With American ships in the Mediterranean sea, according to the channel, were fired more than 50 missiles “Tomahawk”. According to the USA, it was from this airfield took off Syrian aircraft striking strikes on Idlib. About said Advisor to the U.S. President for national security Herbert McMaster.

The US President Donald trump said that no doubt the use by the Syrian authorities banned chemical weapons in violation of UN resolutions.

As stated in the statement released Thursday by the legal counsel of the White house, the US President did not need congressional authorization for a missile strike on the Syrian air base. However, as AFP reports, the views of the Congress about the decision by Mr. trump divided.

According to CNN, the attack was carried out between 20 and 21 hours for Eastern standard time, which corresponds to 3-4 o’clock in the morning Moscow time.

Syrian state television called the missile strike, the armed forces of the United States government the basis of an act of aggression, reports Reuters. The provincial Governor of HOMS Talal Barazi said that the missile attack on the United States serves the purposes of “armed terrorist gangs” and “Islamic state” (IG; banned in Russia).

Fire fighting and rescue operations are continuing on the basis of already more than two hours. Information about victims did not arrive yet. The airbase, which the United States launched a missile attack, was used by the Syrian army to fight ISIS. According to Reuters, according to the Governor, at the airbase there are no “significant casualties” as “material damage”.

U.S. Secretary of state Rex Tillerson said that contacts with the Russian leadership before the strike on the Syrian airfield was not. “Contacts with Moscow, with Vladimir Putin was not” – said Mr. Tillerson, noting that they comply with the agreement between the U.S. military and the Russian Federation on the prevention of conflicts.

At the same time, the American military had previously reported that he contacted the Russian army at the established lines of communication to inform about the impact of, and Advisor to Donald trump on national security Herbert McMaster clarified that the US tried to minimize the risks for them.

The foreign Ministry intends shortly to make a statement in connection with the incident.

Russia will demand an urgent convocation of the UN security Council, missile U.S. attack on Syria is an act of aggression against a UN member, said the head of the Federation Council Committee on defense Viktor Ozerov. “Russia, above all, requires the urgent convocation of the UN security Council. This can be seen as an act of US aggression against the state of the UN,” he said.

He also said that this strike could undermine efforts to combat terrorism in Syria. “I do not exclude that it will be a very bad example for the armed opposition in Syria, this may call into question the agreements reached with the opposition, including in Geneva,” — said Ozerov.

According to the Chairman of the Federation Council international Affairs Konstantin Kosachev, the impact of American cruise missiles at Syrian airbase tonight, “is actually, in addition to claimed “to punish the crime,” only one purpose — powder “stamp” previously issued a verdict on Assad’s responsibility for chemical attack in Idlib”…

As reported by “Pravda.Ru”, yesterday, the US President admitted that Washington can use military force in response to the recent chemical attack in Syria, which the White house blames the government of Bashar al-Assad. Furthermore, it is alleged that the Pentagon has the capacity to strike at the alleged existing Syrian Arsenal of chemical weapons.

Recall, April 4, the national coalition opposition and revolutionary forces of Syria, said about 80 victims of the attacks using chemical weapons in Khan Sheyhun Idlib and 200 wounded. The blame for the attack, the opposition has placed on Syrian government forces.

For its part, the defense Ministry announced that the Syrian air force struck near the outskirts of the village of Khan shaykhun in Idlib province in the warehouse of ammunition of terrorists, where were the arsenals of chemical weapons, which were delivered to Iraq.

Note that the Western countries have accused the Syrian government troops to use chemical weapons without conducting any investigation and even threatened, if necessary, to act in circumvention of the security Council. In January 2016, the OPCW confirmed the total elimination of chimurenga Syria.

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Lieutenant-General Herbert McMaster will coordinate between the state Department and the power unit USA.

The US President Donald Trump has appointed Lieutenant-General Herbert McMaster the national security adviser. In seven days, law enforcement agencies and the U.S. Department of State must submit to the American President, “a Plan to destroy ISIS” (the organization was banned in Russia). Experts believe that consultation between different departments without the participation of the national security Advisor would be very difficult and therefore the White house was rushing with the appointment of a new employee.

— It would be strange if the document, one of the main foreign policy — “Plan to destroy ISIS” — there would be no national security Advisor. Its task is the coordination of positions of various departments before taking such important decisions, — said an informed source “News” in diplomatic circles in Washington.

29 Jan Donald Trump instructed to prepare within 30 days “Plan to destroy ISIS”. On this document there are several agencies, including the Pentagon, the state Department, the Ministry of Finance and internal security.

After the resignation of Michael Flynn, this post was temporarily taken, General Keith Kellogg. He will continue to work as chief of staff of the Council for national security. Another candidate, former U.S. permanent representative to the UN John Bolton, and a place in the new administration. Donald Trump has asked him to work “in another post”.

According to a source, the post of national security Advisor claimed four candidates. Former US Ambassador to the UN John Bolton, head of the Military Academy at West point Robert Caslen and the already mentioned generals Kellogg and McMaster. All candidates take tough positions on international issues, and the press attributed them to the so-called hawks. On the eve of the appointment of the head of the Oval office held a series of meetings with the main contenders for the position.

— He is a man of immense talent and vast experience. He is highly respected in the army, and we are very proud that he is with us — he described Donald Trump as their new Advisor.

According to sources, “News”, this post also considered the candidacy of the former head of an elite unit of the special operations forces of the US army, Stanley McChrystal and ex-CIA chief David Petraeus. However, both candidates refused the post.

The policy of the national security Advisor is in any case determined by the President.

— The national security Advisor should coordinate and harmonize the positions of different departments. This position is key from the standpoint of addressing issues of foreign and security policy in the United States. At different times this position was occupied by Henry Kissinger and Zbigniew Brzezinski. But the national security Advisor in the current environment, rather, the coordinator for foreign and defense policy, not its author. So everything will still depend on the President, the diplomat said.

Meanwhile, the American political scientist, leading expert of the center of Gulf State Analytics (WA) Theodore Karasik noted that the new administration would not be able to fully engage in foreign and defense policy without the national security Advisor, as it depends on the work of the power unit.

54-year-old McMaster — military personnel, who took part in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan. Before appointment to the White house he was Director of the center for the integration of forces and means of the US army. McMaster had no connections with the team and Trump was not involved in his campaign. However, he is more of a technocrat and performer than the author of the foreign policy concept. In any case, to work at this position need to have a trust relationship with the American President. Henry Kissinger became an influential politician, because he fully trusted President Richard Nixon. The same applies to Zbigniew Brzezinski, who was supposed to Jimmy Carter. Whatever personal qualities may possess McMaster, he will implement the foreign policy program of the President of Donald Trump.

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The delays will affect families claiming the earned income tax credit and the additional child tax credit. These tax breaks are geared to benefit the working poor, and many families claim both.

“For most of these people it’s the biggest check they are going to get all year,” IRS Commissioner John Koskinen said in an interview with The Associated Press. “We are sensitive to that.”

The tax filing season starts Jan. 23. But a new law requires the IRS to delay tax refunds for people claiming these credits until Feb. 15. Processing times will delay most of the refunds until the end of February, Koskinen said.

The delay is designed to give the agency more time to screen the returns for fraud. The IRS estimates that it issued $3.1 billion in fraudulent tax refunds to identity thieves in 2014. The year before, the agency says, it paid out $5.8 billion in fraudulent refunds. Over those two years, the IRS says it blocked nearly $47 billion in fraudulent refunds.

Read more …

Image credit: Joshua Doubek

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