I saw T-rump talk about the Syrian horror...babies dying. He failed to mention the 200 civilians we killed last week in Mosul, nor the mosque a week earlier with another few hundred, nor the children we killed in Yemen, and on and on. We have no outrage for the true guilty party.

Iran is an interesting piece of the puzzle. Chomsky commented about Iran this week.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLNHF_iKl8g (4 min)

Thanks as always for your insights!

Iran knows that if Assad goes down, Syria goes down. It's in their best interests to try to not let that happen. They don't have much choice right now but to help Assad but as Zahrani indicated, Assad could turn his back on Iran with an agreement with Russia and the U.S. and Israel. Notice how Zahrani mentions Israel, not Saudi Arabia.
Based on the false flag they just pulled off, it looks like the Trump admin is trying to make it's move. Dumb fucks of the highest order.

With Steve Bannon suddenly removed from his seat at the National Security Council and replaced by the full-on religious nut case Rick Perry, I doubt there's much discussion of a dialog with Russia there.

Check member CB's post showing heavy American military equipment on the move - toward Lebanon, it seems.

https://caucus99percent.com/comment/254363#comment-254363

Planned last summer. There is a huge amount of desert camo painted military equipment now in Romania at the Cincu airport.

From my post: https://caucus99percent.com/user/5958/comment

I tried to find a different source

@travelerxxx
because of the mumbo-jumbo. The equipment did end up in Romania and is still painted desert camo. I am still looking for confirmation that the equipment was actually put on a ship in Romania. In any event, it would be convenient to do so from this location.

It's also an airbase so the US could fly the equipment into their enlarged air base in Syria which is now well prepared for the largest transport planes the US has.

US expands air base in northern Syria for use in battle for Raqqa
Wright and a contingent of civil engineers, security forces and intelligence personnel were deployed temporarily to expand the base to “support every type of airframe across the [Defense Department] spectrum,” Wright said. They lived in tents and ate Meals Ready to Eat, known as MREs, for 45 days, he said.

The Kobani airstrip has been modified to support not only C-130s, which are able to land in most difficult environments, but also C-17s, which need a more hardened runway to support their weight, and other aircraft, Thomas said.

Maybe pre-staging? Maybe attempt to use NATO forces against Syria if they can get some casus belli to do so? Military equipment sent to Romania has come from two locations:

U.S. Soldiers, Armored Vehicles Arrive in Romania
...
The soldiers unloaded M1A2 Abrams tanks from the first train that arrived Feb. 14 to this eastern Romanian airbase located about 12 miles away from the Black Sea.
...

What is unusual is that Romania had already received a huge shipment of military equipment directly from the US by ship back in June 2016. This is a very large convergence of military equipment in the very small country of Romania.

Vehicles roll into Romania for Saber Guardian
June 27, 2016
CONSTANTA, Romania (June 26, 2016) -- The Port of Constanta is busy as usual. Cargo is coming in, cargo is going out. After all, Constanta is the fourth largest port in Europe. However, this time, a different type of cargo is at the port; military vehicles from the United States.

On June 19, 2016 a ship that left Charleston, S.C. two-weeks prior sailed into port. It carried approximately 300 wheeled and tracked military vehicles belonging to the 116th Cavalry Brigade Combat Team (CBCT), Idaho Army National Guard and the 122nd Engineer Battalion, South Carolina Army National Guard. The units had shipped their equipment in preparation for Exercise Saber Guardian, which begins late next month.

Found a tie in between Syria and Romania. The desert camo military equipment could be flown into Syria from Cincu on very short notice if required. Everything is ready to lock and load.

Romania hosting SABER-GUARDIAN-16, first major defence exercise after NATO Warsaw Summit
DefMin Motoc: Romania to join efforts of Coalition against Islamic State of Iraq, Syria with 50 servicepersons

Romania will concretely contribute 50 servicepersons to the efforts of the Coalition fighting against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria who will enter the theatre of war on an advisory mission, National Defence Minister Mihnea Motoc said at Cincu on Wednesday, where he attended the opening ceremony of a SABER-GUARDIAN-16 defence exercise.

“As early as February, we committed ourselves based on an approval by Romania’s Parliament to concretely contribute to the efforts of the Coalition fighting against the Islamic State in Syria and Iraq. Our contribution consists of 50 trainers for the special operation forces in Iraq, for military intelligence in Iraq. These future trainers are about to complete specialised training, after which we have to conclude a few formalities before deploying them to the theatre of war on an advisory mission,” Motoc explained.

According to the minister, the servicepersons will be able to join the theatre of war early autumn.

The 900 pound gorilla in the region would love that scenario. They've been wanting that very thing since the end of the Iran/Iraq war. I can see BB rubbing his hands in glee at the very prospect of such a thing happening. It would set fire to and destroy the entire Muslim dominated region of the MENA while Big Daddy Warbucks spent untold billions in lives and treasure protecting the bastard.

Its high time for Americans to deliver another good dose of Shock and Awe to somebody. It would give a boost to our flagging self-confidence, and help to Make America Great Again, just like the President says. There's nothing better than taking over a foreign country, to make Americans feel Great for a while. Plus we could finally get to show that punk-ass Putin just who's gonna be the Boss of this planet, and it sure ain't him.

But I sense with Iran sticking in Syria, Russia will likely be very unwilling to allow a defeat of BOTH Syria and Iran in the event of their failure to ward off U.S. invasion; that would lessen yet again their buffer of allies in this world. I sense a quite real possibility Hillary and her bots may finally get their hot war with Russia.

Hate to say/type it, but one can only hope Russia and Iran quickly starts decimating U.S. incursion so people will finally start to 'get' that our past decades of pummeling mostly defenseless countries with relatively little loss is not the reality of WAR against these capable 'foes' that have been constructed out of thin air for the propaganda consumers; the Russians and Iranians have been paying attention to this theater for quite some time and they undoubtedly prepared to make this real, because they have long since figured that in the end, this kabuki was probably going turn real for them any second; it was only a matter of time before the noise turned a corner.

April 5, 2017

U.S. Air Force Gen. John Hyten, commander of U.S. Strategic Command, told lawmakers that the U.S. and its allies have “no defense” against recently deployed Russian cruise missiles, according to AFP.

The Russian Kalibr cruise missile has a long range, can evade countermeasures, can accelerate to mach3 before impact, can track a moving target and can swarm a target. Variants can carry tactical nuclear warheads.

The P-800 Oniks is one of the most deadly anti-ship missiles today. Its export version is know and Yakhont. Western designation of this missile is SS-N-26 Strobile. Despite this, there is little information to be had about this powerful weapon.

Development of the P-800 began in 1983. It became operational in the early 2000s. So far, it has been mostly used on land or in submarines, although some sources state that it is also mounted on certain naval vessels or airplanes as well.

There are several other operation versions of the missile. It is used in the mobile Bastion-P coastal defense missile system. Its design was also used for the joint Russian-Indian BRAHMOS cruise missile.

The P-800 has an effective guidance system. It is fire-and-forget, which basically means that the launch platform can run to safety after launching the missile. At the beginning of its flight, the P-800 uses satellite guidance, and towards the end, it actively tracks its target with radar. This guidance works so well that the P-800 has a Circular Error Probable (CEP) of just 1.5 meters.

Simply stated, of all the surface-to-air threats being faced by coalition airpower over Syria, the Russian S-400 SAM, known as the “Triumf” at home and better known to NATO as the SA-21 “Growler,” is the most capable and lethal long-range air defense missile system on the planet.

All these quotes are from Western media. In addition,the Russian Mig31 is a proven cruise missile hunter. It's the fastest combat plane in service today and can track, catch and kill cruise missiles.

The only way that the US can do anything in the Syrian theater is with Russia's acquiescence. A direct conflict with Russia will result in huge losses of equipment, including US warships on the bottom of the ocean.

This is the Gulf of Tonkin resolution, Saddam has WMD, crap all over again. The US is going to have to prove to Russia that Assad really did order the use of poison gas or Russia will get to demonstrate her very potent state-of-the-art military hardware. The US never goes up against an equal opponent, preferring the low cost (to us) of bombing the hell out of third world countries.

The US retired nuclear warhead Tomahawk cruise missiles, Russia did not. Russia has a policy of first nuclear use in the event that Russian assets incur overwhelming hostilities. That's step one, and you know what step two is. I can't believe that our politicians are such complete and utter idiots.

the Deep State turning Trump after he was elected as others do. I read an article (at GR, the fake news site I think) that made the case that Trump and his staff are the deep state, just another part. It depends on how one defines deep state I guess. The author's assertion was that it is those who work behind the scenes to affect government policy, from the thinktanks and institutions, to corporations and banks. So Trump et all were always part of that, the .01% that controls basically everything.

But you're right in that it does give Trump, and his staff, a way to change tune. Weren't they just saying getting Assad out was no longer a priority?

Good info on the military in Romania. Yep, looks like they're going for it. Which makes sense in their minds, it's been over five years, new administration, they need to proceed to Iran, they want to finish the job.

Israel Just Received A HUGE Gift From Russia. What Is Its Side Of The Deal?

Russia just published a quite sensational statement on Israel and Palestine. It recognizes, as before, East-Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Palestine. But Russia now also recognizes, under certain condition, West-Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.

This statement will make quite a wave and it has to be seen in the wider context of the war on Syria. Here is the original statement in Russian on the Foreign Ministry site and the auto-translation (excerpt):

Moscow continues to consider the formula for negotiating a two-state settlement of an optimal and friendly to us Palestinian and Israeli people, as well as to the interests of all countries in the region and the world community as a whole.

We reaffirm our commitment to the UN resolutions on the principles of settlement, including the status of East Jerusalem as the capital of the future Palestinian state. At the same time, we consider it necessary to say that in this context we regard West Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.

Specific parameters for addressing the full range of issues of the final status of the Palestinian territories, including the Jerusalem problem, should be agreed upon in direct negotiations between the parties.

The part marked by me in bold is new. Older statements of Russia never included such a recognition. It is bound to conditions ("in this context") so there is no free lunch for the Zionists. But it is still a huge achievement for Netanyahoo.
...
But Putin does not like to issue threats. He offers and makes deals. So one wonders what the real deal behind the above acknowledgement of West-Jerusalem is. Is my speculation correct or are their better explanations?