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U.S. Agrees to Begin Military Talks With Russia on Syria

LONDON — Secretary of State John Kerry said on Friday that the United States was prepared to engage in military-to-military talks with Russia concerning Syria , even as Russia continued its military buildup there by deploying fighter jets. “The president believes that a mil-to-mil conversation is an important next step,” Mr. Kerry said, “and I think, hopefully, will take place very shortly.” Shortly after Mr. Kerry spoke, the Pentagon announced that Defense Secretary Ashton B. Carter had spoken by telephone with Sergei K. Shoigu, the Russian minister of defense. It was Mr. Carter’s first discussion with his Russian counterpart since he took office seven months ago. The two men agreed to continue discussions on “mechanisms for deconfliction” in Syria, Peter Cook, the Pentagon press secretary, said in a statement. Russia has been stepping up its support for President Bashar al-Assad of Syria in recent weeks. It has developed an […]

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Russia sends jets to Syria, resumes US military talks – officials

A man rides a motorcycle near damaged buildings in Maarat Al-Nouman, south of Idlib September 17, 2015. Picture taken September 17, 2015. Russia has sent fighter jets to Syria, U.S. officials said, raising the stakes in a military buildup that has put Washington on edge and led Friday to the first talks between U.S. and Russian defense chiefs in over a year. U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter, eyeing the possibility of rival U.S. and Russian air operations in Syria’s limited airspace, agreed in a call with his Russian counterpart to explore ways to avoid accidental military interactions. The coordination necessary to avoid such encounters is known in military parlance as "deconfliction." "They agreed to further discuss mechanisms for deconfliction in Syria and the counter-ISIL campaign," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said after the call, referring to the campaign by the U.S. and its allies against Islamic State militants. The former […]

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Syria peak oil weakened government’s finances ahead of Arab Spring in 2011

While the attention of the world is on the refugee crisis we need to look at the causes of this mass exodus. Fig 1: Refugees walking on Hungarian motorway towards Austria in Sep 2015 In May 2013 the Guardian had an article “Peak oil, climate change and pipeline geopolitics driving Syrian conflict” http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/may/13/1 In March 2015, a group of researchers led by climatologist Colin Kelley (University of California) published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences with the title “Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and implications of the recent Syrian drought” “Between 2006 and 2009, the people of Syria suffered during the most severe drought that country has experienced since the beginning of its instrumental record. As water became scarce, crops failed and cattle died on a huge scale. As many as 1.5 million Syrians, out of a population of just over 20 million, […]

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Russian Flights Over Iraq and Iran Escalate Tension With U.S.

WASHINGTON — Russia is using an air corridor over Iraq and Iran to fly military equipment and personnel to a new air hub in Syria , openly defying American efforts to block the shipments and significantly increasing tensions with Washington. American officials disclosed Sunday that at least seven giant Russian Condor transport planes had taken off from a base in southern Russia during the past week to ferry equipment to Syria, all passing through Iranian and Iraqi airspace. Their destination was an airfield south of Latakia, Syria, which could become the most significant new Russian military foothold in the Middle East in decades, American officials said. The Obama administration initially hoped it had hampered the Russian effort to move military equipment and personnel into Syria when Bulgaria, a NATO member, announced it would close its airspace to the flights. But Russia quickly began channeling its flights over Iraq and […]

Posted On : Published By : Tom Whipple
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Syria peak oil weakened government’s finances ahead of Arab Spring in 2011

While the attention of the world is on the refugee crisis we need to look at the causes of this mass exodus. Fig 1: Refugees walking on Hungarian motorway towards Austria in Sep 2015 In May 2013 the Guardian had an article “Peak oil, climate change and pipeline geopolitics driving Syrian conflict” http://www.theguardian.com/environment/earth-insight/2013/may/13/1 In March 2015, a group of researchers led by climatologist Colin Kelley (University of California) published a study in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences with the title “Climate change in the Fertile Crescent and implications of the recent Syrian drought” “Between 2006 and 2009, the people of Syria suffered during the most severe drought that country has experienced since the beginning of its instrumental record. As water became scarce, crops failed and cattle died on a huge scale. As many as 1.5 million Syrians, out of a population of just over 20 million, […]

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Saudi Arabia Says It Has Taken In 2.5 Million Fleeing Syrians

After attracting severe criticism on social media and from members of the Muslim community around the world, Saudi Arabia has defended itself saying that the kingdom has accepted more than 2.5 million refugees since the Syrian conflict began. The oil-rich nation also claimed that it has given permanent residency to hundreds of thousands of Syrians ever since 2011. Rich Gulf nations have been condemned for not welcoming Syrian refugees , who are fleeing the civil war and the Islamic State (Isis) onslaught in the country and making perilous journeys to Europe via sea. While numerous countries apart from Europe are embracing thousands of migrants, Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) members Saudi Arabia, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar have been blamed for remaining silent on the issue. However, according to the Saudi Press Agency, an unnamed official of the Saudi foreign ministry has said that nearly 2.5 million […]

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Assad Regime Inflames Refugee Crisis

TRIPOLI, Lebanon—As hundreds of thousands of refugees flee Syria for Europe, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has been coming down hard on those who have stayed behind, particularly people viewed as potential threats. Ahmed al-Hamid is one of them. The 37-year-old doctor said security agents picked him up in late 2013 for his role establishing field hospitals in opposition areas in Homs and Damascus. After six months in jail—where he said he was beaten with batons and whips while strapped to boards—Dr. Hamid was released by a sympathetic judge. Last year, he fled to nearby Lebanon, joining an exodus of professionals, dissidents and others who were driven out for being on the wrong side of the Syrian regime. “There is no order, per se, but all conditions are being put in place so that people do not dare go back,” says Dr. Hamid, a stocky man with a […]

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U.S. Moves to Block Russian Military Buildup in Syria

Photo Foreign Minister Sergey V. Lavrov of Russia has expressed surprise at receiving a call Saturday from Secretary of State John Kerry warning Moscow not to expand its military role in Syria. Credit Yuri Kochetkov/European Pressphoto Agency WASHINGTON — The United States on Tuesday moved to head off preparations for a suspected Russian military buildup in Syria as Bulgaria agreed to an appeal from the Obama administration to shut its airspace to Russian transport planes. The planes’ destination was the Syrian port city of Latakia. The administration has also asked Greece to close its airspace to the Russian flights, Greek and American officials said, but Greece has not publicly responded to the request. The apparent Russian military preparations and the Obama administration’s attempt to block them have escalated long-running tensions between the White House and the Kremlin. Although the United States and Russia agree that the Islamic State is […]

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Britain Leans Toward Participating in Airstrikes on Syria

LONDON—The British government will move toward participating in Syrian airstrikes if there is a political consensus to do so, a senior minister said Sunday, the latest sign of building momentum within the U.K. to step up military action. George Osborne, U.K. Treasury chief and close political ally of Prime Minister David Cameron , said the West hadn’t done enough to contain Islamic State militants that control territory in Syria and Iraq. Speaking in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation, Mr. Osborne said Mr. Cameron’s government would seek parliamentary approval to extend the U.K.’s current involvement in Iraq airstrikes to Syria. The prime minister and other senior government ministers believe “there is a strong case” for doing so, but that there needs to be support for the move from parliament, Mr. Osborne said. It comes days after Mr. Cameron said Britain would take “thousands” of Syrian refugees , which […]

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France to Begin Syria Reconnaissance Flights, Mulls Air Strikes

PARIS — France will begin reconnaissance missions over Syria on Tuesday and could launch air strikes against Islamic State militants in the country, President Francois Hollande said on Monday. France until now had only taken part in air strikes against Islamic State in Iraq because it feared strikes against the group in Syria could strengthen Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. "We have proof that attacks have been planned from Syria against several countries, notably France," Hollande told a news conference. "My responsibility is to ensure that we are informed as much as possible on the threats to our country … so I have asked the defence minister that from tomorrow reconnaissance flights begin over Syria that will enable us to consider air strikes against Islamic State." France was poised to join air strikes on the Assad regime in Syria in 2013, before U.S. President Barack Obama unexpectedly backed off the […]

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