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Re: Regional geopolitics
Love the bear analogy lol. Your still crazy though.
Love the bear analogy lol. Your still crazy though.
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Hayastan or Bust. -
Re: Regional geopolitics
Noose Tightens on Turkey's Sultan of Swing
Finian CUNNINGHAM | 29.11.2015 | 00:00
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ` a self-styled neo-Ottoman
sultan ` was only a few years a darling of Western governments and
media, proclaimed as a moderniser of Turkey, overseeing a bustling
economy and positioning his country as a strategic bridge to Asia.
But Erdogan's involvement in the US-led regime-change project in Syria
is now steadily revealing his family's appreciable criminal
enterprises: from smuggling oil and stolen artefacts, to gun-running
for terrorist networks. The former Sultan of Swing is swinging
alright, but it could be at the end of an incriminating rope whose
noose is becoming ever tighter around his neck.
Russia's air strikes in support of the Syrian government in its nearly
five-year war against foreign-backed mercenary brigades are blowing
the lid on the corruption at the heart of the Turkish ruling AK Party,
and the Erdogan family business in particular.
One factor in why Erdogan ordered the fatal shoot-down of a Russian
Su-24 fighter jet this week was out of revenge for how Russia is
destroying the Turkish ruler's criminal schemes. The destruction of
hundreds of oil tankers and other facilities commandeered by the
jihadist terror network in eastern Syria and western Iraq is hitting
Erdogan's lucrative racket.
The smuggling routes ` estimated to earn $1 million per day for the
terror brigades ` are integrated by Erdogan's son, Bilal, whose
licensed shipping companies traffic the illicit goods to global
markets. Russian intelligence has laid bare this smuggling empire, as
presented by President Vladimir Putin at the recent G20 summit held in
Turkey's Antalya. Further incriminating details are expected in coming
weeks.
This week, following the downing of the Russian warplane, Erdogan
boldly dismissed the oil connections as «slander».
But as Putin retorted, with a touch of sarcasm, it's hard to imagine
how the Ankara authorities could be unaware of an illicit industry
involving thousands of oil-laden trucks criss-crossing the heavily
militarised Turk border.
Among the contraband are believed to be precious artefacts stolen from
Syria's ancient dwellings, such as the cities of Palmyra and Iraq's
Nimrod, according to the Syrian information minister, Omran al-Zoubi.
These artefacts dating from 2,000 years ago are designated as world
heritage valuables by the United Nations. It says something about the
dubious values of Erdogan and his AK Party cronies when world heritage
objects are being looted to finance personal gain and terrorism.
The trade in oil stolen from Syrian and Iraqi state-owned facilities
by the jihadists is only one half of a giant cross-border loop tied up
by Turkey.
Convoys of trucks laden with weapons are going back into Syria from
Turkey on an almost daily basis. Those weapons, paid for by proceeds
from the oil smuggling, are then distributed among the plethora of
jihadist terror groups, including the Al Qaeda-linked Al Nusra and
so-called Islamic State (IS, also known as ISIS, ISIL or Daesh). The
arms trade is overseen by Turkey's National Intelligence Organisation
(MIT), headed up by Hakan Fidan, who is closely associated with
Erdogan and the AKP leadership.
Fidan was quoted by the state-run Anadolu news agency last month as
offering an apologia for the IS terror group. «ISIS is a reality and
we have to accept that we cannot eradicate a well-organised and
popular establishment such as the Islamic State», said Fidan, who
added: «Therefore I urge my Western colleagues to revise their mindset
about Islamic political currents¦ and thwart Vladimir Putin's plans to
crush Syrian Islamist revolutionaries [terrorists]». The statement
caused such a controversy that the Anadolu news agency later issued a
denial of its prior publication.
Despite a heavy media crackdown under Erdogan, sections of the Turkish
media have courageously carried damning reports on the oil-weapons
nexus that is fuelling the war in Syria. This week, the editor of the
Cumhuriyet newspaper, Can Dundar, was arrested on charges of «spying»
and crimes against the state because he published articles with
photographic evidence exposing the massive cross-border weapons
dealing, overseen by Turk I ntelligence. Erdogan has threatened the
editor with a life sentence for daring to reveal «state secrets».
Another Turk newspaper, Today's Zaman, also this week reported on an
unintended slip made by Adana state prosecutor, Ali Dogan, a protégé
of Erdogan. The prosecutor inadvertently revealed in a statement that
up to 2,000 trucks filled with arms and operated by Turk intelligence
have been ferrying firepower to militants in Syria.
It thus makes the claims made by the Syrian minister al-Zoubi that the
downing of the Russian Su-24 this week ` resulting in the death of its
pilot ` was an act of revenge by Erdogan owing to the severe damage
that Russia's military intervention in Syria is inflicting. That
damage includes not only huge financial losses to Erdogan and his
family entourage, but also to the entire war effort for regime change
against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
In an interview with Russian media, the Syrian minister said: «All of
the oil was delivered to a company that belongs to the son of Recep
[Tayyip] Erdogan. This is why Turkey became anxious when Russia began
delivering airstrikes against the IS [Islamic State] infrastructure
and destroyed more than 500 trucks with oil already. This really got
on Erdogan and his company's nerves. They're importing not only oil,
but wheat and historic artefacts as well», added al-Zoubi.
If Erdogan thought he could poke the Russian bear in the eye and get
away with it, he is sorely mistaken. Russia has stepped up its bombing
campaign along the Syria-Turkey border, hitting oil trucks heading
north and the reverse-flow of arms trucks heading south. In the Syrian
border town of Azaz, a Russian air strike this week reportedly
destroyed up to 20 vehicles believed to be stocked with weapons. Seven
people were killed in the air raid.
Ankara claims that the convoys crossing the border are carrying
«humanitarian aid» to Turkmen Syrians. Turk Prime Minister Ahmet
Davutoglu has complained that Russian air strikes have been targeting
Turkmen «brothers and sisters» ` inferring civilians.
But these are the same Turkmen militia who gained notoriety this week
by brutally murdering the Russian pilot who parachuted from the Su-24
downed by Turk F-16s jets.
The Turkmen militia, with names like the 10th Brigade of the Coast,
are fighting hand-in-hand alongside the other jihadist terror groups,
Al Nusra and IS, to topple the government in Damascus. The Turkmen,
who reside in northern Syria but who are ethnically related to Turkish
people, have played an instrumental role in waging Erdogan's covert
war of terror in Syria.
Last year, in April 2014, Turkmen militia carried out a massacre in
the northern coastal village of Kessab, in Latakia Province, where 88
Armenian Christians were slaughtered. Thirteen of the victims were
beheaded, according to survivors. That attack also involved brigades
from al Nusra, IS and the so-called Free Syrian Army, the alleged
«moderate secular rebels» much championed by the Western governments
and media. (A follow-up column will be published on that specific
massacre in the coming days.)
Significantly, a Turkmen commander recently protested bitterly to the
Erdogan regime over it not suppling his fighters with enough weapons.
Turkmen commander Ã-mer Abdullah of the Sultan Abdülhamit Brigade was
quoted as saying: «We are trying to survive under unbearable brutality
and we need Turkey's help.» He was referring to Russian air strikes,
adding: «Every day our Turkmen brothers are dying. We expect the
[Erdogan] government to support us. Why have they abandoned us? Our
martyrs fall every day. Why are we being left alone? I don't
understand».
As Turkey's Today's Zaman points out, the Turkmen's claim of not
receiving sufficient weapons raises the bigger question about the arms
trucks that Turk intelligence, MIT, has been running into Syria. Where
have the machine-guns, artillery and mortars contained in thousands of
cross-border convoys gone to? If the Turkmen brigades are being cut
out of the supply chain then that suggests that Ankara's weapons are
being funnelled instead to the other jihadist groups, such as Al Nusra
and IS.
Russia's military intervention in Syria is turning the tide decisively
against the criminal US-led war for regime change, by decimating the
ranks for terror brigades that Washington and its allies have deployed
for that objective.
For Turkey's self-styled strongman Erdogan, Russia's intervention is
also hammering home huge personal losses. His egotistical schemes of
resurrecting Turkey as a new Ottoman regional power are being
shattered. The international reputation of the country under his
leadership is sinking into a putrid sewer.
Moreover, his family's criminal involvement in the conflict is also
being exposed. And his responsibility for fuelling a criminal war of
aggression with the loss of over 250,000 lives looms ahead of Erdogan
like a noose. The Sultan of Swing indeed.
Hayastan or Bust.Comment
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Re: Regional geopolitics
27 / Նոյեմբեր / 2015
Ստեղծվել է նոր ֆանտոմային թշնամի՝ ահաբեկչությունը.«Հարևաններ»
Սառը պատերազմից հետո աշխարհը փոխվել է: Հին կանոնները, որոնցով շարժվում էր զարգացած արևմուտքը, այլևս չեն աշխատում: Ժամանական է նոր սկզբունքներ և ուժերի նոր վերադասավորություն ձևավորել: Ռազմավարական և ազգային հետազոտությունների հայկական կենտրոնի տնօրեն, քաղաքագետ Մանվել Սարգսյանի հետ զրուցել ենք փոփոխվող աշխարհի և Հայաստանի ապագա դերի մասին:Comment
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Re: Regional geopolitics
Ռուսական ռազմական ինքնաթիռն այս անգամ էլ խախտել է Իսրայելի օդային տարածքը
29 Նոյեմբերի 2015
Ռուսական ռազմական ինքնաթիռն այս անգամ էլ խախտել է Իսրայելի օդային տարածքը
Սիրիայում ռուսական ավիախումբը պատահաբար խախտել է Իսրայելի օդային տարածքը՝ Գոլանի բարձունքի տարածքում: Այդ մասին հայտնել է Իսրայելի պաշտպանության նախարարը, տեղեկացնում է «ՌԻԱ Նովոստի»-ն»:
Իսրայելցի նախարարը հայտնել է, որ օդաչուի հետ կապ է հաստատվել, և նա փոխել է թռիչքի ուղղությունը:
Ռուսական կողմը դեռ չի մեկնաբանել հայտարարությունըComment
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Re: Regional geopolitics
Migrant crisis: Turkey and EU seek deal to limit refugees' flow
BBC
Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu is meeting European Union leaders in Brussels as they attempt to reach a deal to limit the flow of migrants to Europe.
Turkey expects to receive money and political concessions in return for clamping down on its borders and keeping refugees in the country.
Mr Davutoglu hoped for a "historic day" in Turkey's relations with the EU.
Correspondents say there is still disagreement about how much each EU member state will give Turkey.
Almost 900,000 migrants have made the trip to Europe this year.
Many are fleeing conflict in Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan, and lived in makeshift camps in Turkey before their journey.
But it is understood that the EU is offering Turkey €3bn ($3.2bn; £0.7bn) over two years towards tightening border controls and improving conditions for those large numbers of migrants and refugees still within its borders.
However, it has still not been decided how much each EU member state will contribute or how the money will be spent.
Austrian Chancellor Werner Faymann said he was optimistic a deal could be reached.
"Turkey now wants €3bn a year to invest the money in schools and accommodation. We will meet somewhere in the middle," he said, quoted by Reuters.
Human rights concerns
Ankara is also hoping that negotiations on its long-standing application to join the EU will be given a fresh boost.
It wants visa restrictions to be lifted for Turkish citizens travelling to Europe.
Mr Davutoglu said this was a "new beginning" for Turkey.
"Today is a historic day in our accession process to the EU," he said.
"With EU leaders today we will be sharing the destiny of our continent, global challenges of the economic crisis as well as regional geopolitical challenges in front of us, including migration issues."
But BBC Turkey correspondent Mark Lowen says there is reluctance among some EU members to bow too deeply to Turkey when there are serious concerns about its government's respect for democracy and the rule of law.
The editor of the main centre-left newspaper here, arrested this week after an article that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan disliked, has published an open letter to EU leaders urging them not to prioritise the refugee crisis over respect for human rights in Turkey.
The killing of a leading human rights lawyer, Tahir Elci, in the south-eastern city of Diyarbakir on the eve of the meeting will also cause concern.
In reality though, our correspondent adds, the magnitude of the migration flow means Turkey holds the cards in these negotiations and is likely to use its leverage as much as it can.Comment
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Re: Regional geopolitics
A straight shootin article densely packed with factual truth.Originally posted by Haykakan View Post
I've been an American citizen since the day I was born. I was taught via school, news, and Hollywood (movies) that America was the most honest , the fairest country in the world, with the most integrity.
Then I grew up.
When this article points out that the activities of --- THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA --- is criminal , they have laid bare the truth. Such an incredible shame. And sham. And everyone can see who the USA supports , the turc.
Birds of a feather flock together .
88 Armenians were murdered (slaughtered) and 13 of them were beheaded by turc(oman) in APRIL.
The symbology is obvious. This obvious symbology was a purposeful message. Therefore premeditated.
The highest EU court can't tell the 2nd most studied genocide was a genocide and the USA is an honest broker.
Does anyone seriously want to do business with these entities for the ??? Benifit ??? Of Hayastan ?????
Think we'll get a fair shake?
Which do you pick ... A poor man that has kept his integrity, or a rich man that sold out his honor?
Everyone gets to pick.Comment
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Re: Regional geopolitics
My Dear, calm down.Originally posted by Artashes View Post
That small part of the article is misinformation.....
Not that the murderers are not capable.. they do even worse.
Nevertheless, when someone mixes truth with inaccurate data, he only decredibilises his own cause....
Bright example of unprofessionalism, or amateurism.
Nevertheless the general data is accurate.
So forget about that small bit.Comment
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Re: Regional geopolitics
So I guess it is the exact opposite of the stuff you post..you know..mostly bs and at times a bit of truth. I guess I can forget about the little bit of truth in your articles to then and I will just call bs regarding everything you post.Originally posted by Vrej1915 View PostHayastan or Bust.Comment
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Re: Regional geopolitics
Moskovskiy Komsomolets, Russia
Nov 26 2015
Two eminences: Why Putin and Erdogan changed in a year from being
friends to enemies.
Not that long since the presidents of Russia and Turkey spoke of the
'chemistry' in their relations
by Yelena Yegorova
From love to hate in a single step. The justice of this piece of
wordly wisdom is vividly demonstrated by the relations of Vladimir
Putin and Turkish President Recep Erdogan, who in less than a year
have changed from being best friends to sworn enemies. No improvement
in these relations is to be looked for on a day that Turkey downed our
Su-24 bomber.
It was even quite recently a favourite pursuit of Western, and, yes,
Russian, news media to compare Putin and Erdogan and call them, as
earlier the party and Lenin, twin brothers. Both had a difficult
childhood: the Russian president, we know, lived in a communal
apartment and, according to some recollections, chased rats in the
entranceway. Recep Erdogan sold lemonade and rolls to earn pocket
money. As adolescents, they both loved sports - VVP went in for
unarmed self-defence and judo, the Turkish leader, at the same age
played semi-professional soccer.
Now both are just over 60, their political careers have gone on for 16
(in the case of Putin) and 12 (Erdogan) years and have much in common.
Both Erdogan and Putin amended their countries' constitutions,
enabling them, manoeuvring between the posts of president and premier,
to remain in office practically indefinitely.
The Turkish and Russian leaders have similar electorates, brook no
dissidence, abuse anti-Western rhetoric, and believe in their own
exceptionalism. When mass protests against the policies they are
pursuing occurred in Moscow (2011-2012) and Istanbul (2013-2014),
Putin sand Erdogan acted identically, harshly suppressing the
opposition. Hundreds of persons were arrested following the events in
Bolotnaya Ploshchad, more than a dozen are still in prison or are
awaiting sentencing. The police in Istanbul employed tear gas and
water cannon against the protesters, criminal proceedings have been
instituted against 5,000 persons.
And both presidents even treat women identically. They love and
respect [International Women's Day] 8 March. The rest of the time they
try as if unintentionally to put them in their place. Erdogan publicly
called equality of the sexes "unnatural" and called on Turkish women
to concentrate on child-bearing and raising children. Vladimir Putin
gave the public an unpleasant shock when he said that before thinking
of his personal life, he first needs to "place" his former wife
Lyudmila Aleksandrovna in good hands.
We have to say that the politicians themselves also had a sense of
these invisible connections and spoke of the "chemistry" in relations
with each other. A special format - an interstate Russo-Turkish
commission, which Putin and Erdogan chaired, as premiers and
presidents - was even devised for the annual meetings.
The Kremlin characterized their relations as mutual affection and even
friendship, which is not exhausted by official talks and dinners.
"They communicate on 'thou' terms, sincerely and informally. Putin
much appreciates Erdogan's straightforwardness and integrity," people
who have observed the two presidents "without neckties," so to speak,
said.
It was no secret for the Kremlin that from the very start of the
conflict in Syria Turkey supported (and sponsored) the opposition and
dreamed of the fall of the Bashar al-Asad regime. But Putin was
unwilling to sacrifice either his personal relationship with Erdogan
or the multimillion-dollar economic cooperation and prospective energy
contracts.
While strongly criticizing the Arab regimes involved in the ouster of
the legitimate Syrian government, VVP has always glossed over Turkey's
role in silence. Erdogan in response occupied a very restrained
position on the question of the annexation of Crimea and did not
support the West's sanctions against Russia imposed after the crash of
the Malaysian Boeing in the skies over Donbass.
Back last December the Russian and Turkish leaders posed for
photographs with pleasure, announcing the launch of the new Turkish
Stream joint mega-project. And not one black cat could run between
them, it seemed.
But it did. And more than one.
It all began with Putin's visit to Yerevan for the anniversary of the
genocide of the Armenians. Erdogan in response remembered Crimea,
saying that Russia should first clarify things with the world
community as regards what is happening on the peninsula and in
Ukraine, and only then talk about genocide. "It is very distressing
for me personally that Putin took this step," the Turkish president
said.
The Kremlin at first interpreted this position as involuntary. Since
Turkey does not acknowledge the genocide of the Armenians, Erdogan
could not have remained silent, though this will not result in a chill
in bilateral relations. "Continued development of our multifaceted
cooperation is a priority for us. We very much hope that relations
will develop just as progressively as they have done thus far. We have
very many joint projects in the pipeline, we have a lot to tackle,
therefore," VVP press spokesman Dmitriy Peskov said.
But Erdogan's grievance was more powerful than the Kremlin believed.
Negotiations between the two leaders in Baku in June took place behind
closed doors and dispensed with friendly embraces and joint
statements. Naturally, this was overlain by the situation in Syria,
where Russia had at that moment already begun to gather equipment and
weapons, which had immediately become known to NATO members.
Turkey began to apply the brakes to the joint projects already in
progress. And on the pretext of the uncertain political situation (and
also on account of disagreement with the commercial terms of the deal)
froze completely the Turkish Stream extensively paraded and already
partially financed by Gazprom.
It is interesting that two conversations, which Putin allegedly had
with Erdogan and Umit Yardym, Turkish ambassador to the Russian
Federation, were leaked to the Western press.
Media outlets said that in one phone conversation (which had taken
place before the start of the Russian military operation in Syria) the
Turkish leader had told Putin that the government of Bashar al-Asad
had reached a critical point in its operations against its own people
and appealed to Vladimir Putin for Russia not to help the Syrian
government continue the "human slaughter".
VVP seemingly responded extremely angrily to this. Stunned by the
menacing rhetoric, the president of Turkey asked him whether Vladimir
Putin's fiery remarks should be understood as a direct threat against
Turkey. To this Putin, Western reporters wrote, said: "Mr President,
you may understand my words however you like." Putin then called on
the president of Turkey to renounce support for jihad, which, the
Russian leader said, had found refuge in Turkey. After this, Putin
hung up.
The second episode involves a conversation which VVP, in defiance of
diplomatic canons, had personally with Turkish ambassador Umit Yardym.
The leader of the Russian Federation allegedly delivered a lengthy
denunciatory speech condemning Turkish foreign policy and Turkey's
ill-disposed role in support of Al-Qa'idah terrorists in Syria, Iraq,
and Yemen.
We should say that neither Ankara nor the Kremlin has ever confirmed
the authenticity of these conversations. But the ideas expressed there
correspond, as a whole, both to the position of the Russian Federation
in regard to the Syrian conflict and to today's words of VVP, who
bluntly called Turkey an "accomplice of the terrorists."
The masks are off: the friendship of Putin and Erdogan has not
withstood the test of time and has dissipated beneath the ambitions of
the two "egos". Aleksandr Baunov, chief editor of the Russian Moscow
Carnegie Centre, wrote on his Facebook page: "There is a subject which
unites them (Putin and Erdogan) - this is national eminence: we are a
great power. Now one eminence has collided with the other."
[Groong note: the above was translated from Russian]Comment
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