A News Aggregator That Covers The World's Major Wars And Conflicts. Military, Political, And Intelligence News Are Also Covered. Occasionally We Will Have Our Own Opinions Or Observations To Make.
Recent intelligence reports show that Russia is interested in influencing more than just America's elections. Russian President Vladimir Putin and his cronies have taken aim at undermining the U.S. energy industry, as well.
Buried within the U.S. intelligence community's report on Russian activities in the presidential election is clear evidence that the Kremlin is financing and choreographing anti-fracking propaganda in the United States. By targeting fracking, Putin hopes to increase oil and gas prices, destabilize the U.S. economy and threaten America's energy independence.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, is a decades-old drilling technique in which water and sand is pumped through rock at a high pressure to release previously unreachable deposits of oil and natural gas.
WNU Editor: There are a lot of groups who oppose fracking .... with many supporters and a lot of funding. I would be surprised if these groups are dependent on Russian funding. But it is true that fracking and its impact on oil production and prices is a strategic threat to Russia .... and it is in Russia's interest (as well as OPEC's) to see these anti-fracking movements succeed.
In 1950, just two years after the state of Israel was founded, the country’s first commercial delegation set off for South America.
Israel desperately needed trading partners. Unlike its Arab adversaries, Israel did not have natural resources to fund its economy. There was no oil or minerals. Nothing.
The delegation held a couple of meetings but was mostly met with laughs. The Israelis were trying to sell oranges, kerosene stove tops and fake teeth. For countries like Argentina, which grew its own oranges and was connected to the electrical grid, the products were pretty useless.
WNU Editor: It is about time someone did this story. This blog has been covering Israel's advances in military technology for years .... and I have labelled it more than once to be one of those under-reported stories (probably on purpose). It looks like they are getting the attention now.
* Historic alliance between U.S., U.K. and France seen at risk
* Foreign diplomats are said to be ‘flying blind’ with Trump
President Donald Trump’s outreach to Russia is reverberating through the United Nations, where U.S. allies worry that a partnership between Washington and Moscow could undermine a historic balance of power dating to the early days of the Cold War.
For decades, the five veto-wielding members of the 15-nation Security Council have fallen into two camps -- France, the U.K. and the U.S., referred to as the P3, on one side and Russia and China on the other.
Just days into his presidency, Trump is upsetting all that.
WNU Editor: Too early to say that the U.S. is entering a period of "detente" with Russia .... but I know that many in the Kremlin are hoping that this will be the case. As for the role of China and Russia in the Security Council .... they are making it very clear that they want the U.S. to join them .... Russia And China Wants The U.S. To Join Them To Split Up The World (January 26, 2017). If such an alliance ever comes to past (which I do not see happening now .... but later .... who knows what the future holds).... the UN will definitely then become a minor payer.
President Donald Trump on Tuesday nominated Neil Gorsuch for a lifetime job on the U.S. Supreme Court, picking the 49-year-old federal appeals court judge to restore the court's conservative majority and help shape rulings on divisive issues such as abortion, gun control, the death penalty and religious rights.
The Colorado native faces a potentially contentious confirmation battle in the U.S. Senate after Republicans last year refused to consider Democratic President Barack Obama's nominee to fill the vacancy caused by the February 2016 death of conservative justice Antonin Scalia.
The Senate's top Democrat, Chuck Schumer, indicated his party would mount a procedural hurdle requiring 60 votes in the 100-seat Senate rather than a simple majority to approve Gorsuch, and expressed "very serious doubts" about the nominee. Liberal groups called for an all-out fight to reject Gorsuch while conservative groups and Republican senators heaped praise on him like "outstanding," "impressive" and a "home run."
The US-backed campaign against ISIL is closing in on Raqqa, the Syrian capital of the group’s self-proclaimed caliphate.
The offensive is being waged by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) who say that under President Donald Trump they have seen signs of increased American support.
They aim to fully encircle Raqqa, severing it from ISIL strongholds in Deir al-Zor where tens of thousands of civilians are trapped by the jihadists.
US special forces operatives carried out a raid in central Yemen on Sunday, targeting the house of a suspected leader of al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
US officials have confirmed that one Navy commando died and three more service members were wounded, and say 14 al-Qaeda fighters were killed. Unconfirmed reports suggested a number of civilians were killed, including an eight-year-old girl whose father and brother were killed in drone strikes six years ago.
In 2014 we reported from a Taliban stronghold, where armed fighters were patrolling the streets. What has changed since?
In 2014, Fault Lines reported from the Taliban stronghold of Charkh District, just an hour outside Kabul. Charkh had become a microcosm of Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
Armed Taliban were openly patrolling the streets and had built a parallel administration in Charkh, including Sharia courts and special girls' schools.
Filmmaker Nagieb Khaja took us to a Taliban-controlled town for a rare glimpse of life under Taliban rule in the midst of a civil war.
REWIND spoke to Nagieb about what, if anything, has changed in the past three years and since the planned US drawdown was scrapped.
We join Afghan forces on the frontlines in Helmand, as they try to keep the Taliban from seizing a crucial capital.
Fifteen years after suffering defeat at the hands of the United States, the Taliban are retaking territory in Afghanistan at an alarming pace.
Wide swaths of the country are now under their control. But the prize for the armed group is the city of Lashkar Gah, seen as the gateway to the rest of the country. Standing in their way, is a ragtag group of Afghan soldiers and police, ill-trained, and ill-equipped.
But a newly installed governor is rallying the forces. Can the city hold the Taliban at bay?
101 East goes to the frontlines to meet the last defenders of Afghanistan.
Ukrainian soldiers, rebels and civilians have been killed in the latest spate of violence. European officials have warned of a humanitarian disaster after power outages left thousands to cope in sub-zero temperatures.
At least 13 civilians and fighters have been killed in the latest escalation of violence in eastern Ukraine, Kyiv and rebel authorities said on Tuesday.
Kyiv announced that eight government troops have been killed and another 26 wounded since Sunday, when clashes erupted between rebel and Ukrainian forces, marking the heaviest losses for the military since last month.
Read more ....
In late October 2016, the residents of the tiny Bahamas island of Man-O-War Cay found a mysterious object had washed up on their beach.
Taller than a person, conical in shape with a large spike at the end, it looked unmistakably like some sort of missile.
"People were curious of course, the kids were excited to see something so large on the beach," local resident Mailin Sands told the BBC.
It had washed up right in front of the holiday home of Prof Janine Maddock, who was back in the US at the time and spied it from a CCTV camera at the top of her house.
Multi-warhead weapon tested amid growing tensions with the United States.
China flight tested a new variant of a long-range missile with 10 warheads in what defense officials say represents a dramatic shift in Beijing's strategic nuclear posture.
The flight test of the DF-5C missile was carried out earlier this month using 10 multiple independently targetable reentry vehicles, or MIRVs. The test of the inert warheads was monitored closely by U.S. intelligence agencies, said two officials familiar with reports of the missile test.
The missile was fired from the Taiyuan Space Launch Center in central China and flew to an impact range in the western Chinese desert.
No other details about the test could be learned. Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Gary Ross suggested in a statement the test was monitored.
WNU Editor: This is a major development for China's nuclear forces .... and a heads-up to everyone that China is serious abuot developing their nuclear forces.
Rules governing the use of national security letters allow the FBI to obtain information about journalists’ calls without going to a judge or informing the targeted news organization.
SECRET FBI RULES allow agents to obtain journalists’ phone records with approval from two internal officials — far less oversight than under normal judicial procedures.
The classified rules, obtained by The Intercept and dating from 2013, govern the FBI’s use of national security letters, which allow the bureau to obtain information about journalists’ calls without going to a judge or informing the news organization being targeted. They have previously been released only in heavily redacted form.
Media advocates said the documents show that the FBI imposes few constraints on itself when it bypasses the requirement to go to court and obtain subpoenas or search warrants before accessing journalists’ information.
The armed Houthi movement attacked a Saudi warship off the western coast of Yemen on Monday, causing an explosion that killed two crew members and injured three others, Saudi state news agency SPA reported.
Separately, the Houthis said they launched a ballistic missile at a Saudi-led coalition military base on the Red Sea island of Zuqar between Yemen and Eritrea on Tuesday morning, according to the group's official news channel al-Masira.
There was no immediate coalition reaction to that claim and it was unclear if there were any casualties.
WASHINGTON — Iran conducted its first missile test since President Trump took office, American and Israeli officials said Monday, posing an early test of whether the Trump administration will make good on its promises to strictly enforce all aspects of the Iranian nuclear deal and a side agreement on missile testing.
The Iranian missile traveled about 600 miles, but its re-entry vehicle reportedly exploded before the flight was complete. It is unclear whether that was accidental or a deliberate detonation.
Israel’s United Nations ambassador, Danny Danon, accused Iran of violating a Security Council resolution passed in 2015, shortly after the nuclear accord was reached in Vienna.
While the agreement itself dealt only with Iran’s nuclear program, then-Secretary of State John Kerry negotiated for days with the Iranians about a revised Security Council resolution on missiles. That last concession by the United States, China, Russia, Germany and France sealed the entire diplomatic package.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin (C) attends a conference at the main operation centre of the Russian armed forces, with Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu (L) and armed forces Chief-of-Staff Valery Gerasimov (R) in Moscow, June 6, 2013. Credit: Reuters/Michael Klimentyev/RIA Novosti/Kremlin
General Stanley McChrystal perhaps shocked many when he spoke out on the chance of a war in Europe — aside from the continuing conflict in Ukraine. He stated that “A European war is not unthinkable. People who want to believe a war in Europe is not possible might be in for a surprise.” He is absolutely correct, and it is with Russia.
The common idea on how this will happen is that increased activity can lead to incidents and unintentional escalation. That is, however, only focusing on the direct issues. The underlying issue is that Russia believes itself to be in a war with the West, albeit, for now, a non-military one (coincidentally the topic of my PhD).
The economic sanctions imposed on Russia following the invasion of Ukraine are not perceived as a moderate response from the West to a breach of international law. Rather, as the Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov stated, they are seen as an attempt to provoke regime change in Russia. Moreover, this perception has a longer story than economic sanctions.
WNU Editor: From my vantage point .... for much of 2016 I sensed that there was a growing unease in the Kremlin that they were entering into a new Cold War with the West. But with the election of Donald Trump .... I can now say that this worry has disappeared.
While Putin and Trump push for bigger arsenals, Beijing has all the nukes it'll ever need.
While U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin preen and compare the size of their nuclear arsenals, China has been quite modest on the subject. This macho dance doesn’t interest Beijing. Why? Isn’t bigger always better? For decades, when it comes to nuclear weapons, the answer from China has been a resounding no. The rest of the world would do well to consider their reasons why.
In his last defense speech of 2016, Putin argued that his country needed to “enhance the combat capability of strategic nuclear forces, primarily by strengthening missile complexes that will be guaranteed to penetrate existing and future missile defense systems.” It wasn’t clear from the speech whether Putin seeks to improve nuclear warhead delivery systems in order to confuse American missile defense, or whether he will seek to increase the number of weapons deployed to overwhelm them, or even deploy cyber-capabilities to weaken the ability to respond. Perhaps it’s a strategy, perhaps it’s just rhetoric. U.S. ballistic missile defense efforts — particularly in Europe and Asia — have been a sore spot for both Russia and China.
It doesn’t take much of a trigger to push extremely large crowds of very angry protesters into committing acts of rioting and violence. And rioting and violence can ultimately lead to widespread civil unrest and calls for “revolution”. The election of Donald Trump was perhaps the single most galvanizing moment for the radical left in modern American history, and we have already seen that a single move by Trump can literally cause protests to erupt from coast to coast within 48 hours. On Friday, Trump signed an executive order that banned refugees from Syria indefinitely and that placed a 90 day ban on travel to the United States for citizens of Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen. Within hours, protesters began to storm major airports, and by Sunday very large crowds were taking to the streets all over the country…
WNU Editor: President Trump's opponents .... both Democrat and Republican .... were completely shocked by the election results that gave the victory to Donald Trump .... and that is saying it lightly. I have been a devoted student of U.S. Presidential elections since Ronald Reagan's victory in 1980 .... and I have never seen the vitriol and hatred that has been directed at a new President .... even before he has been sworn in .... as I am seeing now. And once he was sworn in .... with the full power of the Presidency .... the intensity of this opposition and hatred has now gone off the scale. The fact that President Trump does not back down .... but in fact doubles down when he is attacked .... only adds to the anger that I am now seeing. And while many protestors and opponents of President Trump now believe that the momentum is in their camp .... I have a completely different take. Support for President Trump among his base and who helped get him elected has not wavered .... in fact .... I sense that they are reveling in it as President Trump continues to deliver on the campaign promises that he made during the election. As for the future .... these protests are going to intensify .... and the media will help to galvanize it .... but it is not going to change the situation, and that situation is that President Trump is the President.
U.S. President Donald Trump fired top federal government lawyer Sally Yates on Monday after she took the extraordinarily rare step of defying the White House and refused to defend new travel restrictions targeting seven Muslim-majority nations.
It was another dramatic twist in the unusually raucous roll-out of Trump's directive that put a 120-day hold on allowing refugees into the country, an indefinite ban on refugees from Syria and a 90-day bar on citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen.
The Friday night ban prompted protests and chaos at airports on the weekend as customs officials struggled to put the order into practise, and the fallout spread to U.S. markets on Monday, where stocks suffered their biggest drop of 2017 and companies affected by the change spoke out against it.
WNU Editor: The Democrats are calling President Trump a tyrant .... DNC blasts 'tyrannical' Trump for firing acting AG Yates(The Hill). What's my take .... if I was the President I would have fired her also. But this story is going to be forgotten within 24 hours .... President Trump is going to name his Supreme Court Justice Tuesday night .... I already know (as well as everyone else) on what the reaction will be from all sides.
Acting Attorney General Sally Yates has ordered Justice Department lawyers not to defend challenges to President Trump’s immigration order temporarily banning entry into the United States for citizens of seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees from around the world, declaring in a memo Monday she is not convinced the order is lawful.
Yates wrote that, as the leader of the Justice Department, she must ensure the department’s position is both “legally defensible” and “consistent with this institution’s solemn obligation to always seek justice and stand for what is right.
“At present, I am not convinced that the defense of the Executive Order is consistent with these responsibilities nor am I convinced that the Executive Order is lawful,” Yates wrote. She wrote that “for as long as I am the Acting Attorney General, the Department of Justice will not present arguments in defense of the Executive Order, unless and until I become convinced that it is appropriate to do so.”
Facebook group described Bissonnette as having 'pro-Le Pen and anti-feminist positions'
Alexandre Bissonnette, the man police believe opened fire on a Quebec City mosque, has been charged with six counts of first-degree murder and five counts of attempted murder while using a restricted firearm.
Bissonnette appeared in Quebec City court on Monday around 6 p.m. ET. His next court appearance is set for Feb. 21.
According to his Facebook page, which has since been taken down, Bissonnette is from the Quebec City suburb of Cap-Rouge.
His profile also shows he studied anthropology and political science at Laval University and was a cadet as a child.
WNU Editor: A lot of details have still not been made public on the person who is responsible for these horrific crimes .... but what we do know is whatI outlined yesterday .... a French Quebecer who harbours a deep hatred towards visible minorities who are not French Quebecers. And what is particularly sad about this story is that the men who were killed in this terror attack represent the best of the immigrant community in Canada. All of these victims are/were success stories who had loving families .... who came to Canada for a better life and who fulfilled their goals of becoming citizens that Canada is proud to have .... and now everyone is grieving. This blog covers wars and conflicts around the world .... it is a different story when I cover what is happening in my backyard. My prayers are for the families who lost their loved ones .... and for those whose loved ones are still in hospital. On a side note, I promised last night to give an explanation on why this terror attack happened in Quebec .... and how Quebec nationalism may have played a role. But not tonight .... my anger on what happened is still there and any commentary from my part will be clouded by my hatred on what this killer did. And while I do know that some in the Canadian media are trying to tie President Trump and France's Le Pen to these killings because of some Facebook postings that the killer did .... I also do know that the killer was an admirer of the Pope ..... which these same pundits are conveniently choosing to ignore because it does not fit their narrative. But like I said .... if I am up to it I will provide a more comprehensive commentary in the next day or two.
Maybe it was the Novocaine, but last week I had an epiphany:
This country has been run by insane people for this entire century.
We started out the 2000s with no deficits and no wars.
We ended up with more debt than we can count and more wars than we can count.
I gleaned this knowledge as I was having a couple of crowns installed by my dentist. He's got a TV set up by the chair and the patient can pick the channel.
QUEBEC — Alexandre Bissonnette, the alleged gunman who killed six and wounded eight at a Quebec City mosque on Sunday, was charged with six counts of first degree murder and five counts of attempted murder at the Quebec City Courthouse late on Monday afternoon, handcuffed and wearing a white jumpsuit but leaving a country wondering why.
The shooting on Sunday, the first time someone had been killed in a mosque in Canada and, at least recently, a rare event outside the Muslim world, shocked a nation that has prided itself on openness and has been lauded for its welcoming acceptance of Syrian refugees. The shooting, however, underscored a growing anti-Muslim sentiment that has been particular virulent in some parts of this French-speaking corner of the country.
Russian servicemen of the Northern Fleet's Arctic mechanised infantry brigade participate in a military drill on riding reindeer and dog sleds near the settlement of Lovozero outside Murmansk, Russia January 23, 2017. Picture taken January 23, 2017. Lev Fedoseyev/Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation/Handout via REUTERS
The nuclear icebreaker Lenin, the pride and joy of the Soviet Union's Arctic great game, lies at perpetual anchor in the frigid water here. A relic of the Cold War, it is now a museum.
But nearly three decades after the Lenin was taken out of service to be turned into a visitor attraction, Russia is again on the march in the Arctic and building new nuclear icebreakers.
It is part of a push to firm Moscow's hand in the High North as it vies for dominance with traditional rivals Canada, the United States, and Norway as well as newcomer China.
Interviews with officials and military analysts and reviews of government documents show Russia's build-up is the biggest since the 1991 Soviet fall and will, in some areas, give Moscow more military capabilities than the Soviet Union once had.
(CNN)President Donald Trump further reorganized the National Security Council on Monday after he came under sharp criticism for ousting the country's most senior intelligence and military officials as regular members of the Principals Committee -- and installing one of his top political advisers on the key panel.
On Monday, White House spokesman Sean Spicer announced that Trump will reinstate the director of the CIA as a regular Principals Committee member. But the President will keep his chief strategist, Stephen Bannon, as a regular committee member -- a move that came under fire -- while the director of national intelligence and the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff will not be regular attendees.
The committee is a Cabinet-level group of agencies focused on national security that was established by President George H. W. Bush in 1989.
More News On The Growing Criticisms Of President Trump's Decision To Install His Top Political Adviser On The National Security Council Principal's Committee
A masked translator for the U.S. soldiers distributes peace pamphlets as they inspect a road repair project in Baghdad January 27, 2007. REUTERS/Erik de Castro
Blindsided by Friday’s order from the White House that temporarily slammed the door on immigration from seven predominantly Muslim countries, the Department of Defense is scrambling to put together a list of Iraqi nationals who helped U.S. forces over the past 15 years that might be in line for a waiver.
The list would consist of “those who have tangibly demonstrated their commitment” to support U.S. forces, Pentagon spokesman Capt. Jeff Davis told reporters at the Pentagon on Monday.
Davis wouldn’t confirm if the Pentagon asked the White House for permission to start compiling the list of names, but said, “we have been provided the opportunity by the White House” to submit the list. Reports have indicated that the executive order wasn’t shared outside of the White House before it was signed on by President Trump on Friday.
WNU Editor: One sore point that I have had with past U.S. administrations is how they have treated those .... who at great risk .... have gone out of their way to assist the U.S.. If there is ever a group that deserves to be put on the express lane for U.S. citizenship .... it is these people. Kudos to the Pentagon to finally make the effort to assist these people .... now they must deliver. on a personal note .... in my book this man should be on the top of the list to be granted U.S. citizenship.
Sino-US relations are becoming more tense under America's new administration
War with the US under Donald Trump is “not just a slogan” and becoming a “practical reality”, a senior Chinese military official has said.
The remarks were published on the People’s Liberation Army website, apparently in response to the aggressive rhetoric towards China from America's new administration.
They communicated a view from inside the Central Military Commission, which has overall authority of China’s armed forces.
WNU Editor: This is very dangerous talk coming from China. Sino-U.S. relations were already growing tense before President Trump's election victory .... and it is going to become even worse when the U.S. starts to focus on the massive trade imbalance that they have with China. The number one worry in Beijing right now is the economy .... and the direction on where it is heading is not good .... doubly so if the U.S. starts to impose restrictions on Chinese strade .... How Long Can China's Debt Continue To Grow Before A Systemic Crisis Strikes? (Zero Hedge).
More News On China Now Musing On How A War Against The U.S. May Become A 'Practical Reality'
* Intelligence agency, Pentagon study resiliency of governments
* Report mandated by Congress in bill predating Trump presidency
U.S. intelligence agencies and the Pentagon’s Strategic Command are working on a new evaluation of whether the Russian and Chinese leadership could survive a nuclear strike and keep operating, even as President Donald Trump seeks to reshape relations with both nations.
The new study, ordered by Congress before Trump took office, drew bipartisan support from members who harbor deep concern about China’s increasing military boldness and distrust of Russian President Vladimir Putin’s intentions.
WNU Editor: This report was mandated before President Trump took office, and while there has been no reaction from the Chinese government on this U.S. Congressional request, the Russians are not amused.
Former president Barack Obama rejected the idea Monday that President Trump based his immigration executive order on a policy adopted by his own administration, and he endorsed the protests that have been taking place across the country in response to the new restrictions.
Trump has said that his move to ban the entry of migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries into the United States, and to suspend temporarily the admission of refugees, was based in part on a decision in 2011 by then-President Obama to ban the admission of Iraqis to the country after evidence surfaced that two Iraqis seeking resettlement had been linked to terrorist activity in their homeland. The Obama and Trump administrations also identified the same seven countries as harboring terrorism threats.
Former Obama administration officials have denied that there was ever a halt to the awarding of visas to Iraqis, though the processing of these applications slowed after they were subject to more intense scrutiny.
WNU Editor: A former President .... just two weeks after leaving office .... now attacking a sitting President and encouraging protests. The media and progressives are going to be overjoyed .... but there is going to be blow-back from this "encouragement".
