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By Ulrich von Kafkanien for The Saker Blog I guess this mini-essay, a homage to the late Dave McGowan (1960–2015), needs some captatio benevolentiae as introduction. First: Rest assured, I am not going to question the veracity of the moon landings, of which the first one was broadcasted 50 years ago, July 20 1969. Second: I need to apologise for my poor command of the English language, which would be
by Pepe Escobar : Posted with permission “We’re like policemen. We’re not fighting a war. If we wanted to fight a war in Afghanistan and win it, I could win that war in a week. But I don’t want to kill 10 million people. Afghanistan could be wiped off the face of the Earth. I don’t want to go that route.” Even considering the rolling annals of demented Trumpism, bolstered
by Andrew J. Bacevich for The American Conservative One of the lesser, but nonetheless not inconsequential changes to the national security landscape over the past 30 years has been the marginalization of the nation’s senior military leadership. Once upon a time, whether for better or for worse, the service chiefs wielded real clout on matters related to basic policy. Today, unless you are a serving member of the armed forces,
Dear friends, As you may be aware, during the first half of this year I have been reporting on the “Yellow Vests” movement in France whilst being in the center of it. Since February 2019 (after I watched in horror on a live feed as a Yellow Vest’s hand was blown off by a grenade the week prior) I have travelled into central Paris every Saturday and observed for myself the
by Ramin Mazaheri for the Saker Blog (cross-posted with PressTV by permission) (Ramin Mazaheri is the chief correspondent in Paris for Press TV and has lived in France since 2009. He has been a daily newspaper reporter in the US, and has reported from Iran, Cuba, Egypt, Tunisia, South Korea, and elsewhere. He is the author of “I’ll Ruin Everything You Are: Ending Western Propaganda on Red China.”) At a
by Peter Koenig for The Saker Blog The British-flagged tanker “Steno Impero”, heading for Saudi Arabia, was seized on Friday, 19 July 2019, by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), in the Strait of Hormuz, after it rammed an Iranian fishing boat, whose distress call it ignored. The tanker was taken to an Iranian port, because it was not complying with “international maritime laws and regulations,” Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said.
By Evgeny Damantsev Translated by Ollie Richardson and Angelina Siard Source: https://topwar.ru/160248-filigrannyj-udar-po-aravijskomu-pjetriotu-zasvetil-kriticheskie-nedostatki-radarov-an-mpq-65.html Recent information about the successful use of a kamikaze drone from the “Samad-1/3” family (and, perhaps, the tactical “Quds” cruise missiles too) against at least two M903 launchers of the Arabian surface-to-air missile system “Patriot PAC-3” covering the fortified area of the ground forces of Saudi Arabia and Sudanese hired paramilitary forces in the border province of Marib
PressTV reports: This combination of image grabs created from a video broadcast by Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guard Corps (IRGC) on July 19, 2019 shows footage obtained from an IRGC drone flying above an aircraft carrier. (By AFP) Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi says Iran is in possession of intercontinental drones and will definitely put them to use if the need for a long-haul mission arises. Elaborating on Iran’s drone capabilities
by Nat South for The Saker Blog British flagged ship with only 23 seafarers onboard of Indian, Russian, Latvian and Filipino nationality. UK flag, Swedish company. That’s a reflection today of commercial shipping industry for you. All but in name. Ship operators are already getting cold feet over Brexit, so these latest incidents are going to further undermine operators using the UK as a flag of convenience. Seizure of commercial
Description: Saudi political analyst and writer Abd al-Hamid al-Ghobn said recently on the Israeli TV channel i24 News Arabic that Saudi Arabia and Israel should form a military alliance to launch a crippling strike on Iran. Al-Ghobn added that the current situation cannot be left ‘unresolved’, as Iran continues to develop, and the 30-year long economic embargo has failed to ignite any ‘revolution’ within Iran. Source: i24 News Arabic (YouTube) Date: July
2019/07/23 16:00:01Welcome to the ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’. The ‘Moveable Feast’ is an open thread where readers can post wide ranging observations, articles, rants, off topic and have animate discussions of the issues of the day. The ‘Moveable Feast Cafe’ will have two new open threads each week. The Saker stated moderation policy will apply eg ‘no caps’, no obscenity … etc to all post. The Cafe is now open for
by Pepe Escobar : Posted with permission China is South America’s top trading partner. Together, China’s policy banks – the China Development Bank and Export-Import Bank of China – are the top source of development finance for the whole of Latin America. Over the past few decades, the Brazilian government, leading national companies and multinational corporations have configured what Fernando Mires, already in 1990, defined as the “Amazon mode of production”:
https://southfront.org/gulf-conflict-report-prospects-of-war-between-iran-and-us/ The situation in the Middle East is heating up once again. On July 19, an unknown aircraft carried out a strike on positions of the Popular Mobilization Units at the Al-Shuhada base in the northern Saladin province north of Baghdad, Iraq. Pro-Israeli sources speculated that several Iranian-backed fighters and members of Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps were killed or injured in the attack. They further claimed that the targeted
by Jimmie Moglia for The Saker Blog Not knowing who-is-who in the Russian government, only recently I learned of Alexander Patrushev. He is reputed as “one of Putin’s closest and most trusted advisers,” who “has been the nerve center of most of Putin’s special operations,” and “was one of 24 Russians close to Putin subjected to sanctions by the United States.” But all the world well knows of Russia’s support
By Viktor Anisimov Translated by Ollie Richardson and Angelina Siard Source: https://cont.ws/@fybcbvjd/1392576 So what is it that Putin has done that doesn’t satisfy you, comrade communists? Recently our resident (users of the “Cont” website) “communists” who are furiously criticising Putin again became more active. For what? Well, for anything, Putin doesn’t please our red-bellied guys, and that’s all. Perhaps it is necessary for these faultfinders to see Putin furiously shaking his
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog Today I was flying back to New York from San Francisco on the “Job Creator’s Red Eye”, when I read a New York Times headline and sub-headline worthy of American feminism: “The Ridiculous Fantasy of a ‘No Drama’ Relationship: Online, that’s what men say they want from women. Do they know nothing about life?” It’s funny, because as I was reading this article
Vladimir Putin answered questions from American film director, screenwriter and producer Oliver Stone. The interview was recorded on June 19, 2019 in the Kremlin Oliver Stone: So, I interviewed Mr Medvedchuk. It was in Monte Carlo. He gave us a very interesting interview. He gave us his view of the Ukraine. I gather that you’re close with him. President of Russia Vladimir Putin: I would not say that we are very close but we know each other well. He was President Kuchma’s Chief of Staff,
https://www.presstv.com/Detail/2019/07/19/601344/Entire-Middle-East-will-drag-into-hiatus-in-case-war-waged-on-Iran-Nasrallah In this undated file picture, the Secretary General of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah (R) meets with Iranian parliament speaker’s special advisor on international affairs, Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, in Beirut, Lebanon. The secretary general of the Lebanese Hezbollah resistance movement has warned the US that any military aggression against Iran will drag the entire Middle East into disarray, stressing that Washington will definitely not be the one who
