veteranstoday--2020-03-05--Breaking: Erdogan and Putin agree on de-escallation in Idlib

RT/Moscow ; The Russian and Turkish leaders have held a press conference in Moscow , after coming to an agreement to de-escalate the Syrian-Turkish conflict in the war-torn Idlib province .
The press statement followed hours-long talks in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan .
During the talks , Putin and Erdogan agreed a document detailing a ceasefire in Idlib , starting from midnight on March 6 .
A six-kilometer-wide security corridor is to be established in the area , with the militaries of the two countries given a week to agree all @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will also be carrying out joint patrol missions along Idlib ’ s M-4 highway .
The document , signed after the negotiations , underlined that both Moscow and Ankara remained committed to maintaining the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria .
Both leaders acknowledged that the conflict in the country has no military solution and that it was up to the Syrians alone to decide the fate of their country .
It was also agreed to facilitate efforts to prevent the humanitarian crisis in Idlib , while also creating conditions for the refugees @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ON RT.COMTurkey-Russia ties at their highest in defense & trade , Erdogan tells Putin , as the two leaders meet to untie Idlib knot Erdogan agreed to come to Russia ’ s capital after a string of violent confrontations between Turkish and Syrian forces in the northwest region of the war-torn nation .
The Turkish president had told the media that he hoped the one-day summit would result in a ceasefire in Idlib , which both Damascus and Moscow view as the last terrorist stronghold in Syria .
READ MORE : Acute crisis @ @ @ @ @ @ @ direct talks , Putin says as he meets Erdogan in Moscow Turkey has sent thousands of troops , tanks and drones into Idlib as part of “ Operation Spring Shield.
” Moscow has been highly critical of the move , accusing Ankara of shielding Al-Qaeda affiliated forces in the region .
Turkey pledged in a 2018 agreement with Russia that it would separate terrorist elements from the so-called “ moderate rebels ” occupying Idlib — a commitment which Moscow says has not been honored .
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds talks with his @ @ @ @ @ @ @ tensions in Idlib , where Turkish forces have recently clashed with the Syrian Army .
Erdogan previously said he had asked Putin to “ step aside ” in Syria and allow him to deal with Damascus “ face to face ” , while Syrian President Bashar Assad stated in an interview just one day before the Putin-Erdogan meeting that the conflict between the Turkish people and the Syrian people is “ illogical ” .
Moscow earlier stated that Ankara had failed to fulfil its commitments under the 2018 Sochi Memorandum , which stipulated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the agreement , Turkey was obliged to secure its border with Syria and separate jihadists in Idlib from other armed anti-government factions willing to engage in negotiations with the Syrian government .
*Jabhat al-Nusra ( also known as Jabhat al-Nusra , Jabhat Fatah al-Sham , or al-Qaeda in Syria ) is a terrorist organisation banned in Russia

RT/Moscow: The Russian and Turkish leaders have held a press conference in Moscow, after coming to an agreement to de-escalate the Syrian-Turkish conflict in the war-torn Idlib province.
The press statement followed hours-long talks in Moscow between Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
During the talks, Putin and Erdogan agreed to a document detailing a ceasefire in Idlib, starting from midnight on March 6.
https://twitter.com/RT_com/status/1235621491204657157?s=20
A six-kilometer-wide security corridor is to be established in the area, with the militaries of the two countries given a week to agree with all the details.
Russian and Turkish troops will also be carrying out joint patrol missions along Idlib’s M-4 highway.
The document, signed after the negotiations, underlined that both Moscow and Ankara remained committed to maintaining the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Syria.
Both leaders acknowledged that the conflict in the country has no military solution and that it was up to the Syrians alone to decide the fate of their country. It was also agreed to facilitate efforts to prevent the humanitarian crisis in Idlib, while also creating conditions for the refugees to return to their homes.
Erdogan agreed to come to Russia’s capital after a string of violent confrontations between Turkish and Syrian forces in the northwest region of the war-torn nation. The Turkish president had told the media that he hoped the one-day summit would result in a ceasefire in Idlib, which both Damascus and Moscow view as the last terrorist stronghold in Syria.
Turkey has sent thousands of troops, tanks, and drones into Idlib as part of “Operation Spring Shield.” Moscow has been highly critical of the move, accusing Ankara of shielding Al-Qaeda affiliated forces in the region. Turkey pledged in a 2018 agreement with Russia that it would separate terrorist elements from the so-called “moderate rebels” occupying Idlib — a commitment which Moscow says has not been honored.
Ankara launched “Operation Spring Shield” last week after the Syrian Army attacks on terrorist positions killed several Turkish troops in Idlib. According to Moscow, the Turkish soldiers were operating amongst al-Nusra* militants. Turkey later claimed its army had “neutralized” up to 300 Syrian soldiers and multiple military vehicles in response.
Russian President Vladimir Putin holds talks with his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan amid escalating tensions in Idlib, where Turkish forces have recently clashed with the Syrian Army.
Erdogan previously said he had asked Putin to “step aside” in Syria and allow him to deal with Damascus “face to face”, while Syrian President Bashar Assad stated in an interview just one day before the Putin-Erdogan meeting that the conflict between the Turkish people and the Syrian people is “illogical”.
Moscow earlier stated that Ankara had failed to fulfill its commitments under the 2018 Sochi Memorandum, which stipulated demilitarisation in northern Syria. According to the agreement, Turkey was obliged to secure its border with Syria and separate jihadists in Idlib from other armed anti-government factions willing to engage in negotiations with the Syrian government.
*Jabhat al-Nusra (also known as Jabhat al-Nusra, Jabhat Fatah al-Sham, or al-Qaeda in Syria) is a terrorist organization banned in Russia


veteranstoday--2020-03-05--Israel, World’s Worst Nuclear Outlaw, Sics IAEA on Iran

Iran says the US and Israel are seeking to undermine the “ constructive cooperation ” between the country and the @ @ @ @ @ the latter to act outside its purview .
Veterans Today Editor Kevin Barrett says the @ @ @ @ @ its marching orders from the world ’ s worst nuclear rogue state and human-rights-abusing international @ @ @ @ @ content herein is owned by author exclusively .
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Dr. Kevin Barrett, a Ph.D. Arabist-Islamologist is one of America’s best-known critics of the War on Terror.
He is the host of TRUTH JIHAD RADIO; a hard-driving weekly radio show funded by listener subscriptions at Substack and the weekly news roundup FALSE FLAG WEEKLY NEWS (FFWN).
He also has appeared many times on Fox, CNN, PBS, and other broadcast outlets, and has inspired feature stories and op-eds in the New York Times, the Christian Science Monitor, the Chicago Tribune, and other leading publications.
Dr. Barrett has taught at colleges and universities in San Francisco, Paris, and Wisconsin; where he ran for Congress in 2008. He currently works as a nonprofit organizer, author, and talk radio host.
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Private Citizen Mark Johnson addresses the Greensboro City Council on their plan to ban gun show the use of the city-owned Coliseum. A fine witness for gun rights supporters!
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veteranstoday--2020-03-06--Holistic Evaluation of Assassination of General Sardar Suleimani – What Next for USA, for Iran, for

Holistic Evaluation of Assassination of General Sardar Suleimani – What Next for USA, for Iran, for the Region?

TEHRAN – Robert David Steele , a former Marine Corps infantry officer and CIA spy as well as an activist for Open Source Everything Engineering ( OSEE ) , contributes regularly to Tehran Times ROBERT STEELE : The average person is not going to understand this article .
which is hugely pro-Trump .
This carefully calibrated article invited by the Iranians : 01 Calls 110 casualties the end of retaliation , Pompeo is safe 02 Holds President and Secretary of Defense blameless 03 Places onus on Israel manipulating Pompeo , rather than USA 04 Places onus on CIA for failing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ / restates mutual interest toward rapprochement 06 Ends with a note on intelligence with integrity , shared ground truth 07 Continues to make me a personna grata in Iran to help our President Holistic Evaluation of Assassination of General Sardar Suleimani – What Next for USA , for Iran , for the Region ?
Q .
From a legal perspective in the context of international law including the law of war , how do you evaluate the assassination of an Iranian official , General Sardar Suleimani , who was on a public diplomatic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to a third country , Iraq , which was his host ?
As a patriotic American ; as an intelligence professional ; and as a retired Marine Corps infantry officer , I consider the assassination of General Sardar Suleimani to be an atrocity demanding atonement , and one of the single worst decisions ever made by a US President since Harry Truman was bribed into agreeing to the theft of Palestine from the Palestinians , or Barack Obama agreed to the sale of Libya to France and the sale of Syria and Yemen @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Joe Biden and the Clintons could make billions in payoffs .
At a very personal level , this act violated all applicable international laws to include directed by name assassination ; assassination of an individual on an open diplomatic mission ; and assassination of an individual in a third country where he was an invited guest .
I hope that Iran ’ s leadership is aware – as I have tried to outline in multiple articles for the Tehran Times and in an earlier book , – of the ongoing soft coup in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ led on the outside by John Brennan particularly , and on the inside by Mike Pompeo , a Christian Zionist who I believe should be held personally culpable for deceiving President Trump into ordering this heinous act .
A proportional response from Iran would be the assassination of Secretary of State Pompeo the next time he is traveling overseas .
I am not at all certain that anyone in the US Government understands that Iran now has both the right and the capability to assassinate our Secretary of State .
I understand Iran @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counter-attack on a US base in Iraq in order to quell public anger over this atrocity but I believe that going forward from today Iran is best served by demonstrating the level of restraint that President Vladimir Putin has demonstrated , to include forgoing any targeted assassination of any US senior official including the fat blustering fool that we have in place as Secretary of State .
Q .
The Secretary of Defense , Mark Esper , disagreed publicly with President Donald Trump ’ s declaration that General Suleimani was organizing threatening actions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ How do you interpret this public divergence of view ?
Although our Secretary of Defense is from the same West Point Class of 1986 as Mike Pompeo , he appears to be much more balanced and I hold him – and the President – blameless for this assassination .
From where I sit , three things went very wrong : Secretary Pompeo , arguably an agent of a foreign power ( Israel ) , was able to persuade the President to approve this action ; our intelligence community ( particularly Gina Haspel , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ provide the President with compelling holistic intelligence ( decision-support ) against the assassination ; and the Secretary of Defense chose not to put his job on the line against the decision .
In publicly diverging from the President on this matter after the fact Secretary Esper was making the honest and obvious point : there was no threat to our Embassies and in fact it is known that part of the reason for General Suleimani ’ s visit to Iraq was to disperse the crowds outside the US Embassy , which was done @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in a proportional response , against a US military encampment at Ayn al Asad , President Trump initially claimed no casualties , then a few casualties , then he mocked many of those evacuated to Germany , and now there are one hundred and ten stated casualties .
How do you account for this “ casualty creep ” and could the President have been aware from the beginning of the facts on the ground ?
I grew up in Viet-Nam as the son of an oil engineer , and in my subsequent professional @ @ @ @ @ @ @ always marveled as the degree to which we lie to ourselves .
From enemy body counts that are inflated to friendly casualties that are under-stated , we are simply not capable of telling the truth .
I like to say that “ the truth at any cost lowers all other costs.
” Our President has three big problems , all centered on the amount of false information and the lack of truthful information available to him .
The Department of State is controlled by Zionists .
The CIA is led by professional liars @ @ @ @ @ @ @ removed from the rigors of either clandestine tradecraft on the street or all-source holistic analytics .
The Department of Defense has too many officers who believe that telling their chain of command a lie is justified when the chain of command makes it clear that it wants to be lied to .
The single greatest work on this point is from the US Army Strategic Studies Institute , Lying to Ourselves : Dishonesty in the Army Profession .
I am quite certain our President was not aware of the casualties from the beginning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a sign of a very flawed and generally dishonest reporting system within the US military .
Whatever the number of our casualties , they pale in comparison to the 75,000 amputees we have suffered , or the 250,000 mentally injured individuals on disability , unable to find employment , and of course nothing can compare to the pain of the mothers of the Fallujah mutant babies resulting from the use of depleted uranium there , or the hundreds of thousands of dead across the Middle East , and the millions of displaced , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to enter Europe .
I have myself been personally and directly threatened with assassination by the leaders of a country where I was responsible for penetrating the extreme left , and I oppose both directed assassination , and elective wars fought for the profit of the banks without regard to the human and social cost for all engaged countries .
In my view , the 110 casualties are helpful as a stopping point .
Restraint should be the order of the day .
Q. Dr. Susan Rice , President Obama ’ s national @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , believe that the cost of assassinating of Sardar Suleimani has outweighed the US benefits .
What do you think about this ?
I despise Susan Rice at multiple levels – this is a woman who should be in jail for her complicity in the unmasking of US citizens ( which is against the law pertaining to signals intelligence privacy ) associated with the totally illegal investigation and framing of our President for collusion with the Russians – the witch-hunt , all lies with the active complicity of MI-6 and the Prime Minister @ @ @ @ @ @ @ I have to agree with her .
I am particularly upset with the assassination because the US and Iran were on the verge of making some significant advances aided by President Vladimir Putin ’ s encouragement , and I have to say that I believe that the Zionists fed Secretary of State Pompeo a number of lies – and perhaps some financial incentives if not outright blackmail with Jeffrey Epstein videos – to get him to push our President into approving this utterly terrible and unjustifiable assassination .
Let me emphasize this : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ destroy the growing rapprochement between Iran and the USA , which President Trump was actively seeking and to the best of my knowledge continues to seek today .
It is my hope that Iran will join me and others in focusing on justice against those who manipulated our President , and not make the mistake of being manipulated , as our President was manipulated , into further escalation .
Q .
Since the assassination of General Suleimani , one of Iran ’ s most beloved leaders , Israel and Turkey have become more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more engaged , and China was briefly sidelined by the coronavirus panic .
How do you evaluate the current and near future of the West Asian region and do you anticipate the complete US withdrawal from Iraq and the region ?
I am not an expert on this region so my impressions are based on general reading .
As best I can tell , history and the passage of time favor Iran , Syria , and Palestine .
Turkey is over-extended and I have the impression that President Erdogan is nearing the end @ @ @ @ @ @ @ will continue to grow in influence while the US does eventually withdraw militarily from the region .
I anticipate some major changes in US national security policy after President Trump ’ s inevitable re-election .
Put simply , the return on investment for military occupation forces that can not win wars or repress belligerent native tribes is not as great as the return on investment in homeland infrastructure and job creation , or in emerging markets development .
China ’ s One Belt One Road initiative – and its cyber overlay – have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact that they have been willfully stupid for the past fifty years , allowing the Deep State to use our military as enforcers ( General Smedley Butler was the first to say this in his book War is a Racket ) , and our military bases as lily pads for smuggling guns , drugs , cash , gold , and small children .
Our President is going to be inaugurating a new national monument soon , to General and President Ike Eisenhower , whose great-grand-daughter I know .
I expect the President to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Eisenhower ’ s earlier warning against the military-industrial complex , and perhaps to announce his own vision for a future in which America is no longer engaged in endless war .
At some point the Middle East is going to have to deal with the reality that the current crop of Arab dictators is unsustainable ; the current oil-based economies are unsustainable ; and the current practice of sending millions of refugees to Europe is unsustainable .
We must create peace and prosperity across the Middle East for the good of all including @ @ @ @ @ @ @ out with the 1995 Barcelona Declaration , which loosened migration controls in return for bribes .
The single greatest lesson I have learned in my life about transformation and reform is that it must be job and revenue neutral at the sub-state level .
George Will ’ s new book , The Conservative Sensibility , is strongly against what he calls “ rent seekers ” – companies that use the bribing of Members of Congress , and federal contracts , as a substitute for hard work and innovation .
I am more practical @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this corrupt system migrate from wars that profit the banks to peace profiting the poor .
I have outlined my personal vision for the future of America and the world in three recently published books on Reinventing National Security , Reinventing Intelligence , and Reinventing Engineering .
My vision calls for the closure of all US military bases overseas , to bring all those jobs – both military jobs and the support jobs that now go to local citizens – back to America .
We need to redirect at least 40 % of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that can not win wars toward diplomacy , development , and commerce .
My vision also applies to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization ( NATO ) , and is outlined for them in NATO 2040 : Intelligence ( Decision-Support ) as Root for Transformation .
Let me end by saying that I believe the way is open for Iran and Russia to facilitate a new form of information sharing and intelligence ( decision-support ) for the Middle East that integrates open sources of information in all languages , holistic analytics , true cost @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( OSEE ) including free energy and unlimited water desolation .
General Suleimani was assassinated by order of President Trump in the context of a dysfunctional US government process incapable of telling our President the truth .
It is my personal goal to wage peace and enable prosperity with both open and secret intelligence that is shared among nation-states and I am deeply and personally committed to ensuring President Trump is never again blind-sided by lies .
I pray that day might come when the Supreme Leader of Iran , and the President @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can share the same intelligence ( decision-support ) about every aspect of the Middle East , toward making evidence-based decisions that create peace and prosperity for all .

The average person is not going to understand this article which is hugely pro-Trump. This carefully calibrated article invited by the Iranians:
01 Calls 110 casualties the end of retaliation, Pompeo is safe
02 Holds President and Secretary of Defense blameless
03 Places onus on Israel manipulating Pompeo, rather than the USA
04 Places onus on CIA for failing to properly brief the President
05 Reinstates / restates mutual interest toward rapprochement
06 Ends with a note on intelligence with integrity, shared ground truth
07 Continues to make me a persona grata in Iran to help our President
Holistic Evaluation of Assassination of General Sardar Suleimani – What Next for the USA, for Iran, for the Region?
Interview by Javad Heiran-Nia, Tehran Times, 6 March 2020
Q. From a legal perspective in the context of international law including the law of war, how do you evaluate the assassination of an Iranian official, General Sardar Suleimani, who was on a public diplomatic mission, traveling by commercial air, to a third country, Iraq, which was his host?
As a patriotic American; as an intelligence professional; and as a retired Marine Corps infantry officer, I consider the assassination of General Sardar Suleimani to be an atrocity demanding atonement, and one of the single worst decisions ever made by a US President since Harry Truman was bribed into agreeing to the theft of Palestine from the Palestinians, or Barack Obama agreed to the sale of Libya to France and the sale of Syria and Yemen to Saudi Arabia so that he and Joe Biden and the Clintons could make billions in payoffs. At a very personal level, this act violated all applicable international laws to include directed by name assassination; the assassination of an individual on an open diplomatic mission; and the assassination of an individual in a third country where he was an invited guest.
I hope that Iran’s leadership is aware – as I have tried to outline in multiple articles for the Tehran Times and in an earlier book, – of the ongoing soft coup in the USA against our President that is led on the outside by John Brennan particularly, and on the inside by Mike Pompeo, a Christian Zionist who I believe should be held personally culpable for deceiving President Trump into ordering this heinous act.
A proportional response from Iran would be the assassination of Secretary of State Pompeo the next time he is traveling overseas. I am not at all certain that anyone in the US Government understands that Iran now has both the right and the capability to assassinate our Secretary of State.
I understand Iran’s earlier need to launch a counter-attack on a US base in Iraq in order to quell public anger over this atrocity but I believe that going forward from today Iran is best served by demonstrating the level of restraint that President Vladimir Putin has demonstrated, to include forgoing any targeted assassination of any US senior officers including the fat blustering fool that we have in place as Secretary of State.
Q. The Secretary of Defense, Mark Esper, disagreed publicly with President Donald Trump’s declaration that General Suleimani was organizing threatening actions against US Embassies in the region. How do you interpret this public divergence of view?
Although our Secretary of Defense is from the same West Point Class of 1986 as Mike Pompeo, he appears to be much more balanced and I hold him – and the President – blameless for this assassination. From where I sit, three things went very wrong: Secretary Pompeo, arguably an agent of a foreign power (Israel), was able to persuade the President to approve this action; our intelligence community (particularly Gina Haspel, Director of the CIA) failed to provide the President with compelling holistic intelligence (decision-support) against the assassination; and the Secretary of Defense chose not to put his job on the line against the decision. In publicly diverging from the President on this matter after the fact Secretary Esper was making the honest and obvious point: there was no threat to our Embassies and in fact, it is known that part of the reason for General Suleimani’s visit to Iraq was to disperse the crowds outside the US Embassy, which was done.
Q. When Iran counter-attacked, in a proportional response, against a US military encampment at Ayn al Asad, President Trump initially claimed no casualties, then a few casualties, then he mocked many of those evacuated to Germany, and now there are one hundred and ten stated casualties. How do you account for this “casualty creep” and could the President have been aware from the beginning of the facts on the ground?
I grew up in Viet-Nam as the son of an oil engineer, and in my subsequent professional reading as a Marine Corps officer have always marveled as the degree to which we lie to ourselves. From enemy body counts that are inflated to friendly casualties that are under-stated, we are simply not capable of telling the truth. I like to say that “the truth at any cost lowers all other costs.” Our President has three big problems, all centered on the amount of false information and the lack of truthful information available to him. The Department of State is controlled by Zionists. The CIA is led by professional liars, most of them overweight bureaucrats far removed from the rigors of either clandestine tradecraft on the street or all-source holistic analytics. The Department of Defense has too many officers who believe that telling their chain of command a lie is justified when the chain of command makes it clear that it wants to be lied to. The single greatest work on this point is from the US Army Strategic Studies Institute, Lying to Ourselves: Dishonesty in the Army Profession.
I am quite certain our President was not aware of the casualties from the beginning, and the creeping numbers are more a sign of a very flawed and generally dishonest reporting system within the US military.
Whatever the number of our casualties, they pale in comparison to the 75,000 amputees we have suffered, or the 250,000 mentally injured individuals on disability, unable to find employment, and of course, nothing can compare to the pain of the mothers of the Fallujah mutant babies resulting from the use of depleted uranium there, or the hundreds of thousands of deaths across the Middle East, and the millions of displaced, a large number now in or about to enter Europe.
I have myself been personally and directly threatened with assassination by the leaders of a country where I was responsible for penetrating the extreme left, and I oppose both directed assassination, and elective wars fought for the profit of the banks without regard to the human and social cost for all engaged countries.
In my view, the 110 casualties are helpful as a stopping point. Restraint should be the order of the day.
Q. Dr. Susan Rice, President Obama’s national security adviser and some other US politicians, believe that the cost of assassinating of Sardar Suleimani has outweighed the US benefits. What do you think about this?
I despise Susan Rice at multiple levels – this is a woman who should be in jail for her complicity in the unmasking of US citizens (which is against the law pertaining to signals intelligence privacy) associated with the totally illegal investigation and framing of our President for collusion with the Russians – the witch-hunt, all lies with the active complicity of MI-6 and the Prime Minister of Great Britain.
At this point I have to agree with her. I am particularly upset with the assassination because the US and Iran were on the verge of making some significant advances aided by President Vladimir Putin’s encouragement, and I have to say that I believe that the Zionists fed Secretary of State Pompeo a number of lies – and perhaps some financial incentives if not outright blackmail with Jeffrey Epstein videos – to get him to push our President into approving this utterly terrible and unjustifiable assassination.
Let me emphasize this: I believe the assassination was intended to destroy the growing rapprochement between Iran and the USA, which President Trump was actively seeking and to the best of my knowledge continues to seek today. It is my hope that Iran will join me and others in focusing on justice against those who manipulated our President, and not make the mistake of being manipulated, as our President was manipulated, into further escalation.
Q. Since the assassination of General Suleimani, one of Iran’s most beloved leaders, Israel and Turkey have become more aggressive against Syria, Russia has become more engaged, and China was briefly sidelined by the coronavirus panic. How do you evaluate the current and near-future of the West Asian region and do you anticipate the complete US withdrawal from Iraq and the region?
I am not an expert in this region so my impressions are based on the general reading. As best I can tell, history and the passage of time favor Iran, Syria, and Palestine. Turkey is over-extended and I have the impression that President Erdogan is nearing the end of his life. Russia and China will continue to grow in influence while the US does eventually withdraw militarily from the region.
I anticipate some major changes in the US national security policy after President Trump’s inevitable re-election. Put simply, the return on investment for military occupation forces that cannot win wars or repress belligerent native tribes is not as great as the return on investment in homeland infrastructure and job creation, or in emerging markets development. China’s One Belt One Road initiative – and its cyber overlay – have finally forced the Americans to confront the fact that they have been willfully stupid for the past fifty years, allowing the Deep State to use our military as enforcers (General Smedley Butler was the first to say this in his book War is a Racket), and our military bases as lily pads for smuggling guns, drugs, cash, gold, and small children.
Our President is going to be inaugurating a new national monument soon, to General and President Ike Eisenhower, whose great-grand-daughter I know. I expect the President to use that occasion to reflect on President Eisenhower’s earlier warning against the military-industrial complex, and perhaps to announce his own vision for a future in which America is no longer engaged in endless war.
At some point the Middle East is going to have to deal with the reality that the current crop of Arab dictators is unsustainable; the current oil-based economies are unsustainable, and the current practice of sending millions of refugees to Europe is unsustainable. We must create peace and prosperity across the Middle East for the good of all including the hapless Europeans whose leaders sold them out with the 1995 Barcelona Declaration, which loosened migration controls in return for bribes.
The single greatest lesson I have learned in my life about transformation and reform is that it must be a job and revenue-neutral at the sub-state level. George Will’s new book, The Conservative Sensibility, is strongly against what he calls “rent-seekers” – companies that use the bribing of Members of Congress, and federal contracts, as a substitute for hard work and innovation. I am more practical – I now know how to make this corrupt system migrate from wars that profit the banks to peace profiting the poor.
I have outlined my personal vision for the future of America and the world in three recently published books on Reinventing National Security, Reinventing Intelligence, and Reinventing Engineering.
My vision calls for the closure of all US military bases overseas, to bring all those jobs – both military jobs and the support jobs that now go to local citizens – back to America. We need to redirect at least 40% of what we spend on a heavy-metal military that cannot win wars toward diplomacy, development, and commerce. My vision also applies to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), and is outlined for them in NATO 2040: Intelligence (Decision-Support) as Root for Transformation.
Let me end by saying that I believe the way is open for Iran and Russia to facilitate a new form of information sharing and intelligence (decision-support) for the Middle East that integrates open sources of information in all languages, holistic analytics, true cost economics, and Open Source Everything Engineering (OSEE) including free energy and unlimited water desolation.
General Suleimani was assassinated by the order of President Trump in the context of a dysfunctional US government process incapable of telling our President the truth. It is my personal goal to wage peace and enables prosperity with both open and secret intelligence that is shared among nation-states and I am deeply and personally committed to ensuring President Trump is never again blindsided by lies.
I pray that day might come when the Supreme Leader of Iran, and the President of the United States of America, can share the same intelligence (decision-support) about every aspect of the Middle East, toward making evidence-based decisions that create peace and prosperity for all.


veteranstoday--2020-03-06--Hospitals Listed as Destroyed by Syria and Russia Now Exposed as Fake Reports by CIA “Medical Group”

On March 2nd , the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria published a report suggesting that the Syrian Arab Army ( SAA ) ( and it ’ s Russian supporters ) had carried out airstrikes on civilian infrastructure such as medical facilities in its fight against the al-Qaeda affiliated Hay ’ at Tahrir al-Sham ( HTS ) .
Turkish media lost no time in immediately accusing both the SAA and its Russian support of carrying out war crimes while fighting the “ moderate opposition.
” The UN , at least , admits that there are terrorists in Idlib , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to even say so .
“ As battles waged over strategic areas in southern Idlib , Hay ’ at Tahrir al-Sham terrorists attempted to tighten their grip over the population .
Activists , journalists and civilians continue to be unlawfully detained for criticizing the group ’ s mounting interference .
Pro-government forces also carried out aerial and ground attacks in southern Idlib against terrorist organizations , striking civilian infrastructure , including protected objects such as medical facilities .
Access to medical care for the wounded was thus undermined , while attacks on women @ @ @ @ @ @ @ prevented pregnant women and new mothers from receiving medical care .
Between May 2019 and early January 2020 , these attacks caused the displacement of 700,000 civilians.
“ At the same time , the report alleges that any conditions for return of civilians in liberated areas remain absent , in spite of all the videos and footage presented of highways being cleaned and other infrastructure being made available for use , with people celebrating in the streets and the Aleppo International Airport receiving its first flight in 8 years .
Turkish media “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ mentioned in the report as well , not only regarding Idlib , but for its fight against the US-backed Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria and the waves of displacement its intervention had caused .
The period covered for Idlib focuses on HTS and the SAA , since Turkey hadn ’ t deployed so much equipment yet , since the date of publishing is January 28th , and the heavy deployments of troops and equipment began from February 2nd onwards .
Regardless , the report was categorically rejected by the Kremlin , spokesman Dmitry @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report does not mention terror activities in the area and so can not be considered impartial , he said .
“ We decisively reject such accusations .
They were made just a day or two after the terrorists in Idlib began their campaign against Syrian troops , ” said Peskov .
“ It is clear that no commission could get reliable information about what is happening on the ground , and , of course , there is nothing said about the offensive actions of terrorist groups , which , at least , makes @ @ @ @ @ @ @ And , indeed , the report mentions HTS being there , and it being armed , but specifically does not say what the facilities were used for , and provides no evidence that they were even struck .
To fact-check the information in the UN report , the Russian military carried out a survey , with geolocation to the specific areas that were allegedly struck .
Below are images of all the “ completely destroyed ” medical facilities from the report , with the geolocation data : The ambulance complex and the clinic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ building was found , now assistance is being provided to the SAA soldiers who were injured .
According to the report , it is entirely destroyed : Estern Deere Medical Center – shelling damage , as per the report it is entirely razed : National Hospital of the City of Maaret-en-Nuuman – multiple spots of damage were recorded as a result of artillery shelling ( and not aircraft , as stated in the report ) : MORE ON THE TOPIC :

On March 2nd, the UN Commission of Inquiry on Syria published a report suggesting that the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) (and it’s Russian supporters) had carried out airstrikes on civilian infrastructure such as medical facilities in its fight against the al-Qaeda affiliated Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham (HTS).
Turkish media lost no time in immediately accusing both the SAA and its Russian support of carrying out war crimes while fighting the “moderate opposition.”
The UN, at least, admits that there are terrorists in Idlib, as Ankara’s information network entirely refuses to even say so.
“As battles waged over strategic areas in southern Idlib, Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham terrorists attempted to tighten their grip over the population. Activists, journalists, and civilians continue to be unlawfully detained for criticizing the group’s mounting interference. Pro-government forces also carried out aerial and ground attacks in southern Idlib against terrorist organizations, striking civilian infrastructure, including protected objects such as medical facilities. Access to medical care for the wounded was thus undermined, while attacks on women’s and children’s hospitals prevented pregnant women and new mothers from receiving medical care. Between May 2019 and early January 2020, these attacks caused the displacement of 700,000 civilians.“
At the same time, the report alleges that any conditions for return of civilians in liberated areas remain absent, in spite of all the videos and footage presented of highways being cleaned and other infrastructure being made available for use, with people celebrating in the streets and the Aleppo International Airport receives its first flight in 8 years.
Turkish media “forgot” to mention their forces being mentioned in the report as well, not only regarding Idlib but for its fight against the US-backed Kurdish forces in northeastern Syria and the waves of displacement its intervention had caused.
The period covered for Idlib focuses on HTS and the SAA, since Turkey hadn’t deployed so much equipment yet, since the date of publishing is January 28th, and the heavy deployments of troops and equipment began from February 2nd onwards.
Regardless, the report was categorically rejected by the Kremlin, spokesman Dmitry Peskov said.
In addition, the report does not mention terror activities in the area and so cannot be considered impartial, he said.
“We decisively reject such accusations. They were made just a day or two after the terrorists in Idlib began their campaign against Syrian troops,” said Peskov.
“It is clear that no commission could get reliable information about what is happening on the ground, and, of course, there is nothing said about the offensive actions of terrorist groups, which, at least, makes any judgments of this commission one-sided.”
And, indeed, the report mentions HTS being there, and it is armed, but specifically does not say what the facilities were used for, and provides no evidence that they were even struck.
To fact-check the information in the UN report, the Russian military carried out a survey, with geolocation to the specific areas that were allegedly struck.
Below are images of all the “completely destroyed” medical facilities from the report, with the geolocation data:
The ambulance complex and the clinic of Maaret-en-Nuuman – no damage to the building was found, now assistance is being provided to the SAA soldiers who were injured. According to the report, it is entirely destroyed:
Clinic in Kafer Ruma – no damage detected:
Estern Deere Medical Center – shelling damage, as per the report it is entirely razed:
Al-Salaam City Hospital – No Destruction Detected:
National Hospital of the City of Maaret-en-Nuuman – multiple spots of damage were recorded as a result of artillery shelling (and not aircraft, as stated in the report):


veteranstoday--2020-03-06--COVID 19 an American bio-weapon aimed at Iran and China – IRGC Chief

RT/Moscow : The US сould be the prime culprit behind Covid-2019 outbreak that hit China and then Iran , head of its elite Revolutionary Guards claimed , threatening that the virus will eventually be turned against those who unleashed it .
“ It is possible that this virus is a product of a biological attack by America which initially spread to China and then to Iran and the rest of the world , ” Hossein Salami said on Thursday .
He vowed that Iran would “ fight ” the virus and cautioned that the illness “ will return ” to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ indeed responsible for the outbreak .
Though such conspiracy theories have been circulating for a while , there ’ s still no official proof it could be true .
The Head of Iran ’ s Civil Defense Organization , General Gholam Reza Jalali , said earlier on Tuesday that media fear-mongering over the new corornavirus in the country bolsters claims that the virus is a biological attack on China and Iran .
He said that some reports indicate that it could be a hostile state , but added that his suspicion requires laboratorial @ @ @ @ @ @ @ genome .
Iran has been one of the countries hit hardest by Covid-19 outside of mainland China where it originated .
As of Thursday , the Islamic Republic has reported 3,513 confirmed cases and 107 deaths attributed to the virus .
Some 15 of those who have succumbed to the coronavirus died in the last 24 hours , according to Iran ’ s Health Minister Saeed Namaki .
The country has shuttered all schools and universities until the end of the country ’ s calendar year on March 20 in an effort to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ On Tuesday , state media announced that the head of Iran ’ s emergency medical services was being treated for coronavirus .
Numerous high-level Iranian officials have fallen ill to the virus .
Recently , 23 lawmakers tested positive for the illness in the Islamic Republic .
Mohammad Mirmohammadi , a member of a council that advises the supreme leader , died after falling sick from the disease .
His death follows those of two other high-profile Iranians who contracted the virus – a former ambassador and a newly-elected member of parliament .

RT/Moscow: The US сould be the prime culprit behind the Covid-2019 outbreak that hit China and then Iran, head of its elite Revolutionary Guards claimed, threatening that the virus will eventually be turned against those who unleashed it.
“It is possible that this virus is a product of a biological attack by America which initially spread to China and then to Iran and the rest of the world,” Hossein Salami said on Thursday.
He vowed that Iran would “fight” the virus and cautioned that the illness “will return” to the United States if Washington was indeed responsible for the outbreak.
Though such conspiracy theories have been circulating for a while, there’s still no official proof it could be true.
The Head of Iran’s Civil Defense Organization, General Gholam Reza Jalali, said earlier on Tuesday that media fear-mongering over the new corornavirus in the country bolsters claims that the virus is a biological attack on China and Iran. He said that some reports indicate that it could be a hostile state, but added that his suspicion requires laboratory investigation and a study of the virus genome. Iran has been one of the countries hit hardest by Covid-19 outside of mainland China where it originated. As of Thursday, the Islamic Republic has reported 3,513 confirmed cases and 107 deaths attributed to the virus. Some 15 of those who have succumbed to the coronavirus died in the last 24 hours, according to Iran’s Health Minister Saeed Namaki. The country has shuttered all schools and universities until the end of the country’s calendar year on March 20 in an effort to stop the spread of the virus. On Tuesday, state media announced that the head of Iran’s emergency medical services was being treated for coronavirus. Numerous high-level Iranian officials have fallen ill to the virus. Recently, 23 lawmakers tested positive for the illness in the Islamic Republic. Mohammad Mirmohammadi, a member of a council that advises the supreme leader, died after falling sick from the disease. His death follows those of two other high-profile Iranians who contracted the virus – a former ambassador and a newly-elected member of parliament.