southfront--2020-05-05--Philip M. Giraldi: “Israel’s War Crimes Have Killed Americans”

Imagine if you will a ship from a nation not at war with anyone sailing in international waters on a quiet June day being suddenly attacked by unidentified warplanes and torpedo boats , their markings covered up to conceal their country of origin .
The vessel under attack had little with which to defend itself , but its crew heroically made sure that a large national flag was hoisted to demonstrate that it was not a belligerent in anyone ’ s conflict .
The attackers noted the nationality of the vessel , but persisted in their aggression in a clear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all its crew .
The officers on the ship radioed that they were under attack and asked for help , but even though friendly fighter aircraft were within striking distance and were automatically dispatched , they were then mysteriously recalled .
The attacks lasted for two hours , longer than the Pearl Harbor attack that brought about American entry into World War 2 , killing and wounding more than two hundred of the crew .
Life rafts lowered into the water as the vessel seemed to be sinking were machine gunned by the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ escape or evacuation of the wounded impossible but the captain and survivors worked heroically , and successfully , to keep the ship afloat .
When the vessel finally made it back to port , the officers and crew were sworn to silence by their own government and a cover-up was initiated that has persisted to this day .
Many of the ship ’ s survivors have died since that day 53 years ago , and the attempts of the remainder to see justice before they are also gone have been ignored .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Israeli attack on the , which took place on June 8 , 1967 , nearly 53 years ago .
The anniversary of the attack is coming up in a month and the remaining officers and crew will hold a ceremony at the Navy memorial in Washington D.C. to honor the memory of their thirty-four shipmates killed and the 172 who were wounded .
Seventy per cent of the crew were casualties , the highest percentage of casualties on any ship that remained afloat in the history of the U.S. Navy .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ heroic crew emerged from the near destruction as the most decorated ship for valor in a single action in the United States Navy .
Israeli willingness to attack and kill Americans unnecessarily , apparently to send a message , has been noted before .
There is the case of Rachel Corrie run over by an Israeli bulldozer and of Furkan Dogan , a Turkish-American who was , like the crew of the , killed in international waters when he sailed on the Gaza relief vessel Mavi Marmara .
But in spite of that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , which , according to former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk , was clearly approved at the highest level of the Jewish state ’ s government , still has shock value .
Israel ’ s apologists , a virtual fixture at all levels in the U.S. government as well as in academia and the media , have long been making the argument that the attack on the was some kind of “ friendly fire ” accident .
But the relatively recent discovery that a Navy spy plane intercepted and recorded Israeli both @ @ @ @ @ @ @ flag displayed by the ship during the attack suggests otherwise .
Other recordings made of the Israeli communications revealed that some of the pilots did not want to attack .
One pilot said , “ This is an American ship .
I can see the flag .
Do you still want us to attack ?
” Israeli ground control responded , “ Yes , follow orders .
Hit it !
” before admonishing the pilots to “ finish the job.
” But while one expects the Israelis to behave abominably , based on @ @ @ @ @ @ @ crimes committed in places like Lebanon and what remains of Palestine , the greatest crime against the crew was committed by the United States government itself .
President Lyndon B. Johnson ( LBJ ) and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara reportedly were informed of the attack shortly after it began and it was Johnson who twice personally ordered the recall of the U.S. fighter planes going to rescue the .
Admiral Lawrence Geis , commander of the carrier group in the Mediterranean that the planes had launched from , objected and McNamara responded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ going to go to war or embarrass an American ally over a few sailors.
” It was McNamara , again acting on LBJ ’ s orders , who had the crew sequestered after the ship made it to Malta , issuing a “ gag-order ” over the incident with the understanding that anyone who spoke up would be secretly court martialed and imprisoned .
To maintain the cover-up , Captain William McGonagle , who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his role in saving the ship , had his medal awarded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ at the Washington Naval Yard rather than at the White House as was otherwise normal .
The President of the United States did not make the award , yet another dismissal of the valor of the crew .
Normally an attack on a U.S. Navy vessel would have mandated an official Court of Inquiry , but in the case of the an improvised team consisting of Admiral Isaac Kidd and Chief Counsel Ward Boston was pulled together in the Mediterranean under orders from Admiral John S. McCain , father of Senator John McCain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ The Navy ’ s official ‘ Court of Inquiry ’ therefore consisted in reality of just Kidd and Boston making a quick visit to the at sea and then rushing back to Washington via London , where McCain endorsed the 700 page draft document without reading it .
The hastily prepared report bypassed all ordinary fact-finding and legal review procedures and no one knows what channels the ‘ Findings of the Court of Inquiry ’ followed in Washington .
Acting under orders from the White House , the inquiry had been given only @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a procedure that normally requires six months .
The result was also predetermined by McNamara acting for LBJ , who ordered that the conclusion would be that the attack on the had been a “ case of mistaken identity.
” No crewmen from the were even allowed to provide formal testimony during the inquiry proceedings .
Nevertheless , the inquiry ’ s chief counsel Ward Boston subsequently confirmed in a sworn affidavit that he and Kidd had strongly disagreed with the coerced findings , believing instead that Israel had staged an unprovoked attack @ @ @ @ @ @ @ all the crew .
Admiral Kidd referred to the Israelis as “ murderous bastards.
” Boston also observed that the transcript of the court of inquiry that was subsequently released had been altered , presumably by someone acting on behalf of the White House , to delete and change testimony damaging to Israel .
As is often the case , there is a back story to what happened to the .
In the years prior to the attack on the , President John F. Kennedy was concerned over powerful and wealthy American Jews @ @ @ @ @ @ @ favor Israel .
He also took steps to prevent Israeli development of nuclear weapons .
After he was assassinated , his successor as president Lyndon B. Johnson , who has been described as having a political career “ interwoven with Jews , ” saw things quite differently .
He turned a blind eye over the Israeli nuclear program and surrounded himself with Jewish friends and advisors who were actively engaged in promoting the Zionist agenda , some of them plausibly as actual agents of Mossad .
Most prominent among that group were the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a leading media lawyer and studio head who was a Democratic Party fundraiser and she a geneticist , a Swiss born convert to Judaism who had lived in British Mandate Palestine with her first husband , an Irgun terrorist .
Jewish terror was a cause which she actively supported .
The Krims were regular companions of LBJ throughout his presidency , with a reserved room in the White House and a house near his ranch in Stonewall Texas when he was on vacation there .
Johnson also stayed at their mansion in New @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Six Day War when the Liberty was attacked , the Krims were constantly at the side of LBJ and it is generally accepted that they were both working on behalf of the Israeli government to cultivate a decisive presidential tilt towards Israel .
Johnson , in fact , was informed of the Israeli intention to go to war against its neighbors in advance and gave the green light , even agreeing to come to the aid of the Jewish state if things went wrong .
To seal the deal , Mathilde was even @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation well known to White House staff and to the Secret Service .
Since 1967 , there have been a number of documentaries , books and unofficial inquiries regarding the attack on the , but resistance from the usual suspects has meant that the story has not become better known .
Meanwhile Congress , the Pentagon and the White House have refused to authorize fair and impartial formal hearings that would recognize the deficiencies in the 1967 inquiry and which would include testimony from the remaining survivors .
Senator John McCain was notorious @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the survivors as was then congressman and now governor Ron DeSantis of Florida , a former Navy Seal .
DeSantis now calls himself the most pro-Israel governor in the United States .
The most serious unofficial inquiries have involved former military officers .
In 2003 , Admiral Thomas Moorer , former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff , formed an independent commission of inquiry to look into the attack .
It produced , a documentary that included actual interviews with survivors .
The commission , which included Rear Admiral Merlin Staring , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ James Akins , reviewed all documentary evidence in the case and interviewed both survivors and other naval officers who were involved indirectly .
They learned that the had been surveilled by the Israelis for at least eight hours prior to the attack and that the ship was both clearly marked as American and was unmistakable as a uniquely configured and immediately recognizable intelligence collection vessel , not even close to the profile of an Egyptian horse transporter as Israel subsequently claimed .
During the carefully planned attack , Israeli used radio jamming in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ its predicament .
Moorer ’ s commission concluded that Israel had deliberately attacked the and sought to sink it and kill its entire crew .
The crewmen who were killed were “ murdered ” by Israel while the U.S. should have regarded the attack as an act of war and responded appropriately .
The cover-up of what had taken place was ordered by the White House and the fact that the truth about the incident continues to be hidden is a “ national disgrace.
” In an op-ed Moorer wrote in 2004 , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ government put Israel ’ s interest ahead of our own ?
If so , why ?
” In October 2003 the Moorer commission presented its report on Capitol Hill , though its audience was often limited to congressional staffers rather than the understandably fearful members .
One year later Representative John Conyers of Michigan overcame considerable resistance to have the report and some accompanying information entered into the .
Moorer and Admiral Staring , a former Judge Advocate General of the Navy , who had been the legal officer in the McCain office @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to carefully review the Court of Inquiry report , continued to advocate for an honest investigation of the attack on the until they died in 2004 and 2013 respectively .
Which leads us to the present and the question of justice for the survivors who will be gathering next month .
The tale of the demonstrates that even fifty-three years ago the United States government was betraying its own people out of deference to Jewish power and to the state of Israel .
If anything , as horrific as the killing of 34 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the situation has gotten even worse as Washington sends billions of dollars to the Jewish state annually while also giving its kleptocratic government a green light to commit war crimes and other aggressions that will ultimately draw in the United States , and could plausibly bring about our ruination .
It is unpleasant to say the least to watch an unrestrained and unprincipled client state do terrible damage to a much larger patron enabled by the machinations of a dual-loyalty fifth column , but that is what we are seeing .
And the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the , when patriotic Americans died at the whim of a feckless president who loved a foreign country more than his own .
One hopes he is rotting in hell .
Today few Americans even know about the even though they are now facing an election in which two presidential candidates will seek to outdo each other in expressing their love for Israel .
Trump and Biden should instead take pause and first demand as a justice for the survivors of the Philip M. Giraldi , Ph.D. , is Executive Director of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a 501 ( c ) 3 tax deductible educational foundation ( Federal ID Number # 52-1739023 ) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East .
Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org , address is P.O .
Box 2157 , Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform @ cnionline.org .

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Written by Philip M. Giraldi; Originally appeared at The Unz Review
Imagine if you will a ship from a nation not at war with anyone sailing in international waters on a quiet June day being suddenly attacked by unidentified warplanes and torpedo boats, their markings covered up to conceal their country of origin. The vessel under attack had little with which to defend itself, but its crew heroically made sure that a large national flag was hoisted to demonstrate that it was not a belligerent in anyone’s conflict. The attackers noted the nationality of the vessel, but persisted in their aggression in a clear attempt to sink the ship and kill all its crew. The officers on the ship radioed that they were under attack and asked for help, but even though friendly fighter aircraft were within striking distance and were automatically dispatched, they were then mysteriously recalled. The attacks lasted for two hours, longer than the Pearl Harbor attack that brought about American entry into World War 2, killing and wounding more than two hundred of the crew. Life rafts lowered into the water as the vessel seemed to be sinking were machine gunned by the attacking aircraft and torpedo boats to make escape or evacuation of the wounded impossible but the captain and survivors worked heroically, and successfully, to keep the ship afloat. When the vessel finally made it back to port, the officers and crew were sworn to silence by their own government and a cover-up was initiated that has persisted to this day. Many of the ship’s survivors have died since that day 53 years ago, and the attempts of the remainder to see justice before they are also gone have been ignored.
I am, of course, referring to the Israeli attack on the U.S.S. Liberty, which took place on June 8, 1967, nearly 53 years ago. The anniversary of the attack is coming up in a month and the remaining officers and crew will hold a ceremony at the Navy memorial in Washington D.C. to honor the memory of their thirty-four shipmates killed and the 172 who were wounded. Seventy per cent of the crew were casualties, the highest percentage of casualties on any ship that remained afloat in the history of the U.S. Navy. The lightly armed intelligence gathering vessel Liberty and its heroic crew emerged from the near destruction as the most decorated ship for valor in a single action in the United States Navy.
Israeli willingness to attack and kill Americans unnecessarily, apparently to send a message, has been noted before. There is the case of Rachel Corrie run over by an Israeli bulldozer and of Furkan Dogan, a Turkish-American who was, like the crew of the Liberty, killed in international waters when he sailed on the Gaza relief vessel Mavi Marmara. But in spite of that, the deliberate attempt to destroy the Liberty, which, according to former U.S. Secretary of State Dean Rusk, was clearly approved at the highest level of the Jewish state’s government, still has shock value.
Israel’s apologists, a virtual fixture at all levels in the U.S. government as well as in academia and the media, have long been making the argument that the attack on the Liberty was some kind of “friendly fire” accident. But the relatively recent discovery that a Navy spy plane intercepted and recorded Israeli both helicopter and fighter pilots mentioning the American flag displayed by the ship during the attack suggests otherwise. Other recordings made of the Israeli communications revealed that some of the pilots did not want to attack. One pilot said, “This is an American ship. I can see the flag. Do you still want us to attack?” Israeli ground control responded, “Yes, follow orders. Hit it!” before admonishing the pilots to “finish the job.”
But while one expects the Israelis to behave abominably, based on any assessment of the years of war crimes committed in places like Lebanon and what remains of Palestine, the greatest crime against the Liberty crew was committed by the United States government itself. President Lyndon B. Johnson (LBJ) and Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara reportedly were informed of the attack shortly after it began and it was Johnson who twice personally ordered the recall of the U.S. fighter planes going to rescue the Liberty. Admiral Lawrence Geis, commander of the carrier group in the Mediterranean that the planes had launched from, objected and McNamara responded testily that “President Johnson is not going to go to war or embarrass an American ally over a few sailors.” It was McNamara, again acting on LBJ’s orders, who had the crew sequestered after the ship made it to Malta, issuing a “gag-order” over the incident with the understanding that anyone who spoke up would be secretly court martialed and imprisoned.
To maintain the cover-up, Captain William McGonagle, who was awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for his role in saving the ship, had his medal awarded without any publicity in a private ceremony at the Washington Naval Yard rather than at the White House as was otherwise normal. The President of the United States did not make the award, yet another dismissal of the valor of the Liberty crew.
Normally an attack on a U.S. Navy vessel would have mandated an official Court of Inquiry, but in the case of the Liberty an improvised team consisting of Admiral Isaac Kidd and Chief Counsel Ward Boston was pulled together in the Mediterranean under orders from Admiral John S. McCain, father of Senator John McCain, who was based in London. The Navy’s official ‘Court of Inquiry’ therefore consisted in reality of just Kidd and Boston making a quick visit to the Liberty at sea and then rushing back to Washington via London, where McCain endorsed the 700 page draft document without reading it. The hastily prepared report bypassed all ordinary fact-finding and legal review procedures and no one knows what channels the ‘Findings of the Court of Inquiry’ followed in Washington.
Acting under orders from the White House, the inquiry had been given only a week to prepare its report, a procedure that normally requires six months. The result was also predetermined by McNamara acting for LBJ, who ordered that the conclusion would be that the attack on the Liberty had been a “case of mistaken identity.”
No crewmen from the Liberty were even allowed to provide formal testimony during the inquiry proceedings. Nevertheless, the inquiry’s chief counsel Ward Boston subsequently confirmed in a sworn affidavit that he and Kidd had strongly disagreed with the coerced findings, believing instead that Israel had staged an unprovoked attack intending to sink the ship and kill all the crew. Admiral Kidd referred to the Israelis as “murderous bastards.” Boston also observed that the transcript of the court of inquiry that was subsequently released had been altered, presumably by someone acting on behalf of the White House, to delete and change testimony damaging to Israel.
As is often the case, there is a back story to what happened to the Liberty. In the years prior to the attack on the Liberty, President John F. Kennedy was concerned over powerful and wealthy American Jews attempting to hijack U.S. foreign policy to favor Israel. He also took steps to prevent Israeli development of nuclear weapons. After he was assassinated, his successor as president Lyndon B. Johnson, who has been described as having a political career “interwoven with Jews,” saw things quite differently. He turned a blind eye over the Israeli nuclear program and surrounded himself with Jewish friends and advisors who were actively engaged in promoting the Zionist agenda, some of them plausibly as actual agents of Mossad.
Most prominent among that group were the Krims, Arthur and Mathilde, he a leading media lawyer and studio head who was a Democratic Party fundraiser and she a geneticist, a Swiss born convert to Judaism who had lived in British Mandate Palestine with her first husband, an Irgun terrorist. Jewish terror was a cause which she actively supported. The Krims were regular companions of LBJ throughout his presidency, with a reserved room in the White House and a house near his ranch in Stonewall Texas when he was on vacation there. Johnson also stayed at their mansion in New York.
At the time of the Six Day War when the Liberty was attacked, the Krims were constantly at the side of LBJ and it is generally accepted that they were both working on behalf of the Israeli government to cultivate a decisive presidential tilt towards Israel. Johnson, in fact, was informed of the Israeli intention to go to war against its neighbors in advance and gave the green light, even agreeing to come to the aid of the Jewish state if things went wrong. To seal the deal, Mathilde was even having an affair with LBJ, a situation well known to White House staff and to the Secret Service.
Since 1967, there have been a number of documentaries, books and unofficial inquiries regarding the attack on the Liberty, but resistance from the usual suspects has meant that the story has not become better known. Meanwhile Congress, the Pentagon and the White House have refused to authorize fair and impartial formal hearings that would recognize the deficiencies in the 1967 inquiry and which would include testimony from the remaining Liberty survivors. Senator John McCain was notorious for his offhand treatment of entreaties from the survivors as was then congressman and now governor Ron DeSantis of Florida, a former Navy Seal. DeSantis now calls himself the most pro-Israel governor in the United States.
The most serious unofficial inquiries have involved former military officers. In 2003, Admiral Thomas Moorer, former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, formed an independent commission of inquiry to look into the attack. It produced Loss of Liberty, a documentary that included actual interviews with survivors. The commission, which included Rear Admiral Merlin Staring, Marine General Ray Davis, and Ambassador James Akins, reviewed all documentary evidence in the case and interviewed both survivors and other naval officers who were involved indirectly. They learned that the Liberty had been surveilled by the Israelis for at least eight hours prior to the attack and that the ship was both clearly marked as American and was unmistakable as a uniquely configured and immediately recognizable intelligence collection vessel, not even close to the profile of an Egyptian horse transporter as Israel subsequently claimed. During the carefully planned attack, Israeli used radio jamming in an attempt to prevent the Liberty from radioing its predicament.
Moorer’s commission concluded that Israel had deliberately attacked the Liberty and sought to sink it and kill its entire crew. The crewmen who were killed were “murdered” by Israel while the U.S. should have regarded the attack as an act of war and responded appropriately. The cover-up of what had taken place was ordered by the White House and the fact that the truth about the incident continues to be hidden is a “national disgrace.” In an op-ed Moorer wrote in 2004, he concluded by asking “Did our government put Israel’s interest ahead of our own? If so, why?”
In October 2003 the Moorer commission presented its report on Capitol Hill, though its audience was often limited to congressional staffers rather than the understandably fearful members. One year later Representative John Conyers of Michigan overcame considerable resistance to have the report and some accompanying information entered into the Congressional Record. Moorer and Admiral Staring, a former Judge Advocate General of the Navy, who had been the legal officer in the McCain office in London who had not been allowed to carefully review the Court of Inquiry report, continued to advocate for an honest investigation of the attack on the Liberty until they died in 2004 and 2013 respectively.
Which leads us to the present and the question of justice for the U.S.S. Libertysurvivors who will be gathering next month. The tale of the Liberty demonstrates that even fifty-three years ago the United States government was betraying its own people out of deference to Jewish power and to the state of Israel. If anything, as horrific as the killing of 34 personnel on board of the Liberty was, the situation has gotten even worse as Washington sends billions of dollars to the Jewish state annually while also giving its kleptocratic government a green light to commit war crimes and other aggressions that will ultimately draw in the United States, and could plausibly bring about our ruination. It is unpleasant to say the least to watch an unrestrained and unprincipled client state do terrible damage to a much larger patron enabled by the machinations of a dual-loyalty fifth column, but that is what we are seeing.
And the actual rot really began with the attack on the U.S.S. Liberty, when patriotic Americans died at the whim of a feckless president who loved a foreign country more than his own. One hopes he is rotting in hell. Today few Americans even know about the Liberty even though they are now facing an election in which two presidential candidates will seek to outdo each other in expressing their love for Israel. Trump and Biden should instead take pause and first demand as a sine qua non justice for the survivors of the U.S.S. Liberty.
Philip M. Giraldi, Ph.D., is Executive Director of the Council for the National Interest, a 501(c)3 tax deductible educational foundation (Federal ID Number #52-1739023) that seeks a more interests-based U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East. Website is councilforthenationalinterest.org, address is P.O. Box 2157, Purcellville VA 20134 and its email is inform@cnionline.org.
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southfront--2020-05-05--Second “Terrorist Infiltration” Foiled By Venezuelan Authorities In As Many Days

On May 4th , the Venezuelan authorities foiled a second “ terrorist infiltration ” attempt , capturing 8 suspects .
Local fishermen detected the armed incursion and alerted the Venezuelan armed forces .
According to Aragua ’ s Governor Rodolfo Marco , through local intelligence units and the joint civic-military unity the apprehension of these perpetrators was made possible .
The Venezuelan authorities reported that the eight “ terrorists ” were arrested inside the town of Chuao in the Aragua state ; they were armed and attempting to infiltrate to cause harm to the South American nation .
Among the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was photographed on April 30th , 2019 , alongside Leopoldo Lopez during the failed coup attempt in Caracas .
Also , Adolfo Baduel , son of retired general Raul Baduel former Defense Minister to Hugo Chavez ; and two alleged and currently named U.S. citizens .
This is the second alleged plot foiled in two days .
On May 3rd , the Venezuelan authorities reportedly killed nine mercenaries and detained two others , who were part of what they called “ Operation Gideon ” .
They also seized 10 rifles , a Glock @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that were part of the Federal Legislative Palace ’ s weapons park stolen by seditious groups in the April 2019 coup attempt .
Allegedly , the entire plot was orchestrated by a former US special forces operative – Jordan Goudreau .
There is a video of Goudreau speaking on the matter : According to Goudreau , his plan had been coordinated with Guaido who signed a contract on Oct. 16 , 2019 , for US $ 212 million .
Miami-based opposition Venezuelan journalist Patricia Poleo published the document Sunday evening , which she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ original contract .
Poleo interviewed Goudreau , who asserted that Silvercorp was hired to provide services , including “ strategic planning , ” “ equipment procuring ” and “ project execution advisement , ” by none other than Guaido , who despite the evidence has denied it .
Also , several audio recordings of an alleged conference call between Guiado , Goudreau , and senior Guaido envoy Sergio Vergara , in which they agreed to sign the contract were released .
Now he has gone public arguing he only got US $ 50,000 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the opposition kept promising to get him the rest but didn ’ t deliver .
The presumed “ Operation Gedeon ” is a thorough conspiracy , with Venezuelan media even providing an infographic : On May 3rd , after the first attack was stopped Silvercorp ’ s account tweeted “ strikeforce incursion into Venezuela .
60 Venezuelan , 2 American ex-Green Beret.
” Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the government has evidence linking the attacks to the U.S. and Colombia .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • A New Frustrated Chapter in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Purchases More Venezuelan Oil In Push For Geopolitical Influence • Venezuelan Forces Neutralized Group Of Mercenaries That Landed Near Capital ( Videos , Photos ) • Ex-Green Beret Was Behind Failed Attempt At ‘ Armed Invasion ’ Of Venezuela Funded By US Billionaires

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UPDATE: It appears that one of the people arrested by Venezuelan authorities was Luke Denman, a mercenaries with American citizenship. Footage shows that Denman, along with his boss and former colleague Jordan Goodro ensured the safety of US President Donald Trump at a political event. The photographs can be seen below:
After the photos began to appear in the media of SilverCorp PMC’s Director Jordan Goodro and his activities to ensure the safety of US President Donald Trump, the ambiguous photos disappeared from the company’s accounts on social networks.
Donald Trump himself denies any connection with the White House recent events in Venezuela.
On May 4th, the Venezuelan authorities foiled a second “terrorist infiltration” attempt, capturing 8 suspects.
Local fishermen detected the armed incursion and alerted the Venezuelan armed forces.
According to Aragua’s Governor Rodolfo Marco, through local intelligence units and the joint civic-military unity the apprehension of these perpetrators was made possible.
The Venezuelan authorities reported that the eight “terrorists” were arrested inside the town of Chuao in the Aragua state; they were armed and attempting to infiltrate to cause harm to the South American nation.
“We continue in Popular Victory, how great we are! #BolivarianFury operation is proving its efficiency. Mercenaries who step on our homeland’s soil will be exposed to the people’s dignity,” the President Constituent Assembly Diosdado Cabello said shortly after the apprehension of the suspects.
1. Este es uno de los 2 gringos detenidos en #Chuao, el hijo de Baduel confirmó que trabajan para la seguridad de @realDonaldTrump. Esta historia pica y se extiende pic.twitter.com/naXuwmpdld — Madelein Garcia (@madeleintlSUR) May 4, 2020
“This is one of the two U.S. nationals captured in Chuao, Baduel’s son confirmed that they work for the security of Donald Trump.”
Among the detained is Antonio Jose Sequea, who was photographed on April 30th, 2019, alongside Leopoldo Lopez during the failed coup attempt in Caracas.
Also, Adolfo Baduel, son of retired general Raul Baduel former Defense Minister to Hugo Chavez; and two alleged and currently named U.S. citizens.
This is the second alleged plot foiled in two days. On May 3rd, the Venezuelan authorities reportedly killed nine mercenaries and detained two others, who were part of what they called “Operation Gideon”.
They also seized 10 rifles, a Glock 9mm pistol, two AFAG machine guns that were part of the Federal Legislative Palace’s weapons park stolen by seditious groups in the April 2019 coup attempt.
Allegedly, the entire plot was orchestrated by a former US special forces operative – Jordan Goudreau.
#LIVE |@NicolasMaduro: “Venezuelan opposition is so decomposed that they are privatizing the complot now, hiring a terrorist mercenary and then letting him down. But this person called Jordan Goudreau, ex-U.S. soldier, has proven there is a contract signed between him and Guaido” pic.twitter.com/LDI2Z9a5bF — teleSUR English (@telesurenglish) May 5, 2020
There is a video of Goudreau speaking on the matter:
According to Goudreau, his plan had been coordinated with Guaido who signed a contract on Oct. 16, 2019, for US$212 million. Miami-based opposition Venezuelan journalist Patricia Poleo published the document Sunday evening, which she purported to be a copy of the original contract. Poleo interviewed Goudreau, who asserted that Silvercorp was hired to provide services, including “strategic planning,” “equipment procuring” and “project execution advisement,” by none other than Guaido, who despite the evidence has denied it. Also, several audio recordings of an alleged conference call between Guiado, Goudreau, and senior Guaido envoy Sergio Vergara, in which they agreed to sign the contract were released. Now he has gone public arguing he only got US$50,000 through political consultant Juan Jose Rendon and the opposition kept promising to get him the rest but didn’t deliver.
The presumed “Operation Gedeon” is a thorough conspiracy, with Venezuelan media even providing an infographic:
On May 3rd, after the first attack was stopped Silvercorp’s account tweeted “strikeforce incursion into Venezuela. 60 Venezuelan, 2 American ex-Green Beret.” Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez said the government has evidence linking the attacks to the U.S. and Colombia.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
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southfront--2020-05-05--Germany Says It’s “Positive” About Nord Stream 2, Project Is On Its Last Stretch

On May 4th , the German Federal government issued a statement expressing its positivity towards the Nord Stream 2 project .
“ The Federal Government continues to be positive about the Nord Stream 2 project .
This is emphasized in the answer ( 19/18835 ) to a small question ( 19/18170 ) by the AfD group .
Regarding possible support from Russia , the federal government declares that Nord Stream 2 is primarily an economic project of the companies involved .
There were also no considerations to bill the United States for the follow-up costs of the US sanctions against @ @ @ @ @ @ @ German authorities stressed that they intend to continue to support the entrepreneurs involved in the project .
According to the federal government , Nord Stream 2 is primarily a commercial project .
Germany also did not see a threat to the country ’ s energy supply due to a delay in the construction of the gas pipeline , since the gas supply infrastructure is quite diversified .
The federal government of Germany did not share the opinion that the country ’ s policy regarding the Russian project threatens NATO .
According to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ United States as its main security partner outside Europe , and there can be no talk of an economic war between them .
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline consists of two lines with a total length of 1224 km running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea .
According to the project , Russian gas will be supplied to Germany and other European countries .
Its construction was supposed to be completed by the end of 2019 , but was delayed due to the imposed US sanctions .
Gazprom announced that the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end of 2020 .
In early May , the German newspaper Handelsblatt , citing the German Federal regulator ( Bundesnetzagentur , BNetzA ) , reported that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could be subject to restrictions , as it had not been completed until May 2019 .
According to the directive , after the completion of the project , Gazprom will be able to use only 50 % of the pipeline ’ s capacity , and the remaining capacities will be transferred to an independent gas transmission operator .
The decision needs @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it is unclear if it would be subject to derogation or exempt from it .
The derogation would exempt the project from EU rules enforcing third party access to pipeline capacity , and legal separation of Gazprom as the owner of the pipeline from suppliers of gas using it .
Pipelines completed before May 23rd 2019 can apply for a derogation , which is granted by the regulatory authority of the member state where the pipeline first enters the EU network .
Future pipelines can apply to the European Commission for an exemption @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is considered a pipeline “ completed before May 23rd.
” Meanwhile , “ future ” pipelines are projects not yet built and for which “ the level of risk attached to the investment must be such that the investment would not take place unless an exemption was granted , ” the EU gas directive states .
Still Nord Stream 2 , isn ’ t ready yet , 160 km remain to be built in Danish EEZ .
A special pipe-laying vessel that could be used by Russia to complete construction of the Nord @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrived in the Baltic Sea on May 3rd .
Footage taken by Reuters from the coast showed the Academic Cherskiy idle in a bay near the Kaliningrad region .
The Academic Cherskiy , which Russian gas company Gazprom bought in 2016 , was in the Russian Pacific port of Nakhodka in December when the United States imposed sanctions on Nord Stream 2 .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Power Of Siberia May Jeopardize US Energy Sales , As Power Of Siberia-2 Looms Around The Corner

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On May 4th, the German Federal government issued a statement expressing its positivity towards the Nord Stream 2 project.
“The Federal Government continues to be positive about the Nord Stream 2 project. This is emphasized in the answer (19/18835) to a small question (19/18170) by the AfD group. Regarding possible support from Russia, the federal government declares that Nord Stream 2 is primarily an economic project of the companies involved. There were also no considerations to bill the United States for the follow-up costs of the US sanctions against companies involved in the pipeline.”
The German authorities stressed that they intend to continue to support the entrepreneurs involved in the project. According to the federal government, Nord Stream 2 is primarily a commercial project.
Germany also did not see a threat to the country’s energy supply due to a delay in the construction of the gas pipeline, since the gas supply infrastructure is quite diversified.
The federal government of Germany did not share the opinion that the country’s policy regarding the Russian project threatens NATO. According to the document, Germany continues to perceive the United States as its main security partner outside Europe, and there can be no talk of an economic war between them.
The Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline consists of two lines with a total length of 1224 km running along the bottom of the Baltic Sea.
According to the project, Russian gas will be supplied to Germany and other European countries. Its construction was supposed to be completed by the end of 2019, but was delayed due to the imposed US sanctions. Gazprom announced that the gas pipeline will be launched by the end of 2020.
In early May, the German newspaper Handelsblatt, citing the German Federal regulator (Bundesnetzagentur, BNetzA), reported that the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline could be subject to restrictions, as it had not been completed until May 2019.
According to the directive, after the completion of the project, Gazprom will be able to use only 50% of the pipeline’s capacity, and the remaining capacities will be transferred to an independent gas transmission operator.
The decision needs to be made by May 24th and it is unclear if it would be subject to derogation or exempt from it.
The derogation would exempt the project from EU rules enforcing third party access to pipeline capacity, and legal separation of Gazprom as the owner of the pipeline from suppliers of gas using it.
Pipelines completed before May 23rd 2019 can apply for a derogation, which is granted by the regulatory authority of the member state where the pipeline first enters the EU network. Future pipelines can apply to the European Commission for an exemption.
There is no clarity on what is considered a pipeline “completed before May 23rd.” Meanwhile, “future” pipelines are projects not yet built and for which “the level of risk attached to the investment must be such that the investment would not take place unless an exemption was granted,” the EU gas directive states.
Still Nord Stream 2, isn’t ready yet, 160 km remain to be built in Danish EEZ.
A special pipe-laying vessel that could be used by Russia to complete construction of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline to Germany has arrived in the Baltic Sea on May 3rd.
Footage taken by Reuters from the coast showed the Academic Cherskiy idle in a bay near the Kaliningrad region. The Academic Cherskiy, which Russian gas company Gazprom bought in 2016, was in the Russian Pacific port of Nakhodka in December when the United States imposed sanctions on Nord Stream 2.
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southfront--2020-05-05--Erdogan Says Turkey “Will Not Accept Harassment In Syria”

On May 4th , Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey “ will no longer tolerate harassment in Syria safe zone.
” Terrorist groups are trying to exploit Turkey ’ s preoccupation with the coronavirus pandemic to step up attacks both within Turkey ’ s borders and beyond , Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised address following a Cabinet meeting in Istanbul .
He further added that the Turkish Armed Forces “ are pursuing and neutralizing terrorists non-stop , ” both their operations with and outside of the borders continue without stop .
He further said that “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to simply name Russia have an obligation to assist it in implementing agreements .
Erdogan stressed that unfortunately no country is “ fully fulfilling its promise ” in this regard .
He entirely refuses to admit that the militants in the Idlib de-escalation zone continuously carry out attacks on the Syrian Arab Army and their Russian support .
As such , he simply entirely shifts the blame on President Bashar al-Assad ’ s government and forces , for responding to the continuous ceasefire breaches by the Turkish-backed groups in the area , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t support .
But they regardless , somehow , use the equipment Turkey deploys , since in the middle of fighting , there ’ s no way to separate who ’ s a terrorist and who ’ s not – everybody simply wants to fight against the “ bloody regime.
” As such , in Erdogan ’ s view , “ harassment ” and “ ceasefire violations ” are very loose terms that are only applicable to one side in the situation , and the rhetoric seems to be shifting back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Idlib .
As in , Turkey ’ s not fulfilling any of its agreements , while it simply disregards that fact and claims that the other parties are also not fulfilling their parts , but also not doing anything to cover for Ankara ’ s slack .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Syrian Air Defense Forces Activated In Response To Missile Attack On Aleppo • In Video : Russians Help To Rescue Turkish Vehicle That Stuck In Northeastern Syria

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On May 4th, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that Turkey “will no longer tolerate harassment in Syria safe zone.”
Terrorist groups are trying to exploit Turkey’s preoccupation with the coronavirus pandemic to step up attacks both within Turkey’s borders and beyond, Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised address following a Cabinet meeting in Istanbul.
“This attitude alone is enough to show how far the terrorist group is from humanity,” he said.
He further added that the Turkish Armed Forces “are pursuing and neutralizing terrorists non-stop,” both their operations with and outside of the borders continue without stop.
“We closely monitor every step of members of the terrorist group operating in a wide area in northern Iraq and Syria.”
He further said that “countries that have influence” essentially refusing to simply name Russia have an obligation to assist it in implementing agreements.
“We invite countries that have influence in the region to comply with our permanent agreements, to keep the terrorist group outside the determined borders, and to prevent regime attacks,” Erdogan added.
Erdogan stressed that unfortunately no country is “fully fulfilling its promise” in this regard.
He entirely refuses to admit that the militants in the Idlib de-escalation zone continuously carry out attacks on the Syrian Arab Army and their Russian support.
As such, he simply entirely shifts the blame on President Bashar al-Assad’s government and forces, for responding to the continuous ceasefire breaches by the Turkish-backed groups in the area, as well as from those which Turkey allegedly doesn’t support.
But they regardless, somehow, use the equipment Turkey deploys, since in the middle of fighting, there’s no way to separate who’s a terrorist and who’s not – everybody simply wants to fight against the “bloody regime.”
As such, in Erdogan’s view, “harassment” and “ceasefire violations” are very loose terms that are only applicable to one side in the situation, and the rhetoric seems to be shifting back to the situation before the Turkish-Russian patrols in Idlib. As in, Turkey’s not fulfilling any of its agreements, while it simply disregards that fact and claims that the other parties are also not fulfilling their parts, but also not doing anything to cover for Ankara’s slack.
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southfront--2020-05-05--China Warns Of Possible Armed Conflict With US Over Coronavirus Backlash

An internal report presented to Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders concludes that global anti-China sentiment is at a level not seen since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown , and recommends preparing for a worst-case scenario of armed conflict with the United States , according to , citing people familiar with the content of the document .
The report , created by the China Institutes of Contemporary Internal Relations ( CICIR ) – which is affiliated with the Ministry of State Security – suggests that the wave of anti-China sentiment is led by the United States , which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ global superpower as a threat to Western democracies .
One of those with knowledge of the report said it was regarded by some in the Chinese intelligence community as China ’ s version of the “ Novikov Telegram ” , a 1946 dispatch by the Soviet ambassador to Washington , Nikolai Novikov , that stressed the dangers of U.S. economic and military ambition in the wake of World War Two .
Novikov ’ s missive was a response to U.S. diplomat George Kennan ’ s “ Long Telegram ” from Moscow that said @ @ @ @ @ @ @ possibility for peaceful coexistence with the West , and that containment was the best long-term strategy .
– Reuters , which hasn ’ t seen the paper , couldn ’ t determine to what extent the report ’ s grim outlook reflects positions held by China ’ s state leaders , nor how much it might influence policy .
That said , it suggests Beijing is taking the threat of global backlash over the coronavirus pandemic – which Western intelligence agencies suspect originated at a Wuhan biolab which was experimenting with bat coronavirus @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the pandemic potential of such research .
China ’ s early coverup of the outbreak – including silencing and/or disappearing whistleblowing doctors and journalists , lying about the transmissibility of the virus while hoarding personal protective equipment ( PPE ) , quarantining Wuhan domestically while allowing international travel , and using the World Health Organization to run cover – has drawn global scorn as COVID has infected over 3.5 million and killed nearly 250,000 in five months .
Chinese officials had a “ special responsibility ” to inform their people and the world @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ since they were the first to learn of it , ” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in response to questions from Reuters .
Without directly addressing the assessment made in the Chinese report , Ortagus added : “ Beijing ’ s efforts to silence scientists , journalists , and citizens and spread disinformation exacerbated the dangers of this health crisis .
” – President Trump in recent days has been ratcheting up criticism of Beijing , while threatening new tariffs on China .
His administration has been considering retaliatory measures @ @ @ @ @ @ @ report – which warns that anti-China sentiment could also threaten their Belt and Road infrastructure initiatives , and that Washington could take advantage by offering financial and military support for regional allies , which would in turn make the security situation in Asia more volatile .
On Monday , Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that President Trump is reviewing options to penalize China , adding that he expects Beijing to meet their obligations under the phase one trade deal .
“ I have every reason to expect that they honor this agreement , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ there would be very significant consequences in the relationship and in the global economy as to how people would do business with them , ” said Mnuchin .
As notes , China ’ s Xi has shaped the country ’ s military into a fighting force equipped to win modern wars – expanding air and naval capabilities and reach in a challenge to over 70 years of US dominance in Asia .
China ’ s foreign ministry is now calling for peace and cooperation , saying “ the sound and steady development of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ interests of both countries and the international community , and that “ any words or actions that engage in political manipulation or stigmatization under the pretext of the pandemic , including taking the opportunity to sow discord between countries , are not conducive to international cooperation against the pandemic.
” Trump , meanwhile , announced that he will cut off funding for the World Health Organization ( WHO ) for being “ very China-centric.
” And while the world focuses on China ’ s response to the virus , Australia – where two @ @ @ @ @ @ @ conducted coronavirus experiments overseas – has called for an international investigation into the origins and spread of COVID-19 , while the so-called ‘ five eyes ’ Western intelligence agencies explore whether coronavirus escaped from the Wuhan lab – while operating under the assumption that it ’ s a non-modified virus of natural origin .

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Originally appeared at ZeroHedge
An internal report presented to Chinese President Xi Jinping and other top leaders concludes that global anti-China sentiment is at a level not seen since the 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, and recommends preparing for a worst-case scenario of armed conflict with the United States, according to Reuters, citing people familiar with the content of the document.
The report, created by the China Institutes of Contemporary Internal Relations (CICIR) – which is affiliated with the Ministry of State Security – suggests that the wave of anti-China sentiment is led by the United States, which sees China’s rise as a global superpower as a threat to Western democracies.
One of those with knowledge of the report said it was regarded by some in the Chinese intelligence community as China’s version of the “Novikov Telegram”, a 1946 dispatch by the Soviet ambassador to Washington, Nikolai Novikov, that stressed the dangers of U.S. economic and military ambition in the wake of World War Two. Novikov’s missive was a response to U.S. diplomat George Kennan’s “Long Telegram” from Moscow that said the Soviet Union did not see the possibility for peaceful coexistence with the West, and that containment was the best long-term strategy. –Reuters
Reuters, which hasn’t seen the paper, couldn’t determine to what extent the report’s grim outlook reflects positions held by China’s state leaders, nor how much it might influence policy. That said, it suggests Beijing is taking the threat of global backlash over the coronavirus pandemic – which Western intelligence agencies suspect originated at a Wuhan biolab which was experimenting with bat coronavirus, and had previous concerns raised over the pandemic potential of such research.
China’s early coverup of the outbreak – including silencing and/or disappearing whistleblowing doctors and journalists, lying about the transmissibility of the virus while hoarding personal protective equipment (PPE), quarantining Wuhan domestically while allowing international travel, and using the World Health Organization to run cover – has drawn global scorn as COVID has infected over 3.5 million and killed nearly 250,000 in five months.
Chinese officials had a “special responsibility” to inform their people and the world of the threat posed by the coronavirus “since they were the first to learn of it,” U.S. State Department spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in response to questions from Reuters. Without directly addressing the assessment made in the Chinese report, Ortagus added: “ Beijing’s efforts to silence scientists, journalists, and citizens and spread disinformation exacerbated the dangers of this health crisis. ” –Reuters
President Trump in recent days has been ratcheting up criticism of Beijing, while threatening new tariffs on China. His administration has been considering retaliatory measures over the outbreak, according to the report – which warns that anti-China sentiment could also threaten their Belt and Road infrastructure initiatives, and that Washington could take advantage by offering financial and military support for regional allies, which would in turn make the security situation in Asia more volatile.
On Monday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said that President Trump is reviewing options to penalize China, adding that he expects Beijing to meet their obligations under the phase one trade deal.
“I have every reason to expect that they honor this agreement, and if they don’t, there would be very significant consequences in the relationship and in the global economy as to how people would do business with them,” said Mnuchin.
As Reuters notes, China’s Xi has shaped the country’s military into a fighting force equipped to win modern wars – expanding air and naval capabilities and reach in a challenge to over 70 years of US dominance in Asia.
China’s foreign ministry is now calling for peace and cooperation, saying “the sound and steady development of China-U.S. relations” are in the best interests of both countries and the international community, and that “any words or actions that engage in political manipulation or stigmatization under the pretext of the pandemic, including taking the opportunity to sow discord between countries, are not conducive to international cooperation against the pandemic.”
Trump, meanwhile, announced that he will cut off funding for the World Health Organization (WHO) for being “very China-centric.”
And while the world focuses on China’s response to the virus, Australia – where two scientists from the Wuhan Institute of Virology conducted coronavirus experiments overseas – has called for an international investigation into the origins and spread of COVID-19, while the so-called ‘five eyes’ Western intelligence agencies explore whether coronavirus escaped from the Wuhan lab – while operating under the assumption that it’s a non-modified virus of natural origin.
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southfront--2020-05-05--M141 Bunker Defeat Munition (Infographics)

Click to see the full-size image The M141 Bunker Defeat Munition is a single-shot , shoulder-launched weapon designed to defeat @ @ @ @ @ US Armed Forces .
It was designed as a modification of the US Marine Corps @ @ @ @ @ MORE ON THE TOPIC :

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The M141 Bunker Defeat Munition is a single-shot, shoulder-launched weapon designed to defeat hardened structures developed for the US Armed Forces. It was designed as a modification of the US Marine Corps Shoulder-launched Multipurpose Assault Weapon.
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southfront--2020-05-05--Syrian Air Defense Forces Activated In Response To Missile Attack On Aleppo

1 ) Iran can never have ebough supply line againstr Golan and 2 ) ISIS dont grow at all , but the few they have aæmost all are superveterans and already was organized as guerilla infantery when the fighting started years ago .
So the main problems are , that Assads as well as Iranians and Hesbollah has not enough troops to fight them and more important , those troops mainly are totally incompetent .
So telling this and that should go here and there makes no sense .
And finally You are telling ISIS griw and becomes more is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and SANA and shown well again and again telling the Syrians from the beginning are raised to BIIIG BIIG UNITS under LAUSY LAUSY COMMAND in a STUPID STUPID way , which is well known for all sektors in the whole Assads and parts of the rest .
I see it right here .
New tanks handle everything , missiles handles everything .
It doesnt against small mobile units each having their own relative independent opportunistic Leader .
Its about being raise to obey in culture as well as religion OR NOT .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ against ISIS are the Kurdish SDF and parts of the rest .
Those are raised in small groups used to be the smallest ones and therefore also being the clever one to make a + + fight and hide well .
The by few orders can be many and then split away from anyone else , if they need that .
………………………………………… .
I have no soultions for Assads in those matters .
Syria and Assad reoresent the dark in the region not able or wilingly to change anything apart from back in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
After killing by Assads they expect to go back to the good old days of their father .
ISIS and the other Jihadists hope for going back to 1258 A.C. or the good old days of Muhammed himself .
Thats why Americans ad a few others decided the power reduction of Syria with so many dead ones as well as partsof the infrastructure os gone .
Thats the rpice for heeping Assads having a hardly military controlled big are populated by poor bums and so many in baseements and tents .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ lot of things from the whole world and its many possibilities .
People dont understand local inflienece and the use of free press making much more plus then minus .
I try to compare with we Westerns in stead of 5 imoirtant legs in Islam took away two of them and fx said .
Mecca by a picture is more then enough and Salat is timewasting .

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The Syrian air defense was activated on April 4 in response to a missile attack on targets in the northern province of Aleppo. According to reports, explosions were hear in the area of Safira, southeast of the provincial capital.
Syria’s state media claimed that the air defense forces intercepted several ‘hostile missiles’, but at least a part of them (about 10 were launched) hit their targets in the country.
The sitaution is developing.
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southfront--2020-05-05--In Video: Russians Help To Rescue Turkish Vehicle That Stuck In Northeastern Syria

Turkeys US masters are not doing any better either .
An F-15 aircraft , reportedly protecting Trump during his “ @ @ @ @ @ David , made an emergency landing at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland following an undisclosed @ @ @ @ @ to US media reports .
The armed F-15 released its missiles on suburban Maryland residential @ @ @ @ @ .

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Units of the Russian Military Police helped to rescue a Turkish military vehicle that had stuck in the mud during the joint Russian-Turkish patrol near the village of al-Muabbada in northeastern Syria.
#Qamişlo: Turkish armored vehicle stuck in the mud during joint Turkish-Russian military patrol in the countryside of Girkê Legê (Al-Muabbada). pic.twitter.com/HIiUUsXKeZ — Rojava Network (@RojavaNetwork) May 4, 2020
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southfront--2020-05-05--ISIS Rears Its Ugly Head In Southern Syria And Central Iraq

Main playlist with id 1928 does not exist !
Tensions between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Syrian Army are growing in southern Idlib .
Recently , government forces repeatedly shelled positions of the terrorist groups in the Zawiya Mountain area .
The most intense shelling targeted Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists near Fatterah and Sufuhon .
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the al-Qaeda-affiliated “ Wa Harid al-Muminin ” operations room described this as a blatant violation of the ceasefire regime and announced that they ’ d killed several pro-government fighters in retaliatory strikes .
At the same time , Hayat Tahrir al-Sham @ @ @ @ @ @ @ town of Darat Izza in western Aleppo .
According to local sources , the group is opposing the growth of the Turkish military presence there because earlier Turkish-backed forces opposed its attempt to reopen commercial crossings with the government-held area in western Aleppo and eastern Idlib .
Contraband traffic and various fees on commercial activities are an important source of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham ’ s income .
Therefore , despite the public declarations to defeat the Assad regime , the group is interested in trade between the militant-held part of Greater Idlib and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ groups directly controlled by Turkey also faced a series of attacks .
On May 2 , a prominent commander of the Sham Corps , known as Haj Talib al-Khatib , survived an assassination attempt receiving light injures .
Unknown gunmen on a motorcycle fired on his vehicle on the road linking the towns of al-Nerab and Sarmin .
Late on the same day , Abu ‘ Arib , a field commander of the Ahrar al-Sham , died from a land mine explosion on the frontline in southern Idlib .
A part of Pro-Turkish @ @ @ @ @ @ @ such attacks in order to undermine the influence of its Turkish-controlled counterparts even further .
ISIS cells assassinated two Syrian intelligence officers and a supposed Hezbollah member in the province of Daraa in attacks on April 30 and May 2 .
These assassinations became the latest in a series of ISIS attacks on government forces .
Using the instability on the frontline in Idlib , the terrorist group expanded its operations southern Syria .
The ISIS activity is also growing in Iraq .
Early on May 2 , ISIS cells carried out coordinated @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Forces in the province of Saladin .
Nine fighters of the Tigris Regiment were killed near Mukeshefah and a member of the 41th Brigade was killed near Balad .
ISIS militants also briefly seized the PMF positions in the Mukeshefah area .
Later on the same day , ISIS terrorists armed with machine guns and sniper rifles fired on a police station in the village of Zaghinah in Diyala province .
Four police officers were killed and nine others were injured .
In a separate development , ISIS units detonated an improvised explosive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ convoy in the district of Udhaim , and then attacked the convoy ’ s vehicles with machine guns .
A soldier was killed and 3 others were injured .
The increasing number of ISIS attacks in late April and early May even drew the attention of the US-led coalition .
On April 29 , coalition warplanes bombed the ISIS stronghold in the Hamrin Mountains .
The strikes followed a PMF security operation in the area .
Nonetheless , the following developments in the provinces of Saladin and Diyala demonstrated that the ISIS threat @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation in the country .

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Tensions between Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the Syrian Army are growing in southern Idlib. Recently, government forces repeatedly shelled positions of the terrorist groups in the Zawiya Mountain area. The most intense shelling targeted Hayat Tahrir al-Sham terrorists near Fatterah and Sufuhon.
Hayat Tahrir al-Sham and the al-Qaeda-affiliated “Wa Harid al-Muminin” operations room described this as a blatant violation of the ceasefire regime and announced that they’d killed several pro-government fighters in retaliatory strikes.
At the same time, Hayat Tahrir al-Sham blocked several Turkish military vehicles near the town of Darat Izza in western Aleppo. According to local sources, the group is opposing the growth of the Turkish military presence there because earlier Turkish-backed forces opposed its attempt to reopen commercial crossings with the government-held area in western Aleppo and eastern Idlib.
Contraband traffic and various fees on commercial activities are an important source of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham’s income. Therefore, despite the public declarations to defeat the Assad regime, the group is interested in trade between the militant-held part of Greater Idlib and the government-controlled part of Syria.
Militant groups directly controlled by Turkey also faced a series of attacks. On May 2, a prominent commander of the Sham Corps, known as Haj Talib al-Khatib, survived an assassination attempt receiving light injures. Unknown gunmen on a motorcycle fired on his vehicle on the road linking the towns of al-Nerab and Sarmin. Late on the same day, Abu ‘Arib, a field commander of the Ahrar al-Sham, died from a land mine explosion on the frontline in southern Idlib. A part of Pro-Turkish sources accuses Hayat Tahrir al-Sham of staging such attacks in order to undermine the influence of its Turkish-controlled counterparts even further.
ISIS cells assassinated two Syrian intelligence officers and a supposed Hezbollah member in the province of Daraa in attacks on April 30 and May 2. These assassinations became the latest in a series of ISIS attacks on government forces. Using the instability on the frontline in Idlib, the terrorist group expanded its operations southern Syria.
The ISIS activity is also growing in Iraq.
Early on May 2, ISIS cells carried out coordinated attacks on positions of the Popular Mobilization Forces in the province of Saladin. Nine fighters of the Tigris Regiment were killed near Mukeshefah and a member of the 41th Brigade was killed near Balad. ISIS militants also briefly seized the PMF positions in the Mukeshefah area.
Later on the same day, ISIS terrorists armed with machine guns and sniper rifles fired on a police station in the village of Zaghinah in Diyala province. Four police officers were killed and nine others were injured.
In a separate development, ISIS units detonated an improvised explosive device on the route of a PMF convoy in the district of Udhaim, and then attacked the convoy’s vehicles with machine guns. A soldier was killed and 3 others were injured.
The increasing number of ISIS attacks in late April and early May even drew the attention of the US-led coalition. On April 29, coalition warplanes bombed the ISIS stronghold in the Hamrin Mountains. The strikes followed a PMF security operation in the area. Nonetheless, the following developments in the provinces of Saladin and Diyala demonstrated that the ISIS threat remains an important factor of the security situation in the country.
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southfront--2020-05-05--A New Frustrated Chapter in the Violent War Against Venezuela

In the early morning of May 3 , there was a thwarted mercenary raid on the coast of Macuto , in the state of La Guaira .
Interior , Justice , and Peace Minister Néstor Reverol reported that the Bolivarian National Armed Force ( FANB ) together with the Special Action Forces ( FAES ) of the Bolivarian National Police countered an invasion by “ sea ” on the coast by non-state actors , officially called “ Operation Negro Primero ” .
The Venezuelan authorities reportedly killed nine mercenaries and detained two others , who were part of what they @ @ @ @ @ @ @ also seized 10 rifles , a Glock 9mm pistol , two AFAG machine guns that were part of the Federal Legislative Palace ’ s weapons park stolen by seditious groups on 30 April 2019 , six land vehicles in the form of pickup trucks , a boat with two outboard motors , two notebooks with details of the violent operation , satellite phones , identification , uniforms ( including a helmet with the United States flag ) and cartridges of various calibers .
Among those killed was former Captain Robert Colina , alias @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a video that went out on Twitter this morning that called for “ liberating ” Venezuela .
A few weeks ago , the Venezuelan fugitive from justice , now detained in the United States , Clíver Alcalá , admitted that he was one of his “ trusted ” men .
Last March , a defector from the FANB captured by local authorities , Rubén Darío Fernández ( alias “ Búho ” ) , confessed that the aforementioned “ Panther ” was leading a terrorist squad to carry out selective assassinations against the main @ @ @ @ @ @ @ affirmed that this frustrated incursion came from Colombia ; since Riohacha , Clíver Alcalá had been organizing a plot that was also dismantled last March , in which a cache of combat weapons that would be moved via illegal routes to Venezuelan territory was intercepted and seized by the Colombian police .
At that time , the Minister of Communication and Information , Jorge Rodriguez , said that these weapons were going to be received by “ one of the three groups ” coordinated by Alcalá .
In addition , a recently published @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that a military contractor , Silvercorp , which has received at least a couple of contracts from the US government , was in charge of training mercenaries and FANB deserters from the Alcalá group in three camps in Colombia .
Shortly before noon today , May 3 , the president of the National Constituent Assembly , Diosdado Cabello , confirmed in a press conference that the maritime vehicles used in the operation came from Colombia because of the GPS information from the satellite phones seized in the operation .
Minister Reverol reported “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ arrests are not ruled out as a thorough search is being made by land , sea , and air .
Cabello repeated this to the press at the Federal Legislative Palace , adding that one of the subjects arrested in the early hours of the morning confessed to being a drug trafficker , an agent of the DEA , the United States ’ anti-drug agency , and added : “ It is sad that those who call themselves Venezuelans are financed by drug trafficking , by drug money ” .
What is certain @ @ @ @ @ @ @ electronic equipment seized in this operation coincide with the models used in last year ’ s incident , on April 30 , 2019 , when some defectors from the FANB and mercenaries took over the Altamira distribution center in Caracas in a failed attempt to overthrow the government of President Nicolás Maduro in order to place Juan Guaidó , the man chosen by Donald Trump ’ s administration , in power .
Among the weapon models that match both scenes is a rifle that does not correspond to those used by the Venezuelan @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , a Motorola XPR3500 radio seized in Macuto matches the model confiscated by the Colombian police in La Guajira last March , as well as the AR-15 rifles and the helmet with the American flag , equipment that was to be used by “ one of the three groups ” that Alcalá Cordones coordinated to carry out armed actions against Venezuelan institutions and leadership .
In addition , a source close to the official operation carried out by the FANB and the FAES in Macuto confirmed to Mision Verdad , under condition of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ sail from La Guajira in Colombia and made a stop in Aruba before running aground on the Venezuelan coast .
Aruba , along with Bonaire and Curaçao , is part of the Dutch crown colonies in the West Indies .
Curaçao is located 25 kilometers off the northwest coast of Venezuela , and the Netherlands decided last year to recognize Guaidó as “ president ” for the geopolitical benefit of the United States .
Both Aruba and Curaçao are territorial headquarters of two U.S. bases , respectively Reina Beatriz and Hato Rey , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Advanced Operations Center ( FOL ) , spearheading its alleged anti-drug operations .
It should be noted that the cruise ship Resolute rammed a Venezuelan Coast Guard vessel , the Naiguatá , on March 30 near La Tortuga Island ( in the absence of a request for permission ) , and subsequently fled to the port of Willemstad , in Curaçao .
The head of the FANB ’ s Strategic Operational Command ( CEOFANB ) , Admiral in Chief Remigio Ceballos , stated in mid-April that the Resolute was aimed at “ placing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ( the participation of alias “ Pantera ” , the seized equipment and the stop in Aruba before arriving in La Guaira ) indicates that “ Operation Gideon ” is indeed part of the plot coordinated by Clíver Alcalá from Colombia with resources , financing , and logistics from the United States ( via a private security contractor ) and with the approval of the clique led by Juan Guaidó .
The frustrated incursions were anticipated by the Venezuelan state through an aggregation of information .
Diosdado Cabello said at the aforementioned press @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on the country ’ s Caribbean coasts .
Since the calls for insurrection by Óscar Pérez and former Captain Juan Carlos Caguaripano in 2017 and the attempted assassination by means of drone bombs against President Maduro in 2018 , the terrorist-mercenary agenda has been increasing in its coordination and attempts at implementation under different channels and actors .
This is how Venezuelan state agencies have been managing to dismantle this agenda , in which the most visible face in recent months has been Clíver Alcalá Cordones himself .
Minister Jorge Rodriguez informed the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ detailed follow-up to the plans that emerged from what was being plotted in Colombia .
Recently , on April 20 , four captains and one lieutenant of the Bolivarian National Guard ( GNB ) were arrested and charged before military courts for weapons theft at GNB detachment 441 in Puerta Morocha , Miranda state .
Before being arrested , and according to the opposition , these officers tried to take over the weapons park and proceed to the Ramo Verde detention center in Caracas , freeing other seditious officers held there and arming @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
According to information from anti-Chávez journalist Luis Gonzalo Pérez of NTN24 , the “ uprising ” “ was going to be amphibious , both in La Guaira and in Falcón ” , and the detainees “ had conversations with external advisers in order to be able to carry out their armed uprising ” .
As a preventive measure , the Venezuelan state decided to block the accesses to the Caracas-La Guaira highway and the Cabrera tunnel based on the information provided ( whether from Colombia or from the recently arrested and prosecuted @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by opposition journalists and Iván Simonovis , former commissary of the then Technical Judicial Police , head of Security in the Caracas Mayor ’ s Office at the time of the Puente Llaguno massacre in 2002 and now a US collaborator in an attempt to crystallize a coup d ’ état against the Bolivarian Government .
Clearly the Venezuelan authorities have anticipated such an agenda within this critical context of the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic , in which the state is responsible for most of the official health care efforts for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ intended to exploit this “ opportunity ” to undermine the government of Nicolás Maduro , while the state neutralizes every attempt to impose a framework of violence , chaos and coup d ’ état leveraged again by the United States .

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Submitted via resumen-english.org
In the early morning of May 3, there was a thwarted mercenary raid on the coast of Macuto, in the state of La Guaira. Interior, Justice, and Peace Minister Néstor Reverol reported that the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB) together with the Special Action Forces (FAES) of the Bolivarian National Police countered an invasion by “sea” on the coast by non-state actors, officially called “Operation Negro Primero”.
The Venezuelan authorities reportedly killed nine mercenaries and detained two others, who were part of what they called “Operation Gideon”.
They also seized 10 rifles, a Glock 9mm pistol, two AFAG machine guns that were part of the Federal Legislative Palace’s weapons park stolen by seditious groups on 30 April 2019, six land vehicles in the form of pickup trucks, a boat with two outboard motors, two notebooks with details of the violent operation, satellite phones, identification, uniforms (including a helmet with the United States flag) and cartridges of various calibers.
Among those killed was former Captain Robert Colina, alias “Panther,” who had recorded a video that went out on Twitter this morning that called for “liberating” Venezuela. A few weeks ago, the Venezuelan fugitive from justice, now detained in the United States, Clíver Alcalá, admitted that he was one of his “trusted” men.
Last March, a defector from the FANB captured by local authorities, Rubén Darío Fernández (alias “Búho”), confessed that the aforementioned “Panther” was leading a terrorist squad to carry out selective assassinations against the main leaders of the national executive.
Reverol affirmed that this frustrated incursion came from Colombia; since Riohacha, Clíver Alcalá had been organizing a plot that was also dismantled last March, in which a cache of combat weapons that would be moved via illegal routes to Venezuelan territory was intercepted and seized by the Colombian police.
At that time, the Minister of Communication and Information, Jorge Rodriguez, said that these weapons were going to be received by “one of the three groups” coordinated by Alcalá.
In addition, a recently published Associated Press (AP) story claims that a military contractor, Silvercorp, which has received at least a couple of contracts from the US government, was in charge of training mercenaries and FANB deserters from the Alcalá group in three camps in Colombia.
Shortly before noon today, May 3, the president of the National Constituent Assembly, Diosdado Cabello, confirmed in a press conference that the maritime vehicles used in the operation came from Colombia because of the GPS information from the satellite phones seized in the operation.
The remains of a shipwreck
Minister Reverol reported “that the operation is continuing and other arrests are not ruled out as a thorough search is being made by land, sea, and air.
Cabello repeated this to the press at the Federal Legislative Palace, adding that one of the subjects arrested in the early hours of the morning confessed to being a drug trafficker, an agent of the DEA, the United States’ anti-drug agency, and added: “It is sad that those who call themselves Venezuelans are financed by drug trafficking, by drug money”.
What is certain is that some of the weapons and electronic equipment seized in this operation coincide with the models used in last year’s incident, on April 30, 2019, when some defectors from the FANB and mercenaries took over the Altamira distribution center in Caracas in a failed attempt to overthrow the government of President Nicolás Maduro in order to place Juan Guaidó, the man chosen by Donald Trump’s administration, in power.
Among the weapon models that match both scenes is a rifle that does not correspond to those used by the Venezuelan state defense and security forces.
Likewise, a Motorola XPR3500 radio seized in Macuto matches the model confiscated by the Colombian police in La Guajira last March, as well as the AR-15 rifles and the helmet with the American flag, equipment that was to be used by “one of the three groups” that Alcalá Cordones coordinated to carry out armed actions against Venezuelan institutions and leadership.
In addition, a source close to the official operation carried out by the FANB and the FAES in Macuto confirmed to Mision Verdad, under condition of anonymity, that the maritime vehicles set sail from La Guajira in Colombia and made a stop in Aruba before running aground on the Venezuelan coast.
Aruba, along with Bonaire and Curaçao, is part of the Dutch crown colonies in the West Indies. Curaçao is located 25 kilometers off the northwest coast of Venezuela, and the Netherlands decided last year to recognize Guaidó as “president” for the geopolitical benefit of the United States.
Both Aruba and Curaçao are territorial headquarters of two U.S. bases, respectively Reina Beatriz and Hato Rey, from where the Southern Command coordinates an Advanced Operations Center (FOL), spearheading its alleged anti-drug operations.
It should be noted that the cruise ship Resolute rammed a Venezuelan Coast Guard vessel, the Naiguatá, on March 30 near La Tortuga Island (in the absence of a request for permission), and subsequently fled to the port of Willemstad, in Curaçao. The head of the FANB’s Strategic Operational Command (CEOFANB), Admiral in Chief Remigio Ceballos, stated in mid-April that the Resolute was aimed at “placing mercenaries” in Venezuela.
The evidence (the participation of alias “Pantera”, the seized equipment and the stop in Aruba before arriving in La Guaira) indicates that “Operation Gideon” is indeed part of the plot coordinated by Clíver Alcalá from Colombia with resources, financing, and logistics from the United States (via a private security contractor) and with the approval of the clique led by Juan Guaidó.
Early morning raids against the terrorist agenda
The frustrated incursions were anticipated by the Venezuelan state through an aggregation of information. Diosdado Cabello said at the aforementioned press conference that such an action was expected on the country’s Caribbean coasts.
Since the calls for insurrection by Óscar Pérez and former Captain Juan Carlos Caguaripano in 2017 and the attempted assassination by means of drone bombs against President Maduro in 2018, the terrorist-mercenary agenda has been increasing in its coordination and attempts at implementation under different channels and actors.
This is how Venezuelan state agencies have been managing to dismantle this agenda, in which the most visible face in recent months has been Clíver Alcalá Cordones himself. Minister Jorge Rodriguez informed the country last March that there was a detailed follow-up to the plans that emerged from what was being plotted in Colombia.
Recently, on April 20, four captains and one lieutenant of the Bolivarian National Guard (GNB) were arrested and charged before military courts for weapons theft at GNB detachment 441 in Puerta Morocha, Miranda state.
Before being arrested, and according to the opposition, these officers tried to take over the weapons park and proceed to the Ramo Verde detention center in Caracas, freeing other seditious officers held there and arming them for a “military uprising”.
According to information from anti-Chávez journalist Luis Gonzalo Pérez of NTN24, the “uprising” “was going to be amphibious, both in La Guaira and in Falcón”, and the detainees “had conversations with external advisers in order to be able to carry out their armed uprising”.
As a preventive measure, the Venezuelan state decided to block the accesses to the Caracas-La Guaira highway and the Cabrera tunnel based on the information provided (whether from Colombia or from the recently arrested and prosecuted military). This action was opposed by opposition journalists and Iván Simonovis, former commissary of the then Technical Judicial Police, head of Security in the Caracas Mayor’s Office at the time of the Puente Llaguno massacre in 2002 and now a US collaborator in an attempt to crystallize a coup d’état against the Bolivarian Government.
Clearly the Venezuelan authorities have anticipated such an agenda within this critical context of the advent of the Covid-19 pandemic, in which the state is responsible for most of the official health care efforts for the population. The planners of the plot intended to exploit this “opportunity” to undermine the government of Nicolás Maduro, while the state neutralizes every attempt to impose a framework of violence, chaos and coup d’état leveraged again by the United States.
Source: Mision Verdad, translation Internationalist 360
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southfront--2020-05-05--ZBD 2000 Amphibious Light Tank (Infographics)

@ SF : It would be nice to read some actual analysis , instead of just a few technical data @ @ @ @ @ technical data , Wikipedia does provide much more information anyway .
What is lacking is @ @ @ @ @ military equipment compares in the market , how it prospects are against competing solutions , @ @ @ @ @ or replacements , etc .
This can hardly be found on the web , at @ @ @ @ @ and would be truly beneficial compared to some superficial numbers that dont say much anyway @

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The ZBD 2000 amphibious light tank is a successor to the Chinese Type 63A amphibious light tank. The ZBD 2000 amphibious light tank is a variant of the ZBD 2000 infantry fighting vehicle.
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southfront--2020-05-05--Iran Changes Its Currency From “Rial” To “Toman” Cutting 4 Zeroes

On May 4th , Iranian parliament voted to change the national currency from the “ rial ” to the “ toman.
” The new law tasks Central Bank of Iran with recalculating foreign exchange ratio with ‘ toman ’ taking into consideration the currency reserve and the country ’ s commitments to the International Monetary Fund .
The law also articulates that ‘ rial ’ will remain credible alongside ‘ toman ’ for two years , during which the old coins and bills will be gradually collected and new ones will replace them .
As per the decision , four @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Iranian currency , in addition to the name change .
As a result of the decision , 10,000 rials become 1 toman .
A euro is now officially worth 4.5 tomans , or 17 tomans on the free market , the agency said .
The law must be ratified by the Guardian Council .
The rial , Iran ’ s currency since 1925 , has recently lost more than 50 per cent of its worth , with inflation rising drastically as US sanctions , introduced in response to Iran ’ s nuclear @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the economic consequences of the pandemic bite .
The toman was Iran ’ s currency until 1925 and the term itself remained in use in Iran because conversion was easy : 10 rials were known as a toman .
Iran hopes that the new measure has a positive psychological effect on the market .
Many Iranians have to pay more than a million rials for their weekly shopping .
The move is also necessary for the implementation of banking reform .
This is a direction result of the continuing “ maximum pressure ” @ @ @ @ @ @ @ situation is heavily exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic , and the fact that more than 100,000 total cases have been recorded in Iran .
Currently the active cases are nearly 13,000 , but the rapid spread over the last two months and the cost of treating people , enforcing emergency measures and so on has very obviously taken its toll on the country ’ s struggling economy .
Some of Tehran ’ s oil exports continue , facilitated by China , but generally the biggest contributor to its revenue has been impeded @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Washington .
Calls by European countries , Russia and China for the easing of the sanctions in the face of the pandemic were entirely disregarded by Washington .
Even more so , sanctions were introduced on officials and organizations during the pandemic .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • What War between the United States and Iran Could Look Like • Iran ’ s IRGC Successfully Launched First Military Satellite On Its Anniversary

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On May 4th, Iranian parliament voted to change the national currency from the “rial” to the “toman.”
The new law tasks Central Bank of Iran with recalculating foreign exchange ratio with ‘toman’ taking into consideration the currency reserve and the country’s commitments to the International Monetary Fund.
The law also articulates that ‘rial’ will remain credible alongside ‘toman’ for two years, during which the old coins and bills will be gradually collected and new ones will replace them.
As per the decision, four zeros will disappear from the value of the Iranian currency, in addition to the name change.
As a result of the decision, 10,000 rials become 1 toman. A euro is now officially worth 4.5 tomans, or 17 tomans on the free market, the agency said. The law must be ratified by the Guardian Council.
The rial, Iran’s currency since 1925, has recently lost more than 50 per cent of its worth, with inflation rising drastically as US sanctions, introduced in response to Iran’s nuclear, military and regional policy, and the economic consequences of the pandemic bite.
The toman was Iran’s currency until 1925 and the term itself remained in use in Iran because conversion was easy: 10 rials were known as a toman.
Iran hopes that the new measure has a positive psychological effect on the market.
Many Iranians have to pay more than a million rials for their weekly shopping.
The move is also necessary for the implementation of banking reform.
This is a direction result of the continuing “maximum pressure” campaign by Washington against Tehran.
The situation is heavily exacerbated due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and the fact that more than 100,000 total cases have been recorded in Iran.
Currently the active cases are nearly 13,000, but the rapid spread over the last two months and the cost of treating people, enforcing emergency measures and so on has very obviously taken its toll on the country’s struggling economy.
Some of Tehran’s oil exports continue, facilitated by China, but generally the biggest contributor to its revenue has been impeded by the heavy sanctions regime enforced by Washington.
Calls by European countries, Russia and China for the easing of the sanctions in the face of the pandemic were entirely disregarded by Washington. Even more so, sanctions were introduced on officials and organizations during the pandemic.
MORE ON THE TOPIC:
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southfront--2020-05-05--Supposed Reason Behind SouthFront’s Ban On Facebook Revealed

On April 5 , Facebook released a that includes the supposed ( formal ) reason for the censorship of SouthFront ’ s work .
In its “ April 2020 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report ” , Facebook claimed that the big international team authors and experts working under the brand of SouthFront : Analysis & Intelligence seeks to “ mislead ” the audience and exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to do so .
“ We know that people looking to mislead others — whether through phishing , scams , or influence operations — try to leverage crises to advance their goals , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
All of the networks we took down for CIB in April were created before the COVID-19 pandemic began , however , we ’ ve seen people behind these campaigns opportunistically use coronavirus-related posts among many other topics to build an audience and drive people to their Pages or off-platform sites .
The majority of the networks we took down this month were still trying to grow their audience or had a large portion of engagement on their Pages generated by their own accounts .
We removed 46 Pages , 91 Facebook accounts @ @ @ @ @ @ @ account .
This network posted in Russian , English , German , Spanish , French , Hungarian , Serbian , Georgian , Indonesian and Farsi , focusing on a wide range of regions around the world .
Our investigation linked this activity to individuals in Russia , the Donbass region in Ukraine and two media organizations in Crimea — NewsFront and SouthFront .
We found this network as part of our internal investigation into suspected coordinated inauthentic behavior in the region , ” the report claims .
The claims that SouthFront exploits the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disinformation ( misleading coverage ) as well as that our international team of authors is based in Crimea are blatant lie .
In order to push this claim , the Facebook report put SouthFront near another organization with alike name “ News Front ” .
We took a look at this media and it ’ s in fact based in Crimea ( contrary to SouthFront ) .
There is no secret in the fact that a few members of SouthFront are from Russia and other post-USSR states .
Some of them sometimes visit @ @ @ @ @ @ @ especially in the summer .
This does not mean that SouthFront , as an international team of independent authors and experts , is based in Crimea or the SouthFront Steering Committee is located in Crimea .
This is a blatant lie and we are ready to prove this in the court .
As to the COVID-19 accusations , apparently , the Facebook report meant 3 articles ( of about 3,000 released since the start of 2020 ) that recently were mentioned by pro-NATO propaganda units .
Tomorrow , we will publish a detailed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
In spite of the false claims in the Facebook report , we want to say a big thank you to Mark Zuckerberg and his team for the explanation of the social network ’ s actions .
We hope that other global social platforms and their staff still have at least a little bit of sense , conscience and an objective perception of the reality .

Support SouthFront
On May 5, Facebook released a report that includes the supposed (formal) reason for the censorship of SouthFront’s work. In its “April 2020 Coordinated Inauthentic Behavior Report”, Facebook claimed that the big international team authors and experts working under the brand of SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence seeks to “mislead” the audience and exploit the COVID-19 pandemic to do so.
“We know that people looking to mislead others — whether through phishing, scams, or influence operations — try to leverage crises to advance their goals, and the coronavirus pandemic is no different. All of the networks we took down for CIB in April were created before the COVID-19 pandemic began, however, we’ve seen people behind these campaigns opportunistically use coronavirus-related posts among many other topics to build an audience and drive people to their Pages or off-platform sites. The majority of the networks we took down this month were still trying to grow their audience or had a large portion of engagement on their Pages generated by their own accounts. … We removed 46 Pages, 91 Facebook accounts, 2 Groups, and 1 Instagram account. This network posted in Russian, English, German, Spanish, French, Hungarian, Serbian, Georgian, Indonesian and Farsi, focusing on a wide range of regions around the world. Our investigation linked this activity to individuals in Russia, the Donbass region in Ukraine and two media organizations in Crimea — NewsFront and SouthFront. We found this network as part of our internal investigation into suspected coordinated inauthentic behavior in the region,” the report claims.
The claims that SouthFront exploits the COVID-19 pandemic to push some kind of disinformation (misleading coverage) as well as that our international team of authors is based in Crimea are blatant lie. In order to push this claim, the Facebook report put SouthFront near another organization with alike name “News Front”. We took a look at this media and it’s in fact based in Crimea (contrary to SouthFront).
There is no secret in the fact that a few members of SouthFront are from Russia and other post-USSR states. Some of them sometimes visit or spend some time in Crimea, especially in the summer. This does not mean that SouthFront, as an international team of independent authors and experts, is based in Crimea or the SouthFront Steering Committee is located in Crimea. This is a blatant lie and we are ready to prove this in the court.
As to the COVID-19 accusations, apparently, the Facebook report meant 3 articles (of about 3,000 released since the start of 2020) that recently were mentioned by pro-NATO propaganda units. Tomorrow, we will publish a detailed look at these articles and their critique.
In spite of the false claims in the Facebook report, we want to say a big thank you to Mark Zuckerberg and his team for the explanation of the social network’s actions. We hope that other global social platforms and their staff still have at least a little bit of sense, conscience and an objective perception of the reality.
Sincerely yours,
The big team of SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence
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southfront--2020-05-05--In Video: Syrians Destroyed 2 Buldozers Of Turkish Army In Southeastern Idlib

On May 5 , the Syrian Army destroyed 2 buldozers of the Turkish Army with anti-tank guided missiles near the @ @ @ @ @ Idlib .
The village is located north of the Syrian-controlled town of Saraqib , near @ @ @ @ @ to pro-government sources , the strikes were delivered in response to the recently increased number @ @ @ @ @ area by Turkish-backed militants .
MORE ON THE TOPIC : • Military Situation In Syria @ @ @ @ @ ( Map Update )

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On May 5, the Syrian Army destroyed 2 buldozers of the Turkish Army with anti-tank guided missiles near the village of Afis in southeastern Idlib. The village is located north of the Syrian-controlled town of Saraqib, near the M5 highway.
According to pro-government sources, the strikes were delivered in response to the recently increased number of ceasefire violations in the area by Turkish-backed militants.
2 bulldozers that were destroyed by the Syrian regime forces for the Turkish army east of #Idlib. pic.twitter.com/LcSfp1nQWU — IDLIB POST (@IdlibEn) May 5, 2020
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southfront--2020-05-05--Barrett M107 Anti-Material Rifle (Infographics)

I allow me to see the othe way around too .
Has those onelegged shoesavers defeayed Israel ?
As partly @ @ @ @ @ with Assads as big nasty brother has been able to destroy lebanon and has done @ @ @ @ @ look the same .

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The Barrett M107 anti-material rifle is designed to provide a long range anti-material capability for United States ground forces.
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