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Independent: Russia compares US-led bombing of Raqqa to WWII destruction of Dresden

By

Samuel Osborne

Russia’s Defence Ministry has repeatedly been forced to deny accusations of indiscriminately bombing Syrian civilians.

Russia has accused the US-led coalition in Syria of wiping the city of Raqqa “off the face of the Earth” with carpet-bombing, in the same way America and Britain bombed Germany’s Dresden during World War Two.

The Russian Defence Ministry, which has repeatedly been forced to deny accusations from activists and western politicians of indiscriminately bombing Syrian civilians, said it looked like the West was now rushing to provide financial aid to Raqqa to cover up evidence of its own crimes.

Major-General Igor Konashenkov, chief spokesman for the Defence Ministry, said around 200,000 people had lived in Raqqa before the conflict in Syria but no more than 45,000 people remained.

“Raqqa has inherited the fate of Dresden in 1945, wiped off the face of the Earth by Anglo-American bombardments,” he said.

Most of the German city was destroyed in Allied bombing raids just before the end of the Second World War.

US-backed militias in Syria declared victory over Isis in Raqqa, the group’s de facto capital, last week, raising flags over the last jihadist footholds after a four-month battle.

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Though he said Russia welcomed western promises of financial aid to rebuild Raqqa, Major-General Konashenkov complained that numerous Russian requests for the West to give humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians in other parts of the country had been rejected in previous years.

“What is behind the rush by western capitals to provide targeted financial help only to Raqqa?” he asked.

“There’s only one explanation – the desire to cover up evidence of the barbaric bombardments by the US air force and the coalition as fast as possible and to bury the thousands of civilians ‘liberated’ from Islamic State in the ruins.”

The US-led coalition says it is careful to avoid civilian casualties in its bombing runs against Isis in both Syria and Iraq, and investigates any allegations.

The coalition has previously denied killing civilians in air strikes on Raqqa, saying its goal is “zero civilian casualties”.

Source: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/middle-east/russia-compares-us-coalition-bombing-raqqa-syria-wwii-dresden-germany-isis-a8013626.html

Turkey, US keep finding ways to provoke each other

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By Pinar Tremblay,

A diplomatic row between Turkey and the United States continued to escalate Oct. 9, with Turkish authorities seeking a second US Consulate worker on terrorism charges. According to media reports, the suspect was refusing to leave the consulate Monday afternoon, and authorities were questioning his wife and son. Another consulate employee, Metin Topuz, was arrested last week.

Meanwhile, news of the discord between Turkey and the United States sent the Turkish lira plunging more than 6% Oct. 8 against the US dollar, although it regained much of the loss the following day. This followed the US Embassy‘s Oct. 8 announcement that said, “Effective immediately, we have suspended all non-immigrant visa services,” and Turkey’s in-kind response. It is crucial to note that the first sentence of the statement expressed concerns the US government has about Turkey’s commitment to the security of American personnel. This is a strong reprimand that indicates the growing lack of trust among the two longtime NATO allies.

The tit-for-tat exchange began Sept. 25 when Topuz, a Turkish national employed at the US Consulate, was taken into custody and accused of espionage and attempts to destroy Turkish constitutional order and the government. Authorities allege that he is linked to the Gulen movement, which Turkey blames for a coup attempt in July 2016. The United States has denied Turkey’s demands for the extradition of the movement’s leader, Fethullah Gulen, from his home in Pennsylvania.

Topuz was officially charged Oct. 4. On Oct. 5, the US Embassy in Ankara released a statement saying that officials were “deeply disturbed” about the arrest. It said Turkey was “trying the employee in the media rather than in a court of law” and using “leaks from Turkish government sources.” This detailed media coverage made the possibility of a fair trial impossible, the statement said.

The “leaks” began showing up a week before Topuz was even officially charged. For example, on Sept. 28, state-owned Turkish Radio and Television (TRT) news posted a detailed report. His full legal name, his alleged aliases and the specific locations of his alleged meetings with Gulenists — including room numbers — were published along with the dates of his supposed phone conservations with Gulen members. Details of his alleged crimes of spying and trying to destroy constitutional order were published widely.

“We believe these allegations to be wholly without merit,” the US Embassy said, adding that the defendant deserves “due legal process” in accordance with Turkish laws. Turkey and the United States have long had relations that are highly beneficial to both sides, the statement noted, adding, “Baseless, anonymous allegations against our employees undermine and devalue this longstanding partnership.”

The most recent moves came Oct. 9, when authorities issued an arrest warrant for the second consulate worker, whom they declined to name. The Turkish justice minister denied the US ambassador’s request for a meeting, even as Turkey’s Foreign Ministry summoned the US Embassy undersecretary, seeking to pressure the United States to restore visa services.

Topuz, who began working as an employee of the consulate in 1982, supposedly testified Oct. 6. According to news reports, he said that in 1993 he had assumed a position for the US Drug Enforcement Administration in Istanbul. Topuz has not denied making contact with Gulen members who were prominent officials at the time. He said he had to meet with them as part of his job.

Pro-government media outlets and hundreds of social media accounts latched onto his arrest and reported testimony as clear evidence that the July 15 attempted coup was backed by the United States, along with other troubles the government faced: the 2013 corruption probe and the Halkbank investigation. In commentaries, Topuz is frequently labeled in Turkish media as a CIA agent or spy.

Sabah Daily columnist Hilal Kaplan joined the fray, announcing Oct. 6 from her Twitter account that she had been disinvited to US Ambassador John Bass’ press conference because of her newspaper’s headlines about Topuz. In a subsequent tweet, she included an excerpt from the Turkish press in which Bass explained why certain press representatives were absent. He said, “Because I don’t consider them to be [media] outlets any longer, given the extent to which they deal in fiction and do not follow a set of basic journalistic ethics.” Bass emphasized he was disturbed by the Topuz case because some people in the Turkish government are “motivated by vengeance rather than justice.”

In the meantime, pro-government media reported Kaplan’s canceled invitation as press censorship. Kaplan and others kept reiterating the tacit involvement of the US government in the July 15 coup attempt. State-owned TRT World reported the incident with the headline, “US ambassador bans journalist over story she never wrote.”

Public criticism of US Embassy personnel was a recurring theme for politicians long before the coup. For example, in January 2016, Al-Monitor reported that Ankara’s mayor, a member of the ruling Justice and Development Party, asked Bass to leave Turkey or keep quiet. Pro-government Turkish media’s relentless efforts to link the US government to the July 15 coup attempt are also remarkable. Just a week after the coup attempt, Daily Sabah’s twitter account was running polls with loaded questions, asking things like which US institution provided the most support to the Gulenist terror group. The options available were CIA, FBI, Department of State and White House (the CIA received by far the most votes). Hence, when a US Consulate staff member was arrested, the Turkish public was ready to rejoice.

A grass-roots movement took off on social media as citizens demanded that US troops be expelled from Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base. The movement seemed to be gaining ground Monday. There was also talk of holding a protest in front of the US Consulate in Istanbul.

Topuz isn’t the first US Consulate employee to be arrested this year. On March 7, a translator at the consulate in Adana was charged with supporting the Kurdistan Workers Party, which Turkey and the United States consider a terrorist group.

Found in:CIA, TURKISH MEDIA, HALKBANK, ANKARA, VISA, US EMBASSY, GULEN MOVEMENT

Pinar Tremblay is a columnist for Al-Monitor’s Turkey Pulse and a visiting scholar of political science at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona.

 

United State -Turkey escalates tit-for-tat travel and visa restrictions

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US restrictions appear to be linked to arrest of consulate employee in Istanbul over alleged links to Gülen movement

The US and Turkey have imposed travel restrictions on each other’s citizens in an escalating diplomatic spat that highlights worsening relations between Ankara and its western allies.

Washington said late on Sunday it was suspending the processing of all non-immigrant visas in Turkey due to “recent events” that “have forced the United States government to reassess the commitment of the government of Turkey to the security of US mission facilities and personnel”.

Ankara responded in the early hours of Monday with an identical statement, imposing tit-for-tat measures and suspending the processing of visas in its embassy and consulate in the US. It also shut down its online visa system for US citizens.

The Turkish move effectively closed its borders to American visitors residing in the US or elsewhere, unless they can obtain visas from diplomatic missions outside their home country.

A rift between Turkey and the west has broadened in the aftermath of last year’s coup attempt, divergence over the war in Syria, and a crackdown against alleged putsch collaborators.

The US government’s restrictions appeared to be linked to the arrest last week of a local consulate employee in Istanbul over alleged links to the movement of Fethullah Gülen. Gülen, an exiled preacher based in Pennsylvania, is widely believed in Turkey to have orchestrated last year’s coup attempt. Ankara has long demanded the cleric’s extradition.

The US embassy said it was “deeply disturbed” by the arrest, and said the allegations were “wholly without merit”.

Later on Monday, in another escalation, the Turkish foreign ministry said it had summoned the American charges d’affaires, and the Istanbul prosecutor’s office said it had ordered the questioning of another US consulate official as a suspect in an unidentified case.

Azerbaijan blacklists three US lawmakers over visit to Nagorno-Karabakh

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The Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry on September 22 called a recent visit to Nagorno-Karabakh by three US lawmakers a “provocation” and said it had blacklisted them, RFE/RL reports, citng Russian news agency Interfax.

Azerbaijan’s state-run APA news agency earlier in the week said the ministry had threatened to blacklist the three members of the U.S. House of Representatives. Frank Pallone, David Valadao, and Tulsi Gabbard visited Armenia and made a side trip to Artsakh in Nagorno-Karabakh on September 20.

“Pallone, Valadao, and Gabbard paid an illegal visit to the occupied Azerbaijani territories, thus breaching Azerbaijani law,” Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry spokesman Hikmet Hajiyev told Interfax. “All three are added to the list of undesirable persons in Azerbaijan.”

The legislators’ visit was “a provocation aimed at undermining efforts of the co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group, including the United States, in settling the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict,” he told Interfax.

While in Artsakh, the U.S. legislators, who are members of the U.S. Congressional Armenian Caucus, met with Nagorno-Karabakh legislators and visited the Shushi Arts College and a cathedral.

Pallone said the legislators’ goal was to learn and educate the American public about the region.

“We try to learn about the military situation on the border and what measures are being taken to eliminate the consequences of the April war,” Artsakh Press quoted Pallone as saying. He was referring to a sharp uptick in violence in the region that occurred in April.

“One of the goals of our work is to contribute to the activity of the OSCE Minsk Group,and we believe that the people of Artsakh should have the right to self-determination and have security mechanisms,” Artsakh Press quoted Pallone as saying.

Azerbaijan and Armenia have been locked in a conflict over Azerbaijan’s breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh for years.

Populated mainly by ethnic Armenians, Nagorno-Karabakh declared independence from Azerbaijan amid a 1988-94 war that claimed an estimated 30,000 lives and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.

Internationally mediated negotiations involving the OSCE’s so-called Minsk Group helped forge a cease-fire in the region, which is not always honored, but have failed to produce a lasting settlement of the conflict.

 

Russia threatens to attack U.S.-backed forces in Syria’s Deir ez-Zor

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The Russian Ministry of Defense has issued a formal warning to the U.S. military regarding the behavior of their forces in the Deir ez-Zor Governorate, Al-Masdar News reports.

“Russia unequivocally told the commanders of U.S. forces in Al Udeid Airbase (Qatar) that it will not tolerate any shelling from the areas where the SDF are stationed,” the Spokesperson of the Russian Ministry of Defense, Major General Igor Konashenkov, stated this morning, adding that the attacks put at risk Russian military advisers embedded with Syrian government troops.

“Fire from positions in regions [controlled by the SDF] will be suppressed by all means necessary,” he stressed.

The U.S.-backed Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) have shelled the Syrian Arab Army’s (SAA) positions in Deir ez-Zor at least two times this week; this has prompted the Russian Ministry of Defense’s to issue a stern warning to Washington.

Photo. AFP
Related links:

Al-Masdar News. Russia threatens to attack US-backed forces in Deir Ezzor

White House Withdraws Proposed Arms Sale to Erdogan’s Security Detail

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The White House withdrew its proposal to sell arms to Erdogan’s security team

Administration Action Comes in the Wake of Strong Bipartisan Congressional Opposition
WASHINGTON—Responding to strong Congressional pressure, the Trump Administration has officially withdrawn its controversial proposal to allow the sale of U.S. semi-automatic handguns to Turkish President Recep Erdogan’s security detail, which, in May of this year, made international headlines by attacking peaceful American protesters in Washington, DC, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.

“We’re seeing the start of Turkey Arms Embargo 2.0,” said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. “We welcome today’s decision by the White House as a reflection of a growing willingness among policy-makers, diplomats, legislators from both parties, and the broader foreign policy community to openly challenge Turkey’s increasingly anti-American conduct.”

News of New Hampshire gun maker Sig Sauer’s proposed plan to sell $1.2 million in semi-automatic handguns and ammunition to President Erdogan’s bodyguards was first reported by The New York Times reporter Nicholas Fandos. The request for Congressional review of the matter was submitted on the eve of the May 16th attack in front of the Turkish Ambassador’s residence in Washington, DC, videotaped live by the ANCA’s Hamparian, which sent peaceful protesters to the hospital. To date, nineteen have been indicted for the brutal beatings, including 15 members of President Erdogan’s security detail.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Democrat Ben Cardin (D-MD) and House Foreign Affairs Committee chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) were among the first to raise objections to the sale. Notably, Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) formally communicated to Secretary of State Tillerson his strong opposition to the deal, calling the conduct of the Turkish guards “unprofessional and brutal.” Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Dave Trott (R-MI) spearheaded a Congressional letter, cosigned by over 35 House colleagues, including Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman and Ranking Member Devin Nunes (R-CA) and Adam Schiff (D-CA) and House Foreign Affairs Committee Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY), opposing the sale.

The U.S. House, in July of this year, passed the Trott Amendment, a measure strongly backed by the ANCA, against the arms sale. Following this vote, Rep. Trott, said: “We need to block this arms sale and once and for all point a finger in Erdogan’s chest and tell him that a strategic location does not place Turkey above the law.” Earlier this month, an amendment authored by Appropriations Committee members Senators Van Hollen (D-MD) and Leahy (D-VY) successfully amended a must-pass appropriations bill, at the committee level, with legislative language opposing this weapons transaction. Sen. Van Hollen told the Washington Post that the appropriations panel’s vote in support of the measure sent “a strong, bipartisan message: We are not going to let President Erdogan’s personal bodyguards attack peaceful American protesters on American soil—and we’re certainly not going to sell them weapons while they do it.” The Washington Post editorial board called for a block of the gun sale as a “more meaningful way to suggest there is a price to be paid for such brutality.”

According to the Associated Press, “a spokesman for Sig Sauer did not immediately respond to a request for comment.” The AP also reported that: “Lawmakers of both parties have asked the State Department to take extra precautions to ensure there’s not another violent incident this week by Turkish personnel during the U.N. gathering.”

US Congress members planning ‘unprecedented trip’ to Armenia

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A delegation of US Congress representatives is visiting Armenia this Sunday upon the initiative of Jackie Kanchelian Speier, a congresswoman of Armenian descent.

“Our parents would be really proud to see that we are visiting Armenia,” VOA News quotes the legislator as saying.

The delegation includes pro-Armenian Congress members, such as Frank Pallone (who delivered US humanitarian aid to Armenia after the 1988 earthquake), Anna Eshoo (also an ethnic Armenian), and David Valadao (whose initiative to allocate additional funds to Nagorno-Karabakh to assist in demining activities recently received a Congress approval). Tulsi Gabbad and Jim Sensebrener, elected respectively from Hawaii and Wisconsin, are also expected be among the guests.

The agenda of the biggest ever US delegation’s visit to Armenia (since the country’s independence) is going to be really very busy, Kanchelian Speier said, as anti-corruption and democracy development initiatives are going to be among the key priorities.

The congresswoman said the trip also has an emotional significance for her as an Armenian conducting her ever first visit to her historical fatherland.

She added that they intend to address also political issues to increase the US assistance to Armenia “which is under Russia’s aggressive influence”.

The US legislators are also planning to discuss with the Armenian authorities measures towards fostering the country’s energy independence.

US lawmakers write Tillerson on Turkish security concerns at UN

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Ahead of the United Nations General Assembly, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce (R-CA) and Ranking Member Eliot Engel (D-NY) sent a letter to Secretary of State Rex Tillerson asking him to take steps to prevent another violent incident involving Turkish security

“In anticipation of the 72nd regular session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 12, 2017, we are writing to ask you to take steps to ensure that there is not another violent incident involving the security detail of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan or other Turkish officials,” Royce and Engel write.

U.S. must ensure that the Turkish police and security personnel respect the laws of the United States and refrain from any aggressive actions, the lawmakers said, asking Secretary of State to reiterate “these expectations to the highest levels of the Turkish government”.

“Mr. Secretary, foreign officials, including security personnel, must respect U.S. law while visiting this country. Those who fail to do so must only be allowed to return to the United States to face the charges against them,” the letter says.

US prevents sending of F-16 training pilots to Turkey

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The United States has refused to send F-16 warplane trainers to Turkey after Ankara requested them in order to fill the gap in the number of Turkish jet pilots.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) has been trying to increase the number of its jet pilots after the Air Forces were hit by dismissals carried out after the failed July 15, 2016 coup attempt, widely believed to have been masterminded by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

During the thwarted coup, 25 coup pilots flew with F-16 jets and 11 of them bombed strategic sites.

After the thwarted coup, it was revealed that a significant number of followers of the U.S.-based Islamic preacher Fehullah Gülen were in the Air Forces Command and 1,752 personnel were dismissed with state of emergency decrees.

According to official numbers, between 300 and 350 of those dismissed were warplane pilots and as a result the ratio of number of seats and the number of pilots decreased to 1/0.8, when it should be 1/1.5.
The F-16 jets of American firm Lockheed Martin constitute a majority of Turkey’s warplane fleet with 240 jets.

The government, which has been focused on measures that would increase the number of jet pilots, is searching for F-16 trainers abroad. Pakistan was the only country to accept Turkey’s request.

However, the U.S. objected to Pakistan sending F-16 jet pilot trainers to Turkey, based on the agreement that U.S.-origin equipment’s purchase, sale, maintenance and training between third countries needed approval from Washington.

Upon the prevention of Pakistani trainers from coming to Turkey, Ankara renewed its request from the U.S.
According to information obtained by daily Hürriyet, the Pentagon has once again rejected Ankara’s request, saying “there is no program regarding training pilots abroad.”

“If you send your F-16 pilots to the U.S., we can train them here,” the U.S. response read, while Ankara insisted on pilots receiving treatment in the bases in Turkey and in their own geographical conditions.

The fact that a majority of U.S. jet pilots are on active duty against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq and Syria is reportedly among the reasons why Washington is reluctant to send pilots to Turkey at present.

Source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com

10 US Navy sailors missing after warship collision near Singapore

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Ten US Navy sailors are missing after an American warship collided with a merchant ship east of Singapore.

The USS John S. McCain collided with the oil tanker Alnic MC on Monday morning local time while the guided-missile destroyer was passing near the Malacca Strait to make a port visit in Singapore , the Navy’s 7th Fleet said in a statement.

The collision marked the second accident involving US Navy destroyers in Asian waters in over two months.

“Initial reports indicate John S. McCain sustained damage to her port side aft,” the Navy said as a search-and-rescue mission was underway. “The ship was transiting to a routine port visit in Singapore.”

“There are currently 10 sailors missing and five injured… Search and rescue efforts are underway in coordination with local authorities,” the Navy statement said.

Trump sends ‘prayers’ to US sailors in crash

US President Donald Trump on Sunday night tweeted his “thoughts and prayers” to the sailors aboard the warship.

“Thoughts & prayers are w/ our @USNavy sailors aboard the #USSJohnSMcCain where search & rescue efforts are underway”, Trump said in a post which contained a link to the US military’s announcement about the crash.