Week Eighteen of the Russian Intervention in Syria: a dramatic escalation appears imminent

This column was written for the Unz Review.

The situation in Syria has reached a watershed moment and a dramatic escalation of the war appears imminent. Let’s look again at how we reached this point.

During the first phase of the operation, the Syrian armed forces were unable to achieve an immediate strategic success. 

Terrorists In Syria Make Half Nigerian Four-Year-Old Execute Prisoners

A four-year-old British boy dubbed “Junior Jihadi” has once again been used in a revolting ISIS propaganda video, this time showing him detonating explosives in a car with three captives strapped inside.
Isa Dare, who was taken to Syria by his Nigeria born mom, Grace “Khadija” Dare, is seen with a young man who addressed the UK with a scarf covering his face.
“You will never fight us except behind fortified fortresses or behind walls,” he said, the Independent of the UK reported.

Fadimatu Mai Talle Tara Dies

Hajia Fadimatu Mai Talle Tara, the 90 year old woman who donated her N1 million savings to the Buhari presidential campaign organization last year has died. She died this morning at her home. She was a popular food vendor in Koko, Koko/Besse Local Government Area of Kebbi State. She was a widow and is survived by 15 children and 15 grandchildren.
Sun re o !!
Ase

FLASH: Boko Haram Militants Kill 30

@saharareporters just tweeted this, FLASH: Boko Haram militants kill 30 villagers in Biu-Damboa axis.This come after the president said Boko Haram is no in control of any Nigerian territory.. RIP to the dead.

Car Kills Mechanic At Obalende Bridge (graphic Pic)

Paul Iyoghojie

Tragedy occurred on Obalende Bridge on Saturday at about 4pm when a fast moving Kia saloon car with plate number JJJ 537 DP crushed a mechanic, identified simply as Waidi to death and threw him off the bridge.

The victim’s body, it was learnt, landed in a residential area under the bridge with broken head and legs.

When P.M.NEWS correspondent arrived the scene at about 4.25pm huge crowd had gathered on the Obalende bridge trying to catch a glimse of the scene, while the police from the Lion Building Division and the officials of the ambulance section of the Lagos Island General Hospital were also seen evacuating the corpse of the victim into a van with registration number SMK 302 BK to the mortuary.

Law School Staff In Accident In Edo State. (See Photos)

A woman who was involved in a horrible accident between Iruekpen and Ugbiyaya in Edo State, earlier today has been identified as a staff of the Nigerian Law school in Yenagoa Bayelsa State. The Deputy Director was identified through her I.D card which was found right at the scene of the crash before the arrival of FRSC officials and other emergency services officials.

Wike Climbed Into The Governorship Seat Over Dead Bodies - Prof Itse Sagay

The Head of Presidential Anti-corruption Committee, Prof Itse Sagay, has again voiced his concern over some recent rulings of the Supreme Court on election petitions, particularly those held in Rivers and Akwa Ibom states.

Sagay, who spoke with newsmen at the Olu Palace, Warri on Saturday, warned that the rulings, which allow people who were declared winners without elections in spite of copious evidences of irregularities and heavy human and material casualties, set a dangerous precedent in the history of elections.

Cuba Returns Missing US Hellfire Missile

US State Department spokesman Mark Toner said the Cuban government has returned a wrongly shipped missing air-to-surface Hellfire missile to the United States, national media reported Saturday.

WASHINGTON  – "We can say, without speaking to specifics, that the inert training missile has been returned with the cooperation of the Cuban government," The Wall Street Journal quoted Toner as saying in a written statement.

Toner attributed the reestablishment of US-Cuban diplomatic relations and the reopening of the US embassy in Havana to allowing Washington "engage with the Cuban government on issues of mutual interest."

Is Saudi Arabia Capable Of Military Intervention in Syria ?

Al-Masdar News Analysis:

Saudi Arabia declared its willingness for military intervention in Syria, as its affiliated countries confirmed on their intention to cooperate with Saudi Arabia in this regard while the United States welcomed Saudi remarks. Saudi Arabia is witnessing tensions after that the Syrian army broke the terrorists’ four-year-long siege of the towns of Nubl and Al-Zahra in Northern Aleppo province and cut off one of the main supply routes of the militants. Over five years of bloody clashes in Syria and billions of dollars of oil revenues that Saudi invested on toppling the Syrian government make the Syrian crisis as a matter of honor for Saudi Arabia and its allies.

Merkel: Shameless & Puppetic chancellor accuses ‪#‎Russia‬ of committing an 'ethnic massacre'

While Western powers and their ME allies made clear they do not support Russia’s play in Syria since it upsets their own political ambitions, the latest round of propaganda takes the game of geopolitics to the Land of Oz.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel is leading the neocon pack down the little yellow brick road, throwing outrage and words of condemnation on what she describes as the unbearable suffering of civilian populations in Syria.

Well, that’s nice… if only her words were not so completely hypocritical and - I would personally add - revolting political posturing.

A very Interesting Conversation !

1. This whole Saudi/Turkey game is coming to a head:

   http://russia-insider.com/en/politics/saudi-jets-deploy-turkey-joint-turkish-saudi-assault-syria-now-imminent/ri12828

   Good article on RI.

   The Munich conference today sent out a strong message too:

   http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/02/medvedev-announces-start-of-new-cold-war.html

   The A/Z’s aren’t backing down it seems – who will blink first?

   Reply

The Shattered Mirror (Must Read)

This comment was chosen by Mod KL from the post “Bosnian-Muslim witness confirms that the Markale Massacre was a false flag”.  The moderator believes this comment may raise some very passionate opinions and responses, but believes the comment gives a succinct overview of the Bosnian issue and a brief history of the region.
Comment by Uncle Bob 1

Check out the maps I posted in a reply to Martin. They might help you understand that (especially the one on pre-Ottoman dialects).The history of those peoples is very complicated. So I’ll try to make it as simple as I can.
Just before the Slavic tribes came to the area there had been a huge plague break out. Much of the population had died or fled. Law and order broke down throughout the area.

Saudis Say Assad Must Go, Deploy Jets to Turkey: Joint Turkish-Saudi Assault on Syria Now Imminent

There will be no peace in Syria.

Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir announced yesterday that for The Kingdom, the removal of Assad is "crucial," adding without any sense of shame that the Syrian leader is the "single most effective magnet for extremists and terrorists in the region".

This is not a rogue statement made by a renegade government: It's a policy that has been approved, and most likely dictated, by the United States. And now the Saudis have parked their F-15s at a Turkish airbase used by the US military to strike targets within Syria:

Projecting World Power: End to Syrian War Only Possible if Russia Involved

It will be impossible to find a solution to the Syrian conflict without Russia, which has played a key role in fighting terrorists in the country, according to German lawmaker Dietmar Bartsch.


Speaking at a talk show that was aired by the German public-service television broadcaster Zweites Deutsches Fernsehen, Dietmar Bartsch of the German left-wing party Die Winke touted the significance of Russia's role in resolving the ongoing Syrian gridlock.
"The fact is that without Russia — and I agree with you on this – finding a solution to the Syrian crisis will be an impossible task. And we need to act in this region, but only with Russia," Bartsch said.

‘Freedom to Offend’: Satanic Temple to Deliver City Council Invocation

A brand new chapter of the Satanic Temple, based in Arizona, is causing quite the stir as they fight to lead the invocations at city council meetings throughout the state.

Satanic Temple member and criminal lawyer Stu de Haan was browsing a forum for the church when he saw a call from Lucien Greaves, who had heard that a secular humanist had been blocked from delivering the invocation at a Phoenix City Council meeting. Next thing de Haan knew, he was putting in an application to lead it — and making national news.

Saudi Arabia to Send Jets to Turkish Base for Air Missions in Syria

Saudi Arabia is deploying warplanes to the Turkish Incirlik base to fight Daesh, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said.

"They (Saudi officials) came, did a reconnaissance of the base. At the moment it is not clear how many planes will come," Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu was quoted as saying by the Yeni Safak and Haberturk newspapers after taking part in the Munich Security Conference.

IST Presents 2015 Budget To Reps For 2016

The House of Representatives’ Committee on Capital Market, led by Tajudeen Yusuf, was shocked to discover that the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) presented same copy of its 2015 budget in 2016.

This discovery put on hold the budget defence session of the agency.

Yusuf said: “We expected this yesterday to take the budget defence of the IST but we realised that the budget for IST in the 2016 budget proposal is just an exact copy of its 2015 appropriation. It is word for word, figure for figure. And Items dealt with and completed in 2015 were repeated.

Mass Defection From APC To PDP In Edo State ahead of 2016 elections

Massive defection hit the APC in Edo state as half of the current elected local government officials including the supervisory councillor for works in Ovia south and over 350 members of APC in Ovia south dump the Party for PDP. The members were received into the PDP by the chairman of the party Chief Dan Osi Orbih... When we say the days of APC in Edo state are numbered we know what we are saying.... The Affliction APC has unleashed on Edo state and Edo people will not rise again.

IST Presents 2015 Budget To Reps For 2016

The House of Representatives’ Committee on Capital Market, led by Tajudeen Yusuf, was shocked to discover that the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) presented same copy of its 2015 budget in 2016.

This discovery put on hold the budget defence session of the agency.  Yusuf said: “We expected this yesterday to take the budget defence of the IST but we realised that the budget for IST in the 2016 budget proposal is just an exact copy of its 2015 appropriation. It is word for word, figure for figure. And Items dealt with and completed in 2015 were repeated.

Army Sends 12 Officers To EFCC

The Acting Director, Nigerian Army Public Relations, Col. Sani Usman has said the Nigerian Army has sent a 12-man list of very senior officers to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission(EFCC) for investigation. Though silent on the names of the officers, Usman in an e-mail said, “The Nigerian Army wishes to inform the public that 12 Army officers have been sent to the Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC), for investigation.This comprised of 3 serving Major Generals, and one retired, 3 Brigadier Generals, 4 Colonels and 1 Lieutenant Colonel. However, it should be noted that at the end of the Commission’s investigations those found culpable will be tried by a military Court Martial.”

CBN Bans Use Of Dollars For Overseas Fees, Medical Trips

According to Boason Omofaye, the head of business news at Channels television, who made this assertion this morning, overseas school fees and medical tourism have been placed on CBN’s foreign exchange prohibitive list. By this directive, Nigerians who may need to go outside the country for education purpose or health care will have to get the foreign currency from the parallel market to carry out their engagements.

APC, PDP Reps Clash Over Amaechi

The All Progressives Congress members of the House of Representatives clashed with their Peoples Democratic Party colleagues on Thursday over the Minister of Transportation, Mr. Rotimi Amaechi.

Amaechi appeared before the joint Committee on Marine/Land Transport to defend the 2016 budget proposals of the ministry, but the lawmakers tried to turn the session into a venue for political party supremacy battle.

The APC members, who control the majority of 213, out of the 360-member legislature, felt that the former Rivers State governor deserved some protection from the committee, as he came under a barrage of questions.

One Civil Servant Collects 20 Salaries - Finance Minister

The outcry over the menace of ghost worker fraud reverberated in the Senate yesterday when the finance minister, Kemi Adeosun, threw a bombshell by revealing that, with the help of the Biometric Verification Number (BVN) policy, it has been discovered that one civil servant alone collected 20 salaries every month.

She also told the Senate Committee on Finance that the 23,000 ghost workers discovered in the Federal Civil Service would be handed over to EFCC for prosecution.

The adoption of BVN in processing salary payments by the federal government had stunningly thrown up no fewer than 23,000 ghost names on its payroll, a development that raised concerns about the huge amount of monies that may have been stolen from the nation’s coffers through such leakages in the federal civil service.

Making the Same Mistake ? US Resumes Training Of Nigerian Troops For Anti-terror War

Fourteen months after a U.S. army-led combat training for Nigerian soldiers was aborted, American authorities have announced a resumption of the programme.

The American Assistant Secretary of State for Africa, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, said, Tuesday, that the training would resume this February.  Speaking on U.S. strategy against Boko Haram at a meeting in Washington DC, Ms. Thomas-Greenfield said U.S. expects would “inaugurate the first round of training for an infantry battalion later this month.”

Naira Falls To 325 On Dollar Shortage -punch

The naira hit a record low of 325 to the dollar at the parallel market on Thursday as desperate importers scrambled for dollars to meet their obligations overseas.

The local currency had closed at 318 against the greenback on Wednesday, after hitting 313.5 and 310 on Tuesday and Monday, respectively.“The dollar is falling because importers need forex to bring in their goods. They cannot keep on folding their arms because there is scarcity; they must keep buying; the only thing is that the quantity may reduce,” a forex dealer told our correspondent under condition of anonymity.