Hmmm.The presence of #Israel Channel 10 covering #Mosul ops with #Peshmerga created a small storm in #Baghdad #Iraq. pic.twitter.com/1FebFqMTcR— Elijah J. Magnier (@EjmAlrai) October 25, 2016
Labels: Channel 10, Iraq, ISIS, Islamic State, Mosul
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 4:14 PM
0 comments
The leader of Lebanon's militant Hezbollah group agreed with Donald Trump when he said President Obama founded the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS).
"This is an American presidential candidate who is saying this. What he says is based on facts and documents," said Hassan Nasrallah, according to The Associated Press.
Trump on Wednesday called Obama the founder of ISIS and Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton the co-founder.
He doubled down on the claim Thursday in an interview with Hugh Hewitt.
“No, I meant that he’s the founder of ISIS,” Trump said. “He was the most valuable player. I gave him the most valuable player award."
But Friday, Trump tweeted that he was being facetious.
Jonathan Schanzer has the best retort I've seen to the entire Trump/Nasrallah/ISIS story."Ratings challenged @CNN reports so seriously that I call president Obama (and Clinton) 'the founder' of ISIS, & MVP. THEY DON'T GET SARCASM?"
Indeed.Hezbollah also happens to love Obama's Iran policy. So, I guess Nasrallah is bipartisan? https://t.co/68BI6PvJwo— Jonathan Schanzer (@JSchanzer) August 14, 2016
Labels: Donald Trump, Hassan Nasrallah, Hezbullah, Hillary Clinton, ISIS, US presidential campaign 2016
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:51 AM
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The father of Orlando mass shooter Omar Mateen has longstanding connections to prominent Islamist groups in the U.S., a document discovered by the Investigative Project on Terrorism shows. Seddique Matin is listed as president of a then-new American Muslim Alliance (AMA) chapter in Fort Pierce in a July 1997 announcement archived by the IPT.
The AMA sponsored several radical conferences in the U.S. and its leader, Agha Saeed, has spoken in defense of convicted terrorists, including Aafia Siddiqui (a.k.a "Lady al-Qaida"), Palestinian Islamic Jihad board member Sami Al-Arian, and Pakistani intelligence lobbyist Ghulam Nabi Fai.
The Fort Pierce chapter is among 10 new AMA chapters opened, the announcement in an AMA bulletin says.
...
AMA no longer exists as a registered nonprofit and it last filed tax returns in 2010. But the organization continues to maintain an active Facebook account. In its posts, the AMA refuses to consider any Islamist motivation for the attack and lays the blame for Omar Mateen's massacre which killed 49 people at the Pulse nightclub solely on the country's lax gun laws. [Sounds like the Obama administration. CiJ].
The organization has a history of working with radical Islamist groups and has issued statements in support of several terrorists later convicted in the U.S. The FBI cut off outreach communication with CAIR, for example, after uncovering evidence placing the organization and its leaders in a U.S.-based Hamas-support network.
In October 2000, AMA co-sponsored a rally in Washington's Lafayette Park where AMC's then-executive director Abdurahman Alamoudi announced his support for Hamas and Hizballah.
...
In 2003, Saeed testified on Al-Arian's behalf, describing the man who ran "the active arm" of Palestinian Islamic Jihad as "my friend and during the last ten years we have worked together to mainstream American politics. We have worked together to replace the culture of despair with culture of hope and the culture of bullet with the culture of ballot." AMA's website also featured a section entitled "Valiant Civil Rights Struggle of Dr. Sami Al Arian."There's more. Read the whole thing. Haters are going to hate.
Labels: Hamas, Hezbullah, ISIS, Islamic terrorism, Palestinian Islamic Jihad, Sami al-Arian
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 10:09 PM
2 comments
What's worse: if a certain type of terror attack hasn't happened outside of Israel, for the most part, no one is prepared for it. So yes, my Red Sox tickets for next week say "No bags or items larger than 16 x 16 x 8, coolers, cans, bottles, flagpoles, firearms or fireworks will be permitted into the ballpark." (So much for the days of the picnic lunch in the bleachers). And the ticket says that you are subject to search: but they'll search my father and me, and they won't search a 21-year old Muslim because that would be 'profiling'. And I will still walk into shopping malls or large stores tomorrow, and no one will search my bags - or anyone else's - because no American shopping mall has ever been attacked by a suicide bomber. No one will search me on my way into a movie theater until the first time someone with a political agenda shoots up a movie theater. And no one will search me going into Sbarros (which I cannot do here because they are not Kosher) or any other restaurant until a suicide bomber blows up a restaurant. In Israel, you cannot walk into an enclosed public space without being searched.Ten years later, terror has come much closer to the United States. If the World Trade Center attacks can be looked upon as isolated in their times, during the eight years of the Obama administration there has been at least one major terror attack in the United States each year. But very little has changed. And ISIS is warning of more.
Titled "You Are Not Held Responsible Except for Yourself," the Al-Furat Media Foundation release was distributed online with a promotional banner featuring President Obama, Omar Mateen and scenes from the previous weekend's carnage.
Al-Furat specializes in Russian-language messages to Muslims in the Caucasus and beyond. Earlier this year, for example, the media wing released the Philippine terrorist group Abu Sayyaf's video pledging allegiance to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.
The video opens with the tag "USA" in the upper corner and shots of an unseen person assembling a bomb to put in a suicide vest. The person buttons up a blue shirt, straps on the bomb belt, and zips up a dark brown leather jacket to conceal it. He's wearing a stainless steel wristwatch that reads 9:25.
That's followed by scenes of Times Square and the torso of the leather-jacketed man walking along the street. A TGI Friday's sign is shown.
In a close-up of the man with no location shown, he's pulling the ring on his detonator.
It appears to be mock-up footage from an Al-Jazeera segment, with the network's logo fuzzed out but still discernible.
News footage is then shown of the ABC News building banner in New York scrolling a headline about the November Paris attacks.
Then, pictures of Mateen along with closeups of the weapons he used in the June 12 attack on the Pulse nightclub: a Sig Sauer MCX .223 caliber rifle and Glock 17 9 mm.
Footage of the attack from American and Arabic TV is shown.
A black jihadist in fatigues with an outdoor backdrop that looks like IS territory in the Middle East is identified as Abu Isamil al-Amriki; he speaks perfect English and is referred to as an American, yet he speaks with a slight accent.
"Do you think you are at war with a small group of mujahideen in Iraq, Syria, Libya and other places? You are sadly mistaken. And do you think you will defeat us by bombing our homes with your drones and F-16s?" Abu Ismail says.
"O America, indeed you are at war with ... sincere Muslims around the world who yearn and desire to see the honor of Islam returned," he adds. "And O America, indeed you are at war with the people who wish to be killed and slain for the sake of Allah... you are at war with the holy Quran."Let's go to the videotape.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Department of Homeland Security, ISIS, Islamic terrorism
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:17 AM
1 comments
(7) The Arab World, war in Syria, ISIS, and US elections:
78% say the Arab World is too preoccupied with its own concerns, internalThey finally are starting to understand that the Arab world is tired of them. It's the anti-Semitic Europeans who have been carrying the ball for the 'Palestinians' for many years now. While the Arab world has not made peace with us, there is a de facto detente, and this a result of shared interests and not love. But the bottom line is that the Arab world has abandoned the 'Palestinians' even more so than it did previously.
conflicts, and the conflict with Iran and that Palestine is no longer the
Arab’s principal or primary issue or cause. Only 20% think Palestine remains
the Arab’s principle cause.
59% believe that there is an Arab Sunni alliance with Israel against IranI'm with the majority. Just from what we know, there is an alliance, and I'd estimate that it's even stronger behind the scenes. The 30% who think that the Arabs wouldn't ally themselves with Israel to save their own necks is simply unrealistic.
despite the continued Israeli occupation of Arab land while 30% believe that
the Arabs would not ally themselves with Israel until it ends its occupation
and allows the creation of a Palestinian state.
In light of the escalating conflict in Syria and the emergence of three mainThe Syrian Free Army will go down in history as one of the biggest (of many) foreign policy mistakes by the Obama administration. The FSA could have become a 'moderate' (in relative terms) group had Obama and Clinton chosen to aid it in 2011-12. They did not. Now, it's nearly as Islamist as ISIS. Why Trump isn't pounding Clinton on this....
parties to the conflict, we asked the public for its view on the party it
views as the more preferable or the one it views as the least harmful. The
largest percentage (40%) chose the Free Syrian army, 18% chose Bashar Asad
and his army, and 5% chose the extreme religious opposition, such as ISIS.
23% said they do not like any of the three parties.
An overwhelming majority of 88% believes that ISIS is a radical group that
does not represent true Islam and 8% believe it does represent true Islam.
4% are not sure or do not know. In the Gaza Strip, 16% (compared to 3% in
the West Bank) say ISIS represents true Islam.
79% support and 18% oppose the war waged by Arab and Western countriesThis is actually a pleasant surprise.
against ISIS.
We asked the public about the US elections and which presidential candidate,I'd love to see a survey of what US citizens in Israel think of the US elections.... I don't like either of them, and am tempted to 'stay home.'
Hilary Clinton or Donald Trump, it viewed best for the Palestinians. A large
majority (70%) said there is no difference between the two candidates, while
12% said Clinton is better and 7% said Trump is better.
Labels: Bashar al-Assad, Free Syrian Army, Gaza, ISIS, Judea and Samaria, Palestinian polls, Palestinian whining, Shiites v. Sunnis, Sunni, Syria, Syrian uprising
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:43 AM
0 comments
In a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies yesterday, CIA director John Brennan made a startling admission: The Islamic State was “decimated” under George W. Bush and had just “700-or-so adherents left” following the surge in Iraq. Said Brennan:
[ISIS] was, you know, pretty much decimated when US forces were there in Iraq. It had maybe 700-or-so adherents left. And then it grew quite a bit in the last several years, when it split then from al-Qaida in Syria, and set up its own organization.But in September 2014, a CIA analysis found that:
[ISIS] can muster between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters across Iraq and Syria … This new total reflects an increase in members because of stronger recruitment since June following battlefield successes and the declaration of a caliphate, greater battlefield activity, and additional intelligence.This means that, by the CIA’s own estimate, ISIS has grown on President Obama’s watch from just 700 fighters to between 20,000 and 31,500 fighters.
That is an increase of between 2,700 and 4,400 %.
Moreover, Brennan tacitly acknowledged that the Obama administration had underestimated the ISIS threat. At CSIS, Brennan declared that:But President Hussein Obama said in Turkey on Friday that the US is pursuing the 'right strategy' against ISIS. Maybe if he's trying to help ISIS get stronger....
Not content to limiting its killing fields to Iraqi and Syrian lands, and to setting up local franchises in other countries of the Middle East, South Asia and Africa, ISIL has developed an external operations agenda that is now implementing … with lethal effect.That now obvious assessment directly contradicts the assessment of ISIS’ intent and capabilities delivered by Obama administration officials just one year ago.
In August 11 2014, Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes wrote in a White House blog post:
While both [al-Qaeda and the Islamic State] are terrorist forces, they have different ambitions. Al-Qaeda’s principal ambition is to launch attacks against the west and US homeland…Right now, ISIL’s primary focus is consolidating territory in the Middle East region to establish their own Islamic State. So they’re different organizations with different objectives.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, ISIS, John Brennan
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:52 PM
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Belgium's state broadcaster reported that the Belgian-born French citizen was injured in a shootout that ended with his capture. The Belgian counter-terrorism source said two people were wounded.
"We have him," tweeted Theo Francken, Belgium's state secretary for asylum policy and migration.
The 26-year-old Abdeslam was brought to a hospital after being shot in the leg, CNN Belgium affiliate VTM reported, citing a police source. The same broadcaster said two suspects may still be in the house in Molenbeek where Abdeslam was captured.
Three explosions were heard in that area early Friday evening, CNN French affiliate BFMTV reported, though it wasn't clear if those were controlled blasts or part of a continuing operation.
Molenbeek, the impoverished Brussels suburb where Friday's raid took place, has a reputation as a hotbed for jihadism. Several members of its large, predominantly Muslim population -- many of whom are first-, second- and third-generation immigrants from North Africa -- have been linked to terror plots and attacks.
Last fall, Belgian Justice Minister Koen Geens cited Molenbeek as a place where more needs to be done to address what he called Belgium's "foreign fighter problem."
...
Earlier Friday, the Belgian federal prosecutor's office revealed that the 26-year-old Salah Abdeslam's fingerprints and DNA were found in a Brussels apartment raided three days earlier. One person was killed and two people escaped that operation, according to authorities.
The man killed by a special forces sniper was Mohamed Belkaid, an Algerian who used the name Samir Bouzid, and who is believed to have directed the Paris attackers via calls from Belgium, according to the prosecutor's office.
Belkaid is believed to have helped Abdeslam travel prior to the attacks and transferred money to a female cousin of Paris ringleader Abdelhamid Abaaoud following the attack, the Belgian senior counter-terrorism official told CNN in January.
Authorities believe Abdeslam was using the apartment as a hideout following the Paris attacks, according to the Belgian counter-terrorism official.
...
Investigators think Abdeslam may have been the driver of a black Renault Clio that dropped off three suicide bombers near the Stade de France, one of the attack sites near Paris. They also believe he had worn a suicide belt found on a Paris street after the attacks.
He is believed to have called friends to take him to Belgium after the attacks. They passed through police checkpoints, but Abdeslam had not yet been identified as a suspect and they were allowed to continue on their way.
Surveillance video emerged of him and another man at a gas station near the Belgian border the day after the attacks.
He has eluded authorities ever since.
Labels: Belgium, France, ISIS, Islamic State, kidnapping, Paris terror attacks, terrorists, terrorists for Gilad trade
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:43 PM
0 comments
According to the report, the plot was made public with the Attorney General’s indictment last month of two of the terrorists, including the head of the cell, a 25-year-old from Kfar Yassuf in the West Bank who had rented an apartment in the Abu Dis neighborhood of east Jerusalem.
Ahmed Azzam was in the advanced stages of establishing Hamas infrastructure in the West Bank and east Jerusalem, with funding and direction from Hamas in Gaza, the indictment said. To this end, he had purchased chemical materials and rented the apartment in east Jerusalem, where he set up an explosives lab. Also, according to the indictment, Azzam recruited the terrorist who was tasked with transporting the bombs beyond the Green Line.
It was this terrorist, Hazam Sanduka — nicknamed “the mechanic” for his intimate knowledge of cars — who had determined that Netanyahu would be the main target.
The 22-year-old resident of east Jerusalem and a student of Arabic at Abu Dis University was recruited in November by Azzam, who was looking for a Jerusalem resident to aid in the preparation of terrorist attacks.To me, the following is the most incredible part of the story. Sanduka is interviewed. Look where Sanduka was employed:
Interrogator: Did you plan where to carry out terror attacks?
Sanduka: After discussing with Azzam the possibility of kidnappings, suicide attacks or bombings, I began to think about the most suitable place to carry them out. Since I worked for a security company in Jerusalem, I thought the most appropriate places were the Malha shopping mall, the Jerusalem [sports] Arena and the Great Synagogue, because many people frequent those places, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Interrogator: What was your job at the security company?
Sanduka: My job was to conduct security checks at the Arena and the Great Synagogue… After purchasing the (chemicals) in Abu Gosh, I drove to Jaffa to check out whether I was being followed and if there was a good place there for a terror attack… I saw that there was, at the Jaffa Port and on the beach, where many restaurants are located, so it is filled with people.Can someone please tell me what a 22-year old terrorist - or anyone who is studying Arabic at Abu Dis (an Arab neighborhood near Mount Scopus) - is going working in 'security' in the Jewish populated parts of Jerusalem? Huh?
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, East Jerusalem, Hamas, ISIS, Palestinian terrorism
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 5:59 PM
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Merkel, who in the past has insisted that the “two-state solution” is the best way to end the conflict, appeared to signal at Tuesday’s Government-to-Government meeting that she would turn down the pressure on Israel to push for a diplomatic process with the Palestinian Authority (PA).With Syria falling apart a few miles away and Lebanon under the control of the Iranian proxy Hezbullah, is the world finally starting to get it?
"Now is not the time for a significant step forward [in the two-state solution]," she said during a joint press conference with Netanyahu in Berlin, according to i24news.
Nevertheless, Merkel stressed that while substantial progress can't be achieved at this time, "it is possible to make improvements in specific fields," and promised Germany's help in doing so, particularly in the economic area.
Merkel’s remarks echo recent statements by officials in the United States, who admitted that President Barack Obama recognizes that reaching a two-state solution before he leaves office is unlikely.
Similar expressions have been sounded in Israel as well, where opposition chairman Yitzhak Herzog has also admitted that the “two-state solution” is not feasible at this time and has offered his own, alternative plan for peace.
Labels: Angela Merkel, Barack Hussein Obama, Binyamin Netanyahu, Hezbullah, Iran, ISIS, Lebanon, Syrian uprising, two-state solution, Yitzchak Herzog
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:43 PM
2 comments
Within a year to two years, large funds made available by sanctions relief will be directed by Iran towards trying to harm Israel, he added.Eisenkot also expects unconventional threats against Israel to decline in the next 3-5 years - something we can only hope and pray will be true - and notes with concern that ISIS has more support in Judea, Samaria and Gaza than anyplace else in the Arab world.
Iran's "advanced military industry" will develop further, and its transfer of funds to Hezbollah, which has so far stood at around a billion dollar a year, will increase.
"The assessment is that as the economic situation improves in Iran, more assets will be diverted [to building up capabilities against Israel]," he added.
Similarly, Hamas, which currently receives tens of millions of dollars from Iran, is set to receive more, while Tehran continues to try and traffic weapons to Gaza.
...
Hezbollah remains the "IDF's number one enemy," he said, challenging Israel's aerial and intelligence superiority though its conversion of 240 Shi'ite towns and villages in southern Lebanon into rocket assault bases.
Each such town and village has their own defensive Hezbollah units, rocket launchers, and command and control center. "They are the capability Hezbollah has built for the day they receive the order to attack. They are seeking to make their projectiles more accurate, and have grown in the past decade from 10,000 to 100,000 rockets and missiles," Eisenkot said.
Nevertheless, the chief of staff said, "Hezbollah understands the implications of an escalation in Lebanon," and has kept the peace in Lebanon for over a decade. "Our intelligence and operational abilities have improved dramatically compared to 2006, when we were focused on the Palestinian arena," he said.
"There is a deep understanding [among Hezbollah chiefs] of Israel's intelligence penetration into the organization. They perceive the IDF as a very strong, unpredictable military.
"In the coming three to five years, the threat posed by sub-state actors like Hezbollah, Hamas, al-Qaida, and ISIS will grow, as will the threat posed by rockets, offensive tunnels, and terror and guerrilla cells. The cyber threat will also grow. However, threats by conventional armies will shrink, and there are no enemy air forces, navies, or divisions that currently threaten Israel," he added.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Hamas, Hezbullah, Iran Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Iran sanctions regime, Iranian nuclear threat, ISIS
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:26 AM
0 comments
The White House on Monday said President Barack Obama would not meet with close ally King Abdullah of Jordan -- who is currently in Washington -- because of scheduling problems.
"The president regrets that he is unable to meet with him personally on this visit due to scheduling conflicts, including the State of the Union address," a White House spokesperson said.
On Tuesday, Obama will deliver his final annual address to a joint session of Congress, a set piece of the U.S. political calendar.
The White House and Jordanian officials said Abdullah would instead meet with Vice President Joe Biden on Tuesday.
He met with Defense Secretary Ash Carter and Secretary of State John Kerry on Monday.
Kerry and Abdullah discussed the fight against the Islamic State and "efforts to revive Israeli-Palestinian peace negotiations," a diplomat said.
Abdullah also met with Defense Secretary Ash Carter, who expressed his "deep appreciation... for Jordan's continued contributions to regional counter-ISIL efforts," Pentagon spokesman Peter Cook said.
He was referring to the self-proclaimed Islamic State group, which has seized large chunks of territory in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate ruled in accordance with Islamic law, or sharia.
Obama "looks forward to the opportunity to meet with His Majesty in the near future," the White House official said.
On Twitter, The Israel Project's Omri Ceren has assured me that the White House knows exactly what's going on in 'Southern Syria' (i.e. Jordan).Obama and Abdullah last met in Washington almost a year ago.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Caliphate, Iran, ISIS, Islamic State, Jordanian King Abdullah, Lee Smith, Mudar Zahran, New Middle East, Omri Ceren, Syria
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:58 PM
1 comments
The Islamic State are working on driverless car bombs. Watch in full at https://t.co/GI8QBUQMGW https://t.co/xgkCCAHcR8
— Sky News (@SkyNews) January 5, 2016
Now they save the virgins and obviate the need for suicide bombers.Labels: car bombs, ISIS, Islamic State, Islamic terrorism, suicide bombers
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 6:41 PM
1 comments
Barack Obama’s repeated insistence that Bashar al-Assad must leave office – and that there are ‘moderate’ rebel groups in Syria capable of defeating him – has in recent years provoked quiet dissent, and even overt opposition, among some of the most senior officers on the Pentagon’s Joint Staff. Their criticism has focused on what they see as the administration’s fixation on Assad’s primary ally, Vladimir Putin. In their view, Obama is captive to Cold War thinking about Russia and China, and hasn’t adjusted his stance on Syria to the fact both countries share Washington’s anxiety about the spread of terrorism in and beyond Syria; like Washington, they believe that Islamic State must be stopped.
The military’s resistance dates back to the summer of 2013, when a highly classified assessment, put together by the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, then led by General Martin Dempsey, forecast that the fall of the Assad regime would lead to chaos and, potentially, to Syria’s takeover by jihadi extremists, much as was then happening in Libya. A former senior adviser to the Joint Chiefs told me that the document was an ‘all-source’ appraisal, drawing on information from signals, satellite and human intelligence, and took a dim view of the Obama administration’s insistence on continuing to finance and arm the so-called moderate rebel groups. By then, the CIA had been conspiring for more than a year with allies in the UK, Saudi Arabia and Qatar to ship guns and goods – to be used for the overthrow of Assad – from Libya, via Turkey, into Syria. The new intelligence estimate singled out Turkey as a major impediment to Obama’s Syria policy. The document showed, the adviser said, ‘that what was started as a covert US programme to arm and support the moderate rebels fighting Assad had been co-opted by Turkey, and had morphed into an across-the-board technical, arms and logistical programme for all of the opposition, including Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State. The so-called moderates had evaporated and the Free Syrian Army was a rump group stationed at an airbase in Turkey.’ The assessment was bleak: there was no viable ‘moderate’ opposition to Assad, and the US was arming extremists.
Lieutenant General Michael Flynn, director of the DIA between 2012 and 2014, confirmed that his agency had sent a constant stream of classified warnings to the civilian leadership about the dire consequences of toppling Assad. The jihadists, he said, were in control of the opposition. Turkey wasn’t doing enough to stop the smuggling of foreign fighters and weapons across the border. ‘If the American public saw the intelligence we were producing daily, at the most sensitive level, they would go ballistic,’ Flynn told me. ‘We understood Isis’s long-term strategy and its campaign plans, and we also discussed the fact that Turkey was looking the other way when it came to the growth of the Islamic State inside Syria.’ The DIA’s reporting, he said, ‘got enormous pushback’ from the Obama administration. ‘I felt that they did not want to hear the truth.’
‘Our policy of arming the opposition to Assad was unsuccessful and actually having a negative impact,’ the former JCS adviser said. ‘The Joint Chiefs believed that Assad should not be replaced by fundamentalists. The administration’s policy was contradictory. They wanted Assad to go but the opposition was dominated by extremists. So who was going to replace him? To say Assad’s got to go is fine, but if you follow that through – therefore anyone is better. It’s the “anybody else is better” issue that the JCS had with Obama’s policy.’But what's more shocking is what the Joint Chiefs decided to do about it.
The Joint Chiefs felt that a direct challenge to Obama’s policy would have ‘had a zero chance of success’. So in the autumn of 2013 they decided to take steps against the extremists without going through political channels, by providing US intelligence to the militaries of other nations, on the understanding that it would be passed on to the Syrian army and used against the common enemy, Jabhat al-Nusra and Islamic State.
Germany, Israel and Russia were in contact with the Syrian army, and able to exercise some influence over Assad’s decisions – it was through them that US intelligence would be shared. Each had its reasons for co-operating with Assad: Germany feared what might happen among its own population of six million Muslims if Islamic State expanded; Israel was concerned with border security; Russia had an alliance of very long standing with Syria, and was worried by the threat to its only naval base on the Mediterranean, at Tartus. ‘We weren’t intent on deviating from Obama’s stated policies,’ the adviser said. ‘But sharing our assessments via the military-to-military relationships with other countries could prove productive. It was clear that Assad needed better tactical intelligence and operational advice. The JCS concluded that if those needs were met, the overall fight against Islamist terrorism would be enhanced. Obama didn’t know, but Obama doesn’t know what the JCS does in every circumstance and that’s true of all presidents.’
Once the flow of US intelligence began, Germany, Israel and Russia started passing on information about the whereabouts and intent of radical jihadist groups to the Syrian army; in return, Syria provided information about its own capabilities and intentions. There was no direct contact between the US and the Syrian military; instead, the adviser said, ‘we provided the information – including long-range analyses on Syria’s future put together by contractors or one of our war colleges – and these countries could do with it what they chose, including sharing it with Assad. We were saying to the Germans and the others: “Here’s some information that’s pretty interesting and our interest is mutual.” End of conversation. The JCS could conclude that something beneficial would arise from it – but it was a military to military thing, and not some sort of a sinister Joint Chiefs’ plot to go around Obama and support Assad. It was a lot cleverer than that. If Assad remains in power, it will not be because we did it. It’s because he was smart enough to use the intelligence and sound tactical advice we provided to others.’
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, Bashar al-Assad, CIA, Germany, ISIS, Islamic State, Israel, Russia, Syria, Syrian uprising, Turkey, United States
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:41 PM
2 comments
The claim from German reporter Jürgen Todenhöfer, a former member of the German Parliament, came after he spent 10 extraordinary days behind enemy lines in Iraq and Syria, accompanied by his son Frederic. He returned saying the group behind the Paris attacks was “preparing the largest religious cleansing in history” and with a “pessimistic” view on what can be done to combat it.
But the author of My 10 Days in the Islamic State told Jewish News: “The only country ISIS fears is Israel. They told me they know the Israeli army is too strong for them.”
IS branded the co-ordinated attacks on the French capital that claimed 132 lives as “the first of the storm”.
Todenhofer claimed it is part of ISIS’ tactics to lure in Western boots on the ground and capture US and British soldiers. “They think they can defeat US and UK ground troops, who they say they have no experience in city guerrilla or terrorist strategies. But they know the Israelis are very tough as far as fighting against guerrillas and terrorists,” he said.
“They are not scared of the British and the Americans, they are scared of the Israelis and told me the Israeli army is the real danger. We can’t defeat them with our current strategy. These people [the IDF] can fight a guerrilla war.
“In Mosul there are 10,000 fighters living among 1.5 million people in 2,000 apartments, not in one place – so it would be difficult [for western soldiers] to fight them. ISIS fighters are ready to die in a war against a western soldiers.”
...
The journalist – who had contact with ISIS supporters from the media department, judges, fighters and leaders – said the group wants to conquer all the Middle East – except Israel – in the first stage of its fight.
The second stage is conquering the West. “They are a very strong danger for Iraq, Syria, Jordan and Libya, while the West will be subjected to big acts of terrorism instead of a full blown ISIS war because they say they don’t want too many battles at the same time.”Perhaps those who called Prime Minister Netanyahu the leader of the free world were not exaggerating. Hmmm.
Labels: Binyamin Netanyahu, IDF, Iraq, ISIS, Mosul
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:27 PM
0 comments
Following up on Secretary of State John Kerry's end of the message to department employees, the department posted a year-in-review message on Christmas Eve, which also praised the nuclear deal with Iran, restoring diplomatic ties with the communist regime of Cuba and the recent global climate agreement among accomplishments of the administration.
Though the year ends after the Islamic State pulled off the deadliest attack on France since World War II and as Americans are increasingly worried about the threat posed by terrorism, the message praises successes stemming from February's White House Summit on Countering Violent Extremism.
"Although challenges remain, we have made positive strides over the last year, including in our fight against ISIL," the message read. "This forward progress will only continue as more countries pledge resources to the anti-ISIL effort and as citizens around the world increasingly reject ISIL's misguided ideology."You can't make this stuff up. The extent to which this administration is delusional (and attempting to delude all of us) is simply beyond all description.
Labels: Iranian nuclear threat, ISIS, Islamic State, Islamic terrorism, John Kerry, Syrian uprising, US State Department
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 8:51 PM
1 comments
Most of the ministers in Netanyahu’s cabinet are on the record opposing a two-state solution. American officials speak of Netanyahu as myopic, entitled, untrustworthy, routinely disrespectful toward the President, and focussed solely on short-term political tactics to keep his right-wing constituency in line. Netanyahu seems not to care if he insults the Administration. Ron Dermer, his ambassador to the U.S., secretly arranged with John Boehner for Netanyahu to speak before Congress without alerting the White House; Danny Danon, his envoy to the U.N., blamed Obama’s “lack of leadership” for Turkish and Iranian aggression; and Ran Baratz, whom Netanyahu appointed last month as his media chief, wrote on his Facebook page that the President was anti-Semitic and that Kerry had the mental abilities of a twelve-year-old.Well, at least Danon and Baratz are honest.... But really, is this any way to treat a friend?
Assad told Kerry that, in order to make peace with Israel, he had to get back the Golan Heights, territory lost in the 1967 war. For that to be considered, Kerry replied, Syria would have to cease the transit of arms through Syria to Hezbollah, in Lebanon, and to Hamas, in Gaza.
“We basically delivered him a pretty strong message of, ‘You better stop this or else,’ ” Kerry told me. “But I also engaged with him, because he wanted to talk about another subject—a relationship with Israel in the future. I don’t think I’ve ever talked about this publicly, but he was ready to make a deal with Israel. And the proof of that is a letter I still have that he wrote and signed proposing a structure by which he was willing to recognize Israel, have an embassy there, make peace, deal with the Golan, et cetera.” (A representative of the Syrian government denied that Assad ever wrote such a letter; he also denied that Assad took any oppressive measures in 2011.) Syria asked Kerry for economic assistance, including a pipeline to Iraq and aid for technology and health care. When Netanyahu was told of the discussions, he was reluctant. “Bibi came to Washington, and one of the first things out of his mouth in the Oval Office was ‘I can’t do this. I’m not going to—I just can’t.’ ”
...
The issue was rendered moot in March, 2011, when the revolution began in Syria. As the Syrian regime increased its level of cruelty from month to month—beginning with the police torturing young protesters and moving on to the indiscriminate killing of many thousands, using barrel bombs—all talk of the “soft-spoken British-educated ophthalmologist,” of Assad as the reformist hope of Syria, was eclipsed.
Kerry shook his head at the memory of it. At dinner in Damascus, Assad had told Kerry and Heinz about how his mother could no longer go to a local mosque dressed in a skirt. He talked about how female college classmates, professional women, were now in hijab. “We want to be a secular country,” Assad said, according to Kerry. “We don’t want to be inundated by this.”
Kerry went on, “I had an impression that this guy had serious business plans, growth plans, development plans, wanted to change.” When I pressed him to describe Assad in terms of his crimes, he backed off. “You know what? I want to try to talk common sense to him through this process, and I do not want to get into any—it’s just the inappropriate moment for me to . . .”
Labels: Bashar al-Assad, Binyamin Netanyahu, Golan Heights, ISIS, John Kerry, Syria, Syrian uprising
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:10 AM
1 comments
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, ISIS, John Kerry, UN Climate Change Conference
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 11:55 AM
0 comments
HERE is an explanation of the difference between the terms ISIS and ISIL. I have been suspicious of the term ISIL to which the administration stubbornly clings.
ISIS = Islamic State of Iraq and Syria. Iraq is to the east of Jordan (shaped like the hatchet) and Syria is to the north.
ISIL = Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. Iraq is still to the east of Jordan, and “the Levant” is a term that comes from “the rising (of the sun, i.e., to the east)” - and is basically the land along the Mediterranean - that includes Lebanon, Israel, and those countries along that region.
By saying ISIL, you “negate” Israel as its own country and lump it in with the rest of the countries along the Mediterranean - and Israel sort of disappears (loses its sovereignty) and becomes part of “the Levant” - which is therefore part of ISIL.
If you've wondered, as I have, why all government agencies and especially Obama calls it ISIL and even spells it out every time it’s used, instead of ISIS as the rest of the world, here's the answer.
Decoding Obama’s speech reveals some startling revelations. In one press conference after another, when referring to the Muslim terror super-group ISIS, United States President Barack Obama will use the term ISIL, instead of their former name ISIS, or current name Islamic State.
Have you ever wondered about that? Here is the difference: What makes up the near exact center of the Muslim Levant? Israel. ISIL stands for the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant. Now, to us Westerners we don't really make much of a distinction, do we? No, honestly from our perspective it’s all about the same. But how would a Muslim living in the Middle East view it? Just what is the Levant anyway? Let’s take a look.
The geographical term LEVANT refers to a multi-nation region in the Middle East. It’s a land bridge between Turkey to the north and Egypt to the south. If you look on a map, however, in the near exact middle of the nations that comprise the Levant, guess what you see? It’s Israel.
When Barack Obama refers over and over to the Islamic State as ISIL, he is sending a message to Muslims all over the Middle East that he personally does not recognize Israel as a sovereign nation, but as territory belonging to the Islamic State.
Now you know why Obama says that he has no plan, no goal, and no stated aim for dealing with ISIS. But he does have a plan, and it’s a really nasty, diabolical one.
Obama’s plan is to drag his feet for as long as he can, doing only the bare minimum that Congress forces him to do. His plan is to buy ISIL as much time as possible to make as many gains as they can.
Listen as Obama, his press secretary, the spokesperson for the State Department, and his Joint Chiefs of Staff painstakingly spell out the letters I-S-I-L so there is no doubt in your mind. And it’s working.
The Islamic State has garnered millions of dollars, a vast cache of weapons, and in their latest foray have captured Syrian fighter jets and now 12 commercial passenger planes.
With each passing day that Obama fulfills his stated aim of doing nothing, the Islamic State grows by leaps and bounds.
The ultimate goal, of course, has not changed and will never change. The ultimate goal is the destruction of Israel.
Now, you know a little bit more about why Obama chooses his words so carefully!!Hmmm.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, ISIS, Islam, Islamic State
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:45 AM
2 comments
ISIS has recruited experts with chemistry, physics and computer science degrees to wage war with weapons of mass destruction against the West, a shocking European Parliament report has claimed.
The terror organisation, according to the briefing document, 'may be planning to try to use internationally banned weapons of mass destruction in future attacks'.
The document, which was compiled in the aftermath of the deadly attacks on Paris claimed that ISIS has already smuggled WMD material into Europe.
Experts fear that ISIS will be able to exploit a failure of EU governments to share information on possible terrorists.
Already, British police forces have been conducting exercises on how to deal with various types of terrorist attack. But the EU report claims that government should 'consider publicly addressing the possibility of terrorist attack using chemical, biological, radiological or even nuclear materials'.
The report, ISIL/Da'esh and 'non-conventional' weapons of terror warns: 'At present, European citizens are not seriously contemplating the possibility that extremist groups might use chemical, biological, radiological or nuclear (CBRN) materials during attacks in Europe. Under these circumstances, the impact of such an attack, should it occur, would be even more destabilising.'
Rob Wainwright, head of Europol said after the attacks on Paris: 'We are dealing with a very serious, well-resourced, determined international terrorist organisation that is now active on the streets of Europe.
'This represents the most serious terrorist threat faced in Europe for 10 years.'Well, just as long as they don't attack before January 20, 2017 (or for that matter, November 8, 2016), Obama is cool with it.
Labels: Barack Hussein Obama, European Union, ISIS, US presidential campaign 2016
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 12:06 AM
1 comments
Turkey on Sunday said it was "astonished" by Iranian accusations that Ankara is supporting Islamic State (ISIS) and involved in oil dealing with the jihadists in Iraq and Syria.
Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Tanju Bilgic said in a statement there was nothing in Tehran's accusations to take "seriously."
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Thursday he had warned his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani over some Iranian media reports that he and his family were involved in oil trade with ISIS jihadists.
Erdogan said that he spoke with Rouhani on the phone and told him: "You will pay a high price if it continues like that." He added that the Iranians later removed the news from their website.
Turkish foreign ministry spokesman Bilgic confirmed the telephone conversation between the two presidents and said any attempts to distort its content were "not only immoral but also equal to hiding the truth from neighboring Iranian people."
In response to Erdogan, Iranian foreign ministry on Friday called for "mutual politeness and respect in relations," according to the Iranian media.
"The continuation of policies and positions that, wanted or unwanted, have led to the support of terrorism in Syria and Iraq, only escalate the current crisis in the region and increase problems for countries that continue such policies," Iranian foreign ministry spokesman Hossein Jaber-Ansari said according to IRNA.Faster, faster!
Labels: Ayatollah Ali Khameni, Iran, ISIS, Islamic State, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey
posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 7:11 PM
0 comments
I am an Orthodox Jew - some would even call me 'ultra-Orthodox.' Born in Boston, I was a corporate and securities attorney in New York City for seven years before making aliya to Israel in 1991 (I don't look it but I really am that old :-). I have been happily married to the same woman for thirty-five years, and we have eight children (bli ayin hara) ranging in age from 13 to 33 years and nine grandchildren. Four of our children are married! Before I started blogging I was a heavy contributor on a number of email lists and ran an email list called the Matzav from 2000-2004. You can contact me at: IsraelMatzav at gmail dot com
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