08 JANUARY MIDEAST NEWS SUMARY By Barry Webb

08 January missile strike.
AL-JAZEERA TV coverage:
–TV host interviewing an “expert in Arab-Iranian” affairs based in Tehran:
“The IRGC has intel from on the ground that the attack on ‘ain al-asad was successful and caused lots of damage, and killed several Americans. They are going to go public with this information.”
–Another guest interviewed said that if the U.S. responds Iran will ignite the entire region. Iran warns every single country hosting U.S. military, that they will become targets if the U.S. response is against Iranian territory. Israel will also be on that list.
AL-ARABIYYA TV coverage:
–A guest interviewed said that70% of Iraqis are against Iran, and that Iran is in a crisis state, not just in Iraq, but domestically. He also mentioned that of the two bases hit, one was in Irbil (Kurdish territory), and the other was in Anbar province (Sunni Arab territory).
SOCIAL MEDIA COMMENTS
Sarah Damdhawi, host of the al-arabiyya TV show tafaa’alkom said that most of the twitter accounts coming out of Iraq were full of sarcasm over the Iranian attack. Examples:
–“Where’s our government? Where’s our government? You servile dispicables.”
–“The attacks in Irbil and Anbar were more a message to the Kurds and the Sunnis than to the Americans, both of whom boycotted the parliament vote to kick the Americans out.”
–“Kill yourselves.”
–“Can’t hit any Americans, but took down a civilian (Ukrainian) airliner trying to leave Tehran.”
The program host, Sarah D. also reported that the pics of missiles being fired that the Iranians showed over and over, and were sent around the world to everybody’s TV networks were phony. One was from a 2017 launch, another from a launch last Nov. in Gaza, and another was from a Dec. launch.
The Iranians kept looping these same images over and over again to make it look like gobs of missiles were being launched.
ALARABIYA.NET reported that the Ukrainian airliner was built in 2016, and all the evidence indicates that mechanical failure was not the issue. Plus video shows what looks like an explosion in the sky before the plane falls to the ground. Also, the spread of debris on the ground is illustrative of an airplane the exploded in the sky, rather than one that just plummeted out of the sky and crashed on the ground.
ALARABIYA.NET also reported additionally on Iran’s latest missile attack that “sources in the administrations of Donald Trump said that Iran intentionally missed their target.”
–An Iraqi guest on al-Arabiya TV’s PANORAMA show said that Iran will now continue to act via its militias in Iraq.
–Another guest on the same show said that the Gulf states want to be at the table when and if a new nuc agreement with Iran is negotiated.
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LIBYA/TURKEY
Good news and bad news. First the good:
The Libyan National Army (LNA), led by General Haftar, has continued to make advances in Libya. They have solidified their hold over the former ISIS held city of Sirte, and are moving towards Masratta, a major port city Turkey has been using to funnel weapons to the Tripoli “government” and beyond (more on the “beyond” below).
The LNA has also announced that they are expanding the no-fly zone around the Tripoli airport, so as to curtail aid coming to the Sirraaj government through that avenue.
Now for the bad “beyond” news:
TURKEY/LIBYA/AFRICA
On 08 January, al-arabiya TV reported that right after Erdogan’s surprise visit to Tunis last week, Tunisian authorities seized a huge shipment of Turkish weapons being smuggled across the border from Libya to Tunisia. Further investigation has revealed, according to the Tunisian official being interviewed, that Turkey was also using routes in southern Libya to smuggle weapons across Libya’s border with Algeria. These weapons are then distributed to terrorist groups all over Africa. The Tunisian official stressed that this proves direct support of terrorism in Africa by Turkish Intelligence (MIT).
NOTE: We have previously reported that Turkey has been directly aiding Nigeria’s ISIS franchise of Boko Haram. This report provides more confirmation of that, and expands the scope of Turkey’s terrorism reach.
As has been reported numerous times in numerous places, Christians are being systematically exterminated throughout the continent of Africa, and our great NATO “ally” Turkey is behind it all.
And, now we know why Turkey is so desperate to save the Muslim Brotherhood government in Tripoli. It’s not just for Libyan oil and Libyan membership in Erdogan’s imaginary Neo-Ottoman empire.
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Barry Webb is retired from a 25-year career has an Arabist for the NSA, has two MA degrees in related subject matter, and is currently a Senior Fellow for Americans for Intel Reform (AIR), www.intelreform.org He is also the author of Confessions of an (ex) NSA spy: Why America and its Allies are Losing the War on Terror. His website is www.barrywebbauthor.com