Tag: BBC

Syrian Kurdish official rejects Turkish calls to lay down arms, says SDF seeks integration instead +

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

A top Syrian Kurdish official has rejected Turkish calls for the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) to give up their weapons as part of Ankara’s broader peace efforts with Kurdish militants, saying the situation in Syria requires integration, not the laying down of arms.

Ilham Ahmed, co-chair of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (Rojava), told BBC’s Turkish service that the SDF’s continued armed presence is necessary due to ongoing security threats, particularly from Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) remnants and the lack of a permanent Syrian constitution.

Syrian Kurdish official rejects Turkish calls to lay down arms, says SDF seeks integration instead

The U.S. continues to back the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF)—a coalition dominated by the YPG, which Turkey sees as indistinguishable from the PKK. Despite the PKK’s recent disarmament announcement, Washington has resuscitated funding and military coordination with the SDF—a coalition whose very name was crafted to obscure its PKK lineage. This comes even as the U.S. consolidates its military presence to a single base in Hasakah, signaling a shift from occupation to strategic entrenchment.

In 2019, as Trump was weighing a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria during his first term, Tulsi Gabbard brought Ilham Ahmed—the then-head of the Syrian Democratic Council, political wing of the U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces in Rojava—as her guest to Trump’s second State of the Union. The message was clear: autonomy should have air support. Ahmed currently serves as Co-Chair of the Foreign Affairs Department of Rojava, also known as the Democratic Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.

Related:

Trump should be convinced of US pullout from Syria- but… (Disarmament, dissolution of YPG)

The SDF equals the YPG/PKK/Kurds: A timeline of the PKK’s war on Türkiye

As Trump Sets Military Against Civilians, Service Members Have Duty to Disobey

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

The Marines are trained in combat, not crowd control. People are likely to get hurt.

As Trump Sets Military Against Civilians, Service Members Have Duty to Disobey

Related:

If your conscience troubles you… you may have options

In recent years, we have gotten calls on the GI Rights Hotline from service members concerned about having to police the US-Mexican border and/or police demostrations in the US. Others feel disturbed by US support for specific overseas operations, like Israel’s actions in Gaza and the West Bank. Many call us with a troubled conscience, and some ask about applying for a conscientious objection (CO) discharge. Military regulations spell out very specific criteria for military members to qualify as a conscientious objector. Keep reading to see if a CO discharge may be appropriate for you. Even if you don’t meet the definition of a conscientious objector, you may still qualify for a different discharge. You can call us on the hotline to discuss your options: 877-447-4487.

Trump Called Threat to Journalistic Freedom After Foreign Press Hit by ‘Non-Lethal’ Rounds

Why Washington is Worried About Burkina Faso’s Young Revolutionary Leader

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Why Washington is Worried About Burkina Faso’s Young Revolutionary Leader


Related Videos:

Source (Full video) / Stenographic Transcript Before the Subcommittee on Seapower (p.96)

HRW accused Burkina Faso of war crimes

Ibrahim Traoré on NGOs (HRW)

Related Articles:

The US/EU/NATO’s Regime Change Playbook for Burkina Faso and Captain Ibrahim Traoré

The Rising Star of Cpt. Ibrahim Traore – Burkina Faso’s Spirit of Sankara

In February 2024, Traoré ordered the suspension of the issuance of export permits for small-scale private gold production, a move aimed at tackling illegal trade. According to the World Gold Council’s 2023 figures, Burkina Faso is the 13th-largest gold producer in the world, producing about 100 tonnes, equivalent to about US$6 billion in value, each year.

Document: Burkina Faso

Noboa Taps Blackwater’s Prince to Battle Ecuador’s Chaos

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)
“An image of Erik Prince meeting with Ecuadorian President Daniel Noboa shared on Noboa’s official X account.” – CNN

President Daniel Noboa shocks the world, revealing a strategic alliance with Erik Prince, Blackwater’s founder, to tackle Ecuador’s security crisis.

Noboa Taps Blackwater’s Prince to Battle Ecuador’s Chaos (archived)

Related:

US and European armies should join our war on gangs, Ecuador president tells BBC

Noboa has already ordered the foreign ministry to seek cooperation agreements with “allied nations” to support Ecuador’s police and army, and is also seeking parliamentary approval to change the constitution to allow foreign military bases in Ecuador again.

Skripal poisoning victim disputed UK narrative, official inquiry reveals

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

An official inquiry into a notorious 2018 Novichok poisoning case has found the victim briefly emerged from a coma, revealing information which wholly undermined the British government’s narrative. While the medical professional she told was muzzled, mainstream media has ignored the new finding.

Skripal poisoning victim disputed UK narrative, official inquiry reveals

Zelensky’s wear and tear

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)2 Comments

Zelensky’s wear and tear (original)

For more than two and a half years, war has been the raison d’être of the Ukrainian state. The budget presented by Kyiv this week allocates more than 50% of the budget to the defence sector – to which must be added the cost of veterans – something that has been repeated since 2022. Maintaining the front, avoiding its collapse and ensuring that there is still enough support to continue fighting until the objectives are achieved is the priority of the government team, which has set aside practically all other obligations of the state, which today depends entirely on foreign subsidies that make it possible to pay salaries and pensions. One of the aspects that has completely disappeared under the cover of the unity demanded by the war is precisely domestic politics. The Russian invasion gave Zelensky’s team the opportunity to create for the president the image of a war leader, the representation of the nation, a savior capable of achieving what he sets out to do, the only person capable of rescuing the country from certain ruin.

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Trumpism, NATO and the Ukraine war

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Trumpism, NATO and the Ukraine war (original)

“Two years ago, General Mark A. Milley, then President Biden’s chief military adviser, suggested that neither Russia nor Ukraine could win the war. A negotiated solution, he argued, was the only path to peace. His comments caused a furor among senior officials. But President-elect Donald J. Trump’s victory is making General Milley’s prediction come true,” wrote The New York Times in an article published last week, part of a growing line of arguments by those who fear that the arrival of the new Republican administration will mean leaving Ukraine to its own devices. These articles, present in all major American and European media, take literally Trump’s desire to end the war and his lack of interest in the situation in Ukraine. This has also been helped by the words of JD Vance, who, from his ignorance of the conflict, has proposed a plan that can only satisfy Russia, or the exalted response of Donald Trump Jr. after the confirmation of the American permission to use Western missiles against targets on the territory of mainland Russia. Sometimes, think-tankers and experts also add Trump’s disdain for NATO or his desire not to rescue member countries that do not meet the minimum investment required by the Alliance in the event of a Russian attack.

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