ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Written by  Prof Michel Chossudovsky ; Originally appeared at  Global Research In his 2018 State of the Union Address, president Trump expresses concern regarding both the opioid crisis as well as the dramatic increase in heroin addiction in America, without analyzing the underlying causes. Trump State of Union Address:  …”In 2016, we lost 64,000 Americans to drug overdoses:   174 deaths per day.  Seven per hour.  We must get much  tougher on drug dealers and pushers  if we are going to succeed in stopping this scourge. My Administration is committed to fighting the drug epidemic and helping get treatment for those in need.   The struggle will be long and difficult — but, as Americans always do, we will prevail.”  ( Trump State of the Union , emphasis added) Trump brings to the forefront the  story of the Holets family of New Mexico: “Ryan Holets is 27 years old, and an officer with the Albuquerque Police Department.  He is here tonight with his wife Rebecca.   Last ye

On February 7, Houthi fighters conducted a series of hit and run attacks at several positions of the Saudi-led collation in the Yemeni western coast, according to the Houthis media wing. The Houthis killed and injured several Yemeni fighters loyal to Saudi-backed President Abdrabbuh Mansur Hadi. Moreover, at least three armored vehicles of the UAE Army were destroyed by the Houthis with rocket-propelled grenades. The Yemeni al-Masirah TV also reported that Houthi fighters had repelled an attack by pro-Hadi forces in the western part of Taiz province. The Houthis destroyed three tanks of pro-Hadi forces while they were repelling the attack, according to the source. From its side, pro-Hadi forces announced that its fighters repelled several attacks of the Houthis in the western part of Taiz on February 7. According to the UAE-based al-Arabiya TV, pro-Hadi fighters killed 12 Houthi fighters and injured 13 others. Since the beginning of 2018, the Saudi-led coalition military operation

On February 7, the US Central Command (CENTCOM) announced in an official statement that the US-led coalition conducted several strikes against units of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in Deir Ezzor governorate. CENTCOM claimed that the SAA was conducting “an unprovoked attack against well-established Syrian Democratic Forces [SDF] headquarters.” “The Coalition remains committed to focusing on the defeat-Daesh [ISIS] mission in the Middle Euphrates River Valley and asserts its non-negotiable right to act in self-defense.” CENTCOM said in its official statement. Illustrative image Local sources reported that the US-led coalition strikes targeted several positions of the SAA around the town of Khasham on the eastern bank of the Euphrates River in the eastern Deir Ezzor countryside. Clashes between the SAA and the US-backed SDF are still ongoing around the town, according to the sources. Earlier, Syrian opposition activists reported that the SAA is massing its forces in Khasham and

Baghdad: Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi has instructed the foreign ministry to lodge a formal complaint at the UN Security Council over an incursion by Turkish troops in the north of the country. In a statement on his website, Al Abadi asked that the Security Council order Turkey to withdraw its troops from Iraq immediately. Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday that his country will not withdraw troops from a camp close to the Daesh-controlled city of Mosul, , despite strong objections from Baghdad. The deployed soldiers are not combat troops, but have been sent to protect soldiers providing training to Iraqi and Kurdish forces, Erdogan told reporters at a news conference that was broadcast live by TRT. Turkey is “determined” to continue the training, he added. Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu’s office said on Friday that Turkey has decided in talks with Iraqi officials to “reorganise” its military personnel at the Bashiqa camp. Turkey’s Foreign Ministr

Could going out for a jog put national security at risk? If you’re in the military and you use a fitness tracker, the answer to that question appears to be yes as information published by athletic activity app Strava recently revealed secret U.S. military bases around the world. The website and mobile app, which connects to smartphones and wearable fitness trackers like Fitbits to track and share athletic activity online, found itself in the spotlight after  posting a heat map  that shows where its users run, bicycle and exercise. Not surprisingly, there is a lot of activity through popular streets and suburban parks, but it’s the little lights indicating activity that popped up in some of the world’s most remote locations that is posing a big problem. That’s because they inadvertently revealed the location of not only sensitive military sites but also the movements of intelligence operatives and international aid workers, among others. Moreover, tech-minded individuals were a

On February 6, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan mocked the US operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and rejected the US criticism of Ankara’s Operation Olive Branch in the Syrian area of Afrin. “When are you going to finish with us asking the question, when did you finish your operations in Afghanistan? When did you finish your operations in Iraq? It’s been 18 years,” the president said at a meeting of his AK Party in the parliament, according to  Hurriyet newspaper . Erdogan continued saying that the US has “calculations against Turkey, Iran and maybe Russia” in Syria and described the US presence there as opportunistic. Erdogan also said that the US should to withdraw from the Syrian city of Manbij, which is now controlled by the US-backed Syrian Democrataic Forces (SDF), mostly consisting of Kurdish militias. He added that Turkish forces will return “to its true owners.” The existing diplomatic tensions between Washington and Ankara have grown further since the star

UPDATE:  The Syrian Defense Ministry confirmed  the attack and said that its forces had responded to “a new Israeli aggression”. “The general command of the armed forces holds Israel fully responsible for the dangerous consequences for its repeated, aggressive and uncalculated adventures,” the military said in a statement. According to the released statement, the attack took place at 3:42 local time. *** Israel Breaking @IsraelBreaking BREAKING: Israeli raids reported in vicinity of Syrian capital of Damascus. Explosions heard, surface to air responses reported. 04:02 - 7 Feb 2018 105 154 people are talking about this Twitter Ads information and privacy Overnight on February 7, the Israeli Air Force fired three missiles at a target in the Damascus countryside. The strike was allegedly aimed at a technology research center in the Jemraya area. According to pro-government sources, the Syrian Air Defense Forces shot down at