War

As we reported yesterday, in one of the most surprising developments involving the Syrian proxy war, Saudi Arabia and U.S. presence on the ground, the latest twist is that both Turkey and Saudi Arabia are now mulling a full-scale invasion while Russia and the Syrian government continue their progress in wiping out the US and Saudi-funded rebellion. To be sure, there was confusion when CNN Arabia reported first that the Saudis may send as much as 150,000 troops into Saudi Arabia, by way of Turkey, something which Anadolu news promptly denied.

The US Department of Defense has announced its plan to deploy an advanced missile system to South Korea “as quickly as possible” to counter the growing threats of weapons capabilities and recent provocations from the North. The Pentagon confirmed on Monday that it will start formal talks with South Korea on placing the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense System (THAAD) on North Korea’s doorstep. Press TV reports: THAAD is designed to shoot down ballistic missiles in their terminal phase using a hit-to-kill approach.

The Saudi Arabia plan to send ground troops into Syria could be a cover for sparking military action between Russia and the United States – a situation that will likely spiral into World War 3.  Saudi Arabia have threatened to send in 150,000 troops to invade Syria on the pretext of ‘fighting terrorism’ and to defeat ISIS. Syria’s Foreign Minister Walid al-Muallem has warned that Saudi’s presence in Syria would be interpreted as an “act of aggression” and that Syrian forces would respond by sending troops back in “wooden coffins”.

Rioters in Hong Kong clashed with police on Tuesday amid violent scenes during the three-day Chinese New Year holiday.  As rioters set fires and threw bricks at cops, police fired warning shots in the Mong Kok district in order to contain the crowds. Bloomberg.com reports: Forty-four officers were injured, with 24 people arrested. A government statement said there were several hundred rioters involved. “The situation ran out of control and became a riot,” Yau said.

Russian President Vladimir Putin has deployed thousands of troops and hundreds of warplanes on Monday to southwest Russia for large-scale military drills, amid escalating tensions with the West and NATO.  Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu has said that military units have been put on high alert on Monday, as troops wait in readiness for potential conflict. AP.org reports: The district includes troops stationed in Crimea, the Black Sea peninsula that Russia annexed from Ukraine in 2014, as well as forces in the North Caucasus and southwestern regions near the border with Ukraine.