[AnNahar] NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A collection of multinational and multilingual and multicultural armed forces, all of differing capabilities, working toward a common goal by pulling in different directions... officials have voiced doubt over claims that 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 behind a fatal bombing last week billed as the first major attack by the jihadists in Afghanistan.
The bombing on Saturday destroyed a crowd of government officials waiting to draw their salaries outside the Kabul Bank in the eastern city of Jalalabad, killing at least 34 people and wounding more than 100.
It was the most lethal bombing in the country to be claimed by bandidos myrmidons allegedly allied with the IS group, which has captured swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq but has never formally acknowledged having a presence in Afghanistan.
But Resolute Support, the new name for the NATO mission in Afghanistan, has expressed doubt over any IS link to the Jalalabad attack.
"We have not yet seen evidence of (IS) direction or support of the attacks," Resolute Support front man Christopher Belcher said in a statement this week.
"Jalalabad continues to be an area with significant Taliban influence and this attack fits the pattern of past Taliban attacks in the region -- underscoring that this attack does not represent a fundamental change in the security environment."
The Taliban, which distanced itself from Saturday's attack, have seen defections in recent months -- with some bandidos myrmidons apparently adopting the IS flag to rebrand themselves as a more lethal force as NATO troops depart.
But analysts doubt whether they have the ideological and logistical backing of His Supreme Immensity, Caliph of the Faithful and Galactic Overlord, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi ...formerly merely the head of ISIL and a veteran of the Bagram jailhouse. Looks like a new messiah to bajillions of Moslems, like just another dead-eyed mass murder to the rest of us... , the self-proclaimed caliph of the Islamic State, which is struggling to retain territory in Syria and Iraq.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/24/2015 00:00 ||
Comments ||
Link ||
[2 views]
Top|| File under: Islamic State
#1
this attack does not represent a fundamental change in the security environment
[Ynet] 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... , Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates deposited $6 billion with Egypt's central bank on Wednesday, the bank's governor said, a sign the Gulf powers remain committed to propping up the Egyptian economy.
"Today ... $2 billion from each state came into the country's foreign exchange holdings," governor Hisham Ramez told Rooters in a telephone interview
"The interest on the deposits is 2.5 percent and maturities range from three to five years," Ramez said.
[Ynet] Iranian ships are moving northeast away from Yemen, a US official said on Thursday after a convoy of Iranian cargo ships prompted US concerns that Tehran was sending weapons into region.
The official, speaking on condition of anonymity ... for fear of being murdered... , called the move a "promising sign" but said the United States would continue to monitor to see if the ship's course continued.
President Barack Obama If you have a small business, you didn't build that... said on Tuesday the US government had warned Iran not to send weapons to Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... that could be used to threaten shipping traffic in the Gulf.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/24/2015 00:00 ||
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Link ||
[12 views]
Top|| File under: Govt of Iran
#1
Not clear yet iff Iran's alleged arms supply convoy is indeed headed home, or more likely are waiting for Saudi-Iran or International diplomacy to work???
[AnNahar] Shopping malls in 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... have tightened security after the interior ministry issued a warning over possible attacks.
At the upscale Kingdom Center Mall in central Riyadh, security guards inspected bags and scanned visitors with metal detectors before they entered, an Agene La Belle France Presse news hound witnessed.
Inside the older Akaria Mall and office complex in the city center, guards also stopped visitors and searched their belongings.
At a suburban mall this week, a witness said they saw police cars deployed and officers inspecting the vehicles of arriving shoppers.
The new measures follow an interior ministry warning on Monday over a possible attack against a shopping centre or oil facilities.
A ministry front man said there was "an alert" involving a mall or oil installations but did not provide further details.
State-owned Saudi Aramco, the world's largest oil company in terms of crude production and exports based in the east of the kingdom, told AFP it had a policy of not commenting on matters concerning security.
Fears about possible Dire Revenge attacks by jihadists in the world's largest oil exporter have been raised since September when Saudi Arabia began taking part in U.S.-led air strikes 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.... group in Syria.
[AnNahar] Chinese nuclear experts believe North Korea may already have a nuclear arsenal of 20 warheads and the uranium enrichment capacity to double that figure by next year, the Wall Street Journal reported Thursday.
The estimate, which the Journal said was relayed to U.S. nuclear specialists in a closed-door meeting in February, is significantly higher than any previously known Chinese assessment.
It also exceeds recent estimates by U.S. experts which put the North's current arsenal at between 10 and 16 nuclear weapons.
A leading expert on North Korea's nuclear programme, Siegfried Hecker, who attended the February meeting, said a sizeable North Korean stockpile would only compound the challenge the international community faces in persuading Pyongyang to denuclearise.
"The more they believe they have a fully functional nuclear arsenal and deterrent, the more difficult it's going to be to walk them back from that," Hecker told the Journal.
The Chinese estimate reflects growing concern in Beijing about the nuclear ambitions of its errant ally, and is the latest in a series of expert assessments that suggest Pyongyang is moving faster down the nuclear path than previously thought.
A recent report by U.S. researchers warned that North Korea appeared poised to expand its nuclear program over the next five years and, in a worst case scenario, could possess 100 atomic arms by 2020.
North Korea carried out nuclear tests in 2006, 2009 and 2013, and has an extremely active ballistic missile development program, although expert opinion is split on how much progress it has made.
In 2012, Pyongyang demonstrated its rocket capabilities by sending a satellite into orbit, but it has yet to conduct a test that would show it had mastered the re-entry technology required for an inter-continental ballistic missile (ICBM).
The other key question is how close the North is to being able to miniaturise a nuclear device that could be fitted on the tip of a missile.
In a white paper published in January, the South Korean defense ministry said the North had already taken its miniaturization technology to a "significant" level.
#1
Not that I believe that NOKOR's nuclear arsenal is controlled by NOKOR per se, but for what its worth ...
* See also RELATED BIGNEWSNETWORK > [BNN = WSJ] US WARNED OF NORTH KOREA NUCLEAR PREPAREDNESS [NucArsenal size] BY CHINESE EXPERTS | NORTH KOREA COULD DOUBLE ITS NUCLEAR ARSENAL TO 40 WARHEADS IN 2016.
Wid potens for 50-100 Warheads over next 5 years, i.e. by 2020.
VERSUS
* TOPIX > [Switched] THE "PEARL HARBORS": CHINA'S PORT DIPLOMACY.
#2
"said a sizeable North Korean stockpile would only compound the challenge the international community faces in persuading Pyongyang to denuclearize"
Wow. The Masters of the Obvious at Oyster Bay must have had a brainstorming session of major proportions to have arrived at that deduction.
If the Chinese are that concerned about it, why don't the Chinese do something about it? I mean, they're right next door and everything. (Using the NK's as the pit bull that you use to threaten the neighbors turns out to have a downside.)
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/24/2015 7:36 Comments ||
Top||
#3
Maybe the Chicoms are putting on a front of "concern" about this issue. If they were really worried about it, they would have toppled Kimmie and Co years ago. I do not believe their so-called concern.
Posted by: Alaska Paul ||
04/24/2015 11:43 Comments ||
Top||
#4
That we've lived to see this: complacent USA is warned by Communist China about NK nuclear arsenal.
#5
OTOH this may induce NOKOR = Pudgy to move closer to the US-Allies, as China's warning may backfire and only convince NOKOR more that China will play innocent after it orders NOKOR to attack US-Allied Milbases, Assets once a decision for war is made - NOKOR GETS THE BLAME + CASUALTIES, CHINA GETS THE GLORY + BENEFIT???
As per the South China Sea, looks like things between China + Manila, Tokyo are steadily approaching a zenith = point-of-no-return ..
* VARIOUS BIGNEWSNETWORK = [GMA News]... ...
> PHILIPPINES WON'T HEED CHINA'S CALL STOP FISHING IN PANATAG SHOAL.
> AFP ACUSES CHINA OF "AGGRESSIVE ACTION" AGAINST PH NAVY PLANE IN WEST PHILIPPINE SEA.
> PM ABE TO TELL US JAPAN IS READY FOR BIGGER [World = International] SECURITY ROLE.
ARTIC > Nippon Professor TOSHIHIRO NAKAYAMA = "US BACKING DOWN + NOT COMING TO JAPAN'S AID IS THE BIGGEST THREAT", to Japan + Regional/NE Asia Security.
* CHINESE MILITARY FORUM > [Forbes] XI-ABE MEETING IN JAKARTA: NO THAW AS ABE TRAVELS TO WASHINGTON, CHINA-JAPAN RELATIONS WORSENING.
Winds of War???
D *** NG IT, THIS LOOKS LIKE A JOB FOR "SUPER/
SWEET-C" CAROLINE KENNEDY!
* MANILA TIMES > "GO FISH IN PANATAG BUT BE ON ALERT".
PH BFAR to PH Fishermen.
PH DARING CHINA TO OPEN FIRE + MASSACRE ITS FISHERMEN???
[AnNahar] An Islamic center in Australia linked with several men accused of terrorism-related offences shut down Thursday, citing harassment and "insidious campaigns" against it.
The Al-Furqan Islamic Center in Melbourne came under increased scrutiny after five men were placed in durance vile Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! last weekend over an alleged plot to attack Anzac Day commemorations on April 25 -- when Australia honors its war dead.
Police said at the time that "Al-Furqan and a number of other centers around Australia have come to our attention".
It's that old correlation/causation thingy...
Two of the teenagers, Sevdet Besim and Harun Causevic, have been charged with conspiring to commit a terrorist act while another faces weapons offences. The others were released pending further inquiries.
The young men were associates of Numan Haider, who was rubbed out after stabbing two anti-terror coppers in September, police said. Haider had visited the Al-Furqan center.
"This statement is to announce that, effective immediately, Al-Furqan Islamic Centre is ceasing its activities and closing its doors," the center, run by holy man Harun Mehicevic, said in a statement on its website.
"We believe that given the constant harassment, pressure and false accusations leveled against the center -- particularly by media and politicians -- this is the best course of action."
It added that shutting down was for "the protection of the local community, its members, and the broader Moslem community that is often implicated in these insidious campaigns".
After the raids on Saturday, Al-Furqan distanced itself from the men.
"We wish to clarify that there was no connection between Al-Furqan center and these raids, and that claims to the contrary are unfounded and misleading," it said.
The Melbourne Age newspaper and other media reported that Australia's most senior 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.... recruiter in Syria, Neil Prakash, also used to visit the centre before leaving Australia in 2013.
In a video posted online this week, Prakash, also known as Abu Khaled al-Cambodi, urged "brothers of Islam" to stage terror attacks on Australian soil, while speaking of "my dear brother Numan".
Australia raised its threat level to "high" last September and has since carried out a series of counter-terrorism raids, with alarm fueled by the departure of more than 100 of its nationals to Iraq and Syria to fight with jihadists.
#1
Furqan is the title of the 25th sura of the Koran. It means "lawful". It also means trouble, because wherever you find a Furqan mosque trouble seems to follow.
[AnNahar] Global oil prices rebounded to a four-month peak Thursday as Saudi-led coalition warplanes launched new strikes in Yemen, stoking new supply concerns over the crude-rich Middle East.
But that peak is still fairly low, I think, which means continued reduced income to spend on various jihadi adventures for both Saudi Arabia, et al and Iran.
Brent North Sea crude for delivery in June delivery soared to $65.13 per barrel.
The contract later stood at $64.86 in London late afternoon deals, up $2.13 from Wednesday's closing level.
U.S. benchmark West Texas Intermediate for June meanwhile jumped $1.78 to $57.95 a barrel
"Crude oil prices rebounded to reach four-month highs following news that 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... renewed its aerial assault in Yemen ...an area of the Arabian Peninsula sometimes mistaken for a country. It is populated by more antagonistic tribes and factions than you can keep track of. Except for a tiny handfull of Jews everthing there is very Islamic... to target the Iranian catspaws," said energy analyst Myrto Sokou at the Sucden brokerage in London.
"Brent front month futures rallied ... amid renewed concerns of potential disruption in oil shipping across Middle East."
Crude futures had fallen Wednesday after weekly U.S. petroleum data showed higher crude inventories but marginally lower production.
U.S. commercial crude reserves in the period ending April 17 rose for the 15th straight week, adding 5.3 million barrels, the Department of Energy said Wednesday.
It said the increase lifts U.S. oil supplies to the highest level on record.
However, if you can't say something nice about a person some juicy gossip will go well... production slipped by 18,000 barrels a day, following a 20,000 barrel drop in the previous week.
"We ... remain bullish on oil and this hinges on the U.S. crude inventories," said Daniel Ang, analyst at Phillip Futures in Singapore.
Dealers are hoping a slowdown in U.S. shale output could alleviate a global crude oversupply, which led to a collapse in prices of more than 50 percent between June and January.
This seems out of character for our beloved president. I wonder what triggered it?
[AnNahar] President Barack Obama I am not a dictator!... revealed Thursday that an American and an Italian hostage were accidentally killed in a covert U.S. counter-terrorism operation near the Afghan-Pakistain border in January, taking "full responsibility" for the tragedy.
A senior al-Qaeda leader, an American, was also killed in the operation and the group's English-language front man, U.S. convert Adam Gadahn, died in a separate strike.
Continued on Page 49
#1
For me, the curious part (aside from Obama taking responsibility) is this happened back in January. Seems like a bit of delay, even for our ponderous bureaucracy.
#2
Ditto the Bammer per the South China Sea, iff SHTF between China + Philippines, etc.???
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > US ABANDONS PHILIPPINES TO CHINA WRATH AFTER ENCOURAGING ANTI-CHINA PROVOCATION | AFP CHIEF [Catapang]: WE'RE ON OUR OWN AGZ CHINA | ABS-CBN NEWS.
Premises underlying or as defined in 1951 US-PHIL Mutual Defense Treaty vs EDCA.
* TOPIX > CHINA DENIES WARSHIP FIRED UPON PAF AIRCRAFT IN DISPUTED SEA.
* MANILA BULLETIN > PHILIPPINES ACCUSES CHINA COAST GUARD OF ARMED ROBBERY, of PH Fishermen at disputed Scarborough Shoal.
China CG accused of forcibly taking their personals + fish haul.
* SAME > NO TRUTH TO REPORT OF PAF AIRCRAFT DOWNED BY CHINESE SHIP - AFP.
* GMA NEWS > CHINESE WARSHIP WARNS PHILIPINE PATROL PLANE [strong searchlight beam] IN DISPUTED SEA.
--------------
I knew something was up when I read about China telling the Philippines to "educate" or better educate its fishermen on China's + Maritime rights in the region, + to not fish in China's sovereign territory.
Historical sign of escalation towards de facto Military Confrontation + ultimately Conflict.
#13
So the US drone struck an AQ compound and AQ had some hostages hidden in the compound who were killed during the strike. Do I have it wrong? Our president has no idea when and when not to apologize. He should have said it was regrettable that AQ had hostages at the site that were killed during the action. If the US knew where the hostages were we would attempt a rescue. Why is he blaming America for the terrorists acts. If a civilian is hurt during a bank robbery it is a regretful event, but not the police's fault. The fault falls on the bank robber. Obama is a sophomoric fool...
Posted by: 49 Pan ||
04/24/2015 19:30 Comments ||
Top||
#14
* FREEREPUBLIC this AM > [American Thinker] IS OBAMA ARMING IRAN FOR A SECRET REASON.
and
* TOPIX > [Various] CHARLES KRAUTHAMMER: OBAMA AIDING IRAN'S RISE TO A REGIONAL POWER.
D *** NG, WHY, CHUCKY, WHY, WHATE-V-A-R! COULD IT BE???
lol.
FYI Charles I wouldn't call or describe Iran being a OWG Globalist-desired, "US-style", Nuclear CO-SUPERPOWER the same as being a lessor "Regional Power" or even a "Great Power".
As a reminder, SSSSHHHH ... PCCCCCCC US-LED ANTI-US OWG-NWO GLOBALISM = "PARITY" WID THE SOON-TO-
BE-CO-SUPERPOWER USA [One of Many Same], N-O-T
"INFERIORITY" WID THE CO-SUPERPOWER USA.
In reality there will, of course, be differentiations between the future Co-Superpowers, but the above is the Ideal or Agendum.
[AnNahar] Jordan's 20-year-old crown prince on Thursday called for measures to prevent the world's youth from being "lured into the dark world" of Islamic forces of Evil as he became the youngest person ever to chair a Security Council meeting.
Crown Prince Hussein bin Abdullah presided over the debate on the role of youth in countering violent extremism during Jordan's monthly presidency of the 15-member council.
Jordan will host an international conference in August to encourage young peacemakers to confront extremism and terrorism, he said.
An interesting approach...
After more blah-blah, the reporter gets to the meat of the thing:
The council heard from anthropologist Scott Atran who described 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 and al-Qaeda as "the world's most dynamic countercultural movement," drawing youths from many places into the "most potent extraterritorial fighting force since World War II."
...which may explain former president Clinton's approach the other day.
Peter Neumann, an expert on radicalism, reported to the council on his work with imported muscle in Iraq and Syria, telling them thon the lam numbers of women were now joining in the fighting.
Interviews with the imported muscle showed that many felt excluded in their European countries and that this "opened their minds" to the jihadist recruiters' message.
I suspect our expert may have got that backwards.
A recent U.N. report showed an increase in the number of imported muscle from last year, with more than 25,000 foreign jihadists from more than 100 countries now involved in armed conflicts.
Self-selected romantics, nutters and psychopaths throwing themselves into Darwin's shredder for the inadvertent improvement of the species.
A large number of fighters are traveling from Tunisia, Morocco, La Belle France and Russia, but the report cited new flows of jihadists from the Maldives, Finland, Trinidad and Tobago, as well as from some countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
Always good to know such things.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[6 views]
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#1
Jordan will host an international conference in August to encourage young peacemakers to confront extremism and terrorism, he said.
Something of a 'Occupy Wallstreet', but of a different flavor? The children can legally leave their countries then be "lured into the dark world".
[Rudaw] One thousand rocket-propelled grenades [RPG] have been sent to Erbil and 36 F-16 warplanes will be shipped to Baghdad, US Ambassador Stuart Jones said at a presser held in Baghdad on Thursday.
"The US congress has allocated more than $1.6 billion to arm nine Iraqi Army divisions and in upcoming months the US will hand over the weapons to Iraq. At the same time, 1,000 RPGs have been sent to Erbil," Jones said.
The US envoy also spoke on the alleged links between Shiite militias, known as Hashd al-Shaabi (Popular Mobilization Units), and the Iranian government.
"Hashd al-Shaabi forces should be under the control of the Iraqi forces command," he said.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
04/24/2015 00:00 ||
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[5 views]
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#1
In other words "Screw the Kurds" remains the unofficial policy.
[US News] WASHINGTON (AP) -- The chairman of a House committee investigating the 2012 attacks on Americans in Benghazi, Libya, on Thursday called former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton to testify at a public hearing next month, setting up a high-profile showdown over Clinton's use of a private email account and server while she was secretary of state.
Rep. Trey Gowdy, R-S.C., said he wants Clinton to testify the week of May 18 and again before June 18. The first hearing would focus on Clinton's use of private emails, and the second on the September 2012 attacks that killed four Americans, including the U.S. ambassador to Libya.
"With her cooperation and that of the State Department and (Obama) administration, Secretary Clinton could be done with the Benghazi Committee before the Fourth of July," Gowdy said in a statement.
It is necessary to call Clinton to appear twice "because the committee needs to ensure we have a complete and responsive record and all the facts before we then substantively question her on the Benghazi terrorist attacks," Gowdy said.
#1
Have to be later in the week. May 18th is dark of the moon, and she has important blood sacrifices election duties to deal with. But she will bring you some fresh curses apples to eat.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
04/24/2015 7:40 Comments ||
Top||
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.
[Ynet] Iranian ships are moving northeast away from Yemen, a US official said on Thursday after a convoy of Iranian cargo ships prompted US concerns that Tehran was sending weapons into region.
North Korea
