ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

After a significant period of patience and diplomacy, the United States government has warned that no option is off the table when it comes to dealing with North Korea after the notoriously volatile and secretive state launched a sudden series of ballistic missiles into the Sea of Japan.  Now it appears that North Korea have taken this warning to heart and an unusual radio broadcast seems to suggest that the Hermit Kingdom is gearing itself up for a pre-emptive strike.  NORTH KOREA BEGINS TO BROADCAST SPY MESSAGES AFTER SEVENTEEN YEARS OF SILENCE  At midnight at local time, a radio station called Pyongyang Radio addressed ‘members of the remote education university’ and announced a series of what are believed to be coded messages. T he broadcast said, “From now on, we announce tasks of mechanical engineering review for the Unit 21 expedition members of the remote education university. Number 69 on page 602, number 79 on page 133, number 18 on page 216.”...

Getty Images The war hysteria is spreading around the world. South Korea’s Chosun news agency reported that China has deployed about 150,000 troops to its border with Northern Korea preparing for some “unforeseen circumstances” as the US Navy’s Carl Vinson Strike Group is approaching the Korean Peninsula. The news came after the US Navy ordered the Carl Vinson Strike Group to maintain a physical presnce near the Korean Peninsula and amid growing tensions between the United States and the Asian country. So, some media were happy to use this to make nice headlines. However, Hua Chunying, spokeswoman for the Chinese Foreign Ministry denied the reports : Q: First, the rising likelihood of the six nuclear test by the DPRK coupled with the US dispatch of an aircraft carrier strike group to waters close to the ROK has made the situation on the Peninsula even more intense. What’s China’s comment? Second, it is reported that to prepare for potential emergencies in the DPRK, an additional 150,0...

Sean Spicer.getty The US does not rule out the possibility to conduct new missile strikes on Syria, White House spokesman Sean Spicer has said at a news conference on Monday. “The sight of people being gassed and blown away by barrel bombs ensures that if we see this kind of action again, we hold open the possibility of future action,” Spicer stated , adding that “Not just Syria, but the world saw a president who is going to act decisively.” US Defense Secretary James Mattis claimed that the US missile strike on the Sha’irat military airfield led to the destruction of 20% of the Syrian Air Force’s aircraft. Mattis added that the Syrian government “lost the ability to refuel or rearm aircraft at Sha’irat airfield and at this point, use of the runway is of idle military interest.” Unfortunately, the mad dog forgot to check some videos on Youtube, which reveal the air base to be operational and Syrian warplanes using it to conduct airstrikes on militants. Meanwhile, the mainstream media ...

The Kremlin has confirmed that the document does not speak for Russia and that its provenance is totally unknown. Kremlin Spokesman Dmitry Peskov has responded to questions about a dubious document from an unknown ‘joint operations centre’ claiming to speak for the armed forces of Russia, Syria and Iran (Hezbollah too according to some sources). Peskov said, “We are not aware about that, we cannot confirm that and we do not know where Reuters got this and where these anonymous sources appeared from again”. Peskov echoes the remarks of the Chairman of the Defence and Security Committee, Viktor Ozerov who earlier confirmed , “Russia is not going there to conduct armed actions with the US, our task there is to support the Syrian armed forces in the fight against terrorism”. Yesterday, The Duran published an exclusive report on the unverified and likely forged or at best completely unofficial document which threatened a forceful Russian/Iranian/Syrian military response against US targets...

44 Killed in Palm Sunday Bombings at Egyptian Coptic ChurchesMore At least 44 people were killed in Egypt in bomb attacks at the cathedral of the Coptic Pope and another church on Palm Sunday, prompting anger and fear among Christians and leading to troop deployments and the declaration of a three-month state of emergency. Islamic State claimed responsibility for the attacks, which also injured more than 100 people and occurred a week before Coptic Easter, with Pope Francis scheduled to visit Egypt later this month. The assault is the latest on a religious minority increasingly targeted by Islamist militants, and a challenge to President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, who has pledged to protect them as part of his campaign against extremism. The first bombing, in Tanta, a Nile Delta city about 100 km (60 miles) north of Cairo, tore through the inside of St. George Church during its Palm Sunday service, killing at least 27 people and injuring at least 78, the Ministry of Health said. The second...

Wag The Dog — How Al Qaeda Played Donald Trump And The American Media By Scott Ritter Responsibility for the chemical event in Khan Sheikhoun is still very much in question Once upon a time, Donald J. Trump , the New York City businessman-turned-president, berated then-President Barack Obama back in September 2013 about the fallacy of an American military strike against Syria. At that time, the United States was considering the use of force against Syria in response to allegations (since largely disproven) that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad had used chemical weapons against civilians in the Damascus suburb of Ghouta. Trump, via tweet, declared “to our very foolish leader, do not attack Syria – if you do many very bad things will happen & from that fight the U.S. gets nothing!” President Obama, despite having publicly declaring the use of chemical weapons by the Syrian regime a “red line” which, if crossed, would demand American military action, ultimately declined to ord...