The European Union calls for the immediate release of Radio Svoboda journalist Alsu Kurmasheva, who is being held in a Russian detention center.
Day: December 18, 2023
Curated news, analysis, and commentary about special operations, national security, and conflicts around the world.
Photo / Image: U.S. Army paratroopers assigned to 2nd Battalion, 503rd Parachute Infantry Regiment, 173rd Airborne Brigade conduct an airborne operation in commemoration of the 20th anniversary of Operation Northern Delay at Aviano Air Base, Italy on March 22, 2023. Photo by Spc. Alisha Grezlik
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SOF News
More SOF Helicopters. The U.S. Army Special Operations Aviation Command (USASOAC) has awarded Boeing a substantial contract to manufacture six remanufactured MH-47G Block II aircraft. “US Special Forces to receive additional MH-47G helicopters”, Defense Blog, December 12, 2023.
RIP. Retired USAF Chief Master Sgt Alan T. Yoshida, a combat controller who was awarded the Silver Star as one of the original “Horse Soldiers” that routed the Taliban in 2001, died on Dec. 9 at the age of 51. “Legendary Combat Controller and Afghanistan ‘Horse Soldier’ dies at 51”, Task and Purpose, December 13, 2023.
UAV Contract. General Atomics secured a $200 million contract for special operations UAV modifications integration. GA-ASI will install Special Operations Forces peculiar modifications into the MQ-9 and MQ-1C UAVs, produce aircraft modification kits and conduct analysis and studies to inform future SOF-p improvements. (GOVCONWIRE, Dec 18, 2023)
S-MET. The Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate conducted various testing on the Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport, to include a Simulated Airdrop Impact Test to ensure the system could withstand impact forces of hitting the ground after the low-velocity airdrops. “Airborne Soldiers Drop Test New Small Multipurpose Equipment Transport”, Army.mil, December 13, 2023.
Social Hierarchy of SOF. This article is a humorous look at the special operations world. The writer uses the university campus as a method of describing the various U.S. SOF units. From the ‘new guys on the block’ (freshmen) to the ‘handpick individuals’ who get to join an exclusive college club (grad students). “The Social Hierarchy of US Special Operations Units”, SANDBOXX, December 13, 2023.
International SOF
General Sir Roly Walker. The next head of the British Army has a special forces background. As well as serving as a commander at company, squadron, battlegroup, brigade and Special Forces group levels, Walker has also served in Northern Ireland, Afghanistan and Iraq. “Who is the new Army chief who led Special Forces?”, Forces.net, December 12, 2023.
Italian SOF Validated by NATO. Allied Special Operations Forces Command and an Italian Special Operations evaluation team recently validated an Italian Special Operations Land Task Group (SOLTG) and a Special Operations Air Task Unit (SOATU) in central Italy to ensure high level readiness for NATO special forces. “Allied Special Operations Forces Command Validates Italian Special Operations”, NATO, December 13, 2023.
Korean SOF Train with US. South Korea and the United States have recently staged a combined special operations exercise amid joint efforts to reinforce deterrence against North Korean military threats. “S. Korea, US stage joint special operations forces drills”, The Korea Times, December 18, 2023.
Protecting Afghan Commandos. Former operatives from Afghan Territorial Force 444 and Commando Force 333 – known as The Triples – should be allowed to relocate to Britain. The units were set up, trained and funded by British forces, but fell under the control of the Afghan security forces, meaning they did not immediately qualify for the UK’s ARAP (Afghan Relocations and Assistance Policy) scheme. However, many UK veterans believe former members of The Triples should meet the ARAP criteria. “UK has duty to protect ex-Afghan Special Forces operators from Taliban”, Forces.net, December 13, 2023.
SOF History
Capture of Saddam Hussein. On December 13, 2003, Iraq President Saddam Hussein was captured hiding in a hole at a farmhouse in Adwar, Iraq, near his hometown of Tikrit. Task Force 121, a joint special operations team, conducted the operation. The TF was assisted by elements of the 4th Infantry Division. (Wikipedia) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capture_of_Saddam_Hussein
Just Cause. On December 20, 1989, the entire 75th Ranger Regiment participated in Operation Just Cause (Panama). Parachute assaults were conducted onto Torrijos/Tocumen International Airport, Rio Hato Airfield and other locations to neutralize Panamanian Defense Forces. USASOC History Office, https://arsof-history.org/arsof_in_panama/index.html
Churchill’s Secret Army. During World War II the Allied forces developed a clandestine organization that could operate in occupied countries. The Special Operations Executive or SOE was, informally, known by a few different names – ‘The Baker Street Irregulars’, ‘Ministry of Ungentlemanly Warfare‘, and ‘Churchill’s Secret Army’. Read the history of the SOE in “Special Operations Executive” Churchill’s Secret Army”, by Javier Sutil Toledano, Grey Dynamics, December 13, 2023.
History of the KA-BAR. On December 9, 1942, after the start of World War II, KA-BAR submitted a knife to the United States Marine Corps in hopes that it would become a general issue to that branch of the military. The USMC KA-BAR was adopted by the Marines as well as the Army, Navy, Coast Guard and Underwater Demolition Teams. Years after World War II, many KA-BAR knives were unofficially reactivated in the Korean, Vietnam, Desert Storm, and Iraqi Freedom conflicts. Learn more about the KA-BAR in these three one-minute videos. “KA-BAR and the Marine Corps”, DVIDS, December 12, 2023. Part one, part two, and part three.
Conflict in Israel and Gaza
Conflict Update. Three Israelis who escaped captivity from Hamas hostage takers were killed by Israeli troops in Gaza. The Pentagon has ordered a US aircraft carrier to remain in the Mediterranean Sea near Israel. (AP News, Dec 15, 2023). Israel is coming under increasing international pressure to ease up its offensive in Gaza. U.S. warships in the Red Sea continue to intercept incoming missiles fired toward Israel and drones targeting commercial shipping from areas of Yemen controlled by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels. (Navy Times, Dec 16, 2023)
Testimony Blowback. The ramifications of the testimony before Congress by three Presidents of leading educational institutions continues. The president of the University of Pennsylvania has resigned. The presidents of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and Harvard University have had to issue statements explaining (and apologizing) for their testimony. In addition, the president of Harvard University had to issue an explanation for past academic work after weathering accusations of plagiarism – and she has had several ‘mistakes’ in past writings ‘corrected’ in the past week. The three university presidents declined to say that calls for the genocide of Jewish people would violate university policies.
References: Map Gaza Strip (2005), and more maps of Gaza Strip, West Bank, and Israel.
Ukraine Conflict
Aid For Ukraine. Ukrainian President Zelensky arrived in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday, December 12, 2023, to address Congress and meet with President Biden about continuing aid to Ukraine. Meanwhile, Congress is adjourning for the holiday season and will not be back until early January. The White House is warning that it will run out of money to help Ukraine’s military combat Russia’s invasion by the end of the year. Some Republicans are tying the Ukraine aid request to increased security along the southern U.S. border.
Study – Losing Ukraine. The Institute for the Study of War has released a report that details the military, strategic, and financial implications of a Russian victory in Ukraine. The study states that the United States has a much higher stake in Russia’s war on Ukraine than most people think. “The High Price of Losing Ukraine”, ISW, December 14, 2023.
The Ground Robots of Ukraine. Unmanned ground vehicles are bringing much-needed supplies to Ukrainian and Russian soldiers on the battlefield. Some of them appear to be made with commercial off the shelf components. “Crude ground robots emerge on the battlefields of Ukraine, experts say”, C4ISRNET, December 15, 2023.
Resiliency and Urban Reconstruction. Recent history has shown that leaving a city’s defense to its nation’s borders is a dangerous proposition. It is time that Kyiv, and other cities in nations that border expansionist neighbors, once again make the defense part of city planning. “Rebuilding Resiliency: Kyiv’s Opportunity to Bolster Its Defense”, War on the Rocks, December 12, 2023.
Interactive Map. Russia’s Invasion of Ukraine by the Insitute for the Study of War and Critical Threats.
On storymaps.arcgis.com
Commentary
IW Funding. Irregular Warfare proponents are wrestling with how to bring their domain into a new era – and to convince others that it is still needed. This new NDAA provides about $20 million for SOF to be able to conduct IW. “As irregular warfare comes to a crossroads, Congress chips in”, Defense One, December 17, 2023.
National Security
NDAA. The National Defense Authorization Act may soon be passed by Congress. The 3,000-page document would then be signed by President Biden before the end of the year. Some of the provisions include a 5.2% pay increase, increased maternity leave, and raising fitness standards for infantry, cavalry scouts, and Special Forces. There are several changes that affect the National Guard. “Guard Gets Some Wins in Compromise Defense Bill”, NGAUS, December 13, 2023.
Detering China. Stepped up Chinese aggression in the South China Sea is becoming a growing flashpoint. The Navy’s 7th Fleet, headquartered in Japan, is increasing its exercises in the region and including more foreign nations in the training. “Increased military exercises with Pacific allies seek to deter China, top U.S. admiral says”, Washington Times, December 15, 2023.
Great Power Competition
New Russian Diaspora. Since Russia began its full-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, hundreds of thousands of Russians — if not more than a million — have fled the country. Activists, journalists, intellectuals, businesspersons, and software engineers have sought a combination of freedom, safety, and prosperity outside their country’s borders, often at significant material risk to themselves and their families. Read of detailed analysis of this topic by Andrei Soldatov and Irina Borogan: “In From the Cold: The Struggle for Russia’s Exiles”, Center of European Policy Analysis, December 12, 2023.
Old Salt Coffee is a corporate sponsor of SOF News. The company offers a wide range of coffee flavors to include Green Eyes Coffee, a tribute to those Navy special operations personnel who operate in the night.
Afghanistan
Iranian and Pakistan Deportations of Afghans. In the last three months, Iran and Pakistan have forced around 850,000 undocumented Afghan nationals to return to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, officials reported Sunday. The crackdown on Afghans illegally residing in the neighboring countries is ongoing, despite warnings by the United Nations that a harsh winter and an uncertain future await returnees in their crisis-ridden, impoverished nation. “Taliban: Iran Deports Almost 350,000 Afghans Within 3 Months”, Voice of America, December 11, 2023.
Resettlement via Germany. For the past two years (off and on) the U.S. Department of State has been relocating Afghans with pending Special Immigrant Visas (SIVs) applications to the United States; but not before they are ‘processed’ at an intermediate location – usually Doha, Qatar. Now this relocation effort is also taking place at an intermediate location in Germany as well. It’s part of a ramped-up worldwide effort by the State Department to resettle thousands of Afghans who worked for the U.S. government, along with their families, but who haven’t yet received special immigrant visas. “Afghans again being flown to US base in Germany before resettlement”, Stars and Stripes, December 11, 2023.
Middle East
ISIS in Syria. The Islamic State is continuing its campaign of violence in Syria. Much of its attacks is against Syrian regime forces. It mounted a successful offensive in October and maintain some of its gained territory during November. Read more in “ISIS Redux: The Central Syria Insurgency in November 2023”, Counter Extremism Project, November 2023. Over 4,400 Da’esh fighters and their relatives have been repatriated to their countries of origin from camps in northern eastern Syria in 2023. Over 47,000 individuals from more than 60 countries remain in camps administered by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).
Iraq. Iranian-backed militias have resumed attacks on U.S. facilities across Iraq in the past several weeks. Munitions have been targeted against U.S. facilities at Erbil International Airport, the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, and Al Asad Air Base in Anbar Province.
Africa
Report – Coups and U.S. Aid to African Nations. Events in Africa and Burma have brought attention to a provision in annual State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs (SFOPS) appropriations legislation that restricts U.S. foreign assistance following a coup d’état. One particular case is the recent coup in Niger. As Congress considers SFOPS appropriations for FY2024 and beyond, it may revisit the law restricting aid (Section 7008), examine its impact, and weigh whether its application supports congressional intent. Coup-Related Restrictions in U.S. Foreign Aid Appropriations, Congressional Research Service, CRS IF11267, updated December 12, 2023. https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF11267
AU Mission in Somalia Drawing Down. The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia on Sunday resumed handing over security responsibilities to Somali government forces after a three-month pause. (Voice of America, Dec 17, 2023)
End of MINUSMA in Mali. The United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSMA, UN Fact Sheet) was established on April 25, 2013, to stabilize the country after the Tuareg rebellion of 2012. In June 2023, a new government came to power in a coup. It quickly withdrew the mandate for MINUSMA (UN Fact Sheet), forcing the mission and all of its staff to depart the country by the end of the year. A European SOF element – Task Force Takuba (SOF News) – has already departed Mali. Listen to a podcast on how the UN mission in Mali was conducted. “Searching for Peace in Timbuktu: The UN Mission in Mali”, War Room, Army War College, December 12, 2023, 25 mins.
SOF News Book Shop
View our selection of books about special operations forces at the SOF News Book Shop.
Books, Podcasts, Videos, and Movies
Movie Trailer – Civil War. A Civil War in the United States. Could be interesting. In theaters April 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aDyQxtg0V2w
Upcoming Events
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Clarksville, TN
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Special Operations Association Reunion
Las Vegas, NV
October 22-25, 2024
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Special Forces Association – Tampa, Florida
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https://t.co/1kZUK7S4No#News #Times #NewsAndTimes #NT #TNT #Israel Israel #World World #USA USA #POTUS POTUS #DOJ DOJ #FBI FBI #CIA CIA #DIA DIA #ODNI ODNI Mossad #Mossad Putin #Putin Russia #Russia #GRU GRU Ukraine #Ukraine #SouthCaucasus #NewAbwehr Caucasus New Abwehr – 8:11…
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) December 18, 2023
News Review – 8:11 AM 12/18/2023 – FBI COINTELPRO Is Back, And Worse Than Ever … The SPETSNAZ HYPOTHESIS Of The Accidents November – December 2022 – Selected Tweets … INVESTIGATE THE INVESTIGATORS IN DEPTH! Put the FBI criminals in prison! … Top secret US intelligence file… pic.twitter.com/qGpmMlO7SP
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) December 18, 2023
Michael Novakhov’s favorite articles – 8:11 AM 12/18/2023 – Post Link
The report found no collusion between Mr Trump and Putin, but it ruled that Mr Trump was “receptive” to offers of assistance from the Russians.
The binder is believed to have been held at the CIA, with intelligence officials requiring top-level clearance to handle it within the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
But it later went missing during a frantic attempt to declassify reports relating to Russian interference by Mr Trump and his aides as he prepared to leave office in January 2021, multiple sources told CNN.
One aide to Mark Meadows, Mr Trump’s chief of staff, has testified to Congress that she is “almost positive it went home with [him]”. Mr Meadows denies that allegation.
The binder had not been found in Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where other classified documents were discovered, despite aides’ attempts to track it down, according to the report.
The existence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago has since become the subject of a federal indictment against Mr Trump, who faces trial in Florida.
While the disappearance of classified documents at the end of Mr Trump’s tenure in the White House has been previously reported and investigated, the disappearance of the Russian interference binder was revealed yesterday.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, appeared to suggest that the Kremlin is hoping Mr Trump will win next year’s presidential election.
Rare interview
Mr Peskov told NBC in a rare interview with foreign press that the Russian president wants a more constructive relationship with the US built on the “importance of dialogue”.
Asked directly about Mr Trump, Mr Peskov said Putin wants to work with “anyone who will understand that from now on, you have to be more careful with Russia, and you have to take into account its concerns”.
Mr Trump has previously been criticised for his approach to Russia, and has described Putin as “smart” and a “genius” for his approach to the invasion of Ukraine.
He has also promised to end the war in Ukraine “in one day” if he was elected president, by brokering negotiations between the two countries.
In return, Putin has said he “cannot help but feel happy” about Mr Trump’s plan to “resolve all burning issues within several days”. The former US president responded: “I like that he said that, because that means what I’m saying is right.”
However, on Friday, Mr Peskov said the conflict was “too complicated” to end so quickly, and admitted for the first time it was a “war” rather than a “special military operation” – the phrase Russia has used until now to describe its activity in Ukraine.
Attacking the US, the Russian spokesman said the Biden administration was fuelling the war and putting Ukrainians at risk.
He said: “You are telling them: ‘Go and die. Don’t worry, we will give you enough money and enough armaments, but you should go and die.’ And you know pretty well that they cannot win.”
Putin should pay for the damage his invasion has caused, and the money is needed immediately.
Nicole Tung / The New York Times / Redux
December 18, 2023, 6 AM ET
A majority of Americans and a majority of Congress want to help Ukraine win the war against Russia, and to stop the spread of autocracy into Europe. A majority of people in the European Union and a majority of EU leaders want the same. But small minorities of lawmakers—some inspired by Russian President Vladimir Putin or his money, some bent on bargaining for other things—have managed to block or delay that aid.
On both sides of the Atlantic, the crunch has arrived. The far-right faction that now controls the Republican Party captured the House last year and has successfully blocked a new spending bill for many months.The prime minister of Hungary, himself a de facto autocrat, is also blocking an EU financial package for Ukraine. Eventually the European prime ministers and the Biden administration alike may well do deals and allocate the money. But in the meantime—and just in case they fail—there is something else that American and European governments can do.
George Packer: ‘We only need some metal things’
At the very beginning of the conflict, the U.S., the EU, the United Kingdom, and other democratic governments jointly froze more than $300 billion in Russian sovereign assets, mostly in Europe. This is money that Russia cannot sell or borrow against. Nor can Russia make use of any of the interest this money earns. At the time, many believed that the decision to freeze these assets would shock the Russian government into pulling back. That did not happen. After nearly two years, the countries that hold these assets—all of them—should take the next step and transfer the money to Ukraine.
Lawrence Tribe, the American constitutional scholar, has been promoting this idea for some time. In September, he and a team of lawyers published a 187-page report making the “legal, practical, and moral case” for transferring Russian assets to Ukraine. The moral argument is the easiest: Russia should pay for the damage it has done to Ukraine. The fundamental legal case, Tribe told me, rests on the many treaties that Russia broke by invading Ukraine, destroying whole cities, murdering civilians, deliberately damaging power grids and grain storage. By doing so, Russia lost any standing to complain about the violation of its sovereignty or property rights, since it denies those to Ukraine.
In truth, we in the West already crossed that bridge when we froze the assets in the first place. “If you have the authority to freeze the assets,” Tribe told me, “you have taken them away from the sovereign that claimed to be their owner. Why should they now have to lie idle while a country is decimated?” The frozen assets would solve some of Ukraine’s immediate budgetary and financial problems. More important, $300 billion is a reasonable down payment on the reparations that Russia should pay to Ukraine. Russian money should rightly compensate Ukrainians for the harm that Russia has done, and help rebuild the Ukrainian infrastructure that Russia destroyed.
The strongest Western objections to transferring the frozen Russian money to Ukraine have been practical ones. Tribe cited an “inchoate concern that hegemony of the dollar will be threatened, and people’s willingness to park reserves in the U.S. and other Western countries will be jeopardized.” Some countries may fear that their own assets could be at risk if kept in Western financial institutions, and will instead place them in China or elsewhere. A handful of Europeans fear that redistributing the money would set a precedent, encouraging others to take their own national assets. A range of public officials, including former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers and former World Bank President Robert Zoellick as well as David Cameron, the new British foreign secretary and former prime minister, have nevertheless argued in favor of the seizure. There isn’t an alternative reserve currency to the dollar right now, or anywhere safe outside the Western-dominated financial system for investors to go. Besides, as Tribe’s report argues, “assisting Ukraine in its time of need is worth the speculative risk to the dollar.”
This part of the argument has more significance now than it did in September, when Tribe and his colleagues published their report, because the stakes for Ukraine are higher and the need to take risks is greater. The crisis in Western funding—a crisis caused, I repeat, by pro-Russian politicians and factions in our own societies, some of whom are coordinating their activity with Russia—is now acute. It is also visibly emboldening Putin, who last week gave a press conference restating his goal in Ukraine, which is the same as it was two years ago: the destruction of the Ukrainian state. The dysfunction in Washington and Brussels is bolstering Putin’s belief that he will win the war simply by waiting for the West to give up.
Handing $300 billion of Russian assets to Ukraine will put a dent in this confidence. It will show Putin that the West is willing to take creative, even unprecedented, measures to win the war. It will also be popular, not only in Ukraine but in the U.S. and Europe. Most people will intuitively understand the fairness of making Russia pay for its own acts of vandalism. Whatever reputational damage this transfer of assets might cause for the West, it is vanishingly small in comparison to the reputational damage that the West will suffer if Russia succeeds in conquering Ukraine. The sooner we make this decision, the more quickly the impact will be felt on the ground. What are we waiting for?
The post Senator Menendez’s Home Searched: Gold bars connected to co-defendant found – TickerTV News first appeared on The South Caucasus News – The News And Times.
По словам министра обороны Грузии Джуаншера Бурчуладзе, через два года небо Тбилиси будет полностью защищено. По его словам, помощь, контракты и закупки, получаемые министерством в сотрудничестве с тем или иным международным игроком, будут служить повышению обороноспособность страны. Как указал глава Миноброны, в результате получения уже оформленных закупок через 2 года «у нас будет полностью защищенное […]
The post «Через два года небо Тбилиси будет полностью защищено» — глава Миноброны Грузии first appeared on The South Caucasus News – The News And Times.
‘Russia is the most sanctioned country in the world’: Does the war in Ukraine fuel financial crime? Euronews
John F. Kennedy’s Last Movie: From Russia with Love Literary Hub
After Santos: An undemocratic special election to clean up the mess New York Daily News
The US Army has come under fire from its younger Gen Z recruits who have moaned over pay and working conditions.
Multiple recruits have come forward to slam the US military for a wide range of concerns, including poor pay and a lack of privacy.
It comes as the US Army is facing a recruitment crisis, with the force falling short of its recruitment target by 15 per cent.
One of those criticising the army was TikTok military influencer Anthony Laster who slammed army life for having “No Privacy, The Pay Sucks, Sh***y Food, Disrespectful Leadership, NO SLEEP!”
However, in a separate video, Laster laid out some positives of joining the army, including: “100 per cent college tuition. Travel to some cool places. Fight for your country. Get fit. Get good friends. Blow s*** up.”
The US Army expects to end up about 15,000 short of its target of 65,000 recruits for 2023, as there is concern military recruitment is failing to register with Gen Z.
Similarly, the Navy expects to fall short by 10,000 personnel and the Air Force is projected to miss its goal by 10 percent.
According to Pentagon data, last year only nine percent of young people ages 16-21 said they would consider military service.
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@shemarwill 5 reasons to not join the military #fyp #fy #money #military #viral #virginia #navy #gonavy #parents #ticktock ♬ original sound – Shemar Williams
There have also been concerns about the health of soldiers. According to a recent study of data from the Military Health System Data Repository, around 23 per cent of soldiers registered as obese in 2021.
Not only are recruits not fit enough to join, but their fitness is also declining once they’re in the ranks leaving officials scrambling to install weight loss and exercise regimens.
Soldiers have taken to TikTok to complain about having to remain below a certain weight, harsh treatment from their superiors and having to perform menial tasks instead of engaging enemies on the battlefield.
One young recruit, Shemar Williams whined that “we do not get paid enough to perform the mission that is tasked to us,” lack of autonomy and sacrifices in family life.
Sergeant Barber, 25, added life in the military is “mopping those floors 99 per cent of the time” rather than war combat.
They said: “Even if you deploy you probably won’t see combat today in this world so if that’s your mindset. Don’t join!”
Another young recruit who could only be identified as Gammage from the name on her uniform, said: “Don’t join the Army until you’re mentally prepared to be told you’re going over/under weight, treated like you’re not a good soldier if you can’t run two miles in 18 mins or less – oh and you can’t get injured either cause then it’s your fault”
According to federal data, more than 20,000 active-duty troops are on food stamps to make ends meet.
TikTok has come under fire from both Democrats and Republicans for the platform’s links with China.
The app has also been accused of pushing subversive anti-US propaganda.
OTD December 18, 1940, Hitler signs Directive Number 21 aka #Operation_Barbarossa. Soviet spy #Richard_Sorge warns Moscow and is ignored. “The German armed forces must be ready before the end of the war against Great Britain to defeat the Soviet Union by means of Blitzkrieg.” pic.twitter.com/FeOAFVdGe5
— SPIES&VESPERS (@SpiesVespers) December 18, 2023
image/jpeg GBn3jOjXsAApEUo.jpgOTD Dec 18, 1996 disgraced #FBI agent #Earl_Edwin_Pitts charged with attempted espionage and other counts. #fuckthatguy pic.twitter.com/s7zfZ3MGkz
— SPIES&VESPERS (@SpiesVespers) December 18, 2023
image/jpeg GBn4GTwXgAA6QnW.jpgOTD Dec 18 1878, Ioseb Besarionis dzе Jughashvili aka Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin born. Governed the Soviet Union as its dictator from the mid-1920s until his death in 1953. pic.twitter.com/WsJdM77bVK
— SPIES&VESPERS (@SpiesVespers) December 18, 2023
Opinion | There Wasn’t Much to Love About 2023 The New York Times
For Austin, the trip is a delicate balancing act.
Министерство сельского хозяйства принимает все необходимые меры по стабилизации ситуации на рынке куриного яйца, заявил пресс-секретарь президента России Дмитрий Песков.
Главком ВСУ Валерий Залужный подтвердил, что в его кабинете было обнаружено прослушивающее оборудование. Об этом пишет “Страна”.
Израильская армия заявила в воскресенье, что ей удалось обнаружить самый большой туннель ХАМАС в секторе Газа. По словам представителей воеенного руководства страны, он расположен всего в нескольких сотнях метров от пограничного перехода Эрез. По словам фотографа AFP, получившего доступ к туннелю, его размеры позволяют проехать небольшому автомобилю. Туннель является частью более широкой разветвленной сети, общая длина которой составляет более четырех километров, отмечается в заявлении израильских военных. По их словам, строительство туннеля обошлось в миллионы долларов и заняло годы, а руководил проектом Мохаммад Яхья, брат главы ХАМАС Яхьи Синвара, который, как принято считать, был организатором нападения на Израиль 7 октября. Израильские военные говорят, что они обнаружили в туннеле большое количество оружия. По словам представителя израильской армии подполковника Ричарда Хехта, туннель был построен вблизи КПП Эрез, который Израиль использует для контролируемого въезда палестинских рабочих и лиц, нуждающихся в медицинской помощи. Лабиринт туннелей под прибрежной территорией Газы первоначально использовался, чтобы обойти израильско-египетскую блокаду, действующую с 2007 года. По имеющимся данным, несколько сот туннелей были проложены под границей с Египтом и в Синайской пустыне. В 2014 году сеть туннелей была расширена. Сообщается, что ХАМАС использует их для запусков ракет.
Напомним, что 7 октября боевики ХАМАС совершили внезапное нападение на юг Израиля, убив, по последним данным израильской стороны, около 1140 человек, в основном мирных жителей, и захватив около 250 заложников.
В ответ Израиль начал бомбардировки и наземное вторжение в сектор Газа с целью уничтожить ХАМАС.
The report found no collusion between Mr Trump and Putin, but it ruled that Mr Trump was “receptive” to offers of assistance from the Russians.
The binder is believed to have been held at the CIA, with intelligence officials requiring top-level clearance to handle it within the agency’s headquarters in Langley, Virginia.
But it later went missing during a frantic attempt to declassify reports relating to Russian interference by Mr Trump and his aides as he prepared to leave office in January 2021, multiple sources told CNN.
One aide to Mark Meadows, Mr Trump’s chief of staff, has testified to Congress that she is “almost positive it went home with [him]”. Mr Meadows denies that allegation.
The binder had not been found in Mr Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida, where other classified documents were discovered, despite aides’ attempts to track it down, according to the report.
The existence of classified documents at Mar-a-Lago has since become the subject of a federal indictment against Mr Trump, who faces trial in Florida.
While the disappearance of classified documents at the end of Mr Trump’s tenure in the White House has been previously reported and investigated, the disappearance of the Russian interference binder was revealed yesterday.
Dmitry Peskov, Putin’s press secretary, appeared to suggest that the Kremlin is hoping Mr Trump will win next year’s presidential election.
Rare interview
Mr Peskov told NBC in a rare interview with foreign press that the Russian president wants a more constructive relationship with the US built on the “importance of dialogue”.
Asked directly about Mr Trump, Mr Peskov said Putin wants to work with “anyone who will understand that from now on, you have to be more careful with Russia, and you have to take into account its concerns”.
Mr Trump has previously been criticised for his approach to Russia, and has described Putin as “smart” and a “genius” for his approach to the invasion of Ukraine.
He has also promised to end the war in Ukraine “in one day” if he was elected president, by brokering negotiations between the two countries.
In return, Putin has said he “cannot help but feel happy” about Mr Trump’s plan to “resolve all burning issues within several days”. The former US president responded: “I like that he said that, because that means what I’m saying is right.”
However, on Friday, Mr Peskov said the conflict was “too complicated” to end so quickly, and admitted for the first time it was a “war” rather than a “special military operation” – the phrase Russia has used until now to describe its activity in Ukraine.
Attacking the US, the Russian spokesman said the Biden administration was fuelling the war and putting Ukrainians at risk.
He said: “You are telling them: ‘Go and die. Don’t worry, we will give you enough money and enough armaments, but you should go and die.’ And you know pretty well that they cannot win.”
Former FBI counterintelligence chief says that a missing Russian intelligence file during the end of Trump’s presidency could be in Russian hands. #FBI #Counterintelligence #Russia #NationalSecurityhttps://t.co/FrwOtmUTXN
— Robert Morton (@Robert4787) December 18, 2023
OTD Dec 18, 1996 disgraced #FBI agent #Earl_Edwin_Pitts charged with attempted espionage and other counts. #fuckthatguy pic.twitter.com/s7zfZ3MGkz
— SPIES&VESPERS (@SpiesVespers) December 18, 2023
I think that the FBI #FBI main problem is that they are heavily and artfully penetrated by the foreign intelligence services, mostly by Germans, Russians, and their allies. Other factors, the leading among them “class”, are relatively secondary. The ability of the FBI’s IAD to… pic.twitter.com/kSPi2SDNZB
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) December 17, 2023
https://t.co/QbeQVvKEdt – #News #Times #NewsAndTimes #NT #TNT #Israel Israel #World World #USA USA #POTUS POTUS #DOJ DOJ #FBI FBI #CIA CIA #DIA DIA #ODNI ODNI Mossad #Mossad Putin #Putin Russia #Russia #GRU GRU Ukraine #Ukraine #SouthCaucasus #NewAbwehr Caucasus New Abwehr – 7:57… pic.twitter.com/Fl6gSPFWhX
— Michael Novakhov (@mikenov) December 18, 2023