The CIA in Benghazi Libya was the source. Why are we arming Al Qaeda?
In January, Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) suggested the Obama Administration may have been smuggling guns to jihadist groups in the Middle East in a possible “international Fast and Furious” gun running operation. Rand Paul later doubled down and accused the Obama Administration of a cover-up for running guns through Turkey to terrorist groups in the region.
The CIA reportedly has a hand in clandestine supply of arms to Syrian rebels by Gulf States. At least 3,500 tons of have been delivered – some ending up on the black market, with the Turkish government an active player, a media report says.
The flow of arms continues with the help of US agents as Washington criticizes Iran and Russia for delivering weapons to the Syrian regime, the New York Times says. Secretary of State John Kerry pressed Iraq on Sunday to close its airspace to Iranian flights just as the latest arms delivery from Qatar for Syrian rebels was landing in Turkey, according to the daily’s report.
The newspaper cites air traffic data, US and foreign officials and rebel commanders in its investigation.
The airlift reportedly began in early 2012 with a Qatari Emir Air Force C-130 transport aircraft flight. Saudi Arabia and Jordan have joined in in November, when it became a major operation. More than 160 military flights have landed in Turkey over the time. Esenboga Airport near Ankara was the prime destination, but others were also involved, the newspaper claims.
“A conservative estimate of the payload of these flights would be 3,500 tons of military equipment,” Hugh Griffiths, of the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, told the newspaper. He added that it appears as a “well-planned and coordinated clandestine military logistics operation.”
Indeed, CIA agents have a direct input on the deliveries, albeit mostly consultative, NYT says. The spy agency reportedly helps with procurement of weapons in Croatia and vets Syrian rebel groups, which would receive the weapons.
I think it’s obvious what the Obama sequestration game is?
The Obama administration recently issued warnings to contractors of potential sequestration-related spending cuts, but in the meantime federal spending continues unabated, domestically and globally.
Some of the apparently indispensable projects include a survey of the gopher tortoise, alternative energy outings to Turkey and the purchase of gold pellets.
USAID recently advised vendors that the agency “is taking every step to mitigate the effects of these cuts, but … it is likely that your company’s workforce, revenue, and planning processes may be affected.”
But that is not stopping USAID from reaching out to contractors to carry out its new $700 million global “ecological-governance” program.
The snow began accumulating with such speed in Seoul on Wednesday morning that it forced the Korea Meteorological Administration to issue a heavy snow advisory for the region.
Two thousand traffic police officers have been mobilized around the city to keep traffic moving during the evening rush hour.
Neighbors are on the offensive in Brookline after what some residents are describing as aggressive turkeys.“They were attacking the vehicle,” Karen Halvorson said outside her home in the Aspinwall Hill neighborhood.
After getting in her truck, a neighbor came and ran the birds off but it didn’t stop there.
“Then, the turkeys came and started attacking my front door,” she said.
A second run-in came a few weeks ago as she walked nearby.
“I looked back and three of them charged me,” she explained.
She moved to the center of the street to avoid the animals, but it wasn’t enough.
“The turkey flew in my face and scratched my neck,” she said.
Halvorson refuses to give up her walks so she has taken precautions.
“I went down to the hiking store and I got a hiking stick with a big ball on top of it. I walk with it all the time and now I never go without my phone,” she said.
(Emphasis mine.) Is it one of those really big phones from the 80′s? The kind that are big enough to clock a turkey upside the head so that you can stick it in your fridge and then serve it later for dinner? If so, good thinking.
The US has hinted it could eventually give arms to rebels in Syria – despite previous strident opposition to further militarizing the conflict in the country. The Obama administration says if a political solution to the crisis proved impossible it might consider other options. This amid warnings that Washington’s continuing efforts against the Syrian regime could see it fighting side by side with Al Qaeda. RT’s Gayane Chichakyan reports.
Curious what geopolitical developments traders are looking at? Here is a complete summary, in under 30 seconds, courtesy of the Chairman of the Fermentation committee.
Geo-Political And Other Developments – China and Japan send ships nose to nose as TV helicopters make it look like a World Cup match. Erdogan cancels trip to UN as coup trial resolves in Turkey. Ayatollah orders recall of any Special Forces off-shore as Revolutionary Guard commander flips and says war with Israel is now likely. Rumors circulate that China may, in fact, delay National Congress and leadership change.
IMF announces that the report on Greece will be delayed until after the U.S. election (rumored to be at U.S. request). Tension between Germany and Spain said to be growing.
Turkey’s military says it has lost contact with one of its aircraft over the sea close to the border with Syria.
Turkish media said the plane, an F-4 jet, crashed in Syria or Syrian territorial waters.
The two crew-members were found alive, CNN Turk and the Hurriyet daily said.
Radio and radar contact were lost after the plane took off from an airbase in Malatya province on Friday morning, a statement from the Turkish armed forces said.
Malatya governor Ulvi Saran told the state-run Anatolia news agency there were two pilots on the aircraft.
Earlier, eyewitnesses in the northern Syrian town of Latakia told BBC Arabic that Syrian air defences shot down an unidentified aircraft near the town of Ras al-Baseet.
Relations between Turkey and Syria, once close allies, have deteriorated sharply since the uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad began in March 2011.
Turkey is sheltering more than 32,000 refugees from Syria, according to figures published on Friday by the UN refugee agency UNHCR.
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