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Today: 63 articles and 166 comments as of 10:17.
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Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
B-52s in Al Udeid AB Qatar
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
1 13:30 Mike Kozlowski [2] 
2 10:10 JohnQC [] 
1 10:17 SteveS [] 
3 11:26 Skidmark [1] 
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1 14:35 Rambler in Virginia [1] 
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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8 20:58 Woodrow [2]
4 21:53 Omomong Omique2579 [1]
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Page 4: Opinion
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4 11:18 magpie [1]
4 10:18 Phaick Uneretle6310 []
4 21:53 Snavimble Bucket1794 []
1 08:36 M. Murcek []
Page 6: Politix
12 21:02 Woodrow []
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7 21:06 Woodrow [3]
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8 14:59 Bobby []
7 14:33 Glenmore []
6 21:08 Woodrow []
-Land of the Free
Pentagon To Transfer $1.5 Bln To Border Wall From Afghan Forces, Other Areas
[Jpost] Acting U.S. Defense Secretary Patrick Shanahan has approved the transfer of $1.5 billion to build more than 80 miles of barriers on the border with Mexico, U.S. official said on Friday, including taking about $600 million in savings from an account meant for Afghan cops.

"The funds were drawn from a variety of sources, including cost savings, programmatic changes and revised requirements, and therefore will have minimal impact on force readiness," Shanahan said in a statement.

A U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said the latest transfer would include $604 million from funds for the Afghan cops, which are struggling to hold territory against Talibs.
Update from Tolo News at noon EDT has details:
The latest move was opposed by congressional Democrats, who also criticized a March transfer of $1 billion in military money to fund Republican President 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...
’s wall.

Shanahan said that the US military had more than 4,000 service members on the border, along with 19 aircraft.

All 10 Democrats on Senate appropriations subcommittees that handle defense, veterans affairs and related spending, wrote to Shanahan to oppose the decision. "We are dismayed that the Department has chosen to prioritize a political campaign promise over the disaster relief needs of our service members," they said.

A US official said the latest transfer would include $604 million from funds for the Afghan cops, which are struggling to hold territory against Talibs.

The United States had appropriated $4.9 billion in support for those forces this year. The official said the money was taken from that account because they found savings in contracts.

"It took less money to meet the policy commitment than we thought," another U.S. official said, adding this was not the first time money had been reprogrammed from the account.

The remainder of the money will come from a chemical demilitarization program, a retirement account, funds for Pakistain and Air Force programs.

Immigration is a signature issue of Trump’s presidency and re-election campaign. He declared a national emergency in order to redirect funding to build a border wall without Congress’ approval, and his fellow Republicans in Congress sustained his veto of legislation that would have stopped it.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 01:52 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It will be harder to steal here.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 05/11/2019 8:09 Comments || Top||

#2  Trump has taken a lot of slings and arrows. He has a persistence that I like. He is a tough guy.
Posted by: JohnQC || 05/11/2019 10:10 Comments || Top||


Afghanistan
War In Afghanistan Can Be Sustained: McMaster
[ToloNews] The US former National Security Adviser H.R. McMaster said Wednesday the war in Afghanistan can be sustained, but the narrative of a war-weary American public is hurting that effort.

Quoted in a report by Military Times, McMaster said long wars are manageable when waged alongside allies, utilizing burden sharing.

"There’s this defeatist narrative that’s inaccurate, and doesn’t reflect what’s at stake and doesn’t reflect the actual situation," McMaster said at a think tank forum in Washington, D.C.

The American public is not properly weighing costs when debating the military’s role in the Middle East, according to McMaster, who pointed to a recent town hall debate he watched.

"A young student stood up and said, ’all I’ve known my whole life is war,’" McMaster said, who now serves as chairman of the US Center on Military and Political Power at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.

"Now, he’s never been to war, but he’s been subjected, I think, to this narrative of war-weariness," he said as quoted by the Military Times. "The United States today has a smaller percentage of its military deployed overseas than it has had since 1950," he added.

Americans should view the war in Afghanistan as essentially an "insurance policy" against what could happen in the country, McMaster said, adding that the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government would forfeit a region known as Khorasan to jihadi groups.

"They’re trying to establish these emirates," he said. "And then stitch these emirates together into a caliphate in which they force people to live under their brutal regime and then export terror to attack their near enemies, Arab states, Israel, and the far enemies, Europe
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
and the United States."

The United States has spent at least $100 billion on Afghanistan war which still continues with almost 20 designated terrorist groups operating in the country.

A recent report by the United Nations
...an organization conceived in the belief that we're just one big happy world, with the sort of results you'd expect from such nonsense...
Assistance Mission in Afghanistan showed a record number of civilian casualties in the country and said most of the casualties were caused by pro-government forces.

"If you think about the importance of the mission in Afghanistan, to protect what is fundamentally a transformed society, from the enemies that we’re facing ‐ the Taliban
...Arabic for students...
and their al-Qaeda allies ‐ it is a cost that is sustainable," McMaster said.

McMaster also said that the term "nation-building" has created an unrealistic expectation of what the US can do to shape another country, especially one like Afghanistan, according to the Military Times report. But progress has been made there, he added, pointing to the arena of women’s rights and democratic voting.

"Afghanistan is not going to become Switzerland
...home of the Helvetians, famous for cheese, watches, yodeling, and William Tell...
. It’s just not," he said. "It can be Afghanistan, and it can be an Afghanistan like it was in the ’70s or like it was during this really short but brutal period of rule under the Taliban from 1996 to 2001," he said as quoted by Military Times.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Oh boy, I can't wait to spend another decade at war so that our military industrial complex can profit.

Harrumph harrumph! Gentlemen, we must protect our phoney baloney jobs! Harrumph harrumph!
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 05/11/2019 0:40 Comments || Top||

#2  Not our problem anymore - declare victory or whatever and GTFO.
Posted by: Raj || 05/11/2019 5:27 Comments || Top||

#3  Sustain? Yes.
Win? Not with the current tactics.

Soldiers going into Afghanistan today weren't even born yet when the conflict started.

Seriously, what the fuck are we still doing there?
Posted by: DarthVader || 05/11/2019 10:23 Comments || Top||

#4  War In Afghanistan Can Be Sustained

OK can. But should?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/11/2019 11:43 Comments || Top||

#5  Seriously, what the fuck are we still doing there?

Anyone who ways "nation building" gets a smack.
Posted by: SteveS || 05/11/2019 12:04 Comments || Top||

#6  From the article:

Americans should view the war in Afghanistan as essentially an "insurance policy" against what could happen in the country, McMaster said, adding that the collapse of the US-backed Afghan government would forfeit a region known as Khorasan to jihadi groups.

"They’re trying to establish these emirates," he said. "And then stitch these emirates together into a caliphate in which they force people to live under their brutal regime and then export terror to attack their near enemies, Arab states, Israel, and the far enemies, Europe and the Unitd States.”


President Obama pulled out of Iraq, and ISIS sprang up. Then we had to go back because the locals were not capable of pulling together to stop them.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 23:58 Comments || Top||


26 Afghan pilots, door gunners complete training for Black Hawk helicopters
Congratulations, guys. Here’s hoping a commensurate number of mechanics and other support staff completed training to match, or y’all won’t be long in the field. Inshallah doesn’t cut it with helicopters.
[KhaamaPress] A group of 26 Afghan pilots and door gunners completed their training for UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in southern Kandahar province.

The Afghan Air Force announced Thursday that 11 pilots and 15 door gunners have completed training for UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters in Air Brigade’s Training Center in Kandahar.

According to Air Force officials, the pilots and door gunners graduated from the fifth phase of the training for Black Hawk helicopters and received their graduation certificates during a ceremony which was attended by Air Force Commander Gen. Abdul Fahim Ramin, Kandahar Air Brigade Commander Gen. Abdul Raziq Shirzai, foreign partners, trainers, and officers.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "So, these here are your new Black Hawks. Named for famous Indian tribe."
"Indian?!?"
"Whoa, easy there! American Indian."
"Well... okay. Still..."
"Tell you what, how about we call 'em Black Rock?"
"Now ya talkin'!" "Right on!" "Mah man!" "A------ a----!" Exeunt clapping, slapping, dapping.
Posted by: Crack Thoper4900 || 05/11/2019 2:52 Comments || Top||

#2  Bad Day at Black Rock
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/11/2019 11:34 Comments || Top||


US-Taliban talks wrap up in Doha with ‘some progress’
[DAWN] The latest round of US-Taliban
...Arabic for students...
talks ended in 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. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
on Thursday, an Death Eater front man said, after "positive and constructive" negotiations that continued even as the Taliban bombed a US-funded aid group in Kabul.

Suhail Shaheen, the Taliban’s political front man in Doha, tweeted that "some progress" had been made at the sixth round of peace talks and that the foes would meet again for another round of discussions. "In general, this round was positive and constructive. Both sides listened to each other with care and patience," Shaheen wrote on Twitter.

The US embassy in Kabul did not immediately comment, nor did US peace envoy Zalmay Khalilzad, the Afghan-born former US ambassador to Afghanistan who is leading negotiations for the Americans.

Shaheen said on Sunday that peace negotiations were stumbling over the fundamental question of when foreign forces would depart Afghanistan.

Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Taliban


Africa North
Paris asks Al-Sarraj to accept an unconditional ceasefire in Tripoli
[Libya Observer] The Head of the Libyan Presidential Council Fayez al-Sarraj met Wednesday with the French President Emmanuel Macron and discussed the current military escalation 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...
Al-Sarraj reiterated to Macron his government's keenness on defending Tripoli against the attacking forces of Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, 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...
, saying ceasefire calls should be coupled with calls for the withdrawal of attacking forces to their previous positions.

"The political process has changed after April 04. The eastern region must now choose new representatives for the dialogue and the political process because Haftar and Aqila Saleh are not our dialogue partners anymore." al-Sarraj added.

He also said that reports about La Belle France's support for the attacking forces had created resentment to La Belle France in the Libyan public opinion which was clear in recent demonstrations, adding that it is paramount that La Belle France condemns the attack in ways that leave no doubt for the whole world.

Macron reiterated support for the Presidential Council's government and rejected the attack on Tripoli.

Meanwhile,
...back at the dirigible, Jack stuck the cigar in his mouth, stepped onto the gantry, and asked Got a light, Mac?

Von Schtinken stopped short, lowering the dagger and trying to control his features.

If you light that thing, Herr Armschtröng, he pointed out, his voice tense, we all die!...

Macron's office reported after the meeting that La Belle France calls for an unconditional ceasefire with its line supervised by the international community, with the French President saying there can be no military solution in Libya and that the current Tripoli offensive should be halted.

Politicians in western Libya are all opposed to a ceasefire that comes in effect before the pullout of Haftar's forces and their retreat eastward.

Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


ICC Prosecutor: Individuals responsible for war crimes in Libya will be brought to justice
[Libya Observer] The Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) has urged in her briefing at the Security Council all member states of the United Nations
...aka the Oyster Bay Chowder and Marching Society...
to ensure a consistent and unambiguous message is conveyed to all warring factions in Libya that the rules of international humanitarian law must be fully respected, and that perpetrators of atrocity crimes will be held individually criminally responsible.

Bensouda also reminded the council that outstanding warrants issued for the arrest of Saif al-Islam Qadaffy, Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf al-Werfalli, and al-Tuhamy Mohammed Khaled, are executed, with them transferring to the ICC for trial, was "the first and indispensible step".

Bensouda explained that if the three wanted criminals were surrendered to the ICC, it would send a strong and necessary message to the victims of grave crimes in Libya, that the Security Council and the international community on the lam are serious about pursing justice and committed to taking concrete action towards that end.

She indicated that Mahmoud al-Werfalli is still in Libya and is freely moving without any concrete evidence that he was prosecuted by the "Libyan National Army" under Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, 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...
's command.

"The execution of arrest warrants remains one of the ICC’s greatest challenges, leaving them wholly reliant on the cooperation of states. The commitment of the council to urge states to act, was also key," she added.
Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Excellent! I look forward to seeing Obama convicted and hanged just like Keitel and Halder.
Posted by: Herb McCoy || 05/11/2019 0:37 Comments || Top||

#2  But will Swillary get a cyanide capsule like Goering?
Posted by: M. Murcek || 05/11/2019 8:31 Comments || Top||


Chairman of Presidential Council in London to discuss war on Tripoli
[Libya Observer] Chairman of Presidential Council Fayez Sarraj and his delegation held talks with British Prime Minister Theresa May in London on Thursday over the current aggression on Libyan capital of 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...
Theresa expressed her country’s support to the Government of National Accord and the need to stop the war on Tripoli and resumption of political talks under the umbrella of UN mission in Libya.

She also condemned human rights
...which are often intentionally defined so widely as to be meaningless...
abuses against civilians being committed in Tripoli due to the war and promised to find a way to stop the fighting through the UN Security Council.

For his part, Sarraj expressed thanked Theresa for the British stances regarding the aggression on Tripoli, confirming that resistance will continue until the invaders return to their pre-offensive locations.
Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Caucasus/Russia/Central Asia
Kazakhstan Says Scores of Children Evacuated from Syria
[AnNahar] Kazakhstan said Friday it had evacuated 231 of its citizens, most of them children, from Syria after they travelled or were taken there to join the Islamic State
...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allah around with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not really Moslems....
group.

Thousands from Moslem-majority Kazakhstan, other Central Asian nations and Russia's Caucasus have travelled to Syria to fight with jihadists since war broke out there in 2011.

The operation to repatriate 156 children and 75 adults took place between May 7 and May 9, Kazakhstan's presidency said in a statement, without providing details.

The evacuation follows a similar operation in January that saw 43 Kazakhs returned to the country, some of whom were subsequently tossed in the slammer
Keep yer hands where we can see 'em, if yez please!
for extremism-related crimes.

But in the statement on Friday, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev characterised the earlier operation as a success.

"Women abandoned their radical past, got a job, restored ties with relatives. The children went to schools and kindergartens," he said.

"The influence of destructive false propaganda of terrorists" had persuaded Kazakhs to travel to Syria, he said.

Kazakhstan has hosted a series of talks on Syria brokered by Iran, Russia and The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...Qatar's colony in Asia Minor....
since the beginning of 2017.

The talks have featured negotiators from the Syrian regime and armed rebel factions but not bully boy groups such as IS.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 00:02 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State



India-Pakistan
IS claims India
[Twitter]


Posted by: 3dc || 05/11/2019 11:59 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  ...Dear ISIS:

Bring a lunch.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 05/11/2019 13:30 Comments || Top||


Social media posts spreading 'hatred, misinformation' about polio vaccination removed
[DAWN] Prime Minister's Focal Person on Polio Eradication Babar bin Atta on Friday said that a large number of posts on social media that were spreading "hatred and misinformation" about polio
...Poliomyelitis is a disease caused by infection with the poliovirus. Between 1840 and the 1950s, polio was a worldwide epidemic. Since the development of polio vaccines the disease has been largely wiped out in the civilized world. However, since the vaccine is known to make Moslem pee-pees shrink and renders females sterile, bookish, and unsubmissive it is not widely used by the turban and automatic weapons set...
vaccination have been removed.

In a statement today, Atta said that a large number of Facebook posts, hundreds of videos from YouTube and tweets have been removed. He added that Google has also issued a warning to those who were spreading anti-polio vaccine content on YouTube and that the process of issuing warnings is ongoing.

Atta said that the government has decided to speed up legal prosecution following a long video conference with Facebook officials.

In a post shared on Twitter on Thursday, Atta confirmed that social media platforms, including Facebook, had started to delete and block some of the material "spreading hatred and misinformation regarding polio vaccines in Pakistain".


Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
180,000 Muslims pray peacefully at Al-Aqsa Mosque on first Friday of Ramadan
[IsraelTimes] Israel eases restrictions on travel from West Bank; police deploy hundreds of officers to ensure worshipers can mark the holy month at the Jerusalem flashpoint.

The Jerusalem Islamic Waqf organization which administers the site estimated that there were 180,000 worshipers, some 50 percent higher than last year, when around 120,000 people attended the first Friday prayers. Israeli estimates varied between 135,000 and 180,000.

Azzam al-Khatib, director general of Waqf, said the crowds reached the site "despite checkpoints and a large security presence." The prayers ended without any major incident, he told AFP

Israel Police said that they had deployed hundreds of officers and Border Police "to ensure that tens of thousands of worshipers could reach the site and at the same time prevent any incidents throughout the day."

Coordination between Paleostinian and Israeli authorities had improved at the checkpoint this year, the photographer said, making access to Jerusalem easier.

This was largely due to Israel opening a new crossing at the site in February that is designed to reduce friction at one of the largest crossing points between the West Bank and Jerusalem.

The IDF said some 75,000 people from the West Bank crossed into Israel for the prayers.

Israeli restrictions on Paleostinians from the West Bank are eased during the month of Ramadan, which began on Monday.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 01:21 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Muslims pray peacefully"

There's your headline.
Posted by: Threreque Glereger1817 || 05/11/2019 8:22 Comments || Top||

#2  180,000 Muslims pray peacefully at Al-Aqsa Mosque on first Friday of Ramadan

Give it a few minutes.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 05/11/2019 8:54 Comments || Top||

#3  Sure, let in 3 divisions of haters that have sworn to destroy Israel. What could possibly go wrong?

Who is going to count them on their way out?
Posted by: Skidmark || 05/11/2019 11:26 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Israeli TV claims Iran weighing attack on Saudi oil production facilities
[IsraelTimes] Channel 13 says Tehran has ruled out striking at US bases; quotes Arab sources saying some in IRGC want to hit Israeli targets, others warn of ’suicidal’ risk of conflict with US.

Israel has warned the US that Iran is contemplating targeting Saudi oil production facilities, an Israeli TV report said Friday night, as tensions between Tehran and the Trump Administration soar.

The unsourced Channel 13 report said the Iranians were "considering various aggressive acts" against American or American-allied targets. Tehran had looked at targeting American bases in the Gulf, but that had been deemed too drastic. The main target they were interested in was "Saudi oil production facilities," the TV report said. Such a strike would also send world oil prices soaring and enable Iran to get more income from its oil sales, the report added.

Channel 13 also quoted unnamed Arab intelligence sources saying there was a debate raging in the Iranian leadership about striking US and US-allied targets, with some in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps pushing for attacks, including against Israeli targets, while others cautioned that it would be "suicidal" to get into serious military conflict with the US.

The Channel 13 report came four days after the same TV channel first reported that the Israeli Mossad had tipped off the White House two weeks ago about an Iranian plan to attack either a US or US-allied target. That earlier report did not specify potential targets for such an ostensible attack.

Channel 13’s military analyst Alon Ben-David said Friday that the Iranians might be "underestimating American determination" to defend US interests. "In Israel, there is an assessment that the prospect of confrontation between the US and Iran is growing ‐ because the US is ready to respond harshly to any attack" including on 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...
, he said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/11/2019 01:21 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Saudi Arabia

#1  "It's Ramadan. We gotta blow *something* up!"
Posted by: SteveS || 05/11/2019 10:17 Comments || Top||


Iranian general on TV showing how to attack US assets, Iranian armor moving about
[Twitter]


The 'first strike' use of cluster launched Iranian SCUD armed chemical weapons systems should not be discounted.

General in the IRGC threatens to hit US bases in #Qatar, the #UAE, and #Afghanistan.
[TWITTER] I'm so very frightened!

Iranian armor moving about.
[Twitter]

Posted by: 3dc || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Imagine the shitstorm that would happen if the US showed a video of us attacking equivalent sites in Iran.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 05/11/2019 14:35 Comments || Top||


Iranian cleric warns US fleet ‘can be destroyed with one missile’
[MOBILE.ALMASDARNEWS] Senior Iranian holy man Ayatollah Yusef Tabatabai-Nejad has dismissed the US carrier group’s deployment in the Middle East, suggesting that the fleet could be easily destroyed in the event of war.
Hold me, Ethel!
"Their billion-dollar fleet can be destroyed with one missile," Tabatabai-Nejad said, speaking in Isfahan on Friday, Rooters has reported, citing local media.

"If they attempt any move, they will [face] dozens of missiles because at that time government officials won’t be in charge to act cautiously, but instead things will be in the hands of our beloved leader," the holy man added, referring to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

Earlier, US Department of Defence spokesperson Cmdr. Rebecca Rebarich told Sputnik that the USS Abraham Lincoln had arrived in the US Navy’s Middle Eastern area of operations on Thursday, with the deployment following the arrival of nuclear-capable B-52 bombers in the region a day earlier.

The deployment comes following back-to-back warnings by John Bolton and Secretary of State that the US would retaliate to any Iranian attack against the US or its allies with "unrelenting force." On Wednesday, US Central Command chief Gen. Frank McKenzie called Iran and its "malign ambitions" the biggest threat to his area of responsibility and the world, and said that while the US wasn’t looking to pick a fight with Tehran, it wouldn’t shy away from one either, boasting that "if a fight is to be had...it won’t be a fair fight."

Iran dismissed the carrier group’s deployment as an "unskillful" attempt at waging "psychological war against Iran."

Earlier, US officials told CNN that Iran was reportedly moving short-range ballistic missiles by sea in the Persian Gulf area ahead of the US carrier group’s arrival. Tehran has not commented on the reports.

Iran is known to have a large arsenalof domestically developed conventional short-, medium- and long-range missile systems, including long-range ballistic and cruise capabilities. The US, Europe, Soddy Arabia
...a kingdom taking up the bulk of the Arabian peninsula. Its primary economic activity involves exporting oil and soaking Islamic rubes on the annual hajj pilgrimage. The country supports a large number of princes in whatcha might call princely splendor. When the oil runs out the rest of the world is going to kick sand in the Soddy national face...
and Israel have called these weapons a threat to regional security, while Tehran has insisted that the missiles were a "non-negotiable"deterrent for its security.

Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  "Their billion-dollar fleet can be destroyed with one missile"

...as soon as we get them all in the bathtub.

(I wish it only cost $1B.)
Posted by: Threreque Glereger1817 || 05/11/2019 8:24 Comments || Top||

#2  So can one every one of their military bases
Posted by: Uleck Spererong9442 || 05/11/2019 9:10 Comments || Top||


Erdogan vows to clear ‘Kurdish terror-infested regions’ in northern Syria
What, again?
[MOBILE.ALMASDARNEWS] Ottoman Turkish President Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey...
told the audience at an iftar dinner on Friday that nation’s armed forces will be clearing the remaining "terrorist groups" from Syria.

"Tens of thousands of guns, vehicles and equipment are provided free-of-cost to terror groups in northern Syria who we are fighting," Erdogan said, taking a jab at the U.S.’ support of the Kurdish-led forces in Syria.

"We will soon clear terror-infested regions of Syria and give 4 million Syrians the chance to return home," he added.

Erdogan has repeatedly vowed to eliminate these ’terror’ groups east of the Euphrates; however, due to the prescience of U.S.-led Coalition forces in these areas, the Ottoman Turkish leader has been unable to commit his forces to such an operation.

At the same time, Erdogan is also busy with the election fiasco in Istanbul, for which he cancelled the results because they were not favorable to his political party.

Erdogan’s decision to cancel the election results in Istanbul may create turmoil within his own country, which will greatly influence whether or not he can commit his military to such an operation.

Posted by: Fred || 05/11/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte



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Sat 2019-05-11
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Fri 2019-05-10
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Thu 2019-05-09
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Wed 2019-05-08
  Pompeo suddenly in Iraq
Tue 2019-05-07
  400-strong Christian mob attacks Muslim shops in Sri Lankan town hit by Easter bomb
Mon 2019-05-06
  19 killed in Gaza, four in Israel in Sunday’s escalation, say officials
Sun 2019-05-05
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Sat 2019-05-04
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Fri 2019-05-03
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Thu 2019-05-02
  Iran, Turkey criticize US plan to designate Muslim Brotherhood a terror group
Wed 2019-05-01
  Egypt: Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated businessman Malek sentenced to 25 years in prison
Tue 2019-04-30
  Gunmen kill pastor, worshippers in Burkina Faso church
Mon 2019-04-29
  Isis leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi seen in new video for first time in five years
Sun 2019-04-28
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  Sri Lanka - Inside help?

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