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Macron Says France Will Withdraw Troops, Ambassador From Niger

French President Emmanuel Macron said Sunday that French will remove its troops and ambassador from Niger, as the military junta that took over the country in July wants French forces out. “France has decided to bring back its ambassador, and in the coming hours our ambassador and several diplomats will return to France,” Macron said on French TV, according to AP. “And we will put an end to our military cooperation with the Niger authorities.” The comments show France is backing down from its hardline position on the military junta that ousted Nigerien President Mohamed Bazoum.

The Role Of The Brazilian Military In The Coup Attempt

The far-right mob that invaded the federal building, Congress, and the Supreme Court and vandalized government buildings at Three Powers Plaza in Brasília on January 8, demanded a “military intervention” in Brazil. They had set up camps that had assembled in front of army barracks throughout the country since November demanding the “military to overturn” the election of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (known as Lula). On November 11, 2022, the commanders of the armed forces released a note giving the coup camps a safe haven—not only physically but also legally. It is important to note two elements of that document: first, the commanders stated, through an illogical interpretation, that the camps in favor of a coup were legal because the protesters were peaceful, and that “both possible restrictions on rights by public agents and possible excesses committed in demonstrations” would be reprehensible, despite the fact that demanding the military to stage a coup is a crime (Article 286).

An Atrophied And Warlike Kingdom

As reported recently across the U.K., General Sir Patrick Sanders, the British Army’s new Chief of the General Staff, overall controller of the British Army, has stated that today’s generation of British soldiers must prepare "to fight in Europe once again" as the conflict in Ukraine continues. The Sun newspaper banner headline on 18th June had it thus: “UK army must get ready to fight the Russians and win in potential WW3, says Britain’s top general”. The newspaper added that “He vowed to forge an Army that can beat Russia in battle.” “There is now a burning imperative to forge an Army capable of fighting alongside our allies and defeating Russia in battle," Sir Patrick is reported to have said. "We are the generation that must prepare the Army to fight in Europe once again”.  

The Wide Role Brazil’s Military Has Played In Amazon’s Destruction

In the Brazilian Amazon, as deforestation reaches record levels and rivers are increasingly polluted, the illegal gold mining contributing to these problems continues largely unabated. The response of the government has been to increase military action to curb environmental crimes in Brazil. Far from achieving this purpose, however, the military intervention has only led to tragedies in the region, directly or indirectly. A source from the Brazilian Amazon wrote to us at Revista Opera two years ago to warn us about something strange that was going on there: illegally mined gold was being sold at the same price as legally mined gold. “If the nugget is a big one,” said the source, “they give the miner extra [money].”

Mali’s Military Ejects France, But Faces Serious Challenges

On May 2, 2022, a statement was made by Mali’s military spokesperson Colonel Abdoulaye Maïga on the country’s national television, where he said that Mali was ending the defense accords it had with France, effectively making the presence of French troops in Mali illegal. The statement was written by the military leadership of the country, which has been in power since May 2021. Colonel Maïga said that there were three reasons why Mali’s military had taken this dramatic decision. The first was that they were reacting to France’s “unilateral attitude,” reflected in the way France’s military operated in Mali and in the June 2021 decision by French President Emmanuel Macron to withdraw French forces from the country “without consulting Mali.”

British Brinkmanship And Myth Of German Neutrality In Ukraine War

Russia’s state investigative body issued a stark warning that it was looking into media reports alleging “sabotage experts” from Britain’s special forces had been deployed to western Ukraine. On Saturday, a defense source told RIA Novosti that at least two teams from the UK’s elite Special Air Service (SAS) forces arrived at a military base near the city of Lviv in western Ukraine. In a statement, the Investigative Committee said it would follow up the report that covert operators had been sent in “to assist the Ukrainian special services in organizing sabotage on the territory of Ukraine.” It was not clear what steps Russia planned to take in response to SAS involvement in Ukraine. But the fact of possible presence of forces from a NATO country is significant, given that Russia had issued warnings it would target weapons supplies in Ukraine.

Venezuela Border Conflict Mixes Drug Trafficking And Regime-Change

Beginning in mid-March, Venezuelan army units have been attacking and expelling Colombian operatives active in Apure state. These have long used Venezuela’s border region to prepare cocaine arriving from Colombia and ship it to the United States and Europe. The fighting has subsided; eight Venezuelan troops were killed. Seeking safety, 3,500 Venezuelans crossed the Meta River—an Orinoco tributary—to Arauca in Colombia. The bi-national border is unmonitored and long enough, at 1367 miles, to encourage smuggling and the undocumented passage of cross-border travelers, in this instance the embattled Colombians in Apure. Among these are armed paramilitaries, bands of former FARC-EP insurgents and narcotraffickers—pilots, truckers, laboratory workers, and more.

How Bellingcat Launders National Security State Talking Points

Investigative site Bellingcat is the toast of the popular press. In the past month alone, it has been described as “an intelligence agency for the people” (ABC Australia), a “transparent” and “innovative” (New Yorker) “independent news collective,” “transforming investigative journalism” (Big Think), and an unequivocal “force for good” (South China Morning Post). Indeed, outside of a few alternative news sites, it is very hard to hear a negative word against Bellingcat, such is the gushing praise for the outlet founded in 2014. This is troubling, because the evidence compiled in this investigation suggests Bellingcat is far from independent and neutral, as it is funded by Western governments, staffed with former military and state intelligence officers, repeats official narratives against enemy states, and serves as a key part in what could be called a “spook to Bellingcat to corporate media propaganda pipeline,” presenting Western government narratives as independent research.

Canadian Military Wants To Use Propaganda, Other Techniques Domestically

The Canadian Forces wants to establish a new organization that will use propaganda and other techniques to try to influence the attitudes, beliefs and behaviours of Canadians, according to documents obtained by this newspaper. The plan comes on the heels of the Canadian Forces spending more than $1 million to train public affairs officers on behaviour modification techniques of the same sort used by the parent firm of Cambridge Analytica, as well as a controversial and bizarre propaganda training mission in which the military forged letters from the Nova Scotia government to warn the public that wolves were wandering in the province.

Brazilian Military Curtails President Bolsonaro’s Power Over COVID19 Dispute

Bolsonaro made threats he couldn’t carry out about replacing the Health Minister and reopening commerce. Now he is isolated and everyone has turned on him, as General Villas Boas admits. He’s been reduced to impotence. It remains to be seen how he and his children will react. We now have a kind of prime minister in General Braga Netto, who has taken on the role of coordinator of all ministries and, especially, health policy, to prevent Bolsonaro from committing any more acts of madness. The next stage is the government armoring itself to prevent the PT from winning the 2022 presidential elections. This is the next goal.

Will Coronavirus Lead To Martial Law?

While the number of cases of the novel coronavirus, COVID-19, continues to grow around the country and the globe, lawmakers are considering how best to cut down on the spread of the disease. But the measures being taken have some citizens and service members wondering if martial law may be declared. As of Tuesday, more than 1,500 Guard personnel in 22 states were called up to aid efforts to stop the spread of COVID-19 as the World Health Organization declared the coronavirus a pandemic on March 11, with President Donald Trump following two days later to classify the virus as a national emergency. California Gov. Gavin Newsom in a Sunday presser said that martial law was not necessary to combat coronavirus in his state.

Inside The Military’s Top Secret Plans If Coronavirus Cripples The Government

Even as President Trump says he tested negative for coronavirus, the COVID-19 pandemic raises the fear that huge swaths of the executive branch or even Congress and the Supreme Court could also be disabled, forcing the implementation of "continuity of government" plans that include evacuating Washington and "devolving" leadership to second-tier officials in remote and quarantined locations.

‘Arm’s-Length’ Military Institution Promotes Belligerent Worldview

For example, the Conference of Defence Associations (CDA) Institute recently published a half-page ad in the Globe and Mail to announce its Conference on Security and Defence. The March 3 and 4 meeting at the venerable Château Laurier was sponsored by the Department of National Defence (DND) and Global Affairs as well as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and other arms companies.

Marine Vet Lawmaker Tells Military To Question The Orders They’re Given

A lawmaker who earned the Bronze Star during combat in Iraq as a Marine officer is denouncing President Donald Trump's foreign policy as "rudderless," and calling on active-duty military officers to question the orders they're getting from the commander in chief and refuse to follow them if they're not lawful. Rep. Seth Moulton, a Massachusetts Democrat and former presidential candidate who ended his White House bid in August, made the remarks in a speech at the Atlantic Council on Thursday, a day after Trump triumphantly addressed the nation and announced that Iran seemed to be backing down from hostilities. On Jan. 3, a U.S. MQ-9 Reaper drone executed a deadly airstrike on Iranian Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani; Iran retaliated Jan. 7 with a ballistic missile assault on two Iraqi bases that damaged equipment and buildings but did not harm U.S. or Iraqi troops.

Chilean Military Learns Brutal Tactics From Israel

Chile - What started as a student act of civil disobedience against Santiago’s rising metro fares has now expanded outside the Chilean capital. In a sudden uprising against austerity and persistent economic inequality, a proposed fare increase (the equivalent of €0.02) was simply salt on an open wound for the poor and working-class citizens of Chile. Peaceful protests, when forcibly dispersed by the national police, have turned violent. The government, led by conservative billionaire President Sebastián Piñera, responded by declaring a state of emergency and calling in the military to quell protests, declaring that the state was “at war”. While the military enforces brutality towards civilians not seen since the dictatorship that ended in the early 1990s, it is important to highlight the international connections to such brutality.
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