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Record airstrike hits over 100 ISIL oil trucks gathered in Syria
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Afghanistan
Pentagon to deploy 2,300 more US troops to Afghanistan
[Iran Press TV] The United States military says it will deploy an armored brigade and an aviation brigade totaling about 2,300 soldiers to Afghanistan this winter.

The Pentagon made the announcement in a statement released on Thursday, saying 1,500 soldiers will be sent to Afghanistan this winter, in addition to another 800 troops that will be deployed in support of a training mission known as Operation Freedom’s Sentinel.
How about two airborne divisions, tasked with killing everybody with a turban and automatic weapon they run across?
"This deployment is part of a regular rotation of forces in support of Operation Freedom's Sentinel," the blurb stated, adding that the soldiers were "well-trained, well-led and fully prepared for the challenges this mission will bring."

No exact date was given in the announcement for when the US troops will leave for deployment to Afghanistan.

The United States -- under Republican George W. Bush’s presidency -- and its allies invaded Afghanistan on October 7, 2001 as part of Washington’s so-called war on terror. The offensive removed the Taliban regime from power, but after about one-and-a-half decade, foreign troops are still deployed to the country.

After becoming president in 2008, Barack Obama
That’s just how white folks will do you....
, a Democrat, vowed to end the Afghan war -- one of the longest conflicts in US history ‐ but he failed to keep his promise.

US President-elect 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...
, who speaks against the Afghan war, has dubbed the 2001 invasion and following occupation of Afghanistan as "Obama's war".

Obama has ordered the military to take on the Taliban more directly and empower Afghan forces battling the bully boy group.

In October last year, Obama announced plans to keep 9,800 US troops in Afghanistan through 2016 and 5,500 in 2017, reneging on his promise to end the war there and bring home most American forces from the Asian country before he leaves office.

According to US officials, Washington would also maintain a large counter-terrorism contingent of terror drones and Special Operations Forces to fight Death Eaters in Afghanistan.

There are now about 10,000 American troops in Afghanistan, as well as some 6,000 NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all....
service members, to "train and advise" Afghan cops fighting Taliban.

Posted by: Fred || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  No exact date was given
Easy enough for the new administration to cancel if true, I suppose.

I'm confused by the apostrophe.

an armored brigade and an aviation brigade
Is this an open field engagement or house-cleaning?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/10/2016 21:15 Comments || Top||


NYT: Wealthy Saudis Are Funding Both Sides of Taliban War
[BREITBART] The New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize...
makes a strong case that the most important player in Afghanistan’s future is not the United States, but 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...
, because Saudis are funding both sides of Afghanistan’s endless civil war.
This is how you make sure you can't lose: fund both sides...
"A longtime ally of Pakistain, Saudi Arabia has backed Islamabad’s promotion of the Taliban. Throughout the years, wealthy Saudi sheikhs and rich philanthropists have also stoked the war by privately financing the Lion of Islams," the Times explains. "All the while, Saudi Arabia has officially, if coolly, supported the American mission and the Afghan government and even secretly sued for peace in clandestine negotiations on their behalf."

This results in a situation where rich Saudis can finance the Taliban, while government officials deny that any such support is officially provided. For example, former Saudi intelligence chief and ambassador to the United States Prince Turki al-Faisal insisted, "When I was in government, not a single penny went to the Taliban."

But former Taliban Finance Minister Agha Jan Motasim said his many ostensible pilgrimages to the holy cities in Saudi Arabia were actually fundraising expeditions, collecting money not only from Saudi sheikhs, but wealthy Taliban-sympathizing Moslems from other parts of the world who were also on pilgrimage.

Motasim, incidentally, became a major player in a Saudi attempt to secretly broker a peace deal between the Taliban and the Afghan government, which the New York Times describes in detail to the American public for the first time. Unfortunately, a power struggle within the Taliban and charges of embezzlement against Motasim scuttled the effort.

On top of that, the Taliban reportedly shakes down Pashtun guest workers who travel to Saudi Arabia, threatening their families with harm unless the Islamist savages get a cut of their paychecks.

Several reasons for this double Saudi game are advanced during the Times article, but the most disturbing come from what the former State Department’s Vali Nasr describes as a Saudi strategy to contain Shia Islam and its super-power, Iran, by "building a wall of Sunni radicalism across South and Central Asia."

The second most-disturbing reason: Saudi Arabia is engaged in a bidding war with Qatar
...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates...
to be the dominant power in the Sunni world. The Saudis are also building a network of universities and madrasas in Afghanistan to extend their religious and cultural influence, a strategy that has pumped a great deal of money into the hands of gunnies groups ‐ some of which are making unnerving 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....
-like noises about founding a "Caliphate." The Iranians are doing the same thing to gain influence over the Shiite population.
Reminds me of two of the Ferengi Rules of Acquisition from Deep Space Nine:

Ferengi RoA #131: Peace is good for business.
Ferengi RoA #132: War is good for business.
Oil prices are going to stay low, thanks to fracking and newly discovered deposits. How long can the two oil-fueled countries keep this up before they go broke?
Posted by: Fred || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  You don't say?
Posted by: Crusader || 12/10/2016 0:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Insurance ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/10/2016 4:00 Comments || Top||

#3  In 1990 the Bosnia police raided a charity and uncovered the most significant trove of material covering the founding of Al Qaeda that has ever been found. Included was a list -- "The Golden Chain" -- that enumerated very wealthy Saudi and Gulf sheiks who had funded Bin Laden. The individuals received a caution in their home nations, and that was it.
Posted by: Heriberto Greper9897 || 12/10/2016 7:42 Comments || Top||

#4  Sounds like rich folk/corporations funding an election.
Posted by: AlanC || 12/10/2016 7:44 Comments || Top||

#5  If I recall correctly, the ban on assassination extends only to political figures.
Posted by: Pappy || 12/10/2016 12:32 Comments || Top||

#6  Like camel racing, except with two legged camels with guns...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 12/10/2016 14:15 Comments || Top||


US Army Opens Criminal Investigation of Death of Unarmed Taliban Detainee
[VOA News] The U.S. Army has opened a criminal investigation of a soldier who confessed on national television to killing an unarmed Taliban detainee, a senior Army official told VOA Thursday.

The investigation of former Major Mathew Golsteyn, first reported by The Washington Post, began earlier this month, according to the senior Army official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

In an October interview, Golsteyn admitted to Fox News Channel that he had killed the alleged bomb maker while in Marja in 2010.

"This is a criminal case that was opened up because of a public confession," a U.S. official told VOA. "It is incumbent upon the Army to investigate that."

In the interview, the show host asks, "Did you kill the Taliban bomb maker?"

"Yes," Golsteyn replied.

Honor removed
Golsteyn initially acknowledged killing the detainee - who was accused of making a bomb that killed two Marines serving under Golsteyn's command - during a polygraph test while applying for a job with the CIA in 2011.

According to The Washington Post report, Golsteyn said a tribal leader who had identified the detainee as a Taliban member said he feared that if the American unit let the detainee go, the detainee would kill the tribal leader and his family.

A U.S. official said the CIA alerted the Army of the statement, and the Army launched an administrative board of inquiry into the killing.
Hey big Army, Golsteyn is moving in on our market share. Handle it.
The administrative review ended in 2014 without the Army finding evidence to charge Golsteyn; none of his fellow soldiers corroborated the story of the killing and Army officials weren't in the room to confirm the CIA confession.

But then-Army Secretary John McHugh decided to revoke Golsteyn's Silver Star Medal, the U.S. military's third-highest decoration for valor in combat, which he had earned in Afghanistan.

The U.S. official said an Army administrative review is different from an Army criminal case, and added that the October confession provides new evidence about the incident.

"So double jeopardy doesn't apply," the official said, referring to a law in the United States that prohibits citizens from being retried for the same crime using the same evidence.

Golsteyn told The Washington Post in an email Thursday that the Defense Department and Army have "viciously pursued me without a discernible cause or a stated goal for over five years."

A senior Army official said there is currently a complaint on the Army’s handling of the case that was filed with the Defense Department Inspector General. There cannot be any results released from the case until the complaint is resolved.
Posted by: Fred || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban

#1  Shoot. Shovel. SHUT UP.
Posted by: gorb || 12/10/2016 3:59 Comments || Top||

#2  CIA Polygrapher: Have you ever killed anyone?

Golsteyn: Yes, several, perhaps dozens.

CIA Polygrapher: Were these people armed.

Golsteyn: Yes, all had arms.

Posted by: Besoeker || 12/10/2016 4:08 Comments || Top||

#3  His first mistake was applying for job that required a poly. I think this guy will end up be charged. There's no right way to do the wrong thing. Our spineless politicians (both in and out of uniform) share the guilt for forcing us to fight with one arm tied behind our backs and one eye taped shut.

For all of the great quotes from Gen, Mattis - we never really "did" what the survivors will talk about for 10,000 years. We should have and that's the problem. The Pashtun/Tajik/Hazara people understand that.
Posted by: Bangkok Billy || 12/10/2016 9:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Ditto Billy, and in light of his potential employer selection and personal admissions, charges sadly....well earned.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/10/2016 9:40 Comments || Top||

#5  The moral of the story is don't talk to reporters.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/10/2016 11:58 Comments || Top||

#6  Trump on day one, pardon the Major, return awards, end criminal ROE.
When you know the guy killed your comrades and will do so again for certain , and some jackass has kissed White House butt for career enhancement by drafting utter insanity for ROE because some lawyer wants to cover political risk by impossible standards that ensure never defeating barbarians, end the mess, don't ruin the instruments. You want to try someone for this, how about Susan Rice?
Posted by: NoMoreBS || 12/10/2016 12:48 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Commander wants experienced recruits for the Presidential Guard
[Libya Herald] The Presidency Council’s Presidential Guard, which was signed into being at the end of August, is to begin recruiting in earnest next week, its commander said today.

Colonel Najmi Ramadan Khair al-Nakua, in his first interview with the media, said that priority would be given to recruits who had fought against turbans and therefore had combat experience.

Nakua’s annoucement came just three days after the UN Security Council had been told by UNSMIL chief Martin Kobler, that the Presidential Guard was a key part of the restoration of security.

Once the Guard had been established, said Kobler in New York, the way would be open for the PC to request the partial lifting on the international arms embargo to let the Guard arm and equip itself.

Few details have emerged of the strength of the new unit nor how would-be recruits are being vetted. Nakua has two deputies, colonels Mohammed Abu Bakr Laqri and Ibrahm Ahmed Abdullah Bilad who are both senior army officers.

He said that the chosen recruits would be put through a period of extensive training. He also made a point of insisting that the Guard existed to support the army and the police and not to be a substitute for them. In New York on Tuesday, the UN had been told that the key functions of the Guard were to protect the government and state institutions as well as foreign embassies.

Posted by: Fred || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  worked for Indira Ghandi....and Anwar Sadat
Posted by: Bov Flimbers || 12/10/2016 2:39 Comments || Top||

#2  ...and a number of Caesars.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 12/10/2016 9:03 Comments || Top||


Spain's Ceuta enclave stormed by migrants
Hat tip Instapundit.
At least 400 people have broken through the border fence between Morocco and the enclave of Ceuta, which is part of Spain.

The migrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, stormed different points of the 6m-high (19ft) barbed-wire fence from 06:15 local time on Friday. It is the biggest single breach of the border in a decade, local media report.
A regular occurrence, by which the colonists hope to gain access to the gold-paved roads of Spain and the rest of Europe, whether for personal gain or jihad. ISIS is only one of the jihadi groups that recruits there -- arrests of the membership are even more frequent than mass entry over the fence.
Two border guards were injured in the surprise assault on the border, according to Spanish authorities. Local TV footage showed dozens of migrants celebrating their crossing, while others appeared exhausted, lying on the pavement with visible cuts to their feet and hands.

Most of those who made the crossing have now been detained, with 20% still unaccounted for, Spanish Interior Minister Juan Ignacio Zoido said.

Ceuta is a major crossing point for those seeking work or asylum in Europe. Together with a second Spanish enclave, Melilla, it is the European Union's only land border with Africa.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  I suspect it happens at least once a month?
Posted by: 3dc || 12/10/2016 10:51 Comments || Top||

#2  See the archive references for Ceuta here, 3dc. It takes a moment to load, for some reason.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/10/2016 12:51 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Houthis recruit 40 kidz in Sanaa
Taiz – The Human Rights organization in al-Mahweet governorate, northwest of Sana’a, revealed on Thursday that rebel militias had committed 575 violations during the past month of November.

The non-governmental local civil organization uncovered in a report that it had documented 5 cases of kidnapping, 107 cases of forced disappearance, two cases of threats under physical torture, 21 cases of incitement on killing, in addition to 11 cases of breaking into villages, 89 cases of forced displacement of families from their houses, 40 cases of recruiting children, 125 cases of freezing salaries and 57 cases of robberies and zeroing civil servants salaries.

The organization also documented cases of breaking into mosques, closing schools teaching al-Quran, in addition to rebels’ continuous invasion of state and private buildings.

The human rights organization asserted that Houthi and Saleh militias had used all school channels to spread sectarian ideas and to incite on strife among the same community, particularly the youth generation.

The report also said that militias refuse to supply public resources from taxes and had forced money-changing establishments to withdraw the financial statements of private remittances. Militias had also looted aids offered by international organizations.

Houthi militias also forced petrol station owners to sell fuel and diesel by the price of the black market and collected by the force of weapons and threat the financial resources of all directorates and factions.
Posted by: badanov || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Saleh slams Houthi allies in political row
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The ousted Yemeni president, President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh
... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it...
, launched a scathing on his Houthi
...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ...
allies, warning them of their policy of eliminating and dismissing members of his political party, the General People Congress, from public positions.

Saleh’s outburst, the first since the Houthi militias controlled the Yemeni capital Sana’a in 2014, came during a meeting with representatives of his party in the newly formed political council, the Supreme Political Council.

In an apparent frustration of the newly formed council’s recent directives, Saleh said: "the political council should not be altered into an executive power, it is a political council to illustrate policies and to regulate the government. The government is in charge, and it is the executive body."
That'd be him and family, of course.
"Passing through you ministers of the Congress I address Ansar Allah ministers: these seditions and tactics and are unwarranted," he added.

Since the overthrow of Yemen’s legitimate government and the formation of the Supreme Revolutionary Committee, Houthi militias exercised unprecedented administrative corruption, appointing 10,000 of their supporters as civil servants, whilst sacking and eliminating loyalists to the Saudi-backed government, except for Saleh’s supporters.

Posted by: Fred || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Houthis


Britain
Changing attitudes in the UK
[DAWN] The pressure on British Moslems to integrate more fully into British society is intensifying. For decades many Moslem holy mans and their followers in the UK believed that if they kept a low profile they would be left alone to pursue their lives as they saw fit.
If you leave your Islamic sewer in search of a better life, you won't find it by trying to bring the sewer with you.
But the mood is changing. Violent jihadists’ terror attacks, pushback against the increasingly assertive attitudes of some young British Moslems and the growth of English nationalism have together resulted in demands that British Moslems do more to internalise British values. Complaints about racism and Islamophobia
...the irrational fear that Moslems will act the way they usually do...
, which once silenced people who raised such issues, are making ever less impact.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  I recently discovered there is a Darul Uloom Muslim K-8 private boarding school and seminary in Buffalo, NY. They were established in buildings purchased from the Catholic church in the early 1990s. According to a second hand report, they cater to the children of Muslim immigrants in the olde worlde style.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/10/2016 0:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Surprised there is just one of note, T.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/10/2016 21:06 Comments || Top||


Europe
In Germany, some Muslim refugees convert to Christianity
Brave people.
Clad in white at a Berlin church, asylum seekers Saeed, Veronica, Farida and Matin were just about to become Christians on a recent Sunday.

"Do you believe from the bottom of your heart that Jesus Christ is your Lord and saviour, and will you follow him every day of your life?" Pastor Matthias Linke asked them. "If so, say yes."

All four replied with a frank "Ja", to the enthusiastic applause of the faithful at the Free Evangelical Church, and were plunged head-to-toe into a baptism basin.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Steve White || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists


Woman in Germany kicked down stairs in ‘senseless attack’
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] CCTV footage capturing the moment a woman was kicked down stairs at a metro station by an unidentified man in an apparently unprovoked attack in the early hours of the morning is doing the rounds on social media.

The footage of the incident - which occurred after midnight on Oct. 27, in Neukölln subway station, Berlin ‐ shows the woman walking down the stairs towards the metro line. As she walked down the stairs a man in a leatherjacket and a baseball cap - who appeared to be drinking ‐ appeared from behind her and kicked her ‐ causing her to fall down the steps.

According to German newspaper Bild, the police are not pursuing the man - despite the apparently violent nature of the attack and haven’t yet determined whether the video evidence would be suitable as evidence.
Posted by: Fred || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  an unidentified dark haired, bearded man and companions
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/10/2016 3:18 Comments || Top||

#2  Senseless is a matter of perspective.

The uncensored video is available on YouTube. Guess what it shows.
Posted by: gorb || 12/10/2016 3:57 Comments || Top||

#3  These types of incidents and attacks should now be called 'getting merkeled'.

Such as "did you see that clip of the women getting Merkeled at the Berlin subway?"
Posted by: Airandee || 12/10/2016 7:40 Comments || Top||

#4  Guess what it shows.

Tell or link, please, gorb.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/10/2016 13:00 Comments || Top||

#5  Let's just say I didn't want to appear racist. Better for others to judge for themselves. I'll post a link if it's still on YouTube when I'm able.
Posted by: gorb || 12/10/2016 14:48 Comments || Top||

#6  The video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T0v0V5nYqSI
Posted by: Classer || 12/10/2016 16:24 Comments || Top||

#7  Link to #6.

Those SOB's need to be hunted down and dealt with.
Posted by: Besoeker || 12/10/2016 16:42 Comments || Top||

#8  Thanks, Besoeker. A couple of comments are that the video at the link seems to be a manual crop of some kind out of a still surveillance camera, and it appears that the last guy through picked up a beer bottle that somehow ended up on the stairs following this attack.
Posted by: gorb || 12/10/2016 19:04 Comments || Top||

#9  And thanks to Classer, too. Another comment is that I saw another version that had some nationalist comments on it claiming that serious injury charges were filed and that one of the attackers had hit her at the bottom of the stairs. What I saw in the video did not support the allegation of the continued attack.
Posted by: gorb || 12/10/2016 19:10 Comments || Top||

#10  Allegations be damned.
It's an apparently unimpeded assault on a unescorted female.
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/10/2016 21:23 Comments || Top||


Dutch populist Geert Wilders guilty of hate speech
[USATODAY] An anti-Islam and Dutch political populist whose party is leading in polls ahead of March parliamentary elections in the Netherlands was found guilty of hate speech Friday.

Geert Wilders' case centered on comments he made during elections in the Netherlands in 2014.

Prosecutors noted that at one meeting in a Hague cafe, Wilders asked supporters whether they wanted more or fewer Moroccans in the Netherlands. That sparked a chant of "Fewer! Fewer! Fewer!" Wilders replied: "We’ll take care of it."

No sentence was imposed. Judge Hendrik Steenhuis said that was because the conviction was punishment enough for a democratically elected politician three months before national elections.

Wilders said the verdict was "madness" and he would appeal the decision. He has long insisted his comments about immigrants colonists are merely attempts to point out flaws in society. He said prosecutors were trying to curtail freedom of speech.

"The Netherlands has become a sick country," Wilders said in a video posted on his Twitter feed Friday. "I am not a racist and neither are my voters," he said in the video. "This sentence proves that you judges are completely out of touch. Support for the Party for Freedom is stronger than ever and keeps growing every day. The Dutch want their country back."
An Nahar points out a subtle distinction:
Populist anti-Islam Dutch MP Geert Wilders was found guilty on Friday of discrimination against Moroccans, but acquitted of hate speech in a closely-watched trial ahead of next year's key election. Wilders' Freedom Party (PVV) is eying an upset victory in the March 2017 polls.
Posted by: Fred || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Dutch court guilty of violating Dutch citizens' human rights.
Posted by: Abu Uluque || 12/10/2016 11:11 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
300 Turkish commandos to join Operation Euphrates Shield
A total of 300 Turkish commandos will join Turkey’s Euphrates Shield operation, according to a military source, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported Dec. 9.

The special troops of the 11th Command Brigade departed from the Çardak Military Airport in the western province of Denizli, said a source. The special operation forces known as the Blue Berets were airlifted to the Syrian border, the source added.

The forces are being sent to northern Syria to reinforce the troops. Around 20 Turkish soldiers have been killed since the launch of the operation on Aug. 24, with the aim of clearing its border with Syria of terrorist groups, which include the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Unit (YPG).
Posted by: Steve White || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Home Front: WoT
US wants Israel to try Gitmo prisoner for 2002 Kenya bombing — report
[IsraelTimes] Mohammed Bajabu allegedly confessed to attack at Israeli-owned Mombasa hotel; process said held up by FBI reluctance to share evidence.

The United States has reportedly asked Israel to accept and prosecute a Kenyan man held at Guantanamo Bay over his alleged involvement in a deadly 2002 bombing at an Israeli-owned hotel in Mombasa.

According to US government documents, Mohammed Abdul Malik Bajabu, 43, has confessed to a role in the terror attack, as well as an unsuccessful attempt to down an Israeli passenger plane that same day, the Miami Herald reported.

Thirteen people -- 10 Kenyans and three Israelis -- were killed and 80 others were maimed when a boom-mobile went off at Mombasa’s Paradise Hotel on November 28, 2002, shortly after a large group of Israeli tourists checked into the beachfront resort. At around the same time, a surface to-air missile targeted but missed an Arkia plane carrying 271 people as it took off from Mombasa airport.

Kenyan authorities incarcerated
I ain't sayin' nuttin' widdout me mout'piece!
Bajabu in Mombasa in 2007, and turned him over to the US. He has been held at the US military prison without charge.

The Herald reported that US officials traveled to Israel in April this year to discuss the possibility of transferring Bajabu to Israel for prosecution over his role in both attacks.

Though Israeli authorities had expressed interest in accepting Bajabu, the transfer has been delayed for months by the FBI refusal to share the prisoner’s confession from his 2007 interrogations.

"The government of Israel has repeatedly asked for information to support their possible prosecution. But, for reasons that are unclear, the FBI has declined to provide the information that has been requested by senior Israeli prosecutors," an unnamed US government official told The Herald. "They want to see the incriminating statements. And that’s where we are stuck -- and have been for many months -- which is frustrating."
That ought to change shortly after January 20, 2017.
Kenya has unsuccessfully attempted to prosecute the other alleged suspects in the 2002 attacks. In 2005, a High Court justice acquitted four Kenyan nationals accused of involvement in the attacks over lack of evidence.

The attacks were credited to al-Qaeda’s east Africa affiliate, but Kenyan Judge John Osiemo said state prosecutors were unable to connect the four suspects to the bombing or the terror group.
This is why jihadis should be treated as spies instead of criminals, something a PoliSci/Harvard Law guy with limited experience might not be equipped to understand. This article from 2005 lays out some of the connections between the local miscreants and Al Qaeda's Abu Musab al Zarqawi.
Posted by: trailing wife || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: al-Qaeda

#1  Can we just take him in a plane to 30000 feet and throw him out.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 12/10/2016 7:12 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
With 10 bodies exhumed, investigators look for grave of 11th Karachi airport attacker
[DAWN] KARACHI: After exhuming bodies of 10 Lions of Islam who were killed in the June 2014 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...
airport from the Edhi Foundation’s graveyard for identification of one of them, the Sherlocks are now looking for their 11th dead aide who, it emerged, was buried in an Orangi Town graveyard after being killed in the assault.

The fresh findings came during the course of investigation that not only one of those buried in the Mowach Goth graveyard of the charity organization as unidentified attackers, was a Karachiite, but also another Death Eater named Hisham was with them.

"But it emerged that Hisham was not buried in the Mowach Goth graveyard," said a senior officer. "Hisham was also shot in the shootout with the security forces. But somehow, he managed to escape in injured condition and died later or died there but his body was taken away by some of his aides and he was buried in an Orangi Town graveyard."

So, he said, efforts were on to determine his grave in that particular graveyard of the densely-populated neighbourhood. He said it was not an easy task to determine the exact grave of the Death Eater with hundreds of such structures in the graveyard.

"However,
a person who gets all wrapped up in himself makes a mighty small package...
we are very close to achieving the desired results," he said. "Once the grave of Hisham is determined, we would move in line with the defined laws to exhume the body for samples to conduct DNA matching which would lead to his identity and family links."

New facts about the June 2014 attack started unfolding after the recent arrest of two Lashkar-e-Jhangvi
... a 'more violent' offshoot of Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistain. LeJ's purpose in life is to murder anyone who's not of utmost religious purity, starting with Shiites but including Brelvis, Ahmadis, Christians, Jews, Buddhists, Rosicrucians, and just about anyone else you can think of. They are currently a wholly-owned subsidiary of al-Qaeda ...
(Naeem Bukhari group) Lions of Islam -- Ishaq alias Bobby and Asim alias Capri. It emerged that at least two of the 10 Lions of Islam were not Central Asian and they belonged to Karachi.

During the course of interrogation Ishaq Bobby had told the police Sherlocks that his brother-in-law, Majid, and his friend, Hisham, were killed in the airport attack. For identification of Majid, the health officials under the supervision of a judicial magistrate and police had exhumed 10 bodies of the unidentified attackers on Nov 22 from the Edhi Foundation’s graveyard in Mowach Goth.

"It was found that Hisham was also a resident of Orangi Town like Majid and he was buried in his area graveyard," said the officer. "We have traced all other relevant facts and collected all necessary evidence, which are required for his DNA matching. We only need samples of his body and for that we are close to determining his grave in the Orangi Town graveyard."

Twenty-six people were killed and 18 others were maimed in the attack on the Haj terminal of Karachi airport on June 8, 2014. The 10 Death Eaters, who were armed with automatic weapons, grenades and a rocket launcher, were later killed in an hours-long shootout with security forces. The outlawed Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistain had grabbed credit for the deadly attack.

"Once the grave is found, the same procedure will be adopted for the identification of Hisham as was done for Majid in the Mowach Goth graveyard," said a health official. "The samples of the clavicle bone, teeth, nails and hair from the body would be collected, which would be initially examined here and then would be sent to Islamabad for final DNA matching that takes a week or so."

Posted by: Fred || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Jhangvi


Iraq
Iraqi militiawoman fights for revenge against Islamic State
(Reuters) Wearing a camouflage cap over her headscarf, Miaad al-Jubbouri cuts an unusual figure among the hundreds of men fighting to retake a village from Islamic State in northern Iraq.

The mother of five was the sole woman among a joint force of Iraqi army and tribal militias who attacked the village of Kanous on Wednesday – one of multiple fronts in a campaign to drive the insurgents from their remaining strongholds in Iraq.

Like the men around her, Jubbouri said her motive for taking up arms was hatred of Islamic State, which overran large parts of the country more than two years ago, meting out brutal punishments and killing its opponents, including several of her cousins.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: badanov || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US facilitating joint talks with Turkey, Syrian Kurdish forces to ease tension
The U.S.-led anti-Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) coalition stated on Dec. 8 that it was facilitating joint talks with Turkey and the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) in order to simmer down tensions between the two parties that are both fighting jihadists in northern Syria.

“This week, we’re facilitating joint discussions with Turkey, the SDF and other coalition partners to promote de-escalation in the area,” anti-ISIL coalition spokesman Air Force Col. John Dorrian told reporters in a video briefing from Baghdad, AFP reported.

“Every party to these discussions has an overriding interest in common - this is the defeat of ISIL, an enemy that threatens us all,” Dorrian added.

The SDF is primarily comprised of the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which is the military wing of the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD). Turkey views the YPG and PYD as the Syrian offshoots of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), with which it is in an armed conflict since the mid-1980s. Turkey, along with the U.S. and the EU designate the PKK as a terrorist organization.

The U.S., however, does not similarly label the YPG, the PYD, or the SDF, which is composed not only of Kurdish forces but also Arab militias. Washington has extensively relied on these groups to roll back ISIL inside Syria.

“These meetings are the starting points in addressing a challenging situation,” state-run Anadolu Agency quoted Dorrian as saying in the same meeting.

Turkish and American chiefs of staff, Hulusi Akar and Joseph Dunford, respectively, met twice in under a month. Akar and Dunford first met in Ankara in November and then at the İncirlik Air Base in Adana in December.

The SDF is currently carrying out a campaign to oust ISIL from its self-declared Syrian capital of Raqqa, a major goal of the U.S.-led coalition as it seeks to eliminate the jihadists from territories under its control in the region. The coalition has carried out approximately 300 airstrikes in support of these ground forces in the past month alone, Dorrian said.

He said liberating territory in northern Syria “has freed up to thousands of civilians from” ISIL, and many of the displaced are heading to nearby Manbij, which the SDF secured in August from ISIL.

“Unfortunately, as they move in that direction, and even as they find refuge in and around the city, they’re being targeted by ISIL’s small arms and IED attacks,” Dorrian added.

A contingent of Arab fighters has allowed the SDF to establish “a governance structure representative of the local population” in Manbij, and a “similar model” is being planned for Raqqa, he added.

There are currently more than 1,500 fighters training to join the SDF, Dorrian said, and more than 90 percent of its graduates are Arab. The SDF now has an elite force of 45,000 fighters, including 13,000 Arabs from Raqqa, according to Dorrian.

Ankara has repeatedly said it would not allow a “terror corridor” on its southern frontier and that it wants to prevent the joining of the Kurdish “cantons” of Afrin and Kobane.

A senior U.S. military official told AFP that Kurdish forces had slowed their advance toward Raqqa because they were worried Turks would attack them.

“Their biggest concern is the Turks behind them are threatening to attack them and that’s what caused them to hesitate to move forward,” the official was quoted as saying by AFP.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


US denies plans to send crucial stinger missiles to PYD
A U.S. official has categorically denied recent media reports claiming that Washington was preparing to send Stinger missiles, an effective weapon in air defense, to the Syrian Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD), which Ankara considers a terrorist group.

“It’s not true,” a U.S. official told the Hürriyet Daily News while commenting on reports that appeared in the media on Dec. 9.
"No, no, certainly not!"
“They appear to be confused about how our congress works,” the official said on condition of anonymity, elaborating on the U.S. regulation to send arms to foreign groups.

“It is true the congress authorized the administration to provide Manpads to the Syrian opposition. This would allow the president to do so if he chooses to – but it does not require him to do so,” the official said.
But President Trump might have a different opinion, so Yippie ought to get on his good side...
Reports in the Turkish media said both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate had approved the sending of Stinger Man-Portable Air Defense System (MANPADS) to the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the armed wing of the PYD.

“It will be the president’s decision whether he decides to do so. So far, he has not chosen to – in part because of concerns that they could end up with groups that would use them against civil aviation in Turkey, Europe or elsewhere,” the U.S. official said.

“Second, this is aimed at the groups fighting under the Free Syrian Army [FSA] to address the problem they face from regime air strikes. We don’t provide equipment to groups if there is not a need for it. And we have been very careful not to provide anything in Syria that would end up improving the PKK’s [the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party] capabilities,” the official said.

Turkey and U.S. have been engaged in a split since Washington backs the PYD in the ongoing fight against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). Turkey, on the other hand, supports Syrian rebels as part of its ongoing Euphrates Shield operation to clear its borders of both the PYD and ISIL.
Posted by: Steve White || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


UN votes in favor of an immediate Syria ceasefire
"Whew! That's done -- who is up for tea?"
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The UN General Assembly has voted in favor of an an immediate ceasefire in Syria and access for humanitarian aid during a session on Friday.

The voting came after many speeches from key players in the Syrian conflict with 122 members voting in favor of the resolution, 13 against while 36 members abstained from voting either way.

Canada had drafted the text as part of the 193-nation assembly’s attempt to break the deadlock over Syria at the Security Council.

Speaking from New York, Al Arabiya's Talal al-Haj said that the General Assembly resolution expected the resolution to pass but reported that it would likely not make much difference on actions on the ground.

"it is worth noting that the resolution will have little to no effect unless the Security Council can act as today's resolution is non-binding," he added.

Russia and China this week vetoed a draft Security Council resolution calling for a seven-day cease-fire in Aleppo, the Syrian city that is on the verge of falling to government forces.

It was the sixth time that Moscow, a close ally of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Despoiler of Deraa...
, has used its veto in the council to block action over Syria.

The General Assembly is expected to adopt nonbinding text that demands a "complete end to all attacks on civilians" and the lifting of all sieges.

"Sadly, I suspect it will be too little too late," British Ambassador Matthew Rycroft told AFP news agency.
Posted by: Fred || 12/10/2016 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria

#1  Its cute when the UN tries to pretend its relevant.
Posted by: Crusader || 12/10/2016 0:22 Comments || Top||

#2  So that's a UNceasefire?
Posted by: Skidmark || 12/10/2016 21:24 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
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2Sublime Porte
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Two weeks of WOT
Sat 2016-12-10
  Record airstrike hits over 100 ISIL oil trucks gathered in Syria
Fri 2016-12-09
  Schoolgirl suicide bombers kill 30/injure 57
Thu 2016-12-08
  SC upholds death penalty for Mufti Hannan, 2 others
Wed 2016-12-07
  Syrian rebels repel attack in Aleppo by Iranian militia
Tue 2016-12-06
  Cincinnati: "Allah is in control!" shouts man after sentencing
Mon 2016-12-05
  Syrian Army Regains Full Control Over Al-Tall City
Sun 2016-12-04
  Puntland army launch anti-ISIL offensive in Qandala
Sat 2016-12-03
  IS uses female suicide bombers in Sirte
Fri 2016-12-02
  Aussie, French warships intercept arms for Houthis
Thu 2016-12-01
  'IS-linked' Ohio university attacker lived in Pakistan for 7 years: NYT
Wed 2016-11-30
  ISIS claims responsibility for Ohio State attack
Tue 2016-11-29
  Iranian small boats train weapons on US Navy Helicopters
Mon 2016-11-28
  Ohio State Stabbing: Somali Refugee (stabber) Killed
Sun 2016-11-27
  Iraq's parliament passes law legalising Shia militias
Sat 2016-11-26
  Fidel Castro dies aged 90

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