With New U.S. Anti-Iran Policy In Iraq And Syria, The Fig Leaf Of Fighting ISIS Falls

During the International Institute for Strategic Studies 14th dialogue in the Bahraini Capital Manama, Brett McGurk, the US envoy for the global coalition to defeat the Islamic State group (ISIS), took leave of his designated function by expressing unusual solicitude for Syria when he said it is “necessary for the Iran-Backed militias to leave Syria to ensure a stable and independent country”. The US presidential special envoy also said he is looking forward to promoting “mutual US-Iraq interests and for the Iraqis to strengthen their own interests and sovereignty”.

McGurk, who was directly involved in the formation of the Iraqi leadership (Speaker, President and Prime Minister) in the last few months, didn’t manage to return his favorite candidate Haidar Abadi to power and failed to prevent Faleh al-Fayyad from coming to power. According to private sources in Baghdad, al-Fayyad will be nominated as Interior Minister, a position that requires coordination with US forces in Iraq. McGurk clashed with Fayyad on several occasions when he unsuccessfully sought to limit the activity of Iran and Hezbollah in supporting the formation of the new Iraqi leadership in Baghdad.

The US is mustering all its diplomacy against Iran in preparation for unilateral implementation of full sanctions against the Islamic Republic, expected on the fourth of November. This is why McGurk is attacking Iran in Syria and Iraq.

Nevertheless, the new Iraqi government is reversing Abadi’s concession to the US: the new prime minister Adel Abdel Mahdi has ordered Hashd al-Shaabi (The Popular Mobilization Forces, PMF) to deploy its forces along the Syrian-Iraqi borders. Abadi kept the PMF away from borders where the US forces are deployed and where they occupy part of Syrian territory and the al-Tanf crossing between the Levant and Mesopotamia.

Washington wrongly believes its forces can limit the influence and movement of the Iranian and allied forces in Syria by keeping the Marines in the country. Iranian influence is well established in Syria today, following its unlimited support to the government of Damascus. Even in Iraq, the US presence failed to limit Iran’s leverage on the new government.

US concern is indeed justified: Washington and its allies have lost and failed to “change the regime” in Damascus despite seven long years of war. The Americans used all possible tools and pressure to no avail. US leadership used the “chemical attacks” excuse to bomb the Syrian army without creating any change on the ground. It has used also the card of the Syrian refugees, trying to block their voluntary return. It failed to keep the Jordanian-Syrian crossing at Naseeb closed to prevent Syria from recovering part of its economy. It is also keeping al-Tanf under occupation to stop the flow of hundreds of millions of dollars into the pockets of Damascus from the considerable trade between Iraq and Syria.

The US establishment did not hesitate to support al-Qaeda in Idlib indirectly – after its direct military and training support to al-Qaeda throughout the years of war – by launching a serious warning to Assad in case of any attack against rural Idlib and Latakia where jihadists are based, and Turkey has failed to dislodge them. Moreover, Washington is using the Kurds of al-Hasaka province as human shields to protect the US forces occupying the province. And last but not least, the US is using the UN to try and alter the Syrian constitution, a move only the Syrian parliament can do.

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-03/new-us-anti-iran-policy-iraq-and-syria-fig-leaf-fighting-isis-falls

Trump Accuses Saudi Arabia of Unskillful Use of US Weapons in Yemen

US President Donald Trump accused Saudi Arabia of unskillful use of US weapons in Yemen, citing the August attack on a bus carrying Yemeni school children, in an interview for Axios.

On August 9, an airstrike carried out by the Saudi-led coalition in Saada, northern Yemeni province, hit a bus carrying children from a summer camp, killing over 50 people, most of them minors.

"I think it's a terrible situation. I hated seeing what happened with the bus and the children… That's a horror show when you see a thing like that… That was basically people that didn’t know how to use the weapon, which is horrible," Trump said in the interview, released on Monday.

The president went on to say that the United States was "looking at Yemen very carefully."

"It is probably right now the worst place on Earth… I'll be talking about a lot of things with the Saudis, but certainly I wouldn't be having people that don't know how to use the weapons shooting at buses with children," he concluded.

Since 2015, the US-backed Saudi-led coalition of mostly Persian Gulf nations has been supporting the Yemeni government in its conflict with the Houthi movement, carrying out airstrikes targeting Houthis.

https://sputniknews.com/middleeast/201811051069505885-trump-accuses-saudi-arabia-unskillful-yemen/

Papadopoulos Details Alleged Entrapment Scheme By Undercover Deep State Agents

George Papadopoulos - a central figure and self-admitted dupe in the Obama administration's targeted spying on the Trump campaign, gave a wide-ranging interview to Dan Bongino on Friday, detailing what he claims to have been a setup by deep state operatives across the world in order to ultimately infiltrate the Trump campaign.

Reviewing events

In March 2016, Maltese professor Joseph Mifsud told Papadopoulos - an energy consultant who had recently joined the Trump campaign - that Russia had "dirt" on Hillary Clinton, a claim which Papadopoulos repeated in May 2016 to Australian diplomat Alexander Downer in a London bar. Of note, former FBI Assistant Director of counterintelligence, Bill Priestap, reportedly traveled to London directly before Downer met with Papadopoulos, while a few months later former FBI agent Peter Strzok met with Downer in London directly before the DOJ officially launched their investigation into the Trump campaign.

The alleged admission about Clinton's emails officially sparked the Obama administration's counterintelligence operation on Trump on July 31, 2016 - dubbed Operation Crossfire Hurricane. In September 2016, the FBI would send spy Stefan Halper to further probe Papadopoulos on the Clinton email allegation, and - according to his interview with Dan Bongino, Papadoplous says Halper angrily accused him of working with Russia before storming out of a meeting.

Halper essentially began interrogating Papadopoulos, saying that it’s “obviously in your interest to be working with the Russians” and to “hack emails.” “You’re complicit with Russia in this, isn’t that right George” Halper told him. Halper also inquired about Hillary’s hacked emails, insinuating that Papadopoulos possessed them. Papadopoulos denied knowing anything about this and asked to be left alone. -Bongino.com

There are two schools of thought on Papadopoulos and his relationship with Mifsud - the first link in the chain regarding the Clinton email rumor. Notably, Mifsud claimed last November to be a member of the Clinton Foundation, and has donated to the charity.

MORE:

https://www.zerohedge.com/news/2018-11-04/papadopoulos-details-alleged-entrapment-scheme-undercover-deep-state-agents

Maxine Waters: Trump ‘Placing a Target on My Back’ — ‘He’s Promoting Violence’

Sunday on MSNBC’s “AM Joy,” Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) accused President Donald Trump of “placing a target” on her back.

Waters said, “It is obvious that the president of the United States of America is placing a target on my back and he keeps calling my name and lying about me in order to make the target work. So I’m not intimidated by it, but I know what he’s doing. So I just continue to do what I do, to call it like it is, to speak truth to power. And I want you to know that the American people, in the final analysis, will understand how divisive this president is, how dangerous he is, and how he is pitting us against each other.”

She continued, “What has happened with the targeting of individuals who have basically been opposed to this president should tell the president about what is going on. All of us who are targeted are simply saying that the president of the United States is taking this country in the wrong direction, that it is dangerous, that it is divisive and he continues to dog whistle to his constituency out there. He’s promoting violence. I’m accustomed to being threatened. We have had at least one individual indicted who threatened to kill me. I have many threats to kill me from different places in this country. So I’m accustomed to being threatened, and while I am not foolish, I’m wise enough to understand that I need to have some security, particularly in various circumstances. I’m not afraid. I’m not intimidated, and he cannot stop me. I’m going to continue to talk about how he has defined himself as this divisive and dangerous man that’s running this country. I think in the final analysis after it’s all over that the American people are going to understand that we deserve better than this. He does not have good values and does not care about anybody but himself. I’m comfortable with the fact that he has the target on my back and that I’m threatened. I will continue to do my work, and I will not back down for one second.”

https://www.breitbart.com/video/2018/11/04/maxine-waters-trump-placing-a-target-on-my-back-hes-promoting-violence/

>>3735142

Author Stephen King tells Iowans they should vote out ‘racist dumbell’ GOP congressman Steve King

Author Stephen King dinged GOP Congressman Steve King on Twitter Sunday, calling the lawmaker a “racist dumbbell.”

“Iowans, for personal reasons I hope you’ll vote Steve King out. I’m tired of being confused with this racist dumbbell,” King wrote to his 5 million followers on Twitter.

His comment received 20,000 retweets and more than 124,000 likes by late Sunday afternoon.

What’s going on with the lawmaker?

King planned to quietly glide through the closing days of his re-election campaign against Democrat J.D. Scholten. But some of the lawmaker’s old remarks and tweets have fueled new controversies for their “anti-immigration messages,” Fox News reported.

The congressman kicked a man out of an Iowa event after he said the politician and the Pittsburgh synagogue gunman “both share an ideology that is fundamentally anti-immigration,” the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.

It appeared King was headed for an easy reelection. Last week he faced condemnation from many Republican leaders and a number of companies announced they would no longer would contribute to his campaign.

Last summer, the Iowa lawmaker was slammed for speaking to a publication related to Austria’s Nazi-founded Freedom Party, according to reports. He reportedly said diversity was not a strength.

What else has King said?

King, the talented horror writer, has tweeted many times about his disdain for President Donald Trump.

One example came on Friday when King wrote:

“The ads say President Trump is delivering results. He’s also delivering hate speech, a pack of lies, and a national debt that’s going to crush our grandchildren.”

In another recent tweet, King called Texas Republican Sen. Ted Cruz a “slimy crawdad.”

Anything else?

But it’s not all politics. King last week offered an “amazing” tip for writers:

“Note to writers: “Amazing” is very tired. “Amazing” needs a long vacation. Therefore, please don’t write about your amazing party, your amazing girlfriend’s amazing dress, or your amazing vacation. Something more pungent & specific, please.”

The prolific King has authored more than 55 books and sold an estimated 350 million copies worldwide.

https://www.theblaze.com/news/2018/11/04/author-stephen-king-tells-iowans-they-should-vote-out-racist-dumbell-gop-congressman-steve-king

>>3735540

Interesting