(1) Russian Co-Pilot, shot down in Syria by Turkey, rescued by Iran's General Soleimani (2) Soleimani operation reported by Times of Israel (3) Turkey trying to rebuild the Ottoman Empire (4) Turkey's support for Islamic State recalls Armenian Genocide (5) Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians? - Hitler (6) Turkey buffer zone five miles inside Syria (Oct 4) (7) Russia “violated” Turkish Airspace because Turkey “moved” its Border (8) Airstrikes hit Turkish convoy carrying weapons to militants in Syria (9) Kurds move into border area in Syria which Erdogan wanted as a "safe zone" (10) Turkish newspaper editor in court for 'espionage' after revealing weapon convoy to Syrian militants (11) Qatar seeks to buy Ukrainian missile system to protect ISIS from attack by air (12) Qatar and Ukraine come to deliver Pechora-2D to ISIS (1) Russian Co-Pilot, shot down in Syria by Turkey, rescued by Iran's General Soleimani http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13940905000553 Thu Nov 26, 2015 1:40 Russian Pilot Rescued by Iran's General Soleimani TEHRAN (FNA)- Russian sources revealed on Thursday that the pilot of the Russian Su-24 jet that was shot down by Turkey over the Syrian airspace on Tuesday was rescued in an operation by Iran's globally renowned IRGC Qods Force Commander Major General Soleimani. On Tuesday, a Russian Su-24 bomber jet crashed in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that the plane was downed by an air-to-air missile launched by a Turkish F-16 jet over Syrian territory, falling 4 kilometers (2.5 miles) from the Turkish border. The crew of the plane ejected and one pilot was killed by fire from the ground, according to the Russian General Staff. The co-pilot Captain Konstantin Murahtin survived. But the story of how he survived in a land surrounded by various types of terrorist groups for tens of kilometers was unknown until today. Emad Abshenas, a reporter for Russia's state-run Sputnik news agency, wrote a piece in the Persian-language website of the Russian agency quoting the entire story from a senior Syrian officer. "I contacted one of the Syrian officers who is my old friend and is stationed in Lattakia and asked him to tell me the story, and here is what he said," Abshenas mentioned. After the downing of the Russian fighter jet, the Russian helicopters took off immediately to save the pilot but they faced the heavy fire power of FSA (or the so-called moderate opposition, the Free Syrian Army, supported by the West) and the Turkey-back Turkmens who targeted the helicopter with missiles and advanced weapons that they have gained recently. During the operations one Russian aid worker was killed. Credible information was obtained that a number of special Turkish units had been sent to the scene to take the Russian pilot captive to blackmail Russia later. While the Russians were planning for another operations to free the pilot immediately, General Soleimani contacted them and proposed them that a special task force unit be formed of Hezbollah's special forces and Syrian commandos who have been trained by Iran and are fully familiar with the geographical situation of the region to be tasked with the ground operations and Russia provide them with air cover and satellite intelligence. Soleimani promised them to return the Russian pilot safe and sound; a promise that was kept in the end, according to the Syrian officer. After tracing the place of the Russian pilot using his GPS, it was revealed that the pilot was being kept in a place 6km behind the frontline of the clashes between the Syrian army and the opposition. Six fighters of Hezbollah's special operation unit and 18 Syrian commandos approached the frontline to carry out the operations and the Russian air force and helicopters concurrently created hellfire in the region and destroyed the terrorists' headquarters in a way that most of the enemy forces deployed in the region fled the scene and the ground was paved for the special unit's advance. The Syrian officer added that every move of the special units was monitored and covered precisely by the Russian satellites in a way that the slightest moves made 100 meters away from the area of operation was reported to them and every moment of the operation was reported to a very high-raking official in the Kremlin (that he thinks was president Putin) and it was clear that he was monitoring the entire operations through satellites from Moscow. According to the officer who called for anonymity, the operation later turned into a hunt of the terrorists in the operation zone by the Russian air force from the sky and by Brigadier General Soleimani's operations units on the ground. The Syrian officer believed that the Russians also launched strong electronic warfare immediately to blind all enemies' satellites and communication equipment in areas several kilometers away from the operational zone and when the enemies came to realize something was underway, the operations had ended. The electronic warfare was launched since the Russians were concerned that the western satellites would leak the operation to the terrorists. Finally, the special unit saved the pilot after infiltrating 6km behind the enemy lines, killing the terrorists operating in there and destroying their hi-tech equipment. The interesting point is that all the 24 members of the special units along with the pilot returned to their base without even one injury after fulfilling the dangerous mission. According to the senior Syrian officer, one of the reasons for the success of these operations was the difference between Turkey and the terrorists over the fate of the Russian pilot as the Turks wanted him alive to use him for political blackmailing against the Russia. While the terrorists stationed in the region intended to burn him alive like what did to the Jordanian pilot to fill the hearts of other Russian pilots with fright. And this rift paved the ground for rescue operations some golden hours. Since the opposition never imagined that such a rapid planning and action by the rescue squads would be possible, given the complicated nature of such operations. The Syrian officer said that General Soleimani insisted to supervise the details of the operations at the head of his forces and stayed in the operations room until he came to rest assured of their success. (2) Soleimani operation reported by Times of Israel http://www.timesofisrael.com/iran-injured-general-oversaw-daring-rescue-of-downed-russian-pilot/ The team 'saved the pilot after infiltrating 6 kilometers behind the enemy lines, killing the terrorists operating there' Iran: Injured general oversaw daring rescue of downed Russian pilot; Tehran news agency says Revolutionary Guards’ Qassem Soleimani, wounded this week in Syria, was behind extraction of airman downed by Turkey By Times of Israel staff and AFP November 26, 2015, 5:00 pm An Iranian news agency claimed on Thursday that General Qassem Soleimani, commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards’ foreign operations wing, was behind the rescue of the Russian pilot downed in Syria. Soleimani was reported lightly injured earlier this week near Aleppo. After the pilot was downed by Turkey on Tuesday, “credible information was obtained that a number of special Turkish units had been sent to the scene to take the Russian pilot captive to blackmail Russia later,” the semi-official Fars News Agency reported, basing the claim on a report in the Persian-language version of the Russian Sputnik news agency. The Russian agency, in turn, quotes an unnamed Syrian officer. “While the Russians were planning for another operations to free the pilot immediately,” said Fars, “General Soleimani contacted them and proposed them that a special task force unit be formed of Hezbollah’s special forces and Syrian commandos who have been trained by Iran and are fully familiar with the geographical situation of the region to be tasked with the ground operations and Russia provide them with air cover and satellite intelligence.” The alleged operation to rescue the Russian pilot in Syria was carried out by eight Hezbollah fighters, 18 Syrian commandos and covered by Russian satellites and air force, the report continued. The team “saved the pilot after infiltrating 6km behind the enemy lines, killing the terrorists operating in there and destroying their hi-tech equipment,” it said. “Soleimani promised them to return the Russian pilot safe and sound; a promise that was kept in the end, according to the Syrian officer,” the report said. Moscow’s defense minister said Wednesday that Russian and Syrian special forces had freed the second pilot of a Russian warplane shot down by Turkey and he was now at a Russian air base in Syria. The first pilot was killed when fired at from the ground after the plane was hit. [...] The Fars News Agency further reported that “General Soleimani is fully healthy and is actively commanding operations in the frontline of the war against terrorists.” [...] (3) Turkey trying to rebuild the Ottoman Empire http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151126/1030828644/turkey-russia-isil-russian-bomber-provocation.html http://theunhivedmind.com/wordpress3/turkey-openly-supports-isil-desires-to-rebuild-empire/ Turkey Openly Supports ISIL, Desires to Rebuild Empire November 27, 2015 Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan has stated that in the event of another airspace violation, Ankara will respond in the same way as it did with the Russian warplane. He added that the downing of the Russian bomber was an “automatic reaction” in line with a standing order given to country’s military, while the Kremlin’s reaction was “emotional and unfitting of politicians”. Earlier, on Thursday Russia’s President Vladimir Putin said that there were “certain countries that covered and continue to cover terrorists”. Putin also stressed that Ankara’s recent actions were completely unexplainable, adding that the Turkish government seems to be deliberately pushing relations between the countries into a deadlock. Following President Putin’s statement, Russia’s Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev announced that Moscow will respond with diplomatic and military measures over the Su-24 incident. In particular, he noted that Moscow is considering the introduction of bans on the activities of Turkish companies’ in Russia. Political analyst and Israeli publicist Avigdor Eskin spoke to Sputnik about the incident. “Turkey today is the only country which supports ISIL openly and if someone questions what I just said let them see what is happening with ISIS. It all goes through Turkey. They sell their oil through Turkey and if Turkey wanted it to stop they would have stopped it. There are volunteers that came to fight for ISIL from different parts of the world. How did they end up in Syria? They all landed in Turkey and went to Syria. Again Turkey could have stopped it.” Regarding the Russian Su-24 bomber, “The issue is not that maybe the Russian plane went through the Turkish territory for three seconds or so, that is not the issue as first of all we don’t know that they violated by mistake. There was a plan to shoot down Russian plane to show who is in charge and it really reveals some very ill Turkish desires to rebuild their empire. They perceive these territories as their own territories.” “This is what they want from this war and from Assad’s regime. They want to take over some of these territories. Turkey needs to be stopped and I am sure it will be stopped because other NATO countries are not interested in any confrontation with Russia.” Talking about the current Turkish government, Eskin said that the problem with Erdogan and his government is that they derive from the Muslim Brotherhood and their ideological core is terrorism and extremism. This organization is outlawed in Russia and in many other countries, even in Egypt. “When we deal with this ideology we cannot expect anything but more trouble. However, there are some very wise people in Turkey who see the situation differently than their president,” Eskin said. I hope that Russia gets the support as the international community needs to understand the position of Russia in this case. (4) Turkey's support for Islamic State recalls Armenian Genocide http://www.therebel.media/armenia_nato_ally_turkey November 26, 2015 My travels in Armenia taught me the truth about our NATO "ally," Turkey William Hadrian, Rebel Blogger Yesterday Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet after it allegedly entered Turkish airspace. One of the pilots was killed by the supposed "good Syrian rebels," who are seen on video shouting "Allah Akhbar" over the pilot’s dead corpse. Turkey immediately held an emergency NATO session in response, one that include Canadian dignitaries. Since the Paris attack occurred just two weeks ago, such a meeting must be a pretty awkward for Turkey and other Western leaders to have. Imagine Turkey telling the leaders of France or Belgium -- countries whose capitals are practically under martial law due to recent Muslim terrorist attacks -- that Turkey was justified in shooting down a Russian plane that was trying to kill Muslim terrorists. Turkey is constantly labeled a moderate, tolerant Muslim nation that serves as an example that democracy and Islam can co-exist. My experience in Armenia taught me otherwise. Armenia is well acquainted with fundamental Islam. Its people were its first victims in the 20th century, during the infamous Armenian genocide. Armenians once comprised the majority population in what is now Eastern Turkey. By the end of the genocide, Armenia was less than one quarter of its original size, and three quarters of its people had been slaughtered in the name of Islam. Previously, Armenians had lived peacefully beside their fellow Muslim subjects. Despite living under Islamic law -- being forced to pay the jizya tax on infidels, and being forbidden to own a home that was taller than a Muslim’s -- Armenians prospered and became an integral part of the Ottoman Empire. Even some of the Ottoman Empire’s prime ministers and high government dignitaries were Armenian. However, as the Ottoman Empire began to decline by the end of the 19th century, Islamic violence increased. Caliph Abdul Hamid II ordered the slaughter of Armenian men, women and children in what became known as the Hamidian massacre. He also gave Turks, Kurds and all Muslims subjects the right to confiscate Armenian property and kill all Armenians after an attempted revolt. By 1896, this persecution had claimed 300,000 casualties, and the Caliph had earned the nickname the Red Sultan. The Caliph's successors, the Young Turks, a group of political reformers, continued this onslaught and killed 1.5 million Armenians beginning in 1915. These events were so notorious that even Adolf Hitler referenced this incident the night before Germany invaded Poland: I have placed my death-head formation in readiness – for the present only in the East – with orders to them to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language. Only thus shall we gain the living space which we need. Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians? Today, Turkey, the successor state of the Ottoman Empire -- a country deemed religiously moderate and a crucial NATO ally -- still denies that any such a genocide ever took place. Armenian churches dating back to the 3rd century have been converted into mosques and museums. In 2007, when journalist Hrant Dink tried to raise this issue, he was killed by an assassin who ran off screaming, “I have killed the infidel.” Present day Armenia is blockaded by Turkey, and its airspace is continually violated by Turkish fighter jets and helicopters. Turkey tried and failed to prevent Canada from officially recognizing the Armenian genocide in 2004. However, these efforts have been more successful in the United States, where it threatens to sever security ties if the United States recognizes the atrocity. When I lived in Armenia, I had the privilege of going past one of the security checkpoints, and seeing, on the Turkish side of the border, crumbling Armenian churches and buildings from the ancient city of Ani. This is what remains of a people that Turkey denies ever once resided there. During yesterday's NATO summit took place, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, "We have repeatedly made clear, we stand in solidarity with Turkey and support the territorial integrity of our NATO ally, Turkey." Turkey has been caught repeatedly aiding and funding ISIS. Former ISIS fighters, diplomats and even former US counterterrorism analysts have confirmed this. For all these reasons, Canada and the West should re-think Turkey's membership in NATO. (5) Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians? - Hitler http://www.armenian-genocide.org/hitler.html Adolf Hitler, Chancellor of Nazi Germany (1933-45) Statements on Record Relating to the Armenian Genocide "Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians?" [August 22, 1939] My decision to attack Poland was arrived at last spring. Originally, I feared that the political constellation would compel me to strike simultaneously at England, Russia, France, and Poland. Even this risk would have had to be taken. Ever since the autumn of 1938, and because I realized that Japan would not join us unconditionally and that Mussolini is threatened by that nit-wit of a king and the treasonable scoundrel of a crown prince, I decided to go with Stalin. In the last analysis, there are only three great statesmen in the world, Stalin, I, and Mussolini. Mussolini is the weakest, for he has been unable to break the power of either the crown or the church. Stalin and I are the only ones who envisage the future and nothing but the future. Accordingly, I shall in a few weeks stretch out my hand to Stalin at the common German-Russian frontier and undertake the redistribution of the world with him. Our strength consists in our speed and in our brutality. Genghis Khan led millions of women and children to slaughter – with premeditation and a happy heart. History sees in him solely the founder of a state. It's a matter of indifference to me what a weak western European civilization will say about me. I have issued the command – and I'll have anybody who utters but one word of criticism executed by a firing squad – that our war aim does not consist in reaching certain lines, but in the physical destruction of the enemy. Accordingly, I have placed my death-head formations in readiness – for the present only in the East – with orders to them to send to death mercilessly and without compassion, men, women, and children of Polish derivation and language. Only thus shall we gain the living space (Lebensraum) which we need. Who, after all, speaks today of the annihilation of the Armenians? Kevork B. Bardakjian, Hitler and the Armenian Genocide (Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Zoryan Institute, 1985). The text above is the English version of the German document handed to Louis P. Lochner in Berlin. It first appeared in Lochner's What About Germany? (New York: Dodd, Mead & Co., 1942), pp. 1-4. The Nuremberg Tribunal later identified the document as L-3 or Exhibit USA-28. Two other versions of the same document appear in Appendices II and III. For the German original cf. Akten zur Deutschen Auswartigen Politik 1918-1945, Serie D, Band VII, (Baden-Baden, 1956), pp. 171-172. (6) Turkey buffer zone five miles inside Syria (Oct 4) http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/world/article37739349.html October 4, 2015 Turkish defense radar locked on Russian fighter as it bombed Syrian town Turkey treats as threatening any aircraft within 5 miles of border Officials: Turkey would have attacked had jet crossed border Incident a reminder that risk is high of a potential unintended confrontation By Roy Gutman A Russian warplane on a bombing run in Syria flew within five miles of the Turkish border and may have crossed into Turkey’s air space, Turkish and U.S. officials said Sunday. The incident raises new concerns that Russia’s armed intervention in Syria could spill over to neighboring countries, lead to an unintended military confrontation and trigger an even bigger regional conflict. A Turkish security official said Turkish radar locked onto the Russian aircraft as it was bombing early Friday in al Yamdiyyah, a Syrian village directly on the Turkish border. He said Turkish fighter jets would have attacked had it crossed into Turkish airspace. [...] Turkey has maintained a buffer zone five miles inside Syria since June 2012, when a Syrian air defense missile shot down a Turkish fighter plane that had strayed into Syrian airspace. Under revised rules of engagement put in effect then, the Turkish air force would evaluate any target coming within five miles of the Turkish border as an enemy and act accordingly. [...] (7) Russia “violated” Turkish Airspace because Turkey “moved” its Border http://www.globalresearch.ca/russia-violated-turkish-airspace-because-turkey-moved-its-border/5480430 Russia “Violated” Turkish Airspace Because Turkey “Moved” Its Border By SyrianFreePress Global Research, November 24, 2015 Choosing Hegemony: Turkey, NATO and the Path to War This article originally published on October 7, 2015 is of utmost relevance in understanding the action taken by Turkey to down a Russian jet fighter over Syria airspace. (GR. Editor. M. Ch.) One Russian plane may even indeed have slightly crossed the border [in October] while maneuvering. But the real reason why the U.S. military official and Turkey claim the above “violations” is because Turkey unilaterally “moved” the Turkish-Syrian border five miles south: Turkey has maintained a buffer zone five miles inside Syria since June 2012, when a Syrian air defense missile shot down a Turkish fighter plane that had strayed into Syrian airspace. Under revised rules of engagement put in effect then, the Turkish air force would evaluate any target coming within five miles of the Turkish border as an enemy and act accordingly. Notes: http://www.moonofalabama.org/2015/10/russia-violates-turkish-airspace-because-turkey-moved-its-border.html (8) Airstrikes hit Turkish convoy carrying weapons to militants in Syria https://www.rt.com/news/323538-turkey-convoy-syria-attack/ Mystery over who bombed Turkish convoy allegedly carrying weapons to militants in Syria Published time: 26 Nov, 2015 12:44Edited time: 26 Nov, 2015 12:46 A Turkish convoy, which according to some reports was transporting weapons to terrorist organizations, has been hit by apparent airstrikes in northwestern Syria. Footage released online by the Istanbul-based Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH) shows plumes of smoke from the burning trucks and people running about in panic. At least 20 trucks were engulfed in flames. The mission, however, wasn’t sponsored or organized by the IHH, the group said. No organization has as yet confirmed that the convoy belonged to them. Rus hava sald?r?s?n?n alevler içerisinde b?rakt??? yard?m TIR'lar?na Sivil Savunma ekiplerimiz müdahale ediyor. pic.twitter.com/zbM5bI6AgN— ?HH (@ihhinsaniyardim) November 25, 2015 "Our teams helped to extinguish the fire... The trucks do not belong to us and there is no information on who bombed them," Mustafa Özbek, an official from ?HH, told Reuters. At least seven people were killed and 10 injured in the incident, according to the Turkish Anadolu agency. The trucks were reportedly heading to the town of Azaz in northwestern Syria. Since the news emerged, media has been furiously speculating about who was behind the attack, what the trucks were transporting, what the convoy’s humanitarian mission was, or maybe it was carrying a more sinister load. One of the aid workers who survived the incident said the trucks had been deliberately targeted, Reuters reported. The nature of the ‘humanitarian aid’ is also in question. Turkish media and the IHH say the trucks were transporting humanitarian aid to refugees in Azaz. However, the Turkish Cumhuriyet newspaper cited sources close to the Syrian government saying the convoy was delivering weapons to terrorist organizations. Posted by IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation on Wednesday, November 25, 2015 The Hawar news agency reported that Turkey repeatedly sent convoys with arms to the Al-Nusra Front and other terrorist organizations under the guise of humanitarian aid. Reports on Twitter went further – they identified the arms as allegedly “Docka machine guns” and “small arms with ammunitions.” In the wake of the recent downing of a Russian Air Force bomber over Syria by Turkish fighter jets, some reports suggested the Russians were “avenging” the pilot’s death. Many media outlets thought it was the work of Vladimir Putin. Anadolu cited ‘Syrian opposition sources,’ who claimed that Russian jets attacked the convoy. Other sources suggested the airstrikes were carried out by Syrians, without specifying whether it was members of the Syrian Army loyal to President Bashar Assad, or one of the various Syrian rebel groups. Neither Turkish, nor Russian authorities have yet commented on the incident. However, before the Azaz incident Tayyip Erdogan commented on an event that took place in 2013, when a Turkish security service convoy was stopped on the way to the Bay?rbucak region in northwestern Syria. The Turkish president said: “If there were any weapons, then what? And if there weren't, what would change?” (9) Kurds move into border area in Syria which Erdogan wanted as a "safe zone" http://www.moonofalabama.org/2015/11/syria-the-turkish-russian-apology-contest-.html Syria: The Turkish Russian Apology Contest Moon of Alabama November 26, 2015 "The incident which happened two days ago in the skies over Syria defies common sense and international law. The plane was shot down over Syrian territory. And we have yet to receive an intelligible apology from Turkey on a top political level, " [the Russian President Putin] said. --- "I think if there is a party that needs to apologize, it is not us," [the Turkish President Erdogan] said. "Those who violated our airspace are the ones who need to apologize. Our pilots and our armed forces, they simply fulfilled their duties, which consisted of responding to ... violations of the rules of engagement. I think this is the essence." Erdogan did not take the exit ramp Putin offered. So who will win this contest? U.S. Air Force General (ret) Charles J. Dunlap assesses that Russia wins the legal case. The Turkish shot down of the Russian bomber was plainly illegal under international law as there was no threat to Turkey from the Russian plane. Even Turkey itself does not allege that the Russian bomber intended to attack that country. There was no self-defense situation that would allow such behavior. Russia is taking all kinds of small and bigger economic measures to let Erdogan feel the consequences of attacking the Russian military in Syria: Russia to strengthen control over food supplies from Turkey; Turkish trucks face hurdles at Russia’s customs; Turkish businessmen detained in Russia amid strained ties The businessmen were selling their stuff at the Krasnodar agro trade exhibition illegally as the only had tourist visa. There are more such measures like official warnings to Russians not to go on vacation in Turkey and thorough safety controls of Turkish ships in Russian ports. More can follow. Over all 55% of Turkey's gas consumption depends on Russian gas. A quarter of Turkey's electricity production runs on Russian gas. It is unlikely for now that Russia will use the leverage that comes with this Turkish energy dependency. But should another big incident happen "technical problems" with gas deliveries will come into play. An overview of other economic and trade ties shows that Russia would probably lose some business in Turkey should the economic fight escalate. But the damage for the Turkish economy from losing business in Russia would be much bigger. The Turkish construction industry, agriculture and tourism would all lose their best or second best customer. The Syrian army is intensifying the fight on its side of Syrian-Turkish border in the Latakia area where the Russian bomber was shot down. The "Turkmen" in that area have been joined by Erdogan's party youth "volunteers": Emrah Çelik, a 27-year-old district organization member of the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in northwestern Tekirdag? province who joined the Turkmen forces voluntarily, said the 2nd Coastal Division has been fighting against regime forces for the last seven months. That people from his own political party fight in Syria gives Erdogan some interior political problems. He will be urged to fight on their side but a direct fight against Russian forces, without NATO backing, is too big a risk for him. The Russian airforce also again attacked (vid) fortified "Turkmen" positions in Latakia and it again attacked truck convoys near Azaz next to the Turkish-Syrian border crossing. Some of those convoys carry "aid" for the IHH, a Humanitarian Relief Foundation with ties to Erdogan's party. Over the years various IHH "aid" trucks on their way to Syria had been stopped by Turkish police and were found to carry weapons and ammunition. Syria will soon officially demand that all the "aid" trucks crossing the border be checked by United Nations personal to make sure that no weapons or ammunition are carried with them. Any truck not having been checked risks to be bombed. The Kurdish YPG fighters are using the Russian air cover and advance from the east along the border attacking the "moderate" rebels of al-Nusra and Ahrar al Sham within the corridor from Turkey down to Aleppo. This is precisely the area where Erdogan wanted to have his "safe zone". He had earlier threatened to bomb the Kurds should they move into that corridor. But how can he do that now when Russia gives them air cover and has excellent air defense (see below) readily available? Should he invade? If he does there is no chance that NATO would stand with him. Additional Russian targets today were again oil storage (vid) and truck distribution points (vid) around Raqqa run by the Islamic State. Why has the U.S., flying there daily in the last 13 month, never attacked these targets? Russia activated one S-400 air defense system at its Hmeimim air base in Latakia. One S-400 system consist of two radar vehicles, a command and control vehicle and up to twelve launcher vehicles with four missiles each. Parts of this system were already in Syria for at least two weeks. After additional transport arrivals (vid) it is now set to permanent combat readiness. With a range of 400 kilometers the system can cover west Syria and south Turkey as well as Lebanon and most of Israel. Another S-400 system is on its way to Syria. Also on their way are up to twelve additional fighter planes which will help the four fighters already deployed to fly air-to-air cover for the Russian ground bombers and helicopters. These fighters are modern and can match all modern "western" systems. Seemingly completely detached from the real situation in Syria U.S. neocons have opened a concerted campaign for the eradication of the Sykes-Picot borders and the destruction of Syria and Iraq. John Bolton in the New York Times: To Defeat ISIS, Create a Sunni State; Max Boot in the LA Times: Islamic State's Achilles' heel: Its Sunni identity; James Dobbins in USA Today: Partition Syria to crush the Islamic State All three op-eds are merely fantasies and neither consider all actors on the ground nor the various motivations and aim of those actors. All three require large U.S. troop deployments into a fighting zone. Why do they believe that the U.S. should decide border issues of Syria or Iraq? And, after the mess the U.S. created in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Yemen, do they believe it could? (10) Turkish newspaper editor in court for 'espionage' after revealing weapon convoy to Syrian militants https://www.rt.com/news/323557-turkey-arrests-editor-cumhuriyet/ Published time: 26 Nov, 2015 14:18Edited time: 26 Nov, 2015 19:31 © Murad Sezer / Reuters A Turkish prosecutor asked a court to imprison the editor-in-chief of Cumhuriyet newspaper pending trial for espionage and treason. In May, the outlet published photos of weapons it said were then transferred to Syria by Turkey’s intelligence agency. Besides the editor, Can Dündar, the prosecution said it is seeking the same pre-trial restrictions for Cumhuriyet’s representative in Ankara, Erdem Gül. Dündar arrived at an Istanbul court on Thursday, saying that he and his colleague “came here to defend journalism.” “We came here to defend the right of the public to obtain the news and their right to know if their government is feeding them lies. We came here to show and to prove that governments cannot engage in illegal activity and defend this,” Dündar was cited by Today’s Zaman. The articles, published on Cumhuriyet's front page in May, claimed that Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (M?T) is smuggling weapons in trucks into Syria and was caught doing so twice in 2014. The trucks were allegedly stopped and searched by police, with photos and videos of their contents obtained by Cumhuriyet. According to the paper, the trucks were carrying six steel containers, with 1,000 artillery shells, 50,000 machine gun rounds, 30,000 heavy machine gun rounds and 1,000 mortar shells. The arms were reportedly delivered to extremist groups fighting against the Syrian government of President Bashar Assad, whom Ankara wants ousted from power. The Turkish authorities denied the allegations, saying that the trucks were carrying aid to Syrian ethnic Turkmen tribespeople and labeled their interception an act of “treason” and “espionage.” A 2014 report by Human Rights Watch warned that under Erdogan’s rule Turkey has seen the erosion of human rights via a crackdown on media freedom, dissent and a weakening of the rule of law. Many journalists in the country are facing harsh prison terms for exposing corruption in the government and surveillance by the Turkish state. [...] (11) Qatar seeks to buy Ukrainian missile system to protect ISIS from attack by air From: "INFO" <info@gazetawarszawska.com> Subject: RE: NATO is harbouring Islamic State, by turning a blind eye to Turkey's assistance to it - Nafeez Ahmed Date: Mon, 23 Nov 2015 22:34:15 +0100 http://orientalreview.org/2015/11/22/building-air-defense-for-isis-a-qatar-ukraine-link/ http://gazetawarszawska.com/politics/2657-building-air-defense-for-isis-a-qatar-ukraine-link Building Air Defense for ISIS: A Qatar – Ukraine Link Andrey Fomin November 22, 2015 The fact that the ISIS infrastructure in Syria and Iraq is absolutely vulnerable to the airstrikes of the international coalition is undoubtful. During the last week only the Russian Air Force and Navy hit around 826 ISIS targets (training camps, munition and explosives plants, depots, oil refinery and transport objects) causing critical damage to the terrorist groups and its revenue sources. The sponsors of the ISIS are certainly committed to acquire and supply to the jihadist brigades the air defense systems efficient enough to at least hamper the activities of the coalition in the Syrian sky. Back in September 2015, being aware of the Russian plans to launch anti-terrorist air campaign, a Qatari delegation from the Ministry of Defense came to Kiev to take part in the Arms and Security Expo, September 22-27, 2015: A letter by the Director of Ukrainian SpetsTechnoExport enterprise Pavlo Barbul to Ukrainian MFA with the list of Qatari delegation to attend Arms and Security Expo (Kiev, September 22-27, 2015) They reached a deal with UkrOboronProm (a state-run Ukrainian arms trader) to purchase the modernized Air Defense Missile Complex “Pechora-2D”: On Sept. 30 Volodimir Kuruts, the Trade Councellor of the Ukrainian Embassy in Qatar, writes to his business contact in Cyprus Vasyl Babytskiy, director of the Blessway Ltd: “Thank you for Morocco and Saudi contacts. It was right in time. The locals have been to Kiev at the Expo, are about to buy “Pechora” and something more serious. The issue of delivery is pending. Our side will not able to do that. You have a chance to make good money. Try to talk to the military guys. The probability is high as the yankees agreed. Bulgarians and Turks are aware, the route is the same…” Take note that it is the same Vasyl Babitskiy who resold 265 outdated Poland-made anti-aircraft autocannons to Saudi Arabia (eventually to the same ISIS), originally dedicated for the Ukrainian Ministry of Interior. The revealed information clearly indicates that the Qatar Ministry of Defense is arranging supplies of the Ukrainian air defense systems to Syria-based terrorist organizations via Bulgaria and Turkey. The US officers in Qatar have approved the deals. Taking into account that “Pechora 2D” system is able to strike the aircrafts at the heights up to 21 km, the investigation of the A321 Metrojet downfall over Sinai may receive an unexpected turn… The hacked mails were published by Cyber Berkut on Nov 21, 2015. (12) Qatar and Ukraine come to deliver Pechora-2D to ISIS http://www.voltairenet.org/article189366.html by Andrey Fomin Qatar has bought sophisticated military equipment to Ukraine on behalf of ISIS. The operation took place in late September 2015, just before the Russian military action against the terrorist organization. It was approved by the US embassy in Doha. Officially, the new emir is not involved in the war in Iraq and Syria..” -------- Peter Myers Australia website: http://mailstar.net/index.html |
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