ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

By  Rudaw   Cargo is off loaded from a US Air Force C-130 Hercules at an undisclosed location in Syria on February 06, 2018. Photo: Tech. Sgt. Gregory Brook | US Air Force ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The US military has up to 20 bases on Syrian territories controlled by Kurdish forces, an official from the Russian Security Council has claimed, according to Russian media. Alexander Venediktov, an aide to Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev, told Russian news agency RIA Novosti that Washington has been supplying its Kurdish allies with advanced weapons. The Kurdish-led People’s Protection Units (YPG), which form the backbone of the US-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), deny receiving heavy weapons from the Americans. The US presence in Syria has been branded “illegal” by Damascus and its major military backers Russia and Iran. Turkey has also called for the United States to pull out of northern Syria, even threatening open confrontation with American forc...

By Ray McGovern Some leaks are good, some are not – that’s the vague and hypocritical approach of the US intelligence community to the practice of leaking classified information to journalists. Former CIA analyst Ray McGovern discusses how that double standard affects the integrity of mainstream media and the legitimacy of the national security establishment.

"I want to tell all those who have fueled the arms race over the last 15 years, sought to win unilateral advantages over Russia, introduced unlawful sanctions aimed to contain our country's development ... you have failed to contain Russia," he said. He accused the West of "ignoring us. Nobody listened to us. Well listen to us now." Putin insisted Russia had "no plans to be an aggressor." Other new weapons include the Avangard — an intercontinental hypersonic missile that would fly to targets at a speed 20 times the speed of sound — and a weapons system called Kinzhal, already deployed in southern Russia, that uses hypersonic missiles that can strike targets 1,250 miles away. "We are not going to take anything away from anybody. We have everything we need," he said. "Russia’s strong military is a guarantor of peace on our planet."

Donald J. Trump was the first presidential candidate in a generation from either party to campaign on a promise to fully enforce all immigration laws and to dramatically improve border security for all Americans. As a candidate, Trump also touted one of his most popular border security measures: A border wall that extends the length of the U.S.-Mexico border, virtually uninterrupted (and for good measure the candidate said  Mexico  would pay for it). Both pledges resonated with voters in a majority of states who were sick and tired of Obama’s and Democrats’ open-border policies that allowed anyone who could walk, run, or be dragged across the border stay in the United States. The wall was especially popular — which is why Left-wing unlimited immigration groups went to court to stop the president from making good on his pledge. Now, however, a federal court has cleared the way for  the border wall to proceed  after ruling the administration has the autho...

Click to see the full-size image On February 27, Egyptian Army spokesman Colonel Tamer Rifai announced in an official statement that warplanes of the Egyptian Air Force (EAF) had destroyed 20 positions and 2 vehicles belonging to ISIS in the Sinai Peninsula. 185 ISIS positions were destroyed by the Egyptian Army’s artillery. Army troops discovered and destroyed 375 ISIS hideouts in Sinai according to Col. Rifai. Moreover, the army has arrested 641 suspects, killed 11 ISIS fighters and destroyed 89 ISIS vehicles and motorcycles during its military operations in the Sinai Peninsula. From its side, the ISIS-linked news agency Amaq reported that ISIS had ambushed an army unit in the Sheikh Zuweid area in the eastern part of Sinai on February 27. ISIS fighters destroyed a M60 battle tank and an engineering vehicle with IEDs and killed several soldiers, according to the source. Amaq also claimed that ISIS fighters had been able to destroy 2 M60 tanks, 4 bulldozers and 7 armored v...

Salih Muslim during an interview on the Egyptian Extra News TV, right after his release. On February 27, a Czech court released of Salih Muslim, a former leader of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), according to Reuters. The Czech Authorities  arrested Muslim on February 25 upon an official request from Turkey , which had accused him of “disrupting the unity and territorial integrity of the Turkish state”. Reuters reported that Salih Muslim had rejected all the Turkish accusations and had promised the Czech court that he will remain in the European Union (EU) territory, likely in EU member, Finland. “Nobody was taking it (charges by Turkey) seriously, I didn’t know they would take it seriously here… First of all, I am a citizen of Syria, I am not a citizen of Turkey, second thing, I am a politician,” Muslim said, according to Reuters. The Turkish Foreign Ministry released an official statement, in which it slammed the Czech authorities for releasing Salih...

Militant groups operating in Eastern Ghouta have disrupted the first five-hour ceasefire pause in the region and have used it to launch an offensive against governmetn forces, the Russian Center for Reconciliation (RCR) said on February 27. “During the humanitarian pause, militants of the armed groups continued to attack the positions of government forces in the vicinity of the settlements of Khazram and Nawabiya, and after 13.00 they started an offensive and on other destinations. These actions were accompanied by intense artillery fire and fire from small arms, ” the RCR’s head, Maj. Gen. Yuri Yevtushenko told media. “The militants do not let anyone out,” he said emphasizing that the military situation on the ground is “compliacted”. According to Maj. Gen. Yevtushenko, militants had been conducting shelling about every 30 minutes during the humanitarian pause. He called on militant groups to observe the ceasefire and do not prevent people from leaving to safe a...

Click to see the full-size image The US is accusing Russia of spreading instability in the Middle East and violating the UN-backed ceasefire regime in Syria. “Diplomatically and militarily, Moscow plays both arsonist and firefighter, fueling tensions among all parties in Syria,” the commander of US Central Command, Gen. Joseph Votel, said on Feburary 27. “It is clear that Russia’s interests in Syria are Russia’s interests and not those of the wider international community,” he said. “Their role is incredibly destabilizing at this point.” Gen. Votel continued saying that Russia offers to serve as a mediator in an effort to “undermine and weaken each party’s bargaining position.” “An increase in Russian surface-to-air missile systems in the region threatens our access and ability to dominate the airspace,” the general complained. On the same day, the US State Department accused Russia of “not supporting” the UN-backed ceasefire in Syria and reavealed a disastrous ...