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President Trump cancelled the CIA’s secret program to arm and train Syrian rebels fighting the regime of Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad — a move critics called a gift to Russia, a new report said Wednesday. “This is a momentous decision. Putin won in Syria,” a US official who supported the program told The Washington Post. The program to arm moderate Syrian rebels began under the Obama administration in 2013 and was continued under Trump until now. Officials told the paper that phasing out the covert program was a way to improve relations with Russia and President Vladimir Putin, who strongly...

President Trump has decided to end the CIA’s covert program to arm and train moderate Syrian rebels battling the government of Bashar al-Assad, a move long sought by Russia, according to U.S. officials. The program was a central plank of a policy begun by the Obama administration in 2013 to put pressure on Assad to step aside, but even its backers have questioned its efficacy since Russia deployed forces in Syria two years later. Officials said the phasing out of the secret program reflects Trump’s interest in finding ways to work with Russia, which saw the anti-Assad program as an...

ISTANBUL—In the latest display of Turkish anger at U.S. policy in Syria, the state news agency has divulged the locations of 10 U.S. military bases and outposts in northern Syria where the U.S. is leading an operation to destroy the so-called Islamic State in its self-styled capital of Raqqa. The list published by the Anadolu news agency points to a U.S. presence from one end to the other of the Kurdish self-administration region—a distance of more than 200 miles. The Anadolu news agency even listed the number of U.S. troops in several locations and in two instances stipulated the presence...

Intelligence Report (YouTube) Syrian War Report – July 19, 2017: Hayat Tahrir al-Sham Clashes With Ahrar al-Sham In Idlib Province https://youtu.be/O3-RilWhnGE

South Front 8 hours ago INTELLIGENCE UPDATE ON THE SYRIAN CONFLICT. Town Of Sukhna If you’re able, and if you like our content and approach, please support the project. Our work wouldn’t be possible without your help: Sincerely yours, SouthFront: Analysis & Intelligence

Very important update from Amir. If you are short of time, you can skip the rundown of the tour and other comments about his teaching in general, and skip to the update itself, which starts around minute 12. (You might want to go back and watch the earlier part later, if so.) But be sure to watch from 12 to the end. An update that the world needs to know.

The Obama administration has touted its negotiations to remove chemical weapons from Syria as a major diplomatic achievement. But a new report from the UN Security Council found that the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons against civilians in violation of the deal the Obama administration brokered with the help of Russia in 2013.[snip]"The Assad regime has learned over the past five years that the Obama administration will do absolutely nothing to protect Syrian civilians from mass homicide," Fred Hof, a senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and a former special adviser for transition in Syria under...

Former University of South Florida Professor Sami Al-Arian was on the inside of an elaborate international network designed to conceal funding for terrorist organizations, a federal investigator claims in a newly released court document. The network used ``a convoluted web of multiple transactions'' by a network of companies, trusts and charities - mostly run by the same few people - to hide money going to two militant Palestinian groups, Hamas and the Palestinian Islamic Jihad, the investigator says. The suspect organizations were part of ``a complex coalition of overlapping companies in northern Virginia controlled by individuals who have shown support...

The Turkish state’s attacks on Efrîn Canton and Shehba region with tanks and artillery fire continued throughout the night last night. Attacks on civilians in the Efrîn Canton and Shehba region by the invading Turkish state and their allied gangs continue. The Turkish state bombed Merenaz and Villa Qadi villages in Efrîn’s Shera district with tanks and Howitzers last night at 23:00. YPG and YPJ fighters retaliated immediately. The gang groups under Turkish state control attacked Merenaze at the same time with DSHKs and heavy weapons. In Elqamiye region the Turkish state’s scout planes carried out 4 bombings. In the...

Russia is heavily invested in and has deployed its’ most capable air defense systems in Syria; Su-35s variants and Surface to air, S-400 Triumf. to Latakia, Northwester Syria, on the Med. Russia implied that it could target, track, escort or destroy, coalition aircraft flying west of the Euphrates. Kremlin has compelling reasons to avoid doing so at all costs. Tit-for-tat escalation would follow, and the Shayrat example shows how TLAMs and other standoff weapons would quickly swamp S-400 and point defenses at Latakia. Likewise Russia’s Su-35s and some derivatives are nimble, but not combat prime and would be very unlikely...

Christian Assyrians have been targeted repeatedly through history — and found themselves under attack again by ISIS forces in Syria. "They're coming! They're coming!" On that day, Feb. 23, 2015, a new page in the tragedy of the Middle East's Christians was written on the banks of the Khabur River, in northeastern Syria. Armed with heavy weaponry and armored vehicles, ISIS fighters swept down from the Mount Abdulaziz region and stormed local Assyrian Christian villages, sending panic-stricken residents fleeing for their lives. Thousands sought shelter in the area's major cities, Al-Hassakeh and Al-Qamishli. The fighting lasted several hours. Two local...

Whilst many may think that Jihadists returning from fighting in Syria and Iraq to Europe is a purely European problem, the reality is that they are an active threat to all nations. In response to “discrimination”, after returning to European nations, these fighters are being provided with brand new identities. They now have as much right to enter the US as anyone else from Europe. Speaking to the Swedish News outlet, Expressen, one returned fighter said that: “I am looking for many jobs but can not get one because my pictures are out there.” The pictures he refers to are...

The U.S. and Russia struck a deal for a cease-fire in southwest Syria, according to reports, marking a major breakthrough in the six-year civil war as President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin held their first face-to-face meeting. Details were sketchy but the cease-fire was scheduled to take effect Sunday at noon Damascus time, The Associated Press reported, citing U.S. officials. The deal reflects a new level of involvement by the U.S. in Syria’s civil war. Mr. Trump had previously stepped up U.S. actions with airstrikes against chemical weapon stashes of the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria. Jordan and Israel...

To Comrade Putin and Mr. Trump: Here is the solution to the problem: Let Putin taker care of Syria and Asad’s requests. Clean up ISIS from Syria and restore the order. Putin get out of Ukraine and leave it alone to be Ukrainian. Obey Budapest Protocol. Trump will take care of Iraq and clean up from ISIS. Both can maintain necessary contingents in respective countries and watch ISIS from surfacing ever again. Start cleanup of ISIS agents and let the Muslims return to their own countries and leave US ALONE!!!!! We do not need their Sharia Caliphate, they can set...

BREAKING: AP learns that US, Russia prepared to announce cease-fire in southwest Syria starting Sunday.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – US President Donald Trump is prepared to discuss joint efforts with Russia’s Vladimir Putin to stabilize the situation in Syria at this week’s G20 Summit, possibly even considering no-fly zones in the war-torn country. “The United States is prepared to explore the possibility of establishing with Russia joint mechanisms for ensuring stability, including no-fly zones, on the ground ceasefire observers, and coordinated delivery of humanitarian assistance,” US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement. Tillerson believes military cooperation will pave the way for a political solution. “First, parties in Syria must ensure stability on...

Ottawa to offer Omar Khadr apology, $10-million in compensation Robert Fife OTTAWA BUREAU CHIEF — The Globe and Mail Published Monday, Jul. 03, 2017 10:00PM EDT Last updated Tuesday, Jul. 04, 2017 6:28PM EDT The Trudeau government is poised to offer an apology and a $10-million compensation package to former child soldier Omar Khadr for abuses he suffered while detained in the U.S. military prison for captured and suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Supreme Court of Canada ruled in 2010 that the actions of federal officials who participated in U.S. interrogations of Mr. Khadr had offended “the most basic Canadian...

DAMASCUS (Analysis) – Crucial to the Western narrative of the Syrian conflict is the assertion that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad is a brutal dictator who has taken to killing his own people over the course of Syria’s six-year-long conflict. This allegation has been the crux of the “humanitarian” justification for foreign military intervention in Syria that would seek to depose Assad’s government, a justification frequently used by the U.S. and its allies prior to an invasion or the toppling of an extant regime. While this narrative has been pervasive in media coverage of the Syrian conflict, it is now being...

Saudi Arabia is the chief promoter of Islamist extremism in the UK, a new report has claimed. The Henry Jackson Society said there was a "clear and growing link" between Islamist organizations in receipt of overseas funds, hate preachers and Jihadist groups promoting violence. The foreign affairs think tank called for a public inquiry into the role of Saudi Arabia and other Gulf nations..........

Numan Kurtulmus, Deputy Prime Minister and Government Spokesperson The recent negotiations between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu in Istanbul have been positive, with Turkey expressing its concerns over rising activity of the Kurdish armed groups in Syria, Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmus said Monday.On Sunday, the Turkish presidential press service reported that Erdogan received Shoigu, however without clarifying additional details. On Monday, Erdogan’s spokesman said that the officials discussed a number of issues, including the creation of de-escalation zones in Syria and a conflict settlement road map.“The groups in Syria receiving political and...