Tag Archives: United States

Russian Build-Up At Syrian Base Concerning U.S., NATO, Israel

A sudden build-up of Russian forces at a base in Syria is raising an alarm in the halls of power in the U.S. and Israel along with commanders at NATO.

The Russian naval base in Tartus has been flooded with new troops and units.  Two tank landing ships arrived at the base along with four transport aircraft with various pieces of equipment.  Russian aircraft have also been using a joint airbase in Latakia in northwestern Syria.

Officials within the Obama administration say they believe the Russian move has nothing to do with their stated goal of taking out ISIS, but keeping their ally Bashir al-Assad in power.  Moshe Ya’alon, the Israeli defense minister, echoed the administration’s views.

“The Russians’ intentions are to keep Assad in power, not to fight ISIL,” one administration official told Bloomberg. “They’ve shown their cards now.”

Even the President has hinted he sees the situation the same way.

“I think they get a sense that the Assad regime is losing a grip over greater and greater swaths of territory inside of Syria [to Sunni jihadist militias] and that the prospects for a [Sunni jihadist] takeover or rout of the Syrian regime is not imminent but becomes a greater and greater threat by the day,” President Obama told the New York Times. “That offers us an opportunity to have a serious conversation with them.”

NATO’s Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg, said Russia’s move destabilizes the situation.

“I am concerned about reports about the increased Russian military presence in Syria,” Stoltenberg told reporters during a visit to Prague.  “That will not contribute to solving the conflict. I think it is important to now support all efforts to find a political solution to the conflict in Syria.”

Russian leaders are dismissing the concerns of the world.  Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marie Zakharova called the concern “strange hysteria.”

President Obama Wants 10,000 Syrian Refugees in U.S.

The White House has announced that President Obama is instructing his administration to clear the way for 10,000 Syrian refugees to enter the U.S. during the next fiscal year.

The plan was met with immediate criticism from both sides of the political spectrum over security concerns.  The 10,000 would mark a significant increase over the nearly 1,300 that will enter the country this fiscal year.  Less than 1,500 Syrian refugees have entered the U.S. since the start of the Syrian Civil War in 2011.

“Our enemy now is Islamic terrorism, and these people are coming from a country filled with Islamic terrorists,” said Representative Peter T. King, Republican of New York. “We don’t want another Boston Marathon bombing situation.”

State Department spokesman John Kirby admitted there was a “significant national security concern” related to the President’s demand.

“I’m not arguing that we’re going to cut corners here,” Kirby said. “But the president has laid out his decision and the target he wants to achieve for the next fiscal year with respect to Syrian refugees, and we’re going to work very hard to do that.”

White House spokesman Josh Earnest tried to lay out the case that no corners would be cut.

“Refugees go through the most robust security process of anybody who’s contemplating travel to the United States,” Earnest said. “Refugees have to be screened by the National Counter Terrorism Center, by the F.B.I. Terrorist Screening Center. They go through databases that are maintained by D.H.S., the Department of Defense and the intelligence community. There is biographical and biometric information that is collected about these individuals.”

More than 4 million Syrians have fled that nation since the beginning of their civil war.

Davis Case Brings Religious Freedom Issues to Forefront

The recent jailing of a Christian in Kentucky because of her stand for her beliefs is bringing about a national debate on the issue of religious freedom and religious accommodation.

Kim Davis, a county clerk in Kentucky, recently spent five days in jail because she refused to compromise her Christian beliefs.

“Thank you all so much. I love you all so very much,” she said. “I just want to give God the glory. His people have rallied, and you are a strong people. We serve a living God who knows exactly where each and every one of us is at. Just keep on pressing. Don’t let down, because he is here. He’s worthy.”

The lawyers in the case say the problem is that the judge involved with the case will not make an accommodation to Davis based on her faith that would allow her to complete her tasks without violating her “Constitutionally protected” freedom of speech.

“We’ve asked for a simple solution — get her name and authority off the certificate. The judge could order that,” attorney Mat Staver said.

Now, the Kentucky legislature has a majority of members calling on the Governor to hold a special session to look at religious accommodation laws and ways that the religious freedom of people of all faiths can be protected.  The Governor has refused stating a desire to not spend taxpayer dollars.

Missouri lawmakers have also announced an intention to introduce laws to “protect religious liberty.”

Russia Admits Military Experts in Syria

The Russian government stopped denying they have troops in Syria.

The statement comes one day after the United States asked nations like Bulgaria and Greece to close their airspace to Russian military transports. Bulgaria agreed to the U.S. request but Greece did not publicly respond to the request.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova confirmed “advisors” are assisting with deliveries of Russian arms.  The Russian government is claiming the mission of the forces is just to assist the Syrian army in fighting militants.

However, U.S. officials say that Russian transports are also arriving with passenger flights that contain Russian troops putting together a forward base in Syria.

“Any effort to bolster the Assad regime would potentially be destabilizing,” the U.S. State Department said.

Russia has long considered Syrian President Bashir al-Assad a close ally.

Iran Rejects Further U.S. Involvement in Region

Iran’s supreme leader has said that he is done speaking with the United States.

Ayatollah Ali Khamenei posted statements on his website calling for the downfall of Israel and stated that he is finished talking with the United States because his nation cannot allow American views to “penetrate” Iran.

“Some are insisting in presenting this Great Satan as an angel of salvation,” Khamenei said in reference to the United States. “When the Iranian nation kicked this Satan out of the door, we should not allow it to return from the window and gather influence.”

Khamenei also reiterated that the “Zionist regime” will be gone within 25 years.

“After negotiations, in Zionist regime they said they had no more concern about Iran for next 25 years; I’d say: You will not see the next 25 years, God willing there will be nothing as Zionist Regime by next 25 years,” Khamenei stated on Twitter in reference to Israel.

Analysts say the announcements from Khamenei were intended more to appease internal critics rather than upset foreign governments.

Border 40 Percent Secure; 1 in 5 Intercepted Illegals Have Criminal Record

The head of the U.S. Border Patrol testified to Congress that less than half of the southern border is under “operational control.”

Brandon Judd cited violent conditions as part of the problem and added that one out of every five people caught attempting to enter the U.S. has a criminal record in Mexico or the U.S.

In 2014, the border patrol caught around 486,000 illegal immigrants, but only 91,000 were returned to Mexico.

“This is the challenge we are facing at the border today. There are those who will point to lower apprehension rates and tell you the border is secure. Border Patrol agents, however, throughout this nation will tell you the border is not secure and the southwest border certainly is not safe,” Judd testified.

Judd also said that drug cartels are a major issue.

“These cartels are well organized, heavily armed, and pathologically violent. To give you sense of the violence the official death, as quoted earlier, toll from the cartel violence in Mexico is 60,000. This is more than the United States military lost in in Vietnam. However, the unofficial death toll in Mexico is over 120,000 killed and another 27,000 missing and presumed dead,” Judd said.

“In Mexico, the cartels kill without hesitation or fear of prosecution. In May of this year, cartel members shot down a Mexican Army helicopter in the State of Jalisco. Why would we expect them to behave any differently on the U.S./Mexico border?”

Russia Sends Troops to Syria

Russian troops have begun a major military deployment to Syria.

The Russian government has been denying the moves, but the American government sent a terse warning to Russia about escalating the conflict.  Russian officials claim they are just helping the fight against terrorism.

“We have always supplied equipment to them for their struggle against terrorists,” Maria V. Zakharova, the Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said in an interview with the New York Times. “We are supporting them, we were supporting them and we will be supporting them.”

The US has gone as far as to ask nations such as Greece to deny use of their airspace to Russian aircraft transporting troops and weapons to Syria.

Analysts say that it’s likely Russia is using the fact the US has not really attempted to put a force into Syria to their advantage.

“It is basically a chance to play on Obama’s checkerboard,” said Konstantin Von Eggert, an independent political analyst, told the Times, stating it’s as if Russian President Putin is saying: “You want to fight the Islamic State. I am there. I am ready. Ah, sorry, you don’t really want to fight.”

Russia has a key naval base in Syria.

Iranian Naval Vessels Confront US Navy Daily

US naval ships operating in the Strait of Hormuz have been reporting daily contacts with Iranian vessels and aircraft.

“US Naval forces are routinely approached by Iranian warships and aircraft as they operate in the region, with the majority of all interaction by the Iranians conducted in a safe and professional manner,” a Pentagon official confirmed to the Washington Free Beacon. “This happens on a near daily basis.”

The Strait is considered a vital shipping lane for the region and US forces have patrolled the area to keep ships safe from interference from Iran and terror groups.

The Iranian ships and drones appear to be videotaping the US forces.  An Iranian government news agency released footage of some of the flights including a close up inspection of a US aircraft carrier.

“The latest IRGC operation is a mission to identify an American aircraft carrier passing through the region, carried out by a navy reconnaissance plane called the Harbin Y-2,” the report said.

Pentagon officials say they are recording the incidents.

“During these interactions we, too, capture imagery for the record,” the official said. “Safe, professional, and routine interactions are of no concern, and we are fully confident in the ability of US Naval forces to defend themselves. We also publicly acknowledge those interactions with the Iranians which we consider to be unsafe.”

Iranian officials have restated their intent to support groups that will attack Israel or the US.

“I officially declare that under no circumstances will we refrain from providing material and moral support to Hezbollah, or to any group of the resistance to the US and Israel,” said Hossein Dehghan, Iran’s defense minister, earlier this month.

Record Number of Americans Out of Workforce

The Labor Department reported Friday that a record number of Americans are out of the workforce.

The August labor report showed 94,031,000 Americans were not in the labor force, down 261,000 from July.   The labor participation rate of 62.6 percent is holding at a 38-year low for the third straight month.

It’s the first time that the total number of Americans out of the workforce topped 94 million.

The report also showed that a record number of women were out of the workforce.  56,253,000 women were neither employed or looked for employment in the month of August, up 44,000 from July.  The labor force participation rate for women was at 56.7 percent.

The report sent the stock markets into a tumble to wrap up the week.  All three of the major stock indexes were down with the Dow Jones Industrial Average down over 200 points.  Oil markets were down as well following the report.

The jobs report said that 173,000 jobs were added during the month, much lower than analyst expectations.  At least one analyst told CNN the number would likely stop the Federal Reserve from raising a key interest rate as widely believed will happen at their September meetings.

“You can’t hike on a 173,000 number,” says Phil Orlando, an economist at Federated Investors. “The Fed has to think long and hard about pushing this thing out to December.”

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.