U.S. Officials Doubt Syrian Rebels’ Chemical Attack Claim -- Danger Room
Opposition activists in Syria are claiming that the embattled regime of Bashar Assad gassed rebel forces in the battleground city of Homs on Sunday. U.S. officials tell Danger Room that they are skeptical about the rebels’ chemical weapon claims, however.
Al Jazeera reported that seven people died after inhaling a gas sprayed by government forces in a part of Homs held by the rebel Free Syrian Army. “We don’t know what this gas is but medics are saying it’s something similar to sarin,” rebel Raji Rahmet Rabbou told the Qatar-based news organization.
The “poisonous material” was deployed by government warplanes, Haaretz reported, citing a rebel statement. The Assad regime, meanwhile, is blaming the rebels for the attack.
My Comment: Something was used .... seven rebel soldiers died .... but without independent confirmation we will probably never know if chemical weapons were used .... or it was something else.
An Open Letter To The Commandant Regarding the “Alcohol Policy” -- Bring the heat, bring the Stupid
General Amos,
You are the senior Marine in our beloved Corps, holding a position entrusted to just 34 other men over the glorious history of our Sea Service. You are not the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, or of the Army. Nor are you Chief of Naval Operations. You are the Commandant of the Marine Corps.
Your Marines have shed their blood and wrapped themselves in glory on battlefields in two wars. Look out among the faces of your junior NCOs, your junior Officers, SNCOs, and Field Grade Officers, and you will see Combat Action Ribbons aplenty. Purple Hearts. Sprinklings of Bronze Stars and Silver Stars, and even a Navy Cross here and there. Living Marines wear Medals of Honor from these wars. More have been presented posthumously to parents of fallen heroes who displayed conspicuous gallantry and intrepidity at the risk of [his] life above and beyond the call of duty, and whom gallantly gave his life for his country.
And then we, YOU, subject them to this: Read more ....
My Comment: Apparently with these new rules a 0.01% reading is enough to get you red-flagged. You gotta be kidding me .... that`s not even a glass of wine. Why state the 0.01% rule .... just be honest about it .... they do not want you to drink.
Sigh .... when they banned smoking on subs .... everyone kept quiet. Now it`s booze. What`s next?
This is definitely not your dad's U.S. Marine Corps.
India, Russia Seal Defense Deals Worth Billions -- Voice of America
NEW DELHI — India and Russia have sealed defense deals worth billions of dollars during a visit by the Russian president, in a move which reaffirms the long-standing strategic alliance between the two countries.
Calling Russia a key partner in the effort to modernize India's armed forces, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh announced the deal to buy 71 military helicopters worth $1.3 billion, and kits to assemble 42 Sukhoi fighter jets worth $1.6 billion.
India and Russia were close allies during the Cold War days, with Moscow being the main supplier of India’s armed forces. But analysts say Russia has been losing out on India’s lucrative defense market in recent years, as New Delhi increasingly hands out contracts to countries such as Israel, France and the United States, establishing closer links with many Western countries.
Jihad Makdissi was formerly the spokesman for the Syrian embassy in London [Al Jazeera]
Senior Syrian Official In US And Co-Operating With Intelligence Agencies -- The Guardian
Guardian understands that US intelligence officials helped Jihad Makdissi to flee, though details of journey are unknown
The Syrian government's former spokesman, Jihad Makdissi, is co-operating with US intelligence officials who helped him flee to Washington almost one month ago, the Guardian understands.
Makdissi became one of the most prominent regime defectors in late November when he left Beirut after first crossing from Syria. The Guardian reported at the time that he had fled for the US, possibly in return for asylum. This has now been confirmed.
The latest development comes after almost a month of debriefings, which have helped intelligence officials build a picture of decision-making in the inner sanctum of the embattled regime.
My Comment: I am not surprised that he defected to the U.S. .... his time in Syria was up. When in late July he made comments saying that Syria was not going to use its chemical weapons, admitting, basically, to Syria having chemical weapons .... I knew his time was over. His value to US intelligence will not be military but political. He knows who makes the decisions and policies, and who implements them. He will also probably know the mindset of those who are around Assad .... those who are 100% for continuing the fight .... and those who are not so sure.
Turkey Lifts Veto On Israel’s NATO Activities Despite Tensions: Report -- Al Arabiya
Turkey has reportedly agreed to Israeli participation in NATO activities in order to get Patriot missiles on its border with Syria, the Jerusalem Post reported on Sunday.
The Israeli newspaper said Israel will join a 2013 NATO military drill in Turkey, despite tense diplomatic ties between the two states.
“At the last minute – and I think it was dependent on the Patriots – it was approved,” an Israeli military official told the newspaper on condition of anonymity, referring to Turkey’s request to position the defensive missile batteries along its border with Syria.
However, there has been no “total solution” of the standoff between Ankara and Tel Aviv, the source added.
My Comment: Turkey acquiesce to NATO`s (i.e. the U.S.) demands on the removal of their veto on Israel was done for the simple reason that they want NATO Patriot Defense batteries positioned on the border that they share with the rapidly chaotic and disintegrating state of Syria. The chaos and the risk of spillover from the Syrian civil war into Turkey is Turkey`s main focus of concern right now .... their differences with Israel are still there but pale to what a fractured Syria with unsecured WMDs in the hands of angry Assad military loyalists, jihadists or radical Kurds can do to Turkey.
Coalition force members ride in a light-tactical all-terrain vehicle during a presence patrol in Afghanistan's Farah province, Dec. 16, 2012. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Sgt. Pete Thibodeau
Encouraging Signs Toward Peace In Afghanistan -- David Ignatius, Washington Post
In this season of good will, there is a rare bit of good cheer about the prospects for peace with the Taliban in Afghanistan. The reason seems to be that some Taliban leaders are concluding that they couldn’t win the civil war that might follow U.S. withdrawal of combat troops.
The Taliban appear to recognize that their leverage, paradoxically, may decline when most U.S. forces depart at the end of 2014. The situation has changed since the 1990s, when the Taliban took power after a civil war: Pakistan is no longer a reliable political patron or financial backer, and it may not provide a haven.
Read more .... My Comment: I can understand why David Ignatius wants to be optimistic .... after 11 years of war and thousands of casualties we do want to leave Afghanistan with a better future than what it has had in the past. But .... I just do not see the major factions of the Taliban agreeing to lay down their arms and join the political process in Afghanistan. They have always believed that they are going to win in the end .... so to lay down their weapons just when US forces are leaving .... it`s not going to happen. I expect a few more years of fighting, and if the Afghan Army can hold together .... that is when a majority of the Taliban will then start looking for a political compromise.
Kremlin’s Syria Policy Hurts Russia’s Position in Arab World -- Voice of America
In the days of the Soviet Union, Moscow was a major player in the Arab world. But in the last two years, the Kremlin has repeatedly backed the losing sides in the Arab Spring.
In Syria, President Bashar al-Assad is using Russian-made rockets, rifles and tanks to battle rebels.
But in Moscow, Russian officials are trying to put daylight between the Kremlin and the Assad government. Russian President Vladimir Putin says the Kremlin is not concerned about the fate of the Assad regime, which has ruled Syria for four decades, and that changes are needed. But Russia is worried about what will come next.
How does Russia’s position play in Anjar, a Lebanese border town clogged with Syrian refugees? Read more ....
My Comment: After their debacle in Libya, the Russians are going to experience the same fate in Syria .... a new but hostile government that will show no interest to accommodate and/or align with Russian interests. This is not only going to be a major strategic defeat for Russia, but they have now earned the hostility of much of the Sunni-Arab world for the next generation or two.
As Special Envoy Meets Syria’s Assad, Russia Signals New Pessimism -- New York Times
BEIRUT, Lebanon — Lakhdar Brahimi, the special envoy seeking an end to the Syria crisis, held an urgent meeting with President Bashar al-Assad in Damascus on Monday as new signs emerged that Mr. Assad’s grip on power was weakening and that Russia, his most important foreign backer, was moving forward with efforts to evacuate Russian diplomats and other expatriates from the country.
Mr. Brahimi, the Algerian statesman who has been the special Syria representative for the United Nations and Arab League for the past three months, did not specify the substance or tone of his discussion with Mr. Assad, describing it only in general terms in brief remarks afterward. Read more ....
My Comment: When you read stories like this one from the Russian press, that is when you know that the Russians are reading the handwriting on the wall .... i.e. it is only a matter of time before the Assad regime collapses.
U.S. Army Gen. Carter Ham, the commander of United States Africa Command, seen here at the 134th National Guard Association of the U.S. General Conference in Reno, Nev., Sept. 10, warned against military action in Mali. (Jim Greenhil / Army)
Army Plans To Shift Troops To U.S. Africa Command -- Washington Times
Aims for quick crisis response.
U.S. Africa Command, the military’s newest regional force, will have more troops available early next year as the Pentagon winds down from two ground wars over the past decade, Gen. Raymond T. Odierno, Army chief of staff, told The Washington Times.
As part of Gen. Odierno’s Regionally Aligned Forces concept, about 1,200 soldiers will deploy to Africa as early as March in an effort to place troops strategically around the globe to respond quickly to sudden challenges in hot spots such as Libya and to develop ties with the people and officials in host countries.
My Comment: I guess the Africom Commander`s worries about the growing extremist threat in Africa is making waves in Washington. I also presume that this deployment will be on top of the Special Ops units that are being sent to the region.
The Palestinians’ Christmas Lies -- Jonathan S. Tobin, Commentary
Christmas in Bethlehem and video of the annual parade in the Palestinian city south of Jerusalem is standard holiday fare on television news. Since the days of Yasir Arafat the Palestinian Authority has made a big deal out of the Christmas celebration, and the media’s need for footage suitable for a day on which little news is made has always been a bonanza for Fatah. The result is that along with quaint pictures of Manger Square and the Church of the Nativity Western viewers are given the impression that Christianity is both protected and cherished by the PA. PA leaders also use the occasion to try and make the argument that the Palestinians, rather than the Israelis, are the true descendants of the Jewish nation that produced Jesus of Nazareth two thousand years ago.
Both assertions are equally false. Modern day Christians face harassment and exclusion throughout a region where the Arab Spring has brought Islamists to power, and nowhere is that more true than in the West Bank and Gaza.
Previous Post:Christianity Is 'Close To Extinction' In The Middle East My Comment: In 1947, Christians made up 85% of the population, but by 1998 the figure had declined to 40% .... and today .... probably much lower. And while the Palestinian authorities blame Israeli travel restrictions for the exodus .... I suspect that discrimination, a dire economic situation, continuing conflict and unrest, and the rise of Islamic radicalism are .... in total .... expediting this immigration.
(Pastor Nazir Alam smiles as he talks to a journalist at a church in South Waziristan November 28, 2012.REUTERS/Faisal Mahmood )
Pakistan’s Loneliest Church Celebrates Christmas In Taliban Territory -- Reuters
This Christmas, Pastor Nazir Alam will stoke up a fire, lay a fresh cloth on the altar and welcome parishioners as they arrive at his church in Waziristan, a Pakistani tribal area known as an al-Qaeda haven.
“The lights are all up, and the choir boys are ready. The church is looking its best,” said 60-year-old Alam, a former missionary who has celebrated his last ten Christmases there. “There’s not much left to do but to pray and rejoice.”
Read more .... My Comment: What can you say about a pastor who has to wear camouflage military clothing (see above photo). Lets face it .... if it was not for the presence of the military, this church would have been firebombed a long time ago .... and the sad part of this story is that tonight .... there are probably many churches around the world who are faced with that real fear tonight.
Soldier's Christmas Eve -- Elise Cooper, American Thinker
While many soldiers coming back from deployment have shown their talents by writing books about their experiences, one former Marine, Scott Brown, chose to become a songwriter and a performer. The result is a group, the Scooter Brown Band, that sounds a lot like Jackson Browne with songs that have an Eagles tone to them. The band has just released for the holiday season a very powerful and heart-wrenching song, "Soldier's Christmas Eve," the title of which says it all. American Thinker interviewed Brown about his songs and aspirations.
Scott taught himself the guitar while in the Marine Corps reconnaissance unit and after retiring in 2003 decided to form a band where he became the lead singer and songwriter. Many of his songs -- although he emphasized, not all of them -- have lyrical context related to his experiences while in the military. "Soldier's Christmas Eve" was written to remind people that the U.S. is still at war and that there are soldiers still dying to protect American freedoms. He and the band have decided to donate the proceeds to the Lone Survivor Foundation, founded by the former SEAL Marcus Luttrell. Anyone who wants to hear the song and donate can go to the website.
Halloween Decorations Carry Haunting Message Of Forced Labor -- Oregon Live
The letter came in a box of Halloween decorations purchased at Kmart, but for a year Julie Keith never knew. It gathered dust in her storage, a haunting plea for help hidden among artificial skeletons, tombstones and spider webs.
Keith, a 42-year-old vehicle donation manager at a southeast Portland Goodwill, at one point considered donating the unopened $29.99 Kmart graveyard kit. It was one of those accumulated items you never need and easily forget. But on a Sunday afternoon in October, Keith pulled the orange and black box from storage. She intended to decorate her home in Damascus for her daughter's fifth birthday, just days before Halloween.
She ripped open the box and threw aside the cellophane.
That's when Keith found it. Scribbled onto paper and folded into eighths, the letter was tucked between two Styrofoam headstones.
"Sir:
Read more .... My Comment: I am not surprised .... this is so typical of how states like China, Russia, etc., treat their convict populations. But what is troubling about China is that many of these "convicts" are in jail for political and/or religious reasons. Something to think about when you open your gift that was made in China.
Damascus seems to be groping in the dark as it struggles to confront dissent against its rule. The brutal attack on a bakery in Halfaya is a case in point.
At least 100 people are supposed to have been killed under the debris of the building that Syrian jets attacked in venom. The move is a crime against humanity, and speaks of the nervousness with which the regime is overrun. This attack on a pure civilian facility is tantamount to barbarism, and it’s high time the world community takes notice of it and acts against President Bashar Al Assad’s regime.
The western Syrian region of Halfaya, which of late had fallen at the hands of rebel forces, is said to be starving for food items for a long time. The fact that aid agencies delivered stocks of essential commodities, and the same were being distributed when came under attack is a horrendous proposition.
My Comment: Here is an easy prediction .... this story will be dominating the headlines in the U.S. for the next week (or two). And for our kids .... they will be living with this story for the rest of their lives.
Mali On Brink Of Becoming A Terrorist Safe Haven -- Voice of America
African and world leaders say they will not let Mali become a terrorist safe haven, a failed state, a so-called "Afghanistan" in the Sahel. The U.N. Security Council has backed a regional military deployment to Mali next year to deal with an ongoing political crisis in the capital and help the Malian army retake the north from Islamist militants. Will 2013 be the year that Mali pulls back from the brink? If so, at what cost?
2012 was the year that armed men seized control of Mali. And their grip looks stronger than ever -- both in the north and the south.
Analysts say a military junta pulls the strings in the capital, Bamako. The soldiers, who mutinied and then overthrew the elected president on March 22, closed the year by forcing out the interim prime minister and his government in December.
Former UK General Warns Western Troops Could Trigger Syria 'Collapse' -- BBC
Sending Western troops into Syria too soon could create a power vacuum and a "sudden, uncontrolled state collapse", a retired British general has warned.
Prof Sir Paul Newton said weapons of mass destruction could fall into the wrong hands if the state disintegrated.
His warning comes in a report co-authored with three other Exeter University academics.
Foreign Secretary William Hague has said he would not "rule out any option to save lives" in Syria.
Sir Paul, a former lieutenant general, was part of a strategic military planning team and helped conduct operations in Afghanistan, Kosovo, East Timor, Northern Ireland and Sierra Leone during 38 years in the Army..
The report - written along with Professor Gareth Stansfield, Dr Andrew Rathmell and Professor Jonathan Githens-Mazer - concludes that premature military action by the West could lead to the increased destabilisation of the already volatile situation in Syria.
The 'City Soldiers' Paid £100,000 To Fight In Afghanistan: Huge Government Payouts To Reservists Who Earn Less While On Tour -- Tthe Daily Mail
* Some serving reservists earn up to £225,000 * Last year eight reservists were paid more than £100,000 for their tour * 'Reservist Awards' under review by MoD
Some Armed Forces reservists in Afghanistan are being paid six-figure salaries by the Government, it emerged last night.
Military rules state that if reservists’ pay works out less than they would earn in their civilian job, they can claim for extra cash, known as a Reservist Award.
So if a reservist works in the City, for example, the gap to be made up between the military pay and their civilian salary can be substantial.
Read more .... My Comment: I suspect that most of these reservists who were paid these amounts are doctors .... and you do want the best doctors available when you are fighting a war. Since the goal is to have even more reservists .... expect these numbers to mushroom.
2012 In Syria's Civil War: One Rebel's Story -- Clarissa Ward, CBS News
(LONDON) I first met Bassel Issa in February 2012. At the time, he was leading a group of rebel fighters who called themselves the Syrian Liberation Army. In reality, they were more local militia than army. Most were farmers or workers, ordinary hard-working men who had grown up together and decided to join the fight for a free Syria.
Producer Ben Plesser and I had traveled illegally from Turkey to the city of Idlib, in Northern Syria, to live for a week with these men and their families. Bassel immediately caught my attention -- not because he was the leader of the group but because he was quiet and thoughtful and not partial to the braggadocio one so often encounters in rebel leaders. Wiry and lean with a broad toothy smile, he stood sucking down cigarette after cigarette, taking in everything that was going on around him.
Read more .... My Comment: When this civil war is over, I suspect there will be tens of thousands of such stories ... and on both sides.
Nearly 200 Dead And Hundreds Injured After Syrian Airstrike Targets People Queuing For Bread -- Daily Mail
* Bodies left piled on the streets among rubble and shrapnel * Latest reports say hundreds were also wounded in the strike * Eye-witness videos show the bloodied bodies of women and children killed * More than 100 people were queuing for hours when the air strike occurred * Human rights groups accuse military of intentional attacks on civilians
Up to 200 people were killed while queuing for bread in Syria yesterday, one of the deadliest air strikes in the country's civil war.
Videos showed dozens of blood-stained bodies crumpled in the street among piles of rubble and shrapnel. Hundreds more were injured.
"When I got there, I could see piles of bodies all over the ground. There were women and children," said Samer al-Hamawi, an activist in the town of Halfaya, where the strike hit a bakery. "There are also dozens of wounded."
Syria Envoy Meets Assad As Opposition Frustration Grows -- Reuters
(Reuters) - Syria special envoy Lakhdar Brahimi discussed solving the country's conflict with President Bashar al-Assad on Monday, but the opposition expressed deepening frustration with the mission following what it called the latest massacre of civilians.
Underlining how rebels are taking the battle close to Assad's doorstep, the U.N. and Arab League envoy had to drive to Damascus from Lebanon on the eve of the meeting as fighting around the international airport made it impossible to fly in.
Brahimi said his talks with Assad had dealt with possible solutions to a crisis that has killed more than 44,000 people, according to activists.
"I told him what I was seeing abroad and about the meetings I had with different officials in the region and abroad," Brahimi told reporters. "The situation in Syria still is a reason for worry. We hope that all the sides work toward the solution, as the Syrian people want."
Monday's meeting was Brahimi's third with Assad and violence has greatly escalated since the series began.
Assad Just Hit Us With Poison Gas, Syrian Rebels Say -- Danger Room
The regime of embattled Syrian president Bashar Assad gassed rebel forces in the battleground city of Homs, anti-government activists told Al Jazeera on Sunday. If the unconfirmed report is true — and that’s a huge if — the chemical attack could signal the biggest escalation yet of 20-month-old Syrian civil war, with serious implications for the rest of the world.
Danger Room first reported in early December that the Assad regime was preparing some of its nerve weapons for possible use against rebel forces. Washington and its allies have repeatedly said they would not tolerate such an attack. “This would cross a red line and those responsible would be held to account,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned previously.
My Comment: There is no independent confirmation, but it appears that the Syrian military is starting to use chemical weapons .... probably testing a means to deliver it within an urban environment. Talk about timing .... with much of the Western world focused on Christmas .... this is news that some in the Syrian government are hoping will go under the wire while warning the rebels on the consequences of continuing this civil war. My prediction ... if this story is true it will change the dynamics of the conflict dramatically .... in short .... prepare for a major escalation of involvement in the conflict from the West and it`s regional allies.
This is a breaking news story, and I will updating it as the day progresses.
Afghan Female Police Officer Shoots Dead US Military Adviser -- The Guardian
Shooting inside police headquarters in Kabul is the first attack on foreigners by a woman serving in the national security forces
An Afghan female police officer has shot dead a US adviser in police headquarters in Kabul, the first attack on foreigners by a woman serving in the national security forces.
"Today at 10am a female police constable opened fire on an American adviser with a pistol," Daoud Amin, deputy provincial police chief for Kabul said on Monday. "He was seriously wounded, they took him to hospital and he passed away there."
U.N. Envoy Meets With Syrian President As Deaths Mount Across Country -- CNN
(CNN) -- With the carnage in Syria reaching unimaginable levels, U.N. peace envoy Lakhdar Brahimi met with Syria's president Monday in hopes of making headway in ending the country's civil war.
But a lack of details after the meeting suggests that the 21-month-old crisis might still be far from over.
"We have exchanged opinions about the possible steps that can be taken in the future," Brahimi told reporters after meeting with President Bashar al-Assad.
Russia Seals Major Arms Deal with India -- RIA Novosti
NEW DELHI, December 24 (RIA Novosti) – Russia is to supply India with combat helicopters and warplanes worth $2.9 bln under a deal signed during Russian President Vladimir Putin’s visit to New Delhi on Monday.
“We have agreed to further strengthen our partnership in the sphere of military cooperation,” Putin said after a meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
Under the deals, India will buy 42 Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jets and 71 Mil Mi-17 helicopters.
Pakistan, Afghanistan Trying To Turn Taliban Into Political Movement -- Reuters
KABUL (Reuters) - Pakistan is genuine about backing the nascent Afghan peace process and shares the Kabul government's goal of transforming the Taliban insurgency into a political movement, a senior Afghan government official told Reuters.
"They have told us that they share the vision contained in our roadmap which is basically to transform the Taliban from a military entity into a political entity to enable them to take part in the Afghan political process and peacefully seek power like any other political entity in Afghanistan, he said.
My Comment: I am deeply skeptical that they will succeed. Aside from the sectarian and pathological make-up of the Taliban, they are also a group that follows the most radical form of Islam .... this is why they supported Al Qaeda by providing safe havenswhen they were in power .... and this is why they cannot compromise on their principles .... because to do so would admit defeat. What are their principles .... Wikipedia has an excellent description of what life under the Taliban was like. So .... bottom line .... how can you negotiate with crazy?
