Putin Derides ‘Weak’ U.S. Policy as Diplomats Discuss Syria

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By Andrey Biryukov and Dana Khraiche. Russian President Vladimir Putin once again derided American policy on Syria as weak and lacking objectives, as his air force continued bombing raids to support Bashar al-Assad’s government.

“I don’t really understand how the U.S. can criticize Russia’s actions in Syria if they refuse to have direct dialogue,” Putin told reporters Thursday during a visit to Astana, Kazakhstan. “The basic weakness of the American position is that they don’t have an agenda, though we’re keeping the door open” for high-level discussions, he said.

Amid growing friction over the Russian military intervention that began Sept. 30, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry countered that Russia must make “good on its commitment, repeated many times, to help” the U.S.-led, 65-member coalition fighting to defeat Islamic State terrorists.

“The point we have made to the Russians, however, is that it would be totally self-defeating to the point of farce to try at the same time to prop up Bashar al-Assad and his murderous regime, which seems to be precisely what Moscow wants to do,” Kerry said Thursday in a speech at Indiana University’s School of Global and International Studies in Bloomington, Indiana . . .

Kerry and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov discussed Syria by phone on Thursday and expressed satisfaction on the progress of military talks to improve “security in the Syrian airspace in the context of anti-terrorist actions,” the Foreign Ministry in Moscow said in a statement on its website. The U.S. has emphasized that the “technical” talks are limited to reducing the risk of a conflict between their aircraft in the skies over Syria. (Read more from “Putin Derides ‘Weak’ U.S. Policy as Diplomats Discuss Syria” HERE)

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Russian Military Uses Syria as Proving Ground, and West Takes Notice

By Steven Lee Meyers and Eric Schmitt. Two weeks of air and missile strikes in Syria have given Western intelligence and military officials a deeper appreciation of the transformation that Russia’s military has undergone under President Vladimir V. Putin, showcasing its ability to conduct operations beyond its borders and providing a public demonstration of new weaponry, tactics and strategy.

The strikes have involved aircraft never before tested in combat, including the Sukhoi Su-34 strike fighter, which NATO calls the Fullback, and a ship-based cruise missile fired more than 900 miles from the Caspian Sea, which, according to some analysts, surpasses the American equivalent in technological capability.

Russia’s jets have struck in support of Syrian ground troops advancing from areas under the control of the Syrian government, and might soon back an Iranian-led offensive that appeared to be forming in the northern province of Aleppo on Wednesday. That coordination reflects what American officials described as months of meticulous planning behind Russia’s first military campaign outside former Soviet borders since the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

Taken together, the operations reflect what officials and analysts described as a little-noticed — and still incomplete — modernization that has been underway in Russia for several years, despite strains on the country’s budget. And that, as with Russia’s intervention in neighboring Ukraine, has raised alarms in the West.

In a report this month for the European Council on Foreign Relations, Gustav Gressel argued that Mr. Putin had overseen the most rapid transformation of the country’s armed forces since the 1930s. “Russia is now a military power that could overwhelm any of its neighbors, if they were isolated from Western support,” wrote Mr. Gressel, a former officer of the Austrian military. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Israel Deploys Hundreds of Soldiers in Jerusalem

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By Judah Ari Gross and Raoul Wootliff. Six companies of Israeli soldiers were mobilized in Jerusalem Wednesday, as the IDF joined efforts to secure the city following an escalation in the violence there. The move is part of a slew of measures passed by the security cabinet overnight Tuesday aiming to prevent further terror attacks after the deadliest day so far in the current wave of unrest.

Tuesday saw four terror attacks, two of which, in Jerusalem, left three Israelis dead. All told, over 30 were injured.

“In accordance with the cabinet’s decision last night, as of this morning 300 IDF soldiers have already begun spreading out to provide additional security under police command,” an Israel Police spokesman said in a statement Wednesday morning.

Police also began setting up checkpoints at “the exits of Palestinian villages and neighborhoods in east Jerusalem,” where most of the recent attackers have come from, a police spokeswoman said. Those police actions are intended to return security and order to all the country’s residents, the police said.

The security cabinet also voted to ramp up security arrangements on Jerusalem’s public transport, where the IDF will bolster security until the Transportation Ministry enlists additional guards. Soldiers will be stationed at bus and light rail stops, as well as on buses and trains across the city. (Read more from “Israel Deploys Hundreds of Soldiers in Jerusalem” HERE)

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Kerry Links ‘Increase in Violence’ to Israel’s Settlement Activity

By Rebecca Shimoni Stoil and AP. Expansion of building in settlements has increased Palestinian frustration, leading to the current upswing in violence, Secretary of State John Kerry told an audience at Harvard University Tuesday evening. Speaking about America’s ability to impact outcomes throughout the world, Kerry warned that “unless we get going, the two-state solution will be conceivably stolen from everybody.”

“There’s been a massive increase in settlements over the course of the last years,” Kerry said during a question-and-answer session, “and there’s an increase in the violence because there’s this frustration that’s growing.” Kerry noted that there was also “a frustration among Israelis who don’t see any end.”

“I look at that and I say if that did explode — and I pray and hope it won’t — and I think there’re options to prevent that, then we would inevitably be at some point engaged in working though those kinds of difficulties,” Kerry continued. “So better to find the ways to deal with it before that happens than later and I think what always perplexes me – we’ve been through Oslo, Wye Plantation, Madrid, countless negotiations. Most people I talk to have a pretty damn good sense of what has to be done.”

“It’s a question of making the judgments and having the courage to go there,” Kerry insisted, adding that “we have 16 months left in this administration and we’re going to stay engaged and try to work through these issues because there are options and there is a better other side to the current conflict we’re witnessing.”

The top US diplomat stressed that the Obama administration would keep pushing for an agreement in its remaining 16 months in office. US-backed talks collapsed spectacularly in April 2014 after a nine-month effort and negotiations have been in a deep freeze ever since. (Read more from this story HERE)

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3 Israelis Dead as Palestinian Groups Declare ‘Day of Rage’

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A pair of Palestinian men boarded a bus in Jerusalem and began shooting and stabbing passengers, while another assailant rammed a car into a bus station before stabbing bystanders, in near-simultaneous attacks Tuesday that escalated a monthlong wave of violence. Three Israelis and one attacker were killed.

The Jerusalem attacks, along with two stabbings in a central Israeli city, marked the most serious outbreak of violence since the current round of tensions erupted. More than 15 people were wounded.

The violence, coming at a time when peace prospects appear bleak, have fueled a sense of panic in Israel and raised fears that the region is on the cusp of a new round of heavy violence.

CBS News’ Jonathan Vigliotti reports Palestinian groups have declared a “Day of Rage” on Tuesday across the region . . .

On Tuesday, police closed major highways leading in and out of Jerusalem, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called an emergency meeting of his Security Cabinet, where police were to present a plan to halt the violence. Police spokeswoman Luba Samri said the country’s internal security minister, Gilad Erdan, was considering a number of immediate steps, including sealing off Arab neighborhoods in east Jerusalem, where many of the attackers have come from, and making it easier to get gun licenses. (Read more from “3 Israelis Dead as Palestinian Groups Declare ‘Day of Rage'” HERE)

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Brit, 74, Faces 350 Lashes in Saudi Arabia – Here’s the Ridiculous Reason Why

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A sickly 74-year-old British grandad is facing 350 lashes at a public flogging in Saudi Arabia for having home-made wine.

Karl Andree, who has had cancer three times and is asthmatic, has been in jail more than a year.

His family in South London are now begging David Cameron to intervene personally to prevent the savage beating.

[His] son Simon said: “There is no doubt in our minds that 350 lashes will kill him . . .

Daughter Kirsten added: “My dad broke the rules in a country that does not allow alcohol but he’s served his time. Dad is 74 and not a well man. I worry he won’t survive this ordeal.” (Read more from “Brit, 74, Faces 350 Lashes in Saudi Arabia – Here’s the Ridiculous Reason Why” HERE)

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Amid Russia Airstrikes, a Putin Craze Takes Hold in Mideast

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By Zeina Karamvivian Salama. Amid the ornate walls of Damascus’ famed Omayyad Mosque, preacher Maamoun Rahmeh stood before worshippers last week, declaring Russian President Vladimir Putin a “giant and beloved leader” who has “destroyed the myth of the self-aggrandizing America.”

Posters of Putin are popping up on cars and billboards elsewhere in parts of Syria and Iraq, praising the Russian military intervention in Syria as one that will redress the balance of power in the region.

The Russian leader is winning accolades from many in Iraq and Syria, who see Russian airstrikes in Syria as a turning point after more than a year of largely ineffectual efforts by the U.S.-led coalition to dislodge the Islamic State militants who have occupied significant parts of the two countries. (Read more from “Amid Russia Airstrikes, a Putin Craze Takes Hold in Mideast” HERE)

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Putin Says Russia’s Campaign in Syria More Effective Than U.S.

By Jake Rudnitsky and Stepan Kravchenko. Russian President Vladimir Putin defended his air and cruise-missile strikes on terror targets in Syria as two Saudi Arabian officials softened their government’s position on the fate of Bashar al-Assad.

Putin discussed his Syria campaign on Sunday with Saudi Arabia’s Defense Minister Mohammed Bin Salman, who signaled a willingness to let al-Assad remain in power longer, while the foreign ministers of both nations also met to consider the situation in Syria.

Putin’s bombing campaign to support his ally Assad took the U.S. and NATO by surprise and overshadowed a flurry of diplomacy over how to tackle the conflict. As Russia builds up its military presence in Assad’s stronghold on the eastern Mediterranean Sea, U.S. President Barack Obama dismissed any notion that his leadership on the world stage was being challenged.

Now Russia is leading the diplomatic charge, with Putin in bilateral meetings with Abu Dhabi crown prince Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Saudi Arabia’s Prince Mohammed, who were in Sochi in southern Russia, site of a Formula 1 auto race. Putin again called for a political resolution emanating from Assad’s government. (Read more from this story HERE)

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Leaked Letter Adds Intrigue, Confusion to Vatican Bishops Meeting

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By Philip Pullella. A gathering of world Roman Catholic bishops was thrown into confusion on Monday with the leak of a letter from conservative cardinals to Pope Francis bitterly complaining that the meeting was stacked against them.

It was published by the same Italian journalist whose press credentials were stripped by the Holy See last June after he ran a leaked copy of the pope’s major encyclical on the environment.

The gathering, or synod, of more than 300 bishops, delegates and observers, including some married couples, is discussing how the 1.2 billion-member Church can confront challenges facing the modern family.

The bishops are debating ways to defend the traditional family and make life-long marriage more appealing to young people, and at the same time reach out to disaffected Catholics such as homosexuals, co-habiting couples and the divorced.

L’Espresso newsweekly, which published the English-language letter in full, said 13 cardinals signed the letter and one of them hand-delivered it to the pope last week. (Read more from “Leaked Letter Adds Intrigue, Confusion to Vatican Bishops Meeting” HERE)

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Rebel Cardinals Accuse Pope of Stacking Synod Cards

By Agence France-Presse. Conservative cardinals have accused Pope Francis of stacking the cards against them in an ongoing battle over issues including the Church’s approach to gays and to divorced and remarried believers, it emerged Monday.

In a letter sent to the pontiff on October 5, the opening day of a Church synod on the family, a group of cardinals described procedures for three weeks of discussions as “designed to facilitate predetermined results on important disputed questions.”

The ostensibly private (but quickly leaked) letter was delivered to the pope by Australian Cardinal George Pell and reportedly signed by peers including the archbishops of Toronto and New York, Thomas Collins and Timothy Dolan, and arch-Vatican conservative Carlo Caffarra, the archbishop of Bologna.

A day later, without making any reference to the letter, Francis made an unscheduled intervention in the synod discussions to warn participants not to be taken in by “spiritually unhelpful” conspiracy theories.

And in comments that now look like a slapdown of a challenge to his authority, he also pointedly stressed that he had personally approved the methodology for three weeks of talks intended to reshape Catholic teaching on a broad range of questions related to family life. (Read more from this story HERE)

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‘One Step Closer to War’ – RAF Given All Clear to SHOOT Down Russian Aircraft

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By Express. The shocking order has been given as it emerges British ministers have warned Russia is making the situation in the Middle East “much more dangerous”.

RAF jets will be armed with advanced short range air-to-air missiles and British and Nato pilots have been told to fight for their lives if they are fired upon by Vladimir Putin’s air force.

Senior defence sources said British fighters are likely to be involved in a deadly air battle with Russian aircraft sooner rather than later.

Speaking to the Daily Star Sunday, a source said: “We need to protect our pilots but at the same time we’re taking a step closer to war. It will only take one plane to be shot down in an air-to-air battle and the whole landscape will change.”

The RAF Tornados will each carry up to four supersonic weapons that cost £200,000 each and are capable of blasting any aircraft out of the sky. (Read more from “‘One Step Closer to War’ – RAF Given All Clear to SHOOT Down Russian Aircraft” HERE)

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RAF Given Green Light to Shoot Down Hostile Russian Jets in Syria

By Romil Patel. As relations between the West and Russia steadily deteriorate, Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots have been given the go-ahead to shoot down Russian military jets when flying missions over Syria and Iraq, if they are endangered by them. The development comes with warnings that the UK and Russia are now “one step closer” to being at war.

RAF Tornado pilots have been instructed to avoid contact with Russian aircraft while engaged in missions for Operation Shader – the codename for the RAF’s anti-Isis work in Iraq and Syria. But their aircraft have been armed with air-to-air missiles and the pilots have been given the green light to defend themselves if they are threatened by Russian pilots.

“The first thing a British pilot will do is to try to avoid a situation where an air-to-air attack is likely to occur — you avoid an area if there is Russian activity,” an unidentified source from the UK’s Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) told the Sunday Times. “But if a pilot is fired on or believes he is about to be fired on, he can defend himself. We now have a situation where a single pilot, irrespective of nationality, can have a strategic impact on future events.”

The RAF Tornados aircraft will be armed with heat-seeking Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles (Asraams, also called AIM-132 missiles). These weapons, which cost £200,000 each, can reach triple the speed of sound and have a longer range than other air-to-air missiles, allowing RAF pilots to shoot down enemy aircraft without being targeted themselves.

The Sunday Times’ report quoted a defence source as saying: “Up till now RAF Tornados have been equipped with 500lb satellite-guided bombs — there has been no or little air-to-air threat. But in the last week the situation has changed. We need to respond accordingly.” (Read more from this story HERE)

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Something Massive Was Just Discovered Under Ground in a Key Region of Israel That Could Ratchet Tensions Higher

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Israel’s relationship with surrounding nations could change significantly because of a recent discovery in their nation.

Massive oil reserves have been found near their Syrian border.

“There is enormous excitement,” Yuval Bartov, chief geologist for Afek Oil and Gas, an Israeli subsidiary of Genie Energy, an American company, said Tuesday. “It’s a fantastic feeling. We came here thinking maybe yes or maybe no, and now things are really happening.”

The potential of the discovery is vast, Bartov said. The field could meet Israel’s domestic oil consumption needs for many years, eliminating any need to import oil from Arab neighbors. Israel uses about 270,000 barrels of oil per day.

“We are talking about a strata which is 350 meters thick and what is important is the thickness and the porosity,” Bartov said. “On average in the world, strata are 20-30 meters thick, so this is ten times as large as that, so we are talking about significant quantities. The important thing is to know the oil is in the rock and that’s what we now know” . . .

The reserves were found in the Golan Heights, captured from Syria during the 1967 Six Day War and formally annexed by Israel in 1981. The region already contains vital underground water sources that provide Israel’s chief source of fresh water. (Read more from “Something Massive Was Just Discovered Under Ground in a Key Region of Israel That Could Ratchet Tensions Higher” HERE)

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Iran Tests New Long-Range Missile

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Iran announced Sunday it had successfully tested a new domestically produced long-range missile, which it said was the first that could be guided all the way to targets.

The defense ministry posted pictures of the launch of the missile, named Imad, on its website but no details were given about its maximum range or other capabilities.

“This is Iran’s first long-range missile that can be guided and controlled until hitting the target,” Defense Minister Hossein Dehghan was quoted as saying.

The launch comes months after some Iranian officials voiced concern that the Islamic republic’s recent nuclear deal with world powers could place limits on its missile program.

Dehghan said mass production of missile would be followed by supplies of the weapon to the Iranian military, the semi-official Press TV reported. (Read more from “Iran Tests New Long-Range Missile” HERE)

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Iranian-American Journalist Convicted, Iran News Agency Says

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A court in Iran has convicted Washington Post reporter Jason Rezaian, Iran’s ISNA news agency said on Sunday, but the U.S. newspaper said Tehran was working a political angle by not disclosing details.

ISNA quoted judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Mohseni Ejei as saying the California-born Rezaian, the paper’s Tehran bureau chief, had 20 days to appeal the verdict. Rezaian was arrested in July 2014. He was accused of espionage.

“He has been convicted. … But I don’t have the details of his verdict,” the news agency quoted Ejei as saying . . .

State Department spokesman John Kirby said the United States was monitoring the case closely. “We continue to call for all charges against Jason to be dropped and for him to be immediately released,” Kirby said earlier.

Iran has accused Rezaian, 39, of collecting confidential information and giving it to hostile governments, writing a letter to U.S. President Barack Obama and acting against national security. The Post has dismissed the charges as absurd. The final hearing in his trial was on Aug. 10. (Read more from “Iranian-American Journalist Convicted, Iran News Agency Says” HERE)

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