Roberto Abraham Scaruffi

Sunday 22 February 2015

Op-Ed Articles
   
 
Failing Tonkin Gulf Test on Ukraine

By Robert Parry

Washington fumes only about "Russian aggression" - much as a half century ago, the Tonkin Gulf talk was all about "North Vietnamese aggression."


West Guilty Of Ukraine War Crimes

By Finian Cunningham

Where are the Western warnings of sanctions against the Kiev killers? There are none because the West is fully complicit in war crimes.


Evil Assad, Evil Gaddafi, Now Evil Putin:
How the West Sells War (and Makes a Killing)

By Ghada Chehade

It is important to look at the economic actors/interests that benefit from conflict and regime change in the Ukraine.


US "Easing Into" War with Syria Using ISIS Boogeyman

By Tony Cartalucci

As early as June of last year, it was reported that ISIS would be used as a means to incrementally draw in US forces in preparation for a direct military intervention aimed at Damascus itself.


How To Defeat Perverted And Violent Islamic Fundamentalism

By Alan Hart

Western leaders, starting with President Barack Obama, must open their minds to the fact that consequences have causes.


Syriza Capitulates To The EU

By Robert Stevens

Broad sections of the Greek working class will see the agreement for what it is: a cynical and cowardly act of political treachery.


Greece: The Way Forward

By James K. Galbraith

So far, the Greek achievement consists of stating raw truths in rooms full of self-serving illusions.


How The CIA Gets Away With It: Our Democracy Is Their Real Enemy

By Scott Horton

The inside, untold story of CIA's efforts to mislead Congress -- and the people -- about torture will horrify you.



Hard News
    



Syrian army and allies killed 48 in Aleppo offensive:
A pro-rebel monitoring group said on Saturday Syrian government forces and allied militants killed 48 fighters and family members during last week's offensive against opposition-held areas in Aleppo province, but the army denied it.


6 killed in fresh mortar attack in Syria's Aleppo:
At least six people were killed and 10 others wounded on Saturday by a fresh mortar attack against government-controlled districts of the country's northern province of Aleppo, a monitoring group reported.


Blast kills 4 in Assad hometown: activists:
A powerful blast killed four people Saturday in Qardaha, the hometown of the Assad family, an activist group said, adding that the origin of the explosion was unknown.


Turkey moves military into Syria:
Turkey may be in the process of moving military vehicles into Syria in an attempt to guard the Tomb of Suleyman Shah, a sovereign Turkish exclave located in the Syrian state of Aleppo.


ISIS claims to seize weapons cache in Iraq:
An online video purported to show Islamic extremists seizing armored vehicles and dozens of weapons from Iraq's military north of Baghdad.


Russia confirms delivering Iraq with surface-to-air missile system:
The value of the contract between the Russian company and the Iraqi Ministry of Defense reached $ 4 billion, under which Iraq gets 48 missile systems.


Exclusive: Pentagon Doubts Its Own ISIS War Plan:
Less than 24 hours after U.S. military officials publicly detailed their plans for a spring offensive on ISIS-held Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, many within the Pentagon privately questioned whether that timetable was plausible. They said that they were dubious that their partners in the Iraqi military-would be capable of conducting such a campaign


US kills three in southern Yemen: Witnesses:
A US drone struck a vehicle in the city of al-Houta in the southern province of Shabwah, killing the car's three passengers, allegedly militants, eyewitnesses told the Anadolu Agency.


Yemen crisis: Former president Hadi flees capital:
Yemen's ex-president Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi has fled the capital, Sanaa, weeks after he was put under house arrest by Houthi rebels who forced him to resign. After arriving in the southern city of Aden, he denounced all actions taken by the Houthis since they assumed power as "null and illegitimate".


Exclusive: UNIFIL suspects Israel deliberately killed peacekeeper:
The deadly incident has left some UNIFIL officers convinced that Israel deliberately targeted one of their positions to "punish" the peacekeepers for not taking greater action against Hezbollah's activities in the southern border district.


Netanyahu's New Campaign Ad: If Israel Listened To The United States, It Wouldn't Exist:
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has turned his row with the White House into part of his campaign, releasing a new video Saturday night which argued that if Israel's first prime minister had listened to the United States, the State of Israel might not exist.


CIA's Nuclear-Bomb Sting Said to Spur Review in Iran Arms Case:
Details of a 15-year-old Central Intelligence Agency sting emerging from a court case in the U.S. may prompt United Nations monitors to reassess some evidence related to Iran's alleged nuclear weapons work, two western diplomats said.


How US diplomatic strategy gave Netanyahu leverage: Analysis -
The background to the leak of the US negotiation stance on Iran shows how Obama has made himself dependent on Israeli approval of a deal


Boko Haram, Niger fighting over Lake Chad island kills 23:
At least 23 people were killed in fighting between Boko Haram militants and the Niger army over the island of Karamga, on the Niger side of Lake Chad, a Niger army report showed on Saturday.


Nigerian army retakes Baga town from Boko Haram:
It also claimed in a separate statement that it had killed many Boko Haram militants, though this has not been independently verified.


Gunmen seize 89 boys from South Sudan camp:
Unicef says the unidentified gunmen went from house to house and seized boys over the age of 12. Last week, Human Rights Watch accused both sides of using child soldiers, a charge denied by the government.


Jihadists in Libya 'direct threat' to Europe: French PM:
"I would like to cite the question of Libya and the direct threat to our security of the creation -- under our eyes and not far from our borders -- of a new haven for the jihadi terrorist," Valls told a gathering of social democrats, according to a transcript of his speech.


20 Taliban Insurgents Killed in Afghan Troops Operations:
Twenty Taliban insurgents were killed and two others injured during a series of coordinated operations over the past 24 hours carried out by the Afghan National Security Forces (ANSF), the Ministry of Interior (MoI) said in a statement on Saturday.


Pentagon chief: US considering slowing exit from Afghanistan:
The United States is considering slowing its military exit from Afghanistan by keeping a larger-than-planned troop presence this year and next because the new Afghan government is proving to be a more reliable partner, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said Saturday.


Employees raid Afghan bank and flee with cash:
Official says workers at branch of central bank in southern Kandahar province may have stolen as much as $1.4m.


Ukraine, Rebels Exchange Prisoners As Fighting Continues:
Ukrainian military and separatist representatives exchanged dozens of prisoners under cover of darkness at a remote frontline location Saturday evening, kicking off a process intended to usher in peace to the conflict-ridden east.


Ukraine must pay for Russian gas sent to rebel areas: Medvedev:
Ukraine must pay for Russian gas being supplied to rebel areas in the country's war-torn east, Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said Friday, raising the possibility of another gas dispute in the midst of winter.


Greek debt deal: PM Alexis Tsipras warns of 'difficulties':
Greek Prime Minister Alexis Tsipras has warned of "real difficulties" ahead, as his government faces a Monday deadline to submit a list of reforms to lenders.


European Lawmakers Demand Answers on Phone Key Theft:
European officials are demanding answers and investigations into a joint U.S. and U.K. hack of the world's largest manufacturer of mobile SIM cards, following a report published by The Intercept Thursday.


Ecuador Cuts Wages of Top Officials to Fund Maternity Doctors:
The country's President said will slash high level public servant wages - including his own - to fund 2,000 medical specialists


Why Does Latin America Reject US Belligerence toward Venezuela?:
Latin American governments have been very united in rejecting the USA's efforts to have the government of Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela overthrown - and they've also rejected the U.S. government's take on the human rights situation there.


Judge orders Obama administration to stop detention of women and children at borders:
The ruling Friday, by Judge James E. Boasberg of U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, invalidates a central piece of the administration's strategy to curb illegal immigration across the Southwest border.


Hundreds Mark 50 Years Since Malcolm X's Assassination:
Activists, actors and politicians gathered Saturday in New York City to honor civil rights leader Malcolm X with a ceremony at the Harlem site where he was assassinated 50 years ago.