ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Written by  Robert Parry ; Originally appeared at  Consortiumnews.com The mainstream U.S. media is congratulating itself on its courageous defiance of  President Trump  and its hard-hitting condemnations of Russia, but the press seems to have forgotten that its proper role within the U.S. democratic structure is not to slant stories one way or another but to provide objective information for the American people. The Washington Post building in downtown Washington, D.C. (Photo credit: Washington Post) By that standard – of respecting that the people are the nation’s true sovereigns – the mainstream media is failing again. Indeed, the chasm between what America’s elites are thinking these days and what many working-class Americans are feeling is underscored by the high-fiving that’s going on inside the elite mainstream news media, which is celebrating its Trump- and Russia-bashing as the “new golden age of American journalism.” The New York Times and The Was...

ISIS has responded to the government advance  in the province of Homs  with intensified attacks on the Ithriyah-Aleppo road that is the only government supply line to Aleppo city. ISIS terrorists have attacked few Syrian army checkpoints in the area, destroying them and capturing high a notable amount of weapons from government forces including Konkurs and Metis-M anti-tank guided missiles. Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image

FILE IMAGE NATO is joining the US-led coalition operating in Syria and Iraq, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said Thursday. NATO leaders will adopt a new plan to step up the fight against terrorism, Stoltenberg told reporters at a news conference in Brussels. The plan will include NATO’s membership in the US-led coalition against ISIS. “This will send a strong political message of NATO’s commitment to the fight against terrorism. And improve coordination within the coalition. But it does not mean that NATO will engage in combat operations,” the alliance’s secretary general said. “Today we will decide to expand our support to the coalition. With more AWACS flight-time, more information-sharing, and air-to-air refueling.” NATO members will reportedly establish a new terrorism intelligence cell here at NATO HQ and appoint a coordinator to oversee efforts in the fight against terrorism. According to Stoltenberg, the military black will not be engaged in...

Government troops prepare to engage insurgents in Marawi City. (Reuters: Romeo Ranoco) The Philippines military has launched airstrikes on the ISIS-held area of Marawi city as the fighting with terrorists is intensifying. “’Yung ginagawa natin, napaka-precise. Gumagamit tayo ng surgical air strikes (What we used is very precise. We used surgical air strikes),” AFP quoted spokesman for First Infantry Division Lt. Col. Jo-ar Herrera statement during a televised press briefing in Marawi City on Thursday. The airstrikes were conducted in the areas of Gadungan, Basak Malutlut and Bangon where from 30 to 40 terrorists were remaining. He added that the military warned the residents through radio and the local government units to leave their homes before the air force conducted airstrikes. According to the military, 7 government soldiers were killed and 31 wounded in the classhes. In turn, 13 terrorists were killed.

About a year ago, a devastating explosion rocked the relatively small port city of Tianjin in China. Initial reports and civilian footage showed that there was an enormous blast followed by a huge fireball which devastated a 20,000 square meter portion of the city.  VICTIM OF A TACTICAL NUCLEAR WEAPON  The area is still incredibly dangerous, and there have been a series of continual explosions since. The area around the impact site has been transformed from a bustling commercial hub into an apocalyptic landscape of burned out cars, melted and twisted shipping containers and charred pavements. Preliminary reports suggest that at least eighty-five people have succumbed to injuries sustained as a result of the blast.  The official story is that the catastrophic explosion was caused by an accidental detonation at a chemical facility. However, journalists at Veterans Today believe that there might be something more sinister afoot.  These journalis...

By Alexander Mercouris Known facts about the terrorist attack in Manchester suggest this was not an attack carried out by an individual terrorist or group of terrorists but that it was ordered by ISIS's leadership. What makes ISIS’s  latest attack  – on young people happily enjoying a concert in Manchester – look particularly sinister is not just the deliberately indiscriminate nature of this attack.  Unfortunately that is the pattern of all of ISIS’s terrorist attacks. Rather it is the fact that unlike some of the other attacks carried out across Europe by individuals on behalf of ISIS, this attack looks planned, and was almost certainly ordered by ISIS’s leadership. The reasons for thinking this are as follows: (1) ISIS has  claimed responsibility  for the attack before the British authorities have released any information about the terrorists who carried it out.  That suggests that ISIS knows who the terrorists are, and that they working und...

By John Wight   The lack of a coherent anti-terrorism strategy in Washington and by extension the West, as emergency services deal with the devastating aftermath of yet another  terrorist atrocity  in Europe – this time a suicide bomb attack at a concert in Manchester, England – has been thrown into sharp relief during President Trump’s tour of the Middle East. Specifically, on what planet can Iran be credibly  accused  of funding and supporting terrorism while Saudi Arabia is considered a viable partner in the fight against terrorism? This is precisely the narrative we are being invited to embrace by President Trump in what counts as a retreat from reality into the realms of fantasy, undertaken in service not to security but commerce. Indeed those still struggling to understand why countries such as the US, UK, and France consistently seek to legitimise a Saudi regime that is underpinned by the medieval religious doctrine of Wahhabism, which is near ind...

Jamie Lucman/Facebook A group of heavily-armed ISIS-linked militants have stormed the Philippines  city of Marawi, engaging the national army in fierce clashes on the city’s streets. According to reports, at least 15 militants armed with assault rifles attacked the city. Army troops and a special police force deployed in response to the attack. The militants had reportedly blocked some roads, entered a local hospital and raised a black ISIS flag above the roof. Many buildings were reportedly set on fire. ISIS has officially claimed responsibility for the attack via its Amaq news agency. Photos from the site: Click to see the full-size image Click to see the full-size image