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another_liberal's JournalTurkish troops deployed in northern Iraq to provide training
Source: RT News
More than 100 Turkish military personnel have been deployed in the Mosul region in northern Iraq to provide training, various media have reported, citing Turkish security sources.
The Iraqi foreign ministry said in a statement early on Saturday that the Turkish troops were acting in violation of the country’s sovereignty and demanded the forces withdraw immediately. “Around one armed battalion” has entered the northern Nineveh region, according to the statement from the Iraqi Prime Minister’s media office, as quoted by Reuters.
According to a Reuters source, the US-led anti-Islamic State coalition is aware of the Turkey's move. “Turkish soldiers have reached the Mosul Bashiqa region. They are there as part of routine training exercises. One battalion has crossed into the region,” the source told Reuters without revealing the exact number of troops. He added that the Turkish forces are training Iraqi troops.
However, according to two US defense officials quoted by Reuters, Turkey’s deployment is not part of the efforts of the US-led coalition battling Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL).
(snip)
Read more: https://www.rt.com/news/324787-turkish-troops-deployed-iraq/
Nothing to see here people. It's just a part of "routine training exercises," so move along now. Forget about all of your silly old territorial integrity and national sovereignty nonsense. Just move along, Iraq, just move along.
Turkey Refuses to Close Border With Syria to Stop Oil Smuggling
Source: Sputnik News
Turkey has refused US demands to close the part of the border with Syria which is controlled by Daesh (Islamic State) militants, local media reported. Ankara said that it is impossible to close the border and Daesh terrorists may boost their forces in response, according to The Hurriyet Daily News.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also underscored that if the border is closed Ankara will not be able to accept refugees from Syria. However, closing the border along the area controlled by Daesh would create obstacles for smuggling the oil Turkey buys from the terrorists. Recently, Russia accused Ankara of buying illegal oil from militants in Syria and transporting it to three ports across the Turkish-Syrian border.
The Russian Defense Ministry provided evidence of Turkey buying and transporting illegal oil, including images of oil-carrying tank trucks near the border. The ministry claimed Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and his family are involved in selling illegal oil.
Earlier, Washington proposed to close 98 kilometers of the Turkish-Syrian border and deploy additional forces to the area. According to estimates, the measure would require nearly 30,000 troops and building watchtowers each three meters along the borderline.
(snip)
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151204/1031234308/turkey-bordel-oil.html
"We can't stop it," Turkey is saying, "that would cost us money!"
True, it would cost them some money, but I wonder if anyone has mentioned Ankara just received three billion plus from the E.U. to assist it in gaining control over the continuing refugee crisis? Exercising serious control over its Southern border would be certain to enhance Turkey's control over the flow of refugees. Right?
Iraq Asks UNSC to Start Investigating Oil Smuggling Operations
Source: Sputnik News
Iraq will request the United Nations Security Council to open an investigation into oil smuggling from Iraq by Daesh, also known as Islamic State.
Asem Jihad, press attaché of the Iraqi Ministry of Oil, told Sputnik that his country intends to request the UN Security Council to establish committees tasked with investigating the theft and smuggling of Iraqi oil by Daesh (the group known also as ISIL or the Islamic State) militants.
"The US Security Council is requested to form committees to put in effect the previously adopted resolutions on smuggling. According to said resolutions, all involved in these activities, be they individuals, companies or states, will be branded as criminals," Jihad said.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry provided evidence of the Turkish involvement into Daesh illegal oil trade at a briefing in Moscow. Moscow also expects that members of the UN Security Council will quickly adopt a revised Russia-backed draft resolution on curbing financing of the Islamic State (IS or Daesh in the Arab world) militant group, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Wednesday.
(snip)
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/world/20151202/1031142596/iraq-oil-smuggling-un.html
That did not take very long! Now we'll see who has the votes.
Iraq Will File Protest at UNSC if Turkey Confirmed to Be Buying Daesh Oil
Source: Sputnik News
Baghdad will immediately lodge a protest in the UN Security Council if claims that Turkey is involved in oil smuggling with Islamic State terrorists are confirmed, the Iraqi Defense Ministry said Wednesday.
"If the Iraqi government receives enough evidence and details, without any hesitation it will file a protest at the UN Security Council and all other relevant international bodies," ministry's spokesman Naseer Nuri told Sputnik in a phone interview.
According to him, certain “general information about the smuggling of Iraqi oil by trucks to certain countries, including Turkey” is already available. “This oil is used to fund Daesh”, Nuri said, “There is evidence, satellite photos and security services’ reports which confirm that Daesh smuggles oil to Turkey,” he said.
Earlier in the day, the Russian Defense Ministry has provided evidence of the Turkish involvement into Daesh illegal oil trade at the briefing in Moscow. Moscow also expects that members of the UN Security Council will quickly adopt a revised Russia-backed draft resolution on curbing financing of the Islamic State (IS or Daesh in the Arab world) militant group, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Gennady Gatilov said Wednesday.
Read more: http://sputniknews.com/politics/20151202/1031131372/iraq-turkey-oil-trade.html
It is, at least in part, Iraqi oil which the Islamic State sells through Turkey (at the rate of millions of dollars worth a day) so who can blame Iraq for wanting an international ruling against the Turkish government?
The Turkish Connection is exposed.
Now that the overwhelming evidence of Turkey's involvement in trafficking of Islamic State oil has been made public (including the direct involvement of the Turkish President's own family) what will the West, not to mention President Erdogan, do in response?
Russian Defense Ministry map of illegal oil routes to and through Turkey.
Russia to Provide Evidence of Turkish Involvement in Daesh Oil Trade
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family members are directly involved in illegal oil deliveries from Daesh oil fields in Syria, according to Russia's Defense Ministry.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his family members are directly involved in illegal oil deliveries from oil fields belonging to Daesh (also known as the Islamic State) in Syria, according to Russia's Defense Ministry.
“Revenues from the sale of oil are one of the most important sources of activity by terrorists in Syria. They earn around $2 billion annually, spending these funds on hiring militants from around the world and equipping them with weapons, equipment, and arms,” Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said during a briefing in Moscow.
The ministry provided photographs of columns of oil fuel tankers on the Turkish-Syrian border. Fuel tankers with oil freely cross the border between Turkey and Iraq, according to Russia's General Staff. “The main consumer of this oil stolen from the legal owners in Syria and Iraq is Turkey. According to available information, this illegal business includes the upper political leadership of the country, President Erdogan and his family,” Antonov added.
These oil revenues are used not only to enrich the Turkish leadership but to arm terrorists as well, the General Staff stated. Antonov said that Russia will continue to provide facts that Turkey steals from its neighbors, adding that it's a surprise no one in the West ever noticed that Erdogan's son is the owner of one of the largest energy companies, while the president's son-in-law was appointed energy minister.
(snip)
Read more at: http://sputniknews.com/military/20151202/1031113310/russia-defense-syria-daesh-turky.html
Iraqi Shi'ite militias pledge to fight U.S. forces if deployed
Source: MSN News
BAGHDAD, Dec 1 (Reuters) - Powerful Iraqi Shi'ite Muslim armed groups on Tuesday rejected and pledged to fight any deployment of U.S. forces to the country after the United States said it was sending an elite special operations unit to combat Islamic State.
Defense Secretary Ash Carter offered few details on the new "expeditionary" group, but said it would be larger than the roughly 50 U.S. special operations troops being sent to Syria to fight the ultra-hardline Sunni militants there. A U.S. defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the new force will be based in Iraq.
"We will chase and fight any American force deployed in Iraq," said Jafaar Hussaini, a spokesman for one of the groups, Kata'ib Hezbollah. "Any such American force will become a primary target for our group. We fought them before and we are ready to resume fighting."
Spokesmen for the Iranian-backed Badr Organisation and Asaib Ahl al-Haq made similar statements to Reuters, expressing their distrust of American forces after the 2003 U.S.-led invasion that toppled Saddam Hussein and the subsequent occupation. The militias, grouped with volunteer fighters under a government-run umbrella, are seen as a bulwark in Iraq's battle against Islamic State, the biggest security threat to the oil-exporting country since Saddam's fall.
(snip)
Read more: http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/iraqi-shiite-militias-pledge-to-fight-us-forces-if-deployed/ar-AAfTNvM?li=BBnb7Kz
Just reinforces the lesson some have so much difficulty learning: We have no chance of being the nation which can help Iraq regain peace and stability. We have got to accept it that we will always do more harm than good with our military in Iraq.
Is Turkish President Erdogan having second thoughts yet?
The Turkish President's dramatic offer to resign if Russian can prove his country is functioning as an illegal transit hub for Syrian and Iraqi oil seized by the Islamic State may have been a self-satisfying statement to issue, however, as the following clearly demonstrates, one should be careful about giving in to the urge to make such sweeping promises.
President Erdogan at the World Climate Summit in Paris, Nov. 30, 2015 (Reuters)
Are You Sure About That? Why Erdogan Shouldn't Have Asked for Proof
Recep Tayyip Erdogan has dramatically vowed to leave office if any proof is provided that Ankara has been buying oil from the terrorist group Daesh (ISIL/IS). But does the Turkish leader really believe that President Putin is going to make a statement unsupported by evidence? Here’s at least some of the evidence Erdogan has hastily asked for.
Satellite images and aerial photos showing the true scale of the Daesh (ISIL) oil trade: “I’ve shown photos taken from space and from aircraft which clearly demonstrate the scale of the illegal trade in oil and petroleum products,” Vladimir Putin told reporters in November on the sidelines of the G-20 summit in Antalya, “Car convoys stretching for dozens of kilometers, going beyond the horizon when seen from a height of four-five thousand meters," added the Russian president. The real thing is that President Putin actually got up in front of the world's largest economic powers and told them, right to their faces, that Russia knows exactly where the oil is going.
(snip)
In a follow up of the President Putin’s remarks on the issue, the newspaper (The Guardian) has published another article with the reference to a “long list of evidence of Turkish support for Daesh (ISIL) in Syria, compiled by The Institute for the Study of Human Rights at Columbia University.
Based on the evidence of a variety of international sources including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Guardian, The Daily Mail, BBC, Sky News, as well as Turkish sources, CNN Turk, Hurriyet Daily News, Taraf, Cumhuriyet, and Radikal among others, the document confirmed that: “Turkey Provides Military Equipment to ISIS (ISIL Daesh), Turkey Provided Transport and Logistical Assistance to ISIS Fighters, Turkey Provided Training to ISIS Fighters, Turkey Offers Medical Care to ISIS Fighters, Turkey Supports ISIS Financially Through Purchase of Oil, Turkish Forces Are Fighting Alongside ISIS.”
(snip)
Read more (there is a great deal more) at: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151201/1031041612/erdogan-turkey-oil-proof.html
Turkish President Erdogan promises to resign.
In response to Russian President Putin's claim that he has "evidence" proving Turkey shot down a Russian plane to protect its illicit oil trade with the Islamic State, Turkish President Erdogan has promised to resign his office if the Russian President's charge can be proven.
Russian President Putin
Putin: Russia Has Evidence Su-24 Shot Down to Protect Daesh Oil Deliveries
Discussing the matter with world leaders during the Paris climate talks, Russian President Vladimir Putin said that Moscow has evidence that the Su-24 was shot down by Turkey to protect oil deliveries of the ISIL terrorist group, also known as Daesh, and that oil from IS-controlled fields is being exported to Turkey on an industrial scale.
"We have every reason to believe that the decision to shoot down our aircraft was dictated by the desire to ensure the safety of supply routes of oil to Turkey, to the ports where they are shipped in tankers," Putin said.
(snip)
In response, Erdogan denied that his country buys oil from Daesh, and called Putin's comments "slander."
"We buy from Russia, Iran, Azerbaijan, Qatar, and Nigeria. We won't accept such slanders," he told reporters in Paris. He also added that he will resign from office if the allegations can be proven. "The accusation that Turkey allegedly buys crude oil from the Islamic State is unacceptable, and to say it is amoral. You can't just say things, you need to present evidence," he said. "If documents exist — let's see them. If this fact is proven, I will not stay in my position."
(snip)
Read more at: http://sputniknews.com/russia/20151130/1031011936/putin-wide-su-24-agreement.html
Update:
http://sputniknews.com/military/20151201/1031020727/turkey-intentionally-downed-su24.html
How deep is NATO support for Turkey?
There has been a statement of support for Turkey's defense of its "Territorial integrity" by the hawkish, overall head of NATO, however there are also plenty of signs that a number of the alliance's members are privately less than enthusiastic, to say the least.
NATO headquarters. (AP)
No From NATO? Alliance Has ‘No Reason to Back Up Turkey’
The mere hope that NATO membership could give Turkey carte blanche to do anything it wants is profoundly wrong; even though the alliance has publicly supported Erdogan’s version of how the downing of the Russian bomber happened, its rhetoric in private could be the polar opposite, according to Czech geopolitical reporter Jakub Mareš. “If Erdogan hoped that NATO membership is a carte blanche, which allows him to do anything, it is profoundly wrong,” reads Jakub Mareš’s post on the geopolitical website Blog.Respect.
After the attacks in Paris, he adds, the policy of France and NATO towards Russia and its anti-ISIL campaign in Syria has changed. Now they understand that they need Russia to solve the Syrian crisis. On the other hand, the reporter says Turkey's policy in Syria under Erdogan is “quite a thorn in the heel”; partly because of its brisk trade with the Islamic State.
However, for NATO, Turkey is an absolutely indispensable member state because of its control of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles, but Turkey's regional policy directly conflicts with that of the other members. One can only assume that regardless of its public support for Erdogan’s account of the shooting down of the Russian Su-24, its comments in private may be the polar opposite.
Diplomatically, the Turkish move did not delight anyone, the blogger adds, noting that the alliance does not have any specific reasons to vehemently back up Ankara.
(snip)
Read more at: http://sputniknews.com/world/20151130/1030976020/nato-turkey-russia-defense.html
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