The joint Syrian-Russian humanitarian operation to save civilians trapped in militant-held territories in Aleppo has struck a severe blow to US policy in the country, says former diplomat and Middle East expert Vyacheslav Matuzov.   [...]

Commenting on the recent developments in the Syrian conflict and the agreement between Russia and the US on the coordination of bombing missions in the country, many media sources now agree that Moscow has the upper hand in the conflict and its agreement with the US will grant it and its ally Iran the final victory. [...]

Italy may very well be joining the US anti-Daesh operation in Libya, having offered Washington the use of Sigonella air base in Sicily for USAF raids into the North African country. Sputnik spoke to Italian military journalist Mirko Molteni about why Italy has once again allowed itself to become involved in a NATO air war over Libya. [...]

Russia has invited NATO’s military experts to Moscow in September and offered a “positive program” for developing relations with the military alliance — but is reconciliation really what NATO is interested in? Russian Deputy Defense Minister Anatoly Antonov said the proposal was aimed at decreasing tensions and that Moscow was ready for a constructive approach, despite differences betwe [...]

The White House has released a redacted copy of the so-called drone strike “playbook”, which outlines US policies on unmanned aerial vehicles, just three years after President Obama promised to make the covert program more transparent. [...]

The leaders of Germany’s liberal Free Democrats and Austria’s far-right Freedom parties have both drawn parallels between the Turkish president’s post-coup crackdown and the abuse of power which allowed Adolf Hitler to exert Nazi rule. A failed military coup attempt to oust and potentially kill elected Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan resulted in a hard-line response, with the Turkish par [...]

Hillary will stop at nothing to claw her way into the White House. Unfortunately, people are dropping dead left and right in her path and, in the case of the last two found dead earlier this week, the mainstream media is pretending not to even notice they are gone...    Clinton Body Count +5 in Just 6 Weeks  Why President Hillary Clinton Would Be The End of America 2016, Exp [...]

Some anti-war Americans see hope in Donald Trump’s aversion to neocon interventionism but the peace mantras of campaigns often turn into war policies in office, observes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. A common observation about the role of foreign policy in the current presidential race is that Donald Trump’s candidacy is profiting from a lack of appetite among much of the electorate for co [...]

The 9/11 attacks opened a bloody chapter of American history, “justifying” U.S. attacks on multiple countries but not on the one most connected to the terrorism, U.S. “ally,” Saudi Arabia. Why is that, asks Lawrence Davidson. On Nov. 27, 2002, a bipartisan commission was established by Congress to investigate the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. [...]

Washington’s foreign policy mavens are thwarting President Obama’s moves to work with Russia to resolve the Syrian war and reduce other tensions, so the new Cold War can proceed under Hillary Clinton, says ex-British diplomat Alastair Crooke. “Yes, as we are all too aware, Hillary Clinton was officially anointed this week as the Democratic Party’s presidential nominee for the upcoming e [...]

A dark secret behind the Hiroshima bomb is where the uranium came from, a spy-vs.-spy race to secure naturally enriched uranium from Congo to fuel the Manhattan Project and keep the rare mineral out of Nazi hands, reports Joe Lauria. Since the first use of a nuclear weapon in Hiroshima 71 years ago, on Aug. 6, 1945, the story of where the uranium for the bomb came from and the covert operation [...]

Could Hillary lose? If she were running against a Republican whom the Party’s grandees and the capitalists behind them liked, someone like Mitt Romney, the answer would be Yes. After eight years of President Drone, the Republican would have a clear advantage. It wouldn’t even matter if that Republican were to pander, say, to the Ted Cruz element in the GOP base, the way that Romney pandered [...]

A grotesque power-fest at the Democratic Party Convention in Philadelphia left me feeling about Hillary Clinton the way P. G. Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster felt about his Aunt Agatha - “the one who chews broken bottles and kills rats with her teeth.” There is something disquieting and secretively lascivious about her open-mouthed cackle. She doesn’t so much laugh as lusts. [...]

A stress test conducted a few days ago by the European Banking Authority confirmed a poor condition of many credit institutions in Europe. Italian banks and Germany’s Deutsche Bank are doing the worst. In recent months, Deutsche Bank shares have lost 25% of their value, French bank Société 23% [...]

Russian political analyst Victor Sumsky has commented to Sputnik on the recent avoidance of the Southeast Asian Nations to make any direct reference to their territorial dispute with China over the South China Sea by saying that they have refused to 'commit suicide' despite US pressure and have 'demonstrated their wisdom.' [...]

For over two years, Ukrainian authorities have been making claims of a Russian invasion of eastern Ukraine involving thousands of regular troops. Now, a sensible voice in Ukraine's own parliament is asking authorities to provide evidence for the oft-repeated claims. [...]

Civil wars in Syria and Ukraine, the threat of ISIS, and now protests in Hong Kong. So far the UN has prevented a war from breaking out between super powers since the end of World War II, but recently the US has not gotten its way in the UNSC. By way of financial flows and sanctions, Western powers have ultimately started a world proxy war. CrossTalking with Rodney Shakespeare, Patrick Hennings [...]

After Austria suggested putting an end to EU membership talks with Turkey, Ankara hit back, labeling Vienna the “capital of radical racism.” The Austrian foreign minister suggested Turkey should moderate its wording and “do its homework.”   [...]

Britain will have to pay the European Union a hefty sum if it is to follow through with Brexit, with claims that an estimated €25 billion is owed to the bloc in unpaid bills. An outstanding total of €200 billion (£170 billion, $221 billion) has been shifted around by the EU for years, under what Brussels’ mandarins call the “reste à liquider.” [...]

Nicolas Dupont-Aignan, well-known Gaullist and leader of the France Arise party, believes that his country's leaders are losing the war against radical Islamic terrorism. Worse yet, he says, France is losing because it is being led on a string like a puppet to the interests of Brussels, Berlin and Washington. In a cutting op-ed, published by Le Figaro, Dupont-Aignan warned that unfortunately, t [...]

Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has called on the Western mainstream media to refrain from double standards in reporting on the Syrian conflict and cover the crimes committed by the US-backed groups in the country, while former US diplomat explains why the American people know nothing about such atrocities. [...]

The internal struggle between America's party of war, represented by "supreme hawk" Hillary Clinton, and its opponents is going on in Washington. The US "party of peace" is seeking a détente with Russia to de-escalate tensions and resolve regional crises. Western mainstream media sources remain mute about the danger posed by the West's new Cold War against Russia, Professor Stephen F. Cohen hi [...]