[Tolo News] ISIS's propaganda machine, largely credited with effectively attracting fresh recruits, has been weakened by military setbacks in Iraq and Syria, a US study said Tuesday.
The jihadist group's photo and video dissemination has been cut drastically year over year, research by the West Point military academy's Combating Terrorism Center revealed.
While 700 pieces of media were produced by ISIS in August of 2015, numbers began declining late last year, with only 200 put out during the same month in 2016, the researchers said.
"It is clear that the organization has been forced to cut back these activities in response to the increasing amount of counterterrorism pressure brought to bear against the organization," said the study.
It also noted there were fewer images depicting a well-running jihadist "caliphate" in the form of schools, libraries, police and public services.
"This decline suggests that the group is struggling to maintain the outward appearance of a functioning state," the study said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the wine tasting, Vince was about to start on his third quart... videos showing the execution of spies have increased significantly, demonstrating either "paranoia" amid increasing pressure or challenges from within that are causing a public display of brutality.
The view that ISIS's online outreach is weakening is shared by a number of experts in the field, said JM Berger, a US specialist known for his studies on jihadists' Twitter presence.
ISIS's propaganda arm has been decimated by coalition strikes and has found a tough time amid a crackdown by social networks, he said.
"They have less media available now, it is more difficult to find, and the content itself is considerably less optimistic and less varied," he told AFP.
"All of this is likely to continue to depress their recruitment efforts, although it doesn't completely mitigate the problem," he said.
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[Tolo News] The Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Wednesday criticized the recent remarks made by first Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum ...ethnic Uzbek warlord who distinguished himself fighting the Soviets and the Taliban. The story that he had a bad guy run over with a tank is an exaggeration. It was an armored personnel carrier... on the Afghan army's action against threats.
"These remarks are not from military specialists. They would have specialty in other fields, but the way that we work is that first we assess the situation to see where is the enemy and how are their forces and facilities. And then we decide and determine our forces and equipment to be used against
them," said Mohammad Radmanish, deputy front man for the MoD.
Recently Dostum said in an interview with TOLOnews that the security forces are not using good methods to fight the Taliban.
"The war in Afghanistan cannot be run by computers. It cannot be done the way you sit in a base and give orders to a regiment commander via computer. It cannot be done that you order the battalion commander and then the regiment commander and at the end the forces remain weak on the battleground," Dostum said.
He added: "This defect is with the generals and commanders of regiments as they are not willing to take action themselves."
Meanwhile, ...back at the comedy club, Boogie ducked another tomato... a number of military analysts said they believe that soldiers based in military bases should be ready to face any kind of threat from myrmidons.
"The equipment, assessment and monitoring of check posts are always very important," said military commentator Atiqullah Amarkhail.
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[IsraelTimes] A Soddy Arabia ...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face... n lobbyist in the US has called for "a collaborative alliance" between Riyadh and Jerusalem based on regional and economic interests, citing "a historic opportunity" for a new era of peace and prosperity.
Salman al-Ansari, president of the recently established Saudi American Public Relations Affairs Committee in Washington DC, wrote in The Hill on Tuesday that Israel is uniquely situated to assist its neighbor in its economic development in the coming years.
Israel, he noted, was "one of the most sophisticated and technologically advanced countries in the field of mining," as well as "a world leader in the water engineering industry" -- both matters of significant interest to the developing Arab Kingdom.
Israel and Saudi Arabia have no formal ties. However, man does not live by words alone, despite the fact that sometimes he has to eat them... it has long been rumored that the two countries have held clandestine discussions on matters of regional security, and talk of warming relations has proliferated in recent months.
Perhaps the chief incentive for such a thaw is the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers -- a deal that leaves Riyadh concerned over its position in the Middle East.
Al-Ansari stressed that the two nations share security concerns, with both "facing constant threats from bad boy groups that are directly supported by the totalitarian government of Iran."
Israel and Saudi Arabia, he argued, could serve as "the new twin pillars of regional stability," and together could help foster peace and development throughout the Middle East.
He urged leaders on both sides not to "stifle" the opportunity for both countries to develop these mutual goals.
Recent months have seen various signs of the change in tone between Saudi Arabia and Israel.
A media campaign in Saudi Arabia in August sought to combat anti-Semitism in the kingdom, in a possible effort to prepare public opinion for deepened relations with Israel.
In late July, a retired Saudi general visited Israel, heading a delegation of academics and businessmen seeking to encourage discussion of the Saudi-led Arab Peace Initiative.
Meanwhile a former Israeli minister, who met with the visiting Saudi delegation, said peace between the nations was very much "in the cards."
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Saudi King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... Bin Abdel Aziz has ordered that the victims of last week’s attack on a Yemeni funeral who are at death's door be transferred outside the country for treatment.
King Salman instructed aid officials to coordinate with the Arab coalition fighting rebels in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... and the legitimate Yemeni government "to facilitate the evacuation of those maimed... and needing treatment abroad," the official Saudi Press Agency reported.
More than 140 people were killed on Saturday, in what is largely claimed to be an air raid on a funeral ceremony for the father of a rebel leader in the Yemeni capital Sanaa
The Saudi-led coalition initially denied any responsibility in Saturday’s attack in Sanaa, but have since launched an investigation into the incident.
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Left-wing UK activists have slammed the Stop the War coalition (STWc) over its refusal to heed a call by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to protest Russian air strikes on Syria.
The vice-chairman of Britain’s Stop the War coalition on Wednesday said he opposed protesting against Russian bombing of Syria because “the media and politicians” are trying to portray Moscow as the “only problem”.
Chris Nineham was interviewed by the BBC after Johnson on Tuesday urged his group to protest against the ongoing Russian bombardment of rebel-held east Aleppo.
Nineham said his organisation has protested against the Russian war in Syria with “statements” but that they would not be calling for a public rally to demand an end to Moscow’s backing of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in his war against various rebel groups.
“We do not want to contribute to the jingoism and hysteria that is being whipped up against Russia, because that hysteria is being used to try and justify an escalation of the British war effort,” he told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
STWc's stance on Syria, however, has divided left-wing activists in the UK, many of whom believe there should be more grassroots action in support of Syrian civilians.
Mark Boothroyd, a Labour party activist and founding member of Syria Solidarity UK, said that the STWc position on Russia was "completely unprincipled". Boothroyd dismissed the oft-repeated argument by coalition that they only targeted their own government's actions as that was where they could apply leverage.
"Yes I think we should oppose Britain when it's doing things which are not good for the civilians of Syria, and its support for Israel and its backing of Saudi Arabia in its attack on Yemen, but we can also protest other countries when they're carrying out other barbarisms. It's just political consistency and speaking to principle."
Current leader of the opposition Labour party Jeremy Corbyn was a former president of the STWc and spoke at their conference on Saturday. His stance on Syria has been criticised by some of his own supporters, who argue he has been unwilling to sufficiently critcise the Assad government or condemn Russian bombing.
On Monday, a petition was launched by left-wing activists and Labour party members calling for a change in Corbyn's position with regards to Syria, warning that "failure to act on this issue now threatens to undermine practically and politically much of the work done over many years by the anti-war movement."
Peter Hill, a member of the pro-Corbyn pressure group Momentum and signatory to the petition, told MEE that he believed that there should be active campaigning against Russia's actions in Syria.
"As the open letter to Jeremy Corbyn stated, I think that anti-war activists and socialists should condemn the actions of all states which commit acts of aggression and war crimes, not only those of Western powers or states aligned with the West," he said. "I too am sceptical about the motives and interests of Western powers involved in Syria, but I do not see this as a good reason to hedge about condemning Russia and the Assad regime, as the Stop the War Coalition have done.
"Protests at the Russian embassy are an entirely appropriate response to the atrocities committed by Russia in Syria."
#1
Stop The War and related movements are only there to harm the West. Their deluded followers are trying to do what the organization was ostensibly founded to do, hence the confusion.
#4
Left-wing UK activists have slammed the Stop the War coalition (STWc) over its refusal to heed a call by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to protest Russian
[Breitbart] France's President Hollande has admitted that his country has a problem with Islam and has warned that France’s national symbol could one day be a woman in a burka. He has also questioned the patriotism of French football stars of Middle Eastern descent.
His comments have been revealed via a new book titled A President Should Not Say That... The book details 61 private conversations Hollande held with Le Monde journalists Gerard Davet and Fabrice Lhomme between 2012, shortly after the President's election, and this year.
The comments reveal that Hollande has changed his mind on mass migration into France during his tenure, admitting "I think there are too many arrivals," the Daily Mail has reported.
And on France's Muslim population, one of the largest in Europe, the President is said to have commented: "It's true there's a problem with Islam, it's true. It's not in doubt."
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The Turkish government will soon restart efforts to change the constitution and expand presidential powers, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on Wednesday, reviving the controversial plan after an opposition leader signalled his support.
President Tayyip Erdogan, who has ruled The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... since 2003, has pushed for a new constitution with an executive presidency at its centre that places him firmly in charge. Some opinion polls in the past have shown a majority oppose the change.
However, the way to a man's heart remains through his stomach... Erdogan has consolidated both his power and popularity since an abortive coup failed to oust him on July 15. Some 240 government loyalists and 100 rogue troops were killed in the spasm of violence.
A state of emergency imposed in July to root out plotters from the security and civil services has allowed the government to rule by decree.
"Turkey must give the de facto situation a legal status," Yildirim, a loyalist whom Erdogan appointed to the job in May, told members of the ruling AK Party in comments aired live.
The system will help state institutions work more harmoniously and ensure political stability is lasting, he said.
Turkey's most popular leader in 80 years, Erdogan was elected to the top post in 2014 after serving three times as prime minister. The current charter describes the office as largely ceremonial.
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] As The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Iraq traded insults over the Turkish troop presence outside djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... on Tuesday, the United States urged its allies to resolve the spat before a major offensive on the city.
Iraq is preparing to fight to liberate Mosul from ISIS with support from the United States and a broad -- though sometimes fractious -- coalition of international partners.
But recent preparations for the looming offensive have been overshadowed by tensions between Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... and Iraq’s Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi.
Abadi has repeatedly urged Turkey to withdraw troops deployed near the northern city in an area nominally part of Iraq but controlled by forces loyal to the country’s autonomous Kurdish region.
Erdogan has refused, insisting that Turkey has a role to play in liberating the city from the turban, and with tempers rising, both sides have resorted to insults.
In Washington, State Department front man John Kirby said the operation would be led by Iraq and that it was a matter for Baghdad which forces should be deployed on its sovereign territory.
"The Turkish forces that are deployed in Iraq are not there as part of the international coalition and the situation in Bashiqa is a matter for the governments of Iraq and Turkey to resolve," he said.
Ankara maintains an estimated 2,000 troops in Iraq, around 500 of them in the Bashiqa camp training local fighters whom Turkish media say will join the battle to recapture Mosul.
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#1
Because everything seems to get worse when Jawn Kerry gets on an airplane for the ME, I fear things will only get worse...
#5
I've got a bad feeling about the Mosul campaign. Iran will try to start something with US troops and it turns into a free for all. And Putin will just sit back and watch.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Municipality of Tehran and Metropolis, the World Association of Major Metropolises, signed an agreement in Iran's capital on Sunday to boost mutual cooperation in various fields. Baseball? Snowshoes? Walleye tourism?
The agreement was signed by Mayor of Tehran Mohammad Baqer Qalibaf and President of the Board of Directors of Metropolis Denis Coderre, at a ceremony at Tehran's Milad Tower on Sunday.
Speaking to reporters, Qalibaf highlighted Tehran's close ties with Metropolis over the past two decades, expressing the hope that the new agreement would result in stronger cooperation with the association. Pointing to the presence of Mr. Coderre in Tehran, who is also mayor of Montreal, Qalibaf hoped that Tehran's Municipality could find ways to promote cooperation with the Canadian city in the municipal and cultural affairs.
Tehran Municipality has been member of Metropolis since 1992 and has participated in most of its past programs.
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#1
MONTREAL — The Globe and Mail
Tuesday, Feb. 25, 2014 2:00AM EST
Montreal is about to celebrate its 375th anniversary, but Quebec’s economic engine is not aging gracefully. So alarming is its decline that a group of business leaders is pleading for urgent action.
“Montreal has been slowly decelerating for 15 years, and now it shows. Another 10 years of this and we will be in clear and present danger,” said Jacques Ménard, chairman of BMO Nesbitt Burns and president of the Bank of Montreal in Quebec.
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The US Supreme Court agreed Tuesday to consider a lawsuit that accuses former senior government officials of abusive detentions of immigrants colonists rounded up after the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
At issue is the responsibility of former attorney general John Ashcroft, former FBI director Robert Mueller and other officials of the administration of then-president George W. Bush, who argue they are immune from prosecution.
In the wake of the 9/11 attacks by al-Qaeda operatives in New York, Washington and aboard a commercial airliner, US authorities questioned and detained more than 750 immigrants colonists because they lacked the proper immigration documents.
The plaintiffs say they were targeted because they were Moslems or of Arab descent, and were held for no valid reason.
They recounted abusive detentions, including being held in isolation, deprived of sleep, and subject to insults and physical abuse by guards.
Two of the current eight Supreme Court judges have recused themselves, after apparently having worked on cases that could pose a conflict of interest.
The hearing is not yet scheduled but will come before the court's annual session ends in late June. The case could be heard by seven judges if the vacant spot on the nine-judge panel is filled.
If the hearing comes before January 20, when President Barack Obama They get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren't like them... finishes his second term, it would mean his Democratic administration would be defending the Republican Bush administration.
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Public in small town deliberately kept in the dark about plans to move in 100 Syrians I can see how someone from Syria would really enjoy the change in scenery! Maybe show them the movie White Christmas for cultural assimilation prep?
Amal Clooney nearly caused an international incident at the Iraqi UN Mission of Iraq in Manhattan when she lectured the ambassador on Islamic State and showed up with an unauthorized camera crew.
According to the New York Post, the human rights lawyer wife of George Clooney originally demanded to meet with the prime minister at the mission during the UN General Assembly, but that was rejected and she settled for the country's UN Ambassador Mohamed Ali Alhakim, two Iraqi officials confirmed. Nothing like a raging sense of entitlement to win people over
She arrived with Yazidi refugee and Noble Peace Prize nominee Nadia Murad on September 15, and, right from the get-go, she used a "dismissive, lecturing tone" with Alhakim while discussing how to bring captured IS fighters to justice, one official said.
When the conversation turned to the Yazidi people, Clooney made it seem as if they were the only religious sect in Iraq being slaughtered by IS, the official said.
The ambassador and his staff tried to offer her a "full picture" outlining each group targeted by IS, but Clooney was "completely uninterested" and "tone deaf to the whole thing," the official said, noting, "It was highly offensive. I have had cousins decapitated." SJW don't care about facts. Just about getting their feelings met.
Alhakim, who had 65 of his own family members exterminated by Saddam Hussein's ruthless regime, became infuriated with Clooney and, at one point, turned to her, stating, "This is highly insulting. This is very unacceptable," the official said.
Despite Clooney's "obnoxious" behavior, the tense meeting lasted about 80 minutes because the Iraqi diplomats wanted "to be respectful to Nadia," the official noted. I would have thrown that entitled bitch out on her nose
When the meeting finally ended, the parties went downstairs to the lobby, where Clooney's "media team" carrying film equipment had shown up unannounced ‐ a violation of standard protocols that required pre-approval by the mission, the official said.
Clooney requested an on-camera interview with the ambassador, but was quickly shut down and escorted outside with her posse.
"The main issue is what she did and how she did it is absolutely outrageous and using a victim of war crimes as an accessory and political currency. That makes my blood boil," the official said. This is how they operate to get their way.
Clooney's personal assistant did not return an email request for comment and efforts to reach the lawyer by phone were unsuccessful.
h/t Instapundit
Israel faces a unique window of danger from Nov. 9 to Jan. 20: What might President Obama do in his final days in office to slam the Jewish state?
Start with Secretary of State John Kerry’s recent flat refusal to promise a US veto on any upcoming anti-Israel resolution in the UN Security Council.
...We don’t expect Obama to see the light this late in the game. But if he moves to grab another "legacy" item at Israel’s expense, he’ll only further set back hopes for any progress on the Israeli-Arab front.
[Yahoo.UK] As relations between the West and Russia steadily deteriorate, Royal Air Force (RAF) pilots have been given the go-ahead to shoot down Russian military jets when flying missions over Syria and Iraq, if they are endangered by them. The development comes with warnings that the UK and Russia are now "one step closer" to being at war.
RAF Tornado pilots have been instructed to avoid contact with Russian aircraft while engaged in missions for Operation Shader – the codename for the RAF's anti-Isis work in Iraq and Syria. But their aircraft have been armed with air-to-air missiles and the pilots have been given the green light to defend themselves if they are threatened by Russian pilots.
"The first thing a British pilot will do is to try to avoid a situation where an air-to-air attack is likely to occur — you avoid an area if there is Russian activity," an unidentified source from the UK's Permanent Joint Headquarters (PJHQ) told the Sunday Times. "But if a pilot is fired on or believes he is about to be fired on, he can defend himself. We now have a situation where a single pilot, irrespective of nationality, can have a strategic impact on future events."
The RAF Tornados aircraft will be armed with heat-seeking Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missiles (Asraams, also called AIM-132 missiles). These weapons, which cost £200,000 each, can reach triple the speed of sound and have a longer range than other air-to-air missiles, allowing RAF pilots to shoot down enemy aircraft without being targeted themselves.
The Sunday Times' report quoted a defence source as saying: "Up till now RAF Tornados have been equipped with 500lb satellite-guided bombs — there has been no or little air-to-air threat. But in the last week the situation has changed. We need to respond accordingly."
"We need to protect our pilots but at the same time," said another source. "We're taking a step closer to war. It will only take one plane to be shot down in an air-to-air battle and the whole landscape will change."
[UKDefenceJournal] Several news sources have reported over the weekend that RAF Tornados bombing Islamic State targets in Iraq are to be armed with air-to-air missiles to protect them from attack and that RAF pilots have been cleared to fire on hostile Russian jets. The Sunday Times features a similar story and quotes a military source who is alleged to have said “up until now there has been no or little air-to-air threat, but the situation has changed and we need to respond accordingly”.
An MOD spokesperson said: "There is no truth to this story."
Russia had summoned Britain’s defence attache in Moscow to explain reports that RAF pilots had been authorised to shoot down Russian aircraft in the Middle East, the Foreign Office says.
The Foreign Office said the reports, over the weekend, had been inaccurate.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/13/2016 00:00 ||
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#1
I can't imagine anything in Syria worth going to war with Russia over.
I think the original intent was to replace Assad with a MoBro to, along with a MoBro Egypt, put pressure on Israel, have Netenyahu lose the election, and give rise to a Paleo state, Peace in Our Time and Legacy, leftists put a kewpie on the mantel.
Manbij – Zainab Ali is the first Arab woman to join the Asayish security forces in Manbij city, in northern Syria. The unprecedented step is considered a revolution on the conservative traditions in this area, traditions that have been for long seen as violating women’s freedoms by keeping them indoors.
Zainab says she joined the Asayish forces to fight for the freedom of Arab women in the conservative society of Manbij.
“I am proud to join the Asayish forces, especially after suffering a lot of suppression in my private life. Being a part of those forces would give me the opportunity to protect other women in my society and fight for their rights,” she told ARA News. “Before the liberation of Manbij, women were extremely oppressed. However, now the women’s rights are a priority for the local administration.”
More that 50 women have so far joined the recently established Asayish police in Mnabij. The Asayish was first launched by the Kurdish Self-Administration in northern Syria.
The number of female police officers is increasing, as Arab women in Manbij have been looking at Kurdish female fighters of Rojava as a symbol.
“Now we have more equality between men and women. This was our main demand,” Fatima Khalaf, a member of the Manbij Traffic Police, told ARA News.
The women inside the Asayish Department are performing different tasks in various positions, such as conducting investigations, supervising police work and dismantling explosives that have been left by ISIS.
It’s worth mentioning that when ISIS was in control of Manbij, the jihadi group used to treat women in a degrading and brutal way. This has led dozens of women to participate in running the city after its liberation from ISIS at the hand of the Kurdish-Arab alliance of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in August. Women are now responsible for protecting the city and administrating the people’s affairs side by side with men.
“Under ISIS, women in Manbij have suffered a lot. We had no basic rights. Women had to stay indoors. Now the situation is completely different. Every woman has the right to criticise and actively participate in the society,” Fatima told ARA News. “I feel myself free of all the traditional constraints now.” Video report at the link
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[Tolo News] The Ministry of Defense (MoD) on Wednesday criticized the recent remarks made by first Vice President Abdul Rashid 
Left-wing UK activists have slammed the Stop the War coalition (STWc) over its refusal to heed a call by British Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson to protest Russian air strikes on Syria.
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - The Municipality of Tehran and Metropolis, the World Association of Major Metropolises, signed an agreement in Iran's capital on Sunday to boost mutual cooperation in various fields.
Amal Clooney nearly caused an international incident at the Iraqi UN Mission of Iraq in Manhattan when she lectured the ambassador on Islamic State and showed up with an unauthorized camera crew.
