Okay, everyone find Aden on a map

Just in time for the Hajj!  

"It is all over, the [Southern Transitional Council] forces are in control of all the military camps," an official in Mr Hadi's government told Reuters news agency. -- BBC

FARS 8/10 - 2:42: Arab Paper: Riyadh, Abu Dhabi Moving towards Proxy War in Yemen

The UAE has trained 90,000 Yemeni agents to separate the Southern parts of Yemen from the country," the Arabic-language al-Ray al-Youm wrote on Saturday.

BBC, about 8 hours ago:
Yemen conflict: Southern separatists seize control of Aden

Yemeni separatists have taken effective control of the port city of Aden after days of fighting with troops loyal to the internationally-backed government.

Forces aligned with the UAE-backed Southern Transitional Council (STC) - which wants an independent south - said they had seized control of military camps and the presidential palace.

The government said it was a "coup".

The action has fractured the Saudi-led coalition against Houthi rebels that both sides have fought in.

The coalition called for an immediate ceasefire in the city and said it would "use military force against anyone who violates it", Saudi Arabia's state news agency SPA reported.

The separatists agreed to the ceasefire, which was due to come into effect early on Sunday.

The southern port city of Aden has been the temporary base of President Abdrabbuh Mansour Hadi's government. The president himself is based in the Saudi capital Riyadh.

An official with the separatist Security Belt militia told AFP that it seized the presidential palace on Saturday without a fight.

"Two hundred soldiers from the Presidential Guard were given safe passage out of the palace," the official said.

An eyewitness confirmed to the news agency that the complex had been handed over.

Officials said the separatists had also seized control of the interior minister's house and military barracks belonging to Mr Hadi's forces.

"It is all over, the [Southern Transitional Council] forces are in control of all the military camps," an official in Mr Hadi's government told Reuters news agency.

The foreign ministry described the takeover as "a coup against institutions of the internationally recognised government".

The UAE, which has armed and trained thousands of southern separatist fighters, earlier called for calm and a renewed focus on battling the Iran-backed Houthis, who took over the capital Sanaa in 2014.

Doctors Without Borders on Saturday described Aden as "a battlefield" and said its hospital there was "stretched to the limit". It said it treated 119 patients in less than 24 hours amid the fighting.

More than 70 people, including civilians, have been killed, AP news agency reported, citing Yemeni security officials.

The civil war in Yemen has devastated the country, killing thousands of civilians and causing shortages of food and medical care that have affected millions.

[END BBC REPORT]

Now for the FARS report. Be sure to read down to the very last sentence:

TEHRAN (FNA)- A leading Arab newspaper underlined that the recent developments in Yemen, especially Aden, show that Saudi Arabia and the UAE are stepping towards a proxy war.

"The UAE's withdrawal from Yemen was not coordinated with Saudi Arabia. The current war in Yemen and vice president of the so-called Southern Transitional Council Sheikh Hani Ben Brik's order to put his forces on alert to expel the loyalists to fugitive Yemeni President Mansour Hadi from the city indicate that relations between Abu Dhabi and Riyadh are rapidly moving towards hostility and a proxy war. The UAE has trained 90,000 Yemeni agents to separate the Southern parts of Yemen from the country," the Arabic-language al-Ray al-Youm wrote on Saturday.

The paper stressed that the Saudi government now faces limited options as the war in Yemen has entered difficult stages, noting that Riyadh's position will weaken in any talks with Ansarallah if the war prolongs more.

"The Arab coalition (against Yemen) is also collapsing," it added.

Amid a widening rift in the Riyadh-led military coalition waging war on Yemen, new reports are recounting that the port city of Aden, which bases the ex-government of the war-ravaged country, has been rocked by deadly clashes between the UAE-backed separatists and Saudi-backed militants.

According to reports, the infighting broke out Wednesday after the Southern separatists attended a funeral for dozens of fellows, including a senior militant commander, who were killed in last week’s retaliatory missile attack by Yemen’s Ansarullah movement on a military parade.

Both the UAE-backed separatists and the militants loyal to the former Saudi-allied Yemeni government serve the Riyadh-led coalition, which has been engaged, since 2015, in a bloody military campaign against Yemen aimed at reinstating ex-president Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, who resigned in 2014 and later fled to the Saudi capital.

During the funeral, the mourners chanted slogans against the self-proclaimed Hadi administration and exchanged gunfire with the guards at the presidential palace in Aden, where Hadi was supposed to be based but which remains largely empty as the ex-president lives in Riyadh.

The two sides pursue different agendas for Yemen’s future; the separatists want independence from Yemen, while the other militants seek to bring Hadi back to power, but the two camps have joined forces in the Saudi-led battle against Yemen’s Houthi movement, which has been both running state affairs and defending the country against the aggression.

Local officials and Aden residents told Reuters that Wednesday’s violence had left three people dead and nine others injured.

Brik called for a march on Hadi’s palace to oust his administration.

“The people of the south are all on the street. This is a movement by the people that cannot be stopped, except with the government’s downfall,” noted mourner Abdelhakim Tabaza.

Presidential guard Brigadier General Sanad al-Rahwa told al-Masdar Online news website that his forces had clashed with armed groups, who were trying to storm the presidential palace and the central bank.

Ties between the pro-Hadi side and the UAE-sponsored militants have grown increasingly tense over a number of issues, including what the Yemenis view as Abu Dhabi’s intention to occupy Yemen’s strategic Socotra Island and gain dominance over the major waterways in the region.

[END FARS REPORT]
[squinting at a map] Now where the heck is Aden?

That's supposed to be a map showing Aden. I don't see Aden. Do you see Aden?  [squinting] Oh yes, I see it. Here's a photo of the city, From Wikipedia:

Look at that harbor! From Wikipedia's article:

Adan Yemeni: ... is a port city and the temporary capital of Yemen, located by the eastern approach to the Red Sea (the Gulf of Aden), some 170 km (110 mi) east of Bab-el-Mandeb. Its population is approximately 800,000 people. Aden's natural harbour lies in the crater of a dormant volcano, which now forms a peninsula joined to the mainland by a low isthmus.

[...]

Aden encloses the eastern side of a vast, natural harbour that comprises the modern port. This city is rather large, yet has no natural resources available in it. However, Aden does have reservoirs, the Aden Tanks. These reservoirs accumulate rain water for the sole purpose of drinking for the city's citizens. The city is prosperous with rich merchants living here and Indian vessels arriving for trade. ... The volcanic peninsula of Little Aden forms a near-mirror image, enclosing the harbour and port on the western side. Little Aden became the site of the oil refinery and tanker port. Both were established and operated by British Petroleum until they were turned over to Yemeni government ownership and control in 1978.[...]

 Well, here's what Aden looked like last week (FARS pix):

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Kashmir and Ladakh

The Indian government had darn well better grab all of Kashmir before Chinese proxies do. And they'd better stop Chinese operatives from continuing stealth land grabs in Ladakh.  

As for the Pakistanis -- one day they'll look in a mirror and see they are actually Chinese with Pakistani characteristics and therefore under the authority of Beijing. This will be after they notice the Chinese government is no longer fawning over them.

Idiots.   

********
  

Who told Rush Limbaugh that Putin is a Communist?

Yesterday on his radio show Rush Limbaugh said that Russian President Vladimir Putin is a Communist. Rush repeated the claim within the same segment, which began after the news break at 1:30 PM Eastern Time.

This isn't the first time I've heard a politically conservative radio talk show host refer to Putin as a Communist. I had always let it slide; with hindsight, I should have gone to my blog to name the host and call out what is a whopper of a lie, as I'm doing now and will do whenever I hear the lie repeated again.
 
As everyone in a large swath of the world outside the United States knows, Putin is anti-Communist -- profoundly so. 

In fact, many of the anti-Putin street protests staged in Russia are done by Russian Communists who want to reinstate a Communist government in Russia.

In the same segment Rush called Putin a dictator. Putin has a very active Russian political class to deal with. A considerable number in that class have been angry at him for years because they view his many attempts to get along with NATO governments as dangerously weak and an invitation to Western provocations. Every time those Russians perceive what they consider another instance of NATO aggression against Russia, they say, 'I told you so' and point the finger of blame at Putin. This means Putin has had to trod a peril-ridden path through Russian politics.  

If Rush Limbaugh wants to consider that kind of behavior a sign of a dictator, that's his opinion. But he is telling an untruth when he calls Putin a Communist. The untruth,  broadcast on the most influential radio talk show in America, makes it just that much harder for President Trump and his administration to work with the Kremlin on a host of vital issues. That is a tragedy, not only for Americans and Russians but for the entire world.

The question is whether Rush knows the truth and chose to lie in order to score a cheap political point, or whether someone told him the lie and he believed it. 

As to whether Rush was simply misinformed -- what does he have a staff for? I wouldn't expect Rush or his assistants to know that Putin dedicated a monument to Stalin's victims (over the opposition of Russian Stalinists) even though the news was widely reported in Europe in 2017. But one doesn't need to read far into Wikipedia's article on Putin to come across this quote:

In 1999, Putin described communism as "a blind alley, far away from the mainstream of civilization".

In brief, even the slightest effort to be informed about Vladimir Putin turns up that he is not a Communist and that he is actually anti-Communist.

The irony is that Rush Limbaugh has been at the forefront of American media figures who decry the 'Russiagate' hoax perpetrated by the Democratic Party, which demonized Donald Trump as a Russian collaborator and on the basis of no evidence.

American supporters of Donald Trump have been justifiably outraged about the lies of Russiagate -- yet this was after many of them repeated lies about Vladimir Putin and Russians in general that had been circulating in the U.S. for decades. So the best I can say to those Americans, including Rush Limbaugh, is what goes around comes around.

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Caution: Yet More Anti-Russia Hysteria Ahead

Today Moon of Alabama's Bernhard analyzed an article at the more-or-less sober Oil Price.com hysterically headlined Russia Gains Stranglehold Over Persian Gulf. The article, by one Simon Watkins, "a former FX trader and salesman, financial journalist, and best-selling author," starts with this hair-raising warning:

In a potentially catastrophic escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf, Russia plans to use Iran’s ports in Bandar-e-Bushehr and Chabahar as forward military bases for warships and nuclear submarines, guarded by hundreds of Special Forces troops under the guise of ‘military advisers’, and an airbase near Bandar-e-Bushehr as a hub for 35 Sukhoi Su-57 fighter planes OilPrice.com has exclusively been told by senior sources close to the Iranian regime. 

That much nonsense piled into one paragraph violated Bernhard's sense of order. He is German, after all:

Where to start?

1. The Persian Gulf is a lake with an average(!) depth of less than 50 meters. It is a place where one might use small and nimble midget submarines. But no one serious would put a nuclear submarine there.

2. Sukhoi Su-57 fighter planes have yet to be built. Those currently flying are test planes which still lack the required new engines. Russia recently ordered the first batch of Su-57 but the first deliveries will only be in 2022-24. 35 of these planes may be available in a decade or so. When they are they will protect mother Russia from NATO and not some Iranian oil wells.

3. Spetsnaz (not Spetsntaz) are expensively trained special forces. They do not do guard duty for bases.

4. Iran's constitution (pdf) does not allow the stationing of foreign troops. Article 146 is pretty clear about that: "The establishment of any kind of foreign military base in Iran, even for peaceful purposes, is forbidden."

[...] 

Bernhard was just getting warmed up. Skipping over a few more explanatory paragraphs we come to his exasperated summary of Mr Watkins' effort at playing intel analyst:

It seems that 'experts' working for western think tanks and random authors with mysterious "senior sources close to the Iranian regime" are not the best-informed people when it comes to Iran.

Each of the five points above demonstrates that the report is nonsense and that its author is not the least familiar with military and strategic issues. It is no wonder then that the rest of the Oilprice piece is a shoddy as its first paragraph.

[...]

The shoddiness, in this case, would be almost funny except that one doesn't need to be an expert on Iran or Russia to spot the article's glaring errors. One just needs to realize that the level of fact-checking at many news outlets ranges from zero to nil. The lack of editorial scrutiny makes it easy for self-styled defense experts and propagandists to run riot. 

Also not funny: whether by design or mere sloppiness, wildly untrue claims about Russia and its relationships with other nations have created a veritable genre of hysterical anti-Russian reports in the Western mainstream media; these make perfect excuses for Western NATO countries to stage provocations against Russia -- and also against any government that tries to maintain a friendly relationship with the Kremlin.

As to where all this manufactured hysteria can lead, Bernard inserts a grim proviso:

Iran needs weapons and Russia likes to sell those. That is about it. There may be some common maneuvers but those are symbolic and do not constitute an alliance. Iran is very proud of its independence and its parliament would not agree to one, while Russia [for its part] is not interested in overextending itself. Only a U.S. attack on Iran could change that.

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Yippee! US, Turkey, agree on new Peace Corridor in Syria!

Now is this new Peace Corridor going to work as well as the previous Peace Corridor? Probably. All that the Kurds in the region of the new Peace Corridor have to do is move out and surrender all their heavy weapons. All that the Arab mercenaries in the region have to do is cross their hearts and hope to die if they don't respect the new Peace Corridor. 

Here's the SouthFront report on the agreement if you're interested; the New York Times also has an article about it.

Meanwhile, a senior Syrian parliamentarian has warned that the U.S. and Saudi Arabia have created a new plan to set up terrorist groups in Iraq and Syria. From FARS, August 6:

"The US presently intends to pave the way for emergence of terrorist groups under new names and appearances in Syria and Iraq by creating chaotic situation in the region,” the Arabic-language al-Rased news website quoted Syrian lawmaker Mohammad Jookhdar as saying.

Has Mr Jookhdar been living in a cave for the past seven years? This isn't a new plan; at least for Syria, it's the same old plan. All that changes is the name of the groups. The funding, arming, and training of the groups is done by the same players, and the pool of mercenaries is the same

As to whatever happened to the famous Idlib Offensive, FARS is reporting it's going to happen soon. It's been going to happen soon -- is that a sentence? Am I writing English? -- for, let me see, many months. Of course, the Syrian Army could always surprise us.

For those readers who remain very determined to comprehend what has been going on with the Syrian War, SouthFront has twice in recent days published a video they put together, SYRIA 2018-2019 AND THE NEXT LOOP OF THE GREAT GAME

The video provides the clearest explanation of military events in Syria during the past year and where things are headed. No transcript because the video is quite long -- 16 minutes if I recall -- but the time spent on watching it is worthwhile if you insist on orientation in a Middle Eastern version of Wonderland.  Of course, Americans should make the effort to get oriented, but where's the fun in understanding what one's government is up to in foreign lands?

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“Water stress is the biggest crisis no one is talking about"

A Quarter of World’s Population Lives Under Extreme Water Stress - Report

August 6, 2019

Sputnik

A quarter of the world’s population across 17 countries faces “extremely high” water stress, meaning they are using more than 80% of the water they have every year, according to a report released Tuesday by the World Resources Institute (WRI).

“Water stress is the biggest crisis no one is talking about. Its consequences are in plain sight in the form of food insecurity, conflict and migration, and financial instability … Failure to act will be massively expensive in human lives and livelihoods,” Dr. Andrew Steer, President and CEO of the WRI, said in a Tuesday press release. The WRI used Aqueduct's global water risk mapping tool to rank countries based on water stress, drought risk and riverine flood risk, which is based on peer-reviewed methodology.

[...]

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Yes, it's those flying rivers that are the biggest worry

From The Economist's August 1 article, Deathwatch for the Amazon:

A “dieback” [in the Amazon forests] would directly hurt the seven other countries with which Brazil shares the river basin. It would reduce the moisture channelled along the Andes as far south as Buenos Aires. If Brazil were damming a real river, not choking off an aerial one, downstream nations could consider it an act of war.

How could they consider it an act of war if they don't understand the crucial importance of the massive moisture streams called flying rivers that arise from the Amazon forests? 

Indeed, I'm surprised The Economist mentioned the phenomenon because its editorial policy is hyperfocused on CO2 emissions. Once you start talking about flying rivers, this is getting near an explanation of climate that is barely discussed in mainstream climate science.

But rather than excoriate Jair Bolonsaro for his dismissal of global warming and refusal to rein in the massive deforestation of the Amazon ("Since he took office in January, trees have been disappearing at a rate of over two Manhattans a week."), those governments and news publications trying to talk sense into him might themselves start talking sense about just what makes and governs climate. It ain't carbon dioxide.

********

What happens when a British-Russian reports on the dreaded Dark Web?

A lot of common-sense observations and wry humor.  

The reporter is Igor Ogorodnev (I'm not sure where the British part comes in), who's been a correspondent, writer, and editor at Russia's RT for seven years. In a minor masterpiece, published yesterday, he measures the mainstream media's interpretation of some famously infamous websites against reality. Enjoy -- and learn.  

8chan, incels, QAnon: 5 things on the internet DEMONIZED by MSM & what they REALLY are

For an idea of why 8chan is big news at this time, see CNN's August 5 report,  El Paso mass shooting is at least the third atrocity linked to 8chan this year. 

The sturm and drang masks the unrelenting push for standardization of public opinion, which I see less as a leftist political scheme and more the work of globalized corporations to create a standardized employee. This to better serve the Global Consumer, which the corporations also want standardized. 

******** 

Omen

Is it a good omen, is it a bad omen? At this moment I am interpreting the jaw-dropping footage of a giant Emirati commercial jet appearing "out of nowhere" at Gatwick Airport as a good omen, but we'll find out soon enough just how committed MbZ really is to bringing peace to the Middle East. 

For the curmudgeons here is a somewhat lengthy analysis at Bloomberg, published July 31 (ages ago in the fast-moving news cycle), which is still helpful background on the UAE leader's seemingly changing views on conflicts in the ME.  Plus the report features two clear maps. 

Anyhow, for those who haven't yet seen the video, which went viral, enjoy! For more on how the footage was shot, see this report at RT.    

********

ASMA ASSAD BEATS BREAST CANCER AFTER YEAR OF TREATMENT

Pix featuring Asma's new hairdo -- blonde pixie cut!  You go, girl!  

I am overjoyed -- with her victory over cancer, I mean, but I like the hair-do; it's quite radical for an Arab wife of an Arab national leader in the Middle East; as such she's making quite a statement.   

From the Associated Press, yesterday:

BEIRUT (AP) — The wife of Syria's president said she is "completely" free of breast cancer a year after her diagnosis, in an interview with state TV.

The half-hour interview, aired late Saturday, was Asma Assad's first since she was diagnosed — a rare declaration in the Arab world, where prominent figures often conceal their ailments. It was also designed to portray a modern attitude in a region where cancer remains a taboo, and many view it as an affliction.

[...]

Syrian President's Wife Has Fully Recovered From Cancer
August 5, 2019
Sputnik

A malignant breast tumor of the wife of the Syrian president, Asma Assad, was discovered in August 2018. In October last year, the 43-year-old Asma published the first pictures after undergoing chemotherapy.

Asma Assad has defeated breast cancer after a year of treatment, the press service of Syria's presidential palace happily tweeted.

After completing the fight against cancer, which she began a year ago with all her strength and faith, the Syrian leadership and the presidential office congratulate Ms. Asma Assad on her victory over the disease,” the publication said.

It is noted that the spouse of the Syrian leader thanked the citizens who supported her and expressed a wish that everyone afflicted cancer could recover.

"My journey has ended... I totally conquered cancer," Asma said in a interview.

Assad's wife became aware of the disease in early August 2018, when she was diagnosed. Fortunately, the cancer was detected at an early stage. In January 2019, doctors performed breast surgery in a military hospital and removed the tumour. However, Asma Assad continued to undergo treatment for cancer.

Despite the physical and psychological perils Syria's first lady faced while fighting the disease, she continued to perform charity work, as documented in her Instagram account, reaching out to children in the community who had lost parents in the ongoing conflict as well as those who shared her personal struggle with cancer. 

The wife of the Syrian president is 43 years old. Asma was born in London, where she graduated from high school and the Royal College of the University of London. She worked at Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase before returning to her parents' homeland, Syria. Bashar al-Assad married Asma in 2001.

[END REPORT]

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I'll return Monday August 5

Until then, best regards to all
Pundita 

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Yes, 1930's Depression-era America was a very tough place

While racing around the internet looking for more news on the mass shooting at the Gilroy Garlic Festival I was struck by the above photo posted at BlitzLift, one of those websites where you have to click through a page at a time to get the whole story. At least the women in the photo weren't skeletons; I've seen photos of skeletal Americans during that era. Hunger, even starvation in 1930s America was rampant. Yet today it's so hard to imagine what it was like. These photos can help remind us of what must not be forgotten. 

From the introduction to the BlitzLift photo gallery:  

Never Before-Seen Photos of the Great Depression

At the height of the Great Depression, President Franklin D. Roosevelt sought to document the country in order to gain support for government programs. Several photographers were commissioned, resulting in over 180,000 photos.

The catalogue has been maintained by the Library of Congress, but it wasn’t until recently that the photos became digitally searchable. The following is a small collection of these never before seen photos.

[...] 

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Please send SouthFront money so they'll remove the damn sign

Ten dollars, five euros, it doesn't matter, just please send them money. They're in really bad shape this month. If you look at the top of the website it shows that their monthly minimum budget is USD 4,700.  All they've collected for July so far is 1,925 USD.

There are little signs on the right side of the website that you can click to directly send dollars or euros through Paypal.  

Some of their reporting is original, I should note, and they do their own translation work. They put a lot of effort into the website and it shows; it's among the top English-language websites for news on the Syrian War. So why are they always scrounging for money? People can be strange; if it's for free they'll take it. 

And no the SouthFront crew does not work for the Russian government or any government. My guess is that they're European students, although some might be Russian and British -- and the voice for their latest video sitrep is definitely American. It's about time some Americans got involved in helping them. 

Anyhow, they are perpetually broke on account of they insist on having a professional website with professional videos they produce from scratch, so they do fundraising every single day.

They produce different videos but about 5 days a week they crank out really good Syrian War video situation reports, which they post at their blog and YouTube. Not only that, they accompany their videos with the text.

For a while, they had a heck of a time with YouTube, which yanked their videos every time somebody from MI6 or IDF or wherever complained they contained offensive content. Yes well, war is offensive.

And while they are pro-Russian regarding the Syrian War (so am I) over the years I have read criticisms at SouthFront about the way the Russians are conducting the war. 

Trust me in this, these people are on the level. Kindly send them money. Better still, subscribe so you can send them the price of a Starbucks Cafe Mocha Grande every month. But right now they're hysterical. I know this because it's the first time they've put something like this at the top of the website. So I just want to see the sign taken down; it's annoying me:

All right; here's their latest Syrian War sitrep video -- by the way, you can follow SF on Telegram. (From their YouTube channel, which you can subscribe to): 

SYRIAN WAR REPORT – JULY 26, 2019: RUSSIAN, SYRIAN WARPLANES RAIN HELL ON MILITANTS IN WESTERN ALEPPO

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DIPLOMATS RECOMMIT TO SAVING IRAN DEAL, OPPOSING US SANCTIONS

Loaded for bear

"Fu said all sides expressed strong opposition against the unilateral imposition of sanctions by the U.S., especially the extraterritorial application of the sanctions."

Good, very good. 

The Associated Press via Trib Live
July 28, 2019 - approx. 6:45 PM ET

VIENNA — Diplomats from Iran and five world powers recommitted Sunday to salvaging a major nuclear deal amid mounting tensions between the West and Tehran since the United States withdrew from the accord and reimposed sanctions.

Representatives of Iran, Germany, France, Britain, China, Russia and the European Union met in Vienna to discuss the 2015 agreement that restricts the Iranian nuclear program.

“The atmosphere was constructive, and the discussions were good,” Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi told reporters after the meeting ended.

“I cannot say that we resolved everything” but all the parties are still “determined to save this deal,” he added.

Fu Cong, the head of Chinese delegation, said that while there were “some tense moments” during the meeting, “on the whole the atmosphere was very good. Friendly. And it was very professional.”

Both diplomats said there was a general agreement to organize a higher-level meeting of foreign ministers soon, but also that preparations for such a summit needed to be done well. A date has not been set.

Iran is pressuring the European parties to the deal to offset the sanctions President Trump reinstated after pulling out. The country recently surpassed the amount of low-enriched uranium it is allowed to stockpile and started enriching uranium past a 3.67% limit permitted, to 4.5%, saying the actions could be reversed if the Europeans came up with incentives that compensated for the impact of the sanctions on the Iranian economy.

Iran’s recent moves — which it defends as permissible after the U.S. withdrawal — are seen as a way to force the others to openly confront the sanctions. Araghchi told reporters in Farsi after the meeting that Iran would continue decreasing its commitments until the Europeans meet its demands.

Experts warn that a higher enrichment level and a growing uranium stockpile narrow the one-year window that Iran would need to have enough material to make an atomic bomb, something Iran denies it wants but that the deal prevented.

So far, Iran’s exceeding of the agreement’s stockpile and uranium enrichment ceilings have been seen as violations likely to prompt the European signatories to invoke a dispute resolution mechanism. Weapons-grade uranium is enriched at a level of 90%.

Both of Iran’s actions were verified by the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency.

In recent weeks, Iran broke past the limit on its stockpile of low-enriched uranium, but did not say by how much. The nuclear accord has a stockpile limit of 300 kilograms. However, it also permits Iran to enrich uranium and export it, as it has to Russia in past years.

The head of Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization said Sunday that the country has enriched 24 tons of uranium since it reached the 2015 nuclear deal with the other countries and the EU.

Atomic Energy Organization head Ali Akbar Salehi was quoted by state TV as saying Iran “did not enrich 300 kilograms of uranium, but enriched 24 (metric) tons of uranium,” or what is nearly 53,000 pounds.

At the Sunday meeting, Fu said, the Europeans urged Iran to come back to full compliance and Iran urged the European Union, France, Britain and Germany to implement their part of the deal.

Fu said all sides expressed strong opposition against the unilateral imposition of sanctions by the U.S., especially the extraterritorial application of the sanctions. They also voiced support for China’s efforts to maintain normal trade and oil relations with Iran, Fu added.

In addition to trade with China, Iran is especially keen on the activation of a barter-type system set up by the Europeans that would allow the continent’s businesses to trade with Tehran without violating the U.S. sanctions.

Araghchi said the European system was “not functioning yet, but it is in its final stages.”

In the meantime, Iran has taken increasingly provocative actions against ships in the Gulf, including seizing a British tanker and downing a U.S. drone. The U.S. has expanded its military presence in the region, and fears are growing of a wider conflict.

[Pundita note: No mention of British provocations in the Strait, eh?]

A Royal Navy warship arrived Sunday in the Gulf to accompany British-flagged ships passing through the Strait of Hormuz. Britain’s Ministry of Defense said the HMS Duncan will join the Frigate HMS Montrose in the Gulf to defend freedom of navigation until a diplomatic resolution is found to secure the key waterway again.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani penned an open letter to new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that was published on the president’s website Sunday. Rouhani extended congratulations and said he hoped the diplomatic ties between their countries would be stronger under Johnson’s leadership.

Rouhani said he hoped Johnson’s “only one visit to Tehran” while serving as U.K. foreign secretary in 2017 and now his tenure as prime minister lead to a “further deepening of bilateral and multilateral relations.”

Under the provisions of the 2015 accord, signatories provided Iran with economic sanctions relief in exchange for curbs on the country’s nuclear program. Trump withdrew the U.S. and put sanctions on Iran back in place, saying he wanted to negotiate a better agreement.

The U.S. sanctions have had their intended purpose of hurting Iran’s economy while highlighting the inability of the Europeans, as well as Russia and China, to keep their commitments.

At the same time, Europe is under pressure from the U.S. to abandon the Iran nuclear accord entirely and is also being squeezed by Iran to offset the ever-crippling effects of American economic sanctions.

[END REPORT]

Trump boots DNI Dan Coats

From the following report, a great observation:

Vince Houghton, the historian at the International Spy Museum, says Coats deserves high marks in one key area.

"He's been someone who is willing to tell the truth, even if the main consumer, and that's the president of the United States, does not like what he has to hear," Houghton said.

But, he added, to be successful in Coats' post [and all others as well], you have to do more than simply provide the unvarnished truth.

"I don't care how good you are at presenting accurate information to your primary consumer, if your primary consumer is ignoring you, and not willing to listen to the conclusion of the intelligence community, then the job is not being done," Houghton said.

Advice to frame and hang on the wall.

I chose the NPR (National Public Radio) version of the reports on the changeover because the Liberal/Leftist news outlet is not a Trump friendly, and so NPR could be relied on to give a frank view of Coats' departure from the White House. 

For those who claim Trump doesn't pay attention to his job, note that NPR reports he attends intelligence briefings most weekday mornings.   

As to Trump's many firings of people in national security/foreign policy positions -- a commenter at SST noted during the presidential election campaign that if Trump got elected, he would act in the manner of a CEO and simply fire his way to the best team for him. Yes. Often you really cannot tell what you've appointed until after you've studied the appointees in action. 

Some of Trump's appointees stayed much longer than I expected but that was because every effort had been made by powerful factions in 'official' Washington to hamstring Trump with the baseless charge that he was a Russian agent.  


Dan Coats, Who Challenged President Trump, Is Ousted From Top Intelligence Job

By Greg Myre
July 28, 2019 - 4:53 PM
NPR

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats, one of the last remaining survivors of President Trump's original national security team, will leave the administration on August 15, the president said in a tweet on Sunday.

The president said he will nominate Rep. John Ratcliffe (R-Texas) to replace him. Axios reports that Trump "was thrilled by Ratcliffe's admonishment of former special counsel Robert Mueller in last week's House Judiciary Committee hearing."

"A former U.S. Attorney, John will lead and inspire greatness for the Country he loves," Trump said. He added, "I would like to thank Dan for his great service to our Country."

Coats, in contrast, doesn't say much in public. But when he has commented, he has often been at odds with the man who appointed him — President Trump.

At a 2018 summit between Trump and Russian leader Vladimir Putin, the U.S. president questioned whether Russia interfered with the 2016 presidential election.

Coats took a highly unusual step by issuing a blunt statement on behalf of the U.S. intelligence community:

"We have been clear in our assessments of Russian meddling in the 2016 election and their ongoing, pervasive efforts to undermine our democracy, and we will continue to provide unvarnished and objective intelligence in support of our national security."

In a rare interview, Coats spoke with NBC's Andrea Mitchell in July 2018. In mid-conversation, she informed him of a breaking news report that the White House had invited Putin to Washington.

Clearly taken by surprise, Coats jokingly asked her to repeat it. She did.

"OK. That's going to be special," Coats said, prompting laughter from the live audience.

Behind the scenes operator

A former Republican senator from Indiana, Coats, 76, is known for his avuncular manner that once prompted a colleague to dub him the Mr. Rogers of the Senate.

Coats operated mostly behind the scenes as director of national intelligence, a position that oversees the country's 17 intelligence agencies.

Yet this low-key approach did not prevent Coats from being drawn into the recurring clashes between Trump and the intelligence community.

Coats testified before the Senate Intelligence Committee in January, shortly after Trump declared that North Korea and its nuclear program was no longer a threat.

"We currently assess that North Korea will seek to retain its (weapons of mass destruction) capabilities and is unlikely to completely give up its nuclear weapons and production capabilities because its leaders ultimately view nuclear weapons as critical to regime survival," Coats said.

Around the same time, Trump also said the Islamic State had been completely defeated.

But at that Senate hearing, Coats said: "While we have defeated the caliphate, with a couple of little villages left, we should not underestimate the ability of terrorist groups, particularly ISIS."

Afterward, Trump met with Coats and other senior intelligence leaders, and was asked about their remarks that contradicted the president's statements.

"They said they were totally misquoted. It was taken out of context. I'd suggest that you call them. They said it was fake news," Trump said.

Coats was never seen as close to Trump, though they met often. Coats and CIA Director Gina Haspel were regulars at the president's intelligence briefing, held most weekday mornings at the White House.

And by serving more than two-and-a-half years in his job, Coats outlasted most everyone else in the president's inner circle of national security and foreign policy advisers.

Trump has already parted ways with two national security advisers, two homeland security chiefs, a defense secretary, a secretary of state and a U.N. ambassador.

The only survivor from Trump's original team is Mike Pompeo, who began as CIA director and is now secretary of state.

Vince Houghton, the historian at the International Spy Museum, says Coats deserves high marks in one key area.

"He's been someone who is willing to tell the truth, even if the main consumer, and that's the president of the United States, does not like what he has to hear," Houghton said.

But, he added, to be successful in Coats' post, you have to do more than simply provide the unvarnished truth.

"I don't care how good you are at presenting accurate information to your primary consumer, if your primary consumer is ignoring you, and not willing to listen to the conclusion of the intelligence community, then the job is not being done," Houghton said.

A new focus

During Coats' tenure, the intelligence community has shifted its focus from radical Muslim groups like ISIS and al-Qaida and spent more time on large, state rivals.

Coats said the U.S. should concentrate on what he called the "big four."

"China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran – all of which pose unique threats to the United States and our partners," he told the Senate Intelligence Committee in January.

Coats was also an advocate of stronger election security, though he worked for an administration that's been criticized for not doing enough to safeguard against possible interference.

In one of his final acts, Coats named Shelby Pierson, a veteran of the intelligence community, to serve in a new position as the overall head of election security efforts.

"Election security is an enduring challenge and a top priority," Coats said.

[END REPORT]

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"Five incredible facts about India’s fast-growing economy"

RT has the eye-popping list, published today.  

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MbZ and the death of Khalid al-Qasimi

Arab Paper: Son of Sharjah Emir Killed by MbZ. 

FARSJuly 27, 2019 - 2:53

TEHRAN (FNA)- The 39-year-old son of the emir of Sharjah Khalid Al Qasimi was killed by Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed, a Lebanese paper reported.

The Arabic language al-Akhbar newspaper quoted informed sources as saying on Saturday that Khalid al-Qasimi was killed upon bin Zayed's order in a complicated operation planned several months ago.

The murder happened after security reports provided to Mohammed bin Zayed said that the assassinated prince had contacts with the Saudi security apparatus, which acts under the command of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. [aka MbS]

The sources said that the murder was done to send the message that Abu Dhabi can control contacts between the UAE princes and Saudi Arabia and warn other [Emirati] princes to avoid secretive ties with Riyadh.

Khalid Al Qasimi, the 39-year-old son of the emir of Sharjah [a UAE state], was found lifeless in his bathroom in his Sussex home earlier this month, and London police said his death is being treated as unexplained.

[...]

I find it preposterous that MbZ had Khalid assassinated, and it would take a boatload of vetted information to persuade me to even consider the possibility that Khalid had secretly worked with a Saudi security agency.

Khalid was an artist -- fashion designer and architect. He was profoundly anti-war, and strongly against the conflicts that have ripped up the Middle East. He was also the only surviving male heir of his father's royal house. And he was a very shrewd businessman. I cannot imagine such a person sticking his neck out to deal secretly with a government that he must have despised.  

And surely the sentiment was returned from the Saudi side given that Khalid represented the secularized hybrid Westernized-Arab Muslim that is anathema to Saudi Wahhabism. 

Khalid was very obviously a great example of Emirati and Muslim religious and cultural tolerance, all of which MbZ has gone to lengths to promote. Why, then, would he kill off such a great asset to his government?   

As to the "unexplained circumstances" of Khalid's death: from unnamed sources probably in the ambulance crew and/or police that discovered Khalid's body, it's likely that he died the same way that his older brother did -- from heroin.  (Or maybe a combination of heroin and another drug.)  But it's just because signs point to drugs killing off the emir's only surviving male heir that I can see the British government tactfully dragging its feet about announcing the cause of death if the emir requested silence.  

The accusation against the de facto ruler of the UAE comes on the coattails of the widely publicized belief that the de facto ruler of Saudi Arabia, MbS, was personally involved in the plot to murder a Saudi expat journalist (Jamal Khashoggi). And the accusation against MbZ was published within days of the bombshell report in the New York Times that made clear of the division that had opened between the two rulers about their war in Yemen.

When I add in the great disenchantment with Saudi Arabia that has settled in among Westerners, with Khashoggi's murder the final straw, I would be more willing to believe that al-Akhbar bought and published a Saudi-concocted lie about MbZ than I'd believe he murdered Khalid al-Qasimi.  

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I sense a disturbance in the Force

What could it be? It's not the massive insect invasion in Las Vegas; those are grasshoppers that haven't mutated into their locust form, so they aren't stripping the palm trees or anything else. They're just a nuisance, brought on by unusually heavy rains in the region, and soon they'll move on. 

No, it's something else.  Let me see if Drudge has spotted anything; he's the global village doomsayer.  [taptaptap]  Here's a headline at Drudge:


TRUMP: BALTIMORE 'FAR WORSE' THAN BORDER
'RODENT INFESTED MESS'
Tell us something we don't already know, Mr Trump.  But that's not a disturbance in the Force; that's Democratic Party control of American big cities.  

Now what's this?:

 MYSTERY: Snake-like UFOs seen across USA...

Space Force? 

Okay, I'll bite. Oh wait, it's the U.K. Daily Star. Somehow I don't think this story is what I'm looking for. Let's see what else.

Pork prices rise as sweltering summer leads to skinny pigs... 

Africa's booming cities face severe toilet crisis...

Just the usual doom and gloom at Drudge today. Let's check Sputnik. Oooh. Cool pix:

'City-Killer' Flyby: 'Lack of Warning' May Lead to Near-Earth Asteroids Hitting Planet - Astronomer

A huge space rock with the surprisingly positive name 2019 OK that whizzed by the other day has been likened to other near-Earth incidents that are already part of history – the Tunguska event in Siberia in 1908, and the Chelyabinsk meteor of 2013. There were no confirmed fatalities, but the effects could be felt well beyond the atmospheric blast. 

It appears that a large asteroid just snuck up in us, and astronomers were hardly aware of it. [...]

Well, that could qualify as a disturbance in the Force but if I sensed the flyby only today, my Disturbance Sensor needs adjustment.

All right I might as well throw in the towel and see what FARS has dug up today:

Afghan Vice President: Saudi Arabia Promoting Wahhabism in Afghanistan's Training Centers

The Saudis will never give up; they'll never change, and with the Soviets long gone from Afghanistan, the excuse 'The Americans Made Us Do It' has run out of steam. But I'm not sure that Vice President's statement, upsetting as it is, rises to the level of a new Disturbance in the Force, and besides, what the Saudis are up to in Afghanistan is not new or even recent.

What else is FARS reporting today?    

Official: ISIL Terrorists Target Iraqi Forces with Advanced US-Made Weapons. Check. 

Another mass grave found of Syrians killed by ISIL. Check. 

Arab Paper: Son of Sharjah Emir Killed by MbZ. Wait a minute. Why would MbZ kill such a valuable asset? Could this report be the disturbance in the Force? Next post. Stay tuned.  

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