ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

F/A-18 Super Hornet Written by  The Saker ; Originally appeared at  The Unz Review By now most of you have heard the latest bad news of out Syria: on June 18 th  a US F/A-18E Super Hornet (1999) used a AIM-120 AMRAAM (1991) to shoot down a Syrian Air Force Su-22 (1970). Two days later, June 20 th , a US F-15E Strike Eagle shot down an Iranian IRGC Shahed 129 drone. The excuse used each time was that there was a threat to US and US supported forces. The reality is, of course, that the US are simply trying to stop the advance of the Syrian army. This was thus a typical American “show of force”. Except that, of course, shooting a 47 year old Soviet era Su-22 fighter-bomber is hardly an impressive feat. Neither is shooting a unmanned drone. There is a pattern here, however, and that pattern is that all US actions so far have been solely for show: the basically failed bombing of the Syria military airbase, the bombing of the Syrian army column, the shooting down of the Syrian fighter

Iraqi security forces march on the outskirts of Najaf, south of Baghdad…Iraqi security forces march on the outskirts of Najaf, south of Baghdad November 19, 2014. REUTERS/Alaa Al-Marjani (IRAQ – Tags: POLITICS MILITARY CIVIL UNREST) Four ISIS fighters launched a surprise attack on Iraqi Army positions in al-Shohadaa region in al-Baghdadi west of Anbar. According to ISIS, 40 Iraqi soldiers were killed as a result of the attack and many others were wounded, including the director of Al-Baghdadi township, Sharhabil al-Obeidi and the commander of the Fourth Corps, Kamal al-Obeidi. According to the ISIS-linked News Agency Amaaq, the attack lasted for 6 hours and ended with the four attackers bowing themselves among with Iraqi soldiers. In Mosul city, ISIS claimed that its fighters have been able to repel an attack by the Iraqi Federal Police in Bab Jadid and Bad al-Baid districts in Old Mosul Area. 10 Iraqi soldiers were allegedly killed and 30 were injured in the failed attack.

Pro-Kurdish sources claimed that the Turkish Army and the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) are planning to attack Afrin City and the surrounding areas. According to reports, that SAA and Turkey-led forces closed all roads leading to Afrin and imposed a siege on the city. However, local sources reported that the road connecting Aleppo to Afrin is still open despite some problems appeared the Kurds have attacked some people from the towns of Nabol and Al-Zahra following the downing of the Syrian fighter by the US-led coalition. On Friday, the self-administration in Afrin announced preventing the passage of civilians from Turkey or the opposition-held areas to Afrin for “security reasons” and it’s unknown if that statement includes the Aleppo-Afrin road. SAA sources denied any involvement of the SAA in the expected Turkish operation. It is worth mentioning that SAA doesn’t have any troops in Afrin and it’s not committed to defending it. The SAA hasn’t promised the Syrian Democratic Force

Written by  Prof Michel Chossudovsky ; Originally appeared at  GlobalResearch Obama [and now Trump] are on a hot war footing. Western civilization is allegedly “threatened by the Islamic State”. The “Global War on Terrorism” is  heralded as a humanitarian endeavor. We have a “Responsibility to Protect”. Humanitarian warfare is the solution. Evil folks are lurking. ‘Take ’em out”, said George W. Bush. The Western media is beating the drums of war. America’s military agenda is supported by a vast propaganda apparatus. One of the main objectives of war propaganda is to “fabricate an enemy”. As the political legitimacy of the Obama Administration falters, doubts regarding the existence of this “outside enemy”, namely Al Qaeda and its network of (CIA sponsored) affiliates  must be dispelled. The purpose is to tacitly instil, through repeated media reports, ad nauseam, within people’s inner consciousness, the notion that Muslims constitute a threat to the security of the Wes

(AP Photo/Yemen’s Defense Ministry) Associated Press released a report claiming that the UAE established a network of secret prisons in Yemen under the supervision of its army. According to the report, hundreds of prisoners have gone missing in unknown circumferences under the UAE’s undercover operation against Al-Qaeda in Yemen. AP claims that the UAE owns 18 secret prisons in southern Yemen without the knowledge of the Yemeni government. The report also mentioned horrendous torturing procedures occur in those prisons on a regular basis. Several high-ranking commanders from the US military force operating in Yemen allegedly participated in questioning of prisoners, but they denied participating in human rights offenses. AP went on to claim that over 2,000 people vanished in those secret prisons. However, the UAE government denies any breaches of human rights. It is known that the US has depended on a series of secrets prisons in allied countries in its war on terrorism

A screenshot from the Russian Defense Ministry Admiral Essen, Admiral Grigorovich frigates and Krasnodar submarine of the Russian Navy have launched six Kalibr cruise missiles on ISIS targets in Syria, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement on Friday. According to the statement, the submarine performed a submerged launch of the cruise missiles. “As a result of a surprise saturation missile attack,  Daesh [ISIS] command posts, as well as large ammunition depots, have been destroyed in the vicinity of the town of Akerbat in the province of Hama , where a militant arsenal detonated after a pinpoint hit by the Kalibr cruise missile,” the ministry said. “ The remaining Daesh [ISIS] terrorist fighters and targets have been destroyed by Russian Aerospace Forces bombers’ airstrikes .”

It is instructive that the West now expresses more outrage at the use of gas – it blames the Assad regime for this, of course – than at the continued cruelty of Isis By Robert Fisk The extraordinary destruction of a Syrian fighter jet by a US aircraft on Sunday has precious little to do with the Syrian plane’s target in the desert near Rasafa – but much to do with the advance of the Syrian army close to the American-backed Kurdish forces along the Euphrates. The Syrians have grown increasingly suspicious in recent months that most Kurdish forces in the north of Syria – many of them in alliance with the Assad government until recently – have thrown in their lot with the Americans. Indeed, the military in Damascus is making no secret of the fact that it has ended its regular arms and ammunition supplies to the Kurds – it has apparently given them 14,000 AK-47 rifles since 2012 – and the Syrian regime was outraged to learn that Kurdish forces recently received an envoy from the United

Turkey has been actively deploying military equipment, including T-155 Firtina howitzers and ACV-15 armoured vehicles, to the area of the militant-held town of Azaz in northern Aleppo, according to Kurdish sources. Turkey and pro-Turkish militant groups are allegedly preparing for a large advance against Kurdish militants in the area of Afrin. The YPG-held town of Tell Rifat may become the first target of this advance. Photos (source:  @PYD_Rojava ):