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Putin’s dialing down of the rhetoric is an effort to mask his intentions. He — Russia — still has the same foreign policy interests in Syria as he did before the plane was shot down, and those aren’t going to change anytime soon. When journalists asked him about the much more hostile statement of his Defense Ministry, which also vowed a retaliatory response, Putin stated clearly that it was “fully coordinated” with him (of course it was). He defined what ‘retaliatory’ meant. “The retaliatory measures will be directed above all to boosting the security of military men and installations in...

Robert Mueller’s request that a federal judge move forward with sentencing for Michael Flynn, President Trump’s former national security adviser, has triggered new debate over the status of the special counsel’s investigation and the value of Flynn’s cooperation. Some observers interpreted the move, which followed months of delays in Flynn’s sentencing, as an indication that Mueller is unlikely to call Flynn to testify at any future trials that may arise from the probe into Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election.“It’s a sign that, perhaps, Flynn may not be critical to other pieces of Mueller’s investigation,” said Ron Hosko, a...

Democratic strategist Jennifer Holdsworth on Wednesday expressed concerns about possible Russian interference in the upcoming midterm elections, warning of the possibility of escalated meddling efforts. "I think that there is a genuine concern that there's going to be an elevation in the meddling," Holdsworth, chief revenue officer at targeting firm DSPolitical, told Hill.TV's Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on "Rising." "I freely admit that there has been no proof that there were actual votes changed in 2016, but look at what the Russians did get away with," she continued."When a criminal sees that they can get away with something, they're...

Journalist Jeff Greenfield, writing in the September 17 Politico magazine, somehow can't figure out the real reason "Why Woodward's 'Fear' Flopped in Washington." Greenfield makes a light attempt to find out the reason for the flop but seems to be unable to see the all too obvious.  So let us join Greenfield as he stumbles around while ignoring the very large elephant in the room whose stink is something that liberals don't want to dwell on, which is that Woodward couldn't find evidence of Trump-Russia collusion:

"Militants and activists of the White Helmets continue fabricating the sham scenes that will feature the alleged use of chemical weapons inside the Idlib zone of de-escalation. The filming of these fakes are already taken place in some Syrian districts. Notably, the organizers forced the Syrians abducted previously in Idlib and Aleppo Governates to take part in the filming." Russian UN Ambassador Vasily Nebanzya at UN Security Council 9/18/2018 Russia is moving forward with Turkey to clear out a buffer zone in the Idlib region by October 15th. But the Russians also say jihadists are planning a fake attack using...

If North Korean leader Kim Jong Un was searching for the perfect propaganda set piece, something designed to show his people that he's a strong leader pushing inexorably for the long-delayed, long-promised prosperity they deserve, then visiting South Korean President Moon Jae-in might be providing him with a unique opportunity. Moon believes that his deep engagement with North Korea is crucial after last year's fears of war, when Washington reacted with fury to a torrent of ever-more-powerful North Korean weapons tests. He argues better ties with North Korea will help South Koreans, and the region, by settling the standoff over...

North Korean leader Kim Jong Un said Tuesday that his summit last June with President Donald Trump has provided geopolitical stability and that he expects more progress in talks between his nation and Washington. Kim's comments, first reported by Reuters, were made at the start of a three-day summit at which Kim is meeting with South Korean President Moon Jae-in in Pyongyang, the pair's third meeting of the year. Kim also credited Moon with making the “historic” summit in Singapore possible. “Thanks to that, the political situation in the region has stabilized and I expect more advanced results,” Kim told...

In March, State Department veteran and former adviser to Barack Obama, Frederic Hof, bid farewell to public life with a stunning admission. Amid a confession regarding his failure to prevent the expansion of the Syrian civil war into a regional crisis, Hof laid the blame for that all-consuming conflict (as well as a notable uptick in Russian aggression) at the feet of Barack Obama’s nuclear deal with Iran. The administration sacrificed Syrian civilians and American credibility for the mistaken notion that Iran required appeasement in Syria as the price for a nuclear agreement,” Hof wrote. Today, with 500,000 dead, millions...

Showdown? In letter, Pelosi/Schumer/Schiff/Warner order intel agencies to ignore presidential order on declassification until consulting with Congres

<p>3:05 p.m.</p> <p>The president of Poland is telling President Donald Trump that he'd like the U.S. to create a permanent American base in Poland that would be named Fort Trump.</p> <p>Trump says that he's considering the idea and that Poland has offered more than $2 billion to the U.S. to pay for such an effort.</p>

A senior adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama says that Russia has some reasonable concerns about U.S. missile defense plans. Russia has strongly opposed U.S. missile defense plans in Europe. Moscow says the system could undermine the deterrent of its vast nuclear arsenal. ... However, Obama's coordinator for weapons of mass destruction policy, Gary Samore on Friday said that Russia's objections are legitimate as Washington and Moscow pursue nuclear reductions.

The United States' commitment to global development does not look good compared with that of other wealthy countries — and it's likely to get worse. According to an annual index released Tuesday by the Center for Global Development that ranks 27 of the world's wealthiest countries, the U.S. scored dead last on foreign aid contributions and quality — despite being the largest donor in dollar amount. That's because in 2017, it allocated a mere 0.18 percent of its gross national income for development assistance. That is well short of the 0.7 percent that wealthy countries have committed to strive for...

"The Israeli pilots were using the Russian aircraft as a shield and pushed it into the line of fire of the Syrian defense," Ministry spokesman Maj. Gen. Igor Konashenkov said in a statement...Russia said it would make an "appropriate response" to Israel...Russia said Israel did not warn it of its operation over Latakia province until one minute before the strikes, which did not give the Russian plane enough time to escape...Israeli and French fighters were attacking targets at the time, Moscow said, according to Reuters.

It is impossible to evaluate events in Russia today without understanding the mysterious series of bombings in 1999 that killed 300 civilians and created the conditions for Vladimir Putin to become Russia’s dictator for life. The bombings changed the course of Russia’s post-Soviet history. They were blamed on the Chechens. In the wake of initial success, Russia launched a new invasion of Chechnya. Putin, who had just been appointed prime minister, was put in charge of the invasion and his popularity soared. Six months later, he was elected president. On July 14, 2016, I filed a request for documents on...

Russia has blamed Israel for the downing of one of its military planes in Syria and threatened "retaliation." An Ilyushin IL-20 aircraft was shot down by Syrian air defense missiles in what has been called a "friendly fire" incident. The Russian defense ministry has claimed that Israeli jets were attacking nearby targets and purposely "used the Russian plane as a cover, exposing it to fire from Syrian air defenses."

During their final days of access to FBI files and computers Andrew McCabe and Peter Strzok — before losing their jobs — each allegedly tried to destroy evidence and documents, per well-placed FBI and DOJ sources. But they were nabbed by a sting operation. Two of the supposed brightest minds who served the FBI — and led the country’s Intel apparatus — each separately set out to allegedly destroy incriminating evidence before their departures from the Bureau. And neither one had any clue they were being watched. But FBI Director Christopher Wray had suspected as much and — working with...

BUNGUR, Russia -- Pitted roads, intermittent electricity and water supplies, dilapidated housing, nonexistent health care -- the complaints heard in this village of 600 people near the city of Novokuznetsk are not unusual for rural Russian communities. But these villagers' approach to getting the government's attention to their woes just might be. Locals in Bungur have launched an initiative to rename their village Syria -- reasoning that if Moscow has a few tens of millions of dollars to invest in the Middle Eastern country, it might be able to spare a little investment for a Syria closer to home. "We...

In the Russian MoD statement, the government is accusing the Israelis of not giving Russia enough time to get its forces out of the area, and given the information available at the moment, that seems likely. Did the Israeli Defense Force miscalculate on this one? The Israelis, as noted in the above report, have routinely attacked targets in Syria deemed to be a threat to the Jewish state’s security. Most of the time those attacks have been aimed at Iranian installations but Syrian government bases have also been targeted in the past.

There is Breaking News from Syria overnight with 15 Russian servicemen dead after their plane was shot down by Syrian air defenses during a sudden Israeli air attack. Russia's Defense Ministry says 4 Israeli F-16's used the larger Russian IL-20 plane as a decoy for their attack on the northern Syrian city of Latakia. Russia says it reserves the right to an "adequate response".... US UN Ambassador Nikki Haley is in a knot accusing Russia of "cheating" on North Korea sanctions. Haley spoke at the UN Security Council yesterday..... South Korea's President Moon Jae In arrived in North Korea today...

Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has expressed his outrage to Israel's Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman after 15 Russian servicemen died when their plane was shot down by Syrian air defenses during a sudden Israeli air attack. Russia's Defense Ministry says 4 Israeli F-16's used the larger Russian IL-20 plane as a decoy for their attack on the northern Syria city of Latakia. Russia says it reserves the right to an "adequate response"....