FNA - The Syrian Army announced on Monday that its forces have engaged in fierce clashes with ISIL militants around Palmyra (Tadmur) in Central province of Homs.
The army reported heavy clashes in Dora district in Palmyra between the government forces and the ISIL terrorists, saying that scores of militants have been killed or wounded.
They army also said that the ISIL terrorists staged such a fast retreat that they have left their casualties and military hardware in the battlefield.
The military vehicles of the terrorist group also sustained heavy damage in the army attack on ISIL positions in Dora.
Also on Monday, two large convoys of ISIL militants' vehicles carrying weapons, ammunition and fresh forces were traced and targeted by the Syrian Army in two roads in the Eastern territories of Homs province, provincial officials announced.
The sources said that one of convoys was targeted on Palmyra-al Bayarat road and another one was hit on Ein Hassein road.
Kooperation mit Russland statt Eskalation
Europa darf kein Schlachtfeld werden
rt. Während jede militärische und nicht-militärische Bewegung Russlands, wie unter einem Mikroskop vergrössert, als «aggressiv» bewertet und medial aufgeblasen wird, wie zurzeit im Fall Syriens, kreisen die USA und die unter ihrer Leitung stehende Nato (inklusive einiger PfP-Staaten) das Land militärisch ein. Täglich werden neu Waffen, Munition und Soldaten an Russlands Grenzen gebracht. Die westeuropäischen Verbündeten werden atomar mit den neuesten Sprengköpfen aus den USA aufgerüstet (vgl. Zeit-Fragen Nr. 25 vom 29. September). Das künftige Schlachtfeld soll sicher nicht in den USA oder Washington liegen, sondern augenscheinlich in Europa. Es ist deshalb nachvollziehbar, dass die USA ihre Strategie der Einkreisung auch auf Kosten ihrer «Bündnispartner» unerbittlich weitertreiben. Nur einige wenige militärische Schritte aus den vergangenen letzten Monaten, die öffentlich bekannt sind, seien hier kurz zusammengestellt:
In Georgien wurde ein neues Nato-Trainingszentrum für dänische, lettische, litauische und norwegische Offiziere eröffnet. Georgien ist als direkter Nachbarstaat Russlands noch kein Nato-Mitglied. Die russische Regierung protestierte vergeblich gegen diese heimliche Nato-Ost-Erweiterung.
Am Schwarzen Meer an der Küste Bulgariens verdoppelt das US-Marines Corps seine Präsenz. Waffen und Munition werden über Bremerhaven per Eisenbahn transportiert. Die Präsenz von Kriegsschiffen im Schwarzen Meer – also auch vor der Küste Russlands – wurde insgesamt verstärkt. Manöver wie «Sea Breeze» im September unter Beteiligung auch deutscher Soldaten werden direkt vor der russischen Küste durchgeführt.
Im Rahmen des «Open Skies Treaty» von 2002, gedacht als vertrauensbildende Massnahme, durfte Schweden bis August Aufklärungsflüge über Russland durchführen. Von russischer Seite wurde dies gewährt.
Schweden hat seine Rüstungsausgaben deutlich erhöht. Unter anderem werden Marschflugkörper gekauft, die auf Russland gerichtet werden.
Litauen erneuert seine Luftabwehr.
Über dem Ostseeraum und dem Baltikum patroullieren seit längerem Flugzeuge der Nato. Zurzeit 4 deutsche Eurofighter und 4 ungarische Saab JAS 39 C Gripen.
Auf politischer Ebene hat Japan – gegen die Mehrheit seiner Bürger – Weichen gestellt, seine reine Verteidigungsarmee hin zu einer Interventionsarmee umzurüsten.
Gegen den Willen einer grossen Mehrheit wurde in Deutschland die Bundeswehr in den vergangenen Jahren in eine schlagkräftige Interventionsarmee umgerüstet (vgl. Jürgen Rose. Deutschlands neue Wehrmacht. In: International. Zeitschrift für internationale Politik. Nr. 3/2015).
Die USA wollen bis 2019 ihre Drohneneinsätze um 50 % steigern.
Im Mittelmeer sind der USS Donald-Cook-Lenkwaffenzerstörer und seine drei Schwesternschiffe eingelaufen. Sie sollen gemeinsam mit landgestützten Abfangraketen in Polen, Rumänien, einem Frühwarnradar in der Türkei und einer Führungszentrale im deutschen Ramstein als ein europäisches Schutzschild dienen.
Zurzeit beginnt im Mittelmeerraum eines der grössten Nato-Manöver der letzten 10 Jahre: «Trident Juncture». Erprobt wird dabei auch die neue «superschnelle Eingreiftruppe» der Nato.
Diesen wenigen Beispielen liessen sich problemlos weitere aktuelle anschliessen. Der militärische Druck auf Russland wird weiter erhöht. Nicht einbezogen in diese Auflistung sind nicht-militärische Aktivitäten der «hybriden» Kriegsführung, die das Land schon seit Jahren destabilisieren. Es stellt sich die ernsthafte Frage: Wo bleibt der Protest der gewählten Volksvertreter gegen diese Strategie der Kriegstreiberei? Wo sind die Politiker in Europa aus allen politischen Lagern, die sich gegen diese Politik der militärischen Eskalation wehren? Sollen wir Bürger stillschweigend einer Schlachtbank zugeführt werden? Zeitgleich wurden und werden die Menschen in Europa mit einer riesigen Flüchtlingswelle beschäftigt. Deren plötzliches Auftreten bedarf noch einer genaueren Erklärung. Zusätzlich wird Deutschland, das eigentlich an einem gedeihlichen Zusammenleben mit Russland interessiert ist, mit einem «Abgas-Skandal» beschäftigt, der einen der grössten Arbeitgeber des Landes betrifft. Parallel dazu müssen die Bürger zur Kenntnis nehmen, dass die US-amerikanischen Geheimdienste – unter offensichtlicher Mitwirkung deutscher Nachrichtendienste – sämtliche wichtigen Aktivitäten ihrer «Bündnispartner» ausspionierten und ausspionieren. Ausserdem muss die Öffentlichkeit erfahren, dass ihre demokratischen Rechte durch ein geheim verhandeltes sogenanntes Freihandelsabkommen zwischen den USA und der EU (TTIP) ausgehebelt werden sollen. Gerade in dieser Situation sind die Politiker in Europa mehr denn je aufgefordert, ihre Verantwortung wahrzunehmen und ernsthafte Verhandlungen mit Russland zu führen, um eine Entspannung der Situation oder sogar eine stärkere wirtschaftliche Zusammenarbeit herbeizuführen. Dazu sollten sie auch in den USA aktiv Unterstützung suchen. Auch dort existieren einflussreiche Kreise, die keine militärische Eskalation wünschen. Jede Aktivität, die auf Annäherung, Kooperation oder Zusammenarbeit zielt, muss unterstützt werden. So sind zum Beispiel die Wiener Gespräche zur Syrienfrage oder die jüngste Gründung einer neuen Wirtschaftsplattform durch den Verband der russischen Industriellen (RSPP), die Mittelstandsvereinigung Delowaja Rossija, den Ost-Ausschuss der Deutschen Wirtschaft (OA) und die Deutsch-Russische Auslandshandelskammer (AHK) zu begrüssen. Nicht nur aus wirtschaftlicher Sicht! •
President Obama is sending a small number of Special Operations troops to northern Syria, marking the first full-time deployment of U.S. forces to the chaotic country.
The mission marks a major shift for Obama, whose determination to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria has been balanced by an abiding worry that U.S. troops not be pulled too deeply into the intractable Syrian conflict.
The latest deployment will involve fewer than 50 Special Operations advisers, who will work with resistance forces battling the Islamic State in northern Syria but will not engage in direct combat, Obama administration officials said.
Admission of Special Forces in Syria is Just the Beginning
While the US claims this move is to “defeat the Islamic State (ISIS),” it is instead clearly a move to establish long-sought “buffer zones” or “safe zones” in Syria where the Syrian government can no longer operate. US airpower will also undoubtedly be used to cover these special forces, creating a defacto no-fly-zone wherever they operate.
The map accompanying the Washington Post article clearly shows ISIS territory straddling the last remaining supply corridor being used to supply the terror group as well as others including Al Qaeda’s al Nusra Front from NATO-member Turkey’s territory. US special forces will likely begin operating in these areas, and zones carved out as US operations expand.
The eventual outcome, if these operations are successful, will be the division and destruction of Syria as a nation-state. This is more than mere speculation – this is a conclusion drawn by signed and dated policy papers produced by the Brookings Institution, who has called for such zones since as early as 2012, but under different contrived pretexts.
In the March 2012 Brookings Institution”Middle East Memo #21″ “Assessing Options for Regime Change” it is stated specifically (emphasis added):
An alternative is for diplomatic efforts to focus first on how to end the violence and how to gain humanitarian access, as is being done under Annan’s leadership. This may lead to the creation of safe-havens and humanitarian corridors, which would have to be backed by limited military power. This would, of course, fall short of U.S. goals for Syria and could preserve Asad in power. From that starting point, however, it is possible that a broad coalition with the appropriate international mandate could add further coercive action to its efforts.
The idea would be to help moderate elements establish reliable safe zones within Syria once they were able. American, as well as Saudi and Turkish and British and Jordanian and other Arab forces would act in support, not only from the air but eventually on the ground via the presence of special forces as well. The approach would benefit from Syria’s open desert terrain which could allow creation of buffer zones that could be monitored for possible signs of enemy attack through a combination of technologies, patrols, and other methods that outside special forces could help Syrian local fighters set up.
Were Assad foolish enough to challenge these zones, even if he somehow forced the withdrawal of the outside special forces, he would be likely to lose his air power in ensuing retaliatory strikes by outside forces, depriving his military of one of its few advantages over ISIL.Thus, he would be unlikely to do this.
Unfortunately for US policymakers, it is no longer only Syria that US special forces and accompanying airpower must worry about. Russia, by invitation of Damascus, is now operating militarily across Syria, including along Turkey’s border where the US has long sought to establish its “safe zones.”
The US has openly committed to the invasion and occupation of Syrian territory. It does so with the intent of carving Syria up into a series of dysfunctional, weak zones to literally “deconstruct” Syria as a functioning nation-state. It is doing this unable to cite any credible threat Syria poses to US national security and without any semblance of a mandate granted by the United Nations. It also does so with the prospect of triggering direct war with nuclear-armed Russia in a region Russia is operating legally.
A Desperate Move to Save a Bankrupt Foreign Policy Agenda
America’s latest actions are a desperate move sought by an increasingly hysterical political and corporate-financier establishment in Washington and on Wall Street. Recent hearings conducted by the US Senate Committee on Armed Services have struggled to produce a credible response to America’s unraveling criminal conspiracy aimed at Syria, particularly in the wake of Russia’s recent intervention. The committee and witnesses brought before it, have struggled to formulate a response – however – no-fly-zones and US troops on the ground have been discussed at length.
It is a poorly calculated bluff. The presence of US special forces and US airpower operating illegally in and above Syria, meant to deny Syria access to its own territory will take time to implement. The official number of US special forces being sent into Syria is said to not exceed 50. Syria and its allies could insert an equal or larger number of forces into these same areas to essentially create a “safe zone” from “safe zones.” Bringing America’s illegal actions before the UN would also be a sound measure ahead of potential confrontations with US forces operating uninvited in Syria.
The premise that ISIS must be fought and defeated by striking them in Iraq and Syria is betrayed by America’s own admission that the organization has already spread far beyond the borders of either nation. ISIS is clearly not supporting itself on the limited resources found within either country. Were the US truly interested in stopping ISIS, it would strike at its sponsors in Ankara and Riyadh. Of course, it was clear, well over a year ago, that the appearance of ISIS would be used intentionally to accomplish US geopolitical objectives in both Syria and Iraq, serving as a pretext for wider, long-sought after direct Western military intervention.
The myth that dividing and destroying Syria while deposing its sitting government will somehow alleviate the violence in Syria and reduce the ongoing migrant crisis Europe faces, is betrayed by the fact that a similar premise used to sell intervention in Libya has only led to greater chaos in North Africa, and the creation of the migrant crisis in the first place.
If the world, including Europe, seeks to prevent the spread of ISIS and the expansion of an already growing migrant crisis, stopping the United States and its partners before they create another “Libya” in the Levant must become top priority. And while it is unlikely that Europe will show any resolve in doing so, it would be hoped that Syria and its allies realize the consequences of failing now, at this juncture, and to whom’s borders the chaos will attempt to cross over into next.
Tony Cartalucci, Bangkok-based geopolitical researcher and writer,
The threat of war is on the rise. After wars of aggression against Yugoslavia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and Syria, steps have been taken for war against Russia. The encirclement of Russia with military bases, the expansion of NATO to the east, the construction of a U.S. missile defense shield, and „Western“ operations in Ukraine are part of this confrontation. „We are at war, and this war can become total war,“ declared the French President Hollande in February 2015. The danger of another world war exists. When an atomic-armed Russia finds itself under attack, as ex-State Secretary Willy Wimmer said in November 2014, “Nothing will be left of us.” Therefore, for all the forces of peace there is just one choice: to say NO! Germany needs to step out of the imperialist structures of the war. Phasing out of NATO is the central slogan. We therefore call on the Bundestag and the German Federal Government:
Bow out of the NATO Treaty!
The Bundestag (Parliament) has the power to decide this, because „Any Party may cease to be a Party one year after its notice of denunciation has been given to the government of the United States.“ That’s from the North Atlantic Treaty in Article 13. Germany dare not remain any longer a member in an organization that is dominated by the policy of U.S. imperialism, the main threat to world peace. Germany must be neutral.
End the Convention on the Presence of Foreign Forces!
The Convention on the Presence of Foreign Forces in the Federal Republic of Germany of Oct. 23, 1954 allows some NATO countries to use West German territory for militarily deployment. This has been in effect since the completion of the Two Plus Four Treaty, but it may be terminated with a two-year period under an agreement (Exchange of Notes dated Sept. 25, 1990). The German Federal Government must immediately take this right seriously. The territory and airspace of Germany should no longer be abused for U.S. and NATO wars of aggression. The secret facilities must be closed. Spying must be terminated. No limitations of sovereignty – in particular no, allow the acts of war to go out from German soil!
Cooperate with Russia!
According to Stratfor chief George Friedman, the aim of the United States for more than 100 years has been to prevent an alliance of Germany with Russia. That cannot remain a mainstay of German policy. Instead what must apply is: No sanctions against Russia, but understanding and cooperation for the benefit of all peoples of Europe; No support for a government in Kiev that came to power t through a coup with the help of fascists and that promotes anti-democratic tendencies and anti-Russian hatred. No eastward expansion of NATO and the European Union.
Follow a fundamentally different, peaceful foreign policy!
This includes: End all Bundeswehr (German Armed Forces) missions abroad. Prohibit German arms exports in general. Banish nuclear weapons from German soil; end the „nuclear sharing.“ Outlaw „extrajudicial executions“ with drones. End the policy of extortion by economic sanctions, as is currently used also against Syria and Iran. No longer cover up the internationally wrongful actions of Israel against the Palestinian nation in the name of „German raison d’état,“ but stand up for a just peace. Demand an independent international investigation of the crime of 11 September 2001. Defend international law. Use the United Nations in its function as a collective security system. Don’t battle refugees but battle the causes of their flight.
End subjection to „supranational“ financial capital’s authorities!
This includes: Withdrawal from the negotiations on a so-called transatlantic free trade agreement (TTIP), which has the purpose, essentially, to newly coordinate the „Western“ power bloc against rivals such as China and Russia and enforce neoliberal diktats against the sovereignty and democratic self-determination of peoples. This includes the repeal of all EU standards, allowing big business to destroy entire economies, such as in Greece. The BRICS and other emerging countries could be new partners. Finally, exiting from the EU must not be a taboo. The anti-social development within the EU has led in Germany to 1 percent of the population owning more than 60 percent of the country’s financial assets; this must be changed.
GERMANY OUT OF NATO – NATO OUT OF GERMANY
Responsible: Klaus von Raussendorff, An der Nessel Burg 91, 53179 Bonn
The call is supported by: 1. Aachener Aktionsgemeinschaft „Frieden jetzt“ 2. Arbeiterfotografie 3. Arbeitskreis Marburger Wissenschaftlerinnen und Wissenschaftler für Friedens- und Abrüstungsforschung e.V. 4. Bündnis für Soziale Gerechtigkeit und Menschenwürde e.V. (BüSGM), Berlin 5. Deutscher Freidenker-Verband e.V. 6. Deutsche Sektion des Europäischen Friedensforums 7. Die Bandbreite 8. Enzyklopädie des Islam 9. Euregioprojekt Frieden e.V. 10. Freundschaftsgesellschaft BRD-Kuba e.V., Regionalgruppe Essen 11. Freundschaftsgesellschaft BRD-Kuba e. V. – Regionalgruppe Frankfurt am Main 12. Friedenswacht Neubrandenburg 13. Gemeinschaft für Menschenrechte im Freistaat Sachsen e.V. (GMS) 14. Gesellschaft zur Rechtlichen und Humanitären Unterstützung e. V. (GRH) 15. Gesellschaft zum Schutz von Bürgerrecht und Menschenwürde e. V. (GBM) 16. Heidelberger Forum gegen Militarismus und Krieg 17. Initiative „Alternative Presseschau – Nachrichten aus dem Donbass, der Ukraine und Russland“ 18. Initiative Antikriegskonferenz 19. Initiative für globale Gleichheit, Heilbronn 20. Integrer Republikanischer Artikel 146 Bund 21. Internationales FrauenFriedensarchiv Fasia Jansen e.V. (IFFA) 22. Internationales Solidaritätskomitee „Slobodan Milošević“ 23. IPPNW Regionalgruppe Hamburg 24. IPPNW AK Süd-Nord 25. Islamischer Weg e.V. 26. KAOS Kunst- und Video-Archiv e.V. 27. KenFM 28. Krosta.tv 29. Kunst für Frieden e.V. 30. LUFTPOST – Friedenspolitische Mitteilungen aus der US-Militärregion Kaiserslautern/Ramstein 31. Mahnwache Bonn 32. Marx-Engels-Zentrum Berlin 33. Montagsdemo, Mahnwache, Friedens-Party Koblenz 34. Montagsmahnwache Krefeld 35. Mütter gegen den Krieg Berlin-Brandenburg 36. Muslim-Markt 37. Neue Rheinische Zeitung (NRhZ) 38. Planetare Bewegung für Mutter Erde (PBME) 39. Redaktion von krisenfrei.de 40. Revolutionärer Freundschaftsbund e.V. (RFB) 41. Solidaritätskomitee für Syrien, Frankfurt 42. Vereinigung für internationale Solidarität e.V. (VIS) 43. Würselener Initiative für den Frieden 44. Zambon-Verlag Translation German to English: John Catalinotto
It has been more than four years since the civil war in Syria began. So far, over 220,000 people have been killed. Today we present you the second of a five part series looking at the suffering of the Syrian people during this period.
CCTV correspondent Alaa Ebrahim reports on an all-woman band that has not been overshadowed by the gloomy war atmosphere. They just got back together after years of inactivity, and their first concert in three years is sold out.
An age old piece, this musical piece was written in the ancient Phoenician kingdom of Ugarit. Three thousand years on, it is played in the Syrian opera house by an all women band named after another ancient civilization kingdom, celebrating the band second launching.
An all women band that started in 2006. But when war hit Syria, it spelled the end for the 60 musicians orchestra.
Today, the band tries to start again, almost from scratch, in a Syria unlike that of before. Many of the musicians have left the country immigrating for a better life or for safety. Others simply can’t make the trip from their houses to the concerts and rehearsal in the increasingly dangerous streets.
"When we wanted to start the band again as security conditions improved gradually, I found out that 30 of my players had left the country. Today we struggle with the stress and anxiety from the war as we started the band again when we met again for the first time we all wanted to work and live again to signal hope that life could go back to normal," said Ra'ad Khalaf, Conductor & Founder of Mari Orchestra.
Ra'ad Khalaf, Conductor & Founder of Mari Orchestra
The rehearsal starts and on the charts today ; Music from the Godfather movie : the epic story of violence , crime and power. And the similarities between overseas fiction and domestic fact seems haunting.
A simple thing like coming to rehearsal could be troublesome especially for women like Nora a 23 year old student at the Syrian prestigious higher Musical institute .
The all women band in rehearsal
During the intermission, CCTV reporter finds out more about one of the lead violists in one of Syria’s most prominent bands.
"In days when there are mortar attacks or car bombs my parents refuse to let me leave the house, in other days i negotiate with them to come practice, i want ti finish my studies so i might have to travel abroad like many friends and colleagues," said Nora Salibi, Musician.
The Music starts again this time playing a waltz from the Swan Lake , maybe this piece reflects the girls' dreams of a better and calmer future
The theater that the band is rehearsing in has been hit by mortar attacks for several times in the past two years, but the music continues a reminder that even a country at war like Syria, the show must go on.
The Russian passenger jet that crashed in Sinai, Egypt, must have been damaged by a force in flight and couldn’t have just broken apart, the airline of the ill-fated Airbus A321 said. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov has urged an end to speculation until the investigation is complete.
Search and recovery operations are underway after a passenger plane belonging to a small Russian airline, flying from the Egyptian resort of Sharm El-Sheikh to St. Petersburg crashed over Sinai. There were 224 people on board.
BBC - The bodies of 144 of those killed in Saturday's air crash in Egypt have been flown back to the Russian city of St Petersburg as an investigation into the cause continues.
All 224 people on the Airbus 321 - most of them Russians - died when it came down over the northern Sinai peninsula.
The country observed a day of mourning on Sunday after its worst air disaster.
Russian Air Transport Agency head Aleksandr Neradko has said the airliner disintegrated at high altitude.
The Kogalymavia plane was carrying 217 passengers, including 25 children, Russian transport authorities said. There were seven crew members on board.
Four of the passengers were Ukrainian nationals and one was from Belarus.
A Russian government transport plane carrying the remains of the victims landed at St Petersburg's Pulkovo airport on Monday morning.
Vehicles later began transporting the bodies to the city's crematorium for the identification by the relatives.
A second flight with more bodies is expected to arrive in St Petersburg in the evening.
Russia says it will pay compensation to the victims' families and help organise funeral procedures.
The plane crashed early on Saturday, shortly after leaving the resort of Sharm el-Sheikh for the Russian city of St Petersburg.
Debris was found across a 20sq km-wide (eight sq miles) area of Sinai, officials said. So far 163 bodies have been recovered.
The plane's flight recorders have been found and sent for analysis.
Jihadists allied to so-called Islamic State (IS) in Sinai, where such groups are active, made a claim on social media that they had brought down flight KGL9268.
But Egyptian Prime Minister Sharif Ismail said experts had confirmed that a plane could not be downed at 9,450m (31,000ft), the altitude the Airbus 321 was flying at, by weapons the militants are known to possess.
IS has not produced pictures or video footage to substantiate its claim.
Analysis by BBC Monitoring found that a video purporting to show the downing of a plane did not appear to be an official IS clip, and was not shared on official IS channels.
A number of major airlines - Emirates, Air France-KLM, Lufthansa, and Qatar Airways - have decided not to fly over the Sinai Peninsula until more information is available. Two smaller carriers, flydubai and Air Arabia, also said they would re-route flights, while Etihad Airways said it would avoid only "certain areas of airspace" over Sinai.
Germany's transport ministry has told German airlines not to follow the same route taken by the Russian plane.
British Airways said it regularly assessed the safety of its routes. BA said it would not confirm flight routes, but that it "would never fly a route unless it was safe to do so".
Russia's transport regulator said on Sunday it would check all the airline's A321 planes, but Kogalymavia said this would not affect their operations.
Egypt's civil aviation minister Hossam Kamal said there had been no sign of any problems on board the flight, contradicting earlier reports that the pilot had asked to make an emergency landing.
An Egyptian ground service official who carried out a pre-flight inspection of the plane said the aircraft appeared to be in good shape
"We are all shocked. It was a good plane. Everything checked out in 35 minutes," the official told AP.
However, the widow of the plane's co-pilot told Russian TV her husband had complained about the aircraft's technical condition.
