[NYPost] The identities of the 13 US service members who were killed by an ISIS-K suicide bomber outside the Kabul airport while helping to oversee the evacuation of thousands of Americans and Afghan allies have begun to emerge.
The names of one Navy corpsman, seven Marines and one Army soldier killed in Thursday’s blast have been released, while the identities of an additional three Marines and one Army soldier have yet to be disclosed while the military works to inform their families.
“We continue to mourn the loss of these Marines and pray for their families. Our focus now is taking care of the families of those who were killed and caring for our injured,” Maj. Jim Stenger, a Marine Corps spokesperson, told The Post in an email.
Per protocol, the military does not release information on deceased service members until 24 hours after their family members have been notified, but relatives and local officials have already independently confirmed several of the deaths ahead of that timeline.
Here’s what we know about the US service members who were killed.
MAXTON SOVIAK, 22, NAVY
Soviak, a Navy hospital corpsman, hailed from Berlin Heights, Ohio, and graduated from Edison High School in Milan in 2017, the Sandusky Register reported.
A woman who identified herself as Soviak’s older sister and goes by Marilyn Soviak on Instagram, penned a heartbreaking post Friday that confirmed her brother’s death.
“I’ve never been one for politics and i’m not going to start now. What I will say is that my beautiful, intelligent, beat-to-the-sound of his own drum, annoying, charming baby brother was killed yesterday helping to save lives,” the sister wrote.
“[H]e was a f–king medic. there to help people. and now he is gone and my family will never be the same. there is a large Maxton sized hole that will never be filled,” she wrote alongside a slideshow of images showing the two as children.
“[H]e was just a kid. [W]e are sending kids over there to die. kids with families that now have holes just like ours.”
Soviak’s family later released a statement calling him a “wonderful son who loved his family, his community, and was proud to serve in the US Navy.”
“He was excited about the opportunities the Navy would offer him and planned to make the Navy a career,” the statement said.
“We are incredibly proud of his service to our country… Words cannot express how heartbroken we are with this news and we will miss Max tremendously.”
While in high school, Soviak played football and was on the honor roll, the outlet reported.
“Max was a good student who was active in sports and other activities throughout his school career. He was well respected and liked by everyone who knew him,” the school said in a statement, adding that news of his death has brought “great sorrow.”
Soviak also previously worked as a lifeguard and a maintenance technician, the outlet reported.
Kareem Nikoui was from Norco, California. His father didn’t realize his son had been killed until a clutch of Marines showed up at his door, the Daily Beast reported.
“I haven’t gone to bed all night,” the heartbroken dad told the outlet.
“I’m still in shock. I haven’t been able to grasp everything that’s going on.”
He said his son “loved what he was doing” and “always wanted to be a Marine.”
“He really loved that [Marine Corps] family. He was devoted — he was going to make a career out of this, and he wanted to go. No hesitation for him to be called to duty,” the dad said.
Ahead of his deployment to Afghanistan, Kareem Nikoui was stationed nearby at Camp Pendleton and often visited home on the weekends, bringing along “10 or 15 other Marines” with him, the dad told the Daily Beast.
“My wife and I felt very honored that [since] these other boys weren’t around their homes, that we were able to provide some sort of family life for them,” he said.
The father criticized President Biden’s sloppy withdrawal from Afghanistan and said he didn’t expect his son to be in this situation.
“They sent my son over there as a paper pusher and then had the Taliban outside providing security,” Steve Nikoui said.
“I blame my own military leaders … Biden turned his back on him. That’s it.”
The day before Kareem Nikoui was killed, he sent a video to his dad that showed him talking with Afghan children and giving them candy at the Kabul airport.
“He was born the same year it started, and ended his life with the end of this war,” the dad said, referring to the war that started in 2001.
“I’m really disappointed in the way that the president has handled this, even more so the way the military has handled it. The commanders on the ground should have recognized this threat and addressed it.”
DAVID LEE ESPINOZA, 20, MARINES
Espinoza was from Laredo, Texas, according to the Laredo Police Department.
“Our thoughts and prayers will remain with the family of United States Fallen Marine, David L. Espinoza, as well as to his friends and fellow Marines,” the agency wrote in a Facebook post alongside a photo of Espinoza.
“Semper Fi. Thank you for your service.”
Espinoza graduated from Lyndon B. Johnson High School in Laredo and lived in Rio Bravo his entire life, KGNS reported.
“Mr. Espinoza, a Laredo Marine killed in Afghanistan, embodied the values of America: grit, dedication, service, and valor. When he joined the military after high school, he did so with the intention of protecting our nation and demonstrating his selfless acts of service,” Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) wrote on Twitter.
“I mourn him and all the fallen heroes in Afghanistan. My heart goes out to the Espinoza family in this extremely difficult time. The brave never die. Mr. Espinoza is a hero.”
Espinoza leaves behind a brother, mother and stepfather, News 4 San Antonio reported.
RYLEE MCCOLLUM, 20, MARINES
McCollum, from Bondurant, Wyoming, was on his first deployment, had just gotten married, and was three weeks away from being a dad when he was killed in Thursday’s blast, according to the Casper Star Tribune.
“He wanted to be a Marine his whole life and carried around his rifle in his diapers and cowboy boots,” McCollum’s sister Roice McCollum told the outlet.
“He was determined to be in infantry … Rylee wanted to be a history teacher and a wrestling coach when he finished serving his country. He’s a tough, kind, loving kid who made an impact on everyone he met. His joke and wit brought so much joy.”
Rylee McCollum had just graduated from high school in 2019 and was manning an airport checkpoint when the bomb exploded, the outlet said.
“Saying that I am grateful for Rylee’s service to our country does not begin to encapsulate the grief and sadness I feel today as a mother and as an American,” Wyoming Schools Superintendent Jillian Balow told the outlet.
“My heart and prayers are with Rylee’s family, friends, and the entire Jackson community.”
Wyoming Gov. Mark Gordon tweeted about the death early Friday.
“I’m devastated to learn Wyoming lost one of our own in yesterday’s terrorist attack in Kabul,” Gordon wrote.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of Rylee McCollum of Bondurant. Jennie and I, along with all of Wyoming and the entire country thank Rylee for his service.”
JARED SCHMITZ, 20, MARINES
Schmitz was a lance corporal from St. Charles County, Missouri, according to KMOX.
“His life meant so much more. I’m so incredibly devastated that I won’t be able to see the man that he was very quickly growing into becoming,” Schmitz’s father, Mark Schmitz, told the outlet.
The heartbroken dad said his son, who always dreamed of being a soldier, was on his first deployment and was sent to Afghanistan from Jordan. He was notified of his son’s death at about 2:40 a.m.
State Rep. Nick Schroer penned a Facebook post about the death.
“Today please pray for Lance Corporal Jared Schmitz who paid the ultimate sacrifice yesterday serving our nation,” Schroer wrote on Facebook.
“This young marine was from St. Charles County and is a true American hero. Keep his family in your prayers today. Thank you for your service young man! God Bless you and your family, Marine.”
HUNTER LOPEZ, 22, MARINE
Lopez was a Corporal who hailed from California and planned to follow in his parent’s footsteps and become a sheriff’s deputy once he was done with deployment, CBS Los Angeles reported.
The Riverside Sheriff’s Association released a statement on behalf of Lopez’s parents, Riverside Deputy Sheriff Alicia Lopez and Riverside Sheriff’s Captain Herman Lopez, the outlet reported.
“We are heartbroken to hear this sad news about Hunter, who chose to follow a life of service, selflessness, courage and sacrifice, like his parents. Hunter was a Riverside Sheriff’s Explorer Scout with the Palm Desert Station from September 2014 to August 2017,” the statement said.
The RSA said Lopez was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines “who answered the call to serve, defend and protect our nation.”
“Hunter was the victim of vicious evil and was killed because he wore a United States [Marine] uniform with love and pride. Our entire community feels the anguish, and we mourn the death of Hunter,” the statement continued.
“Like his parents who serve our community, being a Marine to Hunter wasn’t a job; it was a calling. He loved his family, and as we grieve for Hunter and his fellow Marines taken from us too soon, there are simply no words to express how deeply he will be missed — Semper Fi.”
The family asked for all donations to be made to the Riverside County Deputy Sheriff Relief Foundation.
DAEGAN PAGE, 23, MARINES
Marine Cpl. Daegan Page was a native of Omaha, Neb., who loved hockey and hunting and “will always be remembered for his tough outer shell and giant heart,” his family said Friday.
Page, who joined the Marines out of high school, served with the 2nd Regiment of the 1st Marine Regiment, a unit known as “The Professionals” based at Camp Pendleton in Southern California.
“Daegan always looked forward to coming home and hanging out with his family and many buddies in Nebraska,” the family statement said. “To his younger siblings, he was their favorite jungle gym and to his friends, he was a genuinely happy guy that you could always count on.”
Page hoped to go to trade school following the completion of his Marine service and is survived by his parents, step-parents, grandparents, four siblings and his girlfriend Jessica.
RYAN KNAUSS, 23, ARMY
The first US Army soldier identified as a victim of Thursday’s attack, Ryan Knauss was “a motivated young man who loved his country,” his grandfather said Friday.
Knauss, who hailed from Knoxville, Tenn., had just completed Psychology Operations training and was hoping to move to Washington, DC, his stepmother Linnae told WATE.
“He was a super-smart, hilarious young man,” Linnae Knauss told WATE of her stepson, who joined the Army shortly after graduating from high school. She added to WBIR that Ryan enjoyed building things with his hands and helping his wife Alena tend to her garden.
Rep. Tim Burchett (R-Tenn.) tweeted Friday that Ryan “gave his life outside Hamid Karzai International Airport helping people he didn’t know get to safety. This is what true heroism looks like and Ryan’s sacrifice will never be forgotten. The Knauss family is in my prayers.”
Grandfather Wayne Knauss described Ryan as a devout Christian who attended religious schools through the eighth grade.
“He was a believer,” he said of his grandson, “so we will see him again in God’s heaven.”
DARIN TAYLOR HOOVER JR., 31, MARINES
Staff Sgt. Darin Taylor Hoover Jr., known as Taylor, was a former high school football player from Midvale, Utah who “lit up a room” when he entered, his father told The Washington Post.
“He was the most-loving, giving, understanding person you could ever meet,” the elder Darin Taylor told the paper. He added that since he was informed of his son’s death, he had received messages of condolences from other Marines who had Taylor as their sergeant.
“They look back on him and say that they’ve learned so much from him,” Hoover said. “One heck of a leader.”
Other family members paid tribute to Hoover on social media.
“Taylor spent his entire adult life as a Marine, serving,” one uncle, Jeremy Soto, wrote on Facebook. “Doing the hard things that most of us can’t do. He is a hero. Taylor is one of the 13 fallen in Afghanistan. We are wounded. We are bruised. We are angry. We are crushed … but we remain faithful.”
Utah Gov. Spencer Cox ordered flags at all state facilities and public grounds to be flown at half-staff through sunset Monday to honor Taylor’s memory, as well as the other Kabul attack victims.
“We are devastated to hear of the passing of Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, who served valiantly as a Marine and died serving his fellow countrymen as well as America’s allies in Afghanistan,” Cox said in a statement. “We honor his tremendous bravery and commitment to his country, even as we condemn the senseless violence that resulted in his death.”
Rep. Burgess Owens (R-Utah), whose district includes Midvale, tweeted that he was “devastated and heartbroken over the brave soldiers who lost their lives.
“But, I’m also angry,” Owens added. “Angry that this was avoidable and is the direct result of a feckless administration with no backbone.”
Hoover’s father told Fox 13 that his son “did what he loved, was leading his men and was with them to the end. He loved these United States and proved it by his service. We are so heartbroken and feel for the families of his fallen brothers as well. Our condolences go out to them in this trying time.”
Just like Turkey.[Daily Wire] Top leadership at the Office of Naval Intelligence (ONI) informed active duty and retired service members that they cannot condemn President Joe Biden amid the chaotic — and now deadly — pullout of American troops from Afghanistan. I wonder what prompted this action.
In an email from the ONI’s Chief of Staff, ONI members were reminded that per a Uniform Code of Military Justice and Department of Defense Directive clause they cannot disrespect senior government leadership. Wait, we have "leadership"? Not from what I'm seeing. We don't even have adult supervision.
This includes the President, Vice President, Congress, the Secretary of Defense, and more. It should be easy to identify the culprits. Just do a systemwide search for "impeach", "traitor", "catastrophe", "disaster", "gutless", "clusterfook", and "goat rodeo" and their names should pop right up.
ONI members cannot participate in partisan political activity or distribute partisan political literature. An internal ONI member told The Daily Wire that these policies were more relaxed under the Trump administration and recalled retired officers condemning the former President. That tells me all I want to know about the "leadership" of this organization.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/28/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
As Insty noted yesterday, they sure didn't follow such an ideal when Trump was President.
#2
Quite to the contrary. They are sworn ultimately to defend the US Constitution. Not to you, your fraudulent dear leader who they will soon remove from office, and you arseholes.
#4
Really like to keep the lid on. Don't dig around and discover the dead and injured may have been victims of Taliban small arms fire as opposed to a suicide vest.
This is the cited basis for the assertion that RETIREEs cannot be critical. I'm not a lawyer, but it seems that unless I'm recalled to active duty in some federal status, or make an assertion that implies my retired status somehow is connected to official authority to speak for DoD, I'm immune from this directive. This seems to be an attempt by inference to silence people like me who hold a deeply adversarial attitude towards the current administration. Thoughts my friends?
#8
..Retired Naval Intelligence Members Told They Cannot ‘Disrespect'..
What about those 700 former senior military and intelligence officials and their penned denunciation of Trump last year? One set of rules for me and another set for thee. Shut up cause that is different?
For decades the law was considered by the Government to mean exactly that- 'retired' status is legally accepted as reduced duty for reduced pay and therefore one can still be brought back for court-martial. It is rare, and used as more of a cudgel than anything else (One of the things that got David Petraeus to finally give in on his charges was that the Army was dropping hints they'd bring him back to court martial him for his indiscretions).
However, last year the United States District Court for the District of Columbia ruled in Larabee v. Braithwaite that:
"...Congress’s grant of court-martial jurisdiction over military retirees in the Fleet Marine Corps Reserve for offenses committed after their retirement is unconstitutional. While the Court did not explicitly determine that court-martial jurisdiction over all military retirees is per se unconstitutional, the practical reach of the Court’s decision is likely to significantly curtail such jurisdiction over retirees for crimes committed after their retirement from active-duty service."
The article I linked to is blessedly straightforward and comprehensible. The bottom line is that the ONI COS doesn't have the faintest goddamned idea what he's talking about, or worse, he does and is hoping nobody else does. And were it to come down to brass tacks, I can't imagine a court in the land tolerating a recall for a GCM when it involves a First Amendment issue.
Mike
Posted by: Mike Kozlowski ||
08/28/2021 16:00 Comments ||
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#13
^ #12 OK, I'm impressed.
Posted by: Matt ||
08/28/2021 16:16 Comments ||
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#14
/\ And were it to come down to brass tacks, I can't imagine a court in the land tolerating a recall for a GCM when it involves a First Amendment issue.
#17
As was pointed out elsewhere, compare and contrast with how Vindman was treated.
Posted by: M. Murcek ||
08/28/2021 18:14 Comments ||
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#18
Well, they did get rid of the Lt. Colonel of the Marines who made a video degrading the leadership. Guess the missed a few during the Obama purge.
Posted by: Chris ||
08/28/2021 18:22 Comments ||
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#19
Just because they allowed it against Trump doesn’t make it right now. The guy said what had to be said and new the risks and I support him but he should expect to be fired publicly embarrassing your leaders that way. I hope he gets a well paid gig on Fox or something though.
[TASS] The Taliban radical movement has informed the residents of Kabul of the necessity to turn over weapons and ammunition, as well as state-owned vehicles within a week, the 1TV channel reported on Friday.
According to the channel, the militants threatened to undertake measures in case of a refusal to hand over the weapons voluntarily.
On August 18, Reuters reported similar demands by the Taliban when the representatives of the movement vowed to act openly for the first time.
After the Biden administration had announced the end of Washington’s 20-year-long military operation in Afghanistan and the launch of its troop pullout, the Taliban embarked on an offensive against Afghan government forces.
On August 15, Taliban fighters swept into Kabul without encountering any resistance, and gained full control over the Afghan capital within a few hours. Afghanistan’s President Ashraf Ghani said he had stepped down to prevent any bloodshed and subsequently fled the country.
Vice President Amrullah Saleh announced that, in the absence of the head of state, the constitution empowered him to become the caretaker president and urged the Afghan people to join the resistance against the Taliban. The armed resistance in the country’s Panjshir Province is led by Ahmad Massoud, the son of renowned guerilla commander Ahmad Shah Massoud (1953-2001). At present, Western nations are evacuating their citizens and embassy staff.
...more fully Khalil ur Rahman Haqqani, 55, brother step-brother of the formerly living Haqqani Network founder Jalaluddin Haqqani. Among other accomplishments, the US Treasury Delartment named him a Specially Designated Global Terrorist a decade ago, with a $5 million bounty on his head. He’s the Haqqani/Taliban moneybags, travelling the Ummah fundraising from the Gulf States and sources in South and East Asia, and between trips relaxing by commanding cadres back home doing the usual fun jihadi activities. Upon the fall of Kabul, he took on the city security portfolio...
is the self-proclaimed head of security at Kabul airport, where suicide blast killed at least 170
Along with nephews Sirajuddin
... current Talib #2/military chief, he has a $10 million bounty on his head...
and Anas,
...27, he was supposedly an innocent college boy and poet when he was arrested for having evil playmates, then released because he was needed as a Taliban negotiator in Qatar. Now that that farce is over, it’s time for him to set his hand to serious work...
he runs Haqqani network - a terror group that is part of the Taliban
Unlike much of the Taliban which is opposed to ISIS, Haqqani network has cooperated with them in the past
Khalil is likely to be near top of a US list of suspects for Thursday's attack, amid questions about how the ISIS bomber was able to get past Taliban checkpoints before detonating his device
That’s going to be hard to do when our people have all been pulled out of the country.
[ToloNews] The two back-to-back explosions outside Kabul airport that claimed over 100 lives have been met with sharp reactions by world leaders and international organizations including the United Nations ...an idea whose time has gone... US President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. You're a lyin' dog-faced pony soldier... pledged that the people behind the attack will face retribution. Thirteen US soldiers also bit the dust in the earth-shattering kabooms.
"Those who carried out this attack, as well as anyone who wishes America harm, know this: we will not forgive. We will not forget. We will hunt you down and make you pay," Biden said at a presser hours after the attack. "I'm told Corn Pop and his gang may be behind it"
Biden also said the attack will not stop the evacuation of Americans and the Afghans who have worked for American organizations.
"We will not be deterred by terrorists. We will not let them stop our mission. We will continue the evacuation. I have also ordered my commanders to develop operational plans to strike ISIS-K leadership and facilities. We will respond with force and precision at our time, the place we choose and the moment we choose," he added.
A bunch of Important International People reared up on their hind legs to condemn and condole. Go to the link if you really care, dear Reader, but I won’t clutter up Rantburg’s archives with such useless information.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/28/2021 00:00 ||
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Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2021 8:01 Comments ||
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#6
I call bullshit The United States military struck back at the Islamic State on Saturday, bombing an ISIS-K member in Afghanistan.
In a statement to multiple news outlets, a spokesperson for U.S. Central Command said the operation targeted an ISIS-K planner.
"The unmanned airstrike occurred in the Nangahar Province of Afghanistan," Capt. Bill Urban said. "Initial indications are that we killed the target."
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2021 8:02 Comments ||
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#7
/\ Appears someone pulled something off the shelf at CENTCOM and said, "here, action this immediately."
Only a wild guess, but could this have been a target from a possible standing deck of targets created by President Trump and Pompeo's planners in conjunction with their TB meeting ?
[AlAhram] Nigeria's army describes these as mass defections -- the success, it says, of an intensified campaign to end a 12-year conflict that has killed around 40,000 people and displaced around two million more
Images of bedraggled jihadists and families surrendering to the military have sparked heated debate over the Nigerian army's claims of success in its long war and the future of fighters who lay down their guns.
Scores of 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...
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/28/2021 00:00 ||
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[Rudaw] Shiite holy manMoqtada Tater al-Sadr ...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival, al-Khoei, assassinated only a few hours after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry... said he will contest Iraq’s October 10 elections, reversing an earlier decision to boycott the vote, state media reported Friday. "A chicken in every pot..and a free dental plan"
The influential holy man and leader of the parliament’s largest bloc said he will contest the elections "with determination."
Explaining his decision, Sadr said he has "received a reform paper from the political parties" that meets his expectations and called on the parliament to implement the reforms outlined in the paper, without going into further detail.
In July, Sadr announced he was withdrawing from the election and pulling his support for the current and upcoming governments. "In order to preserve what is left of the nation and to save the nation that has been burnt by the corrupt and is still burning, I inform you that I will not be participating in the elections," he said in a televised speech.
Iraqis will go to the polls on October 10, a year ahead of schedule. The election was called to meet a demand of protesters who brought down the government of former Prime Minister Adil Abdul-Mahdi. However, the hip bone's connected to the leg bone... interest in the vote is low. Several parties from across the spectrum have announced they will not participate. All sides are questioning the legitimacy of the vote in an environment where powerful militias operate outside of government control, activists and election candidates are threatened, and the electoral commission and political elites are accused of fraud.
Sadr leads the Sairoon coalition and is known for changing his mind. He was among the first to speak up in January when the election was moved from June 6 to October 10, saying he would not accept any further delay. Sadr himself does not hold an elected position, but as leader of Sairoon, he wields heavy influence when it comes to government formation and agenda.
His decision was announced a day before Baghdad will host neighbor states for a regional summit.
There are a total of 3,249 candidates vying for 329 seats in the parliament. The official campaign period began on July 8, but has so far been lackluster.
Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s government has been in talks with the Paleostinian Authority to send hundreds of millions of shekels to Ramallah amid the latter’s growing budget crisis, sources in Jerusalem and Ramallah told The Times of Israel.
A tentative agreement for an Israeli financial package worth NIS 800 million ($247 million) to the PA has been formulated, an Israeli official said on Friday, with another official familiar with the matter describing the deal as "practically done."
There had been plans to announce the package before Bennett’s trip this week to Washington, where the Biden crime family administration ...the gang of subgeniuses trying to pass themselves off as the adults in charge of the series of calamities characteristic of the administration of a mentally challenged geriatric case... is looking for Israel to act on rhetoric in favor of "deescalating the conflict" with the Paleostinians and to advance measures that strengthen the PA. However, there's more than one way to stuff a chicken... the financial package was not finalized in time for that.
Senior PA official Ahmad Majdalani confirmed that talks on financial support were ongoing between the two sides. He said the funds would not be a loan, rather an advance on tax revenues Israel collects on Ramallah’s behalf.
"There’s discussion around an advance on what we are owed, not a loan," Majdalani said.
Both the Israeli and Paleostinian Authority finance ministries could not immediately be reached for comment.
The PA government budget has also taken a serious hit, with a Western diplomat warning The Times of Israel in late July that the PA was "about to collapse due to lack of revenues."
The majority of the budget is derived from tax revenues Israel collects on its behalf, known as clearance revenues.
Under a 2018 Israeli law, Israel regularly confiscates money from the revenues to penalize Ramallah for its policy of paying stipends to Paleostinian security prisoners, those killed during violent mostly peaceful confrontations with Israeli forces, and their families — including those who committed terror attacks against Israelis.
Earlier in August, the Israeli government signed off on the confiscation of 600 million NIS ($186 million) over the course of six months. The figure was said to be approximately the same as what Ramallah pays out in salaries to terror convicts and families of so-called deaders in 2020.
#2
I have my doubts about Naftali Bennett.
I don't think he has the gravitas of Benjamin Netanyahu.
When Bebe confronted Barack Obama in the White House about the foolishness of making a deal with Iran BO was very pissed and despised Bebe for calling him out on it.
Although nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran is urgent, it is not as urgent as attempting to prevent the Taliban from taking Americans as hostages.
Bennett's only message to Biden should be,
"Mr President, you need to get your ass in gear and do something about the potential hostage crisis of Americans stuck in Afghanistan before it blows up in your face like the suicide bomb that just killed a 150 people outside the Kabul Airport.
Instead the mainstream media was able to turn Bennett into a useful idiot coming to Joe Biden for military help to stop Iran.
When all our other allies know how much damage Joe has caused by allowing the sudden fall of Afghanistan to the Taliban before combatants and non-combatants could be extracted.
Instead of being a useful idiot Naftali should have just stayed home for now and prayed that Biden does not cause more harm than BO by the nuclear agreement with Iran, letting ISIS take over by withdrawing from Iraq, letting the Muslim Brotherhood take over Egypt, letting the Houthis takeover Yemen, attacking Libya so the Muslim extremists can takeover Libya and promoting the lawlessness of the falsely labeled Arab spring.
Unless Biden can get some military leader to get us out of the trouble we are already in the US will not be able to help Israel with Iran.
So I was really irked by Naftali getting into our news cycle narrative here in the US at this time.
#4
OK. Demonstrated value of a promise by Joe Biden?
Posted by: ed in texas ||
08/28/2021 9:48 Comments ||
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#5
... Naftali Bennett.
I don't think he has the gravitas of Benjamin Netanyahu.
He has the advantage that the entire Israeli establishment isn’t gunning for him, boomerc. If nothing else, his time in office will give Bibi a break.
As far as I can see, giving messages to President Biden is a pointless exercise — he and his administration is an obstacle to quietly work around, not an honest broker —or semi-honest, at least — who can be negotiated with.
#6
Bennett knows China greased the skids for Mr. Biden to receive the necessary electoral votes.
And Mr. Bennett knows China is blackmailing Biden Inc. and its Board of Directors over all they know about Mr. Obama and Messr's. J. and H. Biden, etal.
As such, Mr. Bennett would be a fool to believe any promises made by Joe Biden.
[IsraelTimes] Former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu scaled back Israel’s intelligence-sharing with the United States when President Joe The Big Guy Biden ...46th president of the U.S. The very model of probity, except maybe for abandoning Afghanistan... took office, according to a New York Times
...which still proudly displays Walter Duranty's Pulitzer prize... report.
According to the report, the US is increasingly dependent on Israeli intelligence on Iran’s nuclear program, as Tehran has effectively cracked down on the American spy network in the country.
But Israel, American and Israeli officials say, has withheld information to prevent the US government from curtailing its covert military operations to obstruct Iran’s nuclear program. This was the case with the strike on the Natanz nuclear plant in Iran, attributed to Israel in April, when the White House was given two hours’ notice of the plan, the report says.
The report says Netanyahu’s distrust for Biden was the reason for the policy change. Some Israeli officials quoted in the report say the move was over fears Washington would leak the information, as US administrations did with other operations. American officials deny the charge. Jahn F'n Karry comes to mind
According to the report, former Mossad intelligence chief Yossi Cohen tried to patch up the relationship two weeks after the Natanz bombing, meeting Biden and CIA officials in Washington to discuss the issue. He was given a warm reception, the report says.
Posted by: trailing wife ||
08/28/2021 00:00 ||
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#1
Wise move, Very Wise Move.
Given all the Anti-Semitic commentary and actions coming out of members of the US Socialist-Democrat Party and their Radical groups that they have yet to disavow (Anti-FA/BLM etc).
#3
#2 According to the report, the US Army chose Leidos-owned Dynetics’ launcher after a shoot-off between the two systems last month at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico.
Iron dome tested in combat. Dynetics owns a senator - no context.
[JPost] And the Ammonium Nitrate?
The leader of Lebanon's Iran-backed Hezbollah group, Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, said on Friday a third vessel of Iranian fuel was agreed to ease crippling shortages in the country.
"We have agreed to start loading a third vessel," Nasrallah said in a televised speech. The Seas are capricious, anything could happen at any time
"The coming days will prove those doubtful about the shipments arriving with fuel wrong ... and our words will be clear when the first vessel reaches Lebanon."
On Sunday Nasrallah had said the first vessel carrying Iranian fuel for Lebanon had already departed.
Hezbollah's foes in Lebanon have warned of dire consequences from the purchase, saying it risked sanctions being imposed on a country whose economy has been in meltdown for nearly two years.
Prime Minister-designate Najib Mikati said earlier on Friday in an interview with Saudi-owned Al Hadath television he was against anything that would harm Lebanon's interests but also asked critics of the Iranian fuel deals to provide help so that the country would not have to resort to them.
Nasrallah blamed the country's economic crisis on what he called an economic siege by the United States adding that so-called Caesar sanctions imposed by Washington on Syria had harmed Lebanon.
"Go ahead and give Lebanon an exemption for Iranian gasoline and diesel ... go ahead and give Lebanon an exemption from Caesar," Nasrallah said, addressing the United States in his speech.
Lebanon's worsening fuel shortages reached a crunch point this month threatening to bring daily life to a halt.
Nasrallah also urged top politicians to stop debating names for the new Cabinet and urgently form a government.
"It is high time this debate now ends," he said.
Lebanon has been run by the caretaker government of Prime Minister Hassan Diab, who resigned with his Cabinet after a massive Beirut port blast ripped through the capital a year ago.
Mikati is the third prime minister-designate since then to attempt to form a government with President Michel Aoun, a Hezbollah ally.
Posted by: Frank G ||
08/28/2021 00:00 ||
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Link ||
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Top|| File under: Hezbollah
#1
So much for sanctions on Iran.
Posted by: Tom ||
08/28/2021 11:02 Comments ||
Top||
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
[NYPost] The identities of the 13 US service members who were killed by an ISIS-K suicide bomber outside the Kabul airport while helping to oversee the evacuation of thousands of Americans and Afghan allies have begun to emerge. 
...46th president of the U.S. 
/\ Appears someone pulled something off the shelf at CENTCOM and said, "here, action this immediately."
... 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...
...hereditary Iraqi holy man and leader of a political movement in Iraq. He had his hereditary rival, al-Khoei, assassinated only a few hours after the holy rival's appearance out of exile in 2003. Formerly an Iranian catspaw, lately he's gagged over some of their more outlandish antics, then went back to catspawry...
...the gang of subgeniuses trying to pass themselves off as the 
