Special Operations

US Claims That It was Not Behind Missile Attack in Syria

Syrian state-run media has announced a missile attack early Monday morning on an airbase in Homs province. The Syrians pointed the finger at the U.S. for the attack on the T4 airbase where 14 people including Iranians were killed.

Russian officials claimed that the planes attacking the base were Israeli F-15s and that they shot down all of the missiles.

U.S. officials said the United States was not responsible for the strikes in Syria. The French news agency reports that France’s military has also denied responsibility for the strikes.
“However, we continue to closely watch the situation and support the ongoing diplomatic efforts to hold those who use chemical weapons, in Syria and otherwise, accountable,” Pentagon spokesman Christopher Sherwood said in a statement.
Syria has repeatedly denied using chemical weapons throughout the conflict that began in 2011, including the most recent suspected chemical attack Saturday in a rebel-held suburb of Damascus that killed at least 40 people.
Late Sunday, the White House said President Donald Trump and French President Emmanuel Macron strongly condemned chemical attacks in Syria and agreed Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s government “must be held accountable for its continued human rights abuses.”
“They agreed to exchange information on the nature of the attacks and coordinate a strong, joint response,” the White House said about a phone call between the two leaders.
Macron’s office added that the two sides “exchanged information and analysis confirming the use of chemical weapons.”
Trump further called for Syria to open the area of the alleged chemical attack to allow in verification and medical teams.
The Russian foreign ministry rejected claims of a chemical attack, saying, “The spread of bogus stories about the use of chlorine and other poisonous substances by (Syrian) government forces continues.
“We have warned several times recently against such dangerous provocations,” the Moscow statement said. “The aim of such deceitful speculation, lacking any kind of grounding, is to shield terrorists and to attempt to justify possible external uses of force.”

The attack in Ghouta where hundreds of families were gassed in their basements came hours after the Syrian government supposedly reached an agreement with the rebel forces there to exchange prisoners and leave the city.

Trump in a rare rebuke of Putin lashed out at him and Russia for the support of “the animal Assad” and vowed that there would be “a big price to pay” for the attack.

To read the entire article from Voice of America, click here:

Photo courtesy AP

Syrian Refugees Want to Go Home, But 5 Million Have Left

More than five million Syrians have left their country since the war started in 2011.They want to go home but with the war showing no end in sight, they’re stuck in the middle. They’ve endured a civil war, an invasion by the Islamic State, then combat to drive ISIS from their borders, now an invasion from the Turks. Where have they all gone?

Most are now in neighboring countries, with about 3.5 million in Turkey and one million in Lebanon. More than half a million traveled to Germany, with smaller numbers in other European nations.
To find out what changes they hope for, the Carnegie Middle East Center held a series of meetings involving about 320 refugees in Lebanon and Jordan.
Here are four things they told us they would like to see.
Safety for their children
An end to conscription
Homes to return to
Safety and security
Kholoud, a refguee from rural Damascus summed up her feelings: “If Bashar al-Assad is removed and there is security in Syria, even if there is no food or drink, we would get flour and make it with our hands.”
Many also expressed concern over the presence of various armed foreign groups in the country and the general lawlessness that they represent.
Many also spoke of a Syria that strived for new values, including freedom, equality, and justice, in a country that is democratically governed under the rule of law.
The displaced Syrians wanted their concerns to be heard.
As one young refugee said: “We want a solution that will give us back our dignity – no more, no less.”

But what stands out, even among the refugees is that they know, nor will they accept a country that is fragmented. Split into small enclaves ruled by different factions. The only Syria will be a united one, so the fighting will continue.

To read the entire article from BBC, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Working on DOD AI Project Left Some Google Employees “Livid”

More than 3100 Google employees have written a letter to their CEO Sundar Pichai demanding that the company immediately cancel its contract with the U.S. military on a drone program known as Project Maven.

There’s a motto at Google: “Don’t be evil.”
Today, more than 3,000 Google employees fear their company is on the verge of breaching that code by helping the U.S. military improve its spy drone software.
“We believe that Google should not be in the business of war,” the letter states. “Therefore we ask that Project Maven be cancelled, and that Google draft, publicize and enforce a clear policy stating that neither Google nor its contractors will ever build warfare technology.” [The 22 Weirdest Military Weapons]
Project Maven, which Google signed onto last month, fits into the DOD’s larger goal of improving America’s ability to “[win] wars with computer algorithms and artificial intelligence,” DOD officials said in a statement. Google agreed to help with this mission by developing artificial intelligence software capable of rapidly scanning thousands of hours of surveillance drone footage and automatically detecting “38 classes of objects” that military analysts regularly look for.
Despite a Google spokesperson’s assurance that their new tech would be “for non-offensive uses only,” many Google employees were instantly wary of the partnership, Gizmodo reported. In the new complaint letter, which is currently circulating within Google, employees voiced their concerns about the tech’s potential applications in warfare.
“The technology is being built for the military,” the letter says, “and once it’s delivered it could easily be used to assist in [lethal] tasks.”

Part of the letter also sought assurances from the DOD that Project Maven would not be used for offensive purposes. There are no signs from Google, however, that they intend on canceling their contract.

To read the entire article from Live Science, click here:

Photo courtesy DOD

China Pledges Support to Russia Against the US

China has pledged its support to Russia as tensions between both superpowers and the United States have deteriorated into diplomatic sanctioning. The Chinese military made it clear, that they support Russia in any conflicts with the U.S.

In his first visit to Russia, newly appointed Chinese Defense Minister Wei Feng attended the seventh Moscow International Security Conference accompanied by a delegation of other high-level military officials. Emphasizing that his trip was coordinated directly with Chinese President Xi Jinping, Wei said that he had two major messages for Russia at a time when both nations were attempting to modernize their armed forces and strengthen their hands in global affairs in spite of U.S. fears.
“I am visiting Russia as a new defense minister of China to show the world a high level of development of our bilateral relations and firm determination of our armed forces to strengthen strategic cooperation,” Wei said at a meeting with Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu, according to the state-run Tass Russian News Agency.
“Second, to support the Russian side in organizing the Moscow International Security Conference the Chinese side has come to show Americans the close ties between the armed forces of China and Russia, especially in this situation. We’ve come to support you,” he added. “The Chinese side is ready to express with the Russian side our common concerns and common position on important international problems at international venues as well.”
Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Chinese counterpart command what’s often considered the world’s second and third most powerful armed forces, respectively, behind the U.S. While the Pentagon has managed to retain a comfortable lead against its leading competitors, Moscow and Beijing have coordinated closely as they both aim to close this gap and check U.S. influence abroad.

With China expanding its influence beyond its borders for the first time and the increasing boldness of Russia, their mercenary troops attacked a US base in Syria and the recent poisoning of an ex-Russian spy in the UK, things are just beginning to heat up.

To read the entire article from Newsweek, click here:

Photo courtesy Russian MOD

UK Says They Can Pinpoint the Russian Lab That Produced Nerve Agent

British security forces believe that while they are not 100 percent certain, they have a “high degree of confidence in the location” of the Russian source of the nerve agent Novichok that was used against former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter.

A government source told the Times that security forces “knew pretty much by the time of the first Cobra [the emergency co-ordination briefing that took place the same week] that it was overwhelmingly likely to come from Russia.”
Security sources told the Times they believe Russians conducted tests to see whether Novichok could be used for assassinations.
The international chemical weapons watchdog on Wednesday rejected Russia’s call for a joint investigation into the Salisbury poisoning. But Russia said the number of countries that abstained from the vote suggested many have doubts about Britain’s allegations that Moscow was behind the attack and now plans to take its denials of involvement to the U.N. Security Council.
Britain said Russia’s proposal for a joint investigation received only six votes at a special session of the executive council of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons. The council has representatives from 41 countries.
Skripal, a former Russian military intelligence officer, was convicted of in Russia of spying for Britain. He was released from a Russian prison as part of a spy swap with the West.
His poisoning has plunged relations between the West and Russia to their lowest ebb since the Cold War.
In Moscow, Russia’s spymaster claimed U.K. and U.S. intelligence agencies “staged” the attack.

Sergei Naryshkin, director of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service, continues to claim that the assassination attempt of Skripal was a “grotesque provocation rudely staged by the British and U.S. intelligence agencies.” Meanwhile, the 28-nation European Union lamented the refusal of Russia to cooperate with the British.

To read the entire article from CBS News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Trump Wants to Get Out of Syria, But Military Advisors Say Not Yet

President Trump says it is the time to get all of the U.S. military troops out of Syria, which they entered the civil war to deter ISIS, but have since been embroiled in other fighting.

The president’s comments appear to contradict U.S. military and national security advisors, who were speaking simultaneously at the U.S. Institute of Peace about the future fight against ISIS in both Iraq and Syria.
“As far as Syria is concerned, our primary mission in terms of that was getting rid of ISIS. We’ve almost completed that task, and we’ll be making a decision very quickly in coordination with others as to what we’ll do,” Trump said Tuesday at the White House.
“I want to get out. I want to bring our troops home.”
Contrary to Trump’s statements, Brett McGurk, the U.S. special envoy for the global coalition against ISIS, told a forum Tuesday that the U.S. mission in Syria was far from over.
“We are in Syria to fight ISIS. That is our mission, and our mission isn’t over, and we are going to complete that mission,” McGurk said.
Echoing those sentiments, Army Gen. Joseph Votel, who oversees U.S. forces in the Middle East as the head of Central Command, said that while the presence of ISIS in the region had diminished, “it is not gone.”
Votel estimated that more than 90 percent of the terror group’s territory had been recovered by U.S.-backed forces. He added that the next step for the approximately 2,000 U.S.troops in Syria would be to help stabilize the region.
“The hard part, I think, is in front of us, and that is stabilizing these areas, consolidating our gains, getting people back into their homes,” Votel said alongside McGurk.
“There is a military role in this. Certainly in the stabilization phase.”

Trump is correct here, keeping the U.S. in a stabilization phase is doing what? Stabilizing the Assad regime? With Russia’s backing, Assad has held on and Russian troops (mercenary or not) have already attacked American troops. Adding in the Turkish incursion, it is time to get out of that quagmire.

US Military Role on the Border Will Have a Limited Role

U.S. military troops are heading to the border as President Donald Trump said Tuesday afternoon he wants to deploy them to protect the Mexican border while the new border wall is built.

Tuesday evening, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders issued a statement saying the “vigorous” administration strategy includes mobilization of the National Guard.
The White House statement came after Trump met with Defense Secretary James Mattis, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Neilsen, Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Joint Chiefs Chairman Joseph Dunford and chief of staff John Kelly, Sanders said.
“We are going to be doing some things — I’ve been speaking with (Defense Secretary) Mattis — we’re going to be doing things militarily”, Trump said at a White House meeting with the leaders of Baltic countries.
“Until we can have a wall and proper security, we’re going to be guarding our border with the military,” Trump said. “That’s a big step. We really haven’t done that before, or certainly not very much before.”
Mexico’s Ambassador Gerónimo Gutiérrez wants Trump to clarify his comments.
“We have formally requested a clarification on the President’s comments from the State Department and the Department of Homeland Security,” Gutiérrez said in a statement. “We share the idea of having a secure border, but we do not always agree on how to achieve that goal. Mexico, naturally, will always act in accordance with our own interests.”
But while President Trump could order active duty military personnel or federalized National Guard troops to assist with border security operations, they would not be allowed to carry out law enforcement duties like detaining migrants crossing the border illegally.
That’s because the Posse Comitatus Act prohibits the U.S. military from conducting law enforcement duties in the United States. The only way that can be allowed is by a special congressional authorization.

In the past active military and National Guardsmen have performed duties at the border under both Presidents Clinton and Bush.

To read the entire article from ABC News, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Irving Isaacson, OSS Agent Who Spied on the Soviets Dies at 102

Irving Isaacson was one of America’s OSS operatives during World War II serving with the Dutch, but after the war, he traveled across Europe and spied on the Soviets. He passed away last week in Maine at the age of 102.

Like his wife, who died three years ago, Irving Isaacson did what he knew to be right regardless of how difficult the task might be and rarely worried about the uncertain future that lies before all of us.
“I was so blessed to have both of my parents. They were both fearless and I think it was the war that taught both of them that,” said Isaacson’s son Mark Isaacson of Cumberland, referring to World War II.
“They didn’t worry about tomorrow or what was going to happen in the future.”

Family members said that Irving Isaacson died at Hospice House in Auburn on Wednesday. The Auburn native and well-known lawyer, whose practice was based in Lewiston, was 102.
His law firm, Brann and Isaacson, still carries on today, a practice that he actively participated in until he finally retired at the age of 95.
Isaacson’s wife, Judith Magyar Isaacson, died in 2015 at the age of 90.
The couple first met in Leipzig, Germany, which had been destroyed in 1945. At the time, Isaacson was serving in the Army as an intelligence officer for the Office of Strategic Services, or OSS – the wartime predecessor of the CIA.
Jutka (Judith) Magyar was a survivor of the Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland as well as the slave labor camp in Hessisch-Lichtenau, Germany, where people were forced to work in an underground munitions factory.
After being liberated by American troops in 1945, she was waiting to be transported back to her native Hungary when she met Isaacson.
He fell in love with her on the spot.
“She was tall and beautiful. He was short, rugged and cute,” his family wrote in his obituary. “They were married in the bombed out Nuremberg City Hall on Dec. 24, 1945. They were married and had three children.

Once asked how long they were married, he said, “not long enough.” He served with OSS in Holland with the Dutch, something his son said he loved. After the war, he traveled around Europe and kept tabs on the Russians, befriending many of them during their drinking escapades in the towns of conquered Europe after 1945.

He wrote a book on his experiences, “Memoirs of an Amateur Spy.”

To read the entire article from Portland Press Herald, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Saudi Crown Prince: Israel Has a Right to its Own Land

In a stunning turn of events, Saudi Arabia’s crown prince said Israelis are entitled to live peacefully on their own land in an interview posted on Monday.

While outwardly the ties between Riyadh and Tel Aviv are appearing to grow closer, there remain obstacles in their paths. But to hear a Saudi crown prince echo those words were unfathomable not long ago.

Asked if he believes the Jewish people have a right to a nation-state in at least part of their ancestral homeland, Mohammed bin Salman was quoted as saying: “I believe the Palestinians and the Israelis have the right to have their own land. But we have to have a peace agreement to assure the stability for everyone and to have normal relations.”
Saudi Arabia — birthplace of Islam and home to its holiest shrines — does not recognize Israel. It has maintained for years that normalizing relations hinges on Israeli withdrawal from Arab lands captured in the 1967 Middle East war, territory Palestinians seek for a future state.
“We have religious concerns about the fate of the holy mosque in Jerusalem and about the rights of the Palestinian people. This is what we have. We don’t have any objection against any other people,” said Prince Mohammed who is touring the United States to drum up investments and support for his efforts to contain Iranian influence.
Increased tension between Tehran and Riyadh has fueled speculation that shared interests may push Saudi Arabia and Israel to work together against what they see as a common Iranian threat.
“There are a lot of interests we share with Israel and if there is peace, there would be a lot of interest between Israel and the Gulf Cooperation Council countries,” Prince Mohammed added.
Saudi Arabia opened its airspace for the first time to a commercial flight to Israel last month, which an Israeli official hailed as historic following two years of efforts.
In November, an Israeli cabinet member disclosed covert contacts with Saudi Arabia, a rare acknowledgment of long-rumored secret dealings which Riyadh still denies.

Saudi Arabia and the Crown Prince are definitely walking a different path than ever before. While they were for normalizing relations, they condemned the U.S. plan to move the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem. How their Arab neighbors react to this will be interesting to see.

To read the entire article from Voice of America, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia

Israel Prepares For Weeks of Tension After Gaza Incident

The Israeli government is rejecting the charges that it acted with disproportionate violence to the events that took place in Gaza over the weekend.

Israel is bracing for several weeks of military and diplomatic confrontation that began with Friday’s march in the Gaza Strip. The march left 17 Palestinians dead and hundreds more injured, and its protests are expected to continue until May 15, which the Palestinians mark as Nakba Day, the “Day of Catastrophe,” marking Israel’s founding as a modern nation.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday night congratulated the IDF for defending the borders and making it possible for the country’s citizens to celebrate the Passover Seder quietly.
“Israel acts with firmness and determination to defend its sovereignty and the security of its citizens,” he said in a statement.
An estimated 30,000 Palestinians took part in the Hamas-organized protests, with the IDF saying that those who were shot were either attempting to cross over, plant bombs at or physically harm the fence.
Israeli sources said that except for one “problematic” incident, there are photos and videos to back up the IDF’s claims. This material, the sources said, will be shown to those in the international community who condemned Israel for Friday’s incidents, and accused it of using disproportionate force.
The Foreign Ministry issued a statement saying that the fence between Israel and the Gaza Strip “separates a sovereign state from a terrorist organization.”
This fence, the statement said, “separates a state that protects its citizens from murderers who send their people into danger. The fence separates an army that uses force in self-defense and in a focused and proportionate manner, from Hamas, which has for years – including yesterday – been trying to harm millions of Israelis, and which sanctifies murder and death.

While the international community is roundly condemning the Israelis for the actions of its troops, the U.S. has stood behind them. In a statement, the U.S. stated that “Hamas should focus on desperately needed improvements to the lives of Palestinians in Gaza instead of inciting violence against Israel that only increases hardship & undermines chances for peace.”

To read the entire article from Jerusalem Post, click here:

Photo courtesy Wikipedia