[Dawn] As Afghan soldiers and police struggle to contain an escalating insurgency that has targeted several cities in recent weeks, the country's special forces are being tested as never before.
Trained in counter-insurgency tactics at the elite School of Excellence near Kabul ...the capital of Afghanistan. Home to continuous fighting from 1992 to 1996 between the forces of would-be strongman and Pak ISI/Jamaat-e-Islami sock puppet Gulbuddin Hekmayar and the Northern Alliance, a period which won Hek the title Most Evil Man in the World and didn't do much for the reputations of the Northern Alliance guys either.... , these soldiers led the battle to retake Kunduz, after regular forces fled their posts last month to cede the northern city to bully boyz they easily outnumbered.
Continued on Page 49
GAROWE, Somalia -- Al Shabaab militants in the difficult terrain of Galgala and hideouts along Golis Mountain Range have in part pledged their allegiance to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) amid merger crisis within the Somali terror group, Garowe Online has learned.
Intelligence sources indicate that top Al Shabaab ideologues including Abdulkadir Mumin, Ga’amey, Kutubo and Bashir Shire have discussed imminent loyalty to the self-proclaimed caliph of the Islamic State, Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi.
Although, it has yet to happen, the much-anticipated move now seems a ‘done deal’ with no strings attached.
After a week-long secret talks in Galgala, Abdulkadir Mumin phoned fugitive Al Shabaab officials in southern Somalia to inform them about the outcome of their ‘thorny discussions’, however his remarks have not cracked the whip within Al Shabaab ranks.
Pro-Al Qaeda factions voiced opposition to the decision by Al Shabaab Northeast brass.
At least 30 people, including foreign jihadists are behind bars for campaigning for merger with ISIL, Al Qaeda’s main rival in the towns of Jilib and Jamame in southern Somalia.
Abu Ubaidah has made his stance towards Ayman al-Zawihiri ‘indelible’, subduing pro-ISIL voices within the group, whose grip on large chunks of territory in central and southern Somalia is more wobbling than ever.
Jubaland Intelligence officials tell Garowe Online that Al Shabaab detained two key ISIL sympathizers -Mohamed Abdullahi Sardheye, former Al Shabaab accountant in Kismayo and Khalid Aytamow, who was in charge of Dawa affairs in Jubba regions.
Experts on the movement of Global Jihadists say, financial crisis could be pushing Al Shabaab northeast into ISIL arena.
United Nations Monitoring Group on Somalia and Eritrea has said in confidential report, they continue to follow with concern, Al Shabaab’s destabilizing activities in relatively stable Puntland.
How Al Shabaab members obtained passports in Puntland
Puntland Security Minister, Abdi Hirsi Ali (Qarjab) for the first time acknowledged that some Al Shabaab members have managed to receive Somali passports from Immigration and Naturalization Department headquarters in the capital, Garowe.
Qarjab unveiled how Al Shabaab members obtained passports with ease, during a meeting with United Nations Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNSOM) and UNDP officials.
He said, the government is holding those who facilitated the issuing of passports for members identified as ‘ticked Al Shabaab members’.
Puntland Security Minister stressed the need for tight control over issuance of key travel documents, admitting to serious lapses at Immigration office.
Though, his government is not far ahead of counter-terrorism policy failures according to UN investigators, Qarjab decried the matter as something amounting to ‘embarrassment’, and could malign Puntland dignity in the eyes of international community.
Puntland Defence Forces (PDFs) waged fierce military offensives on Al Shabaab fighters in mid-2010 after underground cells came into open.
The militants renewed terror operations in early 2014, and ever since have targeted government officials in pre-planned attacks, mainly in Bossaso port city.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/25/2015 00:00 ||
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The leader of Yemen’s Houthi Ansarullah powerful movement, Sayyed Abdul-Malik al-Houthi, said on Saturday that the Yemeni people's determination to defeat the attacking forces will not back down until achieving victory.
Speaking on the 10 of Muharram Hijri month marking the martyrdom of Imam Hussein (AS) on Ashura, Sayyed Houthi revealed that the US has called for the Saudi aggression on Yemen, highlighting that the Yemeni nation can eventually defeat the Saudi aggressors and their mercenaries in the Saudi-US-Zionist war.
"We say to the aggression just like Imam Hussein (AS) said to Yezid: 'Disgrace! Never Ever'. We will not hesitate to confront the criminal aggressors," Sayyd Houthi said, making clear that Saudi Arabia is carrying out the deadly aggression against Yemen on behalf of the United States and the Zionist entity.
"The mercenaries are being bought into the Saudi war on Yemen, ," the Ansarullah leader said.
Below is a summary leaving out details unimportant to international observers:
[DieWelt] High ranking officials of the German security and law enforcement agencies roughly comparable to FBI and CIA are voicing deep concerns about Merkel's policy of unlimited immigration.
There's an unsigned 'non-paper' circling among high ranking security officials. Also, some are talking to the press their names being withheld.
Retired officials, among them the former president of German foreign intelligence, are openly criticizing Merkel, demanding essentially a freeze of all asylum and refugee immigration until normalcy is restored.
Some direct quotes from anonymous security officials and the non-paper from the article:
One security expert says, "Immigration in large numbers from other parts of the world will destabilize Germany. This immigration is producing extremists. The conservative middle-class will radicalize because it doesn't want immigration of this nature and because the political elite is imposing it on the people."
His prognosis is grim, "We will see many people turn away from this constitutional government."
From the non-paper, "Integration of 100,000s of immigrants is impossible due to the high number and preexisting unintegrated communities. Instead we're importing islamist extremism, Arab antisemitism, other peoples' national and ethnic conflicts and an alien concept of law and society"
The non-paper warns, "German security agencies are not and will not be capable of coping with these imported security hazards nor with reactions to the hazards from among the German populace"
Of course it will -- the "refugees" have no interest whatsoever in becoming German. And they have no real interest in returning home, whether home is Syria, Libya, or Pakistan. Life is better in Germany, and their home countries aren't going to be peaceful any time soon. So instead the "refugees" -- a majority of whom are military-aged young men -- will milk the gravy train in Germany, and show proper gratitude by demanding that the Germans conform to the culture and lifestyles of their home countries.
[AlArabiya] Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan accused Kurdish groups on Saturday of trying to grab control of northern Syria, and said Ankara would not allow this to happen.
Thus demonstrating what is important to the Turks -- certainly not the "war on terror"...
In a speech in southeast The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , Erdogan denounced the merging of the Syrian town of Tel Abyad last week into an autonomous political structure created by the Kurds.
"All they want is to seize northern Syria entirely," Erdogan said. "We will under no circumstances allow northern Syria to become a victim of their scheming. Because this constitutes a threat for us, and it is not possible for us as Turkey to say 'yes' to this threat."
Turkey is alarmed by territorial gains for the Kurds in Syria's civil war, which it fears could stir separatism among its own Kurdish minority.
Tel Abyad, on the border with Turkey, was captured in June from 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.... of Iraq and Syria group Death Eaters by Kurdish YPG militia with help from U.S.-led air strikes. Last week, a local leadership council declared it part of the system of autonomous self-government established by the Kurds.
Syrian Kurds have established three autonomous zones, or "cantons', across northern Syria since the civil war broke out in 2011. They deny aiming to establish their own state.
The YPG's capture of Tel Abyad linked up the Kurdish-controlled canton of Kobane, which was besieged by Islamic State last year, with the bigger canton of Jazeera, which is further east and borders Iraq.
Turkey has for the past three decades been trying to end an insurgency by fighters of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which is classified as a terrorist organization by the United States and European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... The PKK has been staging almost daily attacks in the southeast since July, when a ceasefire fell apart.
Ankara accuses the Syrian Kurds' political arm, the PYD, of deep links to the PKK. It has been incensed by the role the Kurds have carved out for themselves, with U.S. support, in the fight against Islamic State in northern Syria.
Erdogan also slammed countries who provided assistance to the PYD, although he did not name them.
"Right now there are 1,400 PKK members in PYD. There is no point ignoring this, this is a fact," said Erdogan. "But all these countries who seem friendly towards us are trying to make this look the opposite way. Whatever arms assistance they (PYD) receive, it is coming from these countries. We know very well whose arms."
Earlier this month, the YPG Kurdish militia announced a new alliance with small groups of Arab fighters, and the group was air-dropped small arms and ammunition by U.S. forces in northeast Syria.
Washington has indicated it could direct funding and weapons to Arab commanders on the ground who cooperate with the YPG.
#2
"Turkey says won't let Kurds ‘seize’ northern Syria" Not if the Turks can seize it first.
Besides, it's always handy to have an opponent tied to a piece of ground they have to defend...
Posted by: ed in texas ||
10/25/2015 12:26 Comments ||
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#3
It seems the DOD has forgotten that in exchange for the US using Turkey's Incirlik airbase Erdogan has been given Obama's approval to attack the Kurds whereever they might be. Muslim Brothers do stick together!
[IsraelTimes] Two weeks after 102 people were killed at an Ankara rally and as snap elections near, the government is feeling the heat
Two weeks after more than a hundred people were killed in an Ankara kaboom, The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... is still unraveling clues that suggest 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 was responsible, fueling opposition anger over an apparently enormous security lapse by the government.
IS was immediately considered "suspect number one" after twin suicide kabooms on October 10 in front of the city's train station killed 102 people, due to similarities with an earlier bombing blamed on the jihadist organization.
Once again, TNT explosives packed with metal ball bearings devastated a pro-Kurdish rally: Ankara seemed a more ambitious version of the bombing in Suruc on the Syrian border in July, which left 34 people dead -- and critics say the security forces should have seen it coming.
Media reports this week said the national police headquarters had warned in September that IS Lions of Islam were preparing a large attack in Turkey, such as hijacking a plane or detonating suicide bombs in a crowded location.
The post-attack probe focused on some 20 known jihadists and uncovered 11 boom jackets, six Kalashnikovs, 22 hand grenades and explosives, suggesting there were plans in place for another attack on Turkish soil.
According to the pro-government news agency Anatolia, the cell had originally planned to attack the headquarters of the pro-Kurdish and liberal Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), but targeted the peace rally at the last moment.
Prosecutors this week formally identified one of the jacket wallahs, Yunus Emre Alagoz, a young Turk from the Islamist murderous Moslem stronghold of Adiyaman and the brother of the man suspected of carrying out the Suruc attack.
Turkish media have identified the second bomber as Omer Deniz Dundar, who had twice been to Syria -- and was on a list of dangerous individuals -- though some reports say the accomplice may have been a foreign IS member.
'Protecting IS'
Police are reported to have tossed in the calaboose Drop the rosco, Muggsy, or you're one with the ages! one of the men who helped get the two bombers to their targets, who allegedly told Sherlocks he was amazed they had all got through a checkpoint unnoticed.
Turkish daily Today's Zaman claimed the arrested man, named Yakup Sahin, had been tailed by security forces on suspicion of ties with IS, but police lost him and failed to react when he surfaced again in Ankara on the morning of the attack.
Amid the confusion, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him... on Thursday pinned responsibility for the Ankara bombing on a "terror collective" comprising not only IS, but also Turkish and Syrian Kurds and the Syrian intelligence service.
Ankara's chief of police and two other officials were fired in the wake of the attack as details emerged of failures by security services to keep track of suspect individuals, with the government accused of seriously underestimating IS.
As snap elections on November 1 near, the opposition is increasing putting pressure on the government to admit security failings -- particularly considering that the father of the presumed second bomber had told police to arrest his son and lock him up.
Critics have accused the state of encouraging violence against the HDP -- which presents the biggest challenge to the government at the elections -- and going soft on IS, enemy of Turkey's enemies, the Syrian regime and the Kurds.
Kemal Kilicdaroglu, head of the social-democratic Republican People's Party (CHP), insisted recently that the state's failure to dismantle jihadist networks could mean just one thing: "I will say it clearly, it is about protecting IS".
While Davutoglu has brushed off the allegations, prosecutors have nonetheless opened a preliminary investigation into the country's interior minister, Selami Altinok, on the grounds of negligence, the Hurriyet newspaper reported Friday.
They may not get very far: a green light from the government is needed to strip minister Selami Altinok of his political immunity and launch a full investigation -- and both Davutoglu and Erdogan have refused to hand over their man.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/25/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
Let me get this straight. IS wants to hurt Turkey so it bombs the strong man's opponents. Not buying it.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
10/25/2015 14:35 Comments ||
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#3
If their object were sowing dissention and chaos it would work, because everyone would suspect Erdogan anyway, and he's been a dumbass. I'd say the worse sort of dumbass, but I reserve that sort of thing for Obama.
[AlArabiya] U.S. President Barack Obama Ready to Rule from Day One... vetoed a $612 billion defense spending bill Thursday, saying it prevented the closure of Guantanamo Bay prison and wasted money on unwanted programs.
Making a rare public show of rejecting a law, Obama said the text agreed by the Republican-controlled Congress "falls woefully short" in key areas.
Obama said the bill did "a number of good things," including reforming military retirement and funding cyber security, but "resorts to gimmicks" and funded unwanted programs.
He zeroed in on provisions that would restrict the transfer of prisoners from Guantanamo Bay on the tip of Cuba, to the United States.
"This legislation specifically impedes our ability to close Guantanamo," he said. "Guantanamo is one of the premier mechanisms for jihadists to recruit, it is time for us to close it. It's outdated, it's expensive."
After embarrassing false starts, Obama is making a final push to close Guantanamo prison. But to fulfill that glaringly incomplete campaign promise he faces unpalatable compromises and internal resistance.
But the fate of those deemed too dangerous to release, but too difficult to prosecute, has stymied his efforts.
Even Champ understands that he can't touch the hot pan on the stove...
The administration is looking at military facilities like Fort Leavenworth, Kansas or the Navy Brig in Charleston, South Carolina as possible destinations for inmates.
Because that's different than a military facility in Cuba...
But Congress wants to have control of any transfer and to ensure that prisoners do not have full rights afforded to American civilians.
#1
But the fate of those deemed too dangerous to release, but too difficult to prosecute, has stymied his efforts.
Formally classify them as POWs in the legislation. Use the powers of Article III, and remove the jurisdiction over POWs from the judiciary and resident solely in military authority and tribunals. And if you really want to put a crimp in it, make any interference into the process by any member of the judiciary grounds for impeachment and removal.
#3
Besides, they are not POWs. They are illegal combatants. They were not in uniform, for example. Under the Geneva Conventions, they can be given a summary court martial and then executed. We should have done that years ago.
Then Obama could close Gitmo and turn the base over to Castro.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia ||
10/25/2015 15:09 Comments ||
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[Ynet] House of Representatives blocks State Department request for funds, citing ongoing incitement on social media and in schools.
The US House of Representatives took the rare step of blocking financial aid to the Paleostinian Authority recently in light of the current string of violent attacks and incitement against Israel.
The vote froze some $370 million in yearly aid funds requested by the US State Department. Yearly payments normally stand at $450 million, but were set to be cut to the now frozen amount of $370 million in 2015 as a fine for Paleostinian Authority behavior against Israel last year.
Head of the House Committee on Appropriations, Republican Kay Granger from Texas, and senior Democratic Representative Nita Lowey from New York, sent a letter to Paleostinian President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... warning that a continuation of incitement on the Paleostinian side would lead to a cessation of American financial aid.
Their letter insisted that Abbas cease what they called inflammatory speech and that he meet one on one with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
The US Representatives cited that the yearly aid package established under the Oslo Accords was only given to the Paleostinian Authority on the condition that its leaders "fight against terror and incitement to violence."
Granger and Lowey also warned that the House wouldn't be able to defend financial aid to the PA if Abbas decided to abandon direct negotiations with Israel and steps to achieve "security, prosperity and peace" for both Israelis and Paleostinians.
They also stated in the letter that attacks against Israelis raise doubts that Paleostinians are interested in living side by side with Israel in peace.
Head of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Republican Ed Royce from Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, also contributed to the conversation saying that new ways would have to be found to stymie Paleostinian incitement which he said continues to reach the public through social media, radio, television, and classrooms.
From a few days ago, but defines Pakistan's position on the matter, whether or not it was said to President Obama's face.
[AlArabiya] Pak Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif ... served two non-consecutive terms as prime minister, heads the Pakistain Moslem League (Nawaz). Noted for his spectacular corruption, the 1998 Pak nuclear test, border war with India, and for being tossed by General Musharraf... will tell U.S. President Barack Obama It’s very rare that I come to an event where I’m like the fifth- or sixth-most interesting person.... this week that Islamabad will not accept limits on its use of small tactical nuclear weapons, Pak officials said on Wednesday.
Pakistain insists smaller weapons would deter a sudden attack by its bigger neighbor India, which is also a nuclear power. But the United States worries tactical weapons may further destabilize an already volatile region because their smaller size makes them more tempting to use in a conventional war.
Sharif and Obama are due to meet at the White House on Thursday. The B.O. regime is preparing to sell eight F-16 fighter jets to Pakistain in an attempt to bolster the two countries' relationship despite Washington's concerns about Pakistain's growing nuclear arsenal, according to a U.S. source familiar with the matter.
The aircraft sales, which the U.S. Congress could block, would be a symbolic step given Pakistain's already large fleet of fighter jets. The sales were first reported by the New York Times ...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... The U.S. wants Pakistain to commit to not using tactical nuclear weapons but Islamabad wants to keep its options open as a way of deterring a potential Indian attack, said Maria Sultan, head of the South Asian Strategic Stability Institute.
Pakistain says the U.S. is demanding unreasonable limits on its use of nuclear weapons and not offering much in return apart from a hazy promise to consider Pakistain as a recognized recipient of nuclear technology.
"Pakistain's nuclear programme is ... India-centric. And it exists to make war a non-option ... Tactical nuclear weapons block off this room (for war) completely," said a Pak security official with knowledge of the country's nuclear program. "No one can dictate what kind of weapons we will make or use."
Pakistain was working on developing a nuclear submarine, he added. "The goal is a sea-based second strike capability," he said, referring to a submarine that could carry nuclear warheads and strike in case land-based nuclear weapons were wiped out.
U.S. 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... met Sharif on Wednesday but State Department front man John Kirby declined to say whether a U.S. call for nuclear restraint was discussed.
Kirby told a regular news briefing Pakistain remained engaged with the international community on nuclear security and added: "We believe that they believe in the importance of nuclear security issues."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/25/2015 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Neither will we.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
10/25/2015 14:23 Comments ||
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#2
Send it back unchanged.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
10/25/2015 15:39 Comments ||
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#3
They know obama will not do shit about it
Posted by: chris ||
10/25/2015 20:07 Comments ||
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#4
I'm intrepretiing this as Co-Superpower Iran rival PAKISTAN's recognition of waging not worse than LIMITED WAR andor LIMITED NUCLEAR WAR - Tactical or Strategic - in this Obama-ian AGE/ERA OF [Us-led Anti-US]OWG-GLOBALISM".
[Rudaw] Kurdish officials have welcomed Brett McGurk's appointment as the new Special Presidential Envoy to the anti-ISIS International Coalition, praising his efforts in combatting the radical group.
"I congratulate @brett_mcgurk for his appointment as Presidential Envoy for Global Coalition on ISIL and thank Gen Allen for his service," wrote Masrour Barzani, Chancellor of the Kurdistan Region's Security Council.
McGurk, who served as General John Allen's deputy since September 2014, has led the global coalition campaign against 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.... (ISIS) with frequent visits to Erbil where the US military maintains a base.
"Brett has been with General Allen at every key moment in his campaign and has long been one of my most trusted advisers on Iraq," said the US president in a statement on Friday.
"I have also asked him {McGurk} to work closely with my national security team to strengthen our partnership with Iraq and work intensively with regional partners to bring an end to the civil war in Syria, which continues to fuel ISL and other krazed killer groups," added Obama.
In a tweet, Bayan Sami Abdul Rahman, KRG representative in Washington also congratulated McGurk on his new post.
For his part, McGurk played a key role during multiparty talks on the Kurdish presidential crisis in August.
According to Hevidar Ahmed, Rudaw correspondent at the meetings, McGurk worked tirelessly to bring the Kurdish to an agreement.
"Ambassador McGurk was respected by all parties," Ahmed reported. "He was running from one room to another to urge parties to reach a consensus. Whenever he saw two parties engaging in a dialogue, he hurried to calm them down and help the talks continue."
President B.O. announced the formation of an international coalition to fight against ISIS last September; days after the krazed killer group overran Iraq's second largest city djinn-infested Mosul ... the home of a particularly ferocious and hairy djinn... .
Sixty-five countries have signed up to the International Coalition, including The Sick Man of Europe Turkey ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... and several Arab Gulf states.
[AlArabiya] A U.S.-backed military operation that freed 70 hostages who had been held by ISIS in Iraq produced a cache of intelligence, and U.S. forces supporting Iraqi troops are likely to undertake more raids in the future, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said on Friday.
Carter said he decided on the rescue mission after intelligence showed that executions were imminent and mass graves had been dug.
"When we find opportunities to do things that will effectively prosecute the campaign we're going to do that ... raids is one of those categories and I suspect that we'll have further opportunities in the future and we're going to avail ourselves of them," Carter said.
The U.S.-led coalition against ISIS will also intensify its assault on the group's oil production and sales enterprise, Carter said, pointing as an example to a recent strike against a pump station and site for crude oil production in eastern Syria.
Overseeing those efforts will be Lieutenant General Sean MacFarland, who Carter placed in charge of counter-ISIS activities in Iraq and Syria. Three general had previously shared responsibility.
MacFarland pioneered the use of a Sunni force called Sahwa (Awakening) that worked with U.S. troops to defeat al-Qaeda in Iraq six years ago, Carter said.
"His efforts will be critical in the coming months as we continue to provide support for capable partners fighting on the front lines," Carter said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/25/2015 00:16 ||
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#1
Ok fine, just don't forget the ambush over the Wardak Province on Aug. 6, 2011 that led to the crash of a CH-47 Chinook and loss of 30 American lives.
#4
All well and good, but we'll need more than 3500 of our people in Iraq if we're going to do this.
Had we kept 12K or so there back in 2009 instead of pulling out, we wouldn't be putting up with this today, and duty in Iraq would be like duty in South Korea in the 1960s.
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/25/2015 10:02 Comments ||
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#5
Ditto Dr. White. A healthy 'Quick Reaction Force' (QRF) numbering 2-3 times the size of of the raiding force must be available. The QRF must be in-country and ready to board helos immediately, or already airborne. Medical EVAC and Tactical Air Support must also be on station or stand-by.
These are complex, high risk operations that must be well thought out and enjoy the highest degree of operational security. Expect Friendly Killed in Action (FKIA) and MIA. It's simply the cost of doing this type of business.
#6
And it would also seem to me that you'd need an officer who can launch the QRF without having to ask Champ. Since Champ's OODA loop can be measured in geologic time.
Posted by: Matt ||
10/25/2015 11:52 Comments ||
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#7
Whatever yields good PR, eh?
When the New York Times, the Washington Post and Foreign Policy are all shuffling to the far end of the political room near the door, you send the SecDef over with a tray of free drinks and canapes.
#8
It is funny they announce this now while the Prez vetos military cash.
It is never fun on a 90 day acquisition process to have to wait for funds. Supporting this logistically is - how do you say - negligible
Yes, that is a familiar headline, dear Reader. Only last Wednesday we had a report from the Iraqi joint military spokesman announcing that the town had been retaken. But that is only a step toward victory, you see.
Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi said Friday that the town of Baiji is free from 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.... (ISIS) murderous Moslems after several months of fierce battles, describing it as "a valuable victory".
Abadi who met with army and Shiite militia commanders known as Hashd al-Shaabi, said that the battle for Baiji proved the capabilities of the Iraqi forces.
"The battle for Baiji brought out the capacity of Iraqis and their persistence until they liberated their city which was embattled for seven months," said the Iraqi premier as quote by his public relations office.
Baiji, 210 kilometers north of Baghdad, is home to Iraq’s largest oil refinery in the Sunni province of Salahaddin.
Abadi sent condolences to families of soldiers and gunnies killed in battle, adding that the government would not abandon the people of Baiji and their rights.
"Without the sacrifice and the blood of the deaders such a victory would not have been achieved," Abadi emphasized.
Meanwhile, ...back at the laboratory, Igor and Oleg were discussing what the quickest way might be to deal with the monster... a Shiite militia officer said that his forces were cleaning up roads in the area of explosives and landmines planted by ISIS.
"Iraqi forces cleared downtown Baiji and bomb disposal teams are working to defuse bombs laid in the streets and homes in the town," Karim Nuri, a spokesperson for militia told Rudaw following the town's recapture.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
10/25/2015 00:00 ||
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The bias in this AFP article is pretty darned blatant...
Jerusalem (AFP) - Until recently it took Abu Amr four minutes to drive his son to school. Now, because of security checkpoints aimed at combating a wave of attacks on Israelis, it takes 40.
Cause and effect, however, never crosses Abu's mind...
Concrete blocks and partitions have been set up around his Palestinian neighbourhood of Jabel Mukaber, which came under the spotlight earlier this month when police said the killers of three Israelis were residents of the area.
To pass through these new obstacles in occupied east Jerusalem, Abu Amr must abandon his car and go on foot, but only after identity and other checks. Men must lift their shirts to show they are not carrying a weapon or a bomb. Women must open their bags to be searched by police.
Responding to attacks in which eight Israelis have died so far this month, Israeli security forces have deployed into Palestinian areas and erected obstacles to control residents' movements. The United Nations says that 38 barriers, including 17 checkpoints, have sprung up in nine Palestinian neighbourhoods, disrupting the daily lives of at least 138,000 Palestinians.
Perhaps if those Paleos got control of their evil compatriots things could work differently...
On a recent day, Abu Amr, 34, needed to pick up the boy from school and take him to a doctor's appointment. He was running late and fuming at "the collective punishment which is the manifestation of the racist discrimination" by Israel in east Jerusalem.
Collective punishment is done when the entire population is behaving stupidly. There are too many knife, gun and bomb happy Paleos out there.
Jabel Mukaber was home to three Palestinians who allegedly killed three Israelis in two separate attacks in Jerusalem before being killed by security forces.
Israeli authorities started building a wall there this week to create a buffer for an adjacent Jewish neighbourhood where "there is a history of stone and firebomb throwing at Jewish homes and cars," the municipality said. Work on the barrier, which was to have run for 300 metres (yards), soon ground to a halt amid internal Israeli political squabbles but Palestinian residents remain fearful.
"What do they want to do with the wall if not to isolate our neighbourhood?" asks Tareq Auissat.
The 24-year-old bus driver says that the section already erected stops him taking passengers more than 500 metres.
"I drop them at a checkpoint then they take another bus," from the other side to east Jerusalem's city centre.
"Normally the journey takes 25 minutes," he adds. "Now with the roadblocks and searches you need to allow an hour or 90 minutes."
In the Issawiya neighbourhood stand identical concrete blocks and armed soldiers block all roads in.
"Every day we're late for university or school," says 19-year-old student Mumen Rabi. "We're late for everything. It's a punishment inflicted on all the residents of Issawiya."
How many of your pals are out there throwing rocks at the Israelis?
It comes, locals say, on top of decades of discrimination and marginalisation of Palestinians in Jerusalem, where more than 300,000 of them live.
There's a solution to that: keep throwing rocks and the Paleo population will dwindle rapidly to zero...
Construction is almost impossible because building permits are issued by Israel in a trickle, while demolition of unlicenced Palestinian homes increases.
Among them live 200,000 Israeli settlers, encouraged to build because Israel considers Jerusalem as its "eternal and indivisible capital". The Israeli municipal council officially manages all of the city but its services actually stop at the edge of the Palestinian neighbourhoods.
The Palestinians living there are almost entirely designated as residents rather than citizens. They do not have the vote in national Israeli elections nor do they hold Israeli passports, travelling instead on documents issued by neighbouring Jordan.
"We pay taxes... but no one is interested in us," says Abu Amr. "Infrastructure in the east (of the city) is zero! We have no social care, no education, no development, no economy. We don't have job security either."
Would you like to become an Israeli?
Mohammed Abu al-Homos, a member of the Issawiya neighbourhood council, points to the street sweepers busy at work in the neighbouring Jewish colony of French Hill.
"Here, they do nothing at all, while there, they clean the pavements."
Palestinian cartographer Khalil Tufakji says the two sides of the holy city occupy parallel universes.
"West Jerusalem lives in the 21st century, but east Jerusalem is stuck in the 15th century,' he tells AFP. To move from one side to the other, he says, is to cross "a cultural divide".
"One passes from one world to another which is totally different."
Posted by: Steve White ||
10/25/2015 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[5 views]
Top|| File under:
#1
"What do they want to do with the wall if not to isolate our neighbourhood?" asks Tareq Auissat.
EXACTLY, Asshole
Posted by: Frank G ||
10/25/2015 11:09 Comments ||
Top||
#2
Don't murder people, then the checkpoints will be lifted, this apply's to folks who simply turn away and "See nothing".
You want to live, apply the saying "Live,and let live"
Posted by: Redneck Jim ||
10/25/2015 12:30 Comments ||
Top||
#3
There's gotta be some level of enjoyment in "stirring the paleostinians", I like to drive my Baby cat Batshit Crazy from time to time, I get a few cuts but she gets good exercise.
A taste from a long (3200 words) bit of analysis, including Israeli politics.
[Ynet] IDF troops that entered Shuafat refugee camp this week had to withdraw after encountering dozens of armed militants; this is only an example of what might happen when Fatah's armed wing, Tanzim, joins the fight against Israel. And they won't do with just knives: There are thousands of weapons all over East Jerusalem.
When senior Paleostinian security officials want to mock their Israeli colleagues, they remind them that just in Qalandiya - an area controlled by Israel - there are at least 400 M-16 rifles. That figure does not incluide other weapons - guns, explosives and grenades - that are in the hands of holy warrior groups there. Some of these groups are affiliated with Fatah's Tanzim, some are affiliated with other organizations, and others belong to criminal organizations - all operating in this no man's land, where no law applies.
These gunnies have no problem with appearing on camera, on Channel 2 for example, just as they had no quams about opening fire at an IDF force that went into Qalandiya last Saturday to arrest a wanted man who already spent a year and a half in prison.
"So are YOU going to go in there and get the weapons out, or are you going to leave it to us?" the Israeli security officials respond in anger whenever anyone accuses them of sitting on their hands and doing nothing - implying that the Israeli security forces are afraid to enter a refugee camp under their control in order to demilitarize the Tanzim.
Even Israel admits that there is an arsenal of some 3,000 weapons inside the Shaufat refugee camp. The figure includes M-16 and kalashnikov assault rifles, grenades, and IEDs (improvised bombs).
Last Saturday night, an army force entered the camp to take measurements of a home set to be demolished. Several dozen gunnies surrounded the building and made it abundantly clear that they were willing to die in order to stop the structure from being demolished. This is the mood in Paleostinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem. The army will have to come back there, with more forces, in order to complete preparations. And now it's clear that demolishing terrorists' homes - a countermeasure promised by the Israeli government - will entail fighting dozens of gunnies who have been left unchecked for years.
[IsraelTimes] Conflicting reports over message conveyed from Jerusalem by Kerry to Abbas amid efforts to end terror wave
Israel on Saturday evening denied Paleostinian claims that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has agreed not to issue "new building plans" at West Bank settlements, as part of efforts to calm tensions and end a wave of Paleostinian terror attacks.
According to Paleostinian sources quoted by the Ynet news site, US Secretary of State John Kerry relayed this pledge from Netanyahu to Paleostinian Authority President the ineffectual Mahmoud Abbas ... a graduate of the prestigious unaccredited Patrice Lumumba University in Moscow with a doctorate in Holocaust Denial... when they met in Amman on Saturday. In a similar report, the Al-Araby al-Jadeed website said Netanyahu had agreed to "a silent freeze" in settlement building, but would continue to issue new building tenders in order not to destroy his coalition.
An Israeli official quickly denied any government commitment to freezing settlements, according to the Israeli Walla news site. A similar denial was reported by Israeli newspaper Maariv, which quoted a senior Israeli official as saying that, "there is no commitment of this nature."
Responding to various steps reportedly promised by Netanyahu to help calm tensions, Al-Araby al-Jadeed quoted Abbas saying that "if the Israeli moves are serious, it will be possible to make progress."
At a presser two weeks ago, called to assure Israelis that the government was capable of thwarting the ongoing wave of Paleostinian terrorism, Netanyahu said it was "common sense" for him not to risk alienating parts of the international community by announcing new settlement building in response to the terror surge, as many of his right-wing coalition colleagues have demanded. Nobody needed to teach him lessons about the value of settlements, he declared, but his prime obligation was to the security of Israel's citizens.
On Tuesday, furthermore, Netanyahu announced sorrowfully that settlement construction had slowed on his watch, compared to previous prime ministers, to an annual average of 1,500 new units.
In Jordan on Saturday, Kerry announced that Israel and Jordan had agreed on various steps aimed at reducing tensions at the Temple Mount in Jerusalem.
The steps include round-the-clock video monitoring and Israel reaffirming Jordan's special and historic role as custodian of the site, known to Muslims as Haram al-Sharif or the Noble Sanctuary, Kerry said.
Netanyahu was to announce details of the measures later Saturday, Kerry said.
Ten Israelis have been killed and dozens injured in a string of Paleostinian terror attacks since the beginning of the month. At least 50 Paleostinians have also died, many while carrying out stabbing attacks on Israelis, and others in festivities with security forces.
[Rudaw] Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov said his country is ready to provide air support to the Free Syrian Army ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) who are also supported by the US-led International Coalition.
In an interview aired on Russian State TV on Saturday, the Russian foreign minister said that their air force, which started attacking 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.... (ISIS) positions in Syria early October, is ready to help FSA as well.
"We are ready to back the patriotic opposition, including the so-called Free Syrian Army, with our air support. However, denial ain't just a river in Egypt... Washington is refusing to inform us of the location of the Lions of Islam and where the opposition is based," Lavrov told Russian state TV.
The FSA has long condemned the Russian Arclight airstrikes, claiming that they, not ISIS, have been the main target of the attacks.
Lavrov's offer comes after one day of quadrilateral talks in Vienna between US, Russian, Turkish and Saudi foreign ministers on seeking a political settlement for the Syria crisis.
"External players cannot decide anything for the Syrians. We must force them to come up with a plan for their country where the interests of every religious, ethnic and political group will be well protected," Lavrov was quoted as saying.
Posted by: Sven the pelter ||
10/25/2015 15:42 Comments ||
Top||
#6
Despite FM Sergei Lavrov proclaoming that Putin's FlyBoyz will support anyone whom fights the Islamic State, the FSA is repor rejecting Russia's offer of CAS.
* See RUSSIA TODAY > "RUSSIA AFTER TERROR GROUPS IN SYRIA, HITTING [only?] CONFIRMED [Terrorist] TRAGETS" - MINISTRY OF DEFENCE TO RT.
* TOPIX, WORLD NEWS > FSA REJECTS RUSSIA SUPPORT AGZ ISIS, NEW ELECTIONS.
VERSUS
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [[Middle East Eye. Net] IRAQ AUTHORIZES RUSSIA TO STRIKE ISLAMIC STATE INSIDE COUNTRY [ISIS Troop-Cargo Convoys entering Iraq from Syria].
ARTIC > IRAQ = also proclaims that US-led Airstrikes were TOO SLOW + INEFFECTIVE.
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.
