ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

From the Riverside Theatre Parramatta, Sydney Australia 2017 A nuclear war between the United States and China is not only imaginable but a current ‘contingency’, says the Pentagon. Emmy and BAFTA Award-winning director, John Pilger’s 60th film is his most urgent work to date and is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance. Filmed over two years across five potential flash points in Asia and the Pacific, this documentary reveals the build-up to war on more than 400 US military bases that encircle China in a ‘perfect noose’.

By Eric Margolis We are now moving rapidly into stage II of Levantine Madness as the US boosts its intervention in the war-torn Mideast. Five thousand US troops are back in Iraq to bolster the shattered nation’s puppet regime that is propped up by American bayonets. New Iraqi military formations have been formed, totally equipped with modern US M1 Abrams tanks, Humvees, and fleets of trucks. More US forces are on the way. These US-financed Iraqi units are euphemistically called ‘anti-terrorism forces’ and are supervised by US officers. In fact, what we see is the old British Imperial Raj formula of white officers commanding native mercenary troops. These Iraqi units are now assaulting ISIS-held Mosul, Iraq’s second city, and smaller towns. Most of America’s Iraqi ‘sepoys’ (as native troops in the British Indian Raj were known) are Shia bitterly opposed to the nation’s minority Sunnis. After its 2003 invasion of Iraq, the US encouraged animosity between Shia and Sunni as a way of breaki

FILE IMAGE Iraqi security forces (ISF) have recaptured the neighborhood of Al-Jadidah from the ISIS terrorist group in western Mosul, according to the Iraqi Joint Operations Command’s statement. The Al-Jadidah neighborhood is located southwest of Mosul’s Old City wihch is the main ISIS stronghold in western Mosul. Clashes had been ongoing in Al-Jadidah since Saturday and some 20 ISIS members were reportedly killed in the clashes. Meanwhile, 3 ISF troops were killed and 4 others injured in a failed attempt to advane on Mosul’s Old City.

Erdogan supporters protest against the Netherlands, squeezing and drinking oranges Originally appeared at ZeroHedge The bizarre diplomatic scandal that erupted over the weekend, after the Netherlands banned several prominent Turkish politicians from organizing and participating in pro-Erdogan rallies just days ahead of the Dutch general election where immigration will be perhaps the most important topic, and which prompted numerous accusations of “nazism” and “fascism” by Turkey’s president Erdogan, appeared set to escalate further on Monday when the Turkish cabinet is expected to consider imposing sanctions on the Netherlands in a deepening row with the country’s NATO ally. Cited by Reuters, one minister said punitive measures were likely. A government source told Reuters that sanctions were expected to be discussed when the cabinet of ministers meets at 7 pm (1600 GMT). Ankara’s minister for EU Affairs, Omer Celik, said sanctions were likely. “We will surely have sanctions against th

The Russian-made TOS-1 heavy flamethrower system has been spotted near Palmyra during the recent government advance in the countryside of the ancient city . A media activist, Ivan Sidorenko , has released 3 photos depicting Syrian troops with the Russian-supplied heavy flamethrower system in the area of Palmyra. The system was reportedly used during the governmnent advance against ISIS in the area of the Palmyra silos. More about the system: Click to see the full-size image

By Moon Of Alabama During the last week significant moves in Syria have taken place east of Aleppo. But the situation there will likely soon calm down. The next intense phase of the war may well be a Syrian army attack on al-Qaeda's position in Idlib governate in the north-west of the country. One objective of the Syrian Arab Army move east of Aleppo city was to block the invading Turkish forces from reaching further south. This had been achieved as of last week . The main objective though was to reach the pumping stations at the Euphrates which supply Aleppo city with drinking water. This aim was achieved yesterday. The SAA managed to evict the Islamic State from the shut-down station before it could blow it up. The generators and pumps were booby trapped but seem otherwise operational. After 40 days of strictly rationed water Aleppo city and its nearly 2 million people will soon be back on a normal water supply. map by Peto Lucem bigger I expect that the SAA contingent in east-A

Written and produced by SF Team: J.Hawk, Daniel Deiss, Edwin Watson The constantly-changing make-up of the Russian group of forces in Syria has become a veritable kaleidoscope of the country’s contemporary military capabilities, which are evidently taking turns being tested, depending on the operational requirements, on their usefulness in the current reality of a multipolar world embroiled in a global hybrid war. The bright-red beret-clad Russian military policemen who abruptly appeared in Aleppo during the final stages of clearing the city and making it once again suitable for the return of civilian population, are one of these capabilities. During the operation in Syria, the Military Police also protect personnel of the Russian air group and the Center for Syrian reconciliation While the institution of Military Police is a fairly widespread one among the world’s militaries, this branch of forces was almost entirely absent from the Soviet military, following the abolition of the Russ

The video shows the usage of anti-tank guided missiels by the Iraqi Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) against ISIS terrorists in the area of Makhoul Mount. ISIS terrorists had repeatedly tried to break PMU positions there but were pushed to retreat under fire from Iraqi troops.