World Peace “Lennon Ivan Style” – Part 235

World Peace “Lennon Ivan Style” – Part 235

As a continuation from my last blog whereby I believe the root of “World Peace” is centered on peace in the Middle East with the first step being negotiated peace between Israel and the Palestinians, I would like to remain objective and independent in my views such that I would like to today bring Iraq into my views as they seem to be the closest at this time to a full fledge civil war of rage like wild animals stuck together in a cage. However, it is important to note that Israel and Palestine seem to be awakening from their hatred induced coma state with the potential for peace negotiations to be resumed in the near future in the United States, while Egypt continues to operate in supremacy domination mode whereby the minority Christian military continues to hold on to power while the Muslim majority is fuming at the seams hoping to awaken from this horrible dream. As for the Syrians, both sides are still in anger induced coma state for the mentally insane such that millions of Syrians continue to suffer each and every day. In terms of the Russians and Ukrainians, they seem to have entered into a political war game whereby neither party wishes to concede but rather seems to prefer to enter into a civil war and commit dirty deeds. While Israelis, Palestinians, Egyptians, Syrians, Russians and Ukrainians continue along their respective paths toward enlightenment, it is now time for the Iraqis to be enlightened as to the path of quelling their current tensions before any more civil war breaks out which bears the risk of leading to a third and final world war on this earth, after which, there will be no place for anyone left to run. In summary, Observers around the world are stunned by the speed and scope of assaults on every major city in the upper Tigris River Valley, including Mosul, Iraq’s second-largest city, by the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. However, as the ISIS rebels extend their reach across Iraq, the U.S. Air Force was forced to intervene in order to prevent Genocide while Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki relinquished power opening a new political chapter that U.S. officials hope will move Iraq toward a more unified front against Islamic jihadists currently running wild and literally beheading “Infidels” like pigs without shedding a tear as blood spills out of their victims giving everybody creepy chills.

During the week ending on Sunday, February 26, 2017, TURKEY retreated from their aggressive siege of CIZRE, SILOPI, DIYARBAKIR and NUSAYBIN, predominantly KURDISH, which TURKEY had converted into a suburban war zone area as TURKEY was on the defense as they were subject to an internal military “Coup D’État” that failed as gunfire and explosions erupted in which 265 people died, 161 of them civilians, over one month ago. As a result of the failed “Coup D’État”, Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared a state of emergency, extended the period during which suspects can be detained without charge to 30 days, closed more than 1,000 private schools and closed more than 1,200 associations. A wide scale purge led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his governing AKP finally continued to de-escalate slightly more this week as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan focused his attention on lifting a ban on female officers wearing the ISLAMIC headscarf in the official TURKISH armed forces. The military was the final TURKISH institution where women were prohibited from wearing the headscarf after reforms by the AKP under Recep Tayyip Erdogan that allowed the headscarf to be worn in education, politics and the police. The move ordered by the TURKISH defence ministry applies to female officers working in the general staff, command headquarters and branches. However, women may wear the headscarf underneath their cap or beret as long as it is of the same colour as their uniform and does not cover their faces. Unfortunately, TURKEY continued to choose the path of war with the KURDISH PKK that TURKEY, the EU and the USA consider a terrorist organization as two TURKISH jets launched a string of airstrikes against PKK positions in northern ERBIL, IRAQ. It seems that fighter jets were heavily bombing areas under PKK control as a result of intense shelling from TURKISH warplanes such that at least 20 PKK militia members were martyred. As a friendly reminder, TURKEY has been sporadically bombing PKK bases inside the KURDISTAN region of IRAQ in the wake of the resumption of clashes between TURKEY and KURDISH PKK militias in July 2015 with some 5,000 PKK militia soldiers stationed mostly in the remote, mountainous areas of the KURDISTAN region bordering Turkey.

Moving on to IRAQ, IRAQI and US-led ALLIANCE forces continued with their offensive against ISIS on MOSUL. However, ISIS has sent the message to the world that it will do whatever it takes to defend MOSUL as ISIS has chosen the usage of its own people as human shields. Nonetheless, IRAQI and ALLIED forces managed to push ISIS militants back from MOSUL, their last major stronghold in IRAQ, whereby IRAQI special forces appear to have liberated the eastern half of MOSUL from ISIS. As a friendly reminder, MOSUL that is divided by the Tigris River with both east and west sides respectively making up about half of the population of MOSUL was impressively liberated by the IRAQI and KURDISH Peshmerga forces. These elite ALLIANCE forces managed to fight through an elaborate defense system formed by ISIS over the past two years that managed to keep the ALLIANCE forces out while contemporaneously keeping the residents of MOSUL trapped in as captives. However, ISIS forces now appear to be regrouping in Western MOSUL as they launched attacks on US troops operating around MOSUL who came under fire from ISIS militia such that some US troops were wounded in the confrontation. The US forces in the area are providing advice and assistance to IRAQI units battling to retake MOSUL with one of their key tasks being to help IRAQI units targeting ISIS strongholds. Although the US declined to offer specifics on the firefights that have taken place with ISIS, the US did confirm that US troops did come under fire at different times such that they were forced to return fire accordingly in and around MOSUL. However, IRAQI military personnel fired back at ISIS by launching attacks on parts of southern and western MOSUL as airstrikes killed over 35 ISIS fighters including a regional mayor. The Iraqi government declared that it had launched a new, decisive stage of operations against ISIS in western MOSUL with intense bombardments on the airport that killed dozens of ISIS fighters and forced the ISIS group to withdraw from the airport. In addition, IRAQI forces captured the AL-BOUSEIF hills overlooking the airport and invaded the GHIZLANI military camp that stretches nearby.

Moving on to SYRIA, SYRIAN government forces have retaken full control of ALEPPO, since the uprising began, after nearly six years of bloody fighting for Syria’s most populous city and SYRIA’s economic hub that has been the most prized and fiercely contested city throughout the Syrian conflict. As a friendly reminder, since the Syrian army’s assault against rebel held ALEPPO began in late September, RUSSIAN and SYRIAN government bombardments have killed more than 1,000 people, including over 250 children while injuring over 5,000. Now, a ceasefire across SYRIA appears to be holding as its brokers, RUSSIA, TURKEY and IRAN obtained approval of the plan from the UN Security Council overriding all previous failed peace proposals and finally ending the six-year conflict. Against all odds, the ceasefire largely continues to hold as peace negotiations have commenced in ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN with TURKEY and ASSAD’s two main allies, RUSSIA and IRAN, backing these peace talks as guarantors of a fragile ceasefire. However, the process continues to be advancing at a snails pace after a two-day meeting on January 23 and 24 whereby Russia, Turkey and Iran agreed on establishing a trilateral mechanism to observe and ensure full compliance with a cease-fire in SYRIA with the next round of negotiations held between the government and opposition forces in Geneva on during the week of February 20. Although these talks do represent the most serious diplomatic efforts in months, the UN mediator for the talks on the war in SYRIA, Staffan de Mistura, played down expectations for major progress as disputes over the agenda and longstanding disagreements between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the government under President Bashar al-Assad on the future of SYRIA have cast doubts on whether any progress will be achieved. UN mediator, Staffan de Mistura, said he was determined to maintain a very pro-active momentum to allow for political discussions on governance, a new constitution and elections under UN supervision.

In my opinion, Turkey’s participation in the military battle against ISIS is a positive addition to the ALLIANCE albeit Turkey’s negative stance against the PKK that in my opinion is currently unwarranted and deteriorating. However, with the recent majority victory by the governing AKP and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, it appears that Turkey’s future is heading for more war and bloodshed. Unfortunately, the governing AKP and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan have chosen the path of war with the PKK as opposed to diplomacy via the KURDISH HDP political party which secured close to 11% during recent Turkish elections. Therefore, in my opinion, the governing AKP and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will learn the hard way that nobody on the outside world looking in is stupid but rather everyone chooses to close their eyes and allow Turkey to continue with its ethnic cleansing campaign of the KURDS in exchange for Turkey signing a deal with the European Union (EU) to stem the flow of refugees arriving in Greece. In exchange for reducing human trafficking and improving living conditions for 2.5 million refugees within its borders, Turkey will receive Euro 3 billion in financial aid in return, the possibility of visa-free travel for its citizens, and a reopening of EU membership talks. In my opinion, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the governing AKP will learn the hard way that the current failed “Coup D’État” exposes the deep discontent within the TURKISH military ranks as the governing AKP and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan persist with their quest to annihilate the HDP and the KURDS as the AKP is converting itself into a majority fascist regime with its house cleaning exercises whereby virtually all dissidents have been fired. In my opinion, the recent European parliament vote to halt TURKEY’s EU accession backed by a resolution condemning the TURKISH government’s disproportionate repressive measures after the failed “Coup D’État” in July was long overdue as TURKEY has demonstrated beyond a shadow of a doubt, with its repressive measures over all opposition, that TURKEY does not share common values, morals, principals, ethics and views as the EU such that TURKEY does not fit into the EU mould. However, in my opinion, TURKEY still represents a major player on the European economic stage such that the EU will nonetheless have to negotiate deals with TURKEY as an independent NON-EU member country regarding the huge refugee crisis. In my opinion, in exchange for reducing human trafficking and improving living conditions for 2.5 million refugees within its borders, TURKEY should only receive Euro 1.5 billion, half of the initial proposed 3 billion, in financial aid along with visa-free travel for its citizens who do not pose any significant risks outside of TURKISH borders. Finally, the wide scale purge led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his governing AKP continued to de-escalate further this week as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan focused his attention on lifting the ban on female officers wearing the ISLAMIC headscarf in the official TURKISH armed forces as long as it is of the same colour as their uniform and does not cover their faces. In my opinion, I agree with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s decision to allow the headscarf in the military to the extent it does not cover faces that could pose a security risk, as everyone should be given the right to carry their respective religious symbols to work to the extent it does not interfere with the performance of their duties. Furthermore, I would recommend that all countries follow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s lead as all personal religious symbols create positive energy to the extent those wearing them do not in any way force others to follow suit. If the modern world has accepted tattoos as permissible in the workplace on the basis of freedom of expression, then religious symbols should be allowed under the same pretext to the extent those wearing them do not force them down the throats of others. In regards to TURKEY continuing to choose the path of war with the KURDISH PKK as TURKISH jets launched a string of airstrikes against PKK positions in northern ERBIL, IRAQ, I have not changed my position as concerns TURKEY’s approach with the KURDISH PKK. That is, TURKISH warplane airstrikes against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) targets will only further fuel the flames of extremism as history has clearly shown that the greater the strike by the TURKISH government, the greater the response. Therefore, this PKK-TURKEY conflict is a never ending saga that cannot be resolved with sheer military force such that until President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the governing AKP acknowledge the root of the underlying problem, which is TURKISH repression of the minority ethnic KURDS, Turkey will never again see peace as their current extermination of the resistance tends to breed a new legion of extremist factions. Therefore, in my opinion, the pre-condition for peace within the borders of TURKEY is a negotiated ceasefire deal between TURKEY and ALL KURDISH factions which can only be attained by TURKEY recognizing the KURDISH HDP political party as the legitimate democratic voice of the KURDISH people. In my opinion, the KURDISH HDP political party seems to be respected by the extremist factions of the KURDISH resistance such that the KURDISH HDP is the only current viable median to broker a sustainable ceasefire and peace deal with TURKEY. In my opinion, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s belief that the TURKSIH government can finish off the KURDISK PKK once and for all is a superficial illusion of the delusional as this TURKISH/ KURDISH conflict has been raging for over 30 years now with over 50,000 lives sacrificed such that unless TURKEY is able to exterminate the entire PKK KURDISH race, the KURDISH PKK will continue to reciprocate with strikes straight to Turkey’s face.

Moving on to IRAQ, the recent successful attacks on ISIS by IRAQI security forces in MOSUL, has clearly sent the message to ISIS that it is just a matter of time until the ISIS Empire in MOSUL dies. However, the IRAQI led troops on the ground are essentially forced to fight ISIS style, which is slow and brutal for any other type of heavy artillery attack on ISIS, will result in significant collateral damage in terms of human casualties. Unfortunately ISIS has managed to set new rules of war, with complete and utter disregard for the laws of war as promulgated by the GENEVA convention, which is essentially that there are no rules other than the dirtiest player in the game wins. Thus, the world finds itself going backwards to the days of Barbarian, Neanderthal, Self-Centered, Egotistical, Narcissistic, Masochistic, Sadistic, Idiosyncratic, Sociopathic and Psychopathic maniacs. Therefore, the ALLIANCE forces recapture of eastern MOSUL in its entirety has not surprisingly triggered further ISIS psychopathic behaviours with ISIS now threatening its residents in Western MOSUL if they refuse to feed the ISIS fighters. In my opinion, ISIS will put up a tough fight in Western MOSUL that still remains under ISIS control despite the heavy losses ISIS suffered so far in the battle for eastern MOSUL. Unfortunately, ISIS continues to be a determined organization ready, willing and able to fight until death as ISIS launched attacks on US troops operating around MOSUL who came under fire from ISIS militia such that some US troops were wounded in the confrontation. In my opinion, the US troops did the right thing in mounting a solid defense regardless of the fact that the US Congress has not approved direct US troop combat missions on the ground in IRAQ. In my opinion, although US troops try to avoid being involved in firefights with ISIS, when ISIS militia confront US troops, they have no choice but to defend themselves in full combat mode. In my opinion, when ISIS is shooting at you, there is no other alternative than to fire back twice as hard to send ISIS a clear message that ISIS is not invincible such that the US troops will not wait for formal approval to fireback with a boomerang attack. In regards to IRAQI military personnel firing back at ISIS by launching attacks on parts of southern and western MOSUL killing over 35 ISIS fighters including a regional mayor while taking back the airport, the IRAQI military was forced to step up its efforts to retake Western MOSUL as fighters demonstrated with their attacks on US troops that they were regrouping and coming out to fight. Therefore, in my opinion, assuming that the KURDISH peshmerga, IRAQI army, SHIITE militia and some SUNNI militia forces continue to overlook their differences and stick together, ISIS will inevitably be decimated in IRAQ, although ISIS will likely survive as an incognito terrorist organization throughout the world. In my opinion, with ISIS inevitably nearing its downfall in IRAQ, IRAQI security forces need to be prepared for a different kind of war against ISIS, shifting away from ground offensives to intelligence work and surgical airstrikes to counter an expected move by ISIS away from holding territory and back to a more terrorist role of a dispersed underground terror organization. In my opinion, ISIS is already laying the groundwork for a new terrorist strategy of hiding in remote areas, carrying out attacks in IRAQ and abroad and resorting to organized crime to bankroll future operations.

Moving on to SYRIA, the latest news that the SYRIAN government forces have recaptured the entire former rebel stronghold of east ALEPPO in an offensive that left bodies in the streets and sparked global outrage managed to lead to a ceasefire across SYRIA that appears to still be holding after its brokers, RUSSIA, TURKEY and IRAN obtained approval from the UN Security Council. In my opinion, RUSSIA that invested much political time and energy in ending the fighting after bombing the opposition relentlessly for the past 15 months was the critical player in this ceasefire as RUSSIA managed to control the uncontrollable consisting of President Bashar al-Assad’s forces, Iran and Shiite militias like Lebanon’s Hezbollah whereas TURKEY managed to control the Free Syrian Army (FSA) along with their affiliated rebel factions. Meanwhile, peace negotiations have commenced in ASTANA, KAZAKHSTAN with TURKEY and ASSAD’s two main allies, RUSSIA and IRAN, backing these peace talks as guarantors of a fragile ceasefire. However, the allegations by Amnesty International that over thirteen thousand people were hanged at a SYRIAN prison in a secret crackdown on dissent by the current regime under the authority of President, Bashar al-Assad have been excluded from the agenda. In my opinion, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad's future should be off the agenda for now and the main focus of the talks should be governance, a new constitution and elections as the primary goal of these meetings should be to end the war in SYRIA and implement a long-term sustainable solution for peace. In regards to the UN mediator for the talks, Staffan de Mistura, playing down expectations for major progress as disputes over the agenda and longstanding disagreements between the Free Syrian Army (FSA) and the government under President Bashar al-Assad on the future of SYRIA cast doubts on whether any progress will be achieved, I believe that both sides realize that there has been more than enough slaughter and bloodshed over the last five plus years such that both parties have a vested interest to end the most bloodiest civil war in history once and for all. Therefore, Staffan de Mistura needs to be tough with both sides and never take no for an answer but rather keep hammering away until a reasonable accommodation can be negotiated that both sides can live with as it is obvious to me that this conflict cannot be resolved with more war as nothing will be left of Syria other than dead bodies evening the score.

In summary, I refer to “World Peace Lennon Ivan Style – Part 235” as the belief that MOSUL victory is critical to ISIS decimation but SYRIAN ceasefire between ASSAD and FSA also key while SYRIAN negotiations must result in peace as this conflict cannot be resolved with more war as nothing will be left of SYRIA other than dead bodies equalizing the score.

Spirit of John Lennon – Kurdish Guerrilla Song:

February 25, 2017