It is somewhat coincidental that both of these articles came up in a general search, but it seems like an obvious potential conflict:
US demands Turkey to “seal” notorious 100 km border region with Syria, but may be pretext to invade and establish long-sought after “safe haven” for terrorists in Syria.
In the most open admission yet that NATO-member Turkey has been allowing a torrent of supplies, weapons, fighters, and equipment to flow across its borders with impunity and into the hands of the self-proclaimed “Islamic State” (ISIS), the US has urged Ankara to seal the remaining 100 km border region yet to be closed by Syrian and Kurdish forces.
The Obama administration is pressing Turkey to deploy thousands of additional troops along its border with Syria to cordon off a 60-mile stretch of frontier that U.S. officials say is used by Islamic State to move foreign fighters in and out of the war zone.
The U.S. hasn’t officially requested a specific number of soldiers. Pentagon officials estimated that it could take as many as 30,000 to seal the border on the Turkish side for a broader humanitarian mission. Cordoning off just one section alone could take 10,000 or more, one official estimated.
The U.S. hasn’t officially requested a specific number of soldiers. Pentagon officials estimated that it could take as many as 30,000 to seal the border on the Turkish side for a broader humanitarian mission. Cordoning off just one section alone could take 10,000 or more, one official estimated.
Coincidentally, the Wall Street Journal also reports that 30,000 troops are also precisely what is estimated to be needed to carve out a NATO-occupied “safe zone” within Syria, one US policymakers have planned since 2012 as a means of protecting Western-backed militants from Syrian – and now Russian – attacks.
The WSJ reports:
U.S. officials, including the Pentagon and the State Department, conducted an assessment this fall of how many troops it would take to create a safe zone, and concluded that it would take about 30,000 troops. Officials used that figure as a reference point to estimate the needs for a cordon, but said that could turn out to require fewer troops.
US Intentions are Dubious at Best
Although some may find US calls for the border to be secured from the Turkish side welcomed, in reality, the summation of support for ISIS and other terrorist groups operating in Syria have long been crossing Turkey’s borders, with Ankara and Washington’s full knowledge and with Ankara and Washington having orchestrated the immense multi-year logistical operation themselves.
Not only has it been revealed that the US State Department itself was running terrorists and weapons from as far as Croatia and Libya, through Turkey, and into northern Syria, it has been reported by prominent Western newspapers, including the New York Times that both US intelligence agents and US special forces have been operating along the very Turkish-Syrian border ISIS and other terrorist organizations have been moving weapons and fighters over since the conflict began in 2011.
Increasing pressure from Washington on Ankara appears directly proportional not to America’s will to defeat ISIS, but the to the necessity of addressing growing public awareness that indeed, ISIS is being supported from beyond Syria’s borders by certain state sponsors and not from within Syria itself.
That coincidentally the same number of troops needed to invade and occupy northern Syria have been called up to line the Turkish-Syria border to “secure it” is likely not a coincidence at all. In all likelihood, the West would like to attempt to make an incursion into Syria under the guise of having been provoked at the border, and then “needing” to cross over into Syria to pursue the provocateurs.
The United States and Turkey, with their ambush of a Russian Su-24 over Syria, have proven just how far the West is willing to go to get an advantage, even superficially, over Russia, even if it means resorting to extreme treachery. Another “power move” wrung from this impending “border operation” seems all but inevitable.
This increasingly desperate geostrategic posture comes at a time when Russia has begun bombing ISIS-bound convoys emerging from Turkish territory almost on the border itself. Syrian armed forces are likewise close to closing off this very border region from within their own territory. Syrian troops have approached the Euphrates River’s west bank and will begin moving north toward the Turkish border itself. Once this region is retaken by Russian-backed Syrian troops, there will be no “safe zone” for NATO to establish.
To ensure that NATO’s plans are fully derailed along the Turkish-Syrian border, Russian-backed Syrian troops much ensure a substantial deterrence exists specifically to face this threat. Diplomatically, offers to establish a border guard or peacekeeping force on the Syrian side to compliment NATO’s within Turkish territory may be the best way to ensure NATO’s ambitions remain where they are.
Russia is ready to coordinate practical steps to block the Turkish-Syrian border in cooperation with Damascus, Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said Friday after talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Muallem.
Lavrov recalled that French President Francois Hollande earlier voiced the proposal to adopt specific measures to block the Turkish-Syrian border.
“We actively support that. We are open for coordination of practical steps, certainly, in interaction with the Syrian government,” he said. “We are convinced that by blocking the border we will in many respects solve the tasks to eradicate terrorism on Syrian soil.”
“We hope that initiative by President Hollande will be implemented within the framework of our joint work, including in the Group of Support for Syria,” the minister said.
Lavrov pointed out that Russia has question about Ankara’s real plans, including those on counter-terrorist efforts.
“The hotbed of terrorist treat is concentrated in vast territories of Syria and Iraq,” he said. “It is the so-called Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, and we have a common opinion that it can be exterminated only without any double standards. Special responsibility in terms of denouncing such double standards and acting in a united front against terrorism rests on Syria’s neighbor countries.”
“We think it highly cynical when some of the countries speak about their commitment to the corresponding United Nations Security Council resolutions and declare themselves members of anti-terrorist coalitions but in reality are playing a game where terrorists are allocated the role of secret allies,” Lavrov stressed. “We have more and more questions about Ankara’s real plans and the degree of its readiness to exterminate terrorism, in particular in Syria, and its commitment to the normalization of the situation in Syria.”
“We are ready to take due account of these or those concerns and interests of the countries committed to anti-terrorist efforts and are ready for such formats of coalition, cooperation and coordination that would cause no discomfort to anyone,” he said. “Now it is up to our partners, including those who are members of the coalition formed last year by the United States, which has yielded no visible results as of yet.”
Has the Deal with Erdogan Made Europe a Supporter of Terrorism?
In a desperate bid to put an end to the tide of illegal immigration, European politicians have been trying to make friends with Turkey on whatever terms they can negotiate. For instance, German Chancellor Angela Merkel has put billions of euros on the table to obtain Ankara’s assistance in resolving the refugee crisis.
However, many Western media sources, including Deutsche Wirtschafts Nachrichten, are wondering is it really necessary to make a deal with a country that has been heavily engaged in the sponsoring of terrorists, while buying oil from them at the same time?
German journalists argue that it would seem that there’s more than enough evidence to expose Turkey‘s connections with the Islamic State, so European politicians would be better off treating Erdogan differently, since he is indirectly involved in the killings of European citizens. Different media sources do not hesitate to cover the illegal oil business that is run by Erdogan’s family (including the German Bild), along with its bid in the production of synthetic drugs.
What’s even more curious is that in the situation where there’s absolutely no transparency in the affairs of the sitting Turkish authorities, the billions allocated by European politicians might be as well spent on the support of Islamist militants in Syria and Iraq. It won’t be surprising, since Erdogan’s connections with radical Islam have been officially confirmed by a prominent Iraqi politician Mowaffak Baqer al-Rubaie. According to al-Rubaie, Turkey is selling stolen oil at the rate of 20 dollars per barrel, which provides it with the income of 10 million dollars a week. Thus, in just eight months Turkey received over 800 million dollars from Iraqi stolen oil and gas.
One shouldn’t forget that that the ruling AKP party has been based on the former Islamist movement and the banned Islamic Virtue Party. As for Erdogan, he has repeatedly demanded to undermine the principles of the secular state, putting Turkey on tracks of restoration of the Ottoman Empire.
According to the Turkish news center 7 Sabah, it’s not a coincidence that the leader of the radical Islamist organization Jaish Al-islam wrote an open letter to Erdogan to congratulate him with the victory on the recent elections. In his letter the leader of this terrorist group urged Turkish nation to continue its support the so-called “jihad” groups in Syria and around the world. In response to this event, the leader of the Dutch Party for Freedom Geert Wilders stated that Islamic fascists have come to power in Turkey.
There’ two dangerous flows one is to observe today – there’s a flow of Islamists moving from west to east to join ISIL, and there’s a different flow – thousands of Syrian and Iraqi refugees heading the other way in an attempt to get to the Western Europe.
As it has recently been noted by a Turkish journalist, the south of Turkey has been turned into a “boulevard for Islamists”. At the same time, up to two million illegal migrants have attempted to get to Europe this year alone, most of them chose Turkey as a transit stat
So why would Europe still cooperate with Erdogan? Won’t it only be logical for the Europeans to oppose any form of Islamism?
The wave of terrorist attack that has struck Turkey last month shows that Turkish authorities do not control the situation in the country and cannot ensure the safety of their citizens. This state has clearly become a transit point for Islamists and refugees alike. In the light of Erdogan’s irresponsible policies and the growing contradictions within Turkish society, we may expect the imminent disintegration of the country.
So what should we do do? For example, Roland Hureaux, a prominent French politican and diplomat believes that it’s about time for Merkel to demand that Turkey puts an end to the flows of refugees and Islamists, or Europe will be entitled to withdraw all the preferences Turkey enjoyed as a state-candidate that was willing to join the EU.
[Below is just part of a lengthy article but worth reading in full]
It's heart breaking. It's devastating. How do you clean up a dying ocean?
The predictable tragedy at the Fukushima nuclear power plant in March 2011, continues to destroy fish, mammals and critically important ecosystems in the Pacific Ocean. TEPCO and the Japanese government have allowed one of the greatest crimes against humanity to spread devastation and destruction not only to the Japanese people in the area who have suffered massive cancer rates, illnesses and loss of their livelihoods, but an ocean now affecting us whether you live on the East coast or San Francisco.
"Some scientists say Fukushima is worse than the 1986 Chernobyl accident, with which it shares a maximum level-7 rating on the sliding scale of nuclear disasters. One of the most prominent of them is Dr Helen Caldicott, an Australian physician and long time anti-nuclear activist who warns of "horrors to come" in Fukushima. Chris Busby, a professor at the University of Ulster known for his alarmist views, generated controversy during a Japan visit last month when he said the disaster would result in more than 1 million deaths. "Fukushima is still boiling its radionuclides all over Japan," he said. "Chernobyl went up in one go. So Fukushima is worse."
"The official line is that the accident at the plant is winding down and radiation levels outside of the exclusion zone and designated "hot spots" are safe. "But many experts warn that the crisis is just beginning. Professor Tim Mousseau, a biological scientist who has spent more than a decade researching the genetic impact of radiation around Chernobyl, says he worries that many people in Fukushima are "burying their heads in the sand." His Chernobyl research concluded that biodiversity and the numbers of insects and spiders had shrunk inside the irradiated zone, and the bird population showed evidence of genetic defects, including smaller brain sizes. "The truth is that we don't have sufficient data to provide accurate information on the long-term impact," he says. "What we can say, though, is that there are very likely to be very significant long-term health impact from prolonged exposure."
That was in 2012. By 2013, Fukushima was pouring 300 TONS of contaminated water into the ocean EVERY day. I wonder what current testing shows for Bluefin tuna and other species of popular fish? The American people have the right to know, even if the news is bad.
Tritium soaring in water at No. 1 plant (July 2013): "A Nuclear Regulation Authority official recently said contaminated groundwater from the plant, which is being fed cooling water from outside, may be seeping into the ocean and that the matter must be addressed carefully because data is limited." Tritium is a radioactive isotope of hydrogen.
There's no maybe about it: Toxic groundwater reaching sea: NRA (July 2013)
" The Nuclear Regulation Authority said Wednesday it strongly suspects highly radioactive water at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant is seeping into the ground and contaminating the Pacific Ocean. “We must find the cause of the contamination . . . and put the highest priority on implementing countermeasures,” NRA Chairman Shunichi Tanaka told a meeting of the body's commissioners after they had examined recent studies carried out on groundwater samples at the plant that detected high levels of cesium, tritium and other radioactive contamination."
All of these are after Fukushima. Are all of them just a coincidence? Why so many mysteries after Fukushima?
Scientists Confirm Fukushima Radiation in California Kelp, February 7, 2014(that's just one month shy of three years since the melt down began)
Fukushima radioactive contamination is rapidly warming North Pacific seawater, September 2014Six sick sea lions found in Sonoma County, February 25, 2015, The Press Democrat:
"A crisis among California sea lions that has resulted in nearly 1,000 stranded pups and older animals arriving starved and sick on coastal shores has reached the Sonoma Coast, where six animals have been recovered in recent weeks, according to the Marine Mammal Center near Sausalito." Photos of the stranded babies is absolutely heartbreaking.
— Japan Professor: Fukushima posing reproduction risk to marine life, ongoing concern over bio-accumulation of radioactive material
"Senator Penelope Wright, Parliament of Australia, Mar 5, 2015 (emphasis added): “Like many others, I read an article in 2013 by Ivan Macfadyen called ‘The ocean is broken‘. It was published in The Sydney Morning Herald… He is an experienced sailor, so he had the ability to compare his experience then with… other trips. It was chilling. It was heartbreaking really. He had noticed changes in the last years. Basically, he was confronted by the silence that he heard, the silence on the seas, and he realised that this was attributable to the fact that they saw very, very few birds. They also caught very few fish… two fish.”
"Interview with Ivan Macfadyen, Talk Radio Europe, May 24, 2015 (at 14:30 in): “The reality was… if I would have had no spare dry food on the boat — relying on fish this time around — we would have starved to death — because, quite literally, there isn't any fish. There's vast tracks where they're just all gone. Where you could fish reliably, they're just not there… I used to fish here on exactly the same course, at exactly the same time of year… the same ocean, on the same course, into the same place — and I could catch fish everyday, and for some reason now 10 years later they're all gone.”
"Though not discussed in the above interview, Macfadyen has attributed his statement “The ocean is broken” to the impact of Fukushima. Host: "What about sea birds and all of that"? Macfadyen: "As you get closer up to Japan they're all gone, they're not there anymore… Everything's all gone, it's just like sailing in a dead sea… there's nothing… Host: "After Japan you headed [to] America, did you see any impact from…Fukushima?"
"Macfadyen: It's dead. That's where I coined the phrase, ‘The ocean's broken’ – because, for thousands of miles, there's nothing. No birds, no fish, no sharks, no dolphins, no turtles… they're not there… all those beautiful creatures, they're just all gone… We'd seen a whale, round about probably 1,000 miles [off] Japan, just lying on the surface with like a big tumor… just behind its head… it looked like it was going to die… it didn't try to get away, it didn't flap its tail, it didn't do anything… It had such a profound effect on me… Just talking about it makes me feel like I want to cry."
"A record 2,250 sea lions, mostly pups, have washed up starving and stranded in Southern California, a 20-fold increase in the level of strandings averaged for the same three-month period over the past decade, and twice the number documented in 2013, the previous worst winter season recorded for Southern California sea lions."
A 1,000 Mile Stretch Of The Pacific Ocean Has Heated Up Several Degrees And Scientists Don't Know Why, April 13, 2015, Michael Snyder
"According to two University of Washington scientific research papers that were recently released, a 1,000 mile stretch of the Pacific Ocean has warmed up by several degrees, and nobody seems to know why this is happening. This giant “blob” of warm water was first observed in late 2013, and it is playing havoc with our climate. And since this giant “blob” first showed up, fish and other sea creatures have been dying in absolutely massive numbers. So could there be a connection? And what is going to happen if the Pacific Ocean continues to warm up? Could we potentially be facing the greatest holocaust of sea life in the Pacific that anyone has ever observed? If so, what would that mean for the food chain and for our food supply?...
"Meanwhile, while this has been going on, scientists have also been noticing that sea creatures in the Pacific have been dying in record numbers. In fact, last summer I wrote an article entitled “Why are massive numbers of sea creatures dying along the west coast right now?” Since then, things have continued to get even worse. For instance, it was recently reported that the number of sea lions washing up on Southern California beaches is at an all-time record high…
"A record 2,250 sea lions, mostly pups, have washed up starving and stranded on Southern California beaches so far this year, a worsening phenomenon blamed on warming seas in the region that have disrupted the marine mammals’ food supply. "The latest tally, reported on Monday by the National Marine Fisheries Service, is 20 times the level of strandings averaged for the same three-month period over the past decade and twice the number documented in 2013, the previous worst winter season recorded for Southern California sea lions. "And of course fish are being deeply affected as well. Sardines have declined to their lowest level in six decades, and National Geographic says that a whole host of tiny fish species at the bottom of the food chain are dying off rapidly."
Radiation Expert: Enormous amount of contamination flowing from Fukushima will probably imperil entire Pacific Ocean — Threatens other countries, food chain — Absolutely can reach U.S. and Canadian shores, August 12 2013: Title: Fukushima Radiation Leakage Still Going on / Source: CCTV (China Central Television of Beijing)
"Anand Naidoo, CCTV anchor: From what we know about what is going on at the plant right now, is this going to get worse?
"Dr. Janette Sherman, radiation expert: I hate say this, but yes I think it will. And my concern is the enormous amount of radioactive material flowing with the water into the Pacific Ocean. And we know that the ocean flows northward along Alaska and down the coast of Canada and the United States. And I think it probably will imperil the entire Pacific Ocean, and the the sea life that's in it.
"Naidoo: What you're saying here is that this water can actually reach other shores, can reach other countries as well?
"Sherman: Oh absolutely, we already know that.
"Naidoo: The radioactive content in this water — does it dissipate, or does it just stay in the water all the time?
"Sherman: Well both cesium and strontium have a half-life about thirty years. It takes 10 half-lives for each of these isotopes to decay down to nothing. We contaminate the plankton, and that's eaten by shrimp and oysters and fish and mammals. And as most of these move up the food chain they get concentrated. Particularly strontium-90 gets concentrated in the bones."
Proverbs 1:24
ReplyDeleteWisdom Calls Aloud
…23"Turn to my reproof, Behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. 24"Because
I called and you refused, I stretched out my hand and no one paid attention; 25And you neglected all my counsel
And did not want my reproof;…
Cross References
Romans 10:21
But concerning Israel he says, "All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people."
1 Samuel 28:6
He inquired of the LORD, but the LORD did not answer him by dreams or Urim or prophets.
2 Chronicles 36:16
But they mocked God's messengers, despised his words and scoffed at his prophets until the wrath of the LORD
was aroused against his people and there was no remedy.
Proverbs 29:1
Whoever remains stiff-necked after many rebukes will suddenly be destroyed--without remedy.
Isaiah 65:2
All day long I have held out my hands to an obstinate people, who walk in ways not good, pursuing their own imaginations--
Isaiah 65:12
I will destine you for the sword, and all of you will fall in the slaughter; for I called but you did not answer, I spoke but you
did not listen. You did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me."
Isaiah 66:4
so I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring on them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered,
when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me."
Jeremiah 7:13
While you were doing all these things, declares the LORD, I spoke to you again and again, but you did not listen; I called you,
but you did not answer.
Jeremiah 9:6
You live in the midst of deception; in their deceit they refuse to acknowledge me," declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 35:17
"Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on
everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called
to them, but they did not answer.'"
Jeremiah 44:16
"We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the LORD!
Zechariah 7:11
"But they refused to pay attention; stubbornly they turned their backs and covered their ears.
Zechariah 7:13
"'When I called, they did not listen; so when they called, I would not listen,' says the LORD Almighty.
Treasury of Scripture
Because I have called, and you refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded;