America 'staring down the barrel of martial law', Oregon senator warns

Ron Wyden says Portland tactics threaten democracy
Senator Jeff Merkley deplores ‘military-style assault’

Former Ice head: Trump is using agents as his ‘goon squad’


David Smith and Daniel Strauss in Washington

Sat 25 Jul 2020 07.00 BSTLast modified on Sat 25 Jul 2020 19.25 BST

America is “staring down the barrel of martial law” as it approaches the presidential election, a US senator from Oregon has warned as Donald Trump cracks down on protests in Portland, the state’s biggest city.

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In interviews with the Guardian, Democrat Ron Wyden said the federal government’s authoritarian tactics in Portland and other cities posed an “enormous” threat to democracy, while his fellow senator Jeff Merkley described it as “an all-out assault in military-style fashion”.

In the early hours of Saturday, thousands of protesters gathered again outside the federal courthouse in the city, shooting fireworks at the building as teargas, dispensed by US agents, lingered above. Protesters and agents used leaf blowers to try to redirect the gas. At around 2.30am, agents marched down the street, clearing protesters with gas at close range. They also extinguished a fire outside the courthouse.

The independent watchdogs for the US justice and homeland security departments said on Thursday they were launching investigations into the use of force by federal agents, including instances of unidentified officers in camouflage gear snatching demonstrators off the streets and spiriting them away in unmarked vehicles.

But Trump this week announced a “surge” of federal law enforcement to Chicago and Albuquerque, in addition to a contingent already in Kansas City. The move fuelled critics’ suspicions that the president was stressing a “law and order” campaign theme at the expense of civil liberties.

Wyden said in a statement: “The violent tactics deployed by Donald Trump and his paramilitary forces against peaceful protesters are those of a fascist regime, not a democratic nation.”
Speaking by phone, he said: “Unless America draws a line in the sand right now, I think we could be staring down the barrel of martial law in the middle of a presidential election.”


Military control of government was last imposed in the US in 1941, after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In current circumstances it would entail “trashing the constitution and trashing people’s individual rights”, Wyden warned.

The senator recalled a conversation with a legal adviser for the head of national intelligence.

“I asked him again and again what was the constitutional justification for what the Trump administration is doing in my home town and he completely ducked the questions and several times said, ‘Well, I just want to extend my best wishes to your constituents.’

“After I heard him say it several times, I said my constituents don’t want your best wishes. They want to know when you’re going to stop trashing their constitutional rights.”

The White House press secretary, Kayleigh McEnany, began a briefing on Friday with a selectively edited video depicting protests, flames, graffiti and chaos in Portland.

“The Trump administration will not stand by and allow anarchy in our streets,” she said. “Law and order will prevail.”

Trump has falsely accused his election rival, Joe Biden, of pledging to “defund the police” so violent crime will flourish. Democrats condemn Trump for a made-for-TV attempt to distract both from Black Lives Matter protests and his mishandling of the coronavirus pandemic, now killing more than 1,000 Americans a day.

“I wish the president would fight the coronavirus half as hard as he attacks my home town,” Wyden said. “I think he’s setting up an us-against-them kind of strategy. He’s trying to create his narrative that my constituents, who are peaceful protesters, are basically anarchists, sympathisers of anarchists and, as he does so often, just fabricate it.
Federal police under the orders of Donald Trump launch teargas after a demonstration in Portland, Oregon, on Thursday. Photograph: Anadolu Agency/Getty Images


“Trump knows that his [coronavirus] strategy has been an unmitigated disaster. The coronavirus is spiking in various places and he’s trying to play to rightwing media and play to his base and see if he can kind of create a narrative that gives him some traction.”

The Portland deployment, Operation Diligent Valor, involves 114 officers from homeland security and the US Marshals Service, according to court documents. Local officials say their heavy-handed approach, including teargas and flash grenades, has merely enflamed demonstrations against police brutality and racial injustice. The justice department-led Operation Legend involves more than 200 agents each in Kansas City and Chicago as well as 35 in Albuquerque. It is targeted at violent crime.

Lori Lightfoot, the mayor of Chicago, has vowed to resist the federal intervention.


It’s very clear what the president is trying to do is incite violence and then display that violence in campaign adsSenator Jeff Merkley

“We’re not going to allow the unconstitutional, state-sanctioned lawlessness we saw brought to Portland here in Chicago,” she said on Thursday.

Merkley offered words of advice.

“I would say that you probably don’t believe that these federal forces will attack protesters if the protesters are peaceful and you will be wrong because that’s exactly what they’re doing in Portland,” he told the Guardian.

“This is an all-out assault in military-style fashion on a peaceful-style protest. The way to handle graffiti is put up a fence or come out and ask people to stop doing it, not to attack a peaceful protest but that’s exactly what happened. It’s very clear what the president is trying to do is incite violence and then display that violence in campaign ads. And I say this because that’s exactly what he’s doing right now. This is not some theory.”

The senator added: “This is just an absolute assault on people’s civil rights to speak and to assemble.”

Merkley argued that with past targets such as Islamic State and undocumented migrants losing their potency, Trump has settled on African Americans in inner cities to be his latest scapegoats.

“I think it’s also important to note the president we’ve always known has this intense authoritarian streak,” he said. “He loved and had so much affection for the leader of North Korea, Putin in Russia. Just admiration for some of the tactics in the Philippines with Duterte and Erdoğan in Turkey, by the crown prince in Saudi Arabia.”

On Friday the United Nations warned against the use of excessive force against demonstrators and media.

“Peaceful demonstrations that have been taking place in cities in the US, such as Portland, really must be able to continue,” UN human rights office spokeswoman Elizabeth Throssell told reporters. 

Play Video
1:57 Portland protests: why Trump has sent in federal agents – video report

Play Video
1:37 Portland protesters counter teargas with leaf blowers in standoff with federal troops – video

Colorado COVID-19 outbreak traced to Bible conference that defied health orders: report

July 25, 2020
By Matthew Chapman


THIS IS ALSO WHAT HAPPENED IN THE FIRST WAVE IN SOUTH KOREA, IT ALL CAME FROM ONE CHURCH.
On Saturday, The Friendly Atheist reported that Colorado authorities have traced 22 cases of COVID-19 to a Summer Family Bible conference held by Andrew Wommack, a preacher who has openly defied state public health restrictions on church gatherings.

“I have respectfully refused to comply with the artificial limit on the number of people who can attend,” wrote Wommack in a Facebook post. “We are firmly in the ‘crosshairs’ of our liberal state government. Liberty Counsel has agreed to represent us, and we are fighting back. I believe it is not only our constitutional right but our duty to stop this extreme overreach of government that allows people to riot and pillage but not assemble to worship the Lord.”

Subsequently, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment traced an outbreak of COVID-19 to that event, “with seven staff members and fifteen attendees testing positive.”

As a result, Wommack has canceled his upcoming in-person “healing conference” and will be live streaming the event for his parishioners instead

“I know it seems ironic that I’d be canceling a healing conference due to a sickness outbreak,” said Wommack in a statement. “If it was just me, I believe that if I touch someone, they’ll catch my healing instead of me catching their sickness. But since the Covid-19 cases in this community have risen lately, I have to consider the safety and well-being of everyone involved. I know that God wants to heal Covid, just like every other disease, and he can do that no matter where you are!”

You can read more here.

That’s an illegal order': veterans challenge Trump's officers in Portland

Two veterans asked federal agents if they understood their oath to defend the constitution and why they weren’t honoring their oath of office

Hallie Golden Sat 25 Jul 2020 

 

Federal agents shoot teargas and pepper balls at protesters near the federal courthouse in Portland, Oregon, on 23 July. Photograph: Mike Logdson/RMV/REX/Shutterstock

The Black Lives Matter protest in Portland looked to be winding down last Saturday night when US marine corps veteran Duston Obermeyer noticed a phalanx of federal officers emerge from the federal courthouse.

They shot teargas at the crowd and pushed a protester to the ground with such force that, Obermeyer said, she slid 6ft across the pavement.


Chad Wolf: who is the Trump official leading the crackdown in Portland?

The 42-year-old had driven about 40 minutes from his home in the Molalla area for his first protest after hearing the many recent reports of federal personnel in tactical gear emerging from unmarked cars with automatic weapons to pick up protesters. His plan was to observe first-hand what was happening.

But in that moment, he said, he realized he couldn’t stand by and simply watch.

In a Pokémon hat and Superman T-shirt, and with a cotton mask protecting his face, the 6ft 4in, 275lb man walked up to the officers and asked whether they understood their oath to defend the constitution.
Laura Cranehill(@LauraCranehill)

This is #CaptainPortland @Tazerface16 getting attacked by FEDS but from a different angle, and who I believe is your fellow USNA alumni Duston Obermeyer getting attacked beside you #wallofvets #portlandprotest pic.twitter.com/kJWr2122ZmJuly 23, 2020

“They are not supposed to be coming and attacking protesters,” Obermeyer told the Guardian. “They didn’t even give any warning, there was no ‘hey you need to move’, ‘hey back up’. There was basically them walking out and assaulting a protester just to prove that they could.”

Just a few feet away, Obermeyer was aware of another man, US navy veteran Chris David, asking virtually the same question.

 

Duston Obermeyer. Photograph: Duston Obermeyer

Despite both being graduates of the naval academy, David is 11 years older and thus the pair had never met. But after more than 50 consecutive days of anti-racism and anti-police brutality protests in Portland, following the killing of George Floyd by police officers in Minneapolis, and the recent deployment of militarized federal agents by Donald Trump, both veterans had decided simultaneously now was the time to start asking questions.

“I’m not a big believer in coincidence,” said Obermeyer. “I believe that we both have similar feelings because we come from similar places and we truly believe in the constitution as it’s currently written and as it’s taught in grade school. And this is a violation of constitutional rights.”

David, who came dressed in a Naval Academy sweatshirt and Navy wrestling hat, told the Guardian he believes they both came out that day because of their time at the naval academy, which instills “a deep level of integrity” in graduates. But also, he said, for perhaps an even simpler reason.


“We have the ability to see what is right and what is wrong. And what we both saw was wrong and we wanted to go out there and talk to those officers.”

Obermeyer also asked the officers whether they understand what an illegal order is, referencing the fact that military officers are required by law to disobey illegal or unconstitutional orders.

“Assaulting an unarmed protester who is exercising their first amendment rights is illegal, that’s an illegal order,” he said.

That’s when teargas was fired on the two men. When that didn’t deter them, Obermeyer said an officer tried to hit him with a baton, but he caught it and quickly pushed him back. Another officer repeatedly beat David with a baton, breaking his hand in two places, an injury that will require surgery on Monday. He was also sprayed in the face with a white chemical irritant that he said “felt like flaming gasoline.”
Zane Sparling(@PDXzane)

Federal police strike protester with baton, use pepper spray and tear gas outside courthouse in Portland pic.twitter.com/VX2xTVaaYqJuly 19, 2020

Obermeyer recalls an officer sticking an automatic weapon in his face, while another shot him at point-blank range with an orange chemical irritant.

After serving in the marine corps for over a decade, including as an officer, Obermeyer has experienced being gassed many times. In this case, he wasn’t sure what they had used because, he said: “I’ve never felt worse than I did that night after being sprayed in the face.”

His eyes and nose almost immediately closed up, and he started having a difficult time breathing. His clothes were drenched, and he said it felt like his skin was on fire. Others in the crowd guided him a block away and helped him flush out his eyes. It took him three days to recover.

Oregon’s governor, Kate Brown, and Portland’s mayor, Ted Wheeler, have repeatedly denounced the presence of agents from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the US Marshals Service and the border patrol.

Oregon’s attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, filed a lawsuit Friday in federal court against DHS, the Marshals Service, Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protection Service, alleging their behavior violated state citizens’ right to peacefully protest.

Play Video
1:57 Portland protests: why Trump has sent in federal agents – video report

Meanwhile, inspired by the events last Saturday, “Wall of Vets” groups have formed in Portland and at least five other cities across the country, similar to the walls of moms and dads, who stand in lines to protect the protesters.


Trump is using federal agents as his 'goon squad', says Ice's ex-acting head

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The DHS said in a statement Wednesday that federal law enforcement officers are working “diligently and honorably to enforce federal law by defending federal property and the lives of their fellow officers” as “violent anarchists continue to riot on the streets of Portland”. The DHS and Portland police did not respond to a request for comment.

David said the officers’ response Saturday night to a largely peaceful crowd was completely disproportionate. But he said, it was also clear that they were not trained for this type of situation.

“They have no tactical cohesion to what they’re doing,” he said. “Duston and I are vets. We can tell what’s going on with these guys. There was no sort of command. They were running around and they were scared.”

As he watches the protests continue to balloon, Obermeyer believes the federal officers are actually “creating the situation that they are saying they have to be there for”.

“There are more protesters as we move forward,” he said. “Things should be kind of winding down at this point and they’re not because federal officers are there antagonizing and creating the situation not dealing with it.”

Scientists ‘Crack’ Mystery of What Split Earth’s Outer Shell and Began Motion of the Continents

© Photo : United States Geological Survey
TECH

Evolving from the concept of continental drift, which proposed that Earth’s continents began as one supercontinent, only to drift apart over billions of years, plate tectonics built on the idea to suggest that seven large plates and eight smaller plates were responsible for this process. The question is: how were these plates created?


Chinese and US researchers from the Dalian University of Technology, the China University of Geosciences, the University of Hong Kong, Hampton University and Northeastern University believe they may have ‘cracked’ the billions of years’ old mystery of how Earth’s shell split into 15 tectonic plates which have governed the movement of the continents ever since.
In a paper entitled ‘Breaking Earth’s Shell Into a Global Plate Network’, recently published in an issue of the peer-reviewed Nature Communications journal, scientists posited, using complex mathematical simulations and 3D spherical shell models, that our planet’s once uniform shell may have heated up again after solidifying and cooling, with immense thermal pressures causing it to expand and ultimately – crack.

Assuming a planetary radius of 6,371 km, researchers calculated that the lithosphere, Earth’s solid outer shell, could withstand only about 1 km worth of expansion before fracturing began.

The idea that Earth probably formed with a solid shell is itself a relatively new one, with researchers from the University of Maryland, Curtin University and the Geological Survey of Western Australia seeking to confirm that this was the case in a 2017 paper which examined rocks as old as 3.5 billion years old collected from Western Australia’s East Pilbara Terrane.



FELIPE DANA
Pangaea Riddle: How Ancient Supermassive Continent Broke Apart Shaping Today’s EarthWhat’s unique about the Chinese-American collaborative study’s approach is their theory about how exactly the Earth’s outer shell cooled and warmed again sufficiently enough to crack. “The answer lies in consideration of major heat-loss mechanisms that could have occurred during Earth’s early periods,” Dr. Alexander Webb, study coauthor and researcher at the University of Hong Kong’s Department of Earth and Planetary Science, said in a press release.


Specifically, the researchers posit that during Earth’s earliest period, volcanic advection was responsible for carrying hot material from the Earth’s fiery core to the surface. Over time, molten rock coming to the planet’s surface would cool and sink, with part of the heat lost to space, subsequently cooling the lithosphere, and, over time, trapping convective heat in the core, causing it to expand and – voila – ultimately cracking the shell into multiple plates.

© PHOTO : TWITTER / @YULSAROSLITSKA
Eruption of a volcano

The scientists now plan to use their tools and models for further studies of Earth, as well as other planets and moons in the solar system. “Together,” the researchers stressed, “these studies chip away at one of Earth and planetary science’s greatest remaining mysteries: how and why did Earth go from a molten ball to our plate tectonic planet?”

PHOTOS: Southern Alberta pounded with near tennis ball-sized hail

Digital Writers

VIDEO
theweathernetwork.com

https://www.theweathernetwork.com/ca/news/article/photos-southern-alberta-pounded-with-near-tennis-ball-sized-hail-calgary

Saturday, July 25th 2020, 1:40 pm - Another round of severe thunderstorms marched their way through southern Alberta Friday, dropping hailstones as big as 6 cm.

The story for the summer in Alberta seems to be the barrage of severe thunderstorms. Another chapter was added to the story Friday night, as the southern end of the province was hit with more severe weather including large hail.

Earlier this year, Calgary was hit by a destructive hailstorm, now Canada's fourth costliest natural disaster.

SEE ALSO: $1.2B Calgary hailstorm ranks as Canada's 4th costliest natural disaster

Though not nearly as severe as the June 13 storm, Friday's severe thunderstorms did drop large hail in portions of the province, with Weather Network video journalist Kyle Brittain encountering a wide-range of hailstone sizes while chasing storms. Some were no bigger than marbles and peas, while others were as large as 6 cm, close to tennis ball-sized (6.5 cm).

Needless to say, some of the hail caused structural damage and numerous lawns were covered with a noticeable layer of smaller stones.

GROUNDS COVERED IN HAILSTONES, DAMAGE INCURRED

Large, damaging hail at Indus #abstorm
6cm hail at 645PM pic.twitter.com/yUdjmtWBb8— Kyle Brittain (@KyleTWN) July 25, 2020


Almost tennis ball size#abstorm pic.twitter.com/e5OJJJrJfb— Bruce Hilton (@BruceHilton0551) July 25, 2020


Lots of hail damage in the SE Calgary area of Copperfield. #yyc #abstorm pic.twitter.com/q0VzP07Lrd— Dan Madden (@DanMaddenWX) July 25, 2020


Larger than golf ball hail at Shepard 3 hours later #abstorm pic.twitter.com/LqY8Iz4Vcj— Kyle Brittain (@KyleTWN) July 25, 2020


Still some big ice 3km W of Indus melting in the grass nearly 3 hours after the fact #abstorm pic.twitter.com/tbofqFwp76— Kyle Brittain (@KyleTWN) July 25, 2020


@mckenzietown hail tonight #abstorm pic.twitter.com/31mUVLaLlQ— Quentin Whitford (@QuentinWhitford) July 25, 2020


Hail from Oasis Grove RV park just south of Strathmore from this afternoon’s storm. Hearing of damaged cars, homes, and gardens within SE Calgary. #abstorm #yycstorm pic.twitter.com/ujuMSU00E0— T-Zen (@TTiessen) July 25, 2020


#abstorm that WAS a beautiful pea field until the storm last night. 😥 We are off to check for damage on our fields today. #agriculture #cdnag #westcdnag @KyleTWN @HouckisPokise @weathernetwork

I love a good storm but pink & purple on the radar mean bad things for crops. pic.twitter.com/4n8QOvEWYI— Shanyn Silinski (@MysticShanyn) July 25, 2020


Everything damaged👎#abstorm pic.twitter.com/tIIbyc9u7U— Bruce Hilton (@BruceHilton0551) July 25, 2020
Thumbnail courtesy of Kyle Brittain.

A Conspiracy Theory about Fauci Manufacturing the Coronavirus Will Air on Thousands of Local TV Stations

The latest episode of Sinclair Broadcast Group's America This Week features an interview with discredited virologist Judy Mikovits.

BY ABIGAIL COVINGTON JUL 25, 2020

According to CNN, 294 local news stations, owned by the Trump-endorsing Sinclair Broadcast Group, will air an interview with noted coronavirus conspiracy theorist Judy Mikovits and her lawyer Larry Klayman this weekend. The interview will be included as a segment in “America This Week” hosted by Eric Bolling.

In the segment, which is available online ahead of its weekend airing, Bolling introduces Mikovits as someone who “worked with Dr. Anthony Fauci and is an expert in virology” before asking her what she believes Dr. Fauci has done wrong.

She responded by saying, “I believe Dr. Fauci has manufactured the coronaviruses in monkey cell lines and shipped them from and paid for and shipped the cell lines to Wuhan, China, now for at least since 2014.” Positioned underneath her as she spoke was a graphic stating: “DID DR. FAUCI CREATE CORONAVIRUS?”

“Doctor, that’s a pretty hefty claim,” Bolling said, “You’re claiming that there was a virus that Fauci discovered, the coronavirus -- again, there are many coronaviruses -- but he shipped this specific version to China —”

Related Story

Sinclair Broadcast Group Should Be Broken Up

Mikovits interrupted Bolling to clarify her accusation—he didn’t discover it, he manufactured it—at which point Bolling retreated and encouraged her to explain, saying “tell us.” What followed was a freewheeling explanation in which Miskovitz and her lawyer ping ponged off of each other, dropping unfounded claims as frequently and confidently as a young SoundCloud rapper drops a new mixtape.

Wondering where Ebola came from? According to Mikovitz, it leaked out of a facility in Fort Detrick, Maryland. Curious why Trump is going so easy on China right now? Klayman thinks it’s because he knows the U.S. is responsible for the coronavirus.

Then, in what Bolling claimed to CNN was an effort to “provide an opposing viewpoint,” the host brought on Dr. Nicole Saphier, a Fox News medical contributor, to ask her what she thought of Mikovits’s claim. Both Bollier and Saphier agreed it was “highly unlikely” that Fauci created the coronavirus, but neither ruled out the possibility that the virus was created in a lab (it was not) or leaked out of one (it did not).

While it’s comforting to think that coronavirus conspiracy theories only exist in online, fringe communities, that no longer appears to be true. According to new research released by the Pew Center, 71 percent of Americans have heard a variation of the theory that the coronavirus was created in a lab by people in power and “a quarter of U.S. adults see at least some truth in it.”

Considering Sinclair’s extensive reach and positioning within local communities, it’s easy to see how conspiracy theories that once were only available to those who were curious about them have since spread across the public consciousness, infecting everyday people with the kind of dangerous misinformation we've come to expect from the Trump administration.

ABIGAIL COVINGTON is a journalist and cultural critic based in Brooklyn, New York but originally from the mountains of North Carolina, whose work has appeared in Slate, The Nation, Oxford American, and Pitchfork

Turkey made F-35 fighter ‘the first victim’ of Russia’s S-400 missile systems

By TOC On Jul 25, 2020

This post was published in Reporter. The point of view expressed in this article is authorial and do not necessarily reflect BM`s editorial stance.

***

BEIJING, (BM) – The F-35 Lightning II family of American stealth multi-functional fifth-generation fighter-bombers became the “first victim” of the Russian S-400 Triumph air defense systems, writes the Indian edition of the EurAsian Times.

The media notes that the F-35 program to create a single strike platform for the United States and its allies has become the most expensive in history ($ 1.6 trillion). The USA, Great Britain, Italy, Canada, Australia, Turkey, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway took part in the development of the fighter.

The new “invisible” aircraft, capable of being based both on land and at sea, were to replace a huge number of different aircraft in the United States and NATO countries.

However, after Turkey acquired the S-400 air defense system from Russia, Washington excluded Ankara from this program. According to the Americans, the F-35 and S-400 are incompatible. Moreover, such a neighborhood is dangerous, since the Russians will allegedly be able to find out a large number of secrets of the combat vehicle.

Not only Turkey, which invested $ 1.4 billion in the project, suffered from the decision of the American authorities, but also the American corporation Lockheed Martin, which produces the F-35.

The thing is that the production of a significant amount of parts for the F-35 was stopped in Turkey, and the search for new suppliers is problematic. Over the past few years, delays in the supply of parts have increased fivefold (from less than 2 thousand to more than 10 thousand units).

“The S-400, even without participating in the battle, were able to deliver a serious blow to the F-35. The S-400 not only managed to pull Turkey to Russia, but also delayed the production of American aircraft,” the newspaper said.


The United States and a number of NATO countries tried to pressure the Turks to abandon the S-400, but Ankara did not do this, even despite Washington’s threats to impose sanctions. The Americans call the S-400 the main obstacle because of which relations between the United States and Turkey cannot be the same.

Thanks to the S-400, Russia was able to find new partners, earn money and deal a blow to the reputation and industry of the United States, as well as to split Euro-Atlantic unity, the newspaper concludes


BulgarianMilitary.com
Editorial team

The TURKEY S-400 scandal damaged the US reputation in the global arms market

By TOC On Jul 24, 2020

This post was published in Vzglyad. The point of view expressed in this article is authorial and do not necessarily reflect BM`s editorial stance.

***

MOSCOW, (BM) – The story around the loud blackmail of Turkey by the United States over the Russian S-400 systems has reached the final point. Washington has finally decided the fate of the F-35 fighters, commissioned by Turkey – they will be supplied to the American armed forces.

The paradox is that in this way the United States punishes itself in the first place.

The scandal, of course, was huge.

First, the United States concludes with Turkey the most important military-political contract for it. Ankara is not only promised to sell the latest F-35 fighter-bombers (which would seriously strengthen the potential of the Turkish army and would be useful in terms of Erdogan’s aggressive foreign policy in the Middle East), but they are allowed to produce components for these aircraft. In addition, Turkey would become a repair hub for F-35s purchased by countries in the region.

Prestige, money, opportunities, technology – all this was promised to Ankara.

Cruelly deceived

And she was deprived of all this after she decided to purchase the S-400 systems from Russia. The American response to this purchase was the suspension of all obligations to Turkey under the F-35 contract.

Formally, because the operation of the latest aircraft next to the Russian air defense system will help Russian engineers somehow read information about the vulnerabilities of the F-35, but de facto, simply because Ankara dared to buy weapons from Moscow.

Initially, Washington wanted to resolve the conflict with Ankara in a brotherly manner. Leading Republicans in the Senate bluntly offered the Turks an exchange: the United States resumes cooperation with Turkey on the F-35 program, in exchange for which Ankara sells the S-400 system acquired by Erdogan from the Russian Federation to Washington. The money for the purchase of Russian weapons was even preliminary contributed to the defense budget for 2021.

Americans need this system to learn – not only to counter Moscow, but also to counter other countries that will acquire the S-400 to defend against American democracy flying on the wings of bombers.

For example, China, which has already acquired Russian systems and is developing their analogues. However, the chances for the implementation of this plan were, to put it mildly, low – Turkey refused such a deal, which would have become a fatal blow to both the authority of Erdogan [who positioned the purchase of the S-400 as an example of Turkish sovereignty] and Ankara’s ties with Moscow.

Therefore, it was necessary to resolve the conflict in a businesslike manner – that is, to make concessions to Turkey only where necessary.

The planes were never given to Ankara. After a year of hardships and doubts, Washington managed to attach F-35s, which were assembled for the Turkish Air Force by the private company Lockheed Martin. They are now known to be acquired by the Pentagon, and also pays for all the necessary modifications for the United States military.

As for the Turkish suppliers for the production of the F-35, then they had to make concessions. Initially, Congress was determined to kick Ankara out of the project as soon as possible and demanded that the Pentagon work faster on plans to replace Turkish suppliers with alternative manufacturers in the aircraft program.

The deadline for the expulsion of the Turks from the project was set for March 2020, and almost $ 300 million was allocated for this noble cause. However, then they decided to postpone the deadlines, and still fulfill the contractual obligations with Turkish suppliers and buy components for the aircraft from them until 2022.

The cost of contractual obligations to Ankara is almost $ 9 billion – and the Turks themselves calculated that breaking these contracts would cost America $ 600 million, plus an increase in production costs from seven to nine million for each aircraft assembled.

Therefore, according to Pentagon spokesman Mike Andrews, in order to avoid “costly, disruptive and wasteful contract breaks,” the decision was made to fulfill the existing contracts, and then switch to alternative suppliers.

Actually, the Turks themselves agreed to produce components, even taking into account Washington’s refusal to supply ready-made F-35s to Ankara. Big money, as well as production experience with its subsequent application in the Turkish military-industrial complex is more important than some kind of offense.

Mood and reputation


It would seem that now the conflict can be considered settled – but this is not so. The Capitol needs to be continued – an anti-Turkish consensus is emerging in Congress. Congressmen are concerned about the direction Turkey is heading under Erdogan’s leadership.

Violating human rights in Syria, groundlessly arresting Americans in Ankara, cooperating in the military sphere with Russia, Turkey does not behave as a responsible player and does not work together with the West at the level that we expect from a NATO member state.

American politicians have no reason to hope that Turkey will start living up to their expectations. Recep Erdogan’s plans to transform his country into a new Ottoman Empire [if not owning, then at least controlling territories from Morocco to the borders of Iran] pose a serious threat not even to the interests, but to the security of the West.

Of course, there are alternative points of view in Ankara. “The ruling Justice and Development Party opposes two other political forces created against it and led by former associates of Erdogan. And if Erdogan himself and his entourage are in favor of greater independence for Turkey, then his rivals are striving for greater ties with the United States,” says Vladimir Avatkov, senior researcher at IMEMO RAN, associate professor of the Diplomatic Academy of the Russian Foreign Ministry, to the VZGLYAD newspaper.

However, the chances of a political victory for Erdogan’s opponents are small, and the West cannot help them in organizing the coup (one such attempt four years ago not only failed, but sharply increased the authority of the Turkish Sultan).

A new hurricane in US-Turkish relations may come soon – for example, if Congressmen push new sanctions against Ankara for violating the “Act on Countering America’s Enemies through Sanctions”.


It forbids third countries not only to build Nord Stream 2 together with the Russians, but also to buy serious weapon systems from them. For example, S-400.

However, the consequence of these sanctions is unlikely to be Erdogan’s submission. “In this situation, the strengthening of sanctions pressure, and simply pressure on Turkey, leads to the opposite effect: Ankara is very proud and responds to pressure with an even greater desire for independence and intensified cooperation with other players.

For example, with Russia – without leaving NATO, Turkey is strengthening ties with Moscow in the field of economy and security. He buys the S-400 and discusses other contracts that will allow Ankara to achieve greater independence in its military-industrial complex, ”explains Vladimir Avatkov. Contracts that will be the prologue of a new storm.

The whole world saw that the United States was an unreliable partner in arms procurement. They easily abandon the signed contracts. And not even because there was a coup in the country [as was the case with Egypt, where the Americans refused to supply weapons after the overthrow of the Muslim Brotherhood and President Mohammed Morsi], but simply because the country dares to cooperate with the enemy of the United States.

And since the purchase of weapons is not carried out on the basis of the “buy-pay-dump” principle (the suppliers of weapons then serve them, the military are trained to work with these weapons – and the supplier country has a serious impact on the development of the armed forces of the recipient state), then potential buyers now there may be a dilemma.

They can order expensive and sophisticated weapons from the United States – and then live under the sword of Damocles of breaking a contract or the dependence of their armed forces on unreliable suppliers. Or choose another seller country (Russia, and in the future China or even Turkey), which does not bind the fulfillment of its contractual obligations with the fulfillment of some political conditions by the buyer.


The choice, as they say, is obvious – as well as the damage to American politics from such a choice.

***

BulgarianMilitary.com
Editorial team

Russian bombers are in Libya, possibly belonging to a private military company

By Boyko Nikolov On Jul 24, 2020


TRIPOLI, (BM) – The United States of America accused Russia of transferring its military aircraft to Libya for direct participation in hostilities in this country, learned BulgarianMilitary.com.

Read more: 24/7 BulgarianMilitary.com – All about Libyan civil war

We are talking about the front-line Su-24 bombers, which have never been in service with Libya. However, among other things, Il-76 military transport aircraft, Tiger armored vehicles, as well as air defense systems of various configurations were also transferred to Libya.


The American military does not exclude that the weapons may not belong to the Russian military, but to private military companies, and, most likely, we are talking about the Wagner PMC.

Despite the fact that the American military intelligence does not have direct evidence that Russia carried out the transfer of its military aircraft to Syria, experts draw attention to the fact that the Su-24 front-line bombers, Tiger armored vehicles have never been in service with Libya before and other weapons.

On the other hand, earlier Syrian sources reported that Syrian Air Force fighters were flying towards Libya, in particular, they were talking about MiG-29 fighters, but the purpose of such flights was also not disclosed.

The information provided by the US authorities proves an earlier allegation of a large transfer of weapons from Russia to Libya.

As we reported on June 26 and according headquarters of the Government of National Accord (GNA) of Libya the Libyan city of Sirte is the transfer of militants and weapons from Russia.

According to representatives of the GNA, 11 Russian-made military transport aircraft such as An and Il made a landing at Al-Girdabiye airbase near the city of Sirte. It is also reported on the transfer there of mercenaries from Syria, as well as six complexes “Pantsir-S1”.


Same day [June 26 – ed.] the Libyan National Petroleum Corporation announced that Russian mercenaries had invaded the largest oil field in Libya, Al-Sharara. Allegedly, the night before a convoy of cars entered the field and met with representatives of the NOC facility security.

Russia has repeatedly been accused of invading Libya. On June 23, Petr Ilyichev, director of the department of international organizations of the Russian Foreign Ministry, denied this. “People allegedly fighting in Libya did not actually leave our country. The so-called wounded are quite healthy. It is all available in the public space and again verifiable,” he stressed.

A few days earlier [June 20 – ed.] the United States again accused Russia of supplying fighters, but this time the MiG-29.

AFRICOM said then that it has documentary evidence that “a Russian plane took off from the Jufra air base in central Libya” and that “it was a MiG-29 operating near the coastal city of Sirte”.

Also, a few weeks after the end of May the AFRICOM made a statement that Russia delivered at least 14 MiG-29 multipurpose fighters and several Su-24 bombers to Libya via the Khmeimim airbase in Syria.

It was alleged that the planes first arrived from Russia at the Russian Khmeimim air base in Syria, where they were repainted and then sent to Libya.


AFRICOM commander General Stephen Townsend said the US military “saw Russia send fourth-generation fighters to Libya.” According to him, neither the LNA, nor private military companies will be able to get such aircraft without the help of Russia.

The State Duma Committee on Defense called fake allegations by the US military about Russian combat aircraft sent to Libya. The information that Russia has transferred fighters and bombers to a North African country is untrue, said Andrei Krasov, First Deputy Chairman of the State Duma’s Defense Committee, on May 26.

The Turkish state media, whose authorities provide powerful military support to the Libyan National Accord Government, have previously pointed out the strategic importance of the port city of Sirte for Russia, which “is largely due to the location of the large Jufra air base 300 kilometers south of it.”

“It is precisely at this airbase that the Russian side looks, trying to gain a foothold in North Africa and gain access to the southern coast of the Mediterranean,” said one of the publications on the pages of the Turkish state news agency Anadolu.

Libyan civil war

Having ruled the country since 1969, Muammar Gaddafi was ousted and killed in the 2011 civil war. As a result, the country found itself in a situation of dual power: in the east, a parliament is sitting in Tobruk, supported by the Libyan national army, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and in the west, in Tripoli, a government of national accord.


In Libya, armed clashes are currently taking place between supporters of different leaders. The country is led by the Government of National Accord (GNA), headed by Prime Minister Fayez Saraj, the “eastern government” led by Abdullah Abdurrahaman at-Thani.

The eastern government is supported by the commander of the Libyan National Army, Khalifa Haftar.

Recall that January 13 in Moscow, negotiations were held between the heads of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalif Haftar and the Government of National Accord (GNA) Faiz Sarraj. Also present were members of the Foreign Ministries of Russia and Turkey.

On the meeting the commander of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, has notified Russia about the conditions for continuing negotiations on the signing of a peace agreement in Libya.

According to the requirements of Haftar, the militias operating in Libya are required to surrender weapons in the period from 45 to 90 days. This process should be controlled by a special commission created by the LNA together with the UN.

Haftar also refused to recognize Turkey as an intermediary in resolving the situation in Libya, since the Turkish side is not neutral and supports the Government of National Accord (GNA).

At the same time, the GNA is actively supporting Turkey, and Egypt and Saudi Arabia are on the side of the LNA. Its unofficial allies are France and the UAE.

Ruling the country since 1969, Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed during the 2011 civil war. As a result, the country found itself in a situation of dual power: in the east, a parliament sits in Tobruk, supported by the Libyan national army of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and in the west in Tripoli, a government of national accord. At the same time, the PNC actively supports Turkey, and Egypt and Saudi Arabia are on the side of the LNA. Its unofficial allies are France and the UAE.

***
BulgarianMilitary.com
Editorial team

Rainforest-cover declines: Experts warn severity of climate change
July 22, 2020


Dr Saeed Ahmed Ali

LAHORE, Jul 22 (APP):Rainforests are one of the main natural factors that regulate and maintain climate change impact, weather patterns including amount of CO2, in an area abundant with forest cover.
Forest experts believe that globally, a significant increase in mean-surface-temperature was a major consequence of rapid industrialization and urbanization, due to which deforestation was occurring at a rapid pace. Many parts of the world including Pakistan had witnessed rapid and unchecked cutting down of rainforest cover, which resulted in the worst disasters, during the past many decades. Noted forest expert Mirza Sarwat Baig told APP that massive deforestation could have a direct impact on the environment and the consequences of severity of climate change on agriculture, biodiversity and water would be manifold, if maximum area of land would not be brought under forest cover.Replying to a query Baig said that the rainforests of Pakistan reflect great edaphic, physiographic and climatic contrasts in the country.

He said, “We should give awareness to the masses that rainforests were essential for the conservation of biodiversity and water resource management.Expressing concern over fast deforestation, Mirza sarwat Baig said that the government should evolve a comprehensive strategy and a concise plan to control tree cutting which was the major reason for the environmental degradation.Noted environmentalist and forest expert Dr Mehmood Khalid Qamar said that fast deforestation in the country was causing climate hazards, adding rainforests decline was an existential threat that demands urgent and result oriented action.” “If all formations and communities start with concern, we can overcome tree cutting,”says Qamar.

He mentioned that tree cutting was the main cause of rising temperatures around the globe, which had a direct impact on melting of glaciers, rise in sea-level, frequent floods, increase in mean-surface-temperatures and a higher frequency of droughts and expanding desertification. The climate change-related disasters, particularly riverine and flash floods, were causing billion dollars of losses annually in economic damages, most of them related to clean drinking water, irrigation, education, public health, energy and public infrastructure sectors, he said. Meanwhile, it may be mentioned here that United Nations Messenger of Peace Jane Goodall Inst has recently introduced a new global effort uniting people of all faiths to end tropical deforestation (of rainforests), around the globe. It is pertinent to mention here that UN has initiated a declaration move namely ‘Faiths for Forests,’ which is a global ‘ invitation to all faith-based organizations, networks and places of worship, round the world to take the practical steps in the movement to end destruction of the planet’s rainforests and join advocate for climate justice. ‘We begin from a place of profound concern for the state of the world’s rainforests, which are a sacred trust, an irreplaceable gift and essential to life on Earth,” said a document of the UN Declaration on rainforests.

“We commit to raise awareness about the deforestation crisis within our communities, places of worship and congregations as an expression of our care for the Earth and to advance religious teaching and education that reflects a moral commitment to protect rainforests. We will make ending deforestation a high spiritual calling,” it said. The National Environment Information System (NEIMS) in its report had revealed that the natural forest cover of Pakistan had reduced from 3.59 million hectares to 3.32m hectares at an average rate of 27,000 hectares annually.It may be mentioned here that NEIMS is a project of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) for Pakistan to study and research on the environment, eco-degradation and its impact, biodiversity in plains, forests, mountains, threatened flora, fauna and various animal species.

The report highlighted that only 4.72m hectares or 3.36 per cent of its land mass was covered with forests, as there had been a declining forestation trend since 2000.Forests are home of around 70 to 90 terrestrial species which are found there having widespread economic and medicinal uses, in which most benefits are still unknown to mankind, it said.

The natural resources were decreasing at such an alarming speed that all the forest area would be consumed within the next five years, the report observed.“The roots of trees hold soil in place and the fertile soil that was needed to grow crops would otherwise be washed away in rainstorms, decreasing the amount of soil available for agriculture. Rich soil transfers nutrients to food which contributes to human health,” the report said. According to the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) fifth assessment report, human developmental projects and deforestation activity was responsible for the unsustainable calamities around the globe.