
Emergency responders escort bystanders away from the active-shooter threat at the Centennial medical park on Friday, 27 Nov 2015. (Image: Colorado Springs Gazette)
Will we eventually know what really happened in Colorado Springs this past week?
That’s a good question, now that the city’s mayor has already pronounced the shooting incident to be an act of “domestic terrorism.” (For some reason, our authorities don’t seem able to jump to conclusions quite as quickly when a suspect shouts “Allahu akbar!” while attacking American servicemen.)
The drumbeat of a narrative emerged almost instantly, about Planned Parenthood being attacked because Colorado Springs is a “hub for conservative Christians” (whatever that is) who are implicitly slavering to shoot up abortion clinics.
A counter-narrative is also circulating, with some reports suggesting that the shooting attack on Friday had nothing to do – at least nothing that goes to motive – with the Planned Parenthood location on which subsequent news coverage has centered. Read More…
Shoulder-fired peace cruises in the Bosporus: Russian sailor on the deck of Russian landing ship Tsesar Kunikov, 4 Dec 2015. (Image: Emre Dagdeviren via Twitter, UK Express)
This incident reportedly occurred the morning of 4 December.
The Ropucha-class tank landing ship Tsesar Kunikov (BDK-158) was heading from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean, conducting a southbound transit of the Turkish Straits. (As documented at the excellent Bosphorus Naval News blog, BDK-158 has been back and forth through the Turkish Straits several times over the last few months. The ship was most recently off Syria in November, and returned to the Black Sea on 25 November before Friday’s southbound transit.)
Turkish media reported that a Russian sailor was photographed on the deck with a shoulder-fired missile launcher in the firing position during the transit. … Read More…
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Posted in Diplomacy, General military, Great power geopolitics, International law, Maritime operations, Naval operations, Political commentary | Tags: Bosporus, Geopolitics, International security, Maritime operations, Military, Montreux Convention, Naval operations, Russia, Russian navy MANPAD on deck, Russian navy provocation in Turkish Straits, SA-18 Grouse, Syria, Turkey, Turkey protests Russia navy Turkish Straits, Turkish Straits