[AnNahar] The French military mission in Afghanistan will officially end on December 31 when the last of its forces leave the country, the defense ministry said Friday.
The departure of around 150 soldiers from Kabul will put an end to a 13-year mission as part of the NATO ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis.... -led International Security Assistance Force (ISAF).
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#1
Two things made trips to Kandahar and the 'boardwalk' worthwhile; the German PX, and the occasional glimpse of strikingly attractive, young French female soldiers.
GAROWE, Somalia -- Puntland Government in northern Somalia has released two convicted Al Shabaab members from a prison in the state capital of Garowe on Sunday according to security sources, Garowe Online reports.
Looks like the numbers and the passphrase to the account in the Caymans checked out...
The two-Abdirizak Hussein Tahlil (Ilka Ase) and Mohamed Nuh Adan (Abu Hafsa)-were found guilty of terrorism by Puntland military court on March 2, 2013, and sentenced to death after they were captured along with explosive devices.
Following intelligence briefings, security forces captured Adan (Abu Hafsa) while travelling to Somaliland capital of Hargeisa where he hails from in 2012. As a result of monitoring activities, intelligence service listened to the mobile phone of Adan (Abu Hafsa) who received a call from Tahlil ( Ilka Ase), Puntland military court prosecutor said during the criminal hearings in the court building. The colleague at the time questioned Adan (Abu Hafsa) on the type of explosive devices required for apparently coordinated terror operation.
“Tahliil showed off extreme reluctance to come to the bus station since he was known and in turn requested his accomplice [Abu Hafsa] to arrive in Barahley neighborhood which straddles the border [between Puntland and Galmudug],” added court prosecutor, citing testimonies.”Tahlil was red-handedly seized along with explosive devices on a wheelbarrow”.
Such a homely detail, that wheelbarrow -- so delightfully old fashioned, even bucolic, contrasting poetically with the evilly modern explosive device it contains. (Extra points if "the container and the thing contained" popped into your head as you read that.)
Gunmen from the clan that terrorist Tahlil belongs to, right away backlashed and kidnapped four Puntland civilians from Galkayo’s vast north.
“The relatives of the kidnapped civilians discussed the matter with former Puntland President Dr. Abdirahman Mohamed Farole but Farole turned down the request as it might have paved the way for new ransom technique,” former Puntland government official told Garowe Online.
As of yet, the reasons behind the release of the two convicted Al Shabaab members remain mystery, with credible sources unveiling possible presidential pardon. Officials at Puntland’s ministry for security were not available for comments when contacted.
Media workers in the region reported on the two men and their explosive devices on March 3, 2013.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] Nigeria's military on Friday confirmed a deadly attack by Boko Haram ... not to be confused with Procol Harum, Harum Scarum, possibly to be confused with Helter Skelter. The Nigerian version of al-Qaeda and the Taliban rolled together and flavored with a smigeon of distinctly Subsaharan ignorance and brutality... in the northeast village of Gumsuri but said reports of a mass kidnapping needed to be verified.
"Troops are patrolling the general area of Gumsuri in search of terrorists," a statement from defense ministry front man Chris Olukolade said.
"Although it has been confirmed that some people were killed by the gunnies during the attack, the reported abductions as claimed by unidentified sources being quoted in some foreign media is yet to be verified from any credible sources in the community," he added.
At least 32 people were killed in the attack that began late Sunday and at least 185 others, mostly women and kiddies, were kidnapped, witnesses and local officials said.
The attack recalled the mass abductions in the nearby town of Chibok in April, when more than 200 girls were seized by the Islamists in a raid on a school.
Days after the Chibok abductions, Olukolade said all but eight of the girls had been rescued by troops, a claim he was forced to retract the next day.
Of the 276 girls seized from the school, 219 are still missing, despite government claims in October that a deal for their release had agreed with alleged Boko Haram negotiators.
?Troops have been ordered to sustain an aggressive patrol over the area and the surrounding communities in order to ensure that gunnies do not have any freedom of action in the area while the counter-terrorism campaign continues,? the statement further said.
Details of the attack took four days to emerge because the mobile phone network in the area has completely collapsed and many of the roads are impassable due to Boko Haram's strength in the region.
Gumsuri falls in Borno state, the epicenter of Boko Haram's five-year uprising, which has killed more than 13,000 people.
The Death Eaters control large parts of the state, but the military has vowed to retake all lost territory.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
There's a difference between "unverified" and "didn't happen."
Posted by: Fred ||
12/20/2014 10:58 Comments ||
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[AnNahar] Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta on Friday signed into law a controversial anti-terror bill that sparked brawls in parliament and charges that it violated basic freedoms.
Kenyatta said he was satisfied that the amendments passed by the National Assembly on Thursday did not breach the bill of rights.
"All concerns raised by the different stakeholders were addressed by the relevant parliamentary committees," he told journalists, calling on all Kenyans to read the new law and ascertain this for themselves.
"Its intent is one -- just one -- to protect the lives and property of all the citizens of this republic," he said.
The new law gives authorities sweeping powers to crack down on terror suspects and curtail press freedoms in a country that has suffered a string of attacks by Somalia-based Shabaab Islamists.
The controversial measures extend the time police can hold terror suspects from the current 90 days to nearly a year, increase sentences and give more powers to tap phones.
Journalists could face up to three years behind bars if their reports "undermine investigations or security operations relating to terrorism," or if they publish images of terror victims without permission from the police.
The government argues the measures are necessary to confront the bad boys, but rights groups and the opposition say they are an assault on basic freedoms.
Divisions over the legislation triggered heated exchanges between politicians that culminated in a brawl, forcing the vote to be repeatedly delayed on Thursday.
Kenyatta said the conduct of MPs opposed to the bill was "deplorable" and accused them of "being oblivious to the threat that is upon our country at this point in time."
[IsraelTimes] US President Barack Obama on Friday warned North Korea it would face retaliation over a cyber attack on Sony Pictures and pledged not to bow to dictators, as an envoy for Pyongyang denied involvement.
"Yeah, you short little guys better watch it, 'cause you saw what we did to Fidel and Raul!"
Threats issued after the November attack prompted the movie giant to cancel the Christmas Day release of “The Interview,” a madcap satire about a CIA plot to kill North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un.
The anonymous hackers invoked the memory of September 11, 2001 in threatening attacks on cinemas screening the film, prompting major theater chains to say they would not screen it.
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Posted by: Matt ||
12/20/2014 10:19 Comments ||
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#7
It shouldn't be hard to ask the Israeli's to respond or we can enlist the help of any junior high tech class. It may be hard to takedown the NK primary network as it is mostly comprised of coconut shells and twine.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/20/2014 18:10 Comments ||
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#8
BrerRabbit wins the thread! :-D
Posted by: Barbara ||
12/20/2014 21:04 Comments ||
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SEOULSouth Korea called on North Korea Friday to follow Cuba's footsteps in improving ties with the U.S. and other nations.
Please don't, Obama has given away enough stuff this week...
The U.S. and Cuba announced their decision earlier this week to end five decades of Cold War hostility and revive diplomatic ties. It has effectively made North Korea the only diplomatically-isolated nation on the planet.
"With this latest decision, (we) expect acceleration of Cuba's fence-mending with the international community and hope that North Korea would actively join the trend of change in the international community too through the right choices," Seoul's foreign ministry said in a statement.
The South "welcomes the decision between the U.S. and Cuba to push for normalized relations," it added. "Our government expects and supports the leaders of the two countries' efforts to end 50-years of conflict and isolation and open the door for a new era of cooperation."
The U.S.-Cuba rapprochement raised hopes for the possibility of Washington seeking a similar engagement mode with Pyongyang. Responding to such speculations, however, the White House said Thursday North Korea is different from the Cuban case due to its nuclear weapons program.
North Korea kept mum on the surprise move by the U.S. and Cuba.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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BEIJING, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- China said Friday that it would oppose referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court, dimming chances of the regime being held accountable for human rights abuses detailed in a ground-breaking U.N. probe earlier this year.
Comes as a surprise, huh...
China's foreign ministry spokesman Qin Gang made the remarks a day after the U.N. General Assembly adopted a landmark resolution calling for North Korea to be sent to the international court. The U.N. Security Council is expected to hold a meeting next week to discuss the issue.
Asked whether China would veto the U.N. resolution at next week's Security Council meeting, Qin replied, "The Security Council is not the right place to discuss the issue of human rights."
"And referring the issue of human rights to the International Criminal Court will by no means help solve the problem," Qin said.
Though a coup, a JDAM, or a mysterious accident would...
A 400-page U.N. report, published earlier this year, criticized the North Korean regime for committing "crimes against humanity," citing widespread executions of people, torture and sexual violence.
The U.N. resolution will be non-binding unless endorsed by the Security Council, where China and Russia, both friendly to North Korea, have a veto. Already, China has openly voiced its objection to the resolution.
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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North Korean leader Pudgy Kim Jong-un is likely to visit Russia in May, the Asahi Shimbun reported Wednesday.
If we had a CIA worth anything the plane would crash in Siberia...
Moscow invited Kim to a ceremony marking the 70th anniversary of the Soviet Union's victory over Nazi Germany on May 9 next year, the Japanese daily said quoting diplomatic sources. If he goes, Kim will also sit down with Russian President Vladimir Putin, it added.
Last month, North Korea's de facto No. 2 leader Choe Ryong-hae agreed on an exchange of visits and cooperation in 2015, the 70th anniversary of both Korean liberation from Japanese colonial rule and Russia's World War II victory.
The North has attempted to break its diplomatic isolation with the help of Russia as its relations with China deteriorate.
"Kim's ultimate goal is to stay in power as long as possible," a senior government official here said.
No, really?
"He has already consolidated his power internally by executing his uncle Jang Song-taek and is likely to try and win global recognition for his status in 2015."
Will Russia still be in business next year?
Posted by: Steve White ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
His duty is also to prevent any NOKOR state collapse, espec one resulting in de facto Chinese takeover.
Anyhoo, wish Kimmie luck wid Vlad because he'll need it ...
* GROONG > RUSSIA'S CONTAGION TO ASIA [read, CHINA] SEEN AS LIMITED BY [Russian/Moscow] POLICY SHIFTS, ECONOMY.
* BLOOMBERG > > COLD-WAR SUEZ CRISIS ERA [1956]LOOMS AS RUSSIA BURNS THROUGH ITS CASH.
1956 UK = 2014 Russia = USA refused to help NATO ally Britain get a vital IMF loan to alleviate INternational pressure on Brit Currencies unless London adhered to UN demands to end Crisis + leave Egypt.
UK = Russia, Egypt/Suez Canal = Crimea???
* BHARAT RAKSHAK > [NITI Central = PTI] SOUTH KOREA TO INDIA: PREVENT CHINA [resurgence +] REGIONAL HEGEMONY.
Pudgy's SSSSHHH ... CCCCCC anti-China agenda gets SSSHHHH ... CCCCCC help from SOKOR???
* FYI DURDGEREPORT > [Washington Free Beacon] RUSSIAN NUCLEAR BOMBERS AGAIN BUZZ GUAM, on December 13th.
US, Artic-claimed "Near/Around" Guam = actually should read "OVER" GUAM.
FYI certain local patrons here on Guam have complained about "Compact-Impact" FSM Micronesians wanting any + all Chamorros = non-Micronesians to leave Guam for Hawaii + CONUS, a move which ironically would be indirectly/roughly consistent wid the Bammer's anti-US US OWG Globalist agenda + China's desire to acquire 1/2 of the Pacific = Guam-WESTPAC from the USA.
Before + during WW2, WESTPAC + MICRONESIA = under Japanese control soon to be under non-Japan Chinese control???
[AnNahar] A Turkish court on Friday ordered the release of an anti-government newspaper editor but remanded the head of a national television network in jug in a controversial case that has strained relations with the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
Ekrem Dumanli, the editor-in-chief of the Zaman daily, was to be freed but Samanyolu TV (STV) chief Hidayet Karaca was placed under arrest after they were detained in weekend raids of suspects accused of plotting to overthrow President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ... Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him...
Seven other suspects in the case were ordered released by the court in Istanbul while three more -- all coppers -- were also remanded in jug.
Both the Zaman newspaper and the STV channel are linked to Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish Moslemholy man living the United States, who was once a strong supporter of Erdogan but has turned into his arch foe.
Erdogan accuses Gulen of running a "parallel state" and being behind sensational corruption allegations against his inner circle that broke on December 17 last year.
State-run TRT television said that an arrest warrant had also been issued for Gulen "for leading a terrorist organization".
However the United States has so far paid little attention to repeated requests from Turkey for his extradition from his base in the state of Pennsylvania.
Turkish television said that Karaca had been charged with "forming and running a terrorist organization" while the three police incarcerated ... anything you say can and will be used against you, whether you say it or not... had been charged with "membership of a terrorist organization".
Dumanli has been slapped with an exit ban from Turkey, indicating he is still set to face trial.
According to Zaman's website, after the decision was announced Karaca raised his hands and said: "No need to be worried, God helps."
"Just as this is an arrest order for a fictional scenario, this is a fictional ruling."
"Those who made this decision will appear before the court one day," he said.
His arrest is believed to be linked to a popular drama series on STV, "Tek Turkiye" (One Turkey), which tells the story of a doctor who goes to work in the Kurdish-majority southeast amid the armed rebellion by Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) rebels.
The European Union had condemned the arrests as running contrary to European values but Erdogan has struck back, telling the bloc to "mind their own business" in a row that risks permanently damaging relations.
[NBCNEWS] The massacre of innocent schoolchildren at a military-run school in Pakistan this week didn't just shock the nation and the world — it divided even the militant groups who had seemed hardened to indiscriminate violence.
"The intentional killing of innocent people, children and women are against the basics of Islam and this criteria has to be considered by every Islamic party and government," Afghan Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said in a statement soon after the horrific siege, which left 148 people dead, most of them children.
The Afghan Taliban are allied to the Pakistani Taliban across the border, and both are fighting to overthrow their own governments and establish an Islamic state. The two groups are so closely linked that the Pakistanis pledge allegiance to the Afghan group's leader, Mullah Mohammad Omar.
The Pakistani Taliban — headed by Maulana Fazlullah, the man who ordered the assassination of schoolgirl Malala Yousafzai — claimed responsibility for the Peshawar school attack. He said it was revenge for Pakistan's military campaign against the Taliban in the country's northwest.
After the Afghan Taliban, a major splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan- Jamaatul Ahrar (TTP-JA) also publicly condemned the attack, calling it "un-Islamic, inhuman and unethical."
"We consider Mullah Mohammad Omar our supreme leader. When he and his Taliban condemned the attack on school, there is no other way for us except to strongly condemn the attack on the school and the ruthless killing of innocent children there," said Ehsanullah Ehsan, spokesman of the TTP-JA.
He said they had expressed their sympathies and condolences to the families of the children who died in the siege at the Army Public School in Peshawar, where many students are the children of Pakistani military personnel.
Privately, commanders agreed that the TTP's actions were a step too far.
"No religion allows this what these people had done in Peshawar," a senior Pakistani commander who spoke on the condition of anonymity told NBC News. "Attacking a school and killing innocent children is not bravery."
Tell that to Boko Haram. Attacking schools and killing or kidnapping innocent children is their specialty.
Another member of the TTP-JA said the massacre had saddened them — and hurt their standing.
"It damaged the image of jihadi organizations in eyes of the fellow Muslims, which Maulana Fazlullah and his men don't understand," said the commander, speaking on condition of anonymity.
The strike also looked certain to deepen existing divisions.
"These were the reasons we left Maulana Fazlullah and his men. They don't have principles for running a jihadi organization," said the commander. "Fazlullah and his men have no vision and mission except to kill innocent people."
He said before separation, they had tried several times to convince Fazlullah and his senior commanders to develop a proper strategy and have policies regarding women's healthcare and education — but he didn't listen.
"Maulana Fazlullah has become controversial in jihadi circles and it was a huge embarrassment for him and his organization when the Afghan Taliban condemned their act publicly," the commander said.
A senior member of the Afghan Taliban said Fazlullah and his commanders complained to them after the group denounced the massacre.
"We told them that attacking schools and killing children, even non-Muslims, has never been our policy," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The first meeting of newly formed Anti-Terrorism National Action Plan Committee (ATNAPC), consisting of representatives of political parties and officials of armed forces and intelligence agencies, is underway on Friday to thrash out a 'national action plan' to counter terrorism.
Speaking to Dawn.com, Pakistain Tehrik-e-Insaf ...a political party in Pakistan. PTI was founded by former Pakistani cricket captain and philanthropist Imran Khan. The party's slogan is Justice, Humanity and Self Esteem, each of which is open to widely divergent interpretations.... (PTI) leader Arif Alvi said that his party would suggest formation of a working group consisted of counter-terror experts. Heads of concerned intelligence agencies should be part of the working group, he suggested.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
If they're attempting to build a pro-Islamic counter-terror working group, they should contact the White House.
#2
Two questions: (1) Who are they going to work for? and (2) Who are they going to work against?
Because, basically, that's what separates counter-terrorism from the gestapo.
Posted by: ed in texas ||
12/20/2014 12:05 Comments ||
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[DAWN] The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Friday took out a rally on M A Jinnah Road from Tibet Center in solidarity with victims of Peshawar carnage and Pakistan Army.
Speaking on the occasion, MQM chief Altaf Hussain paid tribute to the victims of the deadly Taliban siege of an army-run school that killed almost 150 people, mostly children.
He said this great national tragedy has united the country against terrorism.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: Fred ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] The province of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa ... formerly NWFP, still Terrorism Central... has seven prisoners sentenced to death under the Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) and are likely to be hanged after 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... lifted the moratorium on the death penalty.
Inspector General (IG) of KP prisons Kifayatullah Khan told Dawn that the total number of prisoners sentenced to death and are currently imprisoned, is 192, out of which six or seven are those who had been charged and punished under the ATA.
According to jail statistics, the total number of prisoners in KP jails is 8,955 with Haripur having the highest number with 1,941, Beautiful Downtown Peshawar ...capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (formerly known as the North-West Frontier Province), administrative and economic hub for the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan. Peshawar is situated near the eastern end of the Khyber Pass, convenient to the Pak-Afghan border. Peshawar has evolved into one of Pakistan's most ethnically and linguistically diverse cities, which means lots of gunfire. Central jail with 1,859, Bannu with 718 and Dera Ismail Khan ... the Pearl of Pashtunistan ... with 340 prisoners.
The remaining prisoners are kept in other jails of the province.
Responding to a query about threats to jails in Peshawar after the school attack, the IG said that the execution of condemned prisoners was banned in 2008, "but we are progressing with the procedure as per new directives".
Regarding the links of prisoners to murderous Moslem groups, Khan said that it was not the jail authority's mandate. However, there's no worse danger than telling a mother her baby is ugly... those convicted under the ATA or charged under Articles 302 and 788 are applicable under terror charges.
Khan also remarked that security was on high alert following intelligence reports of looming threats.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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[DAWN] Meeting of the civilian and military leadership led by 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... and Chief of Army Staff General Raheel Sharif at the General Headquarters on Friday concluded with the two expressing strong resolve to eradicate terrorism from the country, senior security sources told Dawn.
During the meeting centered on national security, the leadership agreed that no leniency would be extended to bully boyz and tough steps would be taken in this regard.
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Posted by: Fred ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
did anyone tell the ISI?
Posted by: Frank G ||
12/20/2014 10:00 Comments ||
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[IraqiNews.com] A senior US military official announced that a US raid killed Haji Mutazz, an ISIS deputy of the so-called Caliph 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... , and Abdul Baset, an ISIS army commander in Iraq.
This comes at a time when US General James Terry, the head of the campaign led by US the so-called the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), announced earlier on Thursday that the international coalition launched 1361 raids against ISIS sites since the start of operations in August.
He added that ?the international alliance stopped the advance of ISIS fighters as they face difficulty in movement and communication as a result of the air campaign. I think we have made significant progress in stopping their progress.?
He explained, ?[the Arclight airstrike campaign] has been estimated to stop ISIS? advance. They are trying at the moment to maintain the areas they control. I think they are facing problems in communications and supplies.?
He also stressed that the current pace of the bombing is suitable, even if the Iraqi leaders are demanding to intensify air strikes and heavy weapons, adding that ?The basis is to build something inside the Iraqi army, giving it an offensive spirit, and we will continue the strikes.?
The US military announced on Wednesday that coalition aircraft launched 61 raids in Iraq since Monday, mostly in the north of the country, what constitutes a steady increase for the rate of the raids carried out against the organization in the past few weeks.
The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Martin Dempsey said, that the air strikes which targeted senior leaders in the group were designed to curb the group’s ability to conduct its own attacks, supply and finance its fighters.
The Pentagon said, that Abd al Basit, the head of Islamic State’s military operations in Iraq, and Haji Mutazz, a key aide to Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the leader of the group, were killed in U.S. air attacks, which occurred between Dec. 3 and Dec. 9. Another air strike killed Radwan Talib, a midlevel commander who was assigned as ‘wali,’ or governor, in Mosul.
Dempsey said, “It is disruptive to their planning and command and control,” adding, “These are high-value targets, senior leadership."
[Ynet] Two months after donors pledged $5.4 billion to help rebuild Gazoo after the war between Israel and Hamas, always the voice of sweet reason,, Paleostinian, UN and other officials say barely 2 percent of the money has been transferred.
No wonder the UN is demanding more pledges.
Te conference in Cairo had been hailed as a success, with 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... promising $1 billion, 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... $500 million and the United States and the European Union ...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing... a combined $780 million in various forms of assistance.
Half was expected to go to rebuilding houses and infrastructure in Gazoo destroyed during seven weeks of fighting, and the rest to support the Paleostinian budget.
But of the total, only $100 million or so has been received, according to U.N. and other officials.
How odd. Saudi Arabia has been delivering money to Egypt with alacrity -- why the difference?
While the EU and the United States have accelerated some funding that was already in the pipeline, very few new pledges have come to fruition.
[AnNahar] A French-speaking jihadist threatened Friday to execute Lebanese soldiers held hostage by 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, saying three prominent anti-IS Lebanese politicians would be responsible for their deaths.
The threat was made in a video Agence La Belle France Presse obtained from a Salafist holy man, Wissam al-Masri, who is mediating the release of 25 police and soldiers held by IS and the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda the al-Nusra
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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[AnNahar] The Pentagon has hailed the deaths of several top leaders of 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, but experts say this is far from enough to cripple what has proven to be a resilient organization.
U.S. officials say air strikes have killed several senior and mid-level jihadists including Abu Moslem al-Turkmani, the right hand man of IS chief 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... , dealing a serious blow to the group's operations.
But analysts warn that disruptions of this type are often fleeting and that the U.S.-led coalition needs to look beyond their military campaign to weaken the group that has become the world's most feared jihadist organization since proclaiming a "caliphate" straddling Syria and Iraq six months ago.
"Eliminating key leaders is a means to disrupt plots and degrade capabilities. But they do not defeat or destroy terrorist organizations," said Bruce Riedel, a former CIA agent and adviser to U.S. President Barack Obama I inhaled. That was the point... who is now a leading terrorism expert.
"Al-Qaeda in Iraq lost its top leadership twice but still thrived sufficiently to give birth to the Islamic State."
Pentagon front man Rear Admiral John Kirby said strikes against the group's leadership were disrupting the jihadists' "ability to command and control current operations against" Iraqi federal and Kurdish forces.
But the real impact is hard to quantify, especially as the command structure of the Islamic State group is largely a mystery to intelligence services, with its members masters at disguising themselves through a multitude of false identities, nicknames and noms de guerre.
And the Western view of a pyramid-like command structure with a supreme leader, deputies and cascading line of subordinates does not take into account a reality where tribal, regional, cultural and historical ties often take precedence.
Even if jihadist supremo Baghdadi was killed, this would not see the ideology that spurred the creation of the so-called caliphate crumble overnight.
"If Baghdadi is out of the picture before his caliphate is firmly established, the Islamic State group will be seriously challenged, but with resourceful lieutenants in charge, it will not be finished without a further fight," said Michael Ryan of the Washington-based Jamestown Foundation.
U.S. officials have been open about the limits of the military operation and have warned the West will have to dig in for the long haul to combat IS.
Military chief General Martin Dempsey recently told the U.S. Senate that IS would "ultimately be defeated when their cloak of religious legitimacy is stripped away and the population on which they have imposed themselves reject them.
"Our actions are intended to move in that direction. This will require a sustained effort over an extended period of time. It is a generational problem, and we should expect that our enemies will adapt their tactics as we adjust our approach."
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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#1
Our opponents are collectively not very smart. If they were brilliant tacticians, they would be killing people in droves in the US. Mostly they are successful only through their ruthlessness and the total corruption of the previous regimes. Killing the higher ups which are likely to be the smarter and more charismatic psychos will leave the reins for their movement in increasingly less competent hands. Killing even snuffies helps as long as they are killed in large volumes under horrific circumstances where there are burnt alive or exploded into small chunks.
Posted by: Super Hose ||
12/20/2014 18:22 Comments ||
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#2
We cannot capture or interrogate so killing appears to be the right thing to do.
[IraqiNews.com] U.S. Arclight airstrikes have killed several 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.... (IS) leaders in recent weeks, blunting the group?s ability to fight Iraqi and Kurdish forces, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
?I can confirm that since mid-November, targeted coalition Arclight airstrikes successfully killed multiple senior and mid-level leaders within the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant ... the current version of al-Qaeda in Iraq, just as blood-thirsty and well-beloved as the original... (ISIL)?, Pentagon Press Secretary John Kirby said in a statement, using the group?s alternative name.
?We believe that the loss of these key leaders degrades ISIL?s ability to command and control current operations against Iraqi Security Forces (ISF), including Kurdish and other local forces in Iraq,? he said.
The success of these Arclight airstrikes demonstrates the coalition?s resolve in enabling the ISF to disrupt and degrade IS as they continue to regain control of their territory, he added.
Meanwhile, ...back at the revival hall, the pastor had finally been wrestled from the pulpit. Y'got the wrong guy! he yelled just before Sergeant Malone's billy club landed... another Pentagon statement said that U.S. and partner-nation military forces continued Arclight airstrikes on IS targets in Syria and Iraq Thursday, using fighter and bomber aircraft during six Arclight airstrikes in Syria and five Arclight airstrikes in Iraq.
The Arclight airstrikes in Syria destroyed seven IS fighting positions and an IS building and tactical unit. In Iraq, they destroyed an IS excavator, three IS vehicle and two IS tactical unit.
On the same day, U.S. President Barack Obama I mean, I do think at a certain point you've made enough money... spoke by phone with Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi to discuss the political and security situation in Iraq and the progress of Iraqi Security Forces in their efforts to counter IS.
The president reiterated his commitment to supporting the ISF through training programs, provision of weapons and equipment, and Arclight airstrikes.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
12/20/2014 00:00 ||
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[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] The arrest of Mehdi Masroor Biswas, author of the highly influential pro-ISIS twitter account @ShamiWitness, on Saturday in Bangalore, India, is putting jihadist tweeps on notice. Deactivation, suspension and anxious-ridden tweets have been widely visible in the last two days,
O brave, brave Lions of Islam!
while more questions are being raised to improve Twitter's anti-extremism tools and prevent ISIS from using it as a platform.
"He became a hub for ISIS recruits and propaganda," that's how La Belle Frances Townsend, president of the "Counter extremism Project" (CEP), sums up the rise and fall of Shami Witness, who raked up more than 18,000 followers on Twitter in the last two years.
From his executive office in India's "silicon valley," Shami Witness cheered on ISIS and its reign of horror more than 4,000 km away in Iraq and Syria. His outing and arrest this week after a Channel 4 investigation is a "very good development," Townsend tells Al Arabiya News, proving that an anonymous address and fake Twitter handles are no guarantee for impunity.
Sophisticated and 'legitimate'
Phillip Smyth, a researcher at the University of Maryland who had interacted with Biswas in the last two years, qualifies his strategy as "looking legitimate" while "humanizing ISIS."
Millions checked the Shami Witness Twitter feed every month, among them are leading journalists and counterterrorism experts in the West, desperate for any kind of information on the krazed killer group. His strength was in his ability to break news and report firsthand developments on ISIS, which proves according to Townsend that he had direct contact with its fighters on the battlefield.
Smyth's first interactions with Shami Witness were in spring of 2013, through Biswas' first account @elsaltador. "He played a neutral-slightly Islamist personality until around late 2013 before turning into full ISIS mode in 2014," Smyth tells Al-Arabiya News.
The transition Smyth suspects was a reaction to Al-Qaeda's Syrian branch, the Nusra Front, whom Biswas favored originally, clashing with ISIS. During that period, Smyth says Biswas increasingly sent him privately "very sectarian posts and praised jihadist activity in Syria."
Shami Witness was sophisticated enough and "understood how to manipulate the English language social media sphere for analysis and attract journalists seeking quick information and snarky posts," according to Smyth. He tweeted Abdul Rahman Kassig's beheading video and hailed arrests of Kurdish women fighters in Kobane. He also gave logistical advice at times about crossing into ISIS territory.
Twitter and extremism
The Shami Witness bust and arrest is sending shockwaves through jihadist Twitter circles. Some have already reconsidered and deactivated their Twitter accounts, while others are questioning the authenticity of other Jihadist accounts and possibility of intelligence agencies tracking them.
Posted by: Fred ||
12/20/2014 17:24 ||
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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.
[AnNahar] The French military mission in Afghanistan will officially end on December 31 when the last of its forces leave the country, the defense ministry said Friday. 
North Korea
BEIJING, Dec. 19 (Yonhap) -- China said Friday that it would oppose referring North Korea to the International Criminal Court, dimming chances of the regime being held accountable for human rights abuses detailed in a ground-breaking U.N. probe earlier this year.
FYI DURDGEREPORT > [Washington Free Beacon] RUSSIAN NUCLEAR BOMBERS AGAIN BUZZ GUAM, on December 13th.
[DAWN] The Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) on Friday took out a rally on M A Jinnah Road from Tibet Center in solidarity with victims of Peshawar carnage and Pakistan Army.
This comes at a time when US General James Terry, the head of the campaign led by US the so-called the Islamic state in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), announced earlier on Thursday that the international coalition launched 1361 raids against ISIS sites since the start of operations in August.
[AnNahar] The Pentagon has hailed the deaths of several top leaders of the 
