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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT            Politix   
Report: U.S. Coalition Cuts Islamic State Revenues over 90 Percent
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
U.S. Has Bombed More Afghan Jihadists in 2017 Than Any Year Since 2012
[Breitbart] U.S. President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
’s administration has intensified the American air war against the resilient Taliban
...Arabic for students...
and growing Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS/ISIS) branch in Afghanistan, dropping 3,328 bombs on the jihadists so far in 2017, more than during any other full year since 2012, military figures reveal.

According to recently released data from the U.S. Air Forces Central Command (AFCENT), which covers military activity in the Middle East and the Afghanistan region, the American military had dropped 3,328 munitions on Afghan bandidos bandidos myrmidons as of the end of September, exceeding the number of bombs launched during all of 2016 (1,337), 2015 (947), 2014 (2,365), and 2013 (2,758), respectively.

The U.S. Arclight airstrikes launched on Afghan targets so far this year more than tripled the bombs dropped during the same period (January through September) last year.

Airstrikes this year, if they continue at the same pace, could also very well surpass the record 4,084 weapons dropped in 2012.

In September alone, the Trump administration dropped more bombs than any other month since 2012.

While the Afghan Taliban and its allies remain the most prominent terrorist threat in Afghanistan, the United Nations
...the Oyster Bay money pit...
reported that Islamic State branch in the country, known as the Khorasan province (ISIS-K), has expanded its reach to unprecedented levels in the last few months ‐ extending its presence from one to seven provinces and escalating its attacks.

Nevertheless, AFCENT notes that the Trump administration is determined to defeat the Taliban and ISIS-K, crediting the president’s new Afghan war strategy with the increase in Arclight airstrikes against the two groups.

"September marked a record high month for weapons employed in Afghanistan since 2012, with 751 munitions being delivered against Taliban and ISIS ‐ Khorasan targets; a 50 percent jump from August," notes the U.S. Air Force in a statement published with the new Arclight airstrike data, adding:

This increase can be attributed to the President’s strategy to more proactively target myrmidon groups that threaten the stability and security of the Afghan people. Additionally, the recent addition of six F-16s at Bagram Air Base, coupled with more B-52 missions dedicated to Afghanistan, offer the additional strike capacity needed to target these groups.

Last week, top Pentagon officials told politicians the Trump administration had lifted restrictions on the rules of engagement (ROE) for U.S. troops in Afghanistan, no longer requiring them to be in contact with bandidos bandidos myrmidons in Afghanistan before opening fire.

"So these kinds of restrictions that did not allow us to employ the air powerfully have been removed, yes," U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis told politicians.

"We are no longer bound by the need for proximity to our forces," Pentagon chief Mattis told the House Armed Services Committee in the afternoon. "It used to be we have to basically be in contact with that enemy."

Mattis noted that Gen. John Nicholson, the top commander of U.S. and NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
troops in Afghanistan has the authority to decide when to target the enemy.

Gen. Joseph Dunford, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who testified alongside Mattis, explained that there is no terrorist group in Afghanistan that the U.S. commander does not have the authority to pursue.

"Wherever we find them, anyone who is trying to throw the NATO plan off, trying to attack the Afghan government, then we can go after them," emphasized Mattis.

Under the previous administration, the top commander of U.S. and NATO forces in early 2012 told politicians that the former president had taken away his authority to offensively target the Taliban, only allowing American troops to shoot in self-defense.

In August, President Trump unveiled his South Asia strategy, which primarily focuses on defeating ISIS and pressuring the Taliban into a reconciliation agreement with the Kabul government.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/15/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Maybe because they failed to listen to Ripley from the start. Ripley: I say we take off and nuke the entire site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure. No. So we get to experience a long series of sequels. How's that kinder gentler war going for you? /rhet question
Posted by: Procopius2k || 10/15/2017 7:44 Comments || Top||


India’s role in Afghanistan not acceptable to Pakistan: Nafees Zakaria
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The foreign ministry of Pakistain once again reiterated Islamabad’s stance regarding the role of India in Afghanistan, calling it a controversial presence which is against the stability of the region.

Speaking to news hounds in Islamabad on Friday, the ministry of foreign affairs front man Nafees Zakaria claimed that India’s controversial role in Afghanistan is neither in the interest of regional stability nor is it acceptable to Pakistain.

He went on to claim that Indian role in Afghan’s conflict can endanger regional stability.

Zakaria further added that Pakistain takes this issue very seriously and has raised it on several international fora.

This comes as the Afghan officials have long been insisting that the Afghan soil will never used and no party will be allowed to use it against its neighbors.

Posted by: Fred || 10/15/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Karzai reiterates his stance regarding the Durand Line
[Khaama (Afghanistan)] The former Afghanistan's Caped President Hamid Maybe I'll join the Taliban Karzai
...One of the more egregious mistakes of the post 9-11 era...
reiterated his stance regarding the controversial Durand Line separating Afghanistan and Pakistain, insisting that he has never and will never accept the line as the formal border between the two nations.

Speaking during a presser in Kabul today, Karzai said we want good relations and friendship with Pakistain but the Afghan nation will never accept Durand Line as the formal border.

In other parts of his speech, Karzai said such claims are baseless and are not true that twenty terrorist groups are operating in Afghanistan.

However,
a lie repeated often enough remains a lie...
he expressed concerns regarding the deployment of ISIS fighters by alien helicopters.

The former Afghanistan's Caped President asked the United States to help and provide information regarding such movements.

This comes as Karzai earlier accused the US forces in Afghanistan for aiding the loyalists of the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) terrorist group.

In an interview with the Russia Today and in response to a question whether there was any suspicion that the US was aiding ISIS group, Karzai said "I have more than suspicions."

Posted by: Fred || 10/15/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It must be hard to have a foot on both sides of the river.
Posted by: newc || 10/15/2017 1:02 Comments || Top||

#2  It must be hard to have a foot on both sides of the river

Isn't that a famous Pashtun poem? "I have a foot on both sides of the river, but alas I cannot swim."
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/15/2017 12:38 Comments || Top||

#3  Trailing, you do not miss anything. It is also OT with one foot in the sea and one on land.

Bravo Dear!
Posted by: newc || 10/15/2017 22:58 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Newt: 'The alligators are really unhappy that Trump is draining the swamp.'
[The Hill] Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich says the Washington, D.C., establishment is enraged with President Trump because he is following through on his promise to "drain the swamp."

"Donald Trump really is draining the swamp, and the alligators are really unhappy," Gingrich told John Catsimatidis on AM970's "The Answer." "This guy is actually doing what he said he would do: We're getting conservative judges nominated. We are getting regulations rolled back."

"We're getting a much more aggressive pro-American trade policy and pro-American foreign policy," Gingrich said. "The other side sees this as the end of their way of life."

The former House leader pointed to the release of American hostages held by the Taliban by Pakistani troops this week as a concrete result of Trump's foreign policy shift.

"The Pakistanis understand how much tougher and how much more aggressive the Trump Administration is than the Obama Administration," Gingrich said. "And I think they're trying to find some way to appease us because they know that we are very angry at them."

"Remember, they had bin Laden in their country for a decade," he added. "As a result, they’re scrambling to find a way to appease us."
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/15/2017 12:03 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  How has he drained the swamp so far? I like a lot of what he's done but I still haven't seen a ton of firings as I'd expected.
Posted by: Glolurong Bumble6930 || 10/15/2017 17:52 Comments || Top||

#2  but I still haven't seen a ton of firings as I'd expected.

Remember all those people at the State Department who resigned, Glolurong Bumble6930, not to mention complaints about how many positions remain unfilled? I have to imagine that State is not the only department where that happened -- remember, the new management had committed to reorganizing to better meet new objectives once the current organization and current objectives had been understood. It is my understanding they'd targetted to have achieved understanding about now.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/15/2017 19:13 Comments || Top||

#3  A newt is a little alligator with no teefs
Posted by: M. Murcek || 10/15/2017 19:15 Comments || Top||

#4  Might want to look at the EPA and the Department of Education. You might be surprised at how many positions are being rated as "no longer necessary".
Posted by: Old Patriot || 10/15/2017 23:36 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Rouhani hits back at Trump after nuclear deal speech
[Al Jazeera] Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has hit back at his US counterpart, Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
, over his aggressive new strategy towards Iran, saying Tehran will remain committed to a multinational nuclear deal as long at it serves its national interests.

Rouhani's remarks came in response to a speech by Trump earlier on Friday in which the US president "decertified" his backing for the landmark deal - also signed in 2015 by Britannia, La Belle France, Russia, Germany and the European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
- and left its fate in the hands of Congress.

"What was heard today was nothing but the repetition of baseless accusations and swear words that they have repeated for years," Rouhani said in a televised address from Tehran.

"The Iranian nation does not expect anything else from you," he added.

Rouhani called the deal not renegotiable, adding that Trump's decision to not certify it would isolate the US as other signatories of the accord remained committed to it.

Posted by: Fred || 10/15/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Terror Networks
Report: U.S. Coalition Cuts Islamic State Revenues over 90 Percent
[Breitbart] The U.S. led coalition currently fighting Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
(ISIS) has slashed the organization’s revenues by over 90 percent over the past two years, according to statistics provided to USA Today.

The statistics reveal that oil production in the caliphate’s major strongholds of Iraq and Syria has dropped to a new low of under $4 million a month. ISIS was making $50 million a month two years ago after the group swept through regions seizing dozens of lucrative oil refineries, including the Bayji refinery in Iraq and the oil-rich Deir al-Zour region in eastern Syria.

Coalition forces began a campaign designed to deplete ISIS’s oil revenues back in 2015, known as Operation Tidal Wave II, and have since destroyed over 2,500 ISIS-owned tanker trucks, dozens of mobile refineries and other oil infrastructure operated by the group.

"The coalition has regularly conducted strikes against ISIS and their oil production capabilities to degrade their ability to generate revenue from oil resources and facilities," the coalition said in a statement.

Another faction battling to retake oil refineries is the Syrian Arab Army, which last month reclaimed significant territory, including an oil field, with the support of Russian forces.

The statistics are another sign that the coalition is winning the war against ISIS, given that oil revenues account for over half the organization’s total revenue, alongside looting campaigns on banks and extorting cash from civilians in occupied cities.

Meanwhile,
...back at the hoedown, the fiddler suddenly struck a sour note. The dancing stopped abruptly. Everyone looked at Bob...
a report in May also found that the U.S.-led coalition had increased the number of Arclight airstrikes against ISIS by 50 percent over the course of 2017, as it seeks to fully incapacitate the terrorist organization.

In May, Defense Secretary James Mattis credited Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
with the coalition’s success, citing factors such as giving greater responsibility to battlefield commanders and the loosening of Obama-era rules of engagement that some in the military claimed amounted to micromanaging military activity.

"He has delegated authority to the right level to aggressively and in a timely manner move against enemy vulnerabilities," Mattis said in May.

In July, Iraq and the U.S. coalition also celebrated the complete liberation of djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
from the Islamic State following a violent months-long campaign, although much of the city now lies in ruins, thousands dead and maimed, while nearly a million people were forced from their homes.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/15/2017 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Let it be known that Obama refused to bomb them out of 'environmental concerns'. If any asshole out there would like to continue the fiction that Obama's not an enemy of the USA, this is another data point.
Posted by: Raj || 10/15/2017 0:21 Comments || Top||

#2  The carbon footprint of any burned tankers is offset by the jihadis carbon footprint being reduced to zero.
Posted by: gorb || 10/15/2017 0:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Not going to believe it until John Koskinen conducts a personal and extensive on-site audit of the books.



Might take, say, 10 years or so?
Posted by: Anomalous Sources || 10/15/2017 1:34 Comments || Top||

#4  Let it be known that Obama refused to bomb them out of 'environmental concerns'. If any asshole out there would like to continue the fiction that Obama's not an enemy of the USA, this is another data point.
Posted by Raj


If your resources are being consumed by an endless tribal conflict in Afghanistan, your responsibility for the monitoring of other global issues and mischief may go unnoticed.

Victory was never a Soetoro-Brennan objective.

Also see: Bloodletting (or blood-letting) a withdrawal of blood from a patient to cure or prevent illness and disease.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/15/2017 7:10 Comments || Top||

#5  How much was the contribution to the Clinton Foundation cut at the same time? I figure that half that 90% was going in graft.
Posted by: AlanC || 10/15/2017 8:38 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
18[untagged]
12Islamic State
3Taliban
2Govt of Iran
2Govt of Syria
1Commies
1Govt of Iraq
1Govt of Pakistan
1Hizb-i-Islami-Hekmatyar
1al-Nusra
1Jaish-e-Mohammad
1Lashkar e-Taiba
1Moslem Colonists
1al-Shabaab (AQ)
1Abu Sayyaf (ISIS)
1Boko Haram (ISIS)

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Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2017-10-15
  Report: U.S. Coalition Cuts Islamic State Revenues over 90 Percent
Sat 2017-10-14
  Iraqi forces move to begin operations against Kurds
Fri 2017-10-13
  Iraq PM Denies Attack Plan as Tensions Rise with Kurds
Thu 2017-10-12
  British jihadi Sally Jones killed by US drone strike fleeing ISIS hell
Wed 2017-10-11
  Bangladesh arrests top leaders of Jamaat-e-Islami
Tue 2017-10-10
  Nusra Front, Islamic State clash in Syria's Hama province
Mon 2017-10-09
  Syrian rebels capture ISIS HQ in Deir Ezzor
Sun 2017-10-08
  Two Saudi guards killed in attack on royal palace in Jeddah
Sat 2017-10-07
  Driver 'deliberately mows down pedestrians' outside London Museum
Fri 2017-10-06
  Iraqi premier claims victory against Islamic State in Hawija
Thu 2017-10-05
  3 Special Forces Troops Killed and 2 Are Wounded in an Ambush in Niger
Wed 2017-10-04
  Daesh defense line collapses in Hawijah as Iraqi forces liberate more villages
Tue 2017-10-03
  Key ISIS member Qari Zahid killed in US drone strike in East of Afghanistan
Mon 2017-10-02
  Terror Attack in Las Vegas - Mass Shooting - Updated 50+ dead, 400+ wounded
Sun 2017-10-01
  Kurdish secession bid in Iraq threat to entire region: Hezbollah chief


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