Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

U.S. Troop Buildup in Jordan After Turkey Shuts U.S. - NATO Arms Corridor to Syrian Rebels
Jun 22nd, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The US decision to upgrade Syrian rebel weaponry has run into a major setback: debkafile reveals that Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan phoned President Barack Obama in Berlin Wednesday, June 19, to report his sudden decision to shut down the Turkish corridor for the transfer of US and NATO arms to the Syrian rebels.
Against this background, the US President informed Congress Friday, June 22, that 700 combat-equipped American military personnel would remain in Jordan at the end of a joint US-Jordanian training exercise. They would include crews of two Patriot anti-aircraft missile batteries and the logistics, command and communications personnel needed to support those units. The United States is also leaving behind from the war maneuver a squadron of 12 to 24 F-16 fighter jets at Jordan’s request. Some 300 US troops have been in Jordan since last year.
Erdogan’s decision will leave the Syrian rebels fighting in Aleppo virtually high and dry. The fall of Qusayr cut off their supplies of arms from Lebanon. Deliveries through Jordan reach only as far as southern Syria and are almost impossible to move to the north where the rebels and the Hizballah-backed Syrian army are locked in a decisive battle for Aleppo.
The Turkish prime minister told Obama he is afraid of Russian retribution if he continues to let US and NATO weapons through to the Syrian rebels.
Since the G8 Summit in Northern Ireland last week, Moscow has issued almost daily condemnations of the West for arming “terrorists.”

Rebel spokesmen in Aleppo claimed Friday that they now had weapons which they believe “will change the course of the battle on the ground.”

debkafile’s military sources are strongly skeptical of their ability - even after the new deliveries - to stand up to the onslaught on their positions in the embattled town by the combined strength of the Syrian army, Hizballah troops and armed Iraqi Shiites. The prevailing intelligence assessment is that they will be crushed in Aleppo as they were in Al Qusayr.
That battle was lost after 16 days of ferocious combat; Aleppo is expected to fall after 40-60 days of great bloodshed.

The arms the rebels received from US, NATO and European sources were purchased on international markets – not only because they were relatively cheap but because they were mostly of Russian manufacture. The rebels are thus equipped with Russian weapons for fighting the Russian arms used by the Syria army. This made Moscow angrier than ever.

Until now, the Erdogan government was fully supportive of the Syrian opposition, permitting them to establish vital command centers and rear bases on Turkish soil and send supplies across the border to fighting units. He has now pulled the rug out from under their cause and given Assad a major leg-up  

This about-turn is a strategic earthquake – not just in terms of the Syrian war but also for the United States and, as time goes by, for Israel too.

Ten years ago, Erdogan pulled the same maneuver when he denied US troops passage through Turkey to Iraq for opening a second front against Saddam Hussein.
President Obama reacted by topping up the US deployment in Jordan by 700 combat-equipped troops to 1,000. Patriot missile interceptors and F-16 fighter jets are left behind from their joint war game for as long as the security situation requires. debkafile: The joint US-Jordanian maneuver was in fact abruptly curtailed after two weeks although it was planned to continue for two months until the end of August.

The widening disruptions of the surging Syrian war are on the point of tipping over into Jordan and coming closer than ever to Israel.

Let the Headlines Speak
Jun 22nd, 2013
Daily NewsFrom the Internet
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

US military presence in Jordan expands to 1,000 troops
The US military has expanded its presence in Jordan to 1,000 troops, officials said Friday, in a show of force amid a raging civil war in neighboring Syria. "The total comes to about 1,000," up from about 250 personnel that have been in place for months, a US defense official told AFP on condition of anonymity.  

Corker Amendment Permanently Offers Citizenship to Those Overstaying Their Visas
Just as public anxiety about the weak border security provisions in the Senate immigration bill was building, GOP Sen. Bob Corker stepped forward with an amendment to "fix" the problem. ... Breitbart News has learned exclusively that one provision of Corker's amendment will allow workers who stay in the country past their visa will remain on the "path to citizenship."  

Mass rally in Egypt for President Mohammed Morsi
Thousands of people have staged rallies after Friday prayers in Egypt, in a show of support for President Mohammed Morsi. Crowds chanted their allegiance, pre-empting demonstrations planned by those who want to oust Mr Morsi. Secular groups say they have gathered 13 million signatures on a petition calling for the Islamist president to step down.  

India floods: Rescue efforts intensify, as death toll rises
Efforts have intensified in northern India to rescue tens of thousands of people trapped by flash floods that have already killed nearly 600 people. The army is evacuating survivors in mountainous Uttarakhand state by helicopter and special trains are carrying people from affected areas. More than 40,000 people are still stranded in what the government has described as a "national crisis".  

'Bigger and brighter supermoon' to light up night sky
The night sky is set to be illuminated later by what will appear to be a much bigger and brighter Moon. The so-called "supermoon" occurs when the Moon reaches its closest point to earth, known as a perigee full moon. The effect is to make the Moon seem 30% bigger and 14% brighter than when it is furthest from the planet.  

Obama names James Comey to lead FBI
US President Barack Obama has nominated a former justice department official under President George W Bush as the next FBI director. If confirmed by the Senate, James Comey will replace outgoing director Robert Mueller III, serving for 10 years. At the White House, Mr Obama praised Mr Comey as a model of "fierce independence and deep integrity".  

Canada floods: Three killed as waters threaten Calgary
At least three people have been killed and more than a 100,000 forced to flee their homes as floods triggered by torrential rain hit western Canada. Officials have ordered the evacuation of the centre of Calgary, Alberta, after both rivers that flow through it, the Bow and Elbow, overflowed. The floods have washed away roads and bridges, cut-off electricity and submerged hundreds of homes.  

Putin warns on arming Syrian rebels as conflict widens
Russian President Vladimir Putin cautioned the West on Friday against arming Syrian rebel forces, which he said included "terrorist" groups, and warned that a swift exit by President Bashar al-Assad risked creating a dangerous power vacuum.  

Singapore haze hits record high from Indonesia fires
Pollution levels soared for a third day in a row in Singapore, as smoky haze from fires in Indonesia shrouded the city state. The Pollutant Standards Index (PSI) hit 401 at 12:00 on Friday (04:00 GMT) - the highest in Singapore's history. The index also reached 400 in one part of Indonesia, which is readying helicopters and cloud-seeding equipment in an effort to tackle the fires.  

NSA leaks: US charges Edward Snowden with spying
The US justice department has filed criminal charges against a fugitive ex-intelligence analyst who leaked details of a secret surveillance operation. The charges against ex-National Security Agency (NSA) analyst Edward Snowden include espionage and theft of government property.  

CIA secretly providing training for Syrian rebels: report
The CIA and US special operations forces have been training Syrian rebels for months, since long before President Barack Obama announced plans to arm the opposition, the Los Angeles Times reported Friday.  

‘Palestinian PM withdraws resignation a day after quitting’
Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Rami Hamdallah on Friday withdrew his resignation, which he tendered to President Mahmoud Abbas just a day earlier, Ma’an News Agency reported.  

Europe Unable to Break Impasse on Who Pays When Banks Fail
Europe failed to agree on how to share the cost of bank collapses on Saturday, as Germany resisted attempts by France to water down rules designed to spare taxpayers in future crises.  

Soldiers work to rescue flood survivors in India
Soldiers were working to evacuate tens of thousands of people still stranded Saturday in northern India where nearly 600 people have been killed in monsoon flooding and landslides.

Foreign Ministers of 11 - Nation “syrian Friends” Convene in Doha
Jun 22nd, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The meeting Saturday headed by Secretary of State John Kerry is discussing how to organize the delivery of military and other aid to the Syrian rebels – but most importantly to find ways to unify the opposition coalition leadership so that it can take its seat at a future Geneva-2 conference for a political solution of the Syrian conflict. DEBKAfile: The chances of this conference getting underway keep on receding given the differences between Moscow and Washington.

A 400 - Strong Group of U.S. Soldiers Ready to Deploy in Sinai
Jun 22nd, 2013
Daily Newsdebkafile
Categories: Today's Headlines;Contemporary Issues

The 400 US soldiers have finished training in Texas for their 9-month peacekeeping mission as part of the 13-nation Multinational Observer peacekeeping force originally posted in Sinai to monitor the 1979 Egyptian-Israeli peace accord. Their new mission is to man posts and security checkpoints in the Sinai Peninsula in support of the Egyptian army, in accordance with the secret agreements the US, Israel, Turkey, Qatar and Egypt concluded for ending Israel’s Defense Cloud Operation last year.  Their departure date has not yet been set.