Tag Archives: Politics

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Allegedly Behind Cyberattacks Targeting U.S.

Protesters in Iran celebrated the 36 year anniversary of the 52 Americans in the U.S. Embassy of Teyran that were took hostage for 444 days by supporters of the Iranian revolution, by chanting the familiar, “Death to America”.  The U.S. has continued to attempt proceeding towards a more constructive dialogue with Iran, only to be shown time and time again through rhetoric and violence that Iran has no intention of becoming an ally of America.

According to a report by the Wall Street Journal, Iran’s Revolutionary Guard has been behind a recent wave of cyberattacks on email and social media accounts of White House personnel.

Though the White House had hoped the recent nuclear deal would further cooperation between the two nations, the cyberattacks from the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps has shown that Iranian headliners have not toned down their hostility.

The Washington Post, citing unnamed US officials, said people working on Iran policy appeared to be the focus of the cyber attacks, with personnel in the State Department’s Office of Iranian Affairs and the Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs among those hacked. Other targets included journalists and academics.

The  Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC)  has developed a team of hackers, trained by Russia, to focus on different Wall Street banks and Saudi oil companies, U.S. officials say, adding that Iran’s cyber attacks have regularly been a test of U.S. defenses.

Reports are that these hacking attempts have increased since the arrest of Siamak Namazi in mid-October, head of strategic planning for Crescent Petroleum, an oil and gas company in the United Arab Emirates and has worked for think tanks in Washington. He had been detained and interrogated regularly by the Revolutionary Guards before his arrest.

US officials believe some of the more recent attacks may be linked to reports of detained dual citizens and others,” a source told the Journal.

China and Taiwan Leaders to Meet for First Time Since 1949

Chinese President Xi Jinping will meet with Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou on Saturday, the first time since the two governments split in 1949 at the end of the Chinese civil war.

Both leaders have stated that Saturday’s meeting will focus on relations across the Taiwan Straits.

Reuters reports that the timing of the meeting takes place at the same time as a rising anti-China sentiment sweeps Taiwan. With elections in Taiwan only a few weeks away, analysts believe the meeting is a sign that China is worried about the opposing party winning the election. This would ruin the currently rebuilt relations between China and Taiwan that the current Taiwanese president made a key policy since he took office in 2008. Since Ma has been president, China and Taiwan have signed 23 deals covering transit, investments, and mainly trade.

This could mean war between China and Taiwan as the Chinese government has threatened to use military force against Taiwan if the country ever tried to gain total independence, according to BBC News. China does claim sovereignty over Taiwan and believes the two will be reunited in the future.

Last year, Chinese President Xi recommended a one-country, two-system joint rule where Beijing controlled Taiwan, but Taiwan would continue to retain a political system and some autonomy.

Taiwanese officials and President Ma will hold press conferences regarding the meeting on Wednesday and Thursday.

Tensions Rise Between U.S. and China Over South China Sea Disputes

Recently, on a visit to Stanford Center at Peking University in China, U.S. Pacific Command, Adm. Harry Harris Jr. clarified and defended decisions to sail a U.S. naval destroyer near a Chinese occupied island in the disputed water of South China Sea.

Harris, acknowledged the dispute but continued to stress the increasing cooperation between both the U.S. and Chinese militaries, giving the coordinated search for missing Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 as an example.

Despite these corporations, the U.S. and many other regional governments continue to express concern over the China’s building of artificial islands and then using those islands as landing strips with placed surveillance

According to Harris, last week’s action by the USS Lassen was designed to show that the United States would not tolerate any interference with freedom of navigation in nearby waters.

$5 trillion in global trade pass every year through the South China Sea. China claims most of it, though Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Taiwan have made rival claims.

China protested the Lassen patrol, calling it a “deliberate provocation,” and sent two warships to shadow the U.S. vessel and issue warnings. International law allows warships to transit other countries’ territorial seas under the principle of “innocent passage.”

Despite Beijing’s intense displeasure, the U.S. Government will continue to patrol those areas in the South China Sea. Admiral Harris said in a prepared statement, “These operations serve to protect the rights, freedoms and lawful uses of the sea and airspace guaranteed to all nations under international law.”

Turkey’s Election Results Return One Party Government

President Erdogan, campaigned with the slogan “it’s me or chaos”, and not even a part of the ballet but this President has much to gain with the results of the most recent election on November 1st.   The ruling Justice and Development party, or AKP, won more than 49 percent of the vote in the election Sunday, almost double that of the next party. The win restored the party’s single-party majority that it had lost in a June election.

The Islamist-leaning AKP party won 317 of the 550 seats in parliament but was short the seats needed to  call a referendum on changing the constitution and increasing the powers of the president.  Critics of the election feel it is only time before President Erdogan finds away in parliament for his presidential powers to increase.   

The leader of the HDP, Selahattin Demirtas, said: “This wasn’t a fair election. We could not campaign because we had to protect our people from a massacre.”

The HDP had suspended campaigning after the bombing in Ankara.

According to the BBC, European powers especially those in the EU are hoping that with the elections over they can gain cooperation from Turkey in the enormous refugee crisis faced by every European and middle east country.  These European leaders, in private, are highly critical of President Erdogan and his record on protecting human rights and the rule of law but feel that Turkey is pivotal in handling the crisis.  Erdogan is hoping to use this platform in order to gain access to the EU as a member.  

President Erdogan is demanding that the world recognize the results of this election saying, “The whole world must show respect. So far I haven’t seen such a maturity from the world.”

TruNews: Iran to Participate in Syria Talks in Vienna

TRUNEWS – Talks will be held in Vienna starting Thursday to discuss an end to the war in Syria.

The U.S. announced Tuesday Iran would be participating. But Syria’s opposition party, which is backed by the U.S. and its allies, claims Iranian attendance could be a hindrance to peace. Iran is an ally of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.

“The Russian intervention blocks a political solution and Iran’s involvement was, and still is, able to obstruct a political solution,” said Hisham Marwa, Vice President of the Syrian National Coalition, according to the Jerusalem Post.

China Condemns U.S. for Sailing Too Close to Man-Made Islands in South China Sea

The United States angered China on Tuesday by sailing a U.S. Navy guided-missile destroyer 12-nautical-miles from their man-made islands in the disputed South China Sea.

A U.S. defense official told Reuters that this was the first in a series of exercises that will test China’s territorial claims. While tensions are rising, the actions of the U.S. are intended to keep the freedom of navigation in one of the world’s busiest shipping lanes.

While the USS Lassen wasn’t met with any resistance, Chinese ships did follow the vessel throughout the South China Sea, and Chinese officials quickly and angrily responded.

“The actions of the U.S. warship have threatened China’s sovereignty and security interests, jeopardized the safety of personnel and facilities on the reefs, and damaged regional peace and stability,” China’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement on its website, according to NBC News.

The “U.S. side [should] think twice, not … take rash moves and stir up troubles,” China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi warned in a separate statement.

China has reclaimed approximately 2,000 acres of the three main locations in the Spratly Islands located in the South China Sea over the past 18 months. Officials believe that China is building airstrips with the capability of handling bombers. Other countries fighting with China over the territorial claims of the South China Sea include Brunei, the Philippines, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Vietnam. The U.S. has not taken any sides in this dispute.

U.S. President Obama to Meet with Russian President Putin

In their first face-to-face meeting in nearly a year, President Obama and President Putin will meet in New York on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly next week.

The meeting was at Putin’s request and officials believe the discussion will be over the situations in Ukraine and Syria. Press Secretary Josh Earnest reported to Fox News that Obama plans to warn Putin against boosting support for Bashar Assad and urge Putin to make more of a contribution in the fight against ISIS. President Obama also plans on using the meeting as a way to figure out Russia’s intentions in Ukraine.

“Given the situations in Ukraine and Syria, despite our profound differences with Moscow, the president believes that it would be irresponsible not to test whether we can make progress through high-level engagement with the Russians,” a senior administration official added.

However, Russian officials have stated that President Putin wants to focus the conversation on Syria.

Putin’s spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, told reporters: “Of course, the primary topic will be Syria.” Asked whether Ukraine would be discussed, he said: “Well, if time allows.”

Tensions have been high between the United States and Russia after the U.S. and other Western countries imposed sanctions on Russia last year. The sanctions came after Russia annexed Crimea from Ukraine. Russia continues to deny that they are militarily involved in Ukraine.

The request for a meeting comes days after news agencies reported that Russia was building two more military facilities located on Syria’s Mediterranean coast.

Senate Democrats Block Bill to Condemn Iran Nuclear Deal

Senate Democrats have blocked the resolution of disapproval on the Iran nuclear deal by keeping the bill from being able to have a formal vote.

The move means the Democrats will filibuster any attempt to bring the bill to the floor for a vote, which would require 60 total votes to obtain cloture.

Republican leaders in the Senate said they would be bringing the measure back up for debate along with proposing new sanctions against Iran despite the nuclear deal.  The number 2 Republican in the Senate, Sen. John Cornyn, pointed out that earlier this year Democrats voted to give Congress a say on the deal but the filibuster blocks that exact thing from happening.

“We’ll revisit the issue next week and see if maybe any folks want to change their minds,” Republican majority leader, Mitch McConnell said in a speech.

The President, however, chose to focus on the fact Democrats blocked the bill from being able to get an up or down vote in the Senate chamber means the deal will go into effect.

“This vote is a victory for diplomacy, for American national security, and for the safety and security of the world,” President Obama said. “I am heartened that so many senators judged this deal on the merits, and am gratified by the strong support of lawmakers and citizens alike.”

House leadership said they will go forward with their votes condemning the deal.

“This is a bad deal with decades-long consequences for the security of the American people and our allies. And we’ll use every tool at our disposal to stop, slow, and delay this agreement from being fully implemented,” House Speaker John Boehner told a news conference.

Iran Nuclear Deal Now Virtually Unstoppable

A 34th Democratic Senator has announced they will stand behind President Obama’s Iran nuclear deal, assuring that a Presidential veto of a measure of disapproval will be upheld.

Retiring Maryland Senator Barbara Mikulski announced her support of the deal Wednesday.

“No deal is perfect, especially one negotiated with the Iranian regime,” Mikulski said in a statement. “I have concluded that this Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the best option available to block Iran from having a nuclear bomb. For these reasons, I will vote in favor of this deal.”

The victory for the White House came on the same day Secretary of State John Kerry gave a major speech in Philadelphia defending the deal.

“President Obama and I are convinced beyond any reasonable doubt that the framework that we have put forward will get the job done,” Kerry said.

The White House is now expected to try and obtain 41 senators to support the deal so they can stop the resolution of disapproval from ever reaching the President’s desk and forcing a veto.  It was unclear if the House or Senate will pick up the resolution first after the August recess.

Norwegian Youth Camp Attacked by Terrorist Reopens

A Norwegian youth camp where terrorist Anders Behring-Breivik killed 69 people four years ago has reopened.

“It’s good to be home again at Utoya,” the president of the Labor Party youth organization, Mani Hussaini, told a crowd sitting on a hill.

The camp’s organizer told media outlets before the opening they will not allow “that dark day to overshadow the nice and bright” memories of the camp.

The island is owned by the political party and is used every year for youth camps where the students learn about the party’s beliefs and values.  Breivik, who said at his trial he considered the youths at the camp traitors to Norway, took a ferry to the island dressed as a police officer and then began his massacre.

“To have the summer camp here again with all the tents reminds me a lot of walking here together with the friends who are not here anymore,” said Runar Kjellstad Nygaard, 23, who had left the camp just before the murders.

“It was actually the plan to stay and sleep here, but then I dropped it because they warned of bad weather,” he explained.  “I’m very happy for that today, but it is a very strange feeling to sit at home and get text messages from your best friend saying ‘things are happening out here’”.

Memorials have been placed on the island with the names of most of the victims of the attack.  The assault was the worst killing spree in the country since World War Two.  Breivik had also set off a car bomb in a nearby city earlier in the day, killing eight people.