Russia Reignites The Proxy War: Putin Offers "Complete Support" To Iraq Prime Minister Scorned By Obama

Zero Hedge
June 20, 2014

Two days ago, before it was formalized that the US tacitly, if not explicitly, now supports the removal of the Iraqi Prime Minister whom it itself had helped elect, we summarized the geopolitical tensions and "national interests" in Iraq, which is shaping up to be a proxy war that makes last year's Syrian escapade pale by comparison, as follows:

The situation in Iraq, already a jumble of domestic sectarian violence, is now pitting virtually all major (and regional) international players against each other as well. There is:

• US which tacitly supports Iran intervention in the region, but may have suddenly cooled in its support of Maliki despite sending naval and troop forces in the country after partially evacuating its embassy
• Saudi Arabia which wants to remain friendly with the US but is antagonistic to the Iraq regime, is potentially aiding the ISIS forces, and clearly refuses to allow Iran entrance in Iraq
• Iran, which has suddenly become America's best friend in the region, which is willing to enter Iraq and protect its holy sites
• Syria, whose president is sitting back amused at last year's failed campaign by the US to remove him from power, and whose army is at a stalemate with the local US-armed and funded rebels
• Qatar, which is supporting the Syrian rebels, but so far has not made its stance clear on Iraq. Like Saudi, it too may be indirectly backing ISIS
• Jordan, which is a close friend the US, and which may have hosted ISIS in a secret base on its territory with the US instructing the jihadist group according to an unconfirmed report
• Turkey, which is on constant alert to Kurdish escalation across the border, the same Kurds which now have far more leverage courtesy of ISIS crushing the Iraq army in the north and handing over Kurds access to oil fields in the north.
• And of course Russia: because while Putin clearly benefits from rising crude prices, it is his Lukoil that is developing (and investing vast amounts of money in) the vast Iraqi West Qurna-2 oil field. It is not clear how he would feel about it falling into ISIS hands.

It was the bolded text that was of biggest interest because as we noted the next day, when discussing the next steps for ISIS, we said that "One wonders how long until the mercenary force finds its latest major backer, because for all the western, US-led intervention, both Russia and China are oddly missing from the scene. We expect that to change soon."

Because clearly one can't have a global proxy war without China, and certainly without Russia.

Well, we said we expected Russia's conspicuous absence to "change soon", and so it did: within just 24 hours. Because apparently all Putin was waiting for was for Obama to pick sides (i.e., not Maliki) before the Russian leader made it clear whom he sides with. US, helpfully obliged yesterday morning when we also reported that "US Slams Its Former Iraq Puppet: "The Maliki Government, Candidly, Has Got To Go"."

So what does Putin - who as a reminder is heavily invested in Iraq' massive West Qurna-2 oil field via Lukoil - do? Why announce his undying support for Maliki, of course, and as AP reported, the former KGB spy offered Iraqi premier Nuri al-Maliki Russia's total backing for the fight against fighters who have swept across the country, as well as his full support for the embattled prime minister.

More:

Russian President Vladimir Putin has spoken by phone to Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, expressing Moscow’s support for his action against the militant offensive.

The Kremlin said in a statement that al-Maliki informed Putin on Friday about his government’s steps to combat the “terrorist groups in the north of the country.” It added that the insurgency threatens security of the entire region.

Putin confirmed Russia’s “full support for the Iraqi government’s action to quickly free the territory of the republic from terrorists,” the Kremlin said, adding that Putin and al-Maliki also discussed bilateral cooperation.

Putin’s expression of support for the embattled Iraqi prime minister comes as al-Maliki’s rivals have mounted a campaign to force him out of office, with some angling for support from Western backers and regional heavyweights.

And just like in Syria from 2012 to 2013, the chessboard is once again set, with a regional middle-east conflict, this time in Iraq, merely serving as the proxy staging ground in which the Iraqi PM, once an obedient US puppet but now an enemy of Saudi Arabia and thus the US, "simply has to go" in the words of Dianne Feinstein, has suddenly become the fulcrum issue behind yet another soon to escalate conflict between Russia and the US.

One thing is certain: the more the US (and Saudi Arabia, and Qatar) pushes for Maliki's ouster, the more involved Russia will become with its offers of support and bilateral cooperation. And if the Syrian fiasco (for John Kerry) is any indication, Russia is about to expand its "national interest" sphere of influence by one more country.

11,004,507: Disability Beneficiaries Top 11 Million for First Time

CNS News 
June 20, 2014

(CNSNews.com) - The total number of disability beneficiaries in the United States topped 11 million for the first time last month, increasing from 10,996,447 in April to a record 11,004,507 in May, according to new datareleased by the Social Security Administration.

The number of Americans receiving disability benefits continues to exceed the population of Greece, Tunisia and Portugal and is drawing closer to Cuba, whose population of 11,047,251 (as reported by the CIA) is just 42,477 more than the 11,004,507 Americans receiving disability benefits.

The 11,004,507 total disability beneficiaries in May included a record 8,947,220 disabled workers. It also included 153,554 spouses of disabled workers and 1,903,733 children of disabled workers.

The previous record for disabled workers alone (not counting spouses and children receiving benefits) was the 8,942,584 recorded in December 2013.

The Beast : ISIS Islamic Caliphate in the Middle East bringing rise to the Al Mahdi ?

You Tube
June 18, 2014

Want the truth about ISIS, whats going on in the Middle East, and the conflict with Syria? Want the truth about Obama’s role in the conflict and their secret dealings with terrorists? There is a real threat rising and it can no longer remain behind closed doors. Watch this shocking video bySignsOfThyComing. It reveals staggering information about the brutal rise of ISIS…..

Peter Schiff on crisis in Iraq hitting world economy

RT News
June 18, 2014

Peter Schiff

Iraq's largest oil refinery shut down Wednesday amid ongoing fighting between military forces and insurgents of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). The Beji refinery accounts for a quarter of the country's refining capacity, and the shutdown showcases how the economic effects of the crisis may quickly spiral. RT's Ameera David discusses the potential economic impacts of the fighting, with Peter Schiff; President of Euro Pacific Capital.

What You Are Not Being Told About the Invasion of America

Before It's News
June 19, 2014

Rome burned as Nero fiddled. Today, the American-Mexican border is going up in smoke. America is being invaded and successfully occupied. Obama is fanning the flames of border violence and artificially contrived human destitution through his unyielding attitude of corporate servitude resulting in providing the globalists with an endless supply of cheap, illegal alien labor regardless of the cost to the American people and their safety as well as the safety of the immigrants themselves. And on a more grand scale, this crisis is one more nail in the coffin in America and Obama knows exactly what he is doing.

In the video clip below, documentary filmmaker Dennis Michael Lynch warns that the invasion is only beginning of the crisis being created by the Obama administration

“It’s about to get worse. . . Entire villages are emptying out and coming from Central America through Mexico to the United States. They’ll be hitting in the next couple weeks. What you are seeing right now is the tip of the iceberg.”

The Daily Caller reports, “a leaked estimate by a top official in the Department of Homeland Security says the 12-month inflow will reach 90,000 by October, and then grow by another 142,000 in the next 12 months before October 2015.” That’s over 230,000, nearly a quarter million that the Democrats hope to dump on US taxpayers. Soon, this number will grown by millions.

A Phoenix TV station reported June 6, DHS program that buses immigrants to AZ, no signs of stopping. The story follows the script of “humanitarian crisis” rather than a created crisis, but again, make no mistake about it, this administration is following script to undermine this country. Even Glenn Beck is asking why immigrants are coming.

Playing the Race Card

If you oppose the current and dramatic increase in illegal immigration, some will ask you, “What are you afraid of? Don’t you like people that speak Spanish and have brown skin”?  The race card is the default position of this administration. Let’s consider the fine work of a Lis-Marie Alvarado, an immigrant from Nicaragua, who presently resides in the Miami suburb of Homestead, FL.  Last year for a documentary produced by Al Jazeera America TV series, “Borderland“, she rode the train that they refer to as the” Beast”.  Alvarado and five other Americans traced the journey of immigrants who died while making their way to America on a train that departs from Nicaragua and heads north to the United States. The train illegally brings an estimated 500,000 people per year to the United States. Alvarado described the circumstances aboard the train as being very dire and life-threatening. Scores of people die on this train. Alvarado states that “… Not only with the sun, but also the water. There’s very limited water, and that’s a constant, you know. People are taking the journey because you do want a better future and you’re willing to do whatever takes, there are a lot of people who aren’t going to make it.”  Where is Obama in all of this?

Many Beast riders have suffered physical injury or death falling off the train or getting sucked into the wheels trying to board it in motion. In some areas, that’s the only way on. Most of these future illegal immigrants are making this 1,450-mile trek are not from Mexico, but rather from countries like Guatemala, El Salvador and Honduras, which has the world’s highest murder rate.

Both Alvarado and  Dannemiller expressed shock that she was surprised in how many children were riding the train. But you see, this constitutes the main part of the Obama plot. Get the children inside of the United States and the authorities will have no choice but to permit the parents to come to this country as well. Again, entire villages are coming to America under the most dangerous of conditions. The governments of the countries of origins buy bus ticket for the immigrants to travel to the Beast. Poor people are dangerous to an authoritarian regime and these leaders are all too happy to see them leave.

I live in Arizona and I see the manifestation of this inhumane immigration program. Very large segments of the central corridor of my State are under the control of the Mexican drug cartels. The citizens of Pinal County, which is adjacent to metropolitan Phoenix, are under siege by these former Mexican army soldiers turned drug runners. Their penchant for violence is well documented. For example, Pinal County Deputy Louie Puroll was ambushed and shot as he tracked six drug smugglers near Casa Grande, Arizona. In the Phoenix suburb of Chandler, Arizona, a drug cartel rival was beheaded. Citizens have been terrorized and many of these have been victims of crime from the cartels. In a drug cartel related activity, Phoenix leads the country in kidnappings most of which are related to the sex slave and labor slave trafficking practices of the Zeta and Sinola drug cartel gangs. These events are the byproduct of this insane Obama plan.
Read the entire article

TEXAN TOLD TO REMOVE AMERICAN FLAG BECAUSE IT’S A “THREAT TO MUSLIMS”

Infowars News
June 19,2014

A Texan was told by his apartment manager that he must remove his American flag hanging on his patio because it’s a “threat to the Muslim community.”

Even more, the manager of the Lodge on El Dorado in Webster, Texas released a press release to reporters stating that while management “admires our resident’s patriotism,” they must “maintain the aesthetics of our apartment community and provide for the safety of all residents.”

Somehow Duy Tran is a threat to his neighbors, particularly Muslims, for proudly displaying an American flag on his patio.

“What really stunned me is that she said it’s a threat towards the Muslim community,” he said to KHOU. “I’m not a threat toward anybody.”

He also added that he’s not taking the flag down without a fight.

“I’m gonna leave my flag there, as an American, until she shows me proof that I don’t have the right to leave my flag there,” he said. “I have friends that died for this country.”

Unfortunately, as bizarre as it sounds, the American flag is routinely targeted and attacked here in America.

Last month, for example, the Morgan Hill Unified School District in California banned students from wearing American flag clothing on Cinco de Mayo.

“The practice of limiting one group’s free speech rights because that speech might cause another group to react violently is known as the ‘heckler’s veto,’” wrote Robby Soave of the Daily Caller. “It is understood by free speech enthusiasts to have a chilling effect on First Amendment rights.”

And in Oregon, a woman who was initially threatened with eviction if she did not remove an American flag from her window was later told by her apartment manager that she could hang the “colored drape” on a flag pole.

U.S. Military Trained ISIS Terrorist Group At Secret Base In Jordan

SIC SEMPER TYRANNIS!!!

Mark Matheny
June 18, 2014

While the mainstream media here in the West reports on the atrocities and potential dangers of the Terrorist group known as "ISIS" -Islamic State of Iraq and Syria- reports have come out revealing that at least elements of this group were in fact trained by U.S. military personel at a secret base located in the area of Jordan.

According to Global Research, Jordanian official claim the training of several dozen ISIS members by U.S. instructors was part of a covert aid of insurgents that were targeting the Bashar Al-Assad Regime. They claim that the training wasn't meant for any future operations in Iraq:

The officials said dozens of ISIS members were trained at the time as part of covert aid to the insurgents targeting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The officials said the training was not meant to be used for any future campaign in Iraq.The Jordanian officials said all ISIS members who received U.S. training to fight in Syria were first vetted for any links to extremist groups like al-Qaida.

According to World Net Daily, The ISIS members were trained back in 2012 at a secret base in Jordan. The town of Safawi, in the Northern Desert region of Jordan was the location of the secret base where Syrian rebels were being trained courtesy of Turkey and Jordan, which were both running the training facility:

In February 2012, WND was first to report the U.S., Turkey and Jordan were running a training base for the Syrian rebels in the Jordanian town of Safawi in the country’s northern desert region.That report has since been corroborated by numerous other media accounts.Last March, the German weekly Der Spiegel reported Americans were training Syrian rebels in Jordan.Quoting what it said were training participants and organizers, Der Spiegel reported it was not clear whether the Americans worked for private firms or were with the U.S. Army, but the magazine said some organizers wore uniforms. The training in Jordan reportedly focused on use of anti-tank weaponry.The German magazine reported some 200 men received the training over the previous three months amid U.S. plans to train a total of 1,200 members of the Free Syrian Army in two camps in the south and the east of Jordan.

Again we see proof of funding and training by our own government, of the very terrorist organizations we claim to be fighting against.