RUSSIAN RESPONSE TO SYRIA CRISIS, UPDATED 04/13/2018

THIS WAS HAPPENING BACK IN MAY 2013 AND IS NOW, 2018, AT CRITICAL MASS....

                   


UPDATE APRIL 13, 2018
WE INCH CLOSER TO A VERY FOOLISH MISTAKE
(FROM THE GUARDIAN, UK)

The US and Russia came significantly closer to a direct clash over Syria on Wednesday when Donald Trump fired off an incendiary tweet that told Moscow to “get ready” for incoming US missiles, which the Russian military has vowed to shoot down.

A standoff over a poison gas attack on a rebel-held suburb of Damascus on Saturday has since spiraled into the most dangerous confrontation between the two nuclear-armed powers since the height of the cold war, driven by Vladimir Putin’s uncompromising backing for the Assad regime in Damascus and the volatility of the US president.

“Russia vows to shoot down any and all missiles fired at Syria,” the US president tweeted. “Get ready Russia, because they will be coming, nice and new and ‘smart!’ You shouldn’t be partners with a Gas Killing Animal who kills his people and enjoys it!”

The Kremlin spokesman, Dmitry Peskov, called for calm.

“We do not participate in Twitter diplomacy,” Peskov was quoted as saying by Interfax. “We support serious approaches. We continue to believe that it is important not to take steps that could harm an already fragile situation.”

Despite the president’s menacing tweet, both the White House spokeswoman, Sarah Sanders, and the defence secretary, James Mattis, suggested a decision on military action was still pending.

“All options are on the table and a final decision hasn’t been made,” Sanders said.

Mattis said the US was “still assessing intelligence” on Saturday’s attack on Douma , before attending a White House meeting of military and intelligence chiefs chaired by Vice-President Mike Pence.

In anticipation of an attack, Syrian planes had been flown to three Russian airbases and senior Syrian government officials had been moved to safe houses in Damascus, according to sources in Turkey.

A US naval battle group – including the guided missile destroyer USS Donald Cook, and mostly likely a cruise missile submarine, USS Georgia – was in place in the eastern Mediterranean on Wednesday night.


AMERICAN ALLIES LINE UP
France has a missile ship, the Aquitaine, in the eastern Mediterranean and Rafale fighters armed with cruise missiles in Jordan and Abu Dhabi. President Emmanuel Macron has declared that proven Syrian regime responsibility for chemical weapons use would cross a red line for France.

In London, Theresa May summoned her cabinet for an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss the next steps, after warning that the Douma attack, “could not go unchallenged”.

MPs are not due to return to Westminster from their Easter recess until next week; but the prime minister is under pressure to decide whether the UK will join coordinated military action.

Speaking on Wednesday, May pointed the finger at the Assad government, and promised to ensure that those responsible were “held to account”. “The use of chemical weapons cannot go unchallenged,” she said.


RISKY SITUATION WORSENS
“It is hard to think of a more risky situation,” said Joseph Cirincione, the president of the Ploughshares Fund, an arms control advocacy group. “You have the US attacking from the air against ground forces intermingled with Iranians and Russians. The chances of the US killing Russians or Iranians are quite high. Their reaction is unknown but it is certainly not going to be understanding.”

RUSSIA DENIES U.S. CLAIM, AND SOME AMERICANS AGREE THE ATTACK WAS A SET-UP OR A HOAX.

The Russian foreign ministry doubled down on its claim that no chemical attack occurred, saying at a briefing: “This is a total deception on a global scale.”

“Damascus has neither the motive to use chemical weapons nor the chemical weapons themselves,” Zakharova, the foreign ministry spokeswoman, said. “There is no proof of their use by Damascus.”

The latest bellicose tone from the White House, and pressure from the military not to give Russia time to prepare its air defences inside Syria, raises questions about whether the US will wait for a British parliamentary endorsement for action.

MANY IN AMERICA CALLED IT A FALSE FLAG.
THE TEA ROOM WONDERS IF IT COULD HAVE BEEN TURKEY AGAIN AS IT WAS LAST TIME, IF WE BELIEVE WHAT PREVIOUS VICTIMS TOLD MAJOR NEWS SOURCES.


In the hours between this week’s chemical weapons attack in Syria and President Donald Trump’s retaliatory missile strike, conspiracy theorists worked to discredit the civilian deaths. They called it a "false flag" operation designed to trigger American involvement in the country’s civil war.

Bloggers, political leaders and even Dilbert cartoonist Scott Adams all questioned the reason behind the toxic gas attack on April 4 in Khan Sheikhoun, a rebel-controlled area in northwestern Syria.

Ron Paul: Syrian Chemical Attack "Makes No Sense," Another False Flag


FROM MILITARY TIMES; RUSSIA WARNED OF ATTACK BEFORE IT HAPPENED
April 8, 2018 - Russian claims that US is planning a false-flag chemical weapons attack is a distraction, Pentagon says. On Tuesday, Russian officials claimed that militants are preparing to use chemical agents in Syria and intend to put the blame on the government of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad

FROM 'VETERANS TODAY', A SITE BRANDED AS A 'CONSPIRACY THEORIST' SITE, BUT IS IT PROOF?

Proof: Intel Drop, Trump, Bolton behind Syria chemical attacks, confirmed

American, British and Israeli military personnel captured in Syria have confirmed they were ordered to stage chemical attacks in East Ghouta by their governments.  We do know that US Representative Tulsi Gabbard of Hawaii, a US Army combat veteran of Iraq, met with both President Assad and Donald Trump, in order to arrange for covert exchange, for substantial financial consideration, of captured Americans. 

APRIL 8, 2018   
Today another chemical weapons stockpile was found in East Ghouta, produced in Germany, fully weaponized and commercially produced by Merck.

Merck was the primary producer of chemical weapons for Germany in World War I and George Merck founded the War Research Service along with Frank Olson in 1944, which using captured Germany and Japanese scientists and research facilities, took control of America’s biological and chemical warfare production which continues to this day in facilities at Fort Meade, Maryland and at the Lugar Lab in Tibilisi, Georgia in partnership with the current government of Ukraine.
VT asked the Syrian government for serial numbers and closeup photographs of chemical weapons used. Syria sent them to us today.

[MY NOTE, TEA ROOM: THERE ARE PHOTOS ON THE VT WEBSITE, SO GO THERE TO VIEW THEM IF YOU WISH.]

Last week, Russia and Syria announced the capture of British chemical weapon stockpiles in East Ghouta along with the capture of a “coalition” command and chemical weapons facility with all personnel. Taken from the combined statement censored from the western press, from March 25, 2018

“The Syrian Arab Army and with the help of Russian captured a shipment of chemical weapons destined for the Eastern Ghouta. These were British weapons produced at Porton Down in Salisbury.

Russian suspects that the Skripal incident is related as by their records, Skiripal was working at Porton Down as a chemical weapons trafficker in partnership with a Ukrainian firm. Russia denies attacking Skripal but admits he was under surveillance for his activities involving support of terrorism in Syria and arms trafficking.

Russia says alleged chemical attack in Syria staged by UK


Republican Virginia legislator defends Syrian president ...
The Associated Press › Government News23 hours ago - Richard H. Black said in his 20-minute speech Wednesday that Assad might have been framed for a suspected chemical attack last weekend.


US Intel Veterans Urge Trump to Seek Evidence Before Attacking Syria

ASSAD WOULD BE A TOTAL IDIOT TO USE CHEMICAL WEAPONS JUST AS TRUMP HAD VOWED TO PULL THE U.S. OUT OF SYRIA.
NOBODY IS THAT STUPID!

NOR WOULD RUSSIA HAVE USED CHEMICALS JUST AS THEY SAW AN END TO U.S. INVOLVEMENT IN SYRIA'S AFFAIRS.

[END UPDATE 04/13/2018]


UPDATE NOV. 2015
SYRIA IS HEATING UP.

As of November 24, 2015, following Turkey shooting down the Russian warplane over Syrian airspace, Russia added her guided missile cruiser, Moskva (Moscow) which will lie off the coast of Syria's Latakia province.
RUSSIA ALSO ADDED A GRAVE WARNING AFTER DEPLOYING THIS CRUISER:"We warn that every target posing a potential threat will be destroyed." 


FOR MORE ON THAT DEVELOPMENT, SEE "RUSSIAN GUIDED MISSILE CRUISER DEPLOYED OFF SYRIAN COAST".


IF JUST ONE TRIGGER FINGER ON ANY SIDE TWITCHES THE WRONG WAY, THIS SHOW OF MUSCLE WILL GO NUCLEAR FASTER THAN WE CAN BLINK AN EYE.
THE U.S. WENT TO DEFCON 3 OVER KOREA MOVING A FEW MISSILES TO ITS COAST, BUT HERE WE ARE IN THE MED PLAYING 'KING OF THE HILL' WITH RUSSIA, AND ISRAEL PULLING STUNTS LIKE THE 2 MISSILE LAUNCHES IN SYRIA'S GENERAL DIRECTION YESTERDAY, IRAN JUST WAITING FOR A STRIKE IN THEIR DIRECTION, AND WE STAY AT DEFCON 5?

RUSSIA EXPANDS MEDITERRANEAN FLEET TO 10 WARSHIPS
September 13, 2013
http://rt.com/news/navy-warship-syria-mediterranean-800/
The Russian Navy intends to build its presence in the Mediterranean Sea - particularly in the area close to Syrian shores - to up to 10 battleships, announced Admiral of the Fleet Viktor Chirkov.

“The task is crystal clear: to avoid a slightest threat to the security of the state. This is a general practice of all fleets around the world, to be there when a tension level increases. They are all going to act on operational command plan of the offshore maritime zone,” Chirkov told journalists on Friday. "Russia will be building up its Mediterranean fleet until it is deemed sufficient to perform the task set."

Russia began military build-up in the Mediterranean in 2012, and starting from December last year the Navy established a constant presence in the eastern part of the Mediterranean Sea. 
 Currently there are seven warships deployed in the area: landing craft carriers Aleksandr Shabalin’, ‘Admiral Nevelskoy’, ‘Peresvet’, ‘Novocherkassk’ and ‘Minsk’ from Russia’s Black and Baltic Sea Fleets, as well as the escort vessel ‘Neustrashimy’, and large anti-submarine ship ‘Admiral Panteleyev’.

According to previous reports, the missile-carrying cruiser ‘Moskva’ passed the Straits of Gibraltar on September 10 and is expected to arrive at its final destination in eastern Mediterranean on September 15 or 16.

Upon the arrival of the ‘Moskva’, its commander, Sergey Tronev, will assume operative command of the task force.

Commander Admiral Viktor Chirkov also said that more than 80 Russian battleships and support vessels are currently offshore in various parts of the global ocean. >>

DON'T FORGET, ISRAEL IS THERE ALREADY
09/03/2013
http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2013-09-03/russian-defense-ministry-reports-ballistic-missiles-fired-meditteranean-israel-says-

<<Two “ballistic targets” detected Tuesday in the Mediterranean by the Russian military were launched by the Israeli military as part of a joint US-Israeli test of its missile defense system, an official in Tel Aviv said.

     “The launches we’re talking about were a test of the Anchor target missile that is used for testing our missile defense system,” an Israeli Defense Ministry representative told RIA Novosti.
      The launch was part of joint tests with the US military and were successfully tracked by radars in Israel, the official added.
The targets’ trajectories ran from the central to the eastern Mediterranean, the spokesman said. A diplomatic source in the Syrian capital, Damascus, told RIA Novosti that the targets fell into the sea.

NATO has no information about the launch of "ballistic targets" in the Mediterranean and is looking into those reports, an official from the alliance told RIA Novosti Tuesday.

So with the world on the edge, and everyone waiting for the "other side" to take the initiative and send a an immediate triggerhappy response, the US and Israel decided to conduct a cruise missile "test" in a hot zone, without warning Russia or anyone else in advance? >>

Iran, Russia and China, among other countries, have warned against foreign military intervention in Syria.

IN AUGUST, France dispatched the advanced frigate Chevalier Paul to the region from the Mediterranean port of Toulon, French news site Le Point reported.
Meanwhile, reports say Britain has deployed six Typhoon jets to its Akrotiri base in Cyprus.


"Russia Raises Stakes in Syria.
Assad Ally Bolsters Warships in Region; U.S. Sees Warning"
Wall Street Journal


<<Russia has sent a dozen or more warships to patrol waters near its naval base in Syria, a buildup that U.S. and European officials see as a newly aggressive stance meant partly to warn the West and Israel not to intervene in Syria's bloody civil war.

Russia's expanded presence in the eastern Mediterranean, which began attracting U.S. officials' notice three months ago, represents one of its largest sustained naval deployments since the Cold War. While Western officials say they don't fear an impending conflict with Russia's aged fleet, the presence adds a new source of potential danger for miscalculation in an increasingly combustible region.

"It is a show of force. It's muscle flexing," a senior U.S. defense official said of the Russian deployments. "It is about demonstrating their commitment to their interests.">>

FROM THE GUARDIAN, UK, 12 September 2013

<<Both Russia and the US have been beefing up their naval presence in the Med over the past several weeks.

The destroyer Smetlivy left a naval base in Sevastopol, Ukraine, on Tuesday on a mission to the Syrian coast, a military source told the state news agency Interfax on Thursday.

The source said the Smetlivy would travel to the Mediterranean with the amphibious assault ship Nikolai Filchenkov, which left Novorossiysk on Monday carrying unidentified supplies for the Damascus government.

Russia has dispatched a "carrier killer" missile cruiser, the Moskva, flagship of Russia's Black Sea fleet, to the Syrian coast to lead the Russian force there. The ship is reportedly known as a "carrier-killer" because it is outfitted with Vulkan missiles, that are designed to destroy large ships.
[ Note, 11/24/2015, The Moskva just redeployed to the area after the Russian warplane was shot down.]

According to a scientist working on military research, the deployment will put Russia in a position to evacuate its citizens currently in Syria and serve as a deterrent against military actions by Turkey and other players in the region.

"The demonstration of strength, the demonstration of the flag, is an additional argument for Russia to be seen as important player," they said.

Moscow dispatched ships to the Med starting in late August, but officials have maintained that the deployments are routine and not part of a naval buildup. The size of the fleet there has nonetheless increased: Russian forces in the Med will grow to 11 ships by mid September, the newspaper RBC Daily reported.

The US Navy deployed an additional destroyer – its fifth – to the eastern Mediterranean at the end of August. The force could launch Tomahawk missiles at targets in Syria if Barack Obama orders an attack.

Retired admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, chairman of the defence committee of the state Duma and the former commander of the Black Sea fleet, told RBC Daily that the increased Russian presence is a demonstration of force that will nonetheless not be able to match US strength in the eastern Mediterranean.

"The fact that we're building up our forces on the Syrian coast is the normal reaction of a government whose interests there are being interfered with," Komoyedov said.>>

THE DEFCON WARNING SYSTEM HAD THIS TO SAY:

<<September 1st, 2013, DEFCON 5. Condition Green.
There are currently no imminent nuclear threats against the United States at this time.

The United States is sending more warships to Syria in response to chemical weapon use, which is irritating Russia. Russia has responded by sending additional warships of its own.  However it is not believed that Russia will engage the United States over Syria, at least as long as no ground invasion takes place or any missile attack by the United States is limited.

According to officials and sources in the region, U.S. policies toward Egypt are causing Egypt to gravitate away from the United States and toward Russia, regardless of who wins control of the government there.

Also in the Middle East, the United States is helping Saudi Arabia develop nuclear technology as the Saudi government states that if Iran acquires nuclear weapons, Saudi Arabia will do so as well.  There are unconfirmed reports that Saudi Arabia is already storing nuclear weapons for Pakistan while border skirmishes have increased between India and Pakistan.

The U.S. 341st Minuteman Missile Wing failed a recent security test.  While exact details are unknown, it was stated that to elaborate could reveal a potential vulnerability.

Russia plans to deploy space weapons designed to destroy missiles in space while at the same time opposing the same kind of projects the United States attempts to engage in. Additionally, Russian bombers have entered Japan airspace near Okinoshima in much the same way that Russia has invaded Alaskan airspace recently.

Japan has unveiled its largest carrier since World War II, prompting a complaint from China against Japan's military expansion as China continues its own expansion.  China has conducted another test of a mobile ICBM which is capable of striking the United States, mobile ICBMs being more difficult to detect and counter, although they are less accurate. Intelligence has indicated that North Korea has doubled the size of its Yongbyon uranium enrichment facility.

Officials believe that the Iranian heavy water plant in Arak could be capable of producing weapons grade plutonium by next year while Zimbabwe is said to have signed a deal with Iran to supply uranium. Zimbabwe has denied such a deal exists.

The DEFCON Warning System is a private enterprise which monitors world events and assesses nuclear threats against the United States by national entities. It is not affiliated with any government agency and does not represent the alert status of any military branch.>>

REALLY?
NO NUCLEAR THREAT???
WHY NOT?
LOOKS TO BE FROM ALL DIRECTIONS!

WAY BACK IN MAY,
<<U.S. officials said another round of Israeli airstrikes could target a new transfer of advanced missiles, anti-ship weapons known as Yakhont missiles, in the near future. Israeli and Western intelligence services believe the missiles, which have been sold by Russia to Syria in recent years, could be transferred to the militant Hezbollah group within days. Russia has strongly protested previous Israeli strikes in Syria.

Yakhont missiles are an offensive system. Moscow has told Western diplomats it will supply only defensive weaponry to the Syrian regime. But U.S. and Israeli officials have long been worried about Syria's existing stocks of the weapon. If transferred to Hezbollah or other militant groups, they could provide a serious threat to both Israeli and U.S. warships in the region.>>


THIS ALL SEEMS TO GO AGAINST WHAT PRESIDENT PUTIN SAID TO THE AMERICAN PEOPLE IN THE NEW YORK TIMES ON SEPT. 11, 2013

By VLADIMIR V. PUTIN
Published: September 11, 2013

<<The potential strike by the United States against Syria, despite strong opposition from many countries and major political and religious leaders, including the pope, will result in more innocent victims and escalation, potentially spreading the conflict far beyond Syria’s borders.
A strike would increase violence and unleash a new wave of terrorism. It could undermine multilateral efforts to resolve the Iranian nuclear problem and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and further destabilize the Middle East and North Africa. It could throw the entire system of international law and order out of balance.

 Syria is not witnessing a battle for democracy, but an armed conflict between government and opposition in a multi-religious country.
There are few champions of democracy in Syria. But there are more than enough Qaeda fighters and extremists of all stripes battling the government.
The United States State Department has designated Al Nusra Front and the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, fighting with the opposition, as terrorist organizations.

This internal conflict, fueled by foreign weapons supplied to the opposition, is one of the bloodiest in the world.

Mercenaries from Arab countries fighting there, and hundreds of militants from Western countries and even Russia, are an issue of our deep concern. Might they not return to our countries with experience acquired in Syria? After all, after fighting in Libya, extremists moved on to Mali. This threatens us all.

From the outset, Russia has advocated peaceful dialogue enabling Syrians to develop a compromise plan for their own future.

We are not protecting the Syrian government, but international law.
We need to use the United Nations Security Council and believe that preserving law and order in today’s complex and turbulent world is one of the few ways to keep international relations from sliding into chaos.

The law is still the law, and we must follow it whether we like it or not.
Under current international law, force is permitted only in self-defense or by the decision of the Security Council.
Anything else is unacceptable under the United Nations Charter and would constitute an act of aggression.

No one doubts that poison gas was used in Syria.
But there is every reason to believe it was used not by the Syrian Army, but by opposition forces, to provoke intervention by their powerful foreign patrons, who would be siding with the fundamentalists.
Reports that militants are preparing another attack — this time against Israel — cannot be ignored.

It is alarming that military intervention in internal conflicts in foreign countries has become commonplace for the United States. Is it in America’s long-term interest?
 I doubt it.
Millions around the world increasingly see America not as a model of democracy but as relying solely on brute force, cobbling coalitions together under the slogan “you’re either with us or against us.”

But force has proved ineffective and pointless. Afghanistan is reeling, and no one can say what will happen after international forces withdraw.
Libya is divided into tribes and clans. In Iraq the civil war continues, with dozens killed each day. 
In the United States, many draw an analogy between Iraq and Syria, and ask why their government would want to repeat recent mistakes.>>

WELL, THAT'S WHAT THE MAN SAID...
NOW WE WAIT TO SEE WHAT THE SAME MAN DOES.
AND WHAT OUR NATION DOES...

BY THE WAY, JUST SO YOU KNOW, IN JULY, 2012, A HIGH-TECH NUCLEAR-POWERED RUSSIAN SUBMARINE PATROLLED IN OUR GULF OF MEXICO, UNDETECTED... FOR HOW LONG EXACTLY, NO ONE WILL SAY.

<<A Russian Akula-class nuclear attack submarine sailed undetected in the Gulf of Mexico for weeks, and was only discovered after it left.

THIS IS THE SECOND TIME since 2009 that a Russian submarine has sailed close to the US.

The incident occurred at the same time as Russian bombers flew inside restricted US airspace, as Russia flexed its military muscle.

Akula-class submarines, initially developed by the Soviet Union in the 1980s as a direct competitor to the US Navy's Los Angeles-class submarines, remain the most capable attack submarines in Russia's fleet.

The incident will come as an embarrassment to the US Navy, which is tasked with the detection and tracking of foreign submarines.>>

The Akula Class carry up to 12 Granit submarine-launched cruise missiles. The missiles are fired from the 533mm torpedo launch tubes.
 Granit (Nato designation: SS-N-21 Sampson) has a range of about 3,000km and delivers a 200kt warhead.
The CEP (the circle of equal probability) is 150m.
The CEP value is a measure of the accuracy of strike on the target and is the radius of the circle within which half the strikes will impact. The land attack Granit missile uses inertial and terrain following guidance.
The submarine's anti-ship missiles are the Novator SS-N-15 Starfish and the Novator SS-N-16 Stallion. The Starfish, fired from the 533mm tubes, has a target range of 45km.

The Stallion, fired from the 650mm tubes, has a longer range of up to 100km.
The Stallion and the Starfish can be armed with a 200kt warhead or a type 40 torpedo.
An air defense capability is provided by a Strela SA-N-5/8 portable missile launcher with 18 missiles."

FORTUNATELY FOR US, THE SUB WAS SUPPOSEDLY ON ANOTHER MISSION LOOKING AT THE STILL-LEAKING BP WELL IN THE GULF.
IT FOUND PLENTY TO WRITE HOME ABOUT!

 "'The Gepard Akula II nuclear-powered submarine is the most advanced stealth underwater vessel ever built and began its sea trials last month in the Gulf of Mexico where it went undetected by US Naval Forces for weeks until it had left the region and resurfaced in the Atlantic Ocean much to the embarrassment of the Americans.
Ordering of the Gepard Akula II to the Gulf of Mexico, and a potential confrontation with US Naval Forces, this report says, was based on Russian scientists belief that the damage done to the sea floor was not reparable and that for the last over two years the Americans have continued to use chemicals to disperse the still leaking oil.

US national security expert Normal Polmar when asked to comment on the exploits of the Gepard Akula II was quoted by the Washington Free Beacon News Service as saying: “Sending a nuclear-propelled submarine into the Gulf of Mexico-Caribbean region is another manifestation of President Putin demonstrating that Russia is still a player on the world’s political-military stage.”

These Northern Fleet reports, however, state that the Gepard Akula II’s mission was not one of power, but rather economics as Russia continues to weigh buying BP’s Gulf of Mexico oil assets which they are now asking $7.9 billion for.

According to this report, these fears were confirmed when the Gepard Akula II detected US Naval Forces delivering hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil chemical dispersements to the leaking BP wellhead which, unfortunately, were carried off their scheduled course by Hurricane Ernesto causing the deaths of millions of fish that washed up on the beaches in Galveston, Texas, in late 2012.
On the second anniversary of the BP Gulf of Mexico oil disaster Russia Today reported that this massive cover-up was still ongoing leaving the American people to believe this worst ecological catastrophe in their history was over.'"

[SOURCE: EUROPEAN UNION TIMES, AUG. 15,2012, ]

  WE DID NOT DETECT THE RUSSIAN SUBMARINE OFF OUR SHORELINE.
MAYBE WE SHOULD SPEND SOME OF THOSE PENTAGON TRILLIONS ON BETTER DETECTION?

MAYBE WE SHOULDN'T BE SO QUICK TO DISMISS RUSSIA AS A SECONDARY PLAYER IN GLOBAL AFFAIRS OR MILITARY CAPABILITY?

MAYBE SOMEONE SHOULD BE TRIED FOR FAILURE TO PROTECT OUR GULF COAST, OUR NATION?

MAYBE WE SHOULD FINALLY JUST GET THE HELL OUT OF THE MIDDLE EAST AND TEND TO BUSINESS IN THE "HOMELAND" WHERE OBVIOUSLY THERE IS NO "HOMELAND SECURITY"?