This morning's key headlines from GenerationalDynamics.com

• Russia accuses Turkey of 'beating up' crew members on intercepted Syrian passenger plane
• Turkey says that intercepted Syrian passenger plane contained Russian munitions
• Tensions grow between Russia and Turkey
• Hizbollah chief Nasrallah admits to sending the mysterious drone over Israel

Russia accuses Turkey of 'beating up' crew members on intercepted Syrian passenger plane

Jasem Kaser, engineer on the intercepted Syrian Air passenger plane, showing where he was beaten. (AFP)

Passengers aboard the Syrian passenger plane that was diverted on Wednesday while traveling from Moscow to Damascus said that Turkish security forces forced the crew and passengers to sign fraudulent papers about the incident. According to a hostess:

"Four people onboard have been beaten up, two crew and two passengers, as they tried to force them to sign documents. We don’t know what these papers are about. We are scared for the fate of the captain. He was taken away and threatened with arrest if he does not sign an emergency landing paper."

The plane captain was quoted as saying, "either I sign the document that I made an emergency landing or they are taking me hostage." Russia and Syria are denying that there was any military equipment on the plane, and characterized Turkey's actions as "piracy." Russia Today

Turkey says that intercepted Syrian passenger plane contained Russian munitions

Turkey's prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the Syrian passenger plane that was diverted on Wednesday while traveling from Moscow to Damascus was carrying Russian munitions, presumably intended for the army of Syria's president Bashar al-Assad:

"These were equipment and ammunitions that were being sent from a Russian agency ... to the Syrian Defense Ministry. Their examination is continuing and the necessary (action) will follow. ...

As you know, defense industry equipment or weapons, ammunitions and such equipment cannot be carried on passenger planes. It is against international rules for such things to pass through our air space."

Erdogan refused to say where he got the intelligence tip that the passenger plane was carrying military gear: "As you will appreciate, those who gave the tip, which establishments, these things cannot be disclosed." However, I heard one analyst on Thursday say that he believed the tip came from Nato or from American intelligence. AP

Tensions grow between Russia and Turkey

The conflict in Syria has already significantly raised tensions between Russia and Turkey, as shown by Russian president Vladimir Putin's cancellation of a Monday visit to Turkey shows, but the intercepted Syrian plane incident is liable to threaten the entire relationship. At the same time, Turkey and the U.S. have accused Iran of shipping weapons to the Bashar al-Assad regime, and have accused Iraq of allowing Iran's weapons to reach Syria by traveling through Turkey.

These events confirm the trend that Generational Dynamics has been predicting for seven or eight years that the Mideast is headed for a major realignment as we approach the Clash of Civilizations world war. In that war, the West will be allied with India, Russia, Iran and Israel, while China will be allied with Pakistan, Turkey and the Sunni countries. Spiegel

Hizbollah chief Nasrallah admits to sending the mysterious drone over Israel

Secretary General Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah of Lebanon's terrorist group Hizbollah confirmed Western suspicions by announcing, in a televised speech on Thursday, that Hizbollah had dispatched the drone that flew over Israel last week:

"First of all, regarding the drone, we witnessed unique operation in the history of Lebanon and the region. The Resistance claims responsibility for the operation. The Resistance in Lebanon sent a sophisticated reconnaissance drone from Lebanon toward the [Mediterranean] Sea, which it crossed for hundreds of kilometers, before it entered [Israeli airspace] and hovered over many important locations before it was discovered by the Israeli air force. Today, [Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin] Netanyahu held Hezbollah responsible for [sending] the drone.

The drone was not Russian made, but Iranian. It was [assembled] in Lebanon. [It] took off in the specified trajectory for hundreds kilometers and arrived in an area close to [Israel’s] Dimona [nuclear] plant. As for the Israeli [claims] that they discovered it over the sea and [forced it over] land, I say they are lying to their people. ...

We named the operation after martyr Hussein Ayoub, who was the first [Hezbollah] expert in this field. We want to name the drone “Ayoub” [which is also the name] of our Prophet."

Now Lebanon

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