The U.S. and Global Security Review - Blog by Michael Novakhov

Bloomberg рассказал о ярости Путина из-за чеченского следа в деле Немцова
РБК
Известие об убийстве Бориса Немцова привело президента России Владимира Путина в ярость, заявили информированные источники. По их словам, президент еще больше встревожился из-за чеченского следа в убийстве. Президент России Владимир Путин. Фото: REUTERS 2015.

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Политические убийства by Радио Свобода
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:32 PM

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	Политические убийства В российской истории власть часто использовала убийства для устрашения своих политических оппонентов....	From: Радио Свобода Views: 3640 80 ratings
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Russia 'Very Unhappy' at Sanctions Link - Wall Street Journal
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:32 PM

Reuters

Russia 'Very Unhappy' at Sanctions Link
Wall Street Journal
BRUSSELS—Russia is “very unhappy” with the European economic sanctions being linked to the full implementation of a peace deal agreed in Minsk last month, a senior Russian official has said. “We are very unhappy to see the linkage created yesterday by ...
Russia says sanctions 'destructive', will act in own interestsReuters
Ukraine crisis: EU links Russia sanctions to truce dealBBC News
US to train 750 Ukraine troops as Russian aggression continuesFox News
Fortune-DefenseNews.com-Business Insider
all 1,342 news articles »

In Balkans, threat of Islamic Radicalization, Russian Influence Converge by webdesk@voanews.com (Keida Kostreci)
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:32 PM

The White House says violent extremism and Russian aggression in Ukraine are two of the greatest challenges to U.S. national security. And one place those threats converge is the Balkan region, where political instability, outstanding ethnic tensions and economic fragility make the countries of the area particularly vulnerable. Large Muslim populations and historical and religious ties with Russia make the Western Balkan countries susceptible to these outside forces. Frank Wisner, a former U.S. ambassador and a former special envoy for Kosovo’s final status talks with Serbia, says that even though the Balkans is not a primary sphere of contest, it is affected. “I think it’s enormously important the Balkans be shielded from the rivalries of the major powers and second, that the issues in the Middle East not infect the Balkans,” he told VOA in an interview. “With regard to the latter, that’s the job of the intelligence services of Western Europe and the United States and those in the Balkans, to make certain that we track very carefully subversive elements flowing to and from the travel areas of the Levant and the Middle East.” Countries such as Albania, Bosnia and Kosovo have approved legislation to prevent their citizens from becoming foreign fighters in conflicts elswhere and have made arrests among radical factions. But Ian Brzezinski, former U.S. deputy assistant secretary of defense and a senior fellow with the Atlantic Council, says long-terms security measures require more than mere legislations. “It’s going to be [a] continuous, long-term undertaking, where deepening that kind of interpolice, international intelligence cooperation, it’s going to only probably become more and more pressing, more and more demanding as time goes on," he said. Balkan fighters in Syria Since the conflict in Syria began in 2011, more than 20,000 foreign fighters — at least 3,400 of whom are Westerners — have gone to Syria from more than 90 countries, according to the Worldwide Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community. Official figures from the Balkans and other sources say the number from these countries alone is at least 1,000. And compared to Western Europe, the Balkans have added vulnerabilities, says Brzezinski. “The structures of governance and law enforcement are probably a bit weaker in the Balkan countries compared to their northern counterparts,” he said. “Some of them have fairly significant Muslim populations. Not to say that having a Muslim population is a bad thing, but it’s a reality that is being exploited by organizations like ISIS. These are countries that are in the poorer spectrum of the European economic landscape and whenever you have a situation of economic inequity, you have societies that will be more vulnerable to extremism.” Former Ambassador Wisner says the United States has aimed to act as a stabilizing force and to help these countries agree to outcomes that are mutually acceptable. But, he says, “there remains an unresolved political agenda in Bosnia, in Macedonia and, of course, between Kosovo and Serbia.” Russia trying to extend its influence Another risk factor in this region is the influence that Russia is trying to exert. Recently Secretary of State John Kerry was asked about this issue at a hearing before a U.S. Senate subcommittee. “Whether it’s Serbia, Kosovo, Montenegro, Macedonia, other places — they are all in the firing line,” he said. Russia has tried to use its traditional ties with Serbia to maintain its clout and has actively sought to extend its presence in the Balkans. Serbia depends on Russia for its gas supplies, for example, with imports of 82 percent of the overall gas consumption. After being thwarted by the European Union in its efforts to build a gas pipeline to Southeast Europe, the Kremlin is working for an alternative route passing through Turkey, Greece, Macedonia and Serbia, then into Hungary and perhaps on to Austria. And broadcasters Russia Today and Sputnik have presences in Serbia. Brzezinski points out that Russia benefits from the time when the Soviet Union existed and created infrastructural dependencies within the region upon what is now the Russian economy. But as the Balkan economies modernize and adopt European standards of law and commerce, he adds, they are weaning themselves from that dependency. Even so, Serbia, for example, has not endorsed EU sanctions against Russia. And when Russian President Vladimir Putin visited Belgrade last October, it was a reminder that Serbia's close ties with Russia sit awkwardly with its EU ambitions. Ambassador Wisner says it is important there be no crises for Russia to exploit that would further increase tensions between Russia, Europe and the United States, and that Europe must continue to press ahead with its inclusion of Serbia and Kosovo in the EU and attempt help Greece and Macedonia resolves longstanding issues. “By settling these questions, there is no negative ground on which Russia can play and it’s easier to maintain the harmony that we all need in the Balkans for its own purposes," he said, referring to concerns that Putin is attempting to drive a wedge between the Balkans and the West. An analysis late last year in the German magazine Der Spiegel details Russian efforts to influence developments in Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina, and to present itself as an alternative to Euro-Atlantic integration. Secretary Kerry echoed that concern during the Senate subcommittee hearing in which he described Russia as engaged in a “massive effort to sway nations, to appeal to them, reach out to them." Efforts that could result, he said, in a new kind of dangerous East-West zero sum game. Greater Western assistance, EU integration What the Kremlin exploits in the Balkans, analysts say, is pervasive corruption, weak institutions and lacking economic opportunity. The antidote, says Brzezinski, would be greater assistance to the region by the West, and acceleration of integration into the EU. “I think that the United States can more forcefully lean forward in terms of reanimating the vision of a Europe whole and free, pressing forward more assertively for NATO enlargement, particularly to Macedonia and to Montenegro,” he said. “I think we ought to be working to the degree that we can to give Serbia greater confidence in the potentials of security cooperation with the West, to wean it away from its kind of pro-Russia outlook. I think continued and enhanced security cooperation between the countries of the Balkans and Western Europe — particularly Interpol and EU — is in order.” But both Wisner and Brzezinski agree that integration is a two-way street and that the countries themselves will need to drive the process through aggressive reforms and achievement of the standards needed to become full members of the Euro-Atlantic community.

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Russia Warns Against US Army Convoy Advance - Military.com
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:31 PM

Military.com

Russia Warns Against US Army Convoy Advance
Military.com
Such an exercise, Russia's foreign ministry said Friday, undermines the Russia-NATO Founding Act. "According to our estimates, in case of the deployment of U.S. armour on the permanent basis on NATO's eastern flank in the mentioned amounts there will ...
Russia Condemns U.S. Military Maneuver In Eastern EuropeValueWalk
Russia Under AttackOpEdNews

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Page 2

Armenia and Russia - The Economist
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:31 PM

The Economist

Armenia and Russia
The Economist
The increasing threat of escalation leads Armenia to depend upon Russia for protection, but Armenians are growing increasingly frustrated with the relationship. They are particularly unhappy with Russian arms sales to Azerbaijan, which account for 85 ...

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КГБ Приднестровья зацепилось за сеть - Коммерсантъ
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:31 PM

The InterpreterThe Interpreter

Коммерсантъ

КГБ Приднестровья зацепилось за сеть
Коммерсантъ
В Приднестровье арестован журналист Сергей Ильченко, критиковавший руководство непризнанной республики, а заодно и российские власти. КГБ инкриминирует ему призывы к экстремистской деятельности и свержению власти, которые он якобы распространял анонимно на ...
В Приднестровье задержан 56-летний журналист за призывы к вооруженному свержению властиПоследние новости России и Украины, главные новости дня.

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Russia This Week: Can We Be Satisfied With the Theory That Kadyrov Killed Nemtsov? by Catherine A. Fitzpatrick
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:30 PM

In Russia This Week, you will find links to the stories of Russia Update in the last week and to special features, plus an article following up on the news and trending topics below.

Last issue: All The Strange Things Happening in Moscow

Last Week’s Top Stories:

- Kremlin Publishes New Picture of Putin Amid Concerns About Absence
- Questions About Putin’s Health After Canceled Meetings & Vague Answers
- Chechen Suspects in Nemtsov Murder Withdraw Confessions, Say Were Tortured
- Getaway Car Suspected in Nemtsov’s Death Also Found Near His Home in October
- Chechen Suspect Reportedly Offended at ‘Negative Comments’ by Nemtsov on Islam
- 5 Chechen Suspects Brought to Court in Murder of Boris Nemtsov
- Suspects Detained in Murder of Boris Nemtsov from North Caucasus

Please help The Interpreter to continue providing this valuable information service by making a donation towards our costs‏.

Northcom: Russian Cruise Missile Threat to U.S. Grows - Washington Free Beacon
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:30 PM

Washington Free Beacon

Northcom: Russian Cruise Missile Threat to U.S. Grows
Washington Free Beacon
Russia is developing a long-range cruise missile that poses a new threat to the United States, the commander of the U.S. Northern Command warned this week. “Russia is progressing toward its goal of deploying long-range, conventionally-armed cruise ...

One Year After Russia Annexed Crimea, Locals Prefer Moscow To Kiev - Forbes
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:29 PM

Forbes

One Year After Russia Annexed Crimea, Locals Prefer Moscow To Kiev
Forbes
One year after the annexation of the Ukrainian peninsula in the Black Sea, poll after poll shows that the locals there — be they Ukrainians, ethnic Russians or Tartars are all in agreement: life with Russia is better than life with Ukraine. Little has ...
Steady expansion of Russian military exercisesBBC News
Putin's RussiaCBC.ca
Russia Expands Military Exercises To 80000 TroopsDefenseNews.com
RT-Business Insider-Quartz
all 1,807 news articles »

Secret weapon: What on Earth is Russia up to? - NEWS.com.au
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:29 PM

ValueWalk

Secret weapon: What on Earth is Russia up to?
NEWS.com.au
ACCORDING to a Kremlin propaganda media outlet, Russia plans to be able to deploy its army anywhere in the world within seven hours. It's a future that involves a fleet of huge heavy transport aircraft that will be capable of moving around 400 Armata ...
Russia's Future Army Could Deploy Globally In 7 HoursValueWalk
COLUMN-Russia's air corps is a powerful but fading forceReuters

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Page 3

Канада одновременно с Россией проводит в Арктике военные учения - БалтИнфо.ru
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:28 PM

Lenta.ru

Канада одновременно с Россией проводит в Арктике военные учения
БалтИнфо.ru
Торонто, 21 марта. Канадские военнослужащие 20 марта начали учения у арктических границ страны, пишет NEWSru.com. Как сообщается на сайте Минобороны Канады, маневры под названием NOREX 2015 продлятся в провинции Нунавут, наименее заселенной территорией ...
Канада начала военные учения в АрктикеИА REGNUM
Канада начала военные учения у своих арктических границКорреспондент.net
Канада проводит учения в Арктике одновременно с РоссиейГоворит Москва
OAnews
Все похожие статьи: 37 »

Steady expansion of Russian military exercises - BBC News
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:28 PM

BBC News

Steady expansion of Russian military exercises
BBC News
The massive show of force involving the army, navy and air force is believed to be in response to the deployment of American military equipment including tanks in the Baltic states and Poland. It also comes as Nato holds a series of exercises near ...
Russia Targets NATO With Military ExercisesForbes
Russia Expands Military Exercises To 80000 TroopsDefenseNews.com
Putin admits that he's causing problems for RussiaBusiness Insider
Quartz -RT -International Business Times
all 1,544 news articles »

Генсек НАТО: внезапные проверки боеспособности армии РФ не способствуют диалогу с альянсом - Информинг
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:28 PM

Информинг

Генсек НАТО: внезапные проверки боеспособности армии РФ не способствуют диалогу с альянсом
Информинг
Внезапные проверки боеготовности армии, которые устраивает Россия, не уведомив о них соседствующие страны, негативно сказываются на диалоге с НАТО. Соответствующее заявление сделал экс-премьер Норвегии и нынешний генеральный секретарь Североатлантического ...

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Лидер еще одного государства отказался приехать в Москву на 9 мая - Радиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:28 PM

Window On Eurasia -- New Series

УНИАН

Лидер еще одного государства отказался приехать в Москву на 9 мая
Радиостанция ЭХО МОСКВЫ
Это президент Болгарии Росен Плевнелиев. Об этом сообщили в его пресс-службе без уточнения причин, передают местные СМИ. Болгария была единственной страной-союзницей фашистской Германии, которая не воевала против СССР. Ранее на 70-летие победы в Москву ...
Президент Болгарии отказался ехать в Москву на День ПобедыВзгляд
Президент Болгарии отказался приехать в Москву на День ПобедыУтро.Ru
Президент Болгарии пополнил ряды политиков, отказавшихся ехать в Москву на 70-летие ПобедыPanorama.am
Московский комсомолец -Подробности
Все похожие статьи: 49 »

Putin No Longer Cares Whether His Lies are Plausible, Shevtsova Says by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:27 PM

Paul Goble

Staunton, March 21 – Vladimir Putin and the world have crossed a dangerous threshold: The Kremlin leader no longer cares whether his lies about Ukraine or anything else are plausible because he sees that both his own subjects and many in the West are prepared to accept whatever he says as one version among many rather than declare that he is lying.

In an interview given to Viktor Ogiyenko of “Novoye vremya,” Liliya Shevtsova, a Russian commentator now at the Brookings Institution, says that “Russia has reached the point when the rhetorical declarations of her leaders do not even pretend” that what they are saying appears to be true (nv.ua/publications/putin-priznal-svoyu-rol-v-anneksii-kryma-potomu-chto-reshil-pereyti-k-bolee-zhestkoy-modeli-sderzhivaniya-zapada-rossiyskiy-politolog-39847.html).

But Putin’s lying points to some deeper truths about where he and his country are at, Shevtsova suggests, and his particular lies must be examined not for their truth value but for what they conceal and also for what they reveal about him and his plans for the future, however unpalatable those may be.

“If one considers any of Putin’s declarations over the past year, they are convincing evidence that [his] words do not have significance,” she says. And anyone who tries to use them directly as the basis for making decisions is fooling himself and uselessly engaging in “a waste of time.”

Instead, Shevtsova says, Putin’s words need to be understood in the context of the situation in which Russia is located today. “Putin has driven himself and Russia into a corner, and to escape from his situation without loss of face is very complicated.” One has the sense that he understands that and is seeking some way, even a false one, to suggest he can.

Viewed from that perspective, she continues, Putin’s declarations about his personal and direct responsibility for the Crimean Anschluss have the following meaning: First of all, Putin is saying that “Ukraine does not have the right to national self-determination and national identity because his basic message was that Russians and Ukrainians are a single people.”

At the same time, however, Putin spoke about the need for “the normalization of inter-state relations,” but his understanding of that is very different from that of normal people speaking honestly. Consequently, this is the latest “smoke screen” which on the one hand doesn’t mean anything but on the other points to something really tragic.

“The Kremlin,” she says, “having been driven into a corner, is attempting to preserve its continuity without knowing how to save face.”

It is too soon to give a definitive answer to why Putin spoke so openly about his role in seizing Crimea, Shevtsova says, but it appears that this represents a turning point “in the Kremlin’s searching for a new myth, a new idea for the consolidation of Russia and a new idea for the legitimation of his power,” one detached from morality and international law.

Over the past year, Shevtsova says, “the Kremlin had attempted to preserve the model of hybridness, that is, neither peace nor war” because that policy allowed the West and international organizations “which did not want a confrontation” a way out, by acting on Putin’s words and not on the reality on the ground.

“To a large extent, the crisis around Ukraine and the hybrid war in Ukraine was the result of the duplicitous nature of the positions and the withering of the line between fiction and reality and between myth and reality,” she says. By his acknowledgement, Putin “returned us from myth to reality.”

In that sense, Putin’s words on this occasion are “positive” because they end the “illusory” situation in which people had been acting. “We now have a complete recognition of the politician of what has really happened. And this forces Westerners, the Russian elite, and the Ukrainian elite to think in a new format.”

Apparently having concluded that the old myths were no longer working, “the Kremlin has decided” to adopt a much tougher line and use nuclear blackmail. The West is finally seeing through the duplicity of “hybrid” war. To be sure, “the West has not been able to find an adequate policy toward Russia, but at the same time, it won’t end sanctions.”

Consequently, Putin’s acknowledgements about Crimea were addressed in the first instance to the West, although they too were duplicitous because the doctrine of mutually assured destruction remains in place. There is no need to put these weapons on that footing; they are already there.

What Putin is saying through his half-truths is that he is searching for a “much harsher mobilization on the basis of confrontation” with a new enemy, something that will justify his actions and in his mind at least his lies as well.

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Rouhani: Treat Iran with 'Respect' Instead of 'Threats and Sanctions' by webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:27 PM

Window On Eurasia -- New Series

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Saturday held out the possibility of an agreement in the country's negotiations with world powers about it nuclear capabilities. While acknowledging differences still remain, Rohani said "there is nothing than cannot be resolved." "Shared points of view emerged in some of the areas where there had been a difference of opinion," the president was quoted as saying by IRNA, the state news agency, a day after nuclear talks between Iran and world powers, including the U.S., broke off, allowing the Iranian delegation to return home following the death of the president's mother. Earlier Saturday, President Rouhani speaking to the country in a taped, televised address to commemorate Nowruz, the Persian New Year, said that foreign powers have learned that the best way to deal with Iran is with "respect" instead of "threats and sanctions." "World countries and big powers have realized that threats and sanctions are ineffective and the correct approach is to show understanding, agreement and respect towards the Iranian nation. We have stabilized the nuclear rights of this nation," he said. "We have broken apart the organization of sanctions and this nation will be successful in achieving its lofty goals." The parties have been meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland. Unconfirmed reports say negotiations will resume Wednesday. Iran and the P5 plus 1 nations - Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States and Germany - face a March 31 deadline for a framework agreement. Under an agreement, Iran would limit its uranium enrichment to prevent it from building a nuclear bomb. In exchange, the world powers would lift the sanctions that have wrecked the Iranian economy. Iran denies wanting a bomb and insists its nuclear program is for peaceful civilian purposes. White House officials say President Barack Obama spoke to French President Francois Hollande Friday by telephone. They agreed that Iran must take steps to resolve the remaining issues in the nuclear talks.

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Page 4

Putin’s Priorities – Propaganda over People and Even National Defense by paul goble (noreply@blogger.com)
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:27 PM

Paul Goble

Staunton, March 21 – Budget documents may seem dry reading most of the time, but they often provide clearer indications than anything else of what the priorities of rulers are. Vladimir Putin’s new budget numbers show that for him, propaganda is more important than the Russian people and even more important than national defense.

Given the budgetary sleight of hand that the Kremlin has often practiced, one cannot be absolutely certain of the exact numbers, but the amendments the Russian government has submitted certainly indicate what its priorities are and even more aren’t, according to Igor Yakovenko (kasparov.ru/material.php?id=550D067F49A8D).

The sectors where the government plans to cut spending the most are the environment – minus 16.2 percent, communal services – minus 10 percent, education – 4.9 percent, and culture – 7.3 percent. Even the defense and security structures face cuts, albeit not as large as these, the Moscow commentator points out.

But there is one sector where instead of cuts, the Russian government is calling for increases – and that is propaganda. There, the Kremlin plans to increase funds by 3.1 percent out of the budget and by 400 percent in total spending on Russia Today and by more than 80 percent for TASS.

As Yakovenko puts it, “the most important and necessary people in the country at a time of crisis, sanctions, war, and isolation are Margarita Simonyan and Sergey Mikhaylov,” two leading Moscow television anchors. Apparently, the regime believes that “if they will lie more and better, then all problems will disappear and everything will be well.”

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Russia Issues Contradicting Statements on NATO - Voice of America
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:25 PM

Voice of America

Russia Issues Contradicting Statements on NATO
Voice of America
A Russian senior official said that Moscow is not seeking confrontation with NATO. The RussianInterfax news agency reported Saturday that Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov made a statement to that effect at a news briefing for foreign defense ...
Russia not seeking confrontation with NATO - Defense Ministry officialRussia Beyond the Headlines

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Порошенко допустил проведение выборов в Донбассе в 2015 году - РБК
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:24 PM

РБК

Порошенко допустил проведение выборов в Донбассе в 2015 году
РБК
Местные выборы в Донбассе могут пройти уже в 2015 году. Это произойдет при условии вывода «иностранных войск» и соблюдения украинского законодательства, заявил президент Украины Петр Порошенко. Президент Украины Петр Порошенко. Фото: Fotobank/Getty Images. В этом ...
Порошенко не исключает проведения местных выборов в Донбассе в 2015 годуКоммерсантъ
Порошенко допустил участие лидеров ДНР и ЛНР в местных выборахLenta.ru
Оружием, танками, градами и ракетами украинскую землю не вернуть – ПорошенкоСЕГОДНЯ
Интерфакс - Украина -РИА Новости Украина -bigmir)net
Все похожие статьи: 86 »

Hundreds Arrested in Indian Academic Cheating Scandalby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:24 PM

Authorities in India arrested nearly 300 people Saturday in connection with a massive academic cheating scandal this week in the northeastern state of Bihar. The alleged crimes involve a crucial examination that more than a million 10th-grade students across India are taking. The test results are said to largely dictate a person’s educational options and socioeconomic status. The crackdown followed the publication of photographs and the broadcast of video clips showing parents, relatives and friends climbing the outside wall of an exam center in Bihar state to give test-takers the answer sheets. A Reuters report said some of the answer sheets were folded into paper airplanes and flown into the exam room. As many as 750 students were expelled, according to media reports. Bihar's education minister, Prashant Kumar Shahi, responded to the cheating scandal by asking the question: “What can the government do to stop cheating if parents and relatives are not ready to cooperate?” Some parents contend students are ill-prepared for the examinations, saying the schools lack qualified teachers.

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Obama Not Buying Netanyahu's Two-State Avowalby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:23 PM

President Barack Obama is taking Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu at his word when the Israeli leader said on the eve of Israeli elections last week that he did not support Palestinian statehood. Netanyahu has since declared that he is in favor of a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestinian dilemma, but only under very stringent conditions. In an interview with The Huffington Post news website that took place on Friday and was published Saturday, Obama indicated that he was not convinced by the later statement. "We take him at his word when he said that it wouldn't happen during his prime ministership, and so that's why we've got to evaluate what other options are available to make sure that we don't see a chaotic situation in the region," the president said. The two leaders spoke on the telephone Thursday, two days after Netanyahu's election victory. Obama said he told the prime minister that "it is going to be hard to find a path where people are seriously believing that negotiations are possible." The Huffington Post said Obama declined to say whether the U.S. would continue to block Palestinian statehood in the United Nations. Obama disparaged Netanyahu's election day warning that a heavy turnout of Arab Israeli voters would tip the election to his opponent. The president said that kind of talk was "contrary to what is the best of Israel's traditions." He said that although Israel was founded to be a Jewish homeland, it was also a democracy "premised on everybody in the country being treated equally and fairly." Obama continued, "And I think that that is what's best about Israeli democracy. If that is lost, then I think that not only does it give ammunition to folks who don't believe in a Jewish state, but it also, I think, starts to erode the name of democracy in the country." The statements in the interview were Obama's first public comments on the subject since the Tuesday election in Israel.

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Group Claiming IS Link Posts Hit List of US Service Membersby webdesk@voanews.com (VOA News)
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:23 PM

The InterpreterThe Interpreter

A group purportedly affiliated with Islamic State militants has posted on the Internet what it says are the names, addresses and photographs of 100 U.S. military personnel and has encouraged its supporters in the United States to kill them. The group, calling itself the Islamic State Hacking Division, wrote on its website that it has "made it easy for you by giving you addresses. All you need to do is take the final step. What are you waiting for?" The Pentagon said it was investigating and that it has always encouraged men and women in the armed forces to take appropriate protection precautions. One official told The New York Times that it did not appear that the militants had hacked the information from any U.S. government website and that most of it was publicly available.

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Russia Hosting Europe’s Neo-Nazis, Nationalists and Anti-Semites, Putin Supporters All by Paul Goble
Saturday March 21st, 2015 at 10:22 PM

Staunton, March 21 — Even as Moscow denounces anything it views as a manifestation of fascism abroad and prepares to mark the anniversary of the victory over Nazi Germany, the Russian authorities are hosting tomorrow a meeting of Europe’s neo-Nazis, extreme nationalists, and anti-Semites who share one thing in common – their unqualified support for Vladimir Putin.

The meeting called the first “Russian International Conservative Forum” and nominally hosted by the Russian National Cultural Center – People’s House is in fact the work of the Rodina Party and says it includes only European rightists who support Putin on Ukraine (see Rosbalt and Ekho Moskvy).

The organizers say that those taking part are “exclusively” from parties officially registered in European countries and that they could not be if they were neo-Nazi because “this is a criminal ideology which is banned in Europe.” What these parties do share is opposition to their governments “which are US puppets.”

Further, Yuri Lyubomirsky, head of the Right to Bear Arms group and one of the organizers says, “all these parties actively defend the interests of Russia regarding Crimea and the events in Ukraine’s South-East.” And he expressed “hope for constructive cooperation” between them and like-minded Russians such as himself.

Not surprisingly, this action has outraged many in Russia from the communists to Yabloko party member Boris Vishnevsky to human rights activists who have called on the government to ban the meeting and say they will picket and possibly disrupt it if the authorities do nothing to stop this assemblage from taking place.

Just how noxious this meeting is and how it underscores just how few people in Europe Putin’s regime can get to openly support it as opposed to the far larger number who are not prepared to do anything to oppose the Kremlin is underscored by the list of those who are scheduled to speak or otherwise take part.

They include:

Jared Taylor, an American who calls for white supremacy.

Nicholas Griffin, head of the British National Party and a prominent Holocaust denier.

Roberto Fiore, head of the New Force party in Italy which pursues traditionalist and extreme right causes.

Udo Voigt, Former head of the right-wing extremist National Democratic Party of Germany and now a deputy in the European Parliament noted for his anti-Semitic and xenophobic views and frequently found subject to legal sanctions for them.

Georgios Epitidios, a representative of Greece’s Golden Dawn party which is viewed in Athens as neo-fascist and neo-Nazi and whose party’s emblem is a stylized swastika.

Stefan Jakobsen, the head of the Party of Swedes and who is widely considered a neo-Nazi.

Daniel Karlsen, the head of the Party of Danes and one of the founding members of the National Socialist Movement of Denmark.

Gonsalo Martin Garcia, a leader of the ultra-right Spanish National Democratic Party.

Horatio Maria Guerre, president of the European Communist Party Millenium which seeks the dissolution of NATO and the end of what he calls “the hegemony of liberalism and the unipolar world.”

Aleksandr Hofman, the foreign minister of the self-proclaimed Donetsk Peoples Republic.

And from Russia itself, among others:

Aleksey Zhuravlyev, a United Russia Duma deputy who has attracted attention for his calls to strip the rights of those in non-traditional families to have children.

Yegor Kholmogorov, a Russian nationalist who has said that “the war for Novorossiya is a national liberation war of the Russian people for its reunification and for the elimination of invented borders.”

Stanislav Vorobyev, the coordinator of the Russian Imperial Movement who has called for “Russian men to join the joint struggle for Novorossiya under the imperial flag.”

Ivan Ovsyannikov of the Russian Socialist Movement notes that “the forum calls itself conservative, but this is a lie. These are not people like the British conservatives; these are parties of the extreme right wing.” And Boris Vishnevsky, a Yabloko deputy in St. Petersburg’s legislative assembly, concurs.

He says that he is horrified by any manifestations of interest in fascism in foreign countries but notes that he is not a citizen of any of them and consequently is “not responsible” for their laws. But he is a Russian citizen, and as such he feels entitled to ask: “Why should such forums take place in my country with the complete silence of state structures?”

“I do not know how any former [Waffen SS] legionnaires remain in Latvia,” he continues, but I consider that they are less dangerous for society that contemporary neo-Nazis who can freely assembly and disseminate their views” as such people plan to do in Russia’s northern capital on Sunday.

“And the views [of those planning to come] are xenophobia, hatred of aliens and dividing people into categories which always gives rise to bloodshed. To the manifestation of fascism in one’s own country one must react with the very same intolerance as to fascism somewhere else,” Vishnevsky concludes.

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