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Today: 75 articles and 210 comments as of 14:30.
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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Acting JMB chief among 7 arrested; plans included snatching jailed Ansarullah chief
Today's Headlines
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Page 6: Politix
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Afghanistan
Jaeger: Danish SOF At War in Afghanistan
[SOFREP] I am pleased to be able to present to SOFREP readers several excerpts from Thomas Rathsack's book "Jaegar" about the author's experience in Denmark's Special Operations unit, the Jaeger Corps. Thomas' book was a big hit in Denmark and has been translated into several languages from the original Danish, but sadly there is no English edition. Not yet anyway. Enjoy these translated excerpts from the author and let's hope we see an English edition real soon. It is time for people to know about the contributions made by our allied Special Operations units. -- Jack

Posted by: Besoeker || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Rumsfeld invited practically every friendly nation to send at least SOF. Not only could we use the help, it means at least their SOF guys got combat experience. Depending on the structures of the various armies, these guys may leave their snake-eater units and take up command positions of one level or another in line units.
In any event, having these guys around was both a current help and a future advantage.
Posted by: Richard Aubrey || 09/20/2014 8:08 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Jihadist forces vie for influence
[MAGHAREBIA] Amidst concerns that the Islamic State (ISIS) might next eye Africa, differences between terrorist groups in the Sahel-Sahara grow deeper by the day.

Self-declared caliphates are popping up all over.

The exodus began August 24th, when Nigerian group Boko Haram
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Tunisia PM rejects presidential bid
[MAGHAREBIA] Tunisian Interim Prime Minister Mehdi Jomaa ended speculation about a possible presidential run, saying he would instead focus on ensuring fair elections.

"I decided, for the sake of the national interest, and in deference to the responsibility that I agreed to assume, and to ethical commitments made with the people, to focus my attention on the end of the transitional period and... transparent and meaningful elections, and not to run for president, "Jomaa said in a speech to the Tunisian people on Wednesday (September 17th).

"It is true that many calls were made and I also received signals from many parties at home and abroad, but I am true to my pledge," he stressed.
Posted by: Fred || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Africa Subsaharan
Iranians Caught In Kenya Carrying Fake Israeli Passports
[Ynet] Young man and woman used real passports and replaced the photos with their own, in attempt to enter Israel.

Two Iranians in their early 20s, a man and a woman, were tossed in the clink
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
in the Kenyan capital Nairobi earlier this week when they were discovered using fake Israeli passports and going by the names Adi and Avshalom.

This is not the first time Iranian nationals are caught abroad with Israeli passports. These passports are very popular in the world because of the relatively extensive freedom of movement they grant their owners.

The difference this time, however, was that the two did not intend to use the passports to move freely in the western world, but in order to enter Israel.

The two tried to board a Brussels Airlines flight to Belgium, and from there board a flight to Tel Aviv.

They were arrested at the Nairobi Airport and taken to the Kenyan immigration office, which informed Israeli authorities of the arrest. The arrest was also reported to the Israeli Embassy in Kenya.

The two Iranians were still being questioned and at present, it is unclear why they sought to enter Israel using the fake passports: whether this was an attempt to spy on Israel, to execute a terrorist attack, or whether the two young people were seeking to start a new life in a western country, and believed Israel was their best option.

The Kenyan authorities provided the Israeli immigration authority with copies of the forged Israeli passports used by the two Iranians to try the country.

An investigation found the passports were real passports stolen abroad. It is yet unclear how the two Iranians procured these passports and who replaced the original photos with their photos.

Israeli officials said that while immigration authorities worldwide remain vigilant when it comes to fake Israeli passports - as it is common knowledge it's easy to forge them - this incident further demonstrates the necessity and advantages of biometric passports, which are impossible to forge.

A biometric passport ensures that even if the passport is lost or stolen, no one else would be able to use it as it would be immediately evident the user is not the passport's original owner.

The Population and Immigration Authority introduced the option for a biometric passport in late June 2013. A biometric passport requires fingerprints of the two index fingers, and a picture of a person's facial features.

The Population and Immigration Authority stressed that biometric documentation was the only one that could ensure the personal safety of the individual and safeguard his identity.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "These passports are very popular in the world because of the relatively extensive freedom of movement they grant their owners" to get their a** shot off in a multitude of nations.
Posted by: borgboy || 09/20/2014 19:13 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
China's war on terror becomes all-out attack on Islam in Xinjiang
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 09/20/2014 00:35 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yep---there's an advantage to not investing all your intellectual capital in self-delusion.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/20/2014 3:06 Comments || Top||

#2  says religion has become a ā€œsymbolic form of resistanceā€ to Chinese rule in a region where other resistance is impossible. Usual PC disclaimer verbiage. It's not "religion" but Islam. Not "Islam" as it was practiced in the region up until very recently, but it looks to be going Salafi which is a hallmark of the Jihad. Strong hints in the article itself that the long beards & face covering are a new phenomenon.
Left out of the article are the relative numbers: How many Islamic Chinese, how many non-Islamic, ratio of Han Chinese to Uighurs, all quite relevant to understanding this story, all left out.
China has an extremely long institutional memory. Anything that has happened in any civilization in the world has, pretty much, already happened in China, not once but several times: highly developed culture, the envy of the world, richest place on earth for a long time, barbarian invasions, barbarians melting partly into the dominant society, barbarians promoted to positions of authority, barbarians then revolting, massive unrest, people selling their children for food, people selling their children AS food, etc. The Han Chinese have been through this before and are (probably) not willing to put up with crap from restive minorities with bad attitudes.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/20/2014 4:33 Comments || Top||

#3  By contrast the West's WOT has turned into something like all-out submission to Islam.
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 09/20/2014 5:40 Comments || Top||

#4  They went after the Falun Gung after all. Ive been expecting this for over a decade now.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 09/20/2014 7:48 Comments || Top||

#5  #1: This Historian says you made an excellent and informative post. Thank you, your points made me think.
Posted by: borgboy || 09/20/2014 18:29 Comments || Top||


N.Korea Threatens Retaliation Over Propaganda Leaflets
North Korea on Monday warned it could retaliate if South Korean activists continue to float propaganda leaflets across the border. The warning came in a fax from the National Defense Commission to Cheong Wa Dae, saying a halt to the floating of propaganda leaflets is a precondition to resuming cross-border talks.

Last Saturday, a spokesman for the North Korean delegation to high-level inter-Korean talks also threatened in a statement that the North would retaliate. The North "can accept the proposal for talks only after these problems are solved," the statement added.

The same day, the North Korean chairman of a committee managing the Kaesong Industrial Complex sent a fax to South Korea saying, "Only when South Korea stops sending leaflets into the North will the talks to discuss issues involving overland passage, communication, and customs clearance procedures resume."

The North is apparently concerned because the volume of leaflets floated by defectors' groups has massively increased in recent days.

One activist group sent more than 10 million propaganda leaflets in August alone, more than double the number in previous years. Another group sent hundreds of thousands of leaflets across the border on Chuseok or Korean Thanksgiving on Sept. 8.

They are taking advantage of autumn winds that blow in a northerly direction while many North Koreans are working in the harvest fields.
Float a few thousand choco-pies over the border. Put a note on each telling the person who gets the pie that there's another dozen just like it waiting for them in the south...
Posted by: Steve White || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  They can print the leaflets on sheets of jerky, can't they?
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/20/2014 4:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Hey you kids! Get offa my lawn!
Posted by: ed in texas || 09/20/2014 9:07 Comments || Top||

#3  Oooooooh -- Sea of Fire leaflets heading south? This could start a new trend!
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 13:00 Comments || Top||

#4  A few thousand choco-pies? An article I found said the group launched 10,000 of them in July. Plus they also put dollar bills in the payload. So finding a ballon is lie winning the lottery.
I'm sure those farm workers are on the look out for leaflets after all can't have the young ones being corrupted. Besides we were just bringing all these leaflets in to you guys!
Posted by: Snavise Cholurt4299 || 09/20/2014 15:57 Comments || Top||


US to keep artillery brigade along Korean buffer zone
[Iran Press TV] The United States is planning to keep an artillery brigade stationed near the buffer zone that separates North and South Korea.

South Korea asked the US to keep the 2nd Infantry Division's 210th Fires Brigade at Camp Casey in the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) earlier this week during military consultations in Seoul, South Korea's Yonhap News reported.

American officials in the meetings "repeatedly and strongly" pushed to keep the unit in Dongducheon in order to maintain combat readiness, as the rest of American forces are set to relocate to the southern half of South Korea, the report said.

A spokeswoman for US Forces Korea said Friday that "any decision to temporarily leave US forces north of the Han (River) will be based on operational necessity. The goal of all (South Korean) and US alliance initiatives is to build adaptive capabilities to deter and defeat future provocations and fight and win should deterrence fail."
Posted by: Fred || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  After more than a half century, why can't the SKors field their own artillery brigades?
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/20/2014 4:59 Comments || Top||

#2  Hyundai just bid $10 billion for 19.6 acres of choice Gang Nam land in S. Korea.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/20/2014 7:08 Comments || Top||

#3  Oh, great, to be the lucky Pierre unit. Hostages who are usually expendable in the State Department's usual bungling. See - Benghazi.

Dongducheon - I understand the Thunder Runs have been outlawed.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/20/2014 8:08 Comments || Top||

#4  It seems to me, and perhaps I'm misreading the situation, that we keep units over there in order to be able to stop the South Koreans from losing their collective temper over Northern aggression and roaring over the border in a conquering frenzy.

Because then China might get mad or something.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 13:03 Comments || Top||

#5  I think we maintain our armed forces in SK due to mental & spiritual inertia.
Posted by: Anguper Hupomosing9418 || 09/20/2014 13:24 Comments || Top||

#6  Anecdotal but on topic: My dentist is a South Korean and even while living the life here in the USA is fearful that Seoul is within artillery range of the commie North. And its true - Seoul could be put to the sword at a moments notice. Sure there would be retaliation, nevertheless Seoul would look like '45 Manila...
Posted by: borgboy || 09/20/2014 19:00 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
Turkey Opens Border to Syrian Kurds Fleeing IS
[AnNahar] Turkey on Friday opened up its border to thousands of Kurds fleeing festivities with Islamic State (IS) murderous Moslems in neighboring Syria, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.

Live television footage showed Syrian Kurd refugees, mostly women and kiddies, crossing to the Turkish side of the border in the southeastern village of Dikmetas, under tight security.

"We have taken in 4,000 brothers," Davutoglu told news hounds in Azerbaijan. "The entries have started now. The number might increase. Their needs will be met. This is a humanitarian mission."

Ankara, which has given shelter to some 1.5 million refugees from the Syrian conflict under an open-door policy, has been refusing to accept any more for fear of being overwhelmed.

Earlier Friday, security forces fired tear gas and water cannon at around 100 Turkish Kurds protesting in Dikmetas at Ankara's refusal to take in the desperate thousands who have massed on the other side of the border in recent days.

Davutoglu said Ankara remained committed to helping Syria's refugee population, although it would give priority to delivering aid inside Syrian territory.

"We will take in our brothers fleeing to Anatolia from Syria or any other place without any ethnic or sectarian discrimination," he said. "As long as Turkey remains strong, and has a capacity, it will help everyone seeking refuge."

But Izzettin Kucuk, the governor of Sanliurfa, said the refugees were taken in as an "exceptional" gesture.

"A permission was granted for our strained Syrian brothers to enter Turkey... they will be settled after identity and health checks," he told Turkish television.

Exhausted refugees carrying bags over their heads were handed food and water as children cried on their laps and women fainted, according to footage broadcast by CNN-Turk television.

An elderly woman in a wheelchair was seen waiting behind Turkey's security forces to cross the border, while a Turkish soldier held a child's hand. The security forces appeared to be expanding the corridor to allow easier passage for the Syrians.

Weeping refugees told tragic stories of IS snuffies executing their relatives, and how some had to leave family members behind to guard over their property.

"God bless the Turkish government. They saved our lives but what will happen to the rest back in Syria?" an elderly refugee told NTV television.

Syrian Kurds had been massing since Thursday on the other side of the border amid escalating festivities between the Islamic State group and Kurdish fighters.

The sound of gunfire was still being heard in Dikmetas, in a sign of ongoing festivities, reports said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
, whose country is a vocal critic of Bashir al-Assad's Syrian regime, said this week the army was mulling the prospect of setting up a buffer zone along the volatile border.

Turkish officials say their biggest concern is another influx of refugees, and hope a humanitarian buffer zone would allow them to extend help to people the other side of the border.

IS jihadists have been closing in on a strategic Syrian town near the border, expelling Kurdish fighters from surrounding villages.

The capture of Ain Al-Arab -- Syria's third largest Kurdish town, known to the Kurds as Kobane -- would give IS control of a large strip of Syria's northern border with Turkey.

Western capitals have upped the pressure on Ankara in recent months to protect its porous frontier and stop the transit of imported muscle swelling the ranks of IS jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Great White North
Russians probe Alaskan AIDZ
Posted by: Skidmark || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Home Front: WoT
Senate Okays US-Israel Strategic Partnership Bill
[IsraelTimes] Legislation declares Israel to be 'major strategic partner,' increases US weapons stockpiles based in Israel

With over three-quarters of its members as co-sponsors,
...enough to override a presidential veto all by themselves...
the Senate unanimously adopted the United States-Israel Strategic Partnership Act late Thursday evening. The bill declares Israel to be a "major strategic partner" of the United States, and its proponents say it will lay the foundation for expanded US-Israel cooperation in defense, energy, agriculture, and a number of other key sectors.

The bipartisan legislation was authored by Senators Barbara Call me Senator! Boxer
Senator-for-Life from Caliphornia...
(D-CA) and Roy Blunt
...A Missouri political oligarch. As a member of Congress he was reelected six times without significant opposition. He married Roseann Ray in May 1967 and had three children with her: Matt (the former Governor of Missouri), Amy Blunt Mosby and Andrew Blunt, both lawyers and lobbyists. Blunt and Ray divorced after 35 years of marriage. Afterward, he married Abigail Perlman, a lobbyist for Kraft Foods. In April 2006, he and his wife adopted an 18-month old boy from Russia, whom they renamed Alexander Charles Charlie Blunt. He will be either a politician or a lobbyist or both when he grows up.
(R-MO) had 81 co-sponsors, out of a total of 100 Senators.

"America's long-standing relationship and strong cooperation with Israel dates back to the presidency of fellow Missourian Harry S. Truman," Blunt said following the bill's passage. "I'm pleased the Senate has passed this bipartisan bill to reaffirm and broaden the important US-Israel alliance through security, energy, and trade during this critical time in the Middle East region."

In addition to declaring that Israel is a "major strategic partner" of the United States, the legislation increases the frequency and detail of US government reporting on Israel's qualitative military edge. It also includes a provision that will expand the authority for forward-deployed US weapons stockpiles in Israel.

Under the new legislation, the US can increase by $200 million the value of US weapons held in Israel -- bringing the total value of US weapons stored in Israel to a total of $1.8 billion. The forward-based weapons stockpiles in Israel have doubled in their value in the past two years, and are meant to speed up US resupply in the event of a crisis in the Middle East.
...or Israeli resupply, ditto.
The weapons in the stockpile can also be used by Israel in the event of an emergency, with Israel reimbursing the US for any weapons used. This stockpile -- known as War Reserves Stock Allies-Israel (WRSA-I) -- jumped to the headlines this summer after the US let Israel use 40mm grenades and 120mm mortar rounds located therein. Under scrutiny,
...by President Obama, who was greatly displeased that he had not been informed of something that had been in his daily report at some point...
the US placed additional reviews on the further transfer of armaments from the US to Israel during Operation Protective Edge.
...causing Israel to bring things to a close more quickly than they would have otherwise.
The legislation will also upgrade Israel's trade status to expedite export licensing, authorize the president to provide assistance to promote cooperation in water, homeland security, agriculture and alternative fuel technologies.
...should he wish to do such things...
In addition, it creates new mechanisms for enhanced energy cooperation, including the establishment of a US-Israel Center of Excellence in energy and water engineering, and supporting the development of research and development and academic partnerships.
I wonder if Alaska Paul feels the sudden need for a sabbatical?
Passed days after Christopher Painter, the State Department's Coordinator for Cyber Issues, visited Israel to discuss cyber-security, the bill also requires that the president study the feasibility of expanding US-Israel cooperation on cyber security.
"I studied it. It's not."
It also includes a carefully-worded provision to encourage the inclusion of Israel in the Visa Waiver Program. Allowing Israelis to enter the US without securing a tourist visa at a US consulate has been a recurring topic for years, but Israel is still not included among the three-dozen states with visa-free entry to the US.

Boxer described the bill "affirming Israel's ability to participate in the visa waiver program as long as she meets existing requirements."

Earlier this year, State Department Spokeswoman Jen Psaki
...a valley girl who woke up one morning and found she was spokeswoman for the U.S. Department of State...
said that Israel has failed to meet the criteria to join the program,
"...especially the criterion requiring that equal numbers of Palestinians receive visas from Israel," she added.
but State Department officials have said they're working with Israel to bring the country into compliance with the requirements for consideration.

A source at a pro-Israel organization described the visa waiver provision as a major advancement, in that its inclusion in the original House version of the legislation spurred the renewed round of US-Israel talks to bring Israel into compliance with the benchmarks. Israel's high rate of visa rejections -- the number of Israelis denied US visas -- is above the US requirement for admission, and the two states have begun working together to try to address that metric.
"Have you served in the IDF?"
"Yes, of course."
"Denied!!" *Bang!!*
The bill also reiterates US support for a negotiated political settlement between the Israelis and Paleostinians resulting in two states living side-by-side in peace and security.
That's nice. Let's give them a generation or so to come to their senses before wasting time trying again, yes?
The passage of the bill was welcomed by AIPAC, which wrote in a statement Friday morning that "this bill will dramatically strengthen and expand the US-Israel alliance as a way to confront new threats and challenges in the Middle East."

William Daroff, senior vice president for public policy and director of the Washington office for Jewish Federations, also commended the legislation, saying that JFNA was "delighted that the Senate has come together to pass this important legislation building upon the remarkable relationship between Israel and the United States."

"In declaring Israel a 'major strategic partner,' the Senate has made perfectly clear that the Jewish state is and will remain one of our strongest allies in the world," Daroff continued. "Alongside this week's House resolution condemning anti-Semitism throughout the globe, it is heartening to know that at times of need, the Jewish community will always be able to count on our Congressional leaders for support."

The House of Representatives adopted a companion bill in March 2014, and pro-Israel advocates, including AIPAC, are pushing both houses to move quickly to reconcile the two versions of the legislation in order to advance it to the president for final approval. Differences between the two bills are described by those familiar with the legislation as 'minimal', and there are hopes that the legislation can be reconciled during the lame-duck session of Congress following the November midterm elections.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Occasionally, USA gives out a sign of not being completely over the hill.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/20/2014 3:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Weak spot is the one at the helm (you know, the same one responsible for enforcing our immigration laws and border security).
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/20/2014 7:58 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
India's PM says al-Qaeda holds no appeal for Muslims
[USATODAY] Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said al-Qaeda is "delusional" if it believes it holds any appeal for India's large Moslem population.

Earlier this month, the head of the Lion of Islam group, Ayman al-Zawahiri
... Formerly second in command of al-Qaeda, now the head cheese, occasionally described as the real brains of the outfit. Formerly the Mister Big of Egyptian Islamic Jihad. Bumped off Abdullah Azzam with a car boom in the course of one of their little disputes. Is thought to have composed bin Laden's fatwa entitled World Islamic Front Against Jews and Crusaders. Currently residing in the North Wazoo area. That is not a horn growing from the middle of his forehead, but a prayer bump, attesting to how devout he is...
, said in a video that it had created an Indian branch that would bring Islamic rule to the entire subcontinent.

"If anyone thinks Indian Moslems will dance to their tune, they are delusional. Indian Moslems will live for India. They will die for India," Modi said in an interview with CNN, excerpts of which were aired Friday. The full interview is to be broadcast Sunday.

Most terrorist threats in India have emanated from Pakistain or Kashmire, the disputed Himalayan region claimed by both countries. Al-Qaeda's influence there is thought to be minimal.

Many analysts in India dismissed al-Zawahiri's video as a publicity stunt that appeared directed more at his own rivals in the international jihadi movement.

Moslems constitute about 13% of India's population of nearly 1.2 billion. The country has largely seen itself as beyond the recruiting territory of international jihadist groups such as al-Qaeda. Over the last few months, however, the Islamic State group has gained at least a handful of followers in India. Last month, an Indian engineering student who was thought to have joined the group was reported killed.
Posted by: Fred || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  As long as you keep shooting them, no.
Posted by: ed in texas || 09/20/2014 9:13 Comments || Top||


Colleagues interrogated over KU dean's murder
[DAWN] Police on Friday interrogated University of Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
faculty in connection with the murder of a professor of Islam known for his liberal views who had been labeled a "blasphemer" in a text message campaign.

Dr Mohammad Shakil Auj, the 54-year-old dean of Islamic Studies at the university, was called an apostate in the widely-circulated message that said he should be beheaded after he issued controversial religious decrees.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Pakistan's Baluchistan separatists demand Scots-style vote
[ARABNEWS] Baluch separatist leaders on Friday called on Pakistain to follow in Britannia's footsteps by holding a referendum similar to Scotland's on granting independence to the insurgency-wracked province.

Scots rejected independence in a vote that left the centuries-old United Kingdom intact despite a surge in nationalist support in the final fortnight of the campaign.

Asked whether a similar poll should be held in Balochistan
...the Pak province bordering Kandahar and Uruzgun provinces in Afghanistan and Sistan Baluchistan in Iran. Its native Baloch propulation is being displaced by Pashtuns and Punjabis and they aren't happy about it...
, Dr. Bashir Azeem, secretary-general of the outlawed Baloch Republican Party, told AFP: "The Baluch have been struggling against the excesses and tyranny of Punjab-dominated establishment of Pakistain for decades."

Punjab is Pakistain's most populous and influential province.

"If a fair referendum is conducted after creating an atmosphere for it, providing the opportunity to Baluch population for deciding their future, it is welcomed," he added.

Resource-rich Balochistan is the largest of Pakistain's four provinces, but its roughly seven million inhabitants have long complained they do not receive a fair share of its gas and mineral wealth.

Rebels began their fifth insurgency against the state in 2004, with hundreds of soldiers and faceless myrmidons killed in the fighting.
Posted by: Fred || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Baloch Liberation Army

#1  Like Jimmy Durante used to say, "Everybody wants to get into the act!"
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 09/20/2014 13:30 Comments || Top||


International-UN-NGOs
Philippine Peacekeepers Pull Out Early From Golan
[Ynet] Filipinos repatriated one months earlier because of the deteriorating security situation in the area, Philippine military front man says.

The Philippine military said Friday the bulk of Filipino peacekeepers of more than 240 soldiers have pulled out two weeks early from the UN mission in the Golan Heights due to escalating fighting in the region.

The 244 Filipino soldiers and support staff will arrive in Manila on a UN-chartered plane on Friday, Military front man Lt. Col. Ramon Zagala said.

A smaller batch of 85 soldiers will arrive Sunday from the Golan, ending a five-year Philippine peacekeeping role that has been marred by Syrian rebel kidnappings and attacks.

Zagala said the long-planned withdrawal is not connected with differences between Filipino security officials and the UN peacekeeping force commander over the recent handling of a now-resolved hostage crisis involving Filipino and Fijian troops in Golan.

"Troops are being repatriated because of the deteriorating security situation," Zagala said, adding the United Nations
...an organization which on balance has done more bad than good, with the good not done well and the bad done thoroughly...
had approved the withdrawal. "Protection of our soldiers is in the national interest."

Among the homebound Filipino peacekeepers arriving Friday are dozens of soldiers who recently battled al-Qaeda-linked Syrian rebels. The snuffies surrounded two U.N. encampments on the Syrian side of the Golan buffer zone but the Filipinos defied a rebel demand for them to lay down their arms and surrender. The Filipinos fought back then managed to escape from the encampments, ending a dangerous standoff. The gunnies also disarmed and kidnapped 45 Fijian peacekeepers who were later freed unharmed.

"They will receive a hero's welcome," Zagala said, adding a motorcade was planned if the stormy weather in Manila eases. They "exhibited courage, bravery and commitment while in the face of overwhelming threat."

The 1,200-strong UN force has patrolled a buffer zone between Syria and Israel since 1974, a year after the Yom Kippur War. For nearly four decades, UN monitors helped enforce a stable truce between Israel and Syria, but the spillover from the Syrian war has led to the abductions of peacekeepers in the last two years, making countries contributing troops wary and prompting several governments to withdraw their troops.

Security conditions on the Syrian side of the Golan, however, have rapidly deteriorated in recent days, directly threatening the safety of UN peacekeepers.
And when the jihadis try to come across the border,the peacekeepers would just get in the way of Israeli defences.
The United Nations said Monday it had withdrawn its peacekeepers from high-risk Golan positions because of escalating fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters and relocated its forces to the Israeli side of the border.
The United Nations said Monday it had withdrawn its peacekeepers from high-risk Golan positions because of escalating fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters and relocated its forces to the Israeli side of the border.

Zagala said the relocated peacekeepers had filled up a UN encampment on the Israeli side of Golan, prompting UN and Philippine military officials to decide to send the Filipino forces home about two weeks earlier than scheduled.

Even before last month's stand-off, the Philippine government had decided not to renew its peacekeeping force in the Golan Heights due to safety concerns.

"Because of this repositioning of all peacekeepers to the Israeli side of Golan Heights and its attendant logistical constraints on UNDOF, it was deemed practical that PH contingent be repatriated earlier than expected," Zagala said.

More than 100 Filipino UN peacekeepers have also been recalled from Liberia amid the deadly Ebola outbreak there.

Despite the Golan pullout, the Philippines will continue joining UN peacekeeping missions abroad and is set to replace its 150-strong force in Haiti this month, Zagala said.

"We are still committed to the UN," he added.

The Philippines also maintains three peacekeeping observers and three staffers in the Ivory Coast and four in the Kashmire region between Indian and Pak forces.
In the latter position, one assumes, their job is to alert India to Pak infiltrators.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: al-Nusra

#1  "When the going gets tough, the not so tough flee"

To paraphrase Prez. RMN
Posted by: borgboy || 09/20/2014 5:24 Comments || Top||

#2  The United Nations said Monday it had withdrawn its peacekeepers from high-risk Golan positions because of escalating fighting between Syrian government forces and opposition fighters and relocated its forces to the Israeli side of the border.

A very practical decision---since their only function in the region is to harass the Zionist entity.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/20/2014 6:22 Comments || Top||

#3  e United Nations said Monday it had withdrawn its peacekeepers from high-risk Golan positions because of escalating fighting
In my present state that phrase strikes me as hilarious. Vaguely related to the drunk searching for his key under the streetlight.
Posted by: Shipman || 09/20/2014 8:02 Comments || Top||

#4  Put them on the Russian/Ukraine border and they would probably beat the Olympic one mile race record...
Posted by: borgboy || 09/20/2014 18:38 Comments || Top||

#5  Keep in mind - when the Filipinos were surrounded by the enemy the U.N. Leadershit (with apologies to all poop out there) ordered them to surrender.
The fact that they basically told the U.N. leadershit to FOAD should give some indication of their mettle.
With that kind of support I really don't blame them. Never. ever, ever trust the U.N. to cover your back - ou will regret it!
Posted by: CrazyFool || 09/20/2014 21:28 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Analyst: Islamic State Propaganda Seeks to Draw West to Battle
[VOA News] As a U.S.-led coalition coordinates strategy against the Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, the group's tech-savvy public relations machine grabs headlines with shocking videos and other propaganda. But some regional analysts say while the Islamic State warns the coalition to stay away, its real goal is to draw the West into battle.

In a video released Thursday, British journalist John Cantlie speaks like a newscaster, saying he is a prisoner of the Islamic State group, also known as ISIS and ISIL.

Cantlie was kidnapped in Syria two years ago while traveling with James Foley, an American reporter. The militants have beheaded Foley, another American journalist and a British aid worker. In the video, which looks professionally shot, Cantlie wears orange like the other men wore when they were beheaded.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Yea, so?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/20/2014 6:24 Comments || Top||

#2  SO, now we know.

The ISIL guys are "twelvers" the group of Islamist that believe in the 12th imam. According to their ideas, his return will signal the apocalypse and the return of Mohammed and the other major profits.

Oddly, they believe if they can reverse the equation by precipitating the apocalypse, leading to the return of the 12th imam. Achamnutjob the former president of Iran was a twelve and one of the reasons the mullahs dismissed him was they didn't like his theology and the fact he was actively trying to start a war.

Stand back this is getting more interesting by the minute.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 09/20/2014 12:19 Comments || Top||

#3  The ISIL guys are "twelvers" the group of Islamist that believe in the 12th imam

No. They're Sunni
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/20/2014 13:05 Comments || Top||

#4  Yes, they are sunni. But I seem to recall that Osama binLaden and the rest of the Al Qaeda leadership believed that if they could precipitate a major American attack on the ummah, then Allah would be forced to intervene on the side of his truest believers.

Clearly this did not happen, obviously because they were not true enough. ISIS will show them how it should be done.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 13:19 Comments || Top||


Iraqi Neighborhood Holds out against Jihadists
[AnNahar] Caught between jihadists and the Tigris River, residents of one neighborhood in a Sunni town in Iraq have taken up arms alongside security forces and held out for months.

If the fighters, police and soldiers defending the Jubur area in Dhuluiyah north of Baghdad repel the Islamic State (IS) -- a Sunni jihadist group -- it would be a powerful symbol of resistance for the forces battling against it.

And it could help gain support for the anti-jihadist fight among Iraqi Sunni Arabs who feel they have been marginalized by the Shiite-led government and targeted by its security forces.

Their backing is key to regaining ground from IS and allied groups that overran much of the Sunni Arab heartland in June.

Jubur, named for the tribe that resides there, is an idyllic area of colorful houses, soaring palm trees and the reed-lined Tigris, but the peace is broken by periodic bursts of machinegun and rifle fire and kabooms.

"The area, a small part of the map, God willing, will be an (IS) cemetery and... the beginning of the complete liberation of Iraq," Mohammed Mahmud Hamed said near the front line on the northern side of Jubur, past which lie myrmidon-held parts of the town.

Hamed was an Arabic teacher with no military training when the conflict began, but he now carries a Kalashnikov assault rifle and wears a magazine carrier over his robe.

Behind him is Al-Isnad Street, which was once a commercial avenue but is now littered with bullet casings and blocked off by mounds of dirt, sections of concrete blast walls and a trench to guard against jacket wallahs.

Shops have been scored by gunfire and shrapnel, and nearby palm trees are charred black.

While sectarian differences are a major source of tension in Iraq, the common jihadist enemy has united Jubur's defenders across religious lines.

Ahmed al-Saidi, one of the Shiite soldiers posted in Dhuluiyah, praised the "heroic Jubur tribe," while Hamed said that there is "no difference between us."

Jubur has not fallen to the jihadists, but they have still been able to strike inside it, including with suicide bombers driving American Humvee armored vehicles they captured from the Iraqi military.

One such blast destroyed the town's main street, collapsing a building next to a mosque, smashing storefronts and leaving behind piles of twisted metal and other debris.

IS "aims to divide the country and destroy it," Abed Mutlak Mohammed, a big shot in the Jubur tribe, said at the area's eastern front line.

He said the tribe in Dhuluiyah has become "the highest example to be followed in all the Sunni areas of Iraq".

"A small tribe ... resisted (IS) for 90 days," Mohammed said, putting the number fighters deployed at around 1,500, though more will take up arms if needed.

Mohammed said he wants the United States to expand its campaign of air strikes against jihadists in Iraq to the Dhuluiyah area, the latest chapter in the town's history of both supporting and opposing Sunni snuffies and fighting against and alongside American forces.

At the eastern front line, the road is blocked by dirt barricades and a trench and guarded by soldiers and police. Numerous bullet casings and empty ammunition cannisters are scattered on the ground.

A Ferris wheel rises above an amusement park next to the blockaded road, but instead of being filled with playing children, the site is occupied by security forces facing snuffies who hold the far bank of the river.

Before the conflict, there were two bridges leading to Dhuluiyah, but one was smashed by a bus bomb and the other by an explosives-rigged boat.

Now, small metal boats with outboard motors are Jubur's lifeline, braving sniper fire and shelling to bring in items ranging from ice to cooking gas and taking the maimed out for treatment.

In Jubur, even the dead are besieged -- the town's main cemetery lies outside the control of anti-IS forces, meaning people have to bury their relatives wherever there is space.

"Some of the families were forced to bury their dead in the house garden," said resident Ali Mussa, after pointing out the places where six of his relatives were buried in a dirt lot bordered by palm trees.

For the people of Jubur, it is a fight to the death, with Mohammed saying there would be a "massacre" if the snuffies succeeded in overrunning the area.

"We will fight them to the last" Juburi in Dhuluiyah, he said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Kurdish leader urges world to protect Syrian town from Islamic State
[REUTERS] Iraqi Kurdish leader Masoud Barzani called on Friday for international intervention to protect a Kurdish town in neighboring Syria from Islamic State fighters who have driven many Syrian Kurds to flee across the border to Turkey.

Several thousand Kurds began crossing the frontier on Friday fearing an imminent attack on the border town of Ayn al-Arab, known as Kobani in Kurdish, after Islamic State (IS) fighters seized dozens of nearby villages over the past two days.

"I call on the international community to use every means as soon as possible to protect Kobani," Barzani, the president of Iraq's autonomous Kurdish region, said in a statement. "IS terrorists... must be hit and destroyed wherever they are.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Cruz: Nuclear Iran is a Bigger Threat than ISIL
Posted by: Elmerert Hupens2660 || 09/20/2014 04:08 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  That's why we hear so much about ISIL.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/20/2014 9:10 Comments || Top||

#2  But the big 'O' (and more importantly, Valerie Jarret) have decided Iran needs nuclear weapons to help their self image, so we're lucky it's not all Ebola, all the time.
Posted by: ed in texas || 09/20/2014 12:29 Comments || Top||

#3  What g(r)om said!
Posted by: borgboy || 09/20/2014 19:56 Comments || Top||


Hagel: US military, not Obama, to decide on Syria airstrikes
[Iran Press TV] US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel has told the House Armed Services Committee that the military, not President Barack Obama
Jedi mind meld...
, will make decisions on Syria Arclight airstrikes.

Hagel said on Thursday that the recent Wall Street Journal reports that Obama will personally sign off on every Arclight airstrike inside Syria were false.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  If Hagel keeps that sh!t up, he's gonna be in the market for a creeper; the better to fit under the Bambi-bus.
How DARE he contradict the Waffler-in-Chief????
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 09/20/2014 0:51 Comments || Top||

#2  isn't insubordination directed and the CinC treason?

Chucky you've been a bad monkey.

Right after I finish this round it's under the bus with you.
Posted by: AlanC || 09/20/2014 8:03 Comments || Top||

#3  If I was dealing in Byzantine politics, I'd take the info about everyone's (Congress, the Prez, the media, el al) confidence levels with the American people, the personality profile of Dear Leader (how he reacts, what's going on in his mind), the media generated fear of ISIL, and look at the opportunity to lay some real nice political theater just before the election that would undermine those thinking they were about to slide past the goal line in obtaining/retaining power. One of those black swan events. The kind that shuts the upper brain off and the lower brain group auto selects for security.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 09/20/2014 8:05 Comments || Top||

#4  Hagel's lining up to be the 'at fault' guy when the shooting actually kills somebody. As opposed to foreign policy based on John Lennon songs.
Posted by: ed in texas || 09/20/2014 9:12 Comments || Top||

#5  Hagel said on Thursday that the recent Wall Street Journal reports that Obama will personally sign off on every airstrike inside Syria were false.

"Obama's no LBJ."

I'd go with he's "no President."
Posted by: Pappy || 09/20/2014 11:01 Comments || Top||

#6  Guys, not to make light of ISIL, but I am getting this very uneasy feeling that the focus upon ISIL and all of the "media generated outrage" is an orchestrated "wag the dog" exercise.

What the heck is going on in plain sight they want to divert our attention from???

We need to look around, ISIL may be a red herring.

ISIL may not be anything but a couple of videos and an incompetent Iraqi Army...30,000 fighters? Really, we can kill that many in a week with our stuff so what is the "sturm und drang" all about?
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 09/20/2014 12:15 Comments || Top||

#7  The kind that shuts the upper brain off and the lower brain group auto selects for security.

Already happened. Atlantic Magazine just had an article about the return of the Security Moms who are going to give this election to the Republicans... and possibly the next one, too, if ISIS and the southern border aren't fixed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 13:33 Comments || Top||

#8  Hope the Atlantic Mag is correct. I don't think Obama will do anything about immigration before the 2014 mid-terms. He and the Donks think about immigration reform as amnesty. That would be toxic. The Security Moms are not going to like amnesty. He probably won't do much about ISIS before the elections either--maybe not much afterwards either. He doesn't want offend a large part of his anti-war base. So far, he hasn't done much damage to ISIS--mostly pinpricks Security moms are probably are probably not going to like this dithering, desultory approach to ISIS. Atlantic Mag might be right. However, Bob Beckel (The Five) keeps making noises about some October surprise by the Donks, although he is reluctant to say what he thinks it is.
Posted by: JohnQC || 09/20/2014 17:59 Comments || Top||

#9  Judge for yourself:

'Security Moms' Are BackĀ—and That's Bad News for Democrats

In a time of national anxiety, women voters are again turning to Republicans to protect the country.

by PETER BEINART SEP 17 2014
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 18:08 Comments || Top||


Outgunned: The Syria 'Moderate' Rebels Set for U.S. Aid
[AnNahar] The "moderate" Syrian rebels Washington is set to throw its weight behind are a ragtag collection of outgunned factions weakened by a war on several fronts -- against the regime and jihadists.

- Who are the rebels?
While the United States has not specified the groups it aims to support, those usually classed as "moderates" in Syria's three-year war are loosely branded as Free Syrian Army
... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund...
(FSA) fighters.

These were the first rebels to take up arms against Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Scourge of Qusayr...
's regime, before also turning their sights on the Islamic State group (IS) in January.

One of the main groups likely to receive U.S. aid is the Syrian Revolutionaries Front, a large coalition formed late last year with a secular stance.

It was set up after the establishment of the Islamic Front, Syria's largest rebel alliance bringing together various strains of Islamists.

Other formations have also received U.S. assistance in the past, such as the Hazem movement, which has some 15,000 fighters.

In addition, the FSA's massively weakened Supreme Military Council (SMC) headed by General Abdul Ilah al-Bashir acts as the armed wing of the main opposition National Coalition, but it has practically no influence on the ground.

U.S. Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
said this week it was hard to give precise figures of the ranks of the moderate opposition, but stressed they were a "legitimate force", and described them as the "principal bulwark" against the jihadists in Syria.

Most of the moderate rebel groups are based in northern Syria, chiefly in Aleppo and Idlib province, though Hama province in central Syria and Daraa in the south are also home to such groups.

Who are the moderates?
According to Ibrahim al-Idelbi, an activist in northern Syria: "None of these groups has any intention to create an Islamic emirate or state. They want a civil state, without a religious ideology. Their stated goals are to bring down the regime and to end the oppression of civilians."

But experts say that, in the context of Syria's war, it is difficult to pinpoint who the moderates are.

"I guess it all depends on how you define 'moderate'," says Aron Lund, editor of Syria in Crisis, a website run by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

"Is it about their ideology, or about not committing human rights
One man's rights are another man's existential threat.
abuses, or simply about who is willing to work on instructions from abroad?" he asks.

The lines are most blurred in areas where rebels have forged local alliances with the Al-Nusra Front -- Syria's Al-Qaeda branch, branded by Washington as a "terrorist" group.

"In some areas like the (besieged) Eastern Ghouta area (east of Damascus), or Homs previously, it is practically impossible to get military aid in. So all the fighters have to work together whether they like it or not," Idelbi says.

"In a state of war, you have to make alliances with your enemy's enemy."

- How strong are they?
Even though they have received some US military aid, as well as a steady flow of funds and arms from Gulf nations and rich Syrian businessmen, the moderates are much worse equipped than the IS jihadists and Al-Nusra Front.

They have also been exhausted by three years of war against the regime, which since 2012 has carried out daily air strikes against rebel-held areas.

Moderates are frequently accused of poor organization, corruption and a lack of strategy.

Where will they be trained?
In the past, thousands of fighters have been trained by the United States in Jordan.

U.S. President Barack Obama
Because I won...
announced this week that 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...
has accepted to host the next round of drills.

- Will they be able to fight IS?
SMC chief Bashir has pledged to fight the Islamic State group until its "complete and utter defeat".

The rebels have frequently called for special weapons support such as anti-aircraft and anti-tank missiles, though most of the arms they have received have been light arms.

They say training is not enough to help them fight both the IS group and the regime.

"It is impossible to destroy the IS without U.S. air strikes to accompany the rebels' advance," says Louay Moqdad, a former rebel front man.

Experts have meanwhile warned that the absence of a clear U.S. strategy may eventually play into the hands of the regime or IS jihadists, leading Syria even further into the abyss of war.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  None of these groups has any intention to create an Islamic emirate or state. They want a civil state, without a religious ideology.

Moderate...Yeah right. There's a reason the defalult termonology isn't simply Muslims and Muslim extremists.
Posted by: DepotGuy || 09/20/2014 12:03 Comments || Top||


Terror Networks
Al Qaeda's quiet plan to outdo ISIS and hit U.S.
Lots of heavy breathing, but within that a name of the cell -- Khorasan -- a purpose -- new and improved bombs -- and a general idea of personnel -- jihadis, particularly Westerners travelling to Pakistan for bomb making training from AQ in Yemen's Ibrahim al-Asiri of pantibomb fame.
[CBS] At two dozen foreign airports, U.S.-bound passengers are undergoing enhanced security screening. Agents are searching for hidden explosives. Laptops and phones with dead batteries have been banned from flights.

Great Britannia raised its national terror threat level, and the FBI is tracking American jihadists who may return home.

Sources say it's due to the emerging threat in Syria, where hardened holy warriors loyal to al Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahri are working on new, hard-to-detect bombs.

In testimony Wednesday, the Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, Matt Olsen -- who warned that U.S. agencies are unable to effectively track Western jihadists inside Syria -- seemed to make a vague reference to the threat.

"In Syria, we've seen veteran al Qaeda gunnies travel from Pakistain to take advantage of the permissive environment there," said Olsen.

Sources confirm that the al Qaeda cell goes by the name "Khorasan."

Unlike ISIS, which is believed at present to be largely engulfed in its fight for territory. Khorasan is developing fresh plots to target U.S. aviation, and it's trying to recruit Westerners who have flocked to the fight in Syria, some of whom have joined the al Qaeda franchise in the country, known as the al-Nusra Front.

The fear is that U.S. and European passport holders could more easily smuggle explosives onto airplanes.

Sources tell CBS News the group includes technicians trained by al Qaeda's master bomb-builder, Ibrahim al-Asiri. The Yemen-based Asiri built the infamous but ultimately unsuccessful underwear bombs and two cargo bombs concealed in printer cartridges.

He is considered one of the most innovative bomb-builders in the jihadist world, and he's still operating freely.

At the moment, U.S. officials say there is no specific, credible threat to the homeland. But as information about Khorasan becomes available, it's clear that al Qaeda remains obsessed with bombs, airplanes, and attacking the United States.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  About 2 months ago, returning to the U.S. from Toulouse and then during plane change in Amsterdam, myself and traveling companion had to turn on all our electronics to show they worked.
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 09/20/2014 0:54 Comments || Top||

#2  Well, if you go around with a sign "kick me", eventually, somebody will take up on it.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/20/2014 3:08 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm afraid it doesn't take a genius to remove 3 cells from a 5 cell laptop battery and the unit still works on battery power.
Posted by: phil_b || 09/20/2014 18:05 Comments || Top||


Experts: Air Strikes Spur Shift in IS Tactics
[AnNahar] Jihadists who swept like an army across Iraq and Syria are expected to return to guerrilla warfare and melt into the population to avoid heavy losses from U.S.-led air strikes, analysts say.

The Islamic State group, which has captured large swathes of territory and committed atrocities such as beheadings and crucifixions, is expected to pull back to cities from sparsely inhabited areas where its fighters are easy targets.
Not the behaviour expected of a conquering Caliphate, the favoured of Allah...
IS gunnies are likely to "prepare defensive positions, particularly taking advantage of urban terrain for concealment", said Ben Barry, a military expert at the International Institute of Strategic Studies, a London-based think tank.

The holy warrior organization has taken control of important cities including djinn-infested Mosul
... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn...
, Saddam Hussein's hometown Tikrit and Tal Afar in northern Iraq, as well as Fallujah and part of Ramadi in the west.

In Syria they have a tight grip on Raqa, their stronghold in the north, as well as half of Deir Ezzor province in the east and a number of other areas.

But they are now expected to change their strategy as the United States leads a coalition of more than 50 nations -- mainly Western powers or Middle Eastern allies -- aimed at defeating IS.
Not the behaviour expected of a conquering Caliphate, the favoured of Allah...
French jets carried out their first air strikes against IS gunnies in Iraq on Friday, after U.S. warplanes bombed a jihadist training camp.

- Blending in -
By blending into the cities, IS also hopes to increase the odds of civilian casualties to help its propaganda war, Barry believes.

"Their impressive media operations will seek to exploit (such deaths) to further alienate Sunnis from the (Shiite-led) Iraqi government and also to erode the international legitimacy of the international-led coalition," he said.

IS has already begun moving some fighters, particularly foreigners, from Iraq to Syria, according to Iraqi security analyst Ahmed al-Shreifi.

"They have kept only Iraqi fighters in Iraq because they can blend into the community more easily if military operations start against them."
Definitely not the behaviour of a conquering Caliphate, favoured by Allah...
In Mosul, jihadists have abandoned command centres established after they captured the city in June, moving to private homes in populous districts and keeping a low profile.

The same tactic is being used in Syria after U.S. Defence Secretary Chuck Hagel told politicians that plans were being laid to hit targets there, including IS "safe havens".

In Deir Ezzor, jihadists have emptied the main regional arms depot and withdrawn from almost all their positions in Mayadeen further east, according to local activist Abu Osama.

Even oilfields have been left abandoned and the families of imported muscle -- who once lived in residential buildings -- have been evacuated.

"They are following a tactic of disappearance," Abu Osama told Agence La Belle France Presse via the Internet. "They leave spies behind, people who are from the local communities, who relay information to them."

In the northern province of Aleppo, IS fighters have withdrawn from their bases in Al-Bab, one of their main strongholds in the region.

IS cannot protect itself from U.S. strikes so it must reverse its previous transformation from an underground "resistance movement to a quasi state", according to Richard Barrett, a former counter-terrorism chief at Britannia's foreign intelligence agency MI6.

- Return to insurrection -
The only way that U.S. aerial bombardment can make a significant difference now is on fronts where IS has concentrated its forces, such as in rebel-held Marea in the north of Aleppo, said Thomas Pierret, a Syria specialist at the University of Edinburgh.

He said that if the Americans strike, "IS will have no choice but to empty those areas and to allow advances by the rebels" who are battling both the jihadists and the regime of Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
With 35,000 men in 215,000 square kilometres (86,000 square miles), IS gunnies will have to make choices.

"As the U.S. strikes degrade the visible elements of the IS military structure -- command headquarters, trucks, artillery pieces -- I expect IS to morph back into an insurgency model where the IS fighters are intermixed with civilian populations," said Christopher Harmer, analyst at the Institute for the Study of War, a U.S. think tank.

"That will make it more difficult for U.S. air strikes to target IS fighters."
But considerably easier for the gunnies to decide that The Islamic State is not actually favoured by Allah, and to slink off in the direction of whichever group they think got it right, or give up on this jihadi stuff altogether.
He said IS has shown itself capable of melting into the civilian population.

"I expect they will continue to use sleeper cells, snipers, boom-mobiles, boom jackets, targeted liquidations. All of these tactics are virtually immune to air power," Harmer said.
But not to Shiite militias and angry Sunni tribes who feel betrayed...
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  And despite everyone knowing ISIL wants to create collateral damage to inflame the ME, the media will fall for it hook line and sinker, take the bait and begin the usual whiney "civilian casualties" and bad US, good Islam crap while we try to pull everyone's nuts out of the fire.
Posted by: Bill Clinton || 09/20/2014 12:23 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Culture Wars
BDS Boycotters Say Boycotting Them is McCarthyism
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 09/20/2014 03:57 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Nothing sez 'Leftie' like an academic using a sixty-plus year old reference that the majority of their students wouldn't recognize.
Posted by: Pappy || 09/20/2014 10:58 Comments || Top||

#2  The Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions Movement (BDS Movement) is a global campaign attempting to increase economic and political pressure on Israel

BDS = pro-Palestinian groups and Hamas
Posted by: JohnQC || 09/20/2014 11:27 Comments || Top||

#3  BDS = antisemites doing their pitiful, ineffective best.
Posted by: trailing wife || 09/20/2014 13:09 Comments || Top||

#4  Pappy: Victor Hanson uses 2500 year old references with amazing effectiveness...

'McCarthyism' is to the 20th-21st centuries as 'Bonapartism' was to the nineteenth.

All concerned should read the cautionary tale: The Boy Who Cried Wolf.
Posted by: borgboy || 09/20/2014 18:25 Comments || Top||

#5  Victor Hanson uses 2500 year old references with amazing effectiveness...

Mr. Hanson has a different target audience.

If you walked up to the average 20-30 year old and asked them what McCarthyism is, do you think they could give you a coherent answer?

Let's not even touch on Bonapartism...
Posted by: Pappy || 09/20/2014 19:31 Comments || Top||

#6  Agree to a point. As a soon to be retired teacher, Tucson public schools actively teach about the 'Red Scare' as it promotes a leftist agenda. Some even teach it in Spanish - but that's a different story for a different day. Adios, hombre!
Posted by: borgboy || 09/20/2014 20:02 Comments || Top||



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