[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] …tells the story of a warrior in a top secret unit taken away from her sons by a suicide bomber in Syria.
Shannon Kent's story is detailed in Send Me: The True Story of a Mother at War.
Joe Kent was on a classified mission overseas when a friend pulled him aside to say four Americans had been killed in a suicide bombing in Syria.
Two of them were women, and Kent knew deep down that one of them was his wife Shannon.
The Navy cryptologist had been hunting ISIS cells and their leaders in Manbij - when a man walked into a popular kebab restaurant frequented by U.S. personnel and detonated his suicide vest.
The mother of two young boys was 35 years old, and killed while working alongside the nation's most secretive intelligence office, the National Security Agency, to track down terrorists.
Even her husband didn't know the full details of the work she was doing or exactly where she was.
Over five overseas combat tours she became an expert in gleaning information from almost anyone.
She was responsible for finding militants to give their locations to Delta Force, SEAL Team 6 or pilots so they could be taken out with precision strikes.
Chief Kent wasn’t going for a leisurely lunch when the fireball ripped through the dining room in January 2019.
'I love you,' Joe texted her when she informed in she was going out on a mission in what would be their final exchange.
She was doing what she had done for most of her storied 15-year career: Gathering intelligence in the world’s most dangerous places.
The Islamic State claimed credit for the attack and she became the first female service member to be killed in Syria since American troops arrived in 2015.
Kent suddenly became a Gold Star husband, had the impossible task of returning home to his two sons.
At just one and three years old, they were too young to fully grasp what had happened. They had barely gotten to know their warrior mother.
Like other grieving families, he didn’t have a stranger knock on his door to deliver the unbearable news.
He then contacted Shannon’s parents to make sure they got the worst phone call imaginable from someone they knew.
Then he had to get out of the middle of nowhere and return home to face his new normal.
His wife’s heroic story and how Kent dealt with her death in is in her biography Send Me: The True Story of a Mother at War, co-written by journalist and filmmaker Marty Skovlund Jr.
Her legacy and reputation was made abundantly clear by the thousands who showed up to her memorial at the Naval Academy’s chapel in Annapolis, Maryland.
She was posthumously promoted to senior chief petty officer.
The five medals and citations she received described her Special Operations work supporting the NSA while assigned to Cryptologic Warfare Activity SIXTY SIX.
Her name was added to the Cryptologic Memorial Wall alongside the inscribed words ‘They Served in Silence’.
Chief Kent was fluent in seven languages and was the first woman to complete the Naval Special Warfare Direct Support Course.
She also ran marathons, could march for miles with a 50-pound rucksack and do a dozen pull-ups.
Shannon even had a bout with thyroid cancer.
She didn’t tell Joe, who was overseas at the time, until after the surgery and was back at work a few days later.
She learned four Arabic dialects so she could be at the heart of the post-9/11 wars.
Her skills took her into meetings with sources who knew the whereabouts of some of the world’s most wanted terrorists, including ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
Some of the men she came face-to-face with even balked at the fact she was a woman.
But she was still able to extract exactly what was needed.
Her work was so classified that she was given the title of ‘cryptologist’, and the full details of what she was doing may not be known for years.
Cryptologic warfare 'encompasses signals intelligence (SIGINT), cyberspace operations, and electronic warfare (EW) operations in order to deliver effects through sea, air, land, space, and cyber domains at all levels of war,' according to the Navy.
But her work was much more than translating documents or decrypting messages
Growing up in the small town of Pine Planes, in New York, she rode horses at an early age.
Her knack for languages came when she learned Spanish so she could speak to Argentinian stable hands at a polo field.
She enlisted for the Navy in 2003 inspired by her state troop father and Staten Island firefighter uncle, both of whom were responders when the planes struck the twin towers on September 11, 2001.
In 2004 she graduated from boot camp at Recruit Training Command in Great Lakes, Illinois, in February 2004 and joined the Navy's linguist program.
Posted by: Skidmark ||
05/08/2024 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
In August 2022, DoD released DoDI 1340.27, Military Foreign Language Skill Proficiency Bonuses, announcing major policy changes to DoD FLPB practices. Pursuant to DoDI 1340.27, substantial changes have been made to Navy FLPB policy. ... As of March 1, 2023, all languages are FLPB restricted. What this means is that in order to receive FLPB for any language, you must meet one of the following criteria:
Be a CTI, FAO, or NSW (SEAL/SWCC); or
Be a graduate of the Defense Language Institutes’ basic language acquisition course for the language in question; or
Be assigned to a billet specifically coded for the language in question; or
Use the language in question during a contingency operation.
[SAHARAREPORTERS] Nigeria's forgotten schoolgirl from Yobe State, Leah Sharibu, has married at least two Boko Haram leaders including Ali Abdallah who has now become a chief judge of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) in the Lake Chad basin, a "repentant" terrorist revealed on Tuesday.
Sharibu, a Christian girl, was one of the 110 female students of the Government Girls' Science and Technical College, Dapchi, Yobe State, who were abducted on February 19, 2018, by the Boko Haram terrorists.
The "repentant" Boko Haram fighter told SaharaReporters on Tuesday that Sharibu's husband, Abdallah was recently appointed Chief Judge of the terror group in the Lake Chad basin.
“Leah was first married to Abdulrahman after she converted to Islam and they had one child, a baby boy. Her husband was killed in an air raid after which she remarried a top commander, Ali Abdallah to whom she bore a baby girl," the Boko Haram ex-fighter said.
Leah was delivered of the baby after her forceful marriage to a top Boko Haram commander, according to a reliable source close to the terror group.
The source said Leah, who refused to renounce her Christian faith, was forced to accept Islam before being married to a top commander of the terror group.
Also on March 23, 2021, SaharaReporters reported how three years and five weeks since her abduction in Dapchi, Yobe State, a United States-based group, US-Nigeria Law Group, lamented the plight of the abandoned Dapchi "heroine Christian" schoolgirl, Leah Sharibu, with a report she has given birth to a second child in captivity.
It would be recalled that Leah, still held in captivity, was forced to accept Islam before being married off to a top Boko Haram commander after she refused to renounce her Christian faith.
Speaking with SaharaReporters on Tuesday about the development around Sharibu in captivity, the repentant terrorist said, "Leah Sharibu was married off to Ali Abdallah, her second husband after her first husband, Abdulraman was killed in a military air raid.
Asked how he got the information, he said, "We still communicate with former compatriots who are still in the jungle; our aim is to help them abandon terrorism. You know, those of us who laid down arms did so after safety assurances from Nigerian authorities. Following the deal, we're now serving as agents to convince former compatriots to abandon the ideology.
"Like me, a good number of us abandoned the ideology after realising that we were actually on a wrong path; abducting and killing innocent people for no just course."
"I had to take the decision to quit terrorism despite formally serving as of of Abubakar Shekau's close aides before his demise. Yes, I was under Shekau's tutelage right from kindergarten in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital before relocating to Sambisa forest," he added.
BLUF:
[Washington Examiner] "Specifically, we understand that Mr. Malley’s security clearance was suspended because he allegedly transferred classified documents to his personal email account and downloaded these documents to his personal cell phone," the letter, signed by House Foreign Affairs Chairman Mike McCaul (R-TX) and Senate Foreign Affairs ranking member Jim Risch (R-ID), read. "It is unclear to whom he intended to provide these documents, but it is believed that a hostile cyber actor was able to gain access to his email and/or phone and obtain the downloaded information." But, but, but Hillary ? Robert Malley began his career during the Clinton administration and earned his name as the architect of former President Barack Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal. He attempted to revive the deal in 2021 under Biden to no avail. He was suspended in April 2023.
#2
So, the same thing Jack Teixeira and Reality Winner got sent to jail for.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
05/08/2024 6:37 Comments ||
Top||
#3
He will spend no time in jail. His actions were likely sanctioned and discovered by (hostile cyber actor) Mossad. Better we terminate the project than read about it in Haaretz or the Times of Israel.
Just a guess.
* In other news: Clean-up work continues at the Obama residence basement SCIF.
#4
^^^^
? I get Burn Bags but won't the real culprit evidence will be the air-gaped laptops and the encrypted thumb-drives that couriers move in and out of the residence! I wonder if there is a high capacity electro-magnet "car-wash" in a Faraday cage somewhere close-by, because that would be telling.
[GEO.TV] In view of the constitutional immunity of the head of the state, an accountability court in Islamabad on Tuesday halted its proceedings against incumbent President Asif Ali Ten Percent Zardari ...former president of Pakistain, husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in... in the Toshakhana vehicle reference.
At the outset of today’s hearing, PPP's lawyer Farooq H Naik — counsel of President Zardari — appeared before the accountability court and filed a plea seeking to halt the court’s proceedings against his client.
"As per the law, Asif Ali Zardari has presidential immunity. The case against Zardari cannot proceed as long as he remains in office," argued the lawyer.
Approving his request, accountability court judge Justice Javed Rana halted the proceedings against the president in the Toshakhana case.
The development came a month after the National Accountability Bureau (NAB), in a written reply submitted to the accountability court in the Toshakhana vehicle reference, requested to end the criminal proceedings against President Zardari, saying that he enjoys constitutional immunity.
It is pertinent to mention here that the NAB last month exonerated Pakistain Moslem League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif ...served two three non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf, then by the courts... in the same vehicle reference.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/08/2024 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
[GEO.TV] Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam ...Assembly of Islamic Clergy, or JUI, is a Pak Deobandi (Hanafi) political party. There are two main branches, one led by Maulana Fazlur Rahman, and one that was led by Maulana Samiul Haq. Fazl is active in Pak politix and Sami spent more time running his madrassah until his secretary rubbed him out in a jealous rage. Both branches sponsor branches of the Taliban, though with plausible deniability... Fazl (JUI-F) Chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman ...Deobandi holy man, known as Mullah Diesel during the war against the Soviets, his sympathies for the Taliban have never been tempered by honesty. Fazl seldom misses a meal and is now so large he has his own gravitational pull... , who has been eagerly voicing for the Imran Khan ...aka The Great Khan, who ain't the sharpest bulb on the national tree... -founded Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... 's (PTI) political rights these days, distanced himself from the former ruling party in connection with the May 9 riots.
Speaking on the Geo News programme Capital Talk, the JUI-F chief said: "Our Million March and Awami Assembly have nothing to do with the May 9 incidents."
The May 9 violence were triggered almost across the country after the deposed prime minister Imran Khan's arrest in the £190 million settlement case last year. Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were put behind bars for their alleged involvement in violence and attacks on military installations.
During the protests, the miscreants targeted the civil and military installations including — Jinnah House and the General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. The military termed May 9 "Black Day" and decided to try the protesters under the Army Act.
In his fresh interview with Hamid Mir, Maulana Fazl said that his party had also staged a protest against the May 9 violence and the entire nation had taken notice of the attacks on the state property.
It is pertinent to mention here that Fazl, in March this year, announced launching a movement called "Awami Assembly" against the results of the general elections which he believes were "rigged".
The JUI-F chief, while lambasting the "establishment" for "constantly interfering" in politics, had announced million marches against the alleged rigging in the February 8 general elections. He had made the announcement while delivering his maiden speech in the National Assembly last month.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/08/2024 00:00 ||
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[50 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan
#1
TJ & JUI brotherhood. FOCUS ON PAKISTAN'S TABLIGHI JAMAAT, B. Raman wrote:
Tthe Tablighi Jamaat (TJ), which is the mother of all the Pakistan-based jehadi organisations active not only in the CARs, Chechnya and Dagestan, but also in other parts of the world. In a report carried by the "News" (February 13,1995), Mr. Kamran Khan, the well-known Pakistani journalist, brought to light for the first time the nexus between the TJ and the HUM and their role in supporting Islamic extremist movements in different countries.
...The February 1998, issue of the "Newsline", a monthly of Pakistan, quoted workers of the TJ as saying that the TJ had many offices in the US, Russia, the Central Asian Republics, South Africa, Australia and France and that many members of the Chechen Cabinet, including the Deputy Prime Minister of Chechnya, were workers of the TJ and participated in its proselytising activities. . One of them said: " It is possible that France may become a Muslim state within my lifetime, due to the great momentum of Tablighi activity there."
According to the "Newsline", the TJ was started in the 1880s to revive and spread Islam. Its annual convention held at Raiwind in Pakistani Punjab in November every year is attended by over one million Muslims from all over the world. This is described by the "Newsline" as the second largest gathering of the Muslims anywhere in the world after the Haj in Saudi Arabia.
[FoxNews] Both components of the floating pier were reportedly waiting to be moved from the Port of Ashdod to the Gaza Strip
Both sections of the temporary floating pier intended to be placed off the coast of Gaza Strip for the delivery of humanitarian aid have been completed, though weather and sea conditions are preventing delivery of the parts to the embattled region, Pentagon officials tell Fox News.
The components are still sitting at the Port of Ashdod, and CENTCOM "stands by" to relocate the pier sections to Gaza, Singh added.
Once off the coast of Gaza, the U.S. military and USAID will work together to deliver humanitarian assistance using military support vessels and trucks.
Singh could not provide an exact date for when the pier would be maneuvered into place, mainly because of the weather and security conditions.
"As CENTCOM stands by to move the pier into position in the near future, and again, in partnership with USAID, we’re loading humanitarian aid onto the MV Sagamore, which is currently in Cyprus," she said. "The Sagamore is a cargo vessel that will use the JLOTS system and will make trips between Cyprus and the offshore floating pier, as USAID and other partners collect aid from around the world."
Once fully operational, 150 trucks will be available to move aid into Gaza. At first, though, a small number of trucks will be used to make sure the distribution system works.
The Pentagon has said the estimated cost would nearly double the original estimate of $180 million. It also said the project will only be in use temporarily, for a period of three months.
The pier will be able to process up to two million meals a day for the people in Gaza, U.S. Central Command said.
#6
The Pentagon has said the estimated cost would nearly double the original estimate of $180 million. It also said the project will only be in use temporarily, for a period of three months.
[GEO.TV] Israel will continue its operation in the southern Gazoo
Islamic Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response. In October of 2023 Gazooks belonging to Hamas invaded Israel, killed over a thousand people, raped a bunch of women. Then they bitched and moaned about genocide when their butts handed to them in the entirely justified retaliation. city of Rafah until Hamas ...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",... forces in the area are destroyed or the group hands over one of the Israeli hostages it still holds, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said on Tuesday.
"This operation will continue until we eliminate Hamas in the Rafah area and the entire Gaza Strip, or until the first hostage returns," he said in a statement.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/08/2024 00:00 ||
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Top|| File under: Hamas
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.
[Daily Mail, where America gets its news] …tells the story of a warrior in a top secret unit taken away from her sons by a suicide bomber in Syria.
[SAHARAREPORTERS] Nigeria's forgotten schoolgirl from Yobe State, 
...former president of Pakistain, husband of the late Benazir Bhutto, who has been singularly lacking in curiosity about who done her in...
...Deobandi holy man, known as 
...a contraction of the Arabic words for "frothing at the mouth",...
