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

[charly]

I don't know about the other three but Wilders is a Zionist Neocon.

Wilders is deeply in love with Israel. They would ask him to tone it down if they had something on him (outside blabbing about the Commisie stiekem which keeps an eye on dutch intelligent or the fact that he spends way to much time in the Israeli embassy) His campaign money comes without a doubt from American Neocons. I don't know his opinion about Russia but i doubt it is love except in the if you don't want Ukraine you must be a Putin-lover folly. When he was part of the VVD he was a cut social-security, anti-muslim, libertarian but the voter of the PVV is much more of the "Deplorable" kind so his general anti-religious is toned down and now he is "for" social security

[charly]

China has the Turkmen so definite at war

[Valissa]

Yes, there is a superficial resemblance. Which is ironically symbolic of the superficial analysis of Trump which she and many other supposed intellectuals repeatedly make the mistake of doing.

"From their experience or from the recorded experience of others (history), men learn only what their passions and their metaphysical prejudices allow them to learn." -- Aldous Huxley

[kooshy]

"He is recruiting Iran and Syria and Iraq as the buffer states between the Russian Federation and the rest of Islam." yes I agree, securing the vulnerable muslim underbelly, refusing NATO access to central Asia, this also the desire of China, one needs to secure and not to worry about her back and the other her belly. Russia was (fooled) slow to see this if Russia not needs to worry about her asian borders then she can concentrate on defending her European borders which she has more experience anyway. I think Georgia and Ukraine to sober up from the vodka party.

[Jack]

All

Pat Buchanan's recent note strikes a chord with me. I am fully on-board to destroy the War Party in the US. The only fight we need to engage in overseas is to crush the Islamic terrorists.

http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2016-12-20/real-saboteurs-trump-foreign-policy

[kooshy]

IMO, unless he offer a referendum that all Palestinians as well as Israelis can vote and decide what shape will be the future of Israel /Palestine nothing will be accepted by Iran. You don't understand, for Iran, Israel is a wedge issue, Iranians believe US/EU are trapped in their own making of Israel, they use this valuable wedge to soften the Arab Sunni street against the Shia/Persians. Why would they want to give it up. They use Israel to have Hamas, Hezbollah and others as their friends and create a buffer zone for hostile west.

[Jack]

Charly

They may all be pro-Israel. I don't know. From what I have read all of them want to normalize relations with Russia including removal of sanctions. That's a big change relative to the current EU consensus.

[charly]

Will an independent Taiwan not be an ally to China? That is the whole problem with the Two China policy. It can be managed in such a way by Beijing that China can recognize the independence of Taiwan without loosing to much face and after that the local situation is such that it is highly logical for Taiwan to form an alliance with China. It also allows China to attack political the occupation of Ryukyu by the US and Tokyo

[charly]

Taiwan was still occupied by China when Eisenhower was president. That is the problem with the long and deep relationship

[charly]

Are there Presbyterians in Germany? I don't mean lost Americans but real Germans.

[Babak Makkinejad]

The Black Messiah is followed by the White Messiah; I am hoping for the Beige Messiah next.

[Babak Makkinejad]

That is what has happened in Northeast Asia as well; US is trapped there now; in my opinion.

[Outrage Beyond]

In case you didn't know, In-Q-Tel, which is the CIA's venture capital division, is one of the investors in Palantir.

[Babak Makkinejad]

It is inconceivable for me at any time.

[Babak Makkinejad]

Uighurs, I think you mean? That has not penetrated the consciousness of Muslims - inside or outside of the Seljuk Boundary.

If Jihadists pay attention to anywhere, it would be India.

In that case, state cohesion of India cannot be assumed to endure.

[charly]

Wilders is a Neocon but Dutch politicians are at the moment super anti-Russia so it may look from that perspective to be pro-Russia. There is also Ukraine. His kind of party have a department to stop neo-nazi infiltration out of need. It probably red-flagged Ukraine.

There is pro-Israel and pro-Israel. He REALLY cares about Israel.

[Babak Makkinejad]

Trump needs to un-make US Dollar as the world reserve currency in order to prevent the bankruptcy of the United States.

Ask MRW.

[Babak Makkinejad]

We shall see.

But to think that Trump can use Taiwan to extract any sort of concessions out of PRC is a dangerous delusion; in my opinion.

[Babak Makkinejad]

I am not against Trump, I wish him well. I just do not vest too much hope in the possibility of changes in the external relations of the United States.

Applying the art of the deal from the business world to international relations is not possible; the deals have already been made before he will have assumed office - all he could be doing is to either abrogate the earlier deals or try to work on their margins.

NATO is 300 miles from Moscow; is he unilaterally going to change that by withdrawing US from NATO? I think not because he would be going against the alliance structure through which US exercises power.

Will he remove all US military assets from Korea & Japan and tell South Korean, Chinese, Russians, and Japanese to deal with that situation?

I think not.

Will he strategically settle with Iran and thus revolutionize the position of the United States in the Muslim World? I think not, for that would mean that he will have become a infidel to the Cult of Shoah - his own daughter will have to renounce him.

As I stated before - he will have no choice but to play on the margins internationally.

That is in itself not a bad policy approach, you try to make some gains here and there, all the while concentrating on domestic issues that afflict and ail the United States.

[Bandolero]

alba etie

I don't see that China has big problems with Trump, just the opposite. I think China is very happy with Trump scrapping TPP, and I'm quite sure Trump and the KPCh will sort out other stuff like Taiwan, too.

Whether the "Daily Briefings" are really useful or more like an excercise of spreading Borgist group think I don't know since I don't receive them. But Trump to me looks doing things a lot more clever than recent Presidents who were paying more attention to their "Daily Briefings." And I also think Trump is speaking with Mike Pence who is receiving "Daily Briefings" and with Mike Flynn who I think also knows a thing or two about security and politics.

[Chris Chuba]

Russia / China

Off topic but Russia/China was mentioned here and I regularly read on Foreign Policy Establishment websites (the Borg), about this chasm between Russia and China. There is an assumption that Russia and China are in conflict and we in the U.S. can count on that while we do whatever we want.

Why is this so?

Russia / China:
Reasons for conflict:
1. They share a long border and they had a border war in the 1960's. Apparently, China wanted more land but aren't they over that by now considering the other issues they are dealing with?

Reasons they should cooperate:
1. I can go through a tedious list but everything pretty much comes down to them having common economic and security concerns because of the United States. We have been whacking Russia on the nose with a rolled up newspaper for decades but in China's case we even announced that we were going to 'pivot to Asia'. Why not just say, 'China, we are out to get you, see what happened to Russia? Your next'. It is kind of like walking around in a ski mask and wearing a black turtleneck shirt that says, 'burglar' on it. Are we stupid or do we think that everyone else is?

Sorry for mini-rant, I am serious about my question. Is there some other big issue between Russia and China today that I am missing? I guess India is kind of a third wheel but even that does not seem insurmountable.

Thanks in advance.

[optimax]

Orange is the new Black,

[Bandolero]

elaine

That's an interesting story. Is CNBCs sales pitch for russophobia now that Russia is bad because Russia is alledged to cause the Wall Street banksters and other uber rich western fraudsters - which we all hold so dear - the loss of some money? If it is so I doubt it will work. I think many poor people believing the story would praise Putin as being a modern Robin Hood instead.

But anyway I still think the terror attacks will work in the end as an argument for Trump that US-Russian cooperation to defeat the common terrorist enemy is the right thing to do even as the MSM trying to undercut that message with russophobic stories like these.

[mike allen]

I'm not a fan of Huxley, but am now trying to read his work on the Thirty Years War, 'Grey Eminence', in order to fathom the eight million Europeans killed over religious differences.

The quote from Huxley in this book that sticks with me is:

"...the habit of committing atrocities had developed a general taste for atrocities.... cruelty as with gluttony the more you eat the more you want.".

The ending phrase is my garbled google translation of the old French proverb that Huxley used.

Not much has changed in the world

[Bandolero]

Chris Chuba

You say: "Why not just say, 'China, we are out to get you, see what happened to Russia? Your next'."

Well, Secretary Clinton did something like what I think was in Russia and China received as the equivalent of a call for global jihad on Russia and China. CSM reported on July 6, 2012:

"Clinton says Russia, China should 'pay price' over Syria"

http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Middle-East/2012/0706/Clinton-says-Russia-China-should-pay-price-over-Syria-video

I remember that this call of Clinton, and the trouble Russia and China in the subsequent times suddenly got on a lot of unexpected areas were well noticed in Russia and China.

When you say that China and Russia have "common economic and security concerns because of the United States" I think it mischaracterizes the situation and Russian and Chinese thinking a bit. I think the leaderships of China and Russia see the problem more with the borg holding sway in the US, while with the non borg US they both would like to have friedly relations.

See for example the Chinese Global Times from 2014-2-16 on who China finds acceptable to blame for subverting major power relations. Quote begin:

"Using the Ukraine crisis to subvert major power relations between the US and Russia and their constructive joint action in the Middle East serves Israeli interests. It helps Israel and its neoconservative allies in the US and in Europe push for unilateral US military action against Syria and Iran."

Quote end. Source: http://www.globaltimes.cn/content/842736.shtml

So, I'ld say the leaderships of China and Russia are likely quite aware of what os going on the USA, likely more then many only Borg media consuming Americans are themselves.