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U.S. officials have begun to reveal the kinds of military equipment Russia has been moving into Syria, leaving little doubt that they are establishing an air base in the war-ravaged country. Moscow’s movements have been closely watched by the international community over the last few weeks, as observers debate whether the rapid buildup of weapons, troops and supplies near the Syrian coastal city of Latakia is presumably meant to aid diplomacy that will end the years-long civil war or to prop up the regime of embattled President Bahar al-Assad. Asked if the White House has gleaned Russia’s intent with the...

September 23, 2015 3:45 pm Russia’s Syria build-up takes Iran by surprise Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this article with others using the link below, do not cut & paste the article. See our Ts&Cs and Copyright Policy for more detail. Email ftsales.support@ft.com to buy additional rights. http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/da2bc14e-61e2-11e5-9846-de406ccb37f2.html#ixzz3ma7Pkrmp The US is not the only country puzzled by Moscow’s recent military build- up in Syria. The leaders of Iran, supporters of Damascus alongside Russia, are also scratching their heads about President Vladimir Putin’s intentions. ...snip.... High quality global journalism requires investment. Please share this...

Even now with the Russians on the verge of combat operations in Syria, the White House still says it believes that they’re there to fight ISIS. John Kerry says that his Russian counterpart told him that the Russians are “only interested in fighting” the Islamic State. Other administration officials hold out hope for a grand U.S.-Russia coalition against ISIS. But that’s nonsense: Vladimir Putin landed troops in order to protect his investment in Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad. The White House should know better, because no matter what U.S. officials say about fighting the Islamic State, Obama’s underlying goal in Syria...

Russia has now confirmed that it is intervening in the Syrian war on the side of the Assad government; and, as Al-Arabiya's Azeem Ibrahim notes, the response of the U.S. betrays its impotent incredulity. Russia is poised to return to the Middle East, from which it was ejected with the collapse of the USSR. The United States seems to be telling Russia to go ahead, because, as Raghida Dergham explains, it is unwilling to engage – though it is not yet ready to fully retreat. Authored by Raghida Dergham, originally posted at Al-Arabiya News, At the end of this month,...

Israeli, Russian Armies to Form Joint Committee on Syria Actions Committee will coordinate naval and aerial activities, military chiefs agree in Moscow meeting. Gili Cohen Sep 22, 2015 3:05 AM The Israeli and Russian militaries will form a joint committee to coordinate their activities in Syria, Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot and his Russian counterpart Valery Gerasimov agreed in a meeting in Moscow on Monday evening. The committee, which will be headed by the countries' deputy chiefs of staff, would coordinate both naval and aerial activities, as well as electro-magnetic activities, to avoid interference in electronic warfare, a...

After months of declining to take a position on the Keystone XL pipeline, Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton says she opposes the construction of the project. "I think it is imperative that we look at the Keystone XL pipeline as what I believe it is: A distraction from the important work we have to do to combat climate change, and, unfortunately from my perspective, one that interferes with our ability to move forward and deal with other issues," she said during a campaign event in Iowa Tuesday. "Therefore, I oppose it. I oppose it because I don't think it's in...

Moscow will reportedly provide Russian troops in Syria with an advanced antiaircraft missile system as part of its military support for Syrian president Bashar Assad. "This system is the advanced version used by Russia, and it's meant to be operated by Russians in Syria," a Western diplomat who is regularly briefed on US, Israeli, and other intelligence assessments told Reuters. And as The Daily Beast's Michael Weiss points out, any antiaircraft missiles deployed by Russian troops in Syria won't be directed at ISIS, since ISIS has no air force. In fact, none of the rebels do — only government forces...

On Sunday, the director of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Yukiya Amano, arrived in Iran for talks on the nuclear agreement, as part of what appears to be an attempt by the UN nuclear watchdog to evaluate whether Iran ran a military nuclear program in the past. Amano is expected to meet with various Iranian nuclear scientists for answers on this very subject. On December 15, ahead of the lifting of crippling economic sanctions on Tehran, he is slated to present the world with definitive answers that will determine whether Iran complied with the terms of a nuclear deal signed...

NATO continues its military buildup in close vicinity to Russia: for the first time since the inception of the Ukrainian crisis, German Eurofighters are set to patrol the Baltic Airspace with full ammunition. The NATO Baltic air-policing mission has been carried out by its member states since 2004, when Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania acceded to the military bloc. In contrast with September - December 2014, the aircraft will carry enough ammo for a real fight: a gun, infrared short-range missiles, radar-guided medium-range missiles and an electronic defense system with decoys that are ejected at a threat.

Greece's Alexis Tsipras has said his left-wing Syriza party has a 'clear mandate' after winning a second general election in less than nine months. But he said Greeks faced a difficult road and recovery from financial crisis would only come through hard work. Syriza won just over 35%, down slightly on its previous result and still short of an overall majority. But it will renew its coalition with the nationalist Independent Greeks. Opposition New Democracy gained 28 percent. Far right Golden Dawn came in third with 7%, slightly up on January's poll. Syriza was first elected in January on an...

<p>Jordan’s Queen Rania has used a speech in Berlin today to call upon Europe to help more Syrian refugees – and not to ‘bolt the door for fear of the unknown’.”</p> <p>The threat – always the threat. It’s the Islamic way. Oppose the invasion or face the consequences. There it is. I submit that the consequences of the Muslim invasion of Europe are far greater than “the consequences of extremism.” What’s the difference?</p>

ISIS have received heavy bombardment in Palmyra for the second day in a row, a group monitoring the war has said. The Islamic State-held city of Palmyra was bombed on Friday as Syrian army jets carried out at least 25 air strikes. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was one of the most sustained government bombardments of Palmyra. The air strikes killed at least 26 people, including 12 Islamic State fighters, the British-based Observatory said. On Thursday, Syrian jets had carried out at least 12 air strikes on Raqqa, Islamic State's de facto capital in the north. Elsewhere...

Texas Railroad Commissioner Christi Craddick Discusses the Future of Fracking in Texas

One of the Islamic State's top military commanders was actually trained by U.S. Special Forces in the nation of Georgia before taking up arms for ISIS in Syria, according to a variety of sources quoted in an explosive new report by the McClatchy news agency. Another member of the Obama administration’s supposed “anti-ISIS” coalition, the Wahhabi-Islamic dictatorship in Saudi Arabia, played a key role radicalizing the jihadist leader through a hard-core Islamist mosque it funded near his village. In other words, without the direct assistance of key “anti-ISIS” governments — including Washington, D.C. — the man said to be...

Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko banned a number of Western and Russian journalists from the country, accusing them of being a "threat to national interests" or promoting "terrorist activities," according to a list published on the presidential website on Wednesday. Two British journalists working for the BBC—Moscow correspondent Steve Rosenberg and producer Emma Wells— and BBC cameraman Anton Chicherov had been banned from entering Ukraine but Judith Gough, the British ambassador to Ukraine, confirmed on Twitter that the BBC journalists would be released. Two Spanish journalists, Antonio Pampliega and Angel Sastre, were also included on the blacklist although Sastre went missing...

World | Fri Sep 18, 2015 11:37am EDT Related: World, Russia, Syria Syrian jets pound Islamic State-held areas for second day BEIRUT Syrian army jets carried out at least 25 air strikes on the Islamic State-held city of Palmyra on Friday, a group monitoring the war said, the second intense bombardment in two days of territory held by the militants. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it was one of the most sustained government bombardments of Palmyra. On Thursday, Syrian jets had carried out at least 12 air strikes on Raqqa, Islamic State’s de facto capital in the north....

On Thursday evening, we detailed a Reuters report which suggested that the influx of Russian technical and logistical support to Bashar al-Assad’s depleted army at Latakia might have breathed new life into the regime as it seeks to rout Islamic State and a whole host of other armed groups fighting for control of Syria. “Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem said on Thursday Russia had provided new weapons and trained Syrian troops how to use them,” Reuters said, before describing what certainly sounds like an invigorated air campaign against the de facto ISIS capital at Raqqa. Importantly, al-Moualem also indicated that Syria...

Activists: Syrian warplanes carry out wave of airstrikes on IS-held city of Raqqa BEIRUT (AP) — Syrian warplanes carried out a wave of airstrikes in the Islamic State-held city of Raqqa, activists said, in rare attacks that coincided with a visit by a U.N. envoy to Damascus on Thursday.

World | Thu Sep 17, 2015 3:20pm EDT Related: World, Russia, Syria Exclsuive: Syrian army starts using new weapons from Russia - military source BEIRUT | By Tom Perry The Syrian military has recently started using new types of air and ground weapons supplied by Russia, a Syrian military source told Reuters on Thursday, underlining growing Russian support to Damascus that is alarming the United States. "The weapons are highly effective and very accurate, and hit targets precisely," the source said in response to a question about Russian support. "We can say they are all types of weapons - be...

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