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"It is now time that the Russian state comes forward and explains exactly what has gone on" British Home Secretary Sajid Javid 7/5/2018 After chairing a meeeting of the COBRA committee on national security matters today the British Home Secretary Sajid Javid, said to be a leading candidate to be the UK's next Prime Minister, took aim at Russia in connection with the latest incident that caused a British couple to become critically ill when he spoke in the House of Commons. Javid claimed that Russia was using the UK as a "poison dumping ground". A spokesman for the Russian...

"A man and a woman found unconscious in Wiltshire were poisoned by Novichok-the same nerve agent that poisoned ex-Russian spy Sergei Skripal, police say" BBC News story published at around 6pm Eastern-2300 British Summer Time 7/4/2018 Last Saturday in Amesbury, England Charlie Rowley and Dawn Sturgess became ill and went unconscious. Soon workers in hazmat suits were in the area. At first police thought it might be a drug related incident. First media reports appeared this morning with the words "mysterious substance" attached to what caused the pair to go unconscious. But late tonight in the UK "Novichok" was identified...

The U.S. Navy stands ready to ensure free navigation and the flow of commerce, the U.S. military’s Central Command said on Thursday, as Iran’s Revolutionary Guards warned they would block oil shipments through the Strait of Hormuz if necessary. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and some senior military commanders have threatened in recent days to disrupt oil shipments from the Gulf countries if Washington tries to cut Tehran’s exports.

Punctuated by a massive ground barrage and numerous air strikes late Wednesday (July 4th) the Assad regime forces of the Syrian Arab Army and supporting militias relaunched their offensive in the Deraa region. Today (July 5th) pro-government sources say the town of Saida was taken back from opposition forces enabling the government troops to move southwards towards the Jordanian border including the Nassib crossing on the M5 highway. But intense fighting continues to the northwest of Deraa city at Tafas, where an ISIS affiliated force is resisting the government offensive. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said yesterday that there must...

"Israel by this statement marks out a security zone based on the 1974 disengagement lines for accomodating the tens of thousands of Syrian refugees massing on its borders as well as rebel forces retreating from Quneitra. This zone covers 235 sq km. between southern Golan and Mt. Hermon...." "DEBKAfile" June 1, 2018 Israel cancelled a security cabinet meeting planned tonight to discuss 'preparations for war' but increased the strength of its forces on the Golan Heights border with Syria. (One reason for cancellation may have been a meeting between Israel's Defense Avigdor Lieberman and the Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoygu...

"A monitoring group reported that five children were among those who died when aircraft identified as Russian bombed Musayfira, east of the city of Deraa" BBC story 6/28/2018 "Israel sends 300 tents, 13 tons of food, 15 tons of baby food, 3 pallets of medical equipment and medicine and 30 tons of clothes across the border as 120,00 Syrians flee from the Deraa area...." "ynetnews.com" 6/29/2018 "Once again the USA has publicly distanced itself from Syrian jihadi rebels against the Assad state....This sounds familiar. On March 30, 2017 the US Ambassador to the UN, Nikki Haley, formally and openly abandoned...

Israeli missiles struck at Damascus International Airport in the early morning hours of Tuesday June 26th. Syrian sources reported the attack. The attack is said to have been on an Iranian cargo plane. Syrian anti-aircraft defenses went into action with a pro-government source claiming an object was destroyed southwest of Damascus. Today (June 25th) the Israeli DEBKA website claimed that a drone targeted by an Israeli Patriot missile Sunday was participating in the offensive against jihadist opposition in SW Syria curently underway. DEBKA quoted a Syrian officer as its source. The Israeli attack on Damasacus came in the wake of...

"Russia will ultimately bear responsibility for any further escalations in Syria" US UN Ambassador Nikki Haley 6/22/2018 "The IDF stated: Israel's air defenses and identification system located a threatening object before it crossed into Israel. No violations of sovereign Israeli air space will be permitted and action will be taken against any attempts to harm its citizens". "DEBKAfile"- Story 6/24/2018 Opponents of the Syrian government and pro-Syrian regime sources agree that the Russian Aerospace Forces (Air Force) launched attacks in support of a government offensive in the Daraa region of southwest Syria over the weekend. Different sources said anywhere from...

"The Syrian Air Force has conducted at least 60 airstrikes against terrorist positions in #Daraa this week alone. Main offensive is yet to begin." "Paul Antonopoulos" Twitter 6/21/2018 The Syrian military has been on the attack in the southwest of Syria Daraa region this week seizing two villages east of the stategic M5 highway at it conducted operations against jihadist opposition forces. But the Syrian operations are not the main offensive according to pro-government sources who say that is not happening yet. The United States has warned against such an offensive with a new warning yesterday (June 21st) and Israel...

"We are hours away from the beginning of the #OpBasalt in Daraa and al-Quenitra, a military choice that God knows we were forced to pick, we gave them Ramadan and Eid to accept a peaceful solution, and they didn't, what happen from now on is their responsibility" "WithinSyriaBlog" Twitter 6/18/2018 "The United States remains committed to maintaining the stability of the southwest de-escalation zone and to the cease-fire underpinning it. We also caution the Syria regime against any actions that risk broadening the conflict or jeopardizing the cease-fire" US State Department Statement May 25th, 2018 Its being called "Operation Basalt",...

"The President has authorized the United States Agency for International Development and the U.S. Department of State to release approximately $6.6 million for continuation of the vital, life saving operations of the Syrian Civil Defense, more commonly known as the White Helmets..... The United States Government strongly supports the White Helmets who have saved more than 100,000 lives since the conflict began, including victims of Assad's chemical weapons attacks...." US Department of State news release 6/14/2018 "The Syrian organization was also accused by Russia and the Damascus government of covering up militants crimes and of staging fake chemical attacks to...

(News, Comment, Analysis) "What will Israel's reaction to this be? How effective will Syrian air defenses be against a reaction? What will Russia's reaction be to Israeli attacks on its ally's forces?" Col. Pat Lang on his "Sic Semper Tyrannis" blog 6/10/2018 The word from Syria is that the Assad regime is planning their "largest offensive of the war" to launch this week. The report published by "Almasdar News" Saturday June 9th says the big offensive expected in southwestern Syria against the jihadists is about to kick off. The US State Department issued a statement May 25th warning the Syrian...

The United States is concerned by reports of an impending Assad regime operation in southwest Syria within the boundaries of the de-escalation zone negotiated between the United States, Jordan and the Russian Federation and reaffirmed between President's Trump and Putin in DaNang, Vietnam in November. The United States remains committed to maintaining the stability of the southwest de-escalation zone and to the ceasefire underpinning it. We also caution the Syrian regime against any actions that risk broadening the conflict or jeopardize he ceasefire. As a gurantor of this de-escalation area with Russia and Jordan, the United States will take firm...

"As a gurantor of this de-escalaltion area with Russia and Jordan, the United States will take firm and appropriate measures in response to Assad regime violations" Heather Nauert of the US State Department speaks late Friday 5/25/2018 With the Syrian regime dropping leaflets in southwestern Syria near the Golan Heights and Jordan urging rebel-jihadist forces to disarm and with the expectation of Syrian government military action in the region, the United States has begun to cry foul. This going into a weekend statement reminds me of what President Trump did earlier this year when he discussed Syria on a Friday...

"...true Zionism involved emigration to Palestine, working with out own hands to 'redeem' and build up the country, and create there a model society based on social, economic and political equality...." "David Ben-Gurion Looks Back"-In talks with Moshe Pearlman published 1965 "For united we stand, divided we fall" As sung by "The Brotherhood of Man" (1970) Jeremy Corbyn, the socialist style Labor Party leader in the UK reminds me of what "Labor" and "Socialist" parties used to stand for. The people who work for a living were deserving of protection from big business and more communal way of living was...

The word after talks with Italy's president today is that more time is needed for the Five Star Movement and the League to finalize details of a new government program and agree on the name of a new prime minister. Leaders Luigi Di Maio of Five Star and Matteo Salvini of the League have agreed not to be prime minister, another person will be named. Reuters quoted Di Maio: "We agree that we have to move quickly, but we are writing what will be the government program for the next five years. It's very important for us to do it...

AMMAN (Reuters) - U.S-backed Syrian Democratic Forces said they expelled had Syrian troops that briefly took control of a string of villages in oil rich areas east of the Euphrates river near the Iraqi border on Sunday. SDF forces led by the Kurdish YPG militia said they had waged a counter-attack against Syrian troops it said were backed by Russian forces, adding they were driven “far away” from four villages they had seized earlier in the day. “Our forces regained the initiative,” they said in a statement.

Russian mercenaries...attacked an outpost manned by American commandos and U.S.-backed fighters of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), comprising Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters...Today, the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) is the U.S. military's best ally in the fight against ISIS in Syria, helping to take back 90 percent of territory formerly held by ISIS. It consists of well over 50,000 Syrian Kurdish and Arab fighters.

Peter Hitchens has weighed in with some reflections on the Syrian situation following the alleged 'chemical attack' and the limited military action that followed it. "The following story appeared in the Mail on 15th April: 'A FORMER head of Britain's Special Forces has challenged Theresa May's claim that President Assad was behind the chemical attack in Douma. 'Major General Jonathan Shaw said: "Why would Assad use chemical weapons at this time? He's won the war. That's not just my opinion, it is shared by senior commanders in the US military. There is no rationale behind Assad's involvement whatsoever." Hitchens also...

"I asked them how they felt about the "moderate rebels" that they were living under and they said 'there's no such thing as moderate rebels'. They said that the people they were living under were starving them to death...they hoarded the medicine and took everything for themselves....if anyone complained you were risking your life, they'd kill you, they'd kill you and your family for complaining or raising any problems....." "One America News Network" reporter Pearson Sharp reports on his visit to Douma, Syria after it was taken back by the Syrian government from "The Army of Islam" rebels who held...