[DAWN] 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 is recruiting fighters in Afghanistan, but they are not yet operational, said the commander of foreign forces in the country on Saturday.
There have been fears of IS making inroads in Afghanistan since United States-led NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... forces ended their combat mission late last year, after 13 years of fighting myrmidons.
"There's recruiting going on in Afghanistan, there is recruiting going on in Pakistain. There is money being passed back and forth," said General John F Campbell, the commander of NATO forces in the country.
The Middle Eastern group, also known as Daesh, has never formally acknowledged a presence in Afghanistan and most self-styled IS bully boyz in the country are believed to be Taliban turncoats rebranding themselves to appear a more lethal force.
While some Taliban members may be switching allegiance, the two groups, which espouse different ideological strains of Sunni Islam, are believed to be arrayed against each other in Afghanistan's restive south, with festivities frequently reported.
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[Tolo News] Lawmakers in Parliament on Sunday weighed in on the ongoing threat posed by anti-government armed forces in various parts of the country, despite security officials' costly attempts to neutralize them. Clashes with bully boyz are reportedly taking place in 15 different provinces.
While the multi-front Zulfiqar operation has come to an end after 60 days, security institutions have said that operations are still ongoing in Sangeen district of Helmand ...an Afghan province populated mostly by Pashtuns, adjacent to Injun country in Pak Balochistan... province and in other areas such as Musa Qala of Helmand, Wardooj and Jurm of Badakhshan, Nawa of Ghazni, Shindand of Herat ...a venerable old Persian-speaking city in western Afghanistan, populated mostly by Tadjiks, which is why it's not as blood-soaked as areas controlled by Pashtuns... and Baghlan province.
Obaidullah Barekzai, the Chairman of the Lower House's Commission for Reviewing Complaints, was the most outspoken about his doubts regarding the effectiveness of the national security forces. According to him, every day tens of Afghan citizens are killed because of violence between the military, police and Lion of Islams.
"Before starting an operation, the area must be studied by the investigation teams, and the security forces must close the escape routes to anti-government armed forces," Barekzai said on Sunday. "But whenever the government has an operation, they announce it a week in advance on the radio and TV, as they have with operations such as Shaheen, Zulf-e-qar or Uqab, which is a serious problem itself," he added.
As Barekzai sees it, the Afghan military makes it too easy for anti-government gangs to slip away from forces and transverse provincial borders around the country. "In many areas where the government has defeated the enemy, the forces then leave the area, which shows a lack of government commitment for eliminating anti-government gangs," he said.
Meanwhile, ...back at the pound, the little lost dog backed into the corner and showed its teeth. And what big teeth they were!... spokespeople at the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and Ministry of Interior (MoI) maintained that they have made progress and inflicted major damage on krazed killer groups this fighting season. In addition to heavy losses, officials said anti-government groups have also had caches of weapons and ammo confiscated in recent days.
"Today we have 16 planned operations in 15 provinces, and these operations have been moving forward successfully," Ministry of Defense deputy front man Dawlat Waziri said. "Wherever we have seen a threat, the Ministry of Defense has prepared plans and eliminated enemies; for example, a major part of Kunduz city has been cleared now, and other provinces where we have had operations," he added.
Ministry of Interior front man Sediqi Sediqqi voiced a similar response. "Wherever the anti-government armed forces run, they will be chased down by the security forces," he told TOLOnews. "Every province that they go to, obviously we have security forces there, and one day, all the anti-government armed forces will be eliminated or locked away Book 'im, Mahmoud! by the ANSF."
According reports by MoD officials, most Lion of Islam casualties in recent few days have been Pak, Arabs, Uzbeks, Chechens and Uyghurs.
Security institutions have said that with the appointment of a new Minister of Defense, Chief of Army Staff and Deputy Minister of Defense, operations will be more precise and effective.
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[Shabelle] A lawmaker Yusuf Mohamed was reported to have been killed and another was injured by government forces on Maka Al Mukarama road in Mogadishu, security ministry spokesman said.
Somalia’s security ministry spokesman, Mohamed Yusuf told journalists that government soldiers sprayed fire on a car carrying 2 parliamentarians in Mogadishu, killing MP and injured another.
Mr. Mohamed denied that Al Shabaab militants carried out the assault in which killed legislator Yusuf Mohamed, describing Al Shabab claims as “absurd one”.
He stressed that Somalia National Intelligence and security agency forces injured at least 6 military troops who were accused of being behind the attack on the MPs in Mogadishu.
The incident was not targeted to the lawmakers but a committee has been appointed to investigate how the attack happened, according to security ministry spokesman, Mr. Yusuf.
The ministry’s word comes a day after Al Shabaab militants claimed to have killed Somalia MP and injured another one in a drive by shooting in Mogadishu.
[Shabelle] Commercialization of the conflict has stalled progress in the ongoing military offensive against the al-Shabaab ... Somalia's version of the Taliban, functioning as an arm of al-Qaeda... in Somalia, a Washington DC-based security expert has said.
Dr Vanda Felbab-Brown, a Brookings Institution senior fellow, said she discovered during a trip to Somalia in March, that President Hassan Sheikh Mohamoud "doesn't control [the security] forces" and remains beholden to clan-based politics.
She said Amisom troop-contributing countries operate independent of, and often at odds with, each other -- and without accountability to their joint command.
Uganda is one of the troop contributing countries to the African Union ...a union consisting of 53 African states, most run by dictators of one flavor or another. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established in 2002, the AU is the successor to the Organisation of African Unity (OAU), which was even less successful... Mission for Somalia (Amisom).
"Kenya and Æthiopia treat state building in Somalia with a lot of scepticism and instead prefer building buffer zones in Somalia," she said, citing the creation in 2013 in south of the country of the semi-autonomous Jubaland opposed to Mogadishu.
As an analyst of international and internal conflicts at the Brookings Institution's 21st Century Security and Intelligence programme, Dr Felbab-Brown's work spans Afghanistan, Mexico, Burma, Indonesia and eastern Africa.
She presented her grim assessment on May 21, during a talk at the Brookings Institution, Washington DC, on: Counterterrorism and state-building in Somalia: Progress or more of the same?
According to Dr Felbab-Brown, the rush for "quick money" has fanned rivalry and hostility among local businesses, which the al-Shabaab exploits. And decentralisation is replicating the central government's problems of favouritism and corruption that it was designed to cure, she said.
"The national army is poorly paid, a lot of times not paid, money is diverted, their access to intelligence is limited, the local population doesn't like the national forces," Dr Felbab-Brown said, "They don't like Amisom [troops either] and are seen to be ineffective which gives rise to demands by clans to have their own [militia] for protection, even against al-Shabaab."
What Amisom says
The First Secretary at Kenya's Washington DC embassy, Ms Agnes Kirui, attended the dialogue. In reply to Sunday Monitor's email inquiries, she, however, said only her ambassador could respond to allegations levelled against Kenya, including of human rights ...which often include carefully measured allowances of freedom at the convenience of the state... violations by Kenya Defence Force in Kismayo and its officers profiteering from illegal charcoal trading.
The head of Amisom, Ambassador Mama Sidikou, neither denied nor admit the claims by the US security expert. He only said "the Amisom troop contributing countries are coordinating their action better than ever and control and command are improving by the day."
"Funding Amisom and the Somali National Army do certainly need more to sustain efforts. It is about ensuring the gains of the past seven years are not lost and dislodging al-Shabaab from the remaining areas and ultimately creating the conducive environment for the 2016 elections. As for the Somali leadership, this is not Iraq or 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... or Syria," Sidikou told Sunday Monitor in an email from Nairobi yesterday.
There are 22,000 troops from 13 African countries, Uganda and Burundi being the pioneer and largest contributors, helping to defeat al- Shabaab. They expelled the fighters from the capital, Mogadishu, and have recaptured many towns and territories allowing for normality to return and businesses to thrive after decades of lawlessness.
Dr Felbab-Brown acknowledged that the security situation in Somalia is better today than four years ago, but suicide kabooms continue while Amisom remains "stuck" with troops reluctant to go after al-Shaboobs.
An unidentified source inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sudan said Sunday that negotiations for release of two unidentified Russian nationals kidnapped last January, have reached an impasse, according to a news report posted on NovoRusInform news service.
The two Russian pilots were working for the United Nations and the African Union, and were taken January 29th after the minibus they were traveling in was stopped and surrounded by unidentified armed suspects in six vehicles.
The two pilots were flying for UTair, which was under a United nations contract for transportation services.
Chris Covert writes about foreign military issues for Rantburg.com. He can be reached at grurkka@gmail.com and on Twitter. You can read past articles about the 2014 war in southeastern Ukraina by clicking here.
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] 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... 's top Sunni holy man on Saturday branded a deadly attack on Shiite Moslems a bid to sow chaos, after villagers targeted in the bombing vented their anger at what they saw as the Sunni-dominated government's indifference to their safety.
Thousands of protesters erupted into the streets of al-Qadeeh town on Friday evening, hours after a jacket wallah killed 21 worshippers in a packed Shiite mosque, the first attack in the conservative kingdom to be claimed by ISIS.
Demonstrators mourning the victims said security forces had left their communities unprotected, arguing that the official Wahhabi school of Sunni Islam inspires Sunni bandidosDeath Eaters and encourages intolerance of the kingdom's Shiite minority.
It was one of the deadliest assaults in recent years in the largest Gulf Arab country, where sectarian tensions have been aggravated by nearly two months of Saudi-led Arclight airstrikes on Shiite Houthi ...a Zaidi Shia insurgent group operating in Yemen. They have also been referred to as the Believing Youth. Hussein Badreddin al-Houthi is said to be the spiritual leader of the group and most of the military leaders are his relatives. The Yemeni government has accused the Houthis of having ties to the Iranian government, which wouldn't suprise most of us. The group has managed to gain control over all of Saada Governorate and parts of Amran, Al Jawf and Hajjah Governorates. Its slogan is God is Great, Death to America™, Death to Israel, a curse on the Jews ... rebels in neighboring Yemen.
The kingdom's top Sunni holy man, Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdulaziz Al al-Sheikh told state Al Ekhbariya TV on Saturday: "This totally criminal plot aims to split our ranks and sow chaos in our country but, God be praised, it will not find a way. The nation and society are united and under a wise leadership."
Sheikh Mohammed Obeidan, a top local Shiite holy man, urged followers not to give into their anger and maintain the peace.
"We'll stand before anyone who thinks that our creed is a cause for fear or worry ... mass prayer - in a calm, orderly way with self restraint - is the right way to respond to this corrupt force and hateful darkness," he told worshippers.
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] A boat carrying 460 tons of Emirati relief aid docked Sunday in Yemen's restive port city of Aden, as Saudi-led air raids against Iranian catspaws continued across the country.
The shipment, including medical and food supplies, is the second from the United Arab Emirates, which delivered last week 1,200 tons of relief aid, said local aid coordinator Ali al-Bikri.
Another ship carrying 400 tonnes of diesel also arrived on Friday, said Bikri, who was appointed by Yemen's government-in-exile.
The southern city, where President Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi took refuge until he fled to 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... , received nothing beyond those shipments by the Emirati Red Islamic Thingy, he said.
Aden has been scene to fierce fights between Iranian catspaws backed by troops loyal to former president President-for-Life Ali Abdullah Saleh ... Saleh initially took power as a strongman of North Yemen in 1977, when disco was in flower, but he didn't invite Donna Summer to the inauguration and Blondie couldn't make it... and southern fighters allied with exiled Hadi.
Clashes continued Sunday in Aden, witnesses said, after they had raged Saturday in the north, east and west of the city.
Two pro-Hadi fighters and six Huthi murderous Moslems were killed in the shootouts, according to a military source.
Air raids targeted Sunday positions of the pro-Saleh elite Republican Guard in the central province of Taez, as well as rebel posts in Raymah province, west of Sanaa, witnesses said.
The Saudi-led coalition launched the air campaign against the Huthis on March 26 after the rebels seized the capital and advanced on Aden, forcing Hadi to flee to Riyadh.
The United Nations ...a formerly good idea gone bad... , which plans to hold a conference on 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... in Geneva next week, says the violence has killed more than 1,600 people and displaced close to half a million more.
Some aid has trickled during a five-day humanitarian truce ..The purposes of a truce are twofold: 1.) bring up more arms, ammunition, and reinforcements; and 2.) get the enemy to relax his vigilance. A truce is not the same thing as a ceasefire, and a ceasefire doesn't mean you have to stop shooting... , but residents of areas where festivities persisted complained that they lack the most basic supplies.
[DAWN] 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... 's King Salman ...either the largest species of Pacific salmon or the current Sheikh of the Burnin' Sands, Cutodian of the Two Holy Mosquesand Lord of Most of the Arabians.... said on Sunday he was "heartbroken" over a suicide kaboom at a Shi'ite mosque in the kingdom that killed 21 people, state news agency SPA reported, a conciliatory statement as sectarian strife intensifies in the region.
Salman said anyone linked to the attack, claimed by the self-styled 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.... (IS), or who sympathises with it, will be brought to justice.
"We were pained by the enormity of the crime of this terrorist aggression which contradicts Islamic and humanitarian values," the king said in a message to Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, who is also the interior minister.
"Any participant, planner, supporter or sympathiser with this heinous crime will be held accountable, tried and will receive the punishment he deserves," he said.
The bombing in Saudi Arabia came as tensions between Sunni and Shi'ite Moslems are on the increase in the region.
A Sunni bully boywent kaboom! in the al-Qadeeh village mosque in Saudi Arabia's heavily Shi'ite east during Friday prayers, in one of the worst attacks in the kingdom in years.
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] BNP Chairperson the loathesome Khaleda Zia Three-term PM of Bangla, widow of deceased dictator Ziaur Rahman, head of the Bangla Nationalist Party, an apparent magnet for corruption ... may appear before a Dhaka court today to attend hearings in two graft cases -- Charitable Trust and Zia Orphanage Trust cases.
Khaleda's lawyer Md Sanaullah Miah confirmed this to the Dhaka Tribune.
On May 5, Dhaka's Third Special Judge Abu Ahmed Jamadar fixed May 25 for the hearing in the graft cases and asked Khaleda to be present during the hearing.
On that day, Khaleda's counsel Masud Ahmed Talukder assured the court that the BNP chief would appear before the court on the fixed date.
The trial of the corruption cases against Khaleda and eight other accused began on September 22 last year.
The Anti-Corruption Commission filed one of the graft cases against Khaleda and five others for embezzling over Tk2.1 crore in the name of Zia Orphanage Trust that existed only on paper. The other case was also filed by the anti-graft body in 2011 for abusing power in setting up the Zia Charitable Trust.
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[Dhaka Tribune] Salafist outfit Ansarullah Bangla Team, currently under government's consideration for banning for suspected links to the killing of secular activists, is now inviting madrasa students and those involved with Islami Chhatra Shibir ... the student wing of the Jamaat-e-Islami Bangladesh... to increase strength, police say.
Earlier, Ansarullah leaders had recruited many tech savvy students of public and private universities.
Police say they are monitoring the activities of the outfit's members on different websites and Facebook to trace their location. But no significant progress have been made since the August 2013 arrest of Ansarullah chief Jasim Uddin Rahmani and 31 of his followers.
Seven leaders and activists of the group are now facing trial for the killing of war crimes trial campaigner Ahmed Rajeeb Haider. They all are expelled students of the North South University.
Detectives say Ansarullah follows international terrorist groups Al-Qaeda and Taliban to establish Shariah law in Bangladesh. They have also been working with Chhatra Shibir, Jamaat-e-Islami ...The Islamic Society, founded in 1941 in Lahore by Maulana Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi, aka The Great Apostosizer. The Jamaat opposed the independence of Bangladesh but has operated an independent branch there since 1975. It maintains close ties with international Mohammedan groups such as the Moslem Brotherhood. the Taliban, and al-Qaeda. The Jamaat's objectives are the establishment of a pure Islamic state, governed by Sharia law. It is distinguished by its xenophobia, and its opposition to Westernization, capitalism, socialism, secularism, and liberalist social mores... 's student wing, and banned turban groups including HuJI Founded in 1984 by Fazlur Rehman Khalil and Qari Saifullah Aktar. The Bangla branch was established in 1992 with assistance from Osama bin Laden. Recruits come mostly from Deobandi madrassahs. HuJI and Fazlur Rehman Khalil are signators of bin Laden's declaration of war on the west. , JMB and Hizbut Tahrir ...an al-Qaeda recruiting organization banned in most countries. It calls for the reestablishment of the Caliphate... Police say Ansarullah has gained support from different radical Islamist groups which are vocal against "atheists for their anti-Islamic activities" after the recent killing of science writers and Rajshahi University teacher Prof AKM Shafiul Islam.
Some Ansarullah leaders are now visiting madrasas in Dhaka and the nearby areas, and inviting students to join the outfit, a top police officer said seeking anonymity.
According to sources in law enforcement agencies, the outfit is trying to take as members the students, especially those involved with Chhatra Shibir, who possess extreme views against secular forces.
Monirul Islam, joint commissioner of the Detective Branch of police, said Ansarullah might have around 100 technologically-sound members from among students of some of the renowned educational institutions.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Many Syrians on Wednesday broke into the Syrian Consulate in Istanbul which forced the Turkish police to intervene and get them outside.
A source works inside the Syrian consulate explained to Zaman al-Wasl that people broke into the consulate after a young man angry for his long waiting to renew his passport (more than a month) had broken the order and enter the building without permission, but the guard who was Turkish and known of his bad treatment to customers stopped him and get took him inside, which provoked other attendees to enter the consulate to protect the young man, soon, the police attended and forced them to leave.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan ...Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz Uncle Fester Sharif. He is noted for his vocal anti-American railing in the National Assembly. However (comma) Khan told the U.S. ambassador that he was in fact pro-American but he and the PML-N would have to be critical of US actions in order to remain publicly credible. Khan cited his wife and children's US citizenship as proof, which means he's lying to one side or the other and probably both. He wears a wig, but you probably guessed that. since hair doesn't grow naturally in that shape or texture... said on Saturday that a decision had been taken to seek legal assistance from the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Interpol for investigations into the alleged sale of fake degrees by the software company, Axact.
Addressing a presser at Punjab 1.) Little Orphan Annie's bodyguard
2.) A province of Pakistain ruled by one of the Sharif brothers
3.) A province of India. It is majority (60 percent) Sikh and Hindoo (37 percent), which means it has relatively few Moslem riots.... House, he said the inquiry against Axact would be completed within 10 days. A request for legal assistance might be made to the United Kingdom as well, but a final decision to this effect had yet to be taken, he added.
The minister advised the media not to jump to conclusions before the inquiry was completed, but many of his remarks indicated clearly that Axact was in hot waters.
At one stage, he said he had been criticised by some for demonstrating unnecessary haste in ordering a probe into the scam but added that much of the record seized by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) could have been erased had instant action not been taken.
Posted by: Fred ||
05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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Just checking in to see how things are, or are not, progressing.
[Rudaw] The overcrowded bridge leading into the Iraqi capital has yet to be opened to the tens of thousands of refugees fleeing ISIS violence in Anbar province.
"Bezebz Bridge that stretches between Baghdad and Anbar province until this moment is closed," Saad Maan, Baghdad operations front man, announced on Sunday.
Fierce fighting in Anbar's quiet provincial capital of Ramadi and its surrounding areas has sent up to 110,000 refugees fleeing towards Baghdad over the past month with many now living on the outskirts of the city.
Maan said authorities intended to open the bridge to the refugees after "bureaucratic steps" were taken but did say when or what procedures were necessary.
#1
Saad Maan, Baghdad operations front man, announced on Sunday.
You and me both, brother.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
05/25/2015 16:54 Comments ||
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#2
After Katrina the police blocked people from walking across the Greater New Orleans bridge to get out of the flooded disaster that was New Orleans, for fear of contaminating the West Bank. I can sort of see the similarities...
[AnNahar] Pentagon chief Ashton Carter said Sunday that Iraqi forces "failed to fight" in Ramadi, which has fallen to 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.... bad boys, adding the troops lacked the will to defend themselves.
IS jihadists took control of the strategic city, the capital of Anbar province, a week ago, in Baghdad's worst defeat in almost a year.
Carter said the city fell to the bully boyz because Iraqi forces -- despite strength in numbers -- were not mentally ready for battle.
"What apparently happened was the Iraqi forces showed no will to fight. They were not outnumbered, and they vastly outnumbered the opposing force, and they failed to fight and withdrew from the site," Carter told CNN. "That says to me, and I think to most of us, that we have an issue with the will of the Iraqis to fight ISIL and defend themselves."
In the wake of Ramadi's capture, U.S. officials announced that 2,000 AT4 anti-tank weapons were on the way to Iraq to help Iraqi troops counter massive boom-mobiles.
But Carter said training and equipping the army was of little use if the troops lacked the necessary morale.
"We can give them training and we can give them equipment and we can't obviously give them the will to fight," he said.
But he said he remained optimistic that the situation could improve.
"If we give them training and equipment and support and some time, I hope they will develop the will to fight because only if they fight can ISIL remain defeated," Carter said.
Iraqi forces on Saturday retook territory from the Islamic State group east of Ramadi, their first counterattack since the jihadists' capture of the city.
Three days after taking Ramadi, the ancient Syrian city of Palmyra also fell to the IS bad boys, putting its archaeological treasures in peril and positioning IS for a possible drive on Damascus.
Despite the recent losses, Carter said the US-led air campaign against the group, which already controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria, is still working. But he said the air campaign must be buttressed by Iraqi forces on the ground.
"Air strikes are effective but neither they, or really anything we do, can substitute for the Iraqi forces' will to fight," Carter said. "They are the ones that have to beat ISIL and keep them beaten."
Some have suggested that Washington put forward air controllers on the ground to help pinpoint air strike targets. Carter said that decision had not been made, although he allowed that the strategy could change.
"If there comes a time when we need to change the kinds of support we are giving to the Iraqi forces, we'll make that recommendation," he said. "Our efforts now are devoted to providing their ground forces with the equipment, the training and to try to encourage their will to fight so that our campaign enabling them can be successful."
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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BRUSSELS, May 20, 2015 – Iraqi security forces weren’t “driven from” Ramadi, they “drove out of Ramadi,” the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said here today.
#2
So, an army rife with political appointees and careerists can't quite seem to be effective in leadership in convincing people to 'die on that hill' (see also - Nigeria). I doubt that the Beltway population has anything to learn from that.
#3
Unfortunately, I do not believe a word Carter says. He is a political tool of a political regime who despises the military and the country it defends.
Very simply, you can not expect Shia troops to defend a Sunni city against ISIS, especially if the Sunni do not want them there. So far ISIS' victories have been in Sunni areas.
Actually, my reading is that the Iraqi Army was overwhelmed by the IS. The 30 car bombs were used very effectively to eliminate points of resistance. e.g.: IS used 10 car bombs to shatter one side of the Army base's defenses. The rest of the assault force poured in behind them. The Gold Force (Iraqi commandos) stayed and fought, but were cut off and enveloped. They eventually fought their way out.
Many Iraqi soldiers "died with their boots on." They deserved better from the Iraqi national leadership and from the White House lawyers that had to pre-approve every bomb, every rocket fired during the battle.
Al
Posted by: frozen al ||
05/25/2015 11:08 Comments ||
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#4
Clearly what the Iraqis are missing is Secretary Carter's inspirational leadership on the battlefield. It could give us a new motto, "Political Appointees Lead the Way!", and a new action flick, "Wow, They Really Were Expendable".
Posted by: Matt ||
05/25/2015 12:02 Comments ||
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#5
VPOTUS Biden is on post-Carter damage control ...
* TOPIX > JOE BIDEN PHONES IRAQ PM TO REINFORCE US SUPPORT [to Iraq's Govt-Army] IN ISIS FIGHT.
VPOTUS BIDEN TO IRAQ PM = D *** NG IT, WE IN AMERIKA REALLY LOVE OUR NEW CO-SUPERPOWER SIBLING - WE REALLY REALLY REALLY DO!
* RELATED SAME > ONLY IRAN HAS CONFRONTED ISLAMIC STATE, IRANIAN PARAMILITARY CHIEF [MGEN Soleimani]SAYS.
* BIGNEWSNETWORK > IRANIAN COMMANDER [IRGC Quds Force MGEN Qassem Soleimani]: OBAMA "HAS NOT DONE A DAMN THING" TO STOP ISLAMIC STATE | US [POTUS Obama] HAS NO WILL TO FIGHT ISLAMIC STATE GROUP.
Has MGEN Soleimani said "D **** NG IT"???
Not good news - AGAIN - for Guam-WESTPAC + US Allies in East Asia, i.e. per the East-South China Sea + Taiwan.
VERSUS
* DEFENCE.PK/FORUMS > [Business Insider] US NOW FACES A DILEMMA IN THE ISIS FIGHT.
Formal anti-ISIS/ISIL US-IRAN Alliance???
Well, ya know, the US + Iran being SSSHHH ...CCCC OWG Globalist Co-Superpower Siblings ...
[AnNahar] Bullets whistled overhead, a black 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.... flag flapping in the distance, but all Friar Najeeb Michaeel could think of as he fled the jihadists was how to save hundreds of ancient Iraqi manuscripts in his possession.
"You are going to get us killed with your archives," Michaeel's assistant Watheq Qassab grumbled as he struggled to carry six boxes of the documents dated between the 13th and 19th century across the border from Iraq into Kurdistan in August last year.
Continued on Page 49
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Malaysian authorities said Sunday that they have discovered a series of graves in more than a dozen abandoned camps used by human traffickers on the border with Thailand, where Rohingya Moslems fleeing Myanmar have been held.
Malaysian Home Minister Zahid Hamidi told news hounds Sunday that police were trying to identify and verify "the mass graves that were found."
"These graves are believed to be a part of human trafficking activities involving migrants," he said, adding that police have found 17 abandoned camps that they believe were used by traffickers.
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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The rare northern bald ibis could soon be extinct as a result of the Islamic State takeover of the ancient Syrian town of Palmyra, according to a report by the BBC on Monday. Three extremely rare ibises were kept in captivity in the central-Syrian city. Their condition has been unknown since the caretakers were forced to flee the town after Islamic State militants stormed the city on May 20. That's the straw that breaks the camel's back?
What odds are the bookies giving on it lasting as long as any of the previous coalitions?
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A number of Syrian opposition factions will gather in Cairo next month to form a new coalition as an alternative to an exiled West-backed alliance, officials said Saturday.
More than 200 figures from the armed and civilian opposition factions are to attend the June 8-9 gathering and discuss a roadmap aimed at ending the four-year war in Syria.
The new grouping would offer an alternative to the National Coalition, the exiled opposition bloc that is widely recognized and supported by Western and Arab countries such as Qatar ...an emirate on the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It sits on some really productive gas and oil deposits, which produces the highest per capita income in the world. They piss it all away on religion, financing the Moslem Brotherhood and several al-Qaeda affiliates... and 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... "Arab, Kurdish and all faiths will attend the meeting to elect a political committee to adopt a roadmap and a policy charter," Haytham Manna, a veteran opposition figure and a key organizer of the event, told AFP.
The new coalition would be called the Syrian National Opposition and would be "totally different" from the National Coalition, he said.
"It will be a Syrian-Syrian meeting, 100 percent financed by us, not controlled by anyone, and managed by someone with a pure Syrian agenda," Manna said of the June conference.
Egypt confirmed the meeting, saying it would be a gathering of "broad Syrian opposition and national forces".
The objective of the conference was to "express a broader vision of the Syrian opposition spectrum... to work towards ending the Syrian crisis," said the foreign ministry.
Manna said Egypt would only host the conference and "not interfere" in it.
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] Hezbollah will not allow a single jihadi to remain on the outskirts of Leb's northeastern border town of Arsal, party chief Hasan Nasrallah said Sunday, vowing to push on with the Qalamoun offensive until the frontier with Syria is secure.
Ignoring calls by his political rivals to steer clear of the volatile village and its outskirts, where large numbers of Nusra and ISIS fighters have taken foothold, Nasrallah said that all sects in Leb remained in danger as long as the jihadis had access to the country.
"We will not accept remnants of any terrorist or jihadi on the outskirts of Arsal or any outskirts in the Bekaa Valley," Nasrallah said in a televised speech marking the 15th anniversary of Israel's withdrawal from south Leb.
Nasrallah issued a similar message one week ago, promising to liberate Arsal's outskirts from the bandidosholy warriors if the Lebanese state failed to do so.
The call was immediately met with fury by rival politicians who accused Hezbollah of seeking to dominate the area and drag the Lebanese army into conflict. Some warned that any move by Hezbollah against groups around Arsal, which is predominately Sunni, would inflame sectarian tensions.
But Nasrallah dismissed those accusations, saying he was simply calling on the Army to "defend your land, people and illusory sovereignty, and to face your responsibilities, not run away from them.
He recalled the period in 2013 and 2014 when boom-mobiles were rigged in Syria's Qalamoun region and passed through Arsal to target Shiite neighborhoods across Leb, saying even then Hezbollah was against the mistreatment of Arsal's residents.
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] A senior Iranian military official told parliament on Sunday the armed forces need a bigger budget to confront 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 whose influence is growing in neighboring countries.
"We have to face a new threat in the region. Terrorist groups are close to our borders," General Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan who commands Iran's ground forces told parliament, media reported.
"Today we see the presence of Daesh in Afghanistan and Pakistain," he said, using the Arabic acronym for IS.
Iran's army and its elite Revolutionary Guards must be strengthened to be able "to buy tanks, transport vehicles and to overhaul our helicopters," he was quoted as saying.
The IS jihadist group, which has seized chunks of Syria and Iraq to the west of Iran has also gained a foothold in its eastern neighbors Pakistain and Afghanistan.
For the fiscal year ending in March 2016, the defense budget was increased by more than 30% to reach some $10 billion dollars. In addition, the armed forces receive $1.2 billion from sovereign funds.
The commander of NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. Originally it was a mutual defense pact directed against an expansionist Soviet Union. In later years it evolved into a mechanism for picking the American pocket while criticizing the cut of the American pants... forces in Afghanistan, General John F Campbell has said that IS was recruiting fighters in Afghanistan, but are not yet operational there.
"There's recruiting going on in Afghanistan, there is recruiting going on in Pakistain. There is money being passed back and forth," he told news hounds on Saturday in Kabul.
In May, IS claimed its first attack in Pakistain, where pistol-wielding gunnies stormed a bus carrying members of the minority Shiite Ismaili community, killing at least 43 people.
The Iranian general, who warned that "the battle is on the ground", did not say by how much the defense budget should be increased.
For the fiscal year ending in March 2016, the defense budget was increased by more than 30% to reach some $10 billion dollars. In addition, the armed forces receive $1.2 billion from sovereign funds.
Pourdastan told parliament that when IS launched its offensive in Iraq in June last year jihadists advanced to Jalula, just 40 kilometers from the Iranian border.
"In less than three days, we sent five brigades to the borders and our reconnaissance helicopters penetrated 40 kilometers into Iraq," Pourdastan added.
Shiite regional power Iran has military advisers in Iraq and Syria and provides financial and military support to the governments of both countries in their fight against the Sunni holy warriors.
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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#1
"The battle is on the ground", he said, remembering the Zionist were the adversary, but the Iranian navy was the enemy.
[ALMANAR.LB] Fearless Leader of the Islamic Revolution ...Iran's doddering head theocrat... Ayatollah Sayyed Ali Khamenei has warned that enemies of Islam are pursuing plots to sow discord among Moslem nations.
Some heads of Moslem states mistake enemies for friends, Ayatollah Khamenei said in a meeting with participants at the 32nd International Holy Koran Competitions in Tehran on Saturday.
"Officials of certain Moslem countries have an optical illusion and can't tell friend and foe apart. These countries will suffer a blow," Ayatollah Khamenei stated.
Obedience to the Holy Koran teachings, refusal to succumb to whatever "modern ignorance" wants to impose and resistance against such impositions are the solution to the current problems facing the Moslem world, the Leader said.
"Regretfully, the Moslem world is presently suffering severely from weakness, poverty, discord and civil wars triggered as a result of pressure by ignorant systems," Ayatollah Khamenei said.
He added that the land of the Medes and the Persians has managed to raise its capabilities and hope by standing up to bullying.
One of the key schemes of the enemies is to provoke divisions and rifts among Moslem nations, the Leader said, stressing the importance of remaining vigilant to the enemies' divisive ...politicians call things divisive when when the other side sez something they don't like. Their own statements are never divisive, they're principled... plots.
Ayatollah Khamenei said that ill-wishers of Moslem nations seek to sow sectarian, religious and ethnic divisions, urging "wisdom" and "determination" to counter such .
The Leader further said Moslem states have started to take steps in the path of Islam and the Holy Koran, adding, "Islamic Awakening is a fact that cannot be destroyed and its outcomes will spread day by day."
Ayatollah Khamenei expressed hope that Moslem countries would further practice the teachings of the Holy Koran.
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05/25/2015 00:00 ||
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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.
An unidentified source inside the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Sudan said Sunday that negotiations for release of two unidentified Russian nationals kidnapped last January, have reached an impasse, according to a news report posted on NovoRusInform news service.
Currently the Interior Minister of Pakistain. He is the senior leader of the Pak Moslem League (N) and a close aide to Nawaz 
[EN.ZAMANALWSL.NET] A number of Syrian opposition factions will gather in Cairo next month to form a new coalition as an alternative to an exiled West-backed alliance, officials said Saturday.
[ALMANAR.LB] 
