(2019-10-21). The United States Air Force at Incirlik, Our National "Black Eye" counterpunch.org 
Current events concerning Turkey and the Kurds in Syria remind me of a conversation I had with a US Air Force colonel almost 17 years ago in a courtroom in Des Moines. To refresh my memory, I dug deep into my closet and dusted off the transcript of the case, "STATE OF IOWA, plaintiff vs. More
(2019-10-21). Ditch the Kurds, grab the oil? Trump says US 'never committed' to Syrian allies, but SecDef says Washington still committed to oil. rt.com 
President Donald Trump has said that the US never committed to the security of Kurds in northern Syria, ahead of the end of the Turkish ceasefire. His defense secretary meanwhile says the US troops had a job to "secure the oil."
(2019-10-21). The Empire Steps Back. counterpunch.org 
What everyone is most upset about with regard to Syria isn't the bloodshed or anything having [to] do with human rights. It's the decline in American control of the Middle East. This is 100% about US imperialism taking a hit. — Rania Khalek, (@RaniaKhalek) October 14, 2019 A series of Donald Trump's decisions, culminating in More
(2019-10-21). US Out Of Syria And The Middle East. dissidentvoice.org 
US Out of the Middle East, Los Angeles protest against bombing in Syria from ABC7.com. Stop The Turkish Invasion Of Syria The crisis in Syria has taken a new direction with the Turkish invasion into the Northeast ostensibly to push the Kurdish peoples out. The US has added to this crisis by its green light …
(2019-10-21). Netanyahu Dealt Setback in Attempt to Form New Coalition. truthdig.com 
JERUSALEM—Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced Monday that he had failed to form a majority government in parliament, marking a major setback for the embattled Israeli leader that plunges the country into a new period of political uncertainty. | In a statement, Netanyahu said he had worked "tirelessly" to establish a unity government with his chief rival, former military chief Benny Gantz, but been repeatedly rebuffed. Facing a Wednesday deadline, Netanyahu said he was returning the "mandate" to President Reuven Rivlin, who will now ask Gantz to try to form a coalition. | While Netanyahu remains at t…
(2019-10-21). Opioid crisis: Aberration, or logical outgrowth of for-profit US healthcare system? rt.com 
Four major drug companies have reached a partial settlement over their role in the opioid epidemic, dodging a federal trial. The drug plague is less of an accident than an inevitable consequence of a for-profit healthcare system. | US drug distributors AmerisourceBergen Corp., Cardinal Health Inc., and McKesson Corp. — as well as Israel-based drug manufacturer Teva Pharmaceuticals — have tentatively settled suits with two Ohio counties for $260 million, over charges they misled the public about the addictive potential of their drugs. The deal narrowly avoids a federal trial that was set to start on M…
(2019-10-21). The US Has Backed 21 of the 28 'Crazy' Militias Leading Turkey's Brutal Invasion of Northern Syria. globalresearch.ca Former and current US officials have slammed the Turkish mercenary force of "Arab militias" for executing and beheading Kurds in northern Syria. New data from Turkey reveals that almost all of these militias were armed and trained in the past …
(2019-10-21). Stop the Turkish Invasion of Syria. US Out of Syria and the Middle East. globalresearch.ca The crisis in Syria has taken a new direction with the Turkish invasion into Syria ostensibly to push back the Kurdish peoples. The US has added to this crisis by its indifference toward the Kurds after using them as a …
(2019-10-21). Pity the Kurds. commondreams.org President Donald Trump's abandonment of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in northern Syria is another chapter in a sad and heartless game, repeatedly replayed, in which Kurdish forces are armed and used to achieve the strategic aims of rival nation-states and then discarded. (Drawing: Mr. Fish) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/pity-the-kurd.jpg …
(2019-10-21). Beware, Pete Buttigieg Is a Sharp Corporate Tool. commondreams.org Pete Buttigieg, aka Mayor Pete, is the mayor of South Bend, Indiana. Buttigieg is a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in 2020. (Photo illustration: DonkeyHotey/flickr/cc) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/mayor_pete_mayor_elite.jpg …
(2019-10-21). Turkey Breaks Ceasefire, US "Secures Syria's Oil" & Assange's Torture & Violation Of Rights Exposed. thelastamericanvagabond.com Welcome to The Daily Wrap Up, a concise show dedicated to bringing you the most relevant independent news, as we see it, from the last 24 hours (10/19/19). As always, take the information discussed in the video below and research it for yourself, and come to your own conclusions. Anyone telling you what the truth …
(2019-10-21). Catholic Activists Stand Trial for Protesting Nuclear Weapons. thenation.com Catholic Activists Stand Trial for Protesting Nuclear Weapons…
(2019-10-21). Is War on the Menu for 2020 Elections? commondreams.org Kurdish activists wears a mask of the American president Donald Trump during demonstration against the ongoing Turkish military operation in the northeastern Syria on October 19,2019 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Photo: Paulo Amorim/NurPhoto via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/trump_war_2020.jpg …
(2019-10-21). Ceasefire Ends, Talks on Syria Between Erdogan and Putin Begin. globalresearch.ca Monday marks the thirteenth day since Turkey began its third cross border military operation in Syria ironically named "Operation Peace Spring". In the past two weeks civilian and militant lives on both sides have been lost, a large exodus has …
(2019-10-21). Fifty Years Ago Today, US Soldiers Joined the Vietnam Moratorium Protests in Mass Numbers. globalresearch.ca Today marks the fiftieth anniversary of the October 15, 1969 Moratorium, perhaps the most important US protest during the war against Vietnam. | Millions turned out across the United States in a historic day of action. Nothing else so conveyed …
(2019-10-21). Lebanon's Protesters Unconvinced by PM's Reform Package. telesurenglish.net Lebanon approved an emergency reform package Monday in response to protests over dire economic conditions, but the moves did not go far enough to persuade demonstrators to leave the streets or investors to halt a plunge in its bonds. | RELATED: | 'A Million Protesters' Flood Lebanese Capital Beirut on 4th Day of Demonstrations | Hundreds of thousands of people have flooded the streets since Thursday, furious at a political class they accuse of pushing the econo…
(2019-10-21). Patriotic Korean students enter U.S. ambassador's Seoul compound, demand U.S. troops out now. fightbacknews.org On October 18 a group of Korean students entered the U.S. ambassador's residential compound in Seoul, Korea to protest the continuing presence of U.S. troops in their country. 20 people, who belong to a coalition of progressive students, scaled the wall of the diplomatic compound and began a demonstration against the U.S. occupation of their county. The students chanted "We don't need U.S. troops," and "Get out!" before being escorted out by police. 19 of the students were detained and questioned by south Korean police. | There are an estimated 28,000 U.S. troops in southern Korea who are essentially engaged in m…
(2019-10-21). US Syria Pullout? A Saigon Moment? globalresearch.ca The 1972 Church/Case amendment ended congressional funding for US military operations in Southeast Asia — except for withdrawal of Pentagon forces, subject to release of prisoners of war. | In June 1973, congressional legislation ended all funding after August 15. After …
(2019-10-21). Tulsi Gabbard Is Right, and Nancy Pelosi Wrong. It Was US Democrats Who Helped Cultivate the Barbarism of ISIS. globalresearch.ca There is something profoundly deceitful in the way the Democratic Party and the corporate media are framing Donald Trump's decision to pull troops out of Syria. | One does not need to defend Trump's actions or ignore the dangers posed …
(2019-10-21). Pentagon Chief Says US Forces Leaving Syria Are Shifting to Iraq. truthout.org President Donald Trump tweeted Sunday that he is "bringing soldiers home" from Syria as Turkey continues its deadly military operation there, but Pentagon chief Mark Esper undermined the president's declaration by confirming that U.S. forces are simply moving to another site of endless war — Iraq. | American troops "aren't coming home and the United States i…
(2019-10-21). As Trump Aids and Abets Turkey's War Crimes, the UN Must Act. truthout.org Nearly two weeks have passed since Turkey launched its ground and air attack on Rojava, the autonomous region of northeast Syria, following Trump's sudden removal of 1,000 U.S. troops from the area. | While the United States and Turkey reached a "ceasefire" agreement on October 17, there are ongoing reports of viol…
(2019-10-21). Governments remain silent as evidence mounts that Turkey is using white phosphorus. thecanary.co Warning: this article contains images that some readers may find distressing | Social media has been swamped with photos and videos of people with burns so horrific that it's a miracle they've survived. Turkey has been accused of using white phosphorus on…
(2019-10-21). Trump's Disgraceful Letter to Erdogan. globalresearch.ca There is no wonder that every person and news outlet that saw Trump's letter to Turkey's president Erdogan thought it was a joke. When it was confirmed that the letter was indeed authentic, bewilderment and disbelief struck everyone who read …
(2019-10-21). There Was a Smart, Progressive Way to Withdraw From Syria. thenation.com There Was a Smart, Progressive Way to Withdraw From Syria…
(2019-10-21). Is Erdogan Using Chemicals in Syria Again? globalresearch.ca Hasaka Hospital in northeast Syria reported treating cases of chemical attacks on civilians, including children on Wednesday. The Syrian Arab News Agency ( SANA) reported the event after gathering information from the hospital, which is in an area that …
(2019-10-21). Military brass denounce Trump's withdrawal of troops from Syria. wsws.org The extraordinary intervention of high-ranking retired generals is a breach of the core constitutional principle of the subordination of the military to civilian authority.
(2019-10-21). "No Angels": Kurdish Militias, "Betrayal" and the Campaign to Destroy Syria. globalresearch.ca It is presently fashionable, but totally erroneous to aver that the Kurds have been "betrayed". The truth is that the Kurds and the Americans have used each other for their mutual ends in the Syrian War, a catastrophe orchestrated by …
(2019-10-21). The Four A's of American Policy Failure in Syria. globalresearch.ca The ceasefire agreement brokered by Vice President Mike Pence and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Thursday accomplishes very little outside of putting window dressing on a foregone conclusion. Simply put, the Turks will be able to achieve their objectives …
(2019-10-21). No, Trump Isn't Bringing US Troops Home. commondreams.org A US soldier stands in an armoured personnel carrier as the US forces pull out of their base in the Northern Syrian town of Tal Tamr, on October 20, 2019. – US forces withdrew from a key base in northern Syria today, a monitor said, two days before the end of a US-brokered truce to stem a Turkish attack on Kurdish forces in the region. (Photo: Delil Souleiman/AFP via Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/syria_us_troops.jpg …
(2019-10-21). Corporate Media Can't Imagine an Alternative to Forever War in Syria. truthdig.com Coverage of Donald Trump's "withdrawal" reveals just how deeply our political press is invested in U.S. hegemony across the Middle East.
(2019-10-21). US Ditches Kurdish Proxies in Syria. globalresearch.ca As US troops flee northeast Syria — they leave behind their Kurdish proxies to face an uncertain future at the hands of approaching Turkish troops. Reports of Turkish forces entering Syria dominated news headlines — followed by Western op-eds trading …
(2019-10-21). All US Troops Leaving Syria Will Head to Iraq. theantimedia.com According to Secretary of Defense Mark Esper, the current plan is that all US troops leaving Syria will be redeployed into western Iraq.
(2019-10-21). India Is Confused; Where Does It Go from Here? globalresearch.ca At J. Nehru University, most students know about China and Russia only from the BBC, Reuters and other Western media outlets. Even those individuals who claim they belong to the left are not immune; influenced mainly by the British propaganda….
(2019-10-21). Noura Erakat: 'Justice for Some: Law & the Question of Palestine'. indybay.org Berkeley City College | 2050 Center Street | Berkeley, CA 94704…
(2019-10-21). The Unflattering Veneer of Self-proclaimed Greatness. dissidentvoice.org It is up to us whether we will lift the world to new heights or let it fall into a valley of disrepair. — US president Donald Trump addressing the UN General Assembly on 19 September 2017 The U.S. Economy is the envy of the world, as Europe and Asia slide ever toward recession. — …
(2019-10-21). This week in history: October 21-27. wsws.org 25 years ago: Assassination of Gamini DissanayakeOn October 24, 1994, Gamini Dissanayake, United National Party (UNP) candidate for president of Sri Lanka, was assassinated at an election rally. An explosion detonated by a suicide bomber from the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) killed 50 others and injured 200 more.
(2019-10-21). Detailed Report on Israeli Human Rights Violations. globalresearch.ca Reposted from PCHRGaza (which publishes these detailed reports every single week): | Great March of Return in Eastern Gaza Strip: 78 civilians injured, including 31 children. | West Bank: 4 civilians injured, including a child in the West Bank | During 74 incursions …
(2019-10-21). Netanyahu Tells Israeli President He Gives up on Forming Gov't. telesurenglish.net Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Monday he was giving up his effort to form a new government after failing to secure a majority coalition in parliament following an inconclusive election in September. | Netanyahu, who heads the right-wing Likud party, said he was returning the mandate back to Israel's president, Reuven Rivlin after "working unceasingly … to establish a broad unity government". | Rivlin said he will now hold consultations with the various political parties to tell them he intends to task Netanyahu's centrist rival Benny Gantz with the job of putting together a new government…
(2019-10-21). Kings Bay Plowshares 7: Trial Begins for Liz McAlister & Others for Breaking Into Nuke Sub Base. democracynow.org 
Seven Catholic peace activists are going on trial in Georgia today for breaking into the Kings Bay Naval Submarine Base on April 4, 2018. The activists, who are known as the Kings Bay Plowshares 7, face up to 25 years in prison if convicted. The activists entered the base armed with just hammers, crime scene tape, baby bottles containing their own blood and an indictment charging the U.S. government with crimes against peace. Over the past four decades activists in the Plowshares movement have taken part in about 100 similar actions at nuclear arms facilities, beginning in 1980 at the General Electric nuclear mis…
(2019-10-21). Headlines for October 21, 2019. democracynow.org U.S. Troops Leaving Syria Headed for Iraq, Anti-Government Protests Sweep the Globe, Bolivia Presidential Election Appears to Head for a Runoff, Brother of Honduran President Found Guilty of Cocaine Trafficking, Trump Says G7 Will Not Be Held at His Private Golf Course, Hillary Clinton Accuses Jill Stein, Tulsi Gabbard of Being Linked to Russia, Landmark Trial over Opioid Epidemic in Cleveland, Ohio, Tornado Rages Through Dallas, Leaving 100,000 Without Power, Judge Temporarily Blocks Florida Law Limiting Voting by Ex-Felons…
(2019-10-21). Will Humans Band Together to Save Our Own Lives? truthout.org The far right is on a roll. Just a few years ago, liberals and conservatives would have considered its recent political victories a nightmare scenario. Right-wing extremists have won elections in the United States, Brazil, Hungary, India, and Poland. They pushed through the Brexit referendum in the United Kingdom. In the most recent European Parliament elections, far-right parties captured the most votes in France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and Hungary. | Sure, Trump is being impeached, Brexit is a mess, and the far rig…
(2019-10-21). Is War on the Ballot in the 2020 Elections? truthdig.com We complain that democracy is under assault from Donald Trump, but he's just a cog in a much larger worldwide machine that is tearing down democratic self-governance. Purely to enhance profits, the transnational corporate community literally works every day to more deeply intertwine our economic, social, and political systems with those of " business-friendly" authoritarian regimes…
(2019-10-21). "I'm Willing to Fight for Someone I Don't Know": Sanders Speech Becomes Viral Rallying Cry. commondreams.org "There is an America that most people believe in," said Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. "It is an ideal. It's not a reality yet." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/sanders_36.jpg …
(2019-10-21). 'Go Home America. After You Made Our Sons Die': Outraged Syrian Kurds Throw Dirt and Rotten Food at Fleeing US Troops. commondreams.org "To the U.S. Army who are leaving northeast Syria, tell your children that the children of the Kurds were killed by the Turks and you did nothing to protect them." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/syria_us_troops.jpg …
(2019-10-21). As Trump Tweets He Is 'Bringing Soldiers Home,' Pentagon Chief Says US Forces Leaving Syria Are Shifting to Iraq. commondreams.org "We simply cannot believe anything the Trump administration says—and neither can our allies." | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/headline/thumbs/donald_trump_syria.jpg …
(2019-10-21). Excuses, Excuses: Now Hillary Clinton's Attacking Her Own Party's Candidates. counterpunch.org 
"I'm not making any predictions, but I think [the Russians] have got their eye on somebody who is currently in the Democratic primary and are grooming her to be the third-party candidate," said Hillary Clinton on her former campaign manager's podcast. "They know they can't win without a third party candidate." Was Clinton referring to More
(2019-10-21). Trump Found a Different Way to Build His Wall. commondreams.org A woman walk past prototype sections of a border wall between Mexico and the United States under construction on October 5, 2017 in Tijuana, Mexico. (Photo: Sandy Huffaker/Getty Images) | www.commondreams.org/sites/default/files/styles/cd_special_coverage/public/views-article/thumbs/border_wall_prototype_0_0.png …
(2019-10-20). Greater Middle East Project of Chaos. dissidentvoice.org 
Destination Afghanistan was known as the big easy back in the halcyon days of the late 1960s. Hippies from throughout the affluent West hitchhiked to the capital, Kabul, where crash pads and hashish were cheap, and the locals were tolerant. Life appeared to be mellow in the scenic shadow of the Hindu Kush Himalayans. That …
(2019-10-20). Confronted by impeachment, Trump adds to the chaos. thecanary.co 
The impeachment investigation into President Donald Trump has thrust Washington into a political crisis. And Trump keeps adding to the chaos.In the four weeks since house speaker Nancy Pelosi launched the investigation, Trump has taken steps that have drawn more criticism, not less, repeatedly testing the loyalty of his stalwart Republican allies. His actions have both intensified the questions at the centre of the inquiry and opened new areas of concern.Trump angered GOP leaders and US allies by clearing the way for Turkish attacks on Syrian Kurdish fighters, key American partners in the fight against Daesh (Isi…
(2019-10-20). Donald Trump thanks Pentagon chief Mark 'Esperanto' for 'securing oil' in Syria, whatever that might mean. rt.com 
Donald Trump has fired off another typo-laden tweet, this time sharing a quote from his defense secretary, Mark "Esperanto." The US president also doubled down on his belief that the US has "secured" Syria's oil. | Trump wrote that the situation in Syria has stabilized, citing a statement from Defense Secretary Mark Esper in regards to the status of the fragile ceasefire between Turkish forces and Kurdish militias. | | The Tweeter in Chief, however, had difficulty spelling Esper's name. Another possibility: He fell victim to auto-correct. | As an added bonus, the message included another boast about how the…