Syrian opposition can strike chemical weapons on the bases of al-Assad. Representatives of the Syrian "insurgents" recently said that they have all the ingredients for creating a chemical weapons. They also own the necessary technology.
An unnamed adviser to the Syrian Free Army said that the SSA would use the appropriate ammunition only for strikes against the bases of government forces, reports "Russian peacemaker" with reference to the "Echo of Moscow".
Earlier in "Geopolitical mosaic" with reference to CNN (Report by Elise Labott) It has already been said that the United States and its European allies hired military contractors to train Syrian rebels in Jordan and Turkey to “secure the stockpiles of chemical weapons”. In the "courses", the militants were trained to ensure the safety of stocks, to comply with the rules for storing weapons and materials. One of the objectives of the "study" was also intelligence in relation to these objects in real time.
It was stated that the US military does not train opposition forces militarily, because Washington allows itself only "non-lethal assistance."
However, now we see what this “non-lethal assistance”, allegedly based on the training of “security,” has led to. The effect of the actions of the Americans was about the same as with the support of the emergence of new "democracies" that arose during the Arab spring - when Islamists like Mursi began to take over. A steady impression is being created that the anti-Muslim Washington, exhausted by the wars in Iraq, Libya and Afghanistan, is now trying by all means to exterminate the Arab world among itself: let the Arabs, and at the same time the Persians with the Kurds, destroy themselves. From Kalashnikov assault rifles, mortars, rockets, bombs, chemical and biological weapons - whatever you like. Otherwise, the actions of the Americans can not be explained. The theory of controlled chaos - it sounds beautiful, but it does not seem that the United States, in the full sense of the word, controls everything and everyone in the Middle East and North Africa.
After Assad. Today, a two-day conference has begun in London on a political settlement in Syria in the event of the overthrow of the government of President Assad. The very overthrow of the British authorities consider "inevitable", transmit "Vesti" with reference to ITAR-TASS. It is noted that this meeting will be closed, but a communiqué will be distributed on its results.
The event will be attended by representatives of the “National Coalition of Opposition and Revolutionary Forces” (NKORS) - the group of Syrian opposition recognized by the West, as well as experts on the Middle East and post-conflict settlement from those countries that support anti-government forces in Syria.
British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Twitter said: “The UK will host the international meeting on Syria 9 and 10 in January. Its goal is to revive the political transition in Syria. Assad's departure from power is inevitable. It is vital that the international community make plans for Syria for the next day. ”
British analysts suggest that the conference is a sign of concern for Western countries about the future prospects for the development of the situation in Syria. Against the background of the inability of the opposition to overthrow the government with arms, the conflict turns into a protracted civil war between religious communities. And radical groups of Islamists close to al-Qaeda are gaining more and more influence in Syria.
Let's start with a small Kurdistan. Americans have long cherished projects to split the Middle East by creating an independent Kurdistan. Another confirmation of this is the statement of the former American diplomat Peter Galbraith. He advised the Kurds to hold constitutional talks with Baghdad to achieve full-fledged independence, reports IA "REGNUM" with reference to the Kurdish newspaper «Rudaw».
The author of the book “The End of Iraq: How American Incompetence Has Created an Endless War” intelligibly explained: The United States should understand that Kurdistan is Washington’s best ally in the Middle East. He also emphasized that Kurdistan could become independent in the coming 10 years, and that it would be better for Kurds to compromise on the disputed territories of northern Iraq and agree on independence from Baghdad, because “to be independent is better despite the loss of their territories than get stuck in Iraq forever. ”
At the same time, Galbraith expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that Prime Shiite al-Maliki was helping the “Syrian regime”, and “it is obvious that the Iraqi government has not taken any serious steps to prevent the flights of Iranian aircraft that use Iraqi airspace to send support to the Syrian regime.”
With all this, the American publicist and analyst acknowledged that the US position does not suit the Kurds: it turns out that Washington does not support them enough. “I’m very disappointed with the US policy, and I think the US should recognize that Kurdistan is their best ally in the Middle East, and that this is the only region in Iraq that has the same values and goals for democracy, compared to Maliki, which is Iran’s closest ally in the world, ”said Galbraith. “That's why, as far as I am concerned, I will not work to strengthen the government of Iraq, and instead I will support more Kurdistan.” In my opinion, one of the big mistakes made by the United States was the sale of F-16 aircraft to the Iraqi government. Interestingly, Iran is very happy with the Iraq deal on the purchase of F-16, despite the fact that this is a deal with the United States. I hope that the US will change its policy and become more supportive of Kurdistan. ”
According to Galbraith, the concern of the US administration is that, getting closer to Kurdistan, the White House is losing influence in Baghdad. “This is the American trade principle, in which your friends are taken for granted. But I think it’s best to support our friends. The United States should not prevent Kurdistan from exporting its oil through pipelines that want to build a KRG and Turkey, ”Galbraith said, agreeing that the United States has already lost influence in Baghdad and it is clear that Iran is a major player there.
Kurdish oil. Iraqi Kurdistan began independent oil exports to world markets through Turkish territory. He writes about it "Lenta.ru" with reference to Reuters.
True, export volumes are still insignificant. Oil was delivered by truck to the Turkish Mediterranean port of Mersin. Mehmet Sepil, president of the Turkish company Genel Energy, stated that the government of Kurdistan allowed the export of raw materials from the Tak-Tak field to begin.
It is noted that Kurdish autonomy began self-exporting hydrocarbons in October 2012, but only condensates were supplied. The volume of supplies of condensates from the Khor-Mor gas field is about 15 thousand barrels per day. In exchange, Turkey supplies refined petroleum products to Kurdistan.
At the same time, an anonymous Iraqi official told Reuters that the central government considers Kurdish attempts to independently export hydrocarbons as illegal.
In Istanbul, the aircraft was detained with a half tons of gold. MIGnews.com, referring to the Turkish media, reports that the plane with 1,5 tons of gold on board was detained at the Istanbul International Airport.
A-300 "Airbus", owned by a private Turkish airline, made an emergency landing at Istanbul Airport in order to refuel and shift personnel. However, after it became clear that there was one and a half tons of gold on board, the plane was detained.
Earlier it was reported that the plane was flying from Ghana to Dubai. Turkish pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak reports that the plane flew out of Algeria and followed to Iran.
No other details.
State of Palestine. Last Sunday in Palestine, a decree by the Chairman of the Palestinian National Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, was announced that the PNA was now renamed the State of Palestine.
The new decree provides that the replacement of the old name with a new one must be made within two months on all official seals, medals, documents, certificates, contracts, textbooks, geographical maps, tourist brochures and other products produced by Palestine, "Reedus" with links to the WAFA and Xinhua agencies.
The decree was issued in connection with the recent acquisition by Palestine of the status of an observer state in the UN.
Israeli anxiety. The candidacy of Chuck Hagel, nominated by the US president for the post of defense minister, has troubled Israel. He writes about it "Sight" with reference to "France-Presse" and RIA "News».
It turns out that the “brilliant isolation theory” that Mr. Hagel adheres to may influence the US international strategy. These changes should be a cause for concern for Israel. True, they should not scare him. This was said by the speaker of the Israeli parliament Reuven Rivlin.
Full withdrawal from Afghanistan: when? The US administration is considering the possibility of a full withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan after 2014, said Deputy Presidential Adviser on National Security Affairs Ben Rhodes, reports correspondent RIA "Novosti" Denis Voroshilov.
Earlier, the Wall Street Journal, citing its own sources, wrote that the Pentagon made a preliminary decision to retain in Afghanistan after completing the withdrawal of the main contingent at the end of 2014 from 3 to 9 thousands of servicemen (i.e., several thousand less than previously proposed) to train the Afghan armed forces and guard US missions.
The adjustment of the plans took place simultaneously with the nomination to the post of the head of the Pentagon of ex-senator Chuck Hagel, who is a supporter of accelerated withdrawal.
Yesterday, Mr. Rhodes told reporters: “This (complete withdrawal of troops) could be one of the options that we evaluate. The president does not see the upcoming talks with Afghan President Hamid Karzai as an opportunity to maintain the US military presence in Afghanistan. ”
As for the talks of Karzai and Obama, they are scheduled for this coming Friday. They will discuss the areas of strategic cooperation between the two countries.
Kandahar International Airport fired rockets. Or maybe not fired. Kandahar International Airport was subjected to rocket fire, reports "Lenta.ru" with reference to the Pakistani agency Pajhwok.
ISAF representatives confirmed that the two rockets fell near the runway, moreover during the take-off of Pakistan International Airlines. Two other missiles fell outside the airport.
According to Pakistan Today, there was an 42 passenger aboard. As a result of the shelling no one was hurt. The plane departed for Pakistan.
This edition also reports that about 10 rockets were fired at the airport.
Interestingly, the representative of the governor of Kandahar province, and with him the head of the airport, deny the attack on the airport. According to them, the rockets did not fall into the airport, and there were no explosions there.
New frontier conflict between India and Pakistan? Indian authorities accused Pakistan of having killed two Indian soldiers in Kashmir’s border guards. This is stated in the official statement of the Indian Army, the text of which is published on the website of the NDTV channel, reports "Lenta.ru", further referring to the Associated Press.
According to the statement, yesterday the Pakistanis crept to the Indian border posts in a dense fog. They were noticed by an Indian patrol squad. A half-hour skirmish ensued. Two Indian soldiers were killed, two were injured. The attackers returned to their territory.
Meanwhile, the representative of the armed forces of Pakistan said that their military did not participate in the shootout.
Pakistan will ask for money from the IMF. Uliana Gortinskaya ("But") referring to Bloomberg, said that Pakistan may have to contact the International Monetary Fund: the country has problems with foreign exchange reserves, and the rate of its national currency is falling at a record-breaking pace.
The rate of the Pakistani rupee against the dollar for 2012 year fell by 7%, foreign exchange reserves fell by 19% - to 13,8 billion dollars. According to Sea Ali, an economist at Standard Chartered in Karachi, who previously worked at the World Bank, “rupee is experiencing serious pressure ", and the central bank of the country" is not able to protect the national currency. "
Pakistan has already appealed for help to the IMF - in October 2008 of the year (the agreed loan package amounted to 7,6 billion), then in 2011 (3,7 billion dollars, but Pakistan had to refuse this tranche: unacceptable requirements "put forward by the foundation).
The reason for the new appeal to the IMF, according to Gortinskaya, may be the upcoming elections. By the middle of 2013, the government of Pakistan will have to report back to the voters on the work done in order to confirm their authority for the next term in the general election. But the harsh conditions that, according to their habit, the IMF will place before the country, can be a costly undertaking for the current administration headed by the Pakistani People’s Party. After all, it is now fashionable to talk about measures of austerity. And if this is introduced in Western Europe, why not start saving in Asia?
In the case of the attack on the diplomatic mission in Benghazi, no one is to blame, except the State Department. The only detainee in the case of an attack on the US consulate in Benghazi, 26, a Tunisian citizen Ali Harzi, was released, reports "Lenta.ru" with reference to the Associated Press. According to lawyer Harzi, his client was released due to lack of evidence of involvement in the crime.
Ali Harzi was detained in Turkey in October 2012 in Turkey and then extradited to his homeland.
The attack on the US consulate in Benghazi was 11 September 2012 of the year. After the incident, several dozen people were arrested, but all of them were soon released. According to the United States, the investigation of crime in Libya is not progressing well, since the Libyan authorities do not control the situation in the country.
Qatar decided to thoroughly invest in Egypt. As reported from Cairo correspondent ITAR-TASS Dina Drunk, Qatar will invest in the economy of Egypt 23 billion. Dollars.
Yesterday in Cairo, APE President Mohammed Mursi talked with the Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister of the Emirate, Sheikh Hamad Bin Jasem Al Thani, and it was decided that Doha would provide Egypt with an additional 2,5 billion dollars (half a billion - in the form of a grant, two billion - in the form of deposits). Qatar has doubled the promised aid to Egypt - up to five billion dollars.
In addition, in the next five years, Qatar plans to invest in the Egyptian economy another 18 billion dollars. Of these, 8 billion is planned to be spent on large projects in the Port Said area. They provide for the construction of an industrial zone: power plants, plants for liquefying natural gas, smelting iron and steel, and a number of other enterprises. 10 billion will go to the "grand tourist project" on the Mediterranean coast. In addition, Qatar is studying the issue of investing in the residential sector and urban development in Egypt.
Corr. ITAR-TASS recalls that since the 2011 revolution, Egypt has spent more than half of its gold reserves. Now it is total 15 billion dollars against 36 billion in 2010 year.
Fines for tightness. The European Court of Human Rights awarded a fine of one hundred thousand euros from the Italian government for keeping prisoners in cramped cells, reports "Lenta.ru" with reference to the Associated Press.
Conditions of detention in some prisons, according to a court order, are unacceptable and violate human rights. We are talking about the prohibitions on torture and inhuman treatment set forth in the European Convention. Italy was given a year to remedy the situation with the conditions of detention of prisoners.
Thus, the court in Strasbourg upheld the complaint that seven prisoners from two Italian prisons filed with 2009. The prisoners wrote that they were kept in cells measuring nine square meters, three each, which is why each prisoner gets three square meters of personal space. They claimed that there was a shortage of electricity and hot water in the prison.
Alone at home. A call came from a resident at the police station of the German city of Ibbenbüren, which aroused law enforcement officers. As reported by the police, Frau assured that from the next apartment there are childish cries: “Mom! Dad! Mom, come! ”This was told correspondent ITAR-TASS Vyacheslav Filippov.
The woman also said on the phone that for two days the neighbors showed no signs of life. The police went to the scene. At the door, they heard "cries for help."
They did not open, and the guards were forced to break the door.
In the apartment, they found a parrot bored in a cage. He repeated: “Mom! Dad! Mom, come! ”
Out of pity for the allegedly abandoned feathery, the police found out where the owners of the parrot are. It turned out that they had gone to rest with the whole family. But the bird is not abandoned: friends look after it.
Comrade Chávez’s inauguration is being postponed. The President of Venezuela will not be able to attend the inauguration ceremony scheduled for January 10. According to "Lenta.ru" With reference to France-Presse, this is stated in a letter from the Vice President of the country, Nicolas Maduro, which 8 of January was read in the Venezuelan Parliament.
Cuban doctors who treat Chavez forbade him to return to Venezuela anytime soon. Inauguration postponed indefinitely.
Opposition representatives have previously proposed to hold new presidential elections if Chavez is unable to take part in the inauguration. Venezuelan legislation provides for such an opportunity in the event of a “permanent absence” of the president in the workplace. However, Comrade Maduro rejected this proposal, stating that it was premature to talk about a “permanent absence”.
As reported by Evgeny Popov ("Vesti"), the opposition does not object to the postponement of the inauguration date. After all, according to the constitution, it is possible to recognize Hugo Chávez as completely incapable only through 180 days of his absence in the presidential palace. Then new elections of the head of state will be possible.
The government insists that Vice President Nicolas Maduro should remain at the helm until Chavez recovers. The opposition also believes that on Friday Maduro’s cabinet will lose legitimacy, so the government must be handed over to the Speaker of Parliament. Thus, at present, the Venezuelan opposition is trying to seize the initiative.
No, these are not tomatoes. Brazilian police arrest an 69-year-old marijuana woman in one of the outskirts of Sao Paulo, reports correspondent RIA "News" Dmitry Znamensky with reference to local media.
Grandma seized more cannabis 40 bushes. She calmly grew them in pots on the terrace. She was let down by an anonymous denunciation.
But the old woman did not give up so easily. According to her, cannabis grew by itself: the seeds were planted in birds. Then she complicated the line of defense, saying that she was planting not cannabis, but tomatoes. But the trouble is: for some reason, these tomatoes did not bear fruit.
Brazilian police do without deduction. Granny just asked to stop fooling around. The old woman admitted that she has been growing marijuana for half a year.
The police also found out that the respectable citizen has a solid criminal past. For example, she was found guilty of killing a neighbor: she committed this crime many years ago.
Sino-Russian security cooperation will be successful. Bilateral cooperation between Russia and China under the new Minister of Security of the People's Republic of China, Guo Shankun, will be successful, Meng Jianzhu, a member of the political bureau of the CPC Central Committee, secretary of the political-legal commission of the CPC Central Committee, said during a meeting with Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev. RIA News".
Jianzhu met with Patrushev, who began his visit to China on Tuesday, at the Diaoyutai State Residence. A member of the Politburo expressed confidence in the fruitful cooperation of the parties: “I am convinced that you will work together with him, and you will form the same successful cooperation that was between us.”
RIA Novosti recalls that Comrade Guo Shenkun was appointed Minister of Public Security at the end of December 2012. He is 58 years old. He holds a Ph.D. in management and has so far been secretary of the party committee of the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region of the PRC, a region in the south of the country with a large number of national minorities.
Hillary Clinton recovered. As reported from Washington correspondent RIA "News" Maria Tabak, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton 22 January will speak in Congress at hearings on the tragedy in Benghazi. This was announced on the MSNBC channel by a member of the Senate International Committee Republican Bob Corker.
Initially, Clinton was supposed to perform 20 December, but was unable to do so due to illness.
She went to work on January 7. Corr. ITAR-TASS Andrey Shitov reports that gosdepovskie subordinates gave her an enthusiastic reception, and even presented a protective helmet for an American football player.
As the correspondent reminds. ITAR-TASS, H. Clinton for a month did not go to work because of medical problems. At first, she was tormented by a gastric infection, then she suddenly suffered a concussion, and, finally, on New Year's Eve, doctors discovered that she had a blood clot in one blood vessel in a solid brain sheath. She was discharged from hospital only on the evening of January 3.
7 January, the head of the State Department greeted with applause. Naids, Hillary's deputy, gave the boss a general gift: the shape of an American football player. He stated that diplomacy is also a “contact sport”. The host’s name, Clinton, is embroidered on the back, and the number 112 is on her chest (the number of countries visited by the head of American diplomacy).
Clinton is now preparing to hand over cases to his successor, John Kerry.
American teachers learn to shoot. As the correspondent ITAR-TASS Alexander BekrenevaReferring to Reuters, in the US states of Ohio and Texas, free shooting training courses for teachers began. Their organizers say that the purpose of the lesson is to prevent tragedies like the one that occurred on December 14 in Connecticut.
More than 900 teachers and other school staff enrolled in three-day courses conducted by the Ohio Firearms Association. “After completing these intensive courses, you will acquire many of the skills used by the operational response personnel,” the association’s representatives say.
And in Texas, four hundred places allocated for teachers, was not enough, and the organizers had to expand the program.
Ohio and Texas, notes correspondent. ITAR-TASS, - not the first states, where opened training courses for teachers. A few days after the tragedy in Connecticut, about two hundred teachers in Utah attended such classes.
Now the American society is divided into supporters and opponents of the weapons of teachers. The former argue that, had the teacher in Newtown carried a weapon with him, the carnage could have been avoided. The latter believe that the arming of teachers is unsafe and, moreover, the weapon will distract teachers from their school duties.
Mr. McCain vs. the Pentagon and the CIA. Andrey Bulgarov ("Wave"), referring to the "Associated Press", spoke about the angry speech that was made after viewing at the closed screening of the new film by Catherine Bigalow "Target number one" John McCain.
The senator said that the filmmakers deliberately distorted facts related to the operation to destroy bin Laden. The filmmakers claim that the confession of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed helped to find the refuge of the terrorist No. XXUMX. Thus, torture, for example, artificial drowning, is justified. Meanwhile, information received from this terrorist, says McCain, turned out to be false.
Republican senator stressed that he opposes any kind of torture. Criticizing the film, the senator made it clear to the US defense department and the CIA that he was totally dissatisfied with their actions.
It is known that the shooting was conducted under the watchful attention of the CIA. The solidarity of the Obama administration, the Pentagon, the CIA and the producers of the film, the author of the article believes, indicates that viewers are not willing to impose a picture of the development of events that would be approved by a true believer McCain. Yes, and how to do without promoting the invincibility of the American military machine ...
About Putin and zero world leadership. Rob Sachs and Andrew Hiller ("Voice of Russia") asked Ian Bremmer why the first place in the Foreign Policy magazine's rating (more precisely, the rating of the international consulting group Eurasia, headed by Ian) remained empty and why he, Bremmer, considers Vladimir Putin to be the most influential politician of our time. Bremmer said:
Eurasia Group is the largest consulting company that assesses political risks. I sent out to all our experts - this is about 150 people - my vision of influence and asked them to make a list of the ten most influential people in the world, in their opinion. Based on their ratings, we made a list. ”
This list turned out to be actually an average rating compiled by experts. According to Bremmer, influence is the individual ability of an individual to realize changes that significantly affect the fate of a large number of people.
“... Just imagine, Russia is a huge country, a serious economic player and an energy superpower, Russia has a strong army - and all this is controlled by one person! And in whose hands it will be if this person dies, or, for example, how things will then be with the rule of law and the organization of governance. From the point of view of influence, at the moment Putin is objectively the most influential politician in the world, he has concentrated in his hands the greatest completeness of regional power in Russia ... He’s not just engaged in judo, he is fighting throughout the country. ”
The first place ranking is empty because the United States, as Bremmer explained, does not use its influence on the world stage. According to the analyst, neither the G7 nor the G20 dominate the current world. Today we have G0. Zero world leadership. The place is vacant.
The collapse of the Russian economy? Do not wait! Mark Adomanis ("Forbes", USA; source of translation - "InoSMI") spoke about the special profession of the newest time, implying full-time employment. A lot of experts give their time ... hatred of the Russian economy.
Comrade Adomanis singled out the most colorful personality in the company of haters - Owen Matthews from Newsweek. Adomanis himself has been closely following Russia for ten years. Over the years, he has lost count of numerous analyzes that predict the Russian economy will inevitably collapse, to which only a few months remain.
However, even having received a series of crushing blows in the worst days of the financial crisis, the observer writes, the Russian economy is moving forward with growth rates within 3-4%, which, by the way, are ahead of almost all EU countries. The analyst believes that Russia's economic stability is undervalued.
Why is the Russian economy in the coming years to maintain stability and why is it not threatened by “large-scale cataclysms” that “will sweep away the terrible Putin”?
First, oil prices remain quite high.
Secondly, Russia has very large foreign exchange reserves (almost 25% of its GDP): one of the largest in the world.
Thirdly, the Russian government has a positive budget balance, and it does not spend very much as a percentage of GDP.
“From January to October, 2012, Russia had a budget surplus of about 1,4%. This is less than the 2011 year in 3,2%, but still such a figure can hardly be called scandalous or glaring. Despite the irresponsible and stupid chatter of the Russian Ministry of Defense about the upcoming campaign of rearmament of the army, budget expenditures in Russia are more directed to the social sphere than to the military-industrial complex. The Gaidar Institute prepared a graph showing where government allocations went in the first 10 months of the year (social policy costs are in the first place, and national defense expenditures are in fifth place). ”
And the Gaidar Institute is unlikely to be called today a “Kremlin lackey”, comrade Adomanis notes.
Fourth, unemployment in Russia is close to the post-Soviet minimum. At the same time, the labor market in Russia can hardly be called a model for all other markets, but it is much more active than before.
True, the growing deficit in Russian industries that are not related to oil causes alarm in Adomanis. The Kremlin will have to solve this problem in the very near future, otherwise it will get out of control. But the Russian economy is quite maneuverable and capable of overcoming serious difficulties.
On this positive note, we end our summary with geopolitical fields. Until we meet again, comrades!
Observed Oleg Chuvakin
- especially for topwar.ru
- especially for topwar.ru