MESOPOTAMIA KURDISTAN DAILY INDEPENDENT NEWSSERVICE
MESOPOTAMIA KURDISTAN DAILY INDEPENDENT NEWSSERVICE
Mezopotamian Development Society (Registered) GERMANY
THE MOST REQUESTED DAILY & ONLY INDEPENDENT NEWSSERVICE ON KURDISTAN FOR THE HIGHLY INVOLVED PEOPLE – email : mesop@online.de Watch our website : www.mesop.de
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MESOP NEWS DOCUMENTS : THE INVINCIBLE PKK JOINS APPOLLO’S ACADEMIE / CLICK FOR PICTURE
Karayılan: Guerrilla will show everyone they are invincible – 20 March 2017
Mahsum Korkmaz Military Academy and Haki Karer Academy carry out training activity within the Apollo Academies Command under the HPG. Their winter training cycles have just concluded with a ceremony. The closing ceremony coincided with the Newroz week, and in the ceremony People’s Defense Central Headquarters Commander Murat Karayılan gave important messages on the guerrilla’s preparations for the coming period, the conflict in Shengal and Newroz. Watch all + pics http://www.mesop.de/?p=83926
MESOP FOCUS : THE NEW GIANT PKK/PYD ARMY / FOR NEXT EXIT SINJAR INVASION ? / WHO PAYS FOR THIS BIG FORCE ? – US PAYS & RUSSIA TRAINS
Exclusive: Syrian Kurdish YPG aims to expand force to over 100,000 – By Tom Perry | BEIRUT / REUTERS
The Syrian Kurdish YPG militia aims to expand its force by about two-thirds to more than 100,000 fighters this year, it told Reuters, a plan that would strengthen autonomous Kurdish enclaves that are of deep concern to neighboring Turkey. The YPG, which is playing a crucial role in the U.S.-backed campaign against Islamic State in Syria, has launched a major drive this year to turn itself into a more organized force resembling an army, spokesman Redur Xelil said. The militia, which had 60,000 fighters at the end of 2016 – including its all-female affiliate, the YPJ – has already formed 10 new battalions since the start of this year, each comprised of around 300 fighters, he said. “We aspire to exceed 100,000,” Xelil said in response to written questions from Reuters. Asked how soon the YPG aimed to reach this target, he said: “The second half of 2017.” Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=83919
MESOP NEWS : PROTEST-MEETING – Syrian Kurds in Berlin protesting against PYD/PKK Repression in Rojava – West Kurdistan Watch Text + picture http://www.mesop.de/?p=83945
MESOP SHORT CUTS : 68 ANTI-IS NATIONS MEET IN WASHINGTON
Representatives from 68 nations in the coalition fighting the Islamic State are gathering at the U.S. State Department, their first full meeting in more than two years.
Libya will probably be on the agenda, where the terrorist group is exploiting chaos. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/21/world/africa/libya-isis.html?emc=edit_mbe_20170322&nl=morning-briefing-europe&nlid=73143833&te=1&_r=0 “It’s a powder keg,” said a general from neighboring Chad. www.mesop.de
MESOP NEWS TODAYS TOP OF THE AGENDA : ANT IS COUNTRIES MEET IN US / ANALYSIS BY WSJ / REUTERS / POLITICO / NEW YORK TIMES / BOSTON GLOBE
Representatives from the sixty-eight countries that form the U.S.-led coalition against the self-proclaimed Islamic State are meeting in Washington on Wednesday with the expectation to hear from the administration of U.S. President Donald J. Trump on how it will fight the militant group. U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi (WSJ) will provide opening remarks, during which Tillerson will reaffirm U.S. support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, according to a State Department spokesman. The summit comes as the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a monitoring group, reported that an airstrike believed to be carried out by the U.S. coalition near Raqqa, the de facto capital of the Islamic State, hit a school being used as a shelter for displaced persons and killed at least thirty people (Reuters).
!”KNOW BETTER WITH MESOP NEWS!” – GULF SUPPORT TO THE COUNTER-ISIS CAMPAIGN
By Lori Plotkin Boghardt – PolicyWatch 2773 – March 21, 2017 – Lori Plotkin Boghardt is the Barbara Kay Family Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Some Gulf states are showing interest in providing additional support to the counter-ISIS coalition, and Washington should seize these emerging opportunities.
On March 22, Secretary of State Rex Tillerson will host foreign ministers and other senior officials from countries that make up the U.S.-led “Global Coalition to Counter ISIS.” The goal of the meeting is to set the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria “on a lasting and irreversible p More via www.mesop.de
WEST KURDISTAN (SYRIA)
MESOP NEWS SHORT CUTS – Report: Russian Losses in Syria 3x Higher Than Acknowledged
Reuters reports that Russia has suffered 18 combat fatalities in Syria since January 29, more than three times higher than the official toll. The Russian Defense Ministry has publicly reported only five servicemen’s deaths, with no mention of significant Russian ground operations in the fight to regain Palmyra from the Islamic State.Russia’s Conflict Intelligence Team gathered the toll from interviews with relatives and friends of the dead men, cemetery workers, and local media reports of funerals. Reuters independently verified each of the cases by speaking to someone who knows the deceased. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=83937
MESOP NEWS : THE HEAT AT THE GOLAN-ISRAEL / SYRIA-FRONT
Israeli drone crashes. Russia fails to de-escalate / BY DEBKA FILES ISRAEL
22 March 2017 – The IDF Tuesday confirmed that an Israeli miniature Skylark drone had crashed over a technical fault Sunday, March 19, in the same Quneitra area of the Golan as the attack which killed a Syrian soldier. Hizballah claimed earlier that the drone was shot down by the Syrian army and published photos of drone fragments with Hebrew writing.
debkafile’s military sources report that the publicity given by the pro-Iranian Lebanese Hizballah to the incident – beating Israel to the draw – seriously pricked Moscow’s efforts, with Damascus’ compliance, to cool the crisis that was developing after Israeli planes struck a Hizballah target near the northern Syrian town of Palmyra last Friday, March 17. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=83931
MESOP NEWS UPDATE SYRIA : Rebels Advance in Damascus, Open Hama Front
March 22 By Scott Lucas – eawolrdview – Anti-Assad forces test regime by opening two-front war — is a third front on the way?
UPDATE 0730 GMT: Local sources say rebels have captured the village of Khattab, and nearby ammunition dumps, in northern Hama Province.The sources say rebels have pressed farther to the west, near the village of al-Sheer (see map). Part of the road between Hama city and Mahardeh to the northwest is under rebel control.The Free Syrian Army said another two tanks were captured when a checkpoint was seized.
Syria’s rebels advanced in their offensive inside Damascus and opened another front in northern Hama Province on Tuesday. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=83933
MESOP NEWS FLASH : Israel Army Chief: Hezbollah Commander Bahreddine Killed by His Own Men
22 March 2017 – The head of the Israeli army said on Tuesday that Hezbollah’s commander in Syria, Mustafa Badreddine, was killed by his own men. Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot said reports that Mustafa Amine Badreddine was killed by Hezbollah officers match “intelligence we have”. He claimed the incident “indicates the depth of the internal crisis within Hezbollah…[and] the extent of the cruelty, complexity and tension between Hezbollah and its patron Iran”. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=83935
MESOP NEWS MIDDLE EAST : THE ESSENTIAL QUESTION !? Mossad chief: Iran is main threat to Israel with or without nuclear deal
What threatens Israel the most – Hezbollah rockets or Iranian nukes? – By Yonah Jeremy Bob
March 21, 2017 13:05 Jerusalem Post – Mossad Director Yossi Cohen and IDF Chief-of-Staff Lt.-Gen. Gadi Eisenkot took different takes on Tuesday in defining Israel’s number one threat, with Cohen focusing on Iran and Eisenkot opting for Hezbollah.Cohen told a conference at Netanya University in honor of former Mossad chief Meir Dagan that, “as long as the current regime is in control, whether with a nuclear deal or without one, Iran will continue to be the central threat to Israel.” Read more http://www.mesop.de/?p=83957
MESOP NEWS BACKGROUNDER : Putin’s Real Syria Agenda
Mar 20, 2017 – Genevieve Casagrande – Download the PDF (By ISW)
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s primary objective in Syria is to constrain U.S. freedom of action – not fight ISIS and al Qaeda. Russia’s military deployments at current levels will not enable the Iranian-penetrated Assad regime to secure Syria. Moscow’s deepening footprint in Syria threatens America’s ability to defend its interests across the Middle East and in the Mediterranean Sea. The next U.S. step in Syria must help regain leverage over Russia rather than further encourage Putin’s expansionism.
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) produced this report with the Critical Threats Project (CTP). The insights are part of an intensive multi-month exercise to frame, design, and evaluate potential courses of action that the United States could pursue to destroy the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) and al Qaeda in Syria. The ISW-CTP team recently released “America’s Way Ahead in Syria,”
More via : www.mesop.de
MESOP NEWS BACKGROUNDER : March 2017 By Genevieve Casagrande & Kathleen Weinberger (ISW)
Putin’s Real Syria Agenda / FULL TEXT DOCUMENT
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) produced this report with the Critical Threats Project (CTP). The insights are part of an intensive multi-month exercise to frame, design, and evaluate potential courses of action that the United States could pursue to destroy the Islamic State in Iraq and al Sham (ISIS) and al Qaeda in Syria. The ISW-CTP team recently released “America’s Way Ahead in Syria,” which details the flaws in the current U.S. approach in Iraq and Syria and proposes the first phase of a strategic reset in the Middle East
Key Takeaway: Russian President Vladimir Putin’s primary objective in Syria is to constrain U.S. freedom of action – not fight ISIS and al Qaeda. Russia’s military deployments at current levels will not enable the Iranian-penetrated Assad regime to secure Syria. Moscow’s deepening footprint in Syria threatens America’s ability to defend its interests across the Middle East and in the Mediterranean Sea. The next U.S. step in Syria must help regain leverage over Russia rather than further encourage Putin’s expansionism. Read full document : http://www.mesop.de/?p=83941
MESOP NEWS RECOMMENDATION : PUBLICATION RELEASE “EYEING RAQQA” – A Tale of Four Tribes ANDREW J. TABLER, EDITOR
POLICY NOTE 39 • MARCH 2017 – This new Policy Note, published anonymously for security reasons and edited by Andrew Tabler, is based on interviews with members of the four most prominent Raqqa tribes: al-Bayattrah, al-Ajeel, al-Breij, and al-Na’im. Along with detailed profiles of the tribes and their alliances, the paper discusses the related prospects for cooperation with U.S.-backed forces and notes potentially explosive issues, including Arab-Kurdish tensions and increasing concern over the involvement of Iran-sponsored Shiite militias. Only al-Bayattrah, based downtown, harbors no support for either IS or the Assad regime, offering a glimpse of challenges to come. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=83943
NORTH KURDISTAN (TURKEY)
MESOP NEWS DEEP ANALYSIS BY CIPHER BRIEF : Today’s Insight
What Is the “Deep State?” | Fritz Lodge, The Cipher Brief
The term “Deep State” has achieved new popularity in recent weeks, but not in reference to opaque military elites in faraway countries. Today, the term is aimed at the U.S. government itself. In particular, the deep state has become a catchall term, which credits a shadow network of spies and bureaucrats with conspiring to undermine the new administration. http://www.mesop.de/?p=83959
Expert Commentary
The Deep State Mirage in Turkey | Steven Cook, Senior Fellow, Middle East and Africa Studies, Council on Foreign Relations
The concept of the deep state can be traced back to Turkey, where an alleged network of military officers, intelligence operatives, policemen, organized crime figures, academics, journalists, and politicians work behind the scenes as a sort of shadow government.
THE GERMAN CHAPTER
MESOP NEWS BERICHT : Wie der Iran den israelischen Golan `befrieden´ will / Von Axel Feuerherdt
Eine vom iranischen Regime kontrollierte und ausgebildete Miliz hat eine paramilitärische Einheit aufgestellt, die von Syrien aus den Golan von Israel «befreien» will. Auch die Hisbollah rüstet weiter kräftig auf und verbessert ihr Waffen- und Raketenarsenal. Damit steigt die Gefahr eines weiteren Krieges gegen den jüdischen Staat. Der Westen setzt dennoch ganz andere Prioritäten.
Es braut sich etwas zusammen an der Grenze zwischen Syrien und Israel. Während sich die politischen Repräsentanten westlicher Länder mit Wirtschaftsdelegationen im Schlepptau seit dem Atomdeal von Wien im Sommer 2015 in Teheran die Klinke in die Hand geben, baut das iranische Regime nicht nur ungestört seinen hegemonialen Einfluss im Nahen Osten aus. Es intensiviert vielmehr auch seine Bemühungen, dem jüdischen Staat den Garaus zu machen – ganz so, wie es die israelische Regierung vor zwei Jahren angesichts des nahenden Abkommens zwischen den UN-Vetomächten plus Deutschland und dem Iran befürchtet hatte. Volltext http://www.mesop.de/?p=83921
MESOP NEWS : PUTIN SCHLÜSSELROLLE IN KURDISTAN-ROJAVA / PYD/PKK ÜBERGIBT GEBIETE AN ASSAD
Wie Russland die türkische Offensive gegen syrische Kurden stoppen soll
Sputnik news – 22 März 2017 – Mit der Präsenz russischer Militärs in der Stadt Afrin im syrischen Kurdistan will Moskau seine Schlüsselrolle bei der Regelung des Konflikts in dem Land bestärken, wie am Mittwoch die Zeitung „Le Monde“ berichtet.
Syrien: Kurdenmilizen übergeben Gebiete an Regierungsarmee
Für die Türkei bedeutet die Einführung eines russischen Kontingents in Afrin demnach ein Ende ihrer Militäroffensive „Schutzschild Euphrat“, die Ankara im August 2016 begonnen hatte. Nun seien alle Richtungen blockiert, in welche die Türkei ihre Offensive fortführen könnte: Im Süden stehen syrische Soldaten, im Westen in der Pufferzone dann russische Truppen, die die türkischen Truppen von den kurdischen Selbstverteidigungseinheiten YPG trenne. Volltext lesen http://www.mesop.de/?p=83951
MESOP EXTRA NEWS : Der Grünen-Bundestagsabgeordnete Volker Beck wirft der Bundesregierung und den Strafverfolgungsbehörden vor, nichts dagegen unternommen zu haben, dass spionageverdächtige Imame aus Deutschland fliehen konnten.
FAZ.NET exklusiv Bundesanwaltschaft wollte in Spitzel-Affäre sechs Imame festnehmen lassen – Deutsche Behörden wollten offenbar deutlich härter gegen die Imame vorgehen, denen Spionage für die Türkei vorgeworfen wird. Das zeigen Dokumente, die FAZ.NET vorliegen. Doch weil der Bundesgerichtshof die Festnahmen stoppte, konnten zwei Imame aus Deutschland fliehen.
22.03.2017, von Reiner Burger, Düsseldorf – FAZ – Volltext http://www.mesop.de/?p=83955
MESOP DISCOVERY : MARTIN McGUINESS (Provo IRA) gestorben / Ein hochkarätiger Identitärer
McGuinness dies: May issues a perfectly judged statement, Blair remarks on his importance in the creation and sustaining of the peace process and Elizabeth II sends a letter of condolence to his family.
…. Die letzte größere Initiative dieses Friedensstifters aus Derry, der bei seinen Bombenkampagnen auch Zivilisten tötete + für organisationsinterne quasi Folterungen leitend zur Verfügung stand – war die Forderung an den Belfaster Stormont (Parlament), die gaelische Sprache als unverzichtbare Amtssprache einzuführen.
Zur Statistik daher folgendes: in Belfast sprechen 0,5 % der katholischen Bevölkerung Gaelic, in Derry vielleicht ganze 100 Leute.
Ein veritabler völkisch-ethnisch Identitärer, vor dem sich linke Genoss*innen innerlich schütteln würden, wäre er bei PEGIDA. www.mesop.de
MESOP CULTURE FROM THE BACKYARDS: HESSISCHER RUNDFUNK – 33 US Psychiater begutachten Trump und fordern ärztlichen Entzug der Präsidentschaft
…. 22 März 2017 – HR-Info 13 15 Uhr: Die Sprecherin des politisch linken HR begrüßt und bejaht die Aktion überschwenglich: Trump schlicht klinisch begegnen, statt politisch – ihm die Befähigung zum Amt absprechen und möglichst dann einweisen. Danach dann Hillary ausrufen. Das wäre dann endlich wieder eine linke Annäherung an die früheren Methoden der Genossen vom Politbüro der KPdSU, die mühelos alle ihnen nicht genehmen Leute zu psychiatrisieren wußten.
Dumm nur, daß Trump Wähler und massenhaft auch Anhänger hat. Da dies viele sind, deren Einzeleinweisung praktisch schwer möglich ist, wären Lager wohl wieder das Beste.
Man sieht, die jetzige Linke hat noch nicht ihre frühere stalinistische Hochform wieder erreicht.