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Armenia’s Sargsyan and US Vice President Biden discuss relations

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Sarkissian-bidenPresident of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan, who is on a working visit to the US, on Thursday traveled from Boston to Washington D.C., where on the same day he met—at the White House—with US Vice President Joseph “Joe” Biden.

The interlocutors stressed that Armenian-American relations constantly develop ever since Armenia’s independence in 1991.

As per Sargsyan, Armenian-American partnership is now at the highest level. Also, he lauded the US support to the economic development of and ongoing reforms in Armenia.

In addition, the Armenian President underscored the active US involvement in the Nagorno-Karabakh peace process.

Subsequently, the interlocutors exchanged views on this process within the framework of the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Minsk Group.

Also, the President noted that, as a result of the atrocities taking place in the Middle East, numerous Armenians living in Iraq and Syria are also being killed and becoming refugees, and the Armenian spiritual and cultural heritage in the region is being damaged and destroyed.

Vice President Biden, for his part, highly assessed Armenia’s efforts toward giving shelter to a large number of refugees from Syria and creating possible living and working conditions for Syrian Armenians.

They expressed the hope that effective and efficient mechanisms will be developed to solve the problems in the Middle East.

Furthermore, Serzh Sargsyan and Joe Biden expressed confidence that it will be possible to face the present-day challenges by combining efforts.

Wally’s respond to Turkish columnist YİNANÇ, she complain Obama opted not to attend opening of Turkish mega Mosque with Erdogan

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Erdogan noking OBAMADear BARÇIN YİNANÇ,

How bizarre you complain  about the $100 million dollar Turkish complex the largest mega Turkish mosque in the world in the capital of Christian country USA, While Turkey Destroyed thousands of Christians Churches, just before Erdogan left Ankara he expropriated three christian churches,

The Turks completely wiped out the entire Christians population from Anatolia covert her crime by changing the name to Turkey which Turkey as a country never existed before 1923. Turks never in their entire history co-existed with any other people always conquered, occupied, Ethnically cleansed, massacred.

You have the audacity to complain, that Obama opted to miss that chance to stand side-by-side with the leader of a majority Muslim country . you talk about the majority Muslim country Turkey, But you never ask yourself how Turkey became majority Muslim country, Turks did it by ethnically cleansing and massacring the Christians population and converted them to Turks. remember even the Muslim Kurds until few years ago you call them mountain Turks.

You write A photo op in front of a mosque symbolizes two leaders of countries that share the same values and the same visions; really Turkey symbolize the same value as United state, Please as we speak Turkey is massacring thousands of Muslim Kurds man women and children, Look what Turkey did to Syria hundreds of thousands dead, millions of refugees and moreover Turkey blackmail  Europe with opening the floodgate of refugees that Turkey created and turned  the misfortunes of the refugees to a Turkish gold mine  bribing the EU nations with 6 Billion Euro and Visa Free to 80 millions Turks. look at Turkey’s neighbors everyone of them you have problem with.

The problem is that the American people have no idea how large is the Turkish complex it is much larger than US Capitol and white house together that’s how big is and why Turkey need such gigantic complex  obviously it is for Turkification of United State of America, comparing Turkish population in USA they are most smallest ethnic group so why Turkey need such huge institution. possibly for the next Turkish invasion of USA.  Moreover another  Turkish Imam Gulen is taking over US Public Charter Schools 150 so far.  It is Time American people wake up from the deep sleep with Turks.

Thank you

Wally Sarkeesian

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/joe-bidens-hero-is-the-turkish-presidents-spy.aspx?pageID=449&nID=97110&NewsCatID=412———

412

BARÇIN YİNANÇ
barcin.yinanc@hurriyet.com.tr

With the West still under the shock of successive terrorist attracts by radical Islamists, and with rising Islamophobia and xenophobia fueled by those attacks, would the leader of a superpower miss the chance to give messages of peace and interreligious dialogue by participating in the opening of a mosque in a majority Christian country? Why would that leader miss the chance to stand side-by-side with the leader of a majority Muslim country that claims to endorse the universal values of humanity?

U.S. President Barack Obama opted to miss that chance. Sadly, we are talking about a leader who had picked Turkey as one of his first foreign destinations after he was first elected president. The problem is not with Obama. The problem is not with Turkey either, which – despite the ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) efforts to prove to the contrary – strives to show the world that Islam can coexist with democracy. The problem is with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who will open the mosque in Maryland this weekend. Obama will not appear by his side because Erdoğan does not represent the universal values of democracy, among the main tenets of which are the rule of law, respect for diversity, and freedom of expression.

So long as Obama does not grant a photo opportunity in front of the mosque with Erdoğan, a three-minute meeting on the margins of the nuclear security summit in Washington does not mean much. Or let’s put it this way: A photo op in front of a mosque symbolizes two leaders of countries that share the same values and the same visions; while a photo op on the margins of an international meeting indicates a working relationship shaped only by the requirements of realpolitik. Sadly, neither Erdoğan’s advisors nor his most devoted constituency would understand the difference. They live in a world of contradictions where bashing a superpower wins votes just as well as a photo op with that superpower.

At any rate, the critical point in Erdoğan’s visit to U.S. will not be his possible short meeting with Obama, but his lengthy one with Vice President Joe Biden, who once called the jailed journalist Can Dündar a “hero.” (Biden met Dündar’s wife and son in his latest visit to Turkey. Dündar’s son said Biden told him his father was a hero, which was not refuted by U.S. officials.)

The diplomats got harshly criticized by the government for simply doing their job. Actually they could have been justifiably accused of not doing their jobs some time ago, as the diplomatic community remained largely silent in the mid-2000s when democratic backpedaling started in Turkey.

The Dündar/Gül case was a turning point. I don’t know why. All I know is that the diplomatic community in Turkey did something rather unusual, requesting to see Dündar and Gül in prison before they were released.

Through their joint presence in the courtroom in the first hearing, they also did something unusual. The political message “we are concerned by this case” is usually given by the presence of a representative from the European Commission. But the European Commission’s representation in Turkey had been politically absent for the last decade – just like its heads have been absent physically as they kept changing all the time.

On the technical level, usually each embassy or consulate follows cases they are interested in on their own choosing – and through a lower ranking diplomat. But in the Dündar/Gül trial there was concerted action.

There is no doubt that with all the political and economic crises going on in Europe at the moment, it was the consuls general here who took personal initiatives to take concerted action. But that does not mean they lacked the consent of their governments.

But now the $60 billion question is this: Will they go back to the courtroom on April 1, for the continuation of the hearing? So far all of Erdoğan’s slamming has been cost-free. We’ll see whether that will continue to be the case.

March/31/2016

Ex-Bush Official: ‘War is a Racket’ Led by Corporations, Not Security

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1037231218Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, Colin Powell’s former Chief of Staff, derided the US military-industrial complex, warning that corporate interests have taken over America’s security apparatus.

“War is a Racket,” the famous 51-page pamphlet written in 1935 by Major General Smedley Butler, the most highly decorated US Marine of his generation, criticizes the US war machine, noting that the US wages war as much to ensure corporate profit as it does to secure and protect the so-called American way of life.

On Tuesday, former Chief of Staff to State Colin Powell, Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, stated, without irony, “I think Smedley Butler was onto something.”

Wilkerson expanded on his observation. “Was Bill Clinton’s expansion of NATO – after George H.W. Bush and James Baker had assured Gorbachev and then Yeltsin that he wouldn’t go an inch further east – was this for Lockheed Martin, and Raytheon, and Boeing, and others, to increase their network of potential weapons sales?” Wilkerson asked. “You bet it was,” he said.

Today, observes Wilkerson, the US military-industrial complex “is much more pernicious than Eisenhower ever thought it would be,” pointing to Lockheed Martin’s role in providing arms to repressive Middle Eastern regimes like Saudi Arabia and increasing tensions on the Korean peninsula.

Since the middle of the 20th century, the US military-industrial complex has branched out from simple weapons manufacture to promulgating think tanks and other forms of legal and tax-exempt non-profit organizations that purport to be impartial, writing editorials and policy proposals that support the agenda of the military-industrial infrastructure, and often adopted as policy by Congress and the executive branch.  

“Is there a penchant on behalf of the Congress to bless the use of force more often than not because of the constituencies they have and the money they get from the defense contractors?” Wilkerson asked. “You bet.”

“In many respects it is now private interests that benefit most from our use of military force, whether it is private security contractors that are still all over Iraq or Afghanistan or it’s the bigger known defense contractors, like Lockheed Martin,” he stated.

Wilkerson again quoted Butler: “Looking back on it, I might have given Al Capone a few hints. The best he could do was to operate his racket in three districts. I operated on three continents.”

The war racket revealed by US military hero Smedley Butler — himself a kind of proto-whistleblower — continues as strong as ever. Corporate profits and shareholder revenue continue to outweigh most concerns of national security. Defense contractors make very good money making devices that only kill, and that often end up in the hands of terror organizations like Daesh to be turned against Americans, both civilian and those in uniform.

Former Chief of Staff Wilkerson said of America that which is well known but is now spoken of more commonly: “We are the death merchant of the world. We’ve privatized the ultimate public function: war.”

Source: sputniknews.com

U.S. orders military families to leave parts of Turkey

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A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter jet lands at Incirlik airbase in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, December 10, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II fighter jet lands at Incirlik airbase in the southern city of Adana, Turkey, December 10, 2015. REUTERS/Umit Bektas

(Reuters) The U.S. military said on Tuesday it has ordered the families of its personnel to leave parts of southern Turkey over “continued security concerns in the region.”

Families of personnel stationed in Adana – including at Incirlik air base, used heavily in the fight against Islamic State militants – Izmir, and Mugla have been ordered to leave, the statement from U.S. European Command said. The decision was authorized by U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter.

“We understand this is disruptive to our military families, but we must keep them safe and ensure the combat effectiveness of our forces to support our strong ally Turkey in the fight against terrorism,” General Philip M. Breedlove, commander of U.S. European Command, said in the statement.

U.S. Reps. call for more aid to Armenia, Karabakh

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208683A bipartisan group of over 30 U.S. Representatives joined Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chairs Frank Pallone (D-NJ) and Robert Dold (R-IL) in urging leaders of the House Subcommittee dealing with foreign aid to strengthen the U.S. – Armenia relationship through expanded assistance to Nagorno Karabakh and Armenia, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA).

“Friends of Armenia from across America thank Representatives Dold and Pallone – Co-Chairs of the Congressional Armenian Caucus – for their leadership in advancing a broad array of foreign aid priorities that advance U.S. interests, promote regional peace and stability, and strengthen the enduring bonds that have long connected the American and Armenian peoples,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “We are particularly encouraged by prospects for progress in supporting the Lady Cox Rehabilitation Center in Stepanakert, in suspending U.S. military aid to Baku, and in securing U.S. funding to help Armenia provide transition support to individuals from Syria who have found safe haven in Armenia.”

The letter, addressed to House Appropriations Subcommittee on State and Foreign Operations Chairwoman Kay Granger (R-TX) and Ranking Democrat Nita Lowey (D-NY) advocated the following foreign aid priorities:

— Allocate at least $5 million in Fiscal Year 2017 for humanitarian and development programs in Nagorno Karabakh.

— Allocate not less than $40 million in overall Fiscal Year 2017 economic aid (including Economic Support Fund, International Narcotics Control and Law Enforcement, and Global Health Programs), is appropriated for Armenia.

— Suspend U.S. military aid to Azerbaijan until its government ceases cross-border attacks, ends its threat of renewed war, and agrees to a settlement of regional conflicts through peaceful means.

— Close gaps in the distribution of need-based aid to at-risk minority populations in Syria, including Armenians; and, ensure the allocation to Armenia of a proportional level of U.S. and international aid supporting the efforts to regional states to resettle those fleeing from Syria.

— Target at least 10 percent of aid to Georgia to fund sustainable job-creation programs in the Samtskhe-Javakheti.

— Narrow the President’s waiver authority of Section 907 restrictions on U.S. assistance to Azerbaijan

— Reinstate the Nagorno Karabakh Republic into the OSCE Minsk Group peace process as a full negotiating partner.

In February, President Obama issued his FY 2017 budget proposal, calling for a $22.412 million allocation in economic aid to Armenia – a 22% increase over last year’s request, but far less than the $40 million previously advanced by the ANCA and Congressional Armenian Caucus. The FY2017 request for Azerbaijan is $10,936,000. The White House’s proposal did maintain parity between Armenia and Azerbaijan in terms of appropriated military aid, with International Military Education and Training (IMET) assistance set at $600,000 and Foreign Military Finance (FMF) at $1,000,000. President Obama also requested $1,700,000 for International Narcotics Control and Law enforcement for Armenia.

Last Chance, Amigo? 60 Years ago Turkey fooled USA to put missile in Turkey created Cuban missile crisis.

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150929-obama-raul-castro-02_da77d017537f22a7ada41983de87f9ae.nbcnews-fp-1200-800Back dropped by a monument depicting Cuba’s revolutionary hero Ernesto “Che” Guevara, U.S. President Barack Obama listens to the U.S. national anthem during a ceremony at the Jose Marti Monument in Havana, Cuba, Monday, March 21, 2016. “It is a great honor to pay tribute to Jose Marti, who gave his life for independence of his homeland. His passion for liberty, freedom, and self-determination lives on in the Cuban people today,” Obama wrote in dark ink in the book after he laid a wreath and toured the memorial dedicated to the memory of Jose Marti. (AP Photo/Dennis Rivera) – Puerto Rico OUT

The leaders’ press conference has resulted in an extraordinary interchange between CNN reporter Jim Acosta, a second-generation Cuban-American, and Raul Castro, a figure of absolute authority in Cuba who is never subjected to aggressive questioning by the state-controlled press or exposed to questions from independent foreign reporters.

When asked why Cuba has political prisoners, Castro testily addressed Acosta directly, saying “Give me the list now of political prisoners to release … if there are political prisoners they’ll be free before nightfall.”

Cuba is criticized for briefly detaining demonstrators thousands of times a year but has drastically reduced its practice of handing down long prison sentences for crimes human rights groups consider to be political. Cuba released dozens of political prisoners as part of its deal to normalize relations with Cuba and Amnesty International said in its 2015/2016 report that it knew of no prisoners of conscience in Cuba.

Job done: Russia saved Syria from US regime change… now it’s over to diplomacy

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By Finian Cunningham

56e7f487c36188e9348b45d2Five years of war, five months of Russian military intervention, and now peace talks are underway. It’s as simple as that.

However, rather than acknowledging a successful Russian mission, Western media outlets immediately began speculating that President Putin’s surprise announcement to withdraw Russian forces from Syria indicates a “rift” between Moscow and Damascus.

This is just more of the same Western media weapon of mass distraction that has obscured the real nature of the five-year war.

The sovereignty of Syria is the central principle officially underpinning peace talks that resumed in Geneva this week. Without Russia’s military intervention, Syria would not have the chance to pursue a political settlement on a such solid footing.

By contrast, after nearly two years of US-led military intervention allegedly to “defeat terrorism”, the Syrian state was on the brink of collapse from a largely foreign-backed terrorist assault. Until, that is, Russia intervened at the end of September last year.

The touchstone is that Russia from the outset was motivated by supporting the Syrian nation and supplanting the terror threat. While the US and its allies were ultimately the source of the threat.

Western media in hock to their governments’ political line still strain the implausible narrative of a “popular uprising” in Syria that somehow descended into a “global proxy war”.

But to the rest of the world, US-led illegal regime-change is the obvious, and damning, story. This should be the focus, not speculation about Putin’s alleged ulterior motives to withdraw militarily now from Syria.

US Secretary of State John Kerry speaking in Paris last weekend alongside European counterparts appeared to highlight Syria as a priority for peace efforts.

It is rather galling that Kerry should lecture Russia about making “clear choices” in Syria or elsewhere, when the only plausible explanation for the violence in the Arab country can be traced to the criminal interference of Washington and its partners, in flagrant violation of international law and thereby unleashing mayhem that destroyed millions of lives.

As opposition parties gather for tentative talks in Geneva, the New York Times informed its readers that it coincides with the “fifth anniversary of the beginning of the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, which morphed into civil war and then a regional and global proxy war.”

This is a typical sample of Western distortion on Syria that persists in contradiction to the abundant evidence. That Western narrative is based on the dubious premise that the violence was instigated after the Syrian state crushed a genuine pro-democracy uprising. Secondly, the narrative blandly portrays that the conflict then escalated into a proxy war between foreign governments, as if the latter scenario is unrelated to the initial “uprising”.

However, thanks to alternative news media in the West and also internationally, such as channels like RT and Press TV, there is a substantial body of information that challenges the Western mainstream narrative. Not only challenges, but exposes it as willful deception.

For a start, substantive reports in the alternative media convincingly show that the initial, small-scale protests in Syria during March 2011 were infiltrated by armed provocateurs who fired on civilians and state security forces alike in order to incite large-scale violence. One of the best investigations on these crucial events was carried out by Sharmine Narwani for RT.

US to Decide Soon Whether to Call Mideast Killings of Christians ‘Genocide’

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1025636296The United States will soon make a decision on whether to call the mass killings of Christian by Islamist extremists in the Middle East a genocide, US Secretary of State John Kerry told members of the House of Representatives Committee on Appropriations on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — Kerry added that so far, he has been given initial recommendations on how the Obama administration should label the atrocities, and noted has since asked for “further evaluation.”

“We are currently doing what I have to do, which is review very carefully the legal standards and precedence for whatever judgement is made,” Kerry explained when urged by a US lawmaker to use his authority to call the killings a genocide.

“I will make a decision on this and I will make a decision on it as soon as I have that additional evaluation and we will proceed forward from there.”

Kerry added he has been given initial recommendations on how the Obama administration should label the atrocities, and noted he has since asked for “further evaluation.”

Earlier this month, Russian Patriarch Kirill and Pope Francis called on the international community to prevent the killing and expulsion of Christians from the Middle East and end the violence in the region. The two religious leaders also discussed the possibility of forming jointly a political association to counter the genocide of Christians.

Iraq censures US, EU for inaction over Turkey’s troops deployment

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044c5b5e-ffcf-4e80-9f95-47911770ef38Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi censured the United States and the European Union Tuesday for inaction on Turkey’s military deployment north of Iraq, warning that Baghdad may be forced to get help from Russia for pushing back the Turkish forces.

In a phone conversation, Abadi has warned US President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden that Turkey may be aiming to occupy the northern Iraqi city of Mosul and areas surrounding it in the same manner that it invaded Cyprus in 1974, urging the US and European allies to make Turkey leave the Iraqi territory as soon as possible, the Lebanese al-Mayadeen news channel reported.

In early December 2015, Turkey deployed a contingent of its troops to the Bashiqa military camp north of Mosul, claiming that the move had been earlier coordinated with Iraqi officials. Baghdad swiftly denied the claim and called on Ankara to immediately withdraw its forces from the camp.

Abadi warned the White House and leaders of major European powers that Iraq may be compelled to ask for Russia’s intervention in northern Iraq if Turkey does not pull back its troops from Bashiqa.

The Iraqi prime minister also warned Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu that if Ankara does not specify a clear timetable for the withdrawal of the troops, Iraq could resort to other options.

Baghdad had previously filed an official complaint with the United Nations Security Council, demanding the immediate withdrawal of the Turkish contingent.

Abadi also slammed an emerging plan by some Persian Gulf Arab states for deploying troops into Syria, saying such action would directly affect the security of Iraq and could fan the flames of militancy in the Middle East.

Antonin Scalia, conservative US Supreme Court justice, dies

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scl.thumbUS Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia – one of the most conservative members of the high court – has died, the BBC reports.

Justice Scalia’s death could shift the balance of power on the US high court, allowing President Barack Obama to add a fifth liberal justice to the bench.

The court’s conservative 5-4 majority has recently stalled major efforts by the Obama administration on climate change and immigration.

Justice Scalia, 79, was appointed by President Ronald Reagan in 1986.

He died in his sleep early on Saturday while in West Texas for hunting trip, the US Marshalls Service said.

“For almost 30 years, Justice Scalia was a larger-than-life presence on the bench,” President Obama said, calling him “an extraordinary judicial thinker” with “an incisive wit”.

The president said he intends to name a replacement in due time, despite calls from Republicans to wait until the next president is elected.

“There will be plenty of time for me to do so and for the Senate to fulfil its responsibility to give that person a fair hearing and a timely vote,” Mr Obama said.