By  Rudaw   Cargo is off loaded from a US Air Force C-130 Hercules at an undisclosed location in Syria on February 06, 2018. Photo: Tech. Sgt. Gregory Brook | US Air Force ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The US military has up to 20 bases on Syrian territories controlled by Kurdish forces, an official from the Russian Security Council has claimed, according to Russian media. Alexander Venediktov, an aide to Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Washington has been supplying its Kurdish allies with advanced weapons. The Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG), which form the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), deny receiving heavy weapons from the Americans. The US presence in Syria has been branded “illegal” by Damascus and its major military backers Russia and Iran. Turkey has also called for the United States to pull out of northern Syria, even threatening open confrontation with American forces in the

By Ray McGovern Some leaks are good, some are not – that’s the vague and hypocritical approach of the US intelligence community to the practice of leaking classified information to journalists. Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern discusses how that double standard affects the integrity of mainstream media and the legitimacy of the national security establishment.

"I want to tell all those who have fueled the arms race over the last 15 years, sought to win unilateral advantages over Russia, introduced unlawful sanctions aimed to contain our country's development ... you have failed to contain Russia," he said. He accused the West of "ignoring us. Nobody listened to us. Well listen to us now." Putin insisted Russia had "no plans to be an aggressor." Other new weapons include the Avangard — an intercontinental hypersonic missile that would fly to targets at a speed 20 times the speed of sound — and a weapons system called Kinzhal, already deployed in southern Russia, that uses hypersonic missiles that can strike targets 1,250 miles away. "We are not going to take anything away from anybody. We have everything we need," he said. "Russia’s strong military is a guarantor of peace on our planet."