[Men's Journal] Immediately following the terrorist attacks of September 11th 2001, less than a hundred U.S. Special Forces flew to Afghanistan to wage a significant but secret war with the Taliban. The new Sundance documentary Legion of Brothers, from director Greg Barker centers on this little-known fight.
The film focuses on two 12-man teams of Green Berets, each tasked with a different mission to defeat the Taliban. Captain Mark Nutsch’s Team 595 arrived first in October 2001 and partnered with the anti-Taliban military to capture cities in the north -- something they did primarily on horseback. In November 2001, Captain Jason Amerine’s Team 574 arrived in Afghanistan, and eventually attacked Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in the south of the country.
#1
Had the honor of breaking bread in Kabul in December 2001 w/ODA 555. They had some great stories. It was there that I heard the phrase - "An Afghan cannot be bought - but he can be rented".
Posted by: Bangkok Billy ||
02/03/2017 22:28 Comments ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] 500 soldiers from the forces of Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar ... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all... will been sent to Russia for treatment.
Rooters has reported that the first 70 have already arrived in Russia.
This is the first obvious cooperation between Moscow and an gang in Libya, an official and a military source said.
Opponents of Haftar, head of the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) based in the east of the country, worry that his engagement with Russia is an attempt to challenge the fragile U.N.-supported government in Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... , which he has shunned, Rooters reported.
The fighters will be transfered from Benina airport in Benghazi to Egypt, before arriving in Russia.
Haftar, whose forces have been fighting against an alliance of Islamist turbans and former rebels in Benghazi for two years, enjoys close ties to Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. He has cultivated his friendship with Russia, visiting Moscow twice last year to ask for military aid, the Rooters report continued.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2017 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Arab Spring
#1
Apparently Haftar long foresaw his usefulness to the Klingons ending, likely after that unfortunate event in Benghazi in September of 2011.
#5
But, but it was the Arab Spring and they were suppose to fall under Obama's spell and become peaceful.
Yes, only then could the contents of Gadaffi's massive small arms warehouses be migrated to more moderate mooslims in conflict with Assad. It all looked so good on paper.
Jeddah- Deputy Chief of General Staff of Yemeni Armed Forces General Ahmed Saif confirmed that Houthi militias and their ally Ali Abdullah Saleh are plotting to blow up and destroy the infrastructure in Mokha city, specifically its port, by targeting the city’s fuel tanks and its main power plant.
Gen. Saif told Asharq Al-Awsat that the subversive acts that Houthi militias are plotting aim at implicating Arab coalition forces led by Saudi Arabia and the Yemeni army that has been besieging the city for several days now.
He pointed out that the Yemeni army has given a chance to the insurgents to surrender before soldiers break into the city and preserve the government’s resources.
“Houthis refused to surrender and have been barricading themselves by these fuel and gas tanks and the power plant to blow them up the moment the army decides to advance, showing the whole world that the military is carrying out destructive and sabotaging acts during the military confrontations.”
“The army is keen on the country’s resources, and throughout all the military confrontations with rebels it did not carry out any destructive act despite all the provocations by the Houthis and their allies in areas under their control,” Saif said.
He added that the army is giving a chance to those hiding in these sites to surrender before any military attack.
Moreover, the Yemeni General said that Houthi rebels prevented civilians in Mokha city from fleeing and used them as human shields, in violation of international rules that prohibit obstructing civilians from leaving areas witnessing military confrontations.
Gen. Saif stressed that the army is aware of what Houthis are plotting, especially in Mokha city where there are many facilities that the insurgents could attack.
Think about that for a moment: 0230 hrs midweek, 30 civilians were killed by gunfire, presumably by US gunfire, and that's just those who died. We didn't hear about wounded and we have no explanation why in one of the most politically repressive environments on the planet, 30 civilians would be doing anything but resting indoors for the day ahead.
Al-Qaeda is gaining ground in Yemen and could benefit from military actions like the deadly raid by elite US forces ordered by President Donald Trump, the International Crisis Group warned Thursday.
The ICG is the usual collection of UN and NGO elites. Everything the west does, and in particular everything the US does, makes the world worse. They can sing it chapter and verse...
“The Yemeni branch of Al-Qaeda is stronger than it has ever been,” ICG said in a report documenting the spread of Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP).
That's why you guys skulk about in deserts and hiding places...
The report was released after Sunday’s US air raid ordered by President Donald Trump on Bayda province in which more than a dozen civilians were killed in attacks on a school, a mosque and a hospital.
“The first military actions by the [US President Donald] Trump administration in Yemen bode poorly for the prospect of smartly and effectively countering AQAP,” read the report.
Although the US has said the strike killed at least 14 suspected terrorists and one US Navy force, the ICG said the death toll included “many civilians, including at least 10 women and children.”
Also known as "camp followers"...
The think tank warned that similar attacks could escalate fear and anti-US sentiments among civilians, laying the groundwork for recruitment by AQAP.
As can be seen by recently released video, "anti-US sentiments among civilians" is already at an all time high without the raids.
“The use of US soldiers, high civilian casualties and disregard for local tribal and political dynamics… plays into AQAP’s narrative of defending Muslims against the West and could increase anti-US sentiment and with it AQAP’s pool of recruits,” it said.
According to a Yemeni provincial official in Bayda, the US attack on Sunday killed 41 suspected militants and 16 civilians, eight of whom were women and eight children.
Kidz just innocently playing and frolicking in the middle of an intense firefight at 0230 hrs. Got it.
AQAP, however, announced in a statement that the strike killed 30 people “only women and children… with some tribal leaders who have no connections” to the group.
The al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula in Yemen has taken advantage of the chaos fueled by a deadly Saudi military campaign to tighten its grip on parts of southeast Yemen.
The Takfiri ISIL group has also gained ground in and around the main southern city of Aden after the army and their Houthi allies were evicted by the Saudi-led offensive launched in support of the former Hadi government.
#1
An hour long firefight with who knew who was a jihadi. Women clad in Burkah with real combat skills firing at them, their craft crashed, just a little more Somalia than expected.
Little back-up. Shit happens I guess.
And next time, no change in Drone behavior until minutes before a raid but also, like in blackhawk down- expect skinny with burner phones to be announcing your entrance to the hornets nest.
[RT] The two-week old administration of 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... has already achieved more in dealing with the mass migration crisis than all the European countries have ever done, the leader of the "far-right"
...scare quotes added...
Dutch party said.
"There is a politician who does not only keep his promises and fulfils his promises in the election campaign, but has done more to beat the mass immigration in two week’s time than the whole European governments in the whole existence," Geert Wilders, leader of the far-right Dutch Freedom Party (PVV), said during a book presentation at The Hague on Thursday. Heads were exploding in The Hague no doubt.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2017 00:00 ||
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[THELOCAL.DE] Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... on Thursday rebuked German Chancellor Angela Merkel ...current chancellor of Germany and the impetus behind Germany's remarkably ill-starred immigration program. Merkel used to be referred to by Germans as Mom... for using the expression "Islamist terrorism", saying the phrase was not correct and saddened Moslems.
Speaking after a critical bilateral meeting with Erdogan, Merkel spoke of the need for The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and Germany to cooperate even further to fight against terror, including "Islamist terrorism" and Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) hard boys.
"We spoke in detail about... the questions of the fight against Islamist terrorism, against every form of terrorism, also the terrorism of the PKK," she said alongside Erdogan at his palace in Ankara.
"We agree we want to cooperate, we are all affected by this. We agreed to have closer cooperation in the future," she said.
Erdogan, sitting next to Merkel, was stony-faced as she spoke.
Many Moslems oppose any equating of Islam and terror, arguing those who commit crimes purportedly in the name of Islam have nothing to do with a religion that espouses peace.
"This expression 'Islamist terror' seriously saddens us Moslems," Erdogan replied, glancing sternly at the German chancellor.
"Such an expression is not correct because Islam and terror cannot be associated. The meaning of Islam is peace."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2017 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Sublime Porte
#1
"The meaning of Islam is peace."
Something was lost in the translation to Reality, then.
UC Berkeley last year received $370 million in funding from the federal government, underlining the seriousness of President Trump’s threat to withdraw funding following leftist riots at the college yesterday.
The riots, which were a successful effort to prevent Breitbart Senior Editor MILO from speaking at the university, were condemned by President Donald Trump, who earlier threatened to take away the university’s federal funding.
"If U.C Berkeley does not allow free speech and practices violence on innocent people with a different point of view ‐ NO FEDERAL FUNDS?," Trump wrote. If you want to contact the White House to express your thoughts: [LINK]
#5
Against the wishes of some faculty and students alike Berkley very publicly announced they would allow the event to proceed. In anticipation of a protest University administration called in personel from other campuses, coordinated with local LE, and beefed up security overall. They also provided a separate area for protesters away from the event.
Two questions; 1. How did the campus "not allow free speech"? 2. How does the threat of witholding federal funds prevent future riots?
#6
In anticipation of a protest University administration called in personel from other campuses, coordinated with local LE, and beefed up security overall.
Good thing, too. All of UC Berkeley might have gone up in flames. Pity about the Starbucks. Such a progressive company. And that young lady who got pepper-sprayed. Maybe she should've worn something a bit less provocative, like a "pussy hat".
Oh, and the speech being cancelled. But that was the point, wasn't it, dearie?
#10
It's my understanding that about 150 professional agitators were brought in and did most of the damage. If so, the police should have just nabbed these communists/anarchists and it would all have evaporated. But they were told to stand down, of course. I kinda wonder if Soros or some other knowing liberal may have had a hand in that decision somehow.
[DAWN] The government has accused the previous government of the Pakistain Peoples Party (PPP) of not taking required actions under the 2008 United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... resolution designating Hafiz Saeed ...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat... ’s organization as a terrorist outfit.
"As a matter of record, the actions taken by the government of Pakistain have been carried out as per obligations vis-à-vis listing of Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... under UN Security Council Resolution 1267 in December 2008," says an unnamed spokesperson for the Ministry of Interior in a statement here on Wednesday which the ministry apparently released in reaction to a statement of India’s Ministry of External Affairs regarding the detention of JuD chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed ...who would be wearing a canvas jacket with very long sleeves anyplace but Pakistain... .
"Various actions that needed to be taken under the relevant resolution, i.e. arms embargo, travel ban and asset freeze, were not carried out for some reasons by the previous governments," the spokesperson said without naming the PPP.
The spokesperson said that Pakistain did not need any certification or endorsement from India over the recent actions it had taken in relation to Hafiz Saeed.
India had constantly been using Hafiz Saeed’s political activities as a tool to malign Pakistain, the statement said. "The international community should take note and understand that Pakistain is a democratic society where judiciary takes free, independent and transparent decisions," it said.
"If indeed, India is serious about its allegations, it should come up with concrete evidence against Hafiz Mohammad Saeed which is sustainable in court of law in Pakistain or for that matter anywhere in the world," the spokesperson said, adding: "Mere casting aspersions and levelling allegations without any corroborating evidence would not help the cause of peace in the region."
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2017 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Lashkar e-Taiba
[Daily Excelsior] A day after Pakistain asked India to provide "concrete evidence" against JuD chief Hafiz Saeed ...founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its false-mustache offshoot Jamaat-ud-Dawa. The United Nations declared the JuD a terrorist organization in 2008 and Hafiz Saeed a terrorist as its leader. Hafiz, JuD and LeT are wholly-owned subsidiaries of the Pak intel apparatus, so that amounted to squat... , Union Minister Dr Jitendra Singh today said the country has been providing evidence at different levels and cautioned the longer Pakistain stays in "denial mode" the more it risks its own security.
Asserting that Pakistain has emerged as the "epicenter of terrorism" in the entire region, particularly in the Indian sub-continent, Dr Singh said, the neighbouring country is also the "hub of gross human rights ...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless... violations".
"The entire world now acknowledges and realises that, from time to time, India has been providing a series of evidence at different levels. And, therefore, there is hardly any evidence required.
"The longer Pakistain prefers to stay in denial mode, they must realise, the powers that be in Islamabad, the more they are going to risk their own security," Singh told news hounds outside Parliament.
Pakistain had yesterday asked India to provide "concrete evidence" against JuD chief Hafiz Saeed if it was "serious" about its allegations against him.
Before that, India had said that only a credible crackdown on the Mumbai terror attack criminal mastermind would be proof of Islamabad’s sincerity.
Saeed and four other Jamaat-ud Dawa leaders ‐ Abdullah Ubaid, Zafar Iqbal, Abdur Rehman Abid and Qazi Kashif Niaz ‐ were put under house arrest after an order was issued by Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... Province’s Interior Ministry in pursuance to a directive from the Federal Interior Ministry on January 27.
On the H1B Visa issue, Dr Singh said, the External Affairs Ministry will look into it and take appropriate measures.
"It won’t be right for me to give a final response to that without being privy to exact details. Nevertheless, I am sure the Government and the External Affairs Ministry will take cognisance and justice will be done," he said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the barn, Bossy had come up with a new idea, one that didn't involve kerosene... India today dismissed Pakistain’s demand for "concrete evidence" against JuD chief Hafiz Saeed in the 26/11 case, saying the required proof is already available in that country as the entire conspiracy was hatched there and all it needs to find is "requisite" political will to take action.
External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Vikas Swarup also said India would not go by the claims or statements made by Pakistain about the steps taken to check terrorism but by what happens on the ground.
"Entire conspiracy for the Mumbai attack was hatched in Pakistain. All the holy warriors came from Pakistain. All the planning was done in Pakistain. All the support was rendered by Pakistain. So, all the evidence to implicate the criminal mastermind of the Mumbai terror attack is already available in Pakistain.
"In fact, Hafiz Saeed has himself confessed to criminal masterminding multiple holy warriors attacks directed at India. So the concrete evidence that Pakistain establishment is looking for is already available in Pakistain. All they need to find is requisite political will," Swarup said.
He was asked about the statement of a Pakistain Interior Ministry Spokesperson that "If indeed India is serious about its allegations, it should come up with concrete evidence against Hafiz Saeed which is sustainable in court of law in Pakistain or for that matter anywhere in the world" and that mere casting aspersions and levelling allegations without any corroborating evidence would not help.
On the recent release of Chandu Babulal Chavan and if this indicated softening of Pakistain’s stand that could lead to resumption of bilateral dialogue, Swarup said India welcomes the steps taken by Pakistain on humanitarian matters.
"We have consistently maintained that a bilateral dialogue with Pakistain is only possible in an atmosphere free of terror and violence. Any credible steps in that direction will certainly be welcomed by India," he said.
He added, "We will not go by their (Pakistain’s) claims and statements. We will go by what we will see on the ground. At the end of the day, that is what matters."
Swarup was also asked if the meeting of SAARC officials which is currently underway in Kathmandu has paved the way for the SAARC Summit, to which he said one cannot arrive at such a conclusion.
"India is committed to the ideals and objectives of SAARC. Our objection was to the holding of the SAARC Summit in Islamabad at a time when one particular country is opposed to regional connectivity initiatives, is promoting cross-border terrorism and is interfering in domestic affairs of other countries.
"Not only India, other SAARC countries also joined in saying that this time was not conducive to host the Summit in Islamabad," Swarup said.
A majority of SAARC countries including India had pulled out of the 19th SAARC summit, scheduled to be held in Islamabad last November, maintaining that the atmosphere was conducive for holding of the summit in view of continuous cross-border terrorism by Pakistain.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2017 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
Saudi Arabia's King Salman, in a telephone call on Sunday with U.S. President Donald Trump, agreed to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen, a White House statement said.
Trump, during his presidential campaign last year, had called for Gulf states to pay for establishing safe zones to protect Syrian refugees.
A statement after the phone call said the two leaders agreed on the importance of strengthening joint efforts to fight the spread of Islamic State militants.
"The president requested, and the King agreed, to support safe zones in Syria and Yemen, as well as supporting other ideas to help the many refugees who are displaced by the ongoing conflicts," the statement said.
The Saudi Press Agency, in an initial readout of the call, made no specific mention of safe zones, but said the two leaders had affirmed the "depth and durability of the strategic relationship" between the two countries.
The agency later said "the custodian of the Two Holy Mosques had confirmed his support and backing for setting up safe zones in Syria", but did not mention Yemen, where a Saudi alliance is fighting against the Iran-aligned Houthi group.
A senior Saudi source told Reuters the two leaders spoke for more than an hour by telephone and agreed to step up counter-terrorism and military cooperation and enhance economic cooperation.
But the source had no word on whether the two leaders discussed Trump's order to put a four-month hold on allowing refugees into the United States and temporarily ban travelers from Syria and six other Muslim-majority countries.
The source said Saudi Arabia would enhance its participation in the U.S.-led coalition fighting to oust Islamic State from its strongholds in Iraq and Syria.
The White House statement said the two leaders also agreed on the need to address "Iran's destabilizing regional activities." SPA confirmed the report but made no specific mention of Iran.
Both countries share views about Iranian policies in the region, the Saudi source said, suggesting Trump agreed with Riyadh's suspicion of what it sees as Tehran's growing influence in the Arab world. Iran denies it meddles in Arab countries.
The White House statement said the two also discussed what it called an invitation from the king for Trump "to lead a Middle East effort to defeat terrorism and to help build a new future, economically and socially," for Saudi Arabia and the region.
The two also discussed the Muslim Brotherhood, the senior Saudi source said, adding in a reference to the late al Qaeda leader, "it was mentioned that Osama bin Laden was recruited at an early stage" by the organization.
[ALMASDARNEWS] According to sources in Syria, the Syrian Army recently told Rooters that they are prepared to clash with The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... -backed FSA fighters near al-Bab, if necessary.
Al-Bab is a town in Aleppo province, and is situated 30km south of the Syria-Turkey border. The town is currently held by ISIS terrorists, but a number of forces, including the Syrian Army, are competing to liberate it.
Turkey has provided direct military assistance to rebels in Northern Syria, and they have regularly attacked Kurdish forces in Syria, as Erdogan has deemed their quasi-state in Northern Syria a threat to Turkey.
Turkey has lost a significant amount of troops and armaments as a result of its intervention in Syria, and ISIS is using captured equipment against Turkish forces.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2017 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
#1
I eagerly await the first battle between Turkish troops and Hezbollah
Posted by: lord garth ||
02/03/2017 3:42 Comments ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] Syria has strongly denounced The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s recent attacks near the flashpoint town of al-Bab, calling on the United Nations ...an organization originally established to war on dictatorships which was promptly infiltrated by dictatorships and is now held in thrall to dictatorships... to assume its responsibilities and put an end to the violation of the Arab country’s illusory sovereignty, PressTV reported.
The Syrian Foreign and Expatriates Ministry made the request in two letters addressed to the UN Secretary General and the president of the Security Council on Thursday, the report continued.
Since November, Turkey has occupied swathes of Syrian territory, using its fight against ISIS and the Kurdish YPG that it deems as a terrorist group, as justification for its illegal incursion.
The letters said that the Turkish occupation threatens international peace and security.
The ministry further accused the government in Ankara of providing military, material and logistic support to terrorist organizations, facilitating the entry of foreign bully boyz into Syria and setting up training camps for bully boyz on Turkish soil.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/03/2017 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Syria
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.
[THELOCAL.DE] Turkish President 
[Daily Excelsior] A day after Pakistain asked India to provide "concrete evidence" against JuD chief 
