Thinking the Recolonisation of Africa: US, UK Counter-terrorism Forces Storm Nigeria

A Nigerian news portal, 'Abusidiqu' once reported a wikileaks revelation on how an Algerian-based CIA-sponsored agency gave $40 million to members of the Boko Haram sect promising them more if they continue in their acts. This claim cannot be dismissed considering the act of the CIA in Syria too. The French military also was also financing the rebels in Mali before they grew out of hand. French forces also airlifted and dropped sophisticated weapons for rebels in Libya, especially in Misrata, during the no-fly-zone turned regime-change war. These weapons were unaccounted for but today as always and usual, terrorists roving West Africa are said to get their weapons from Gaddafi and as an aftermath of his fall. Boko Haram also began kidnapping after France paid it N500 million to free some French nationals held hostage.

Africa still continues to be their chessboard, a continent they can always penetrate when the need arises. United States has expanded its African-based forces in the name of AFRICOM. The rate at which terrorists are roaming the continent is giving the foreigners the desired outcome. Terrorism and foreign dominance in Africa seem to be working hand in hand. Kenya rushed to beckon on Israeli storm-troopers as well as American and British 'experts'. Terrorism is weakening and showing the weakness of Africa which the leaders have allowed and bolstering and strengthening those who led the continent to the state of torpidity and massive quagmire.

In what looks or appears more like a continuously established situation, the Nigerian Navy Chief of Training and Operations, Rear Admiral Babalola Ogunjimi disclosed that foreign Special Forces have arrived Nigeria for counter-terrorism operations which specifically will be for operations against the deadly and dreaded Boko Haram sect. This is coming after the United States raided Libya and Somalia to prove its reach, capacity and capability. the Nigerian Navy Chief stated that the Nigerian military, in conjunction with Special Forces from the United Kingdom (UK), United States of America (US), Spain and Netherlands have begun a joint training to combat terrorism in the country.

He said 150 of them were drawn from units of the Nigerian Armed Forces-Army, Navy and Air Force- while 739 are from the foreign Special Forces. Ogunjimi said the training called "African Winds", began on October 3, and was expected to last for 14 days and would be followed by four days' exercise. He said the exercise would be conducted by Mobile Training Teams (MTTs) of the Special Forces in Lagos and Calabar, respectively.

"It is expected that the "African Winds" training and exercise will further improve the capacity of the Nigerian Armed Forces to deal with numerous security challenges in the Gulf of Guinea", adding that some of the challenges include crude oil theft and attacks on merchant ships. Ogunjimi said the programme was in furtherance of the Chief of Defence Staff's drive to promote effective joint services operations among Nigerian Armed Forces and friendly military from other countries.

According to him, the exercise in Lagos will take place between October 15 and 18 at Ibeshe Beach and the Navy Ordinance Depot (NOD) Waterfront. The exercise that will be conducted in Lagos include Amphibious Raid, Maritime Counter Terrorism, Vessel Boarding Stop and Search in an opposed environment and Hydrographic survey," he said. He  further said the Calabar exercise would hold between October 21 and 24 at the Tinapa and Muddy Beach in the state and Oron Beach in Akwa Ibom State.

Ogunjimi further revealed that the exercises to be conducted in Calabar include Riverine and Jungle operations which would be carried out by a combined force from US., UK and the Netherlands marines. He said an amphibious raid exercise planned and executed by troops from the Army, Navy Special Boat Service and the NNS Jubilee, would be conducted at Oron Beach to end the exercise. "African Winds" is the nickname for a maritime capacity building training programmes for the Armed Forces of Nigeria in conjunction with the Netherland Maritime Forces under the US sponsored African Partnership Station. Other countries covered by the programme are Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Benin and Cameroon.

Under the programme, the Netherlands Maritime Forces is providing an amphibious logistic support ship, the HMNLS Rotherdam, to support the training and exercise," he said. He said the ship contained 688 troops, four helicopters and six special boats called Landing Craft Utility (LCU) and Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP). He said  other facilities in the ship included Fast Raid Interception Special Forces Craft used in inserting small number of specially trained troops from sea to land, particularly in the creeks. Rather than build their military bodies and forces to a sophisticated level to be able to combat modern demands and challenges, African leaders prefer to be notoriously corrupt; dwindling their nations' wealth while genuflecting for aid from those who destroyed and continue to destroy the continent.

"African Winds" is really a perfect title considering how systemic and systematic the wind of recolonisation is blowing. It is blowing so fast and speedy that African leaders pretentiously act as if they are unaware of the rising trend. Spain is a country notable for its American colonies built by African slaves. The Netherlands too is another notorious country of slave raiders and traders. The United Kingdom did hers too and its even the most versed in the act which she transferred to the 'Almighty' United States of America today. Africa seems to have accepted its destiny to 'forever' be backward and relegated to the background always while feeding the highest percentage of those it kowtows for.

One begins to wonder when ignorant African leaders will begin to see the relationship between Western push into the continent and their financing of terrorism thereof. The situation is extremely appalling. Many Africans rush to accept the incursion on the ground that terrorists are perpetuating heinous crimes yet most of the weapons used are Western-manufactured. A pertinent question was once asked: 'Why has terrorists not attacked Israel on the scale they do elsewhere?' Al Qaeda was created during Soviet incursion into Afghanistan. Today, the US finances Saudi Arabia which automatically finances the radical Sunnis and Salafists. When they attack any country, America and the foreign powers will be the best for such a country.

US raids Libya and Somalia in Search of Terrorists; Captures One, Fails in the Other

Abu Anas al-Liby has been seized by US forces in the Libyan capital Tripoli, the Pentagon has revealed. His real name is Nazih al-Ragye while the above is his pseudonym. John Kerry speaking in Indonesia, ahead of an Asia-Pacific summit said: "We hope this makes clear that the United States of America will never stop in its effort to hold those accountable who conduct acts of terror. Those members of al Qaeda and other terrorist organizations literally can run but they can't hide. We will continue to try to bring people to justice."

Liby, a Libyan believed to be 49, has been under US indictment for his alleged role in the bombings of the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, which killed 224 people. The US government has also been offering a $5 million reward for information leading to his capture, under the State Department's Rewards for Justice programme.

On his own part, Pentagon spokesman George Little said: "As the result of a US counter-terrorism operation, Abu Anas al-Liby is currently lawfully detained by the US military in a secure location outside of Libya." Liby was apparently 'kidnapped'. Local witnesses said he was returning from morning prayers before he was rounded up and whisked away. He returned to Libya after the demise of Gaddafi. This definitely is another confirmation of the havoc NATO and Western-led regime change invasions are doing which could have occurred in Syria but for Putin's sagacity.

Another of such raid to capture al Shabaab's commander ended in failure. The raid on Liby was done without the US informing the Libyan authority. If Somalia is devoid of any real authority, has Libya turned into that too? Anyway, the Libyan government has become a full stooge since it sees NATO and its attendant sponsors as liberators. The Prime Minister of the Libyan Government has demanded that his 'bosses' in White House and the Pentagon give an explanation on the raid.

The United States slams Sanctions on Rwanda Over M23 Rebels Acts

Rwanda continues to be the potential target for the activities of the M23 rebels whom it has been accused of supporting without remorse. The M23 was founded by former Tutsi rebels who were incorporated into the Congolese army under the 2009 peace deal. In April 2012, the M23 revolted and launched the latest rebellion, ravaging DR Congo's mineral-rich and conflict-prone east.

The United Nations also accuses Rwanda of backing the M23, a charge the country has rigorously adamantly denied. Various human rights groups not excluding the UN rights body have also accused the M23 rebels of committing serious atrocities; including rape and murder, in addition to the use of child soldiers, in a conflict that has caused tens of thousands of refugees to flee.

The United States, due to all these allegations, slammed sanctions on Rwanda centrally over the use of child soldiers by the rebels in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the United States was invoking the 2008 Child Soldiers Protection Act in sanctioning Rwanda, as Washington seeks to end "any involvement in the recruitment of child soldiers".

The sanctions were linked to actions by the M23. Thomas-Greenfield said the US will continue to have discussions with the Rwandan government on the issue. The sanctions terminate financial and military assistance for the fiscal year 2014, which began on 1 October. The sanctions will end all international military education and training in financial year 2014.

The US will however continue to support peacekeeping training that is not restricted to this child soldiers prevention act. United Nations Brigade, created by the Security Council and composed of Tanzanian, South African and Malawian soldiers has been able to record tremendous gains in DR Congo. It has driven the rebels far into the border with Rwanda which made resumption of peace talks in Uganda almost inevitable.

Is Africa in the Age of Begging?: Ghana's President Seeks Foreign Partnership

First it was President Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria that begged President Obama of the United States to help develop Nigeria in order for Africa to develop. He said President Obama needs to develop Africa and he cannot develop Africa without developing Nigeria first. On the whole, it looks more like African leaders are displaying their ineptitude openly publicly.

No Chinese official ever begged foreigners to help develop China. The Asian Tigers; Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore grew of their own accord. Luis Inacio Lula da Silva led Brazil to the part of glory by having a good mastery of good governance and all seriousness to lead the people to a glorious era. Hugo Chavez stood like a rock having in mind the sole mission of making Venezuelans feel the benefits of their country being an oil producer.

Ghana’s President John Mahama on his part called on leaders of more developed nations to partner African leaders toward ensuring sustainable development of the continent. This is contained in Mahama’s address presented at the 68th session of the UN General Assembly. Mahama said that much of what was currently seen were gestures that connoted pity and sympathy instead of partnership for economic development.

"Often the western world has wrongly assumed that we in Africa do not know our worth, this is entirely wrong because Africans are aware of who they are. African leaders are aware that what the continent needs is not sympathy, it is partnership which will avail us the ability to stand on our own feet," he said. The Ghanaian president further said that the continent would achieve serious development given the right partnership.

"Africa is not in search of hand-outs, Africa is in search of opportunities, we have already shown that with time and the right opportunity, Africa can make it." Mahama said. Mahama stated that there was need to transform Africa’s economy by adding value to its primary export produce. "It is not good enough for Africa to export raw gold, cocoa, petroleum and other resources and end up importing product finished from its produce."

"Africa needs to add value to its natural resources by setting up industries that will add these values," he said. He said that such step would create more employment for the teeming youths and boost economic growth in the continent.

What Mahama and his counterpart from Nigeria nay Africa always fail to grab when making such atrocious speeches is that the only times the Western world ever came to full agreement and partnership on Africa were times they wanted to exploit and plunder Africa. The heinous, inhuman and inhumane Slave Trade coupled with the notorious colonial era and the continued entrenchment of imperialism. These leaders are talking more like they are out of ideas, almost totally helpless and hapless yet want to continue ruling.

Africans can only save Africa and determine the form of partnership they want not begging. No country ever begs and grows. Every developed nation on earth today took charge of their destinies. It is high time Africans started taking developmental issues seriously and stop killing themselves while the leaders siphon the funds meant to be injected into the economy and develop the land to the lands of the same people they are begging.

Serious countries will continue to look at the leaders begging and pleading for support as jokers and clowns because they know Africa is wealthy but badly and poorly managed.

I Will Conduct Credible Polls in 2015 ~President Jonathan to Obama

After throwing powerful jabs at those who continue to distract his administration with fake news and obnoxious conjectures by telling them to allow him concentrate on his job, President Jonathan again has emphasized on his main goal which is to transform Nigeria in all facets; politically, economically and diplomatically. The President resounded the position of Nigeria as the 'Big Brother of Africa' without which Africa may not really put its onus rightly.

President Goodluck Jonathan had earlier warned those bent on creating political pandemonium in the land to desist from doing so. He cleared one of such nefarious statuses Nigerians are quick to jump at by speaking through his media aid, Dr Reuben Abati to demystify the news making the round that he took 600 officials to New York as reported by Sahara Reporters. The whole Presidential team composed of just 30 officials. He warned the opposition and their attack 'voltrons' not to blow up the house they intend to occupy with dynamites.

President Goodluck Jonathan continues to reiterate the commitment of his administration to hold credible, free and fair elections in the country by 2015. He gave the assurance during his bilateral meeting with President Barack Obama in the Lyndon B. Johnson suite in the Waldorf-Astoria in New York on Monday. “I have conducted credible elections in 2011 and I am committed to do the same in 2015.”

Jonathan reminded the US President that as he continued to work towards a safe world, Nigeria, he said, should not be left out.  “For you to fix the world, you must fix Africa. For you to fix Africa, you must fix Nigeria.” He also called for a stronger global consensus and determination to end the scourge of terrorism as quickly as possible. President Jonathan said that unless the international community unite and deploy its enormous resources to eradicate terrorism, it would continue to be embarrassed by terrorist outrages such that occurred in Nairobi.

He expressed his appreciation of the support and assistance Nigeria had received from the U.S. in the fight against domestic terrorism. Jonathan said that Nigeria would welcome more bilateral collaboration to fight terrorism in the country. On his part, President Obama recalled his recent trip to Africa and since then he saw common interests in helping Nigeria improve its rural electrification, empowering young people through the Young African Leaders programme.

According to him, improving internal security is in a way consistent with human rights and making sure Nigerian elections in 2015 continue to improve the country’s democratic process. Obama said the attack at a Nairobi mall over the weekend “underscores” the level to which all countries "are connected” and the need to work together. “We stand with them against this terrible outrage that’s occurred, we will provide them with whatever law enforcement help that is necessary.”

“The United States will continue to work with the entire continent of Africa and around the world to make sure that we are dismantling these networks of destruction.” The US Secretary of State, John Kerry, and the National Security Adviser, Susan Rice, were also in attendance.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Jonathan was accompanied to the meeting by the Minister of State (Foreign Affairs), Prof. Viola Onwuliri, Nigeria’s Ambassador to the U. S, Prof. Ade Adefuye, the Minister of Petroleum Resources, Diezani Allison-Madueke, and the Governor of Gombe State, Alhaji Ibrahim Dankwambo.

Israel Cannot Be Touched; It Must Remain A Nuclear Power. ~UN Attempts to Say

In the build-up to the final agreement for Syria to hand over its chemical weapons and place them under international control, embattled President Bashar al Assad attempted to mull what the world knows can never be possible; that Israel should destroy its own stockpile of chemical weapons too. It was another good try anyway. Assad knows better (but was trying to render his own voice so as not to appear weakened) that Israel is the only country in the world that can do whatever it likes without anybody holding it culpable.

The United States does not need to bark or roar before the majority of the UN member states know what to do as regards any resolution presented against Israel on the floor of the UN General Assembly or any of the the UN-affiliated bodies. The UN Security Council is simply a no-go area. Israel equals veto. An Arab-backed resolution targeting the Jewish state for criticism over its clandestine nuclear weapons arsenal was voted down by member states of the UN nuclear agency. Fifty-one countries voted against the so-called ‘Israeli Nuclear Capabilities’ measure and 43 states voted for it.

The indefinite postponement last year of an international conference on banning atomic arms in the region led to the frustration of the Arab states; hence, proposed the rejected measure at the annual member state gathering of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The US had pushed for the Israel’s neighbours not to present the text of the resolution. The US knows full well that it will die a natural death as always.

If the text had been adopted, Israel would have been compelled to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and place its nuclear facilities under IAEA monitoring.  Diplomats had expected a close vote. The United States said the move would endanger broader diplomatic efforts to create a Middle Zone free of weapons of mass destruction. Israel said it would severely undermine efforts to hold regional security talks.

Despite the warnings, Ambassador Ramzy Ezzeldin Ramzy, head of the Arab League group at the IAEA, earlier said the draft resolution would go ahead. "The world has to know that Israel is not playing a constructive role, that Israel has a [nuclear] capability," Ramzy told Reuters. Iran for its part said this week Israel's nuclear activities "seriously threaten regional peace and security."

World powers agreed in 2010 to an Egyptian plan intended to lay the groundwork for establishing a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction. The US, who co-sponsored the meeting, said it would not take place as scheduled last December and did not forward a new date. Arab diplomats said they had held back on proposing the resolution over the last two years in a failed bid to buoy chances for the Middle East conference.

"We have engaged seriously and constructively in the preparations [for the conference]. The Israelis have been playing for time, delaying. We have never seen enough seriousness on their part," Ramzy said. Israel's atomic energy chief, Shaul Chorev, said that Arab states were using this week’s IAEA meeting as a platform for "repeatedly bashing" his country. The Arab-backed resolution only deepens "existing distrust" among the region's countries, he said.

Israel is believed to possess anywhere from 75 to as many as 400 nuclear weapons, including thermonuclear weapons in the megaton range. Israel has never confirmed or denied being in possession of the arms. In the most recent US report on the Israeli arsenal, published in the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, nuclear weapon proliferation experts Robert S. Norris and Hans M. Kristensen assess that Israel stopped producing nuclear warheads back in 2004 once it reached around 80 munitions, RT reported.

However, the country can easily double its arsenal since it has enough fissile material to build at least another 115 bombs, the experts say. Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Israel’s assumed nuclear weapons stockpile made the country “a target” and “create foreign policy problems,” AFP reported.

Putin said “the technical advantage of Israel – we need to say this directly – is such that it doesn’t need nuclear weapons. Israel is already in a technical military sense several heads above the countries in the region.” He added that Syria had developed chemical weapons “as an alternative to the nuclear weapons of Israel.”

Despite the glaring tactical and strategic advantages of Israel over all countries in the Arab World, it still continues to roar profusely over the Iranian nuclear programme which Tehran had reiterated countless number of times that it is for peaceful purposes. Israel's stance has made Western powers slam numerous biting sanctions on Iran. Ayatollah Khamanei released a Fatwa in 2004 that nuclear weapons are not endorsed by Islam and was re-echoed recently by President Rouhani. However, Netanyahu continues to claim they are all lies.

The same Netanyahu was confirmed by former French President, Nicholas Sarkozy, as a foremost liar while President Obama confirmed him as being deceptive. They were unknowingly overheard by some reporters. The world only understands propaganda. It is a case of he who controls the media or has the most formidable influence on the media controls the minds and thought processes of many in the world.

This is why a McCain will always and maybe will forever be furious that a Putin is taking the [media] war to their doorstep by writing a masterpiece and an evergreen speech to the American people in the New York Times, where Putin lectured the 'most democratic' nation on earth on how to respect international law which would prevent the escalation of wars and to stop relying on brute force like Adolf Hitler. John McCain retorted with a vainglorious trash; neglecting virtually all the issues raised while attacking solely the personality of Putin and lectured Russians on how to be gays.

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.

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.

Syria and Obama's Nobel Prize: Bush's Clone Prepares for War in Syria; 'unreliable' Russia takes on Saudi

Who gave President Barack Hussein Obama, the presumed first 'man of colour' to rule America a Nobel Prize? The bribe is not working. It will never work. He is a clone. This is just like giving George Walker Bush the prize of a 'man of peace'.

The world is again been fooled by some microscopic warmongers who see wars as the only cards to be played once a government refused to dance to their nefarious whims and caprices. Logically, Bashar al Assad made the mistake earlier of embarking on such massive crackdown of protesters and in the other angle, Syria's earliest responses to the protests were better and satisfactory compared to Mubarak's Egypt and Gaddafi's Libya. Assad's government kept on making concessions on Thursdays.

He kept on paving the way for peace and peaceful resolutions but the recalcitrant elements among the protesters, probably belonging to al Qaeda, bolstered by NATO elements through Turkey or maybe waiting to catch in on Western hatred of al Assad refused to mellow down and allowed for peace. They chose to go so nauseously militaristic beginning from Homs and the government cannot just fold its arms watching. The crackdown though affected a lot of unarmed protesters but where two elephants fight, the grass suffers.

Almost all governments on earth employ the same tactics to silence protesters but that of a government not on the same page with western diktats are usually blown beyond proportion otherwise was Bahrain better than Syria when Damascus' protests started? Syria was much reasonable. It did not order for thousands of Iranian troops to silence and kill its citizens.

Saudi sent over one thousand soldiers into Bahrain to crush all peaceful protests. That will be allowed because Bahrain must not fall because of Iran. America's fifth fleet is there, Saudi needs a buffer zone and an ultimate 'destruction' of Iran to eliminate its most potent rival. Israel needs that too as Iran is a formidable bone on its throat. It is a real Middle East of confusion. America continues to claim al Qaeda is its enemy, that is just another slap on the world. People are taken to be morons. Al Nusra was listed by the State Department as a terrorist group but when its actions and bestial acts are needed in Syria, it became a rebel group. Who is fooling who?

Al Qaeda was created through Osama bin Laden in the nomenclature of a Mujahideen to oust the Soviet Union from Afghanistan but became a terrorist group after accomplishing the CIA-led mission and decided to bite its master a little. That is the same way the Free Syrian Army will be tagged in some few years. The world is in real mess. Libya knows no peace again. Gaddafi like Assad was about completing the job; hence, the rebels would have surrendered and Libya would be stabilized. Those who took up arms against a government should fight their wars to the last not when a monster comes in and turns the whole country into a continuous 'graveyard'. That is what Iraq is today. That is what Libya is now.

North to West Africa is now suffering from the outcome of NATO's involvement in Libya. Islamist militants parade the territories blatantly, causing mayhem and havoc. Russia has centrally been an unreliable partner, hence it is really usually better and safer to dance to the tune of the United States who can flex its muscle than depend on a country with much noises and less action but cries. If the news making the round is anything to go by, which revealed the Kremlin has ordered massive strikes on Saudi Arabia because it was threatened by Makkah to hands off Syria and allow Assad to fall, then Moscow is not taken seriously because the powers know it is not ready to act, hence the bombs would likely rain on Syria.

Tentative UN report proved the rebels not Assad may have likely used the sarin nerve gas. NO! The powers do not want any conclusion again and they will never go through the UN. Going through the UN means Russia will stop them. How can that be? They want wars. They have been able to save a little after the depression and financial meltdown. They need to charge world's tension. They need to strike and create pandemonium. It is not about regime change but 'humanitarian'. Yes! We know how Gaddafi was deposed and Libya is now left naked.

It is always 'humanitarian' with bombs. The same government that encouraged Saddam Hussein to gas Iran is now the police against such weapons. The same government that refused to apologise on Hiroshima and Nagasaki is the alpha and omega. Soon, another declassified document of the CIA will come out in some years and it will be revealed that Israel, Saudi Arabia or even Turkey with the backing of the United States pushed the rebels to use or knew the rebels will use the gas on 'children' like it happened in the Iraq-Iran war of 1980-88. The world is full of noises; no actions. They know Russia and China will not risk wars, so they behave like injected dogs everywhere.

The war on Iran has begun. President Morsi who has a soft side for Hamas has been sent packing. Syria will soon be out. Russia should be ready, it will be left naked. Iran is the main target. Arabs like Africans are the problems of their lands now. They blame Israel but refused to think and settle disputes among one another. The greed of the leaders has destabilized their region. Saudi Arabia does not allow Israelis into its territory but it is working for Israel by allowing Washington to continue to invade any nation Israel wants out of the 'map'.

Assad is winning the war; no doubt. They want the table overturned like in the Iraq-Iran war. Syrian opposition says it will not not attend Geneva-2 peace conference if does not gain militarily. It needs a leverage to force Assad out on the negotiating table. It has happened before, it is happening and will likely continue. They control and determine it. The shi'ites are going down. Saudi wants that. The sunnis must 'rule'. It is a planned agenda. Sunni monarchies; Saudi Arabia and Qatar primarily have committed to the war in order to ensure their own continued hegemony, especially in terms of energy production. A renowned author and geopolitical analyst F. William Engdahl has noted, Israel’s new gas discoveries off the Mediterranean coast add a new dimension to the struggle for dominance in the region.

The real terrorists are the police of the world. They are the ones who determine what terrorism is and label anyone not working in their favour as a terrorist. Everything looks like a planned agenda. President Obama spoke and said categorically: 'I have told Assad to leave so we can have a transitional government'. Obama, the president of another country ordering another sovereign head to leave. Will they not use all means even if sarin gas is the key? How come it is all coming after Obama's 'red line' speech? He was so bold because he knew they control the world. This is no real joke. That is just it. Bahrain and all repressive regimes on Washington's good book can kill their citizens with smile but once your act are against Washington, just try not to touch even a criminal.

It is the Balkan wars all over again. Balkanization of the Middle East has been effected. The wars must keep coming like it led to the first world war (WWI). Like the Balkans almost exactly 100 years ago, Syria has become the proverbial powder keg in which Western leaders play with matches. Almost all the players and powers in the Balkan wars are still present today. America did not join the start but joined in the larger war (WWI). The world should brace up once again.

United States Calls for Calm and Restraint in Congo as Fighting Escalates

The United States said it was alarmed by an escalation in fighting in Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo between M23 rebels and Congolese soldiers; called on neighbouring Rwanda to stop its support for the rebels. The State Department condemned attacks by the M23 that killed at least three people in Congo's eastern city of Goma. It also expressed concern over reports by the United Nations of shelling by the M23 into Rwanda territory.

"We urgently call on (the) DRC and Rwandan governments to exercise restraint to prevent military escalation of the conflict or any action that puts civilians at risk," State Department spokeswoman Marie Harf said in a statement. "We are deeply concerned about evidence of increasing ethnic tensions in Goma and call on all parties to avoid any actions that could exacerbate such tensions." Harf said the United States was ready to consider further targeted sanctions against M23 rebel leaders and other armed groups.

Washington urged the UN mission in Congo, MONUSCO, to thoroughly investigate charges of cross-border shelling. Rwanda said five mortar bombs had fallen on Rwandan villages, following a rocket the previous and blamed Congo's army.

United Nations Brigade, created by the Security Council and composed of Tanzanian, South African and Malawian soldiers has had its first clash with the Congolese rebels menacing the Eastern town of Goma bordering Rwanda since it was created in March to neutralise the rebels at all cost; by the use of force if and when necessary. The brigade fired artillery at the rebels according to reports.

The rebels were reported to have entered a security zone ringing Goma that had been established by the newly-designed UN Intervention Brigade and at least two people were killed when three shells landed in the city centre. The fighting entered a third successive day near Goma, a city of about a million people after a relative lull in the 18-month-old M23 rebellion. The city was seized by the M23 rebels last year and the United Nations pledged in July to prevent the rebels from getting back within range of the city.

UN Lieutenant-Colonel Felix Basse said another M23 shell crashed near Munigi on Goma's outskirts, where a UN peacekeepers' base is located, causing some civilian casualties. Clashes between M23 and the Congolese army continued. Government forces repelled two rebel assaults according to Colonel Olivier Hamuli, spokesman for the Congolese army, known as FARDC. "The (UN) brigade is engaged on our side, they're supporting us with their artillery," he told reuters.

Rwanda, which has long had strained relations with Congo, accused the Congolese army of deliberately firing artillery into its territory. Kinshasa denied the reports and repeated its accusation that Rwanda backs M23. Rwanda denies it. Martin Kobler, head of the UN mission known as MONUSCO, said populated areas and UN positions had been directly attacked during the clashes.

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

Thinking Egypt: Democracy, Military and the Muslim Brotherhood; The Ban, the Agendas and the Players

Discussing the horrific and saddening events in Egypt, beginning from the Rabaa Massacre would attract limited attention as the whole world is already aware and abreast of the developments. What is of note is the developing issue of banning the Muslim Brotherhood and the various monies fueling the crisis. In some quarters, Obama is perfectly supporting the Brotherhood against Egyptians who want a free society while some others believe it is a design because Morsi snubbed them; a way to secure Israel because Morsi is soft on Hamas. Apparently, the Egyptian military is 'gullible' compared to the Brotherhood. Most probably, Obama has to be in support of the Brotherhood on his own 'personal' part due to his analysis of the Tamarod 'Rebel' campaign movement.

John Kerry said the Egyptian military acted to preserve democracy and was lambasted by the Brotherhood that he would not accept a 'coup that was not a coup', to use Pepe Escobar's phrase, in Washington. Kerry's speech showed the official position of the White House but sometimes, a leader might somewhat deviate 'personally' from an official position guided by institutional traditions and laid down procedures. The White House is fighting to preserve the annual $1.3 billion aid to the military. On his part, Obama revealed that any future without the Muslim Brotherhood will lead to a divided society. That is just on point. Banning the Muslim Brotherhood would be a case of 'much ado about nothing'. In fact, were Egyptians not the ones who voted for it? Are Egyptians not the ones fighting now in support of Morsi?

If  the Muslim Brotherhood is banned, will its members be banished and exiled? Will its supporters not vote in elections? Will it be the case of Mubarak's era of fixed and pre-determined elections? If the Brotherhood is banned and free and fair elections are to be held, with its support base, its members will find a way back. It will remodel itself. Cutting of the head is not a panacea to a serious headache, maybe that is what President Obama had foreseen before 'mulling' support for the MB. According to the Tamarod group, Morsi was supporting Israel. How? Morsi by all standard was pro-Hamas, except if Hamas has turned a friend of Israel. Morsi balanced his acts, settled differences between Hamas and Israel to the applause and accolade of many but came back to commit a faux pas - promulgated a rule by decree. Although he later apologised but the people felt a Mubarak in democratic clothing was back. To err is human, to forgive is divine.

Tamarod utilised the dissatisfaction. While protesters were galvanised using the Tahrir Revolution of freedom and a 'secular' state, Tamarod group has its own agenda somehow. Mistakes are flying around in Egypt and it appears people are lost in support of one group against another without getting to know the latent intentions of the groups. Upon the ouster of Morsi, Israeli drones began work in Sinai in conjuction with Egyptian officials. Will Morsi have accepted such? Tamarod who sought his ouster and found Sisi as the 'devil' to accomplish the task definitely will not accept such but Sisi gave approval. Morsi's government is said to be against the tenets of democracy; women's rights and rights of minorities. Democracy alone does not specify these rights, Islam and Sharia'ah law do too but just as we have radical ones in every society, Egypt has too, hence the attacks on churches. Attacks on churches pre-dated Morsi but only became somehow worsen under him.

Morsi apologised and promised to make amends. His removal ought to be for calm, peace and dialogue. He can return once a real plan in a formidable third way out of military ideals already established by Mubarak and the 'fundamentalism' the MB is accused of trying to impose is worked out. Egyptians danced to the music of the power players; the music they know not its esoteric concoction. The only option to keep the MB off is to establish a Mubarak-style government because only such a style of governance can contain the resurgence of a body existing for over 30 years with well structured and articulated platform. Egyptians should then brace up for continued unrest. Too much of everything is bad. The most likely and plausible candidate for such a regime is General Abdel Fatah El Sisi, hence, the 'El Sisi' for President slogan is already gathering momentum. Egypt is back to pre-Morsi days; no doubt. Why then were elections held? Were Egyptians not the ones who voted?

El Sisi is soft on Israel though Israel is still in doubt of his actions. He does not appear like one who is ready to break the 1979 Camp David Accord with Israel or act detrimentally to the extent of severing Washington's cash; so, Tamarod still has much rebellious campaigns, unrest and civil disobediences to organise. The Gulf Monarchies are also bankrolling the military and El Sisi. Egypt is the heart of the Arab World truly. Egypt is now the testing ground of the divisive voices in the Arab World. Morsi is pro-Hamas, hence, must have a soft spot for Iran (Saudi Arabia's rival) though he had to go against al Assad to save himself from an impending danger.

Saudi Arabia is in full support of the military carnage going on in Egypt, so also is UAE and definitely Bahrain and Kuwait not excluding Hamas rival, the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO). PLO is understandable, it is being paid by Washington like the Egyptian army. It just received $148 million to boost its budget. All of them have nothing to lose. Egyptians have all to lose. Iran sits and watch but rightly warned of a civil war in the offing earlier.

A simple suggestion would have been to continue dialogue, no matter how defiant the Muslim Brotherhood is. It has every right to be defiant. After all these years of being shortchanged and attacked under Mubarak, its LEGITIMATE mandate was again stolen and Sisi wants it to clap, fold its arms and smile? That would be the most debasing thought ever. Morsi can come back with serious negotiations for a real third way in Egypt where all parties will pledge to a free society that will guarantee women's rights and the rights of the minorities, most especially the Coptic Christians. They must be really, centrally and fully protected as in the days of Mubarak where attacks were very minimal. Sisi should shelve his pride and discuss with Morsi because he seems to be the only face that can calm the MB. Now, Mubarak is to  be released to show that Sisi really revenged. A soldier will always be for another soldier or so it looks now.

Muslims formed human shield to prevent the burning of the church

Egyptians should not allow the polarisation of their country. They are brothers; Muslims or Coptic Christians, Egypt is Egypt. Those pushing from the outside and from all sides will not suffer the consequences, Egyptians will. They are losing. The economy is battered, education is crippling. Egyptians should wake up. Egypt is Egypt and it must be saved.

Next Theatre of War: China Flexes Muscle in East Asia as Washington Boosts Military Presence

As the United States prepares to boost its military presence in East Asia by expanding her troops' strength in the Philippines, China shows off her military might; probably telling Washington, 'this is not the Middle East or Africa'. China has been embroiled in series of conflicts with her neighbours over land issues, mostly bothering on sea routes and maritime endowments. It is based on the skirmishes with some East Asian countries that Washington feels it has to contain China in her territory not elsewhere.

What comes easily to mind is how Washington denounced any interference in her own 'sphere of influence' during the Cold War to the extent of 'risking' a nuclear holocaust with the Soviet Union. Washington also rebuffed the International Court of Justice when it was to rule between her and Mexico on land dispute. She said she will not accept any arbitration in her 'sphere of influence'.

Apparently, the United States has succeeded to a good extent in destabilizing the Middle East as the region is really boiling now from Damascus to Cairo and among major countries that mattered most; notably, Saudi Arabia and Iran. Africa is already under her grip militarily and in all other facets. Africa is a perfect stooge, continually under her tutelage and seems to notoriously nauseously love to genuflect for her. Now it is time to go Asia and China is simply waiting.

As reported by RT, China has launched four days of live-fire naval exercises in the East China Sea that coincide with the anniversary of Japan’s defeat in WWII. The exercises come after Japanese Cabinet ministers visited Tokyo’s most controversial war shrine.

China and South Korea, which both suffered under Japan’s militarist expansion in the 1930s and 40s, have expressed concern at Japanese Cabinet ministers’ visit to the Tokyo Yasukuni Shrine as glorification of the country's militaristic past and aggression. Established in 1869 and funded by the Imperial Japanese government until 1945, the shrine has been dedicated to the nation's 2.5 million war dead, including – controversially – 1,000 convicted war criminals.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry summoned Japan's envoy and issued a statement condemning the visits by nearly 100 Japanese lawmakers, saying they "fundamentally attempt to deny and gloss over Japan's history of invasion." According to the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post, the East China Sea drills will be conducted off the coast of Zhejiang province by the East Sea Fleet, which oversees the waters around the disputed Diaoyu Islands.

Earlier this month, on August 8, four Chinese coast guard vessels stayed a record 28 hours in waters near islands claimed by Japan and China. Japan summoned the Chinese envoy in Tokyo to lodge a formal protest. The latest intrusion into Japanese territorial waters near the Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea by Chinese ships was twice as long as the last one, on February 4. Chinese ships have been entering the disputed area regularly since last September, when the Japanese government bought the islands.

China and Japan have long struggled for the ownership of supposedly oil-rich islands located in the East China Sea. The islands are known as the Diaoyu to the Chinese, and Senkaku to the Japanese. The dispute over the islands and the maritime boundaries around them has continued for years. The Senkaku Islands have been controlled by Japan since 1895, but China insists that it has historic rights to them dating back to the 16th century.

The standoff escalated after Tokyo announced the purchase of three of the islands from a private Japanese owner in September of last year. After that, China witnessed mass anti-Japanese demonstrations. A diplomatic scandal led to problems in bilateral economic relations, with Japanese businesses withdrawing investment. Several Japanese companies in China suspended their work for security reasons, and Chinese Customs’ clearance of goods slowed from Japan.

The tiny archipelago of islands, which is halfway between both countries, are currently uninhabited, but the ground below could house significant mineral resources.

"It is expected that there will be more drills in the East China Sea to build up the combat capabilities of the Chinese Army," Ni Lexiong , director of the Sea Power and Defence Policy Research Institute at the Shanghai University of Political Science and Law, told the South China Morning Post. "It is also possible that China's aircraft carrier will participate in some of these drills."

China News Service reported that Liaoning, the country's first aircraft carrier, which it refitted after buying a Soviet-era vessel from Ukraine, has also been dispatched from its home port of Qingdao, in Shandong province, for training of ship-borne aircraft in the East China Sea. The ship is reportedly sailing to the northern Bohai Sea, off Liaoning province, where a separate round of military exercises was launched.

Israel vs Palestine: 'New alliances in the Middle East.' ~Livni. 'No peace visible' ~Israeli citizens

Israel’s top peace negotiator said newly resumed talks with the Palestinians have provided an opening “to change the allies and alliances in the region.” There are parts in the Arab world that, “for them, re-launching the negotiations can be an opportunity… to work together against the extremists,” Justice Minister Tzipi Livni said, referring to the turmoil in Egypt and the Syrian conflict.

Livni, speaking after meeting with visiting UN Secretary-General Ban ki-Moon declined to say whether any progress at the talks had been made.

The caricature peace negotiation between Israel and Palestine has been going on for decades with both sides always accusing each other of breaking the agreements or sabotaging the negotiations. Israel has been releasing Palestinian prisoners she can always easily get any time while constructing settlements she cannot easily dismantle.

Washington has told Palestinians not to be worried over the settlements for the sake of the peace negotiation which John Kerry brokered but it seems the Israeli citizens and the triads - Israeli authorities, Palestinian authorities and the United States' officials - are not on the same page. The Israeli citizens already have the intuition owing from past experiences.

Nearly 80 percent of Israel’s Jewish population believe a peace deal with the Palestinians is impossible, an opinion poll said. Asked whether “a final agreement” would be reached “that will put an end to the conflict,” 79.7 percent of respondents said no, and only 6.2 percent said yes. The poll was carried out by Israeli research institute Hagal Hahadash among a representative sample of 500 people, AFP reported.

Of all respondents, 77.5 percent said they opposed the Israeli government's decision to release long-serving Palestinian prisoners alongside the resumed peace talks. Just 14.2 percent said they were in favor of the prisoner release.

Asia as the New Theatre of War?: United States boosts Military Presence in the Philippines

If  the theory of 'imperial overstretch' means anything in the historical analysis of international relations, then the United States will have to and must definitely watch her acts. She has been putting her talons on many lands; overtly and covertly and has been the bane of many agonies. Though she does all for her survival but the pains and repercussions are felt mostly among innocents; the poor people. The Middle East is almost gone, the Shia'a-Sunni divide now has become an institutionalised phenomenon. Thanks to Washington's gunboat diplomacy.

Africa is already a tool in her hand as always since the 60s and centrally since the demise of the Soviet Union. The Obama administration once opined that America will now concentrate her efforts in the Asia-Pacific. Which means she will bolster her military presence as wars in the Mideast are becoming queasy, nauseous and tiresome. Now, the United States after holding on firmly to South Korea and Japan wants to really prove her commitment to choking China.

US forces are set for an “increased rotational presence” in the Philippines, following negotiations in Manila. The two countries aim to counter China’s growing ambitions in the region. The Pentagon currently conducts a regular joint exercise and has a rotating force of 500 troops in the Southern Philippines, but may send more soldiers and advanced equipment, or upgrade local facilities.  Officials say that no specifics have been laid out in the first round of a four-stage negotiation.

“There should be a focus on high-impact, high-value training exercises and activities that would focus on maritime security, maritime domain awareness and our perennial problem with disasters,” said Defence Undersecretary Pio Batino, who was present at the discussion. The Philippines was a US colony between 1898 and 1946, and the presence of American troops remains a controversial issue. The US abandoned its last base in the South Asian country in 1992.

But tensions in the region have escalated as in the past decade Beijing began to lay forceful claims to almost the entirety of the South China Sea (which the Philippines calls West Philippine Sea), that rounds the coastlines of most of the states in the region. As disputes over potentially lucrative sea lanes and underground mineral resources have grown more bitter, Manila has made diplomatic appeals to the UN over what it calls “excessive claims”, and has sought greater assistance from the United States.

After years of being bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq, Washington has also re-directed its foreign policy towards Asia, signing a docking agreement for its warships with Singapore, and bolstering its troop numbers in Australia. Officials say that even when finalized, the new agreement will not specify exact troop numbers, and those will have to be negotiated on an annual basis.

Philippine officials have also sought to reassure the domestic audience that the increased presence will only be allowed with strict stipulations. Foreign Affairs Assistant Secretary Carlos Sorreta, who led the talks on his country’s side, told Reuters that the specific areas where the US troops will be stationed were to be listed, as well as their the activities and exercises. “But not the number of troops, not the operational details," he added.

Sorreta emphasized that no US facilities could be off-limits to Philippine officials (some have previously been denied access), and insisted that the country will not host nuclear weapons, and will not be used as a platform for “acts of aggression”. Not everyone is placated. Some politicians have objected both to the substance of the agreement, and the fact that it is likely to be signed only by the executive branch, without any input from lawmakers.

“Any policy that the government wants to implement as regards our security or military should undergo close scrutiny,” said Senator Gregorio Honasan. “It poses a lot of danger now that military troops and their equipment will soon arrive in the country.  It might create an impression of hostility and just add to the on-going tensions in our troubled waters.” A heightened US military presence in the region to offset Chinese influence will only increase tensions, argues author and journalist Afshin Rattansi.

“The idea that the United States is protecting the interests of the world against Chinese influence is clearly absurd,” Rattansi told RT. “All the United States is doing is ratcheting up military tension and pressure at a time when the world doesn’t need it.” Several dozen anti-American supporters also staged a protest outside the main army base where the talks took place. The next round of negotiations will take place in Washington before the end of the month.

Military, Democracy and the Muslim Brotherhood: Counting the Cost in Egypt

When Morsi was first ousted, many who supported his ouster thought it would be for  a period of time in which the Muslim Brotherhood will be made to dialogue and a real third way will be worked out for Egypt. Abdel Fattah El Sisi, as a good Field Marshal ought to know better that killing one's own citizens or allowing citizens to kill one another in a country where the military is reputed to be the most patriotic in the world is the hallmark of barbarism.

Continuous dialogue is the only panacea. Although Muslim Brotherhood was defiant, the interim government should and must know it has the right to. Its mandate was stolen. To the Brotherhood, Egypt has been taken back to where it was 18 months ago. It has every right to. El Sisi's act was to calm the tension many believed and as a good Egyptian, he should have avoided taken sides and encourage dialogue.

This left many with no doubt that he was indirectly responding to the Washington's cash oiling the engine of the Egyptian military. He is covertly protecting the interest of Tel Aviv which Washington is paying the military for not the interest of Egyptians unlike what many thought when Morsi was removed from the centre stage.

Four journalists died in violent clashes which swept the land of the Pharoahs. With a number of the press core suffering serious injuries in the clashes. At least 238 civilians died in total as security forces brutally broke up pro-Morsi rallies. The country has been swept by horrific street violence, showers of gunfire, blazing fires and tear gas as relentless clashes have shaken cities in government attempts to break up the demonstrations.

Among the 238 protesters killed were children, including the 17-year old daughter of a prominent Muslim Brotherhood official, Mohamed Al Beltagy. Police stations were torched or stormed by pro-Morsi groups amid the ruthless government suppression. The violence also took the lives of Sky News cameraman Mick Deane and Dubai-based XPRESS journalist Habeeba Abdelaziz.

Both had been covering the pro-Morsi protests in Egypt’s capital which security forces began to ‘disperse’ earlier in the day. Deane, 61, was shot as he was documenting the turmoil in Cairo. Despite receiving medical treatment for his injuries he died shortly afterwards, according to a statement from Sky. Habeeba Abdelaziz was a 26 year old Egyptian reporter from Dubai, who worked for XPRESS – a ‘sister’ publication to the country’s Gulf News.

“It’s hard to believe she’s gone. She was passionate about her work and had a promising career ahead,” XPRESS Deputy Editor Mazhar Farooqui told Gulf News, commenting that the entire team was in a state of shock. Abdelaziz had been covering protests near Cairo’s Rabaa al-Adawiya Mosque, which has been the site of one of the largest protests for over a month, and a subsequently heavy-handed crackdown by governmental security forces. Security forces later reclaimed the area.

The third journalist killed was Egyptian Ahmed Abdel Gawad of Al Akhbar newspaper. He died while covering the clashes  at Rabaah al-Adawiya. The Egyptian Press Syndicate, a journalist union, confirmed Gawad's death, but did not provide any details.

The fourth reporter to have been confirmed killed is photojournalist Mosab El-Shami Rassd of the news website (RNN), an alternative pro-Islamist media network, Ahram online reports. The agency wrote that he “was killed by the hand of betrayal while covering the Rabaa massacre at the hands of those who executed the coup,” wrote the network on its Facebook page.

Reuters photojournalist Asmaa Waguih also suffered serious injuries after being shot in the leg during protests. Shortly afterwards, she was moved to the international medical center to receive treatment. The Committee to Protect Journalists has released a statement on the issue, saying that the group condemned the killing of Sky News cameraman Mick Deane, prior to hearing of the second death.

“We call on Egyptian authorities to issue clear orders to security forces to respect the right of journalists to work freely and safely while covering events in Cairo and the rest of the country,” said CPJ Deputy Director Robert Mahoney. “The killing of Mick Deane underscores the urgent need for such action and for all sides to show restraint and allow the media to do their job. The authorities must investigate all attacks on journalists and hold those responsible to account,” he said.

Other journalist were also treated for wounds. An AP photographer was hit in the back of the neck by two birdshot pellets, while Al Jazeera claims its cameraman Mohammed al-Zaki was shot in the arm. In addition, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders says that Tarek Abbas — a reporter for local Al-Watan newspaper sustained gunshot wounds to his leg and eye; and photographer Ahmad Najjar was wounded in the arm.

Approximately a dozen other journalists were arrested or threatened as they tried to document the mayhem: Reuters’ Tom Finn tweeted his own arrest. Daily Beast reporter Mike Giglio also said on Twitter he was arrested alongside two photographers named Mahmoud Abou Zeid and Louis Jammes, stating they had been beaten too.

A month-long state of emergency has been declared after Egyptian security forces violently broke up the sit-in camps of Muslim Brotherhood supporters in Cairo. Health Ministry officials say that over 2000 were injured in the nationwide violence, alongside the 278 who were killed including policemen. “The dead are both from police and civilians,” said the ministry's spokesman, Hamdi Abdel Karim. However, Muslim Brotherhood spokesman Gehad El-Haddad claimed that as many as 2,000 people had been killed and 10,000 injured in the police operation.

Security forces succeeded in gaining control of the protest camps by the end of the day after turning the capital into what journalists called “a war zone”. A state of emergency has been declared and curfew imposed in major cities including Cairo, Alexandria and Suez. The curfew is set to last for the next month – or until further notice. @beltrew tweeted: "I've never seen such a bloody fight in Egypt.The security forces kept us ducking behind cars,under a barrage of bullets for 8 hours straight" as well as "If the massive bloodshed today wasn't bad enough, the Coptic Christians are under attack as well. Oh Egypt, Egypt, Egypt. Why?

The United States and the European Union Express Worry over Egypt

The United States and the European Union said they remain concerned over the land of the Pharoah’s lack of political stability. Egypt has been embroiled in political turmoil since the ousting of President Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood.

The US Secretary of State John Kerry and EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said in a joint statement: "While further violent confrontations have thus far been avoided, we remain concerned and troubled that government and opposition leaders have not yet found a way to break a dangerous stalemate and agree to implement tangible confidence building measures."

Apparently, the US and EU envoys have failed in Cairo to facilitate peace in the political crisis, which has led to bloodshed since Egypt’s armed forces ousted President Morsi and essentially removed the Muslim Brotherhood from all positions of political influence. President Obama had said that any political calculation in Egypt must carry the Brotherhood along.

Qatar and the United Arab Emirates have also sent representatives to the Egyptian capital, aiming to reach some form of settlement. All parties are said to have been working intensively to bring both the armed forces and the political opposition together.

Egyptian leader, Adly Mansour has warned foreigners not to dabble and meddle unnecessarily in Egyptian affairs. The Muslim Brotherhood has also lambasted the US over its role and acts. Muslim Brotherhood told John Kerry that he will never accept the military ousting a President in Washington, hence, he goofed and gaffed by saying the military wanted to restore democracy through the ousting of Morsi.

After Snowden; Americans worry less about Terrorism, more about being Caged

For the first time in almost a decade, the majority of Americans are more concerned about the government infringing on their civil liberties than about a potential terrorist attack, according to a new poll by Pew Research.

US citizens have traditionally responded to similar polls by saying the government has not yet gone far enough to protect the country from threats. But new results from Pew Research Center reveal that public opinion has drastically shifted - especially in the wake of NSA spying programmes leaked by Edward Snowden nearly two months ago.

Pew reported that “a majority of Americans – 56 per cent – say that federal courts fail to provide adequate limits on telephone and internet data [which] the government is collecting as part of its anti-terrorism efforts.” An even larger percentage – 70 per cent – believes the government uses the data for “purposes other than investigating terrorism.” Another 63 per cent believe “the government is also gathering information about the content of communications.”

“Overall, 47 per cent say their greater concern about government anti-terrorism policies is that they have gone too far in restricting the average person’s civil liberties, while 35 per cent say they are more concerned that the policies have not gone far enough to protect the country,” the authors of the poll wrote. “This is the first time in Pew research polling that more have expressed concern over civil liberties than protection from terrorism since the question was first asked in 2004.”

Prior to Snowden’s disclosures, a 2010 Pew poll found that 58 per cent of Americans felt the government had “not gone far enough to protect the country,” although the NSA surveillance was already underway at that time without the public’s knowledge.

The sea change was reflected in Congress last week when a bill to cut funding to the NSA surveillance programme failed to pass by a mere seven votes. Both Democrats and Republicans skirted US President Barack Obama and top leaders of both parties, in an attempt to use legislation as an oversight to the burgeoning intelligence gathering.

Representative Jim Sensenbrenner, a Wisconsin Republican and an author of the original Patriot Act of 2001 which authorized the spying, has publicly advocated repealing the law. He was among those in Congress who voted for an amendment to defund NSA programmes.

“The time has come to stop it, and the way we stop it is to approve this amendment,” he said, adding days later that he had not planned on speaking. “I was able to say what needed to be said in a minute.”

While even lawmakers who are in favour of the NSA’s indiscriminate and warrantless surveillance might recognize that more oversight is inevitable, Glenn Greenwald of the Guardian has suggested that top Democrats and Republicans benefit financially from the unpopular laws.

“But with a few rare and noble exceptions, the Intelligence Committees in both house of Congress are filled with precisely those members who are most slavishly beholden to, completely captured by, the intelligence community over which they supposedly serve as watchdogs,” Greenwald wrote in a column on Monday.

“Many receive large sums of money from the defense and intelligence industries…in particular, the two chairs of those committees – Democrat Dianne Feinstein in the Senate and Republican Mike Rogers in the House – are such absolute loyalists to the NSA and the national security state generally that it is usually impossible to distinguish their behavior, mindset and comments from those of NSA officials.”

RT