Recently, Saudi Arabia announced it was creating a coalition of Muslim countries to fight terrorism. Such a plan was initiated by Riyadh's intention to restore its position in the Middle East.
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Showing posts with label Saudi Arabia. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Saudi Arabia. Show all posts
Monday, December 21, 2015
Owning responsibility or just saving face? Saudi Arabia creating a coalition of Muslim countries to fight terrorism.
Monday, December 14, 2015
A new report says mercenaries and military advisers from the infamous US security firm, formerly known as Blackwater, are replacing UAE troops in the Saudi war in Yemen.
PRESS TV
'Blackwater troopers replacing Emirati forces in Yemen'
A new report says mercenaries and military advisers from the infamous US security firm, formerly known as Blackwater, are replacing UAE troops in the Saudi war in Yemen.
The Beirut-based al-Akhbar newspaper said on Thursday UAE forces are being gradually replaced by recruits from the US-based private military contractor, which now goes by the name, Acamedi.
The move came after the UAE evacuated some of its military sites in Yemen following its failures in several operations, the Lebanese daily added.
According to al-Akhbar, UAE’s move to involve the private military contractor in the Yemen conflict has raised objections among some members of the Saudi-led coalition.
On Wednesday, Yemen’s Arabic-language al-Masirah news website said the commander-in-chief of Blackwater mercenaries in the country was killed in the al-Omari district of Ta'izz Province.
Blackwater: Shadow Army
Scahill - Blackwater: The Rise of the World's Most Powerful Mercenary Army
BLACKWATER: SHADOW GOVERNMENT
Jeremy Scahill on Obama's Orwellian War in Iraq: We Created the Very Threat We Claim to be Fighting
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11.12.2015 Yemen Crisis News
Thursday, December 3, 2015
Who are the real terrorists in this war on terror ? Report states : The ambush on the Russian U-24 bomber was guided by the US and Saudi Airforce.
Bombshell: The Turkish Assault on Russia’s SU-24 was Guided by the US Air Force
Russia Insider reports that the ambush on the Russian U-24 bomber was guided by the US Airforce. In an interview with the Russian news agency Regnum, a Russian military expert said that “A US Air Force Boeing E-3 Sentry AWACS plane took off on 24 November from the Preveza airbase in Greece. A second E-3A of the Saudi Arabian air force took off from the Riyadh airbase. Both planes were executing a common task—determining the precise location of Russian aircraft. It is they that picked the “victim.”
The American E-3A was supposed to determine the activity of the Su-24M2′s onboard targeting radar, to determine if it was in search mode or if it had already locked on to a target and was processing launch-data. It is known that the AWACS can direct the activity of aircraft in battle, conveying information to their avionics and flight computers.
The expert went on explaining the technical details of how the US and Saudi AF planes guided the Turkish F-16s to a sure missile launch in ‘target illumination’ mode, meaning that the radar was turned off as soon as the missile locket into its target.
This elevates the US-NATO war crime on Russia to an even higher level. The leaders involved in this heinous aggression should clearly be subjected to a Nuremberg style tribunal with all its dire consequences. Instead, hypocrite Obama in a side meeting of the Paris COP21 conference laments the event to President Putin, while still supporting Turkey in their right of self-defense.
What self-defense? – At the G20 summit in Antalya, Turkey, a week before the SU-24 downing, all conference members allegedly unanimously agreed to join forces in their fight against ISIS / Daesh. Therefore, even if the Russian bomber would have overflown Turkish territory – which according to Russian military monitors it did not – it would not have threatened Turkey at all, as they were, Russia and Turkey along with the other G20 attendees, on the same wave length: object eradicating terror in Syria.
Or were they really? – Or was this apparent commitment just another lie, as everything coming from the west is a lie, a deceit? – No agreement, no commitment is honored, no law is obeyed – the west under the leadership (sic) of Zionist-Washington has become a bunch of criminal rogue states.
Read More Here
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TASS Russian News Agency
Greek Defense Ministry confirms Russian Su-24M bomber was downed in Syrian airspace
Asked which side Greece should take, as a NATO member, Greek Minister of National Defense Panos Kammenos said - "the truth"
TASS
ATHENS,
December 2. /TASS/. The Russian Sukhoi Su-24M bomber was brought down
by the Turkish Air Force in Syrian airspace, Greek Minister of National
Defense Panos Kammenos said in an interview to the Mega TV channel on
Wednesday.
"The attack (on Su-24M) took place in Syrian airspace. This is beyond doubt," he said. "The Turkish side knows that, otherwise Ankara would ask to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter, requesting the Alliance’s help."
"This is undoubtedly a military action in the territory of another state," Kammenos said. "But even more important point is the murder of the pilot, who was shot dead by members of the Turkish extremist group Grey Wolves."
Asked
which side Greece should take, as a NATO member, the minister said -
"the truth". "If Russia had violated Turkish airspace, we would support
Ankara", the defense minister said.
An F-16 fighter jet of the Turkish Air Force shot down Russia’s Su-24M bomber on Tuesday, November 24. Ankara claims the Su-24M bomber violated the Turkish airspace in the area of the border with Syria. However, Russia’s Defense Ministry has said the Su-24M plane stayed exclusively over the Syrian territory and "there was no violation of the Turkish air space."
Turkey’s F-16 fighter that shot down the Russian Aerospace Forces’ Sukhoi Su-24M bomber was in Syria’s airspace for 40 seconds and went inside its territory by 2 kilometers, while the Russian bomber did not violate the Turkish state border, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Viktor Bondarev, said on November 27. "In line with air defense means objective control materials, the Turkish plane was in Syria’s airspace for 40 seconds and flew two kilometres inside its territory, whereas the Russian bomber did not violate the state border of Turkey," Bondarev said. He said the crew of the second Su-24 plane confirmed the launch of the missile from the F-16. After the combat employment at the mentioned target and left turn to 130-degree course "it observed on the left side of it flame and a tail of white smoke, which it reported to the flight operations director," he said.
"The attack (on Su-24M) took place in Syrian airspace. This is beyond doubt," he said. "The Turkish side knows that, otherwise Ankara would ask to invoke Article 5 of the NATO Charter, requesting the Alliance’s help."
"This is undoubtedly a military action in the territory of another state," Kammenos said. "But even more important point is the murder of the pilot, who was shot dead by members of the Turkish extremist group Grey Wolves."
An F-16 fighter jet of the Turkish Air Force shot down Russia’s Su-24M bomber on Tuesday, November 24. Ankara claims the Su-24M bomber violated the Turkish airspace in the area of the border with Syria. However, Russia’s Defense Ministry has said the Su-24M plane stayed exclusively over the Syrian territory and "there was no violation of the Turkish air space."
Turkey’s F-16 fighter that shot down the Russian Aerospace Forces’ Sukhoi Su-24M bomber was in Syria’s airspace for 40 seconds and went inside its territory by 2 kilometers, while the Russian bomber did not violate the Turkish state border, the commander-in-chief of the Russian Aerospace Forces, Viktor Bondarev, said on November 27. "In line with air defense means objective control materials, the Turkish plane was in Syria’s airspace for 40 seconds and flew two kilometres inside its territory, whereas the Russian bomber did not violate the state border of Turkey," Bondarev said. He said the crew of the second Su-24 plane confirmed the launch of the missile from the F-16. After the combat employment at the mentioned target and left turn to 130-degree course "it observed on the left side of it flame and a tail of white smoke, which it reported to the flight operations director," he said.
Read More Here
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Wednesday, December 2, 2015
Saudi Arabia's warplanes are targeting own population with cluster bombs in a desperate move to stop Yemeni forces inside the kingdom.
Exclusive:
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.
Wednesday, November 25, 2015
Duplicitous, blood thirsty Saudi Arabia is leading the fight against Syrian violence caused by Saudi-funded terrorists. Typically, everyone just follows suit.-
Russia Insider
Is This Real Life? Saudi Arabia Executes 'Wizards', But Condemns 'Syrian Human Rights Violations'
A
Saudi-proposed UN resolution expresses “outrage” at the worsening
violence in Syria (fuelled by Saudi-backed extremists) that has left at
least 250,000 dead
Obama greets a brave anti-wizard crusader
Close
your eyes and think about “defenders of human rights”. What image
bubbles up from your subconscious? If you answered “Saudi Arabia”, you
probably represent one of the 115 countries that just passed a Saudi-proposed UN resolution condemning “Syrian human rights violations.”
Yes, Saudi Arabia —the oasis of human dignity where Harry Potter fans (widely considered the greatest dangers to world peace) are dealt with accordingly — is leading the fight against Syrian violence caused by Saudi-funded terrorists. Here are the terrible details:
Yes, Saudi Arabia —the oasis of human dignity where Harry Potter fans (widely considered the greatest dangers to world peace) are dealt with accordingly — is leading the fight against Syrian violence caused by Saudi-funded terrorists. Here are the terrible details:
A resolution presented by Saudi Arabia was adopted by a vote of 115 to 15, with 51 abstentions.
China, Iran and Russia were among the countries that voted against the measure that now goes to the full General Assembly.
The resolution expresses “outrage” at the worsening violence that has left at least 250,000 dead and displaced more than 12 million people. It stressed the need for accountability and encouraged the UN Security Council to take action, noting that the International Criminal Court (ICC) could play a role. An attempt last year to refer Syria to the ICC for war crimes was blocked by Russia, Syria's ally, and China at the Security Council.
Read More Here
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the guardian
Individuals
and creative organisations join Amnesty International to demand Saudi
Arabia overturn Ashraf Fayadh’s conviction for renouncing Islam
Leading international cultural figures have joined human rights campaigners in calling for the release of Ashraf Fayadh, the Palestinian poet and artist facing execution in Saudi Arabia.
Chris Dercon, the director of Tate Modern, British poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, historian Simon Schama, playwright David Hare, and Egyptian novelist and commentator Ahdaf Soueif are among the those calling for the death sentence imposed on Fayadh by a Saudi court last week to be overturned.
More than a dozen organisations for artists, writers, musicians and freedom of expression from the UK, North America and Africa – including Index on Censorship, literary association PEN International and the International Association of Art Critics – have also signed a joint statement condemning Fayadh’s conviction for renouncing Islam, a charge which he denies.
The statement, which will be delivered to the Saudi embassy in London on Friday, says: “We believe that all charges against him should have been dropped entirely, and are appalled that Fayadh has instead been sentenced to death for apostasy, simply for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and freedom of belief.”
Amnesty International launched an urgent action on Tuesday to lobby for Fayadh’s release, which denounced his lack of legal representation as a violation of international and Saudi law.
Schama said: “Anyone with a conscience should abhor the sentence and shun those responsible as inhuman.”
Chris Dercon, the director of Tate Modern, British poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy, historian Simon Schama, playwright David Hare, and Egyptian novelist and commentator Ahdaf Soueif are among the those calling for the death sentence imposed on Fayadh by a Saudi court last week to be overturned.
More than a dozen organisations for artists, writers, musicians and freedom of expression from the UK, North America and Africa – including Index on Censorship, literary association PEN International and the International Association of Art Critics – have also signed a joint statement condemning Fayadh’s conviction for renouncing Islam, a charge which he denies.
The statement, which will be delivered to the Saudi embassy in London on Friday, says: “We believe that all charges against him should have been dropped entirely, and are appalled that Fayadh has instead been sentenced to death for apostasy, simply for exercising his rights to freedom of expression and freedom of belief.”
Amnesty International launched an urgent action on Tuesday to lobby for Fayadh’s release, which denounced his lack of legal representation as a violation of international and Saudi law.
Schama said: “Anyone with a conscience should abhor the sentence and shun those responsible as inhuman.”
Read More Here
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Saudi Arabia executes 100th prisoner in 6 months
Published time: 15 Jun, 2015 14:25
Saudi
Arabia has beheaded a Syrian drug trafficker, rocketing the number of
this year’s executions in the Kingdom to 100. This figure is already
more than the 87 sentenced and put to death in the country during the
whole of last year.
The execution took place on Monday in the northern region of Jawf. Syrian Ismael al-Tawm smuggled "a large amount of banned amphetamine pills into the kingdom,” the Saudi Interior Ministry said in a statement, as cited by AFP.
READ MORE: 89 in 5 months: Saudi Arabia continues executions
The man was sentenced to death according to the nation's strict version of Sharia law, under which such crimes as murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking are punishable by death. Public executions are mostly conducted by decapitating the accused with a sword.
The 100th execution has surpassed the 87 recorded by AFP in 2014, but is still some way below the highest figure of 192, recorded by the human rights group Amnesty International in 1995. The watchdog has been scathing of the Kingdom’s human rights record, saying they “fall far short” of global norms.
“Almost half of the executions carried out so far this year have been for drug-related offences, which don’t fall into a recognized international category of ‘most serious crimes,’ and the use of the death penalty for such offences violates international law,” a statement on Amnesty International’s website read.
READ MORE: 89 in 5 months: Saudi Arabia continues executions
The man was sentenced to death according to the nation's strict version of Sharia law, under which such crimes as murder, rape, armed robbery and drug trafficking are punishable by death. Public executions are mostly conducted by decapitating the accused with a sword.
The 100th execution has surpassed the 87 recorded by AFP in 2014, but is still some way below the highest figure of 192, recorded by the human rights group Amnesty International in 1995. The watchdog has been scathing of the Kingdom’s human rights record, saying they “fall far short” of global norms.
“Almost half of the executions carried out so far this year have been for drug-related offences, which don’t fall into a recognized international category of ‘most serious crimes,’ and the use of the death penalty for such offences violates international law,” a statement on Amnesty International’s website read.
Read More Here
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Saudi Arabia executes second Indonesian maid - CNN.com
www.cnn.com/2015/04/17/asia/indonesia-saudi-arabia-executionsApr 17, 2015 · Video embedded · Saudi Arabia has executed a second Indonesian maid despite protests from Jakarta, which is itself facing criticism over its refusal to …Saudi Arabia Executions - The Huffington Post
www.huffingtonpost.com/news/saudi-arabia-executionsNov 19, 2015 · The beheading of the eight [Bangladeshis] was a shameful shock-and-awe tactic, a warning to the millions of other workers to remain submissive, however ...
Woman Is Publicly Beheaded in Saudi Arabia's Tenth ...
https://news.vice.com/article/woman-is-publicly-beheaded-in-saudi...Gruesome footage circulating on social media shows Saudi authorities publicly beheading a woman in the holy city of Mecca earlier this week. The execution is the ...Saudi Arabia advertises for eight new executioners as ...
www.theguardian.com › World › Saudi ArabiaSaudi Arabia is advertising for eight new executioners, recruiting extra staff to carry out an increasing number of death sentences, usually done by public beheading.Man Who Filmed Execution Is Arrested, Saudi Outlets …
www.nytimes.com/.../world/middleeast/man-who-filmed-saudi-execution...Jan 18, 2015 · Amid rising scrutiny over the local justice system, news outlets in Saudi Arabia reported that the authorities had arrested a man who had filmed a woman ...Saudi Arabia Execution: Latest News, Photos, Videos on ...
www.ndtv.com/topic/saudi-arabia-execution- LAST UPDATED: NOV 10, 2015
- 24 POSTS
- FIRST POST: FEB 10, 2012
An Execution and Crucifixion in Saudi Arabia
blog.amnestyusa.org/.../an-execution-and-crucifixion-in-saudi-arabiaOn Friday, a ghastly execution took place in the Saudi Arabian capital of Riyadh, involving the decapitation and subsequent public crucifixion of Ahmed bin ‘Adhaib ...Saudi seven face crucifixion and firing squad for …
www.theguardian.com › World › Saudi ArabiaSaudi seven face crucifixion and firing squad for armed robbery ... Several people were reported to have been crucified in Saudi Arabia last year.Saudi Arabia: Three more executions add to …
https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2015/03/saudi-arabia...Saudi Arabia is well on track to far surpass its previous annual execution records, Amnesty International warned after three more men were put to death this morning ...Number Of Saudi Arabian Executions, Beheading Soar …
www.mintpressnews.com/number-of-saudi-arabian-executions.../206139Riyadh, Saudi Arabia– Saudi authorities have already carried out 90 executions since the beginning of 2015, more than the 88 for all of 2014.Saudi Arabia publicly beheads woman in holy Mecca …
Authorities in Saudi Arabia have publicly beheaded a woman in Islam’s holy city of Mecca, prompting further criticism of the country’s human rights record.
Executions In Saudi Arabia Have Skyrocketed In 2015
www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/05/27/saudi-arabia-executions-2015_n...May 27, 2015 · Saudi Arabia's implementation of the death penalty has skyrocketed this year, and rights groups are worried about the surge of capital punishment under ...Saudi beheadings: - CNN.com
www.cnn.com/2015/01/21/middleeast/saudi-beheading-video/index.htmlJan 21, 2015 · Leaked video gives glimpse into Saudi beheadings. ... Execution in Saudi Arabia sparks ... Cell phone footage of a Saudi beheading was leaked by ...Saudi Arabia execution: Horror video shows 'innocent ...
Saudi Arabia execution: ... Bassim was one of 10 people beheaded in Saudi Arabia so far ... Saudi authorities identified Bassim as holding Burmese nationality ...
Saudi Arabia executes five men for drug possession, …
www.reuters.com/article/2014/08/19/us-saudi-execution-idUSKBN0GJ0...Aug 19, 2014 · Saudi Arabia executed four men for possession of hashish on Monday and another man for murder on Tuesday, local media reported, taking to 18 the …When It Comes to Beheadings, ISIS Has Nothing Over Saudi …
www.newsweek.com/2014/10/...beheadings-isis...saudi-arabia-277385.htmlThe beheadings by ISIS have revolted the world. But in Saudi Arabia, public decapitations remain commonplaceSaudi Arabia arrests man for filming public beheading ...
www.timesofisrael.com/saudi-arabia-arrests-man-for-filming-public...Saudi Arabia arrests man for filming public beheading Officials say documenting execution of woman in the street could constitute a cyber-crime under the nation’s lawsWhy Saudi Arabia is poised to behead a dissident cleric ...
www.vox.com/2015/5/14/8606079/saudi-executionSaudi Arabia is set to behead a man and publicly display his headless body (a practice called "crucifixion" in Saudi law) — for nothing more than speaking his mind ...
Saudi beheaded for murder as Amnesty urges halt to ...
news.yahoo.com/saudi-beheaded-murder-amnesty-urges-halt-executions...Aug 19, 2014 · The beheading by sword raises to 33 the number of executions announced in Saudi Arabia so far this year, according to an AFP tally.Saudi beheadings spiked in 2014 amid Kingdom's fears …
www.foxnews.com/world/2015/01/05/saudi-beheadings-spiked-in-14...Jan 05, 2015 · Saudi beheadings spiked in 2014 amid Kingdom's fears of dissent. ... more than 2,000 people were executed in Saudi Arabia between 1985 and 2013.Saudi beheads Pakistani, 84 executions in 2015 so far ...
indianexpress.com › world › middle-east-africaSaudi Arabia beheaded a Pakistani sentenced to death for drug smuggling on Sunday, bringing to 84 the number of executions in the ultra-conservative kingdom this year ...WARNING: Graphic Video – Obama’s ‘coalition partner’ Saudi …
tarekfatah.com/warning-graphic-video-of-beheading-in-saudi-arabia...While America expresses outrage at beheadings by ISIS, it has no problem if such beheadings are carried out in public by its trusted ally, Saudi Arabia.Off With Their Heads: Saudi Arabia Executes Two …
www.ibtimes.com › PoliticsSaudi Arabia beheaded two Pakistanis convicted of drug smuggling, marking the first executions of the New Year, the kingdom’s interior ministry announced.Rate Of Executions Doubles In Saudi Arabia - Sky News
news.sky.com/story/1491087Rate Of Executions Doubles In Saudi Arabia. The Saudi civil service advertises for eight more executioners as the number of people put to death soars in the Islamic ...
Executions and Crucifixion in Jizan Saudi Arabia
streamafrica.com/news/executions-and-crucifixion-in-jizan-saudi-arabiaExecutions and Crucifixion in Jizan Saudi Arabia. 25 - 05. 2013. No Comment by: admin in: World News. Jizan, Saudi Arabia, is not a good place to think up criminal ...Crucifixion in Saudi Arabia | Middle East - Before It's News
beforeitsnews.com › Middle EastMar 27, 2013 · The beheading the number of people put to death in Saudi Arabia so far this year to 28. Get FREE private and secure Email and Messaging click now!Saudi Arabia Sentences Political Dissident To Death By ...
www.mintpressnews.com/saudi-arabia-sentences...crucifiction/197805The death sentence against Sheikh Nimr Baqir al-Nimr is part of a campaign by the authorities in Saudi Arabia to crush all dissent, including those defending the ...- **************************************************************************************************************
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And the list of Saudi Arabian Executions and beheadings go on and on and on...................
But no one seems to notice. Or would it be more accurate to say that no one seems to care about the savage and bloody duplicity that is Saudi Arabia?
Thursday, November 5, 2015
CIA, Saudis To Give "Select" Syrian Militants Weapons Capable Of Downing Commercial Airliners
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 11/05/2015 12:49 -0500
First there was an audio recording from ISIS’ Egyptian affiliate reiterating that they did indeed “down” the plane. Next, the ISIS home office in Raqqa (or Langley or Hollywood) released a video of five guys sitting in the front yard congratulating their Egyptian “brothers” on the accomplishment.
Then the UK grounded air traffic from Sharm el-Sheikh noting that the plane “may well” have had an “explosive device” on board.
Finally, US media lit up with reports that according to American “intelligence” sources, ISIS was probably responsible for the crash.
Over the course of the investigation, one question that’s continually come up is whether militants could have shot the plane down. Generally speaking, the contention that ISIS (or at least IS Sinai) has the technology and/or the expertise to shoot down a passenger jet flying at 31,000 feet has been discredited by “experts” and infrared satellite imagery.
But that’s nothing the CIA can’t fix.
With the Pentagon now set to deploy US ground troops to Syria (and indeed they may already be there, operating near Latakia no less), Washington is reportedly bolstering the supply lines to “moderate” anti-regime forces at the urging of (guess who) the Saudis and Erdogan.
Incredibly, some of the weapons being passed out may be shoulder-fire man-portable air-defense systems, or Manpads, capable of hitting civilian aircraft.
Read More Here
Thursday, October 29, 2015
Death toll in Saudi haj disaster at least 2,070 - Reuters tally
World |
![Reuters]({"default":"//img-s-msn-com.akamaized.net/tenant/amp/entityid/AA1QA0a.img?h=43&w=43&m=6&q=60&u=t&o=t&l=f&f=png","dpi":1.8}){kind=small}
Reuters
The deadly crush that occurred at the haj near Mecca last month killed at least 2,070 people, nearly triple the number accounted for in a death toll maintained by Saudi authorities, a Reuters tally indicated on Thursday.
Saudi Arabia has come under heavy criticism for its handling of the disaster. Safety during the pilgrimage is a politically sensitive issue for the kingdom's ruling Al Saud dynasty, which presents itself as the guardian of Islam and custodian of its holiest sites in Mecca and Medina.
The figure, based on information provided by the state and religious authorities and local media reports in the home countries of the victims, would make it the worst such catastrophe to befall the annual pilgrimage since 1,400 people were crushed to death in a tunnel in 1990.
Saudi officials have stood by their official counts of 769 dead and 934 injured, which have not been updated since two days after the crush. The healthy ministry has said any discrepancies in death tolls may stem from countries counting pilgrims who had died of natural causes.
Read More Here
Monday, October 26, 2015
As civilian casualties mount in Yemen, some worry the U.S. is abetting war crimes.
Obama officials at odds over Saudi airstrikes
are alleged to have killed at least 1,500 civilians, dividing members of the Obama administration over whether the U.S. risks being accused of abetting war crimes in a bombing campaign that could ultimately strengthen Islamist militants.
Sources inside the administration say they are struggling to keep in check
the opposing sides in Yemen, one of the clearest examples of the intensifying Saudi-Iran proxy war in the Middle East. But even as reports of civilian suffering and terrorist gains pile up, U.S. officials believe that reducing American support for the Saudis could make the situation even worse.
“The White House is increasingly frustrated with the Saudis, and they’re trying to figure out how to handle it,” said one foreign policy expert familiar with the administration’s deliberations. Private conversations seem to be having limited effect, the source said, but "the U.S. is walking on such eggshells around Saudi when it comes to the public domain that they’re not willing to ramp up their public pressure."
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Al-Qaeda’s Air Force: United States And Saudi Arabia
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| Anthony Freda Art |
It was evident early on that the US bombing of alleged ISIS targets inside Syria was, in reality, an attempt to support the terrorist organization backed by NATO and the US as opposed to an attempt to defeat it. While such a suggestion has been repeatedly labeled as a “conspiracy theory” by the mainstream media and other gatekeepers in the “independent” media, the fruits of America’s labor in terms of the bombing campaign cannot be ignored. Likewise, neither can the world ignore the results of Saudi Arabia’s bombing of Yemen.
The truth is that the United States, NATO, and the GCC/Arab League are bombing in couched support of ISIS, increasing its gains and hold on power with every sortie fired. With this fact recognized, the NATO/GCC network of national governments can now officially be labeled as the Air Force of Al-Qaeda.
For instance, while the secular government of Bashar al-Assad remained the only force inside Syria actually fighting al-Qaeda and ISIS – terrorist organizations trained, funded, armed, and deployed by the United States, NATO, and the GCC – the brutality of these death squads was used by the Western propaganda machine to justify a bombing campaign that was actually directed at Syrian military and civilian infrastructure.
These strikes were launched against Syrian oil refineries (see here also), bridges, civilian neighborhoods, warehouses, agricultural centers, and grain silos. Others were made strategically against infrastructure that was set to soon be taken back by the Syrian military after long-fought battles with the terrorists.
Read More Here
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IN THE ISLAMIC CONCEPT of qadar,
your divine destiny is inescapable. If you try to cheat death it will
find you. For two women on a dusty road in mid-June on the southwest
corner of the Arabian Peninsula, their repeated attempts to dodge fate
ended in tragic failure.
Leaving the war zone of Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on June 10, the women headed north in a Toyota Cressida driven by a male relative. The pair were escaping the violence that had already turned entire streets in Aden to rubble, left hundreds dead and thousands of civilians under siege, struggling to find food, water and medical care.
Driving ahead of them was a family of four in a Hilux pick-up truck, slowing at the numerous checkpoints along the road and weaving around potholes in the asphalt. Between 4:30 and 5 p.m., seemingly from nowhere, the first missile struck. The Hilux flipped into a cartwheeling fireball, killing the two children and their parents inside.
Before the women in the Toyota had a chance to compose themselves an ominous whistle preceded a second missile, which smashed into the ground beside them and sent their car careering off the road into the dusty scrubland. Twice in the space of just a few minutes the women had stared death in the face.
Leaving the war zone of Yemen’s southern port city of Aden on June 10, the women headed north in a Toyota Cressida driven by a male relative. The pair were escaping the violence that had already turned entire streets in Aden to rubble, left hundreds dead and thousands of civilians under siege, struggling to find food, water and medical care.
Driving ahead of them was a family of four in a Hilux pick-up truck, slowing at the numerous checkpoints along the road and weaving around potholes in the asphalt. Between 4:30 and 5 p.m., seemingly from nowhere, the first missile struck. The Hilux flipped into a cartwheeling fireball, killing the two children and their parents inside.
Before the women in the Toyota had a chance to compose themselves an ominous whistle preceded a second missile, which smashed into the ground beside them and sent their car careering off the road into the dusty scrubland. Twice in the space of just a few minutes the women had stared death in the face.
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Sunday, October 11, 2015
U.S. war and covert operations in the Middle East created the Rise of Islamic State and the Syria Disaster
 |
Why the U.S. Owns the Rise of Islamic State and the Syria Disaster
Posted on Oct 8, 2015
By Gareth Porter
Pundits
and politicians are already looking for a convenient explanation for
the twin Middle East disasters of the rise of Islamic State and the
humanitarian catastrophe in Syria. The genuine answer is politically
unpalatable, because the primary cause of both calamities is U.S. war
and covert operations in the Middle East, followed by the abdication of
U.S. power and responsibility for Syria policy to Saudi Arabia and other
Sunni allies.
The emergence of a new state always involves a complex of factors. But over the past three decades, U.S. covert operations and war have entered repeatedly and powerfully into the chain of causality leading to Islamic State’s present position.
The causal chain begins with the role of the U.S. in creating a mujahedeen force to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Osama bin Laden was a key facilitator in training that force in Afghanistan. Without that reckless U.S. policy, the blowback of the later creation of al-Qaida would very likely not have occurred. But it was the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq that made al-Qaida a significant political-military force for the first time. The war drew Islamists to Iraq from all over the Middle East, and their war of terrorism against Iraqi Shiites was a precursor to the sectarian wars to follow.
The actual creation of Islamic State is also directly linked to the Iraq War. The former U.S. commander at Camp Bucca in Iraq has acknowledged that the detention of 24,000 prisoners, including hard-core al-Qaida cadres, Baathist officers and innocent civilians, created a “pressure cooker for extremism.” It was during their confinement in that camp during the U.S. troop surge in Iraq 2007 and 2008 that nine senior al-Qaida military cadres planned the details of how they would create Islamic State.
An Islamic State militant waves his group’s flag as he and another celebrate in Fallujah, Iraq. (AP)
The emergence of a new state always involves a complex of factors. But over the past three decades, U.S. covert operations and war have entered repeatedly and powerfully into the chain of causality leading to Islamic State’s present position.
The causal chain begins with the role of the U.S. in creating a mujahedeen force to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s. Osama bin Laden was a key facilitator in training that force in Afghanistan. Without that reckless U.S. policy, the blowback of the later creation of al-Qaida would very likely not have occurred. But it was the U.S. invasion and occupation of Iraq that made al-Qaida a significant political-military force for the first time. The war drew Islamists to Iraq from all over the Middle East, and their war of terrorism against Iraqi Shiites was a precursor to the sectarian wars to follow.
The actual creation of Islamic State is also directly linked to the Iraq War. The former U.S. commander at Camp Bucca in Iraq has acknowledged that the detention of 24,000 prisoners, including hard-core al-Qaida cadres, Baathist officers and innocent civilians, created a “pressure cooker for extremism.” It was during their confinement in that camp during the U.S. troop surge in Iraq 2007 and 2008 that nine senior al-Qaida military cadres planned the details of how they would create Islamic State.
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WWIII - Syria, Russia & Iran - The New Equation
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The Six Most Disastrous Interventions of the 21st Century
On October 2 President Barack Obama, alluding to Russia’s decision to launch air strikes in Syria, told reporters at the White House that for Russia to view the forces targeted “from the perspective they’re all terrorists [is] a recipe for disaster, and it’s one that I reject.”
In other words, he was saying that Moscow is not (as it claims) really focusing on ISIL and the al-Nusra Front but on the anti-regime opposition in general, which supposedly includes “moderates.”
Never mind that Obama himself as well as Joseph Biden have on occasion pooh-poohed the existence of a moderate armed opposition that controls territory in Syria. Didn’t Biden say last year at Harvard that “there was no moderate middle [in Syria] because the moderate middle are made up of shop-keepers, not soldiers”?
And hasn’t it been shown that maps showing territory in the hands of the “Free Syrian Army” are the figments of propagandists’ imagination? The FSA has no coordinated command structure and its networks overlap those of groups that Washington would not normally define as “moderate” (unless it wanted to rehabilitate al-Qaeda, which having attacked the U.S. on 9/11 and supposedly the cause of all the—disastrous—post-9/11 U.S. military actions in the Middle East), has gradually become my-enemy-against-my-enemy and hence a new found friend.
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