Saturday, November 28, 2015

Former CIA Operative: Get Ready for WWIII


Expect Putin to respond to provocations by Turkey


Bob Baer, a former CIA operative, believes the situation in the Middle East is out of control and shaping up to look like the beginning of World War III.
“This mosaic in the Middle East of conflict is getting out of control,” Baer told CNN.  “It’s not just Russia and Turkey, it’s Iran and Saudi Arabia. It is expanding rather than contracting, and nobody has a strategic plan.”
Baer said Vladimir Putin is likely to react to the Turkish shoot down of a Russian warplane.
On Thursday Putin said the United States knew the flight path of the aircraft and may have fed this information to Turkey.








Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev has announced expansive economic sanctions against Turkey and  Russia’s military shut down all communication channels with the Turkish military, including a “hot line” to help avoid air incidents.
Turkey remains intransigent on the shoot down and has vowed to respond if Russia targets its planes violating Syrian airspace.
On Thursday Moscow deployed its advanced S-400 air defense system in Syria. The weapon will be used to protect the Russian Hmeimim airbase in Latakia. The Russian defense ministry posted a video of the deployment on its Facebook page.
Baer said we should expect Putin to respond to provocations by Turkey. “I wouldn’t put it past him. He’s not going to back down,” he said.
“That’s the way he framed this conflict,” Baer said. “The chances of this escalating from here without deconfliction of any sort are pretty good.”

Turkish president says wishes plane downing had not happened



 Associated Press

Associated Press
Associated Press
By SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press

 Image result for Recep Tayyip Erdogan

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Saturday voiced regret over Turkey's downing of a Russian warplane, saying his country was "truly saddened" by the incident and wished it hadn't occurred.
It was the first expression of regret by the strongman leader since Tuesday's incident in which Turkish F-16 jets shot down the Russian jet on grounds that it had violated Turkey's airspace despite repeated warnings to change course. It was the first time in half a century that a NATO member shot down a Russian plane and drew a harsh response from Moscow.
"We are truly saddened by this incident," Erdogan said. "We wish it hadn't happened as such, but unfortunately such a thing has happened. I hope that something like this doesn't occur again."
Addressing supporters in the western city of Balikesir, Erdogan said neither country should allow the incident to escalate and take a destructive form that would lead to "saddening consequences."
He renewed a call for a meeting with President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of a climate conference in Paris next week, saying it would be an opportunity to overcome tensions.
Erdogan's friendly overture however, came after he again vigorously defended Turkey's action and criticized Russia for its operations in Syria.
"If we allow our sovereign rights to be violated ... then the territory would no longer be our territory," Erdogan said.
Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu also said he hoped a meeting between Erdogan and Putin would take place in Paris.
"In such situations it is important to keep the channels of communication open," he said.
Putin has denounced the Turkish action as a "treacherous stab in the back," and has insisted that the plane was downed over Syrian territory in violation of international law. He has also refused to take telephone calls from Erdogan. Putin's foreign affairs adviser, Yuri Ushakov, said Friday that the Kremlin had received Erdogan's request for a meeting, but wouldn't say whether such a meeting is possible.
Asked why Putin hasn't picked up the phone to respond to Erdogan's two phone calls, he said that "we have seen that the Turkish side hasn't been ready to offer an elementary apology over the plane incident."
After the incident, Russia deployed long-range S-400 air defense missile systems to a Russian air base in Syria just 50 kilometers (30 miles) south of the border with Turkey to help protect Russian warplanes, and the Russian military warned it would shoot down any aerial target that would pose a potential threat to its planes.
Russia has since also restricted tourist travel to Turkey, left Turkish trucks stranded at the border, confiscated large quantities of Turkish food imports and started preparing a raft of broader economic sanctions.
On Saturday Turkey issued a travel warning urging its nationals to delay non-urgent and unnecessary travel to Russia, saying Turkish travelers were facing "problems" in the country. It said Turks should delay travel plans until "the situation becomes clear."

Russia Imposes Economic Restrictions Against Turkey After Downing of Su-24

Russian President Vladimir Putin at a ceremony to receive credentials from ambassadors of 15 countries in the Alexander Hall of the Grand Kremlin Palace

© Sputnik/ Michael Klimentyev
Politics

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree on Saturday to boost national security and introduce economic measures against Turkey, the Kremlin press service said.

"Russian President V.V. Putin has signed a Decree ‘On Measures to Guarantee National Security in the Russian Federation and Protect Russian Citizens Against Criminal and Other Illegal Actions, and on Special Economic Measures Against the Turkish Republic," the statement said.
Russian travel agencies will have to stop selling tours to Turkey after January 1, 2016, according to Kremlin.
Charter air transportation between Russia and Turkey will also be banned.
Moreover, Russia will restrict import of certain Turkish goods, the statement said.

Patriarch Irinej urges former Kosovo residents to return

Tanjug

Published: at 8:19 am 
 
PEC – Patriarch Irinej of the Serbian Orthodox Church on Tuesday urged all former residents of Kosovo-Metohija to return to their homes in the province.
IRINEJ-650x4327
“We know that they live in difficult circumstances – the Lord will give them the strength to endure – I call on all former residents of Kosovo-Metohija to return to their homes, their temples and cemeteries to protect and preserve what they had received from their ancestors,” Patriarch Irinej said.
After a liturgy marking the day of the ktetor of the Visoki Decani monastery, the patriarch said that “any message is weak compared to the message of this sacred site and (its ktetor) the Holy King Stefan Decanski.”

Sex offender deported back to Albania after sexually assaulting a woman on Tube

The Albanian national made the victim feel "intimated, scared and extremely uncomfortable" according to police

Link
A 21-year-old man will be deported back to Albania and placed on the sex offenders register for seven years after he pleaded guilty to a sexual assault.
Besnik Ferizolli, an Albanian national, appeared before Blackfriars Crown Court on Tuesday, November 18.
Ferizolli was arrested by British Transport Police after he sexually assaulted a woman at Northwood London Underground station on Wednesday, October 7.
According to British Transport Police , Ferizolli approached a 19-year-old woman asking her to sit down near him. He then proceeded to kiss her and put his arm around her before boarding the train with the woman. He sat next to her and kissed her again on her cheek.
He also demanded that the woman give him her number.
Throughout the journey Ferizolli continued to harass the woman and intimidated her until he left the train at Harrow-on-the-Hill London Underground station.
Investigating officer DC Matt Nolan said: “Ferizolli made this woman feel intimated, scared and extremely uncomfortable. She was simply going about her daily commute home.
“Nobody should be made to feel this way and everyone has the right to travel without fear on the transport network.
“I am pleased that the woman had the courage to come forward and report this man and the crime that he committed so that he could be caught and convicted. We are determined to give people the confidence to come forward and report unwanted sexual behaviors."
Siwan Hayward, TfL’s Deputy Director of Enforcement and On-Street Operations, said: “'We care about our customers and the journeys they make; working closely with our policing partners we are determined to rid the transport network of this type of behaviour.
“Unwanted sexual behaviour is a crime and we are pleased this predatory sexual offender has been caught and convicted.
“We encourage anyone who has experienced unwanted sexual behaviour to always report it to the police by texting 61016 or calling 101. Your report will always be taken seriously and thoroughly investigated.”

Today, the 103th Anniversary of the Indipendence of Albania

Përvjetori i Pavarsisë së Shqipërisë!

Turkey's president warns Russia not to 'play with fire'

Al Jazeera

Turkey's president warns Russia not to 'play with fire': Erdogan condemns reports that Turkish businessmen were detained in Russia as animosity between Cold War rivals grows.© Provided by Al Jazeera Erdogan condemns reports that Turkish businessmen were detained in Russia as animosity between Cold War rivals grows. 
 
President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has warned Russia not to "play with fire" after reports emerged that Turkish businessmen had been detained in Russia.
Moscow said it would suspend visa-free travel with Turkey, and its tourism agency head announced on Friday it will ask more than 9,000 Russians currently in Turkey to return home by the end of December.
Relations between the former Cold War antagonists are at their lowest in recent memory after Turkey shot down a Russian fighter jet near the Syrian border on Tuesday. The pilot was machine-gunned dead by rebels on the ground in Syria as he parachuted down.
Russia has threatened economic retaliation - a response Erdogan has dismissed as emotional and indecorous.
"It is playing with fire to go as far as mistreating our citizens who have gone to Russia," Erdogan told supporters during a speech in Bayburt, in northeast Turkey, on Friday.
"We really attach a lot of importance to our relations with Russia... We don't want these relations to suffer harm in any way."

RELATED: Russia raids Turkish firms, sends imports back

Erdogan said he wants to speak with Russian President Vladimir Putin at a climate summit in Paris that starts on Monday. Putin has so far refused to talk with Erdogan because Ankara has not yet apologised for the downing of the jet, a Putin aide said.
Erdogan has said Turkey deserves the apology because its air space was violated.
The nearly five-year-old Syrian civil war has been complicated by Russian air strikes in defence of President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey and regional powers have accused Russia of targetting moderate armed groups fighting Assad.
The frayed relations could also impact two major planned projects - a TurkStream gas pipeline and the Akkuyu nuclear power plant - between the two countries.
Turkey and Russia have also sparred over ISIL, with each side accusing the other of being soft on "terrorism".

Friday, November 27, 2015

New CIA Documentary Puts Spymasters Under the Klieg Lights

NewsWeek

CIA
Former President George W. Bush awards the Presidential Medal of Freedom to former CIA Director George Tenet on December 14, 2004.
George Tenet, the former CIA director, has been understandably reluctant about giving interviews since he resigned from the spy agency 11 years ago. After all, he was the nation’s top intelligence officer during three of the nation’s most troubling espionage failures: the 1999 bombing of the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia; the September 11, 2001, attacks; and George W. Bush’s disastrous invasion of Iraq, which the CIA enabled with its false finding that Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction.
So naturally, when he sat down for his first on-the-record interview in more than eight years, Tenet tore into the failure of others to act on his warnings, from 1999 through the late summer of 2001, that Al-Qaeda was determined to strike targets in the United States. He could “barely contain himself when talking about the unheeded warnings he says he gave the White House,” says Chris Whipple, executive producer and writer of The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs, a surprisingly riveting documentary premiering November 28 on Showtime.
Likewise, Tenet’s former deputy Cofer Black is still livid about those White House meetings more than 14 years ago. “You know what pisses me off? When people call this an intelligence failure,” he says on the show, nearly jumping out of his seat. “I mean, how is it that you could warn senior people so many times and nothing actually happened?” It was like “The Twilight Zone,” he says.
Tenet and company are full of excuses, however, when it comes to the CIA’s own failures to prevent the 9/11 attacks. Years after the debacle, two FBI agents who had been stationed in the CIA’s Osama bin Laden tracking unit came forward to say that the CIA knew two of the future hijackers were in the United States but—for reasons that remain unclear—forbade them from alerting their headquarters, which is responsible for preventing domestic attacks. Under questioning by Whipple, Tenet blames “policies” that “were out of date.” Former Bush White House counterterrorism adviser Richard A. Clarke has suggested that the CIA didn’t want the FBI barging into an operation to try to recruit one or both of the Al-Qaeda operatives as double agents.
This is old ground, of course, as is Tenet’s rationalization for going along with Bush’s case for invading Iraq because, as he put it to Whipple, further resistance was futile. “The decision to go to war, the orders to send troops, had already been decided,” he says.
But Whipple’s questioning of Tenet makes for compelling television, not so much for what’s on the screen as what we know happened after the original sin of invading Iraq on false premises: the rise of the Islamic State militant group (ISIS). As Robert Gates, another former CIA director as well as a defense secretary, puts it, “an intelligence failure such as that that took place in 2003 changes history.”
Does Tenet reserve any blame for himself for 9/11 and the Iraq invasion? “Well, look,” he tells Whipple, “there—I still look at the ceiling at night about a lot of things. And I’ll keep them to myself forever. But we’re all human beings."
Yes, he feels the pain. As well he should—and for so much more that put the CIA in the crosshairs of the public, Congress and the courts for the past decade or more. Much of it is all too familiar. Spymasters—the title seems ironic, in retrospect—get the obligatory rehashing of CIA renditions, secret prisons and harsh interrogations. The deaths of two prisoners in the CIA’s hands is “regrettable,” Tenet says. “Shit happens,” says Jose Rodriguez, the head of CIA clandestine operations under Tenet’s successor, Porter Goss. “And we were at war. The fog of war.”
One thing that Rodriguez, who spent virtually his entire career in Latin America before 9/11, says on the show rings absolutely true. “At the beginning of 2002 when we started to take prisoners, we just did not know what we were doing. We are not jailers and just didn’t have those skills. And abuses were made.” He adds that “we have ’fessed up to those.”
Not really. He and most other top CIA officials continue to defend waterboarding and other harsh measures, saying they were carefully monitored and effective. As for the Senate Intelligence Committee’s dismissal of the CIA’s proffered examples of 20 cases where harsh measures worked, “it’s dead wrong on every count,” Tenet says. “Period, end of paragraph.”
Rodriguez also heaps contempt on those who think drone strikes are somehow morally superior to the kidnapping and “torture” of “some folks,” as President Barack Obama put it. “This administration prefers killing prisoners rather than holding them captive,” Rodriguez says, “and the reason is, I think, it’s hard to capture [them]...and many would consider it dirty business.” John Brennan, the current CIA director, says that when he was working under Tenet he expressed his “discomfort” that the harsh interrogations “would come back to haunt the CIA.” Tenet says he has no memory of that.
You can’t get to the bottom of everything in a single program. But Whipple and his team, which includes veteran CBS News producer Susan Zirinsky, deserve credit for getting Tenet and the other living former CIA directors on camera. With previous hearings and other investigations a hazy memory, it’s about as close as we’re ever going to get to a televised “truth and reconciliation commission” on the spy agency’s key role in the most profound intelligence disaster since Vietnam. While many have been blamed over the past decade, few officials have publicly apologized, much less been held responsible for their roles in creating today’s unending, bloody chaos. All seem to enjoy robust Washington social lives, book and consulting deals, and lucrative appointments to the boards of government contractors.
The show’s two hours move quickly. Too bad it isn’t a miniseries. There’s so much left out: the CIA’s failure to grasp the Arab Spring or predict Russian interventions in Crimea and Syria, not to mention its botched kidnappings of a suspected Al-Qaeda operative in Italy and a Lebanese-German citizen in Macedonia. The messy episode in which Senate Intelligence Committee Chairman Dianne Feinstein accused the CIA of “spying” on her staffers also gets a pass. Meanwhile, another intelligence scandal has erupted, this one inside the U.S. Central Command’s intelligence wing, where analysts say their reports have been skewed to provide a rosy view of U.S. progress against ISIS.
Sounds familiar. There must be a big intelligence success in there somewhere, but, as they say, those must remain classified.
The Spymasters: CIA in the Crosshairs, a joint Showtime and CBS News production, premieres November 28 at 9 p.m. ET/PT on Showtime across all platforms. Executive producers are Jules and Gédéon Naudet, Chris Whipple, Susan Zirinsky and David Hume Kennerly.

Albania could face disqualification from Euro 2016 over match-fixing allegations

Press

Denmark could be back in Euro 2016 if match-fixing claims by Armenia FA are found to be true.


Albanian fans celebrate beating Armenia.
Albanian fans celebrate beating Armenia.
Image: AP/Press Association Images
ALBANIA’S PLACE IN Euro 2016 could be in doubt, after the head of the Armenian FA suggested a “betrayal” took place in his country’s match against the Balkan state in October.
A 3-0 victory for Albania in Yerevan, looked to have sealed their first appearance at a major tournament, but match-fixing allegations have put a question mark over their participation in Euro 2016.
“Our national team players simply do not want to play. As for the match against Albania, there was a betrayal during it. If even the best coach had headed our team during the match against Albania, the result would have been the same,” said Ruben Hayrapetian, who is in charge of the Armenian Football Federation (FFA), reports World Soccer.
Denmark will keep a close eye on any possible UEFA investigation, after they finished two points behind the Albanians in qualifying, and lost to Scandinavian rivals Sweden in the play-offs.
The Danes famously won the European Championships in 1992, despite failing to qualify, after Yugoslavia were expelled due to the on-going conflict in the country.

Kosovo: Islamic State graffiti sprayed on Serb homes


Islamic State (IS, ISIS) graffiti have been sprayed on Serb homes in ethnically mixed neighborhoods in northern Kosovska Mitrovica, the police have confirmed.
Source: Beta
Regional Kosovo police chief Zeljko Bojic told Beta on Friday that the graffiti spelling "ISIS" were found "in his area of responsibility," and that about ten of them have been discovered over the past week.
"The police investigated the scene and took photographs of these inscriptions and locations. Investigative work is under way," Bojic said, adding that security situation in northern Kosovo was "under control."

"Security measures have been undertaken, there are more mobile and pedestrian patrols. A special unit has been included in the ethnically mixed settlements of Bosnjacka Mahala, Tri Solitera and Mikronaselje. They are controlling traffic, vehicles, and passers-by," he said.

Kremlin says Turkey's Erdogan requests meeting with Putin in Paris

 


Reuters

Turkish President Erdogan makes a speech during his meeting with mukhtars at the Presidential Palace in Ankara, Turkey
.
View photo
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan makes a speech during his meeting with mukhtars at the Presidential …
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russia said on Friday that Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan had requested a meeting with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Paris on Nov. 30.
"A proposal from the Turkish side about a meeting at the level of heads of state has been delivered to the president," Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists on a conference call on Friday. "That's all I can say."
Putin and Erdogan will attend the global climate summit that begins in Paris on Nov. 30.
Peskov also said that Erdogan had telephoned Putin seven or eight hours after Turkey shot down a Russian warplane on Tuesday. Erdogan told the France 24 television channel on Thursday that he had called Putin after the jet downed but that the Russian leader had not yet called him back.
"This request was also delivered to the president," Peskov said.

Breaking News: Russia Suspends Visa-Free Regime With Turkey - Lavrov

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meets with Jean-Claude Gakosso

© Sputnik/ Kirill Kallinikov
Politics

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said that Moscow will suspend the visa-free regime with Turkey starting January 1, 2016.

Lavrov said during a joint press conference with his Syrian counterpart Walid Muallem that Russia would suspend the visa-free regime with Turkey.

Thursday, November 26, 2015

Russia Cuts All Military Ties With Turkey

Russian Defense Ministry building at Frunzenskaya Embankment in Moscow

© Sputnik/ Natalia Seliverstova
Military & Intelligence

All military contacts with Turkey have been cut following the downing of Russia's Su-24 military jet, the Russian Defense Ministry said Thursday.

"Today, in accordance with a previously made decision, all cooperation channels have been cut between the Russian Defense Ministry and the Turkish Armed Forces," ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov told reporters.
"This concerns all ties, not just the so-called hotline that was launched in order to avoid possible air incidents during the destruction of terrorist infrastructure in Syria," he added.
The decision has been made after Turkish fighter jets on Tuesday had shot down a Russian Su-24 bomber, which had been taking part in Russia's anti-terror campaign in Syria. Russian President Vladimir Putin described the incident as a "stab in the back, carried out against us by accomplices of terrorists."

Is happening: Russian Submarine, in Ionian Islands, monitoring by Greek Frigate



Deffencenet 
The Greek Frigate "Elli" is monitoring from Ionian (Sea Southern Albania), the modern Russian Submarine “Rostov-on-Don”

Sailing from the Salamis Naval Base one Greek frigate to watch reportedly Russian submarine that is now moving in the central Mediterranean or in Ionian Sea, area in an easterly direction, if it enters the Aegean directed towards the Black Sea or will instead be directed to the eastern Mediterranean and a port in Syria.

This is new modern,  tactical submarine the name "Rostov-on-Don" of the Russian Navy Class "Kilo" in NATO classification or "Project 636", according to the Russian issue, which sailed from St. Petersburg final destination the great naval base of Novorossisk on the Black Sea.

The submarine sailed before this 15-day about shipbuilding Admiralteiskiye of St. Petersburg, there ie. Where it was built, and making the rounds of Europe entered a few days ago, via Gibraltar, the Mediterranean.

Immediately Russian submarine went into the discreet presence of the Spanish original and the Italian Navy. The Greek frigate "ELLI" will monitor the Ionian Islands and beyond.



The submarine "Rostov-on-Don" is the second of six overall heading of to be built on behalf of the Russian Navy and was already planned to join the strength of the Russian Black Sea Fleet, which attempts to Mediterranean waters and the Middle East.

The ship's keel was placed in Admiralteiskiye shipyards of St. Petersburg in November 2011. Its construction was completed on December 30, 2014 and was incorporated in the power of the Russian Baltic Fleet initially on January 10, 2015.

Subsequently conducted extensive sea trials, making sailing 2500 nautical miles (3800 km) from then until the base of the Barents Sea round.

The displacement is 3100 tons, driven by a diesel engine / electric motors, has a crew of 52 men and can dive to a depth of 300 meters. The equipment included torpedoes of 533 mm, and number of missiles Kalibr 3M54 (NATO SS-N-27 Sizzler) against surface targets, land and other submarines.

German Vice-Chancellor on Su-24 Crash: Turkey is Unpredictable, not Russia

Sigmar Gabriel

© AP Photo/ Burhan Ozbilici
Europe

German Vice-Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel has lashed out at Turkey for this week’s downing of a Russian bomber over Syria close to the Turkish border, German media reported on Wednesday.

“This incident showed that, based on statements from other countries in the region, there is a player in the region who is unpredictable and that is Turkey and not Russia,” Gabriel told the weekly newsmagazine Der Spiegel.
He added that “Turkey has played a difficult role' in the Syrian conflict.”
On Tuesday a Russian Sukhoi Su-24 bomber crashed on Syrian territory four kilometers from the Turkish border.
President Vladimir Putin later said that the plane had been shot down by an air-to-air missile fired by a Turkish F-16. The Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement that the Su-24 had not violated the Turkish border.
Ankara, for its part, insists that the Russian plane had indeed strayed into the country’s airspace.
Many leading European politicians have criticized Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan  over Tuesday’s incident with the Russian military jet.
On Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier urged Turkey and Russia to exercise restraint and  act in a rational and prudent manner in the wake of the incident which he  labeled as “serious.”

Wednesday, November 25, 2015

Upping the ante: Russia 'to send MORE jets to Syria after jet pilot shot out of the sky'


RUSSIA is set to 12 more fighter jets to Syria to ensure there is no repeat of the incident which saw a fighter jet shot down by Turkey.

Putin is stepping up his efforts to destroy ISISREUTERS
Russia is stepping up its efforts to destroy ISIS
President Vladimir Putin, an ally of Syrian ruler Bashar al-Assad, is said to be considering sending extra cover for the 24 bombers already based in the war-torn country after one of its jets was downed yesterday.
The aircraft’s captain was shot dead by Turkmen rebels as he parachuted to the ground – but his co-pilot was rescued after a 12-hour operation by Russian special forces in Syria.
A Russian defence spokesman has now announced that all Russian bombers operating in Syria will fly only under the cover of fighter aircraft.
Their statement read: ”Now each of the 24 [Russian] bombers will be accompanied by a fighter.”
Turkey claimed it did not know the warplane it blew out of the sky for apparently entering its airspace was Russian.
A Russian jet was shot down by Turkey this weekEPA
A Russian jet was shot down by Turkey this week
Its military claimed it was following the same protocol it would have for any jet crossing into its airspace, but insisted it was unaware of the nationality of the bomber jet.
The Russian military began conducting airstrikes against the jihadist terror group in September.
A Kremlin defence spokesman announced yesterday that a staggering 472 key ISIS holdings had been destroyed – including an oil refinery in the terror group’s stronghold of Raqqa.
It is the latest escalation in a campaign which was stepped up after ISIS blew up an airliner over Egypt's Sinai Peninsula in October, killing all 224 people on board.
Russian soldiers write on bombs destined for ISISGETTY
Russian soldiers write on bombs destined for ISIS
GETTY
Putin inspects screens in his multi-million pound wardrobe
Speaking at the time, Putin said: "Our military work in Syria must not only continue. It must be strengthened in such a way so that the terrorists will understand that retribution is inevitable."
Moscow further ramped up its bid to wipe out the twisted militants since last Friday's massacre in Paris.
Islamic State terrorists brutally killed 130 people – including Briton Nick Alexander – and left hundreds more injured across the French capital.
Russian ground crews last week inscribed the words "for Paris" on a bomb later dropped on ISIS targets.
Reports earlier this week suggested the sick terror group is believed to have just 34 bases left as bombers continue to blitz its jihadists.

SAS, in Albania, operate 89 mosque out of control



Panorama 

The statement was made by representatives of the Albanian Secret Service SAS, during a meeting of the Parliamentary Security Commission

According to Panorama, during the annual budget report, by the representatives of SAS, it was stated concerned that in Albania, 89 mosques operate outside the jurisdiction of the Muslim community of Albania.

SAS together with the state police and other structures, are on the alert against any terrorist act that may come from Islamic Terrorism, statement which was demonstrated by the prime minister Rama, Panorama Newspaper reports today.

On the Occasion of Albania's National Day



Press Statement
John Kerry
Secretary of State
Washington, DC
November 25, 2015

U.S. Department of State - Great Seal


On behalf of President Obama and the people of the United States, I congratulate the people of Albania as you celebrate your 103rd Independence Day on November 28.
Since President Woodrow Wilson’s support for Albanian independence at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, our two countries have worked together productively to forge an enduring friendship based on shared values and mutual respect. As a NATO member and mentor to Balkan countries aspiring to membership, Albania plays a vital role in promoting peace and stability in the region and around the world. The United States greatly appreciates Albania’s contributions to global security, from Afghanistan, Iraq, and Ukraine to countering violent extremism and the Global Coalition to Counter ISIL.
The United States is committed to supporting Albania as it undertakes the reforms necessary to achieve its Euro-Atlantic aspirations. I commend your efforts to accede to the European Union and look forward to continued progress on the path toward full Euro-Atlantic integration.
As you celebrate with family and friends, the United States wishes you a joyous celebration. We look forward to continuing our close partnership for progress, prosperity, and peace in years to come.

Albanian President, ISIS equates with any country which is not a member of NATO in the region

 nishani

Gazeta 55



Nishani: "military presence in the region of anti-Atlantic countries, as disturbing as terrorism"

According to the "Newspaper 55", the President of the Republic, Bujar Nishani took part in the extraordinary summit of Heads of State of member countries of Process Brdo Brijuni, held in Zagreb, Croatia, where were present also other leaders including Vice / President of USA, Joe Biden .

During his speech, he compared ISIS as all military forces which are not affiliated to the Balkan region, the western alliance NATO,

 The Head of State noted that Albania is clearly oriented towards the European Union and thanks to this orientation Euro-Atlantic, my country views with much concern, not only threats coming from groups of elements, terrorists and extremists with religious overtones, but also information and growing interest in military presence in our region from countries that have no connection with space, security and Euro-Atlantic vision.

Also, the Head of State stressed that, because of these developments and the vulnerability of the Western Balkans, the European Union and the United States should re-evaluate the presence, support and concrete actions in this region.

US Allocates $134Mln to Advance Balkan Integration With EU, NATO

Soldiers from NATO countries attend an opening ceremony of military exercise 'Saber Strike 2015', at the Gaiziunu Training Range in Pabrade some 60km.(38 miles) north of the capital Vilnius, Lithuania, Monday, June 8, 2015

© AP Photo/ Mindaugas Kulbis
Military & Intelligence

The United States has invested close to $135 million to ensure the Western Balkan states are fully engulfed by the EU-NATO umbrella, the White House said in a press release on Wednesday.

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) — US aid to the Western Balkans, according to the release, is designed to expand trade with Europe, integrate the region into European energy networks and support participation in NATO peacekeeping operations, among other initiatives.
"In Fiscal Year 2015, the United States has allocated more than $134 million for assistance to support the reforms needed to advance the Western Balkans’ integration with the European Union (EU) and NATO," the release stated.
The US aid package included assistance to Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro and Serbia, the release added, along with security assistance to EU members Croatia and Slovenia. In September, the United States announced that it was prepared to extend an invitation to Montenegro to join NATO in December. The announcement triggered a wave of protests in the Balkan country

Russian, Turkish foreign ministers "could meet in Belgrade"


Turkish and Russian foreign minister "could meet next week in Belgrade," Beta is reporting, quoting foreign news agencies.
Source: Beta
The Russian bomber is seen before crashing in Syria on Tuesday (Beta/AP, image made from Haberturk TV video)
The Russian bomber is seen before crashing in Syria on Tuesday (Beta/AP, image made from Haberturk TV video)
The meeting between Melvut Cavusoglu and Sergei Lavrov would come in the wake of Turkey's shooting down of a Russian warplane on the Turkish-Russian border, said the report.
The two ministers are expected to meet "on December 3 or 4, during the OSCE ministerial conference in Belgrade."

Lavrov on Tuesday canceled his trip to Turkey that was scheduled to take place today. On Wednesday, he said his country viewed the downing of the bomber as "possibly a planned act" and that while Moscow "did not want to go to war" its relations with Ankara would be "seriously reconsidered."

Earlier in the day, Turkish PM Ahmet Davutoglu said that Russia was his country's "friend and neighbor" and that relations "must not be sacrificed due to a mishap in communications."