Week 6 of the Russian Intervention: A 1st major success for the Syrian Forces

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This column was originally written for the Unz Review:http://www.unz.com/tsaker/week-six-of-the-russian-intervention-in-syria-a-first-major-success-for-the-syrian-armed-forces/

Finally. After weeks of gruelling combat the Syrian armed forces have liberated the Kuweyres air base in northern Syria. This is a huge victory for the Syrians because during the 2,5 year long siege of the airbase it had become an important symbol of the Syrian determination to resist the Takfiris in general and, especially, Daesh which had deployed its best fighters to maintain the siege of the base and prevents its liberation. In fact, the Takfiris did resist with everything they had up to the last moment. For those of you interested in video and photos of the combats and liberation of Kuweyres I would recommend the site of Colonel Cassad and specifically these posts: (in Russian)

http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/2472071.html

http://colonelcassad.livejournal.com/2470426.html

Did Russia just “gently” threaten the USA?

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News Nigeria
Interesting stuff today.  A major Russian TV channel just aired a report about Putin meeting with his top military commanders.  I don’t have the time to translate what Putin said word for word, but basically he said that the USA had refused every single Russian offer to negotiate about the US anti-missile system in Europe and that while the US had initially promised that the real target of this system was Iran, now that the Iranian nuclear issue had been solved, the US was still deploying the system.  Putin added that the US was clearly attempting to change the world’s military balance.  And then the Russian footage showed this:

Russia’s intervention in Syria – a reality-based evaluation

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It has been over one month since the Russians launched their military and political operation in Syria and the time for hyperbole and flag waving has clearly passed.  Gone are the “most anticipated showdown in recent history” along with rumors of MiG-31s, Russian paratroopers, “thousands” of military personnel, ballistic submarines and other such nonsense.   And, contrary to what some wrote, none of what happened was “coordinated with the White House”.  What I propose to do today is to evaluate what has really has happened and to look at the Russian options for the future.  But first, a short restatement of what really took place.

Week Five of the Russian Intervention in Syria: The Russians Are Digging in

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This column was originally written for the Unz Review: http://www.unz.com/tsaker/week-three-of-the-russian-intervention-in-syria/

Whether this tragedy was directly linked to the war in Syria or not, there is no doubt that the downing of Kogalymavia Flight 9268 was the main event of the past week. Since I have covered this issueelsewhere, I shall not return to it in detail again here. I will just repeat here my personal conclusion that this tragedy will not impact the Russian operation in Syria or affect the political situation inside Russia. As for the cause of the tragedy, there are increasing indications that both western and Russian security services have come to a tentative conclusion that it was, indeed, a bomb. On Friday, the head of the Federal Security Service has recommended canceling all flights to Egypt and the evacuation of all the Russian citizens in Egypt (roughly 70,000 people). Several EU countries have also taken similar measures.

The Fallacy Of Erdogan-Style Democracy (updated version)

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by Ghassan Kadi

Erdogan’s AKP party has scored a monumental victory; not so much in terms of the lead in parliament though. As a matter of fact, it is a fairly narrow victory, but one that was least expected. What is monumental about it is the course that Turkey has set itself upon.

A victory for Erdogan perhaps, but for Turkey itself, the outcome of this election will probably take years and even decades until it becomes clear what the results truly meant for Turkey’s future and wellbeing.

The Moscow-Beijing Express on The Saker: Russian Black Hat-Chinese White Hat

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Their styles are 180 degrees apart, but together, as towering giants on the world’s geopolitical stage, Putin and Xi are slowly winning all the chips from Western Empire, for a new, fairer and more peaceful world. (Image by David Parkins)

Russian Black Hat-Chinese White Hat

The Moscow-Beijing Express on The Saker

By: Jeff J. Brown, author and analyst at 44 Days Radio Sinoland

Video reading at: https://youtu.be/ucXA6cQ1nyI

Audio podcast at: https://soundcloud.com/44-days/russian-black-hat-chinese-white-hat-moscow-beijing-express-on-the-saker-by-jeff-j-brown-151031

If you have not read Russian President Vladimir Putin’s October, 2015 Valdai speech and subsequent question and answer session, you are missing out on a real treat.http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/news/50548 He has essentially been saying the same thing for years, going back at least as far as his hard hitting Munich speech, in February, 2007.https://vimeo.com/38311242 In the interim, at the annual United Nations General Assembly speeches and previous Valdai talks, President Putin has come out four square against Western colonialism and global empire.

Ukraine SITREP, November 3rd 2015 by the Saker

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It has been a very long while since I have posted a Ukrainian SITREP and there are good reasons for that: nothing much has happened there, at least nothing nearly as dramatic as the developments in the past.  In fact, ever since the crisis in Syria has taken center stage in US foreign policy preoccupations, the Ukraine appears to have been almost forgotten.  Did anybody even notice that local elections have taken place there recently?  Or that they were the most marred by every conceivable form of cheating and irregularities imaginable?

I don’t think so.