KALASHNIKOV: A humble Russian engineer gave the world the most reliable assault rifle in modern history.
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The Legendary Kalashnikov: Story of AK-47 Rifle (RT's Documentary)
Mikhail Kalashnikov, with an AK-47, the most admired light assault weapon in modern history.
The AK-47 is an important weapon because it enabled some of the poorest countries to arm their fighters with a first-class field weapon in their struggles against the empire.
The Kalashnikov rifle needs no introduction. In this documentary we'll show you its origins, how it's made and tested, who uses it and much more. You'll be taken to the Izhmash manufacturing plant where the rifles are assembled, see elite soldiers from Russia's Interior Ministry train with the world-renowned weapon, and hear American war veterans recall their experiences with the gun. The inventor of the iconic AK-47 assault rifle, Mikhail Kalashnikov, has died at the age of 94
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November 18, 2019 – [dropcap]O[/dropcap]ne of the reasons for the destruction of the Libyan state and the death of Colonel Qaddafi himself was the desire to sit “on two chairs”, the desire to get support and guarantees not only from Russia, but also from the West. Therefore, when there was a real threat to Libya and its leadership, Qaddafi hesitated for a long time in a situation requiring quick and decisive action. The result of these fluctuations is known.
With Syria, everything was different. Assad did not hesitate for a long time and turned for help to the only reliable allies – Russia and Iran. At the initial stage of the operation of the Russian military in Syria, in August-October 2015, the country’s leadership was faced with the problem of quickly, covertly and safely transferring the necessary forces and means to a remote theater of operations. At the first stage, the need for the organization of the Russia-Syria aerial bridge “clearly emerged.”
On the technical side, this decision was fully ensured: the existing air fleet (about 100 Il-76 military transport planes and nine heavier An-124s) was enough to transfer 50% of the most needed equipment. However, with the provision of an air corridor for the flight of these Russian aircraft visas to Syria, problems arose.
Image 1: “Who is ready to allow Russian military cargo to Syria”
Red: Countries that refuse Russian military transport planes in the air corridor to Syria. (Bulgaria, Turkey)
Blue: Countries allowing an air corridor. (Greece, Iran) – BBC Russian Service
Looking at the map of the region, you understand that the shortest air route to Syria from Russia passes over Turkey. However, this route was immediately rejected over the “difficult” relationship between Erdoğan and Assad. In addition, relations between Russia and Turkey by this time were complicated due to the forced landing in Turkey of a Russian plane flying to Damascus with military cargo for air defense systems.
Theoretically, there were two more routes left:
– over the neutral waters of the Black Sea, through Romania, Serbia, Macedonia and Greece.
– over the neutral waters of the Caspian Sea through Iran and Iraq.
Romania almost immediately announced that “we won’t allow Russian planes to pass.” Bulgaria immediately joined it, although nobody asked it about possible flight paths. As always, Bulgaria, in a difficult moment, showed its rotten core.
A last route remained – through Iran and Iraq. The establishment of an air corridor to Syria required big political and diplomatic efforts. Iran’s consent was not difficult to obtain, as it was interested in the strengthening Russian help to Syria. The Russian Embassy in Tehran quickly received permission for all requested flights of Russian planes. Moscow and Tehran then established close contacts on this given question.
Image 2: Approximate air corridor route to Syria.
But with Iraq everything turned out to be very, very complicated. The Americans were still very strong in Baghdad and had serious leverage over the ruling elite of the country; they could not only block financial and military assistance to Iraq, but also introduce serious sanctions against it. The US State Department, personally Secretary of State John Kerry, was squeezing Iraq with frightening force.
Kerry demanded that the Iraqi leadership force all the aircraft flying from Iran to land and conduct a thorough search of them by the Iraqi police and US intelligence agencies.
However, Iran’s influence on Baghdad was even stronger – since the spring of 2012, an Iranian aerial bridge was organized across Iraq, through which Iranian C-130 transport planes regularly transferred weapons and equipment to Syria. And the US could do nothing with this corridor. All they had achieved was a short-term flight ban for the Iranian Air Force, but it lasted only 2 months.
Therefore, in organizing the flight of Russian military transport planes through Iraq, recent Iranian developments had to be used. In addition, Russia provided Iraq with serious military-technical assistance.
Image 3: Russian Il-76 military transport plane at the Khmeimim airbase (Syria)
The Russian air corridor through Iran and Iraq was earned in August 2015. From August 18 to August 24, 2015, our specialists renovated the Khmeimim airfield. On August 24, our first airbase supply group arrived in Khmeimim – 24 people. And on September 10, the main staff arrived – 298 military servicemen. On September 30, the air group at Khmeimim was fully formed. This allowed the Russian military to begin the planned operation to rescue the Assad government and then provide a turning point in the Syrian war.
Thus, the Syrian campaign has become a kind of indicator for Russia to assimilate the “Libyan experience.” It was the Libyan events that forced the governments of Russia, Iran, Iraq, Syria to act in a fundamentally different way than it was in solving the “Libyan issue.”
The Essential Saker III: Chronicling The Tragedy, Farce And Collapse of the Empire in the Era of Mr MAGA
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Besides screaming about Trump's "recklessness" in "abandoning the Kurds," the US media has been at pains to cover up the embarrassment of what looks like a defeat for the empire in Syria.
[dropcap]A[/dropcap]fter long and difficult talks on Tuesday in Sochi, Putin and Turkish president Erdogan reached an agreement (memorandum of understanding) with respect to the situation in northeast Syria that will require the Kurds to retreat approximately 20 miles back from the Turkish-Syrian border. Both leaders spoke at a press conference after the negotiations. According to the Kremlin website, Putin reiterated support for Turkey protecting its legitimate national security interests near its border, but that ultimately all countries had to respect Syria’s sovereignty as well as the rights of Kurds:
We share Turkey’s concerns about the growing threat of terrorism and ethnic and religious disputes in that region. We believe these disputes and separatist sentiments have been fueled artificially from the outside.
…. Syria must be liberated from illegal foreign military presence. We believe that the only way to achieve strong and long-lasting stability in Syria is to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country. This is our principled position, and we have discussed it with the President of Turkey.
BELOW: SOCHI, RUSSIA – OCTOBER 22, 2019: Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan (L) and Russia’s President Vladimir Putin give a joint news conference on Syria following their meeting in Sochi, Russia. Mikhail Metzel/TASS
It is important that our Turkish partners share this approach. The Turks and the Syrians will have to protect peace on the border together, which would be impossible without mutually respectful cooperation between the two countries.
In addition to this, a broad dialogue between the Syrian government and the Kurds living in northeastern Syria must be launched. It is clear that all the rights and interests of the Kurds as an integral part of the multi-ethnic Syrian nation can only be fully considered and fulfilled via such an inclusive dialogue.
Putin also said that the return of Syrian refugees must be facilitated and stressed the importance that no actions by any party undermine the work of the constitutional committee which is set to begin its work at the end of the month:
We consider it necessary to continue helping Syrian refugees to return home, which will substantially alleviate the socioeconomic burden shouldered by the countries that agreed to take in Syrians. First and foremost this applies to the Republic of Turkey.
We urge the international community, primarily relevant UN agencies, to be more active in rendering humanitarian aid to all Syrians going home, without any discrimination, politicisation and preconditions….
…. Of course, during our talks with the President of Turkey, we discussed further steps to promote the peaceful political process in Syria, which the Syrians will conduct within the Constitutional Committee in cooperation with the United Nations.
The guarantors of the Astana format have meticulously worked on it for many years.
We believe the situation on the ground must not prevent the long-awaited launch of the committee in Geneva next week – October 29–30.
As reported by Russian news agency, Tass, Erdogan stated that Turkey and Russia would embark on joint patrols of the buffer zone Turkey has carved out with its recent military incursion into the northeast of Syria:
SOCHI, October 22. /TASS/. Turkey and Russia will carry out joint patrolling in northern Syria, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday on the outcomes of the talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Sochi.
“Within 150 hours, [Kurdish formations] the People’s Protection Units must leave the 30-kilometer zone. The countdown will begin tomorrow at 12:00 [local time, same as Moscow time — TASS]. After the 150 hours run out, Turkey and Russia will begin joint patrolling of the area to the east and to the west of the Peace Spring operation zone,” Erdogan said.
According to him, joint patrolling will be carried out on the Syrian territories 10 kilometers away from the Turkish border.
Meduzareported the following specific terms of the agreement, noting that “Erdogan’s claims were reduced to a stretch of land just 60 miles wide that contains only the two Kurdish cities Turkish armed forces managed to seize since the start of the operation against the Kurds.” :
Turkish troops will indefinitely retain control over the territory they managed to capture after October 9 (the agreement calls this “maintaining the status quo”).
Syrian border guards and Russian military police will occupy the rest of the border region, which will be off limits to Turkish troops, though Turkey will get the right to participate in joint patrols alongside Russian forces up to 10 kilometers (6.2 miles) from the border.
The Kurdish armed formations that Erdogan considers to be terrorist groups must leave the entire border region within a week. The agreement says nothing about what happens next to these groups, but both Russia and Turkey committed to “fighting terrorist in all forms.”
The document doesn’t mention Kurdish autonomy, but it says all questions about Syria’s political structure will be determined later by a constitutional committee convened by Russia, Turkey, and Iran.
The agreement also doesn’t mention the resettlement of Turkey’s Syrian refugees in Kurdish territory, except for vague language about both parties making efforts to ensure that refugees return to Syria “safely and voluntarily.”
Other bilateral issues were discussed at the 6-hour-long conference between the two leaders, including defense cooperation involving the S-400 and continued trade in bilateral currencies. Again, according to Tass:
“The works on S-400 [missile systems] continues, Turkey is receiving supply procurements. Currently, bilateral defense industry cooperation will resolutely continue,” Erdogan stressed.
The Turkish president also announced that Ankara and Moscow “agreed to expand trading in national currencies.”
Putin later conferred with Syrian president Assad by telephone to inform him of the outcome of the meeting with Erdogan. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov briefed the media on the call and stated that beginning today, Syrian border guards will conduct joint patrols with the Russians near the Turkish-Syrian border for about a week before the Turks begin their joint patrols with the Russians in the smaller stretch over which they recently gained control :
According to Peskov, the Russian leader stressed that the main goal is to recover Syrian territorial integrity and to continue political regulation efforts, including the work related to the Syrian Constitutional Committee.
Assad supports the decisions taken on the outcomes of the talks, the Kremlin spokesman added. “President al-Assad thanked Vladimir Putin, expressed his full support for the results of the work and stated that he is ready to send Syrian border guards to the [Syrian-Turkish] border along with the Russian military police,” he said…
….Starting midday October 23, the Russian military police and Syrian border guards will arrive at the Syrian-Turkish border to monitor the withdrawal of Kurdish military formations to the depth of 30 km from the border. In 150 hours, Russia and Turkey will begin the joint patrolling of the area.
Just prior to the Putin-Erdogan meeting, it was reported that U.S. diplomats told the political leader of SDF – who was in Washington D.C. for urgent talks that became contentious- that they would “not allow” the Kurds to make a deal with Assad or the Russians. But since the Kurds are no longer getting protection from the U.S., it appears they will likely not be abiding by any dictums issued by Washington.
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Russia-Turkey deal establishes ‘safe zone’ along Turkish border and there will be joint Russia-Turkey military patrols
[dropcap]T[/dropcap]he negotiations in Sochi were long – over six hours – tense and tough. Two leaders in a room with their interpreters and several senior Turkish ministers close by if advice was needed. The stakes were immense: a road map to pacify northeast Syria, finally.
The press conference afterwards was somewhat awkward – riffing on generalities. But there’s no question that in the end Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan managed the near impossible.
The Russia-Turkey deal establishes a safe zone along the Syrian-Turkish border – something Erdogan had been gunning for since 2014. There will be joint Russia-Turkey military patrols. The Kurdish YPG (People’s Protection Units), part of the rebranded, US-aligned Syrian Democratic Forces, will need to retreat and even disband, especially in the stretch between Tal Abyad and Ras al-Ayn, and they will have to abandon their much-cherished urban areas such as Kobane and Manbij. The Syrian Arab Army will be back in the whole northeast. And Syrian territorial integrity – a Putin imperative – will be preserved.
This is a Syria-Russia-Turkey win-win-win – and, inevitably, the end of a separatist-controlled Syrian Kurdistan. Significantly, Erdogan’s spokesman Fahrettin Altun stressed Syria’s “territorial integrity” and “political unity.” That kind of rhetoric from Ankara was unheard of until quite recently.
Putin immediately called Syrian President Bashar al Assad to detail the key points of the memorandum of understanding. Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov once again stressed Putin’s main goal – Syrian territorial integrity – and the very hard work ahead to form a Syrian Constitutional Committee for the legal path towards a still-elusive political settlement.
Russian military police and Syrian border guards are already arriving to monitor the imperative YPG withdrawal – all the way to a depth of 30 kilometers from the Turkish border. The joint military patrols are tentatively scheduled to start next Tuesday.
On the same day this was happening in Sochi, Assad was visiting the frontline in Idlib – a de facto war zone that the Syrian army, allied with Russian air power, will eventually clear of jihadi militias, many supported by Turkey until literally yesterday. That graphically illustrates how Damascus, slowly but surely, is recovering sovereign territory after eight and a half years of war.
Who gets the oil?
For all the cliffhangers in Sochi, there was not a peep about an absolutely key element: who’s in control of Syria’s oilfields, especially after President Trump’s now-notorious tweet stating, “the US has secured the oil.” No one knows which oil. If he meant Syrian oil, that would be against international law. Not to mention Washington has no mandate – from the UN or anyone else – to occupy Syrian territory.
Above: In blue, the Russo-Turkish buffer zone agreed by Putin and Erdogan, guaranteeing security for Turkey, and eventual territorial integrity for Syria. The Russo-Turkish buffer is far more extensive than the one proposed by the US.
Withdrawing US troops, pelted by Kurds.
The Arab street is inundated with videos of the not exactly glorious exit by US troops, leaving Syria pelted by rocks and rotten tomatoes all the way to Iraqi Kurdistan, where they were greeted by a stark reminder. “All US forces that withdrew from Syria received approval to enter the Kurdistan region [only] so that they may be transported outside Iraq. There is no permission granted for these forces to stay inside Iraq,” the Iraqi military headquarters in Baghdad said.
The Pentagon said a “residual force” may remain in the Middle Euphrates river valley, side by side with Syrian Democratic Forces militias, near a few oilfields, to make sure the oil does not fall “into the hands of ISIS/Daesh or others.” “Others” actually means the legitimate owner, Damascus. There’s no way the Syrian army will accept that, as it’s now fully engaged in a national drive to recover the country’s sources of food, agriculture and energy. Syria’s northern provinces have a wealth of water, hydropower dams, oil, gas and food.
As it stands, the US retreat is partial at best, also considering that a small garrison remains behind at al-Tanf, on the border with Jordan. Strategically, that does not make sense, because the al-Qaem border between Iran and Iraq is now open and thriving.
The map above shows the position of US bases in early October, but that’s changing fast. The Syrian Army is already working to recover oilfields around Raqqa, but the strategic US base of Ash Shaddadi still seems to be in place. Until quite recently US troops were in control of Syria’s largest oilfield, al-Omar, in the northeast.
There have been accusations by Russian sources that mercenaries recruited by private US military companies trained jihadi militias such as the Maghawir al-Thawra (“Army of Free Tribes”) to sabotage Syrian oil and gas infrastructure and/or sell Syrian oil and gas to bribe tribal leaders and finance jihadi operations. The Pentagon denies it.
Gas pipeline
As I have argued for years, Syria to a large extent has been a key ‘Pipelineistan’ war – not only in terms of pipelines inside Syria, and the US preventing Damascus from commercializing its own natural resources, but most of all around the fate of the Iran-Iraq-Syria gas pipeline which was agreed in a memorandum of understanding signed in 2012.
This pipeline has, over the years, always been a red line, not only for Washington but also for Doha, Riyadh and Ankara.
The situation should dramatically change when the $200 billion-worth of reconstruction in Syria finally takes off after a comprehensive peace deal is in place. It will be fascinating to watch the European Union – after NATO plotted for an “Assad must go” regime change operation for years – wooing Tehran, Baghdad and Damascus with financial offers for their gas.
NATO explicitly supported the Turkish offensive “Operation Peace Spring.” And we haven’t even seen the ultimate geoeconomic irony yet: NATO member, Turkey, purged of its neo-Ottoman dreams, merrily embracing the Gazprom-supported Iran-Iraq-Syria ‘Pipelineistan’ road map.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Distinguished Collaborator Pepe Escobar is an independent geopolitical analyst. He writes for RT, Sputnik and TomDispatch, and is a frequent contributor to websites and radio and TV shows ranging from the US to East Asia. He is the former roving correspondent for Asia Times Online. Born in Brazil, he’s been a foreign correspondent since 1985, and has lived in London, Paris, Milan, Los Angeles, Washington, Bangkok and Hong Kong. Even before 9/11 he specialized in covering the arc from the Middle East to Central and East Asia, with an emphasis on Big Power geopolitics and energy wars. He is the author of “Globalistan” (2007), “Red Zone Blues” (2007), “Obama does Globalistan” (2009) and “Empire of Chaos” (2014), all published by Nimble Books. His latest book is “2030”, also by Nimble Books, out in December 2015.
[dropcap]L[/dropcap]ess than 48 hours after US troops were pelted with tomatoes and stones as they abandoned their former Kurdish allies in northeastern Syria, Russia has moved in as the region’s new referee.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, after marathon six-hour talks with his Turkish counterpart, secured an agreement to halt a Turkish invasion of the border area – instead offering joint patrols with his forces in specific border towns.
Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu acknowledged the joint patrols would not apply to the Syrian city of Qamishli, where Syria’s armed forces have maintained an airbase throughout the war.
Kurdish YPG/YPJ forces are to withdraw 30 kilometers from the Turkish border in the span of one week – thus cleaving them from their sister group the PKK in Turkey.
The Moscow-sanctioned patrols, however, will only be allowed ten kilometers deep into Syria, in keeping with Moscow’s guiding principle of sovereignty.
“In general, stable and long-term stabilization in Syria can only be reached if the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity are adhered to,” Putin said Tuesday, in comments published by Russia’s Tass news agency.
“Most importantly, our Turkish partners share this approach,” he added.
The US presence in Syria is now essentially limited to a base in the far east of the Syrian desert, even as US President Donald Trump has mused about leaving a number of troops in eastern Syria to seize oil fields.
Turkey backs down
Prior to the Sochi meeting, Erdogan emphasized that “Turkey does not have an eye on any country’s territory” — calling such an accusation an “insult.”
Turkey last year backed a military incursion into the northern Syrian city of Afrin, sending its largely Kurdish and minority Yazidi community fleeing under artillery fire, and then bussed in defeated Arab rebels and their families to settle in their homes.
Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, during a visit to the front lines in the northwestern province of Idlib on Tuesday, said the Turkish leader was the number one threat of the day.
“Erdogan (…) is a thief who steals wheat, petroleum, and factories, and now he is trying to steal land,” Syria’s state news agency quoted Assad as saying.
Idlib is dominated by a former Al-Qaeda affiliate, whose leader has worked to remain in the good graces of Turkey – publicly backing Ankara’s operation against Kurdish forces further east.
The status of Idlib and its 3 million residents – half of whom have been displaced multiple times during the conflict – was likely a key topic of discussion at the Sochi meeting.
Erdogan takes parting Syria shots as Russians deploy
Following their talks, Erdogan and Putin agreed to continue their efforts to find a political solution in Syria – not through the UN but via the Russian-backed Astana process.
* * *
About the author(s)
Alison Tahmizian Meuse is contributing editor for Syria Deeply
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