ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By Peter Symonds  A dangerous confrontation is rapidly emerging on the Korean Peninsula between the United States and North Korea, with the potential to plunge North East Asia and the rest of the world into a catastrophic conflict between nuclear-armed powers. Amid a barrage of commentary in the American and international media inflating the threat posed by the Pyongyang regime, the Trump administration is actively considering “all options” to disarm and subordinate North Korea. The immediate pretext is North Korea’s test-firing of four medium-range ballistic missiles last week, following the launch in February of a new intermediate-range missile. However, the drumbeat of US military threats has been preceded by months of high-level discussions in American foreign policy and military circles over action to prevent North Korea building an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) capable of hitting the continental United States. President Barack Obama, who, according to the New York Tim

A Yazidi woman was killed and 12 othe people were injured when Rojava Peshmerga units loyal to Iraqi Kurdistan President Masoud Barzani opened fire on protersters in the region of Shingal near the Iraqi-Syrian border. The incident took place near the town of Khanasur, controlled by predominantly Shingal Protection Units (YBS) a Yazidi militia affiled with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). YBS supporters marched towards positions occupied by pro-Barzani forces. Clashes between YBS and Rojava Peshmerga already took place earlier this month due to tensions between the Barzani clan and the local populations which support the PKK. More info about the tensions can be found in this article. Photos from the site:

The Iranian authorities have promised to grant Iran’s citizenship to Afghan fighters, who are members of the IRGC Fatimiyyoun Brigade, fighting in Syria. Afghan fighters, fighting as part of the Fatimiyyoun Brigade of the Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) on the territory of the Syrian Arab Republic, will get Iranian citizenship on the orders of Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, the Anadolu news agency reported, citing an official of the Iranian Foundation of Martyrs and Veterans Affairs, Mohammad Ali Shahidi Mahallati. According to the news agency, the announcement was made on the Iranian Javanonline information website on Sunday. “According to Khamenei’s instructions, Iran will grant citizenship to Afghans fighting in Syria [as part of the Fatimiyyoun Brigade],” Anadolu quoted Mahallati’s words. Since the beginning of the Syrian civil war, a number of Shia militias, overseen by IRGC commanders, have been sent by Iran to the country to fight alongside the Syrian gove

Russian private military contractors operate on the territory of Libya and other countries of the Middle East. Contract soldiers of the RSB-Group private military company (Photo: Twitter / PM_company_bot) The post is based on this article by BMPD blog and the info from opex360.com In accordance with Article 359 of the Russian Criminal Code, activities related to mercenarism can be sentenced to up to eight years in prison, however, this does not prevent existence of so-called private military companies, such as Moran Security Group (registered in Belize), Tigr, Antiterror-Orel, Slavonic Corps (registered in Hong Kong) or RSB-Group, headquartered in Moscow, the Zone Militaire information portal reported on Monday. Since 2012, several attempts to legalize activities of private military companies have been failed due to opposition of the Russian Defense Ministry and the Federal Security Service (FSB), which negatively treat establishment of such organizations because of fears that these

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