Published: 04:10 EST, 11 December 2015 | Updated: 19:04 EST, 11 December 2015
Ted
Cruz believes the Middle East was a safer place before the US helped to
overthrow tyrants Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya,
it has been reported.
The Texas
senator, a Republican presidential candidate, said America should focus
on its own security rather than toppling dictators abroad.
He
said it was 'not even a close call' when asked whether the Middle East
was more secure when Gaddafi and Hussein were dictators of their
respective countries.
Ted
Cruz believes the Middle East was a safer place before the US helped to
overthrow Saddam Hussein in Iraq and Muammar Gaddafi in Libya, it has
been reported
Cruz said the toppling of the Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi had shown the US has not learned lessons from history
In an interview with MSNBC,
Cruz told Joe Scarborough: 'Now, what has been a mistake - and we’ve
seen a consistent mistake in foreign policy - is far too often, we’ve
seen Democrats and a lot of establishment Republicans in Washington get
involved in toppling Middle Eastern governments.
'And it ends up benefiting the bad guys. It ends up handing them over to radical Islamic terrorists,'
He
described Syrian president Bashar Assad as a 'monster' but warned that
ISIS extremists would sweep further across the country were he to be
overthrown.
He said: 'My view, instead
of getting in the middle of a civil war in Syria, where we don’t have a
dog in the fight, our focus should be on killing ISIS. Why? Because ISIS
has declared war on America. They’re waging jihad.'
EU warns of visas for US citizens if Washington implements visa waiver reforms
Published time: 17 Dec, 2015 14:59Edited time: 17 Dec, 2015
The
EU says it may retaliate if the US goes ahead with plans to impose
visas for some members of the bloc who are currently part of the Visa
Waiver Program. Brussels says it will not increase security and that US
nationals may require visas to enter the EU.
A
letter signed by 28 European member state ambassadors to the US was
published in The Hill after Europe reacted furiously and with disbelief
to plans by Washington to tighten-up the Visa Waiver Program (VWP),
which currently lets millions of citizens from the bloc travel to the US
each year without a visa.
Last
week, the US House of Representatives adopted a bill to reform the visa
program that would ban certain EU nationals from entering the US
without a visa if they had visited Iran, Iraq, Syria or Sudan after
March 2011. Some US politicians want the legislation introduced to
tighten security following the November 13 Paris terror attacks.
“A
blanket restriction on those who have visited Syria or Iraq, for
example, would most likely only affect legitimate travel by
businesspeople, journalists, humanitarian or medical workers while doing
little to detect those who travel by more clandestine means overland,” the letter signed by the 28 ambassadors stated.
At
present, 23 of the EU’s 28 member states enjoy visa-free travel to the
US, with the remaining five nations keen to join the VWP. The bloc says
it is imperative to keep the visa waiver program intact for business and
tourism purposes, while the current system does not mean that it is “a license to enter the US with nothing more than the wave of a passport of an allied country.”
Monday, December 7th, 2015 | Posted by WorldTribune
Russia accuses U.S. of cover-up over ISIL-Turkey oil smuggling
Special to WorldTribune.com
The
United States is involved in a “cover-up” over Turkey’s alleged
smuggling of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL) oil, Russia’s
defense ministry said on Dec. 5.
“When U.S. officials say they
don’t see how the terrorists’ oil is smuggled to Turkey… it smells badly
of a desire to cover up these acts,” the ministry said in a statement
on its Facebook page.
An oil convoy was destroyed when it was hit by a Russian air strike in Syria. /Twitter
ISIL’s
sales of captured oil assets on the black market is credited with
making it the best-funded terror organization in history.
“The
declarations of the Pentagon and the State Department seem like a
theater of the absurd,” the statement said, adding that Washington
should “watch the videos taken by its (own) drones which have recently
been three times as numerous over the Turkey-Syria border and above the
oil zones.”
Turkish leadership, including Erdogan & his family are involved in ISIS oil trade, Russian MoD announced on Wednesday, showcasing satellites images and footage from oil facilities and Syrian-Turkish border.
RT LIVE http://rt.com/on-air
Russia presents proof of Turkey’s role in ISIS oil trade
The Russian Defense Ministry has released evidence which it says unmasks vast illegal oil trade by Islamic State and points to Turkey as the main destination for the smuggled petrol, implicating its leadership in aiding the terrorists.
The Russian Defense Ministry held a major briefing on new findings concerning IS funding in Moscow on Wednesday.
According to Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov, Russia is aware of three main oil smuggling routes to Turkey.
“Today, we are presenting only some of the facts that confirm that a whole team of bandits and Turkish elites stealing oil from their neighbors is operating in the region,” Antonov said, adding that this oil “in large quantities” enters the territory of Turkey via “live oil pipelines,” consisting of thousands of oil trucks.
Antonov added that Turkey is the main buyer of smuggled oil coming from Iraq and Syria.
“According to our data, the top political leadership of the country - President Erdogan and his family – is involved in this criminal business.”
However, since the start of Russia’s anti-terrorist operation in Syria on September 30, the income of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) militants from illegal oil smuggling has been significantly reduced, the ministry said.
“The income of this terrorist organization was about $3 million per day. After two months of Russian airstrikes their income was about $1.5 million a day,” Lieutenant-General Sergey Rudskoy said.
At the briefing the ministry presented photos of oil trucks, videos of airstrikes on IS oil storage facilities and maps detailing the movement of smuggled oil. More evidence is to be published on the ministry's website in the coming says, Rudskoy said.
Saudi Warplanes Drop Cluster Bombs on Own Soil to Prevent Yemeni Forces' Advances
TEHRAN
(FNA)- Saudi Arabia's warplanes are targeting the Southern parts of the
kingdom with cluster bombs in a bid to stop the Yemeni army and popular
forces' continued and rapid advance deep into their territories.
Saudi
Arabia has used cluster bombs many times before, but this is the first
time that it is using it against its own population in a desperate move
to stop the huge advances made by the Yemeni forces inside the kingdom
in recent days.
The Yemeni army and popular
forces have frequently crossed the border captured the Saudi military
bases and outpost, ruined the military sites and returned home in the
last few months and after the Riyadh-led coalition refrained from
stopping its air raids on residential areas in Yemen's cities.
But,
after months of coalition intensified air raids on civilian areas, the
Yemeni forces changed strategy and warned that they would start ground
assaults on Saudi territories to force Riyadh stop the massacre.
The
new strategy was put into effect on Sunday, when Yemen's army and
popular forces crossed the border and captured several key military
bases in three provinces in Southern Saudi Arabia near the border.
The
Yemeni forces seized Malhama, al-Radif and al-Mamoud military bases in
Jizan, al-Rabou'a military base in Asir and Nahouqa military base in
Najran provinces.
Then on Monday, the Yemeni forces took control of three more Saudi military bases in al-Shurfa region in Najran.
They also captured a military camp in Najran, and destroyed the military vehicles in there.
Translated from Russian by Tom Winter With additional photos supplied by Fort Russ
Last
night (November 25) the first photos and video came up of the destroyed
Turkish convoy that arrived in the militant-controlled city of Azaz.
First, some photos:
Well,
all in the same spirit, some information about what kind of city is
this, and why is this news you need to focus on. The town Azaz is
located in the north of Syria, almost on the border with Turkey. The
city is a hub, where Turkish aid (weapons, ammunition, drugs, rations
etc.) are dumped off. Then with all his "help" they begin to disperse it
to other cities under militant control, as well as camps and fortified
places.
Map. Azaz is circled in red:
As
you can see, it's about five km from the Turkish border. Speaking of
buffer zones, Turkey was expecting to make this city an absolute
springboard, out of reach of Syrian army strikes. It did not happen. But
until today, due to the remoteness of the Syrian army from it, as well
as a number of geopolitical reasons, attacks were not mounted on this
city.
As
expected, the F-16 attack on a Russian Su-24 bomber over Syria has
become a hot topic for discussion on Turkish social media. Taking a peak
at both the Turkish and English-language corners of the Twitterverse,
Sputnik discovered that not only are many Turks upset over the incident,
some are downright outraged over their government's actions.
With the Turkish Air Force attack on the Russian plane in Syria instantly provoking a swelling response of debate and condolences
from both Russian and foreign social media users, Turkish social media
users naturally joined in. But in a surprising twist, many offered
apologies to their northern neighbor, emphasizing that it is the Recep
Erdogan government, not the Turkish people, who should be blamed for the
attack.
Some users appealed directly to their Russian friends, using the Russian-language hashtag #StabInTheBack.
The
United States is starting a second phase of training of the Ukrainian
army and is planning to train and equip six army battalions, including
one special operations unit
MOSCOW,
November 26 /TASS/. The United States has launched a new phase of
training of Ukrainian servicemen, a fact, which may have negative
consequences for the future of the Donbas truce, Russian Foreign
Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Thursday.
She
recalled that 300 US instructors from the 173rd US airborne brigade had
trained three battalions - 780 people - for Ukraine’s National Guard in
a period from April to November. "It is noteworthy that the training
completed at a time when the situation on the line of contact in Donbas
started getting worse and the newly trained people were apparently sent
there," Zakharova said.
"Now the Americans and their NATO
colleagues, including the Lithuanians and Canadians, will train a new
group of Ukrainian troopers. It is clear that such preparations are
unlikely to deescalate tensions and may have a negative impact on the
fragile truce in the country’s southeast," the Russian diplomat
stressed.
Lavrov said during a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem that Russia would suspend the visa-free regime with Turkey.
"The Russian government reached a decision to suspend the free-visa regime between Russia and the Turkish Republic. The decision will come into effect on January 1 2016," Lavrov said at a press-conference after talks with his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem.
The Russian minister added that threats coming from Turkey were "not artificial."
According
to French Defense Minister Jean Yves Le Drian, Russian Aerospace Forces
aircraft have been launching significant strikes against the Islamic
State positions in Syria."Russia’s stance on Syria has changed… It was
dealt a serious blow by the Islamic State… Now Russia launches
significant strikes against ISIL positions," Le Drian told Europe1 radio
station.
David,
a French nurse who delivered first aid to a suicide attacker who blew
himself up at the Comptoir Voltaire cafe during last week's Paris
attacks, poses during an interview with Reuters in Paris, France,
November 20, 2015. FRANCE-SHOOTING/NURSE-BOMBER
Reuters/Eric Gaillard
In
the chaos of the explosion at the Comptoir Voltaire cafe, one of
several targets hit in the Nov. 13 Paris attacks, nurse David
instinctively sought to help the wounded.
Among them was a man
lying amid overturned chairs and tables. David, who asked to be called
just by his first name, lay him down. The man did not look to have
massive injuries, but appeared unconscious, so David began CPR, the
cardiopulmonary resuscitation he'd been trained for.
When he tore
open the man's t-shirt, David quickly realized that what he initially
thought was a gas explosion at the cafe close to the Bataclan music hall
where gunmen killed 89, was actually something far worse.
"There
were wires; one white, one black, one red and one orange. Four different
colors," he told Reuters. "I knew then he was a suicide bomber."
The
man David was trying to resuscitate was Brahim Abdeslam, one of those
involved in a series of deadly attacks that killed 130 people at bars,
restaurants, a soccer stadium and a music hall. No one other than
Abdeslam died at the cafe.
French
President Francois Hollande has called the Paris attacks an ‘act of
war’ by the Islamic State and called on the global community to step up
its fight against the terrorist regime by bombing Syria. Simone Del
Rosario reports from Paris.
...........
November 18, 2015
Amb. Marc GinsbergFmr. U.S. Ambassador to Morocco; White House Middle East Adviser
France Cries ISIS -- Obama Cries Uncle -- A Field Guide to a Better Battle Against ISIS
Posted: 11/18/2015 10:10 am EST Updated: 1 hour ago
Based
on President Obama's defiant ("I know better than everyone") defensive
crouch at his post-Paris attacks G-20 Turkey press conference don't
expect a sea change in White House policy against ISIS. Just think of
more sloppy spit across the ISIS swamp. Better yet, designate it
"Leading From As Far Behind as Possible, Version 2.0."
It was
Obama at his most unappealing - setting up the red herrings and
imaginary (if not imaginative) policy alibis that is his want in a vain
attempt to silence his growing chorus of ISIS critics. The president's
stubborn insistence that anyone daring to challenge his failing,
slap-dash anti-ISIS strategy that has squandered so much and produced so
little is merely playing politics: "W" wannabees bent on repeating the
historical error of the Iraq invasion.
If only, as Obama whined in
Anatalya, his ISIS critics would cease engaging in petty "political
games or offering shallow solutions..." by challenging him on ISIS, life
would be well and good for all. It's akin to him asserting that between
birth and death there is nothing in between, case closed!
Smearing
anyone who smells the malodorous odor of a failing Syria/Iraq/ISIS
policy a mile away is a self-serving falsehood Obama frequently resorts
to when cornered. By persisting in this un-presidential conduct Mr.
Obama camouflages his own failures no longer able to be hidden - sinking
to the low level of Politician-in-Chief rather than rising to a
respected Commander-in-Chief as ISIS pounds at our doorstep.
French prosecutor: 9th suspect in Paris terror attacks being sought
France
made an unprecedented demand Tuesday that its European Union allies
support its military action against the Islamic State group after the
attacks in Paris.
by Tiffany Wilson
Tuesday, November 17, 2015 03:33PM
GERMANY (KGO) --
Authorities
are seeking a ninth suspect in Friday's attacks in Paris, a French
prosecutor's spokeswoman told ABC News. The spokeswoman did not reveal
any details about the suspect's identity.
France took
unprecedented action Tuesday when it invoked the Mutual-Defense article
of the EU Treaty. Now all 28 member nations must help France in its war
against ISIS.
French Defense Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said all
27 of France's EU partners responded positively, and they could help
"either by taking part in France's operations in Syria or Iraq, or by
easing the load or providing support for France in other operations."
"Every country said: I am going to assist, I am going to help," Drian said.
Arriving
for talks in Brussels with his EU counterparts, Greek Defense Minister
Panagiotis Kammenos told reporters that the Paris attacks were a
game-changer for the bloc.
"This is Sept. 11 for Europe," he said.
French
President Francois Hollande has vowed to forge a united coalition
capable of defeating the jihadists at home and abroad. NATO allies were
sharing intelligence and working closely with France, NATO chief Jens
Stoltenberg said.
Noting that victims of the Paris attacks came
from at least 19 nations, Hollande says the international community, led
by the U.S. and Russia, must overcome their deep-seated divisions over
Syria to destroy IS on its home turf.
Russia’s military forces are stepping up their airstrikes against the Islamic State as new information has confirmed an explosive device was behind the crash of the A321 jet in Egypt’s Sinai desert. Murad Gazdiev has the latest.
..........
Plane crash in Sinai a terrorist attack - Russian Security Service
The Russian plane crash in Sinai, Egypt, was caused by a terrorist attack as traces of explosives have been found in the wreckage of the plane, Federal Security Service director Aleksandr Bortnikov told President Vladimir Putin.
“We can say that that [Sinai plane crash] was a terror act,” Bortnikov told Putin. According to the FSB chief, experts analyzed passengers’ belongings as well as the parts of the plane. “After the examination on all these objects, we have found traces of a foreign-made explosive substance,” Bortnikov said.
“During the flight, a homemade device with the power of 1.5 kilograms of TNT was detonated. As a result, the plane fell apart in the air, which can be explained by the huge scattering of the fuselage parts of the plane,” he added.
Russia will act in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter, which provides for countries’ right to self-defense, Putin said. “Those who attempt to assist criminals should be aware that the consequences of such attempts will be entirely their responsibility,” he added.
ISIS says Russia targeted over Syria campaign, shows alleged Sinai jet 'bomb'
An image of alleged parts of a “bomb” used to take down a Russian passenger plane over Egypt's Sinai, killing all 224 people onboard, was posted by Islamic State’s magazine.
A soft drink can and what appeared to be a detonator and switch allegedly made up the parts of an improvised homemade bomb, a photo published online on Wednesday by Dabiq magazine suggests.
Another photograph showed passports said to belong to Russian passengers killed in the bombing, with the documents allegedly obtained by Islamic fighters.
The authenticity of the images has not been verified.
Reports Egypt detained 2 airport workers suspected of aiding bomb plant on Russian plane denied
A report that Egypt is holding two employees of Sharm el-Sheikh Airport on suspicion of assisting those who planted the explosive device on the Russian jet that crashed in Sinai have been denied by Egyptian authorities and other airport officials.
"Seventeen people are being held, two of them are suspected of helping whoever planted the bomb on the plane at Sharm al-Sheikh Airport," one of the officials apparently told Reuters.
The reports, however, were promptly denied first by Egyptian authorities, and later by one of the airport employees, who spoke with RIA Novosti.
“I have been here [in the airport] during these days, so I can say that no one was detained. In the first days after the tragedy, many people were questioned, but no one was arrested,” he said.
ISIS releases video claiming revenge ‘downing’ of Russian passenger jet over Sinai
A new Islamic State video shows a Russian-speaking jihadist praising his “Sinai brothers” for “taking down” a Russian passenger jet and threatening more attacks, while both Russia and Egypt say the group doesn’t possess the means to shoot down a plane.
In the newly-released video, five Islamic State (IS, formely ISIS/ISIL) jihadists are seen sitting outside as one of them praises militants in the Sinai Peninsula for allegedly bringing down the Russian A321 passenger jet with 224 people on board.
Surrounded by four fellow jihadists, a Slavic-looking man speaking both in Russian and Arabic, addresses President Vladimir Putin, warning the Russian leader that he would regret targeting ISIS in Syria.
With a knife in hand, he threatens to continue taking down planes, invading countries, and killing people in retaliation for Russia’s military operation in Syria.
Islamic State first attempted to claim responsibility for bringing down the Airbus 321 shortly after the plane crashed en route from Egypt’s Sharm-el-Sheikh to St. Petersburg on October 31.
However, the claim was quickly rejected by both Russian and Egyptian officials as “unlikely.”
‘Bogus bomb detectors’ used in Sharm el-Sheikh hotels before Sinai plane crash
Bomb detectors used in Sharm el-Sheikh hotels as part of security procedures introduced to tackle terrorism have been exposed as “fake” by experts, it has emerged.
Hundreds of Britons are still stranded in the Egyptian resort after a plane carrying 224 people crashed in Sinai last week.
Foreign Secretary Phillip Hammond announced on Monday it is “highly likely” a bomb planted by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS) supporters caused the disaster.
A number of hotels in the resort have been using a wand-like aerial attached to a box to screen luggage.
Guards have been using the devices to sweep hotel guests, cars and luggage to ensure no explosive devices are kept in rooms or taken on to planes.
Experts, however, have revealed the supposed bomb detectors offer “no protection” whatsoever against terrorism.
This revelation means a bomb could have easily been smuggled into a hotel and planted in a passenger’s luggage before the Russian jet crashed last week.
According to the Mail Online, the devices were being used to protect at least five top hotels in Egypt catering for Britons.
Obama speaks about the Islamic State and refugees following the Paris attacks
President
Obama made remarks and answered questions at the G-20 summit in Turkey
on Nov. 13. Here's what he said about the path forward fighting the
Islamic State, welcoming Muslims and protecting Syrian refugees. (AP)
The
carnage of the Paris attacks and the largely stalemated war in Iraq and
Syria have prompted heavy criticism of President Obama’s handling of
the fight against the Islamic State over the past three years.The
questions came in waves Monday at the Group of 20 summit in Antalya,
Turkey: Hadn’t Obama underestimated the threat posed by the Islamic
State? Wasn’t it time for a new and more aggressive attack plan? Did he
really understand the group well enough to defeat it and protect the
United States?
“All right,” Obama replied to the last question,
his tone betraying utter indignation. “So this is a variation on the
same question. . . . Let me try it one last time.”
In response to
each of the questions posed by reporters, Obama made his case for a
steady and persistent campaign that seeks to gradually shrink the
Islamic State’s territory in Iraq and Syria with airstrikes, slowly
build up indigenous ground forces and press for renewed diplomatic
negotiations to end Syria’s civil war.
The questions reflected concerns following the Paris attacks — which killed 129 people and led France’s president to promise a “merciless” response — that Obama had missed opportunities to defeat the group when it was still gaining strength.
