President Trump on the time he almost purchased the Buffalo Bills: "The owner who got it is a very good man. I think he's done a great job. Well, he made a great pick. He picked a great quarterback, right — Josh." pic.twitter.com/meaSnH5aDp
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited. by Victor Vasiliev
The GUR is training one set of terrorists for the same reason Russia is training a different set of terrorists: to be cannon fodder so their own people can do more productive things. And Russia is talking loudly about the GUR mote so people won’t notice the Russian log.
[REGNUM] In recent months, the flow of news from the African region of Sahel, directly concerning Russia and the Russian presence on the continent, continues to grow. And often it brings only negative things for us.
The current surge of attention to the region began with the events of July 27 in Mali, when dozens of Malian FAMA soldiers and Wagner fighters were ambushed and killed during the battle for Tinzauten. This was a heavy military and reputational loss. This was followed by a statement by the Main Intelligence Directorate (GUR) of Ukraine about helping the Tuaregs in this attack. The reaction of a number of African countries was harsh, including breaking off diplomatic relations with Ukraine.
Among the latest sharp statements, it is worth noting the speech of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Mali Abdoulaye Diop at the "Summit of the Future" within the framework of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly. In his statement, the minister emphasized that the UN Security Council must "take responsibility" and respond to the "conscious choice" of Kiev.
"The Confederation of Sahel States, led by Mali, strongly condemns the Ukrainian government's open support for international terrorism, especially in the Sahel," he said.
At the same time, leading French media do not hesitate to provide support and express sympathy for the separatists, and also directly testify to the connections of Tuareg separatists with Ukraine.
DIFFERENT COUNTRIES, COMMON PROBLEMS
Before attempting to analyze the current flow of events and make a forecast for the prospects for their development, it is necessary to make several reservations.
Firstly, if we discuss current processes even strictly in the context of security issues, we will have to go far beyond the Sahel region states. Burkina Faso, Mauritania, Mali, Niger and Chad are usually considered to be part of this region. But de facto, this is already an interregional story.
According to the geographical, geo-economic and even, if you like, geopolitical division, these countries belong to different subregions of Africa - Western, Central and Northern. However, common problems of a trans-border nature, connected primarily with separatism and Islamic radicalism, unite these countries into one region.
These problems are caused, among other things, by differences in landscapes and differences in the way of life of the ethnic groups inhabiting the countries.
Along the perimeter of this entire region, with completely different political, geographical and historical initial data, almost all neighboring countries are forced to come into contact with the same problems to one degree or another. From Morocco, Algeria, Libya to Sudan, South Sudan, DR Congo, CAR, Nigeria, Cameroon, Togo, Benin, Ghana, Guinea and others. Perhaps with the exception of Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
Secondly, it is necessary to recognize and record the global nature of the confrontation with Ukraine. This instrument, if it remains in the hands of Western opponents, will always be used against Russia.
Today, the Kiev regime has fully expressed solidarity with the Tuaregs from the unrecognized entity of "Azawad." Tomorrow, it could be the separatist "March 23 Movement" in the east of the Republic of Congo. Yesterday and the day before, it was expressed in support for the Ichkerian separatist terrorists who suffered a complete defeat in Russia in the 2000s.
The confrontation in the modern world has acquired a global character, and Kyiv, as the stakes are rising, has received funds to implement a variety of "wants" in Africa - if only to spite Russia. This includes the supply of weapons to African actors under criminal and gray schemes, and the opening of a whole network of new embassies in African countries, and the training of Tuareg separatists in military technologies using UAVs.
Thirdly, it is impossible not to acknowledge that behind all current global events there is a very public and very precise planning of destructive processes on the part of the main player in the West African region – the USA.
NEW US STRATEGY
All the problems of the recently formed "Confederation of Sahel States" have been predicted in one way or another, and in some places even artificially constructed by the United States. It does not matter whether it is by the hands of Ukraine or terrorist organizations such as the "Group for the Support of Islam and Muslims (JNIM)" and others.
Back in January, The Wall Street Journal published a very remarkable article acknowledging the problems and tactical defeat of the United States in the Sahel and simultaneously outlining the contours of a new strategy in West Africa.
If we are to believe the publication of a publication known for its inside information from Western intelligence agencies, the world's first army, whose technological power allowed it to literally wipe out more than one of the strongest regional powers, is retreating before the threat of African jihadists in slippers.
Yes, the growth of Islamist sentiments in Africa is a real fact, and it is fueled by objective problems - an explosive growth in the birth rate, underdeveloped infrastructure, the raw materials nature of the economy, etc. But for the States to simply admit their impotence in the face of several thousand poorly trained natives - sounds ridiculous.
In reality, the US withdrawal from the Sahel is, of course, due to the miscalculations of American analysts, who placed their bets on Niger's army special forces and failed to notice the growing role and popularity of Russia in the region, as well as pan-African ideas in general.
Last July, a coup took place in Niamey, and French and American troops were expelled from the country. The foreign policy of the new military government of General Abdourahmane Chiani is firmly oriented towards Russia. This was a grave disappointment to the Americans in their own abilities in Africa.
"Niger has been the linchpin of this approach. The U.S. has built a $110 million base in Agadez and stationed about 1,100 troops in the country," The Wall Street Journal writes.
The ultra-modern base in Agadez has effectively been closed down, and aid to the Niger military has been stopped. Among the new potential allies (and military bases as a consequence) are Benin, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. In Benin and Côte d'Ivoire, American air bases for UAVs have already been launched, and instructors are present. In Ghana, a similar base has been operating for a long time.
The new strategy is military cooperation and the deployment of bases in several coastal countries of West Africa at once. In this way, the US blocks the growth of influence of Russia and other competitors in the region. No access to the sea - no logistics, no logistics - no influence.
Those same jihadists, before whom the American military suddenly retreated, have indeed gained great strength over the past six months. Including through mastering modern methods of armed confrontation using UAVs, which they learned with the help of Ukrainian military specialists.
Sahel is left alone with its problems and with Russia. The Confederation of Sahel States, which is now the focus of attention of all African countries, and especially neighboring Chad, is first and foremost a pro-Russian geopolitical project in Africa.
And any military failure or defeat of the Confederation countries is automatically projected onto Russia and all Russian projects on the continent.
WAR WITH THE TUAREGS
The main role in destabilizing the situation in retaliation against Russia and the Confederation allied with Moscow is assigned to the Tuaregs. The main blow is aimed at Mali, since it is a kind of key to the entire region. Bamako is behind the formation of the Confederation of Sahel States, and the very possibility of its emergence. As well as behind the manifestation of pan-African and pro-Russian political forces and their rise to power. The leader of Mali, Colonel Assimi Goita, is the president of the Confederation of Sahel and sets the tone in the unification processes of the three states.
The main problem of the state of Mali since gaining independence is the separatism of the peoples inhabiting the north-east of the country - up to 40% of its territory. First of all, we are talking about the Tuaregs. Today they are sufficiently organized in the ideological, military and political sense to be a full-fledged alternative to the current authorities.
Their unrecognized state formation of Azawad itself was made possible by direct political and military support from Paris and Algeria since 2014. Therefore, there is nothing unexpected in the appearance of Tuareg leaders in the leading media of France.
For example, just recently, Attaye Ag Mohamed, who is responsible for external relations of the key Tuareg separatist organization, the Strategic Composition for the Defense of the People of Azawad (CSP-DPA), confirmed on France24 that he has ties with Ukraine.
"The connection was established recently and continues <…> We communicate with various Ukrainian departments and discuss not only issues of data exchange," he said. The Tuareg avoided the question of whether Kiev trains Azawad representatives to handle drones, saying that he " cannot provide details of relations with Ukraine."
The newspaper "Le Monde" was even more frank, citing its own sources in the Tuareg community. Since this summer, separatist fighters from the CSP-DPA group in Mali have been actively using UAVs to attack the regular army and the Russian armed contingent in the country.
Kyiv supplies the terrorists with drones, and a number of CSP-DPA members have been trained in Ukraine. This fact, which they tried to keep secret until recently, has now become a subject of their bragging.
Footage of drone attacks on military bases in northern Mali has been widely shared on social media, with supporters of the CSP-DPA praising the idea that the rebels finally have the capability to carry out airstrikes that could change the balance of power.
The first widespread use of CSP-DPA drones was recorded during the July battles for Tinsauten, a town in northern Mali, near the border with Algeria. In the same area, separatists, together with jihadists from JNIM (former Al Qaeda in West Africa*), carried out a brutal ambush on a convoy of Malian armed forces (FAMA), which was accompanied by Wagner fighters.
According to Le Monde, cooperation between Ukrainian special services and terrorist groups began in early 2024. The publication's sources confirm that at the beginning of the year, several CSP members traveled to Ukraine via Mauritania and Moldova to undergo training in the production and operation of drones.
And in March, Ukrainian instructors went to Mali to continue training militants on the ground, and are still there.
GOOD, BAD, UKRAINIANS
The French carefully constructed strategy of dividing the radicals into “good” separatists and “bad” jihadists is failing: it is quite difficult to distinguish one from the other. Yesterday’s enemies are now acting in concert. The coordination between separatist and jihadist groups is not hidden by anyone. Moreover, some of yesterday’s Tuareg leaders are now becoming jihadists.
Numerous jihadist attacks along the entire perimeter of the Sahel Confederation border add to the problem of separatism in northeastern Mali. Of particular note is the August attack on the airport and the gendarme school in Bamako. It occurred on the anniversary of the formation of the "Sahel Alliance", and dozens of cadets were killed.
Today, Tuareg leaders are fighting with weapons in hand against the legitimate authorities and do not deny their allied ties with the most odious jihadist organization in the region — JNIM. And in these conditions, their support by leading French media is in fact self-exposure. The picture is completed by the involvement of the Kyiv regime in supporting the "good" Tuaregs.
There is not even a step left, but only half a step, before the French admit their support for terrorism in Africa. And that means their entire strategy in the region since 2014 is a total lie to justify their own military and political presence.
France, with its extremely negative reputation in the Sahel, has no chance anymore. Many people understand this even in the “metropolis” itself – from the ultra-left to the ultra-right. With the exception of Emmanuel Macron.
It is obvious that France's goal today is to at least "annoy" the leaders of the Confederation of Sahel States, who dared to leave Paris's guardianship. There is no longer any talk of any positive agenda or prospects. And behind the facade of Paris' dirty and emotional game, Washington is the one who is getting the real profit, implementing a new strategy.
France, with its political and military provocations, will sooner or later leave the region, but the problems for the Confederation will not go away: the global interests of the United States on the Black Continent have not been cancelled.
The main question is whether Moscow will be able not only to ensure security in the region, but also to provide a project for positive economic and political development for the countries of the Confederation.
If so, Russia remains in the pool of such leading states as the US, China, India, Great Britain and France. If not, we will at least have to forget about many of our ambitions in Black Africa, and therefore abandon the long-term strategy of asymmetric responses to our Western opponents.
You think the bankers are up to no good? No band of scoundrels has brought more chaos and grief to the life of this republic than the claque that gathers darkly under the banner of “Lawfare.” Its public face is Lawfaremedia.org, run by Benjamin Wittes, a Brookings senior fellow, but that gang functions only to lend a false-front of decorum to the operations of its Democratic Party activist lawyer-army led by Field Marshal Marc Elias, architect of the ballot fraud that has caused Americans to lose faith in their elections.
Marc Elias was the original expeditor of the RussiaGate hoax in 2016 from his perch at Perkins Coie, then Hillary Clinton’s campaign law firm, which laundered payments to Christopher Steele, front-man for Glenn Simpson’s Fusion GPS political PR shop, which concocted the fraudulent “dossier” and set in motion a train of DC intel blob legal shenanigans aimed at defenestrating Donald Trump from the White House — the Mueller Investigation, impeachment, etc.
While all that was going on through the Trump term, and with the Covid-19 Op providing cover, Mr. Elias engineered the 2020 changes in many states’ election laws and bylaws to permit large-scale mail-in voting, organized ballot-harvesting activities, and introduce the use of drop-boxes for receiving bundled votes. He and his George Soros-financed staff lawyers sued states that attempted to require voter-identification, and provided legal protection for Mark Zuckerberg’s $419-million-dollar assault on election precinct staffing in swing states. When the 2020 election concluded suspiciously, Mr. Elias and his gang joined lawsuits in every case where the balloting was contested and got more than sixty of them dismissed on the basis of “standing,” without the merits of the cases being heard. This is Lawfare.
This time around, 2024, Mr. Elias has done everything possible to ensure that millions of illegal aliens stuffed into swing states will have their putative identities attached to harvested mail-in ballots from addresses such as Walmart parking lots and storage units, and has filed lawsuits wherever a state threatens to require proof of citizenship for voting. He has also filed sixty peremptory lawsuits to obstruct attempts to audit any election count after November 5 — as if it is an affront to democracy to even ask questions about official misconduct.
A parallel Lawfare scam underway is the Democratic Party-sponsored 65 Project that seeks to disbar Trump-adjacent lawyers who attempt to challenge any voting irregularities in this year’s election. Its mission statement reads:
The 65 Project is a bipartisan effort to protect democracy from these once-and-future abuses by holding accountable Big Lie Lawyers who bring fraudulent and malicious lawsuits to overturn legitimate election results, and by working with bar associations to deter future abuses by establishing clear standards for conduct that punish lies about the conduct or results of elections.
[IsraelTimes] Sunday attack that killed 4 soldiers shines a light on IDF’s struggle over the past year of war to knock down unmanned aircraft coming from as far away as Yemen, Iraq and Iran.
One of the worst mass casualty strikes on Israel in a year of war came not from dozens of Iranian ballistic missiles nor the repeated barrages of rocket fire launched by Hamas ..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,... and Hezbollah. Instead, it was a single drone.
The unmanned aerial vehicle, laden with explosives, evaded Israel’s multilayered air-defense system and slammed into a mess hall at a military training camp deep inside Israel, killing four soldiers and wounding dozens.
It is the latest achievement for Hezbollah’s drone fleet and has shined a light on Israel’s struggle over the past year of war to knock down unmanned aircraft coming from as far away as Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... , Iraq and Iran.
The terrorist organization has launched roughly 1,500 surveillance and attack drones since it began striking Israel in October 2023, according to the group’s count.
Over the years, Israel has built up its aerial defense array to provide broad protection against short-range rocket fire and medium- and long-range missiles, although experts caution that it is not airtight. While the system has taken down drones repeatedly, many have penetrated Israel’s airspace and sidestepped its defenses, in some cases with deadly results.
THE DRONE TRAVERSED ISRAELI AIRSPACE UNIMPEDED
On Sunday evening, reports emerged of a mass casualty event about 65 kilometers (40 miles) from the Lebanese border. A drone had slammed into a mess hall filled with troops eating dinner, according to Israeli media, killing four soldiers and wounding 67 people.
Minutes earlier, air raid sirens had blared in northern Israel as the aircraft flew overhead. But no sirens sounded at the base, giving the soldiers no advance warning and indicating that the drone may have fallen off Israel’s radar.
An Israeli security official said Israel was still investigating how the drone made it through Israel’s air defenses. A pair of drones initially entered Israeli airspace, but while one was shot down, the other one continued to its target.
Hezbollah said the drone was "able to penetrate the Israeli air defense radars without being detected" and reach its target. It claimed it had outsmarted Israel’s air defenses by simultaneously launching dozens of missiles and "squadrons" of drones simultaneously.
It was the second deadly dronezap in just two weeks. Earlier this month, a drone launched from Iraq killed two Israeli soldiers and maimed roughly two dozen. On Friday, during Yom Kippur, a Hezbollah drone slammed into a retirement home in central Israel, causing damage.
"We already have six dead in the past 10 days from drones. That’s too much," said Ran Kochav, a former head of the military’s aerial defense command.
Drones, he said, "have become a real threat."
DRONES ARE HARDER TO DETECT AND TRACK THAN ROCKETS OR MISSILES
Drones, or UAVs, are unmanned aircraft that can be operated from afar. Drones can enter, surveil and attack enemy territory more discreetly than missiles and rockets. Israel has a formidable arsenal of drones, capable of carrying out spy missions and attacks. It has developed a drone capable of reaching archenemy Iran, some 1,500 kilometers (1,000 miles) away.
But Israel’s enemies have caught Israel off-guard on a number of occasions over the past year, often with deadly consequences. In July, a drone launched from Yemen traveled some 270 kilometers (160 miles) over Israel’s southern tip, all the way to Tel Aviv, slamming into a downtown building and killing one person without it having been intercepted.
An Israeli security official said drones are harder to detect for a number of reasons: They fly slowly and often include plastic components, having a weaker thermal footprint with radar systems than powerful rockets and missiles. The trajectory is also harder to track. Drones can have roundabout flight paths, can come from any direction, fly lower to the ground and — because they are much smaller than rockets — can be mistaken for birds.
The official spoke on condition of anonymity because the investigation into the mess hall strike was still underway.
Kochav said that Israel spent years focusing on strengthening its air defense systems to improve protection against rockets and missiles. But drones were not seen as a top priority. During the current fighting, that has meant Israel’s ability to detect and intercept drones is not as successful as its capabilities in the face of rockets and missiles, Kochav said.
HEZBOLLAH’S DRONE PROGRAM RECEIVES SUPPORT FROM IRAN
Hezbollah began using Iranian-made drones after Israel withdrew from southern Leb ...an Iranian satrapy until recently ruled by Hassan Nasrallah situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozen flavors of Christians, plus Armenians, Georgians, and who knows what else? It is the home of the original Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers... in 2000 and sent the first reconnaissance Mirsad drone over Israel’s airspace in 2004. Hezbollah’s drone program still receives substantial assistance from Iran, and the UAVs are believed to be assembled by experts of the terrorist group in Lebanon.
Drones have become an "Iranian-inspired, strategic system" for Hezbollah, according to Tal Beeri, the director of research for The Alma Research and Education Center, a think tank that studies Hezbollah and Israel’s north. The terrorist organization has launched roughly 1,500 surveillance and attack drones since it began striking Israel in October 2023, according to the group’s count.
The attack drones, which Beeri said often hit civilian targets, have a payload of 10 kilograms (22 pounds) of explosives and can fly hundreds of kilometers (miles). He said Hezbollah used a drone that was able to fire an anti-tank missile for the first and only time in May and that it may possess more.
Hezbollah has also used drones to erode Israel’s air-defense capabilities by slamming them into the very batteries and infrastructure meant to take them down. Earlier this year, Hezbollah used an explosive drone to damage Israel’s Sky Dew observation balloon, a component of its aerial defense.
ISRAEL SAYS IT IS WORKING TO TACKLE THE THREAT
On Monday, during a visit to the training camp hit by the drone, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant pledged to learn from the strike and said Israel was "concentrating significant efforts in developing solutions" to tackle the drone threat, without elaborating.
Kochav said there were ways to combat the drones that could be considered. Detection capabilities could be expanded to include acoustic radars to pick up on the sound of the drones’ engine or electro-optics, which could allow Israeli surveillance to better identify them. He said rockets, fighter jets and helicopters could be deployed for interception, and that electronic warfare could be used to overtake the drones and divert them.
"We were busy in recent years... and unmanned (aerial vehicles) [were] not a top priority," he said. "The results unfortunately are not good."
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
