Turkish authorities this weekend seized 11 million Captagon pills - the amphetamine drug that is used in huge amounts by Isis fighters to keep them alert and full of energy.

The stimulant drug has been dubbed as the drug fuelling Syria's civil war, as its production provides incomes for all factions in the war and keeps fighters awake over long periods of time.

Turkish anti-narcotic police confiscated over 10.9 million pills, weighing almost two tonnes, in two separate raids in the eastern Hatay region near the border with Syria, the interior ministry announced.

7.3 million pills were captured in one raid, and were set for shipment to Gulf countries concealed inside 1,300 oil filters, AFP reported.

http://www.independent.co.uk/travel/middle-east/turkey-seizes-11-million-captagon-amphetamine-pills-used-by-isis-fighters-to-keep-themselves-awake-a6744366.html

Combined with the Saudi "prince" that got busted in Lebanon, it's going to put a real hitch in the jihadis getalong.

But I'm sure the Turks will make good use of them too.

Turkey wants to declare the Kurds terrorists and has revanchist ambitions still in Syria. They will make the argument to Putin that's its the same as what he did in Crimea, them grabbing the "Turkmen" parts of Syria, and using the Kurdish parts for a "safe zone" to protect the Sunni from Assad.

The government in Kiev seems to really want to get the war there going again too.

Turkey has intensified its diplomatic efforts to stop the attacks by the Russian and Syrian air forces on Turkmen population, including a call on the United Nations Security Council to convene and discuss the attacks on the Bayır Bucak Turkmen population in the Turkmen Mountain region.

Sources in the prime minister's office reportedly said that Turkey has called on the UNSC, days after Ankara summoned the Russian ambassador to protest against the bombing of their villages, according to Reuters.

Thousands of people have fled the mountainous Syrian area to the Turkish border as a result of Russian and Syrian attacks in the last three days, one Turkish official said. Russian jets have bombed the area in support of ground operations by Syrian regime forces.

Ankara has traditionally expressed solidarity with the Syrian Turkmens, who are Syrians of Turkish descent. It has also repeatedly voiced concern about Russian military support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria's civil war.

http://www.dailysabah.com/diplomacy/2015/11/23/turkey-seeks-to-convene-unsc-over-russia-assad-attacks-on-turkmen-civilians

Opportunism may be one of the accepted facts of life in foreign policy, but that doesn’t mean it’s a good thing. The Turkish government is busy right now trying to make the most of two pieces of the Syrian crisis that have come to the fore: The recent flood of refugees to Europe, and the Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) attacks in Paris. They are both likely to backfire.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s coy question “What would happen if these 2.2 million refugees get out of Turkey and start marching toward the EU?” is a cheap bargaining trick to say the least, attempting to introduce the destiny of desperate Syrians as a new unofficial dossier in EU-Turkey relations.

But now, the number of locks on the door of Europe is likely to rise as information circulates that one of the Paris attackers may have been a Syrian refugee who passed through Turkey. Will the negotiations move toward a buffer zone plan, or will the sides leave the with-or-without-Al Assad debate aside, and concentrate on ending the war in Syria as quickly as possible?

Let’s be clear: Ankara is playing the terrorism card at the very moment that the Paris attacks strengthen the decisiveness to combat Daesh. Erdogan condemned the Paris attacks, calling for “a consensus of the international community against terrorism”. But in his mind, this consensus means adding Kurdish forces to the EU list of terrorist organisations. The US and the EU already recognise the historical Kurdish organisation PKK as terrorists, but Ankara also wants the West to end its recent collaboration with the Kurdish groups, PYD and YPG, in the military fight against Daesh.

http://m.gulfnews.com/opinion/thinkers/turkey-fishes-in-troubled-waters-1.1624957

Turkey is ready to protect Turkmen in Syria and prevent a possible sharp influx of refugees from the war-torn country, the Turkish Prime Minister said Sunday.

ANKARA (Sputnik) — On November 20, the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a note of protest to Russian Ambassador Andrey Karlov over Russian anti-terrorist airstrikes in Syria. The note, obtained by RIA Novosti, cites an alleged Russian Aerospace Forces strike on a Syrian Turkmen settlement near the Syrian-Turkish border.

"If the attacks leading to an intense influx of refugees to Turkey continue, necessary measures will be taken both in Syria and in Turkey. We will take all the required diplomatic steps to protect our brothers and sisters where they are and to protect our interests in the face of any threat," Ahmet Davutoglu told journalists regarding the situation with the Turkmen village.

Ayn al Issa near Raqqa, Syria (CNN)When Bahoz heard the blasts, he guessed they must have come from French jets. There were 14 of them, all around the time that President Francois Hollande said France had started bombing Raqqa.

The capital of ISIS's self-declared caliphate is eerily close to Bahoz's position. A fighter with the Kurdish YPG units, he sits on a series of outposts along a lengthy earth trench that is essentially the front line with Raqqa -- about 20 miles away, across flat, hostile ground.

"Three days ago we saw 14 airstrikes suddenly hit just nearby, and then the French said they'd started bombing," he told CNN, when we were given rare access to his position near the town of Ayn al Issa.

"We will do our best to avenge Paris," he vowed.

http://us.cnn.com/2015/11/23/middleeast/syria-isis-raqqa-front-line-walsh/index.html

Making noises about doing something while not actually doing much. Except Putin, he is putting on a show knowing he can declare victory any time and back out.

But I don't think this can go on very long. Somebody will crack.

Britain has offered the French air force the use of RAF Akrotiri on Cyprus to mount air strikes on Islamic State targets in Syria.

David Cameron said the UK would do "all in our power" to support France in its fight against Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (Isil) in the wake of the Paris terror attacks.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/islamic-state/12011727/Britain-says-French-can-use-Cyprus-RAF-base-for-Syria-strikes-on-Isil.html

PARIS, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- During a visit here, British Prime Minister David Cameron on Monday said Britain should join the U.S.-led coalition fighting the Islamic State (IS) in Syria, stressing the necessity to carry out air strikes to uproot the Islamist cell.

"I firmly support the action that President Hollande has taken to strike ISIL (Islamic State) in Syria and it is my firm conviction that Britain should do so too," he said.

"Later this week, I will set out in parliament our comprehensive strategy for tackling ISIL," he added during a joint press conference with French President Francois Hollande.

It's up to parliament to take a decision on whether to send British warplanes to Syria, noted Cameron, who previously failed to convince parliament to vote in favor of air strikes against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in 2013.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-11/23/c_134846546.htm

DAMASCUS, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Russian airstrikes over the past five days have destroyed 1,000 tankers of stolen crude oil the Islamic State (IS) group was moving in the countryside of Syria's northern province of al-Raqqa, state news agency SANA reported on Monday.

Citing a Syrian military source, SANA said the Russian airstrikes also destroyed oil refineries in the southern countryside of al-Raqqa, the de facto capital of the IS group, and in the northern countryside of the eastern province of Deir al-Zour.

The strikes are the latest in an intensified series of Russian air operations against the IS terror group in Syria.

Oil has been one of the main lifelines the IS has been relying on to finance its terror operations in Syria and abroad.

http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2015-11/23/c_134846557.htm

(ANSAmed) - BEIRUT, NOVEMBER 23 - Syrian government troops, supported by Russian airstrikes, on Monday regained control of a Christian-majority town in central Syria held over the past few years by the organization of the Islamic State, according to UK-based monitoring group Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The NGO added that Russian airstrikes are continuing to pound on ISIS positions near Palmyra, also in central Syria and well-known for its Roman ruins. Government troops and loyal militias, according to the monitoring group, have regained control of Mhin, south-east of Homs. (ANSAmed).

http://www.ansamed.info/ansamed/en/news/sections/generalnews/2015/11/23/isis-ngo-regime-regains-control-of-christian-city-in-syria_4ff56ff4-35c0-49e5-837d-a3ea231f17dd.html

Buttressed by Russian air support, the Syrian Army stands poised to rid the ruins of Palmyra of its latest ruiners.

The Syrian army, aided by Russian attack helicopters, launched a strike against ISIL militants entrenched on al-Hayal mountain only a few kilometers away from Palmyra, according to media reports.

A group of ISIL militants attempted to flee the battlefield across the mountain ridge but was obliterated by Syrian artillery.

The remaining Islamic State forces continue to stubbornly resist advancing government forces, utilizing a network of caves on the mountain’s slopes to their advantage.

http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20151123/1030593839/syrian-army-palmyra-approach.html

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syrian troops backed by Russian airstrikes captured areas from the Islamic State group in the central province of Homs on Monday, in the latest push since the aerial campaign began nearly two months ago, state media and a monitoring group said.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said troops backed by pro-government gunmen entered the town of Mheen and the nearby village of Hawareen after midnight Sunday and were in full control of the area hours later.

---

The capture of Mheen and Hawareen helps secure the highway linking the capital Damascus to the central city of Homs. The government's next push is expected to target the nearby town of Qaryatain and later the historic town of Palmyra, which was taken by IS in May.

---

The head of the Observatory, Rami Abdurrahman, said Russian warplanes and helicopter gunships played a major role in opening the way for troops to advance in the desert near Homs. He added that around 50 IS fighters were killed in days of fighting in Mheen, Hawareen and surrounding areas.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2015/11/23/world/middleeast/ap-ml-syria.html?_r=0

Much has changed for Vladimir Putin since the terror attacks in Paris. The trope that aggressions in Crimea and Ukraine show that he is more of a threat to the West than ISIS was useful to President Obama’s critics, but that’s now older than yesterday’s news. Given the joint French-Russian airstrikes against ISIS in Syria last week, Russia is now a de facto Western ally. Putin the pariah has a shot at redemption, or so it might seem.

---

It would be well for both men to remember that Mr. Putin moves fast. By jumping to help Mr. Hollande he subtly undermines trans-Atlantic ties. The Crimean crisis is long gone and Ukraine is rapidly becoming a distant subject. When it comes up again before Russian and Western diplomats, the Kremlin will surely push to link Russia’s partnership on Syria with Western concessions on Ukraine.

Though it’s difficult to guess what concessions Mr. Putin might demand in exchange for Russian cooperation against ISIS, it is quite clear what he wants on Ukraine: A redrawn constitution, elections that install a pro-Moscow government, and a settlement of the fighting that will keep the country in the Kremlin’s orbit.

Mr. Putin is once more at the top of his game at a time when an anxious West is on high alert. He has made clear his stance: stronger border controls, strict limits to refugee flows, and a general consolidation of the administrative power of the state. These policies have many supporters in Europe. Are we to witness a convergence of sorts? What’s the next move in this international game of three-dimensional chess? Ask Mr. Obama, or Mr. Hollande.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/24/opinion/putins-emergency-politics.html

I don't believe I've run across him before.

I would not have the nerve to try and predict how this will come out.

Turkey getting into it with Russia and trying to drag NATO in to "defend" it is what worries me now. I suspect NATO will not allow itself to be dragged, but you never know.

go is back as a priority...if that is true.

As far as Turkey, doesn't that seem like wishful/delusional thinking of
Erdogan? How the hell does he expect that to work, he has to know
there are limits to his power and why he continues to play with ISIS
makes him nuttier than I would have previously thought about him
in the past.

When he was first in office he was pretty sensible, I sort of liked him. But after a while it went to his head, or somebody corrupted him, and he has become steadily more delusional, corrupt, and manipulative as his big plans have failed to pan out.

Assad did pretty well at first too, when Hafez died, but the Arab Spring thing put him in over his head I think, and he over-reacted. But he has the excuse of lots of outside meddling too, it wasn't just him made the mess.

Bhadrakumar, I think it was, had a piece I posted a while back about what is going on there up in NW Syria, which is all mixed up with Geopolitics with a big "G".

But anyway, nobody but Erdogan wants Erdogan to get his little piece of Syria, and maybe Qatar.

Russian warplane downed; Turkey says aircraft violated airspace near border

http://www.cnn.com/2015/11/24/middleeast/warplane-crashes-near-syria-turkey-border/

I will hazard a guess that Erdogan will regret this, and soon, but since it seems clear that at least some parts of the "free world" are not ready to give up on our Russia-war-jones, maybe not. Ukraine is doing its best to provoke Putin into doing something stupid, and he might, and Erdogan plays much the same game in Turkey.

There are interesting parallels between Putin's meddling in Ukraine and Erdogan's meddling in Syria, but I don't expect either one wants to talk about that.

Or Putin could do something smart like arm the Kurds and sic them on Erdogan (under the table, of course).

both pilots are dead..I believe is the latest report?

He is crazy to think this will work out as he thinks..Hollande asked Obama this morning to
partner with Russia, that is not going to change, so yea..hard to know what
comes next, but Erdogan is fucked. Putin is on twitter stating so, NATO is going to
help ISIS now? Paraphrasing, but you get the idea.

Crazy times, my friend.

Here we are 14 years into Bush's fandango, and I'd say we have that regional war we all predicted here at the time ...

---

Turkey, along with Qatar and Saudi Arabia, supported the jihadists of the Islamic State from the very beginning, the expert said, adding that “Ankara is playing a ‘double game’ today.”

“Turkey pretends to be fighting against IS, while continuing to support the terrorist group, providing weapons,” he said.

To what extent is Turkey-backed ISIS dangerous to Armenia? Hakob Chakryan believes “Ankara will not engage in confrontation with Moscow.”

Besides, he said, the developments in Syria provide ground for optimism. “The Syrian authorities have regained control over Lattakia, the ISIS links to its stronghold in Raqqa will soon be cut and Aleppo will be completely cleared of terrorists.”

http://www.armradio.am/en/2015/11/23/hakob-chakryan-developments-in-syria-provide-ground-for-optimism/

In an interview with Hong Kong-based Phoenix TV, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad says he wants a secular country with ''freedom of religions''. Rough Cut (no reporter narration).

http://in.reuters.com/video/2015/11/23/assad-says-syria-should-be-secular?rpc=401&videoId=366424008&feedType=VideoRSS&feedName=TopNews&rpc=401&videoChannel=1