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Today: 78 articles and 273 comments as of 13:24.
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Iraq security forces arrest the new ISIS leader
Today's Headlines
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Page 2: WoT Background
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Page 4: Opinion
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Page 6: Politix
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Africa North
Tensions rise between Egypt, Turkey as Sisi warns Erdogan over Libya
[ALMASDARNEWS] Egyptian Minister of Parliament, Atef Nasser, head of the Parliamentary Committee of the Future Party, attacked Ottoman Turkish President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First
...Turkey's version of Mohammed Morsi but they voted him back in so they deserve him. It's a sin, a shame, and a felony to insult the president of Turkey. In Anatolia did Recep Bey a stately Presidential Palace decree, that has 1100 rooms. That's 968 more than in the White House, 400 more than in Versailles, and 325 more than Buckingham Palace, so you know who's really more important...
, stressing that he was interfering in Libya.

The Egyptian parliamentarian affirmed the decisive position on the situation in Libya after the fall of the al-Watiya Airbase in the hands of the Ottoman Turkish-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) forces, saying that Egypt fully believes in a political solution in Libya, and considers the need to preserve the unity and illusory sovereignty of Libyan lands.

Nasser indicated that the statements of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi "are a clear message to Erdogan so that he does not consider using Libya as a platform to export Death Eaters again to Egypt and neighboring countries," he said.

He pointed out that Erdogan should review his movements in Libya and know his footprints well, adding: "He should not be reassured by a group of traitors and mercenaries next to him, because Egypt’s security is a red line and it should never cross its borders," as he put it.

Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi has confirmed that the stability of Libya is one of the determinants of Egyptian national security, and that Egypt "has not and will not compromise with terrorist groups and those who support them."

Posted by: Fred || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Gharyani thanks Turkey and Qatar for standing with Libya during its crisis
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Muslim Brotherhood


Africa Subsaharan
Turkey condemns terror attack in Niger
[AA.TR] The Sick Man of Europe Turkey
...Qatar's satrapy in Asia Minor...
on Wednesday denounced a terror attack in southeastern Niger, said Ottoman Turkish Foreign Ministry on Wednesday.

In a statement, the country's Foreign Ministry expressed the country's condolences on attack which targeted the Blabrine military base in the Diffa region, on Monday, claiming the lives of 12 soldiers and leaving 10 injured.

"We condemn this heinous terrorist attack. We wish Allah's mercy upon those who bit the dust, speedy recovery to the injured and offer our sincere condolences to the brotherly people and Government of Niger," it said.

In the country, more than 20,000 people died in the attacks carried out since 2009 by the 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...
terror group, displacing more than 2 million people.
Posted by: Fred || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte


Caribbean-Latin America
Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou said he is considering declaring Hezbollah a terrorist organization
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


Venezuela defense minister @vladimirpadrino says Iranian fuel tankers will be escorted by Venezuelan military
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Oh geez! That's like trying to protect yourself from being shot by hiding behind a sheet of paper.

All noise and no effectiveness.
Posted by: Seeking Cure For Ignorance || 05/21/2020 6:20 Comments || Top||

#2  April 3, 2020. Venezuelan Navy ship fires on cruise ship, rams it, then sinks...
Posted by: Varmint Splat1454 || 05/21/2020 6:34 Comments || Top||

#3  Escorted by the Olympic swim team?
Posted by: AlanC || 05/21/2020 7:30 Comments || Top||

#4  Dear Mr. "Defense" Minister: Do you know the meaning of the American expression, "all hat, no cattle"?

Screw with us, and you'll find out . . . .

Cordially,

Americans :-D
Posted by: Barbara || 05/21/2020 16:41 Comments || Top||

#5  Barbara, we should send the same memo to the Iranians.
Posted by: Rambler in Virginia || 05/21/2020 16:43 Comments || Top||

#6  Works for me, #5 Rambler. ;-)
Posted by: Barbara || 05/21/2020 16:48 Comments || Top||

#7 
Its the only way to keep them safe from those attack class cruise ships
Posted by: flash91 || 05/21/2020 18:12 Comments || Top||


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
EU tells Palestinians to check if funds are going to terrorists
[IsraelTimes] A senior European Union
...the successor to the Holy Roman Empire, only without the Hapsburgs and the nifty uniforms and the dancing...
official says he asked the bloc’s representative in Israel and the Paleostinian territories to investigate whether any EU funds are benefiting hard boyz or their supporters.

"I asked both the heads of delegations in Tel Aviv but also in the West Bank and Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with an iron fist by Hamaswith about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip, they will have to look deep, and if there is any concern — any concern — we will act immediately," Olivér Várhelyi, the Commissioner for Neighborhood and Enlargement, says at a meeting of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee.

"There is no terror financing from EU funds, as long as there are EU funds that will not be happening, this will not be tolerated, and if it happens, it will be rectified. And I will see to it myself that it is done and delivered," adds Várhelyi, a Hungarian national.

Earlier this month, Brussels and Jerusalem argued over the EU’s ostensible funding of hard boyz and their supporters, after the bloc’s envoy to the Paleostinian territories said in a letter that individuals affiliated with or supportive of hard boyz organizations are not automatically ineligible for EU support. The EU insists that it careful vets all recipient of aid and makes sure no funds are going to supporters of terrorism.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/21/2020 02:52 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under:

#1  "Nope - none of that happening here!"
Posted by: Raj || 05/21/2020 7:36 Comments || Top||

#2  Oh look, a question that can answer itself!
Posted by: gorb || 05/21/2020 10:42 Comments || Top||

#3  If I were the Palestinians, I would tell the EU we've never been so insulted in our lives. (sarc)
Posted by: Clem || 05/21/2020 10:46 Comments || Top||


20 years after withdrawal, Israel and Hezbollah brace for war
[IsraelTimes] In recent weeks, tens of thousands of Israeli troops took part in a military drill to prepare for possible conflict with Iran-backed Lebanese terror group.

Domestically, Hezbollah has emerged to become the preponderant force in Leb
...an Iranian colony situated on the eastern Mediterranean, conveniently adjacent to Israel. Formerly inhabited by hardy Phoenecian traders, its official language is now Arabic, with the usual unpleasant side effects. The Leb civil war, between 1975 and 1990, lasted a little over 145 years and produced 120,000 fatalities. The average length of a ceasefire was measured in seconds. The Lebs maintain a precarious sectarian balance among Shiites, Sunnis, and about a dozeen flavors of Christians. It is the home of Hezbollah, which periodically starts a war with the Zionist Entity, gets Beirut pounded to rubble, and then declares victory and has a parade. The Lebs have the curious habit of periodically murdering their heads of state or prime ministers...
," said Hilal Khashan, a political science professor at the American University in Beirut. But regionally, he said, "the position of Hezbollah is precarious" due to Israeli pressure, domestic turmoil and problems for its Iranian benefactors.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah

#1  Third time ice cream.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/21/2020 1:49 Comments || Top||


Israel braces for Iranian cyberattack after reportedly targeting strategic port
[IsraelTimes] Workers at sensitive facilities told to be on alert for malicious activity after hacking of Bandar Abbas port, which Israel has said is used to supply weapons to Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®,, Hezbollah.

Israel’s security firms and agencies are reportedly preparing for a potential Iranian or Iran-linked cyberattack in response to an attack blamed on the Jewish state that was said to have crippled computer systems at a strategic port in the south of the Islamic Theocratic Republic.

The Washington Post reported Monday that Israel brought down the Shahid Rajaee port’s computer systems, causing a total shutdown of the facility, on May 9.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran Proxies

#1  Already happened.
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/21/2020 7:44 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Syria’s warring parties agree to #Geneva talks: #UN envoy
[TWITTER]
Posted by: Fred || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Syrian ministry denies arresting Rami Makhlouf
[ALMASDARNEWS] Syria’s Ministry of Justice denied the reports that surfaced on social media and opposition channels about the arrest of Rami Makhlouf, the billionaire tycoon and first cousin of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
"Some pages on Facebook, based on biased foreign sources, published a fake decree of the Ministry of Justice about the arrest of all types of assets of Rami Makhlouf. The ministry denied ever issuing any decree in that regard," the ministry said on Facebook.

The ministry said there were accounts on social networks that were intentionally publishing fake news and exploiting the topic to spread rumors.

The state department of communications has recently informed Syriatel provider, headed by Makhlouf, about the need to pay nearly 234 billion Syrian pounds ($456 million) by 5 May. Makhlouf posted an appeal to the president on his Facebook page, asking for his company to be exempted from taxes and claiming that the special service mistreated his employees.

Syrian politician, Mari Bitar, told RIA Novosti that the cousin of the president was subject to the same laws as other citizens of the country and the decision on taxes concerned not just him but everyone who had not paid.

Related: Cousin of Syria's Assad Says State Confiscates His Assets
Posted by: Fred || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Syria


Iranian military copies Russian tanks, won’t need to purchase
[ALMASDARNEWS] The China-based Sohu News Agency reported this week that Iran
...a theocratic Shiite state divided among the Medes, the Persians, and the (Arab) Elamites. Formerly a fairly civilized nation ruled by a Shah, it became a victim of Islamic revolution in 1979. The nation is today noted for spontaneously taking over other countries' embassies, maintaining whorehouses run by clergymen, involvement in international drug trafficking, and financing sock puppet militias to extend the regime's influence. The word Iran is a cognate form of Aryan. The abbreviation IRGC is the same idea as Stürmabteilung (or SA). The term Supreme Guide is a the modern version form of either Duce or Führer or maybe both. They hate Jews Zionists Jews. Their economy is based on the production of oil and vitriol...
will likely not focus on buying weapons from Russia, as they already copy many of their weapons already.According to Sohu, Iran has copied several Russian weapons, including tanks and their air defense systems.

The Sohu article specifically mentioned the Iranian Karrar tank, which is supposed to be a prototype of the Russian T-90.

However,
a clean conscience makes a soft pillow...
they were quick to point out that while it looks like a T-90 tank, it functions more like an improved T-72 tank.

"The design of the Karrar tank shows that Iran’s progress is not small, at first it surprised only by its appearance, but now it does not look like it. Nevertheless, if you look carefully, you will see that this is just a reference to the design of the T-90 tank. This is an improved model of the T-72. The range of changes is still not small. The tank did not get rid of the original design. The Russian technical base is still very good. It’s easy to see that Iran’s progress in tank technology is still pretty fast, but Iran’s imagination is very bad," Sohu News said.

Nevertheless, a number of authoritative sources in Iran stated that Tehran is not considering the possibility of acquiring Russian T-90 tanks, although the latter have proven themselves well in Syria, as they are more interested in using their technologies in Iran.
Posted by: Fred || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  In carpets?
Posted by: g(r)omgoru || 05/21/2020 1:56 Comments || Top||

#2  AN improved T-72. I wonder if their auto loader eviscerates the gunner like the original.
Posted by: Cesare || 05/21/2020 7:10 Comments || Top||

#3  They could take the autoloader out and that would be an improvement too.
Posted by: Thing From Snowy Mountain || 05/21/2020 20:20 Comments || Top||


U.S. designates Ali Fallahian; as the head of Iran’s intelligence service from 1989 to 1997, he was behind multiple assassinations and attacks
[PUBLISH.TWITTER]

Related: State Dept. says Ali Fallahian ‘bears responsibility’ for 1994 bombing of Buenos Aires Jewish center that killed 85, ‘involved’ in 1995 Gaza suicide bombing that killed US student Alisa Flatow
Posted by: Fred || 05/21/2020 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Following a late 1990 secret meeting involving Sudan and Iran intelligence services, Iranian agents began to use Khartoum as a base of operations in the Horn of Africa and the Med.
There then emerged for the first time the Iranian Security Minister Ali Fallahian, a powerful member of Iran's Supreme National Security Council chaired by Iranian President Rafsanjani. Western intel sources were aware that Iran's ruling Council had approved the decision to assassinate government opponents in exile, and Fallahian's minions were made responsible for ratifying the death sentence. Despite Fallahian's involvement in a myriad of terrorist activities (and despite Iranian active presence in Somalia and Bosnia) he was never listed by the USA. He's a little long in the tooth by now.
Posted by: b || 05/21/2020 8:57 Comments || Top||

#2  Making it clear to the old guard that they are no longer safe? If it’s a less-than-hot war they want, it goes both ways?

The Twitter thread mentions still-unsanctioned Seyed Hossein Mousavian, who had served on Iran’s nuclear negotiation team but for the past four years has lived in the U.S. as a visiting scholar at Princeton — one of 2,000 recipients of blank Green Cards courtesy of President Obama’s negotiating team. They’ll want cleaning up too, I imagine, along with whatever dear little friends they’ve made since settling here with their families.
Posted by: trailing wife || 05/21/2020 9:55 Comments || Top||

#3  Well TW, Princeton isn't exactly Soprano country, but it's still New Jersey. Anything could happen.
Posted by: Cesare || 05/21/2020 11:31 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
43[untagged]
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4Taliban
4Commies
4Sublime Porte
3Govt of Syria
3Islamic State
2Muslim Brotherhood
2Moslem Colonists
2Hezbollah
1Govt of Iran Proxies
1Govt of Pakistan

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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.
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Two weeks of WOT
Thu 2020-05-21
  Iraq security forces arrest the new ISIS leader
Wed 2020-05-20
  Abbas says the PA sees itself free of all agreements with Israel and the U.S. - including on security matters
Tue 2020-05-19
  GNA captures al-Watiyah Airbase from the LNA
Mon 2020-05-18
  Afghan president inks power-sharing deal with rival
Sun 2020-05-17
  Pak Doctor on H-1B Visa Wanted to Attack U.S. for ISIS
Sat 2020-05-16
  Tomb of Mordechai and Esther in Iran reportedly set ablaze
Fri 2020-05-15
  France: Pro-Refugee Activist Murdered by Migrant He Was Sleeping With
Thu 2020-05-14
  Nangarhar Funeral Bombing Death Toll Rises to 32
Wed 2020-05-13
  President Ghani, in light of attacks, orders Afghan forces to resume attacks on the Taliban
Tue 2020-05-12
  GNA militia evacuate their headquarters in Abuslim
Mon 2020-05-11
  Iran navy own goal in Oman Gulf exercise; 24 dead
Sun 2020-05-10
  GNA militias lines collapsing quickly
in Abuslim and Salah AlDin with a LNA advance
Sat 2020-05-09
  Houthi Yemeni Scholar Ibrahim Al-Ubeidi: Saud Clan Is a Jewish Family
Fri 2020-05-08
  933 Taliban Prisoners Freed by Afghan Govt, More Promised
Thu 2020-05-07
  PM is elected in Iraq without guidance from Qassem Soleimani

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