ISDEI Instituto de Seguridad, Defensa y Estudios Internacionales

Written by  Alex Gorka ; Originally appeared on  strategic-culture.org The US is going to extend its “combat operations” — the sanctions war aimed at reshaping the world — to Latin America. Tough new penalties are planned against the “troika of tyranny,” consisting of Venezuela, Cuba, and Nicaragua “in the very near future.” This  announcement  was made by National Security Adviser (NSA) John Bolton on Nov.1 — a few days before the US mid-term elections — in an attempt to draw more support from Hispanic voters, especially in Florida. An executive order on sanctions against Venezuela has already been signed by President Trump, but that’s just the beginning. It was rather symbolic that on the same day the NSA delivered his bellicose speech, the UN General Assembly (UNGA)  voted overwhelmingly  in support of a resolution calling for an end to the US economic embargo against Cuba. The document did not include amendments proposed by the US that would put pressure on Havana to improve

Isa Boletini statue. Mitrovica, 2010. He was a Kosovo Albanian nationalist figure and guerrilla fighter in the Ottoman Kosovo Vilayet. His figure plays an important role in the modern nationalist propaganda in Kosovo.  IMAGE: FitimSelimi/Wikimedia During the “Anniversary of the No”, a day that is celebrated throughout Greece, Cyprus and the Greek communities around the world on 28 October each year, Constantine Katsifas was killed by the Albanian special force RENEA. No Day commemorates the rejection by Greek Prime Minister Ioannis Metaxas of the ultimatum made by Italian dictator Benito Mussolini on 28 October 1940, the Hellenic counterattack against the invading Italian forces at the mountains of Pindus during the Greco-Italian War, and the Greek Resistance during the Axis occupation. Katsifas was killed by Albanian fire, defending the Greek cemetery in Vouliarates, a village in Northern Epirus (the Albanians claim the region as southern Albania). The murder, coupled w

Written by  Whitney Webb ; Originally appeared at  Mint Press A new report has exposed the past collaboration of Eliot Higgins of Bellingcat and influential neo-conservatives with the “ most influential Twitter account ” of the terror group Daesh, also known as the Islamic State (ISIL, ISIS). That collaboration helped promote the account, which posted under the Twitter handle @shamiwitness, as an “expert” on foreign jihadists while also helping to promote the account’s pro-Daesh messaging. However, instead of being an “expert,” the account  was run  by an Indian marketing executive living in Bangalore by the name of Mehdi Biswas.  Biswas used the account to help recruit foreign extremists and lead them to Syria — where they participated in the slaughter of religious minorities, among other atrocities. The explosive report,  written and self-published  by journalist Mark Ames, extensively details how Western accounts and figures closely associated with influential government-fu

A screenshot from the video On November 5, the US Navy stated that a Russian Su-27 fighter jet had intercepted a US EP-3 spy plane in “unsafe” fashion over the Black Sea. It also posted video showing the armed fighter jet flying within meters of the spy plane. “This interaction was determined to be unsafe due to the Su-27 conducting a high speed pass directly in front of the mission aircraft, putting at risk the pilots and crew,” the US Navy said claiming that its aircraft was “operating in accordance with international law.” The US Navy complained that the Russian fighter jet had intercepted the US spy plane near Russian borders. Nonetheless, it forgot to mention that the Black Sea is located over 7,000 km away from the US border. Video Player 00:00 00:11

On October 28, about 47,000 troops of the Japan Self-Defense Force and more than 10,000 US servicemen united to launch the Keen Sword 19 military exercise – the biggest drill of its kind since the biennial joint maneuvers in 1986. The US forces participating in the drill include vessles from of the Seventh Fleet, as well as the Submarine Group 7 – both of which are based in Japan’s Yokosuka. Japan employed roughly a fifth of its of its military. Two Canadian warships are also taking part in the drills. “Keen Sword will give U.S. and Japanese forces an opportunity  to practice critical air, maritime and amphibious capabilities essential for Japan’s defense and for regional security.  Just as important,  the exercise is a visible demonstration of the strength and durability of the U.S-Japan Alliance and our shared pursuit of a Free and Open Indo-Pacific region. This year’s exercise will feature  dozens of U.S. and Japanese ships, hundreds of aircraft and around 57,000 personnel f