Hi there, !
Today Wed 04/10/2019 Tue 04/09/2019 Mon 04/08/2019 Sun 04/07/2019 Sat 04/06/2019 Fri 04/05/2019 Thu 04/04/2019 Archives
Rantburg
531698 articles and 1855971 comments are archived on Rantburg.

Today: 48 articles and 179 comments as of 13:35.
Post a news link    Post your own article   
Area: WoT Operations    Non-WoT    Opinion        Politix   
Libya U.S. forces supporting U.S. Africa Command temporarily relocated
Today's Headlines
Headline Comments [Views]
Page 2: WoT Background
13 21:10 Neville Dark Lord of the Wee Folk7365 [2] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
9 21:34 Skidmark [] 
1 03:16 newc [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
0 [] 
3 12:41 M. Murcek [1] 
0 [1] 
2 09:40 jpal [2] 
3 10:55 Chereting Pelosi1889 [1] 
Page 1: WoT Operations
12 16:38 3dc [1]
0 []
8 22:20 JohnQC [1]
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
0 [1]
2 12:53 trailing wife [2]
0 []
0 []
0 [1]
0 [1]
0 []
0 [1]
0 []
Page 3: Non-WoT
1 16:10 Procopius2k []
6 22:28 JohnQC []
5 15:16 Bobby []
10 21:20 Dron66046 []
9 14:37 Frank G [1]
0 [1]
12 21:07 Ulusose Bourbon5442 [1]
13 21:22 Dron66046 [2]
0 []
6 20:35 Frank G []
0 []
Page 4: Opinion
5 22:26 Cretle Big Foot4791 [1]
8 16:51 Glenmore []
5 14:37 Abu Uluque []
Page 6: Politix
11 17:28 Ching Chaiting3340 []
0 []
12 17:07 M. Murcek []
16 22:38 JohnQC []
7 23:59 Spulet Hupuling3349 []
Afghanistan
US Eyes Reducing Diplomatic Staff In Afghanistan: Report
[ToloNews] US officials have said that Washington is considering reducing its diplomatic footprint in Afghanistan as part of a broader effort to extricate the United States from its costly and deadly 18-year conflict, Foreign Policy reported on April 5.

The State Department is preparing to cut by half the number of US diplomats posted in Kabul in 2020, according to three US officials familiar with internal deliberations as quoted by Foreign Policy.

It may also advance plans to reduce the number of diplomats posted to the US Embassy in Iraq, the report said.

This comes as the US and Taliban
...Arabic for students...
agreed in draft during the 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. Home of nutbag holy manYusuf al-Qaradawi...
talks in mid-March on foreign forces withdrawal and counterterrorism assurances.

According to the report, in February, NPR reported on a leaked internal document from the US Embassy in Kabul that called the outpost too big and urged a "comprehensive review" of its size, though the document did not outline the scale of the proposed cuts.

"We are regularly hearing from Africa that we are outnumbered by the Chinese diplomats working on economic or other issues 4 or 5 to 1," Foreign Policy quoted a senior State Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity. "We cannot continue to concentrate all that money in Afghanistan and Iraq."

It’s a matter of "where can we best deploy our very limited resources to avoid losing further ground to major competitors who are rising at a speed that we can barely comprehend," the official said as quoted by Foreign Policy.

The Foreign Policy report says that the State Department does not publicly discuss precise numbers of personnel at embassies or consulates for security reasons, according to a State Department spokesperson.

"The Department regularly reviews our presence at our overseas missions to reflect changing circumstances and our policy goals. While we do not discuss personnel numbers, our embassies engage in regular reviews to ensure that they are appropriately staffed," quoted by Foreign Policy the spokesperson said in an email response to questions on proposed cuts in Afghanistan and Iraq.

The US Embassy in Afghanistan is not a traditional embassy. Reducing the size of the embassy would be a complicated logistical undertaking with significant security considerations, the report said.

"You have to think of the embassy in Afghanistan not just as a place people go to work but more like a college campus ... in a very insecure environment," said Laurel Miller, a former US diplomat who worked on Afghanistan and is now at the International Crisis Group, as quoted by Foreign Policy.

"The embassy is going to have to be ahead of the curve on a military drawdown, not behind the curve on a military drawdown," she added.

Late last year, conflicting reports emerged about Trump’s decision to withdraw a significant number of troops from Afghanistan. However,
a hangover is the wrath of grapes...
the US military officials and diplomats later said they have not received any order to withdraw troops from Afghanistan.

US has 14,000 troops in Afghanistan as part of the NATO
...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. A cautionary tale of cost-benefit analysis....
’s Resolute Support mission which includes training, advising and assisting the Afghan National Defense and Security Forces in their fight against hard boys.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under:


Africa North
Haftar will pay for his war, say former head of HCS
[Libya Observer] The former president of the High Council of State (PC), Abdulrahman al-Suwehli said that Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
will be the one who will pay for the war he waged on the western region and not those who were lured into this fight, in reference to the followers of so-called Dignity Operation.

"This time it must be an all-out battle to cut off the return to authoritarianism from the root," Suwehli said on Facebook, rejecting international statements urging calm from countries involved in shedding the blood of Libyans, such as La Belle France and Abu Dhabi.

"Opportunists will not be allowed to exploit such events and trade in the sacrifices of men, as they have been doing continuously for the past period, in order to stay in the scene and continue to infiltrate in the state," al-Suwehli added.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


Libya's Al-Sarraj calls Haftar backstabber, demands countries supporting him to stop it
[Libya Observer] The Head of the Presidential Council Fayez al-Sarraj has condemned the military operations and attacks on Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
by Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
's forces, saying it is a stab in the back amid the efforts to reach a political solution in Libya.

Al-Sarraj indicated Saturday in an address on the Libyan state TV Channel that he met with Haftar many times and was positive that the results of those meetings would facilitate a political settlement to the crisis.

"When we hosted the UN Secretary General in Tripoli, we were surprised to hear about Haftar's military mobilization after the progress of the political solution in the country." al-Sarraj said.

He also said that his forces have been asked to be on high alert and that he declared mobilization of all forces in order to respond to the declaration of war by Haftar, who will gain nothing, but will only shed blood and destroy people's properties.

"All those involved in the current war on Tripoli will be brought to justice locally and internationally." al-Sarraj added.

He called on the international community not to look equally at the attacker and the defender which is preserving the civilian state, asking the countries supporting Haftar in his war to stop it.

These remarks come as forces under al-Sarraj's government command have defeated Haftar's forces in different frontlines in southern Tripoli, Tripoli Airport and on the road to Tarhouna, let alone foiling attacks in al-Zahraa, al-Saadiya and northern Gharyan.

In the meantime, the Libyan Air Force targeted Haftar's forces in al-Hira, Gharyan, and Wadi al-Rabea, vowing to target any other attacking forces on the ground.

The front man for Haftar's self-styled army Ahmed al-Mismari said Saturday that they had lost 14 fighters in the festivities so far, not mentioning the number of captives, which reports say amount to over 200.

Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


#LNA is also preparing for a naval operation against #GNA in #Tripoli.
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Arab Spring


The Grand Turk
Turkish prosecutor probes presumptive HDP mayors on ‘terror’ charges
[Rudaw] Diyarbakir’s public prosecutor has launched an investigation into the presumptive winner of the city’s mayoral election based on alleged ties to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

The investigation targets Adnan Selcuk Mizrakli, mayoral candidate for the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) in Diyarbakir who won the vote according to unofficial results, and Hulya Alokmen, who has been designated by HDP to share the mayoral office with Mizrakli under the party’s gender-balance system whereby all top positions are jointly filled by a man and a woman.
How cute. Gridlock
Berdan Ozturk, a HDP member of parliament for Agri, is also named in the investigation.

All three are alleged to have attended an event in Diyarbakir on Thursday where pro-PKK songs were sung.

Alokmen told Rudaw English late on Friday that she has not been officially notified of the probe and has only heard about it through media reports.

"Yesterday, we were celebrating the election victory," she said. "The event was organized by [HDP’s] provincial office in Diyarbakir. All the co-chairs who won in the election met there. [The prosecutor] wanted to launch an investigation into this event. We have been under pressure since the election began. All our steps were monitored."

The HDP officials are accused of "hailing PKK terror members," state-run Anadolu Agency reported, citing a judicial source.

Alokmen denied the accusation. "We did not do anything illegal," she said.

Video of the event shared by HDP shows a full room chanting a refrain from ’Cerxa feleke’ (The wheels of revolution), commonly associated with the PKK: "From the walls of prisons to the tops of mountains, the red flag was raised... Our leader is the Workers’ Party."

Rudaw was not able to verify whether or not Alokmen, Mizrakli, and Ozturk joined in.

The three risk losing their positions if found guilty.

In 2016, the government replaced tens of HDP mayors with pro-government trustees and tossed in the slammer
Drop the rod and step away witcher hands up!
some elected mayors, including former mayor of Diyarbakir Gultan Kisanak, accused of terror ties.

Alokmen said they are not afraid of potential criminal charges. "We expected this when we were nominated," she said, adding the government will not find it easy to replace them with trustees because of people’s pressure, but "they can still find a way to do so."

On the campaign trail, Ottoman Turkish President 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...
said they would replace HDP mayors with trustees if they were discovered to have links to the PKK.

HDP "is saying that they will regain places administered by trustees," Erdogan said at a rally in Yozgat on February 25. He threatened to "immediately assign trustees if you send government money to Qandil," referring to the PKK headquarters in the Kurdistan Region’s mountains.

The election results, still to be officially declared because of recounts and challenges, served up wins and losses across the board. HDP failed to gain Kurdish-majority provinces like Agri, Sirnak, Bitlis, and Tunceli. But Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) appears to have lost the capital Ankara, the biggest city Istanbul, and the coastal city of Izmir to the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP).

HDP has claimed a role in AKP’s key losses. The party focused its campaign in the Kurdish southeast and urged supporters to vote strategically, casting ballots for opposition candidates where there was no HDP name on the ticket.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under: Sublime Porte

#1  Can I borrow a shocked face? Mine seems to be worn out.


The "new" Gulenists.
Posted by: AlanC || 04/07/2019 8:06 Comments || Top||

#2  Turkish prosecutors have something with American ones I see. They can keep going after you as long as they want until they find something they don't like.
Posted by: jpal || 04/07/2019 9:40 Comments || Top||


Home Front: WoT
NY man charged with threatening to kill Minnesota Muslim Congresswoman Ilhan Omar: FBI
Blowhard idiot.
[AlAhram] A western New York man has been charged with threatening to kill US Rep. Ilhan Omar
Somali-American Dem representative from Minnesota. She is apparently married to her brother and may be her own grandmaw...
of Minnesota.

Federal prosecutors announced Friday that Patrick Carlineo Jr. was locked away
Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out!
after placing a threatening call to Omar’s office in Washington D.C. last month.

Authorities did not say when Carlineo was arrested.

Omar is among the first of two Moslem women to serve in Congress.

The FBI said in a criminal complaint Carlineo called her a "terrorist" and threatened to shoot her. The bureau said that Carlineo sounded angry during the call but "spelled his name correctly and provided contact information" to a staffer.

Carlineo told the FBI that he is a patriot, "loves the president and that he hates radical Moslems in our government," the criminal complaint says. Carlineo’s defense attorney declined to comment on the charges Friday.

Omar was met with backlash for remarks she made earlier this year on Israel, including comments that American supporters of Israel are pushing people to have "allegiance to a foreign country ."

Some people perceived Omar’s comments were anti-Semitic. She later apologized, saying "anti-Semitism is real and I am grateful for Jewish allies and colleagues who are educating me on the painful history of anti-Semitic tropes."

Omar, a Somali-American, has also received anti-Semitic and racists comments.
Such a cleverboots, that Ay Pee journalist, carefully ignoring the history of the term antisemitism, which came into common use in 1880 or so to distinguish between what was claimed to be modern, scientific “racial” hatred of Jews and the unenlightened, religious prejudice of the old-fashioned Jew-hater.
Reuters adds:
Patrick Carlineo Jr., 55, of Addison, New York, faces up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, the U.S. Department of Justice said on Friday in a statement.

According to prosecutors, Carlineo spoke by telephone with one of Omar’s staff members on March 21 and asked the employee: "Do you work for the Moslem Brüderbund? Why are you working for her, she’s a (expletive) terrorist. I’ll put a bullet in her (expletive) skull."

The threat was referred to the U.S. Capitol Police who launched a probe in coordination with the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Justice Department said.

Carlineo made an initial court appearance on Friday and is being held pending a detention hearing on April 10.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Moslem Colonists

#1  I prefer the Nike expression
Posted by: Uleck Spererong9442 || 04/07/2019 7:42 Comments || Top||

#2  "When the enemy is making a false movement we must take good care not to interrupt him." - Napoleon

Even the stupid party is going to have a hard time not using the political fodder these 'young Turks' are giving the independents and conservatives in choosing who to vote for and not vote for.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/07/2019 8:55 Comments || Top||

#3  The assh*le that runs that "Young Turks" show is almost 50 years old...
Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/07/2019 12:41 Comments || Top||


India-Pakistan
Family of Karachi kid caught in crossfire demands justice
[DAWN] The family of a 10-year-old boy, who was killed on Friday after getting caught in an exchange of fire between police and an alleged criminal in Bloody Karachi
...formerly the capital of Pakistain, now merely its most important port and financial center. It is among the largest cities in the world, with a population of 18 million, most of whom hate each other and many of whom are armed and dangerous...
, has demanded justice for their loss.

Ten-year-old Sajjad Khan had sustained a gunshot wound to the head after being caught in the crossfire that ensued when police say they came across a "wanted criminal" named Sher Zaman. The boy had later expired at the hospital.

Two coppers, another 12-year-old boy, and the suspect himself were also injured during the exchange of fire.

"It is correct that Sajjad Khan, 10, was rubbed out during an exchange of fire but we do not know whose shot caused his death," said Saddam Husain, a cousin of the victim.

Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Pakistan


Israel-Palestine-Jordan
Netanyahu mulls annexing settlements in disputed #WestBank
[TWITTER]
Top PLO official condemns PM’s campaign vow to apply sovereignty to settlements

[IsraelTimes] Saeb Erekat
...negotiated the Oslo Accords with Israel. He has been chief Paleostinian negotiator since 1995. He is currently negotiating with Israel to establish a de jure Paleostinian state...
hints Paleostinians could turn to ICC if Israel carries out such a move; settler leader: Netanyahu ’will be measured by his actions and not his words’.
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Palestinian Authority

#1  How can you annex your own land?
Posted by: newc || 04/07/2019 3:16 Comments || Top||


Possibility of rockets from Gaza in order to influence the election
[TWITTER]

Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hamas


Olde Tyme Religion
Pope blames US, Europe for selling weapons in war zones
[DAWN] Pope Francis has blamed Europe
...also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
and the United States for selling weapons in war zones, fueling conflicts and causing victims in Syria, 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...
and Afghanistan.

Speaking to students and teachers of Milan's San Carlo Institute on Saturday, the pope said that the reason why there are so many wars around the world is that "the rich Europe and America sell weapons ... used to kill children and kill people."

Francis also added that, without weapons, countries like Syria, Yemen and Afghanistan wouldn't be at war.
Right. It's the evil weapons that make them fight
The pontiff said that "a country that produces and sells weapons has on its conscience the death of every child and the destruction of each family. It's us that make a difference."
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  Yes, gun running is certainly a problem, but are there no problems of an internal nature the Pontiff might wish to resolve before venturing outside the church ?
Posted by: Besoeker || 04/07/2019 5:36 Comments || Top||

#2  but are there no problems of an internal nature the Pontiff might wish to resolve before venturing outside the church ?

Or even his own compound.
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/07/2019 9:11 Comments || Top||

#3  Is there some old book that mentions the mote in thine own eye?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/07/2019 9:12 Comments || Top||

#4  I seem ti recall that Cain killed Abel with a rock he picked up from the ground — no outside arms sellers needed.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2019 10:29 Comments || Top||

#5  the pope said that the reason why there are so many wars around the world is that "the rich Europe and America sell weapons ... used to kill children and kill people.

Do you even know any actual people, Francis? Twenty Five years ago in Rwanda, a half-million or so people were massacred. No doubt there were Western firearms involved, but a good bit of the violence was done in the old-fashioned way - by hand. With machetes.

People are determined and resourceful. Do you honestly think that taking Western weapons will make violence go away? That people won't pick up the nearest thing handy and use it on the object of their anger?

I'm going to start calling this The Gun Grabber's Fallacy:
People kill each other with X.
If we remove all X,
then they will stop killing each other.

For a real-world example, see Britain were after guns were banned, people switched to knives. Expect to see pipes and other blunt objects become the instrument of choice after knives are gone.
Posted by: SteveS || 04/07/2019 10:32 Comments || Top||

#6  That's the lib position. I own plenty of weapons and I'm at war with no one.
Posted by: M. Murcek || 04/07/2019 12:38 Comments || Top||

#7  If there is any weapon that has facilitated numerous 3rd world wars, it is the ubiquitous AK-47.

Those did not come from any Western country. Red Jorge knows that.
Posted by: The peanut gallery || 04/07/2019 13:30 Comments || Top||

#8  No mention of Russia in Francis’ remarks.
Posted by: Alaska Paul || 04/07/2019 13:32 Comments || Top||

#9  Clown.
Posted by: newc || 04/07/2019 16:09 Comments || Top||

#10  Most of the weapons are Eastern Bloc - no mention of Russia and other former soviet bloc nations, as well as china.

Francis is an idiot. He seems oblivious to the fact that these tribal people have been killing each other for centuries, with swords and knives, long before the modern weapons came around.
Posted by: Injun Bucket8891 || 04/07/2019 19:29 Comments || Top||

#11  The Vatican is a lot closer to the source of AKs than Washington DC. Know what I'm sayin' Francis, you walking, talking jackass?
Posted by: Cretle Big Foot4791 || 04/07/2019 20:35 Comments || Top||

#12  "The rich Europe and America" are what burns his candles and kiss his effing finger. Without them he'd be out of business.
Posted by: Dron66046 || 04/07/2019 21:05 Comments || Top||

#13  Where Christianity flourishes there is usually peace. But Christianity seems to be a foreign topic to this fake.
Posted by: Neville Dark Lord of the Wee Folk7365 || 04/07/2019 21:10 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
US may declare Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a ‘terrorist’ group ahead of Israeli elections
[ALMASDARNEWS] The Trump administration is reportedly preparing to designate Iran’s Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) as a foreign terrorist organization, the first such designation of another country’s military, as early as next Monday.

The designation might come as early as Monday, three US officials told Rooters and the Wall Street Journal, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
Such a move would be a major escalation of the Trump administration’s policy of pressure on Iran, which began with the pullout from the nuclear deal last May and continued with the reimposition of sanctions suspended under the 2015 agreement.

The IRGC was founded after Iran’s 1979 Islamic revolution. Its foreign expeditionary branch, the Quds force, has been heavily involved in fighting against 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, formerly ISIS/ISIS) turbans in Syria, as well as other krazed killer groups opposed to the government in Damascus.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, however, considers Iran an existential threat to his country, and has even made thinly veiled nuclear threats against Damascus and Tehran over IRGC’s presence in Syria.

The timing of the announcement is especially interesting, given that Netanyahu is facing a tough election next Tuesday. In addition to ditching the nuclear deal, US President Donald Trump
...New York real estate developer, described by Dems as illiterate, racist, misogynistic, and what ever other unpleasant descriptions they can think of, elected by the rest of us as 45th President of the United States...
has made several other moves in support of Netanyahu, including the relocation of the US embassy in Israel to Jerusalem and the recent recognition of Israel’s claim to the Golan Heights, which it has occupied since the 1967 war with Syria, Jordan and Egypt.

Proposals to designate the IRGC as a terrorist organization have been circulating around Washington for years, though critics have warned that doing so would open US military and intelligence officials to retaliation by other governments.
Regardless of the final decision, whenever it ends up being made, the fact that it is being discussed will make people think more carefully about dealing with Revolutionary Guard businesses.
"Don't call us terrorists, or we'll commit acts of terror and mass-killings against you!"
Posted by: Fred || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  About at least 18 years late.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/07/2019 8:56 Comments || Top||

#2  The Quds force was listed years ago. This is like listing the entire United States Army.

An interesting article. I wonder if it was from the Sputnik feed or AP...
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2019 10:20 Comments || Top||

#3  Checked at the link. At the bottom one sees Source: RT. They do like their Russian propaganda.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2019 10:24 Comments || Top||

#4  Shouldn't the MB be first?
Posted by: Bright Pebbles || 04/07/2019 10:48 Comments || Top||

#5  Val Jars' Pets or Huma's? Why not both?
Posted by: Frank G || 04/07/2019 10:56 Comments || Top||

#6  From a tweet:
IRGC commander Jafari warns if the U.S. designates Revolutionary Guards as a terrorist organization then the U.S. military will not have peace in West Asia.
Posted by: 3dc || 04/07/2019 12:05 Comments || Top||

#7  we don't have peace in west asia anyway
Posted by: chris || 04/07/2019 14:15 Comments || Top||

#8  What's the Pope's position? Said absolutely no one.
Posted by: Regular joe || 04/07/2019 19:28 Comments || Top||

#9  'May', but it's only April!
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/07/2019 21:34 Comments || Top||


What is Iran's Revolutionary Guard?
[DW] The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps' power extends beyond Iran and into major conflicts across the Middle East. DW takes a look at this influential force known as the "Guardians of the Islamic Revolution."

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) is Iran's elite military force responsible for protecting the Islamic regime from internal and external threats.

A 125,000-man force, it also controls the paramilitary Basij militia, which has about 90,000 active members, and runs the foreign special operations Quds force.

The IRGC was established at the end of Iran's 1979 Islamic Revolution as an elite armed militia whose role was to protect the then embryonic Shiite holy manal regime. It also formed an important counterweight to Iran's conventional military, many of whose leaders were believed to be loyal to the exiled shah.

The IRGC initially operated as a domestic force, but expanded quickly after Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded Iran in 1980, when Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini gave the group its own ground, naval and air forces.

IRGC HANDS ARE EVERYWHERE
Some analysts have argued the IRGC has since become a state-within-a-state, a visible manifestation of what is usually referred to as the "deep state" in other ‐ less authoritarian ‐ countries.

The IRGC's role is enshrined in the constitution and it answers only to Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, thus also endowing it with an enormous range of legal, political and in effect also religious powers.

The group oversees Iran's ballistic missile program and has conducted several tests since the nuclear deal. Its missiles can reach Israel and in March 2016 it launched a ballistic missile with the words "Israel must be wiped out" in Hebrew.

The IRGC's power base reaches into the furthest corners of the Iranian state, a network that effectively runs the military and intelligence complexes.

Iran's president, the reformist Hassan Rouhani, has had an up-and-down relationship with the IRGC. He has sought to reduce the IRGC's influence over the economy as part of economic reforms.

It is reported to have a large stake in the Iranian economy, both in legal and illegal entities, with commanders also owning real estate in Tehran. The group is also often accused of engaging in lucrative cross-border smuggling.

Its intelligence network has been behind the arrests and convictions of dual nationals and those with Western ties on espionage charges in closed hearings.

QUDS HOLD THE KEYS
Khamenei, who succeeded Khomeini in 1989, created the Quds force, a unit of the Revolutionary Guard in charge of its overseas operations.

Sometimes known as the successor to the shah's Imperial Guards, the Quds are estimated to be 2,000-5,000 in number.

Headed by Major General Qassem Soleimani
, who has advised forces fighting 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....
" in Iraq and Syria on behalf of Syrian Hereditary President-for-Life Bashir Pencilneck al-Assad
Light of the Alawites...
, the Quds works with Hezbollah in Leb and Hamas, the braying voice of Islamic Resistance®, in Gazoo, two organizations the government openly parades as allies.

A TERRORIST GROUP?
The United States has accused Iran of being a state sponsor of terrorism, but has refrained from listing the IRGC as a terror group over concern that move could lead to attacks on US forces in the region. It would also be unprecedented for a country's military to be labeled a terrorist group.

However,
there's more than one way to stuff a chicken...
the US maintains sanctions on Iran and the IRGC over the supporting of terrorism, mainly due to their military support for Hezbollah and Hamas.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran


Report: Hizbullah ‘Cuts’ Ties with Jumblat
[AnNahar] Hizbullah
...Party of God, a Leb militia inspired, founded, funded and directed by Iran. Hizbullah refers to itself as The Resistance and purports to defend Leb against Israel, with whom it has started and lost one disastrous war to date, though it did claim victory...
has decided to "break" its relations "indefinitely" with Progressive Socialist Party leader ex-MP Walid Wally Jumblat
... Druze politician, head of the Progressive Socialist Party, who's been on every side in Leb at least four times. He'll sell you his friends for a dollar, but family comes higher because of shipping and handling...
, al-Akhbar daily reported on Saturday.

The party reportedly took this decision after "Jumblat’s repeated positions on the Syrian refugee crisis, and issuance of a decision by PSP Minister Wael Abu Faour annulling that of former Industry Minister Hussein Hajj Hassan (Hizbullah) grantig a license to establish an industrial complex in Ain Dara," said the daily.

It added that "Hizbullah informed Abu Faour that cancelling Hassan’s decision violates the law and the State Shura Council."

According to the newspaper, "it was only a few days before Abu Faour unhesitatntly revoked the license, and asked that Hizbullah leader His Eminence Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah
The satrap of the Medes and the Persians in Leb...
reviews the matter with Jumblat," which the party considered as a "challenge."
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [0 views] Top|| File under: Hezbollah


International flood aid arrives in Iran
[Rudaw] International aid is arriving in Iran to help hundreds of thousands affected by flooding across the country.

La Belle France’s Foreign Ministry announced on Friday it was sending "twelve tons of humanitarian cargo, including 114 motorized pumps" to Iran. The first aid shipment will take place in the coming days.

German Red Thingy boats have already arrived in the country. The aid package includes 40 rescue boats and specialized rescue equipment like helmets and vests. The majority of the German aid, 80 percent, will be sent to Khuzestan province in the southwest where "Iranian Red Islamic Thingy (IRC) flood rescue teams will use the boats to transfer essential items to the affected households," the IRC stated.

The German Red Thingy said it sent the inflatable boats because of problems getting aid to rural areas.

A first shipment of aid from Kuwait landed in Tehran on Friday. The forty tons of aid includes water pumps, pharmaceuticals, and foodstuffs.

The International Federation of Red Thingy and Red Islamic Thingy (IFRC) Societies has allocated half a million Swiss francs to support flood relief efforts in Iran.

The global aid has arrived despite claims from Tehran that US sanctions were blocking relief efforts.

Seventy people have died in more than two weeks of floods, the head of Iran’s Emergency Medical Services organizations said on Friday. "The floods also injured 791 people, of whom 45 are still hospitalized," said Pirhossein Koolivand, IRNA reported.

The flooding has caused landslides and swept away bridges. Nearly 12,000 kilometres of roads have been damaged, AFP reported, leaving some villages entirely cut off.

Rain is forecast for Saturday.
Posted by: trailing wife || 04/07/2019 00:00 || Comments || Link || [1 views] Top|| File under: Govt of Iran

#1  Wonder how much International Aid made it to Nebraska?
Posted by: Skidmark || 04/07/2019 1:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Far be it for the Ayatollahs and IRGC to cough up some of their money to help
Posted by: Frank G || 04/07/2019 8:28 Comments || Top||

#3  The floods have hit the Turkoman region of the northeast and Arab region of the south. Thus, it is someone else's problem, not the Ayatollahs.
Posted by: Chereting Pelosi1889 || 04/07/2019 10:55 Comments || Top||



Who's in the News
21[untagged]
7Arab Spring
3Islamic State
3Govt of Iran
3Commies
2Moslem Colonists
2Govt of Syria
1Taliban
1Govt of Pakistan
1Govt of Sudan
1Hamas
1Hezbollah
1Palestinian Authority
1Sublime Porte

Bookmark
E-Mail Me

The Classics
The O Club
Rantburg Store
The Bloids
The Never-ending Story
Thugburg
Gulf War I
The Way We Were
Bio

Merry-Go-Blog











On Sale now!


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.
Click here for more information

Meet the Mods
In no particular order...
Steve White
Seafarious
tu3031
badanov
sherry
ryuge
GolfBravoUSMC
Bright Pebbles
trailing wife
Gloria
Fred
Besoeker
Glenmore
Frank G
3dc
Skidmark

Two weeks of WOT
Sun 2019-04-07
  Libya U.S. forces supporting U.S. Africa Command temporarily relocated
Sat 2019-04-06
  Egypt kills hundreds of suspected militants in disputed gun battles
Fri 2019-04-05
  German police arrest teen who says he planned shooting
Thu 2019-04-04
  Libya’s General Haftar marches on Tripoli
Wed 2019-04-03
  Bouteflika resigns
Tue 2019-04-02
  US suspends F-35 deliveries to Turkey over Russian S-400 deal
Mon 2019-04-01
  Sudan police fire tear gas as protesters rally
Sun 2019-03-31
  Misfired Patriot missile hits farm in Qatar
Sat 2019-03-30
  Hamas May Declare War Saturday
Fri 2019-03-29
  Turkey: air defense purchase from Russia 'a done deal'
Thu 2019-03-28
  Boko Haram attacks in eastern Niger leave 10 dead: Mayor
Wed 2019-03-27
  Israel just hit near Aleppo Syria
Tue 2019-03-26
  IAF Hits Enemy Targets After 30 Rockets Pound Israel, Egypt threatens to quit mediating
Mon 2019-03-25
  Gaza War is On!
Sun 2019-03-24
  More than 130 killed in Mali massacre as UN visits

Better than the average link...



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.
3.239.206.191
Help keep the Burg running! Paypal:
WoT Operations (15)    Non-WoT (11)    Opinion (3)    (0)    Politix (5)