MESOPOTAMIA KURDISTAN DAILY INDEPENDENT NEWSSERVICE
Mezopotamian Development Society (Registered) GERMANY
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MESOP TODAY INDEPTH
MESOP NEWS “PENTAGON FAIRY TALES” : THE DETAILED MILITARY TIMES REPORT
Syrian Kurds are now armed with sensitive US weaponry, and the Pentagon denies supplying it – The development is likely to infuriate Turkey and could prove problematic for the Trump admin…
MESOP COMMENTARY : Really? Never helped transfer any? Pentagon claims it “doesn’t provide weapons 2 YPG, directly or via intermediaries” – By the way: The US pays nearly the whole war-budget of PYD in Syria, not only weapons, but everything from food to Uniforms etc. – militarytimes.com – Read whole story http://www.mesop.de/?p=85559
MESOP NEWS TODAYS RELEVANT TWEET & SHORT CUTS
8 May 2017 – Russian diplomat said that American aircraft would be banned from flying over Syria as part of a deal struck by Iran, Russia and Turkey last week. But a U.S. State Department spokesman said the Russian interpretation of the deal “makes no sense.”
Read more www.mesop.de
MESOP NEWS : ETHNIC COSMETICS
Assad regime displaces first batch of Barzeh’s Syrians to Idlib
orient-news.net Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=85567
MESOP NEWS : US DECISIONS ON SYRIA !
9 May 2017 – House Panel Votes in Favor of Syria Sanctions: On May 3, the House Foreign Affairs Committee voted in favor of new Syria sanctions. The bill from ranking member Eliot Engel (D-NY) targets anyone who does business with the Assad regime while evaluating the feasibility of a no-fly zone. “If you’re taking the side of the Butcher in Damascus over the Syrian people, you’re going to get caught up in these sanctions,” Engel said in his opening remarks. “That means Iran. That means Russia. The blood of the Syrian people is on their hands as well.” Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=85571
MESOP NEWS : MORE WALLS / MORE FENCES – Turkey to Build Wall on Turkish-Iranian Border
Abdulkadir Selvi – ANKARA – 9 May 2017 – Hurriyet Daily News. Turkey.
Turkey is planning to build a wall along the Turkish-Iranian border as part of measures against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), according to a high-level official. “The PKK has the Maku, Dambat, Navur, Kotr, Keneresh and Şehidan camps inside Iran near the Turkish border. There are some 800-1,000 PKK terrorists in those camps. They enter Turkey, carry out attacks and leave,” an official told daily Hürriyet on May 8, adding that they escape to those camps when security operations are conducted in the eastern province of Ağrı and the Mount Tendürek region. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=85573
SOUTH KURDISTAN (IRAQ)
MESOP NEWS UPDATE “THE MOSUL CAMPAIGN TODAY” BY JOEL WING
| Mosul Campaign Day 201, May 5, 2017 – 06 May 2017 10:59 AM PDT
Comparison of Mosul 5/4/17 vs 5/5/17 showing the new thrust by the Iraqi forces into the northern section of the city (Ninewa Media) – The spokesman for the Iraqi Joint Operations Command General Yahya Rasool toldthe press that the new northern attack upon Mosul caught the Islamic State off guard. The insurgents were not able to build adequate defenses, which has led to a swift advance. This is being made by the 9th Division and units from the Rapid Reaction Division and Federal Police. The police were fightingin Harmat, which was declaredfreed the day before. In the center of west Mosul, the Federal Police were also pushinginto Zinjali by the Old City. |
Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=85561
MESOP NEWS BACKGROUNDER: How The Islamic State Has Fought The Battle For Mosul, Interview With Horizon Client Access’ Alex Mello – 8 May 2017- BY MUSINGS ON IRAQ – JOEL WING
The battle for Mosul is in its sixth month. It is proving to be the most intense campaign of the entire war against the Islamic State in Iraq. That’s in part because the insurgents have changed their defenses from previous fights like in Fallujah and Ramadi. Recently the CTC Sentinel published an article “Defeat By Annihilation: Mobility And Attrition In The Islamic State’s Defense Of Mosul” detailing how the militants have fought in the city. This is an interview with one of the authors Alex Mello who is an Iraq security analyst at Horizon Client Access. Musings On Iraq first interviewed Mello back in 2014 about the deteriorating security situation in Iraq. He can be followed on Twitter @AlexMello02.
- Your article noted that the Islamic State’s defenses in Mosul were different from previous urban battles like Fallujah. How were they constructed in the city? Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=85587
MESOP NEWS DOCUMENTS : General Union of Students in the Iraq Republic
8th May 2017 – Statement on the kidnapping of seven students and civil activists in central Baghdad – NO to the Suppression of Free Voices!
The General Union of Students in the Republic of Iraq (GUSIR) strongly condemns the kidnapping of a number of our colleagues and civil activists at dawn today, Monday 8th May 2017, at 1:30 am, in central Baghdad by an armed group.
The names of the kidnapped youths are: Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=85575
MESOP NEWS : LANGUAGE APART !
ISRAEL: Israeli ministers approved a bill that would downgrade the Arabic language from an official state language to one of “special status” (Haaretz). Knesset must still approve the bill. Read all http://www.haaretz.com/israel-news/1.787689
WEST KURDISTAN (SYRIA)
MESOP NEWS : “THE SIGMUND-FREUDIAN-FACTOR” – PKK, sorry YPG, is part of Syrian Democratic Forces: US commander
WASHINGTON – 8 May 2017 – HURRIYET – A top U.S. commander has said the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) is an element of the coalition fighting Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), only to correct his remarks later. During a news conference via video conference from Baghdad on May 3, the U.S.-led anti-ISIL coalition’s spokesman, Col. John Dorrian, was asked about Turkey’s stance against Syrian Kurdish groups in the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF). “But with regard to the PKK, they are a part of the Syrian Democratic Forces, and the Syrian Arab Coalition is a part of the Syrian Democratic Forces as well. The forces that are isolating Raqqa are now largely made up of Syrian Arabs, but they are a part of the Syrian Democratic Forces,” he said. The spokesman corrected his wording when alerted by a journalist, saying that he initially meant the YPG, instead of the PKK. The formation of the SDF nearly two years ago saw the U.S. develop a cooperation with the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing, the YPG, whose fighters are included in SDF ranks.Turkey has repeatedly asked the U.S. and Russia to cut their ties with the YPG, which it says is an offshoot of the PKK. Turkey considers the YPG as a terrorist group and the Turkish military has on various occasions hit YPG positions inside Syria.
The U.S. and the EU consider the PKK a terrorist group, but not the YPG.
The Pentagon said last week that U.S. forces were operating “in close proximity with” SDF fighters in northern Syria, including near the Turkish border. Officials in Turkey and Syria, who spoke to Anadolu Agency on condition of anonymity, said the PYD and YPG make up the upper echelons of the SDF and the bulk of its fighting force. Dorian also said a council of local members who live in and around Raqqa would rule the city after it is cleared of ISIL. The “Raqqa Council” will establish essential services for residents, Dorrian said, adding he was not sure if the SDF would be associated with the council. “At this point, the Raqqa Council – essentially, the formation of the group, is about what’s been accomplished,” he said. “So as far as who’s involved and what their actions are, I don’t have a lot of detail.” www.mesop.de
MESOP NEWS BACKGROUNDER : ALL DIRECTIONS IN SYRIA GO VIA MOSCOW
Putin changes conversation on Syria with cease-fire plan
Russia, Iran and Turkey have agreed to be guarantors of a six-month cease-fire in four Syrian regions — Idlib and parts of its neighboring provinces, Eastern Ghouta, northern Homs, and areas around Daraa and al-Quneitra provinces — to de-escalate violence, facilitate humanitarian access and improve the conditions for a political settlement. UN Syria envoy Staffan de Mistura praised the agreement as a “promising and positive step in the right direction.”
With the Astana agreement, Russian President Vladimir Putin has again changed the conversation on Syria, making clear to Washington that the road to both a political settlement and the defeat of the Islamic State and al-Qaeda passes through Moscow. Read all http://www.mesop.de/?p=85565
MESOP NEWS TODAYS Opinions : Le Pen’s defeat is good news for Trump
The leader of the far-right National Front party thanked her 11 million supporters and said that the country had ‘chosen continuity.’ (Reuters)
By Marc A. Thiessen May 8 at 11:50 AM – WASHINGTON POST
The media are framing the defeat of Marine Le Pen in the French presidential election as a defeat for President Trump and his brand of populist nationalism. The Post reported that “France on Sunday shrugged off the siren call of right-wing populism that enchanted voters in the United States and the United Kingdom” and called the election of centrist Emmanuel Macron “a pointed endorsement of European unity.” Read full text http://www.mesop.de/?p=85581
No, it wasn’t.
The French vote was not an endorsement of globalism or a vote of confidence in the French political establishment. It was a rejection of Le Pen’s toxic brand of Putinism and anti-Semitism. And the person who should be happiest that Le Pen lost is Trump. She would have been not an ally, but rather, an albatross for the president, because Le Pen was the left wing’s caricature of Trump come to life.
MESOP NEWS : MIDDLE EAST (COUNTERINSURGENCY) – Today’s Insight
U.S. Special Operations Forces’ Changing Mission in the Middle East | Fritz Lodge, The Cipher Brief
Special operations forces offer policymakers flexible, effective, and discreet ways to deal with the region’s complex conflicts, but many worry that overreliance on SOF could undermine readiness. How has the role and tempo of operations for SOF in the Middle East changed and what measures, if any, will President Donald Trump take to relieve some of the stress placed on U.S. special operations forces deployed to the region?
Expert Commentary
Don’t Overcommit U.S. Special Operations Forces | Brigadier General (Ret.) Russell Howard, Director, Monterey Terrorism Research and Education Program
“Special operations forces are the force of choice for just about everything now, not just special missions. This is because they are so effective and they do so well. But I think that we are deploying them to do things that they don’t necessarily have to do.” Read all
SOF’s Evolving Role: Warfare “By, With, and Through” Local Forces | Linda Robinson, Senior International Policy Analyst, RAND Corporation
The parlous situation of Afghanistan may require more SOF, whose training and advice have made that country’s commando forces into very effective fighting units. In a turbulent world, hard decisions will be required about where SOF are most needed, and how other countries’ SOF may be able to help. Read all
Read all named sources : http://www.mesop.de/?p=85583
THE GERMAN CHAPTER
MESOP NEWS : Nationale Syrische Koalition wählte Riad Seif zu neuem Chef
Die Nationale Syrische Koalition hat einen neuen Vorsitzenden gewählt. Neuer Chef der führenden Oppositionsgruppe ist seit Samstag der angesehene Dissident Riad Seif, wie die Pressestelle der Koalition mitteilte. Der 70-jährige setzte sich bei der Wahl mit 58 von insgesamt 102 Stimmen gegen den jüngeren Khaled Khoja durch. Volltext http://www.mesop.de/?p=85563
MESOP NEWS CULTURE : APARTE SPRACHE ! (II. KLASSE)
Sprach-Gesetz in Israel kritisiert
F.A.Z. FRANKFURT, 8. Mai. Israelische Oppositionspolitiker haben einen Gesetzentwurf kritisiert, der Arabisch als zweite Amtssprache abschaffen soll. Arne Peretz von der ‚Zionistischen Union” nannte den Entwurf, dem am Sonntag ein Ministerausschuss zustimmte, ein „Nationalismus-Gesetz”. Die regierende Likud-Partei von Ministerpräsident Benjamin Netanjahu hatte den Entwurf unter Federführung des früheren Leiters des Inlandsgeheimdienstes Avi Dichter vorgelegt. Volltext http://www.mesop.de/?p=85579
MESOP CULTURE : WEISSE MENSCHEN DÜRFEN KEINE SCHWARZEN MEHR MALEN / NEUER POSITIVER RASSISMUS GEGEN WEISSE KÜNSTLER (FAZ 8 Mai 2017)
Das darf man nicht zeigen. Das darf man nicht sagen.
Das änderte sich zuletzt schlagartig mit dem offenen Brief an die Kuratoren der Whitney Biennale, in dem die in Berlin lebende Künstlerin Hannah Black und knapp fünfzig Unterzeichner (und zwar anders als kolportiert wird, sowohl weiße wie schwarze) die Entfernung des Gemäldes „Open Casket“ der Künstlerin Dana Schutz forderten, das eine Ikone der amerikanischen Bürgerrechtsbewegung zur Vorlage hatte: die Fotografie des 1966 durch Folter und Lynchmord entstellten vierzehnjährigen Emmett Till. Es sei inakzeptabel, dass eine weiße Künstlerin „schwarzes Leid als Rohmaterial“ verwende und in „Profit und Spaß“ verwandle, schrieb Black, und schloss: „Das Gemälde muss weg.“ Künstler fordern die Entfernung und Vernichtung des Werks einer anderen Künstlerin: Volltext http://www.mesop.de/?p=85569
MESOP NEWS : FINANCE-SHAPING á la MACRON – RENZI – TSIPRAS & ALL WITH DRAGHIS HELPING HAND
Spanischer Ökonom rechnet vor – Von wegen Sparkurs: Griechenland verdient mit seinen Schulden sogar Geld – . “Niemals in der Geschichte souveräner Staaten wurde ein Schuldner besser behandelt als Griechenland”, sagt Triana. “Alles zusammengenommen erhält das Land für seine Schulden einen negativen Zinssatz, verdient damit also unter dem Strich Geld.”
Sonntag, 07.05.2017, 12:37 – FOCUS (FAS/FAZ) – Mehr als 200 Milliarden Euro Schulden hat Griechenland bei internationalen Geldgebern. Doch anstatt den Kredit zurückzuzahlen, verdient der Krisenstaat sogar noch Geld mit seinen Schulden. Das hat ein spanischer Professor jetzt ausgerechnet. So funktioniert seine Rechnung in vier Schritten. Volltext http://www.mesop.de/?p=85585