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The New Great Game Round-Up: October 3, 2016

The Great Game Round-Up brings you the latest newsworthy developments regarding Central Asia and the Caucasus region. We document the struggle for influence, power, hegemony and profits between a U.S.-dominated NATO, its GCC proxies, Russia, China and other regional players.

Afghanistan Rehabilitates the 'Butcher of Kabul'

After months of talks and several setbacks, the Afghan government recently reached a peace agreement with Gulbuddin Hekmatyar's Hezb-i-Islami (HIG).

On September 29, Afghan President Ashraf Ghani signed the agreement at the presidential palace in Kabul during a ceremony broadcast live on television.

Warlord Hekmatyar, who is believed to be hiding out in Pakistan, addressed the gathering in Kabul in a recorded video message that showed him signing the peace deal in a small room at an undisclosed location. He called on the Taliban and other parties to join the peace process and urged the Afghan government to fulfill a number of demands not mentioned in the agreement, such as releasing key Taliban prisoners.

Porkins Great Game: Episode #15 – Turkey Coup Special

On this special episode of Porkins Great Game, Pearse Redmond and I talk about the recent coup attempt in Turkey. We lay out the timeline of events on July 15 and explain why the coup failed before offering our take on the various theories floating around about what really happened that night. Pearse and I also touch upon the interesting aftermath and discuss how this might affect Turkey's role in the U.S.-NATO alliance and its position on the global chessboard.

Porkins Great Game: Episode #14 – Is Kazakhstan in Trouble?

On this episode of Porkins Great Game, Pearse Redmond and I finally get to talk about a Central Asian country that we have been meaning to talk about for quite a while: Kazakhstan. We take a look at the recent clashes in Aktobe and explain why the Kazakh government prefers to look abroad for the reasons behind the attacks. In our second segment, Pearse and I focus on the killing of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Mansour in Pakistan, which raises many questions. After giving an update on the situation in Afghanistan, we move on to Turkish President Erdogan and his passion for German comedy shows. We discuss the ongoing row between Germany and Turkey over Germany's parliamentary recognition of the Armenian Genocide and Erdogan's talent for making things worse. Our segment of weird terrorism stories deals with CIA-Pentagon disagreements over supporting Jabhat al-Nusra, Israeli spy Jonathan Pollard and our favorite “Turkmen rebel” leader Alparslan Çelik. Pearse and I close out this episode by introducing our new Patreon site that you can use to support our podcast.

First details begin to emerge about the suspected Islamic State attack on Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport that left at least 44 people dead and more than 230 injured.

A senior Turkish government official announced on Thursday that the three suicide bombers who carried out the attack were nationals of Russia, Uzbekistan and Kyrgyzstan.[1]

Turkish pro-government newspaper Yeni Safak quoted police as saying that eight terrorists were involved in the operation. Three of them were killed, one was detained and four others remain at large.

According to the Yeni Safak report, well-known Chechen Islamic State commander Akhmed Chatayev organized the deadly attack.[2]

Read the full article on Boiling Frogs Post

Porkins Great Game: Episode #13 – Fethullah Gülen Lives

On this episode of Porkins Great Game, Pearse Redmond and I focus on the recent Four-Day War in Nagorno-Karabakh. We briefly go over the history of the conflict before taking a closer look at the latest escalation and the various regional and global actors that could be pulled into the conflict. In our second segment we continue our discussion on the ongoing fight between Turkey and Russia, which plays out in Syria and elsewhere. Pearse and I talk about Fethullah Gülen's motivations for entering the stage, Turkish-Russian spy games and Alparslan Çelik's role in a possible rapprochement between Moscow and Ankara. We finish off this segment with the recent clashes between Kurds and Turkish nationalists in Germany. After giving a final farewell to our favorite Georgian jihadist, Tarkhan Batirashvili aka Omar al-Shishani, Pearse and I close out this month's episode by taking a look at the Panama Papers.

Newsbud Phase 1 Kickstarter Campaign

Our first Newsbud Kickstarter campaign didn’t reach its ambitious goal but we haven’t given up on creating a 100% people-funded, nonpartisan news alternative. We are now planning to run 4 smaller Kickstarter fundraising campaigns over an 18-month period. Phase 1 starts today. For more information check out our new Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/141490519/support-a-100-people-funded-online-news-outlet-pha

Newsbud Kickstarter Campaign

The day has finally come for your chance to help us create Newsbud–a 100% people-funded news alternative. Our Kickstarter campaign is now live, and we’re counting on your support. For us to realize our collective dream of a major independent, nonpartisan media platform, we need your help. Without you, we cannot build the independent news source that we the people deserve. We can only do that when we are 100% publicly funded, and that means we need you, your voice, and your commitment to our cause. Please make a pledge and help us put the word out: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/141490519/support-a-100-people-funded-nonpartisan-online-new

Porkins Great Game: Episode #12 – Inside Turkey’s War in Syria

On this special Newsbud edition of Porkins Great Game, Pearse Redmond and I focus on the battle between Russia and Turkey in Syria. We discuss Russia's reaction to Turkey's downing of a Russian jet over Latakia's Turkmen-populated Bayırbucak region and the recent appearance of Turkmen militia leader/Turkish nationalist Alparslan Çelik at a funeral in Istanbul. Pearse and I explain why the FSB linked the Grey Wolves to the crash of a Russian passenger plane in Egypt and we dissect John Schindler's recent article dealing with this issue. After giving an update on the situation in northern Syria, we explore the possibility of a Turkish military intervention and touch upon the current propaganda war. Pearse and I also talk about our participation in Newsbud and explain why fans of Porkins Great Game should support our Kickstarter campaign that will go live on Sunday, February 14 (Valentine's Day).

Within hours after the first Russian airstrikes in Syria, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Western journalists began to explain why Russia’s intervention “is doomed to fail.”[1][2] A few days later, Western media gleefully announced that Russia’s intervention has failed.[3]

But four months into Russia’s Syria campaign, it is now becoming increasingly difficult to deny that the Kremlin is actually pursuing a viable military strategy in Syria. Therefore, Western media has recently resorted to explaining why it is a bad thing that the Russian airstrikes are working.[4]

Read the full article on Boiling Frogs Post

Introducing Newsbud

On this edition of the BFP Roundtable, James Corbett talks to Sibel Edmonds, Peter B. Collins and Pepe Escobar about Newsbud, a 100% people funded, independent, nonpartisan, online news source to take the alt media to the next level.

For more information about this new media venture check out our main page and threads for everything Newsbud and join the Newsbud Email List:

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