The IS (Islamic State) aka ISIS updates

[cobra commando]

UN Says ISIS Using Children as Suicide Bombers | World | RIA Novosti

 

[cobra commando]

In ISIS wake, India may tweak W Asia policy, engage Kurds - Hindustan Times

 

[nrupatunga]

White House Denies Steven Sotloff Was Sold to ISIS by Moderates

The White House on Tuesday pushed back against reports that journalist Steven Sotloff was "sold" to ISIS militants by Syrian moderates before he was gruesomely beheaded.

The idea that Sotloff was turned over to Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham terrorists by Syrian opposition rebels supported by the U.S. first came from a spokesman for his family, Barak Barfi, speaking on CNN Monday night. Barfi said "sources on the ground" had given the family information to that effect, and they were disappointed in the Obama administration.

On Tuesday, however, White House spokesman Josh Earnest denied that account. "As it relates to the specifics of this matter, based on the information that has been provided to me, I don't believe that is accurate, but I do know at the same time that this is the subject of an ongoing FBI investigation," said Earnest. "They are looking into all aspects of this, including how Mr. Sotloff may have come into the hands of ISIL (ISIS)."

An FBI spokeswoman had no initial comment on the matter when contacted by NBC News.

ISIS released a video on Sept. 2 showing the beheading of Sotloff, who was kidnapped in Syria in August 2013.

 

[kseeker]

BBC News - Islamic State: Can its savagery be explained?

Since the sudden appearance of the extremist Sunni Islamic State (IS), the group has seized headlines with a shocking level of blood-letting and cruelty - but can its savagery be explained, asks Fawaz A Gerges.

Islamic State has become synonymous with viciousness - beheadings, crucifixions, stonings, massacres, burying victims alive and religious and ethnic cleansing.

While such savagery might seem senseless to the vast majority of civilised human beings, for IS it is a rational choice. It is a conscious decision to terrorise enemies and impress and co-opt new recruits.

IS adheres to a doctrine of total war without limits and constraints - no such thing, for instance, as arbitration or compromise when it comes to settling disputes with even Sunni Islamist rivals. Unlike its parent organisation, al-Qaeda, IS pays no lip service to theology to justify its crimes.

The violence has its roots in what can be identified as two earlier waves, though the scale and intensity of IS' brutality far exceeds either.

The first wave, led by disciples of Sayyid Qutb - a radical Egyptian Islamist regarded as the master theoretician of modern jihadism - targeted pro-Western secular Arab regimes or what they called the "near enemy", and, on balance, showed restraint in the use of political violence .

Beginning with the assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat in 1980, this Islamist insurgency dissipated by the end of the 1990s. It had cost some 2,000 lives and saw a large number of militants head to Afghanistan to battle a new global enemy - the Soviet Union.

'Killing machine'

The Afghan jihad against the Soviets gave birth to a second wave, with a specific target - the "far enemy", or the United States and, to a lesser extent, Europe.

It was spearheaded by a wealthy Saudi turned revolutionary, Osama Bin Laden.

Bin Laden went to great lengths to rationalise al-Qaeda's attack on the US on 11 September 2001, calling it "defensive jihad", or retaliation against perceived US domination of Muslim societies.

Hundreds of jihadists are reported to have swelled IS' ranks in recent weeks

Conscious of the importance of winning hearts and minds, Bin Laden sold his message to Muslims and even Americans as self-defence, not aggression.

This kind of justification, however, carries no weight with IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who cannot care less what the world thinks of his blood-letting.

In fact, he and his cohorts revel in displaying barbarity and coming across as savage.

In contrast to the first two waves, IS actually stresses violent action over theology and theory, and has produced no repertoire of ideas to sustain and nourish its social base. It is a killing machine powered by blood and iron.

Going beyond Bin Laden's doctrine that "when people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature they will like the strong horse", al-Baghdadi's "victory through terrorism" signals to friends and foes that IS is a winning horse. Get out of the way or you will be crushed; join our caravan and make history.

Increasing evidence shows that over the past few months, hundreds, if not thousands, of diehard former Islamist enemies of IS, such as the al-Nusra Front and the Islamic Front, answered al-Baghdadi's call.

'Shock-and-awe'

IS' sophisticated outreach campaign appeals to disaffected and deluded young Sunnis worldwide because it is seen as a powerful vanguard that delivers victory and salvation.

Far from abhorring the group's brutality, young recruits are attracted by its shock-and-awe tactics against the enemies of Islam.

Map showing areas of IS control

Its exploits on the battlefield - especially capturing huge swathes of territory in Syria and Iraq, and establishing a caliphate - resonate near and far. Nothing succeeds like success, and IS' recent military gains have brought it a recruitment bonanza.

Muslim men living in Western countries join IS and other extremist groups because they feel part of a greater mission - to resurrect a lost idealised type of caliphate and be part of a tight-knit community with a potent identity.

Initially, many young men from London, Berlin and Paris and elsewhere migrate to the lands of jihad to defend persecuted co-religionists, but they end up in the clutches of IS, doing its evil deeds, such as beheading innocent civilians.

The drivers behind IS' unrestrained extremism can be traced to its origins with al-Qaeda in Iraq, led by Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who was killed by the Americans in 2006.

Not unlike its predecessor, IS is nourished on an anti-Shia diet and visceral hatred of minorities in general, portraying itself as the spearhead of Sunni Arabs in the fight against sectarian-based regimes in Baghdad and Damascus.

Al-Zarqawi and al-Baghdadi view Shias as infidels, a fifth column in the heart of Islam that must be wiped out - a genocidal worldview.

Following in the footsteps of al-Zarqawi, al-Baghdadi ignored repeated pleas by his mentor Ayman al-Zawahiri, head of al-Qaeda, and other top militants to avoid indiscriminate killing of Shia and, instead, to attack the Shia-dominated and Alawite regimes in Iraq and Syria.

Sights on US?

By exploiting the deepening Sunni-Shia rift in Iraq and the sectarian civil war in Syria, al-Baghdadi has built a powerful base of support among rebellious Sunnis and has blended his group into local communities.

He also restructured his military network and co-opted experienced officers of Saddam Hussein's disbanded army who turned IS into a professional sectarian fighting force.

IS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi has threatened to kill US troops if they come to Iraq

IS has so far consistently focused on the Shia and not the "far enemy". The struggle against the US and Europe is distant, not a priority; it has to await liberation at home.

At the height of Israeli bombings of Gaza in August, militants on social media criticised IS for killing Muslims while doing nothing to help the Palestinians.

IS retorted by saying the struggle against the Shia takes priority over everything else.

Now that the US and Europe have joined the conflict against IS, the group will use all its assets in retaliation, including further beheading of hostages. There is also a growing likelihood that it will attack soft diplomatic targets in the Middle East.

While it might want to stage a spectacular operation on the American or European homeland, it is doubtful that IS currently has the capabilities to carry out complex attacks like 9/11.

A few months ago, in response to chatter by his followers, al-Baghdadi acknowledged that his organisation was not equipped to attack the Americans at home.

He said though that he wished the US would deploy boots on the ground so that IS could directly engage the Americans - and kill them.

- Fawaz A Gerges holds the Emirates Chair in Contemporary Middle Eastern Studies at the London School of Economics and Political Science. He is author of several books, including Journey of the Jihadist: Inside Muslim Militancy.

 

[nrupatunga]

Full Text of Obama's Address on ISIS

President Barack Obama addressed the nation Wednesday on his strategy to confront the threat of the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS). Below are his remarks as delivered:

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My fellow Americans, tonight I want to speak to you about what the United States will do with our friends and allies to degrade and ultimately destroy the terrorist group known as ISIL.

As Commander-in-Chief, my highest priority is the security of the American people. Over the last several years, we have consistently taken the fight to terrorists who threaten our country. We took out Osama bin Laden and much of al Qaeda's leadership in Afghanistan and Pakistan. We've targeted al Qaeda's affiliate in Yemen, and recently eliminated the top commander of its affiliate in Somalia. We've done so while bringing more than 140,000 American troops home from Iraq, and drawing down our forces in Afghanistan, where our combat mission will end later this year. Thanks to our military and counterterrorism professionals, America is safer.

Still, we continue to face a terrorist threat. We can't erase every trace of evil from the world, and small groups of killers have the capacity to do great harm. That was the case before 9/11, and that remains true today. And that's why we must remain vigilant as threats emerge. At this moment, the greatest threats come from the Middle East and North Africa, where radical groups exploit grievances for their own gain. And one of those groups is ISIL — which calls itself the "Islamic State."

Now let's make two things clear: ISIL is not "Islamic." No religion condones the killing of innocents. And the vast majority of ISIL's victims have been Muslim. And ISIL is certainly not a state. It was formerly al Qaeda's affiliate in Iraq, and has taken advantage of sectarian strife and Syria's civil war to gain territory on both sides of the Iraq-Syrian border. It is recognized by no government, nor by the people it subjugates. ISIL is a terrorist organization, pure and simple. And it has no vision other than the slaughter of all who stand in its way.

In a region that has known so much bloodshed, these terrorists are unique in their brutality. They execute captured prisoners. They kill children. They enslave, rape, and force women into marriage. They threatened a religious minority with genocide. And in acts of barbarism, they took the lives of two American journalists — Jim Foley and Steven Sotloff.

So ISIL poses a threat to the people of Iraq and Syria, and the broader Middle East — including American citizens, personnel and facilities. If left unchecked, these terrorists could pose a growing threat beyond that region, including to the United States. While we have not yet detected specific plotting against our homeland, ISIL leaders have threatened America and our allies. Our Intelligence Community believes that thousands of foreigners -– including Europeans and some Americans –- have joined them in Syria and Iraq. Trained and battle-hardened, these fighters could try to return to their home countries and carry out deadly attacks.

I know many Americans are concerned about these threats. Tonight, I want you to know that the United States of America is meeting them with strength and resolve. Last month, I ordered our military to take targeted action against ISIL to stop its advances. Since then, we've conducted more than 150 successful airstrikes in Iraq. These strikes have protected American personnel and facilities, killed ISIL fighters, destroyed weapons, and given space for Iraqi and Kurdish forces to reclaim key territory. These strikes have also helped save the lives of thousands of innocent men, women and children.

But this is not our fight alone. American power can make a decisive difference, but we cannot do for Iraqis what they must do for themselves, nor can we take the place of Arab partners in securing their region. And that's why I've insisted that additional U.S. action depended upon Iraqis forming an inclusive government, which they have now done in recent days. So tonight, with a new Iraqi government in place, and following consultations with allies abroad and Congress at home, I can announce that America will lead a broad coalition to roll back this terrorist threat.

Our objective is clear: We will degrade, and ultimately destroy, ISIL through a comprehensive and sustained counterterrorism strategy.

First, we will conduct a systematic campaign of airstrikes against these terrorists. Working with the Iraqi government, we will expand our efforts beyond protecting our own people and humanitarian missions, so that we're hitting ISIL targets as Iraqi forces go on offense. Moreover, I have made it clear that we will hunt down terrorists who threaten our country, wherever they are. That means I will not hesitate to take action against ISIL in Syria, as well as Iraq. This is a core principle of my presidency: If you threaten America, you will find no safe haven.

Second, we will increase our support to forces fighting these terrorists on the ground. In June, I deployed several hundred American servicemembers to Iraq to assess how we can best support Iraqi security forces. Now that those teams have completed their work –- and Iraq has formed a government –- we will send an additional 475 servicemembers to Iraq. As I have said before, these American forces will not have a combat mission –- we will not get dragged into another ground war in Iraq. But they are needed to support Iraqi and Kurdish forces with training, intelligence and equipment. We'll also support Iraq's efforts to stand up National Guard Units to help Sunni communities secure their own freedom from ISIL's control.

Across the border, in Syria, we have ramped up our military assistance to the Syrian opposition. Tonight, I call on Congress again to give us additional authorities and resources to train and equip these fighters. In the fight against ISIL, we cannot rely on an Assad regime that terrorizes its own people — a regime that will never regain the legitimacy it has lost. Instead, we must strengthen the opposition as the best counterweight to extremists like ISIL, while pursuing the political solution necessary to solve Syria's crisis once and for all.

Third, we will continue to draw on our substantial counterterrorism capabilities to prevent ISIL attacks. Working with our partners, we will redouble our efforts to cut off its funding; improve our intelligence; strengthen our defenses; counter its warped ideology; and stem the flow of foreign fighters into and out of the Middle East. And in two weeks, I will chair a meeting of the U.N. Security Council to further mobilize the international community around this effort.

Fourth, we will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to innocent civilians who have been displaced by this terrorist organization. This includes Sunni and Shia Muslims who are at grave risk, as well as tens of thousands of Christians and other religious minorities. We cannot allow these communities to be driven from their ancient homelands.

So this is our strategy. And in each of these four parts of our strategy, America will be joined by a broad coalition of partners. Already, allies are flying planes with us over Iraq; sending arms and assistance to Iraqi security forces and the Syrian opposition; sharing intelligence; and providing billions of dollars in humanitarian aid. Secretary Kerry was in Iraq today meeting with the new government and supporting their efforts to promote unity. And in the coming days he will travel across the Middle East and Europe to enlist more partners in this fight, especially Arab nations who can help mobilize Sunni communities in Iraq and Syria, to drive these terrorists from their lands. This is American leadership at its best: We stand with people who fight for their own freedom, and we rally other nations on behalf of our common security and common humanity.

My administration has also secured bipartisan support for this approach here at home. I have the authority to address the threat from ISIL, but I believe we are strongest as a nation when the President and Congress work together. So I welcome congressional support for this effort in order to show the world that Americans are united in confronting this danger.

Now, it will take time to eradicate a cancer like ISIL. And any time we take military action, there are risks involved –- especially to the servicemen and women who carry out these missions. But I want the American people to understand how this effort will be different from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It will not involve American combat troops fighting on foreign soil. This counterterrorism campaign will be waged through a steady, relentless effort to take out ISIL wherever they exist, using our air power and our support for partner forces on the ground. This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years. And it is consistent with the approach I outlined earlier this year: to use force against anyone who threatens America's core interests, but to mobilize partners wherever possible to address broader challenges to international order.

My fellow Americans, we live in a time of great change. Tomorrow marks 13 years since our country was attacked. Next week marks six years since our economy suffered its worst setback since the Great Depression. Yet despite these shocks, through the pain we have felt and the grueling work required to bounce back, America is better positioned today to seize the future than any other nation on Earth.

Our technology companies and universities are unmatched. Our manufacturing and auto industries are thriving. Energy independence is closer than it's been in decades. For all the work that remains, our businesses are in the longest uninterrupted stretch of job creation in our history. Despite all the divisions and discord within our democracy, I see the grit and determination and common goodness of the American people every single day –- and that makes me more confident than ever about our country's future.

Abroad, American leadership is the one constant in an uncertain world. It is America that has the capacity and the will to mobilize the world against terrorists. It is America that has rallied the world against Russian aggression, and in support of the Ukrainian peoples' right to determine their own destiny. It is America –- our scientists, our doctors, our know-how –- that can help contain and cure the outbreak of Ebola. It is America that helped remove and destroy Syria's declared chemical weapons so that they can't pose a threat to the Syrian people or the world again. And it is America that is helping Muslim communities around the world not just in the fight against terrorism, but in the fight for opportunity, and tolerance, and a more hopeful future.

America, our endless blessings bestow an enduring burden. But as Americans, we welcome our responsibility to lead. From Europe to Asia, from the far reaches of Africa to war-torn capitals of the Middle East, we stand for freedom, for justice, for dignity. These are values that have guided our nation since its founding.

Tonight, I ask for your support in carrying that leadership forward. I do so as a Commander-in-Chief who could not be prouder of our men and women in uniform –- pilots who bravely fly in the face of danger above the Middle East, and servicemembers who support our partners on the ground.

When we helped prevent the massacre of civilians trapped on a distant mountain, here's what one of them said: "We owe our American friends our lives. Our children will always remember that there was someone who felt our struggle and made a long journey to protect innocent people."

That is the difference we make in the world. And our own safety, our own security, depends upon our willingness to do what it takes to defend this nation and uphold the values that we stand for –- timeless ideals that will endure long after those who offer only hate and destruction have been vanquished from the Earth.

May God bless our troops, and may God bless the United States of America.

 

[nrupatunga]

^^ Some reactions to his plans.

https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/509814075787051008
[tweet]509814075787051008[/tweet]

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Obama To Assure Nation That ISIS Campaign Will Be Drawn-Out Ordeal They're Used To. - The onion

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https://twitter.com/TarekFatah/status/509899224486793216
[tweet]509899224486793216[/tweet]

https://twitter.com/chuckwoolery/status/509886227357515777
[tweet]509886227357515777[/tweet]

https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/509886748977926144
[tweet]509886748977926144[/tweet]

 

[pmaitra]

A very symbolic picture this - whatsoever way you look at it.

Ten Arab countries have agreed to help the US in its fight against the jihadist group, Islamic State (IS)


Source: BBC News - Viewpoint: IS won't be destroyed without Syria change

 

[Razor]

US threatened Foley family over Islamic State ransom, slain journalist's mother says

The family of US journalist James Foley – who was kidnapped and killed by the Islamic State – had been "threatened" by the US government with charges of aiding terrorists if they tried to raise funds to pay ransom for him, Foley's mother told the media.

Obama administration officials repeatedly warned the family of murdered journalist James Foley that they might face criminal charges for supporting terrorism if they paid a ransom to the Islamic State jihadists who were holding and, ultimately, beheaded their son, his mother and brother said this week.

"We were told that several times and we took it as a threat and it was appalling," Foley's mother Diane said in an interview with ABC News.

"I think our efforts to get Jim freed were an annoyance," she elaborated in another interview with CNN. "It didn't seem to be in [US] strategic interest, if you will."

The 40-year-old journalist was kidnapped by Islamic State (IS) radicals in November 2012 while reporting from Syria. He was ceremonially beheaded, apparently over US military involvement in Iraq, and a video of his murder was released by the group in August.

Officials told Foley family members "not go to the media," and that the "government would not exchange prisoners," according to Diane Foley. Diane and her husband John were also concerned that any donors to their ransom collection drive might be thrown in prison for funding terrorism.

"Jim was killed in the most horrific way. He was sacrificed because of just a lack of coordination, lack of communication, lack of prioritization," Diane Foley said. "As a family, we had to find our way through this on our own."

"It was very upsetting because we were essentially told to trust... that the way they were handling things would bring our son home," she added.

Source: http://rt.com/usa/187452-foley-family-us-ransom-threats/

 

[rock127]

Struggling to Starve ISIS of Oil Revenue, U.S. Seeks Assistance From Turkey

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration is struggling to cut off the millions of dollars in oil revenue that has made the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria one of the wealthiest terror groups in history, but so far has been unable to persuade Turkey, the NATO ally where much of the oil is traded on the black market, to crack down on an extensive sales network.

Western intelligence officials say they can track the ISIS oil shipments as they move across Iraq and into Turkey's southern border regions. Despite extensive discussions inside the Pentagon, American forces have so far not attacked the tanker trucks, though a senior administration official said Friday "that remains an option."In public, the administration has been unwilling to criticize Turkey, which insists it has little control over the flow of foreign fighters into Iraq and Syria across its borders, or the flow of oil back out. One senior official, calling President Obama's recent conversations with Turkey's president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "sensitive," said the decisions about what the country will do to counter ISIS "will be theirs to make."

But behind the scenes, the conversations about the Sunni extremist group's ability to gather vast sums to finance its operations have become increasingly tense since Mr. Obama's vow on Wednesday night to degrade and ultimately destroy the group.Turkey's failure thus far to help choke off the oil trade symbolizes the magnitude of the challenges facing the administration both in assembling a coalition to counter the Sunni militant group and in starving its lifeblood. ISIS' access to cash is critical to its ability to recruit members, meet its growing payroll of fighters, expand its reach and operate across the territory of two countries.

"Turkey in many ways is a wild card in this coalition equation," said Juan Zarate, a senior adviser at the Center for Strategic and International Studies and author of "Treasury's War: The Unleashing of a New Era of Financial Warfare." "It's a great disappointment: There is a real danger that the effort to degrade and destroy ISIS is at risk. You have a major NATO ally, and it is not clear they are willing and able to cut off flows of funds, fighters and support to ISIS."

Turkey declined to sign a communiqué on Thursday in Saudi Arabia that committed Persian Gulf states in the region to counter ISIS, even limited to the extent each nation considered "appropriate." Turkish officials told their American counterparts that with 49 Turkish diplomats being held as hostages in Iraq, they could not risk taking a public stance against the terror group.

Still, administration officials say they believe Turkey could substantially disrupt the cash flow to ISIS if it tried."Like any sort of black market smuggling operation, if you devote the resources and the effort to attack it, you are unlikely to eradicate it, but you are likely to put a very significant dent in it," a senior administration official said on Saturday.A second senior official said that Mr. Obama's national security team had spoken several times with Mr. Erdogan and other top Turkish officials in the past two weeks about what they can do to help counter ISIS, and that ISIS' financing was part of those discussions. "Stopping the flow of foreign fighters, border security and dismantling ISIL funding networks are also key aspects of our strategy, and we will continue to work closely with Turkey and our other partners in the region on these efforts in the days ahead," the official said, using a different acronym to describe the militant organization.

At the core of the talks are the dozen or so oil fields and refineries in Iraq and Syria on territory the group has controlled. The output has provided a steady stream of financing, which experts place at $1 million to $2 million a day — a pittance in terms of the global oil market, but a huge windfall for a terror group."Oil is a huge part of the financing equation" that empowers ISIS, said James Phillips, the senior fellow for Middle Eastern Affairs at the Heritage Foundation, a Washington-based research center.

The territory ISIS controls in Iraq alone is currently producing anywhere from 25,000 to 40,000 barrels of oil a day, which can fetch a minimum of $1.2 million on the black market, according to Luay al-Khatteeb, a visiting foreign policy fellow at the Brookings Doha Center, who also directs the Iraq Energy Institute. Some estimates have placed the daily income ISIS derives from oil sales at $2 million, though American officials are skeptical it is that high.
"The key gateway through that black market is the southern corridor of Turkey," Mr. Khatteeb said. "Turkey is becoming part of this black economy" that funds ISIS.

But targeting the smuggling network has proved a major challenge, and so far the Turkish authorities have been unwilling to cooperate.

"They've been turning a blind eye to it, because they benefit from the lower price of smuggled black-market oil," Mr. Phillips said, "and I'm sure there are substantial numbers of Turks that are also profiting from this, maybe even government officials.".

The supply chain of routes, individuals, families and organizations that allow the oil to flow are well-established, some dating back decades, to when President Saddam Hussein of Iraq smuggled oil during the United Nations' oil-for-food program. "Those borders have never been sealed, and they never will be sealed," Mr. Phillips said.

For the Obama administration, getting at ISIS' oil revenue is far more complex than, say, its crackdown on Iran. That has been the administration's most successful use of sanctions, and officials credit the effects on Iran's economy, along with American sabotage of its nuclear facilities, for Iran's reluctant decision to negotiate on the future of its nuclear enrichment program.

But Iran used fairly conventional means of reaching oil markets, and not one of its techniques applies to ISIS' black-market sales, which take place mostly through networks of smugglers.

The long-term American plan appears focused on persuading Turkey to crack down on the smuggling networks — some of which, one Western diplomat noted, "benefit a powerful Turkish elite" — and aiming at the refiners who would ultimately have to turn the crude oil into petrochemical products. But gathering the intelligence is a slow process, analysts say.

"It's hard to use any of the suite of tools that are available to the U.S. Treasury Department to sanction people in this case," said Patrick B. Johnston, a RAND Corporation researcher who is working on a top-to-bottom study of ISIS' financing and organization. "Getting a grip on who the right financial targets would be at the Treasury Department would be difficult."

That is equally true of the other major source of ISIS money — its extortion activities in the areas it controls, said Mr. Johnston, who is examining declassified documents that detail the group's funding streams. ISIS demands anywhere from 10 percent to 20 percent of revenue from businesses in its territories and operates other "mafia-style" rackets that yield as much as $1 million a day.

 

[pmaitra]

US threatened Foley family over Islamic State ransom, slain journalist's mother says





Source: http://rt.com/usa/187452-foley-family-us-ransom-threats/

The US always needs American victims, to rally the gullible multitude of mind-numbingly ignorant and massively "patriotic" Americans in support for more wars.

We have Foley; earlier, we had the Tsarnayev brothers (assets); and I wonder whether the alleged "conspiracy theories" about 9/11 WTC attacks are actually true.

I believed in such State Department announcements in the early 2000s. These days, anything that comes outta there, seems like lies.

 

[Razor]

The US always needs American victims, to rally the gullible multitude of mind-numbingly ignorant and massively "patriotic" Americans in support for more wars.

We have Foley; earlier, we had the Tsarnayev brothers (assets); and I wonder whether the alleged "conspiracy theories" about 9/11 WTC attacks are actually true.

I believed in such State Department announcements in the early 2000s. These days, anything that comes outta there, seems like lies.

So you also believe something stinks with that Tsarnayev affair and the Boston Bombing incident. From what I've seen, at the minimum, the story they are telling us, is untrue. I'm actually looking into this and may start a thread when I have some time.
Similarly I reckon, the 9/11 commission report (just like say the Warren Commission report) is probably filled with lies. It is certainly worth looking into.

 

[pmaitra]

@Razor, I am looking forward to it. Regarding Boston Bombing, please try to research their uncle, Ruslan Tsarni, who arrived in the US from Russia, and just after arriving, where he stayed.

 

[pmaitra]

https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/509886748977926144
[tweet]509886748977926144[/tweet]

Isn't John McCain the guy who went all the way to Syria to hang out with whoever he hung out with? Nope, it wasn't al-Assad. Perhaps he should shed some light on his adventure.

 

[Razor]

Is it just me or is there a greater than average number (when compared to other terror outfits like say the Taliban) of people wearing balaclavas among the ISIS fighters ?
Who are these people and where did they come from ?

 

[thethinker]

Is it just me or is there a greater than average number (when compared to other terror outfits like say the Taliban) of people wearing balaclavas among the ISIS fighters ?
Who are these people and where did they come from ?

Many are delusional and sociopath Pakis and Arabs living in UK/EU who are in it for money.

British spies are on verge of identifying 'Jailer John': Ambassador to US reveals 'we are not far away' from unmasking fanatic who murdered James Foley as SAS gets ready to find him | Mail Online

The gang openly talked of making so much money they could 'retire to Kuwait or Qatar', according to testimonies by former hostages obtained by The Mail on Sunday.

The men were reported to be 'interested in money' from the start of the kidnap ordeal, even bragging to prisoners about how much they were making.

A security source revealed last night that £24 million was paid by at least four European countries for the release of 11 hostages last year.

 

[kseeker]

WASHINGTON — The Obama administration said Sunday that "several" Arab nations had offered to join in airstrikes against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, but any sustained military campaign does not appear imminent, and is likely to require an even more significant commitment from other nations and fighting forces in the region.

In interviews and public statements, administration and military officials described a battle plan that would not accelerate in earnest until disparate groups of Iraqi forces, Kurds and Syrian rebels stepped up to provide the fighting forces on the ground. Equipping, training and coordinating that effort is a lengthy process, officials cautioned.

merican officials have made it clear they do not want the airstrikes to get ahead of the ground action against ISIS, which they said would take time to mass. "This isn't going to be 'shock and awe' with hundreds of airstrikes," one official said, referring to the initial attack on Baghdad at the opening of the Iraq war in March 2003. "We don't want this to look like an American war."

Iraqi and Kurdish officials are pressing their view of what the next step should be, even as the United States has carried out more than 150 airstrikes since President Obama announced the campaign to destroy ISIS on Sept. 10.

Specifically, senior Iraqi and Kurdish officials asked the United States as recently as this weekend to take action along the Iraqi-Syrian border to deprive ISIS of the safe havens it enjoys in that area.

"The Iraqis have asked for assistance in the border regions, and that's something we're looking at," one State Department official said.

The description of a calibrated military buildup by coalition forces, combined with a steady effort led by the United States Treasury Department to choke off ISIS' ability to reap $1 million or more a day from oil sales, emerged as the administration has tried to define what Mr. Obama meant when he said the American goal was to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Sunni extremist group.

The president's chief of staff, Denis McDonough, provided the most current definition of White House thinking on Sunday during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." Using an alternative acronym for the extremist group, he said that "success looks like an ISIL that no longer threatens our friends in the region, no longer threatens the United States, an ISIL that can't accumulate followers or threaten Muslims in Syria, Iraq or otherwise."

That definition falls short of the classic understanding of what it means to destroy an opposing force. But the administration is betting that it has tailored the goals to appeal to the coalition of oftentimes reluctant partners it is trying to assemble, many of whom are deeply suspicious of each other.

Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking from Paris, declined to say which states had offered to contribute air power, an announcement that White House officials said could await his return to testify in Congress early this week. State Department officials, who asked not to be identified under the agency's protocol for briefing reporters, said Arab nations could participate in an air campaign against ISIS in other ways without dropping bombs, such as by flying arms to Iraqi or Kurdish forces, conducting reconnaissance flights or providing logistical support and refueling.

"I don't want to leave you with the impression that these Arab members haven't offered to do airstrikes, because several of them have," one State Department official said. "The Iraqis would have to be a major participant in that decision," the official added. "It has to be well structured and organized."

The United Arab Emirates, which provided some air power in the 2011 attacks on Libya, seemed at the top of the list, with Qatar hosting an American military headquarters. American officials cautioned that all strikes would have to be approved by the newly assembled government in Iraq, as well as by American military planners. That could prove just one challenge to the offer by Arab nations to participate in airstrikes: While Iraq's struggling military forces have experience operating with the United States, its Shiite-dominated government has never worked with the Sunni states of the Persian Gulf.

The United States has identified ISIS targets in Iraq over the past several weeks. But officials said they were waiting, in part, to match the allied commitments with actual contributions: warplanes, support aircraft that can refuel or provide intelligence, more basing agreements to carry out strikes, and the insertion of trainers from other Western countries.

Iraqi and Kurdish officials are pressing their view of what the next step should be, even as the United States has carried out more than 150 airstrikes since President Obama announced the campaign to destroy ISIS on Sept. 10.

Specifically, senior Iraqi and Kurdish officials asked the United States as recently as this weekend to take action along the Iraqi-Syrian border to deprive ISIS of the safe havens it enjoys in that area.

"The Iraqis have asked for assistance in the border regions, and that's something we're looking at," one State Department official said.

The description of a calibrated military buildup by coalition forces, combined with a steady effort led by the United States Treasury Department to choke off ISIS' ability to reap $1 million or more a day from oil sales, emerged as the administration has tried to define what Mr. Obama meant when he said the American goal was to "degrade and ultimately destroy" the Sunni extremist group.

The president's chief of staff, Denis McDonough, provided the most current definition of White House thinking on Sunday during an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press." Using an alternative acronym for the extremist group, he said that "success looks like an ISIL that no longer threatens our friends in the region, no longer threatens the United States, an ISIL that can't accumulate followers or threaten Muslims in Syria, Iraq or otherwise."

That definition falls short of the classic understanding of what it means to destroy an opposing force. But the administration is betting that it has tailored the goals to appeal to the coalition of oftentimes reluctant partners it is trying to assemble, many of whom are deeply suspicious of each other.

Secretary of State John Kerry, speaking from Paris, declined to say which states had offered to contribute air power, an announcement that White House officials said could await his return to testify in Congress early this week. State Department officials, who asked not to be identified under the agency's protocol for briefing reporters, said Arab nations could participate in an air campaign against ISIS in other ways without dropping bombs, such as by flying arms to Iraqi or Kurdish forces, conducting reconnaissance flights or providing logistical support and refueling.

"I don't want to leave you with the impression that these Arab members haven't offered to do airstrikes, because several of them have," one State Department official said. "The Iraqis would have to be a major participant in that decision," the official added. "It has to be well structured and organized."

The United Arab Emirates, which provided some air power in the 2011 attacks on Libya, seemed at the top of the list, with Qatar hosting an American military headquarters. American officials cautioned that all strikes would have to be approved by the newly assembled government in Iraq, as well as by American military planners. That could prove just one challenge to the offer by Arab nations to participate in airstrikes: While Iraq's struggling military forces have experience operating with the United States, its Shiite-dominated government has never worked with the Sunni states of the Persian Gulf.

The United States has identified ISIS targets in Iraq over the past several weeks. But officials said they were waiting, in part, to match the allied commitments with actual contributions: warplanes, support aircraft that can refuel or provide intelligence, more basing agreements to carry out strikes, and the insertion of trainers from other Western countries.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/15/w...airstrikes-against-isis-us-official-says.html

 

[kseeker]

BEIRUT, Lebanon — The fortunes of President Bashar al-Assad have suffered over the past two months, with battlefield setbacks and new signs of doubt emerging within his political base, as the civil war in Syria drags on with no end in sight.

Now, though, he and his inner circle believe they have been granted a reprieve — at least politically — by President Obama's declaration that he may strike in Syria against the extremist group the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, according to analysts and allies of the Syrian government who say they are in contact with officials in Damascus.

To Mr. Assad and his closest advisers, these people say, the American decision represents a victory for his longstanding strategy: obliterating any moderate opposition to his rule and persuading the world it faces a stark choice between him and Islamist militants who threaten the West.

But there are also worries in Damascus that the potential American strikes in Syria, part of a ramped-up campaign against ISIS, carry new risks. Pro-government analysts say that Syrian officials are unsure who would benefit militarily — government forces, or Syrian insurgents and separatist Kurds, who have also clashed with the foreign-led ISIS militants.

Neither the Syrian Army nor the Western-supported groups among the Syrian insurgents appear capable of taking immediate advantage of any weakening of ISIS in the eastern provinces bordering Iraq where it is strongest, Raqqa and Deir al-Zour.

The Syrian Army has little chance of retaking recently lost territory there, and appears to have virtually written off the east, said Amine Hoteit, a retired Lebanese general who is close to Syrian officials, some of whom he met with in Damascus last month.

Mr. Obama says new aid to Syrian insurgents that his administration has deemed relatively moderate will allow them to act as a ground force against ISIS; he has ruled out sending American troops. But efforts to arm and train them will take time, and it is unclear whether they will be more successful than past efforts that have failed to produce an effective and unified force.

Yezid Sayigh, a military analyst at the Carnegie Middle East Center in Beirut, said that made it unlikely that the United States would soon launch more than limited and carefully selected strikes against ISIS, such as against desert convoys. The group's fighters in Raqqa have lately melted away into the population, increasing the risk that strikes there would kill civilians, perhaps rallying support to ISIS.

Syrian insurgents are stronger near ISIS positions further west in Aleppo Province. But so is the Syrian Army, so hitting ISIS there could also benefit Mr. Assad, which Mr. Obama is loath to do.

"So unless the U.S. successfully kills key ISIS commanders in Syria," Mr. Sayigh said, "its military impact will be limited there in the short and possibly medium term."

Another view, a Damascus journalist with a pro-government media outlet said in a phone interview, is that the American campaign will have little impact on the ground. Many in the government believe the campaign was designed for political reasons to show that the United States is acting against ISIS and that the first step in any serious effort would be forcing Turkey, an American ally and NATO member, to stop the flow of ISIS fighters across its borders.

Military impact aside, each side hopes to gain politically. The prospect of American strikes comes just as Mr. Assad's government has been facing unprecedented public criticism from supporters, who have complained on social media and in interviews that it allowed the extremists to run rampant, and recently staged a rare demonstration in Damascus demanding stronger action to release hostages held by extremists.

Mr. Obama's decision has reinvigorated core members of Mr. Assad's inner circle who believe that he faces less and less pressure to compromise, and that the West will eventually ally with him against ISIS, Syrian journalists and analysts say. For fear of retribution, all the Syrians interviewed requested anonymity.

Yet Mr. Assad presides over a country that is physically divided and psychologically depleted. Two months ago, he was riding higher than at any time since early 2012, having consolidated control of the country's strategic spine, which runs from Damascus to the coast. But those gains, and the morale they built, now appear less solid.

Lightning advances by ISIS routed soldiers from three bases in Raqqa over the summer, sending them fleeing into the desert and leaving many government supporters incensed that the army did not send more reinforcements.

Video of an attack on the Tabaqa air base shows soldiers fleeing, apparently unarmed, into the desert, and being gunned down by ISIS fighters.

The images have been widely shared in Syria, shocking government supporters who are used to seeing the army portrayed in a heroic light; montages on state television regularly show troops marching in disciplined rows and rappelling down walls to a triumphal soundtrack.

"If we lose more areas, we will be doomed," a 31-year-old professional, long a strong government supporter, said in a phone interview from the coastal city of Tartus. "After three years the army is tired and depleted."

"We are playing on the edge and sitting on a volcano," she said, asking that her name be withheld to avoid retribution from either side. "Many people who love and respect Assad are mad at him now. Their patience has come to the end."

She said that her cousin, a soldier, had been jailed for three weeks after he talked on base about recent defeats. Five pro-government activists were detained recently after launching a social media campaign about missing soldiers called "Where Are They." Others boldly defended them online as "patriotic."

Still, the Tartus woman and many other government supporters say they see no alternative to Mr. Assad to protect them from ISIS.

Yet United States officials and some allied Western diplomats say they hope that American strikes on ISIS, along with new aid to non-ISIS insurgents who would be pressured to adopt a moderate agenda, could ease fears among government supporters, especially in the minority Alawite sect that forms Mr. Assad's base. They hope that, in turn, could reassure influential Alawites enough to inspire them, or Mr. Assad's main allies, Iran and Russia, to pressure him to step aside or share power.

But among other Western diplomats, including many long relocated to Beirut from Damascus, there is a sense of dejection and a belief that the new focus on ISIS has derailed what was left of Western political will to oust Mr. Assad or foster a political compromise any time soon. Asked if Western governments would now expend much energy on those projects, one replied, "Absolutely not. It's over, I'm sorry to say."

Some Syrian officials hold a less sanguine view than Mr. Assad and his inner circle do of his political and military strength, a well-connected pro-government political analyst said recently. He said they believe negotiations with relatively moderate Syrian insurgents are unavoidable, and that some chafe at the growing influence in Syria of Iran and Hezbollah, the Lebanese Shiite militia which is fighting alongside Mr. Assad's troops in Syria.

But he said they have little influence with real decision-makers, increasingly limited to Mr. Assad's family members, who include powerful security officials and businessmen, and continue to reject any compromise that could loosen their hold on power.

"Will they reach the point where they say this is the best deal they can make and it's time?" he said. "They are very stubborn. I am not optimistic."

Some allies of Mr. Assad remain convinced that, as Syrian officials have long predicted, the international community will eventually quietly seek his government's intelligence cooperation against ISIS.

"If you don't," a member of Hezbollah familiar with his group's thinking said, addressing the United States, "it raises a question of whether you really want to hit it." But, he added, "Even if you don't coordinate," any strikes against ISIS would "help the regime."

The Syrian government has volunteered to participate in the anti-ISIS coalition as long as it works with Mr. Assad. But Mr. Obama has ruled out such cooperation. The Syrian government says American airstrikes in Syria without its consent would violate its sovereignty.

Syrian officials are confident in their control of the part of the country most important to them, the corridor from Damascus north to the coastal cities, General Hoteit said. Currently home to between 7 million and 10 million people, he said, that territory would allow the state to function indefinitely.

But key swaths of the country remain contested, including the northern city of Aleppo, Syria's largest city, divided between the government and non-ISIS insurgents, and Damascus suburbs like Douma, where video on Sunday showed children wounded in heavy government airstrikes.

As for the east, General Hoteit said, "The regime doesn't care much about Raqqa."

Hwaida Saad and Mohammad Ghannam contributed reporting from Beirut, and an employee of The New York Times from Raqqa, Syria.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/15/w...in-us-strikes-against-isis-on-their-soil.html

 

[AVERAGE INDIAN]

Norway Mulls Contribution To Anti-Islamic State Force

OSLO — Norway said Monday it was considering making a military contribution to the US-led coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group including providing training assistance for armed forces.

OSLO — Norway said Monday it was considering making a military contribution to the US-led coalition against the Islamic State jihadist group including providing training assistance for armed forces.

"First of all we have identified additional efforts in the humanitarian field," Foreign Minister Boerge Brende told Norwegian daily Verdens Gang.

"But we have an ongoing evaluation whether we could go beyond humanitarian help to also participate in building military capacities," he added, signaling an apparent change in position.

According to Brende, the Norwegian contribution could involve training assistance for military personnel, depending on what requests Oslo received and subject to a debate in parliament.

He made the comments ahead of an international conference on security in Iraq held in Paris on Monday. Brende also confirmed to Norwegian news agency NTB that the United States had requested Norwegian involvement in an anti-IS coalition.

Brende added that the Nordic country "was not considering" air or land support in any offensive against the jihadist group, which controls large swathes of Iraq and Syria, and would not supply military materiel.

Representatives from about 30 countries and organizations at the Paris conference agreed to support the Iraq's fight against IS "by all necessary means," including military, according to the final text.

Norway mulls contribution anti force

 

[AVERAGE INDIAN]

British PM Threatens Islamic State, Makes No Commitment On Strikes

LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain was ready to "take whatever steps are necessary" to destroy Islamic State militants after they murdered a British aid worker, but made no commitment to joining the United States in airstrikes.

LONDON — Prime Minister David Cameron said Britain was ready to "take whatever steps are necessary" to destroy Islamic State militants after they murdered a British aid worker, but made no commitment to joining the United States in airstrikes.

After chairing a meeting of the government's emergency Cobra committee, Cameron said the extremists behind the beheading of David Haines were the "embodiment of evil."

"We will hunt down those responsible and bring them to justice, no matter how long it takes," the grim-faced premier said in a televised statement from Downing Street.

He continued: "Step by step we must drive back, dismantle and ultimately destroy ISIL (IS) and what it stands for. We will do so in a calm, deliberate way but with an iron determination.

"We will not do so on our own, but by working closely with our allies, not just the United States and in Europe, but with our allies in the region."

Cameron repeated his support for US airstrikes against IS in Iraq, and for President Barack Obama's strategy to build a broad coalition to fight the jihadists.

But despite growing calls at home for action against IS, Cameron made no commitment to British strikes.

London began sending arms this week to Kurdish fighters battling IS militants in northern Iraq, but it has faced accusations of confusion over its strategy.

During a visit to Berlin this week, Foreign Secretary Philip Hammond said Britain would not take part in strikes against IS in Syria, after parliament last year voted against taking military action in that country.

But just hours later, a spokesman for Cameron's Downing Street office insisted the prime minister was not ruling anything out.

The murder of Haines was revealed in a video released late Saturday, the third beheading of a Western hostage in less than a month.

In the footage, a hooded militant blames Cameron for joining forces with the United States and says the alliance will drag the British people into "another bloody and unwinnable war."

Cameron described 44-year-old Haines as a "British hero", saying that "his selflessness, his decency, his burning desire to help others has today cost him his life."

Those who killed him "are not Muslims, they are monsters."

Haines had been taken hostage in Syria in March 2013 while working for a French NGO.

British PM Cameron threatens Islamic State, makes no commitment on air strikes

 

[prohumanity]

The agenda has been clear. Take down..first, Iraq, then, Libya, then, Syria and finally, Iran....Shock and Awe !!! Mission Accomplished !!!!!Now, once the entire middle east is under the thumb..any oil dependent nation can be threatened with oil blockade if that nation does not tow the official line. The game was stopped before it could bomb Syria because Putin was the obstacle to the plan. Funding and arming Anti-Assad terrorists ...BACKFIRED BADLY...and it turned into the big, bad monster called ...ISIS...who turned its head and started moving towards Iraq....planning to go further to Jordan and eventually to the country...it has become a huge headache now..how to protect the special needs child..(the special country) Law of unintended consequences..