Day: 21st Sep 2018

Mercenaries Leading Assault on Yemen Port City Were Trained by IDF in Israel

TEL AVIV – A new report from the Emirati news website Al-Khaleej Online has revealed that many of the mercenaries leading the assault against the Yemeni port city of Hodeida were trained in Israel by Israeli soldiers, shedding light on Israel’s covert role in the war in Yemen.

According to U.S. officials close to the House Intelligence Committee with knowledge of the operation, hundreds of mercenaries from various nationalities that fight on behalf of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Yemen had recently received “instance combat training” at training camps in the Negev desert that were created through a secret agreement was reached between the UAE and Israel. Mercenaries at the camp were trained under the “personal supervision” of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).

The camp’s creation was spearheaded by UAE Security Adviser Mohammed Dahlan, who has personally overseen the recent hiring of a fresh force of foreign mercenaries, the majority of whom are Colombian or Nepalese, to fight on the UAE’s behalf in Yemen.

 

Dahlan, a Palestinian, was a central figure in the U.S.-backed plot funded by the United Arab Emirates to arm and train militias to overthrow Hamas after they won Gaza elections in 2007. Dahlan has since lived in exile in the UAE where he has developed a close relationship to the Emirati royal family and now serves as one of their advisers. Dahlan also has close ties to Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman.

The report noted that Dahlan had personally visited the training camps in Israel on more than one occasion in order to supervise the training received by mercenaries from the IDF. Al-Khaleej’s sources also stated that Dahlan had chosen the Negev desert as the site for the camps due to the similarities the region shares with Yemen in terms of its climate, environment and tribal structure.

These mercenaries, trained at IDF-led camps in Israel and funded by the UAE, are now leading the renewed assault on the Yemeni port of Hodeida, which began earlier this week on Tuesday. The UAE/Saudi Arabia coalition had previously launched an assault in Hodeida in June but that effort failed to make headway despite the coalition’s superior firepower. The new assault was launched after the coalition recently succeeded in cutting off the main road between Hodeida and the Yemeni capital of Sana’a.

Over 90% of Yemen’s food is imported through Hodeida, prompting  the UN and several NGOs to warn that any disruption to food and fuel supplies coming through the Hodeida port “could cause starvation on an unprecedented scale” as the country’s humanitarian crisis – a direct consequence of the coalition’s actions – is now more dire than ever.

 

An Open Secret: Israel’s Covert Involvement in Yemen’s War

Notably, the revelation of the Israel-based UAE mercenary training camps is not the first indication of covert Israeli involvement in the Yemen conflict. Indeed, when the war first began in 2015, the coalition led by Saudi Arabia and the UAE were known to use Israeli-made weapons.

In addition, paperwork seized by the Saudi Embassy in the Yemeni capital of Sana’a that same year revealed that the U.S. was seeking to build a military base near Yemen’s Bab al-Mandab strait in order to “ensure the security of Israel,” suggesting a strong motive for the U.S.’ and Israel’s support for the coalition.

More recently, rumors about new Israel-Saudi weapons deals, including alleged plans to sell Saudi Arabia the Iron Dome missile defense system, have received press attention, suggesting that the covert sale of Israeli weapons to the Saudi-led coalition continues to the present.

Al-Khaleej Online had previously reported that Israel had covertly sold weapons and ammunition to the Saudis, including internationally prohibited weapons that have since been used in the coalition’s brutal bombing campaign in Yemen that consistently targets civilian infrastructure. Just last month, 43% of the coalition’s targets were civilian structures, despite the fact that the U.S. now directly aids the coalition in choosing its strike targets as part of an alleged effort to reduce civilian casualties in the war.

While Israeli involvement in the war in Yemen has thus far been covert, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated last month that he would consider sending Israeli troops to Yemen to fight on behalf of the Saudi-led coalition if the Yemeni resistance gained control over the strategic Bab al-Mandab strait, which serves as a chokepoint on Saudi oil exports and other important Red Sea commerce.

Given Israel’s support for countries involved in genocidal wars in the past and its own treatment of Palestinians, it is unlikely that Israel’s government would feel constrained by any moral dilemmas if it chose to formally join the coalition’s war in Yemen despite the humanitarian crisis that war has provoked.

The humanitarian crisis in Yemen, considered the worst in the world, has brought 17.8 million Yemenis to the brink of starvation including 5.2 million children. In addition, 66,000 children in Yemen die annually from preventable diseases due to the coalition’s blockade of Yemen which has also allowed the worst cholera outbreak in history to proliferate.

Despite the huge death toll that has resulted from the coalition blockade and airstrikes, the “mastermind” of the conflict, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, has vowed to continue to target Yemeni civilians, including women and children, in order to “leave a big impact on the consciousness of Yemenis [for] generations.”

Top Photo | UAE has hired Colombian soldiers to fight its war in Yemen.

Whitney Webb is a staff writer for MintPress News and a contributor to Ben Swann’s Truth in Media. Her work has appeared on Global Research, the Ron Paul Institute and 21st Century Wire, among others. She has also made radio and TV appearances on RT and Sputnik. She currently lives with her family in southern Chile.

Mayhem in No 10 – Theresa Gives Her Exit Speech and Falls Flat

A podium with Union Jack as background does nothing for gravitas, let alone faltering, note-read verbosity trumpeted as a mystery impromptu speech offered by an illustrious liar of a Prime Minister, Treasonous Theresa May.

Screen Shot 2018-09-21 at 15.40.03On Friday morning the Prime Minister stood to no applause and much hidden risibility as she delivered what she undoubtedly felt was her Churchillian moment. It was in fact a flaccid fart of an annoyance never able to have delivered in all her tenure as PM. Her mouth movements, so reminiscent of one in the midst of suffering a stroke, plainly left the assembled dutiful mainstream media unable to report anything other than silent bravos, alongside a pay packet commensurate with best practice sycophancy.

British PM Theresa May demanded the EU bring to the negotiating table a set of new proposals to break the “impasse,” declaring she will not “overturn the result of the referendum nor will I break up my country.”

Rich coming from one who had already taken the government sledge hammer to every and each part of the country’s social pact and slammed it either into obvious poverty or into the hands of licentious corporate interests who know precisely how to bleed the last drop of life blood from a corpse.

She went on to warn (shaky boots time) that EU proposals concerning the single market would lead to uncontrolled immigration and “make a mockery” of the EU referendum result. May also claimed that the EU’s Irish “backstop” proposal is unworkable, which would threaten the “integrity of the UK.”

She did not mention the complete theft of integrity she has made alongside her Cabinet colleagues, ongoing since 2010.

As she spoke and with every vacuous, empty sentence pouring forth, the pound dropped.

Bloomberg reported heavy selling of the once valued pound. Its drop of 1.2% against the dollar was evidence of that. The dollar had at that time not  woken up to its own self bashing suffered by the sell off of trillions of Chinese get-back-at-you reserve account dollars.

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What was almost audible from the back of the room was the tune an Israeli piano (old fashioned till) clunked out clocking up the funds entering the Friends of Israel lobby fund, now certain they had utterly overcome the last hurdles to ruining the United Kingdom and offering Jeremy Corbyn a poisoned chalice so potent, even their fake Anti Semite slurs could take a rest, as it seemed like ‘job done’.

The Twitter Sphere went mental as a General Election looked the only positive outcome from this negligible offering at 10 Downing Street. It looks as if November, preferably the fifth of that month will see not only the Houses of Parliament go up in smoke but also the flames from the kamikaze fall of one of, if not the worst Prime Minister the country has had the rank stupidity to vote in, lighting the London skies. The fireworks could well herald an end to years of destruction and failure.

Tusk and the other bureaucrats in Bruxelles would happily rename Rue Wiertz to Rue Guy Fawkes – well there is hoping!

Further Fascinating Insights into Ramifications of Russian Plane Loss

An excellent assessment by Tom Luongo is, we feel, important enough to suggest our readers read the full article:

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Tom Luongo

Decoding Putin’s Response to Attack in Syria is a most interesting read and explanation for what may be going on, on the geopolitical stage around the Latakia events of the past days. It gives also some very valid explanations as to why Putin is acting in the way he seems to.

“The fog of war and geopolitics makes initial responses to the attack on Russian and Syrian forces recently difficult to assess.

Russian President Vladimir Putin’s response seemed timid and was at odds with statements from his Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu and more recent statements from Russia’s Foreign Ministry.

Putin backed off on explicitly blaming Israel for the downing of the IL-20 ELINT aircraft which killed 15 Russian servicemen, but made it clear he holds them responsible for the attack as a whole….”

Crucially he brings up the likelihood that it was a French missile that took down the Russian plane and that could have opened up the hornet’s nest.

Russia, and Putin, did the one thing that makes this whole thing look like a frame job, it accepted the narrative of Israeli malfeasance in the interest of stopping a wider conflict by accusing and/or attacking a NATO member, France.

This whole saga is not going away any time soon, for sure…..

Read the full article here

Cry of The Dying Empire- Sanctions! Embargo! Sanctions!

It’s obvious when an entity is in terminal decline throwing sanctions, stamping embargoes through a raft of useless demands and jumps headlong into making illegality legal via a rule book made up weekly that it is fast plummeting into a chaotic end game. Cursing and accusing the rest of the world for the sins itself manufactures merely signs off on that truth.

Back in the day when sanctions on South Africa produced over a goodly period of time the resultant death of the apartheid state, it was seen to be working. There was a righteous cause well fought for.

Today in the American Empire’s world view, a wholly unrighteous cause, is pummeled onto the world who see and wish to change things for the better. The warmongers need their wars for profit of the few and the garnering of natural resources for their greed. They see no imperative to trade for it reasonably and equitably.russiasanctions

Russia, China and sane others have, while developing their own interests and the betterment for their own people have stood up and challenged the reigning hegemony. Like a spoiled brat the United States can only throw its weight around, litter parts of the globe with economic hitmen and a CIA that has for decades committed crimes and subterfuge while trying break the will of powers far less powerful.

Today the sanction bullet turns into a relatively empty cartridge. Of course it inflicts inconvenience, pain and becomes a bloody nuisance. However for Russia it has become a gift that keeps on giving. It has demanded the development of self sufficiency that not only increases Russian internal industry and development but also gets the sanctions makers tearing their hair out wondering why their antics do not produce the effects they demand. The bite back then becomes their own weapon returning against themselves.

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The Chinese are now dumping their stock of dollar reserves in their billions. This hurts the US economy making Americans even worse off than they actually are. The so called ‘richest economy in the world’ is having its camouflage and American dream ripped off it and seeing itself disappear like dust in a dust devil, up its own dust bowl.

The record of economic sanctions in forcing political change is dismal, but as a way of reducing a country to poverty and misery it is difficult to beat. There is nothing very new in this. Economic sanctions are like a medieval siege but with a modern PR apparatus attached to justify what is being done. A difference is that such sieges used to be directed at starving out a single town or city while now they are aimed at squeezing whole countries into submission.

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“Death of 500K Iraqi children was worth it”

North Korea, Iran, Iraq under Saddam all these aimed to inflict misery. They do that, however without the concomitant result of gaining submission. The collateral damage sanctions impose on nations weak already is massive. However with the past record the US has in killing millions to gain territory and natural resources this comes as par for the course. Humanitarian care is and never has been in the rule book for these murdering political and corporate rodents.

In Russia’s case whatever sanctions the US load onto her, it is definitely tiresome however the resolve, determination to work around these impositions is actually taking its toll in reverse. Although not producing headline banner exclusives, the specious lies needing to be told backing up sanctions are backfiring each day onto a more and more indoctrinated population. With China taking its time to ricochet the bullets back to sender, Trump and his business acumen are self suiciding in the best possible way.

The US will learn the hard way that you cannot impose by sanctions or other ways on powers that are equal if not stronger than you.

As an old Nigerian proverb goes:

“A baby that wants to punish the mother by not letting her sleep. It too will not sleep”

The Russian stock market flourishes. The Ruble-traded MOEX stock index is enjoying a bumper week as it reaches all-time highs on an almost-daily basis.The growth is linked to the strengthening Russian currency despite a threat of new US sanctions and high oil prices.bannedrussia

As for its agricultural base, Russia remains the leading exporter of grain in the world with than margin growing. Its determination to remain an organic food supply is and will in the future only strengthen its control over the global market. As US/European corporate interests endeavour to suffocate the food chain into GMS hell and pesticide filled crops, the need for ‘clean’ organic produce will only strengthen Russia’s position. No amount of sanctions will prevent the inevitable from taking place as half the world relies on Russia for its supply.

China’s Foreign Ministry this week sharply attacked the US for its demands for China to stop purchase of Russian Su-35 fighter jets and S-400 surface-to-air missile system. Beijing has threatened that Washington will face “consequences” if it doesn’t withdraw the recent batch of sanctions against China over military cooperation with Russia.

What is happening is the US seems intent on creating for itself some very serious consequences as it slams sanctions East, West and South in its pathetic attempts to control a world fast slipping out from any control it may have previously imagined it had. The world is changing and this leviathan of bluster and bullets is being strangled through a thousand finely incised cuts.

Sanctions are economic warfare. A failing dollar as world benchmark is slowly being replaced by a new economic order able to ditch the dollar. Arrogant blindness to a reality developing fast is the precursor to extinction.

Screen Shot 2018-09-21 at 12.01.22As its desperation becomes more dramatic the US reportedly ordered Chinese official state-run news agency Xinhua and the China Global Television Network (CGTN), to register as foreign agents under the Nazi-era Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA). Having thrown that tool at the Russians a while back, the US seems intent on having all the slings and arrows showered back into their own back yard, now in serious danger of being left to return to tumbleweed.

One thing Trump is successfully doing is bring his acumen taking  many businesses he started as an entrepreneur into bankruptcy, into the global arena where the US falls into dereliction and destitution. Its people mere collateral damage as the corporate vultures retain their evil pickings on the way. He may very well be remembered as the greatest President but for taking down his country, not the building up of it.