The first thing to say here is that we have no means to know what really happened. At the very least, there are two possible hypotheses which could explain what took place: 1) a US provocation: it is quite possible that somebody in the US chain of command decided that Iran should be put under pressure and that having US UAV fly right next to, or even just inside, the
by Ramin Mazaheri for the Saker blog (Written for PressTV and cross-posted by permission) I am deeply skeptical that the US ever initiated a missile strike against Iran and then called it off, as was claimed by The New York Times. Of course, the US “paper of record” routinely does terrible journalism – they repeatedly rely on anonymous sources, as they did for this claim. Anonymous sources cannot be considered
by George Eliason for The Saker Blog The second part in this series showed clearly that the US Intel community has been overrun by untrainable and undependable people. The more facts that come out, the worse the situation looks. We trust these people to dissect and analyze critical pieces of information and based on their experience advise the President of the United States whether or not diplomacy, spying, and covert
https://southfront.org/persian-gulf-conflict-iran-shot-down-u-s-global-hawk-houthis-struck-saudi-power-plant-with-cruise-missile/ Late on June 19, Ansar Allah (also known as the Houthis) carried out a new one “cruise missile” strike on Saudi Arabia. The missile strike targeted a major power plant in the area of al-Shuqaiq in the Kingdom’s southern province of Jizan. Brig. Gen. Yahya Sari, a spokesman for the part of the Yemeni Armed Forces loyal to the Ansar Allah government said that the strike was a response
[this interview was made for the Unz Review] The topic of religion in Russia is a most interesting one, yet the majority of articles on this topic typically focus on Orthodox Christianity, Islam, Judaism and, sometimes, Buddhism. Yet there are other religions in Russia and, in fact, there have always been. When I learned that an active member of the Saker community, Edik (pseudonym), was a Quaker I asked him
Speech by Hezbollah Secretary General Sayed Hassan Nasrallah on Friday, May 31, 2019, on the occasion of Al-Quds (Jerusalem) International Day. Translation: resistancenewsunfiltered.blogspot.com Transcript: […] I now get to the heart of the matter after this introduction that (presented) this commemoration (of the International Day of Al-Quds / Jerusalem). Today, the key challenge that Palestine and Al-Quds must face is the ‘Deal of the Century’, or ‘Trump Deal’. And
by Le Saker Francophone for The Saker Blog You no longer hear about the Yellow Vests in the media and you think that the movement finally stopped after six months of activity, without getting anything. Well, that’s not the case. Of course the decrease in the number of demonstrators is huge. From 300,000 at the end of 2018 to 30,000 by mid-2019. But every Saturday these few tens of thousands
by Ramin Mazaheri for The Saker Blog Why do we often forget how powerful Mexico is? 130 million people; undoubtedly the most powerful Spanish-speaking country (Brazil speaks Portuguese); a geographical location truly on top of the Latino world; access to both oceans; a historical cradle of civilisation with claims that can fairly said the be unrivaled; the world’s most developed economy accessible with the fewest shipping costs, and unparalleled expatriate
by Ollie Richardson for The Saker Blog In what is a very timely admission taking into account the topic of my last article – 21st century international relations and decision-making, the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service (Служба внешней разведки Российской Федерации), Sergey Naryshkin, pointed to a low risk method of “hybrid” warfare and named a specific example where it is being implemented. RT reported the following on June 18th
2019/06/18 21:00:01Welcome 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 With the dogs of war on full alert, something extraordinary happened at the 19th summit of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) late last week in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. Virtually unknown across the West, the SCO is the foremost Eurasian political, economic and security alliance. It’s not a Eurasian NATO. It’s not planning any humanitarian imperialist adventures. A single picture in Bishkek tells a quite
Syrian War Report – June 17, 2019: Turkish Artillery Struck Syrian Army Positions Near Idlib On June 16, Turkey said on that its forces had struck positions of the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in response to an attack on one of its observation posts in the Idlib de-escalation zone. According to the Turkish Defense Ministry, the SAA shelled one of its posts near Murak in northern Hama. The defense
By Petr Akopov Translated by Ollie Richardson and Angelina Siard Source: https://vz.ru/world/2019/6/15/982529.html Ukraine is important for the US only in the context of their relationship with Russia, and blocks the path to their improvement. The latest statement of the national security adviser to the US President John Bolton became yet more proof of this. On the eve of Putin and Trump’s meeting in Osaka, Kiev ought to prepare for the
by Herb Swanson (webmaster) Vineyard BookShelf Project In February, I proposed to Saker the creation of a ‘Vineyard Bookshelf’. Many great books are noted and linked in the comments. However these references/links are buried as new posts and issues appear. It is anticipated the ‘Vineyard Bookshelf’ will provide greater visibility of books suggested by our readers. Only bookshelf_survey part is being released today. It consists of two parts: 1. A
June 14, 2019 http://en.kremlin.ru/events/president/transcripts/60750 President of Russia Vladimir Putin: Mr President of Kyrgyzstan, colleagues, I certainly agree with the positive assessments of the activities of our organisation, the SCO, which have just been voiced here. The SCO is indeed successfully developing and strengthening its positions in regional affairs, making a significant contribution to ensuring peace, security and stability in Eurasia. Given that at the end of today’s meeting, Russia will take over the Presidency of the SCO, I would like to outline Russia’s vision of the most promising areas of the organisation’s work in 2019–2020. We believe that
2019/06/15 09:30:01Welcome 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 Ollie Richardson for The Saker Blog As I have now come to expect, some of the comments posted beneath my last article (and if to be honest, beneath any geopolitical article published on a so-called “pro-Russian” website) refer to an imagined scenario where human beings are just doomed – completely doomed. In context, the comments I speak of go along the lines of “Yeah, the Russian leadership might be
by Ruslan Ostashko Translation and subtitles by Eugenia
by Nat South for The Saker Blog I have taken the opportunity to look at the recent incident involving two outbound tankers in the Gulf of Oman. I have got some questions or two, (or three) about certain parts of the incident, from a civilian mariner’s perspective mostly. There are various conflating aspects to the event, and questions need to be asked, yet journalists do not seemingly wish to ask
