ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Exclusive: In House testimony, Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland blamed Russia and ethnic-Russian rebels for last summer’s shoot-down of MH-17 over Ukraine, but the U.S. government has not substantiated that charge. So, did Nuland mislead Congress or just play a propaganda game, asks Robert Parry. By Robert Parry An early skill learned by Official Washington’s neoconservatives, when they were cutting their teeth inside the U.S. government in the 1980s, was how to frame their arguments in the most propagandistic way, so anyone who dared to disagree with any aspect of the presentation seemed unpatriotic or crazy. During my years at The Associated Press and Newsweek, I dealt with a number of now prominent neocons who were just starting out and mastering these techniques at the knee of top CIA psychological warfare specialist Walter Raymond Jr., who had been transferred to President Ronald Reagan’s National Security Council staff where Raymond oversaw inter-agency task forces th

Exclusive: Official Washington operates in its own bubble of self-delusion in which the stars of U.S. politics, policy and media don’t realize how the rest of the world sees their sociopathic behavior. This craziness is now reaching a crisis point on Iran and Russia, reports Robert Parry. By Robert Parry The chasm between reality and the U.S. political/media elite continues to widen with Official Washington’s actions toward Iran and Russia making “the world’s sole remaining superpower” look either like a Banana Republic (on Iran) or an Orwellian Dystopia (regarding Russia). On Iran and the international negotiations to rein in its nuclear program, the American people witnessed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu striding into the U.S. Congress – like some imperial proconsul – to deliver a faux State of the Union address that undermined the sitting U.S. president. Then, 47 Republican senators furthered Netanyahu’s intent to denigrate President Barack Obama by sending an open lette

An Islamist preacher from Kuwait has called to destroy Egypt's Sphinx and pyramids, stating it is time for Muslims to erase the pharaohs' heritage. The alleged call comes as Islamic State jihadists ramp up their attacks against historic sites. Although the ancient monuments are not religious – but rather cultural and historic sites – they should still be "destroyed" by Muslims, putting an end to the worship of images, preacher Ibrahim Al Kandari said, according to Al-Watan daily. "The fact that early Muslims who were among prophet Mohammed’s followers did not destroy the pharaohs' monuments upon entering the Egyptian soil, does not mean that we shouldn't do it now," Al Kandari said. Another call for the destruction of Egypt's main symbols comes from Islamic State leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who suggested the demolition of the historic monuments is a "religious duty," Al Alam news reported on Sunday. In the extreme interpretations of

ISIS ‘military police’ executed 100 foreign fighters who attempted to quit and flee from the insurgents’ de-facto capital of Raqqa in northern Syria as frustration among militants has been growing, a UK newspaper reported citing a witness activist. “Local fighters are frustrated — they feel they’re doing most of the work and the dying . . . foreign fighters who thought they were on an adventure are now exhausted,” an activist, opposed to both the Syrian regime and Islamic State (formerly known as ISIS/ISIL), told The Financial Times newspaper, which claims the source is reliable. The activist said he had "verified 100 executions of foreign ISIS fighters trying to flee the northern Syrian city of Raqqa.” The media reported that the insurgents created a “military police to crack down” on those unwilling to serve the so-called Islamic State. In a bid to control how jihadists fulfill their tasks, the IS reportedly created some kind of documentation. The paper also reported, citing ac

​Fighting the Islamic State on social media by shutting down their accounts is useless, terrorism analyst Max Abrahms told RT. The group’s violent propaganda is counterproductive and will eventually turn people against them, he added. In the latest PR move the IS jihadists have released photos featuring all sorts of delicacies at a bustling market in Mosul – the northern Iraqi city that has been one of its major strongholds. Analysts say the travel brochure style images aim to send a message of defiance to those fighting the group. RT: How much damage can the propaganda be inflicting? Max Abrahms: There are some high-profile cases where jihadists from the West are linking up with Islamic State. In that sense it is often said that it’s gruesome imagery, the beheadings, the torching of the Jordanian pilot are very good for the group in terms of building up its membership size. But in actuality I think that we are currently and increasingly ‘attritioning’ the Islamic State members and eve

TEHRAN (FNA)- The families of three schoolgirls who ran away from their homes in London to Syria voiced anger at police, saying they did not warn them the teenagers risked being radicalized. School friends Kadiza Sultana, 16, and 15-year-olds Shamima Begum and Amira Abase left their homes and flew to Istanbul, from where they are believed to have joined the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) terrorist group in Syria, AFP reported. All three were spoken to in December by police investigating the disappearance of another friend who went to Syria. But their families say they were in the dark about this after the girls hid a courtesy letter that police had given them to pass on to their parents, in which they asked for permission to speak to the teenagers. The relatives say police should have given the letter directly to the families and that, had they been aware of the situation, they could have taken action. Amira's father Abase Hussein told ITV television Friday that h

TEHRAN (FNA)- The Syrian army gained the upper-hand in Eastern Homs province, and gained control over five gas and oil fields after inflicting heavy casualties on militants. The army units regained control over Jazal town in Homs countryside and took back control of five gas and oil fields from the ISIL terrorists in heavy clashes. On Tuesday, the Syrian army backed by popular forces established full control over Gas Well No /101/ at Palmyra countryside in Homs province. Also in the past 24 hours, Syrian warplanes pounded ISIL positions in the city of Hama, killing large groups of terrorists, including a senior commander. The ISIL commander, identified as Abi Ammar al-Jazrawi, was killed in an air strike near the town of Hamadi Omar, some 50 km (30 miles) Southwest of the city of Hama. Syrian state media said the airstrikes had also destroyed a convoy of military vehicles. Elsewhere, the Syrian army made more headway in in its fight against the armed groups in the countryside of Qu

TEHRAN (FNA)- Iraqi Special Forces said they have arrested several ISIL's foreign military advisors, including American, Israeli and Arab nationals in an operation in Mosul in the Northern parts of the country. The Iraqi forces said they have retrieved four foreign passports, including those that belonged to American and Israeli nationals and one that belonged to the national of a Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (PGCC) member-state, from ISIL's military advisors. The foreign advisors were arrested in a military operation in Tal Abta desert near Mosul city. Last year, a senior aide to Russian President Vladimir Putin accused Mossad of training ISIL terrorists operating in Iraq and Syria. Alexander Prokhanov said that Mossad is also likely to have transferred some of its spying experiences to the ISIL leadership, adding that Israel’s military advisors could be assisting the Takfiri terrorists. Prokhanov said ISIL is a byproduct of US policies in the Middle East. ISIL is a to