ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Syrian government forces have liberated the Tulul Hayl area from ISIS and made gains against ISIS near Ramamin in the province of Homs. The Syrian army and its allies, backed up by the Russian Aerospace Forces, are preparing for a major push toward the ISIS-held town of Sukhna at the Palmyra-Deir Ezzor road. Click to see the full-size map

Written by  Darius Shahtahmasebi ; Originally appeared at  theantimedia.org At the end of May, the Washington D.C.-based Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR) released a  study  concluding that the death toll from the American-led “War on Terror” could be as high as two million just since the years following the 9/11 attacks. The study, entitled “Body Count,” is 97 pages long and involved tallying up the total number of civilian casualties from U.S.-led adventures in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. Not surprisingly, the mainstream media has paid close to zero attention to this report despite the high-profile nature of the group that produced it (they shared in the 1985  Nobel Peace Prize  with the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW). The study found that in many instances, previous estimates had “grossly” underestimated the body count. According to the researchers: “ The figure is approximately 10 times greater than that of which the publ

© AFP 2017/ George OURFALIAN The Russian Military Police may be deployed in buffer zones in Syria, Russia’s chief negotiator at the Astana talks and the president’s envoy for Syria Alexander Lavrentyev said on Tuesday. “So far, it is difficult to speak about the presence of Russian monitors and defense ministry representatives, but,  in general, it is supposed that Russian military police could be deployed in buffer security zones ,” Lavrentyev said, according to  TASS . “ This issue has not yet been finally agreed. It will imply the status of de-escalation control forces. “ He added that sides will begin setting up security zones within two-three weeks after signing relevant documents. “A very important aspect is that all the  guarantor countries want to set up a joint coordination center to monitor security in the de-escalation zones . I think we can pass this document in principle,” he said. However, the Russian official added that there are still difficulties in “e

North Korea successfully test-launched an intercontinental ballistic missile for the first time on Tuesday, U.S. officials confirmed to Fox News. The ballistic missile flew longer than any North Korean missile test conducted by the rogue regime to date, U.S. Pacific Command said -- meaning Kim Jong Un's dictatorship may now possess the ability to strike Alaska. North Korea launched previously a missile on Mother's Day that flew for 30 minutes and reached an altitude 1,000 miles higher than the international space station. But Tuesday's missile flew for 37 minutes and reached a height of 1,500 miles, leading missile experts to conclude it could have reached a target 4,000 miles away, putting Alaska in its cross-hairs. Related Image Expand / Collapse This image made from video of a news bulletin aired by North Korea's KRT on Tuesday, July 4, 2017, shows what was said to be the preparation of the launch of a Hwasong-14 intercontinental ballistic missile, ICBM

By  John Moody NOW PLAYING North Korea claims first ICBM missile test ahead of G20 In 49 B.C., Julius Caesar’s army crossed the Rubicon and changed history. So did America’s founding fathers, exactly 241 years ago. North Korea’s launch of what it claims was an intercontinental ballistic missile – on July 4, of all days – could be another historic point of no return. Or it could be just another taunting gesture by that country’s head-case president, Kim Jong Un. Either way, President Trump should react with extreme caution. It’s one thing to tweet; it’s another to attack. While the most-discussed nightmare scenario is a nuclear-tipped ICBM, an equally horrifying possibility is that North Korea has developed, and uses, a so-called super electromagnetic pulse weapon -- EMP – that could potentially take out America’s electric grid. “We know that North Korea got the design plans for an EMP from Russia years ago,” says Frank Gaffney, a former assistant secretary o