Kiev De Facto Invasion: Will Novorossiya Fight Again?

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Poroshenko Enters Under Cloak of Darkness

Introduction by Kennedy Applebaum
Quemado Institute
December 4, 2015
Edited December 5, 2015

Kiev neo-nazi forces (–ainhoaaristizabal.wordpress)

Terrorist attacks in recent weeks have overshadowed the crisis in Novorossiya, where the Kiev neo-nazi forces continue their advance on Donbass. Under the cloak of media darkness, Kiev regime leader Petro Poroshenko is moving in to snatch Novorossiya from the jaws of Minsk. The Ukrainian Armed Forces have stockpiled heavy weapons along the line of contact, the US approved new arms shipments to Ukraine, neo-Nazi saboteurs have blown up Crimean power lines, punitive forces continue to shell Donetsk and nearby suburbs, and Kiev troops have confiscated village houses to make their winter quarters.

Today, the conflict has come to a head. The Donetsk News Agency reports that the Ukrainian Armed Forces have captured settlements in the buffer zone that were not under Kiev’s control at the time of the signing in Minsk. Essentially, Ukraine has launched a de facto invasion of Novorossiya.

DPR representatives Denis Pushilin and Eduard Basurin threaten the resumption of war. But first, they are appealing to the Normandy Trio to prevent full-scale hostilities.

Normandy Four: Putin, Poroshenko, Hollande, Merkel

Normandy leaders Angela Merkel, Francois Hollande, and Vladimir Putin achieved major  success in that role at the Paris summit of October 2, when the German Chancellor stood at the height of her power, the French President was less distracted by emergencies at home, and the Russian President still had a strong commitment to Ukraine.

But a lot has changed since October 2. With the Muslim migrant invasion of Europe, the Russian airbus crash in Egypt, the Paris attacks that killed 130, Turkey’s shootdown of Russia’s SU-24, the revelations of ISIS oil smuggling, Erdogan’s threats to Moscow, Putin’s deepening quagmire in Syria, a fomenting coup in Albania, and the Islamic terrorists’ shooting in California, world events have eclipsed the Ukraine crisis.

Caught up in the Syrian-ISIS war, Putin has turned his attention away from Ukraine, and devoted his December 3 State of the Nation Address to terrorism, Turkey and Federation politics, while Merkel’s career unravels as she softens her stance on migrants, and Francois Hollande sinks eyeball-deep in Paris-attack retaliation. The Normandy Trio may have little time for Donbass.

Left to its own devices, will Novorossiya fight again?

The following reports describe conditions today:

Kiev’s Capture of Villages in Buffer Zone a Prerequisite
for Resumption of War – DPR Defense Ministry

Edited autotranslation by Quemado Institute
Donetsk News Agency
December 4, 2015

The capture by Ukraine of settlements in the “neutral” zone in the south of Donbass is a prerequisite for the resumption of hostilities. This was announced today at a briefing in the DAN press center by the deputy commander of the DPR Ministry of Defense Corps Eduard Basurin. “Yesterday, the military and political leadership of Ukraine said the seizure of the settlements Pavlopol and Pishevik in the Mariupol region was ‘victorious’. Data on violent capture of settlements by the UAF [Ukrainian Armed Forces] is a precondition for the resumption of the outbreak of hostilities,” said the corps representative.

Eduard Basurin stressed that the settlements Shirokino, Vinogradnoye, Pavlopol, Pishevik, and Gnutova, located in the buffer zone near the line of contact between the parties, were not under the control of the Kiev authorities at the time of the signing of the agreements. “I want to remind you that with the signing of the Minsk Agreements on February 12, 2015, the parties are obliged to withdraw heavy weapons to prevent violent seizure of settlements in the so-called ‘neutral zone’,” said the representative of the Defense Ministry. On the eve of December 3, the Ukrainian General Staff announced that Pishevik and Pavlopol previously were in the neutral zone, the security forces brought them under the control of Kiev, and the administrative authorities of Ukraine began work in the villages.

DPR Notifies OSCE of Kiev Seizure of Neutral-Zone Settlements

Edited Autotranslation by Quemado Institute
Donetsk News Agency
December 4, 2015

The Donetsk People’s Republic has sent a notification addressed to the OSCE about recent facts of the capture by the Ukrainian military of settlements on the front line. This was stated to DAN by the head of the DPR delegation to the talks in Minsk, Chairman of the National Council Denis Pushilin. “We have sent a letter to the address of Martin Sajdik, coordinator of the contact group in Minsk as well as the special monitoring mission of the OSCE,” the Speaker of Pariliament said in a statement. “Also we call on the Normandy format to assess the actions of Kiev and prevent the resumption of full-scale hostilities caused by Ukraine’s gross violations of the Minsk Agreements.” Pushilin clarified that they are talking about the settlements Pishevik, Pavlopol, vinoglodnoye, Gnutova, Shirokino, Bahmutovka and Zhovanka. According to the Speaker, the actions of the Ukrainian side are increasingly aimed at the escalation of the conflict. “During the removal of equipment at a time when the safety of the zone should only increase, this is unacceptable,” said Pushilin.

We recall a similar assessment of the actions of Kiev were already given by DPR Defense Ministry deputy corps commander Eduard Basurin, who named the capture of the villages of Pishevik and Pavlopol in the south of Donbass as a precondition for the resumption of hostilities. On the eve of December 3, the Ukrainian General Staff announced that Pishevik and Pavlopol previously were in the neutral zone, that the security forces brought them under the control of Kiev, and that the administrative authorities of Ukraine began to work in the villages. Full text of the statement by Denis Pushilin [is found in the article below].

Denis Pushilin’s Statement in Connection with Seizure
by Ukraine of Settlements in Buffer Zone

Edited autotranslation by Quemado Institute
Donetsk News Agency
December 4, 2015

We have to admit the fact that the actions of the Ukrainian side are increasingly gaining momentum towards the escalation of the conflict. Today the military forces of Ukraine carried out the action of the passive attack, and seized settlements that are in the buffer zone, namely Pishevik, Pavlopol, Vinogladnoey, Gnutova, Shirokino, Bahmutovka, and Zhovanka. During the removal of equipment, at a time when the safety of the zone should only increase, this is unacceptable.

We have sent the appropriate letters to Martin Sajdik, coordinator of the contact group in Minsk as well as of the special monitoring mission of the OSCE. We also call upon the Normandy Four to assess the actions of Kiev and prevent the resumption of full-scale hostilities due to Ukraine’s gross violations of the Minsk Agreements.

Ron Paul: US Intervention Created ISIS, Boko Haram

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The War on Terror is Creating More Terror
Guest Commentary by Ron Paul

Ron Paul Institute
November 30, 2015
Posted here December 2, 2015

Ron Paul (–dealbreaker.com)

The interventionists will do anything to prevent Americans from seeing that their foreign policies are perpetuating terrorism and inspiring others to seek to harm us. The neocons know that when it is understood that blowback is real – that people seek to attack us not because we are good and free but because we bomb and occupy their countries – their stranglehold over foreign policy will begin to slip

That is why each time there is an event like the killings in Paris earlier this month, they rush to the television stations to terrify Americans into agreeing to even more bombing, more occupation, more surveillance at home, and more curtailment of our civil liberties. They tell us we have to do it in order to fight terrorism, but their policies actually increase terrorism.

If that sounds harsh, consider the recently-released 2015 Global Terrorism Index report. The report shows that deaths from terrorism have increased dramatically over the last 15 years – a period coinciding with the “war on terrorism” that was supposed to end terrorism.

According to the latest report: Terrorist activity increased by 80 per cent in 2014 to its highest recorded level. …The number of people who have died from terrorist activity has increased nine-fold since the year 2000.

The world’s two most deadly terrorist organizations, ISIS and Boko Haram, have achieved their prominence as a direct consequence of US interventions.

Michael Flynn (–twitter.com)

Former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency Michael Flynn was asked last week whether in light of the rise of ISIS he regrets the invasion of Iraq. He replied, “absolutely. …The historic lesson is that it was a strategic failure to go into Iraq.” He added, “instead of asking why they attacked us, we asked where they came from.”

Flynn is no non-interventionist. But he does make the connection between the US invasion of Iraq and the creation of ISIS and other terrorist organizations, and he at least urges us to consider why they seek to attack us.

Likewise, the rise of Boko Haram in Africa is a direct result of a US intervention. Before the US-led “regime change” in Libya, they just were a poorly-armed gang. Once Gaddafi was overthrown by the US and its NATO allies, leaving the country in chaos, they helped themselves to all the advanced weaponry they could get their hands on. Instead of just a few rifles they found themselves armed with rocket-propelled grenades, machine guns with anti-aircraft visors, advanced explosives, and vehicle-mounted light anti-aircraft artillery. Then they started killing on a massive scale. Now, according to the Global Terrorism Index, Boko Haram has overtaken ISIS as the world’s most deadly terrorist organization.

James Woolsey (–thelip.tv)

The interventionists are desperate to draw attention from the fact that their policies contribute to terrorism. After the Paris attacks, neocons like former CIA director James Woolsey actually pinned the blame on NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden! He claimed that because of Snowden’s revelations about NSA surveillance the terrorists were using sophisticated encryption. He even called for Snowden to be hanged because of it. But it was untrue: the Paris attackers did not use encryption, and other groups had used encryption long before the Snowden revelations.

Terrorism is increasing worldwide because of US and western interventionism. That does not mean that if we suddenly followed a policy of non-interventionism the world would become a peaceful utopia. But does anyone really believe that continuing to do what increases terrorism will lead to a decrease in terrorism?

Copyright © 2015 by RonPaul Institute. Permission to reprint in whole or in part is gladly granted, provided full credit and a live link are given.

Nuclear Winter: Are the Global Financial Powers Pushing for War?

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Elite Seeks War While EU Boosts Terrorism in Europe
Opinion

by Donovan Kirsten
Quemado Institute
December 1, 2015

Eiffel Tower, Paris, Nov 15, 2015 (cnnphilippines.com)

European leaders are luring in terrorists into their midst apparently in a lead-up to the next major war—a war designed by the fiscal architects of the global financial elite. This might be a swift kick to spur the debt-stalled economy. Hot on the heels of the Paris attacks, in which Muslim extremists—at least one a Syrian “refugee”—killed 130 innocent people, EU bureaucrats continue to welcome unvetted Islamic migrants, some of them ISIS sympathizers and candidate terrorists themselves.

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As political analyst Andrew Korybko says in his recent article Paris Analysis: Shattered Assumptions and Foreboding Conclusions [Sputnik, November 19, 2015]:

“Many voices from the Balkans and countless EU-based cautionaries warned that some of the ‘refugees’ weren’t who they claimed to be, pointing to their own anecdotal evidence as well as ISIL’s open declaration that they’ll infiltrate thousands of terrorists within the ‘refugee’ ranks. Regretfully, as vocal and credible as these warnings were, they were totally ignored by the extreme liberal-progressive ideologues that dominate the EU. They refused to listen to the ‘political blasphemy’ that alleged that some of the ‘refugees’ could be cold-blooded terrorists, but lo and behold, they were lethally mistaken and their religiously abided-by assumptions have been disproven to the highest degree possible. The synchronized nature of the Friday The 13th attacks and the targeting of two prior-scheduled and culturally symbolic events at the Stade de France and Bataclan strongly indicate that this wasn’t spur-of-the-moment terrorism. Ahmad Almohammad, the “refugee”-posing terrorist that is thought to have arrived in France around mid-October, was probably just a foot soldier that was recruited to help carry out the pre-planned attack. Continuing with this logic, it seems as though French-based terrorists … had organized the whole thing, and that they were in constant communication with their Mideast counterparts and were thus able to request additional terrorist support as needed. […] There’s no way to tell how many of the over 750,000 “refugees” that entered Europe this year were actually terrorists, but it’s unrealistic that the Paris attackers were the only ones. Even assuming a conservative estimate of 1%, then that’s 7,500 terrorists, and seeing what carnage only 7 of them could do in Paris, it’s frightening to imagine the chaos that over a thousand times more of such scum could unleash all across the continent.”

As clear and present as the dangers of Mideast terrorists are, to oppose this suicidal migrant influx is to invite being accused of “racism”, a weaponized term quick out the mouths of our youth, and an accusation exploited by the elite-run media to crush the voice of dissent. Indeed, any effective plan to reduce racial conflict is termed “racist” by the brainwashed public, especially by the gullible young who do not know the meaning of rational thought. Even educated news platforms such as Strategic Culture Foundation decry plans for European migrant reduction, so mesmerized are they by the elite’s ultra-liberal barrage, a primary media tool of the warmoguls.

Racial tension is a crisis now pushing the world toward war, yet the topic of race is taboo at a time we most need to discuss it. Media brainwashing prohibits us from examining racial-sectarian patterns, a kind of mental paralysis that keeps us from challenging the elite. Mind control means defining the road. The media establish the edges of the road, while we follow the center. We therefore believe we’re making a balanced choice. People imagine they’re not subject to media influence, but this is a deception. Nearly everyone marches to the same drum. Analysis of racial patterns is the road’s edge we’re forbidden to cross.

Jean-Claude Juncker, Donald Tusk

Not only are hundreds of thousands of migrants greeted with bleeding hearts and open arms, the bigshot EU puppet officials are now making plans for Turkey’s full membership in the European Union—despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that Turkey is an ISIS ally—meaning that along with innocent citizens, Turkey’s jihadist sympathizers will freely roam the European continent. Jean-Claude Juncker and Donald Tusk are now promoting just such an agreement with Turkey, a slap in the face of Russia, a clear provocation, and an open invitation to world war. According to a Sputnik article entitled EU May Introduce Visa-Free Regime With Turkey in Autumn 2016 (November 30, 2015):

“The European Union will introduce a visa-free regime with Turkey in autumn 2016, in case Ankara meets all outstanding requirements, European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker said Sunday…. Earlier, President of the European Council Donald Tusk stated that the European Union and Turkey at a meeting in Brussels on Sunday approved a joint plan to boost negotiations on its membership in the bloc. ‘If all conditions are met, I think that visa liberalization could take effect in the autumn of 2016,’ Juncker told reporters after an EU-Turkey meeting in Brussels.”

Yet Turkey is a proven ISIS ally. After all, it was a Turkish F-16 that downed the Russian fighter as if flew through Syrian airspace en route to striking ISIS terrorists, the professed enemies of the duplicitous West. And it was Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who said his air force would do it again, claiming the shootdown was conducted in defense of a legitimate Islamic cause.

Turkey’s Bilal Erdogan has lunch with ISIS leaders.

Legitimate? Only to an ISIS ally. Which proves Erdogan’s links to Islamic terrorists. Worse still, he and his son Bilal, chum of jihadist leaders, are known to be buying elicit Iraqi oil from ISIS and offering it at $20 a barrel to Western customers, who sell it at twice the price.

Such corrupt deals are described the Novorossia.su article SU-24 Shootdown Planned: Erdogan Supports Islamic State – Opinion by Alex Zot’ev (November 25, 2015), and also the Sputnik report Iraqi Politician Claims Turkey Lets ISIL Sell Oil for Meager $20 a Barrel (November 28, 2015).

So Erdogan, a terrorist ally, reaps kudos from the EU bigshots, while Turkey’s crimes fold nicely into the elite schemes of war. These money tyrants pick killer regimes to award with recognition, first the Kiev nazis, and now the Ankara jihadists. Why? Because killers fuel tension, and tension ignites conflict. The perversity of this points to one motive on the part of the financial elite: setting the stage for a major global war.

A two-pronged Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin partnership would bring a swift end to these apocolyptic schemes promoted by the corporate powers. Hence the media tries to damage Trump’s US presidential run with a barrage of false allegations, racism at the top of the list, while it vilifies Putin with trumped-up lies.

Donald Trump (–pforadio.com)

Even Sputnik News is a tool of the elite, though not to the extent of Western sources. The quasi pro-Russian news platform downplays Donald Trump’s qualifications rather than emphasizing his willingness  to work as a partner with Putin. In the the Sputnik article Next US President ‘Will Confront Russia Energetically’ (November 29, 2015) front-runner Trump is allotted one short paragraph, while the other candidates are emphasized. And Sputnik articles devoted to Trump are often demeaning.

The Sputnik report entitled Trump Campaign Accuses US Media of Suppressing 9/11 Footage (November 26, 2015) unfairly alleges, “Billionaire Donald Trump’s presidential campaign is doubling down on their outrageous claims that ‘thousands’ of Muslims in Jersey City were seen on television celebrating the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001. They are now flat-out accusing the media of a conspiracy.” No matter how many Muslims celebrated in Jersey City, what Trumps says is in essence correct. And of course he is right that the media, 90% owned by six corporations, are guilty of conspiracy: they tacitly agree to print the same lies. That Sputnik denies this points to its own complicity. If Sputnik were sincere about promoting Russia’s welfare, it would cast Trump’s presidential run in a positive light.

Sputnik also prints a disclaimer about Andrew Karybko’s editorial quoted earlier, saying: The views expressed in this article are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official position of Sputnik. And of course, Sputnik never fails to qualify the Donetsk and Lugansk People’s Republics as “unrecognized” or “self-proclaimed”, in keeping with the interests of the global financial powers.

Meanwhile, the Western media vilify Trump with accusations of “racism” for mentioning Muslims who applauded 9/11, despite that his words are relevant to a discussion of world peace. It was, after all, Muslim extremists who carried out 9/11. Why would their brothers not applaud? He invites his critics to check FBI records. But of course records mean nothing to our miseducated youth, who do not accept reality unless they see it on TV.

The elite are pushing for major war as a means to reset the economy. Initially, they sought to provoke armed conflict with Russia by staging a coup in post-Soviet Ukraine. Putin did not take the bait, He resisted US and EU provocation at the cost of thousands of civilian lives, lost due to the Ukrainian Army shelling of Russia’s historical Donbass. Yet the subsequent crisis failed to spark an all-out East-West war, forcing the elite to seek another avenue of conflict.

Some political analysts, including The Saker, Boris Rozhin and Rostislav Ischenko, contend the United States carried out this provocation to preserve its waning hegemony. It was not the US per se, however, but the global financial elite, which works to some degree through all Western governments. The US government is simply the most prominent, hence their confusion.

The elite do not want a war with China. Even to their sick demented minds, the vision of 1.3 billion Hans occupying North America is repugnant. Yet they need a foe who is powerful, and Russia is the optimal choice.

Having failed to achieve war through the Ukraine crisis, the powers that be stepped up the conflict with ISIS. Unfortunately, in this case, Putin did take the bait. He is now mired in a heated war and getting more deeply involved all the time. He can’t back out without risk to Russian security, and the end of ISIS is taking longer than expected.

No matter the loss of the Ukraine prospect, to the power elite, a war in Syria will work just as well for their purpose of fueling a global conflagration. The West can retaliate as easily in Syria by staging false flags and fueling public fervor.

Toward the Sun-Leonid Afremov (-pinterest)

Like an impressionist painting in which seemingly random brush strokes form a picture when viewed from afar, we can see the picture in the migrant crisis, the ISIS-executed Paris attacks, the bombing in Egypt of the Russian passenger airliner, the fascist-backed power failure in Crimea, and Turkey’s shootdown of the Russian SU-24. All these incidents are being exploited to maximize tension and set the stage for a global war.


The puppet US and their European allies, at the behest of the global powers, created the very ISIS that attacked the people in Paris. Yet Turkey and the West are buying illicit ISIS oil. This may comprise as much as 5% of world consumption, enough to depress prices and exacerbate the current glut, in which hundreds of oil tankers are backed up in the Gulf of Mexico. Meanwhile, US gasoline prices have fallen below $2.00 a gallon.

Turkey buys ISIS oil, Erdogan and his son have ties to the Islamic State, the ISIS terrorists claim credit for killing 130 in Paris, and at least one of the suicide bombers was a Muslim migrant. So how can we explain the fact that the EU continues to welcome migrants, and that Juncker and Tusk want to open the borders with Turkey? Unless they are trying to boost terrorism in Europe to instigate a major war—a war intended to stimulate an economy ridden with debt, incurred due to their own corrupt banking policies.

The tragedy of their ignorance is, global war will not alleviate economic stagnation. Pakistan would no doubt side with the Islamic State, allowing terrorists access to their nuclear arsenal. If today’s trends in American policy continue, the US might also funnel nuclear weapons to ISIS. And the terrorists would not hesitate to use them. Russia, aligned with China, would be forced to counter with nuclear missiles, making escalation inevitable.

Those who perish from nuclear war are not just the people directly attacked. A major exchange between superpowers would result in nuclear winter, in which stratospheric smoke would block 70% of the sunlight across the northern hemisphere. Crops would cease to grow, and starvation would decimate most of the human population as well as that of most living creatures. Civilization as we know it would come to an end.

I post Steven Starr’s article describing nuclear winter:

Nuclear War, Nuclear Winter, and Human Extinction

by Steven Starr
Federation of American Scientists
October 14, 2015

70% of sunlight blocked by stratospheric smoke  (–FAS)

While it is impossible to precisely predict all the human impacts that would result from a nuclear winter, it is relatively simple to predict those which would be most profound. That is, a nuclear winter would cause most humans and large animals to die from nuclear famine in a mass extinction event similar to the one that wiped out the dinosaurs.

Following the detonation (in conflict) of US and/or Russian launch-ready strategic nuclear weapons, nuclear firestorms would burn simultaneously over a total land surface area of many thousands or tens of thousands of square miles. These mass fires, many of which would rage over large cities and industrial areas, would release many tens of millions of tons of black carbon soot and smoke (up to 180 million tons, according to peer-reviewed studies), which would rise rapidly above cloud level and into the stratosphere. [For an explanation of the calculation of smoke emissions, see Atmospheric effects & societal consequences of regional scale nuclear conflicts.]

The scientists who completed the most recent peer-reviewed studies on nuclear winter discovered that the sunlight would heat the smoke, producing a self-lofting effect that would not only aid the rise of the smoke into the stratosphere (above cloud level, where it could not be rained out), but act to keep the smoke in the stratosphere for 10 years or more. The longevity of the smoke layer would act to greatly increase the severity of its effects upon the biosphere.

Once in the stratosphere, the smoke (predicted to be produced by a range of strategic nuclear wars) would rapidly engulf the Earth and form a dense stratospheric smoke layer. The smoke from a war fought with strategic nuclear weapons would quickly prevent up to 70% of sunlight from reaching the surface of the Northern Hemisphere and 35% of sunlight from reaching the surface of the Southern Hemisphere. Such an enormous loss of warming sunlight would produce Ice Age weather conditions on Earth in a matter of weeks. For a period of 1-3 years following the war, temperatures would fall below freezing every day in the central agricultural zones of North America and Eurasia. [For an explanation of nuclear winter, see Nuclear winter revisited with a modern climate model and current nuclear arsenals: Still catastrophic consequences.]
Nuclear winter would cause average global surface temperatures to become colder than they were at the height of the last Ice Age. Such extreme cold would eliminate growing seasons for many years, probably for a decade or longer. Can you imagine a winter that lasts for ten years?

The results of such a scenario are obvious. Temperatures would be much too cold to grow food, and they would remain this way long enough to cause most humans and animals to starve to death.

Global nuclear famine would ensue in a setting in which the infrastructure of the combatant nations has been totally destroyed, resulting in massive amounts of chemical and radioactive toxins being released into the biosphere. We don’t need a sophisticated study to tell us that no food and Ice Age temperatures for a decade would kill most people and animals on the planet.  Would the few remaining survivors be able to survive in a radioactive, toxic environment?

It is, of course, debatable whether or not nuclear winter could cause human extinction. There is essentially no way to truly “know” without fighting a strategic nuclear war. Yet while it is crucial that we all understand the mortal peril that we face, it is not necessary to engage in an unwinnable academic debate as to whether any humans will survive.

What is of the utmost importance is that this entire subject –the catastrophic environmental consequences of nuclear war – has been effectively dropped from the global discussion of nuclear weaponry. The focus is instead upon “nuclear terrorism”, a subject that fits official narratives and centers upon the danger of one nuclear weapon being detonated – yet the scientifically predicted consequences of nuclear war are never publically acknowledged or discussed.

Why has the existential threat of nuclear war been effectively omitted from public debate? Perhaps the leaders of the nuclear weapon states do not want the public to understand that their nuclear arsenals represent a self-destruct mechanism for the human race?  Such an understanding could lead to a demand that nuclear weapons be banned and abolished.

Consequently, the nuclear weapon states continue to maintain and modernize their nuclear arsenals, as their leaders remain silent about the ultimate threat that nuclear war poses to the human species.

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Steven Starr is the director of the University of Missouri’s Clinical Laboratory Science Program, as well as a senior scientist at the Physicians for Social Responsibility. He has been published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists and the Strategic Arms Reduction (STAR) website of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology; he also maintains the website Nuclear Darkness. Starr also teaches a class on the Environmental, Health and Social Effects of nuclear weapons at the University of Missouri.

News from Donetsk & Beyond Nov 28 2015

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Saturday, November 28, 2015
(Updated throughout the day)

Alexander Zakharchenko

Alexander Zakharchenko on Place and Role of Media in the DPR / Zakharchenko official website (in Russian) / Edited autotranslation by Quemado Institute / At a press conference held on November 27, Head of the People's Republic of Donetsk Alexander Zakharchenko answered journalists' questions on the role of media in the lives of the young state. Question: What is your attitude toward the media? Zakharchenko: Any journalist is obliged, in connection with the specifics of their profession, to communicate to people is not so much an opinion as objective information. Question: How important is the work of news agencies and the media in general? Zakharchenko: ... I believe that you carry the power that shapes public opinion and even public life. Therefore, you have a special mandate. You have a very important profession. Question: On the territory of the Republic, several news agencies, TV channels and other media have formed. How they can work freely? Is there any censorship? Zakharchenko: About censorship, we know there is almost none. Nobody is forbidden to express their opinion. It is the right of every citizen and person. But if the opinion which you express is radically different from the views of the majority, it probably means that you are not right, and that you have disagreement with the company [tr?]. And about the ban on expressing views, please say what you want. You probably want to ask how important it is to develop freedom of speech? Freedom of speech is one of the pillars of statehood. But you must understand that freedom is not permissiveness. The freedom of one person should not work to the detriment of the freedom of another person or the public. Quemado Institute comments: We are glad to see Zakharchenko directly address the issue of freedom of the press. Over the past year it has become clear to us that there is strict media censorship in the DPR. We have not heard this from specific sources, but have come to this conclusion based on the restrained content of news reports emanating from the DPR, and the dearth of broad commercial news agencies that deal openly with world events and politics. We have challenged the DPR on this in several commentaries. It is of course necessary in this critical time of vulnerability, when the DPR is fighting a massive information war against the whole Western world and even Russian news sources such as TASS, that anti-Donbass propaganda not be published in the DPR, and we support their expulsion of pro-Ukrainian journalists. The downside is, censorship of even the most moderate kind creates writer's block among journalists, thwarting their creativity and stifling the content of their articles. This constraint is evident all through the Donetsk-based news. And it limits the expression of the favorable along with the unfavorable. Thus, supportive Western journalists such as ourselves have difficulty knowing what is really going on in the DPR. We rely on Twitter for direct information. Furthermore, it is especially tragic that pro-Novorossiya journalists such as Valentina Kornienko have been abducted by DPR authorities and held in secret detention. Journalists advocating an independent Novorossiya should be allowed the freedom to express this, and pressure from Moscow to suppress such opinions, in the name of Minsk and appeasement of the West, should be ignored. Note also that Zakharchenko is essentially advocating what is called a "tyranny of the majority", ie. those who disagree with the majority should be censored. Yet, contrary to his statement, permissiveness is exactly what freedom is, as long as it falls within the bounds of law. The laws must be delicately balanced to allow maximum freedom while sustaining order and security. Some liberalization of the DPR's free speech laws might enhance their image worldwide.

Alexander Zakharchenko

Head of the DPR on Refugees from Ukrainian Side / Zakharchenko official website (in Russian) / Edited autotranslation by Quemado Institute / November 28, 2015 / At a press conference on November 27, Alexander Zakharchenko answered reporters' questions about a possible increase in the flow of refugees, since Ukraine is in deep economic crisis. Question: The situation in Ukraine is deplorable. They come broke, there are problems with gas, with coal, and the winter will be cold. If the refugees come here from Ukrainian side, will you accept them? Zakharchenko: We never said that we are at war with the people of Ukraine. We said that we are at war with the Nazis, and Bandera. We do not view the people of Ukraine as our opponent. We have always treated them with respect. And in all the statements that we have made, we called on these people only come to their senses and throw off the yoke of this power that came to them illegally. Therefore, we will extend a helping hand, and will render any assistance to any person, this we will. But I just want to remind you with a saying: Into a strange monastery with its regulations do not go. We do not welcome ["perceive" - tr?] people here who are carriers of the ideology of "Ukrainians", we do not welcome people who adhere to the ideology of Bandera. And we do not welcome the people who run away from there to stay here, and then go back and say that we are bad. We are always glad to see in our area our friends, the people who need help, especially children, the elderly and women.

Alexander Zakharchenko

Zakharchenko Does Not Rule Out Provocations by Kiev for Purpose of Accusing DPR during Elections in Mariupol / DAN / Edited autotranslation by Quemado Institute / November 27, 2015 / The Kiev authorities may resort to provocations during tomorrow's elections in Mariupol in order to blame the DPR for their failure. This was stated by Head of the People's Republic of Donetsk Alexander Zakharchenko. "We have not provoked anything in Mariupol, but it is expected that the Ukrainians are preparing provocations in order to then accuse us of disrupting the elections to take place there. But to accuse us of provocation in a territory over which we have no control is, at the least, stupid," said the Head of the DPR. According to him, the elections have been re-assigned, and can not take place because of the low turnout. "If voters do not participate in the vote tomorrow, it is the will of the people who live there," said Zakharchenko. Recall that the local elections scheduled for October 25 by Kiev, due to lack of ballots, did not take place in Mariupol, which is the largest city in the Ukrainian Security Forces occupied territory of Donbass, and Krasnoarmeisk. The new date for a vote in both towns is 29 November.

Lenin Square in Donetsk (--DAN)

In Donetsk, More than 300 Thousand Inhabitants who Left the City Because of Ukrainian Attacks have Returned / DAN / Edited autotranslation by Quemado Institute / November 28, 2015 / More than 300 thousand residents of the capital have returned to Donetsk since the end of summer 2014. This was announced today to DAN by the mayor Igor Martynov. "The peak of the conflict was about August 3, 2014, while in Donetsk there were about 500-520 thousand people. Now the population of Donetsk is 850 thousand, that is, more than 300 thousand have returned," said the mayor. He added that the mass return of people who fled the DPR capital indicates significantly revived traffic. "You can see for yourself that there are traffic jams," the source said. Prior to the military conflict in the Donets Basin, according to 2013 [census], the population of Donetsk exceeded 950,000 people. "Of course, there are a hundred thousand who have left and cannot afford to live anywhere else, and not in their home country," said the mayor of the capital. The exodus of Donetsk in August 2014 occurred in connection with the massive bombardment of the city, which was [carried out by] Ukrainian security officials involved in the punitive operations of Kiev. In the area on the outskirts, there was shelling residential neighborhoods, which are still being shelled from the Ukrainian positions, as well as in the center.

Poroshenko  (--Russia Insider/Reuters/Mykola Lazarenko)

Washington's Approval of Arms Shipments ot Ukraine not News for DPR - Zakharchenko / DAN / Edited autotranslation by Quemado Institute / November 28, 2015 / Washington's decision to officially give weapons to the Ukrainian regime did not surprise the administration of the DPR, Head of the People's Republic of Donetsk Alexander Zakharchenko said today. "Last year (Defense Minister Vladimir) Kononov showed reporters the weapons we captured at the Donetsk airport. Among the spoils of war were American machine guns and rifles. In other words, the US had already supplied weapons to Ukraine. Just now, America has officially announced it. We are not surprised by such statements," said the head of the DPR. Recall that on November 26, US President Barack Obama signed the Congress approved US defense budget for 2016, which provides military assistance to Ukraine in the amount of $300 million.

Vladimir Putin (--from Fort Russ)

Putin signs a decree on special economic measures against Turkey / Translated by Ollie Richardson for Fort Russ / Fort Russ / November 28, 2015 / The President of Russia Vladimir Putin has signed a decree on measures to ensure the national security of the Russian Federation and on application of special economic measures in relation to Turkey, said the press service of the Kremlin. The President of Russia Vladimir Putin has signed a Decree "On measures for safeguarding national security of the Russian Federation and protecting Russian citizens from criminal and other unlawful acts and on application of special economic measures against the Turkish Republic," stated the message.

Russian DM Sergei Shoigu (--Sputnik/Sergei Guneev)

Russian MoD presents the facts regarding Turkey's act of aggression / Fort Russ / November 28, 2015 / In the course of appearance of different versions concerning circumstances of the attack on the Russian Su-24M aircraft carried out by the Turkish F-16 fighter in the sky over Syria on November 24, the Russian Defence Ministry presents facts of this situation unprecedented in its disloyalty. The accident happened on November 24. Combat loss of the Su-24M, tail number 83, was caused by fire engagement. At 9.15 (MSK) it was assigned to carry out strike near Kepir-Motlu-Zahiya located in the north of Syria. This task was assigned to two Su-24M aircraft crews, including one of pilot Lieutenant Colonel Oleg Peshkov and Captain Konstantin Murakhtin (aircraft number 83, with combat payload four OFAB-250-270 air bombs). The crews were assigned to conduct combat air patrol near Maarrat al-Numan at flight levels of 5800 m and 5650 m correspondently. The aircraft took off from the Hmeymim airbase at 9:42. At 9:52, the Su-24M entered detection zone of the Turkish Air Force radar means and was under their coverage in the course of 34 minutes. After 20 minutes passed since the crew had entered its area of responsibility, the Command centre of the Hmeymim airbase ordered it to eliminate militants in the area. The crews bombed two assigned targets and turned to the left to make another approach for destruction of two remaining targets. As it was carrying out an airstrike at the target located 5.5 km to the south of the Turkish border, at 10:24 the crew led by Lieutenant Colonel Peshkov O.A. launched bombs at the target and was then downed by an "air-to-air" . . . MORE>> Click here.

Mowaffak al-Rubaie (--thesaker.is)

Iraqi Politician Claims Turkey Lets ISIL Sell Oil for Meager $20 a Barrel / Sputnik / November 28, 2015 / Turkey allows the Islamic State terrorist group to sell Iraqi and Syrian oil for just $20 a barrel, Iraq's former National Security Adviser Mowaffak al-Rubaie wrote on Saturday. In a statement posted on his Facebook page al-Rubaie, who is also a leader of the Law-Governed State parliamentary coalition, outlined Ankara’s four-pronged support for the Islamic militants, with the illegal oil trade topping the list. “First and foremost, the Turks help the militants sell stolen Iraqi and Syrian oil for $20 a barrel, which is half the market price,” Mowaffak al-Rubaie wrote. Turkey in general, and Istanbul in particular, is also a place where ISIL commanders recruit local migrants and take them to Mosul in Iraq or Raqqa in Syria, he noted. “Each month hundreds of radicals cross the Turkish border, while the local law enforcers pretend they just don’t see,” Mowaffak al-Rubaie wrote, adding that many wounded ISIL fighters were apparently undergoing treatment in Turkish hospitals. During a joint news conference with French President Francois Hollande in Moscow earlier this week, President Vladimir Putin mentioned the massive supplies of Syrian oil being sent to Turkey by the Islamic State terrorist group.

Russia and Europe's Crucial Alliance Against Islamic State

Will Allies and Axis Join Ranks
A Century Later?

Introduction by Quemado Institute
November 27, 2015

As the world news zeroes in on the hidden---or ot so hidden---subversive financial motives for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's shootdown of the Russian SU-24 and his criminal support of the Islamic State, the more progressive countries of the West are at last waking up to the fact that Vladimir Putin is ten steps ahead of them in combatting the biggest threat to our civilization: extremist Islamic terrorism.

We present below four articles from news platforms on different sides of the curtain: first a report from Strategic Culture Foundation on the Putin-Hollande press conference, followed by guest reports form rt.com, Aljazeera and the Washington Post, each underscoring the urgency of forging an alliance between Europe and Russia, which, unlike the alignment in the World Wars of the twentieth century, would include Germany in its ranks, despite that a stubborn NATO insists on digging its head in the sand, no doubt fearing its officials will be out a cushy job if the quasi-Russian-Atlantic feud is exposed as the robeless emperor it is.

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Vladimir Putin, Francois Hollande Press Conference
Guest Article

Strategic Culture Foundation
November 27, 2015

Francois Hollande, Vladimir Putin, Moscow, Nov 26, 2015

On Nov 26 following their bilateral meeting in Moscow, the President of Russia Vladimir Putin and the President of France François Hollande took part in a press conference in Kremlin to give a statement on the results of the meeting and answer journalists’ questions. Mr. Putin started his address by calling the concluded meeting “frank and substantive” and naming “the issue of jointly combating international terrorism” as its primary objective.

“Russia and France know what it means to act in the spirit of alliance; we have come together more than once throughout our history. Today, we agreed to step up our joint efforts on the anti-terrorist track, to improve the exchange of operational information in the fight against terrorism and establish constructive work between our military experts in order to avoid overlapping incidents and to focus our efforts on ensuring that our work in fighting terror is more effective, avoiding any strikes against territories and armed forces that are themselves fighting terrorists. Mr Hollande and I are looking at this kind of cooperation as concrete and practical input towards forming a broad anti-terrorist coalition, a broad anti-terrorist front under the auspices of the United Nations. I will note that the number of nations sharing this initiative is growing.” noted the President.

Following the opening speech delivered by Vladimir Putin President Hollande stated: “Last week, the UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution that all countries in the world should take the necessary measures to coordinate their efforts to eliminate the 'Islamic State', and we should pursue this process. …Since 2011, the chaos in Syria has created a huge wave of refugees, and over 300,000 people have been killed, and so now we need to find a political solution to this crisis, but there are requirements for this that should be followed. We believe that the following conditions should be met if we are to ensure a political transition process. A coalition government, an independent government, should be formed during a transition period. … it is imperative that Russia should play the main, one of the main roles in this process. I’ve told Mr Putin that France is ready and willing to work with Russia hand in hand towards our common objective, which is to fight terrorist groups, above all ISIS. It is for this reason that I believe our meeting today to be of outmost importance. Mr Putin and I have agreed on three main points.

"First, we intend to step up the exchange of intelligence and any other information between our respective forces. Second, we will intensify strikes against ISIS and coordinate them so as to enhance their efficiency. Third, as Mr Putin has also pointed out, we need to make sure that our air strikes concentrate on the 'Islamic State' and terrorist groups.

"Let me tell you that Europe is about to mobilise its forces to combat terrorism. I would like to ask defence ministers from across Europe to take the necessary decisions for coordinating their actions. The United Kingdom will also participate. I spoke with Mr Cameron about this. I also discussed a number of issues with Ms Merkel yesterday. Mr Putin and I have also agreed that we will exchange information and specific actions as regards another important issue – the developments in eastern Ukraine. We will continue to work on that within the Normandy format. Our fight against terrorism in Syria does not affect France’s commitment to find a political solution to the Ukrainian crisis. We must fully implement all the measures that are stipulated in the Minsk Agreements. This is why I wanted to come to Moscow today to meet with Mr Putin. Mr Putin will come to Paris on Monday to participate in the climate change conference. I think the current situation and the fight against terrorism required my visit to Moscow today.”

Answering a question about the role of President Assad in the future of Syria, President Putin replied: “I believe that the fate of the Syrian president should be entirely in the hands of the Syrian people. This is the first point. Second, we all believe that successfully fighting terrorists in Syria is impossible without ground operations, and today the only force that can conduct ground operations against ISIS, Jabhat al-Nusra, and other terrorist organisations, is the Syrian government army. In this regard, I believe that President Assad's army and he himself are our natural allies in fighting terrorism. There may be other forces that claim they are willing to fight terrorists. …We have already established such contacts with some of them, and … we are willing to support their efforts in fighting ISIS and other terrorist groups, just as we support the Assad army.

"We …will exchange information with France about the areas that are being held by healthy opposition, not terrorists, and will refrain from delivering air strikes at them. We will also exchange information, when we – France and Russia – know for sure that certain areas are captured by terrorist organisations, and we will coordinate our efforts with regard to those areas.”

When asked about the incident that took place on Tuesday as a result of which a Russian bomber was shot down by Turkish jet fighters and possible implications of the incident, Vladimir Putin stated: “…we considered Turkey to be a friendly state and simply didn’t expect an attack from that side. This is why we regard this attack as treacherous. Now we see what’s possible, and our people were killed. We’re duty bound to ensure the safety of our air force. This is why we’ve deployed the modern S-400 system there. It’s a long range air-defence system and is one of the most effective such systems in the world. However, we won’t limit ourselves to this. If necessary, we’ll support our air operations with fighter jets, and any other means, including electronic warfare systems. We have plenty of alternatives, and now we’ll use them.

"This is not in conflict with what we’re doing with the US-led coalition. We exchange information with them, but now we’re very worried about the nature of this exchange and the results of this cooperation. …The American side, which leads the coalition, to which Turkey is also a party, knew about the location and time of our operation. And this is precisely where we were hit. …We considered Turkey not just a neighbour, but a friendly nation, almost an ally. It is very sad to see this being destroyed in such a thoughtless and reckless manner. … It’s highly regrettable that instead of seriously analysing this issue and making sure that such incidents never happen again, we are hearing inconclusive explanations and statements that they don’t have anything to apologise for. Anyway, this is Turkey’s choice, not ours.”

Mr Hollande also offered his comment on the issue: “This is a very serious incident, and I regret that it happened. It is perfectly clear that it is necessary to avoid any risk and any possible repetition of this sort of thing at this time and place. It is critical that we refrain from escalating the situation. The only goal that we should all set for ourselves is the fight against ISIS and the elimination of the terrorists. We have no other goals. We must enhance coordination between our countries so that the armed forces present in the region and the aircraft capable of conducting air strikes do not interfere with each other so as to prevent any encounters leading to deplorable consequences and collisions. We need to do our outmost to prevent this from happening again.

"…we have agreed on the need to carry out strikes against terrorists only, only against ISIS and jihadist groups. It is crucial in this respect that groups that are also combating terrorists are not targeted by air strikes. It is in this area that we intend to share information with each other, as was discussed during the meeting. We have to understand who can fight and who can’t, who should or should not be targeted. Consequently, our current objective is to try to avoid any incidents of this kind between the countries that are engaged in counter-terrorist efforts in Syria. Second, we must identify goals that would be clear to everyone.”

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Anti-ISIS Bombing Hits Commercial-Scale Oil Smuggling to Turkey
Guest Report

Axis of Logic
Source: rt.com
November 27, 2015

ISIL uses oil smuggling to fund war chest (--thenational.ae)

Islamic State’s daring and impudent oil smuggling into Turkey should become a high-priority target in order to cripple the terrorist group, President Putin said, backed by French President Francois Hollande. Both agree that the source of terrorist financing must be hit first and foremost.

Commercial-scale oil smuggling from Islamic State controlled territory into Turkey must be stopped, Putin said after meeting Hollande in Moscow.

“Vehicles, carrying oil, lined up in a chain going beyond the horizon,” said Putin, reminding the press that the scale of the issue was discussed at the G20 summit in Antalya earlier this month, where the Russian leader demonstrated reconnaissance footage taken by Russian pilots. The views resemble a “living oil pipe” stretched from ISIS and rebel controlled areas of Syria into Turkey, the Russian President stressed. “Day and night they are going to Turkey. Trucks always go there loaded, and back from there – empty.”

“We are talking about a commercial-scale supply of oil from the occupied Syrian territories seized by terrorists. It is from these areas [that oil comes from], and not with any others. And we can see it from the air, where these vehicles are going,”

Putin said. “We assume that the top political leadership of Turkey might not know anything about this [illegal oil trade]. Hard to believe, but it is theoretically possible,” Putin said, adding that this however does not excuse Ankara from not stopping the illegal smuggling of oil.

Putin pointed out the lack of smoke from any fires or the existence of any commercial enterprises created to deal with the destruction of oil, which would be possible to find if the Turkish leadership is aware and is seizing and destroying smuggled products, as it claims. “But if the top political leadership [in Turkey] doesn’t know anything about this, let them find out. I can admit that there may be some elements of corruption, secret dealing, they should sort it out,” said Putin.

Putin stated that sales of oil from ISIS are in direct violation of international law, and that the proceeds from ‘black gold’ cost innocent people their lives. “In this respect there is a special UN Security Council resolution banning the direct purchase of oil from terrorists, because these barrels, that they supply, it is not just oil, there is the blood of our citizens, because from the money [received], terrorists buy weapons, ammunition, and then conduct bloody actions,” Putin said.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan (--sendika7.org)

However, the Turkish leadership is not rushing to investigate whether any of the ISIS oil smuggling routes end up in Turkey, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself refuting any suspicions that Syrian oil might be getting into his country illegally as absolute “slander.”

“Those who claim we buy oil from Daesh [ISIS] are obliged to prove it,” Erdogan said earlier on Thursday in an attempt to shift the blame for ISIS oil profits onto Damascus. “If not, you are a slanderer. Shame on you!”

“ISIL sells the oil they drill to Assad. To Assad. Talk this over with Assad you support,” Erdogan said, as cited by AFP.

Putin reminded that ISIS claimed responsibility for a number of deadly terrorist acts throughout the world, including the Russian plane bombing in Sinai and the series of Paris attacks in mid-November.

After French President Francois Hollande’s meeting with Putin on Wednesday, he said that the focus of the fight against terror should be the destruction of the Islamic State oil trade. “It is necessary to hit ISIS training centers, to hit those centers where this terrorist army is being trained,” Hollande said. “But the main thing is to hit the sources of financing, which give [the terror group] life in the first place – first of all oil,” The French leader emphasized. The most effective way, the French leader said is to target “trucks that transport oil,” transferring it to buyers on the black market, “thus giving ISIS uncontrolled amount of money.”

The Russian Foreign ministry meanwhile wants Ankara to properly address reports of its alleged involvement with ISIS oil smuggling. “We have a very large number of questions ... [for] the Turkish side in relation to information found in the media and social networks about the relationship with the terrorists on the oil business, all kinds of assistance to groups that carry out the relevant activities,” said Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, Maria Zakharova.

Meanwhile the Russian air force continues to engage terrorist targets in Syria and increasingly focusing on illegal terrorist oil smuggling. Between November 23 and26 the Russian air force carried out 134 sorties on 449 targets. “Russian aviation continues to strike refining facilities in the territories controlled by ISIS terrorist organization,” defense ministry spokesman General-Major Igor Konashenkov told a media briefing on Wednesday. In the past few days Russian aircraft have destroyed oil trucks, refineries, and oil storage facilities in the provinces of Deir ez-Zor and Raqqa.
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France’s Hollande, in Moscow, Calls for Anti-ISIL Coalition
Guest Report

Aljazeera
November 26, 2015

Baumarchais, 11-13-15 (--Thierry Chesnot/Getty Images)

French President Francois Hollande told Russia's Vladimir Putin on Thursday that world powers must create a "grand coalition" to combat Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) fighters who control swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq. Hollande’s comments come amid calls from international leaders to ramp up efforts against ISIL in the Middle East and around the world following the attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 that killed 130 people. ISIL has also said it downed a Russian plane on Oct. 31 over the Sinai Peninsula in Egypt, killing all 224 people on board. "Our enemy is Daesh, Islamic State, it has territory, an army and resources, so we must create this large coalition to hit these terrorists," Hollande said, using alternative names for ISIL, in televised remarks at the start of bilateral talks with the Russian leader in the Kremlin.

Putin said that Russia was mourning for Paris victims and those who died in the downing of the Russian passenger plane over Egypt. He praised Hollande's efforts to build a coalition and said that Moscow was open for stronger cooperation. “It is for [the victims of the attacks] that we must act,” French newspaper Le Figaro quoted Hollande as saying.

Earlier Thursday, British Prime Minister David Cameron told the House of Commons that U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Francois Hollande had urged Britain to join the military campaign and argued that the Paris attacks have given new urgency to the fight against ISIL. "These are our closest allies and they want our help," he said.

Cameron, who lost a vote on air strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's forces in 2013, needs to persuade several lawmakers in his own Conservative Party and some in the opposition Labour Party to back his cause if he is to win parliament's backing for military action.

Germany, meanwhile, has decided to send reconnaissance aircraft, tanker planes and a warship to help in the fight against ISIL.

Hollande's visit comes two days after he met with President Barack Obama in Washington, where both leaders vowed to escalate airstrikes against ISIL and bolster intelligence sharing. Hollande's difficult task became even more arduous after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane near the Syrian border on Tuesday. The incident underscored the complex military landscape in Syria, where a sprawling cast of countries and rebel groups are engaged on the battlefield and in the skies overhead, sometimes with minimal coordination.

The French president hopes to make progress on three priority issues: to prevent Assad from targeting civilians, to focus the airstrikes on ISIL fighters – not other groups that comprise the Syrian opposition – and to move forward on a political transition in Syria. France will also seek to "avoid an escalation" between Russia and Turkey, according to a French diplomatic official who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue. In advance of Hollande's meeting with Putin, France sought to dismiss concerns that it might soften its stance on international sanctions against Russia over Ukraine in exchange for Russia's cooperation in the fight against ISIL. France's ambassador to the U.S., Gerard Araud, tweeted on Tuesday evening that "Hollande has confirmed the sanctions will be maintained as long as the Minsk agreements are not implemented." Araud was referring to peace agreements for eastern Ukraine forged in the Belarusian capital in February.

Following his meeting with the French president, Obama said Russian cooperation in the fight against IS would be "enormously helpful." Both Obama and Hollande, however, insisted that a political transition in Syria must lead to Assad's departure. Russia, on the other hand, has been Assad's staunchest ally. Last week, Hollande called for the U.S. and Russia to set aside their policy divisions over Syria and "fight this terrorist army in a broad, single coalition." But his office acknowledges that "coordination" sounds like a far more realistic goal.

With two suspects of the Paris attacks at large, tensions were still high in Belgium on Thursday with the capital, Brussels. But authorities lowered the threat level in Brussels to the second-highest level.

Since Saturday morning, Brussels – home to the European Union and NATO headquarters – had been wary of a threat that was considered "serious and imminent." The lowering of the threat level came as a surprise, since the government had said that it would likely keep the highest threat level in the capital through the weekend. Authorities launched a raid in southern Belgium on Thursday afternoon linked to the Paris attacks, but didn't detain any suspects.

In Brussels, a civil protection squad decontaminated several people as a precaution at the main mosque after a suspicious parcel arrived. The person who opened the package discovered white powder and immediately contacted authorities. A specialized crew from the fire department was sent, witnesses at the scene said.

Ursula von der Leyen, Angela Merkel (--theguardian.com)

In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet decided in the wake of the Paris attacks to send reconnaissance aircraft, tanker planes and a warship to help in the fight against ISIL. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters that the government had also agreed to provide satellite surveillance. During Merkel's visit in Paris on Wednesday, Hollande had said it would "be a very good signal in the fight against terrorism" if Germany could do more against ISIL in Syria and Iraq

Von der Leyen said the warship would help protect France's aircraft carrier in the eastern Mediterranean and the tanker planes could help refuel French warplanes in the air. The satellite surveillance could provide important information on IS and also help protect civilians with precise information. The reconnaissance aircrafts will also support France in its fight against Islamist extremists. The decision still needs parliamentary approval, but it was expected to not meet much resistance by lawmakers.

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Hollande, on Moscow Visit, Calls for
Broad Anti-ISIS Coalition
Guest Report

Tampa Bay Times
Source: Washington Post
November 26, 2015

MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin late Thursday said he was ready to coordinate strikes against the Islamic State with the United States and its allies. After talks with French President François Hollande at the Kremlin, Putin said, "We are ready to cooperate with the coalition which is led by the United States." It was the most forthright commitment to a joint effort between Russia and the West since Moscow's seizure of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014.

But it was far from the declaration of a new grand coalition in Syria, potentially under United Nations auspices rather than American leadership, that Putin has proposed. The deep disagreement between Russia and the West over the future of the embattled Syrian president, Bashar Assad, has not been put aside.

Hollande said France was ready to fight alongside Russia but added, "Of course, Assad cannot play any role in the future of this country." Since Russia intervened in Syria two months ago, Moscow and Washington have agreed on measures to "de-conflict" their aerial operations there. But as each country pounds its targets in Syria, they have not worked in tandem in any way.

Hollande arrived in Moscow after meeting with President Barack Obama earlier this week. The terrorist attacks in Paris on Nov. 13 have led France to step up its operations in Syria and to seek some sort of workable agreement among the foreign powers involved there. The idea has not been warmly embraced by the United States, which has accused Russia of targeting Assad's foes among the American-backed rebels, rather than the Islamic State, also known as ISIS. Hollande said that he and Putin had agreed "to only carry out strikes against terrorists, only against ISIS, and only against jihadist groups."

"It is important not to strike those groups who are also fighting against terrorists," he said.

Putin has long argued that the Western powers, Russia and China all face a common Islamist threat, and he has made it clear that he resents what he sees as relative Western indifference to attacks on Russia. He also has suggested that the United States has been negligent in taking the Islamist threat seriously enough.
The Paris attacks occurred shortly after a bomb brought down a Russian airliner on its way from Egypt's Sharm el-Sheikh resort to St. Petersburg, killing all 224 aboard. On Thursday, Putin and Hollande commiserated over the those attacks. The occasion gave Putin an opportunity to reiterate his argument about the common threat and about the need for the major powers to act in concert.

Putin has emphasized the fight against global terrorism as a means to repair, or at least re-establish, a meaningful partnership with the West. "Our positions are the same," Putin told Hollande before they began their private talks. "That forces us to join our forces in fighting terrorists. We are prepared to work with you, Mr. President."

Hollande said, "I am in Moscow with you to figure out how we can act together in order to coordinate our actions to hit this terrorist group and look for political solutions for Syria." Putin also said that he and Hollande had agreed on "how we will cooperate in the near future, on a bilateral basis and with, as a whole, the coalition led by the United States." That would include where to launch strikes, Putin said.

In London, British Prime Minister David Cameron on Thursday argued the case for extending Britain's airstrikes targeting ISIS to Syria, telling Parliament that the group posed a "fundamental threat" to the security of Britain and that the United Kingdom should not "wait until an attack takes place here." He added that British police and security services have foiled seven plots over the past year either linked to ISIS or inspired by its propaganda. Cameron told Parliament that if Britain won't act "when our friend and ally France has been struck in this way, then our allies in the world can be forgiven for asking: If not now, when?"

With two suspects of the Paris attacks at large, tensions were still high in Belgium on Thursday in the capital, Brussels. But authorities lowered the threat level in Brussels to the second-highest level.

Since Saturday morning, Brussels — home to the European Union and NATO headquarters — had been wary of a threat that was considered "serious and imminent." The lowering of the threat level came as a surprise, since the government had said that it would likely keep the highest threat level in the capital through the weekend. Authorities launched a raid in southern Belgium on Thursday afternoon linked to the Paris attacks, but didn't detain any suspects.

In Brussels, a civil protection squad decontaminated several people as a precaution at the main mosque after a suspicious parcel arrived. The person who opened the package discovered white powder and immediately contacted authorities. A specialized crew from the fire department was sent, witnesses at the scene said.
In Germany, Chancellor Angela Merkel's Cabinet decided in the wake of the Paris attacks to send reconnaissance aircraft, tanker planes and a warship to help in the fight against ISIS. Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen told reporters that the government had also agreed to provide satellite surveillance. During Merkel's visit in Paris on Wednesday, Hollande had said it would "be a very good signal in the fight against terrorism" if Germany could do more against IS in Syria and Iraq.
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