#1
Can someone with access to twitter post the full text of Trumps tweet? I'm only able to read the top part of the tweet and seems i cannot scroll down to read the rest. Thanks.
Note to our world readers. You are dealing with a Jacksonian. Jacksonians don't like war. Jacksonians prefer to avoid war. However, if you provoke a Jacksonian into war by your actions, he will bring total war to you. No niceties, no talk, no rule but winning.
#6
"To Iranian President Rouhani: NEVER, EVER THREATEN THE UNITED STATES AGAIN OR YOU WILL SUFFER CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE. WE ARE NO LONGER A COUNTRY THAT WILL STAND FOR YOUR DEMENTED WORDS OF VIOLENCE & DEATH. BE CAUTIOUS!"
Posted by: Mullah Richard ||
01/03/2020 8:53 Comments ||
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[KhaamaPress] Taliban ...Arabic for students... has destroyed three telecom towers in Darzab district of northern Jawzjan province, officials said.
Talibs took over Darzab, a district in northern Jawzjan province of Afghanistan on Tuesday, they put on fire and destroyed three telecom towers following the occupancy of the area, Maroof Azar, a spokesperson to Jawzjan governor told media.
The telecom towers destroyed by Taliban belong to three private telecommunication firms including Roshan, MTN and Etisalat, Azar said.
According to Azar, the residence of Darsab and Ghos Tapa districts of Jawzjan province have lost mobile connections as a result of this incident.
"Taliban were going to destroy a ’public hospital’ in Darzab too, which was avoided due to the mediation of elders of Darzab.", Maroof Azar said.
Taliban took over the full control of Darzab district on Tuesday, the ANSDF drew back peacefully on the demand of Darzab districts who were tired of fighting between the two parties in the last 90 days.
“Just let us surrender in peace — it can’t be worse than what they’re doing to us now.”
However, you can observe a lot just by watching... Afghanistan Ministry of Defense (MOD) had said in a statement that Afghan forces have changed their base from ’Antan Hill’ to another location due to cold weather condition.
This comes as another report earlier suggested that MTN, a privately registered telecom service provider in Afghanistan and part of the Global MTN, the largest South African Telecom firm has been accused of bribing Taliban and al-Qaeda terrorist groups in Afghanistan for safeguarding their ’transmission towers’.
The allegation is under review of a federal court in the United States.
MTN says it is reviewing allegations that it paid protection money to bully boy Islamist groups in Afghanistan.
"It remains of the view that it conducts its business in a "responsible and compliant manner in all its territories". MTN has said.
[KhaamaPress] MTN Afghanistan, a child company to the global MTN, the largest telecommunication firm in South Africa has bribed Taliban ...mindless ferocity in a turban... , to safeguard their ’transmission towers’ in Afghanistan, BBC reported.
Serious complaints have been filed against MTN for bribing Taliban and Al Qaeda terrorist groups in Afghanistan.
The allegations, made in a legal complaint filed in a US federal court on Friday, said the firm violated US anti-terrorism laws. It was filed on behalf of families of US citizens killed in attacks in Afghanistan.
Five other companies were also named in the filing.
The complaint alleges MTN paid bribes to al-Qaeda and the Taliban to avoid having to invest in in expensive security for their transmission towers. The alleged payments helped finance a Taliban-led insurgency that led to the attacks in Afghanistan between 2009 and 2017, the accusations say.
It is alleged that the money helped to provide "material support to known terrorist organizations," thus violating the anti-terrorism legislation.
MTN says it is reviewing allegations that it paid protection money to holy warrior Islamist groups in Afghanistan.
"It remains of the view that it conducts its business in a "responsible and compliant manner in all its territories". MTN has said.
MTN is Africa’s largest mobile operator and the eighth largest in the world, with more than 240 million subscribers.
[AlAhram] At least 48 people were killed and more than 200 maimed in tribal fighting in Sudan's strife-torn Darfur, the Red Islamic Thingy said on Thursday.
The armed festivities broke out on Sunday night in El Geneina, capital of West Darfur state, and continued until Monday between Arab and African tribes during which several houses were torched, it said.
At least 48 people were killed
...up from yesterday’s more than 20...
and their bodies transferred to a morgue in the city and 241 maimed, including 19 at death's door who were flown to Khartoum for treatment, it said in a statement.
...yesterday it was 17 injured plus ten villages burnt, so the new number is not a surprise.
"This morning the situation is calm," it said, adding that several homes had been torched.
The Khartoum government imposed a curfew across West Darfur on Monday and has launched an investigation into the bloodshed, while a delegation of bigwigs visited the area.
The government also deployed troops to El Geneina to restore order.
Residents of El Geneina who spoke to AFP by phone said security forces were patrolling main roads in the city, confirming that the fighting had subsided.
According to Sudanese media, the fighting erupted after a row between two people.
All that because two people called each other names? No wonder Darfur is a mess.
A woman reached by phone said she had fled the Krinding camp for displaced Masalit, a non-Arab ethnic group, near El Geneina after assailants torched tents there.
In January 2016, six people were killed in unrest in West Darfur following violence involving Masalit rustics and members of the Arab Beni Halba tribe.
Those festivities sparked rallies in Khartoum, with protesters marching to the prime minister's office and the justice ministry carrying signs calling for an "end to massacres in the camps of the displaced" and on authorities to punish the culprits.
Darfur -- made up of five states -- spiralled into conflict in 2003.
The Darfur fighting broke out when ethnic minority rebels took up arms against the Arab-dominated government of now ousted president Omar al-Bashir ...Former President-for-Life of Sudan. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself head cheese. He fell out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to Arabize Darfur by unleashing the barbaric Janjaweed on it. Sudan's potential prosperity has been pissed away in warfare that has left as many as 400,000 people dead and 2.5 million displaced. Hee was overthrown by popular consent in 2019. Omar has been indicted for genocide by the International Criminal Court but nothing is expected to come of it... , which they accused of marginalising the region.
The conflict left around 300,000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million others, the UN says.
Bashir, who is behind bars for corruption and awaiting trial on other charges, is wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for his role in Darfur.
Sudan said on December 22 it had opened a probe into crimes committed in Darfur.
[AlAhram] The Libyan National Army announced on Thursday that its defence systems have shot down a Ottoman Turkish drone in Ain Zara neighbourhood in south 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... , al-Arabiya TV reported.
The news network did not report any further details.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/03/2020 00:00 ||
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[ALMASDARNEWS] The Ansarallah forces announced on Thursday that their troops have shot down another enemy aircraft along the border of Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of... and 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... According to a report from al-Masirah TV, the Ansarallah forces’ rocket battalion shot down an enemy spy plane inside the Dayar area of Saudi Arabia’s Jizan province.
"The downing of the plane was carried out after targeting it with the appropriate weapon," the Ansarallah forces were quoted as saying
As a result of today’s incident, the Ansarallah forces have now shot down three enemy aircraft in the past 72 hours.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2020 00:00 ||
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#1
So how many cheap drones do you need to send until they run out of anti-air devices?
[Townhall] A suspected terrorist wearing an explosive vest has been shot dead after stabbing four people in the Paris suburb of Villejuif.
More information from The Daily Mail, per the police union in Paris
A police union source said: 'Four people were attacked by an individual in the Hautes-Bruyères park, near a supermarket.
'The attacker was armed with a knife and was lashing out at anyone he could. There were claims he was carrying explosives.
'Armed police arrived within minutes and were able to neutralise the attacker with gunfire. One of the people wounded was rushed to hospital and is in intensive care.'
The authorities are still trying to determine a motive.
Daily Mail update at 8:10 p.m. ET:
A terrorist who was wearing a mock explosive vest was shot dead in Paris this afternoon after stabbing three people, killing a man who was trying to protect his wife.
Witnesses told local media the attacker was yelling 'Allahu Akbar' as he launched the assault in the Hautes-Bruyères park in the Villejuif suburb shortly after 2pm on Friday.
Police said the man appeared to be wearing an explosive vest and had made off towards a Carrefour supermarket just under a mile away where he was 'neutralised,' shot several times and died at the scene.
Mayor of Villejuif Franck Le Bohellec told Le Parisen the dead man was a 56-year-old who 'was walking with his wife when the attacker approached, he wanted to protect his wife and it was he who suffered the stab wound'.
The knifeman has been identified by French media as Nathan C. by his card details which say he was born in 1997 in Lilas, a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris.
Several sources said Nathan C. suffered from 'psychological problems.'
He was not being tracked as a religious zealot, although 'elements linked to religion' that 'suggested he had converted to Islam' were found among his personal effects, the local prosecutor's office said.
Two other victims have been rushed to Kremlin-Bicêtre hospital and remain in a 'critical condition', authorities said.
A specialist mine-clearance team inspected the man's dead body after his death and said it was 'clear of explosives', said the investigating source.
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/03/2020 11:47 ||
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#8
For Jacques, the acutest of quandaries:
The Jew had made mock of his boundaries...
But so too the Muslim...
Mon Dieu, did it puzzle him!
"Muh France, just a congress of congeries?"
[DAWN] Security forces on Wednesday released six Pasedkhel rustics after holding talks with a jirga of local elders while giving an assurance that the remaining two persons would be also freed after completion of necessary investigations.
The jirga headed by Malak Darya Khan Zakhakhel held detailed discussions with the officials of security and district administration in Landi Kotal to secure the release of eight rustics, who were arrested along with 12 other Pasedkhel residents on December 19 after killing of a soldier in a landmine blast near the Afghan border.
Khatir Khan, one of the arrested rustics, died in mysterious conditions on December 22 in the custody. His relatives levelled allegations of torture against the security officials, who rejected the allegations and said that he died after falling from a ladder while trying to escape from Charbagh Fort where all the captives were interrogated.
Reason of the death of Khatir Khan, however, could not be ascertained as the relatives refused to conduct a postmortem of his body.
The workers of different political parties and local people staged a protest sit-in at Bacha Khan Chowk in Landi Kotal Bazaar on December 26. The protesters demanded judicial probe into the mysterious death of Khatir Khan, unconditional release of all arrested men, monetary assistance at the pattern of Shuhada package for the family of Khatir Khan, registration of FIR of the incident and end to unwarranted raids by the security forces at the houses of local residents.
Security forces released 11 arrested rustics few days ago while keeping eight under detention on the pretext of investigations and fulfilling legal requirements.
The participants of the sit-in had threatened to not only continue the protest but also block Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire... -Torkham Highway for an indefinite time if all their demands were not accepted.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2020 00:00 ||
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#1
OK. The hit was righteous, but we have to be prepared for the backlash. The Iranian gov't reminds me of the cartels or MS13. Too caught up in their own delusions to see the consequences of escalation. The Persians will strike back and it will hurt since the targets are likely to be civilian. I realize that warning US interests in Iraq before hand would have tipped our hand, but those folks have a target on their backs now. I hope some contingencies for their protection have been made.
#3
We need to be aware and alert here at home, too. Iranian agents have been surveying targets and stocking supplies since shortly after the takeover over there in 1979.
#6
It seems that the Deep State in the US is taking this harder than the Persians . Too many leftist in the US took to much money from Biden's Butt Buddies ?
#8
This enemy deserves respect, any enemy that can kill you deserves respect. They will strike back, they understand the US media and political game. This will come home to us and we need to be ready. We ignored them for decades, allowed them to grow in capability, grow in influence, and grow financially. We even paid them billions. I believe they have the capabilities nearing equal to Russia. With that I mean they have brigades of SF, they operate in urban environments and they know how to split battle fields, IE making Israel and Saudi allies to an extent. The only real difference is they don't have the nuclear capability Russia does. But we should make no mistake, they are going to strike us, they will make it violent with no rules of warfare. We must be prepared and focus our intel and operational assets on this enemy, or it will hurt. Lastly, The hostage crisis of 79 is why I joined the Army in the first place. This is long over due, We needed to do this, America is in a better place because we did, but this aint over and we need to be ready because they will counter punch.
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
01/03/2020 11:29 Comments ||
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#9
Primary targets should be their electrical distribution infrastructure and oil refineries. Iran will fall into chaos quickly.
#10
Iran has about a dozen oil refineries. They could all be taken out within about 30 minutes.
Iran has three or four significant navel facilities. They could be disabled in about that same time.
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/03/2020 12:35 Comments ||
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#11
What 49 Pan said. 40 years of appeasement and denial. Birthday cakes for the Ayatollah. Midnight pallets stacked with billions in cash.
Trump, bless him, is cleaning up the mess created by four decades' and six administrations' weak and foolish misrule that has seen Iran steadily grow more powerful and more deadly.
Breaking: among the killed are the Iranian son in law of Qassim Sulaimani and the son in law of Lebanese commander Imad Mughnia(killed earlier) #Baghdad#Iraq#QudsForce
[FoxNews] The Pentagon launched an airstrike Thursday night that killed a powerful Iranian military leader, Gen. Qassim Soleimanihead of the Quds Force, at Baghdad's international airport.
The Defense Department said it conducted the attack at President Donald Trump's direction as a "defensive action" against Soleimani, who it said was planning further attacks on American diplomats and service members.
Soleimani is an extremely influential figure inside Iran, heading Iran's elite Quds Force, part of the country's hard-line paramilitary Revolutionary Guard Corps.
"General Soleimani was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region," the Defense Department said in a statement Thursday night. "General Soleimani and his Quds Force were responsible for the deaths of hundreds of American and coalition service members and the wounding of thousands more."
The attack represented a seismic event in the Middle East and sparked immediate fears of a wider confrontation between the U.S. and Iran.
"Make no mistake - this is bigger than taking out Osama Bin Laden," tweeted Ranj Alaaldin, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center and director of a Carnegie Corporation project on proxy warfare in the Middle East.
Posted by: Woodrow ||
01/03/2020 00:00 ||
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#1
Any way this can be construed to be a false flag attack? (Asking for a friend.)
#6
2020/01/02 Soleimani's martyred body enters heaven.
Thank you Allah for receiving your martyr into your heavenly Jannah.
If anyone is deserving of the full compliment of virgins it is your servant Soleimani.
Please, reassemble all of his exploded body parts into a beautiful dashing young general's heavenly body.
And may all the fat ladies of heaven sing for him.
#7
I find this interesting. The following was buried in a wall of text then lifted (NYT Opinion Section 1/2/2020).
... "Moreover hypersonics are a weaponized moral hazard for states with a taste for intervention, because they erase barriers to picking fights. Is an adversary building something that might be a weapons factory? Is there an individual in an unfriendly country who cannot be apprehended?
What if the former commander of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards, Qassem Soleimani, visits Baghdad for a meeting and you know the address? The temptations to use hypersonic missiles will be many."
#12
Here's the header info. Was tipped off from twitter. Have about 1 second to select all and copy. It's behind a NYT paywall.
Continue reading the main story
Opinion
Hypersonic Missiles Are a Game Changer
No existing defenses can stop such weapons — which is why everyone wants them.
By Steven Simon
Mr. Simon is an analyst at the Quincy Institute and teaches international relations at Colby College.
#13
"Quincy Institute" is that new Soros + Charles Koch (!) initiative that rounded up a bunch of academics who are either
1) reasonably opposed to our "forever wars" - these are fairly normal, serious scholars, OR
2) unhinged advocates of the Iran nuclear deal.
For their separate reasons, both Soros and Koch are determined to try to resurrect the Iran deal.,
#15
"From 2011 to 2012 he served on the National Security Council staff as senior director for Middle Eastern and North African affairs."
A serious guy but one of Obama's sprawling, out of control NSC that Trump is only now scaling back. He may well have been told about the Suleimani hit by one of his former colleagues who's still on the NSC and receiving briefings.
#17
That was a precision hit, which implies that Quds' communications was compromised. That doesn't happen overnight, so likely we've got the Quds/IRGC/Hezb command structure mapped and know who's been talking to who of late, and maybe even what they were chatting about. Probably a few loose sphincters thereabouts today.
#18
#17, yeah, apparently they basically dropped something on his head and had to identify him by his famous ring, as nothing else remained but his hand. Out of curiosity, what could we have used to make a hit like that? I just want to find a picture of it and update the background picture on my PC.
#21
For #18, the AGM-176 Griffin was most likely the missile used based on the limited area of damage. The AGM-114 Hellfire would have left a crater and no evidence that there was a car there, much less any bodies.
#24
The media narrative reads like Trump had a vision of where Suliemani would be and called the CJCS and said "Kill him." It's more like the Pentagon briefed Trump "We know he's going to be here at this time, here are the options." And Trump said "kill him."
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/03/2020 9:56 Comments ||
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#25
Now, watch carefully for the leaks and kill (figuratively) the leakers too...
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/03/2020 9:57 Comments ||
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#26
It would be a treat if Trump wore that distinctive Red ring at his next Press Conference
Posted by: Frank G ||
01/03/2020 14:53 Comments ||
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#29
No more bag drags from the parking lot. No more TSA. No more airplane food. No more muscle aches and pains. No more taking out the trash or gossipy en-laws.
1) It's very hot
2) All the beer is warm
3) All the virgins are men
4) This Adolf guy won't shut up
5) Lot of pissed off suicide bombers saying this wasn't what they signed up forQasem Soleimani added,
Screaming Gull
@GullScreaming
Replying to @Qasam_Soleimani @JoeSilverman7
How are things in Hell? Just wanna know...
8:41 AM - 3 Jan 2020
Posted by: Charles ||
01/03/2020 18:51 Comments ||
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#34
[MECRA]
Qais al-Khazali (قيس الخزعلي) was targeted by US sanctions on December 6, 2019. "The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) designated three leaders of Iran-backed militias in Iraq that opened fire on peaceful protests, killing dozens of innocent civilians. OFAC designated Qais al-Khazali, Laith al-Khazali, and Husayn Falih ‘Aziz al-Lami pursuant to Executive Order (E.O.) 13818
"Sanctioned" - I do not think that word means what you think thought it means, Qais.
#36
A new U.S. air strike has targeted a convoy of pro-Iran militiamen late on Friday on Taji road north of Baghdad, Iraqi state TV said.
The air strikes targeted Iran-backed Shiite militia leaders near camp Taji north of Baghdad, killing six people and critically wounding three, an Iraqi army source said late on Friday.
Initial reports from militant social media sources indicated that a high-ranking figure may have been among those killed in the strike.
Hezbollah deputy chief Naim Qassem is also reportedly killed in these US airstrikes, impact on #Lebanon might also be significant, politically at least.
Sources in Baghdad are reporting *both* Qassem Soleimani & Abu Mahdi Al-Muhandis were in the convoy struck by the US tonight. There's no turning back if that's the case - the US is committing itself to a full-fledged conflict with Iran, one that won't be confined to Iraq.
#3
Apparently no damage to the airport or buildings, just a couple cars. Might be hard for the body shop to rebuild the cars though. A good pressure washer will remove the scorch marks on the pavement.
#8
Use that picture, make a nice print, put it in a frame, name it something fitting like "The Hand of Terror" or snarky like "Hands Off Iran". Regionalize it for the Iranian people "The Government Knocking at Night".
Have a veteran come victim sign the back.
Charitable mark up, profits go to disabled vet group(s) or anti-Iranian government propagandists.
An Iraqi activist was shot dead overnight in Baghdad, a police source told AFP on Thursday, as anti-government rallies carried on despite a separate day-long siege of the US embassy.
The activist, Saadoun al-Luhaybi, was shot in the head in a southwestern neighborhood of the Iraqi capital, the police source said.
He had been taking part in youth-led demonstrations rocking Iraq since early October that have demanded the ouster of a governing class seen as corrupt, inept and beholden to Iran.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2020 00:00 ||
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[TheRepublic] The United States killed Iran’s top general and the architect of Tehran’s proxy wars in the Middle East in an airstrike at Baghdad’s international airport Friday, an attack that threatens to dramatically ratchet up tensions in the region.
The targeted killing of Gen. Qassem Soleimani, the head of Iran’s elite Quds Force, could draw forceful Iranian retaliation against American interests in the region and spiral into a far larger conflict between the U.S. and Iran, endangering U.S. troops in Iraq, Syria and beyond.
The Defense Department said it killed Soleimani because he “was actively developing plans to attack American diplomats and service members in Iraq and throughout the region.” It also accused Soleimani of approving the attacks on the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad earlier this week.
Two officials from the PMF said Suleimani’s body was torn to pieces in the attack, while they did not find the body of al-Muhandis. A senior politician said Soleimani’s body was identified by the ring he wore.
An adviser to Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani quickly warned U.S. President Donald Trump of retaliation from Tehran.
The airport strike also killed Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, deputy commander of Iran-backed militias in Iraq known as the Popular Mobilization Forces, and five others, including the PMF’s airport protocol officer, Mohammed Reda, Iraqi officials said.
Soleimani was the target of Friday’s U.S. attack, which was conducted by an armed American drone, according to a U.S. official. His vehicle was struck on an access road near the Baghdad airport.
A senior Iraqi security official said the airstrike took place near the cargo area after Soleimani left his plane to be greeted by al-Muhandis and others. The official said the plane had arrived from either Lebanon or Syria.
Two officials from the PMF said Suleimani’s body was torn to pieces in the attack, while they did not find the body of al-Muhandis. A senior politician said Soleimani’s body was identified by the ring he wore.
The officials spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the subject and because they were not authorized to give official statements.
It’s unclear what legal authority the U.S. relied on to carry out the attack. American presidents claim broad authority to act without congressional approval when U.S. personnel or interests are facing an imminent threat. The Pentagon did not provide evidence to back up its assertion that Soleimani was planning new attacks against Americans.
Posted by: Bright Pebbles ||
01/03/2020 00:00 ||
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#1
authority to act without congressional approval
1. I don't recall the approval given Bush had an expiration date.
2. I thought Congress did not need to be consulted, just notified within a short period, as long as it was not an ongoing event.
That said, this is going to escalate, probably a lot and in unexpected ways. I hope we had enough intel to know we needed to do this (though, like Germany in the 1930's, it was coming sooner or later, and sooner is probably less bad than later.)
#2
We were in fact waging a proxy war with Iran, except the attacks were all one-sided: them on us.
All this is doing us bringing the fight out into the open -- and unleashing our hugely superior firepower and technology on a foe that relied on his wickedness and willingness to create havoc and slaughter innocents in every country he touches.
#3
I don't remember Baraq consulting Congress about Libya either. And, of course, if Congress was consulted, it would have leaked.
I'm thinking the Quds general in Baghdad is a clear and present danger to U.S. interests that demanded an immediate response. He was certainly not there for peace talks.
Posted by: Abu Uluque ||
01/03/2020 10:35 Comments ||
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This attack came hours after the spokesperson of the Kata'ib Hezbollah militia threatened that "they are waiting orders to target American bases in Iraq".#Iraq#Iran#USA#IRGCpic.twitter.com/XpFeMJPDji
— Eva J. Koulouriotis - إيفا كولوريوتي (@evacool_) January 2, 2020
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2020 00:00 ||
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Reports that Muhammad al-Kawtharani, a Lebanese Hezbollah leader, was killed by the US airstrikes on Baghdad Airport. That would mean that Kata'ib Hezbollah officials, high-ranking IRGC officers and at least one Lebanese Hezbollah official were in the same convoy tonight.
Link to bio for Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis
Jamal Jafaar Mohammed Ali Ebrahimi, known by the kunya Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, is an Iraqi-Iranian military commander who heads the Popular Mobilisation Committee (Al-Hashd Al-Sha'abi), which is active against the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant militant group. The organisations he oversees are reported to have close connections to the Quds Force, part of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
He is the commander of the Kata'ib Hezbollah militia, and prior to that worked with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps against the Saddam Hussein regime.
More and more confirmations on the death of Abu Mahdi al-Mohandis from this “strike” this evening at #Baghdad International Airport
#2
Most likely the reporter sources heard the US missiles and not knowing whats happening filed an fake report. I read though most of the tweet comments and it ranged from "it was Russian missiles (fired from Katyusha to launchers) some PMF leader being killed.
I'll discount this, this started with a report by Al Arabia that three explosions was heard near the airport, then rumors and speculations abound...
JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel put its military on heightened alert on Friday and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu cut short a trip abroad after the U.S. killing of Iranian commander Qassem Soleimani drew promises of revenge from Iran. Probably a very wise precaution.
Israel, America’s closest ally in the Middle East and Iran’s top regional foe, has not publicly responded to the death of Quds Force chief Soleimani and Iraqi militia commander Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in the U.S. air strike in Baghdad.
But Netanyahu’s office confirmed that he would return home early from Greece. Israel’s Army Radio said the military was on heightened alert and Defence Minister Naftali Bennett met military and intelligence chiefs for a "situational assessment".
Members of Netanyahu’s security cabinet have been asked not to comment on the high-profile killings, which Israeli media interpreted as a bid to stave off retaliation from Iran’s proxies and allies in the region.
These include the Tehran-backed Lebanese movement Hezbollah, and the Palestinian militant groups Hamas and Islamic Jihad in Gaza.
Tzachi Hanegbi, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, said the cabinet "received an instruction not to be interviewed on this subject" when asked about the commanders’ deaths.
Dana Weiss, chief political analyst for Israel’s Channel 12 news, said: "The goal is clear: not to unnecessarily complicate Israel and keep the message as unified as possible."
[Jpost] A would-be stabbing attack was thwarted at Gush Etzion Junction on Thursday morning.
The attacker, reported by the IDF Spokesperson to be a Paleostinian youth aged 15, was shot in his foot and later taken to hospital. There were no other casualties.
[IsraelTimes] Police arrest a man who refused to undergo a security check at the entrance to Jerusalem’s Temple Mount compound.
Officials say the man was stopped by police after behaving suspiciously. He then tried to run away while assaulting officers at the scene. He was subdued with pepper spray and taken for questioning.
Still no official comment from #Lebanon Hizbullah which is backed by #Iran on Suleimani killing - but pro Hizbullah newspaper Al Akhbar said “it is war”
#8
As far as I'm concerned any Iranian or Iranian financed militants outside of Iran should be considered targets and we should already have a list and tracking on them and the next escalation by Iran should see that list eliminated in a swipe similar to the end of Godfather 1.
#10
I have nothing to do with that erb , but yesterday someone from rantburg erased a post of mine that criticized the behavior of an USN carrier TF letting the IRCG boats to close.
#11
#8 any Iranian or Iranian financed militants outside of Iran should be considered targets and we should already have a list and tracking on them and the next escalation by Iran should see that list eliminated in a swipe similar to the end of Godfather 1.
#12
Someone should put the brave Hizbullah in contact with the Afghans that got visited by drones from time to time. They might be full of a bit less bravado.
#4
more likely than Hezb rockets into israel is some Iran rockets fired at US targets in the Persian gulf or into Iraq itself
Posted by: lord garth ||
01/03/2020 13:55 Comments ||
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#5
I say sink a bunch of their spped boats so the dems can go on record about how mean and uncalled for that is.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
01/03/2020 14:38 Comments ||
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#6
If they want to keep the fight semi-legitimate, they'll go after a military target - think Marine Barracks - Beruit. Otherwise look for them to activate covert SF cells in the US.
#Iran's Supreme National Security Council will hold an emergency meeting shortly within hours over "martyrdom" of Qods Force commander Qasem Soleimani in an attack on a car he was in.
More confirmation. Iranian journalists tweeting Gen. Qasem Sulaimani's photo along with the Islamic death prayer: "From God we come and to God we return."#Iraqhttps://t.co/RYHsA4i0K7
#6
Qassem Suleimani - this guy perfected IEDs and explosively formed penetrators. If you know someone who was maimed by an IED in Iraq, this guy perfected the technology.
Wired.com 2007: One bright spot - EFPs produce much less collateral damage than other IEDs. So the number of Iraqi civilians killed as a 'by product' of attacks on US military convoys may get smaller.
#7
this guy perfected IEDs and explosively formed penetrators. If you know someone who was maimed by an IED in Iraq, this guy perfected the technology.
[Rudaw] Sixteen Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that they were al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're really 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 western pols talk they're not really Moslems.... (ISIS) members were arrested Wednesday in a raid by the Global Coalition against the group in Deir ez-Zor province, eastern Syria and thwarted an "imminent" attack by the hard boys, according to a statement from the coalition.
"16 ISISbandidosmurderous Moslems captured during a raid in Dayr az Zawr province, #Syria, Jan. 1, 2020. The partner-led operation prevented an imminent attack against Coalition and partner forces," read a tweet by the US-led coalition on Thursday, using the Arabic acronym for ISIS.
The forces are now investigating the failed attack plot, the statement added.
Formed in September 2014, the 81-country coalition has since been assisting forces in Syria and Iraq in the fight against ISIS, which seized control swaths of both countries in summer 2014. Support is mostly provided through Arclight airstrike ...KABOOM!... s on ISIS targets.
With coalition force support, the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) declared the defeat of ISIS in Syria in March 2019 after taking control of the Deir ez-Zor province town of Baghouz, the group’s last bastion. They were also declared defeated by the Iraqi army in December 2017. However, those who apply themselves too closely to little things often become incapable of great things... the group is still carrying out attacks in both countries.
After the defeat come clean up. Everyone knows this, surely.
Rounding upon its 2019 operations in a tweet on Wednesday, the coalition described last year as "successful" after supporting Syrian and Iraqi partners in "removing over 1,700 ISISbandidosmurderous Moslems since March."
Over 12,000 ISIS detainees are currently being held in Iraq and Syria. Over 10,000 of them are under the control of the SDF - the only coalition partner on the ground in the fight against the jihadists in Syria.
Local security forces (Asayesh) in the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria (NES) said on December 30 that they had "thwarted a large number of terrorist [ISIS] operations aimed at destabilizing security in northeastern Syria," reported the pro-SDF North Press Agency (NPA).
Ali Hassan, spokesperson for the Asayesh, also told NPA that they "defused many cycle of violences, cars, and booby trapped tanks, indicating that the cases were greater than the previous years."
The Asayesh captured 764 ISIS suspects in 2019, Hassan added.
The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... ’s launch of Operation Peace Spring against the SDF in October has given ISIS a chance to re-group and increase its attacks in Syria, according to Kurdish officials and commanders.
The international community has also warned against possible ISIS resurgence in the face of Ottoman Turkish incursion.
Hundreds of ISIS-related captives in northern Syria escaped detention facilities following the Ottoman Turkish invasion in October, though the SDF says it has recaptured the majority of them.
Kurdish officials and US President Donald Trump ...dictatorial for repealing some (but not all) of the diktats of his predecessor, misogynistic because he likes pretty girls, homophobic because he doesn't think gender bending should be mandatory, truly a man for all seasons...... have called on countries to repatriate their detainee nationals from SDF prisons, but few have responded to the call.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
01/03/2020 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11130 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
[ALMASDARNEWS] On Thursday, the Joint Operations Command of the Iraqi Armed Forces announced that their forces have increased their coordination efforts with the Syrian Arab Army (SAA) in order to prevent forces of Evil from infiltrating the border.
The front man for the joint operations, Major General Tahsin al-Khafaji, confirmed that "the military fortifications on the Iraqi-Syrian border prevent the entry of terrorist ISIS gangs into Iraqi territory."
Al-Khafaji stressed that "the border strip has been strengthened and secured, and the ISIS gangs cannot penetrate or approach the Iraqi borders, in addition to not allowing any area to move them over an area of more than 610 kilometers, after largely securing the border."
He indicated that there is contact with the Syrian side and the Syrian Democratic Forces, to prevent the terrorist group’s movements.
The joint forces confirmed earlier the securing of the border strip between Syria and Iraq, the development of fortifications, earthen mounds, trenches and barbed wire, as well as observation towers, thermal cameras and continuous aerial reconnaissance.
Posted by: Fred ||
01/03/2020 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[11128 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies
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.
...Arabic for 
...Former President-for-Life of Sudan. He came to power in 1989 when he, as a brigadier in the Sudanese army, led a group of officers in a bloodless military coup that ousted the government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and eventually appointed himself head cheese. He fell out with his Islamic mentor, Hasan al-Turabi, tried to impose shariah on the Christian and animist south, resulting in its secessesion, and attempted to 
...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistain's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire...
[FoxNews] The Pentagon launched an airstrike Thursday night that killed a powerful Iranian military leader, 
[Jpost] A would-be stabbing attack was thwarted at Gush Etzion Junction on Thursday morning.
Big Jim says.... 
...
