[Task & Purpose] In January 2002, less than four months after the official launch of Operation Enduring Freedom, before conventional forces were deployed beyond the confines of Kabul, the so-called Global War on Terror was almost exclusively waged by a small group of commandos in the remote mountains, deserts, and villages of Afghanistan.
Master Sgt. Anthony S. Pryor of Company A, 1st Battalion, 5th Special Forces Group was one of those commandos.
On Jan. 23, 2002, Pryor's detachment received orders from U.S. Central Command to conduct a night raid on a suspected al-Qaeda compound in a remote area of southern Afghanistan.
Their mission was to take over an old school house while the enemy fighters slept. But almost as soon as they entered the compound, their position was compromised, and they found themselves under intense gunfire, some of it from less than 25 meters away.
"After the initial burst of automatic weapons fire, we returned fire in the breezeway," Pryor’s teammate, Sgt. 1st Class Scott Neil, told an Army reporter. "It was a mental spur -- after we heard the words 'let's go;' everything just kind of kicked in."
Italian government has pledged 286 million euro for rebuilding Somalia, Horseed Media reports. The pledge was made at a conference held in Rome attended by the Prime of Somalia Omar Abdirashid Ali and his Italian counterpart Matteo Renzi.
I'm going to guess that 90% of the money ends up in foreign banks, but then I may be an optimist...
Speaking at the end of the conference also attended by several ministers and other dignitaries from both sides, Mr Renzi stated that his government will play a crucial role in the reconstruction of Somalia.
He added that the money pledged will be used to construct roads, improving the agricultural sector, trade and revival of the economic sector.
You can do all that on 20 million Euros?
Somali Prime Minister Omar Abdirashid thanked the Italian government for the continuous immense support to the nation.
Since the collapse of the Central government in 1991, Italy, which once colonised some parts of Somalia, has been one of the few European nations that have provided significant support to the country in different areas.
Posted by: Steve White ||
03/19/2016 00:00 ||
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Good to know other governments besides ours are pissing away economic resources!
This really is like the Monty Python skit of the various revolutionary groups in Life of Brian.
In its first public pronouncement in many months, the Tripoli-based Libyan Revolutionaries’ Operations Room (LROR) has announced that it stands by the administration in Tripoli led by Khalifa Ghwell and will take military action against prime minister-designate Faiez Serraj if he arrives in the capital and tries to take over the reins of government. It said it had been preparing for such action and was not ready for it.
It has also demanded the resignation of the governor of the Central Bank of Libya as recognised by the Tripoli regime, Sadik Elkabir, blaming him for the current banking crisis and severe shortage of cash available in the capital.
The LROR further stated its support for “the mujahideen” in Benghazi – the blanket term used in Tripoli to describe those fighting against the Libyan National Army and Khalifa Hafter and currently being targeted in Hafter’s Operation Blood of the Martyrs. The term enables its users to avoid any reference to Ansar Al-Sharia, one of the main components in the Benghazi Revolutionaries Operation Room.
Despite claiming to be prepared for a fight in Tripoli, it is not clear how many supporters the LROR can call on. Set up and heavily funded by Nuri Abu Sahmain, the president of the General National Congress (GNC) in 2013, ostensibly to protect Tripoli but in reality to protect the GNC and himself, it is seen as much less powerful today. It remains primarily the creature of Abu Sahmain who likewise is adamantly opposed to Serraj and his planned national unity government.
The legality of its creation and funding are still contested by a number of former GBC members as well as by a number of lawyers.
[CATHOLICPHILLY] A Catholic aid official warned that church life faces "grave disruption" from Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... in Cameroon ...a long, narrow country that fills the space between Nigeria and Chad on the northeast, CAR to the southeast. Prior to incursions by Boko Haram nothing ever happened there... after a local bishop confirmed the Nigeria-based group had caused a "psychosis of fear."
"This movement opposes all Western values and is also hostile to Muslims who won’t accept the reign of Shariah law," said Rafael D’Aqui, head of the Africa section at Aid to the Church in Need.
"They’re now trying to draw world attention with cross-border attacks, and since foreign priests and nuns are a key prize, the missionaries on whom the local church depends have had to leave."
D’Aqui told Catholic News Service March 16 that Boko Haram had infiltrated Cameroon’s northern Yagoua and Maroua-Mokolo dioceses after suffering military setbacks in neighboring Nigeria, despite "huge efforts" by the Cameroonian armed forces.
He added that Boko Haram marauders were still regularly taking control of whole villages, abducting child hostages to be brainwashed and used in "random suicide kabooms."
Extremist groups "are obtaining huge sums of money from 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... and elsewhere to build mosques where there were previously no Muslims and train imams in a hard, radical school," D’Aqui said. "There’s a holy warrior fraternity now, which is intent on invading and establishing a presence in Christian areas."
Catholics account for 38 percent of Cameroon’s 20.4 million inhabitants, with Protestants making up 26 percent and Muslims 21 percent, according to the U.S. State Department’s International Religious Freedom Report.
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2016 00:00 ||
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[BBC] The second round of the Niger presidential election takes place on Sunday 20 March, and the result may have implications for regional stability and the fight against Islamist terrorism in West Africa.
Incumbent President Mahamadou Issoufou looks set to secure a second term in office, as opposition candidate Hama Amadou has been evacuated from prison to La Belle France for specialized medical treatment just days before the run-off, raising concerns over the poll.
The former parliamentary speaker and prime minister has been in detention in the south-western town of Filingue since November 2015 over allegations of baby trafficking. He has dismissed the charges as politically motivated.
Niger is seen as a key ally in the fight against Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... , and President Issoufou has been praised in the West for rallying neighbouring countries to fight the group.
What is the likely outcome?
President Issoufou seems poised for victory in the run-off, having narrowly missed outright victory in the first round with 48% of the vote.
Having garnered only 17%, it will be difficult for Mr Amadou to bridge the gap despite the opposition alliance backing him. Mixed messages about a poll boycott are also likely to weaken his chances.
It is still unclear if the Opposition Coalition for Change (COPA 2016) - an alliance formed to back Mr Amadou - will take part in the vote, having announced a boycott.
The opposition has said it will not recognise the outcome, saying Mr Amadou's imprisonment prevented him from campaigning, among other complaints; while the government's handling of his medical condition is a sensitive issue that could inflame tensions.
What is Hama Amadou's current condition?
The nature of Mr Amadou's illness is not clear, but the government says he has "a chronic illness which he has suffered from for three years". The 66-year-old received medical treatment for an eye condition recently.
On 14 March, he reportedly lost consciousness before being revived at the prison clinic, his doctor telling a local TV station that he had fainted.
The doctor was later locked away Yez got nuttin' on me, coppers! Nuttin'! for "revealing medical confidentiality and spreading false news".
On 16 March, it was reported that Amadou had been flown to La Belle France for "specialist treatment", with the government claiming that he was suffering from "general fatigue".
Posted by: Fred ||
03/19/2016 00:00 ||
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[The Telegraph] A senior British Army officer was abducted and beaten up at gunpoint while helping lead a UN peacekeeping mission in South Sudan, it has been disclosed.
Col Edward Dawes had his teeth smashed and was questioned for several hours after being hauled out of his vehicle at an illegal checkpoint.
Details of the incident emerged as he was awarded an OBE for his work as Chief of Staff of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
[RFE/RL] A Finnish court has given a 16-month suspended sentence to an Iraqi man in a war crime case. The court in Tampere found Jebbar Salman Ammar guilty of desecrating the corpse of a slain enemy fighter in Iraq in June 2014. The man had posted three pictures of himself and a decapitated head of a man on his open Facebook page. Prosecutors had sought a two-year prison sentence.
Ammar arrived in Finland about six months ago and was detained in November.
A trial in another Finnish court opens next week against an Iraqi charged with war crimes.
[Ynet] Federal authorities say a Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, university student who maimed four fellow students in a November campus stabbing was inspired by ISIS, but acted alone.
Congratulations, guys! It only took four months after it was reported that he had an ISIS flag and included in his notes a reminder to pray that you figured it out, but at least you got there. Faisal Mohammad's Rantburg archive can be seen here.
Four months is the minimum amount of time required to bury this deeply enough that the admission won't make the major newspapers. Twelve months would have been better. And notice the Friday late-afternoon release...
The FBI said Thursday that 18-year-old Faisal Mohammad may have become self-radicalized, drawing his inspiration from terrorist propaganda. A campus police officer shot and killed the University of California, Merced student the day of the attack.
Investigators say they found ISIS propaganda on his laptop, and evidence that he had visited the terrorist group's website.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/19/2016 00:00 ||
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[Ynet] An Iraqi-born Paleostinian man previously charged with lying to Sherlocks about traveling to Syria was indicted Thursday on the more serious allegation of trying to support a terrorist group.
A federal grand jury indicted Aws Mohammed Younis Al-Jayab, 23, of Sacramento, on the new charge two months after he was incarcerated You have the right to remain silent... in Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party, on accusations of lying about traveling to fight against the Syrian government.
That charge could have brought him up to eight years in prison, but he now faces a maximum 15-year term if convicted of attempting to provide material support to terrorists.
A second man charged in the investigation, Omar Faraj Saeed Al Hardan, 24, of Houston, faces up to 25 years in prison on three charges that he tried to provide material support to 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.... group.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
03/19/2016 00:00 ||
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Iraq/Paleo/Sacramento = three strikes
Posted by: Frank G ||
03/19/2016 8:29 Comments ||
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[AllenB.West.com] As reported by the Jerusalem Post, "A delegation of Iraqi Kurds will visit Moscow in April to discuss Russian weapons supplies, the RIA Novosti news agency on Thursday cited the head of an Iraqi Kurd representation office in Russia as saying.
RIA on Wednesday quoted the Russian consulate in Iraq as saying Russia has already supplied weapons to Iraqi Kurds and that the first shipment had arrived on March 14. It said the shipment had included five Zu-23-2 anti-aircraft cannons and 20,000 shells for the cannons.
Posted by: Vast Right Wing Conspiracy ||
03/19/2016 00:00 ||
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What China's doing in the SCS ala Scarborough Shoal may become a "line in the sand" for Manila as far as US-PH RELATIONS, or more specifically PH-OBAMA RELATIONS are concerned, as any Chinese mil assets based at Scarborough puts the PLA that much closer to the PH.
Iff Beijing can crack PH trust in the US = POTUS Obama, it can do the same vee Japan + SOKOR in NE Asia + East China Sea, + ultimately TAIWAN.
ANTI-US US POTUS OBAMA + ALIGNED ANTI-US OWG GLOBIES HAVE TEN MONTHS LEFT - MUCHO PLENTY OF TIME FOR NEW TROUBLES.
The US is seemingly supposed to be publicly humilauited or degraded in return for it unilaterally or asymmetrically giving up its Cold War, post-Cold war, + post-9-11 , etc. "Sole" Global Superpower Influence-n-Authority around the World.
SORRY TO SAY THAT, BUT IFF THE BAMMER + GLOBIES, ETAL. INTENDED OTHER NOTHING EXCEPT THEMSELVES IS STOPPING THEM FROM OUTRIGHT SAYING SO.
[Business Times] The threat of a terrorist attack in Singapore is at its "highest level" of late as a result of the rise of the Daesh militant group, Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam warned on Friday. He said the danger is even greater than in the aftermath of the September 11 attacks in the US and the arrest of Jemaah Islamiyah members here that year, and added that it was not a question of if, but when, an attack will take place.
Speaking to Home Team officers at an annual closed-door forum, he outlined a number of new initiatives to counter the terror threat, including the launching of a new national movement called SG Secure.
Shanmugam warned that the rise of Daesh has meant the threat has "increased significantly" to the point that it has morphed into a "large powerful monster".
"It is now a qualitatively different (and) much more dangerous threat. ISIS presents a far graver threat than (Al-Qaeda) or its affiliated entities ever did," he told his audience.
Shanmugam spoke of Daesh's intention to establish a caliphate in the region. As he mapped out a grim picture of the terror situation in Southeast Asia, he called Singapore a "prime target", with four possible types of threats: Attacks planned just outside Singapore, attacks involving weapons smuggled by Singaporeans or foreign militants, so-called "lone wolf" attacks by self-radicalized people, as well as those by foreign workers in Singapore who have become radicalized.
Posted by: ryuge ||
03/19/2016 00:00 ||
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ERBIL – The Islamic State (ISIS) extremist group has lost large territories in Syria and Iraq over the past few weeks, especially after the U.S.-led coalition forces stepped up airstrikes on the group’s key positions.
Local sources confirmed that ISIS manpower has clearly decreased, particularly in the Syrian eastern province of Deir ez-Zor. The group has been pushing its security forces, which usually operate inside the city, into the battlefields to back their fellow militants in the forefronts.
Speaking to ARA News in Deir ez-Zor, media activist Saray ed-Din said that the security situation has obviously worsened in the province of Deir ez-Zor, especially with the battles getting closer to the northern border of the province.
Due to the heavy losses in the group’s ranks following painful blows by the U.S.-led coalition forces, ISIS started to launch arbitrary arrest campaigns against civilians in Deir ez-Zor, “forcing hundreds of people to join the fighting, in a bid to compensate the unprecedented shortage in its manpower”, according to ed-Din.
Also, local activists stressed that the terror group has arrested last week dozens of civilians in the province under the pretext of “spying” for the coalition and the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG)ــwhich declared on Thursday, along with several Arab and Christian groups, a federal system northern Syria.
Ed-Din pointed out that ISIS militants stormed Wednesday midnight civilian houses in the town of Baqras, claiming they use the internet service illegally and many of them spy for the western-backed forces.
“Amid the mounting loss of fighters, Daesh [ISIS] has been depending on the Islamic police forces and the Hisba members inside Deir ez-Zor to participate in the battles,” a local sources told ARA News, speaking on condition of anonymity.
“This is to back their fellows fighting the Kurds on the borders between Hasakah and Deir ez-Zor in an attempt to prevent further advance of the Kurds and their SDF allies,” he said.
Posted by: badanov ||
03/19/2016 00:00 ||
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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.
