By Capt (Ret) C de Waart, feel free to share: in Confidence

Al-Qaida chief Ayman al-Zawahiri The Coordinator 2015 Part 19-122-Caliphate-al-Zawahiri-10-9-Russia

Saudi Arabia puts big money in Russian economy By M.K. Bhadrakumar on July 7, 2015 The Russian news agency Sputnik has reported on an agreement signed between the Russian Direct Investment Fund [RDIF] and the Public Investment Fund of Saudi Arabia “to create a partnership to invest $10 billion into projects implemented in Russia.” The report said the Saudi funds will be invested within 4-5 years starting from this year and that seven concrete projects are “currently in the final stage”. The majority of Saudi investment will be made on Russia’s agricultural projects, as well as on medicine, logistics and the retail and real estate sectors.

Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with Russian President Vladimir Putin at the Konstantin Palace outside St. Petersburg, Russia, in June this yearThis may be seen as a follow-up to the visit by the Saudi Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman to Russia last month, who played an “immense” role of support in sealing the deal, according to a senior Russian official.An interesting feature of the deal is that the Saudi investment vehicle will combine with other Asian sovereign wealth funds, especially the Russia-China investment Fund (which is backed by the China Investment Corporation.) Meanwhile, the RDIF disclosed that it also signed an agreement with another Saudi Arabian sovereign-wealth fund, the Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority, to undertake projects in Saudi Arabia and other Middle East countries.The Saudis are notorious for the glacial pace of their decision-making, but in this case, Mohammed bin Salman’s direct interest speeded up things. The deal committing the Saudi sovereign funds to invest such big amounts in Russia has been signed just as the Iran nuclear deal could be sailing into view in a couple of days.Again, there are indications that Moscow and Riyadh are working on an early visit by King Salman to Russia. It is tempting to interpret the trends as constituting a strategic defiance of the US by the Saudis. After all, the Saudis are making up to a large extent for the western banking sanctions against Russia. But a more constructive interpretation is warranted: the Saudis probably hope to make the Russians “stakeholders” in a broader “win-win” relationship that also buttresses their core interests in Syria, Yemen and elsewhere in the region. To be sure, the Saudi-Russian investment deals cannot but be seen as a powerful signal that the Saudi-Russian rapprochement is rapidly acquiring a momentum that has the potential to reset the power dynamic in the Middle East.One key area to be watched is Syria where Moscow and Riyadh come under pressure to harmonize their respective approaches. Syria was one of the main topics of discussion when Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov met his Iranian counterpart Mohammad Javad Zarif in Vienna last week on the sidelines of the talks between Iran and the world powers on the nuclear issue. Lavrov’s meeting with Zarif followed immediately after the Russian minister’s discussions with the US secretary of state John Kerry in Vienna relating to Syria.The Russian foreign ministry cited Lavrov as stressing to Kerry that “there is no alternative to a political settlement, the path to which lies in consolidated efforts by Syrian patriotic forces

Cees: Intel to Rent Page 1 of 7 02/05/2023

By Capt (Ret) C de Waart, feel free to share: in Confidence

and the world community to combat terrorist groups that are tormenting the country and posing a serious threat to regional and international community.” Lavrov’s usage of the phrase “consolidated efforts by Syrian patriotic forces” gives food for thought. The phrase is sufficiently broad to include the Syrian government forces. But then, Lavrov could as well have mentioned the Syrian government led by President Bashar Al-Assad and “other patriotic forces”. During a visit to the Pentagon on Monday, President Barack Obama also called for the Syrian people to unite against the Islamic State, and flagged the need to begin the “political transition to a new government without Bashar al-Assad, a government that serves all Syrians.”For sure, the signs are that an end game could be beginning. The core issue is that neither Russia nor Iran (or Saudi Arabia) has a road map for post-war Syria. But Russia has now come to occupy the middle ground, which enables it to engage with both Iran and Saudi Arabia in a constructive spirit. It is entirely conceivable that there is a back-to-back Russian-American understanding shaping up in this regard. Clearly, Obama’s focus at the Pentagon yesterday was almost exclusively on fighting the Islamic State (without committing any additional US forces) and he touched on Syria only peripherally.

Russia’s new T-50 fighter jet ‘almost a flying robot’ – developerMay 27, 2015 06:11

RIA Novosti / Grigory Sisoev Innovative technologies used in the Russia’s fifth generation T-50 fighter jet, which is currently undergoing tests before the start of production in 2016, makes it more of a flying robot than a plane, the developer said.The Sukhoi PAK FA fighter jet, also known as T-50, is “already to some degree a flying robot, where the aviator fulfils the function not only of pilot, but is

actually one of the constituent parts of the flying apparatus. That is, the reaction of the aviator is a part of the control loop,” Vladimir Mikheev, an advisor to the deputy head of the Radioelectronic Technologies Concern [KRET], said. According to Mikheev, another innovative featured employed in the T-50 jet fighter is “smart paneling.” "If we take the wingtip, from one perspective it functions as a wing, but from another it's also a part of the Himalaya active defense system," the official is cited by Sputnik news agency. “The unique system of active and passive radars and optical rangefinders is integrated into the aircraft body and acts as a 'smart skin'. Its use not only enhances the aircraft’s protection against jamming and its survivability, but also counters, to a great extent, the effects of low-observability [stealth] technology of enemy aircraft," the developer explained back then. “The

T-50 is now ahead of not only all other fighters of the Russian Army, but also foreign models. For example, the visibility of the American fifth-generation F-22 fighter is 0.3-0.4 square meters," the developer stressed.

New acoustic detection system to make Russian Navy’s 4th-gen stealth subs even quieterPublished time: July 06, 2015 10:24

Cees: Intel to Rent Page 2 of 7 02/05/2023

By Capt (Ret) C de Waart, feel free to share: in Confidence

The Yury Dolgoruky nuclear-powered submarine seen during the ceremony of St.Andrew's flag-hoisting in the Sevmash shipyards, Severodvinsk.(RIA Novosti / Alexander Petrov)By the end of 2015 Russia's Northern Fleet is to deploy a novel acoustic detection system, which would verify that its newest stealth subs are as quiet as they should be to avoid being spotted during combat missions. The system, called Batareya (battery), is currently in its final stages of development, senior researcher at the VNIIFTRI - an institute that develops various instruments for the Russian military - Sergey Tsigankov told TASS. “It will detect acoustic signatures of nuclear submarines, first of all those of the fourth generation,” he said. “We are completing a prototype now and plan to deliver it to the Northern Fleet in the White Sea this year.” Detecting the signature of a modern stealth submarine that was built to be as quiet as possible is a difficult task. In fact their noise levels are usually lower than the ambiance of the sea itself. This may be good when a sub is on a combat mission trying to avoid detection, but gives a headache to its engineers trying to determine which equipment is the noisiest and should be muffled further. Russian Navy’s intel ship for monitoring US ABM systems 'to start tests in 2016'The brute force approach to the problem is to have a testing range with as few ambient sounds as possible. Norway's Heggernes facility is used to check acoustic signatures of the submarines of European NATO members. The US Navy finished a new facility in Ketchikan, Alaska, several years ago. The new Russian system can serve the same purpose without costly infrastructure investment, the producer said. It can pick sound signatures about three times less noisy than the ambient sounds. The Northern fleet is to deploy Batareya hydrophones some 30 km off coast its submarine base, Tsigankov said. The data would be transmitted via a fiber optic cable. “We chose this way for transmission because no western nation currently has a technology to intercept data from a fiber optic cable underwater. This channel is well-protected from surveillance,” he explained.

Kalashnikov presents: New assault boats showcased in St. Petersburg Published time: July 04, 2015 23:32

Still from Ruptly videoKalashnikov Concern showed off its new military assault boats for the first time at the International Maritime Defense Show (IMDS 2015) in St. Petersburg, giving attendees the chance to come aboard and check out the new vessels. Visitors were able to see a BK-10 assault landing boat, a BK-9 assault support boat and a BK-16 multipurpose amphibious boat up close. Kalashnikov staff even gave some visitors the opportunity to handle the new machine guns installed aboard the crafts. What is central to the new vessels is that they are all equipped with drones capable of taking off directly from the boats. The IMDS show is taking place July 1-5, where more than 30 Russian military vessels are being presented to the public. “For the first time [Kalashnikov] is presenting a single battle group of multipurpose landing crafts with modern weapon systems, as well as the latest

Cees: Intel to Rent Page 3 of 7 02/05/2023

By Capt (Ret) C de Waart, feel free to share: in Confidence

developments in the field of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), which have the ability to launch from the deck of the boat,” the company said in a statement. Kalashnikov Concern demonstrated the BK-16, which is a multipurpose amphibious landing boat with a remote-controlled combat module and light reconnaissance Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) on board. It has been designed for coastal landing operations or assault support. The BK-10 assault landing boat was designed to carry squads of up to 10 soldiers and can conduct coastal landing operations and provide fire support. The final BK-9 craft is a smaller assault support boat that is equipped with additional armor plates for more protection while landing a squad. All three crafts can reach speeds of up to 40 knots (about 46 mph or 74 kph) and cruise at speeds of 20 knots (about 23 mph or 37 kph).

**Regards Cees

Last week, the US Joint Chiefs of Staff released the new National Military Strategy of the United States of America, 2015.The report’s main theme is that “globalisation” and “demographics” are pushing forward trends that are undermining US military superiority, including its capability to sustain “international order”. It sets out how the US military intends to keep ahead of those trends.Although imbued with flowery technocratic language, when read closely in the context of recent history, the document is ultimately a blueprint to shore-up a dying empire, and reveals much about the reigning ideology of US military supremacism.Challenges“The United States is the world’s strongest nation, enjoying unique advantages in technology, energy, alliances and partnerships, and demographics,” the document observes. “However, these advantages are being challenged.”The report notes that globalisation is catalysing “economic development” while simultaneously “increasing societal tensions, competition for resources, and political instability”.Of course, the strategy document does not mention that since 1980, under the age of neoliberal globalisation, even as GDP per head has risen, the “vast majority of countries” have experienced a “sharp increase in income inequality,” as documented by a flagship 2014 report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).In the wake of the new era of slow growth and brutal austerity ushered in after the 2008 global banking collapse, the risk of the dire economic climate sparking civil and political unrest is increasing. But what the document also misses is that growing risk is itself a symptom of the uneven “economic development” that constitutes GDP “growth”.The US Joint Chiefs of Staff document goes on to highlight the danger of “shifting demographics”. In the Middle East and Africa, the document warns that “Youth populations are rapidly growing” amidst an environment of “resource shortages, struggling economies, and deep social fissures”.In Europe and north Asia, the demographic challenge comes in the form of aging populations, set against a declining labour force that some see as a potential economic time-bomb.More generally, the document flags the general risk of immigration from rural to urban areas, and “across borders and seas,” which is fuelling “cultural differences, alienation and disease” and “placing strain on nations that receive them”.Unsurprisingly, the document fails to grasp that much of these problems are entirely symptomatic of the current structure of global capitalism, dominated by a tiny minority of

Cees: Intel to Rent Page 4 of 7 02/05/2023

By Capt (Ret) C de Waart, feel free to share: in Confidence

transnational banks and corporations which are dependent on fossil fuels to prop-up debt-creation as an instrument of profiteering for the few.Related, while recognising the persistence of “resource shortages” and “competition for resources,” the document does not once recognise the role of climate change in accelerating these problems.To some extent, that is to be expected given that this is a military strategy document, but it highlights the problem of applying military thinking to address challenges that are not, in reality, military in origin.

Universal valuesThe age of empire did not end with the collapse of the old colonial order, but continued in a new form. Since the end of the Second World War, the most powerful nations have used their overwhelming military and economic superiority against former colonies to forcibly absorb them into the orbit of a US-dominated economic order.A hint of the imperial contours of the document emerge in its reference to US national interests, defined as follows:“… the security of the United States, its citizens, and US allies and partners; a strong, innovative, and growing US economy in an open international economicsystem that promotes opportunity and prosperity; respect for universal values at home and around the world; and a rules-based international order advancedby US leadership that promotes peace, security, and opportunity through stronger cooperation to meet global challenges”.At first glance, this all sounds great, until we take a glimpse at the nature of the “open international economic system” that the US seeks to protect, and the “allies and partners” that are integral to this “rules-based international order” subordinate to “US leadership”.Across the Middle East, Africa and Latin America, US allies and partners consist almost entirely of brutal dictatorships, monarchies, and corrupt regimes engaged in systematic human rights abuses against their own populations.“In the Middle East, we remain fully committed to Israel’s security and Qualitative Military Edge. We also are helping other vital partners in that region increase their defences, including Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, Bahrain, UAE, Egypt, and Pakistan.”The US, in other words, is committed to supporting Israel’s illegal occupation of the Palestinian territories in violation of international law and countless UN resolutions – such as the latest UN Human Rights Council resolution condemning  Israeli war crimes against innocent civilians during Operation Protective Edge in Gaza - which is perhaps why 41 nations supported the resolution and the US, alone, was against it.“The lack of support by the United States - the only state to vote against shows a disappointing unwillingness to challenge impunity for serious crimes during the Gaza conflict and to stand up for the victims of war crimes during the conflict,” noted Human Rights Watch.As for Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, UAE, and Pakistan, senior US military and government officials themselves concede that these states are complicit in financing the very “Violent Extremist Organisations (VEO)” the US now claims it is intent on destroying.Egypt and Bahrain are also engaged in egregious abuses of their own populations, all in the name of fighting “terrorism”.Yet this is packaged as supporting “respect for universal values at home and abroad”.In this context, international norms are used to beat others over the head – not to regulate the conduct of the US itself, or its allies.

Empire of networksMilitary power is seen throughout the document as integral to US leadership of the international order, sanitised by claiming its objective is to maintain “international security

Cees: Intel to Rent Page 5 of 7 02/05/2023

By Capt (Ret) C de Waart, feel free to share: in Confidence

and stability” - which should be read as security and stability for predatory US-dominated global finance capitalism.“We will preserve our alliances, expand partnerships, maintain a global stabilising presence, and conduct training, exercises, security cooperation activities, and military-to-military engagement,” the US Joint Chiefs promise. “The presence of US military forces in key locations around the world underpins the international order and provides opportunities to engage with other countries while positioning forces to respond to crises.”There is a by-product to this strategy not mentioned in the document, but obvious nonetheless from examples like Egypt - popular revolutions that overthrow existing regimes allied to the US, no matter how dictatorial or abusive, are largely seen as a threat to the US-dominated order.The overarching goal, then, of maintaining this network of allies and partners, supported by US military forces, is to protect not “universal values” of democracy and human rights, but very simply, the transnational flows of global capital:“The presence of US military forces in key locations around the world underpins the security of our allies and partners, provides stability to enhance economic growth and regional integration, and positions the Joint Force to execute emergency actions in response to a crisis.”

Risk of interstate warThe risk of a US war with another state is low “but growing”. The document sees four main countries as threatening US domination of the international order: Russia, Iran, North Korea and China.Russia is accused of conducting a “proxy war” in Ukraine, although the US role in interfering in Ukrainian politics, propping up the breakaway state, and fostering the rise of neo-Nazi militias is conveniently ignored. So are longstanding US efforts to bring Ukraine, a major gas transshipment route, into the orbit of Euro-American power, and to access untapped regional oil and gas resources.Iran is accused of pursuing nuclear weapons technology, contrary to the repeated findings of the US intelligence community, and of sponsoring “terrorism” in “Israel, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.” Israeli war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon, the US invasion of Iraq, US-backed proxy war in Syria involving support for Islamist rebels that spawned the “Islamic State” and the US-backed Saudi bombing campaign in Yemen, on the other hand, are not terrorism, but part of the US-backed efforts to promote “universal values”.North Korea’s pursuit of nuclear weapons is condemned, but the backdrop to its paranoia is ignored. During the Korean War (1950-53), US bombing killed up to a third (around 3 million people) of the North Korean population. The US was also the first during the war to install nuclear weapons on the Korean Peninsula during the war. The ongoing US military presence in the region including nuclear-armed submarines, and regular military exercises simulating an invasion of North Korea hardly help to ameliorate tensions.“China’s actions are adding tension to the Asia-Pacific region,” according to the US strategy document, referring to China’s “aggressive land reclamation efforts that will allow it to position military forces astride vital international sea lanes”.The South China Sea, which contains untapped oil and gas resources and is also significant for fisheries, is the annual route for $5 trillion of global shipping. In total, the sea contains 11 billion barrels of oil, and 190 trillion cubic feet of natural gas in proved or probable reserves. The US Geological Survey (USGS) has estimated further undiscovered resources might exist, including 12 billion barrels of oil and 160 trillion cubic feet of natural gas – about a fifth of which could be found in contested areas.China’s territorial claims are challenged by several US allies in East Asia, namely, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan – all identified in the document as part of

Cees: Intel to Rent Page 6 of 7 02/05/2023

By Capt (Ret) C de Waart, feel free to share: in Confidence

the US-backed “order”. US interests are, as usual, not about peace and democracy, but about rolling back China’s sphere of influence and maximising access to the resources of the South China Sea for the US and its allies.Oil, food and waterUnder the guise of promoting peace and stability, the new military strategy is in fact simply a blueprint for sustaining global US hegemony in the face of the rising geopolitical influence of its major rivals. Control of resources remains a core factor in its considerations.The role of resources is also flagged up by the Global Strategic Trends report published last summer by the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Defence Concepts and Doctrines Centre (DCDC).The report, which feeds into the recently announced UK Strategic Defence and Security Review, warned that “Demand for resources of all kinds is likely to increase out to 2045, as the world’s population rises to around nine billion.” In particular, while increasing demand for “more food and water” will increase strain on the environment “some countries are likely to experience significant declines in agricultural productivity”The document added that: “Water shortages are likely to be particularly acute in many areas, exacerbated by increasing demand and climate change.”The Middle East and North Africa remain pivotal to these concerns. The report noted that: “US involvement in the Middle East is unlikely to alter significantly, as the region will almost certainly continue to have a significant bearing on global stability and security.”Apart from sustaining longstanding commitments to regional allies “not least Israel,” the report highlighted the region’s centrality to stabilising global oil prices: “The price of oil in the Middle East affects the price of oil produced in the US, meaning that any serious disruption in the former could have a knock-on effect on the global economy.”Climate change in the form of increasing droughts and heatwaves will exacerbate already entrenched “socio-economic factors, including disparity in wealth, gender inequality and poor education,” which are “the underlying causes of much of the unrest and sometimes violent conflict within MENA”.Yet neither the US nor the British strategies offer any interest or recognition of the need to address those “underlying causes,” which are rooted in the very structures of the “international order” the US and Britain are committed to protecting at any cost.- Nafeez Ahmed PhD is an investigative journalist, international security scholar and bestselling author who tracks what he calls the 'crisis of civilization.' He is a winner of the Project Censored Award for Outstanding Investigative Journalism for his Guardian reporting on the intersection of global ecological, energy and economic crises with regional geopolitics and conflicts.

Cees: Intel to Rent Page 7 of 7 02/05/2023