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Kurdish fighters gain ground in Kobane
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 1: WoT Operations
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Page 3: Non-WoT
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4 20:30 Steve White [1]
9 22:15 Skidmark [3]
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4 22:48 JosephMendiola [5]
1 01:52 g(r)omgoru [5]
8 14:40 Barbara [7]
1 15:15 Rambler in Virginia [4]
5 19:01 DarthVader [6]
11 17:56 Besoeker [4]
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3 09:43 Elmerert Hupens2660 [2]
Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
11 17:03 Ebbomosh Hupemp2664 [3]
Africa North
Libya army supports ex-general bid to retake Benghazi
[Iran Press TV] The Libyan army has declared support for forces loyal to retired General Khalifa Haftar
... served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
as rival turban groups continue to battle for control over the eastern city of Benghazi.

Libyan army front man, Colonel Ahmed al-Mesmari, said the military has thrown its weight behind Haftar's four-month-old campaign, dubbed 'Operation Dignity', in order to retake Benghazi from other gangs.

The announcement came a day after Haftar's forces resumed major attacks to oust other turban groups from Benghazi. He also called on the locals to rise up against the "terrorists."

At least a dozen people have been killed and 10 others maimed, including three soldiers, and a man and his three children, in renewed festivities for control of the eastern city.

Meanwhile,
...back at the game, the Babe headed for second base. He almost made it. Then Sheila slapped him....
a militia commander said his fighters took control of a military camp and tanks from Haftar's forces after a bombing attack at the camp gates.

However,
if you can't be a good example, then you'll just have to be a horrible warning...
the claim has been rejected by a security source close to Haftar.

Benghazi has been a war zone since May, when Haftar declared war on the militia groups.

Forces loyal to Haftar have been unsuccessful in fighting the rival gangs and have recently lost most of their bases in Benghazi. Currently, they just have Benghazi's Benina International Airport and its surrounding areas under their control.
Posted by: Fred || 10/16/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Kerry pledges USA's continued support in Libya's democratic transition
[Libya Herald] Amid rising concern that the increasing deterioration of the security situation inside Libya is creating opportunities for Islamic Lions of Islam to permeate the country's border with Egypt, US Secretary of State John F. I was in Vietnam, you know Kerry
Former Senator-for-Life from Massachussetts, self-defined war hero, speaker of French, owner of a lucky hat, conqueror of Cambodia, and current Secretary of State...
added a surprise meeting with Libyan Foreign Minister Mohammed Al-Dairi to his Gay Paree schedule.
And if you can't count on JFK who can you count on?
Kerry was scheduled to fly into Gay Paree from Cairo on Monday for meetings with French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov to discuss the situations in Ukraine, Syria, Iraq and Libya. During the talks with Lavrov, it was agreed that the two nations would stand united in the fight against the threat of advancements by ISIS in the Middle East and North Africa.

Regarding Libya, Kerry said that the United States would continue to support Libya's democratic transition and the democratically elected House of Representatives (HoR). The French Foreign Minister expressed a similar sentiment and commended the efforts of the United Nation to mediate between the conflicting parties within Libya.
Posted by: Fred || 10/16/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring

#1  Planet Washington.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/16/2014 1:43 Comments || Top||

#2  Planet Washington.

And you thought Bizarro World was whack!

Hey, is this the same nascent democracy where opposing factions of the army are having it out in the "Heavy fighting in Benghazi... " thread?
Posted by: SteveS || 10/16/2014 2:17 Comments || Top||

#3  Because we did such a great job last time ....
Posted by: Bangkok Billy || 10/16/2014 22:46 Comments || Top||


Hafter says he will retire after liberation of Benghazi
[Libya Herald] Libya's general Khalifa Hafter has said that once his Operation Dignity has liberated Benghazi, he will retire from the military.

In a pre-recorded televised message broadcast simultaneously on several Libyan stations Tuesday night, Hafter outlined the achievements since the month of May of Operation Dignity ‐ as he saw them ‐ and promised that "life would return to normal after the coming difficult hours and days".

Stating that the national army would launch a major assault in Benghazi on Wednesday to expel Islamist turbans from the area, the general called on residents to take up arms and to rise up against the "terrorists" in one final push to re-take the city.

According to Hafter, the government-funded revolutionary brigades had become a threat to national security, leaving him and his colleagues with no other option than to take up arms last spring to "defend the integrity and resources of their homeland". They were well aware of the high price to be paid to achieve that goal, Hafter said.

"This war is really against a broad network of gunnies targeting the entire region and sustained with the collaboration of some Libyans," Hafter said. "Through our interrogations of captured fighters, we have learned that we have been fighting a battle of international proportions. Not only are the gunnies being financed and trained using foreign monies, but foreign gunnies have been systematically brought into Libya to kills us," he added.
Posted by: Fred || 10/16/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Hassi's government takes over government websites
[Libya Herald] Omer Al-Hassi's National Salvation Government has managed to take over two key government websites.

The Prime Minister's website, www.pm.gov.ly, now displays Hassi as PM and lists his cabinet members. It had previously been used by House of Representatives (HOR) appointed PM Abdullah Al-Thinni.

Hassi was chosen as PM by the rump General National Congress in late August after Misrata-allied militias took over 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...
. He took over the official PM offices in Tripoli on 9 September.

Additionally, the National Oil Corporation's website has been taken over by Hassi's government. The man he nominated as Minister of Oil, Mashallah Zwai, is shown on the website, holding a presser. Zwai took control of the Ministry of Oil's buildings last month.

It is not known how the Hassi government managed to take over the websites.

Though the international community recognizes the HOR and Thinni's cabinet as the official government of Libya, Hassi's camp appears to be further entrenching itself as a rival government in Libya's capital.
Posted by: Fred || 10/16/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Britain
UK mulls training 'moderate' Syria militants
[Iran Press TV] UK Defense Secretary Michael Fallon says British ministers are considering plans to train "moderate" faceless myrmidons operating in Syria to fight the ISIL terrorist group.

Fallon announced the plans in an interview with British media on Tuesday, saying UK troops could be deployed to one of Syria's neighboring countries, possibly Jordan, to provide training to Syrian hard boys.

The British defense secretary did not give any further information regarding which hard boy group would receive the training or who would be included in the British group.

The proposed plan comes just a day after Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond announced that the UK is to fund bomb disposal training for the Kurdish Peshmerga forces battling ISIL faceless myrmidons in northern Iraq.
Posted by: Fred || 10/16/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:

#1  You don't learn, do you?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/16/2014 1:43 Comments || Top||

#2  The key first step is to identify and isolate the 'moderate' militants. Both of them.
Posted by: ed in texas || 10/16/2014 8:02 Comments || Top||

#3  Both of them.

Pollyanna
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 10/16/2014 8:18 Comments || Top||

#4  Both of them.

Conjoined twins?
Posted by: Charles || 10/16/2014 20:43 Comments || Top||


China-Japan-Koreas
Norks spend 10x on luxury goods as for food for hungry citizens
Josh Stanton at One Free Korea has the details in a fact-filled, long post.
Posted by: Steve White || 10/16/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  You have to have priorities in life.
Posted by: ed in texas || 10/16/2014 8:31 Comments || Top||

#2  In America, its spending 10x on Donk donors and interest groups than on the appropriate functions of government.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 10/16/2014 8:34 Comments || Top||

#3  In a bizarre homage to the "A Piece of the Action" episode of Star Trek 2.0, where a violent primitive society bases its culture on a found organized crime novel, the Norks, with their pampered elite and absolutely crushed majority, appear to have based their society on "1984".
Posted by: Anice Nim || 10/16/2014 14:08 Comments || Top||

#4  Expensive, Air-imported Big Macs like late Big Daddy KJI, or Uncle Fidel's Spicy Black ham???
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/16/2014 22:20 Comments || Top||


How Propaganda Flyers Try to Win Over N.Koreans
Propaganda packages being floated across the border attached to helium balloons try to win North Koreans over with a mixture of information, scandal-mongering and enticements.

Leaflets in the packages detail South Korea's economic success story, criticize the hereditary transfer of power in the North and, in some cases, proselytize on behalf of born-again Christianity. They also contain US$1 bills, mini radios, DVDs, instant noodles, nylon stockings, lighters and other essentials.

North Korean words and expressions are mostly used to make leaflets easy to understand.

Leaflets are geared to information that Pyongyang does not want its people to know.

Recently they have been shedding light on North Korean leader Kim Jong-un's execution of his uncle and former eminence grise, Jang Song-taek, as well as the myriad mistresses of former North Korean leader Kim Jong-il, and inside information on Kim Jong-un and wife Ri Sol-ju.

The activities of Hwang Jang-yop, the highest-ranking North Korean defector who died in 2010, are also mentioned.

The two main activist groups that float propaganda leaflets across the border are Fighters for Free North Korea and North Korean Christian Association. The defectors’ Christian association has flown 1,567 helium balloons with around 470,000 propaganda leaflets across the border this year alone. Each balloon can carry around 30,000 leaflets.

Fighters for Free North Korea also flew some 7-8 million leaflets into North Korea this year. Park Sang-hak, head of the group, said, "Until last year, we used to fly the balloons from ships out in the ocean and were able to send twice as many as we do now. But the number has declined since we were prohibited from doing that."
Posted by: Steve White || 10/16/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under: Commies

#1  IIRC MSM-NET > A MAJOR NORTH KOREAN STATE MINISTER VERY RECENTLY PROPOSED A "ONE-STATE, TWO-SYSTEMS/GOVTS" FEDERAL-LEVEL UNION BETWEEN THE TWO KOREAS.

The nearest example or parallel would be the same as proposed for Beijing [mainland China] + Taipei [Taiwan] during the Cold War.

OTOH nothing was-n-remains the result between China + Taiwan, so I have no confidence it will be any different wid the two Koreas.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 10/16/2014 22:55 Comments || Top||


The Grand Turk
ISIL backers, opponents clash at Istanbul University
[Iran Press TV] In Turkey, festivities have erupted at the Istanbul University between students who support and oppose ISIL Lions of Islam operating in neighboring Syria and Iraq.

Students say supporters of the ISIL Takfiri
...an adherent of takfir wal hijra, an offshoot of Salafism that regards everybody who doesn't agree with them as apostates who must be killed...
group, who had covered their faces and wore black hats, went on a rampage at the university's Faculty of Economics and Administrative Sciences.

"We, students of the Istanbul University, have been subject to the aggression of ISIL supporters who have blood on their hands. ISIL Lions of Islam are known for their aggression. They murder children and rape women in Rojava and Kobani. Those pro-ISIL 'so-called' students with black masks attacked us with sticks," anti-ISIL students said in a press statement issued after the festivities.

The ISIL supporters were reacting to posters put up by students condemning deadly ISIL attacks being carried out in the Syrian border city of Kobani.

Students said they were forced to barricade themselves inside the building with tables against ISIL supporters. A number of students were reportedly maimed.

Earlier reports also indicated that other violent incidents took place at the campus, which led police to arrest dozens of students. They were then taken to the Istanbul Police Department's anti-terror office.

Following the festivities, a number of anti-ISIL students accused Ankara of failing to take measures against the holy warrior group's activities in the country.

Over the past few weeks, similar festivities have taken place in other Turkish universities such as the Middle East Technical University.

The festivities come at a time that Turkish Kurds are voicing concern over what they call Ankara's cooperation with ISIL Lions of Islam and their killing of Kobani residents.
Posted by: Fred || 10/16/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Islamic State

#1  Such a waste, silly muzzie bastids. Nothing better to do than quarrel at the University? Do they not have a music department? Why not chill out and enjoy some lovely Eine Kleine Nactmusik.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/16/2014 7:56 Comments || Top||


Iraq
Bing West: Champ Is Working With the Wrong Partners in Iraq
[Bing West at Defense One] In sum, Obama has initiated the third major war of the 21st Century, while applying political and military covenants that make his goal—the destruction of ISIS—impossible to achieve. He has bequeathed to his successor a geopolitical and wartime mess.
Posted by: Besoeker || 10/16/2014 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iraq

#1  Obama hates America. His decisions are based from that perspective and this article is just another example.
Posted by: Airandee || 10/16/2014 6:36 Comments || Top||

#2  He has bequeathed to his successor a geopolitical and wartime mess.

His "legacy" will thus far outlast his term of office.
Posted by: Bobby || 10/16/2014 7:50 Comments || Top||

#3  You assume he's on the same side as you. Theorize him as being on the other side, and it all makes sense.
Posted by: ed in texas || 10/16/2014 8:04 Comments || Top||



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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2014-10-16
  Kurdish fighters gain ground in Kobane
Wed 2014-10-15
  Six top TTP commanders announce allegiance to Islamic State's Baghdadi
Tue 2014-10-14
  Kurds, IS in Heavy Fighting near Turkish Border
Mon 2014-10-13
  21 militants killed in Khyber, Waziristan strikes
Sun 2014-10-12
  Al-Qaeda convoy en route to Mali 'destroyed' by French
Sat 2014-10-11
  Islamic State Advances Deeper Into Syrian Town Of Kobani
Fri 2014-10-10
  Operation Dignity sinks ship attempting to enter Benghazi Port
Thu 2014-10-09
  Sanaa suicide bomber kills at least 40
Wed 2014-10-08
  After Fierce Gun Battle: 400 Boko Haram insurgents killed in battle to retake Bazza, Michika, Madagali
Tue 2014-10-07
  Derna's rival Islamist militias fall out over Caliphate allegiance
Mon 2014-10-06
  Huge Explosion at Iranian Explosives Plant
Sun 2014-10-05
  Patient Zero, Thomas A. Duncan is dead
Sat 2014-10-04
  Zarb-e-Azb: 15 more terrorists gunned down
Fri 2014-10-03
  Iraq Butcher's Bill: 40 jihadists, 17 police and army
Thu 2014-10-02
  Egyptian Soldiers Kill Leader Of Sinai Jihadist Group Ansar Beit Al-Maqdis


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