The Thinkers, Leaders and their War of Words; Washington versus the Kremlin

Either President Putin is fervently hated or mildly loved, he has done what the world continues to wish since the demise of the Soviet Union; reduction in wars especially Washington-led and backed wars. He has successfully dissuaded the United States from the usual 'no one can question me' nature. He has moved the thinking of the US away from 'I can strike any nation at will if it does not comply with Washington-imposed standards and red lines'.

Putin might be hated really based on Western fabrication and portrayal of him but he is currently ensuring all rational humans have the best rest of minds as possible. Had the US struck Syria, the world would currently be moving closer to an Iraq and a Libya by now. It is natural of Washington and NATO to strike, leave the country in disarray and stylishly exit such. Somalia, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya are ready-made illustrations.

Putin has finally completely changed the perception of the powers in Washington that everything is not all about war-war; it could be a case of word-word too and he is succeeding in that. No American leader would naturally have written an op-ed in any Russian Times long before now because to them, the US is too powerful and no one can challenge it in all spheres of life. Putin just did and basically through Snowden, Syria and his op-ed in the New York Times. In response, Senator McCain, the seemingly most 'powerful' war-hawk today retorted in kind.

Republican Senator John McCain has slammed President Vladimir Putin’s polices in an op-ed headlined “Russians deserve better than Putin,” written for Russia’s online newspaper Pravda.ru. McCain accused Putin and his associates of corruption, punishing dissent and creating an economy “based almost entirely on a few natural resources.” The US senator also singled out the case of Russian lawyer Sergey Magnitsky, who died in prison. McCain, who says he is often referred to as “an active anti-Russian politician,” described himself as “pro-Russian” and said he was not an antagonist of that country’s citizens.

McCain apparently refused to link the case of Edward Snowden and Sergey Magnitsky as well as failed to grab the tenets of Putin's op-ed which was primarily to tell Obama not to create fundamentalist ideology in the Americans through his 'Exceptionalism Stance'. What Putin is simply saying is that sensible countries of the world are tired of over-dependence on brute force by the US to force nations to bow at its feet and the message in guise to the Americans is that their nation is hated because it is God's own. Which nation is Devil's own?

Pentagon Prepares to Overtly Arm Syrian Rebels

All options are always and still are on the table to get Bashar al Assad out at all cost. The apparent frustration of the United States in exploring all options are evident in its continued, consistent and constant policies in raising one dust or another each time Assad seems to be knocking it off. Around April, John Kerry categorically stated that Assad has no place in the future of Syria.

When defending the aborted US strike on Syria during the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee hearing, he mulled the same note that President Obama has said and stood on his words that Assad must go. The United States has been training the rebels covertly since 2012 in Turkey but it looks more like they are no match for Assad's military.

The US has also explored the sarin gas option since April, all moving towards stalemate and maybe an incoherent end with Russia's stance. Now Pentagon is about to do what it knows how to do best in situations like this; arm the rebels directly under the guise and cloth of 'moderates'. Does it mean radicals and terrorists like Al Nusra have been armed before and are losing; hence new ones must be joined in the nomenclature of being 'moderates'?

RT reports that Pentagon has put together a plan to equip and train “moderate” Syrian rebel forces, marking the first instance of the American military having direct contact with the opposition. Information regarding the new plan was relayed by two Obama administration officials to CNN. The idea has allegedly been under consideration since the first evidence of a massive chemical weapons attack outside of Damascus on August 21 emerged, which the US maintains was carried out by Assad’s government.

Though the two officials did not cite many specifics on the proposal, the effort would involve training which would take place in a country near Syria. However, weapons would not be directly supplied as the Pentagon has no authority to do so.

"We have any number of options under development that could expand our support to the moderate opposition, but no decision has been taken at this point," Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Martin Dempsey told reporters on Wednesday in response to questions on the proposal. The Pentagon’s plan would involve US troops training selected rebels on the use of small arms, along with command and control and other military tactics.

No matter how diplomatic Washington tries to package and cook its intervention, it is seemingly glaring to most objective observers that the benefits and utmost advantages would serve the radicals in the Syrian war. The oppositions are disjointed, disoriented, disorganized and disunited. All attempts to bring them together by Washington, the house of Saud in Makkah, Turkey, some selected EU countries, Qatar among others have always ended in a more disconnected mission.

Russia Reactivates Arctic Military Presence; India fires nuclear-capable 'Agni V' missile

Developments around the world are making nations think their stand on the international plane. The American strength and its apparent ability to touch on any country it wishes is giving others the motivation to go tough militarily too. Russia has reactivated its presence in the Arctic by deploying its nuclear-powered ice breaking warships to the region.

Russia’s Defence Ministry officially announced return of Russia’s military to the Subarctic region. The statement was made to mark the arrival of a task group of 10 warships and support vessels to the western coast of Kotelny Island in the Novosibirsk (New Siberian Islands) Archipelago.

The task group is headed by Russia’s most powerful battleship and the flagship of the Northern Fleet, cruiser Peter the Great (Pyotr Veliky). The group is accompanied by four nuclear icebreakers facilitating the passage through areas with particularly thick ice.

“For the first time ever, all Russia’s nuclear surface ships – heavy nuclear missile cruiser Peter the Great and nuclear icebreakers Yamal, Vaigach, Taimyr and 50 Let Pobedy, were combined to perform a joint task,” Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov told journalists.

Russia's first Defence Minister, Army General Arkady Bakhin said that Temp military airfield on Kotelny Island that was inactive for over 20 years will become operable in October, as An-72 and An-74 cargo planes will land there, bringing instruments and supplies for the reactivated Air Force base.

In the near future the airstrip will be modified to be able to receive heavy cargo planes such as Il-76 and An-22 Antey military jumbos. This will speed up reestablishing Russia’s military presence in the Arctic region, as the air connection will be regular, all-weather and all year around.

The task group left the port of Severomorsk and has already covered 2,000 nautical miles, crossing the Barents, Kara and Laptev seas. The region has been left unmanned militarily since the demise of the USSR. Now, Russia says it wants to take charge fully.

The simple theory of might is right. China itself has embarked on massive military developments which definitely is making the Asia-Pacific region look more like an upcoming theatre of war. America too has been bolstering its forces in Asia especially by radical increase in troops presence in the Philippines. It already has Seoul and Tokyo within its ambit.

India has conducted a second test firing of its nuclear-capable 'Agni-V' long-range ballistic missile, which boasts a strike range of over 5,000 kilometers – capable of reaching Beijing and much of Europe, The Indian Express reported.

The three-stage solid propellant missile was test-fired from Wheeler Island off the coast of Odisha on Sunday. The 'Agni-V' can carry a nuclear warhead of over 1 ton. India has been struggling to keep up with China's growing military might, and is eager to have a viable deterrent against its larger, nuclear-armed neighbour.

As Russia and the US Agree to Destroy Syria's Chemical Weapons; Opposition Tries to Raise its Stake

Russia and the United States have agreed on a framework to destroy Syria's chemical weapons. John Kerry says Assad must hand over all details of the locations of the chemical weapons stockpiles within a week while Sergei Lavrov has confirmed that both the US and Russia have contacted Damascus directly on the issue.

The United Nations stated that it has received all official documents from the Syrian government to join the Chemical Weapons Convention and Damascus would be a full member by October 14; 30 days after its application to join the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).

John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov have both been seriously brainstorming on possible ways to end the Syrian crisis. The European Union on its part said it is satisfied with the progress made and would be willing to render its own assistance to effect all the terms of the agreement.

President Obama and the Pentagon are however still mulling that all options are still on the table and the American military is still standing on same posture despite the deal.

Meanwhile the Syrian opposition is also planning 'a future' for itself. The opposition to President Assad, an umbrella group led by the Syrian National Coalition, has elected the moderate Islamist Ahmad Tumeh as their provisional prime minister.Tumeh, a 48-year old former political prisoner from the east of Syria, received 75 votes out of the 97 cast in a ballot in Istanbul.

The move is seen by analysts as an attempt to raise its credibility as high stakes diplomacy plays out between the US and Russia to try and resolve Syria’s two year civil war. Tumeh is an independent Islamist and has been appointed to run rebel-held areas where a slide into chaos has threatened to undermine the opposition to President Assad.

European Union Nominates Snowden for Sakharov Human Rights Prize that Celebrates Freedom of Thought

It has always been said that one man's villain is another's hero. One man's terrorist is another's freedom fighter. The onus of nomenclature lies with the side viewing such an individual. Apparently, when a particular section has the upper voice and hand through the media and 'Superpower' force respectively, its version will tend to sell above all others.

Such is the perfect case of Snowden but not centrally exclusive because the world is wiser as it concerns those who might naturally buy Washington's stance too. Had it been the European Union was not involved in the espionage game, it would have joined the White House in condemning Snowden as a villain and rebuked Russia for granting him asylum.

It happened that members of the European Parliament cannot conceal their joyous shock on the revelation of Edward Snowden, hence have officially nominated the whistleblower and former CIA employee for the prestigious Sakharov human rights prize which celebrates freedom of thought. The prize is named after the Soviet dissident scientist Andrey Sakharov and honours people and organizations for their work in defending human rights and freedom of thought.

Andrey Sakharov was a physicist who designed the Soviet Hydrogen Bomb but soon after began to regret what he had done and became a campaigner for the destruction of all nuclear weapons.  He became an advocate of civil liberties and civil reforms in the Soviet Union. He paid the price trying to rid the world of those terrible weapons. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1975.

Snowden, a computer specialist and former contractor for the US National Security Agency (NSA) leaked classified files of US government and UK surveillance programmes, including spying on their closest allies, to the media. There was a massive manhunt for him especially when speculations about where his final destination would be were not known.

This even led to the embarrassment of the Bolivian President by some European countries when they blocked their airspace thinking Snowden was on board and forced his aircraft to land in Vienna. The US employed all means including threat and blackmail to cajole countries into not accepting him.

Leaders of the parliament's Greens group Daniel Cohn-Bendit and Rebecca Harms said in a statement that Edward Snowden "deserves to be honoured for shedding light on the systematic infringements of civil liberties by US and European secret services. Snowden has risked his freedom to help us protect ours."

He was granted temporary asylum in Russia in late July despite repeated requests for him to be extradited by Washington. Snowden was put forward as a candidate by the European United Left/Nordic Green Left faction. Christian Engstrom from the Swedish Pirate Party, who co-nominated Snowden for the award, said that the whistleblower has paid “a heavy personal price” for his “heroic” actions.

The official presentation of all the candidates for the Sakharov Prize will take place on 16 September, next Monday, the winner will be announced in October and the awards ceremony will take place in Strasbourg in December. Previous laureates of the Sakharov Prize include Nelson Mandela, Chinese dissident Hu Jia and Reporters without Borders, a French based NGO that fights for freedom of the press. The winner receives a prize of 50,000 euros.

The United States and its Hypocritical Democracy

The United States prides itself as the most democratic nation on earth today. It continues to tell the world that democracy entails freedom in its multidimensional facets, debates, the theory of 'we disagree to agree' with real and genuine understanding of the role of the majority in the polity. That is democracy.

The world cannot deny the influence of the United States politics and elections in the scheme of things. Almost the entire world usually stands still when the American election is the offing. We compare and analyse in line with out various local and indigenous politics and democracy.

If this act is not hypocritical, how come the number one democratic nation in the world finds it hard to debate on the floor of the United Nations Security Council? How come unilateral action like that of the DICTATORS whom America love to hate has become the exclusive preserve of Washington? How come Washington cannot provide evidences as demanded by Russia on the use of chemical weapons in Syria? How come Washington has always been so defiant on collective UNSC action and prefers to always do things alone like autocrats? Is democracy not a farce through all these?

Obama even refused to meet with Putin or really discuss Syria at the G20 summit when others were furious and want a real way out but was meeting one by one with his American puppets; Japan and company. Democracy also endorses the idea of the majority, in fact that is the most crucial factor in democracy; game of numbers. How come the United States believe so much in sidestepping the majority at the United Nations who have expressed concern over attacks or is the US mightier than majority of nations on the floor of the UN General Assembly?

Americans says they do not want their government to spend taxpayers cash irrelevantly nauseously based on some specious speculations. The government simply smiles at their ignorant foolery. They hardly control it; the corporations need to sell, test new weapons and get oil whenever and wherever necessary. Israel has a list of countries that must be off in the Middle East to ensure its full hegemony. After Syria, it will be a case of ratcheting up rhetoric on Iran and the ultimate will be best imagined. It is a planned agenda and everything seems to be falling in place.

If democracy recognises disagreement for agreement, how come Washington refused to accept Kremlin's stance that if the UN can confirm Assad used CW, it would support military action under the authority of the UNSC? Internal democracy of the United States suits the US. It is not different then from what is obtainable really elsewhere since its external track records have no iota of genuine democracy. America is a country where whoever the majority of the people want might not win at the end of the day or what is electoral college? The same US will always condemn Iran. The Ayatollahs of the US are the big corporations determining the outcome of elections.

What is the difference between an America that breeds a Snowden of massive worldwide cyber espionage and a China it loves to condemn about human rights abuses and limitation of freedom? The Occupy movements were brutally suppressed too just like in every other sphere. The only luck was that there was no Russia and China to penetrate and interfere, making some elements so recalcitrant to the extent of picking up arms because they know a Washington-like power will come to aid them. It hates their government, hence will do all to help them destroy their country in the name of humanitarian intervention.

Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya have lost all legitimacy. They are now at best abattoirs for humans and graveyards. One needs not talk about the deaths of millions in the wars from Kabul to Baghdad to Tripoli. Washington continues to violate international law and that needs to mention again too because it has become a norm and a tradition. It is constant and consistent. International law is meant for developing nations not the powerful ones. Africa should be pitied here. In fact, only two nations can successfully violate international law without the world winking but with noises from the United Nations; Israel and the United States. They are simply above all laws.

Russia Warns of Nuclear Disaster in Syria ahead of America's Military Push

A military strike on Syria could lead to a nuclear catastrophe if a missile were to hit a reactor containing radioactive uranium, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman warned. The remark comes as the US continues to push for a military strike on Syria. "If a warhead, by design or by chance, were to hit the Miniature Neutron Source Reactor (MNSR) near Damascus, the consequences could be catastrophic," Aleksandr Lukashevich said in a Wednesday statement.

Russia’s Foreign Ministry urged the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to complete a risk evaluation as the US continues to seek support for military action. It asked the agency to “react swiftly” and carry out “an analysis of the risks linked to possible American strikes on the MNSR and other facilities in Syria.” Lukashevich stated that the region could be at risk of “contamination by highly enriched uranium and it would no longer be possible to account for nuclear material, its safety and control.” He added that such material could fall into the wrong hands.

The IAEA said that it is aware of the statement, but it is waiting for a formal request asking the agency to complete a risk evaluation. “We will consider the questions raised if we receive such a request," Reuters quoted an IAEA spokesperson as saying. The agency said in a report to member states last week that Syria had declared there was a “small amount of nuclear material” at the MNSR, a type of research reactor usually fuelled by highly enriched uranium.

Although this type of a reactor would not contain a lot of nuclear material, it would be enough to cause "a serious local radiation hazard" if the reactor was hit, nuclear expert Mark Hibbs from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace told Reuters. The United States Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted on Wednesday to approve President Obama's plan to strike Syria in retaliation against the alleged use of chemical weapons by President Bashar Assad’s regime.

Should Congress move to approve the president’s request, the US could soon initiate a limited strike on Syria. On the other hand, Moscow needs convincing proof – not rumours - from UN experts that chemical weapons were used in Syria, Russian President Vladimir Putin said in an interview with AP and Channel 1 on Tuesday.

“We believe that at the very least we should wait for the results of the UN inspection commission in Syria,” Putin said. He added that so far there is no information regarding exactly which chemical agent was used in the attack in the Damascus suburb, or who was behind it.

RT

Al Qaeda-linked Rebels Unleashed Mayhem on a Christian Village in Syria as the United States Plans to Attack

The United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations passed the Syria Authorization endorsing military action against Syria. The resolution will now be transferred to the full house of the Senate for debate and vote.

Meanwhile, Washington's new found friend, al Nusra, previously labelled a terrorist group by the State Department but became a rebel group because it is fighting Assad, Russia's last ally in the Middle East is busy unleashing its beastly acts after killing both Christian and Alawite clerics and its member even ate the heart of a captured soldier.

The Al-Qaeda-linked group attacked a predominantly Christian village sympathetic to the Assad regime in western Syria while rebel and government forces clashed in Damascus.

RT reports that the attack began at dawn when a Jabhat al-Nusra fighter blew himself up at a government checkpoint near the entrance to Maaloula – a village of 2,000 residents - according to a Syrian official and the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which collects information from anti-regime activists.

Following the suicide bombing, al-Nusra rebels and government forces traded fire, with the rebels eventually seizing the checkpoint and taking over a hotel on a mountain overlooking the village, according the Observatory and a local nun.

Rebels also disabled two tanks and an armoured personnel carrier and killed eight regime soldiers during the fighting. From the mountaintop hotel, rebels fired shells into the village, forcing around 80 people to take refuge in a convent, the nun said.

A Syrian government official has confirmed the attack, AP reported. Rebel mortar fire hit a sports hall in Damascus, killing Mohammed Ali Neimeh, a member of the national taekwondo team, state news agency SANA reported.

American Public Rejects War in Syria; Obama Urges Restraint, Iran Warns of Consequences

The American public has expressed real unwillingness to get involved in another costly conflict in the Middle East, a recent Reuters/Ipsos poll suggests. Only 9 percent of the surveyed believe President Barack Obama should take action on Syria, while some 60 percent of Americans said the United States should not intervene in Syria's bloody civil war.

According to the poll taken on August 19-23, 25 percent of Americans would back intervention if it is proven that the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad used chemical weapons against civilians, while almost double that number – 46 percent – would still oppose such a move. Iran has also lent its voice against any intervention in Syria.

Obama has discussed the latest developments in Syria with British PM David Cameron and both expressed grave concern over the alleged chemical attack. "They reiterated that significant use of chemical weapons would merit a serious response from the international community and both have tasked officials to examine all the options." President Obama has received the awaiting intelligence report with no specific details of the options but the emphasis on responses in the event of confirmation of chemical attacks.

US Secretary of Defence, Chuck Hagel, while speaking at a conference in Malaysia indicated that the US military is ready to exercise options on Syria, should Obama choose military action. “President Obama has asked the Defence Department to prepare options for all contingencies. We have done that and we are prepared to exercise whatever option - if he decides to employ one of those options," Hagel told reporters.

President Obama himself, however, has been cautious about intervention in Syria. In an interview with CNN, the president said the United States should be wary of “being drawn into very expensive, difficult, costly interventions that actually breed more resentment in the region.”

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has said that nearly 3,600 patients with neurotoxic symptoms were treated in three Damascus hospitals on the day a toxic gas attack was reported, while 355 patients were reportedly pronounced dead. Moscow has commented that it was monitoring events surrounding the alleged attack. “We’re getting more new evidence that this criminal act was of a provocative nature,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman, Aleksandr Lukashevich, said in a statement.

“In particular, there are reports circulating on the Internet that the materials of the incident and accusations against government troops had been posted for several hours before the so-called attack. Thus, it was a pre-planned action,” he said.

The revelation by MSF happened within a week of a UN investigative team entering the country to examine three different sites of alleged chemical weapons usage. It was also just hours after UN disarmament chief, Angela Kane, arrived in the Syrian capital of Damascus to apply pressure on the Syrian government to grant access to the site of the reported attack in the Damascus suburbs.

Professor of International Law at Georgetown University, Daoud Khairallah, told RT that the US would not act without verifiable evidence.

“The US can’t take any action without verifiable evidence about who is the party who is responsible. If it turns out that it was the rebels that used this poisonous material, the US will be embarrassed because it will be the allies of US, the opposition the US has been supporting and claiming that these are people who are seeking democracy and rule of law in Syria.”

“The US would like to prove that it was the regime who has done this, but it has not been independently proved or verified and without independent verification I doubt that Obama will act. Obama did say that ‘we need to be sure who has used these weapons, evaluate the costs to the US both financially and morally, we need international approval.’”

"We are ready to go into Syria" ~White House. Do not venture into Syria; Iran warns

Syrian state media accused the rebels of attacking regime's soldiers with chemical weapons while the rebels said Assad's forces were behind the Damascus chemical massacre that occurred in Damascus. The UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Angela Kane is in Syria to try to get access for the team of international inspectors to work at the site in the Damascus suburbs.

The rebels earlier assured the UN officials of their safety in rebel-controlled areas and told them they need to get to the site before 48 hours. Russian foreign ministry also assured the UN experts that the Syrian government is ready to guarantee them maximum cooperation in their quest to verify the truth; separate facts from fictions.

Some western nations seem not to be satisfied with whatever arrangement is going on. The United States, France and the United Kingdom, the three traditional supporters of wars and unrest in countries not in support of them, not on the same page with them and not in tandem with whatever principles they purport to project have blamed the attack on the regime solely. Earlier UN report speculated the regime as well as the rebels have used toxic agents on the populace.

White House says:

"We have a range of options available, and we are going to act very deliberately so that we're making decisions consistent with our national interest as well as our assessment of what can advance our objectives in Syria," the White House official said. "Once we ascertain the facts, the President will make an informed decision about how to respond."

President Obama is set to meet with his national security team later on in the day to discuss possible options.

Tehran says:

"Iran has announced several times that there is no military solution to the Syrian crisis, these provocative measures and moves make regional issues more complicated and fuel tensions. The Syrian problem could be resolved only through a peaceful solution and there is no international permit for military meddling in Syria." ~Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Abbas Araqchi.

The Foreign Ministry said there is evidence showing that terrorist groups and rebels have been using chemical weapons against Syrian civilians.

Commentaries from RT on the developing story of chemical attack in Syria:

"According to US press reports the US government is preparing to launch attacks on Syria using the Kosovo intervention as justification. A route that lies outside the UN. The Russian government should note this will reduce the UN to the same status as its forerunner the League of Nations. It is clear that Western Imperialism will not be deflected by any treaties it has signed with Russia. Look to your military preparations. " ~Babeouf

"Putin and all the Russian citizens must realise that if they success to take down Assad, Iran is their next target and then they will come after the Russian empire. It's not time to play the waiting game, it's time to get ready for all the consequences of the Syrian proxy-war." ~Corbis

"Well it seems like the western warmongers want to have there war no matter the cost. The people of Syria are just a pretext for the war you only have to look at Iraq and Afghanistan to see the concern the US and UK had for its civilians. A negotiated peace was the only solution but the west doomed it from the start. If they succeed this will have ramifications for Jordan, Lebanon, Iraq and could well spread to Saudi. If the west wants to see the entire region in flames they are going about it the right way." ~Carlos

"Bingo. What both sides fail to ralize is that neither West, nor East, nor anyone in between is squeaky clean. Media and government from both sides lie through their teeth. Be they Russian, be they Syrian, be they British, French or American; none are to be trusted. Furthermore, I pray the my own government (the US) keeps a level head and chooses inaction until every last detail is uncovered in undisputable fashion. Even then I would recommend the US does nothing." ~Shark McCallister (sic).

"It is horrific to see there is an anti-Assad faction willing to murder the women & children of their erstwhile allies to provide pretext for Western Humanitarian Intervention, that, or the Assad regime is willing to wage unlimited & criminal warfare to assure the survival of his Ba'athist Dynastic Dictatorship. With the information currently at hand it is impossible to definitively determine. Humanity can not allow this Internecine Civil War to ignite WWIII. It is encumbant upon Russia, the United States, the European Union member States & China to work cooperatively as possible to prevent Global Armageddon." ~Paris Nicolaides

"William Hague will wish he never had a Twitter account if this keeps up.. Have you noticed it is the French and British demanding "action" whilst the other enablers stay strangely quiet ? What is it about these subservient countries and their fake concern for humanity who fund terrorists in the name of democracy? From where i am standing they are all criminally insane and i wonder who they get that from shhh from that little terrorist haven in the Middle East.." ~Jubba

United States braces up for Military Action in Syria

President Barack Obama is considering using military force in Syria, and the Pentagon has prepared various scenarios for possible United States intervention. Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said the Obama administration is deliberating whether or not it should use the brute of the US military in Syria during a Thursday morning Senate hearing.

Gen. Dempsey said the administration was considering using “kinetic strikes” in Syria and said "issue is under deliberation inside of our agencies of government,” the Associated Press reported from Washington.

Dempsey, 61, is the highest ranking officer in the US military and has been nominated by Pres. Obama to serve a second term in that role. The Senate Armed Services Committee questioned him Thursday morning as part of the nominating process when Dempsey briefly discussed the situation in Syria.

Last month, the Obama administration concluded that Syrian President Bashar al-Assad used chemical weapons during the ongoing battles. Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said, “The intelligence community estimates that 100 to 150 people have died from detected chemical weapons attacks in Syria to date; however, casualty data is likely incomplete.”

Pres. Obama said previously that the use of chemical weapons would cross a “red line” and likely trigger American intervention. When the White House concluded Assad had relied on chemical warfare, Rhodes said, “both the political and the military opposition . . . is and will be receiving US assistance."

That claim was met with skepticism, though. The Syrian Foreign Ministry called Obama’s claims a “caravan of lies.” Vitaly Churkin, Russia’s ambassador to the United Nations, later presented to the UN evidence supplied to his government that suggested the Syrian opposition fighters used chemical weapons.

With regards to foreign intervention, UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon said, “Providing arms to either side would not address this current situation.” Sen. Rand Paul (R-Kentucky) and his father, former congressman Ron Paul (R-Texas) have also cautioned the White House against aiding Syrian rebels.

“You will be funding today the allies of al Qaeda” by aiding Syrian rebels, Sen. Paul said in May.

On his part, the retired lawmaker from Texas insisted that the administration’s lead up to possible intervention is “identical to the massive deception campaign that led us into the Iraq War.”

That isn’t to say the GOP is entirely opposed to taking any action. Although directly using the American military — either through boots-on-the-ground or unmanned aircraft — has been rarely discussed in public, Sens. John McCain (R-Arizona) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC), two long-time leaders within the Republican party, have been relentless with efforts to equip opposition fighters.

"I don't care what it takes," Graham told Foreign Policy’s The Cable earlier this year. "If the choice is to send in troops to secure the weapons sites versus allowing chemical weapons to get in the hands of some of the most violent people in the world, I vote to cut this off before it becomes a problem."

Other US officials have previously said Washington is considering implementing a no-fly zone above Syria, and last month the Pentagon left a fleet of F-16 fighter planes and its Patriot anti-missile system on the border of neighboring Jordan following a routine military drill.

Russia Today

Latin American Countries to Recall Ambassadors from Selected European Countries

Leaders in Latin American took a very drastic decision in the wake of the mistreatment of one of their own by the symphatisers of the United States over the Snowden saga. The leaders are to summon the European ambassadors for countries who blocked their airspace to Bolivian President Evo Morales and demand an explanation. Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Venezuela, on Friday decided to call their representatives in Spain, France, Italy and Portugal for consultations.

Bolivia demanded apologies from the four European nations for the July 2 dramatic airspace blockade and detour to Vienna, when Morales' plane was blocked from entering the airspace above several countries. The president was flying home from a meeting of natural gas producers in Moscow.

European governments are believed to have acted on suspicions that fugitive US intelligence leaker Edward Snowden, who had been in diplomatic impasse in the Moscow airport, was on board the plane. The decision to take this stance was made during a summit of the Mercosur trade bloc. Bolivia is in the process of becoming a full member of Mercosur but is currently an associate.

"We emphatically reject the interception of telecommunications and espionage actions in our nations, as they constitute a violation of human rights, of the right of our citizens to privacy and information,'' Mercosur leaders said in the summit's final statement. "It's unacceptable behaviour that breaches our sovereignty and harms relations between nations."

The South American group also defended the right of asylum after Venezuela, Bolivia and Nicaragua recently offered it to Snowden. Washington has put pressure on regional presidents to block Snowden from finding refuge in Latin America. "We repudiate any activity that could undermine the authority of States to grant and fully implement the right of asylum," the statement said.

"We reject any attempt in pressuring, harassment or criminalisation of a State over a country's sovereign right to grant asylum." Uruguayan Foreign Minister Luis Almagro said the four Mercosur trace bloc nations will recall their own ambassadors in the European countries involved for consultations over the incident. The actions of the four European countries were "unfounded, discriminatory and arbitrary, in a flagrant violation of the precepts of international law," Almagro said.

He said the summit found that Morales was subjected to "neo-colonial practices." "It is an incredible, unfriendly and hostile action that violates human rights and affects the freedom of transit and movement and the immunity that every head of state enjoys," Mercosur leaders concluded, according to Almagro.

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff said that the European actions were offensive to each of the leaders at the summit as Latin American presidents, and vowed "concrete and effective actions, be it with regard to the governments or the ambassadors of those countries." According to US National Security Agency (NSA) documents leaked by Snowden that the United States spied on many countries around the world including Mercosur members Brazil, Argentina and Venezuela.

Snowden was granted audience by Human Rights Watch in Moscow. He hinted that he would prefer to be in Russia where he is safe because of the hurdles of and dangers in flying to Latin America. He earlier wrote to 21 countries for asylum and has received no positive response. Wikileaks later revealed he wrote to additional six.

Reports from Moscow reveal Russia is yet to formally receive his asylum request. The Russian  President has expressed willingness in granting him asylum only to the extent that he stops the damaging act of revealing US secrets.

The White House, after Snowden's meeting with HRW, said Russia should not provide him with 'Propaganda Platform'. UN human rights chief, Navi Pillay in her first reaction on the Snowden imbroglio said the fiugitive NSA leaker is worth protecting and the world rejects US espionage act.

United States missile interceptor test ends in failure

Though the United States and Russia are showing interests in reducing the stock of destructive nuclear batteries, the decisions are not effective. The tones are still more like that of the predecessors; SALT1 and SALT2 as well as the STARTs.

The two 'pledges' but the consequent actions are always anti-pledges. Russia recently successfully tested a prototype ICBM with mammoth destructive capabilities which was antithetical to its reduction facade.

United States of course did not go to bed despite Obama's interest in engaging Russia. It is also advancing to prove that arms race has no end in sight. The latest test of a US missile interceptor system from a Southern California coastal base failed to destroy its target, the third such consecutive result for Boeing Co., according to the Defence Department.

In the test, target designed to emulate an incoming long-range ballistic missile was launched from the US Army's Reagan Test Site on Kwajalein Atoll, in the Republic of the Marshall Islands.

The interceptor missile was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base, though it failed to intercept its target. The US military has tested the ground-based defence system a total of 16 times, with eight confirmed instances of a successful interception, the last of which was reported in December of 2008.

The Pentagon has said that the latest test will not affect a decision to expand the missile defence system, which is in part aimed at North Korea’s nuclear weapons programme. Defence secretary Chuck Hagel announced in March an additional 14 new anti-missile interceptor batteries at a cost of nearly $1 billion.

The North Korea and Iran debacle have been Washington's excuses to bolster its arsenal while Russia usually cites US expansion into its 'sphere of influence'; Georgia, Poland and Ukraine as reason to be security-conscious and not go to bed too on missiles' build-up.

EU demands Clarification on US Espionage Acts on its Diplomats; Warns of Consequences

A new word ought to surface just as the United States got 'Romnesia' (a disease that makes you forget anything that makes you bad) during the Presidential debates and campaigns. Presidential candidate, Mitt Romney, always did not usually remember anything he had said that contradicted him. There would probably be another cyber, internet and espionage coinage superior to Wikileaks; maybe termed 'Snowdenvirus' due to the recent leaks by Edward Snowden.

Snowden's new leak showed that the United States had been spying on European diplomats. Reacting to this, the president of the European parliament has demanded an explanation from US authorities over the latest revelation that EU diplomatic missions in Washington, New York and Brussels were under electronic surveillance from the NSA.

“I am deeply worried and shocked about the allegations of US authorities spying on EU offices,” said the President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz. “If the allegations prove to be true, it would be an extremely serious matter which will have a severe impact on EU-US relations.”

“On behalf of the European Parliament, I demand full clarification and require further information speedily from the US authorities with regard to these allegations," he added. Meanwhile, Germany's justice minister also called for an immediate explanation from the United States saying the news that Washington bugged European Union offices was "reminiscent of the Cold War."

"It must ultimately be immediately and extensively explained by the American side whether media reports about completely disproportionate tapping measures by the US in the EU are accurate or not," Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in a statement.

Other EU diplomats also expressed shock concerning the latest batch of revelations in the NSA leak, reported by Der Spiegel magazine on Saturday. "If these reports are true, it's disgusting,” Luxembourg Foreign Minister Jean Asselborn told Der Spiegel. "The United States would be better off monitoring its secret services rather than its allies,” Asselborn continued. “We must get a guarantee from the very highest level now that this stops immediately."

A spokesman for the Office of the US Director of National Intelligence had no comment on the Der Spiegel story, Reuters reported. Der Spiegel, quoting from a September 2010 "top secret" US National Security Agency (NSA) document leaked by former CIA employee Edward Snowden, reported on Saturday the NSA was eavesdropping on the EU’s internal computer networks in Washington, as well as at the 28-member bloc UN office in New York.

The German magazine also reported that five years ago, the NSA also targeted telecommunications at the Justus Lipsius building in Brussels, home to the European Council, where all EU member states have their offices. Snowden, 30, fled the US for Hong Kong in May, just weeks before The Guardian and Washington Post published details he provided about a top-secret US government surveillance programme that accumulated internet and telephone traffic both at home and abroad.

The whistleblower is presently in the transit zone of Moscow’s Sheremetyevo Airport, where it is believed he is attempting to gain political asylum in Ecuador. Lode Vanoost, former deputy speaker of the Belgian parliament, believes that the main purpose of the US surveillance programme was “economic spying” on the EU.

“At the moment, the EU is negotiating a new free trade agreement with the United States,” the former deputy speaker noted. “On the economic level, [the US] is losing ground everywhere,” he said. “Look at what the BRIC countries are doing. The EU is having stronger ties with Russia, with Africa, with Latin America. And the US doesn’t seem to get its economic priorities imposed as it used to. So what I see is a big risk for economic spying.”

He added that there is “too much at stake” for there to be a total breakdown in US-EU bilateral relations, however, “behind closed doors there will be some very tough words” exchanged between EU and American officials.

Ecuador has revealed that the choosing and the safe landing of Snowden in any destination is in the hand of Russia. Russia seems to be the love, the land currently romanced by anybody dissatisfied with the condition and system of the obtainable in any Western nation as noticed in the case of the French actor, Gerard Depardieu, who recently received Russian citizenship in protest against high taxes in France. This has also been the case with anybody not comfortable with/in Russia.

All Personnel Withdrawn from Russian Navy Base in Syria

Russia’s Deputy Foreign Minister says all personnel had been evacuated from the navy resupply base in Tartus, Syria, adding that not a single Russian military serviceman remained in the country.

Mikhail Bogdanov made the announcement in an interview with the Al-Hayat newspaper. “Presently, the Russian Defence Ministry has not a single person stationed in Syria. The base does not have any strategic military importance,” the newspaper quoted the Russian official as saying.

Russian media have verified the statement and the business daily Vedomosti quoted an unnamed source in the Defence Ministry as saying that this was true as all military and civilian personnel had been evacuated from the Tartus base and there were no Russian military instructors working with the Syrian military forces.

The source added that the withdrawal was prompted not only by the increased risks caused by the ongoing military conflict, but also by the fact that in the current conditions any incident involving Russian servicemen would likely have some unfavourable reaction from the international community.

Russia currently has a 16-ship flotilla in the Mediterranean Sea but none of them has called at the port of Tartus in recent months and there were no reports of such plans.

Mikhail Bogdanov is also Russian President’s plenipotentiary for Middle East issues and he headed the Russian delegation at this week’s talks between Russia, US and UN on preparations of the major international conference on Syria, dubbed Geneva-2.

Following the Tuesday round of talks another Russian diplomat – Deputy Foreign Minister Gennadiy Gatilov – told reporters that the sides failed to agree on a number of questions and the terms of the future conference were not yet agreed. In particular, the participants of the talks varied on Iran’s possible role in the future conference.

Moscow supports Tehran’s participation in talks as it would make a positive contribution to the possible political settlement in Syria, the Russian official noted.

Besides, the participation of some of the Syrian opposition groups remains under question though the US side said they were working on this, Gatilov added.

The Russian diplomat said that the supplies of weapons to the Syrian opposition were not discussed at Tuesday's talks, though he noted that this issue “was not creating positive political environment for the start of the political process.”

Gatilov said that Russia still hoped the plan to call the international conference would end in success. In particular, the issue will be discussed at the forthcoming meeting between Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov and US State Secretary John Kerry, due soon within the framework of the ASEAN conference in Brunei.

Courtesy: Russia Today

China Slams the US; Amnesty International says Snowden Commits no Crime

China has taken a swipe at the US over its allegations that Beijing allowed NSA leaker Edward Snowden to leave Hong Kong. The spokesperson for the Chinese Communist Party said  the US has gone from ‘model of human rights’ to manipulator of internet rights.

The damning article in the overseas edition of the People’s Daily, the party’s official newspaper, came in response to Washington’s accusations of the “deliberate choice by the government to release a fugitive despite a valid arrest warrant.”

Addressing Washington’s allegations, the People’s Daily wrote that China could not accept "this kind of dissatisfaction and opposition.”

"Not only did the US authorities not give us an explanation and apology, it instead expressed dissatisfaction at the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region for handling things in accordance with the law,” wrote Wang Xinjun, a researcher at the Academy of Military Science in the People's Daily commentary.

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying also denounced the US accusations as "groundless and unacceptable.”

"It is unreasonable for the US to question Hong Kong's handling of affairs in accordance with law, and the accusation against the Chinese central government is groundless," Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Hua Chunying.

The Hong Kong government released an official statement on Sunday, saying that US fugitive Edward Snowden had left the Chinese territory for Moscow legally and voluntarily. The statement also mentioned that the extradition documents submitted by the US on charges of espionage were not sufficient to warrant Snowden’s arrest under Chinese law.

The column praises the former CIA contractor for “his fearlessness that tore off Washington's sanctimonious mask."Snowden has been branded by the US as ‘traitor’ by US politicians for the leaking of classified documents to The Guardian newspaper that revealed the existence of the spy programme Prism.  

"In a sense, the United States has gone from a model of human rights to an eavesdropper on personal privacy, the manipulator of the centralised power over the international internet, and the mad invader of other countries' networks," the People's Daily said.

The case of Edward Snowden has captivated world media since he fled from the US in May. Although the fugitive’s whereabouts are unknown, WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange confirmed to Russia Today that Snowden was en route to Ecuador via Moscow accompanied by WikiLeaks legal representative Sarah Harrison.

The whistleblower has applied for asylum in Ecuador and the country’s government confirmed that it is processing the application.

The US has called on all countries in the northern hemisphere to surrender Snowden to US jurisdiction and has resolved to seek cooperation from his destination country. However human rights organisation Amnesty International has launched an appeal, urging the US not to prosecute anyone who discloses data on US government human right violations.

"No one should be charged under any law for disclosing information of human rights violations by the US government. Such disclosures are protected under the rights to information and freedom of expression," said Widney Brown, Senior Director of International Law and Policy at Amnesty International.

In addition, the organization also stressed that an individual who has an asylum bid underway cannot legally be extradited.

Russia wants Nuclear Reduction from all Possessing Countries

Russia is trying to expand the coast and island of the nuclear states, away from the United States 'limited' acceptance of reality. The US is tactically interested in discussing with Moscow alone on reduction of nuclear missiles while Russia believes the reality has gone beyond the Cold War strategic balance.

The response of Russia to Barack Obama's proposal on the reduction of missiles in their nuclear arsenals is to tell the US to take note of the contemporary international order in nuclear distribution and arrangement.

Russia says it would discuss further strategic nuclear arms reduction if all countries possessing nuclear weapons were involved, according to Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov. He added that this includes not only the five members of the “nuclear club”, but all nations with the nuclear capability. 

The comment came after US President Barack Obama suggested that Russia and the US scrap one third of their strategic nuclear arsenals and possibly dismantle tactical nuclear weapons. 

The US, Russia, the UK, France, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea officially have atomic weapons at the moment, and Israel is widely believed to have a secret nuclear arsenal. Iran is speculated to be building its own though Tehran has strongly denied any interest in such missiles.

The CIA has been training Syrian Rebels since 2012 in Turkey and Jordan

The announcement by President Barack Hussein Obama that the United States will arm Syrian rebels is somewhat making an already existing act official with the latest reports on the Syrian crisis.

According to US media reports, the CIA and US special operational troops and have been training Syrian rebels secretly at bases in Jordan and Turkey since November 2012. Up to 100 from all over Syria have gone through courses in the last month alone.

At the two-week courses trainees were taught to use Russian-designed 14.5-millimeter anti-tank rifles, anti-tank missiles, as well as 23-millimeter anti-aircraft weapons, Los Angeles Times reported citing anonymous US officials and rebel commanders. 

One of such US covert training session, conducted by American, Jordanian and French forces, has allegedly been taking place in Jordan for the last month or so, the newspaper cited Brig. Gen. Yahya Bittar, the head of intelligence for the Free Syrian Army. 

The exact number of rebels given instruction in both countries since the training began at a new American base in southwest Jordan could not be determined. But according to a different rebel commander the training in Jordan involves 20 to 45 insurgents at a time.

The training reportedly started months before President Obama approved sending arms to anti-Assad rebels for the first time in mid-June. The secret courses have involved fighters from the Free Syrian Army, according to US official, who spoke to the newspaper anonymously. They have been selected when US military set up supply lines to provide non-lethal assistance to rebels, according to the official.   

So far, about 100 rebels from Dara have attended four courses, while rebels from Damascus have attended three courses, according to a rebel commander in the Syrian province of Dara. 

“Those from the CIA, we would sit and talk with them during breaks from training and afterward, they would try to get information on the situation inside” Syria, said the commander, who helps oversee weapons acquisitions. 

Graduates are sent back across the border to re-join the fight, Brig. Gen. Bittar said.  The rebels have been promised supplies of armour-piercing anti-tank weapons and other arms to resist President Assad’s army, the Dara commander said. 

Since last year, the weapons sent through the Dara military council, apparently from Qatar, Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries, have included four or five Russian-made heavy Concourse anti-tank missiles, 18 14.5-millimeter guns mounted on the backs of pickup trucks and 30 82-millimeter recoilless rifles, the commander told the newspaper.

“I’m telling you, this amount of weapons, once they are spread across the province [of Dara] is considered nothing,” the rebel commander was quoted as saying. “We need more than this to tip the balance or for there to even be a balance of power.” 

The White House and CIA officials have declined to comment on the alleged training programs while other US officials have confirmed the training, though disputed details provided by rebels. 
Jordan and Turkey also appeared in another recent report by the Washington Post citing US officials said that CIA is preparing to deliver arms to rebel groups in Syria through its bases in these two countries. 

“The bases are expected to begin conveying limited shipments of weapons and ammunition within weeks,”the report read. “We have relationships today in Syria that we didn’t have six months ago,” the WP quoted Benjamin J. Rhodes, Obama’s deputy national security adviser, as saying.

Meanwhile, Syrian rebels have confirmed the shipment of new weapons from “friendly countries” to battle the government forces, according to spokesman for the opposition fighters, Loay Al Mikdad. The shipment, the representative assured, did not come from the US. Earlier this month the Associated Press also learned that the Gulf States delivered new anti-tank missiles and anti-aircraft missiles to the opposition. 

The surge in weapons shipments follows US claims earlier in June that it had strong evidence that the government has used chemical weapons against opposition forces contrary to an earlier finding the UN in May, with lead investigator Carla Del Ponte concluding that the rebels were behind at least one chemical weapons attack. 

Following the announcement, US officials claimed that President Obama authorized sending weapons to Syrian rebels, without providing much detail. The Syrian insurgent are awaiting the US shipment. “We believe that the United States will implement its commitments to us very soon," Al Mikdad said on Friday. 

Speaking at the Russian economic forum on Friday, President Vladimir Putin has once again said that the West should not arm the rebels because they include “terrorist” groups. “If the United States ... recognizes one of the key Syrian opposition organizations, al-Nusra, as terrorist ... how can one deliver arms to those opposition members?” Putin said, adding “where will (those weapons) end up? What role will they play?” 

“It's clear that without deliveries from abroad, what is happening in Syria now would simply be impossible. Money is going in, weapons are going in, and well trained armed groups are going in,” Putin said. 

The escalation of tension around the Syrian conflict coincides with an international effort, agreed by US and Russia in May to bring all parties and major regional player to the negotiating table. The date for the Geneva 2 conference has not been set. But in light of recent developments Russia is beginning to doubt US intentions. 

“The [West’s] message the opposition is getting: ‘Guys, don’t go to Geneva. Don’t say that you are going to negotiate with the regime. Soon things will change in your favour,’” Russia’s FM Sergey Lavrov told Bloomberg on Friday. “So, that’s what we want to clarify. It’s either the conference or the instigation of the opposition not to be flexible. I don’t think it’s possible to do both at the same time.” 

Courtesy: Russia Today

Obama-Putin agree to settle scores in Geneva. Obama to boost aid to Syria and Neighbours

After the two leaders; Putin and Obama, central from the outside to the conflict in Syria met, they made the pledge after a 2 hour meeting at the G8 summit to push the sides of the conflict to the negotiating table in Geneva.

“We have agreed to push the sides of the Syrian conflict to come to the negotiating table at the international Geneva conference,” Putin said.

“On some points, we still have a different stance, but we are united by an aspiration to prevent violence, to put an end to the growing number of victims, to solve the problem by peaceful means, including through negotiations at the international conference at Geneva,” the Russian President added.

President Obama also conceded that he has a “different perspective” on Syria than his Russian counterpart, but confirmed that both countries have a shared interest in stopping the violence and “securing chemical weapons” in Syria.

“We do have differing perspectives on the problem but we share an interest in reducing the violence, securing chemical weapons and ensuring that they're neither used nor are they subject to proliferation,” Obama said. “We want to try to resolve the issue through political means if possible.”

President Obama is set to announce a further $300 million in new humanitarian aid to Syria, which will bring the total of US aid during the two-year civil war there to over $800 million. A little less than half of the new aid package will go to Syria itself, with the rest being sent to neighbouring countries harbouring Syrian refugees, the White House said on Monday.

The Obama administration had already declared that Assad’s government had crossed a red line when it looked like Assad was winning the war despite all efforts to pull him down. Obama claimed new classified evidence showed chemical weapons use by government forces. As a result, American officials went on the record supporting the idea of military aid to the Syrian insurgency.

US officials had already told Reuters that Washington was also reviewing the possibility of setting up a no-fly zone in Syria that would extend 40km into its territory and would be used as a safe haven for refugees and a platform to train rebels. Moscow spoke out against the US plan to aid the rebels, saying Kremlin officials were “unconvinced” by the US claim of evidence.

Apart from Syria, in the course of their nearly two-hour-long talks the presidents touched on a number of sensitive issues including Iran, nuclear security and the prevention of nuclear arms proliferation, as well as cyber security and cooperation in fighting terrorism.

“We spoke in detail about strategic security between the two countries and the world in general. I think that we have opportunities to move forward in the most sensitive areas,” Putin said.

'West fighting al Qaeda in Mali and Supporting same in Syria. Syria needs Reforms’ ~Putin

Speaking about the conflict in Syria, President Vladimir Putin said it was possible to avoid the civilian war by conducting reforms in due time.

“Syria as a country was rife for some kind of change. And the government of Syria should have felt that in due time and should have undertaken some reform,” Putin said. “Had they done that, what we’re seeing in Syria today would have never happened.”

However, he added, one should take into account that the entire Middle East is currently finding itself in a state of uncertainty and conflict – and it’s wrong to try and interfere from outside.

"From the outside some people think that if you bring the entire region in compliance with someone’s specific idea of democracy, things will settle down, and everything will be all right in that region. But that’s not true. Considering that region’s background history, culture, religion – you cannot interfere with it from the outside.”

Putin pointed out that the West is supporting some certain organizations that are fighting Assad in Syria, and they are countering "those very same groups" in Mali.


“Where is the logic in that?” he said. “Our Western counterparts often tell us that the Al-Nusra is one of the key organizations in the Syrian military opposition. But it has been dubbed terrorist by the US Department of State, and it doesn’t even hide its links to Al-Qaeda. So will you let this organization join the future government of Syria? Our Western counterparts say no. Are you going to just make them go away once you have victory in Syria? They don’t know. It’s totally unclear.”

Putin reminded that the quality of life in Libya was one of the highest in the region before the regime change.

“What do you have there now? There is a war of everybody against everybody among various tribes, there is war for resources, and, I’m afraid, if we go the same way in Syria, there will be same havoc in Syria that we’re now witnessing in Libya,” he concluded. “Isn’t that enough from what we’re seeing in Pakistan and Afghanistan right now, where there’re terrorists that are not controlled by anyone, except for terrorists?”

Speaking about mass demonstrations, the president stressed that the government should control protesters, “put them put them in the legislative field,” if they “violate the law.”

“This is what happening both in the US and in Russia,” Putin said.

“Russia doesn’t try to influence Occupy activists, yet foreign agents try to do this in Russia,” he said, referring to the Occupy movement that initially started from protests in New York and then spread worldwide.