ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Once upon a war, Western journalists eagerly jumped aboard the US military bandwagon to cover its overseas adventures; these days, however, the US military is mindlessly following the media into war zones on a black wave of hysteria and lies. CNN has reported that Russian missiles have crash-landed in Iran after going tragically off course from its intended target, which, no, was not Ukraine. This time the Western mainstream media has focused its propaganda big guns on Syria, where Russia has decided to launch an aerial assault against Islamic State militants, bloodthirsty terrorists that Western forces have thus far been unable to destroy. In a CNN 'Breaking News' segment, correspondent Barbara Starr, narrating in her trademark tragic baritone, boomed: "CNN has learned at least four of the more than two dozen Russian cruise missiles launched from ships in the Caspian Sea crashed in Iran... US officials believe there are injuries." There were more than a few profes

© Google Maps Dozens of people have been killed and injured in two powerful blasts at a road junction in the Turkish capital, Ankara. The explosion was a terrorist attack carried, Turkish government officials say, claims of a suicide bombing are being investigated. According to local media, the explosion took place near Ankara Central railway station, the busiest in Turkey, which serves 181 trains daily. Several ambulances have been reportedly seen at the scene. More than 20 people were reportedly killed in the explosions, Dogan News said, citing police and medics. A Reuters reporter witnessed at least 15 bodies, as well as blood and body parts scattered near the scene of the tragedy. The total casualties, including dead and injured, are reportedly numbered at over 50, with the number possibly rising. The explosions occurred at a rally dubbed “Labor, Peace, Democracy” that kicked off at 10:00 local time (0700 GMT). Turkey's largest trade unions were planning t

© Ahmad Masood / Reuters Mecca’s Hajj stampede death toll has surpassed 1,450 people, AP reported, citing the sum-up of official figures from 19 of the nations affected. The tally, reported by Saudi Arabia as 769, makes it the deadliest-ever incident during the annual pilgrimage. Hundreds of people are still presumed missing weeks after the deadly September 24 stampede, but the number of victims has been steadily growing with the release of new statements by countries whose citizens were killed. The new death toll collected by AP, which is based on such official publications, is nearly double Riyadh’s latest figures. Iran, which has blamed the Saudis for the stampede, has announced that 465 of its citizens died near Mina outside the holy city of Mecca. This figure also includes those unaccounted for, as Tehran does not hope to find them alive. On Wednesday, the Iranian supreme leader, Ayatollah Khamenei, threatened Saudi Arabia with“harsh” measures if it fails to repatriate the bod

By Mike Whitney Russia doesn’t want to fight a war with Turkey, so Russian generals devised a simple, but effective plan to discourage Turkey from taking any action that could lead to a clash between the two nations. Last week, Russian warplanes intruded into Turkish airspace twice. Both incidents caused consternation in Ankara and send Turkish leaders into a furor. On both occasions, officials in Moscow politely apologized for the incursions claiming they were unintentional (“navigational errors”) and that they would try to avoid similar intrusions in the future. Then there was a third incident, a more serious incident, that was not a mistake. It was clearly intended to send a message to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Here’s a short summary of what happened from an article at the World Socialist Web Site: “Turkish officials claimed a third incident on Monday, when an unidentified MiG-29 fighter jet locked its radar for four and a half minutes on eight Turkish F-16 jets that