ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By Moon Of Alabama A few days ago Al-Qaeda in Syria and the Salafist Takfiri group Ahrar al Sham produced a show claiming they were fighting each other. I fell for it and wrote : The Turkish, Russian and Iranian governments had agreed on talks in Astana in Kazakhstan between delegations from "moderate" militant groups in Syria and the Syrian government. Ahrar al Sham, which ideologically borders between al-Qaeda and the "moderates", was also invited. It declined to take part in solidarity with the not invited designated terrorist group Jaish Fateh al-Sham (the former Nusra Front aka al-Qaeda in Syria). Russia had suggested the talks with the intent of separating the "moderate" Takfiris under Turkish control from the designated "terrorist" Takfiris. The talks had no immediate results but still achieved their purpose. Shortly after the talks began al-Qaeda attacked Ahrar al Sham. After some on and off fighting al-Qaeda started yesterday to att

Written by The Saker; Originally appeared at The Unz Review A Russian joke goes like this: “Question: why can there be no color revolution in the United States? Answer: because there are not US Embassies in the United States.” Funny, maybe, but factually wrong: I believe that a color revolution is being attempted in the USA right now. Politico seems to feel the same way. See their recent cover : While I did predict that “ The USA are about to face the worst crisis of their history ” as far back as October of last year, a month before the elections, I have to admit that I am surprised and amazed at the magnitude of struggle which we see taking place before our eyes. It is now clear that the Neocons did declare war on Trump and some, like Paul Craig Roberts, believe that Trump has now returned them the favor . I sure hope that he is right. Let’s look at one telling example: US intelligence agencies are now investigating their own boss! Yes, according to recent reports , the FBI, CIA

The document details how the president plans to deliver on his campaign promise of a Muslim ban. By Jessica Schulberg The White House intends to temporarily shut down travel from a wide swath of countries to the United States and implement dramatic restrictions on immigration and refugee admission, according to a draft version of a White House executive order obtained Wednesday by The Huffington Post. The document, which could still be amended before being officially signed, confirms the details reported by HuffPost on Tuesday , and adds new information about the planned strategy. According to the draft executive order, President Donald Trump plans to: Block refugee admissions from the war-torn country of Syria indefinitely. Suspend refugee admissions from all countries for 120 days. After that period, the U.S. will only accept refugees from countries jointly approved by the Department of Homeland Security, the State Department and the Director of National Intelligence. Cap total re

By Bob Fredericks President Trump plans to announce at least a temporary ban on refugees and immigrants from a handful of Muslim-majority countries plagued by Islamic terrorism. Trump argued on the campaign trail that the US had no way of knowing whether refugees from war-torn countries such as Syria could be disguised terrorists. Trump also wants to suspend issuing visas for people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria or Yemen for at least 30 days, according to the draft. All are predominantly Muslim countries. The specifics could change, sources told the AP. There is likely to be an exception for refugees fleeing religious persecution if their religion is a minority in their country, including Christians trying to get out of Muslim-majority countries where their communities have come under attack. The bans would stay in place at least until specifics of what Trump has called “extreme vetting” can be worked out. As president, Trump can use an executive order to halt refugee

By Carlo Muñoz President Trump is ordering the Pentagon and State Department to develop a series of “safe zones” in Syria, a move that administration critics claims could draw the U.S. military deeper into the country’s civil war. The safe-zone mandate was tucked into the text of an executive order signed Wednesday by Mr. Trump that establishes curbs on the flow of refugees from Iraq, Syria, Libya, Yemen and other conflict zones from migrating to the United States. The order also institutes a revamped screening process for all U.S. immigrants. Defense Secretary James N. Mattis and Rex Tillerson, Mr. Trump’s pick to be secretary of state, will have 90 days to submit a blueprint to the White House on the establishment of “safe areas in Syria and in the surrounding region in which Syrian nationals displaced from their homeland can await firm settlement,” according to a copy of the order, obtained by The Huffington Post. As president, Barack Obama resisted calls for the safe zones along

The IL-76 strategic airlifters and the Mi-17 helicopters, handed over to the Syrian Air Force by the Russian Aerospace Forces, allowed to redeploy additional troops to Deir ez-Zor, besieged by terrorists. Photo: TASS / Marina Lystseva Thanks to military hardware and aircraft, received from Russia, the Syrian Air Force managed to carry out a unique operation and send its elite units to Deir ez-Zor, besieged by terrorists of the Islamic State (IS) group, the Izvestiya newspaper reported on Wednesday. According to the newspaper, these forces should save from destruction the only stronghold of the government forces in the east of the country. At the same time, the Russian Aerospace Forces also intensify its efforts to support units in Deir ez-Zor . According to experts, both the government and terrorists are going to go all out to take control of the city, whose strategic importance has significantly increased in recent months. On the night of January 23, the IL-76 strategic airlifters and

An employee of the state reception authority in Lower Saxony, who discovered 300 cases of cheating the German benefits system by migrants, has been fired after she reported about this to police. Photo: AP The state reception authority (LAB) in German Lower Saxony has fired its employee, who discovered 300 cases of cheating the German benefits system by migrants and reported about this to police, the Kronen Zeitung newspaper reported. According to the newspaper, the unnamed female employee, who created various documents for asylum seekers and handed out them state benefits in Brunswick city, discovered a large number of refugees, receiving multiple benefits under different names. Reportedly, some of the migrants obtained two identities, while others had up to six different benefits claims. The woman told about the revelation to her supervisors and said that the cases should be taken to police. However, her boss answered that they would not take any actions. “They asked me not to do any

The Eurocopter Tiger (the Airbus Helicopters Tiger) is a four-bladed, twin-engined attack helicopter. It is known as the Tiger In Germany and as the Tigre in France and Spain. Click to see the full-size image