Western Washington: Navy SEALs extend training 8 weeks longer in sensitive habitat areas, exclude wildlife agencies

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From West Coast Action Alliance

February 23, 2016 – New documents show Navy SEALs training 8 weeks longer than previously thought: Federal wildlife agencies excluded.

1 Where the Birds are - arcgis viewer

Where the seabirds are. The darker the color, the more birds. See key below for actual numbers, but in the purple grids there can be more than 3,000 seabirds in a 2-mile area. Click image to enlarge it.

2 Where the birds are - key

This is what’s happening on 68+ beaches and State Parks in western Washington:

3 SEALs coming ashore

An email and an internal draft of a biological assessment obtained by the West Coast Action Alliance reveal the Navy’s intent to extend their secret and massive SEALs training program on 68+ beaches and Washington State Parks from January 1 to May 31, 2016, and to bypass consultations with federal wildlife agencies. The two Navy slide shows previously obtained by Truthout (1, 2,) had indicated the training would start in mid-January and conclude in mid-April.

Springtime is when places like the Salish Sea are vital for nesting birds. Nursing whale mothers don’t like disturbance, either.

A photogrammetry image of the entire I16 matriline of Northern Resident killer whales taken in 2014. This image shows the size of whales at different ages. Note the small, gray calf in the middle (I144), only a few months old, swimming to the right of its mother (I51). To the left of the mother is the calf’s older sibling (I129). Images to be used for health assessment. Credit: NOAA Fisheries, Vancouver Aquarium. Taken by UAV from above 90 feet under Fisheries and Oceans Canada research permit and Transport Canada flight authorization. More information at http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/podcasts/2015/10/uav_killer_whale.html

A photogrammetry image of the entire I16 matriline of Northern Resident killer whales taken in 2014. This image shows the size of whales at different ages. Note the small, gray calf in the middle (I144), only a few months old, swimming to the right of its mother (I51). To the left of the mother is the calf’s older sibling (I129). Images to be used for health assessment. Credit: NOAA Fisheries, Vancouver Aquarium.

These documents, from December 2015, contradict the statement made by a Navy spokesperson in January, who said: “As far as I know, everything is in the very, very beginning planning stages, period. There has been no decision made on anything. Everything is speculation at this point.”

Read it for yourself. Does this look like “beginning stages?” Is it speculation? The Navy doesn’t waste its time doing biological assessments for “speculation.” The purpose for this one was to justify avoiding consultations with federal agencies. It was done 15 days before the training was to start. That’s not enough time to do anything but try to cover one’s legal backside.

A list of training sites for 2016 is included. Which means the other training sites in the two slide shows were for previous years. Which means decisions have been made, and it’s game on. From reading the multiple documents and in the absence of further information from wildlife agencies, it should be assumed that the SEAL combat training has been taking place in these areas since 2014.

5 plover nest

What some nests look like. Think they’ll see that in the dark?

According to the Navy’s internal biological assessment, the purpose of the training is “to provide a “real world” environment for Special Forces personnel to practice stealth tactics” (translate: in civilian communities) and “to maneuver in the water and across land undetected.” It acknowledged that by law the Navy must assess impacts to endangered species, and it laid out three choices: No effect; May affect; and May affect, likely to adversely affect. It also acknowledged the requirement to consult with federal agencies if any impacts were anticipated; this obligation extends to assessing impacts to Essential Fish Habitat, under the Magnusen-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and consulting with the State and with the National Marine Fisheries Service if any impacts are anticipated.

6 Plover on nest

A plover on its nest on the beach.

The “problem” was neatly solved by the Navy claiming in its internal biological assessment that since there would be no impacts, there would be no need to consult with the agencies. That equaled no notification at all. A call to the Fish and Wildlife Service in January confirmed that they had had no idea that the massive SEALs training program was about to begin for 2016, and no idea that it had been occurring since 2014. The FWS confirmed a keen interest in consulting with the Navy about potential impacts.

7 Salmon habitat

UW map showing critical habitat for Chinook Salmon, Steelhead Trout, Chum Salmon, and the Puget Sound Chinook Salmon. And the Navy didn’t bother to tell wildlife agencies?

Some logical conclusions:

  • One would think that commandeering 68+ beaches and State Parks from January 1 through late Spring might affect nesting birds and other sensitive species, and therefore be of interest to wildlife agencies.
  • One might rightfully question the Navy’s own expertise in assessing impacts to wildlife, since it has called whales “obstacles to safe navigation” in reports and says the purpose of its Joint Land Use Plans with communities is to ensure the Navy’s own activities continue unimpeded.
  • Given that the Navy refuses to allow wildlife agencies to assist them with the training they need to recognize sensitive species, one might question the above even more.
  • One would be correct in assuming a public process is required in order to close off access to public lands. The answer to “Aren’t such arbitrary and unannounced closures outside the law?” is yes.
  • Even if they get in and out undetected, it’s still psychologically intrusive for users of those beaches and State Parks, the mission for which includes not one word about “Realistic Military Training.” It’s disturbing to think of having armed Navy SEAL kill teams practicing in the midst of families enjoying their State Parks. (Read the two slide shows to confirm the fact that these teams will be armed.)
  • We should all be questioning the “wisdom” of normalizing military combat training in civilian communities where it does not normally occur.

So, after all this, could anyone claim with a straight face that the Navy is even trying to be a good neighbor?

8 CL_Birds_Puffin_byCHansonOCA

Tufted puffin, a species in decline. Photo credit: C. Hanson.

Obviously, not everything the Navy does can be public knowledge. But to conceal such a massive program from state and federal agencies is inexcusable. While the West Coast Action Alliance is not against training our military, we object to doing it in the places where we live, work, and recreate. We object to concealing it from appropriate oversight of state and federal agencies. And the fact that public informed consent is completely absent from any of the Navy’s massive encroachments on our communities and the wildlife in this region merely adds insult to injury.

http://westcoastactionalliance.org/2232016-seals-training-8-weeks-longer-than-expected-wildlife-agencies-excluded

More proof of faked radical Islam: terrorists attacking Syria’s Aleppo despite start of Ramadan – Russian MoD

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These attacks further unmask the terrorists; they aren’t Muslim. They’re mercenaries and pretenders, false-flagging their assaults by order of their sponsors. These terrorists are most likely to have either no religious affiliation or have religious affiliations that oppose and despise Islam. Unfortunately, Western audiences seem to repeatedly fall for the act.

From Sputnik
June 7, 2016

Terrorists are attacking residential areas, government forces and Kurds in Aleppo despite the start of Ramadan, a holy month for Muslims, the Russian reconciliation center in Syria said in a statement.

“Despite the start of Ramadan, a holy month for all Muslims, on Monday, terrorist groups are attacking not only the positions of the government forces and Kurds in Aleppo but residential areas as well. The number of civilian casualties is growing.“

In the night, the terrorists purportedly fired multiple rocket launchers, artillery, mortars and anti-aircraft weapons at Aleppo, the center said.

“Over 24 hours, the settlement of Handrat, the al-Nairab airport as well as al-Muhafaza, Meydan, Sheikh Maqsood and al-Zahra districts in Aleppo were subjected to mass fire from multiple rocket launchers and mortars.”

The ceasefire in Syria worked out by Russia and the United States took effect on February 27. The cessation of hostilities does not apply to terrorist organizations, such as Daesh and al-Nusra Front, outlawed in a number of countries worldwide including Russia and the United States.

Syria has been mired in civil war since 2011, with government forces loyal to Syrian President Bashar Assad fighting numerous opposition factions and extremist groups.

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20160607/1040898411/terrorists-aleppo-ramadan.html

Exposed: ‘US Special Forces in Afghanistan killed pregnant women, removed bullets’

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From RT
June 3, 2016

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US killings of civilians near Gardez, Afghanistan is an extraordinary case of a cover-up which goes far beyond what happened with the bombing of the MSF hospital, says Gareth Porter, an investigative journalist on US national security policy.

The Pentagon has released the findings of an investigation into a night raid in Afghanistan that led to the deaths of several civilians.

The report concluded that US soldiers used an appropriate level of force, although that finding is wrought with doubt.

Documents, revealing details of the raid in Afghanistan, were obtained and published by The Intercept website.

RT: You are familiar with the documents relating to the raid. Could you tell us more about their content and whether they support the Pentagon’s conclusions?

Gareth Porter: I was in fact requesting exactly the same documents and got them at the same time as the Intercept got them. These are, at least what is available from the US military about the investigation that was ordered by General Stanley McChrystal, who was then in charge of US troops in Afghanistan, to try to save the reputation of the Special Operations forces in Afghanistan which were under extreme fire because the story had come out about the killings in Gardez by the Special Forces, including the murder of three women, two of them were pregnant, and of the cover-up of the killings by the Special Forces in their report to the US military command.

So, understand here that McChrystal himself is a product of Special Operations forces. He came out of that culture, and in fact had given privilege to the use of these night raids of which this was a primary example in Afghanistan in his strategy as commander of US forces. So, he had an opportunity here to find the truth, but he used it to cover up what had already been covered up by the Special Forces themselves in their report to the command.

RT: Apparently, the US Army had information that there were terrorists in the compound. Does that justify their actions?

GP: Somebody did in fact report that suspected Taliban were in the compound, but that information was completely wrong, as was so much of the information that the Special Operation forces used for their targeting of the night raids in Afghanistan. And in fact the individual who was the target of that raid, the person who they were searching for when they went in guns blazing to that compound, turned himself in a few days later and was questioned and ultimately released. He was the wrong man. So, once again, the intelligence was wrong, the killing was in vain and they covered it up in order to try to save their own skins.

In fact, the eye witnesses to the raid and to the killings saw the US Special Forces digging the bullets out of the bodies of the pregnant women. And those family members were never interviewed by the person who carried out the so-called investigation.

Jason Ditz, news editor from Antiwar.Com. commented on the issue: “This was not an isolated incident. There have been a lot of cases particularly around this time of soldiers wildly abusing their power and particularly in night raids such as this, killing large number of civilians and never being brought to account for it.”

RT: After the US attacked a hospital in Kunduz Washington apologized, whereas in the 2010 case they said “appropriate” force was used.  What is the difference between the two cases?

GP: That is a very good question and I think the answer is very clear that in 2010, the investigation was carried out under the auspices of General McChrystal, who was a very powerful figure in the US military. And it was done again by someone who was under his command not at the time that the investigation was carried out, but later, after the investigation; this person was someone who knew he was going to be under McChrystal’s command. So, it was fixed, it was cooked up ahead of time. That is an extraordinary case of a cover-up, which goes far beyond what we saw even in the case of the bombing of the MSF hospital.

Jason Ditz, news editor from Antiwar.Com. told RT: “In the case of the hospital in Kunduz there was a lot more publicity because Doctors Without Borders is a big enough organization to be able to make a big deal about it. This report claiming the appropriate level of force used in the previous incident was basically a secret report, and it is only because the Intercept went through all of the hoops of the Freedom of Information Act… Going to the Pentagon for freedom of information requests is not an easy thing to do… It takes a long time to get documents from the Pentagon.”

RT: The results of the investigation have been made public six years after the incident. Why did it take so long?

GP: I can’t account for the exact timing of this, but clearly there was a lot of shuffling around and trying to put off coming up with any documentation in response to the request by the Intercept, by other journalists and by myself. And I can tell you that a source who was in a position to know about this has in fact told me that the people responsible in Special Operations forces ultimately were eased out or quietly pushed out of the military, even though the public position that has been taken is that they were not subject to any disciplinary actions. Unofficially, they were. In other words, they knew perfectly well that they committed this crime and covered it up. But for PR purposes, for political purposes, General McChrystal and his designated investigator covered it up and that has stood to this day. And in order to do that, by the way, they redacted 400 pages of the documentation, which obviously told too much of the truth to allow it to be given out to the public.

The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of RT.

https://www.rt.com/op-edge/345318-afghanistan–pentagon-killings-msf/

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Soldiers who killed pregnant Afghan women followed rules of engagement – Pentagon

Saudi-led coalition demands removal from ‘wildly exaggerated’ UN blacklist of child-killers in Yemen; UN caves to pressure

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From RT

Published time: 7 Jun, 2016 00:51
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Bowing to political pressure from Riyadh, the UN has temporarily removed it from a blacklist of children’s rights violators, after a report released last week deemed the Saudi-led coalition responsible for hundreds of minors’ deaths in the Yemen conflict.
TrendsYemen unrest

The Secretary-General’s Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict (CAAC) released last week claimed that the Saudi-led air bombardment and ground campaign in Yemen led to 510 child deaths and accounted for 60 percent of the entire death toll, after the air campaign against Houthi rebels began in March 2015.

The UN document also said that Saudi-led actions resulted in some 667 child injuries. Furthermore, the reports stated that half of the attacks had been carried out on schools and hospitals.

“Grave violations against children increased dramatically as a result of the escalating conflict,” the report said. “In Yemen, owing to the very large number of violations attributed to the two parties, the Houthis/Ansar Allah and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition are listed for killing and maiming and attacks on schools and hospitals.”

While the Houthis, Yemen government forces and pro-government militia have been on the UN blacklist for at least five years, Riyadh on Monday demanded that its name be scrapped from the list, claiming that figures in the CAAC report were “wildly exaggerated,” because the coalition uses “the most up-to-date equipment in precision targeting.”

“We are asking that this report be corrected immediately so it does not reflect the accusations that have been made against the coalition and Saudi Arabia in particular,” Saudi Arabia’s UN Envoy Abdallah Al-Mouallimi said Monday. “If there are any casualties from the coalition side, they would be far, far lower.”

Following the plea by Saudi Arabia, Ban Ki-moon’s office said that UN will temporarily remove Riyadh from the list pending a joint review by the world body.

Samuel Oakford @samueloakford

Ban Ki Moon has removed the Saudi coalition from the annex of his Children in Armed Conflict report, pending review:

1:20 PM – 6 Jun 2016

“On the CAAC report, he accepts a proposal by Saudi Arabia that the United Nations and the Saudi-led Coalition review jointly the cases and numbers cited in the text,” the Secretary-General’s office said in a statement. “Pending the conclusions of the joint review, the Secretary-General removes the listing of the Coalition in the report’s annex.”

Tensions in Yemen escalated after Shia President Saleh was deposed in 2012 and his Houthi supporters, reportedly aided by Iran, eventually seized the capital city Sana’a in 2014. Houthi forces then advanced from Sana’a towards the south, seizing large parts of Yemen, and sending the current Sunni President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi into exile.

RT

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‘Human remains everywhere’: Family of 11 killed in alleged coalition strike in http://on.rt.com/7drx 

5:20 AM – 26 May 2016
Photo published for RT International

RT International

Eleven members of one family, including at least four children have been killed in an airstrike, presumed to have been carried out by the Saudi-led coalition, witnesses and officials said, adding…

rt.com

In late March of last year, a Saudi Arabian-led coalition responded with airstrikes in order to stop Houthi advances and reinstate Hadi back in power. By late summer 2015, the Saudi-led forces had started a ground operation. Despite a temporarily cease-fire achieved in May, the conflict remains ongoing. According to the UN, from March 2015 to March 2016 over 6,500 people were killed in Yemen, including 3,218 civilians.

https://www.rt.com/news/345629-un-saudi-yemen-child-abuses/

UN adds Saudi-led coalition to blacklist for ‘killing & maiming’ children in Yemen

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From RT

June 3, 2016

<iframe width=”560″ height=”315″ src=”https://www.rt.com/news/345333-saudi-coalition-un-blacklist/video/&#8221; frameborder=”0″ allowfullscreen/><!–iframe>

People walk on the rubble of an electronics warehouse store after a Saudi-led air strike destroyed it in Yemen’s capital Sanaa February 14, 2016. © Khaled Abdullah / Reuters

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has slammed the Saudi-led coalition for “killing and maiming” children in Yemen, adding it to an annual blacklist of countries and armed groups that have violated children’s rights in conflict.

“Grave violations against children increased dramatically as a result of the escalating conflict,” a report released by Ban on Thursday states.

“In Yemen, owing to the very large number of violations attributed to the two parties, the Houthis/Ansar Allah and the Saudi Arabia-led coalition are listed for killing and maiming and attacks on schools and hospitals,” the secretary-general stated in the document.

According to the report, the coalition was responsible for 60 percent of child deaths and injuries in Yemen last year, killing 510 people and wounding 667 others.

The coalition was also behind half of the attacks carried out on schools and hospitals in Yemen.

The UN report added the coalition to its blacklist of groups that “engage in the recruitment and use of children, sexual violence against children, the killing and maiming of children, attacks on schools and/or hospitals and attacks or threats of attacks against protected personnel, and the abduction of children.”

The coalition began a military campaign against Houthi rebels in March 2015. It sides with the exiled President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, while the Houthis are aligned with former President Ali Abdullah Saleh, who resigned in 2012 following a popular uprising against his rule. The conflict has left nearly 4,300 dead since March, half of them civilians, according to UN figures.

The Houthis have been on the UN blacklist for at least five years, and are considered “persistent perpetrators.”

The UN report also named armed groups in other countries, including in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Central African Republic, Iraq, Mali, Myanmar, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria, Colombia, Nigeria and the Philippines.

Government forces in Afghanistan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Somalia, Myanmar, South Sudan, Sudan and Syria were also named on the blacklist.

But although the UN’s report cited a deadly US airstrike on a hospital run by Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in Kunduz, Afghanistan, it said the attack was carried out by “international forces” and did not add the US to the blacklist.

Ban did, however, urge all 193 UN member states to ensure their engagements in conflicts comply with international law.

“It is unacceptable that the failure to do so has resulted in numerous violations of children’s rights,” he said.

https://www.rt.com/news/345333-saudi-coalition-un-blacklist/

Izmailov: Zakharchenko will beat Poroshenko with words, one “direct line” at a time; Tyutchev on unity

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From Fort Russ

June 3, 2016 –
Oleg Izmailov, PolitNavigator – 
Translated by J. Arnoldski
It is difficult to imagine a more powerful and effective weapon in the fight against the Kiev Nazis than the head of the Donetsk People’s Republic conversing with Russian people, as planned and realized throughout a huge arc stretching from Kharkov to Odessa.
Talking is necessarily interactive and, as the experience of the “direct lines” with three Novorossiyan regions (Kharkov, Odessa, Kherson) showed, these direct lines have been more open, lively, sincere, and useful than official events organized under the auspices of state and business structures.
The first and second assertions confirm that Zakharchenko and his entourage are right, and they are armed with the truth. Common truth and honesty. After all, people perfectly understand whether and when they talk “for show” and report and where they give the maximum information which citizens are deprived of in the fascist state.
Thus, the leader of Donbass, in his “direct lines,” is faced with so much pressure and, let’s not be afraid of this word, passion from both sides. Alexander Zakharchenko and the countrymen of Novorossiya hold an interesting conversation, sometimes argue, and sometimes ask for something. Most of all they ask to be liberated from the fascist yoke in which the crumbling country of Poroshenko and company is harnessed.
I myself had to answer phone calls from countrymen from my hometown of Krasny Liman concerning the DPR head’s “direct line” with residents of cities which have been snatched away from the republic…
I asked my friends: what would you ask Zakharchenko? Their answers were unpretentious and predictable: “We have only one question for him: ‘When will you return and liberate us from this plague?’ Our children are being actively brainwashed and recruits are being taken into the army fight against their brothers. This can’t last long.’”
Undoubtedly, this upcoming “direct line” on June 2nd will surpass the popularity, attendance, quantity, and quality all the three before. I think that the people of Donetsk on the occupied territories detached from the DPR and LPR by the terrorist group of the Poroshenko regime will get direct and honest answers from Alexander Zakharchenko. 
As we can see, the so far small yet similar communications of the head of the DPR with Novorossiyans are making him not only into a regional, but a common national leader – the head of not only smaller Novorossiya, but within the boundaries of the large, geopolitically delineated arch stretching from Kharkov to Odessa.
And you know what, I would not be surprised if people in the Malorossiyan regions of Great Rus – Chernigov, Poltava, Vinitsa, Zhitomyr, and Cherkasy – will also wait for Zakharchenko’s voice tomorrow. Undoubtedly, of course, in ancient Kiev as well, which was appointed by history “to be the mother of all Russian cities.” 
The inviolable bookshelves of Russian history, truth, faith, and love stand behind Zakharchenko, behind us, and behind Donbass and the whole Russian world from Brest to Kamchatka and from Kiev to Tashkent and Kushka. 
We have always lived and will continue to live according to the words of Fedor Tyutchev:
“’Unity’, announced the oracle of our days,
‘Can be welded out of blood and iron
But we will try to weld it with love
And we will see that is durable…’”
This fragment is from the famous poem “Two Unities” written in September of 1870 just when the Welshman John Hughes landed in Taganrog to build the factory “of Novorossiyan society”, around which Donetsk grew for 150 years, where I am currently writing these lines. 
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/06/izmailov-zakharchenko-will-beat.html
Editor: An English translation of the full poem can be found in The Complete Poems of Tyutchev in an English Translation by F. Jude — Poem 360 “Two Unities”
http://www.pereplet.ru/moshkow/LITRA/TUTCHEW/english.html
I would re-write the first paragraph for these days thus:
Blood is pouring over the brim of the cup
Filled to overflowing by the wrath of the West
And the world is drowning in it.
Your blood is being taken, is being spilled, is being thrown away, my friends, my brothers, my sisters!
Slavonic world, pull together, pull close together!
…………
[From Tyutchev translated by Jude]
“Unity”, an oracle of our century has said,
“can only be welded by iron and blood.”
Well, we’ll try welding it with love.
Let’s see which lasts the longer.

Zakharchenko inspects contact line in Donetsk (VIDEO)

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From Fort Russ

6th June, 2016


Unlike the US-backed puppet sat in Kiev, Zakharchenko personally visits the line of contact, risking his life to ensure the morale of the NAF is in good stead. In the video we can see him awarding soldiers, assisting reconnaissance, driving near the airport, and ensuring the attire of his troops is adequate enough for combat.

http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/06/zakharchenko-inspects-contact-line-in.html

Pushilin: Elections are our defense against Kiev’s new strategy of sabotage; Zakharchenko holds conferences with South-East regions

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From Fort Russ

June 6, 2016 –
Sergey Stepanov, PolitNavigator – 
Translated by J. Arnoldski
The Ukrainian oligarchs have realized that Donbass cannot be taken by military force, so they’ve changed their strategy to sending in their agents. The Donetsk People’s Republic has decided to hold primaries in order to exclude a victory of Kiev’s henchmen in upcoming elections. This and more was discussed by the speaker of the People’s Council of the DPR, Denis Pushilin in an interview with PolitNavigator.
PolitNavigator: Alexander Zakharchenko has stated that primaries will be held in Donbass. What does this mean for the DPR?
Denis Pushilin: Preliminary voting will offer us the opportunity to identify the best and brightest candidates who will represent the republic in potential elections. They should take place insofar as the Minsk Agreements are fulfilled.
[On the other hand], we perfectly understand that in order to win on the battlefield, soldiers need to train. 
PN: And who is going to be defeated?
DP: There are various threats in the political arena. The elections will be held on a majority system and candidates can be self-nominated. It is impossible to foresee everything, but we need to get ourselves in order so that representatives of the oligarchy or veiled represents of the parties on the other side of the contact line do not get in. 
We know that, as is happening now, a fifth column has infiltrated us.
PN: Are representatives of the Ukrainian oligarchs trying to infiltrate the DPR?
DP: Insofar as it is becoming clear that Donetsk and Lugansk cannot be taken by force, and that all that is necessary is the fulfillment of the Minsk Agreements, the oligarchs are attempting to penetrate the existing organs of power in the republic.
This has been recorded, detected, and now the Ministry of State Security is at work. 
PN: And what happens to such people?
DP: As a minimum, they are dismissed if nothing else is decided. You have to understand that they don’t have to do anything now. Perhaps this is a “long-term” game in which the priorities of the republic will be distorted and the realization of national projects will be sabotaged.
We need to fight corruption now. We have already managed to handle this to a certain extent, but it will return depending on whether the old elite will worm its way into the new government. 
PN: Literally just the other day the Verkhovna Rada amended the Constitution and held a “judicial reform.” Why were voices in favor of this able to be found in the Ukrainian parliament while Poroshenko can’t even find the needed number of deputies to support the realization of the Minsk Agreements?
DP: Ukraine has not been a subject of decision-making for a long time already. We perfectly understand that if the West wanted to, then it would find levers of influence in order to make Kiev vote. If it was so demanded, then Kiev would vote for everything needed in the Verkhovna Rada, even in violation of the rules and ignoring the views and interests of the citizens of former Ukraine.
PN: Is there hope that in 2016 Ukraine will take all the necessary decisions in regards to elections in Donbass?
DP: The chances are virtually close to zero. I don’t see any intentions on the part of Kiev to reconcile positions with Donbass. In the framework of the subgroup on political issues, we are largely on the same levels of agreement as we were a year ago.
PN: So the Minsk Agreements could be extended again?
DP: This is quite likely.
PN: Have there been any changes to the positions of the Ukrainian side at the negotiations in Minsk?
DP: There have been no changes either for better or for worse. We are in a period of stagnation. The Ukrainian side has chosen a strategy of delay. And the frequent replacement of Kiev’s representatives at negotiations is connected with this.
PN: Alexander Zakharchenko is currently holding a whole series of conferences with the regions of the South-East. Does this yield positive effects?
DP: There is a huge demand for this. We see that with each new conference the number of questions increases. We are learning to model certain situations. For example, the SBU is raising noise that we are actually unknowingly helping to spread information about the upcoming “hot line.”
Dialogue is important. People are interested in what’s happening in the republics because the picture which is painted by Ukrainian media differs strongly from reality.
PN: It has already been announced that the next conference with Alexander Zakharchenko will be held with Zaporozhye. Why is this city important?
DP: All cities are important, but, in first place of course are those of Greater Novorossiya. But other regions are also important. I think that Alexander Vladimirovich Zakharchenko will hold “hot lines” with all of them. 
http://www.fort-russ.com/2016/06/pushilin-elections-are-our-defense.html

US State Dept. report claiming Iran top terror state is anything but

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From Farsi News

June 6, 2016

TEHRAN (FNA)- The US State Department has published its annual survey of worldwide terrorism, in which it has once again claimed that Iran is the main state sponsor of terrorism.

As always, the report doesn’t offer any evidence to support the labeling of Iran as the “top” terror state. Instead, it mostly focuses on Iran’s lawful support for Palestinian resistance against Israel, the Lebanese Hezbollah, and its involvement in the ongoing war against ISIL and Al-Qaeda in Iraq and Syria.

That for the most part the list is a political tool rather than a practice report, including only a handful of nations that are at odds with Washington, is not that much important. What’s important is that the report makes Iran the “top” nation, which is exactly what Israeli leaders constantly refer to as such.

Perhaps the State Department wants to appease Israel and Arab allies. Perhaps this is because these “allies” are not happy with the nuclear deal signed between Tehran and the world powers (the US, Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany). Perhaps it is for domestic consumption, particularly now that US presidential campaigns are well underway. Whatever it is, the exact timing of the report is equally important at this particular juncture.

The report comes at a time when Iraqi-Syrian armies and popular forces, backed by Iranian military advisors and Russian airstrikes, are winning the twin wars against ISIL and Al-Qaeda. The counter-terror alliance will soon liberate both nations. In between, Tehran says it has no intention of cooperating with Washington on regional crises. This hasn’t gone well with the nervous War Party. This is not exactly what the Obama cabal had in mind when they signed the nuclear deal with Iran in 2015.

What they were after was Iran changing course and getting along with them in other important disputes related to Iraq, Syria, the Lebanese Hezbollah, and the Palestinian resistance. However, despite the nuclear deal, Tehran has said no. As a consequence, this has inevitably made it the “top” nation on the the State Department’s terror sponsors list.

Regarding the list, few points are worth mentioning as well:

Terrorism has been described variously as both a tactic and strategy; a crime and a holy duty; a justified reaction to oppression and an inexcusable abomination. Obviously, a lot depends on whose point of view is being represented.

Iran is not involved in state terrorism in Iraq and Syria. Terrorism is an effective tactic for the weaker side in the conflict. Iran is not the weaker side. So far, it has helped the national forces liberate many cities and towns in Iraq and Syria – as humanely as possible.

Moreover, what Iran’s military advisors are offering across multiple fronts is clear and legitimate campaign under International Law to defend against or to deter terrorism. The legality of such campaign is out there for all to see. The nature of Iranian presence and activity is also for pre-emption, and in no way for extreme goals under sectarian and hegemonic designs. Even the United Nations agrees. The UN says in the absence of Iran in international negotiations, there will be no peace in Syria.

Somehow, the US Department of Defense agrees too. It defines terrorism as “the calculated use of unlawful violence or threat of unlawful violence to inculcate fear; intended to coerce or to intimidate governments or societies in the pursuit of goals that are generally political, religious, or ideological”.

Within this definition, there is no Iranian violence, fear, and intimidation in Iraq and Syria that produces terror in its victims. Iranian military advisors are there upon an official request by the central governments. Iran is not using force and violence to intimidate or coerce those governments, let alone the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives. Quite the opposite, Iran is helping them to fight terror and it has paid a heavy price for it.

Into the argument, Iran’s support for the resistance groups of Hezbollah and Hamas is not for idiosyncratic, criminal or political reasons either. Iran is not supporting the resistance for political ends, or for the purpose of putting the public, or any section of the public there, in fear. The whole idea is to shed light on the plight of the Palestinian refugees as well as the immediate victims of Israeli wars of aggression, occupation, and deceit.

Iran seeks a just solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict based on International Law, human rights, and equality for all. Nothing is wrong with that. Within this context, Hezbollah fighters are legitimate combatants too. Any doubters should ask the people of Syria, where members of Hezbollah are fighting terror and for what they believe in.

Taken together, Iran’s foreign policy is one rooted in diplomacy over regime-change war, terrorism, and aggression. It is not war-based or accountable to longstanding corporate and military powers. Unlike the United States for which diplomacy is essentially another weapon in its war arsenal, Iran is for diplomacy and recognises other countries’ sovereignty. It never cheerleads for intervention, targeted assassination, state-sponsored terrorism, or drone wars.

It’s a sure laugh-line to mention the State Department’s claim yet again that supporting the Palestinian resistance or the counter-terror alliance of Syria, Iraq, Russia and Hezbollah makes Iran a top candidate for its terror sponsors list. It says more about the War Party’s own war-driven and terror-based foreign policy than anything else.

http://en.farsnews.com/newstext.aspx?nn=13950317001305