Tuesday, April 25, 2017

Sacred Communities and The Emergent Multipolar Landscape



 
By Blake Archer Williams
(Blake Archer Williams’ two books, Introduction to Walīyic Islam and Creedal Foundations of Walīyic Islam, which are the sources for the ideas presented in this essay – and where they are fully elaborated – can be found on Amazon.com, together with all 32 of his books on Walīyic Islam or the Shi’a Islam of Imam Khomeini which is the basis of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Iran.)

Monday, April 24, 2017

Serbia’s Post-Electoral Protest Was A Charade



by Stephen Karganovic
Just as a week ago we speculated might happen, Serbia’s mass anti-regime protests, which started as if on cue the day after the apparently “not so free and unfettered” April 2 Presidential election, have now abated significantly, but without any obvious public reason.[1] None of the protesters’ objections (many of them legitimate and sensible) were seriously entertained by the authorities. If we take the Easter weekend as the watershed separating daily mass protests involving tens of thousands in twenty cities and towns across Serbia from post-holiday crowds, shrunken to barely one or two hundred, one must wonder: what changed over that weekend? Did thousands of former dissidents suddenly get religion, decide to turn the other cheek to the regime, and stay at home? Or was there from the beginning of these “spontaneous” protests more to it than met the eye?

Friday, April 7, 2017

Syrian Republican Guard: History And Capabilities



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The Syrian Republican Guard was established in 1976 as an elite force within the Syrian Arab Army essentially as an internal security force intended to protect senior government officials from attacks by anti-government insurgents and also to serve as a check on possible “Bonapartism” within the SAA. Since its establishment, it has enjoyed privileged access to funding and resources.  Initially consisting of three mechanized brigades, each with a tank battalion and two or three mechanized battalions, its strength was later expanded through the addition of a separate tank battalion, three airborne and/or commando brigades, and two security regiments which provide bodyguards to senior officials including the President.  The Republican Guard is staffed by two-year draftees drawn from all over Syria, though it also contains a large number of volunteers serving in key leadership positions.  At full strength, the Republican Guard had some 25 thousand troops, though due to the wartime attrition, they are almost certainly lower. The Republican Guard has tended to be among the first units to receive the newest equipment, such as the T-72 MBTs.

Putin Considers US Attack in Syria Aggression Against Sovereign State, prepares for Full scale War ?



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US Commited a ‘Blatant Agression’ Act Against Syrian Army Base – General Staff

Syrian General Staff called the recent US strike on Ash Sha’irat military airfield near Homs in Syria a ‘blatant agression’ act aimed against Syrian Army.  The Syrian Defense Ministry also added that this strike puts the US as an ally of such terrorist groups as Daesh and Jabhat Fatah al Sham (formerly known as the al-Nusra Front).  The US launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat near Homs late Thursday. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on Damascus.

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Russia Suspends Memorandum With US on Flight Safety in Syria – Foreign Ministry

Russia has suspended its memorandum of understanding on air safety over Syria with the United States following the deadly US missile attack on the Sha’irat airfield, the Russian Foreign Ministry said Friday.

“Russia suspends the memorandum on the prevention of incidents and ensuring air safety during operations in Syria reached with the US,” the ministry said in a statement.
The United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat near Homs late Thursday. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on Damascus.

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Putin Considers US Attack in Syria Aggression Against Sovereign State – Kremlin

The United States’ missile strikes on a military airfield in Syria violates international law and represents an act of aggression against a sovereign state under a far-fetched pretext, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said Friday.

MOSCOW— The US launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat near Homs late Thursday. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on Damascus.

“President [Vladimir] Putin regards the US attacks on Syria as an aggression against a sovereign state in violation of the norms of international law, and under a trumped-up pretext at that,” Pesov told reporters.

Russian President Vladimir Putin also sees the latest US missile strikes on a military airfield in Syria as an attempt to distract from the mounting civilian casualties in Iraq, the Kremlin added.
“Putin also sees the attacks on Syria by the US as an attempt to divert the international community’s attention from the numerous casualties among civilians in Iraq.”

The Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) had confirmed that Syrian armed forces do not possess chemical weapons, the Kremlin cited Russian President Vladimir Putin as saying Friday while warning of the danger of ignoring terrorist use of chemical weapons.
US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement after the US attack that there were no discussions or prior contacts between the United States and Moscow ahead of the missile strike on the Syrian base.

“The fact of the destruction of all chemical weapons stockpiles has been recorded and confirmed by the OPCW, a specialized UN unit,” Peskov told reporters.
“At the same time, in Putin’s opinion, total disregard for the use of chemical weapons by terrorists only drastically aggravates the situation,” Peskov said.


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US decision to Strike Syria was made Ahead of Idlib Chemical Attack, Used as Pretext to show Force – Russian Foreign ministry



US attack in Syria is nothing else than a show of force, the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement on Friday. The decision to attack Syria was made ahead of Idlib chmical incident, used as a pretext for this demonstration of strength.

The US missile strikes on Syria airfield os a clear act of aggression against sovereign Syria, the Russia Foreign Ministry said. It is obvious that the US missile attack in Syria was prepared “in advance,” the Russian Foreign Ministry stated. “It is clear that the decision to conduct the strike [in Syria] was made in Washington before the incident in Idlib, which was used as a pretext for this demonstration of strength,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said.

The US missile attack on the Sha’irat airfield in Syria further degrades Russian-US relations, the Russian Foreign Ministry added. “The actions taken today by the US further destroy Russian-US relations,” the ministry said in a statement. The United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat near Homs late Thursday. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on Damascus.

“Without bothering to figure anything out, the US moved toward a demonstration of strength, to military resistance against a country that is fighting international terrorism,” the ministry said.



Daesh Militants Attacked Syrian Army Positions Simultaneously With US Strike




Daesh (banned in numerous countries) terrorist fighters had attacked the Syrian armed forces at the same time and in the same vicinity as the US missile strike on its airfield near Homs, an informed source told Sputnik on Friday.

The source said the terrorists launched an attack on a Homs-Sha’irat stretch of highway at around 23:00 GMT and held their territory for over an hour until the arrival of reinforcements.
“Is it a coincidence that the IS [Daesh] fighters attacked one of the defensive positions of the Homs-Palmyra route simultaneously with the US attack on Sha’irat?” the source said.
The US launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Syrian military airfield in Ash Sha’irat near Homs late Thursday. US President Donald Trump said the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Idlib on Tuesday, which Washington blames on Damascus.

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