Hi there, !
Today Wed 10/30/2019 Tue 10/29/2019 Mon 10/28/2019 Sun 10/27/2019 Sat 10/26/2019 Fri 10/25/2019 Thu 10/24/2019 Archives
Rantburg
531696 articles and 1855971 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 68 articles and 269 comments as of 13:25.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Killed
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
12 21:43 USN, Ret. [3] 
3 20:24 DooDahMan [] 
0 [1] 
0 [] 
1 08:45 Procopius2k [] 
3 12:05 Mercutio [1] 
1 08:41 AlanC [2] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [1] 
7 20:50 SteveS [2] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
6 20:13 Frank G [1]
9 23:44 JohnQC []
23 20:48 Lex []
1 12:08 Procopius2k [2]
0 []
1 11:16 3dc []
0 [1]
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 []
1 05:20 g(r)omgoru []
0 [1]
47 22:27 Besoeker [2]
0 [1]
0 []
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
5 19:15 The peanut gallery []
9 21:39 USN, Ret. []
6 23:43 Zenobia Sforza6003 []
1 14:36 Spanky Whuter1088 []
1 23:42 JohnQC [1]
6 23:21 Clyde Dribble8052 [1]
7 15:18 3dc [1]
6 17:52 Marilyn Tojo7566 []
4 12:22 lord garth []
2 09:26 USN, Ret. [1]
Page 4: Opinion
4 11:36 Silentbrick []
1 09:10 Silentbrick []
0 [1]
3 13:47 M. Murcek []
11 19:07 ruprecht []
4 20:27 Anomolous Sources []
5 23:30 Skunky Sforza6003 [1]
3 05:58 Dron66046 []
3 04:47 Lex []
0 []
0 [1]
1 10:14 Warthog []
7 16:42 charger []
Page 6: Politix
3 23:21 JohnQC []
2 15:34 3dc []
6 16:45 charger []
2 04:58 Lex [1]
12 14:17 ruprecht []
9 16:47 charger [1]
2 09:07 Procopius2k [2]
1 10:38 M. Murcek []
0 [1]
4 23:11 JohnQC []
1 09:09 Procopius2k []
1 21:15 Marilyn Tojo7566 [1]
14 20:17 DooDahMan []
8 18:43 JohnQC [1]
-Obits-
Trump watching the operation
[Twitter]
Posted by: 3dc || 10/27/2019 10:28 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Trump Speech
Posted by: 3dc || 10/27/2019 12:24 Comments || Top||

#2  A solid speech. Not in the least bit exciting, except for the subject matter, but efficient, factual, and informative.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/27/2019 17:21 Comments || Top||

#3  I'm sure glad they have their computers marked with those yellow SCI labels. You sure wouldn't want to tick off the cybersecurity folks. I wonder if Hillary had the same labels on her computers.
Posted by: DooDahMan || 10/27/2019 20:24 Comments || Top||


Africa Horn
Ethiopia PM Abiy warns ethnic violence could worsen
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed warned Saturday of further instability and vowed to bring to justice those responsible for violence that left at least 67 people dead this week.

“The crisis we have faced will become even more fearsome and difficult if Ethiopians don’t unite and stand as one,” Abiy said in a statement issued by his office, his first remarks since the violence broke out.

“We will unswervingly work to ensure the prevalence of the rule of law and to bring perpetrators to justice.”

This year’s Nobel Peace Prize laureate also noted that what began as protests against his government had quickly morphed into clashes that took on an ethnic and religious dimension.

“There has been an attempt to turn the crisis into a religious and ethnic one. In the process our comrades have become victims in terrible circumstances,” he said.

He added that homes, businesses and places of worship had been destroyed, and that an untold number of Ethiopians had been displaced.

Violence erupted in Addis Ababa, the capital, and in much of Ethiopia’s Oromia region on Wednesday after a high-profile activist accused security forces of trying to orchestrate an attack against him - a claim police officials denied.

The activist, Jawar Mohammed, is credited with promoting the protests that swept Abiy to power last year but he has recently become critical of some of the premier’s policies.

Both men are from the Oromo ethnic group, Ethiopia’s largest, and their feud highlights divisions within Abiy’s Oromo support base that could complicate his bid for a five-year term when Ethiopia votes in elections currently planned for May 2020.

On Friday, Oromia police chief Kefyalew Tefera said 67 people had been killed there, including five police officers.

Posted by: Fred || 10/27/2019 00:18 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Ain't identity politics great?


Do I need a /sarc on that?
Posted by: AlanC || 10/27/2019 8:41 Comments || Top||


Africa North
Egypt's Sisi extends state of emergency for 3 months
Sorry guys. You had your One Man, One Vote, Once a Generation already. Perhaps next time you’ll be ready to handle self rule without handing the country over to totalitarian caliphate-builders.
[AlAhram] President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi declared a nationwide state of emergency for three months starting Sunday, 27 October, 1am.

A presidential decree was published on Saturday in the state’s official gazette, according to which the measure was taken after consulting with the cabinet due to the "dangerous security state of the country."

The Armed Forces and the police shall take the necessary measures to counter terrorism, maintain security and protect citizens and properties, according to the decree.

Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly renewed the curfew in designated areas in North Sinai from Tel Rafah, east of the peninsula, to the international border at Rafah, and from Halal Mountain until Ouga on the border.

The curfew runs from 7pm to 6am, except in Arish city and on the international road, where it runs from 1am to 5am, or until further notice.

The Saturday gazette published the prime minister's decree No 2582/2019 which states that the prosecution shall refer crimes including those related to gathering, disruption of transportation, thuggery, price fixing, guns and ammunition, sanctity of places of worship, vandalism, and crimes related to the protest law and the anti-terrorism law to emergency state security courts.

The state of emergency was first declared in April 2017 following two suicide kabooms in churches in Alexandria and Gharbiya on Palm Sunday that killed 47 worshipers, and has been constantly renewed ever since.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/27/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Death reduced to life sentence for six defendants in 2016 Khosous attack
[AlAhram] Egypt’s Cassation Court ruled on Saturday to mitigate the death sentence
...the barbaric practice of sentencing a murderer to be punished for as long as his/her/its victim is dead...
into life imprisonment against six defendants in the case of the deadly attack on a security checkpoint in Khosous.

The attack on a security checkpoint in Khosous in 2016 left one policeman dead and others injured.

The Cassation Court also accepted the appeal of the General Prosecution to extend the punishment of the defendant Omar Khalil to maximum imprisonment of 15 years instead of three years, and upheld the prison sentences of the rest of the defendants.

Investigations revealed that in 2016 one of the defendants established and led a terrorist group with the aim of disrupting the provisions of law and constitution and preventing state authorities from carrying out their duties.

According to investigations, the group called for excommunicating the ruler, forcibly changing the regime and attacking the police and Armed Forces. It also trained other defendants on using firearms to assassinate coppers.

A Cairo criminal court had previously sentenced the six defendants to death and two others to life in prison in August 2018 over the attack.

The criminal court found the defendants guilty of orchestrating terrorist attacks against police and army personnel, recruiting others to join a terrorist organization, possession of illegal firearms and financing a terrorist organization.
We have nothing in the archives about the original incident, but here is Al Ahram’s report of 4 April 2016:
Gunmen shot dead a low-ranking police officer and injured an officer and a police conscript in an attack on a checkpoint on the outskirts of Cairo on Monday morning, an interior ministry source told state agency MENA.

An exchange of fire took place between the police and the unknown assailants at Al-Khosous checkpoint on the Cairo ring-road in Qalioubiya governorate, on the northern outskirts of Greater Cairo.

The injured police officer and conscript were transferred to hospital.

The assailants are still at large and security forces are searching for them, the source said.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/27/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Arabia
Bones to the sandbox...
​[Air Force Magazine] An undisclosed number of B-1B Lancer bombers touched down at Prince Sultan AB, Saudi Arabia, their first deployment to the Middle East since they left the region in March. Their arrival marks a major addition of combat power to the newly opened location.

The B-1s flew directly to the base from Ellsworth AFB, S.D., in a deployment that "demonstrates PSAB’s ability to conduct combat ops," Air Forces Central Command said on Twitter. A video showed one of the Lancers touching down, with no additional information on the size of the contingent or length of deployment. A video from Air Force Global Strike Command shows at least four B-1s from the 34th Bomb Squadron taking off from Ellsworth.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 10/27/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Looks like we have an agreement.
Posted by: Dale || 10/27/2019 8:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Huh. Now what target(s) would justify re-positioning a bunch of heavy bombers?
Posted by: Mercutio || 10/27/2019 12:07 Comments || Top||

#3  Great platform for dispensing JASSM-ER
Posted by: M. Murcek || 10/27/2019 13:33 Comments || Top||

#4  Bets on the Bones being overhead while the operation to kill B. went down?
Posted by: 3dc || 10/27/2019 15:15 Comments || Top||

#5  Bets on the Bones being overhead while the operation to kill B. went down?

All sorts of handwavium going on while the Baghdadi operation was being planned, executed, and cleaned up after. President Trump really does have a magic laser pointer that his opponents can’t stop themselves from chasing.
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/27/2019 17:15 Comments || Top||

#6  ...Interesting that just a week or two back, USAF was saying that only 6% of the B-1 force was even mission capable.

Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski || 10/27/2019 18:28 Comments || Top||

#7  Be a shame to fly all that way and not get to blow something up.
Posted by: SteveS || 10/27/2019 20:50 Comments || Top||


Home Front: Politix
Reporter Asks Trump if he's Notified Congressional Leaders About al-Baghdadi Raid; ‘We Decided Not to Because Washington Leaks Like I've Never Seen Before'
[Red State] After notifying the American people that Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was dead, he was asked by a reporter if he has "notified the congressional leaders about this? Pelosi, Schiff, Mitch McConnell?"

President Trump replied:

We notified some. Others are being notified now as I speak. We were going to notify them last night but we decided not to do that because Washington leaks like I've never seen before. There's no country in the world that leaks like we do. And Washington is a leaking machine. And I told my people we will not notify them until our great people are out, not just in, but out. I don't want to have them greeted with firepower like you wouldn't believe. So, we were able to get in. It was top secret...

A leak could have cost the deaths of all of them.


President Trump was right not to notify them ahead of time. They can't be trusted. This is a group of people who have a vested interest in preventing Donald Trump from getting a win, especially a foreign policy win.
They can't be trusted. Treasonous POS's
Democrats are notorious leakers. They impose strict secrecy rules around their impeachment inquiry meetings, then they strategically leak just the right sound bites, usually taken out of context.

And, coming on the heels of the sharp rebuke Trump has faced over his decision to withdraw troops from Northern Syria, this moment is all the sweeter. Would you trust Adam Schiff or Nancy Pelosi to put country before politics? I wouldn't.

Given the choice between the deaths of 50 anonymous U.S. soldiers or watching Trump take a victory lap, I believe they would choose the former. And then Pelosi would appear on cable and ask Americans to pray for our fallen soldiers and their families.
Posted by: Frank G || 10/27/2019 12:54 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  [NY Post] Asked if he had notified House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who has launched an impeachment probe against the president, Trump said, “I didn’t do that.”
Pelosi, in a statement, praised the “heroism, dedication and skill of our intelligence professionals and acknowledge the work of our partners in the region.”

The California Democrat also called on the Trump administration to keep Congress in the know.
Trump says monitoring US raid on al-Baghdadi was like 'watching a movie'

“The House must be briefed on this raid, which the Russians but not top Congressional Leadership were notified of in advance, and on the Administration’s overall strategy in the region,” the statement said. “Our military and allies deserve strong, smart and strategic leadership from Washington.”

Rep. Adam Schiff, the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, which is at the forefront of the inquiry, said it was a “mistake” not to notify congressional leaders of a military operation.

“Had this escalated, had something gone wrong, had we gotten into a firefight with the Russians, it’s to the administration’s advantage to be able to say, ‘We informed Congress we were going in, they were aware of the risks. We at least gave them the chance to provide feedback.’ That wasn’t done here. I think that’s a mistake,” he told ABC News’ “This Week.
Posted by: Frank G || 10/27/2019 13:43 Comments || Top||

#2  It also indicates, for now at least, there aren't any leakers at the level this operation was orchestrated.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 10/27/2019 13:49 Comments || Top||

#3  Very wise decision indeed, NOT telling those worthless bastids ANYTHING !!!

Let them concentrate on the word.... "lynching" or the G7 Doral conference venue. Any fok'n thing except that which is important.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/27/2019 13:57 Comments || Top||

#4  Don't know if Pelosi and Schiff know this, but Islamists have a bug in their bonnet about western civilization. They have security against the deplorables, dirt people, and just plain joes, so they can pontificate till the cows come home.

They can buy security and loyalty but for what price and for how long? When you break the rules, then there are no rules eventually.

The veneer of civilization is very thin.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 10/27/2019 14:52 Comments || Top||

#5  The CINC does not have to notify congress of anything current ops.

Keep those pieces of shit in the dark.
They are of no use to the mission and will only screw it up.

The worst US Congress Ever demands trump work for them?

A word to that disastrous fascist whore pelosi and all her flying monkeys...
Go fuck yourselves.
Posted by: newc || 10/27/2019 14:56 Comments || Top||

#6  Don't hold back, newc, tell us how you really feel...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 10/27/2019 15:35 Comments || Top||

#7 
Posted by: 3dc || 10/27/2019 15:39 Comments || Top||

#8  Should have said they didn’t notify Pelosi because they knew she had to be in CA during this time of emergency. Anyone with a souls would be there with their contiruancy.
Posted by: Rjschwarz || 10/27/2019 16:39 Comments || Top||

#9  It was determined on President Obama’s watch that Congressional leaders needn’t be informed until afterwards in the case of such actions, per Instapundit:

FLASHBACK: Stephen Preston, the CIA’s general counsel “wrote a memo addressing when the administration had to alert congressional leaders under a statute governing covert actions. Given the circumstances, the lawyers decided that the administration would be legally justified in delaying notification until after the raid.”

—“Secret lawyers’ meetings determined Osama bin Laden would be killed,” the New York Times, October 29, 2015. (Link goes to reprint at the Sydney Morning Herald, as original is behind the Times’ subscriber paywall.)
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/27/2019 18:20 Comments || Top||

#10  Wise decision on the part of Trump. Some of these people would screw up a one person parade.
Posted by: JohnQC || 10/27/2019 18:29 Comments || Top||

#11  Now what he should do is inform them of the next 'raid' ahead of time.....and instead of sending troops, have a full B-52 squadron turn that spot to moonscape.
Posted by: Silentbrick || 10/27/2019 20:36 Comments || Top||

#12  Nancy may be butthurt, but her very words said it: “Our military and allies deserve strong, smart and strategic leadership from Washington.”
Posted by: USN, Ret. || 10/27/2019 21:43 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Protests Rattle the Postwar Order in Lebanon and Iraq
[AnNahar] Tens of thousands of people, many of them young and unemployed men, thronged public squares and blocked main streets Friday in the capitals of Iraq and Leb in unprecedented, spontaneous anti-government revolts in two countries scarred by long conflicts.

Demonstrators in Iraq were beaten back by police firing live ammunition and tear gas, and officials said 30 people were killed in a fresh wave of unrest that has left 179 civilians dead this month. In Leb, scuffles between rival political groups broke out at a protest camp, threatening to undermine an otherwise united civil disobedience campaign now in its ninth day.

The protests are directed at a postwar political system and a class of elite leaders that have kept both countries from relapsing into civil war but achieved little else. The most common rallying cry from the protesters in Iraq and Leb is "Thieves! Thieves!" ‐ a reference to officials they accuse of stealing their money and amassing wealth for decades.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/27/2019 01:04 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:


Iraqi paramilitaries threaten ‘revenge’ after offices torched
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The heads of powerful Iraqi paramilitary factions threatened they would take "Dire Revenge" on Saturday after their offices in the south of the country were torched during deadly protests.

Demonstrators set fire to dozens of government buildings and offices belonging to the Iranian-backed Popular Mobilization Units (PMU) militias better known as Hashd al-Shaabi paramilitary force across southern cities late Friday.

In Missan province, the headquarters of the Asaib Ahl al-Haq, one of the PMU militias, was torched and a leading commander of the group reportedly killed.

Wissam al-Alyawi was later pronounced dead by the group, after footage circulated online showing him writhing in an ambulance as a crowd of men tried to break into it.

Asaib chief Qais al-Khazaali was in Baghdad on Saturday for the funeral procession of Alyawi and his brother Issam, apparently killed in the same incident.

"His blood is on America and Israel’s hands, but I will take Dire Revenge - many times over," Khazaali told mourners, holding back tears as he stood next to their wailing mother.

"This blood is proof to all our people of the size of the conspiracy that is targeting us," he said.

Dozens of PMUs fighters were gathered in military fatigues for the procession in central Baghdad, just a few districts south of where protests were taking place in Tahrir (Liberation) Square.

Another paramilitary force, Saraya al-Salam, had also been spotted in Baghdad in recent days after their leader Moqtada Tater al-Sadr
... the Iranian catspaw holy man who was 22 years old in 2003 and was nearing 40 in 2010. He spends most of his time in Iran, safely out of the line of fire, where he's learning to be an ayatollah...
threw his weight behind the demonstrations.

The Badr Organization, a powerful Iranian-backed gang whose offices were set alight in the southern city of Diwaniyah, also blamed Israel and the United States for Alyawi’s death.

"They don’t want a stable Iraq. They want to pull it into discord and chaos," said its head Hadi al-Ameri, who also attended the funeral.

And Harakat Nujaba, an Iraqi paramilitary faction close to Iran, warned protesters to stay peaceful. "Take a careful look, and let us be united," it said in an online statement.

Posted by: Fred || 10/27/2019 00:31 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies

#1  I guess we are overdue for the Shia civil war.
Posted by: Pancho Flerens6518 || 10/27/2019 2:32 Comments || Top||

#2  Good chance that this is Sadr vs badr
Posted by: Lord garth || 10/27/2019 7:05 Comments || Top||

#3  10 dinars on Mucky Badtooth
Posted by: Mercutio || 10/27/2019 12:05 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
ISIS construction techniques
Posted by: 3dc || 10/27/2019 10:27 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State


Turkey will clear north-east Syria of Kurdish YPG militia if Russia does not fulfil its obligations
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 10/27/2019 00:39 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  Anyone stocking up on popcorn? Centuries old grudge match looks interesting.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 10/27/2019 8:45 Comments || Top||


Rouhani battles hardliners on terror financing as Washington imposes new restrictions
[Rudaw] Iranian President Hassan Rouhani
...Iran's moderate president, which he is, relative to his predecessor, which doesn't mean he's anything but a puppet of the nearest holy man...
’s government is facing bitter opposition from hardliners as it tries to pass legislation on money laundering and terrorism financing while Washington geared up on Friday to impose new restrictive measures making it difficult for Tehran to conduct legitimate humanitarian trade with foreign governments and financial institutions.

Rouhani’s government has tried in recent years to pass the required legislation necessary to ratify international recommendations to combat money laundering and terrorism financing, overseen by the Gay Paree-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Bolstered by Washington’s increasing crippling sanctions due to Tehran’s nuclear program and the activities of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the region, Iran’s hardliners have become more upbeat about their opposition to the legislation.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 10/27/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran



Who's in the News
42[untagged]
9Islamic State
4Sublime Porte
3Govt of Iraq
1Hamas
1Haqqani Network
1Hezbollah
1Moslem Colonists
1Muslim Brotherhood
1Taliban
1Thai Insurgency
1Govt of Iran
1Govt of Iran Proxies
1Govt of Pakistain Proxies

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2019-10-27
   ISIS Leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi Killed
Sat 2019-10-26
  Pentagon chief: US troops, armored vehicles going to Syria oil fields
Fri 2019-10-25
  DOJ Review of Russia Probe Origins Is Now Criminal Investigation
Thu 2019-10-24
  California authorities seize enough fentanyl to make 4 million lethal doses
Wed 2019-10-23
  Senior ISIS leader surrenders to Afghan forces in Nangarhar province
Tue 2019-10-22
  Mexico sends in troops after failed 'El Chapo' son arrest
Mon 2019-10-21
  Spokesman: Governor of Wardak Survives Car Bomb
Sun 2019-10-20
  Kurdish politician appeals to Israel for help in northern Syria
Sat 2019-10-19
  Blasts collapse roof at Afghan mosque, killing at least 62 at Friday prayers
Fri 2019-10-18
  Heavy fighting between Turkish/SNA and YPG/SDF
Thu 2019-10-17
  Pence announces ceasefire at the US Embassy in Turkey.
Wed 2019-10-16
  Spain, Sweden, Canada, UK halting sales of military material to Ankara
Tue 2019-10-15
  Notre-Dame plot: Five women jailed over foiled car bomb attack
Mon 2019-10-14
  Trump tells Pentagon to begin withdrawing remaining troops from northern Syria
Sun 2019-10-13
  Syria now considers itself at war with Turkey!

Better than the average link...



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.
3.238.64.201
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (20)    Non-WoT (10)    Opinion (13)    (0)    Politix (14)