Saturday, April 29, 2017
World Peace “Lennon Ivan Style” – Part 244
During the week ending on Sunday, April 30, 2017, TURKEY retreated from their days of aggressive sieges 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 during July of 2016. 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 re-escalated this week as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan focused his attention on another purge of the Fethullah Gulen opposition movement supporters on the heals of celebrating the victory of the YES side in the referendum that was held on Sunday, April 16, 2017 whereby the majority of the TURKISH population voted in favour of TURKEY’s parliamentary system to be converted into a presidential system effectively consolidating power into one executive branch with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as its primary executor. Therefore, those opposing the vote say the proposed constitutional changes will give “Free Reign” to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has already been pushing the boundaries of his power as his governing AKP has been utilizing an increasingly authoritarian style since the failed “Coup D’État” attempt which led to an intense crackdown leading to the arrests of over 47,000 government critics, academics, journalists, military officials and civil servants. Nonetheless, TURKEY ignored all criticisms from foreign powers and went straight ahead this week with detaining more than a thousand additional people suspected of having links to US based cleric Fethullah Gulen. The overnight crackdown was one of the largest operations in months against the Fethullah Gulen network that Turkey blames for orchestrating the failed “Coup D’État” in July of 2016. The operation was launched in all of TURKEY’s 81 provinces and targeted Fethullah Gulen’s structure in the police force that were described by TURKEY as an important step towards TURKEY’s aim at bringing down the Fethullah Gulen movement. As a friendly reminder, FETHULLAH GULEN is the leader of a widespread and influential religious movement known as HIZMET, which owns foundations, associations, media organisations and schools in TURKEY and abroad who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999. Meanwhile, U.S. officials said they were deeply concerned after TURKEY carried out a series of airstrikes against U.S. KURDISH allies fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq. It appears that the U.S. was given about one hour’s advance notice of the strikes by the TURKISH military although no U.S. or coalition advisers were in the vicinity at the time of the airstrikes. Turkish warplanes struck targets in northern SYRIA and the area of SINJAR in northern IRAQ whereby the TURKISH armed forces claim to have killed 70 KURDISH PKK terrorist fighters consisting of 40 in northern IRAQ and 30 others in northeastern SYRIA. It is important to note that although the TURKISH government has been at war for more than 40 years with the PKK, a KURDISH separatist group that has carried out terrorist attacks in TURKEY, KURDISH YPG forces, America’s primary SYRIAN and IRAQI allies in the fight against ISIS suffered casualties as well as a result of the TURKISH airstrikes.
Moving on to IRAQ, IRAQI and US-led ALLIANCE forces continued with their offensive against ISIS on MOSUL as 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 in its entirety. As a friendly reminder, MOSUL is divided by the Tigris River with both east and west sides respectively making up about half of the population of MOSUL. Elite ALLIANCE forces managed to fight through an elaborate defense system formed by ISIS over the past two years, that kept ALLIANCE forces out while contemporaneously keeping the residents of MOSUL trapped in as captives, by recapturing east MOSUL in its entirety while being at the cusp of controlling west MOSUL in the short-term. On a positive note, this week in a series of lightning fast advances, ALLIANCE forces seized further control of most of western MOSUL from ISIS, including the ancient city of HATRA, after fierce clashes with ISIS. Although the full extent of the damage to HATRA was not immediately clear, it is believed to have been destroyed by ISIS militants based on ISIS propaganda videos showing ISIS bulldozing, blowing up and looting pre-ISIS controlled sites that ISIS deemed idolatrous. Although UNESCO has clearly stated that the deliberate destruction of IRAQ’s cultural heritage constitutes a war crime, ISIS has never showed any restraint, remorse or regret in the destruction of heritage sites such that it would not be surprising to see that HATRA’s heritage sites have been completely destroyed. Meanwhile, IRAQI forces continued with their street-by-street battles with ISIS for the remaining parts of western MOSUL as casualties continued to mount as ISIS militants continued to contest every move by IRAQI forces by making full use of armoured car bombs and the hundreds of thousands of civilians still trapped in ISIS strongholds.
Finally, the wide scale purge led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his governing AKP re-escalated this week as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan focused his attention on another purge of the Fethullah Gulen opposition movement supporters on the heals of celebrating the victory of the YES side in the referendum that was held on Sunday, April 16, 2017 whereby the majority of the TURKISH population voted in favour of TURKEY’s parliamentary system to be converted into a presidential system effectively consolidating power into one executive branch with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as its primary executor. Ironically, FETHULLAH GULEN who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1999 seems to be behind this new AKP paranoid schizophrenic ideology that I refer to as the “GULEN BI-POLAR DISORDER”. In my opinion, given that FETHULLAH GULEN was once a strong ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during the AKP’s struggle to end the military’s influence in TURKISH politics in the late 2000’s that went sour, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the governing AKP have been psychologically traumatized by the potential for FETHULLAH GULEN to come to power. Furthermore, there is still bad blood between the AKP and FETHULLAH GULEN from a corruption investigation in December 2013 that saw renowned business people and senior bureaucrats close to the AKP arrested by FETHULLAH GULEN loyal police officers that gave way to an all-out war between the AKP government and the FETHULLAH GULEN HIZMET movement. In my opinion, this AKP paranoid schizophrenic ideology that I refer to as the “GULEN BI-POLAR DISORDER” has resulted, as of today, with more than 47,000 people arrested since the failed Coup D’État, including over 10,700 police officers and 7,400 military personnel, while 120,000 others from a wide range of professions including soldiers, police, teachers and public servants have either been fired or suspended over alleged links with what TURKEY's government considers to be terrorist groups. In regards to TURKEY carrying out a series of airstrikes against U.S. KURDISH allies fighting ISIS in Syria and Iraq, it is deeply concerning that TURKEY conducted such airstrikes without proper coordination either with the U.S. or the broader global coalition to defeat ISIS. In my opinion, given the extraordinarily complex and tight battle spaces in these areas, it is vital that TURKEY and all partners in the anti-ISIS effort coordinate their actions closely and work together to maintain maximum pressure on ISIS while insuring the safety of all ALLIANCE forces whom in this case also suffered casualties in the form of KURDISH YPG units. In my opinion, the loss of five KURDISH YPG fighters plus the wounding of another nine due to the TURKISH air raids because of the nearby presence of PKK fighters is unacceptable and demonstrates that TURKEY has a difficult time differentiating between KURDISH PKK and KURDISH YPG units such that TURKEY does not seem to show any restraint when there is a risk of collateral damage to the KURDISH YPG forces. Therefore, in my opinion, TURKEY now seems to be heading in the dangerous direction of a totalitarian regime whereby the system of government is centralized and dictatorial and thus requires complete subservience to the governing TURKISH AKP.
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. Therefore, the ALLIANCE forces recapture of eastern MOSUL in its entirety has triggered a lightning fast momentum as ALLIANCE forces managed to seize control of major parts of Western MOSUL although in my opinion, the last of the fighting will most probably be a lot more difficult. In my opinion, ISIS will cling on to the oldest parts of MOSUL city where streets are narrow making it hard to manoeuvre military convoys and thus increasing the risk of ambushes and civilian casualties. Therefore, it is not surprising to see that ALLIANCE forces are having a difficult time to fully retake control of central MOSUL’s OLD CITY but this struggle is unfortunately necessary to secure the entire province of MOSUL such that patience is of utmost importance as ALLIANCE forces must continue with their relentless yet prudent attacks until ALL ISIS snipers have been eliminated. In regards to the recent seizure of further control of most of western MOSUL from ISIS, including the ancient city of HATRA, after fierce clashes with ISIS, it is not surprising to see ISIS fighting until death as surrender is not acceptable under ISIS’s ideology. In my opinion, the IRAQI army does not have the luxury of conducting lightning raids against ISIS terrorists in Western MOSUL, as the city is heavily booby trapped with suicide bombers and civilians functioning as human shields. Therefore, the ISIS militants’ basic strategy appears to be to focus much of their efforts on taking out the elite IRAQI counter terrorism units on the belief that if these most experienced IRAQI fighting units can be eliminated, Iraq’s remaining armed forces can be neutralized and the IRAQI government’s broader offensive can be repelled. It is important to note that the IRAQI counter terrorism units have made enormous sacrifices since 2014 in terms of human lives such that most of the experienced IRAQI fighters have already been killed in ANBAR and elsewhere throughout IRAQ. In my opinion, ISIS has proven to be one of the most resilient terrorist organizations the world has ever seen with thousands of foreign fighters brainwashed to the point of coming to IRAQ to die without the need for any basic necessities of life including a shower which is precisely why ISIS has demonstrated itself to be quite a formidable opposition holding on to power. Furthermore, ISIS’s deep rooted resentment and hate as demonstrated by the complete destruction of all heritage sites including HATRA on the basis of idolatry shows beyond a shadow of a doubt that ISIS is an organization completely consumed by rage such that any form of negotiations with ISIS are too little, too late, at this stage, as ISIS has become completely mentally and psychotically insane. 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 SYRIAN government forces recapture of 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 now be broken 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 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 stalled after TURKEY and ASSAD’s two main allies, RUSSIA and IRAN, initially backed 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 were excluded from the agenda for the fifth round of negotiations that concluded at the end of March. 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 to implement a long-term sustainable solution for peace.
In regards to the derailed peace talks, the derailment is obviously due to U.S. President, Donald Trump’s authorization of the firing of 59 TOMAHAWK cruise missiles at the SYRIAN Armed Forces in response to what the U.S. believes was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 80 people authorized by President Bashar al-Assad. That being said, RUSSIA has now formally denied any involvement by the SYRIAN Armed Forces and RUSSIA in these chemical attacks and has gone so far as to accuse the SYRIAN rebels to be behind these chemical attacks on their own people. Therefore, the U.S. and RUSSIA agreed for the moment to disagree as the war raged on this week as ISRAEL got involved and initiated a missile strike at a military site near DAMASCUS international airport that appears to have been an arms depot run by Lebanon's HEZBOLLAH movement. I am surprised that ISRAEL would choose to execute such a strike during these tense times whereby ceasefires seem to be collapsing as Radical Gangster Terrorist organizations such as JABHAT FATEH AL-SHAM; HAYAT TAHRIR AL-SHAM; AL QAEDA; NUSRA FRONT; AHRAR AL-SHAM; or some other FULL OF SHIT GANGSTER SHAM seem to be the only other organizations initiating strikes. That being said, while ISRAEL has made no secret of its policy of acting to prevent transfers of weapons to HEZBOLLAH, ISRAEL has thus far refused to confirm or deny involvement in any particular strikes preferring to maintain ambiguity in the hope of lowering the pressure on the other side to retaliate. In my opinion, HEZBOLLAH is too busy right now fighting alongside Bashar al-Assad SYRIAN armed forces to focus on retaliatory strikes on ISRAEL such that it was not demonstrated, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that HEZBOLLAH was planning to use these weapons for purposes of striking ISRAEL directly in the future. Therefore, these strikes by ISRAEL appear to be a deliberate warning to HEZBOLLAH from ISRAEL whereby every step HEZBOLLAH takes, every move HEZBOLLAH makes, ISRAEL will be watching HEZBOLLAH. The reality on the ground in SYRIA is that HEZBOLLAH was instrumental in the war to preserve Bashar al-Assad in power and has thus only grown stronger as a military force to be reckoned with on the ground. However, ISRAEL still has the intelligence and air force sophistication including missile defense systems to control the HEZBOLLAH risk in the future albeit the reality of the current situation whereby HEZBOLLAH has become a force to be reckoned with on the ground due to over six plus years of military experience obtained during this SYRIAN civil war. In regards to Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s claim that ISRAELI military strikes on his army showed that ISRAEL was supporting terrorists in SYRIA, it is obvious that everybody seems to have a different definition of who the terrorists are depending upon whose personal, financial and political interests the group pledges allegiance to which has been the root cause of unrest in the entire region as aside from ISIS everybody seems to be defending their own while pointing fingers at their foes. Meanwhile, in regards to air force fighter jets believed to be either RUSSIAN or SYRIAN striking two hospitals in rebel-held IDLIB province following several other strikes on medical facilities in north-western SYRIA in recent weeks, that both RUSSIA and SYRIA deny, it does appear from my point-of-view that somebody wants to punish the opposition movement. That is, from my point-of-view, someone is trying to systematically target the remaining hospitals in IDLIB to make life for people in the liberated areas intolerable such that other than the SYRIAN regime or its allies, it would be difficult to point the finger on another party that has air force capacity in the region. In my opinion, whoever is responsible for these air strikes are heartless cowards as the ongoing damage of medical facilities in northern SYRIA is appalling, to say the least, as the destruction has been depriving thousands of people of basic health services and among the hospitals put out of service was one specializing in maternity and child care.
Saturday, April 22, 2017
World Peace “Lennon Ivan Style” – Part 243
World Peace “Lennon Ivan Style” – Part 243
During
the week ending on Sunday, April 23, 2017, TURKEY retreated from their days of aggressive
sieges 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
during July of 2016. 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 celebrating the victory of the YES side in the
referendum that was held on Sunday, April 16, 2017 whereby the majority of the
TURKISH population voted in favour of TURKEY’s parliamentary system to be
converted into a presidential system effectively consolidating power into one
executive branch with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as its primary executor.
The referendum will allow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who served as Prime
Minister from 2003 to 2014 before becoming President to stay on as President until
2029. Therefore, those opposing the vote say the proposed constitutional
changes will give “Free Reign” to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has already
been pushing the boundaries of his power as his governing AKP has been
utilizing an increasingly authoritarian style since the failed “Coup D’État”
attempt which led to an intense crackdown leading to the arrests of over 47,000
government critics, academics, journalists, military officials and civil
servants. Nonetheless, TURKEY will be heading into the future under the
direction of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the governing AKP with the
support of the majority of the TURKISH population regardless of the anguish experienced
by the minorities under the iron clad fist of the governing AKP. However, it is
important to note that it was hardly the win President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had
expected with his YES camp crawling away with just 51.4% of the popular vote
with the opposition accusing TURKEY’s electoral authority of foul play. Meanwhile,
outside observers charged the TURKISH government with stacking the odds in the
AKP’s favour while anti-government demonstrations broke out in a number of
TURKISH cities with TURKEY awakening the following morning even more divided
than ever before.
Moving
on to IRAQ, IRAQI and US-led ALLIANCE forces continued with their offensive
against ISIS on MOSUL as 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 in its
entirety. As a friendly reminder, MOSUL is divided by the Tigris River with both
east and west sides respectively making up about half of the population of
MOSUL. Elite ALLIANCE forces managed to fight through an elaborate defense system
formed by ISIS over the past two years, that kept ALLIANCE forces out while
contemporaneously keeping the residents of MOSUL trapped in as captives, by
recapturing east MOSUL in its entirety while being at the cusp of controlling
west MOSUL in the short-term. On a positive note, this week in a series of
lightning fast advances, ALLIANCE forces seized further control of most of
western MOSUL from ISIS as five ISIS leaders, including Russian nationals, were
killed when U.S. led coalition fighter jets pounded ISIS locations. ISIS has now
lost most of its senior commanders since operations were first launched to retake
the western side of MOSUL as officials from the U.S. led coalition now estimate
the remaining number of militants in MOSUL to be less than 1,000. In addition,
IRAQI troops have freed AL-THAWRA and AL-NASR districts in western MOSUL ending
intense encounters with ISIS militants. Furthermore, IRAQI forces recaptured
30% of the Old City and it now seems that only six districts in western MOSUL
are still held by ISIS as Iraqi troops have liberated most of the other districts
in Western MOSUL.
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 of 2016, RUSSIAN and SYRIAN government bombardments killed more than
1,000 people, including over 250 children while injuring over 5,000. Now, a
ceasefire across SYRIA appears to be broken after 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. Although
these talks represented the most serious diplomatic efforts in months, U.S.
President, Donald Trump’s authorization of the firing of 59 TOMAHAWK
cruise missiles at the SYRIAN Armed Forces in response to what the U.S.
believes was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 100 people
authorized by President Bashar al-Assad has derailed the entire peace process.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson
could not agree on who was responsible for the chemical attacks. Although the 80
plus deaths from the chemical attacks have been widely blamed on Syrian
President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, RUSSIA has denied the SYRIAN regime carried
out the chemical attacks. Therefore, the U.S. and RUSSIA agreed for the moment
to disagree as the war raged on this week as US troops targeted and killed a
leading member of ISIS in a commando raid near the town of MAYADIN in eastern
SYRIA. Abdurakhmon Uzbeki, who was believed to be from Uzbekistan, is said by
the Americans to be a close associate of ISIS leader, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and is
said to have played a key role in an attack on a nightclub in TURKEY on New
Year’s Eve that killed 39 people. Meanwhile, SYRIAN President Bashar al-Assad Syrian
blamed JABHAT FATEH AL-SHAM, formerly the Nusra Front, for being behind the attack
on a SHIA convoy that killed 126 innocent civilians including 68 children. The
blast hit the RASHIDIN area on ALEPPO’s outskirts, where militants were
evacuating dozens of buses carrying mostly SHIA residents of the IDLIB towns of
FUA and KAFRAYA as these towns have been under siege from groups including
JABHAT FATEH AL-SHAM.
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
majority 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 the last 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 was supposed to 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 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 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 celebrating the victory of the YES side in the
referendum that was held on Sunday, April 16, 2017 whereby the majority of the
TURKISH population backed the referendum for TURKEY’s parliamentary system to
be converted into a presidential system effectively consolidating power into
one executive branch with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as its primary
executor. In my opinion, this represents a very dangerous step backwards for
democratic principals to be upheld in TURKEY as the governing AKP has already
been ruling with an authoritarian dictatorship style ever since the failed “Coup
D’État” in July of 2016. In my opinion, those who voted on the YES side are
democratically delusional but they seem to have been effectively brainwashed to
believe that voting for the YES side in the referendum will enable President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stabilize a TURKISH nation with a sluggish economy, a huge
refugee crisis and a brewing resurgence of the 30 plus years conflict with the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Meanwhile, the NO side appears to be completely
stressed out as they do not see a bright future for TURKEY now that all power
will become even more concentrated in the hands of the governing AKP and President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In my opinion, the crushing of the KURDISH HDP under the
existing political system clearly demonstrates that the governing AKP already
has a stranglehold on the TURKISH government such that a YES win will in
essence grant President Recep Tayyip Erdogan absolute and complete control of
TURKEY with virtually no opposition. Given that five thousand KURDISH HDP
supporters have already been jailed, including their leaders, Selahattin
Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag who have been imprisoned since November 2016,
based on accusations that the KURDISH HDP is supporting the PKK, which is
designated by the US and the EU as a terrorist organization, I can only imagine
the further decimation of any and all opposition movements by this win by the
YES side in the referendum. However, in my opinion, it is the democratic free
will of the majority of the TURKISH people that desires to have an
authoritarian dictatorship style of leadership in place whereby there is only
one voice such that there is minimal disagreement as the majority imposes its
will upon all minorities. However, it is important to note that it was hardly
the win President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had expected with his YES camp crawling
away with just 51.4% of the popular vote with the opposition accusing TURKEY’s
electoral authority of foul play. In my opinion, after fresh elections in 2019, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will rule uncontested
with unlimited abilities to appoint senior officials, judges and members of his
own cabinet, with little oversight by a weakened parliament as the office of the
prime minister will cease to exist. In my opinion, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
is off to a bad start albeit his victory as the constitutional changes are already
tainted in controversy as the main opposition movement, the Republican People’s
party (CHP) has asked for the referendum results to be annulled. It appears
that a last-minute decision by TURKEY’s electoral board to accept unstamped
ballot papers created the risk of mass fraud. In addition, claims of vote rigging,
especially in the KURDISH southeast, have been pouring in while in a shocking
assessment by observers from the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe
(OSCE), the acceptance by TURKEY’s electoral board of unstamped ballot papers
undermined an important safeguard and contradicted TURKISH laws. Unfortunately
for TURKEY, there was no real decisive victor in this referendum with President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan just crossing the 50% threshold by 1.4% which could very
easily be tainted with irregularities due to the controversial decision by the
TURKISH electoral board to accept unstamped ballot papers such that TURKEY
after this referendum finds itself even more divided although President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and the governing AKP argue that TURKEY will now become more
united.
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. Therefore, the ALLIANCE forces recapture of eastern MOSUL in its entirety has triggered a lightning fast
momentum as ALLIANCE forces managed to seize control of major parts of Western
MOSUL although in my opinion, the last of the fighting will most probably be a
lot more difficult. In my opinion, ISIS will cling on to the oldest parts of
MOSUL city where streets are narrow making it hard to manoeuvre military
convoys and thus increasing the risk of ambushes and civilian casualties.
Therefore, it
is not surprising to see that ALLIANCE forces are having a difficult time to
fully retake control of central MOSUL’s OLD CITY but this struggle is
unfortunately necessary to secure the entire province of MOSUL such that
patience is of utmost importance as ALLIANCE forces must continue with their
relentless yet prudent attacks until ALL ISIS snipers have been eliminated. In
regards to recent assessments following multiple successful attacks launched by
IRAQI forces whereby IRAQI forces have now recaptured 30% of the Old City with only
six districts in western MOSUL still held by ISIS, it is obvious that the ISIS
reign of terror in IRAQ is nearing the grand finale albeit the reality that the
last six districts and of course the Old City will be the most difficult to
retake from ISIS. ISIS has once again shown in Western MOSUL its resolve and
determination to fight until death rather than surrendering to IRAQI forces
such that the remaining battles will likely be the deadliest ever seen in IRAQ
as the heart of the ISIS snake is crushed with one final blood spewing gush
from the ALLIANCE rush. 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 SYRIAN government forces recapture of 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 now be broken 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 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 stalled after TURKEY and ASSAD’s
two main allies, RUSSIA and IRAN, initially backed 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 were excluded from the agenda for the fifth round of
negotiations that concluded at the end of March. 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 to
implement a long-term sustainable solution for peace.
In
regards to the derailed peace talks, the derailment is obviously due to U.S.
President, Donald Trump’s authorization of the firing of 59 TOMAHAWK
cruise missiles at the SYRIAN Armed Forces in response to what the U.S.
believes was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 80 people authorized
by President Bashar al-Assad. That being said, RUSSIA has now formally denied
any involvement by the SYRIAN Armed Forces and RUSSIA in these chemical attacks
and has gone so far as to accuse the SYRIAN rebels to be behind these chemical
attacks on their own people. Therefore, the U.S. and RUSSIA agreed for the
moment to disagree as the war raged on this week as US troops targeted and
killed ISIS leader Abdurakhmon Uzbeki, a close associate of ISIS leader, Abu
Bakr al-Baghdadi, who played a key role in an attack on a night club in TURKEY
on New Year’s Eve which killed 39 people. In my opinion, these targeted strikes
on ISIS leaders who are the masterminds behind the terrorist strikes, such as
those in TURKEY, are critical to the decimation of ISIS as these ISIS leaders
have the most evil and demented of minds, that anyone can attempt to surmise,
such that the only way for these ISIS leaders to be rehabilitized is with the U.S.
approach of commando bullets straight through the head of targets to formally
demilitarize and deradicalize. In regards to JABHAT FATEH AL-SHAM attacking a SHIA
convoy that killed 126 innocent civilians including 68 children, there needs to
be a strong coordinated strike back on the masterminds behind these attacks as
when dealing with RADICAL GANGSTER TERRORISTS, diplomacy is useless while
bullets straight through their heads insures no further similar incidences. In
my opinion, whether it is ISIS, HAYAT TAHRIR AL-SHAM, JABHAT FATEH AL-SHAM, AL
QAEDA, NUSRA FRONT, AHRAR AL-SHAM or ALL FULL OF SHIT GANGSTER SHAM, for every
terrorist action there must be an equal and opposing reaction to insure that the
masterminds behind the terrorist attacks never have the opportunity for a
second at bat whack.
In
summary, I refer to “World Peace Lennon Ivan Style – Part 243” 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 albeit necessity for U.S. style commando bullets
straight through terrorist target heads to formally demilitarize and
deradicalize masterminds behind the attacks to insure that never have the
opportunity for a second at bat whack.
Spirit of John Lennon – Kurdish Guerrilla Song:
April 23, 2017
Monday, April 17, 2017
THE ROCK’S Web Market – 50% Patriots Victory Sale To All To Join THE ROCK & Stand Tall
THE ROCK’S Web Market – 50% Patriots Victory Sale To All To Join THE ROCK & Stand Tall
Purchase A Subscription Between April 23 to May 22 of 2017 & Get A 50% Discount Up To May 22, 2018 By Choosing Amongst One Of Our 6 Options Currently Available Utilizing Discount Code “05222017” & Make A ROCK Solid Investment For The Future!
https://www.therockswebmarket.com/membership-account/membership-levels
OR
Try Us Out By Subscribing Now For Free & Deciding Later……….
https://www.therockswebmarket.com/membership-account/membership-checkout/?level=7
Together We Create A Pot Of GOLD, A SILVER Lining Or A BRONZE Footprint!
Power of Social Media – Thank You!
Le Pouvoir Des Médias Sociaux – Merci!
El Poder de los Medios Sociales – Gracias!
Moc Medije Socialne – Hvala Vam!
THE ROCK’S Web Market / Marché Web THE ROCK / Mercado Web THE ROCK / Tržišta Web THE ROCK
Tel: (514) 585-6553
E-mail: info@therockswebmarket.com
Website: www.therockswebmarket.com
GST #: 86425 5179 RT0001; PST #: 1208479926; NEQ #: 1162632369; CBC #: 630626-8
We Will ROCK You! / Nous Allons Vous ROCKÉ! / Lo Haremos Vosotros ROCAR! / Mi Ćemo Vas ROKATI!
Saturday, April 15, 2017
World Peace “Lennon Ivan Style” – Part 242
World Peace “Lennon Ivan Style” – Part 242
During
the week ending on Sunday, April 16, 2017, TURKEY retreated from their days of aggressive
sieges 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
during July of 2016. 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 the upcoming referendum on Sunday, April 16,
2017 whereby if the majority of the TURKISH population back the referendum, TURKEY’s
parliamentary system will be converted into a presidential system effectively
consolidating power into one executive branch with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
as its primary executor. The referendum would also allow President Recep Tayyip
Erdogan who served as Prime Minister from 2003 to 2014 before becoming
President to stay on as President until 2029. Therefore, those opposing the
vote say the proposed constitutional changes would give “Free Reign” to President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan who has already been pushing the boundaries of his power
as his governing AKP has been utilizing an increasingly authoritarian style
since the failed “Coup D’État” attempt which led to an intense crackdown leading
to the arrests of over 47,000 government critics, academics, journalists,
military officials and civil servants. Nonetheless, TURKEY appears to be a
country divided ahead of the referendum determining TURKEY’s future direction
under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan with the governing AKP campaign banners plastered
on nearly every corner, high-rise and billboard with humongous head shots of President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Prime Minister Binali Yildirim lining the streets.
Moving
on to IRAQ, IRAQI and US-led ALLIANCE forces continued with their offensive
against ISIS on MOSUL as 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 in its
entirety. As a friendly reminder, MOSUL is divided by the Tigris River with both
east and west sides respectively making up about half of the population of
MOSUL. Elite ALLIANCE forces managed to fight through an elaborate defense system
formed by ISIS over the past two years, that kept ALLIANCE forces out while
contemporaneously keeping the residents of MOSUL trapped in as captives, by
recapturing east MOSUL in its entirety while being at the cusp of controlling
west MOSUL in the short-term. On a positive note, this week in a series of
lightning fast advances, ALLIANCE forces seized further control of most of
western MOSUL from ISIS with ISIS now only controlling around 7% of IRAQ while
ISIS effectively controlled around 40% of IRAQ during its peak in 2014. It now
appears imminent that a full recapture of MOSUL, the de facto capital of the
ISIS self proclaimed caliphate nearly three years ago, would end ISIS’s dreams
of a cross-border state with SYRIA. However, the price to pay in terms of human
casualties for the liberation of IRAQ from ISIS control has been immense with
the packed morgue in MOSUL providing a clear indication of the toll of
collateral damage from the liberation of ISIS controlled territories.
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 of 2016, RUSSIAN and SYRIAN government bombardments killed more than
1,000 people, including over 250 children while injuring over 5,000. Now, a
ceasefire across SYRIA appears to be broken after 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. Although
these talks represented the most serious diplomatic efforts in months, U.S.
President, Donald Trump’s authorization of the firing of
59 TOMAHAWK cruise missiles at the SYRIAN Armed Forces in response
to what the U.S. believes was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 100 people
authorized by President Bashar al-Assad has derailed the entire peace process. US Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, said
that relations with RUSSIA are at a low point, as there is a low level
of trust between the two countries, after meetings held directly in RUSSIA that
could not bridge a deepening diplomatic divide over the chemical attacks in
SYRIA. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Rex
Tillerson could not agree on who was responsible for the chemical attacks such
that it is obvious that the working level of confidence in Russian and American
relations, especially at the military level under President Donald Trump, has
not improved
but rather has worsened. The U.S. accused RUSSIA and SYRIA of carrying out a
confusion campaign over who was responsible for the chemical attacks while
Russian President Vladimir Putin made comparisons between the U.S. response to
these chemical attacks and the U.S. 2003 invasion of Iraq, calling it a “tedious”
story. Although the 80 plus deaths from the chemical attacks have been widely
blamed on Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, RUSSIA has denied the SYRIAN
regime carried out the chemical attacks. RUSSIA claims that the SYRIAN regime
is being unfairly blamed for the chemical attacks to the point where RUSSIAN
President, Vladimir Putin stated that the chemical attacks were “simply
staging” and a provocation by rebel forces within SYRIA who were plotting more
chemical attacks, including near the capital of DAMASCUS, that the rebels intend
to pin on the SYRIAN regime.
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
majority 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 the last 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 was supposed to 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 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 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 the upcoming referendum on Sunday, April 16,
2017 whereby if the majority of the TURKISH population back the referendum, TURKEY’s
parliamentary system will be converted into a presidential system effectively
consolidating power into one executive branch with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
as its primary executor. In my opinion, this would be a very dangerous step
backwards for democratic principals to be upheld in TURKEY as the governing AKP
has already been ruling with an authoritarian dictatorship style ever since the
failed “Coup D’État” in July of 2016. In my opinion, those planning to vote on
the YES side are democratically delusional but they seem to have been
effectively brainwashed to believe that voting for the YES side in the referendum
would enable President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to stabilize a TURKISH nation with
a sluggish economy, a huge refugee crisis and a brewing resurgence of the 30
plus years conflict with the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Meanwhile, the NO
side appears to be completely stressed out as they do not see a bright future
for TURKEY if all power becomes even more concentrated in the hands of the
governing AKP and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. In my opinion, the magnitude
of control of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has already been exhibited during
this referendum with the governing AKP significantly restricting the KURDISH
HDP’s ability to campaign for the NO side as the song of the HDP has been
forbidden and the buses used for HDP party members have not been allowed to drive
near the NO campaign area in the TURKISH city center. Meanwhile, the governing
AKP has used all of the possibilities of the state to propagandize for the YES
side including the usage of state cars, public transport and tax funds. In my
opinion, the crushing of the KURDISH HDP under the existing political system
clearly demonstrates that the governing AKP already has a stranglehold on the
TURKISH government such that a YES win would in essence grant President Recep
Tayyip Erdogan absolute and complete control of TURKEY with virtually no opposition.
Given that five thousand KURDISH HDP supporters have already been jailed,
including their leaders, Selahattin Demirtas and Figen Yuksekdag who have been
imprisoned since November 2016, based on accusations that the KURDISH HDP is
supporting the PKK, which is designated by the US and the EU as a terrorist
organization, I can only imagine the further decimation of any and all
opposition movements assuming a win by the YES side during the upcoming
referendum. However, in my opinion, it may very well be the democratic free
will of the majority of the TURKISH people that desires to have an
authoritarian dictatorship style of leadership in place whereby there is only
one voice such that there is minimal disagreement as the majority imposes its
will upon all minorities.
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. Therefore, the ALLIANCE forces recapture of eastern MOSUL in its entirety has triggered a lightning fast
momentum as ALLIANCE forces managed to seize control of major parts of Western
MOSUL although in my opinion, the last of the fighting will most probably be a
lot more difficult. In my opinion, ISIS will cling on to the oldest parts of
MOSUL city where streets are narrow making it hard to manoeuvre military
convoys and thus increasing the risk of ambushes and civilian casualties.
Therefore, it
is not surprising to see that ALLIANCE forces are having a difficult time to
fully retake control of central MOSUL’s OLD CITY but this struggle is
unfortunately necessary to secure the entire province of MOSUL such that
patience is of utmost importance as ALLIANCE forces must continue with their
relentless yet prudent attacks until ALL ISIS snipers have been eliminated. In
regards to recent statistics that indicate that ISIS now only controls around
7% of IRAQ while ISIS effectively controlled around 40% of IRAQ during its peak
in 2014, this illustrates the success of the ALLIANCE in the war against ISIS
albeit the excessive pain suffered at the hands of relentless ISIS opposition.
However, in my opinion, IRAQ should not be abandoned after the imminent recapture
of MOSUL but rather ALLIANCE forces should stay the course in IRAQ until the
very end when ISIS is eliminated from every visible corner of IRAQ. In my
opinion, ISIS is like a malignant cancer whereby if given the opportunity, ISIS
will resurge and multiply exponentially to strike once again at the jugular of
IRAQ such that the mission of the ALLIANCE in IRAQ needs to be to wipe the
slate clean to minimize any future ISIS throat slicing bleeds. In my opinion,
ISIS still represents an imminent threat that should not be taken lightly as
ISIS still controls the large towns of HAWIJAH and TAL AFAR, as well as the remote
areas along the border with SYRIA in western IRAQ and of course in Syria
itself, ISIS still holds the city of RAQQA and other areas. In regards to the
packed morgue in MOSUL providing a clear indication of the toll of collateral
damage from the liberation of ISIS controlled territories, in my opinion
without significant blood being spilled, IRAQ would never have been liberated
from ISIS control such that the death and destruction was unfortunately
unavoidable such that it should not diminish the glory of the imminent victory
over ISIS. 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 SYRIAN government forces recapture of 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 now be broken 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 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 stalled after TURKEY and ASSAD’s
two main allies, RUSSIA and IRAN, initially backed 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 were excluded from the agenda for the fifth round of
negotiations that concluded at the end of March. 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 to
implement a long-term sustainable solution for peace.
In
regards to the derailed peace talks, the derailment is obviously due to U.S.
President, Donald Trump’s authorization of the firing of
59 TOMAHAWK cruise missiles at the SYRIAN Armed Forces in response
to what the U.S. believes was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 80 people
authorized by President Bashar al-Assad. However, in my opinion, these strikes
by the U.S. were justified, at that time, on the basis that the strikes had a
limited intent, which was to deter the usage of chemical weapons, and were part
of President, Donald Trump’s so-called AMERICA FIRST policy. That is, the U.S.
needed to send President Bashar al-Assad a clear, concise and direct message
that chemical weapons attacks by the SYRIAN Armed Forces will not be tolerated
and will be reciprocated accordingly. That being said, RUSSIA has now formally
denied any involvement by the SYRIAN Armed Forces and RUSSIA in these chemical
attacks and has gone so far as to accuse the SYRIAN rebels to be behind these
chemical attacks on their own people. In regards to the formal accusations by
RUSSIA that the chemical attacks were “simply staging” and a provocation by
rebel forces within SYRIA to pin the SYRIAN regime, I am not surprised with
this response as the situation in SYRIA resembles the cold war era whereby
nobody will ever take any responsibility for evil sins, but will twist, turn
and manipulate any and all underlying facts and circumstances to have their
respective enemies pinned. In my opinion, the finger pointing game being played
between the U.S. and RUSSIA is consistent with the new geopolitical stage set
by the mass whereby politics has becomes a dirty game of try to catch me if you
can, but until you find concrete evidence beyond a shadow of a doubt to nail
the specific guilty parties with brass, you can kiss my candy ass.
In
summary, I refer to “World Peace Lennon Ivan Style – Part 242” 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 albeit chemical weapons
unleashed by ASSAD on SYRIAN civilians that were blamed by RUSSIA on rebels
attacking their own mass and thus sending the U.S. a message back of catch me
if you can, but until then you can kiss my candy ass.
Spirit of John Lennon – Kurdish Guerrilla Song:
April 16, 2017
Saturday, April 8, 2017
World Peace “Lennon Ivan Style” – Part 241
World Peace “Lennon Ivan Style” – Part 241
During
the week ending on Sunday, April 9, 2017, TURKEY retreated from their days of aggressive
sieges 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
during July of 2016. 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 SYRIA by throwing TURKEY’s support behind U.S.
President, Donald Trump who authorized the firing of
59 TOMAHAWK cruise missiles at the SYRIAN Armed Forces in response
to what the U.S. believes was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 100 people
authorized by President Bashar al-Assad. Ironically, an unlikely revival in
TURKISH - AMERICAN relations looks to be emerging after years of tension between
TURKEY and former U.S. President, Barack Obama as the U.S. missile strike ordered
against SYRIA by President, Donald Trump highlighted how the two largest
military powers in NATO are now beginning to see eye-to-eye on the civil war in
SYRIA. President, Donald Trump’s move was applauded in TURKEY, which has for
years been the world’s foremost proponent of removing President Bashar al-Assad
from power while the U.S. has instead backed a war in SYRIA whose objectives were
limited to the eradication of ISIS. Turkish Foreign Minister, Mevlut Cavusoglu,
reiterated that the regime of President Bashar al-Assad has killed close to one
million people in seven years and has used all kinds of weapons including conventional
weapons, barrel bombs and starvation such that if President Bashar al-Assad
continues, the SYRIAN people will not be in any position to decide on the
future of President Bashar al-Assad as was previously advocated by the U.S.
Moving
on to IRAQ, IRAQI and US-led ALLIANCE forces continued with their offensive
against ISIS on MOSUL as 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 in its
entirety. As a friendly reminder, MOSUL is divided by the Tigris River with both
east and west sides respectively making up about half of the population of MOSUL.
Elite ALLIANCE forces managed to fight through an elaborate defense system formed
by ISIS over the past two years, that kept ALLIANCE forces out while
contemporaneously keeping the residents of MOSUL trapped in as captives, by
recapturing east MOSUL in its entirety while being at the cusp of controlling
west MOSUL in the short-term. On a positive note, this week in a series of
lightning fast advances, ALLIANCE forces seized further control of most of
western MOSUL from ISIS and Iraqi army forces took over RAYHANNA, a village
near MOSUL in ANBAR while killing 30 ISIS militants in the process. However,
ALLIANCE forces continued to struggle to fully retake control of central
MOSUL’s OLD CITY, a densely populated and structured area which military
generals view as vital for victory over ISIS in that region. However, ISIS is
still holding onto a few strongholds in western ANBAR near the borders with
SYRIA that IRAQI government forces also hope to retake from ISIS after clearing
MOSUL from ISIS militants. Moving on to the diplomatic front in IRAQ, JARED
KUSHNER, son-in-law of President Donald Trump and senior adviser to the
White House, visited IRAQ after receiving an invitation from General
Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. JARED KUSHNER was
reportedly in IRAQ to receive an update on the current status of the counter ISIS
campaign in IRAQ and SYRIA although he was the subject of ridicule worldwide as
everybody seemed to focus their attention on his outfit consisting of a jacket-blazer
combo whereby the sports coat and military vest just did not blend well together.
Unfortunately for JARED KUSHNER, although President Donald Trump has
placed the 36 year old in charge of the Middle East peace process, the world
seems to have had a hard time taking his sunglasses stroll with soldiers in
IRAQ seriously. It seems that the world has been questioning JARED KUSHNER’s
credentials regarding his visit to IRAQ on behalf of President Donald
Trump in order to express the President’s support and commitment to the
government of IRAQ and U.S. personnel currently engaged in the IRAQI war
campaign.
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 of 2016,
RUSSIAN and SYRIAN government bombardments 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 continue
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 although these talks do represent the most
serious diplomatic efforts in months. Unfortunately, U.S. President, Donald
Trump’s authorization of the firing of 59 TOMAHAWK cruise missiles at the SYRIAN Armed Forces in response
to what the U.S. believes was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 100 people
authorized by President Bashar al-Assad now threatens to derail the entire
peace process. In response to the strike by the U.S., RUSSIA, chief backer
of President Bashar al-Assad, sent a warship into the eastern Mediterranean
heading straight towards the area where two U.S. Navy destroyers launched the
missile strikes into SYRIA. Nonetheless, President, Donald Trump stands by his decision
regarding the U.S. strike on a SYRIAN airbase in retaliation for this
week’s gruesome chemical weapons attack against civilians, including infants
and small children. However, the American military
strike against SYRIA now threatens Russian - American relations
as RUSSIA denounced President, Donald Trump’s usage of force and the RUSSIAN
military indicated it would suspend an agreement to share
information about air operations over SYRIA that was devised to avoid
accidental conflict between RUSSIA and the U.S. The U.S. missile strike
demonstrated the potential dangers of RUSSIAN and AMERICAN forces operating in
proximity although American military planners did act accordingly to avert a
direct conflict. That is, fewer than 100 RUSSIAN troops deployed in support of
the SYRIAN government of President Bashar al-Assad that were
stationed at the SYRIAN air base targeted by AMERICAN forces were given just 60
to 90 minutes of advance notice that the cruise missiles were coming but were
not advised whether to take shelter or flee. Nonetheless, the US secretary of
state, Rex Tillerson, said the strikes did not indicate a shift in US policy
toward Syria, even though a few days’ earlier American diplomats had said President Bashar
al-Assad’s
ouster was no longer a priority. In addition, the White House press secretary,
Sean Spicer, said the strikes had a limited intent, which was to deter the
usage of chemical weapons, and were part of President, Donald Trump’s so-called
AMERICA FIRST policy.
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
majority 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 the last 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 was supposed to 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 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 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 SYRIA by throwing TURKEY’s support behind U.S.
President, Donald Trump who authorized the firing of
59 TOMAHAWK cruise missiles at the SYRIAN Armed Forces in response
to what the U.S. believes was a chemical weapons attack that killed more than 100 people. In
my opinion, the agreement by TURKEY with the U.S. air strikes on the SYRIAN
Armed Forces is in conformance with TURKEY’s view that the world needs to stop
pretending that it is only President Bashar al-Assad on one hand and ISIS on
the other that legitimizes President Bashar al-Assad’s control over SYRIA. In
my opinion, after the chemical attacks by the SYRIAN Armed Forces, TURKEY will no
longer support the claim that there is no viable alternative to the existing
regime under President Bashar al-Assad such that I believe TURKEY will now push
for the alternative of saving the SYRIAN people from the brutal regime under
President Bashar al-Assad after which the Syrian people will be easily able to find
someone else to lead them. In my opinion, that is the TURKISH view that has put
TURKEY into direct conflict with RUSSIA who we all very well know is President
Bashar al-Assad’s main battleground backer such that until RUSSIA agrees, it
will be virtually impossible for TURKEY and the U.S. to remove President Bashar
al-Assad from power.
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. Therefore, the ALLIANCE forces recapture of eastern MOSUL in its entirety has triggered a lightning fast
momentum as ALLIANCE forces managed to seize control of major parts of Western
MOSUL although in my opinion, the last of the fighting will most probably be a
lot more difficult. In my opinion, ISIS will cling on to the oldest parts of
MOSUL city where streets are narrow making it hard to manoeuvre military
convoys and thus increasing the risk of ambushes and civilian casualties.
Therefore, it
is not surprising to see that ALLIANCE forces are having a difficult time to
fully retake control of central MOSUL’s OLD CITY but this struggle is
unfortunately necessary to secure the entire province of MOSUL such that
patience is of utmost importance as ALLIANCE forces must continue with their
relentless yet prudent attacks until ALL ISIS snipers have been eliminated. In
regards to Iraqi army forces taking over RAYHANNA, a village near MOSUL in
ANBAR while killing 30 ISIS militants in the process, this is an excellent
example of the strength of ALLIANCE forces when the ISIS skunks can be lured
out into the open and the ALLIANCE have a clear target to strike. Therefore, it
is obvious that the difficulties encountered by ALLIANCE forces in MOSUL’s OLD
CITY have more to do with the landscape of narrow streets than with the
capabilities of the ALLIANCE forces. In regards to JARED KUSHNER, son-in-law of
President Donald Trump and senior adviser to the White House, visiting
IRAQ to receive an update on the current status of the counter ISIS campaign, I
must tend to agree with the buzz on social media that his outfit consisting of
a jacket-blazer combo whereby the sports coat and military vest just did not
blend well together was definitely a flop for the cameras. However, in my
opinion, JARED KUSHNER seems to be a very intelligent 36-year-old man whom President
Donald Trump has placed in charge of the Middle East peace process such
that he should be given a fair opportunity to exercise his role as senior
advisor. In my opinion, JARED KUSHNER definitely does not have the competence,
persona or look to be a soldier but his role is not to be a fighter but just
the opposite, JARED KUSHNER’s role is to be a peace negotiator such that I
believe he has the necessary skills and abilities to assume this mandated role
of senior advisor to the President. Nonetheless, 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 SYRIAN government forces recapture of 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 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 continue 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 were excluded from the agenda for the fifth round of negotiations that
concluded at the end of March. 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 to implement a
long-term sustainable solution for peace.
In
regards to U.S. President, Donald Trump’s authorization of the firing of 59 TOMAHAWK cruise
missiles at the SYRIAN Armed Forces in response to what the U.S. believes was a
chemical weapons attack that killed more than 100 people authorized by President
Bashar al-Assad, it is quite obvious that these events now threaten to derail
the entire peace process. However, in my opinion, these strikes by the U.S.
were justified on the basis that the strikes had a limited intent, which was to
deter the usage of chemical weapons, and were part of President, Donald Trump’s
so-called AMERICA FIRST policy. That is, the U.S. needed to send President
Bashar al-Assad a clear, concise and direct message that chemical weapons
attacks by the SYRIAN Armed Forces will not be tolerated and will be
reciprocated accordingly. That being said, there is no need for any further
retaliatory strikes at this time as the message has been duly received by RUSSIA, chief backer
of President Bashar al-Assad, who sent a warship into the eastern Mediterranean
heading straight towards the area where two U.S. Navy destroyers launched the
missile strikes into SYRIA. In my opinion, now that the RUSSIANS have arrived, it would
obviously be unwise to further escalate this conflict, as it seems that some
sort of equilibrium has been reached regarding these military exchanges. Nonetheless,
I agree with the U.S. secretary of state, Rex Tillerson, who said that the
strikes did not indicate a shift in U.S. policy toward SYRIA that means that these
U.S. strikes do not indicate that the ouster of President Bashar al-Assad is a priority. In my
opinion, as long as RUSSIA is behind him, President Bashar al-Assad is essentially untouchable
except for
disciplinary strikes in instances of clear violations of international laws
such as in this instance where the usage of chemical weapons on civilians was
certain.
In
summary, I refer to “World Peace Lennon Ivan Style – Part 241” 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 albeit chemical weapons
unleashed by ASSAD on SYRIAN civilians that were reciprocated in kind by U.S.
unleashing 59 Tomahawk missiles from the skies resulting in equilibrium
resolution of isolated incident granting peace of mind that repetition will not
be surmised.
Spirit of John Lennon – Kurdish Guerrilla Song:
April 9, 2017
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)