Peak Oil is You
Donate Bitcoins ;-) or Paypal :-)
Page added on September 2, 2015
Kerry Promises Israel, Saudis Money
Secretary of State John Kerry on Wednesday moved to reassure Congress that Israel and America’s Gulf State allies would be fully taken care of in the wake of the Iran nuclear deal, which Kerry acknowledged would not stop Iran’s support for terrorism, according to a letter sent by the secretary of state to lawmakers.
Just moments after the White House secured enough votes to override a congressional veto of the Iran deal, a letter from Kerry appeared in the inboxes of congressional offices across Capitol Hill.
Kerry admits that, despite the deal, Iran will continue to back terrorist groups across the globe and promises to boost military support and funding to Israel and Gulf states such as Saudi Arabia, according to a copy of the letter obtained by the Washington Free Beacon.
The letter comes in response to concerns among lawmakers, Israel, and other Gulf region allies that the nuclear accord will boost the Islamic Republic’s support for terrorism, while leaving traditional U.S. allies on the defense.
“Important questions have been raised concerning the need to increase security assistance to our allies and partners in the region and to enhance our efforts to counter Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region,” Kerry writes. “We share the concern expressed by many in Congress regarding Iran’s continued support for terrorist and proxy groups throughout the region, its propping up of the Assad regime in Syria, its efforts to undermine the stability of its regional neighbors, and the threat it poses to Israel.”
The Obama administration, Kerry claims, is under “no illusion that this behavior will change following implementation of the JCPOA,” or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
“The president has made clear that he views Israel’s security as sacrosanct, and he has ensured that the United States has backed up this message with concrete actions that have increased US military, intelligence, and security cooperation with Israel to their highest levels ever,” the letter states.
Kerry then goes on to outline the ways in which the Obama administration will enhance security cooperation with Israel and Gulf State allies.
Israel, for instance, will be the first country in the region to get a U.S.-made next-generation F-35 fighter aircraft in 2016.
An additional $3 billion in U.S. aid also will go to secure Israel’s missile defense programs, such as the Iron Dome system. The administration also stands ready “to enhance” funding to next-generation missile defense systems, such as Arrow-3 and David’s Sling.
The administration, Kerry writes, recently “offered Israel a $1.89 billion munitions resupply package that will replenish Israel’s inventories and will ensure its long-term continued access to sophisticated, state of the art precision guided munitions.”
The administration will additionally work to secure a new 10-year “Memorandum of Understanding” with the Jewish state that “would cement for the next decade our unprecedented levels of military assistance,” Kerry writes.
Kerry also proposes to collaborate with Israel on “tunnel detection and mapping technologies to provide Israel new capabilities to detect and destroy [terrorist] tunnels before the could be used to threaten Israeli civilians.”
President Barack Obama has further proposed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the two governments “begin the process aimed a further strengthening our efforts to confront conventional and asymmetric threats.”
Gulf States, such as Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), also will benefit from increased arms shipments and new security deals, according to Kerry.
The administration is “working to expedite the delivery of capabilities needed to deter and combat regional threats, including terrorism and Iran’s destabilizing activities in the region,” Kerry writes.
In July, for example, the administration notified Congress of new arms sales to Saudi Arabia and the UAE “that will provide long-term strategic defense capabilities and support for their ongoing operations,” the letter states.
Another goal is to strengthen ballistic missile defense capabilities in the region. This goal, Kerry says, “is a strategic imperative and an essential component to deterring Iranian aggression against any GCC member state.”
One senior Congressional aide who received the letter said that it is a clear attempt by the administration to placate regional fears about the deal.
“Let’s not be fooled about what the letter represents. This desperate move to placate Israel and our Gulf partners is a tacit acknowledgment that Iran will expand its international terror regime thanks to the nuclear agreement,” the source said. “If this is such a good deal, why does the administration feel compelled to immediately offer arms packages as compensation to our regional allies?”
“No amount of conventional weapons can neutralize the threat posed by the mullahs acquiring nuclear weapons,” the source said. “This type of appeasement is a slap in the face to our closets allies and a wink-wink to the dictators in Tehran.”
56 Comments on "Kerry Promises Israel, Saudis Money"
apneaman on Fri, 4th Sep 2015 10:09 am
Bob, the telegraph? Did you read it and read between the lines?
Russian troops are fighting alongside pro-Assad forces in Syria, state television in Damascus and several reports have claimed.
The video footage claimed to show troops and a Russian armoured vehicle fighting Syrian rebels alongside President Bashar al-Assad’s troops in Latakia.
It is reportedly possible to hear Russian being spoken by the troops in the footage.
In further indications of Russian “mission creep” in Syria, a Twitter account linked to Jabhat al-Nusra, al-Qaeda’s Syrian branch, published images of what appeared to be Russian planes and drones flying over Idlib.
An unnamed activist with the Syrian rebel group the Free Syrian Army told The Times: “The Russians have been there a long time.
And a Russian naval vessel was photographed heading south through the Bosphorus strait carrying large amounts of military equipment, according to social media and a shipping blog.
While Russian military advisers are thought to have been in Syria for months, as the Kremlin tries to support its key Middle East ally, if confirmed, this would mark the first evidence of troops fighting on the front line.
“several reports have claimed.” What reports? Link?
“The video footage claimed ” So what, now video footage has opinions and speaks?
“It is reportedly possible” That does not mean anything – completely fucking meaningless babble.
“An unnamed activist” Sure. What kind of activist? Environmental? social justice? ??? male ? female? cat? dog?
“if confirmed”
“several reports have claimed.” what reports? from who? link?
Oh, and the kicker is calling the rebels State television when they are not. Assad is the state until they win.
Still having trouble playing spot the propaganda Bob? The Telegraph is kindergarten level, so anyone who is sucked in by them is hopeless. It’s all so very exciting though isn’t it?
BobInget on Fri, 4th Sep 2015 10:14 am
Most observers declare there is no way
the Syrian proxy way can end militarily.
Perhaps, Russian intervention in Syria might bring about some sort of diplomatic solution.
Like Donald Trump almost all political ‘experts’ predicted he, like ISIL would flame out early. Neither has happened.
What I find alarming to the ninth degree—
How many Americans find the Donald genuine or Muslims ready to die for a band of pirates, sadistic murderers, pretenders, calling themselves ISIL.
Something is going horribly wrong.
I keep thinking. Nazis, Stalinists, tried to hide their crimes. They knew mass murder was not a great crowd pleaser. Even up to this very day Turkey denies The Armenian Genocide. Pol Pot tried to hide his 1,500,000
corpses.
Today Islam feels so threatened, some followers think it’s better to advertise how insane humanity can get.
Were the Nazis wrong to hide their cruelty?
BobInget on Fri, 4th Sep 2015 10:39 am
Apneaman,
There are only ‘citizen reporters’ in Ukraine
or Syria. All sides, guilty of war crimes, are unwilling to be exposed.
Egyptians are jailing reporters doing their jobs. ISIL cuts off reporter’s heads just to instill fear. Turkey, like Egypt, jails journalists.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_arrested_journalists_in_Turkey
Putin still denies Russian ‘regulars’ are serving in Ukraine or shooting down passenger jets. I believe ‘proxy’ wars
always end in direct confrontations between
proxy sponsors.
Just this week Saudi Arabia admitted it was bombing (with US assistance) Yemen because Iran’s support of the Houthis Tribe.
Below is a Pentagon news release:
http://www.truthdig.com/eartotheground/item/the_us_is_finalizing_a_1_billion_arms_deal_with_saudi_arabia_20150904
snippet:
The weapons deal, although not the largest between the United States and Saudi Arabia, comes at a time when the Obama administration is promising Arab allies that it will back them against what many Arab governments view as a rising Iran. It also comes as the Middle East is descending into proxy wars, sectarian conflicts and battles against terrorist networks.
The result is that countries in the region that had stockpiled American military hardware are now using it and wanting more, a boon for American defense contractors. snip
posted note:
Wasn’t the Iran deal aimed at preventing another arms race in the MIdEast?
BobInget on Fri, 4th Sep 2015 12:06 pm
Canada’s government, which has proposed travel bans to certain areas in Syria and Iraq to stop people joining extremist groups, has said there will be an exemption for citizens fighting against Islamic State. Likewise, the Netherlands’ public prosecutor has said that members of biker gangs who join Kurdish militias will not face any charges if they return, unlike those who have joined designated terrorist groups. It’s not clear what legal consequences, if any, might await U.S. citizens who go overseas to fight the Islamic State and then return home.
Americans and Europeans who join anti-Islamic State groups are particularly high-profile targets for kidnapping or killing for propaganda purposes. This was highlighted last year amid reports, which turned out to be false, that Islamic State militants had kidnapped a Canadian-Israeli woman, Gill Rosenberg, while she was fighting with the YPG.
So far, just one American combating the Islamic State group has been confirmed killed. Thirty-six-year-old Keith Broomfield from Massachusetts died in June during a battle in the Syrian border town of Kobani. Broomfield reportedly believed that a divine message had told him to go to fight alongside the Kurds against the Islamic State.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/american-foreign-fighters-syria-iraq_55e76900e4b0c818f61a85f0
apneaman on Fri, 4th Sep 2015 12:21 pm
Canada’s government is all about righteous democracy and freedom.
Harper, Serial Abuser of Power: The Evidence Compiled
The Tyee’s full, updated list of 70 Harper government assaults on democracy and the law.
http://thetyee.ca/Opinion/2015/08/10/Harper-Abuses-of-Power-Final/
apneaman on Fri, 4th Sep 2015 4:40 pm
False Reports of Russian Military Intervention in Syria
http://www.globalresearch.ca/false-reports-of-russian-military-intervention-in-syria/5473792?utm_content=buffere6955&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer