Regional geopolitics

[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

SYRIAN ARMY LIBERATES TWO CHRISTIAN VILLAGES, WINS BACK 200 SQ KM IN LATTAKIA

23 Nov 2015
Siranush Ghazanchyan

AP Photo/ Alexander Kots

The Syrian Army has managed to regain control of the Christian villages
of Mheen and Hawwarin, located in southeastern Homs province, a source
in the Syrian military told RIA Novosti.

"The army has regained control over the Christian villages of Mheen
and Hawwarin in the southeastern part of Homs province. Scores of
terrorists were killed," source said.

The village of Mheen was seized by Islamic State militants on November
1. The attack on the settlement, populated mostly by Christians,
was supported by Islamic radicals from the region. Christians from
the neighboring village of Sadad fled, fearing for their lives.

At the moment, the ISIL militants still maintain their hold over the
settlement of Al Quaryatayn.

Syrian Army and the country's National Defense Forces (NDF), backed
up by the Russian warplanes, pushed back the militant groups from
nearly 200 kilometers of land in the coastal province of Lattakia,
military sources said Monday, Fars News reports.

The sources said that after a ten-day-long period of joint operation,
carried out by the pro-government forces and the significant role of
the Russian bombardments, the militants retreated their forces from
almost 200 kilometers of Lattakia' territories.

The 10-day-long operation inflicted heavy casualties on the militant
groups, whose military grid also sustained large damage.

On Sunday, the Syrian army and popular forces purged the terrorists
and advanced to areas near the Turkish borders.

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151123/1030577852/syrian-army-isil-liberation.html

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940902000716

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/11/23/syrian-army-liberates-two-christian-villages-wins-back-200-sq-km-in-lattakia/

[londontsi]

Re: Regional geopolitics

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https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/669078752073248768

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[londontsi]

Re: Regional geopolitics

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Russian Su-24 fighter jet shot over Syria - Russian MoD (VIDEO)

https://www.rt.com/news/323215-warplane-crash-syria-turkey/

A Russian Su-24 fighter has been shot down in Syria, Russian Defense Ministry said, adding the plane hadn’t violated Turkish airspace and was at an altitude of 6,000 meters.

The pilots managed to eject from the downed jet, the ministry said, adding their fate is as yet unknown.

A Turkish military official told Reuters the jet was warned before being targeted, adding the plane was shot down by Turkish F-16 fighter jets.
He said the plane had violated Turkish airspace.......

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[Vrej1915]

Re: Regional geopolitics

One of the pilots is claimed as captured by the pro turkish militias, inside Syria.

Turkey seems to have showed its will after threats last WE.

Now, after shooting the russian jet, it claims being agressed and calls in NATO emergency meeting .

[Hakob]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Do we realize that we are stepping closer to war with turkey? The helicopter incident showed that in case of Russia /turkey conflict we will be right smack in the center

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Do we realize that we are stepping closer to war with turkey? The helicopter incident showed that in case of Russia /turkey conflict we will be right smack in the center

If war does happen it could bring us threats and opportunities. The key question will be what NATO members will do. Turkey is trying hard to provoke a NATO vs Russia war but many of the NATO members in Europe are tired of USA and Turkey. If NATO leaves the baboons out to dry we will have our opportunity to reclaim some of our lost lands. Location has always been our worst enemy with dueling empires fighting one another on our lands.

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

I wonder if Europe will ever pull its head out of its own arse?

ANOTHER SHAMEFUL AND ONE-SIDED PACE DOCUMENT, THIS TIME ON KARABAKH'S SARSANG RESERVOIR

23:07, 23.11.2015
Region:World News, Armenia, Karabakh
Theme: Politics, Economics

YEREVAN. - The Committee on Social Affairs of the Parliamentary
Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) has registered subsequent
shameful reality: a report on [Karabakh-located] Sarsang reservoir was
prepared and adopted without visiting the place which is the subject
of discussion. Naira Karapetyan, member of the Armenian Delegation
to PACE and the ruling Republican Party of Armenia (RPA) MP told the
aforementioned to Armenian News -NEWS.am correspondent (photos).

According to her, this is already becoming a dangerous precedent. "The
Committee turned down all our proposals on canceling the discussion of
the report, as well as on the rapporteur's visit to Sarsang reservoir.

The Committee even declined the arguments of the technical expert
invited by PACE itself, according to whom the examination wasn't
complete and it would be better to present the technical conclusion on
Sarsang reservoir by visiting it without basing the report on internet
information (Google map), as the expert noted," Naira Karapetyan said.

In 48 hours, the Armenian side will present a special opinion, which
will substantiate why the report is imbalanced and one-sided, she said.

"The European MPs asked the technical expert questions on whether
only the Azerbaijani residents are deprived of water or the Armenian
side doesn't use it either, [They also said that] if the issue is
presented as a social and humanitarian one, it can't [actually] be
solved by nationalities. Of course, [in response] the expert stressed
that it impacts the entire region," Naira Karapetyan said.

According to the MP, 9 members of the Committee voted for canceling the
discussion of the report, 16 people voted against it and 1 abstained.

The report of PACE's Bosnian MP Milica MarkoviÄ~G on Karabakh-located
Sarsang Reservoir was discussed in the subsequent session of PACE's
Committee on Social Affairs today.

The title of the aforementioned report - "The border regions of
Azerbaijan are intentionally deprived of water"- is rather subjective.

http://news.am/eng/news/297942.html

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

French Tragedy: US, NATO a No Go in Anti-Jihadists Effort (II)

Andrei AKULOV | 24.11.2015 | 08:00




See Part I

Paris tragedy: US not coming to help France at the moment of need

The emotional statements from France appeared to do little to fundamentally change Mr. Obama’s view on expanding the American role in Iraq and Syria.

The possibilities, they said, include more airstrikes, Special Operations raids, assistance to local allies and attacks against Islamic State (IS) targets outside Syria and Iraq, like the recent strike in Libya.

«We don’t believe U.S. troops are the answer to the problem», Benjamin J. Rhodes, the president’s deputy national security adviser, told reporters on November 15 at the G20 meeting in Turkey, where Mr. Obama consulted with other world leaders. «The further introduction of U.S. troops to fully re-engage in ground combat in the Middle East is not the way to deal with this challenge».

«We are going to continue to pursue the strategy that has the best chance of working, even though it does not offer the satisfaction, I guess, of a neat headline or an immediate resolution», Mr. Obama said during a press conference at a summit of leading rich and developing nations in Antalya, Turkey.

According to the Wall Street Journal’s comment, Americans were disappointed in 2003 when French President Jacques Chirac opposed the US invasion of Iraq. What a sad turnabout it would be if a US President now fails to do all he can to assist a French President as he tries to defeat another enemy in the Middle East. Until America gets a new Commander in Chief, Mr. Hollande is the best anti-terror leader the West has.

France would opt to go with a coalition of the willing to respond to the attacks rather than working through NATO, the article says.

France goes to EU for help: unprecedented move

France invoked a never-before-used European Union «mutual-defense clause» to demand that its partners provide support for its operations against the Islamic State and other security missions in the wake of the Paris attacks.

On November 17, all 27 EU members agreed to offer military assistance to France in its effort to respond with force to November 13-14 terrorist attacks. The unanimous decision by European defense ministers invokes a never-before-used EU treaty provision. Article 42.7 the 'mutual defence clause' invoked by France stipulates that «if a Member State is the victim of armed aggression on its territory, the other Member States shall have towards it an obligation of aid and assistance by all the means in their power, in accordance with Article 51 of the United Nations Charter. This shall not prejudice the specific character of the security and defence policy of certain Member States»,

French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said France had asked to invoke the obscure EU provision instead of NATO’s Article 5 because some of the less hawkish members of Hollande’s cabinet did not want to put pressure on the US, and also did not want to further destabilize the Middle East with a NATO intervention.

The French minister said the EU's support was a «political act of great significance».

EU countries could then contribute by providing support or staff to French operations in Sahel, Central African Republic - thereby allowing Paris to free up capacity to use internally, an EU official explained.

France invoked the EU treaty’s Article 42.7 because it can be implemented quickly. Putting it into action does not require any formal decision or Council conclusions.

It is not immediately clear exactly what form this support would take.

It is remarkable that France turned to the EU treaties instead of the North Atlantic pact and its Article 5. The priority given to the EU's backing instead of NATO echoes France's longstanding support for an autonomous European defence policy without interference from Washington. It could also become a crucial test of how the EU and NATO coordinate in case of a threat on European soil.

Asked on Twitter why France invoked the European Union treaty and not the NATO charter, Gérard Araud, the French ambassador to Washington, wrote that one reason was «the dialogue with Russia». The implication was that Russia is hostile toward NATO and therefore invoking the alliance’s aid might be provocative toward Moscow.

France and Russia get close in a pinch

French President Francois Hollande and Russian leader Vladimir Putin agreed to coordinate anti-IS efforts in the region. The two will meet this week in Moscow. The both countries have agreed to create a joint work group as the French aircraft carrier joins the fray. This could be the key reason why Paris refrained from invoking Article 5 of the Washington Treaty.

«One reason is that in vowing a strong and continued response to the attacks, France has drifted closer to Russia and to Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose air force is already engaged in Syria», the Fiscal Times noted.

On November 17 the Russian President made a very important statement.

«A French Navy group headed by an aircraft carrier will soon approach your area of operations,» Putin said, according to the Kremlin statement. «We must establish direct contact with the French and work with them as allies».

In a military briefing for Mr. Putin and Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, which was televised live nationwide, it was announced that Russia had deployed cruise missiles, long-range bombers and other warplanes.

«A massive airstrike is targeting ISIL sites in Syrian territory», Mr. Shoigu said, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State. «The number of sorties has been doubled, which makes it possible to deliver powerful pinpoint strikes upon ISIL fighters all throughout the Syrian territory».

The Russia’s military doubled its attacks in Syria on November 17, carrying out 34 cruise missile strikes and deploying long-range Tu-160, Tu-95 and Tu-22 bombers from Russian bases to hit Islamic State’s heartland in the Syrian province of Raqqa and other targets. In a speech made before the UN at the end of September, Putin made a similar proposal for a «true international collation against terrorism».

* * *

The atrocity committed by terrorists in Paris on November 13-14 changed the mindset of Mr. Hollande, as many others in France. Some time before the tragedy he had slammed Russia for its Syria policy saying no conflict management is possible without Assad stepping down. The anti-Assad coalition did not prevent the terrorist acts. Now France has is own score to settle with the IS. The French President is ready to take on the role of the one to unify the US and Russia in the anti-IS effort. A lot depends on the outcome of the talks the President will hold in Washington. At G20 summit Obama said Russia was a «constructive partner». Unlike NATO members, Moscow was the only to side with France in the wake of the tragedy.

No wonder Paris is coordinating the activities with Moscow to renew an old friendship while the US President Obama is missing an opportunity to help an ally in its hour of need and fortify the larger Atlantic alliance.

* * *

The world is waiting with impatience. Something very important is going to happen as Hollande is to start his foreign tour.

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

Despite blatant provocation, Russia must continue toward the finish line. With cameras rolling, Turkey has claimed it has shot down a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 attack aircraft. The New York Times in its article, “Turkey Shoots Down Russian Warplane Near Syria Border,” reports that:


Turkish fighter jets on patrol near the Syrian border shot down a Russian warplane on Tuesday after it violated Turkey’s airspace, a long-feared escalation that could further strain relations between Russia and the West.

The escalation is “long feared” not because the Turkish government actually fears that Russian warplanes crossing their border pose a threat to it or its people, but because Russia has ended NATO’s proxy war, a proxy war spearheaded in part by Turkey itself, amid Russia’s joint military operations with Syria against the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” (ISIS) and supporting terrorist factions.

In addition to having a camera rolling as the plane went down in flames, terrorists operating in region had allegedly surrounded the dead pilot shortly after the incident according to Reuters.

While Turkey maintains that it was only reacting in self-defense (or perhaps in defense of terrorists it is sponsoring) – it was against a nation’s planes that it knew had no intention of attacking its territory – and what looks like instead was Turkey targeting planes operating along reoccurring routes and shooting one down once the pieces were in place to maximize the event politically.

Russia Continues Toward the Finish Line

In recent weeks with Russian air support, Syrian troops have retaken large swaths of territory from ISIS, Al Qaeda, and other terrorist fighters. The Syrian Arab Army (SAA) has even begun approaching the Euphrates River east of Aleppo, which would effectively cut off ISIS from its supply lines leading out of Turkish territory.

From there, Syrian troops would move north, into the very “safe zone” the US and its Turkish partners have long-sought but have so far failed to establish within Syria’s borders. This “safe zone” includes a region of northern Syrian stretching from Jarabulus near the west bank of the Euphrates to Afrin and Ad Dana approximately 90-100 kilometers west.

Once Syrian troops retake this territory, the prospect of the West ever making an incursion into Syria, holding territory, or compromising Syria’s territorial integrity would be lost forever. Western ambitions toward regime change in Damascus would be indefinitely suspended.

The endgame is at hand, and only the most desperate measures can hope to prevent Russia and Syria from finally securing Syria’s borders. Turkey’s provocation is just such a measure.

Russia’s time, place, and method of retaliating against Turkey is something only the Kremlin will know. But Russia’s actions upon the international stage have been so far thoroughly thought out, allowing Moscow to outmaneuver the West at every juncture and in the wake of every Western provocation.

For Turkey’s government – one that has been consistent only in its constant failure regarding its proxy war against its neighbor Syria, who has been caught planning false flag provocations to trigger wider and more direct war in Syria, and whose government is now exposed and widely known to be directly feeding, not fighting ISIS – the prospect of Russian retaliation against it, either directly or indirectly, and in whatever form will leave it increasingly isolated.

Until then, Russia’s best bet is to simply continue winning the war. Taking the Jarabulus-Afrin corridor and fortifying it against NATO incursions while cutting off ISIS and other terrorist factions deeper within Syria would be perhaps the worst of all possible retaliations. With Syria secured, an alternative arc of influence will exist within the Middle East, one that will inevitably work against Saudi and other Persian Gulf regimes’ efforts in Yemen, and in a wider sense, begin the irreversible eviction of Western hegemony from the region.

The West, already being pushed out of Asia by China, will suffer immeasurably as the world dismantles its unipolar international order, region by region.

As in the game of chess, a player often seeks to provoke their opponent into a series of moves. The more emotional their opponent becomes, the easier it is to control the game as it unfolds. Likewise in geopolitics and war, emotions can get one killed, or, be channeled by reason and superior strategic thinking into a plan that satisfies short-term requirements but serves long-term objectives. Russia has proven time and time again that it is capable of striking this balance and now, more than ever, it must prove so again.

Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer, especially for the online magazine“New Eastern Outlook”.
First appeared: http://journal-neo.org/2015/11/24/ru...os-act-of-war/

[Haykakan]

Re: Regional geopolitics

TURKEY GOOD EXAMPLE OF WEST'S DUPLICITY TOWARDS ISIS

John Wight has written for newspapers and websites across the world,
including the Independent, Morning Star, Huffington Post, Counterpunch,
London Progressive Journal, and Foreign Policy Journal.

He is also a regular commentator on RT and BBC Radio. He wrote a
memoir of the five years he spent in Hollywood, where he worked in
the movie industry prior to becoming a full time and activist and
organizer with the US antiwar movement post-9/11. The book is titled
Dreams That Die and is published by Zero Books. John is currently
working on a book exploring the role of the West in the Arab Spring.

You can follow him on Twitter @JohnWight1 Published time: 24 Nov,
2015 12:20Edited time: 24 Nov, 2015 12:45

http://on.rt.com/6xf8

A Su-34 multifunctional strike bomber of the Russian Aerospace
Force takes off from the Hemeimeem Air Base in the Syrian province
of Latakia. © Dmitriy Vinogradov / Sputnik 1302 In shooting down
a Russian jet operating over Syria, Turkey's nefarious role in the
Syrian conflict has intensified. It also presents a damning indictment
of the West's seriousness in confronting extremism and terrorism.

TrendsIslamic State, Russian anti-terror op in Syria

READ MORE: Russian Su-24 fighter jet shot down over Syria - Russian
MoD (VIDEO)

In the aftermath of the spate of ISIS atrocities - first the downing
of the Russian passenger plane, Metrojet Flight 7K9268 over the
Sinai at the end of October, killing all 224 on board, followed
by the killing of 43 civilians in Beirut in a suicide bomb attack,
and most recently the slaughter of 130 people in Paris in multiple
suicide bombings and shootings - we now know who is serious about
confronting this medieval death cult and who is not.

More, we are starting to uncover those who speak the language of
anti-terrorism while in practice working to facilitate and support it.

Turkey is a key culprit in this regard. A murky relationship has
long existed between Ankara, ISIS, al Nusra, and other jihadi groups
operating in Syria. Indeed, on the most basic level, without their
ability to pass back and forth across the Turkish border at will,
those groups could not have operated as easily and effectively as
they had until Russia intervened.

However, according to a report by David L Phillips of Columbia
University, Turkey's support for extremist groups operating in Syria,
including ISIS has been even more extensive than previously thought.

Drawing on a wide variety of sources, Phillips reveals that the Turkish
government, a member of NATO and a key Western ally, has been involved
in helping ISIS with recruitment, training, and has provided it with
intelligence and safe havens and sanctuary. Most recently it has been
exposed as a major customer for stolen Syrian oil, supplied by the
terrorist group.

Perhaps the most damning evidence contained in the report when it comes
to Turkey's role, is in relation to its actions and inaction when it
came to the siege of the Kurdish town of Kobani on the Syrian-Turkish
border in September and October of 2014.

As Phillips reveals: "Anwar Moslem, Mayor of Kobani, said
on September 19, 2014: 'Based on the intelligence we got two
days before the breakout of the current war, trains full of
forces and ammunition, which were passing by north of Kobani, had
an-hour-and-ten-to-twenty-minute-long stops in these villages: Salib
Qaran, Gire Sor, Moshrefat Ezzo. There is evidence, witnesses, and
videos about this. Why is ISIS strong only in Kobani's east? Why is
it not strong either in its south or west? Since these trains stopped
in villages located in the east of Kobani, we guess they had brought
ammunition and additional force for the ISIS.' In the second article
on September 30, 2014, a CHP delegation visited Kobani, where locals
claimed that everything from the clothes ISIS militants wear to their
guns comes from Turkey."

Militant Islamist fighters © Stringer / Reuters

The world will never forget how, during the siege of Kobani, as
its Kurdish defenders mounted a heroic defense of the town against
thousands of ISIS fighters, armed with tanks and artillery, Turkish
tanks and troops sat just over the border and did nothing to intervene.

Likewise, no one will forget that earlier this year Turkey carried out
airstrikes against those same Kurdish volunteers of the PKK/YPG within
Syria, while depicting them as terrorists. Turkey's oppression of its
Kurdish minority going back many years is of course a matter of record.

President Erdogan and his government has undeniably been a key in the
destabilization of Syria, doing its utmost to foment regime change. As
with the Saudis and other Gulf monarchies, before Russia's intervention
Turkey was hovering over Syria as a vulture hovers over a dying animal,
waiting for it to perish before descending to feed on its carcass.

The fact that Turkey remains a key Western ally exposes the moral high
ground from which Washington and its allies have lectured Russia over
its role in Syria as nothing more than a dung-heap of hypocrisy.

If the West was serious about confronting terrorism, was serious
about returning stability to a region it has helped to set on fire,
it would reconsider its close ties to both Turkey and the Saudis,
whose governments between them have been wading in the river of
blood they have helped shed these past four years. Turkey's claim
that the Russian military aircraft it shot down had encroached on
its airspace and ignored multiple warnings should be treated with
the credibility it deserves, especially when we recall that prior to
Russia's participation in the conflict, Turkey's violation of Syrian
airspace and the Syrian border was happening on a regular basis.

With Russia's presence in Syria has put paid to Erdogan's objective
of toppling the Syrian government, we begin to discern its efforts to
enlist the support of NATO in putting pressure on Russia to desist. It
also helps to explain why the West continues to refuse President
Putin's call for cooperation and unity in the effort to eradicate
ISIS and other extremist groups massacring and slaughtering their way
across the country, with the intention of turning it into a mass grave.

In the wake of the recent spate of ISIS atrocities unleashed against
Russian, Lebanese, and French civilians, the grounds for refusing
to enter such an alliance are as indefensible as Turkey's role in
the conflict and its most recent action in shooting down a Russian
aircraft.

As the man said: "Those who sow the wind shall reap the whirlwind."