Month: January 2017

U.S. Congress orders review of Russian & Chinese leadership’s nuclear strike ‘survivability’

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From RT
January 30, 2017

US Congress orders review of Russian & Chinese leadership’s nuclear strike ‘survivability’
FILE PHOTO: A Trident II, or D-5 missile, is launched from an Ohio-class submarine © Reuters

Intercept report on the FBI; massive trove of documents unmask agency’s shady tactics, reveal FBI’s concern about racism in nation’s police forces

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From RT

January 31, 2017

FBI ‘secret rules’ revealed: Massive trove of documents unmask agency's shady tactics
Screenshot of The Intercept’s investigation, ‘The FBI’s Secret Rules’
A new report published by the Intercept reveals the FBI’s wide-ranging powers from the surveillance of journalists to the treatment of informants after the investigative news site acquired a trove of confidential FBI documents.

The 11-part series led by Intercept reporter Cora Currier sheds light on the bureau’s vast secret powers, following a months-long study of confidential documents.

The papers include the FBI’s governing rulebook, known as the DIOG, and classified policy guides for counterterrorism cases and handling confidential informants.

The investigation exposes the FBI’s spying on journalists, its deportation of immigrant informants when they are no longer of use, and other instances of invasive surveillance on targets without need to show suspicion of wrongdoing.

Glenn Greenwald

✔@ggreenwald

Among the key findings revealed by these previously secret FBI docs https://theintercept.com/2017/01/31/secret-docs-reveal-president-trump-has-inherited-an-fbi-with-vast-hidden-powers/ …

4:47 AM – 31 Jan 2017

Spying on journalists

The Domestic Investigations and Operations Guide reveals the alarming powers the FBI has to spy on journalists. Classified rules dated from 2013, show that agents need approval from only two internal officials to gain access to a journalist’s phone records with a National Security Letter.

The FBI’s general counsel and the executive assistant director of the bureau’s National Security Branch are required to sign off on the NSL, according to the document. This allows the agency to bypass the normal procedure of going to the courts for a subpoena or search warrant before accessing the information.

If the FBI is trying to uncover a confidential media source by targeting the journalist, it requires additional approval from the assistant attorney general for the Justice Department’s National Security Division. However, if they are trying to identify a leaker by targeting the records of the potential source, and not the journalist, the Department doesn’t need to be involved.

Edward Snowden

✔@Snowden

Revealed: An 11-part investigation into the agency that shifted the election. Based on 1000+ secret @FBI documents. https://theintercept.com/2017/01/31/secret-docs-reveal-president-trump-has-inherited-an-fbi-with-vast-hidden-powers/ …

6:58 AM – 31 Jan 2017
Photo published for Secret Docs Reveal: President Trump Has Inherited an FBI With Vast Hidden Powers

Secret Docs Reveal: President Trump Has Inherited an FBI With Vast Hidden Powers

Long-sought confidential documents shine a bright light on the powers of this law enforcement agency at the beginning of an era highly likely to be marked by vociferous protest and reactionary state…

theintercept.com

The 2013 NSL rules for the media mention only telephone toll records.

Thousands of NSLs are issued by the FBI each year often targeting tech companies for data on a user’s internet usage and browsing history. These come with a gag order forbidding the company to disclose the request until the FBI lifts the order.

A spokesperson for the FBI, Christopher Allen, would not confirm to The Intercept if the rules had been changed since 2013 but said that they are “very clear” that “the FBI cannot predicate investigative activity solely on the exercise of First Amendment rights.”

READ MORE: Twitter reveals details of 2 FBI national security letters after gag order lifted

FBI treatment of informants

A number of documents reviewed by the Intercept raised concerns about the civil liberties of people sought out as informers. The Confidential Human Source Policy Guide, a classified FBI manual dated September 21, 2015, outlines the process agents must follow in recruiting, handling and separating themselves from informants.

Practically anyone can be targeted as a potential informer – even minors without the knowledge of their parents – if permission is granted from supervisors, according to the manual. Agents are advised to investigate possible informants and gather information on them which can be used to pressurize them if they are unwilling to comply.

Agents can also covertly recruit informers online, using an alias and disposable email, but are allowed to provide a limited amount of information.

RT

✔@RT_com

FBI blames ‘hostile entities’ on decision to withhold information on iPhone hack https://on.rt.com/81wt 

12:13 AM – 31 Jan 2017
Photo published for FBI blames ‘hostile entities’ on decision to withhold information on San Bernardino iPhone hack —...

FBI blames ‘hostile entities’ on decision to withhold information on San Bernardino iPhone hack —…

The FBI has defended its decision not to reveal how it hacked the San Bernardino shooter’s iPhone, citing security considerations. The technique could be used by “hostile entities,” it said in court.

rt.com

The guide devotes a whole chapter to the topic of immigration. Agents are prohibited from working with informants who do not have legal immigration status so are required to assist with this process by liaising with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) before recruiting them as an informer.

However, according to the manual, this is more often than not “temporary immigration relief” and, once they are of no more use to the bureau, agents are ordered to assist ICE in finding them.

“If the [informant]’s location is unknown, the [FBI agent] must work with ICE to locate the individual,” the classified manual reads.

The guide also reveals details of two programs which widen their scope regarding immigrants who can be of a benefit to the agency.

One allows agents to bring “inadmissible or deportable” informants into the US while the other allows an immigrant who otherwise would not be allowed to leave the country and return, to go to another country on FBI business and be permitted US re-entry.

Complaints of the FBI using immigration status as leverage to recruit informants have surged in recent years, according to the Intercept.

https://www.rt.com/usa/375818-fbi-secret-rules-powers/

Russia to take tit-for-tat measures if MSM acts to limit RT broadcast in US – telecom watchdog

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From RT

January 31, 2017
Russia to take tit-for-tat measures if MSM acts to limit RT broadcast in US – telecom watchdog
Russia Today newsroom during a live program in English. © Evgeny Biyatov / Sputnik
–
Moscow has warned it will take relevant reciprocal measures should the US MSM attempt to limit RT’s broadcasting; emphasizing US media pressure on RT’s partners will not be tolerated, the head of Russia’s media watchdog, Roskomnadzor has said.

“The US mainstream [media] are trying to bring pressure on those, who cooperate with the Russian RT Channel,” Aleksandr Zharov, told Russian journalists, stressing that “it is cynical and immoral” practice.

Zharov’s angry reaction was provoked by a series of articles that appeared in the US media in late January.

Read more

© Mikhail Voskresenskiy
RT UK’s bank accounts to remain open after NatWest backs down

He particularly singled out the Wall Street Journal which “throws sand in the wheels” of RT in the US, where the Russian channel already regularly faces “immense pressure.”

On January 25, the Wall Street Journal published a piece titled ‘RT Channel’s Unique Carriage Deals Make It Difficult to Drop in US’, in which it claimed US “federal law prevents many [operators] from ceasing to carry the channel, even if they want to,” implying this situation should be changed.

He also said The Atlantic came up with the idea of “suppressing the circulation of links to the news stories” provided by “state-sponsored outlets like RT.”

“If such pressure leads to the restriction of RT’s broadcasting in the US, we will have to take tit-for-tat measures,” Zharov told the RIA news agency.

The Atlantic went even further in its article, “Kremlin-Sponsored News Does Really Well on Google”, and suggested tech companies such as Google and Facebook should rank or even suppress the circulation of links to news stories provided by RT, as the Russian “state-sponsored outlet” allegedly belongs to a “category of often-misleading news sources that seems to have escaped the notice of tech companies.”

The US media also complained that “RT stories regularly appear toward the top of Google search results” while “Google searches for … political issues also turn up plenty of RT content.”

The US media also continue to claim that RT is something totally insignificant as they whip up hysteria about the Russian channel swallowing up significant chunks of the western news landscape.

The Atlantic particularly drew from a piece published by the Economist, in which the British-based media outlet claimed RT “routinely inflates the size of its TV audience.” This Economist article has already been exposed as inaccurate by RT.

Read more


Facebook lifts RT page block after almost 24-hour blackout

The pressure the west exerts on RT is not limited to smear campaigns in the media, however. In October last year, NatWest, a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Scotland Group (RBS), gave notice it would close the broadcaster’s accounts by December following a 10-year relationship.

No explanation was provided. The letter said the decision was final and that it was “not prepared to enter into any discussion in relation to it.” The decision ignited a social media storm from outraged readers, viewers, members of the public and prominent public figures who questioned Britain’s “freedom of the press.”

The bank eventually scrapped its plan and agreed to continue the relationship with RT in January.

RT has also been denied access to the Twitter-based news-breaking service Dataminr – following another US media campaign – during which RT was accused of somehow passing on information from Twitter to Russian special services.

Facebook also briefly stripped RT of its right to share content such as as live streams, images and videos, apparently linked to what it claimed a ‘live-streaming rights violation’ following RT’s broadcast of Barack Obama’s final press conference as president.

Facebook restored RT’s ability to post content to its page some 20 hours later. The Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman dubbed Facebook’s actions “unacceptable.” It might have been either a form of censorship or an “instrument of competitive struggle,” Maria Zakharova said at that time.

https://www.rt.com/news/375839-us-pressure-msm-rt/

Blood bath at north front of Donbass — details; Ukrainian Army continually attacking, intending to relaunch larger war

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January 31, 2017 – Fort Russ News –

– Christelle NEANT in DØNiPRESS, translated by Tom Winter –

Following yesterday’s continuous firing on the northern periphery of Donetsk and Makeyevka, which resulted in several deaths and injuries among civilians and soldiers of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), negotiations took place last night in an attempt to re-establish the ceasefire.

After confirmation from the DPR side that it had ceased firing, the Ukrainian army traitorously bombarded the territory of the republic.

At 2000 hours, after an artillery preparation, the enemy sent two platoons attacking the positions of the DPR located between Yasinovataya and Avdeyevka, with covering fire from mortar and tanks. The attackers fell in the middle of a minefield, and had three dead and five wounded. Continuing their attack despite these losses, they lost a total of at least 15 dead and 30 wounded.

As the positions of the DPR army held up well despite these losses, the enemy attempted to make a diversion by starting to massively bomb the periphery of Donetsk and Makeyevka, with among other things, weapons prohibited by the Minsk accords, i.e. artillery of 122 mm and 152 mm and mortars of 82 mm and 120 mm.

According to the intelligence services of the DPR, in view of the demoralization of the Ukrainian soldiers following the heavy losses in the Ukrainian army in the last two days, the Ukrainian command has decided to use Right-Sektor units as cannon fodder. The soldiers of the RPD recorded a strange behavior on the part of these soldiers, most certainly under the influence of drugs or intoxicated.

Following this new failure, the Ukrainian army began firing farther north in front of Debaltsevo, where fighting is also taking place.

Following this disaster, and after receiving the report of the losses in the Ukrainian army during the last 48 hours, Poroshenko returned urgently from Germany.

The DPR’s intelligence services had access to the report of the Ukrainian Chief of Staff Muzhenko, which was forwarded to the so-called Ukrainian President, concerning the actual losses of the Ukrainian army for the days of January 29 and 30.

According to information obtained there are currently in Ukrainian military morgues and hospitals:
– Selydove Morgue – 29 corpses of Ukrainian soldiers;
– Krasnoarmeysk Morgue – 41 corpses Ukrainian soldiers;
– Chasov Yar Mobile Military Hospital No. 65 – 62 wounded soldiers;
– Mobile Mobile Hospital No. 66 mobile of Novyi Trud – 8 dead and 14 wounded soldiers
Total: 78 dead and 76 wounded

To this must be added the losses of Right Sektor last night in Adveyevka, ie more than 15 dead and 30 injured … A total current (which is still likely to be revised upwards), 93 deaths and 106 Injured on the Ukrainian side.

Despite this bloodbath, today from 4 am, after an artillery preparation, the enemy continued its attacks in the industrial zone of Avdeevka. With three platoons they tried to circumvent the positions of the army of the DPR by the flank. The DPR army returned fire to contain the enemy.

Following the bombing of Donetsk, Gorlovka, Yasinovataya and Makeyevka, six houses were damaged, as at 242 Kouibycheva Street, where the roof of a 9-storey building was hit by a 122 mm shell, and a gas pipeline was damaged in Yakolevka. There are two wounded among the civilians. Rails have also been damaged near the station, and several localities or districts of Donetsk are without electricity.

The actual losses of the Ukrainian army are kept hidden from the public in order to avoid causing panic among the Ukrainian armed forces and the population. To justify such losses, Poltorak said they had advanced 10 meters when in reality they lost.

On the side of the army of the DPR we had 4 dead and 7 wounded during the attacks on the positions located between Yasinovataya and Avdeyevka.

In order to allow the repair work, the DPR proposed to establish a ceasefire, which it already respects, to avoid a humanitarian catastrophe. But this morning, new shots hit Donetsk, cutting off electricity from the Zasyadko mine and blocking 203 miners underground. The miners are being evacuated.

At the same time, the reconnaissance units of the DPR;; army saw right Sector units firing multiple Grad rocket launchers at positions of the regular Ukrainian army, causing panic in their ranks. The goal is of course to accuse the army of the RPD of being responsible for these shots.

And at 1120 hours the Ukrainian army fired 120 Grad rockets at Yasinovataya and its periphery, in addition to 120 mm mortars, and 152 mm artillery. And an hour earlier, the Ukrainian armed forces tried to break through the lines of the DPR in the South near Kominternovo. The units of the 36th Marine Brigade and Right Sector had 14 dead and dozens of wounded, and retired in disaster.

As we can see in spite of the hecatomb, the Ukrainian authorities are determined to carry out to the end their suicidal logic with war to excuse their real problems. The specter of large-scale war, as the inhabitants of Donbass faced it in 2014, is back …

http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/01/blood-bath-at-north-front-of-donbass.html

“Stop Poroshenko” – Donbass parliaments appeal to Trump, Putin, Merkel

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From Fort Russ

January 31, 2017 – Fort Russ –
RIA Novosti – translated by J. Arnoldski –
Vladimir Degtyarenko and Denish Pushilin, the chairmen of the People’s Councils (parliaments) of the self-declared Lugansk and Donetsk People’s Republics, have appealed to Russian President Vladimir Putin, US President Donald Trump, and German Chancellor Angela Merkel to “stop Prooshenko.” 
As the Lugansk Information Center reports, the DPR and LPR urge these leaders to “force Poroshenko to cease his criminal actions against the people of Donbass,” stop shelling civilians, and end the economic blockade. 
“This must be done before it is too late! Before ecological and humanitarian catastrophe grips our land, stop this big mess! Stop Poroshenko! Save the people of Donbass!,” the appeal reads.
Earlier today, Donbass militiamen and Ukrainian security forces announced that the situation in Donbass has worsened. Both sides of the conflict blame each other for the increasing intensity of attacks and offensive attempts. The situation is close to a humanitarian catastrophe. The residents of Avdeevka have been left without water, light, and heat due to shelling. 
On Tuesday, the Armed Forces of Ukraine twice attempted to break through the positions of the Donbass militia. As a result, the DPR’s Ministry of Defense reported, more than 25 Ukrainian soldiers were killed. 

 

The Kremlin has stated that Moscow is concerned by Kiev’s aggressive actions in Donbass which are undermining the Minsk Agreements. Russian Presidential Press Secretary, Dmitry Peskov, stated that Russia has reliable information that the attack near Avdeevka was started by “independent Ukrainian brigades” supported by the Ukrainian armed forces. 
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/01/stop-poroshenko-donbass-parliaments.html

Poroshenko cuts Germany trip amid fighting in Eastern Ukraine – his political ploy

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From South Front

January 31, 2017

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko has cut a working visit to Germany amid the increased fighting between pro-Kiev forces and local militias in the region of Donbass in eastern Ukraine.

Heavy clashes and artillery duels in the area have been reported since January 28, inflicting casualties on the warring sides and to the infrastructure in the areas south and southeast of Donetsk, a capital of of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR).

A spokesman for the Ukrainian President said that the situation around the Kiev-controlled settlement of Avdeevka “an emergency situation verging on a humanitarian disaster,” ignoring that a large scale-attak on DPR forces launched by the Ukrainian Armed Forces and pro-Kiev paramilitary groups was launched from this direction.

Poroshenko’s working visit to Germany was clearly synchronized with the advance of pro-Kiev forces in Donbass. Thus, the only reason of the move was to come in focus of the mainstream media and to blame DPR forces and Russia for an alleged violation of the international agreements.

The Poroshenko regime urgently needs to attract attention of foreign players to itself and to get their assistance amid the ongoing political and economical crisis in Ukraine.

Considering that, the Kiev regime has repeatedly show that it’s ready to violate any international, humanitarian and moral norms to achieve own political goals, there are little doubts that the observed escalation was a planned act.

https://southfront.org/poroshenko-cuts-germany-trip-amid-fighting-eastern-ukraine-need-know/

To donate to South Front and help it continue its work, go to the link above.

Kiev launches major offensive against DPR (Biden’s final instructions?); heavy DPR losses, very major losses for Kiev; Poroshenko’s game.

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From Fort Russ

January 31, 2017 –
By Eduard Popov for Fort Russ – translated by J. Arnoldski –
Since Fort Russ readers rather well know the situation prevailing in Donbass, I’ll take the liberty of refraining from regurgitating facts and details. Instead, I dedicate today’s commentary to two unfolding events in and around Donbass. I base my commentary on media sources, social networks in the DPR and Ukraine, and on insider information I receive from Donetsk – Dr. Eduard Popov
–
The military situation in the Donetsk People’s Republic
–
Battles have not quieted down since January 29th. The Ukrainian Armed Forces’ tactic of gradually seizing neutral territories (“creeping offensive”) appears to have highly infatuated Ukrainian officers and patriots in the rear and is now taking on a life of its own. The result has been that the Ukrainians have convinced themselves that Donbass forces are weak and therefore decided to undertake a massive offensive. This is a fatal mistake.
According to reports from sources in the DPR, the republic’s army has suffered heavy losses. Alexander Zhuchkovsky has reported dozens of killed. But the UAF and neo-Nazis’ losses are several times higher. Today, the DPR’s intelligence services intercepted and published a secret report by the ATO headquarters for President  Poroshenko. The total number of casualties among the UAF over the past two days of firefights is estimated at 78 dead and several dozen wounded. Let me draw your attention to the fact that we are talking about the bodies of Ukrainian soldiers that have been recovered and taken to the morgue in nearby and far-off cities. The number of bodies that weren’t recovered from the battlefield while under artillery fire, the number of bodies completely destroyed by the explosion of military vehicles (tanks, volley artillery, etc.), and the number of wounded still in hospitals – these figures remain unknown. The real figures of the irreversible losses of the UAF over the past two days of fighting are probably no less than 100 men.
As Zhuchkovsky and DPR fighters themselves have reported, the Ukrainians have been surprised by the stiff resistance put up by the republic’s forces. Hitherto, the DPR army had heartbreakingly refused to respond “eye for an eye” to the UAF’s provocative fire. On January 29th and 30th, however, Donbass’ artillery finally put in heart and soul and laid down a “whirlwind of fire” (Zhuchkovsky’s expression) on Ukrainian positions.
The general result: although the situation in the combat zone is complex and fraught with escalation and large losses, overall it is going well for the Donbass republics. 
Thus, political conflict in Ukraine moves to the fore. 
–
Poroshenko’s gamble 
–
As Ukraine’s military adventure fails, Poroshenko is starting to playing a diplomatic gamble. Poroshenko’s efforts on January 31st fit into this formula. First, he urgently interrupted his visit to Germany and meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel. Then he called to convene the Tripartite Commission (the “Normandy Four” minus Russia). The Ukrainian foreign ministry today issued a statement which routinely accused Russia of escalating the conflict in Donbass. Without a doubt, soon will follow a Ukrainian appeal to the UN and other international organizations.
But I’m not going to talk about the stupidity of such speculations. Even Ukrainian officers admit that the offensive was undertaken by the Ukrainian side. Russia does not benefit (especially not now) from an escalation of the situation in Donbass. The only beneficiary is the ruling Ukrainian regime. 
 
According to his press service’s official statement, Poroshenko was forced to urgently return to Ukraine to address the “humanitarian situation” in Avdeevka which, let us note, occurred as a result of none other than the Ukrainian army’s adventurous actions on Poroshenko’s orders. 
The situation in Avdeevka and the massive losses that the Ukrainian army is incurring nevertheless give the Ukrainian president an occasion to play the role of the victim and cry to the world (the West) to punish the offender (Russia). If the UAF had not met such tough resistance on its attack and if the offensive had gone deep into the republics of Donbass, then Poroshenko would simply conjure another formula justifying Ukraine and blaming Russia. To be more precise, such a formula has long since been hatched and is waiting its turn.
The main actor for whom this whole bloody spectacle is being played is US President Donald Trump. We’ve already repeatedly written for Fort Russ on how Poroshenko is attempting to provoke a war in Donbass in order to prevent normal dialogue between the US and Russia. Allow us to recall the content of one of our articles, in which my sources in the DPR’s military circles forewarned that they expect a massive UAF offensive just before or immediately after Trump’s inauguration. 
Poroshenko’s regime is practically at a stalemate on both the international and domestic political fronts. Before the new team of American diplomats appointed by Trump starts working and Trump’s new European policy principles swing into action, Poroshenko will try to win over the American president. His method? By literally producing the fait accompli of “pro-American” Ukraine (in reality, pro-liberal and “pro-democratic”) needing support in Donbass. The Americans call this trick “wag the dog.”
Donald Trump has barely had time to settle into the office of US President, yet his name has already started to bear fruit in Donbass. I believe that the consequences of this factor will be devastating – if not for Ukraine, then for the ruling Poroshenko regime. 
http://www.fort-russ.com/2017/01/the-trump-effect-in-donbass-poroshenko.html

American and Polish “think tanks” stage massive computer simulation in Poland, claiming Russia plans to occupy Baltic States

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From Sputnik

January 27, 2017

The US-based research firm Potomac Foundation and Poland’s Casimir Pulaski Foundation teamed up this week to simulate a full-scale war scenario with Russia, based on a hypothetical Russian attack on the Baltic states. Using the Hegemon computer-based simulation platform, the wargames were sponsored by Western and Polish defense [war and weapons] companies.

The wargames, which took place this week between Monday and Thursday at the Warsaw National Stadium – the site of the NATO summit in last July, were sponsored by the US defense [war and weapons] companies Raytheon, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman, as well as Sweden’s Saab and the Polish defense company Polski Holding Obronny.

A virtual who’s-who of anti-Russian officials were in attendance, including former NATO Forces in Europe commander Philip Breedlove, Polish Deputy Defense Minister Tomasz Szatkowski, and Potomac Foundation president Phillip Karber.

Defiantly demonstrating that nothing has changed since President Donald Trump’s election, organizers of the wargames told Gazeta Wyborcza that the games were held “to help the West understand the essence of the military threat from Russia.”

According to the Casimir Pulaski Foundation’s description of the event, the computer simulation, codenamed Hegemon Baltic Campaign, was used “to identify force structure and defense planning requirements for defeating Russian General Staff plans for the occupation of the Baltic States.” Intriguingly, the wargames also played upon supposed Russian efforts to ensure “the disintegration of the European Union and NATO.”

German army tanks are lined up after the NATO Noble Jump exercise on a training range near Swietoszow Zagan, Poland, Thursday, June 18, 2015
© AP PHOTO/ ALIK KEPLICZ
‘Provocation Against Russia’: German Party Protests NATO War Games

The simulation’s findings are being compiled into a report that will be handed over to Poland’s Ministry of Defense.Last year, Karber, serving as a consultant to the Latvian Defense Ministry at the time, suggested that the Baltic states would have a good chance to defend against a Russian attack due to their swamps and narrow roads.

Earlier this month, another simulation was held by US lawmakers, this one also featuring a hypothetical invasion of the Baltic states by Russia. The paper map-based simulation was attended by members of Congress and experts from the RAND Corporation, as well as Estonian officials.

In recent years, US analysts have warned repeatedly that Russia could take over the Baltics in a matter of days, if not hours. Moscow, for its part, has repeatedly questioned the logic of such analyses, asking what reason Russia could possibly have in invading members of the NATO alliance and starting World War III. Russian military experts and officials have also urged Western officials not to create “pseudo-analyses” about any hypothetical Russian attack on Europe.

https://sputniknews.com/military/201701271050076926-russia-war-scenario-simulation-warsaw/

This is the description of the Potomac Foundation from its website. The founders are long-standing “defense” contractors, initially involved helping the US military in missiles and radiation physics. This description below truly turns language inside out:

About The Potomac Foundation

The Potomac Foundation is an independent nonprofit research organization dedicated to improving the quality of public discourse and national policy formulation.

It was endowed in 1988 by the three founders of the BDM Corporation — Drs. Bernie Dunn, Dan McDonald and Joseph Braddock — to continue the tradition of public service.

During its first quarter century the Potomac Foundation made major efforts in the areas of Post-Cold War Defense Economics, National Industrial Competitiveness and China’s Military Rise. For two decades it assisted the nations of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union to become integrated with the West through preparation and entry into NATO, organized over one thousand training sessions for leaders from those countries, as well as hosted more than a dozen congressional visits to the region.

In its work, the Potomac Foundation engages key decision-makers from the U.S. Congress, officials from the Department of Defense and other Executive Branch agencies, and representatives from allied foreign governments.

The Potomac Foundation experts design and conduct strategic exercises and simulations for government and private clients; host closed and public workshops, conferences and meetings; publish reports and policy briefs; testify before congressional committees; and offer analyses and commentary to news media outlets in the United States and globally.

The Potomac Foundation is financed by an endowment, contributions and foundation grants

Trump in 2012: “Let’s get out of Afghanistan. ” Petition to President Trump — End U.S. war in Afghanistan

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From David Swanson.org

The U.S. war in Afghanistan is well into its 16th year. In 2014 President Obama declared it over, but it will remain a political, financial, security, legal, and moral problem unless you actually end it.

The U.S. military now has approximately 8,000 U.S. troops in Afghanistan , plus 6,000 other NATO troops, 1,000 mercenaries, and another 26,000 contractors (of whom about 8,000 are from the United States). That’s 41,000 people engaged in a foreign occupation of a country 15 years after the accomplishment of their stated mission to overthrow the Taliban government.

During each of the past 15 years, our government in Washington has informed us that success was imminent. During each of the past 15 years, Afghanistan has continued its descent into poverty, violence, environmental degradation, and instability. The withdrawal of U.S. and NATO troops would send a signal to the world, and to the people of Afghanistan, that the time has come to try a different approach, something other than more troops and weaponry.

The ambassador from the U.S.-brokered and funded Afghan Unity government has reportedly told you that maintaining U.S. involvement in Afghanistan is “as urgent as it was on Sept. 11, 2001.” There’s no reason to believe he won’t tell you that for the next four years, even though John Kerry tells us “Afghanistan now has a well-trained armed force …meeting the challenge posed by the Taliban and other terrorists groups.” But involvement need not take its current form.

The United States is spending $4 million an hour on planes, drones, bombs, guns, and over-priced contractors in a country that needs food and agricultural equipment, much of which could be provided by U.S. businesses. Thus far, the United States has spent an outrageous $783 billion with virtually nothing to show for it except the death of thousands of U.S. soldiers , and the death, injury and displacement of millions of Afghans. The Afghanistan War has been and will continue to be, as long as it lasts, a steady source of scandalous stories of fraud and waste. Even as an investment in the U.S. economy this war has been a bust.

But the war has had a substantial impact on our security: it has endangered us. Before Faisal Shahzad tried to blow up a car in Times Square, he had tried to join the war against the United States in Afghanistan. In numerous other incidents, terrorists targeting the United States have stated their motives as including revenge for the U.S. war in Afghanistan, along with other U.S. wars in the region. There is no reason to imagine this will change.

In addition, Afghanistan is the one nation where the United States is engaged in major warfare with a country that is a member of the International Criminal Court. That body has now announced that it is investigating possible prosecutions for U.S. crimes in Afghanistan. Over the past 15 years, we have been treated to an almost routine repetition of scandals: hunting children from helicopters, blowing up hospitals with drones, urinating on corpses — all fueling anti-U.S. propaganda, all brutalizing and shaming the United States.

Ordering young American men and women into a kill-or-die mission that was accomplished 15 years ago is a lot to ask. Expecting them to believe in that mission is too much. That fact may help explain this one: the top killer of U.S. troops in Afghanistan is suicide. The second highest killer of American military is green on blue, or the Afghan youth who the U.S. is training are turning their weapons on their trainers! You yourself recognized this, saying: “Let’s get out of Afghanistan. Our troops are being killed by the Afghans we train and we waste billions there. Nonsense! Rebuild the USA.”

The withdrawal of U.S. troops would also be good for the Afghan people, as the presence of foreign soldiers has been an obstacle to peace talks. The Afghans themselves have to determine their future, and will only be able to do so once there is an end to foreign intervention.

We urge you to turn the page on this catastrophic military intervention. Bring all U.S. troops home from Afghanistan. Cease U.S. airstrikes and instead, for a fraction of the cost, help the Afghans with food, shelter, and agricultural equipment.

ADD YOUR NAME.

SIGNED BY:Elliott Adams, Veterans For PeaceDeborah K. Andresen, Tackling Torture at the TopRita Archibald, Nonviolence TrainerJudy Bello, Upstate Coalition to Ground the Drones and End the WarsMedea Benjamin, Code PinkFred BiallyBarry Binks, Veterans for Peace Ch. 87, Occupy BealeToby Blome’, Code PinkAlison Bodine, Mobilization Against War and OccupationLeah Bolger, World Beyond WarJohn Calder, Veterans for Peace Ch. 69Kathleen Christison, Author, Veterans for PeaceRamsey Clark, former U.S. Attorney GeneralHelena Cobban, Just World BooksDavid Cobb, 2004 Green Party Presidential NomineeJeff Cohen, RootsAction.orgGerry Condon,Veterans for Peace National Board of DirectorsMary Crosby, Roman Catholic Women PriestsJames Eilers, Code Pink AuxiliaryMichael Eisenscher, U.S. Labor Against the WarMelissa Crosby, Black Lives MatterNicolas J S Davies, authorMary Dean, World Beyond WarThomas Dickinson, Tackling Torture at the Top, Women Against Military MadnessJennifer DiZio, UC BerkeleyMaria Eitz, Roman Catholic Women PriestsDaniel Ellsberg, whistleblowerJodie Evans, Code PinkJoseph J. Fahey, Pax Christi USA Ambassador of PeaceRobert Fantina, World Beyond WarBill Fletcher Jr., BlackCommentator.comMargaret Flowers, Popular ResistanceGlen Ford, Black Agenda ReportBruce K. Gagnon, Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in SpaceJohan Galtung, Founder Trancend InterntionalLindsey German, Stop the War Coalition UKThe Rev. Dr. Diana C. Gibson, Multifaith Voices for Peace & JusticeMichael Goldstein, The 99 PercentKevin Gosztola, Shadowproof.comWill Griffin, The Peace ReportPatty Guerrero, Tackling Torture at the Top, Women Against  Military Madness, Pax-SalonBishop Thomas Gumbleton, Catholic Archdiocese of DetroitAmith Gupta, student, NYU School of LawBill Habedank, Veterans For Peace Ch. 115Steve Harms, Peace Lutheran Church, Past-President Interfaith Council of Contra Costa CountyDavid Hartsough, PeaceworkersJan Hartsough, San Francisco Friends MeetingHayley Hathaway, Quaker Earthcare WitnessDud Hendrick, Veterans for PeaceAdam Hochschild, authorMatthew Hoh, former director of Afghanistan Study GroupMartha Hubert, Code Pink San FranciscoAaron Hughes, Iraq Veterans Against the WarTony Jenkins, World Beyond WarSonja Johnson, Women Against Military MadnessKathy Kelly, Voices For Creative NonviolenceGary W. King, Tackling Torture at the Top, Women Against Military MadnessJohn Kiriakou, former Central Intelligence agency officerDennis Kucinich, former Member of United States CongressPeter Kuznick, Professor of History, American UniversityBarry Ladendorf, Veterans For Peace President Board of DirectorsPaul Leuenberger, Veterans for PeaceDave Lindorff, This Can’t Be HappeningDave Logsdon, Veterans For Peace Ch. 27Richard Lord, Charlottesville Center for Peace and JusticeDouglas Mackey, Global Days of ListeningJody Mackey, New Traditions Fair TradeMike Madden, Veterans For Peace Ch. 27Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace LaureateBen Manski, Liberty Tree Foundation for the Democratic RevolutionStephen Matchett, AVP Trainer, San Francisco Friends MeetingSherri Maurin, Campaign Nonviolence, Associate Veterans for Peace Ch. 69Ken Mayers, Veterans for PeaceRay McGovern, Veteran Intelligence Professionals for SanityCynthia McKinney, former member of United States CongressStephen McNeil, American Friends Service CommitteeMichael T. McPhearson, Veterans For Peace Executive DirectorTom Morman, Nonviolence Coalition San JoseNick Mottern, Knowdrones.comElizabeth Murray, former Deputy National Intelligence Officer for the Near East, NICMichael Nagler, Metta Center for Nonviolence Founder and PresidentCarroll Nast, Veterans for Peace Ch. 122Agneta Norberg, Swedish Peace CouncilCathe Norman, Veterans for Peace AssociateTom Norman, Veterans for Peace Ch. 60Todd E. Pierce, JA, MAJ, USA (Ret.)Gareth Porter, journalist, authorPancho Francisco Ramos-Stierle, Casa de Paz, Canticle FarmJohn C. Reiger, Veterans For PeaceDenny Riley, Veterans For Peace Chapter 69Coleen Rowley, retired FBI agent and legal counselMike Rufo, MusicianJudith Sandoval, Veterans for Peace Ch. 69Bill Schwab, Americans for JusticeJulie Searle, EducatorMichael Shaughnessy, educatorCindy Sheehan, peace activistEva Sivill, Casa de Paz, Canticle FarmAlice Slater, Nuclear Age Peace FoundationGar Smith, Environmentalists Against WarDavid Solnit, Global Organizer, Writer, PuppeteerNorman Solomon, RootsAction.orgMelvin Starks, Unitarian Universalist ChurchJill Stein, 2016 Green Party presidential candidateDavid Swanson, World Beyond WarShelley Tannenbaum, Quaker Earthcare WitnessBrian Terrell, Voices for Creative NonviolenceTiffany Tool, Nonviolent PeaceforceChip Tucker, Charlottesville Friends MeetingLouie J. Vitale, OFM, Pace e Bene, Nevada Desert ExperienceZohreh Whitaker, Veterans for Peace, Peace ActionPhil Wilayto, the Virginia DefenderAnn Wright, retired U.S. Army colonelKevin Zeese, Popular Resistance

(organizations above for identification)

ALSO SIGNED BY:

Creating a Culture of PeaceMobilization Against War and Occupation, Vancouver CanadaPopular ResistanceVeterans For PeaceVoices for Creative NonviolenceWorld Beyond War

http://davidswanson.org/node/5428

Emails of Ambassador Karlov’s killer were deleted after attack – report

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From RT

January 27, 2017

The emails of the killer of Andrey Karlov, the former Russian Ambassador to Turkey, were deleted following the assassination, an investigation into the murder has shown, Daily Sabah newspaper reports, citing sources. The attacker’s computer and mobile phone were seized as part of the investigation, but all e-mail correspondence had been deleted at about 9:30pm, two and a half hours after the attack. Russia’s ambassador to Turkey, Andrey Karlov, was killed on December 19 by Mevlut Mert Altıntas, a police officer, during the opening reception of an art exhibition in the Turkish capital Ankara. The attacker was later killed in a shootout with police.

https://www.rt.com/news/line/