04-14-2016 (Photo: ‪Heavy Fighting in Battle for Palmyra in Syria‬) http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/contact http://JohnBatchelorShow.com/schedules http://johnbatchelorshow.com/blog Twitter: @BatchelorShow Unstable Levant: Syria, Russia & Iran vs. Egypt & Saudi Arabia. Malcolm Hoenlein. Michael Singh. Ted Deutch. Lawrence Franklin. Simon Henderson. Yosi Kupperwasser. Even after Russian President Vladimir Putin’s sudden March 14 announcement that cut short Russia’s Syrian deployment, officials said they would maintain a muscular presence on twin air and naval bases in coastal Syria. But the current level of activity would suggest that the pullout has been minor at best, despite last month’s fanfare — returning aviators were greeted with bouquets and brass bands, while military officials declared victory — and Russian officials’ insistence that they have withdrawn from Syria. The discrepancy leaves the Kremlin running a large-scale operation in war-torn Syria even as Russia’s powerful state media insists otherwise. The Russian activities on the ground are a sign that the Kremlin has little intention of dialing back support for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. Russia also does not appear ready to cede space in Syria to other nations involved there, including the United States. • https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/europe/weeks-after-pullout-from-syria-russian-military-is-as-busy-as-ever/2016/04/11/d150a004-fd77-11e5-a569-2c9e819c14e4_story.html • http://www.wsj.com/articles/syrians-head-to-polls-for-parliamentary-elections-1460533105 • http://www.jpost.com/Middle-East/Iran-News/Irans-Special-Forces-reportedly-suffering-heavy-losses-in-Syria-451090 • http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/irans-army-suffers-its-first-casualties-in-syria • http://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-alawites-in-syrian-society-loud-silence-in-a-declaration-of-identity-re

• http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/The-indecisive-and-confusing-state-of-the-Palestinian-leadership-451019 • http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/news/Israel-on-a-charm-offensive-to-African-countries-/-/2558/3156556/-/view/printVersion/-/c2p9gx/-/index.html • http://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/AII-urges-Africa-to-build-strong-partnership-with-Israel-430572# • http://jcpa.org/article/whitewashing-palestine-eliminate-israel-case-one-state-advocates/ • http://www.jpost.com/Israel-News/Politics-And-Diplomacy/Is-Obama-planning-his-revenge-on-Netanyahu-451162 • https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/policy-analysis/view/the-islamic-state-extremism-and-the-spread-of-transnational-terrorism

• http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7812/iran-khamenei-economy • http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/04/11/irans-daily-oil-exports-surge-by-600000-barrels-as-opec-meeting-looms/ • http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7579/iran-deep-state • http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/08/459709/Iran-defense-missiles-Kerry-Jazayeri/ • https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0322.aspx • http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-13/u-s-argues-against-more-iranian-sanctions-after-missile-tests • http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/may-clifford-d-can-america-change-course/

http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7812/iran-khamenei-economy • http://fuelfix.com/blog/2016/04/11/irans-daily-oil-exports-surge-by-600000-barrels-as-opec-meeting-looms/ • http://www.gatestoneinstitute.org/7579/iran-deep-state • http://presstv.ir/Detail/2016/04/08/459709/Iran-defense-missiles-Kerry-Jazayeri/ • https://www.treasury.gov/press-center/press-releases/Pages/jl0322.aspx • http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2016-04-13/u-s-argues-against-more-iranian-sanctions-after-missile-tests • http://www.defenddemocracy.org/media-hit/may-clifford-d-can-america-change-...