US shakes up Yemen policy, but long road to peace
By AFP - Feb 07,2021 - Last updated at Feb 07,2021
Supporters of Yemen’s Houthi movement gesture as they chant slogans during a demonstration against the outgoing US administration’s decision to designate the Iran-backed rebels as terrorists, in the capital Sanaa on January 20 (AFP photo)
RIYADH President Joe Biden has shaken up US policy on Yemen by ending support for Saudi-led offensive operations and de-listing the Huthi rebels as a terrorist group, but a swift end to the six-year conflict is highly unlikely.
Biden’s decisions last week mark a reversal of policies by his predecessor Donald Trump, a staunch backer of Saudi Arabia and a fierce opponent of rebel supporter Iran.
Extremists in the military and how to define and identify them a challenge for commanders By Sig Christenson, Staff writer
The National Guard’s deployment of thousands of troops to protect the inauguration of a new president was prompted by the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol by right-wing radicals. But its removal of 12 of its own soldiers from that duty underscored a rising concern: how far has radicalization permeated the armed forces?
None of the guardsmen had ties to extremists, but two of them made “inappropriate” comments and texts, the National Guard Bureau said.
It was enough to chill those already worried about domestic terrorism. The armed forces have rules to weed out extremism in the ranks. The question now is whether commanders will be paying closer attention, some observers said.
Editor s Сhoice
NY Times’ Pseudo-Expert Accusing China of Genocide Worked for Far-Right Cult Falun Gong’s Publicity Arm
The New York Times recycled flimsy claims by a right-wing apocalyptic extremist to accuse China of “genocide,” in an op-ed by an American with 1/8th Uighur heritage who worked for Epoch Times, a far-right, pro-Trump outlet backed by cult Falun Gong.
By Ben NORTON
The New York Times published a factually challenged op-ed accusing China of committing “genocide” against its Uighur minority. The article sourced its spurious accusations to a right-wing operative who insists his research is part of a divine “mission” against Beijing that is “led by God.”
Friday, 5 February, 2021 - 09:15
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu speaks during a news conference for foreign media correspondents in Istanbul, Turkey, August 21, 2019. (Reuters) Washington, Ankara – Elie Youssef and Asharq Al-Awsat
Turkey’s relations with the new US administration were off to a “bad” start after Ankara accused Washington of being behind the failed coup attempt in 2016. This comes in the wake of a report by the US Treasury Department issued last month accusing Turkey of being a hub for raising funds for ISIS.
Turkish Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said on Thursday that Washington was behind the coup that Ankara has blamed on preacher Fethullah Gulen. Soylu told Turkish Hurriyet newspaper that the US had orchestrated the coup attempt while Gulen’s network carried it out.
Iran diplomat given 20 years for Paris bomb plot
AFP
5th February, 2021 10:55:26
A Belgian court jailed an Iranian diplomat for 20 years on Thursday after convicting him of plotting the thwarted 2018 bombing of an opposition rally outside Paris.
The trial was conducted under tight security in the Belgian port of Antwerp and has further poisoned already tense relations between Tehran and European capitals.
The terrorism conviction was also claimed as a victory by cheering onlookers from the exiled National Council of Resistance in Iran (NCRI), the opposition group that was targeted for attack.
Assadollah Assadi, now 49, was attached to the Iranian mission in Austria when he supplied explosives for an attack that was planned for a June 30, 2018 NCRI rally in France.