Terrorist attacks in Ankara and Berlin - TTG

I recommend RT.com and RT America if you get MHz Networks digital broadcast for coverage of the attack in Ankara. The Berlin attack at the Christkindlmarkt in the glow of the Kaiser-Wilhelm-Gedächtniskirche will be well covered in the Western press. That attack seems a repeat of the attack in Nice in July. I will comment on the Ankara attack mostly with RT live updates.

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“This is a tragic day in the history of Russian diplomacy. Today, Russian Ambassador to Turkey Andrey Karlov died after being shot at during a public event in Ankara,” Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova said on Monday evening. The assault on the Russian ambassador is an “act of terrorism,” she added. “We are in touch with Turkish officials, who assured us that there will be a thorough and comprehensive investigation [into the case],” Zakharova said.” (RT)

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Putin has already addressed the nation in a televised statement. In addition to praising Ambassador Karlov and expressing his sorrow for his murder, he made the following comments.

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"This murder is clearly a provocation aimed at undermining the improvement and normalization of Russian-Turkish relations, as well as undermining the peace process in Syria promoted by Russia, Turkey, Iran and other countries interested in settling the conflict in Syria,"

“We need to know who organized the killing, who gave orders to the assassin.” 

“Our only response is stepping up the fight against terrorism.  The killers will feel it.”

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"An AP photographer Burhan Ozbilici was covering a photo exhibition when a gunman opened fire, assassinating Russia's ambassador to Turkey. He recounts the chaos that unfolded as he captured the scene. "Don't forget Aleppo. Don't forget Syria!" the gunman shouted in Turkish, referring to the Syrian city where Russian bombardments have helped drive rebels from areas they had occupied for years during the war. He also shouted "Allahu akbar" but I couldn't understand the rest of what he said in Arabic." (Richmond Times Dispatch)

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An RT update added this about what the assassin said. “Following the shooting of Karlov, the assailant shouted: “Don't forget Aleppo! Don't forget Syria!” “Only death can take me away from here. Whoever has a role in this cruelty, they will pay for it one by one. They will,” the man went on to say.” (RT live update)

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Turkish authorities said the assassin was a former Turkish police officer who was let go after the failed coup.

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“A senior Turkish security official said there are “very strong signs” that the gunman was linked to the network of exiled US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, Reuters reported. He also added that the current investigation is trying to establish links.” (RT live update)

“US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen strongly condemned the attack and has absolutely no links to the gunman, Alp Aslandogan, Gulen’s advisor on media issues, told Reuters. "Mr. Gulen categorically condemns this heinous act,” he stressed.” (RT live update)

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So we have an assassin yelling in Turkish and Arabic with threats of retribution for Aleppo while giving the one finger jihadi salute. I think that senior Turkish security official is trying to throw the Russian wolfhound off the scent. I also think the trail will lead to the FSA/Nusra jihadis currently enjoying the benevolence of the West and the Turks. As Putin said, “The killers will feel it.” I can hear my old friend, master sergeant Al Rivers in that booming rebel voice of his, “The shit’s on, good buddy!”

TTG

Comments

[Bandolero]

All

Regarding the murder of the Russian envoy, the murderer was openly praised by western backed "white helmets." One leading white helmet commented on Facebook: "All good for you, oh hero of the martyrs." See a screenshot:

https://urs17982.files.wordpress.com/2016/12/helden-feuerwehrmann.png

Via:

https://urs17982.wordpress.com/2016/12/20/wenn-westfinanzierte-white_helmets-die-ermordung-des-russischen-botschafters-feierwhitehelmet-org/

Regarding the attack in Berlin the pants of the German government are on fire. Private media and than 1st German TV reported, what was in english also on daily star uk: Berlin Christmas market truck crash suspect ‘refugee from Pakistan or Afghanistan'

http://www.dailystar.co.uk/news/latest-news/571740/Berlin-Christmas-market-truck-crash-terror-attack-suspect-identity-pakistan-name-isis

And that is while Interior minister Thomas de Maiziere said this on German national TV - via AP, quote begin:

"I don't want to use the word 'attack' yet at the moment, although a lot speaks for it," Interior Minister Thomas de Maiziere told ARD television. "There is a psychological effect in the whole country of the choice of words here, and we want to be very, very cautious and operate close to the actual investigation results, not with speculation."

Quote end, source: http://www.kvoa.com/story/34090374/truck-rams-into-german-christmas-market-killing-12-people

And then came Trump and sabotaged the whole spinning of the story line by the German government - via New York Post, quote begin:

Trump blames ‘Islamist terrorists’ for Berlin attack

... “Our hearts and prayers are with the loved ones of the victims of today’s horrifying terror attack in Berlin,” Trump said. “Innocent civilians were murdered in the streets as they prepared to celebrate the Christmas holiday. ISIS and other Islamist terrorists continually slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad. These terrorists and their regional and worldwide networks must be eradicated from the face of the earth, a mission we will carry out with all freedom-loving partners.” ...

Quote end. Source: http://nypost.com/2016/12/19/trump-blames-islamist-terrorists-for-berlin-attack/

Boom! Terror attack, likely committed by a Muslim refugee seeker. All live on German TV and the government caught with pants down trying to spin the facts away. That will likely hit the refugee champions and Syrian rebel champions in Germany's government and the general political landscape in Germany hard. The police has caught the attacker alive, but the police is very very silent on details.

The only way I can imagine Germany's government to come out with only one blue eye, as we say in Germany, is if they can convince the public that this was not jihadi terrorism, but a spontanous act of advanced suicide by a desperate refugee seeker facing deportation. However, even that would be quite bad for the government, and it's far from clear that many German people would believe that anyway.

[para]

Bandolero: Agree re Germany. The response doesn't look great although its hard to conjure up any scenario given the indications so far how the best spin doctor could turn this around. This is more than ominous for next years elections. Media will also take another hit likely, the mainstream is tight-lipped. I've said it before, we live in interesting times. That's not a good thing.

[Babak Makkinejad]

You wrote:

"The inability of the islamists klepts to govern a modern country..."

I do not think you are going far enough. More accurately,

"The inability of Traditional Islam to govern a changing country..."

[eakens]

How does this act break Russia's resolve? What was the end game, to send a signal to Russia to back off? Frankly, the only question that remains is who really is ISIS since this seems like an odd follow-on to getting their asses handed to them in Aleppo.

[Ghostship]

According to most sources Al Nusrah kicked ISIS out of Aleppo a while back so it's claimed that there are no ISIS fighters in Aleppo. After the rapid "victory" at Jarabulus, it wouldn't surprise me if ISIS fighters shaved off their beards and joined another "moderate" group.

[Ghostship]

I've since worked out that the Guardian left out a couple of Allahu Akbars.
So the Arabic he shouted was "God is great. We are the one who pledged allegiance to Muhammad, to wage jihad. God is great.”

[David Habakkuk]

A. Pols,

The Russian security services give every appearance of being quite competent. When they assassinate people, they tend to choose means that work.

So with Ibn al-Khattab, in March 2002, they used a poisoned letter. According to Chechen sources – which may or may not be reliable – it was coated with a ‘fast-acting nerve agent, possibly sarin or a derivative.’

(See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibn_al-Khattab .)

The notion that the FSB assassinated Alexander Litvinenko with polonium is as patent BS as the notion that Bashar al-Assad chose to launch a major sarin attack at Ghouta three days after the UN/OPCW inspectors had arrived in Syria.

I dealt with the farce of Sir Robert Owen’s inquiry into the death of Litvinenko in a post on SST back in January.

(See http://turcopolier.typepad.com/sic_semper_tyrannis/2016/01/david-hakkuk-on-sir-robert-owens-inquiry.html .)

[David Habakkuk]

All,

Back in July 2014, the former head of MI6, Sir Richard Dearlove, assured an audience at the Royal United Service Institute that we really didn’t need to worry too much about jihadists, because the ‘Islamic State’ and their Saudi backers really only wanted to butcher Shia.

An extract from Patrick Cockburn’s report of his speech:

‘Dearlove’s explosive revelation about the prediction of a day of reckoning for the Shia by Prince Bandar, and the former head of MI6’s view that Saudi Arabia is involved in the Isis-led Sunni rebellion, has attracted surprisingly little attention. Coverage of Dearlove’s speech focused instead on his main theme that the threat from Isis to the West is being exaggerated because, unlike Bin Laden’s al-Qa’ida, it is absorbed in a new conflict that “is essentially Muslim on Muslim”. Unfortunately, Christians in areas captured by Isis are finding this is not true, as their churches are desecrated and they are forced to flee. A difference between al-Qa’ida and Isis is that the latter is much better organised; if it does attack Western targets the results are likely to be devastating.

(See http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/comment/iraq-crisis-how-saudi-arabia-helped-isis-take-over-the-north-of-the-country-9602312.html .)

A piece by the former MI6 operative Alistair Crooke, to which ‘pmr9’ linked on a previous thread, relates the current attempts to delegitimise the President-elect to the history of bungling in which his old employers have colluded with the CIA. His explanation of the current ‘information operations’ against Trump seems worth quoting at length:

‘How can this have happened? The war in Syria has had, it seems, a hugely corrosive effect on services such as CIA and MI6. Firstly, there was the tension of contradiction: the deceit to be maintained of ostensibly fighting terrorism, while secretly supporting such bloody forces (in order to weaken President Bashar al-Assad and subsequently Russia).

‘Secondly, that of pretending to be pursuing a “principled” policy of off-shored “identity politics” (Sunnis as victims), while quietly accepting – and becoming dependent on – the “off-balance sheet” subventions flowing from the very patrons of such forces (shades of Clinton Foundation pay-to-play ethos).

‘And thirdly, by becoming the echo chamber of claims, however improbable, however false, thrown up by sundry armed movements and their paymasters – with the intent to force the hand of Western military intervention. In short, these services cease to be observers; they became investors. They become lost in a maze of contorted realities, false propaganda, and of acquired hubris. Like Prometheus, they think to secretly steal from Zeus, the god of war: they aspire to dictate war and peace.

‘Into this heady world of “strategic communication” warfare, has intruded Mr. Trump, spoiling their Syria gambit – and promising détente with Russia. It must indeed seem intolerable.

(See https://consortiumnews.com/2016/12/16/politicized-intelligence-kneecapping-trump/ .)

[Luther Blissett]

Here is the comment by Frantz Klintsevic, an Afghan vet, head of the Union of Veterans of Afghanistan and deputy chairman of the Russian Parliament’s defence and security committee:

"It was a planned action. Everyone knew that he was going to attend this photo exhibition. It can be Isis, or the Kurdish army which tries to hurt Erdogan. But may be - and it is highly likely - that representatives of foreign Nato secrets services are behind it."

[A. Pols]

My remark about Polonium was intended as tongue in cheek and I too don't buy the popular narrative about Litvinenko.

[Allen Thomson]

> Unless our towns are secure

As I'm lamentably ignorant of much of what's going on there, could someone explain who the "our" refers to? Presumably it's someone/ something with which the assassin identified.

[kooshy]

TTG, assassinating the Russian ambassador was sad cold blood murder, in war it can be understood since he was a political figure of a waring party. but what is really sad is Berlin and Zurich that happened in same day. One wonders
why this terrorist attacks doesn't happen in Tokyo, Seoul, Rio, etc. To stop this attacks, the question is when would Western citizens will feel they had enough and stop their government' use of militant islamic terrorist for the old western hegemonic colonization of MENA.

[LeaNder]

AT, I would say depends on background and motive. I suppose not even the best informed here could tell you.

Is it a rhetorical question?

Considering what he shouted, one would assume he is referring to ME/Muslim as "our" towns more generally. The earlier Al Qaeda narrative was somewhat get you feet/hands/bodies our of "our" land. The land of Islam versus whatever type of modern crusaders e.g. the US having bases there. Israel too ...

It's a bit more difficult now. The Russian ambassador in Turkey no doubt is somewhat symbolic.

[The Beaver]

@ Eliot

Just watch this :

Another angle of the assassin, saw it on the a/c of Elijah Magnier:

https://twitter.com/Altmimy_1/status/811173402811781120

[The Beaver]

@ Allen Thomson

From Elijah Magnier:
he gives an explanation
https://twitter.com/EjmAlrai/status/811180542515433472

[eakens]

here's the video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKVF8UxBJ-k

the names start around 9:30. The QA around 14-15 is pretty good to, particularly the answer to the last question.

[Babak Makkinejad]

It is the Cult of Shoah that has had a hugely corrosive effect on the United States and, evidently, the rest of Fortress West; violating the Laws of the United States with impunity, issuing blank passports to Israeli assassins, choosing silence when their own citizens (Rachel Corey) were murdered by Israelis....

[Babak Makkinejad]

The Far Eastern states are not perceived to be at War with Islam yet.

[Sam Peralta]

"..when would Western citizens will feel they had enough and stop their government' use of militant islamic terrorist for the old western hegemonic colonization of MENA."

Slowly! Difficult when they are fed a steady propaganda diet by their corporate media and political leadership. While Merkel and her Interior Minister were namby pambying, Trump was pretty clear. To quote him:'Innocent civilians were murdered in the streets as they prepared to celebrate the Christmas holiday. ISIS and other Islamist terrorists continually slaughter Christians in their communities and places of worship as part of their global jihad.

'These terrorists and their regional and worldwide networks must be eradicated from the face of the earth, a mission we will carry out with all freedom-loving partners.'

It will be rather interesting to watch if the media will continue to call black white and how the PC talking heads and EU political leadership will deal with his language.

[Sam Peralta]

Bandolero

Exactly. You have the point clear. The difference in statements between the German Interior Minister and Trump. One being PC and the other straightforward and clear.

Now, this statement by the German prosecutor.

Prosecutor Holger Münch has warned of a 'serious threat' of another 'significant' terror attack as it emerged an asylum seeker from Pakistan arrested last night was the wrong man.

Berlin's police chief Klaus Kandt said the 'dangerous criminal' behind a deadly truck rampage at a Christmas market may still be on the run, urging 'heightened vigilance'. Interior minister Klaus Bouillon said that Germany is 'in a state of war' after the massacre on Breitscheidplatz Square last night.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4049442/Terror-attack-fears-lorry-ploughs-Christmas-market-Berlin-leaving-two-people-dead.html

[Babak Makkinejad]

Trump has stated that he would establish "Safe Zones", ostensibly to help refugees, in Syria Moreover, he has not mentioned working with the Syrian Arab Republic at all.

In my opinion, he is indicating a continuation of US, EU, Turkish, and Gulfies policy in the Levant.

Trump cannot have it both ways; continuing the policies of Obama and destroying Sunni Muslim Takfiris.

[alex]

The German site "Welt.de" reports (at 16:12 Uhr MET), that the refugee of Pakistan origin, who was believed to have made the deadly terror attack at the Christkindlmarkt in Berlin yesterday, actually did not drive the truck. "We have got the wrong man" said the Police in Berlin according to Welt.de.

[alex]

I apologize, forgot to post the link to "Welt.de":
https://www.welt.de/politik/deutschland/article160462226/Berliner-Polizei-Wir-haben-den-falschen-Mann.html

[Allen Thomson]

So the assassin was standing there certainly looking like part of the Ambassador's security, no?

[Sam Peralta]

Babak

We don't yet know what Trump will actually do. He's also stated that Assad-must-go which was Obama's & Hillary's policy was not his priority.

The question is how influential the Saudi and Gulfie viewpoint will be and where the Israelis influence will lead. And of course how much influence Putin will have on his thinking. At this point we'll have to wait and see what actually happens after January 20th.