ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

by James Corbett “ The Lone Gladio ,” the new novel by FBI whistleblower and BoilingFrogsPost.com founder Sibel Edmonds, is not just another spy novel. Yes, it is about spies…of a sort. And clandestine missions. And double-crosses and unsure loyalties. But that’s where the similarity ends. “The Lone Gladio” derives its name from Operation Gladio. As even the most mainstream source (read: Wikipedia ) will tell you, Operation Gladio was a NATO-led “stay-behind” operation to build up paramilitary forces that could resist Soviet occupation in the event of a Soviet invasion of Europe. It operated in many countries but is most closely associated with Italy where the program was first exposed in spectacular fashion by Italian Prime Minister Giulio Andreotti in October, 1990. The scale of the scandal involved with the revelation of this program is hard to overstate; Gladio stay-behind operatives were intimately involved with some of the worst atrocities of Italy’s so-called “Years of Lead”

James Corbett As many have heard by now, the leaders of the so-called BRICS nations – Brazil, India, China, Russia and South Africa – used the occasion of the 6th BRICS Summit in Brasilia, Brazil to announce the creation of the long-awaited BRICS Development Bank. Formally the “ New Development Bank ,” it will be based in Shanghai and capitalized with an initial $10 billion in cash ($2 billion from each of the five founding members) and $40 billion in guarantees, to be built up to a total of $100 billion. Immediately, the press began touting the new bank as a potential rival to the current IMF / World Bank system of infrastructure development and poverty reduction in the third world. “ BRICS Development Bank Could Challenge World Bank and IMF ” touts US News & World Report. “ BRICS Ink $50 Billion Lender in World Bank, IMF Challenge ” asserts Bloomberg. The World Bank, for its part, is downplaying the rivalry, with World Bank President Jim Young Kim openly welcoming the bank at a

Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov (Reuters/Tiksa Negeri) RT Following the US President’s speech at the UN, Russian FM Sergey Lavrov was puzzled with Barack Obama’s ranking of international threats: deadly Ebola virus top, followed by so-called Russian aggression and ISIS in Syria and Iraq only third? Gathered at the UN headquarters in New York, the world leaders attending the 69th General Assembly heard Barack Obama highlighting the three most significant global threats today. “As we gather here, an outbreak of Ebola overwhelms public health systems in West Africa, and threatens to move rapidly across borders. Russian aggression in Europe recalls the days when large nations trampled small ones in pursuit of territorial ambition. The brutality of terrorists in Syria and Iraq forces us to look into the heart of darkness,” the US leader said at the beginning of his statement. Reacting to the speech, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov spoke with astonishment. “We earned t

Accused government whistleblower Edward Snowden (Reuters/Vincent Kessler) US whistleblower Edward Snowden was among five winners of the Swedish human rights award, announced in Stockholm on Wednesday. The decision to the honor former National Security Agency contractor might have cost the 2014 Right Livelihood Awards’ jury the ability to announce the winners from Swedish Foreign Office pressroom, a usual place for such statements since 1995, Foundation director Ole von Uexkull told AP. Snowden, who has lived in Russia for over a year, shares his award with Alan Rusbridger, editor-in-chief of the Guardian newspaper, which was first to beak the NSA leaks. #EdwardSnowden Congratulations in receiving the prestigious @rlafoundation award #RLA2014 @wikileaks @RobertMMahoney pic.twitter.com/RZu7thRJgB — William Gomes (@Wnicholasgomes) September 24, 2014 "The 2014 Right Livelihood Honorary Award goes to Edward Snowden for his courage and skill in revealing the unprece

RT In a symbol of the times, America’s biggest “oil family”, the Rockefellers, has announced it will get rid of any investments or holdings in fossil fuels from its $860 million charitable fund, and target clean energy instead. The announcement is part of a $50 billion pledge by over 180 institutions to cut oil, natural gas, and coal from their portfolios and redirect investment into clean energy. “Our immediate focus will be on coal and tar sands, two of the most intensive sources of carbon emissions,” the statement said, adding that investment in the two sectors will be reduced to less than 1 percent of the total portfolio by the end of 2014. Coal and tar sands are two of the biggest carbon emitters. The Rockefeller Brothers Fund was established in 1940 from wealth acquired through the family’s company Standard Oil, once the world’s largest oil refiner. Monday’s announcement comes ahead of today’s United Nations summit on climate change, where 120 global leaders, including

By P K Ghosh The turbulent South China Sea (SCS) has emerged as a regional flashpoint , with sovereignty disputes over rocks and islands driving increasing tensions. Recently, a new twist to the saga has emerged, in the form of new artificial islands being created by China in an effort to bolster its sovereign claims. While the other claimants in the region – Vietnam, the Philippines, Taiwan and Malaysia – are all in control of natural islands, China is the first to control the artificial variety. At the same time, Beijing is also trying to enlarge the existing islands that it already has under its control. These news islands and enlargements are essentially new, and have the potential to intensify the disputes and the associated level of acrimony. One of the most noticeable changes that have occurred has been in the Spratly Islands . Until the beginning of 2014, the Chinese presence in these islands consisted of a handful of outposts that comprised a collection of concrete block-type

By Kristian McGuire It is one of those unseemly matters that tend to beset governments right around election time. And yet Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Deputy Minister Chang Hsien-yao’s removal from office on August 16 for allegedly leaking classified information to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is not just another sensational political scandal. The Chang affair has raised serious questions about the Ma administration’s ability to manage cross-Strait relations and secure Taiwan against intensified PRC espionage activities; and it couldn’t have come at a worse time for President Ma Ying-jeou’s party the Kuomintang (KMT). Taiwan is preparing to hold local elections on November 29 in which a record 11,130 public servants will be chosen. It is generally believed that a strong showing by the opposition Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in the local elections could greatly improve the party’s chances in Taiwan’s 2016 legislative and presidential elections. Hence, a scandal