ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Few Americans are aware that the FBI actively plots a wide assortment of domestic terrorism scenarios in the United States for the purpose of recruiting targeted individuals into taking part in the plot, then arresting them as “terrorists.” Remarkably, this shocking reality was  documented by none other than the New York Times in 2012 , which detailed the FBI’s terrorism “sting” operations while asking whether it is appropriate for the FBI to be engaged in the plotting, planning and pseudo-execution of such mass terrorism crimes. Now, with the FBI clearly engaged in at least some level of a cover-up with the Las Vegas Mandalay Bay massacre, intelligent, rational people are starting to ask a very disturbing question:  Was the Las Vegas massacre another FBI terror plot that “accidentally” went live? No one is suggesting the FBI would intentionally plot the murder of Americans — well, unless they’re black of course, since  the FBI did pen a letter to MLK, Jr. and tell h...

File photo: AFP On Friday, António Guterres Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN) said that the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis are responsible for most of war crimes against children in Yemen. Guterres added the both sides to the UN’s Yemen war black list. According to Guterres report, the military operations of the Saudi-led coalition and the Houthis killed or injured 1100 Yemeni child in 2016. Guterres said that the Houthis are responsible for killing or injuring 414 children, while the Saudi-led coalition is responsible for killing or injuring 683 Yemeni children mainly with airstrikes. Guterres added that the Saudi-led coalition was responsible for 73% attacks on hospitals and schools in Yemen in 2016. Guterres revealed that the UN and Saudi Arabia are in a dialog to improve the security majors for children in Yemen. However, Guterres didn’t talk about any similar steps with the Houthis. Only hours after the UN report, US official told Reuters news...

The US Department of State has approved the possible $15 billion sale of THAAD anti-missile defense systems to Saudi Arabia, the Pentagon announced on Friday. “The Government of Saudi Arabia has requested a possible sale of  forty-four (44) Terminal High Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) launchers, three hundred sixty (360) THAAD Interceptor Missiles, sixteen (16) THAAD Fire Control and Communications Mobile Tactical Station Group, seven (7) AN/TPY-2 THAAD radars.  Also included are THAAD Battery maintenance equipment, forty-three (43) prime movers (trucks), generators, electrical power units, trailers, communications equipment, tools, test and maintenance equipment, repair and return, system integration and checkout, spare/repair parts, publications and technical documentation, personnel training and training equipment, U.S. Government and contractor technical and logistics personnel support services, facilities construction, studies, and other related elements of logistics...

Turkish troops. FILE IMAGE: AFP 2017/ BULENT KILIC On October 6, the Free Syrian Army (FSA) operation room in the northern Aleppo countryside named “Ahel al-Dar” announced that it is ready to support the Turkish Army if it launches a military operation against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in Afrin city in the northern Aleppo countryside. Ahel al-Dar said in an official statement that its ready to exchange information and to work with the Turkish Army before or after “the zero hour” – the beginning of the attack. Ahel al-Dar also called all civilians in Afrin to move away from PKK positions in the city and around it. Meanwhile, Syrian opposition sources reported that high ranked officers of the Turkish Army met with commanders of the FSA groups involved in Ankara’s Operation Euphrates Shield (ES) in the northern Aleppo countryside to discuss a possible military operation against the PKK in Afrin. The sources said tha...

An armed U.S. drone was shot down in western Yemen on Sunday, the Pentagon confirmed Monday. The incident involving a MQ-9 Reaper is under investigation, Pentagon spokesman Major Adrian Rankine-Galloway said in a statement to The Hill. The Pentagon uses the Reaper “to conduct intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations, including to track terrorist networks,” according to the statement. “We aren't going to talk specifics due to operational security reasons; the U.S. has security interest in Yemen and works very closely with the Government of Yemen to counter terrorism,” Rankine-Galloway said.  Iranian-backed Houthi rebels claimed responsibility for shooting down the drone in Yemen’s capital of Sanaa,  multiple outlets reported . The rebel group’s news agency SABA first posted a photo of the flaming drone after it was shot down. A  video posted later showed the drone falling from the sky. Yemen is in the midst of a civil war ...

S-400. FILE IMAGE: Dmitry Vinogradov/RIA Novosty Saudi Arabia has agreed to buy Russian S-400 air defense missile system, the Saudi television station al-Arabiya reported on Thursday. State-owned Saudi Arabian Military Industries (SAMI) added that the sides also signed a memorandum of understanding on the issue that would help Riyadh to develop its defense industries.  The report came amid a visit by Saudi King Salman to Russia. According to SAMI, the memorandum is signed in the context of contracts to procure the S-400, the Kornet-EM system, the TOS-1A, the AGS-30 and the Kalashnikov AK-103. The procurement was “based on the assurance of the Russian party to transfer the technology and localize the manufacturing and sustainment of these armament systems in the Kingdom”. No additional info about timeframe or the number of each system was provided. The S-400 is an advanced Russian long-range anti-aircraft missile system. It can c...

sraeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends the weekly cabinet meeting at his office in Jerusalem, Sunday, Oct. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner) Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu spoke against Palestinian National Authority’s continued reconciliation efforts on October 3. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel won’t accept the appeasement where the Palestinian side is reconciling at Israel’s expense, adding that anyone who discusses a peace process must recognize Israel as a Jewish state,  Haaretz  reports. According to the Prime Minister, the prerequisites for Palestine to reconcile can be summarized as follows: recognize the State of Israel, dismantle Hamas’ military wing and cut ties with Iran. The Prime Minister’s statement comes hours after Education Minister Naftali Bennet called for Israel to stop the transfer of tax revenue to Palestinians, liking it to Israel “acting as ATM for terrorism.” “Transferring funds to a ...

A screenshot from the video Lieutenant Colonel Roman Labusov has defected from the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) to the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), according to a  video  published by the DPR Ministry of Information. He was the head of the SBU’s cypher office. During a press conference Labusov cited loyalty to the military oath of enlistment as one of the main motives of his defection. The oath states that a soldier will serve and protect the people of Ukraine. He also added that he defected in order to expose the crimes of the Ukrainian high ranking officers. Labusov claims to possess incriminating SBU documents, and plans making them public, Donetsk News Agency  reports . The current Kiev government does not look any interest of the Ukrainian people. The officer was pushed to defect from the SBU because he understood that there was no more nationhood in the area where he had been serving. It’s hi...