

“Obviously, there are coup plotters, and the coup plotters need to be held accountable and they will be,” said Kerry. “But I think we’re all concerned, and we have expressed that concern, that this not fuel a reach well beyond those who engaged in the coup but that they strengthen the democracy of the country, strengthen the process and use it as a moment to unite the nation.”

Kerry dismissed allegations that the United States played a role in the attempted coup as “utterly false and harmful to our bilateral relations.”

“It’s absurd some of the allegations that are out there, we’ve seen in some of the Turkish media and other media as well,” said U.S. Department of State spokesman Mark Toner. “It’s absurd to think that the United States was complicit or in any way connected to the events of Friday.”

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U.S. Bans Commercial and Private Flights To and From Turkey

The Wall Street Journal  /  July 16, 2016

American aviation regulators have issued a notice barring all U.S. commercial and private aircraft from flying to Turkey or flying from that country into the U.S.

The unusually broad prohibition, announced by the Federal Aviation Administration on Saturday, reflects Washington’s serious concerns about airport security in that country following this weekend’s failed coup attempt.

The FAA didn’t indicate when the ban would be lifted.

The agency also barred all Turkish carriers, along with commercial flights from Turkey operated by aircraft of other countries, from flying to the U.S.

The move, in effect, severs all aviation links between the U.S. and Turkey.

According to the FAA’s notice, the agency banned all “U.S. commercial and private aircraft from operating into or out of any airport in Turkey.” It also prohibited “any aircraft of any registry from departing Turkey for the U.S.”

The FAA said it is “monitoring the situation in Turkey in coordination with” the State Department and The Department of Homeland Security, and “will update the restrictions as the situation evolves.”

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Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yildirim has effectively declared war on the United States, saying:

"I don’t believe any country would stand by this man (U.S.-based cleric Fethullah Gulen). Any country that would do that is not a friend to Turkey. Any country that would stand by him is at war with Turkey.”

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

The Financial Times  /  July 17, 2016

The Obama administration lashed out at accusations made by senior Turkish officials that Washington was behind Friday’s attempted military coup against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, calling such charges “irresponsible”.

The Turkish claims, made by ministers close to Erdogan, centre on the exiled cleric Fetullah Gulen, a one-time ally of the president whom Ankara now insists orchestrated the coup from his compound in rural Pennsylvania.

Turkey’s prime minister has demanded that Gulen, a legal permanent US resident, be extradited. Suleyman Soylu, labour minister, said that the Obama administration was behind the coup.

“The US is not harbouring anybody; we’re not preventing anything from happening,” US Secretary of State John Kerry said Sunday. “We have always said: give us the evidence, show us the evidence. We need a solid legal foundation that meets the standard of extradition in order for our courts to approve such a request.”

The dispute over Gulen threatens to upend an already tense relationship that Washington has relied on in its ongoing offensive against ISIS militants in neighbouring Syria and Iraq.

Air strikes by US warplanes have been flown from Incirlik air base in southern Turkey, but on Saturday the Turkish government temporarily cut off access to the base, raising questions over whether Ankara was using the facility as a bargaining chip.

A Turkish official described the move as cautionary, because the brigadier general in charge of the base appeared to have been involved in the attempted coup. By Sunday morning the Pentagon was saying that “air operations in Turkey have resumed”.

Although Ankara has yet to submit a formal extradition request for Gulen, Kerry said he expected to be in touch with Turkey’s justice minister “shortly” and Turkish authorities had promised him “they are assembling the evidence, putting it together in a dossier.”

In a rare interview at his central Pennsylvania home, a frail Gulen denied any involvement in the plot. He suggested that Erdogan’s allies may have staged the coup in order to crack down on Gulenists in the government.

“I don’t believe that the world takes the accusations made by President Erdogan [against me] seriously,” Gulen said. “There is a possibility that it could be a staged coup [by Erdogan’s AK party] and it could be meant for further accusations.”

Although Erdogan has made many calls for his former ally to return to face justice, compiling a case that would persuade a US court could prove challenging. This may explain Ankara’s slowness in submitting a formal extradition request.

Long before Friday’s attempted coup, the battle between Erdogan and Gulen was marked by the dismissal or reassignment of thousands of judges, prosecutors and police officers.

While Turkish officials say such moves were necessary to rid the bureaucracy of Gulenists plotting against the state, the crackdown has been depicted internationally as subverting the rule of law — a potential complicating factor in any court case outside Turkey itself.

Turkey would also have to demonstrate that it has a “smoking gun”, definitively linking Gulen personally to criminal plots.

Extradition requests are normally submitted by foreign embassies in Washington to the state department where they are reviewed and then transmitted to the justice department. After legal scrutiny, the issue is farmed out to the appropriate US attorney’s office, which obtains a warrant to apprehend the individual. 

Kerry said that the US believed that Erdogan had successfully reasserted control after Friday’s brief coup. US officials are urging the hardline president to “strengthen democracy” rather than unleash a wave of reprisals against political opponents not directly linked to the uprising.

 

[kscarbel2]

Turkish police have urgently ramped up their presence in Istanbul, with special forces and military hardware deployed to the streets and orders to down aircraft without warning, following reports of rebel helicopters approaching the city.

Turk F-16 fighter jets have been sent to patrol Turkish airspace.

A state of emergency has been imposed in Istanbul and 1,800 additional special police forces have been deployed.

In Istanbul's Kurdish district, police are indiscriminately firing tear gas at anyone who enters the street.

Armored vehicles have been deployed to key locations in Istanbul (aka. Constantinople, the capital of the Roman/Byzantine Empire).

Three unidentified helicopters were spotted over the city at 22:30 local time, two days after rebel aircraft were used in a military coup attempt to attack police and government buildings in Ankara.

Five helicopters were reported to have approached Istanbul from the sea.

Istanbul Police Chief Mustafa Caliskan had ordered the shooting down of any helicopters flying overhead without warning.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has fled Istanbul on his personal aircraft (Gulfstream IV) and headed to Ankara.

Since the coup, over 42 Turkish military helicopters have gone missing, suggesting the possibility of another attempt to seize power.

The situation contradicts the Turkish government’s statements that it has squashed the coup attempt.

The mass arrests have prompted a worried response from European leaders, who called on Ankara to uphold democracy and the rule of law.

Erdogan said the coup attempt was a “gift from God,” enabling the government to “cleanse the army” once and for all.

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The United States rejected an asylum application by General Bekir Ercan Van, former commander of Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base, who is accused by Ankara of involvement in the attempted coup. General Van was later arrested by the Turkish authorities.

Though Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook says the US coalition had resumed its anti-IS air operations in Turkey, power to the American military at the base remains cut off.

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Built by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers following World War II, Incirlik Air Base became a critical American base in the Cold War era, particularly after Turkey joined NATO in 1952. 

Its chief attribute was logistical, being a one hour flight from the Soviet border. Incirlik housed bombers, U-2 spy planes, tankers, fighters and nuclear weapons. Nuclear firepower was central to NATO’s strategy, to counter the threat of similar Soviet weapons.

Located in southeast Turkey, the Incirlik Air Base includes NATO’s largest nuclear weapons storage facility.

In modern times, Incirlik has been intended to serve as a nuclear deterrence.

At least fifty B-61 hydrogen bombs, more than a quarter of all the nuclear weapons in the NATO stockpile, are stored at Incirlik.

The adjustable yield of the B-61 bombs held at Incirlik can range 0.3 to 170 kilotons.

The U.S. also has nuclear weapons in Germany, Italy and the Netherlands.

When NATO members Turkey and Greece faced off over Cyprus in 1974, the US withdrew its nuclear weapons from Greece, and rendered its nukes in Turkey inoperable.

[kscarbel2]

Erdogan Taking Turkey Down Extreme Islamist Path – US Tactician

Reuters  /  July 20, 2016

The wide-ranging purge launched by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan after last week’s failed military coup is part of his masterplan to turn Turkey into a radical Islamist state, says retired US Army Colonel and historian Douglas Macgregor.

Since the failed coup, Erodgan has ordered the arrest of at least 70 generals and admirals, fired 21,000 school teachers across Turkey from their jobs and said he wants Parliament to discuss reintroducing the death penalty, which was abolished in 2004.

 “Turkey is now moving down the Islamist Path,” Macgregor, a leading US military tactician and combat hero of the 1991 Gulf War, said on Tuesday.

Macgregor interpreted these events as signs that Erdogan was showing his true colors as a radical Islamist after 13 years of slowly but steadily increasing his personal power.

“Once elected, Islamists do not surrender power: That is the lesson everyone in the West must finally accept. The coup was the last opportunity to arrest this tragic development.”

Erdogan would still try and present himself to the United States and the European Union (EU) as a moderate democrat, but the reality of his political actions would tell a very different story, Macgregor warns.

 “In the short-run, Erdogan will attempt to the extent he can to cultivate a ‘moderate’ image but his violent suppression of internal dissent and political opposition will make it very difficult for all but the most gullible to believe in his alleged democratic credentials.”

Macgregor argued that Erdogan had played a far larger role in helping to create and sustain the Daesh (ISIS), than Western governments and media had realized. He predicted that even though Daesh was being destroyed, Erdogan would seek to replace it with a similar movement.

“Daesh, in large part a creation of Erdogan, Qatar and the Saudis, is now a dying Frankenstein’s monster. As it diminishes, another will arise that is likely more closely aligned with and obedient to Erdogan’s wishes.”

However, as these developments unfolded, Erdogan would no longer be able to present himself to the West as a democrat and moderate, Macgregor predicts.

“In the long-run, the proverbial hand writing is on the wall. Ultimately, Erdogan will be unable to conceal his true identity as Sunni Islam’s leader Jihadist Champion against the West, Russia, Iran and Israel.”

[kscarbel2]

Americans really should start scrutinizing our involvement in the Middle East.

These people laugh at the west's political correctness, and fear of acting in any way that could be remotely viewed as racist.

Since 9/11, we've vividly known the madness of the Middle East is no longer contained within the borders of that region.

Using Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt as a mentor, America should be walking with a big stick. We needn't be arrogant, but we must be rock solid in firmness.

While we welcome genuine friendship, "our enemies must fear us".

 

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

United States and Turkish-backed Syrian rebels behead child

A United States-backed (CIA) Syrian militant group has been filmed beheading a child.

On the 19th July 2016, during the northern Aleppo offensive, Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki fighters recorded themselves beheading a Palestinian child named Abdallah Issa who was aged between 10-13.

The al-Zenki claimed he had been fighting for the Syrian government in Aleppo with Liwa al-Quds.

Liwa al-Quds refuted this and claimed the child was a Palestinian refugee who was kidnapped.

The murder took place north of Aleppo in Handarat, in an unofficial Palestinian refugee camp named Ein El Tal. Prior to being displaced by rebel groups in 2013, the camp housed 7,000 Palestinians.

The video captures Nour al-Din al-Zenki fighters in the back of a pickup truck with a child they claim is an al-Quds soldier supporting Assad's Syrian forces.

One of the fighters shouts “Allahu Akbar” (God is Great) after taking a small knife to the boy's throat and cutting his head off at the Handarat Palestinian Refugee Camp in Northern Aleppo. 

Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki has received both fiancial aid and weapons, including U.S.-made BGM-71 TOW anti-tank missiles, from the United States. As of 2014, it is reportedly one of the most important rebel factions in Aleppo.

According to the Amnesty International, Harakat Nour al-Din al-Zenki, along with the 16th Division, the Levant Front, Ahrar al-Sham, and the al-Nusra Front, has been involved in abduction and torture of journalists and humanitarian workers in rebel-held Aleppo during 2014 and 2015.

.

 

[kscarbel2]

BBC  /  July 20, 2016

A Palestinian boy who was filmed being beheaded by Syrian rebels on Tuesday was not a fighter, a pro-government Palestinian militia has said.

The Liwa al-Quds (Jerusalem Brigade) said Abdullah Issa was just a 12-year-old from a poor refugee family who lived in a rebel-held area of Aleppo.

Members of the Nour al-Din al-Zinki Movement are accused of killing him.

It said those responsible were handed over to a judicial committee, and denounced the killing as a "violation".

The US, which has provided military support to the Nour al-Din al-Zinki Movement in the past, said it was seeking more information on what it described as "an appalling report".

"If we can prove that this was indeed what happened and this group was involved... it would give us pause about any assistance or, frankly, any further involvement with this group," state department spokesman Mark Toner told reporters.

[ Just empty rhetoric from the camp that’s claims to lead the fight against evil and set an example for the world to follow ]

Two short videos emerged online on Tuesday morning showing a boy being taunted and then beheaded by a group of Syrian rebels.

The first shows the frightened child, who could be as young as 10, sitting in the back of a pick-up truck, surrounded by five men.

One of the men grips him by the hair as they accuse him of being a member of Liwa al-Quds, a Palestinian militia that fights in support of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and was involved in clashes with rebels on Tuesday in Handarat, to the north of Aleppo.

The second video shows the boy's murder.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the boy was seized by rebels in Handarat, but that the killing took place in Mashhad. The UK-based monitoring group could not confirm if the boy was a Palestinian or a child soldier.

Liwa al-Quds issued a statement on Facebook saying that its investigation had found he was a 12-year-old Palestinian named Abdullah Issa, who lived in Mashhad with his family.

It also said he had apparently been receiving medical treatment before being seized, noting that one photograph showed an intravenous drip in his arm.

Liwa al-Quds accused the rebels of killing the child simply because he was Palestinian, in order to take "cheap and despicable revenge" for battlefield losses.

Earlier this month, Amnesty International published a report detailing a series of violations allegedly committed by Nour al-Din al-Zinki Movement fighters in Aleppo, including abductions and torture.

[kscarbel2]

Nobody has word one to say about that child being beheaded ?

[david wild]

Kill Isis.com my vacation for people who like to kill things, Ammo, full auto weapons, kill as many as you can, trophy for highest head count. book your vacation now spots are filling fast. 

[Underdog]

Nobody has word one to say about that child being beheaded ?

The politicians have nothing to say, so the rest of us are numb to the atrocities. It happens every day, but we know nothing will be done about it. The evil has reached our shores yet no change of tack in Washington.