ISIS Dossier

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ISIS DOSSIER

You Do Realize that the U.S. Funded and Trained ISIS, Right?
The Daily Sheeple August 22nd, 2014 By Melissa Melton

Just so we are all clear here. Now that ISIS, or the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, is becoming a threat so powerful Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told reporters at the Pentagon that the terrorist group is “beyond anything we’ve seen,” it’s time to remind everyone of a few little factoids regarding how exactly that came to be. Hagel’s exact quote was: “They are beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, a sophistication of … military prowess. They are tremendously well-funded. This is beyond anything we’ve seen.” Well-trained in military prowess. Tremendously well-funded. Super sophisticated terrorists. Hm. And how do you think they got that way so fast? Super magic terrorist training money tree fairy dust? Apparently the mainstream establishment media would more likely attempt to have people believe such a thing exists rather than expose the blatant reality that yes, the U.S. has trained and funded ISIS and without the U.S. government, ISIS would not be the threat it has become. It came out back in 2012 that the U.S., Turkey and Jordan were jointly running a US CIA and Special Forces command training base for Syrian rebels out of the Jordanian town of Safawi, but apparently according the Jordanian officials, that training ‘wasn’t meant to be used in Iraq’ (via WND): Syrian rebels who would later join the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, or ISIS, were trained in 2012 by U.S. instructors working at a secret base in Jordan, according to informed Jordanian officials. The officials said dozens of future ISIS members were trained at the time as part of covert aid to the insurgents targeting the regime of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in Syria. The officials said the training was not meant to be used for any future campaign in Iraq. So future ISIS members were specially trained by the U.S. government, huh? Ya don’t say. But they weren’t supposed to be used for campaigns in Iraq? Oops. This was, at least superficially, so they could wage war against the Bashar al-Assad regime in Syria, and again, they weren’t called ISIS at the time, they were referred to as the Syrian rebels. But the government won’t even admit what they’ve done here. Instead, they’re just bombing Iraq and hoping for the best…Meanwhile, our government is still funding the “Syrian rebels” today! Back at the end of June, Obama was requesting another $500 million in aid for them, even though the fact that many were now calling themselves ISIS was so blatantly obvious even back then that it could no longer be disputed. As Hagel said, ISIS are not just well-funded, but “tremendously well-funded.” Now you know where ISIS gets a hefty chunk of its tremendous funding.This really isn’t that hard to figure out, just hard to comprehend; mostly because IT’S COMPLETELY INSANE. Even worse, former state department official Andrew Doran let the cat out of the bag back in June that some of these ISIS members are actually combat veterans from Western nations including the U.S. who have passports and could return home anytime, basically asserting that ISIS could easily attack America at any time. Of course, it isn’t like anyone would need a passport, what with the porous U.S.-Mexico border basically sitting there wide open. A documentary maker recently even dressed up in an Osama Bin Laden mask and crossed the Southern border just to make the point. Either way, this is madness. Now we not only have Hagel telling America that ISIS is ‘beyond anything the Pentagon has ever seen’ but in the same week the former deputy director of the CIA is telling CBS This Morning that he fears ISIS is going to start carrying out 9/11-style attacks on American soil, including this little gem: “If an ISIS member showed up at a mall in the United States tomorrow with an AK-47 and killed a number of Americans, I would not be surprised.” If anyone is terrorizing America directly right now, it’s the American government that would first fund and train terrorists who are raping people and setting them on fire, crucifying Christians and beheading children, then conspire with the media to scare the American people that the government’s own terrorist creation is going to attack here 9/11-style RIGHT BEFORE ANOTHER 9/11 ANNIVERSARY. Creating one’s own enemies then declaring war on them while putting the rest of the world in grave danger… Again. This is madness. And the lunatics are running the asylum

ISIS
By Tony Cartalucci

In a previous report titled, “Growing Mayhem – US Operating on Both Sides of Syrian-Iraqi Border,” it was reported that (emphasis added): Clearly, the answer, left for readers to arrive at on their own, is that these “successful” US airstrikes in Iraq must be carried over into Syria – where mission creep can do the rest, finally dislodging the Syrian government from power after an ongoing proxy war has failed to do so since 2011. After arming and aiding the Kurds in fighting ISIS in Iraq, the US will attempt to make a similar argument regarding the arming of terrorists in Syria and providing them direct US air support to defeat ISIS – and of course – Damascus. In less than 24 hours, the New York Times would report in its article, “U.S. General Says Raiding Syria Is Key to Halting ISIS,” that: The Islamic State in Iraq and Syria cannot be defeated unless the United States or its partners take on the Sunni militants in Syria, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Thursday. “This is an organization that has an apocalyptic end-of-days strategic vision that will eventually have to be defeated,” said the chairman, Gen. Martin E. Dempsey, in his most expansive public remarks on the crisis since American airstrikes began in Iraq. “Can they be defeated without addressing that part of the organization that resides in Syria? The answer is no.” The NYT would also report: Airstrikes in Syria would also draw the White House more deeply into a conflict from which it has sought to maintain some distance. But there is also risk in not acting, because it is very difficult to defeat a militant group that is allowed to maintain a sanctuary. And finally, the NYT would claim: Another step that some experts say will be needed to challenge the militant groups is a stepped-up program to train, advice and equip the moderate opposition in Syria as well as Kurdish and government forces in Iraq. In reality, US special forces and other Western operatives have been inside and operating in Syria for years. The only missing ingredient the US seeks to justify is direct, open military intervention including airstrikes on Syrian territory.

US Created ISIS As Pretext for Military Intervention

It was the United States itself that intentionally created ISIS, beginning as early as 2007 for the expressed purpose of overthrowing the government of Syria and confronting pro-Iranian forces across the Middle East from Lebanon to Iran’s very doorstep. Veteran journalists and Pulitzer Prize-winner Seymour Hersh noted in his prophetic 2007 New Yorker article, “The Redirection Is the Administration’s new policy benefitting our enemies in the war on terrorism?” that (emphasis added): To undermine Iran, which is predominantly Shiite, the Bush Administration has decided, in effect, to reconfigure its priorities in the Middle East. In Lebanon, the Administration has cooperated with Saudi Arabia’s government, which is Sunni, (Added: Can someone specify whether this is correct or not? Is it just the population who are Wahabi fanatics?? When I think of the Saudi King jailing his own daughters, it seems that fanatic attitude covers most of society there!) in clandestine operations that are intended to weaken Hezbollah, the Shiite organization that is backed by Iran. The U.S. has also taken part in clandestine operations aimed at Iran and its ally Syria. A by-product of these activities has been the bolstering of Sunni extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda. It would be difficult for anyone today not to call ISIS one of several “extremist groups that espouse a militant vision of Islam and are hostile to America and sympathetic to Al Qaeda.” The clandestine nature of this support from 2007, to 2011 when widespread violence erupted across Syria and soon began spreading beyond its borders, was less obvious. The support to these sectarian extremist mercenaries became much more apparent after 2011, with monthly admissions published in the pages of the New York Times, the Washington Post, and other prominent newspapers across the West of the US CIA arming and funding terrorists along the Syrian-Turkish border for years – in the very areas now clearly serving as safe havens and conduits for ISIS. The United States has intentionally created regional genocide and now proposes direct military intervention across multiple national borders as the solution – an arsonist left to fight fires of their own creation.

Madness Enabled by Profound Public Ignorance
The utter madness of US policy in the Middle East, and indeed around the world, is enabled by both public ignorance and apathy. It enables US Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel to stand in front of the world and shamelessly claim: ISIL [ISIS] is as sophisticated and well-funded as any group that we have seen,” Hagel said. “They’re beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess. They are tremendously well-funded. Oh, this is beyond anything that we’ve seen. So we must prepare for everything. That the public never asks just how ISIS could achieve such regional prominence despite hundreds of millions of dollars in aid, weapons, and military backing allegedly being funneled to “moderate opposition” in Syria indicates a vast chasm between reality and where public opinion stands. Indeed, the hundreds of millions the West has been giving to “moderates” was in fact placed intentionally and directly into the hands of extremists to first attempt to directly overthrow the government in Damascus, and failing that, to provide a pretext for direct US military intervention. No rational, plausible explanation has accounted for how ISIS has been able to receive yet more funding, weapons, and support than “moderates” supposedly backed by the collective resources of the US, Europe, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. It is clear that there were never any “moderates” to begin with, and that the goal was to create and utilize terrorist hordes like ISIS as a pretext for violently reordering the Middle East. And even at face value, it should be evident to even the most uninformed, that US meddling in the Middle East has led directly to the regional chaos now unfolding and that the last possible option should be for the US to continue meddling. Unfortunately, with a “Democrat” in office, many Americans, and indeed liberals around the world, have regressed from anti-war sentiments to cognitive dissonance to explain why their elected representatives are meddling militarily in a part of the world they had protested for years to end America’s involvement in.

The Economist. 2014-06-14. Two Arab countries fall apart.

An extreme Islamist group that seeks to create a caliphate and spread jihad across the world has made dramatic advances on both sides of the Syrian-Iraqi border. WHOEVER chose the Twitter handle “Jihadi Spring” was prescient. Three years of turmoil in the region, on the back of unpopular American-led wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, have benefited extreme Islamists, none more so than the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), a group that outdoes even al-Qaeda in brutality and fanaticism. In the past year or so, as borders and government control have frayed across the region, ISIS has made gains across a swathe of territory encompassing much of eastern and northern Syria and western and northern Iraq. On June 10th it achieved its biggest prize to date by capturing Mosul, Iraq’s second city, and most of the surrounding province of Nineveh. The next day it advanced south towards Baghdad, the capital, taking several towns on the way. Ministers in Iraq’s government admitted that a catastrophe was in the making. A decade after the American invasion, the country looks as fragile, bloody and pitiful as ever. After four days of fighting, Iraq’s security forces abandoned their posts in Mosul as ISIS militiamen took over army bases, banks and government offices. The jihadists seized huge stores of American-supplied arms, ammunition and vehicles, apparently including six Black Hawk helicopters and 500 billion dinars ($430m) in freshly printed cash. Some 500,000 people fled in terror to areas beyond ISIS’s sway. The scale of the attack on Mosul was particularly audacious. But it did not come out of the blue. In the past six months ISIS has captured and held Falluja, less than an hour’s drive west of Baghdad; taken over parts of Ramadi, capital of Anbar province; and has battled for Samarra, a city north of Baghdad that boasts one of Shia Islam’s holiest shrines. Virtually every day its fighters set off bombs in Baghdad, keeping people in a state of terror. As The Economist went to press, it was reported to have taken Tikrit, Saddam Hussein’s home town, only 140km (87 miles) north-west of Baghdad. The speed of ISIS’s advance suggested that it was co-operating with a network of Sunni remnants from Saddam’s underground resistance who opposed the Americans after 2003 and have continued to fight against the Shia-dominated regime of Nuri al-Maliki since the Americans left at the end of 2011. It was barely a year ago, in April 2013, that ISIS announced the expansion of its operations from Iraq into Syria. By changing its name from the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI) by adding the words “and al-Sham”, translated as “the Levant” or “Greater Syria”, it signified its quest to conquer a wider area than present-day Syria. Run by Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, an Iraqi jihadist, ISIS may have up to 6,000 fighters in Iraq and 3,000-5,000 in Syria, including perhaps 3,000 foreigners; nearly a thousand are reported to hail from Chechnya and perhaps 500 or so more from France, Britain and elsewhere in Europe. It is ruthless, slaughtering Shia and other minorities, including Christians and Alawites, the offshoot to which Syria’s president, Bashar Assad, belongs. It sacks churches and Shia shrines, dispatches suicide-bombers to market-places, and has no regard for civilian casualties. Its recent advances would have been impossible without ISIS’s control since January of the eastern Syrian town of Raqqa, a testing ground and stronghold from which it has made forays farther afield. It has seized and exploited Syrian oilfields in the area and raised cash by ransoming foreign hostages. Rather than fight simply as a branch of al-Qaeda (“the base” in Arabic), as it did before 2011, it has aimed to control territory, dispensing its own brand of justice and imposing its own moral code: no smoking, football, music, or unveiled women, for example. And it imposes taxes in the parts of Syria and Iraq it has conquered. In other words, it is creating a proto-state on the ungoverned territory straddling the borderlands between Syria and Iraq. “This is a new, more dangerous strategy since 2011,” says Hassan Abu Haniyeh, a Jordanian expert on jihadist movements. If ISIS manages to hold onto its turf in Iraq, it will control an area the size of Jordan with roughly the same population (6m or so), stretching 500km from the countryside east of Aleppo in Syria into western Iraq. It holds three border posts between Syria and Turkey and several more on Syria’s border with Iraq. Raqqa’s residents say Moroccan and Tunisian jihadists have brought their wives and children to settle in the city. Foreign preachers have been appointed to mosques. ISIS has also set up an intelligence service. (Added: Excellent! So can we still be talking about the USA or should we talking about the USIS from now on? The regimes of Mr Assad in Syria and Mr Maliki in Iraq have played into ISIS’s hands by stoking up sectarian resentment among Sunni Arabs, who are a majority of more than 70% in Syria and a minority of around a fifth in Iraq, where they had been dominant under Saddam Hussein. But Mr Assad has cannily left ISIS alone, rightly guessing it would start fighting against the more mainstream rebels, to the regime’s advantage. And he has highlighted the horrors of ISIS to the West, as the spectre of what may come next were he to fall.
Some comments:

Mr Maliki has been less brutal but more crass than Mr Assad. By the end of 2011 American forces had almost eradicated ISI, as it still was, in Iraq. They did so by capturing or killing its leaders and, more crucially, by recruiting around 100,000 Sunni Iraqis to join the Sahwa, or Awakening, a largely tribal force to fight ISI, whose harsh rules in the areas they controlled had turned most of the people against it. But after the Americans left, Mr Maliki disbanded the Sahwa militias, breaking a promise to integrate many of them into the regular army. He purged Sunnis from the government and cracked down on initially peaceful Sunni protests in Ramadi and Falluja at the end of last year. Anti-American rebels loyal to Saddam and even Sahwa people may have joined ISIS out of despair, feeling that Mr Maliki would never give them a fair deal.
In 2012 Tariq al-Hashemi, the vice-president who was Iraq’s top Sunni, fled abroad, and was sentenced to death in absentia. Sunnis feel they have no political representation, says Mr Haniyeh. “ISIS and al-Qaeda are taking advantage and appropriating Sunni Islam.”
Some countries in the region, loathing Mr Assad’s brutality against civilians and Mr Maliki’s brand of Shia triumphalism, initially indulged ISIS. Turkey let a free flow of foreign fighters cross its borders into Syria until the end of last year. Some Gulf states, such as Kuwait and Qatar, were slow to clamp down on private citizens who have funded ISIS and at first tolerated or even applauded its sectarian ire. The carnage in Iraq, though not as numerically horrendous as in Syria, has been growing ferociously, leaving 5,400 people dead this year alone. According to some estimates, ISIS has been responsible for 75% to 95% of all the attacks. It has organised a number of prison breaks, such as one in 2013 from Abu Ghraib, whence several hundred jihadists escaped to join the fray; this week ISIS may have freed some 2,500 hardened fighters from jail in Mosul.
Whether in Iraq or Syria, ISIS has sought to terrify people into submission. On June 8th, as a typical warning to others, it crucified three young men in a town near Aleppo for co-operating with rival rebels. It has kidnapped scores of Kurdish students, journalists, aid workers and, more recently, some Turkish diplomats. Even al-Qaeda has deemed ISIS too violent. Ayman Zawahiri, leader of the core group, has long disagreed with Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, ISIS’s leader, warning him that ISIS’s habit of beheading its opponents and posting such atrocities on video was giving al-Qaeda a bad name. So far ISIS has been effectively challenged only by fellow Sunnis. It is locked in battle with Jabhat al-Nusra, which al-Qaeda recognizes as its affiliate in Syria. The two groups are tussling over Deir ez-Zor, a provincial capital between Raqqa and Anbar, leaving 600 fighters dead in the past six weeks. Since the start of the year, mainstream Syrian rebel groups, who at first welcomed ISIS for its fighting ability, have battled against it, forcing it out of areas in the north-western province of Idleb and the city of Aleppo. Kurdish forces in the north-east have done the same.
Some reckon that ISIS’s recent push in Iraq may be intended to bolster its rearguard, enabling it to replenish its coffers and armory, before striking back at the rebel opposition in Syria. The more moderate rebels are ill-equipped to fight for ever against ISIS; they say that half their forces have already been diverted from the fight against Mr Assad to hold ISIS at bay.
The forces best equipped to face down ISIS may be Kurdish ones: the Peshmerga guerrillas, who have protected Iraq’s autonomous Kurdish region for the past two decades, and the People’s Protection Units, better known as the YPG, the armed wing of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, which dominates north-eastern Syria. The Kurds’ regional government in Iraq has mobilized its forces on the east side of the Tigris river, which runs through Mosul, and may well block ISIS from heading east and north into Kurdish territory; on June 12th the Kurds captured all of Kirkuk city from fleeing Iraqi forces. Yet Mr Maliki may have to call on the Kurds to help him out against ISIS.
Don’t come back home
Western governments are fretting about the threat from some of their own citizens who have joined the likes of ISIS and may come home to make trouble. On May 28th Barack Obama asked for an additional $5 billion for counter-terrorism programs. ISIS people have not hidden their intention to carry out attacks in the West in the name of jihad. The man accused of killing four men dead in Belgium’s Jewish museum on May 24th was a veteran of Syria’s war. ISIS runs training camps in the desert of eastern Syria. Jordan and Turkey are worried too. But few governments, except perhaps Iran, are keen to arm Mr Maliki’s increasingly nasty and incompetent regime. Last year the United States did agree to sell Iraq more weapons, including F-16 fighter jets. The threat of terrorism against the West may prod Western governments into giving more arms and help to the anti-ISIS Syrian rebels. But helping Mr Maliki more wholeheartedly is another matter. Mr Obama has refused to hit ISIS with drones. In the long run the biggest hope for containing ISIS lies in its lack of a broadly popular base. After all, al-Qaeda itself dismally failed to capture Arab minds during the Arab spring. Most Syrian and Iraqi Sunnis do not wish to be ruled by extremists. Mosul and other areas may yet return to the hands of the government. Yet Syrians and Iraqis are both trapped between dictators on the one hand and extremists on the other. An unhappy choice.

The terrifying rise of Isis: $2bn in loot, online killings and an army on the run.
Guardian. 2014-06-14.

They’re too extreme for al-Qaida, they boast of their brutality and they have forced the Iraqi government on to the defensive. How did the insurgent group rise to such terrifying power? Who are they? Isis is the (slightly confusing) English acronym for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant, a Sunni jihadist group whose sudden capture of Mosul, Tikrit and extensive swaths of Iraqi territory last week has triggered a new crisis, complete with atrocities targeting Iraqi army soldiers and volunteers. Known in Arabic as Da’ash, it grew out of the Islamic State in Iraq, an al-Qaida affiliate which, in turn, came into existence after the 2003 US-led invasion. The leader or emir (prince) of Isis is a 43-year-old Sunni, known by his nom de guerre as ABU-BAKR al-BAGHDADI, or ABU DUA. His real name is AWWAD IBRAHIM ALI al-BADRI al-SAMARRAI. He was held prisoner by US forces from 2005 to 2009. US military sources have quoted him as saying when he was released from Camp Bucca in Iraq: “I’ll see you guys in New York.” According to some accounts he was radicalized by his experience of captivity. But others describe him as having been a firebrand preacher under Saddam Hussein’s rule. He studied at the University of Baghdad, and was listed as a terrorist by the UN in 2011. It is a measure of Baghdadi’s success and charisma that Isis has become the group of choice for thousands of foreign would-be fighters who have flocked to his banner. Late last year, he announced the creation of a new group that would be merged with a rival al-Qaida affiliate active inSyria, Jabhat al-Nusra. That was disputed both by Nusra and Osama bin Laden’s successor as the leader of al-Qaida “central”, the Egyptian Ayman al-Zawahiri. Baghdadi, who has been described as more extreme than Bin Laden, refused an order from Zawahiri to focus the group’s efforts in Iraq and leave Syria alone. In the areas of Syria it controls, Isis has set up courts, schools and other services, flying its black jihadi flag everywhere. In Raqqa, it even started a consumer protection authority for food standards. It has established a reputation for extreme brutality, carrying out crucifixions, beheadings and amputations. Estimates of Isis numbers range from 7,000 to 10,000. Its rank and file members are drawn from fighters who were previously with al-Qaida, some former Ba’athists and soldiers of the Saddam-era army. What is far harder to quantify – and a highly significant question – is how much support the group has from Iraq’s wider Sunni community, the people who lost their power and influence when Saddam was overthrown. “Isis now presents itself as an ideologically superior alternative to al-Qaida within the jihadi community,” says Charles Lister, of the Brookings Doha Center. “As such, it has increasingly become a transnational movement with immediate objectives far beyond Iraq and Syria.”

What do they want and what’s their link to al-Qaida?

Last February, al-Qaida disavowed Isis, saying it was “in no way connected to it”, that it had not been informed of its creation, and was not responsible for its actions. Isis was deemed too extreme for al-Qaida. The fallout between Isis and al-Qaida is not surprising. The ISI’s methods and attitude – including indiscriminate bombings in civilian areas and the imposition of its harsh, ultraconservative interpretation of Islam – had long prompted debate within jihadi circles. Several of the letters found among the so-called Abbottabad papers (a stash of correspondence recovered from Bin Laden’s Pakistani hideaway after his killing in 2011) question or criticize the group and warn that it might have a negative impact on al-Qaida’s reputation. In one 21-page letter, dated January 2011, the American jihadist Adam Gadahn advised the al-Qaida leadership to “declare its discontent with the behaviour … being carried out by the so-called Islamic State of Iraq, without an order from al-Qaida and without consultation”. Al-Qaida didn’t take Gadahn’s advice. The rift only grew, spurred by the rise of Jabhat al-Nusra in Syria. Although they are now open rivals, ironically all three groups – Jabhat al-Nusra and Zawahiri’s al-Qaida on the one hand, and Isis on the other – share the same goals: the creation of an Islamic state in Syria (and Iraq) and the return of the borderless Islamic caliphate, which ended in 1924 after the fall of the Ottoman empire.

Where does Isis get its money from?
Since the end of 2011, Islamic charities and rich individuals in the gulf have been funding insurgent groups in Syria. As the role of Islamist groups within or linked to Jabhat al-Nusra and Isis has grown, many of these donors have directly or indirectly provided money that reaches jihadist organizations. According to a policy briefing by the Brookings Doha Center last month, much of the charity-based and private fundraising for the insurgency in Syria focuses on particular areas of the country, most of which involve jihadists. Until late last year, it was possible to find the international depository banking details for donations. Now this has been replaced by mobile phone contact information and WhatsApp accounts used to coordinate donations and sometimes even physical street addresses from where the money is collected. Isis has secured massive cash flows from the oilfields of eastern Syria, which it had commandeered in late 2012, some of which it sold back to the Syrian regime. It has also made money from smuggling raw materials pillaged in Syria as well as priceless antiquities from archeological digs. An intelligence official told the Guardian that Isis took $36m from al-Nabuk, an area in the Qalamoun mountains west of Damascus, including antiquities that are up to 8,000 years old. Computer sticks taken from an Isis courier by Iraqi forces before the fall of the northern city of Mosul revealed that Isis – before the city’s capture – had cash and assets worth $875m (£516m). After the fall of Mosul, Isis looted the banks and captured military supplies that have boosted the group’s coffers to about $2bn, according to Iraqi officials. Gulf donors support Isis out of solidarity with fellow Sunnis in Syria as President Bashir al-Assad has unleashed his military to crush opposition to his rule. The US has tried to put pressure on the governments in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar to crack down on funding for extremist groups, but these regimes say donors are justified in backing rebel forces in Syria because the US failed to act against Assad, especially when he crossed the “red line” laid down by President Barack Obama with the use of chemical weapons.
CNN. 2014-06-16. Bush’s toxic legacy in Iraq.
Editor’s note: Peter Bergen is CNN’s national security analyst, a director at the New America Foundation and the author of “”The Longest War: The Enduring Conflict between America and Al-Qaeda,” which this story draws upon.

ISIS, the brutal insurgent/terrorist group formerly known as al Qaeda in Iraq, has seized much of western and northern Iraq and even threatens towns not far from Baghdad. From where did ISIS spring? One of George W. Bush’s most toxic legacies is the introduction of al Qaeda into Iraq, which is the ISIS mother ship. If this wasn’t so tragic it would be supremely ironic, because before the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003, top Bush officials were insisting that there was an al Qaeda-Iraq axis of evil. Their claims that Saddam Hussein’s men were training members of al Qaeda how to make weapons of mass destruction seemed to be one of the most compelling rationales for the impending war. After the fall of Hussein’s regime, no documents were unearthed in Iraq proving the Hussein-al Qaeda axis despite the fact that, like other totalitarian regimes, Hussein’s government kept massive and meticulous records. The U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency had by 2006 translated 34 million pages of documents from Hussein’s Iraq and found there was nothing to substantiate a “partnership” between Hussein and al Qaeda. Two years later the Pentagon’s own internal think tank, the Institute for Defense Analyses, concluded after examining 600,000 Hussein-era documents and several thousand hours of his regime’s audio- and videotapes that there was no “smoking gun (i.e. direct connection between Hussein’s Iraq and al Qaeda.)” The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence concluded in 2008, as every other investigation had before, that there was no “cooperative relationship” between Hussein and al Qaeda. The committee also found that “most of the contacts cited between Iraq and al Qaeda before the war by the intelligence community and policy makers have been determined not to have occurred.” Instead of interrupting a budding relationship between Hussein and al Qaeda, the Iraq War precipitated the arrival of al Qaeda into Iraq. Although the Bush administration tended to gloss over the fact, al Qaeda only formally established itself in Iraq a year and a half after the U.S. invasion. On October 17, 2004, its brutal leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi issued an online statement pledging allegiance to Osama bin Laden. Zarqawi’s pledge was fulsome: “By God, O sheikh of the Mujahideen, if you bid us plunge into the ocean, we would follow you. If you ordered it so, we would obey.” Zarqawi’s special demonic genius was to launch Iraq down the road to civil war. In early 2004, the U.S. military intercepted a letter from Zarqawi to bin Laden in which he proposed provoking a civil war between Sunnis and Shia. Zarqawi’s strategy was to hit the Shia so they would in turn strike the Sunnis, so precipitating a vicious circle of violence in which al Qaeda would be cast as the protector of the Sunnis against the wrath of the Shia. It was a strategy that worked all too well, provoking first sectarian conflict in Iraq and later civil war. Al Qaeda in Iraq, or AQI, regularly attacked Shia religious processions, shrines and clerics. The tipping point in the slide toward full-blown civil war was al Qaeda’s February 2006 attack on the Golden Mosque in Samarra, which is arguably the most important Shia shrine in the world. Three years into the Iraq War, AQI seemed all but unstoppable. A classified Marine intelligence assessment dated August 17, 2006, found that AQI had become the de facto government of the western Iraqi province of Anbar, which is strategically important because it borders Jordan, Syria and Saudi Arabia and makes up about a third of the landmass of Iraq. In addition, AQI controlled a good chunk of the exurban belts around Baghdad, the “Triangle of Death” to the south of the capital and many of the towns north of it, up the Tigris River to the Syrian border. Thus AQI controlled territory larger than New England and maintained an iron grip on much of the Sunni population. In other words, the Bush administration had presided over the rise of precisely what it had said was one of the key goals of the Iraq War to destroy: a safe haven for al Qaeda in the heart of the Arab world. By 2007, al Qaeda’s untrammeled violence and imposition of Taliban ideology on the Sunni population provoked a countrywide Sunni backlash against AQI that took the form of Sunni “Awakening” militias. Many of those militias were put on Uncle Sam’s payroll in a program known as the “Sons of Iraq”. The combination of the Sunni militias’ on-the-ground intelligence about their onetime AQI allies and American firepower proved devastating to al Qaeda’s Iraqi franchise. And so, between 2006 and 2008, AQI shrank from an insurgent organization that controlled territory larger than the size of New England to a rump terrorist group. But AQI did not disappear. It simply bided its time. The Syrian civil war provided a staging point over the past three years for its resurrection and transformation into the “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria,” or ISIS. And now ISIS has marched back into western and northern Iraq. Only this time there is no U.S. military to stop it.

CNN. 2014-06-17. ISIS a fanatical force — with a weakness.
Editor’s note: Charles Lister is a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center in Qatar, where his work focuses particularly on terrorism and insurgency in Syria, Iraq and Lebanon. He is writing a book on the jihadist insurgency in Syria. Follow him on Twitter@Charles_Lister. The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of the author.

(CNN) – Last week, Iraq’s second-largest city of Mosul fell to the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, or ISIS. In a few hours, the city’s security forces had dropped their weapons and uniforms and fled. Since then, the militants introduced a political charter in Mosul and marched south, seizing additional towns en route to the capital, Baghdad. In taking Mosul alone, ISIS gained as much as $425 million in cash, an unspecified quantity of gold bullion, huge amounts of light and heavy weaponry (mostly U.S.-made) and probably hundreds of new recruits from three main detention centers, all which were overrun. This Iraq-based offensive has been coming for at least two years. After the last American military personnel withdrew from Iraq on December 31, 2011, the then-Islamic State in Iraq began its gradual but determined recovery — befitting the organization’s mantra of baqiya wa tatamadad (“lasting and expanding”). The strategy was meticulously planned and carried out in clear stages. Principally, in Iraq these militants (ISIS since April 2013) have spent two years breaking senior leaders out of prison and re-establishing a professional command and control structure; expanding operational reach, including into Syria, and exploiting rising Sunni discontent with the Shiite-led government of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, thereby encouraging sectarianism. It has expanded extensive underground networks in Sunni strongholds, particularly Mosul, Baghdad and Anbar province; stepped up coordinated, often near-simultaneous bombings; and debilitated Iraqi security force capacity and morale through a concerted campaign of intimidation and assassination. ISIS has substantial roots in Mosul, where it managed to remain a potent force during and after the U.S. troop “surge.” The group has recently been raising $1 million-$2 million per month in Mosul through an intricate extortion network. This reality, plus Mosul’s proximity to ISIS positions in eastern Syria, made the city a natural launching ground for this shock offensive in Iraq, which is ultimately aimed at Baghdad. But this is not all about ISIS. Many other armed Sunni actors are involved in what has become, in effect, a Sunni uprising — groups such as the Jaysh Rijal al-Tariqa al-Naqshbandia, Jaish al-Mujahideen, Jamaat Ansar al-Islam, Al-Jaish al-Islami fil Iraq and various tribal military councils. ISIS may be the largest force involved (with about 8,000 fighters in Iraq), but it is far from sufficient to take and hold multiple urban centers. It is still totally reliant on an interdependent relationship with what remains a tacitly sympathetic and facilitating Sunni population. But this “relationship” is by no means stable and should not be taken for granted. The militant group has consistently failed to retain popular support, or at minimum, acceptance. Mosul residents might be praising the current stability and ISIS-subsidized bread and fuel prices, but once the public flogging, amputations and crucifixions begin, this may well change. In fact, it is not surprising that tribal elements are already preparing to force ISIS from captured areas. The militants’ prospects are also dependent on the government and its supporters continuing to advance sectarianism — something that encourages Sunni actors to accept ISIS. Unfortunately, this apparent sectarianism has been consolidated in recent days with al-Maliki’s call for a “volunteer army” encouraging the further reconstitution of the Asa’ib Ahl al-Haq, Jaish al-Mahdi and the Badr Brigades (three Shiite militias active during the U.S. occupation of Iraq, which appear to be receiving a new boost in recruitment). Further calls by Muqtada al-Sadr to form “Peace Battalions” and by the Shiite community in Diyala to form “Peace Committees” — as well as Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani’s call for Iraqis to take up arms against ISIS — have increased the perception of sectarianism inside and outside Iraq. Iran’s role is crucial. Already, the commander of Iran’s external Quds Force, Qassem Suleimani, is in Baghdad, and Iraqi sources have reported 500 Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps personnel arriving in the capital and, allegedly, 1,500 Basij militiamen (Iranian paramilitary force) in Diyala. As such, it seems wise at this point for the United States not to get actively involved militarily in Iraq but to focus on containment and intelligence collection. The conflicts in Iraq and Syria are intricately linked — to act on one and not the other would be a strategic misstep. Last week, the Iraqi insurgency was just that, an insurgency. Fighters carried assault rifles and drove pickups mounted with heavy machine guns, while others drove civilian cars and minivans. Anti-tank weaponry was minimal (but growing, thanks to Syria), and anti-aircraft weapons were confined to guns and a small number of aging SA-7 man-portable air-defense systems. In addition to massive quantities of small arms and ammunition, this latest offensive has seen ISIS reportedly seize dozens of U.S.-made armored Humvees and military transport vehicles, American M198 howitzers and possibly even helicopters. There have been reports that other Sunni groups have seized more than a dozen armored personnel carriers and tanks. There can be no underestimating the impact this will have upon Iraqi instability. But this is not just about Iraq. Within 12 hours of seizing Mosul, there were reports that ISIS transferred Humvees, manpower and other weaponry into eastern Syria. Meanwhile, on Thursday, a human rights group reported that Syria-based al-Nusra Front crossed with other Sunni groups into Qaim in Iraq’s Anbar province and captured several Humvees. The Iraq-Syria border is therefore increasingly immaterial — conflict on both sides of the border has become inherently interconnected. As the only group genuinely operating on both sides of it, ISIS maintains an overarching strategy (aimed toward establishing a unitary Islamic State and the Levant), whereby operations in Syria and Iraq feed off one another. Considering recent events and its march to Baghdad, this objective might not be so inconceivable. But beware of coming to too simplistic a conclusion. ISIS’ self-interested pursuit of its absolutist ideals has made it countless enemies in Syria, and it will face huge challenges to avoid a similar fate in Iraq. Nonetheless, whatever its fate, ISIS represents a formidable force with an ever growing membership. This latest offensive is arguably the most significant event in Sunni jihadism since 9/11. Having already challenged al Qaeda’s ideological legitimacy, ISIS has now underlined its perceived military superiority to a receptive younger and more fanatical generation of potential recruits around the world. While al Qaeda and its affiliates are embracing a more patient locally focused strategy, ISIS manifests a determination for rapid, dramatic results. It’s certainly just shown these in Iraq. But whether this will prove a more effective long-term strategy remains to be seen.

Rai News. 09/08/2014. Iraq, ethnic and religious minorities at risk: "Worse era Genghis Khan"

Christians, Kurds, Yazidis, Assyrians. There are many ethnic and religious minorities who for years have lived in Iraq, mostly in the plain of Nineveh where now they are fleeing in droves. The Iraq crisis is not just a conflict between Shiites and Sunnis, between militiamen Isis, Kurds and the Baghdad government. The country is also home to many ethnic minorities involved in the violence now and forced to flee under threat of militants Isis. The last group is the Yazidi, at risk of extermination as reported in a dramatic appeal by a member. Most of the minorities are living in the Nineveh Plain, in the north of the country: A zone where thousands of civilians are fleeing because Isis's goal is to exterminate them. As some religious leaders have told Reuters: "Even Genghis Khan had not done such a thing," referring to when the Mongol leader had destroyed Baghdad in the thirteenth century. Here are the main minorities:

Christians
There are various groups of Christians in Iraq, but most are Chaldean Catholics and Orthodox of the Assyrian Church of the East, also known as the Nestorian Church. In 2003, there were around a million and a half; today it is estimated there are between 350 thousand and 450 thousand. They live mainly in villages, such as Qaraqosh, Bartella, Al-Hamdaniya and Tel Kef. They were often the victims of attacks, not only by the militia Isis.

Yazidi
Already threatened during the regime of Saddam Hussein, Yazidis have always lived a life in hiding. Their religion blends elements of Islamic mysticism, Kabbalistic Judaism and Zoroastrianism. Some beliefs have been handed down since the time of ancient Babylon. A documentary by Al Jazeera can be seen on this minority. (Added: Please search for it) It is estimated that in Iraq there are half a million and live mainly in the plain of Nineveh. All of them are subject to attack both by Muslims.

Shabak
They are Shia Muslims, however, they have their own language and traditions. They, too, live in the plain of Nineveh and it is estimated there are between 250 thousand and 400 thousand. They are often accused of being a Sunni extremist Shiite sect, while others consider them outsiders of Islam. They too, like the Yazidis, are persecuted by both the Kurds, and Arabs.

Turkmen

They are the third largest ethnic group in Iraq after Arabs and Kurds who are estimated to be a little more than half a million. They are also called Iraqi Turks and speak the Turkmen language of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages. They are Muslims, some Shiite, some Sunni in part. A minority is Roman Catholic. They live (lived, before fleeing from the threats of Isis) in the north of the country, their "capital" is Kirkuk, where the Kurds live, the people with whom there have been tensions. They were often targeted by the attacks of jihadists.

Mandaeans

They are a population that has its roots in ancient Mesopotamia. They speak an Aramaic dialet, a language in danger of extinction. They are also known as the Christians of St. John, because they believe that the Baptist was their last prophet (Added: instead of Jesus). During the Baathist era were relatively free and lived in southern Iraq; but since the 2003 invasion, most left the country or took refuge in northern Iraq, from where they are now running away because they are the target of extremists.
Rai News. 09/08/2014. ISIS, the Islamic State: origins, objectives and funding.
Founded by al-Zarqawi, the movement called al Qaeda in Iraq. It then assed under the control of the Islamic state. The bloody al-Baghdadi is gaining ground forcing Christians to flee their homes. In Arabic it is known as Daesh while in the West it has conquered the front pages of newspapers before with two acronyms - ISIS, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, and ISIL, Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant - and then just as IS, Islamic State.

The foundation

Founded by Abu Musab al Zarqawi, the movement began to work with a series of bombings in 2003, after the American invasion of Iraq….A year later his affiliation to al Qaeda was sanctioned…the group took the name of AQI, al Qaeda in Iraq, a move that allows the strengthening of Zarqawi and bin Laden to maintain their position in Iraq. After the killing of al-Zarqawi by American bombing in 2006 the leadership passed into the hands of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi and - after his death, in 2010 - to Abu Bakr al Baghdadi.

The downturn and the Petraeus doctrine
In 2007 the movement went through a downturn, due in part to the strategy that General Petraeus U.S. applies in Iraq: collaboration with key local Sunni tribes, intolerant to al Qaeda. In 2011, AQI gained strength and in 2013 were renamed ISIL, seeing in the war in Syria an opportunity to expand precisely in the Levant and to re-establish the Caliphate.

The break with al Qaeda

The divorce between al Qaeda and ISIS was consumed in February 2014, and wrote an end to a marriage of convenience rather than a history of shared ideology. The clash between the "house-mother" and its affiliated had a theater in Syria: al Baghdadi disobeys al Zawahiri - the leader of al Qaeda after the killing of bin Laden in Abbottabad May 2, 2011 (Added: quite questionable, since bin Laden had been kidney sick and dependent on dialysis already many years before)- which required him to leave the country to focus on Iraq. The no of ISIS - which had as its project the Caliphate of Iraq and the Levant, and wanted to include Syria - marked the rift. In areas under its power ISIS opened schools and made sure that the food distributed was halal. But above all it stood out for its brutality - amputations, beheadings, crucifixions in Raqqa that went around the world - in particular against Christians who were forced to leave their homeland to escape death.

Who is al Baghdadi

Awwad Ibrahim Ali al-Badri al-Samarrai is the real name of Abu Bakr al Baghdadi, the absolute leader of ISIS from 2010. From 2005 to 2009 al Baghdadi was in prison at Camp Bucca, in American hands, on charges of terrorism. Then, in 2009, as part of the handover, the Iraqi government took control of the base and decided to release him. He entered fully into the terrorist list of the United Nations, and according to some al Baghdadi has radicalized his thinking at Camp Bucca. He is wanted for $ 10 million.
Approximately 10,000 members, probably 3000 foreign ones
There are no accurate figures, of course, just estimates. According to analysts, members of ISIS are between 7 and 10 thousand: they are former members of al Qaeda, ex-Baathists and Saddam-era military. As pointed out on CNN one of the leading experts on Jihadism in Syria and Iraq, Charles Lister, the number of fighters insufficient to maintain control of the city ended up in the hands of ISIS and from there an alliance with some Sunni tribes and former Baathists was born. The common goal, in this case, is to overthrow the Shiite Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, whose sectarian reprisals and violence exacerbated the country. Unlike other movements, ISIS recruited many young Muslims who arrived from abroad: from Chechnya but also from Europe, from France and Britain (Added: many of them also come from Holland and Spain). According to the Economist there should be over 3000. The fighters of ISIS seem to be the highest paid ones, their basic salary is of $ 600.

Sources of funding
Until last year, the Guardian reported that ISIS was financed through donations made via international banking. Now the rich Islamic State of Baghdadi is financed mainly through smuggling activities: oil, first of all. Back in 2012 ISIS secured the control of deposits in eastern Syria that used to sell oil to the enemy, the Assad regime. The same is true for the gas - according to some analysts the field of Deir Ezzor, Syria, produces tens of thousands of dollars a week – as for energy, they do control numerous power plants. Also in Iraq after the fall of Mosul, ISIS took about $ 430 million to the Central Bank, as well as numerous gold bullion. Then, there are the donors: Iraqi Prime Minister al-Maliki has accused both the Saudis and Qatar to finance the army of al Baghdadi. European scenario.

European Scenario

Now imagine the next scenario in Europe. There are hundreds of active terrorist cells in Spain, France and Italy. Three hundred cells, a thousand people in each. About three thousand people. These organize attacks every day in each of these three states and others, targeting both focal points scarcely defensible, such as telephone exchanges, power lines, strongly populated areas such as markets or staging up attacks during the course of a game. The terror would spread immediately among the people. In short there would soon be parades of mothers in tears and instead of demanding justice, they would implore the coming to power of the Isis exclusively in the absurd hope of being able to live in peace and tranquility. Governments would be powerless The only contrast medium could be the one used by Americans during WW2 against the Japanese residing on their territory: interning them all, without one exception, in concentration camps. But European governments will never take an initiative like this.

Former CIA Officer Says ISIS and Mexican Drug Cartels Communicate
Kurt Nimmo Infowars August 22nd, 2014

A former CIA officer, now a security consultant who regularly appears on Fox News, told the Laura Ingraham Show Thursday ISIS and Mexican drug cartels communicate with each other. “We’ve had good intel over the years about al-Qaeda, about their efforts to coordinate with, as an example, Mexican cartels… in an effort to try to exploit our southern border,” Mike Baker told Ingraham. The one-time CIA employee said there is “a lot of communication” between ISIS and drug cartels and “the cartels are a business… if there’s a revenue stream they can exploit, then they will, and the extremists understand that.” It is not clear if this intel was passed on to Baker by his former colleagues. In 2012 a spokesman for the Chihuahua state in Mexico, Guillermo Terrazas Villanueva told Aljazeera the CIA and other intelligence agencies manage the drug trade in Mexico. “Credibility issues with employees of the notoriously corrupt Mexican government aside, the latest accusations were hardly earth shattering — the American espionage agency has been implicated in drug trafficking from Afghanistan to Vietnam to Latin America and everywhere in between. Similar allegations of drug running have been made against the CIA for decades by former agents, American officials, lawmakers, investigators, and even drug traffickers themselves,” writes Alex Newman. Other agencies of the United States government stand accused of complicity with Mexican drug cartels, including the DEA and the Justice Department. Also, left unsaid is the documented fact the CIA and the United States government trained, armed, funded and supported Osama bin Laden and his followers in Afghanistan. This fact was reported by the BBC, Forbes, ABC News and others (many corporate media sites, however, scrubbed this information soon after the terror attacks of September 11, 2001). Asked about the geopolitical impact of the CIA’s 3 billion dollar operation to create an Islamic mujahideen in Afghanistan beginning in 1979, Zbigniew Brzezinski, President Jimmy Carter’s national security adviser said: “What is most important to the history of the world? The Taliban or the collapse of the Soviet empire? Some stirred-up Muslims or the liberation of Central Europe and the end of the Cold War.” ISIS, now a self-declared caliphate called the Islamic State, also has connections to the CIA and the Pentagon. William Engdahl, an award-winning geopolitical analyst and strategic risk consultant, recently wrote that ISIS: “…is being shaped and controlled out of Langley, Virginia, and other CIA and Pentagon outposts as the next stage in spreading chaos in the world’s second-largest oil state, Iraq, as well as weakening the recent Syrian stabilization efforts.” The corporate media now pushing a full-fledged war on ISIS in response to an unverified and suspicious beheading video fails to mention our troops will go up against fighters trained by U.S. instructors in Jordan. For more on the CIA connection to ISIS and the Islamic brigades funded by the Gulf Emirates working to overthrow the government of Syria, see our ISIS and the Plan to Balkanize the Middle East.

End Note on “Behading”: In case some of you think that “behading” is just a Muslim practice or a French revolution one, please read this interesting article about Roman Emperor Caracalla….and remember that even the Vatican state used to behead some of its own people. There is only one big difference: while the others used to do it in the past, ISIS is doing it right now in 2014!  www.theguardian.com/science/2010/jun/07/york-gladiator-graveyard

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Those of you who are lucky enough to hear not only from both sides BUT also from others, can verify these news. Probably there are more countries involved than just Qatar and clearly ISIS is not receiving "manna" from heaven!

english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2014/08/20/German-minister-accuses-Qatar-of-financing-ISIS-.html

German minister accuses Qatar of financing ISIS
Germany’s development aid minister, Gerd Mueller, on Wednesday accused Qatar of financing the militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS). (File photo: Reuters)
By AFP | Berlin Wednesday, 20 August 2014

Germany’s development aid minister, Gerd Mueller, on Wednesday accused Qatar of financing the militant group the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS).

“A story like this always has a history,” he said in an interview with public broadcaster ZDF.

“Who is financing these troops? Hint: Qatar,” he added.

Gerd Mueller. (Photo courtesy: picture-alliance/dpa)

Vice Chancellor and Economy Minister Sigmar Gabriel this week urged a “debate” about who has been and is financing ISIS, but without naming any countries.

Meanwhile, Germany said it is ready to send weapons to support Iraqi Kurds in their battle against ISIS, Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier said.

It is a controversial issue for Germany which, burdened by its history of aggression in two world wars, has often been reluctant to send troops into foreign conflicts and which as a rule does not send weapons into war zones.

Last Update: Wednesday, 20 August 2014 KSA 14:13 - GMT 11:13

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Germany accuses Qatar "Finance terrorists ISIS"

Development Minister German Mueller has no doubt about the origin of the treasure jihadi The rich emirate is very close to the West but his real positions are an enigma

Gabriele Villa - Fri, 08/22/2014 - 07:00
www.ilgiornale.it/news/politica/germania-accusa-qatar-finanzia-i-terroristi-dellisis-1045991.html (Added: Original in Italian)

Whose side is Qatar? And most importantly, what is it? Point your finger on the map and the question arises looking at the strategic placement of the small Emirate. Eleven thousand square meters to 400,000 inhabitants. A Lilliputian peninsula that is lost in the wider Arabian Peninsula, the one that for centuries has been in turmoil. Scrutinized by the West with suspicion….. Qatar.
The Qatar of petrodollars and the vocation to progress, Qatar's GDP per capita of $ 120,000 places it second in the world behind only Luxembourg, Qatar enlightened and enlightening that seems to have done of Westernization its target priority…. At a closer view …. the statement of the Minister of Development German Gerd Mueller must be taken into consideration …. In an interview with ZDF television network, he said : "The soldiers of the Caliph Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi are paid by Qatar. "…This is also supported by the statement of the Deputy Secretary of Treasury David Cohen, who with the help of Intelligence, as early as last March came to the following conclusion: "Donors from Qatar collect funds for extremist groups in Syria, in particular for ISIS and al-Nusra. Their payouts are calculated in hundreds of millions of dollars. "

…Yet Qatar, is, or at least should be the same as that Qatar, through its sovereign wealth fund, Qatar Holding, invested anywhere in the West. Just to refresh our memory Qatar bought the department store Harrod's in London and in Italy a lot. For example, the Costa Smeralda. It entered on the market in the early stages by buying the Paris Saint Germaine and has made its own fashion brands such as, among others, Valentino and Pal Zileri. ….Reading from the Arab newspaper Al-Hayat "It is sabotaging the Egyptian negotiating for a permanent truce in the Gaza Strip and threatened to eject the leader of Hamas Khaled Mashaal to prevent him from accepting the most recent proposals in Cairo...It is true that the Emirate of Doha, which welcomes with extraordinary cordiality American soldiers and Israeli businessmen is also the same who refused Qatar, at the time, to become part of Saudi Arabia, and that if it is true that during the eighties supported Iraq in its war against Iran, then it is equally true that he opposed the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait and sided with the Americans so as to accommodate the headquarters of the US military operations against Iraq, right in the desert of Doha. And things have apparently not changed much, though nowadays, the command of the American troops in the Middle East is in a magnificent location in the Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar….It is no secret that Saudi Arabia and Egypt do not like the nearby emirate, for the support he has given, in recent times, the Muslim Brotherhood's Morsi and the choice of siding, the only Arab country, in favor of Hamas in the conflict with Israel . But perhaps in Doha everything does not matter. This enigmatic Qatar. Enigmatic.

For those who want to deepen the topic of Al Udeid Air Base, Qatar you can refer to:
www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/udeid.htm

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Foreward: ISIS: a tragic "reality" of MISCALCULATED "collateral damage"? One of the main objectives of ISIS will be stirring up the muslim population both in Russia and China. We can just anticipate what the consequences will be for all....

In Dallas FBI Director Warns of Terrorist Threat From Syria
Monday, Aug 11, 2014 • Updated at 6:43 PM CDT

www.nbcdfw.com/news/local/In-Dallas-FBI-Director-Warns-of-Terrorist-Threat-From-Syria-270792491.html

FBI Director James Comey on Monday warned that Americans who go to Syria to fight with extremists may become terrorists when they return home. “What we see in Syria is the creation of a safe haven, a training ground, and potentially a launching ground for terrorists,” he said. Comey spoke to reporters during a ceremony marking the 100-year anniversary of the bureau’s Dallas office. The FBI is tracking more than 100 Americans who have gone to Syria as armed fighters, he said. Comey first estimated he knew of about 100 people who had gone to and from Syria, or had been caught trying to so. But he later hedged on that figure. "When I give you the number of more than 100, I can't tell you with high confidence that's a 100 of 200, that's a 100 of 500, that's a 100 of a 1,000 or more, because it's so hard to track," Comey said. He said FBI agents tried to distinguish between people only chatting about potentially extremist ideologies -- whom he called "mouth-runners" -- and those taking active steps to engage in terrorism. "This is a great country with lots of traditions of protecting mouth-running," he said. "We should continue that. But those who are inclined to cross the line, I've got to focus on them. The FBI and other agencies have arrested several people across the United States this year on charges that they discussed trying to go abroad to join terrorist groups. In separate Texas cases this year, a University of Texas student and a Central Texas father were accused of planning to engage in jihad. The Central Texas man, Michael Todd Wolfe, was arrested in June at Houston's Bush Intercontinental Airport, where federal agents say he was waiting with his family to fly to Denmark on his way to the Middle East. Wolfe has since pleaded guilty to one count of providing material support or resources to terrorists. The University of Texas student, Rahatul Khan, has also pleaded guilty to a federal charge. Syria shares a long border with Iraq, where the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) continues its march across Northern Iraq. American warplanes have bombed ISIS positions in recent days near the city of Erbil, where the United States has a consulate. "The ‘going’ there matters tremendously but what concerns me is the 'coming,’” he said. “There will be a terrorist diaspora out of Syria at some point.” He said Western European countries face the same threat. “There are thousands of terrorists who have flowed from all over Western Europe, North America, throughout Asia, to Syria where they are getting the worst kind of training, making the worst kind of relationships,” Comey said. Comey, who has served as FBI director for nearly one year, has visited many bureau offices around the country in his first months on the job. The Dallas visit on Monday was his 37th trip to an FBI field office.

Copyright Associated Press / NBC 5 Dallas-Fort Worth

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US considers broad military action against ISIS in Iraq and Syria – report
Published time: August 23, 2014 11:58
rt.com/usa/182280-us-threat-isis-syria/

As the US has acknowledged that the Islamic State group is a greater threat than Al-Qaeda, the White House is reportedly seeking domestic legal justification at home to use unlimited military force against the Sunni extremists in Iraq and Syria. On Friday, the Obama administration said that the killing of American journalist James Foley by Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) militants amounts to a direct terrorist attack on the United States. "We have seen them posing a threat to our interests in the region, to our personnel and facilities in the region, and clearly the brutal execution of Jim Foley represented an affront, an attack - not just on him, he's an American - and we see that as an attack on our country, when one of our own is killed like that," said Deputy National Security Advisor Ben Rhodes. This comes a day after US Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel stressed that the IS terrorist organization is so well funded and managed, that it “is beyond anything that we've seen. So we must prepare for everything.” Now the White House is considering seeking domestic approval for military action and a mandate from Congress would do just fine, a senior administration official told the Washington Post. Congress last time authorized such action over a decade ago, back in 2001 to fight Al-Qaeda after the 9/11 terror attacks, and then in 2002 to topple Iraqi President Saddam Hussein. The options to defeat IS militarily the US government and Congress are discussing include: obtaining short-term emergency constitutional authority to protect US citizens on territory occupied by the Islamic State; gaining temporary War Powers Resolution authority to defeat Islamists in blitzkrieg military operation; and waging a full-fledged military campaign against IS militants to the bitter end. It cannot be ruled out that Washington could launch airstrikes or other action in Syria, the official told the WP. “If you come after Americans, we are going to come after you,” Rhodes said on Friday. “We’re not going to be restricted by borders.” Deputy U.S. national security adviser Ben Rhodes speaks during a press briefing on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, August 22, 2014. (Reuters / Kevin Lamarque) Deputy U.S. national security adviser Ben Rhodes speaks during a press briefing on Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, August 22, 2014. (Reuters / Kevin Lamarque) The US is already using another option it has, a carte blanche for massive air strikes on IS positions throughout Iraq for 60 days, till early October. This has already helped Kurdish and Iraqi forces to take back the key Mosul Dam from Islamic State militants. But according to the WP source, the Obama administration might go further. Contingency plans for broader airstrikes in Syria have been prepared for presidential review should Obama ask for them, and the intelligence community is trying to identify high-value targets among individual IS leaders. Meanwhile Washington plans to continue supporting Iraqis and Kurds in their fight with the Islamic State, providing them with arms and training. According to the official, while the administration is working to formulate a long-term policy, it is currently focused on driving the militants out of Iraq back to Syria, where they were originally fighting the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad. Although the US and Arab states of the Persian Gulf have been sponsoring Assad’s adversaries in one of the bloodiest civil wars in the world of recent times, the Islamists that now form the backbone of the IS fighting force have been unable to finish off Assad’s regime, mostly because of the significant popular support the Syrian leader enjoys. Last year, with Russia’s assistance, President Obama opted not to get the US involved in Syria militarily. Obama’s administration now has certain legal hurdles to cross before using the existing 2001 Authorization for the Use of Military Force (AUMF) against Al-Qaeda Authority for any military action against IS in Syria. Al-Qaeda announced last year that it had split with ISIS (now the Islamic State), citing its brutality towards Muslims and its declaration of an Islamic caliphate across Syria and Iraq. “If you look back on the president’s speech, he kind of foreshadows going to have additional AUMFs,” the official said. “It may be that this is the first case.”

U.S. Underestimated Urgency of Islamic State Threat in Iraq
Agencies Warned About Militant Group, but Often Underestimated Its Ability to Make Rapid Gains
By Siobhan Gorman and Julian E. Barnes Aug. 10, 2014 8:37 p.m. ET
online.wsj.com/articles/u-s-spies-missed-urgency-of-islamic-state-threat-in-iraq-1407717475?tesla=y&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052702304266204580084032057037158.html

…The struggle to understand the capabilities of the group reflects the difficulty of collecting detailed intelligence on its internal planning. “Collection is tough,” one senior U.S. official acknowledged. That is the challenge facing intelligence officials and the U.S. military as American warplanes launch waves of airstrikes. The success of the strikes may depend in part on how well the U.S. is able to read the group. A decline in U.S. spy resources after the U.S. military pulled out of Iraq in 2011 has limited American intelligence capability in the region. In some cases, intelligence officials have been frustrated by the Obama administration’s reluctance to get more involved in Iraq and Syria, current and former U.S. officials said. [...] The Islamic State’s rapid takeover of Mosul prompted the U.S. to step up intelligence collection, the senior U.S. official said, ramping up surveillance coverage of the group and establishing a joint-operations center so U.S. and Iraqi forces could more quickly share intelligence. U.S. efforts provided better warnings a week ago when the militants began advancing on Erbil, capital of the Kurdish semiautonomous region. Nonetheless, the U.S. was once again caught off guard by the effectiveness of militants and their ability to defeat the Peshmerga, seen as the most capable of Iraqi forces.[...] An intelligence official said that spy agencies have been tracking the Islamic State fighters and their predecessor groups for years and have chronicled their rise in detail, as well as the weakness of Iraqi forces. “This wasn’t a U.S. intelligence failure,” the official said. “It was an Iraqi military failure. The job of the intelligence community is to warn. We did that. If there was a surprise, it was in just how quickly Iraqi forces initially disintegrated when the shooting started.”
Experts: ISIS makes up to $3 million daily in oil sales

The militant group is reportedly selling oil at half the international price. (File photo: Reuters)
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News Thursday, 28 August 2014
english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2014/08/28

Militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are making an estimated $3 million a day by selling crude oil captured from Iraq and Syria in black markets, experts say. ISIS militants have seized a number of oilfields in Iraq and Syria over the past few months, and are now selling crude oil to finance their self-declared “caliphate.” Analysts suggest that oil from areas under ISIS control is being sold at less than half of its international prices. Iraqi oil industry officials estimate that ISIS raises more than $2 million a day form crude oil sails. But U.S. estimations suggest the militant group makes is cashing in about $3 million a day. It is believed that ISIS is selling crude oil at prices ranging from $25 per barrel to $60 per barrel, which amounts to almost half of the international crude oil price, averaged at $102 as of Wednesday. “They sell it for $30 a barrel because it's a black market. It's not pegged to international standards for oil prices, which are over $100 a barrel,” Theodore Karasik, director of research and consultancy at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, told ABC News. Karasik said these oil sails are thought to make up a significant portion of the financial resources supporting ISIS. “[ISIS] are trying to establish a state, and these types of revenues are important for the state's formation because it makes up a significant chunk of their revenue,” he said. “They can take over eastern Syria without oil revenue, but seizing these types of fields [like Shaar] are part of an ongoing plan to develop their own economic system.” ISIS militants seized four small oilfields when they swept through northern Iraq in June and currently control oilfields in the oil-rich Syrian province of Deir al-Zor. Such developments have prompted the United Nations Security Council last month to warn against trading in oil from “terrorist groups.” The Council also threatened to impose sanctions on nations that take part in such trades. So far, the ISIS oil trading has been active with buyers in Jordan, Turkey, Syria and Iran, said Luay al-Khatteeb, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center and serves as the director of the Iraq Energy Institute. “ISIS controls smuggling routes and the crude transported by tankers to Jordan via Anbar province, to Iran via Kurdistan, to Turkey via Mosul, to Syria's local market and to the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where most of it gets refined locally,” Al-Khatteeb said in an interview with the CNN. He said ISIS are seeking to become “self-sufficient” by funds made through oil revenues. “At present, ISIS are trying to establish a self-sufficient state and a capital in what is known as the "Sunni triangle" (west and north Iraq), and oil production will be part of this,” he added.

[Deleted]

EXCLUSIVE

Found: The Islamic State's Terror Laptop of Doom
Buried in a Dell computer captured in Syria are lessons for making bubonic plague bombs and missives on using weapons of mass destruction.
BY Harald Doornbos , Jenan Moussa AUGUST 28, 2014

www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/08/28/found_the_islamic_state_terror_laptop_of_doom_bubonic_plague_weapons_of_mass_destruction_exclusive#

ANTAKYA, Turkey — Abu Ali, a commander of a moderate Syrian rebel group in northern Syria, proudly shows a black laptop partly covered in dust. "We took it this year from an ISIS hideout," he says. Abu Ali says the fighters from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which have since rebranded themselves as the Islamic State, all fled before he and his men attacked the building. The attack occurred in January in a village in the Syrian province of Idlib, close to the border with Turkey, as part of a larger anti-ISIS offensive occurring at the time. "We found the laptop and the power cord in a room," he continued, "I took it with me. But I have no clue if it still works or if it contains anything interesting." The Complex: Is the ISIS laptop of doom an operational threat? As we switched on the Dell laptop, it indeed still worked. Nor was it password-protected. But then came a huge disappointment: After we clicked on "My Computer," all the drives appeared empty. Appearances, however, can be deceiving. Upon closer inspection, the ISIS laptop wasn't empty at all: Buried in the "hidden files" section of the computer were 146 gigabytes of material, containing a total of 35,347 files in 2,367 folders. Abu Ali allowed us to copy all these files -- which included documents in French, English, and Arabic -- onto an external hard drive. A screenshot of material found on the computer.

The files appear to be videos of speeches by jihadist clerics. The laptop's contents turn out to be a treasure trove of documents that provide ideological justifications for jihadi organizations -- and practical training on how to carry out the Islamic State's deadly campaigns. They include videos of Osama bin Laden, manuals on how to make bombs, instructions for stealing cars, and lessons on how to use disguises in order to avoid getting arrested while traveling from one jihadi hot spot to another. But after hours upon hours of scrolling through the documents, it became clear that the ISIS laptop contains more than the typical propaganda and instruction manuals used by jihadists. The documents also suggest that the laptop's owner was teaching himself about the use of biological weaponry, in preparation for a potential attack that would have shocked the world.

The information on the laptop makes clear that its owner is a Tunisian national named Muhammed S. who joined ISIS in Syria and who studied chemistry and physics at two universities in Tunisia's northeast. Even more disturbing is how he planned to use that education: The ISIS laptop contains a 19-page document in Arabic on how to develop biological weapons and how to weaponize the bubonic plague from infected animals. "The advantage of biological weapons is that they do not cost a lot of money, while the human casualties can be huge," the document states. The document includes instructions for how to test the weaponized disease safely, before it is used in a terrorist attack. "When the microbe is injected in small mice, the symptoms of the disease should start to appear within 24 hours," the document says. The laptop also includes a 26-page fatwa, or Islamic ruling, on the usage of weapons of mass destruction. "If Muslims cannot defeat the kafir [unbelievers] in a different way, it is permissible to use weapons of mass destruction," states the fatwa by Saudi jihadi cleric Nasir al-Fahd, who is currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. "Even if it kills all of them and wipes them and their descendants off the face of the Earth." When contacted by phone, a staff member at a Tunisian university listed on Muhammed's exam papers confirmed that he indeed studied chemistry and physics there. She said the university lost track of him after 2011, however. A photo of Muhammed S. found on his laptop. This image has been digitally altered.

Out of the blue, she asked: “Did you find his papers inside Syria?” Asked why she would think that Muhammed’s belongings would have ended up in Syria, she answered, “For further questions about him, you better ask state security.” An astonishing number of Tunisians have flocked to the Syrian battlefield since the revolt began. In June, Tunisia’s interior minister estimated that at least 2,400 Tunisians were fighting in the country, mostly as members of the Islamic State. This isn't the first time that jihadists have attempted to acquire weapons of mass destruction. Even before the 9/11 attacks, al Qaeda had experimented with a chemical weapons program in Afghanistan. In 2002, CNN obtained a tape showing al Qaeda members testing poison gas on three dogs, all of which died.

Nothing on the ISIS laptop, of course, suggests that the jihadists already possess these dangerous weapons. And any jihadi organization contemplating a bioterrorist attack will face many difficulties: Al Qaeda tried unsuccessfully for years to get its hands on such weapons, and the United States has devoted massive resources to preventing terrorists from making just this sort of breakthrough. The material on this laptop, however, is a reminder that jihadists are also hard at work at acquiring the weapons that could allow them to kill thousands of people with one blow. "The real difficulty in all of these weapons ... [is] to actually have a workable distribution system that will kill a lot of people," said Magnus Ranstorp, research director of the Center for Asymmetric Threat Studies at the Swedish National Defence College. "But to produce quite scary weapons is certainly within [the Islamic State's] capabilities." The Islamic State's sweeping gains in recent months may have provided it with the capacity to develop such new and dangerous weapons. Members of the jihadi group are not solely fighting on the front lines these days -- they also control substantial parts of Syria and Iraq.

The fear now is that men like Muhammed could be quietly working behind the front lines -- for instance, in the Islamic State-controlled University of Mosul or in some laboratory in the Syrian city of Raqqa, the group's de facto capital -- to develop chemical or biological weapons. In short, the longer the caliphate exists, the more likely it is that members with a science background will come up with something horrible. The documents found on the laptop of the Tunisian jihadist, meanwhile, leave no room for doubt about the group's deadly ambitions. "Use small grenades with the virus, and throw them in closed areas like metros, soccer stadiums, or entertainment centers," the 19-page document on biological weapons advises. "Best to do it next to the air-conditioning. It also can be used during suicide operations." Photoillustration by FP/Image by Jenan Moussa and Harald Doornbos

[Deleted]

Experts: ISIS makes up to $3 million daily in oil sales
The militant group is reportedly selling oil at half the international price. (File photo: Reuters)
By Staff writer | Al Arabiya News Thursday, 28 August 2014
english.alarabiya.net/en/perspective/analysis/2014/08/28/Experts-ISIS-makes-up-to-3-million-daily-in-oil-sales.html

Militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) are making an estimated $3 million a day by selling crude oil captured from Iraq and Syria in black markets, experts say.

ISIS militants have seized a number of oilfields in Iraq and Syria over the past few months, and are now selling crude oil to finance their self-declared “caliphate.”

Analysts suggest that oil from areas under ISIS control is being sold at less than half of its international prices.

Iraqi oil industry officials estimate that ISIS raises more than $2 million a day form crude oil sails.

But U.S. estimations suggest the militant group makes is cashing in about $3 million a day.

It is believed that ISIS is selling crude oil at prices ranging from $25 per barrel to $60 per barrel, which amounts to almost half of the international crude oil price, averaged at $102 as of Wednesday.

“They sell it for $30 a barrel because it's a black market. It's not pegged to international standards for oil prices, which are over $100 a barrel,” Theodore Karasik, director of research and consultancy at the Institute for Near East and Gulf Military Analysis, told ABC News.

Karasik said these oil sails are thought to make up a significant portion of the financial resources supporting ISIS.

“[ISIS] are trying to establish a state, and these types of revenues are important for the state's formation because it makes up a significant chunk of their revenue,” he said.

“They can take over eastern Syria without oil revenue, but seizing these types of fields [like Shaar] are part of an ongoing plan to develop their own economic system.”

ISIS militants seized four small oilfields when they swept through northern Iraq in June and currently control oilfields in the oil-rich Syrian province of Deir al-Zor.

Such developments have prompted the United Nations Security Council last month to warn against trading in oil from “terrorist groups.” The Council also threatened to impose sanctions on nations that take part in such trades.

So far, the ISIS oil trading has been active with buyers in Jordan, Turkey, Syria and Iran, said Luay al-Khatteeb, a visiting fellow at the Brookings Doha Center and serves as the director of the Iraq Energy Institute.

“ISIS controls smuggling routes and the crude transported by tankers to Jordan via Anbar province, to Iran via Kurdistan, to Turkey via Mosul, to Syria's local market and to the Kurdistan region of Iraq, where most of it gets refined locally,” Al-Khatteeb said in an interview with the CNN.

He said ISIS are seeking to become “self-sufficient” by funds made through oil revenues.

“At present, ISIS are trying to establish a self-sufficient state and a capital in what is known as the "Sunni triangle" (west and north Iraq), and oil production will be part of this,” he added.

Last Update: Thursday, 28 August 2014 KSA 23:09 - GMT 20:09

[Deleted]

FOREWARD: The following articles about the US want to serve as possible guideline for additional understanding of what may apply also in other countries around the world where ISIS people were/are being recruited and of what might happen once some of the return "home" to their homeland.

US PROBES HOW AMERICANS ARE LURED TO SYRIA
Dozens of Americans have flocked to Syria to take part in bloody civil war
Author: By Ray Sanchez and Greg Botelho CNN
Published On: Aug 28 2014 06:09:49 PM CDT Updated On: Aug 28 2014 09:00:16 PM CDT REUTERS/SANA/Handout via Reuters (CNN) -
www.click2houston.com/news/us-probes-how-americans-are-lured-to-syria/27779878

The FBI is scrambling to track a growing number of Americans who have left to join the fight in Syria, including investigating how the young men were recruited and the logistics of their travel, officials said Thursday.

Dozens of Americans are among the thousands of foreigners who have flocked to Syria to take part in its bloody civil war.

For three years, there was only one known American casualty in Syria. But, in recent days, the toll may have tripled.

On Wednesday -- months after a Florida man killed himself in a northern Syria suicide bombing and a day after news broke that Douglas McAuthur McCain, a 33-year-old man reared in Minnesota, died fighting for ISIS -- a coalition of Syrian opposition groups announced that its forces had killed another American in battle.

"Although we have social media involved in radicalization efforts, we want to determine also if there is a ground game here with respect to radicalization our youth," Loven told CNN.

Authorities are trying to determine whether the other American killed in Syria last weekend is Abdirahmaan Muhumed, a U.S. official told CNN.

U.S. counterterrorism and intelligence officials were working to verify the name but have not confirmed it.

The death of McCain was easier to verify because of photos of his neck tattoo, the official said.

But Omar Jamal, a friend of Muhumed's family, told CNN from Minneapolis that Muhumed was the second American killed in fighting over the weekend.

The Syrian coalition did not name the fallen American. But it did say he and McCain died as its forces battled Kharijites, a historical reference to fanatical Muslims who rejected moderate teachings and advocated killing those who violated ultraconservative values.

The coalition noted that its fighters from groups with names such as Hazem Movement, the Islamic Front, Al-Mujahideen Army, Noureddine, al Zanki Battalion, Faylak Al Sham had joined those from the more moderate Free Syrian Army and more extremist al-Nusra Front. They took on ISIS forces last weekend in and around Aleppo -- which is where McCain was killed.

Still, the idea of more Americans fighting for groups like ISIS, and more of them dying, wouldn't be surprising.

Since about 2007, the FBI has been tracking members of Minnesota's large Somali community who were recruited to fight for the Al-Shabaab terror organization in Somalia. In recent years, some of those radicalized young men have been recruited to travel to Syria.

The story of one of them, Troy Kastigar, who was a close friend of McCain's, predated McCain fighting -- and dying -- overseas.

Kastigar converted to Islam and traveled to Somalia in 2009 to fight for Al-Shabaab militants. He was killed that same year after appearing in a YouTube video encouraging young Americans to join the struggle.

Kastigar's mother, Julie Ann Boada, told CNN Thursday that the young man in the recruitment video for the hardline Islamic group is in fact her late son.

Her son "was wanting to have a purpose and wanting to be a valuable human being and not finding that," she said of the spiritual search of her son and his friends. "And then I think some of the things they were told were lies and some things were truths... I think they felt that they could go help some people who needed help."

Kastigar attended the same Minnesota high school as McCain.

Boada said her son was a bright, passionate and energetic young man who enjoyed karate, basketball and dancing.

"He really wanted to make a difference in the world," she said of her son.

Boada said her son struggled in school, had some legal troubles and a hard time finding a job. He turned to religion and left for Kenya to study the Quran, she said.

"I think they were manipulated," she said. "I don't think they knew fully what they were a part of."

She added, "The thing to focus on is, to not make young men ... feel powerless in our community."

Some young men were lured to Syria, which isn't exactly a stable place with stable borders. Nor is neighboring Iraq, where ISIS -- under the name it calls itself, the Islamic State -- has made major advances in recent weeks.

"The ability to travel into these countries demonstrates how porous the borders are," said U.S. Army Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, who had top roles in the State and Defense Departments in President George W. Bush's administration. "I think we need to understand that there's going to be more of this rather than less of this."

Sources: McCain radicalized gradually

The first American casualty was Moner Mohammad Abu-Salha, a 22-year-old from Florida who joined al-Nusra Front, an al Qaeda-linked organization that the U.S. government has blacklisted as a foreign terror organization. The group showed a video of him, and U.S. officials later confirmed, taking part in a suicide bombing earlier this year in northern Syria.

On Tuesday, the world was introduced to Douglas McCain.

Friends and relatives described him as a decent man who loved to play basketball and loved his family. His conversion to Islam didn't alarm his relatives, according to uncle Ken McCain, though Facebook posts in support of ISIS did.

He'd been on U.S. authorities' radar for some time by then. They become aware of McCain in the early 2000s, due to his association with others -- including one person from Minnesota who died in Somalia, apparently while fighting as a jihadi -- a U.S. official said.

Still, there was no indication then that McCain -- who at one point studied Arabic at San Diego City College -- was involved in anything nefarious. Law enforcement sources told CNN that he appears to have radicalized gradually in the years since his conversion.

Authorities didn't know about McCain's travels to Turkey until he was already there, a U.S. official said. Turkey was also the last place where, several months ago, McCain was in contact with his relatives.

At the time of his death, at least, McCain was on a list of Americans believed to have joined militant groups. Such people would be stopped and subjected to additional scrutiny if they traveled, according to the official.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki added that U.S. authorities knew about McCain's ties to ISIS. Psaki didn't say how they approached his case, specifically, though she did lay out the government's general strategy and concerns about cases like his.

"We use every tool we have to disrupt and dissuade individuals from traveling abroad for violent jihad and to track and engage those who return (to the United States)," Psaki told reporters Wednesday.

"(McCain) is a reminder of the growing concern that the United States has, that many countries in the world have, about the thousands of foreign fighters from 50 nations who are engaged in Syria and who are affiliating themselves with ... extremist groups."

Official: Americans-turned-extremists 'willing ... to die'

ISIS, especially, isn't just any extremist group.

Its tactics are so brutal that even al Qaeda -- which was behind the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- disown them. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel last week called ISIS "beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology, a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess.

"This is beyond anything we have seen, and we must prepare for everything."

That includes more Americans dying. Some might be like McCain, who went to the Middle East to join the jihad. Or there may be more like James Foley, the American journalist that ISIS beheaded -- a gruesome execution that it videotaped and broadcast, along with the promise of more such killings if the United States doesn't continue to strike ISIS in Iraq.

"How are people being radicalized, what methods are being used, and what are the logistics behind the travel of some of these young men?" said Kyle Loven, chief division counsel for FBI in Minneapolis, discussing how Syria has replaced Somalia as the go-to place for young jihadists in recent years.

Report: AMERICAN FIGHTING ALONGSIDE ISIS KILLED
U.S. officials are trying to verify details on death of Douglas McCain.
By ERIC TUCKER & AMY FORLITI
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 11:54 p.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, August 27, 2014 at 11:54 p.m.

www.theledger.com/article/20140827/NEWS/140829263/-1/archive?Title=Report-American-Fighting-Alongside-ISIS-Killed
NEW HOPE, Minn. | An American man thought to have been killed in Syria was there to fight alongside an extremist militant group, most likely the Islamic State, a U.S. official said Tuesday.

Investigators were aware that Douglas McAuthur McCain was in the country to fight with the militant group, but they did not yet have his body and were still trying to verify information about his death, said the official, who was not authorized to discuss by name an ongoing investigation and spoke only on condition of anonymity.

A relative, Kenneth McCain, told The Associated Press that the State Department called to tell his family that Douglas McCain had been killed in Syria. "We do not know if he was fighting anyone," he said.

U.S. officials, concerned about what they say is the growing threat posed by the extremist Islamic State group, say surveillance flights and spy planes have begun over Syria on the orders of President Barack Obama.

The move could pave the way for airstrikes against the group, which controls a large part of eastern Syria and crossed into Iraq earlier this year.

The militant group also killed an American, journalist James Foley, and is holding an American woman hostage.

It was unclear when McCain, who had most recently lived in San Diego, traveled to Syria. He grew up outside Minneapolis in the town of New Hope.

A cousin, Kenyata McCain, told the Minneapolis Star Tribune that she had spoken to McCain as recently as Friday and "he was telling all of us he was in Turkey."

"I know that he had strong Muslim beliefs," she told the newspaper. "But I didn't know that he was in support of ISIS. I didn't think he would be." ‘HE WAS A GOOD KID'

CALIFORNIA MAN IS ONE OF SEVERAL CITIZENS ACCUSED OF BACKING ISIS
By SAM STANTON AND DENNY WALSH
The Sacramento Bee
Published: Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2014 - 1:00 am

www.sacbee.com/2014/08/19/6640401/california-man-is-one-of-several.html

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- The 20-year-old man from the Lodi, Calif., area who is accused of trying to travel overseas to serve alongside Islamic fighters in Syria and Iraq is undergoing continued mental testing as prosecutors and his defense lawyers seek a resolution to his case.

Nicholas Michael Teausant, an Acampo man arrested in March as he tried to cross into Canada aboard an Amtrak bus, made a brief appearance Tuesday in federal court in Sacramento, where prosecutors said the case involved classified information.

"This case has more complexity to it than the average case," Assistant U.S. Attorney Jean Hobler told U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez.

Teausant is one of a handful of U.S. citizens accused in recent months of planning to go overseas and join the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria, a group that at the time of his arrest had garnered little public attention in the United States.

Since then, however, the fierce rebel force has acquired a much larger presence on the world stage, as ISIS fighters have overrun portions of Iraq and their tactics have been denounced as brutal and inhuman, even by some other Islamic militants.

Most recently, the United States launched air attacks against ISIS troops in Iraq, a move that sparked the release Tuesday of a video purporting to show an ISIS militant beheading kidnapped American journalist James Foley. The video, labeled "A Message to America," includes a claim by the militants that the beheading is in retaliation for the American airstrikes.

Experts say more than half a dozen American citizens have been charged in cases similar to Teausant's, and FBI Director James Comey said last week that there are numerous Americans believed to be fighting overseas in support of ISIS and its goal to establish an Islamic caliphate in Syria and Iraq.

"It's been alleged that there are dozens," said Brian Levin, an expert on terror groups and director of the Center for the Study of Hate & Extremism at California State University, San Bernardino.

Americans are lured into supporting the group through the Internet and assurances that they are helping people oppressed by their own Syrian government, Levin said.

"The images of an autocratic state committing violence against hundreds of thousands of citizens is something that resonates with idealistic youths who are unanchored, yet exposed to a radical version of faith," Levin said.

"When you extend out a net, you're going to catch all kinds of flies, some of whom don't have a lot of competence," Levin said of recruiting efforts by ISIS and related terror groups. "You don't know who's going to be the one who's successful."

A month after Teausant was apprehended, a 19-year-old Colorado woman, Shannon Maureen Conley, was arrested and accused of plotting to travel to Syria after corresponding with a man on the Internet who purported to be an active member of ISIS, documents filed in federal court in Denver allege.

The court documents say Conley, who became engaged to the man, sought military training through the U.S. Army Explorers program, a group affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America that provides military skills to young men and women.

She was arrested after trying to fly to Turkey in April, court documents state, and initially pleaded not guilty to conspiracy to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

Since then, a plea bargain has been worked out and Conley's change of plea has been set for Sept. 10.

So far, Teausant is standing by his not-guilty plea. He was ordered Tuesday to return to court in October after undergoing additional mental testing.

A California National Guard washout and community college student, Teausant had hoped to hook up with ISIS in Syria and rise quickly through the ranks, according to federal court documents that charge him with attempting to provide material support to a foreign terrorist organization.

A confidential government informant who befriended Teausant as part of an undercover FBI investigation indicated in court papers that Teausant had boasted alternately of wanting to overthrow the U.S. government and bomb the Los Angeles subway system and his infant daughter's day care center.

The government has portrayed him as a serious threat, insisting successfully that he remain in custody at the Sacramento County jail because he poses a threat to the public.

His lawyers have described him as someone who could not possibly carry out his boasts, saying in court filings that he is "a lonely, mentally ill young man."

"In theory, this could be a violent offense," the defense lawyers wrote of the charges their client faces. "In reality, Nick couldn't provide material support to a pup tent."

MAN WITH ISIS FLAG ON VEHICLE THREATENS COPS WITH BOMB (Chicago)
voices.suntimes.com/news/breaking-news/man-threatens-police-with-bomb-during-sw-side-traffic-stop/

A man who had an ISIS flag waving from his vehicle is facing several charges after he threatened police with a bomb Wednesday morning when he was pulled over on the Southwest Side.

Emad Karakrah, 49, was charged with felony counts of disorderly conduct and aggravated fleeing; and a misdemeanor count of driving on a never-issued license, according to Chicago Police. He was also issued three traffic citations.

Someone called police after seeing a “suspicious person” driving a silver Pontiac southbound in the 7700 block of South Kedzie at 9:18 a.m. with an ISIS flag waving out the window, according to a police report.

Officers attempted to pull over the vehicle, but the driver took off, according to the report. The officers called for assistance, and another officer pulled the vehicle over after it went through several red lights.

The man told police during his arrest that there was a bomb in the car and he would detonate it if they searched the vehicle, according to the report.

A bomb squad, the FBI and Homeland Security responded to the scene and searched the vehicle, but no bomb was found, authorities said.

Judge Laura Sullivan ordered Karakrah held on a $55,000 bond Thursday. He is next scheduled to appear in court on Sept. 3.

UN MOVES TO REIN IN ISLAMIC STATE GROUP
Security Council adopts resolution that aims to weaken group that has seized territory in Iraq and Syria.
Last updated: 16 Aug 2014 04:44

www.aljazeera.com/news/middleeast/2014/08/un-moves-rein-islamic-state-group-2014815191831901897.html

The United Nations Security Council has taken a tough line against the Islamic State group in Iraq and Syria, blacklisting six people including the group's spokesman and threatening sanctions against its financiers and weapons suppliers.

The 15-member council unanimously adopted on Friday a resolution that aims to weaken the Islamic State - an al-Qaeda splinter group that has seized swaths of territory in Iraq and Syria and declared a caliphate - and al-Qaeda's Syrian wing al-Nusra Front.

The Islamic State, formerly known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) has long been blacklisted by the Security Council, while al-Nusra Front was added earlier this year.

"We have watched in horror their brutal actions," said Mark Lyall Grant, UK ambassador to the UN and presiding officer of the UN council meeting. "They are deliberately targeting civlians."

Both groups are designated under the UN al-Qaeda sanctions regime.

Hours after the resolution was adopted, early Saturday morning, US warplanes carried out more air strikes in northern Iraq, according to the Kurdish news agency Roodaw.

The strikes were on four sites near the Mosul Dam which is controlled by the Islamic State, witnesses said.

Friday's resolution named six people who will be subject to an international travel ban, asset freeze and arms embargo. They include Islamic State spokesman Abu Muhammad al-Adnani, an Iraqi described by UN experts as one of the group's "most influential emirs" and close to its leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The Islamic State's swift and brutal push to the borders of Iraq's autonomous ethnic Kurdish region and towards Baghdad has sparked the first US air strikes in Iraq since the withdrawal of American troops in 2011.

The Security Council resolution "deplores and condemns in the strongest terms the terrorist acts of ISIL and its violent extremist ideology, and its continued gross, systematic and widespread abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law."

Individuals blacklisted

The resolution also blacklisted Said Arif, a former Algerian army officer who escaped house arrest in France in 2013 and joined al-Nusra Front in Syria, and Abdul Mohsen Abdallah Ibrahim al-Charekh of Saudi Arabia, dubbed "a leading terrorist internet propagandist" who heads the group in Syria's Latakia district.

Hamid Hamad Hamid al-Ali and Hajjaj bin Fahd al-Ajmi, both from Kuwait, were sanctioned for allegedly providing financial support to al-Nusra Front - Ajmi's fundraising includes at least one Twitter campaign, according to UN experts - while Abdelrahman Mouhamad Zafir al-Dabidi al-Jahani of Saudi Arabia was named because he runs al-Nusra Front's foreign fighter networks.

Britain initially aimed to adopt the text by the end of August, but accelerated its plan after a surge by the Islamic State, which poses the biggest threat to Iraq since Saddam Hussein was toppled by a US-led invasion in 2003.

The resolution condemns the recruitment of foreign fighters and expresses readiness to blacklist people financing or facilitating travel of foreign fighters.

It expresses concern that revenue generated from oilfields captured by both groups is being used to organise attacks.

Islamic State fighters are selling oil from oilfields in Iraq and refineries they control to local communities and smugglers, augmenting their existing ample finances, US intelligence officials said on Thursday.

The resolution condemns any direct or indirect trade with Islamic State or Nusra Front and warns such moves could lead to more sanctions.

[Deleted]

This Is How ISIS Is Building An Airforce
Submitted by Tyler Durden on 08/30/2014 23:04 -0400
www.zerohedge.com/news/2014-08-30/how-isis-building-airforce

The Islamic State is nothing if not ambitious. Despite no record of current 'airplane' assets in their annual reports, ISIS has begun detaining and forcing Syrian pilots to train militant fighters to fly stolen aircraft. According to CNN Arabic, the pilots (and their planes and helicopters) were abducted when the terrorist group gained control of Tabqa military base. It appears that if beheadings, executions, and whippings are not enough to strike fear into the hearts of the locals, then (just as America is tryiung to do), an air assault will greatly demoralize. We can only imagine how this changes Obama's strategy (and just where are all the rest of Syria and Iraq's airplanes stored?)

Via Al Arabiya,

The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria said in a recent tweet it is forcing detained Syrian pilots to train militant fighters to fly stolen aircraft, CNN Arabic reported on Saturday. In an account reportedly associated with the militant group, ISIS said in a tweet the pilots were abducted when the group gained control over the Tabqa military airbase in Raqqa Province. ISIS seized the airbase earlier this month. The major airfield houses warplanes, helicopters, tanks and other artillery and ammunition, which were also confiscated by ISIS, according to several media reports. ISIS did not provide any information about the nature of the training, according to CNN Arabic.

As NYTimes reported,

The fall of the Tabqa air base followed the group’s seizing of two other Syrian military bases and gave it effective control of Raqqa Province, which abuts the Turkish border and whose capital city, Raqqa, has long served as the group’s de facto headquarters.
Photographs posted Sunday on Twitter accounts sympathetic to ISIS showed bearded fighters in the air base, standing next to a destroyed fighter jet and appearing to cut the head off a dead soldier.

Reports: Jihadists Steal Commercial Jets, Raise 9/11 Fears
Tuesday, 02 Sep 2014 06:46 PM By Cathy Burke
www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/jihadists-steal-commercial-jetliners/2014/09/02/id/592190/

Jihadists have stolen several commercial jetliners in Libya, raising concerns with intelligence officials about 9/11-style terror strikes as the 13th anniversary approaches, some reports say. The Algerian news site al-Fadjr on Aug. 6 said 11 aircraft went missing from Tripoli International Airport during fighting between militias, IHS Janes 360 reports, but says the Algerian report was "probably not credible." Subsequently, Mohamed Frikha, CEO of the Tunisian airline company Syphax, told Tunisia's Shems FM Radio that two Airbus-A320 aircraft belonging to the Libyan company Ifriqiya were missing from Misratah, Janes reports. Meanwhile, the Washington Free Beacon reports that information about stolen jetliners was circulated within the U.S. government over the past two weeks — including an ominous warning that one or more jets could be used in an attack marking the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist strikes in New York and Washington.

 "There are a number of commercial airliners in Libya that are missing," one unnamed official told the Free Beacon. "We found out on Sept. 11 what can happen with hijacked planes." Sept. 11 also will mark the second anniversary of the Libyan terrorist attack on a U.S. outpost in Benghazi that killed Ambassador Chris Stevens and three other Americans. Military groups in Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, and Egypt have all been placed on heightened alert because of the stolen jets, the Free Beacon reports. U.S. counterterrorism officials told the Free Beacon that intelligence agencies haven't confirmed the missing aircraft and are trying to locate all of the aircraft owned by two Libyan state-owned airline companies. Security in Libya has been deteriorating as Islamists and anti-Islamist militias battle. A shocking video surfaced Sunday showing armed fighters partying inside a captured U.S. diplomatic compound in Tripoli, including one fighter jumping into a pool from a second-story balcony.

Michael Rubin, a counterterrorism specialist with the American Enterprise Institute, told the Free Beacon that commercial jets in the hands of terrorists could be "devastating." "Who needs ballistic missiles when you have passenger planes? Even empty but loaded up with fuel they can be as devastating," he said. "Each plane could, if deployed by terrorists to maximum devastating effect, represent 1,000 civilian casualties." Janes reported, however, that it was "very unlikely" that aircraft could have been taken from Tripoli International Airport without the knowledge of the Zintan militias that control it. With Misratah and Mitiga airports the only two functioning international airports in western Libya, Janes added, "Misratan Islamist militias that control them will not want to jeopardize the political influence and revenue this affords them" by facilitating a 9/11-style attack. Even if the jihadists stole the aircraft," they would still need to transport the jets to other paved runways large enough to facilitate takeoff ... heightening the risk such movements would be spotted by foreign intelligence agency surveillance."

[Deleted]

Who is more dangerous than the "Islamic State"? An organization called "Khorasan group", for a more direct threat to the United States
Published: 1:29:40 September 16,2014 Views: 27

'Islamic State' has become America's war opponent, but in the eyes of the U.S. government, the threat of 'Islamic State' is not the United States and other extremist groups in Syria, 'Khorasan group.' According to previously disclosed confidential barely intelligence, the organization dedicated to recruit European countries and the U.S. passport holders extreme staff, sending them to board US-bound flights, executed attack missions.


Aimed against the United States and local


Unnamed U.S. intelligence official told reporters, 'Khorasan Group' takes its name from an ancient religion of the Kingdom of the provinces, from the 'base' organization members from Afghanistan and Pakistan organized, responsible and Syria 'base' organization branch 'National Salvation Front' contact.


American officials said that members of 'Khorasan Group' to enter the main task of Syria and the Syrian army is not fighting, but the recruitment of extreme western countries who hold passports, in order to escape the American security network to intercept, so that they flew back to the United States to launch attacks (http://www.wantinews.com/).


Not yet declassified intelligence assessment document shows that 'Khorasan Group' also with the 'base' organization bomb expert in Yemen branch cooperation, trying to build a new airport security can avoid the bombs.


A United States official familiar with the matter said the security agencies previously intercepted intelligence shows 'base' working with 'Khorasan Group' cooperation in an attempt to put more difficult to detect explosives and electronic equipment, destined for the United States.


West 'Corps' into the main


United States intelligence community believes that cooperation conspiracy 'Khorasan Group' and 'base' organization branch in Yemen showed that even many years of sustained air strikes were 'base' organization still has the ability to pose a threat to Western countries, while thanks to the Syrian conflict, Some people living in extreme influx of Western countries, at least tens dollars and hundreds of Americans and Europeans have been living in Syria, to participate in various extremist armed(News News www.wantinews.com/).


Western intelligence officials have previously generated concerns about extremist organizations within the West 'corps.' Many people did not identity the western extreme is known to the outside world, so when buying tickets aboard flights to Europe or the United States, does not cause security personnel vigilance, but then the United States and Europe have a significant local security risk.


High-related information confidential


American officials earliest mention of 'Khorasan Group' or the time, the United States National Intelligence Director James Clapper acknowledged at a Senate hearing in January this year, a 'base' organization backbone teams from Afghanistan and Pakistan are being planned in Syria attacks against Western countries. Associated Press reported, because of 'Khorasan Group' is a highly confidential information, the majority of American officials familiar with the interview were asked not to disclose their names and some know 'Khorasan Group' MPs only agreed to talk about vague appellation 'Khorasan Group', only one Member confirm the name of the extremist organizations in the interview.


The CIA refused to accept the reporter to verify any details when 'Khorasan Group' name, etc. to comment. Xinhua News Agency

[Deleted]

Islamist foreign fighters returning home and the threat to Europe
By Thomas JoscelynSeptember 19, 2014
www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/09/islamist_foreign_fig.php

Chairman Rohrabacher, Ranking Member Keating and members of the Committee, thank you for inviting me here today to discuss the threat posed by Islamist foreign fighters returning home to Europe. We have been asked to answer the question, "How are European countries addressing the threat, and how can the US assist in those efforts to thwart future terrorist attacks?" I offer my thoughts in more detail below.

But I begin by recalling the 9/11 Commission's warning with respect to failed states. "In the twentieth century," the Commission's final report reads, "strategists focused on the world's great industrial heartlands." In the twenty-first century, however, "the focus is in the opposite direction, toward remote regions and failing states." A few sentences later, the Commission continues:

If, for example, Iraq becomes a failed state, it will go to the top of the list of places that are breeding grounds for attacks against Americans at home. Similarly, if we are paying insufficient attention to Afghanistan, the rule of the Taliban or warlords or narcotraffickers may reemerge and its countryside could once again offer refuge to al Qaeda, or its successor.

Those words were written more than a decade ago. Unfortunately, they still ring true today, not just for the US, but also for Europe. Except, we no longer have to worry about just Iraq becoming a failed state. We now have to contend with a failed state in Syria as well. And Syria is not "remote." It is much easier for foreign fighters to travel to Syria today than it was for new jihadists to get to Afghanistan in the 1980s. This is one reason that there are likely more foreign fighters in Syria than there were in Afghanistan at the height of the jihad against the Soviets. Estimates vary, but the total number of foreign recruits in Syria easily tops 10,000. A CIA source recently told CNN "that more than 15,000 foreign fighters, including 2,000 Westerners, have gone to Syria." They "come from more than 80 countries."

This, of course, is an unprecedented security challenge and one that counterterrorism and intelligence officials will be dealing with for some time to come. It requires exceptional international cooperation to track the threats to Europe and elsewhere emerging out of Iraq and Syria. My thoughts below are focused on what I consider to be some of the key aspects of dealing with this threat.

At the moment, most people are understandably focused on the Islamic State (often called the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, ISIL, or ISIS). There is certainly a strong possibility that some foreign fighters will return from fighting in the Islamic State's ranks to commit an act of terror at home, either on their own accord or under the direction of senior terrorists.

However, I also want to focus our attention today one of the other significant threat streams coming out of Syria. Al-Qaeda's official branch in the country, Jabhat al-Nusrah, has experienced al-Qaeda veterans in its ranks. I think they pose more of a near-term threat when it comes to launching catastrophic attacks in the West than do their Islamic State counterparts. And even though al-Nusrah and the Islamic State have been at odds, we should not rule out the possibility that parts of each organization could come together against their common enemies in the West. Indeed, two of al-Qaeda's leading branches are currently encouraging the jihadists in Syria to broker a truce, such that they focus their efforts against the US and its allies. There is also a large incentive for terrorists in both organizations to separately lash out at the West, portraying any such attacks as an act of retaliation for the American-led bombings.

In my opinion, the key issues that officials in Europe and the US will continue to address include the following:

Throughout much of the war in Syria, Turkey has had an open door policy for jihadist and non-jihadist fighters alike.

Turkey is not only a crucial transit point for jihadists entering Syria, it is also a common facilitation point for those returning to their home countries. European and American officials must continue to explore ways to put pressure on Turkey to disrupt the flow of foreign fighters and also convince the government to share as much intelligence as possible. Counterterrorism officials are most interested in intelligence identifying the fighters, recruiters, travel facilitators, financiers, arms distributors, and others.


Turkey's policy of distinguishing between the Islamic State and other extremists, including Jabhat al-Nusrah, an official branch of al-Qaeda, has been a failure.

While Turkey has been willing to work against the Islamic State, it has been far more accommodating when it comes to al-Nusrah and other extremist organizations. There have been occasional reports that the Turkish government has moved against al-Nusrah or other jihadists affiliated with the group. But this is not a consistent policy. Recently, the former American ambassador to Ankara, Francis Riccardione, told reporters that Turkey has been working with al-Nusrah. "We ultimately had no choice but to agree to disagree," Riccardione said. "The Turks frankly worked with groups for a period, including al Nusra[h], who we finally designated as we're not willing to work with." Turkey opposed the US government's decision to designate al-Nusrah as a terrorist organization in late 2012. And The Wall Street Journal, citing "officials involved in the internal discussions" surrounding the designation, even reported that the move was intended "to send a message to Ankara about the need to more tightly control the arms flow." Furthermore, the US Treasury Department has recognized Turkey as a key link between al-Qaeda's Iran-based network, Gulf donors, and operatives in Syria. In October 2012, Treasury reported that al-Qaeda's Iran-based network is "working to move fighters and money through Turkey to support al-Qa'ida-affiliated elements in Syria" and the head of that network at the time was also "leveraging his extensive network of Kuwaiti jihadist donors to send money to Syria via Turkey."

Turkey, therefore, is a key chokepoint for disrupting al-Qaeda's international terrorist network, including any terrorist plots aimed at the West.


Inside Syria today, al-Qaeda operatives in Jabhat al-Nusrah are already attempting to identify new recruits capable of striking the West.

US officials have warned of these efforts. "In Syria, veteran al Qaeda fighters have traveled from Pakistan to take advantage of the permissive operating environment and access to foreign fighters," the director of the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), Matthew Olsen, said during a speech earlier this month. Olsen added, "They are focused on plotting against the West." The Associated Press recently reported that a cell of al-Qaeda operatives known as the "Khorasan group" has been sent to Syria "by Al Qaeda leader Ayman al Zawahiri to recruit Europeans and Americans whose passports allow them to board a US-bound airliner with less scrutiny from security officials." Al-Qaeda operatives inside Syria are working with bomb makers from al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a branch of al-Qaeda that has proven to be particularly adept at placing explosives on board airliners. Al-Qaeda has English-speaking recruiters inside Syria who are capable of indoctrinating new recruits. And some senior al-Qaeda operatives dispatched from Pakistan to Syria openly pine for attacks against the US homeland and American interests elsewhere on their widely-read Twitter accounts.

Thus, there is a clear and present danger that al-Qaeda will be able to successfully recruit new cells dedicated to attacking the West. Even if they assemble such cells, al-Qaeda will still have to get around the West's significant counterterrorism defenses. Still, the potential threat looms.

Most of the foreign fighters who travel from Europe to Syria will not become threats to their native or adopted home countries in the West. However, as the total number of foreign fighters increases, so does the probability that some of them will be repurposed for mass casualty attacks. Identifying the most "talented" and dedicated jihadist recruits should be a top priority.


Most of the foreign fighters who travel abroad will stay invested in the fight in Iraq and Syria. Others will become disillusioned and return home, realizing that the jihad is not as glamorous as it was made out to be. But as the number of foreign fighters increases, so does the talent pool available to professional terrorists interested in planning devastating terrorist attacks in the West.

Consider pre-9/11 Afghanistan. The overwhelming majority of al-Qaeda's recruits did not travel to Afghanistan to learn how to attack inside Europe or the US. Most of them fought inside Afghanistan, or were trained to fight in insurgencies elsewhere around the world. The 9/11 Commission found that between 10,000 and 20,000 recruits were trained in al-Qaeda-sponsored training camps between 1996 and September 11, 2001. Only "a small percentage" of those recruits "went on to receive advanced terrorist training." Of course, that "small percentage" of new jihadists included the suicide hijack pilots responsible for the 9/11 attacks. Al-Qaeda's leaders recognized that, among all their recruits, the terrorists in the Hamburg cell possessed the right combination of aptitude, Westernized habits, and travel documents to carry out a 9/11-style attack.

Disillusioned foreign fighters can be a good source of intelligence concerning which jihadists are the most capable and committed. European officials likely use something akin to an informant network within the jihadists' ranks already. Such efforts help determine, albeit imperfectly, the difference between jihadi tourists and the true believers. American and European officials must share any such intelligence.

Past experience has shown that jihadists recruited in Europe can be used in attacks on the US, and American jihadists can be used in plots against European countries. A noteworthy example of the latter is the story of David Headley's career. Headley, an American, performed surveillance for the 2008 Mumbai attacks. Al-Qaeda also considered using him in a plot against the Danish newspaper that published controversial cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed.


The Islamic State may or may not currently have the operational capability to launch mass casualty attacks in the West. But counterterrorism officials should constantly reassess their assumptions regarding the organization's reach.

Counterterrorism officials say they have no intelligence indicating that the Islamic State is currently planning attacks inside the US. Indeed, the group may not currently have the capability to carry out a large-scale attack in the West. However, the past offers us some reasons for concern.

We've learned that jihadist groups can quickly evolve from a national or regional insurgency into a threat against the US homeland. Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) was re-established in early 2009. On Christmas Day that year, a would-be suicide bomber nearly destroyed a Detroit-bound plane. Prior to that attack, AQAP wasn't considered a threat to the US homeland, as counterterrorism officials believed the group only posed a threat to US interests inside Yemen. The same can be said for the Pakistani Taliban, which trained a man to plant a car bomb in the middle of Times Square. Both attempts luckily failed.

While not all jihadist organizations will target the US, some of them will. And they can quickly become a direct threat to the US homeland. We should keep in mind that the presence of highly-skilled bomb makers within AQAP was not known until after their bombs were deployed. It also wasn't known that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the architect of 9/11, was an al-Qaeda operative until several months after his minions carried out their deeds in New York, Washington, and Pennsylvania.

None of this is to suggest that we know the Islamic State is capable 9/11-style attacks today. The group is embroiled in a multi-sided fight in both Iraq and Syria, and this uses up much of its resources. But the lessons of the past are clear: The threat posed by the Islamic State can evolve quickly, and there is likely much we currently do not know. As NCTC director Matthew Olsen recent remarked, while counterterrorism officials have "no credible information that [the Islamic State] is planning to attack the" US, the group "has the potential to use its safe haven to plan and coordinate attacks in Europe and the US."


The Islamic State's leaders have directly threatened the US, and we should take their threats seriously, even if we are not sure about their capabilities.

In his very first recorded speech, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the head of the Islamic State, threatened the US. Addressing American officials directly in an audio recording released on July 21, 2012, Baghdadi said: "As for your security, your citizens cannot travel to any country without being afraid. The mujahideen have launched after your armies, and have swore to make you taste something harder than what Usama had made you taste. You will see them in your home, Allah permitting. Our war with you has only begun, so wait." In January of this year, Baghdadi promised the US that it would soon be in a "direct confrontation." Baghdadi again addressed America directly, saying, "So as to let you know, you the protector of the cross, that the war of agency will not enrich you in Syria as it did not enrich you in Iraq, and very soon you will be in the direct confrontation - you will be forced to do so, Allah permitting. The sons of the Islam have settled their selves for this day."

The beheadings of two American reporters and one British citizen in recent weeks have highlighted just how aggressively anti-Western the Islamic State is. In each of the three gruesome videos, the Islamic State's executioner makes it clear that group is opposed to the US-led bombing campaign. The Islamic State almost certainly had the desire to strike in US and Europe even prior to the bombings, but with the West becoming involved in the fight, the group may now make attacks abroad more of a priority.


There are clear warning signs that the Islamic State and its sympathizers already threaten Europe. The Islamic State has a worldwide network of supporters, with known operatives throughout Europe.

The jihadist thought to be responsible for the May 24, 2014 shooting at the Jewish Museum of Belgium spent months in Syria. Four people were killed in his attack. One of the hostages held by the Islamic State has identified Mehdi Nemmouche, the alleged shooter, as being responsible for torturing the group's prisoners in Syria. Even if the Islamic State's leadership did not order Nemmouche to carry out an attack at the Jewish Museum, or on any other target, the shooting demonstrates the ability of a known jihadist to carry out a small-scale assault after returning from Syria. French counterterrorism officials had already deemed Nemmouche to be a risk, reportedly placing him under surveillance after he returned from Syria in 2013. This should be considered a disturbing precedent, as Nemmouche was not an unknown at the time of his attack.

My colleague at The Long War Journal, Lisa Lundquist, has provided an excellent overview of the efforts made by counterterrorism officials in Europe and elsewhere to track and disrupt the Islamic State's international network. The Islamic State currently has the capacity to carry out smaller-scale attacks in Europe, if its operatives can evade counterterrorism defenses.


The Islamic State's predecessor organizations first posed a threat to Europe more than a decade ago. While the organization has evolved significantly since then, current counterterrorism efforts should be seen as a continuation of the past, recognizing that some of the same recruiting and facilitation networks have likely been involved the whole time.

Even before the Iraq War began in March 2003, the CIA was hunting suspected terrorists in Europe who were tied to al-Qaeda's operations in northern Iraq. The suspected terrorists worked in conjunction with Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the founder of al-Qaeda in Iraq, which eventually evolved into the Islamic State. Former CIA director George Tenet writes in his autobiography that US officials' "efforts to track activities emanating from Kurmal [in northern Iraq] resulted in the arrest of nearly one hundred Zarqawi operatives in Western Europe planning to use poisons in operations." Tenet notes that in the summer of 2000 al-Qaeda worked with Kurdish Islamists, including Ansar al-Islam, "to create a safe haven for al-Qaeda in an area of northeastern Iraq not under Iraqi government control, in the event Afghanistan was lost as a sanctuary." The area became a "hub for al Qaeda operations" and "up to two hundred al Qaeda fighters began to relocate there in camps after the Afghan campaign began in the fall of 2001." Tenet also writes that two longtime subordinates to Ayman al-Zawahiri, Thirwat Shihata and Yussef Dardiri, were among the "dozen al Qaeda-affiliated extremists" who "converged on Baghdad, with apparently no harassment on the part of the Iraqi government" in 2002. The CIA had "[c]redible information" that Shihata "was willing to strike US, Israeli, and Egyptian targets sometime in the future." Dardiri, also known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, went on to become one of the first leaders of the Islamic State of Iraq, which became the current Islamic State. Dardiri was killed in April 2010. Shihata was arrested in Egypt earlier this year.

The threats continued in the years that followed. The Department of Homeland of Security announced in 2004 that al-Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) was ordered by Osama bin Laden to assemble a cell capable of attacking the US. In 2007, failed attacks in London and Glasgow were tied back to AQI.

In sum, while for many the threat posed by the Islamic State appears to be a new phenomenon, it is actually the continuation of a story that dates back to late 2001.


Read more: www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2014/09/islamist_foreign_fig.php#ixzz3DsPlAypT

[ukipa]

Nuke them! Simple as that. Enough is enough.

[Deleted]

UKIPA, nuking is not always a long-lasting solution. Moreover, you cannot nuke mentality or ideology even if is wrong or damaging. Not only, but nuking them there won't solve the problem of many sleeping cells inside each country. Just near where I live, I got a report of a DAESH man who is driving other good Muslim "crazy" with his preaching and recruiting attempts. How can you stop these multiple cells in various countries??

Governments should have thought before on the one hand about the consequences of certain actions in loco and on the others on the consequences of allowing certain radical groups in their own lands. Crying over spilt milk is never much use to anyone!

[Deleted]

How ISIS is Able to Sell Oil on the Black Market
September 22, 2014 FT reports
www.blacklistednews.com/How_ISIS_is_Able_to_Sell_Oil_on_the_Black_Market/38119/0/38/38/Y/M.html

Maplecroft, the risk management firm, says in a recent report that Isis now controls six out of 10 of Syria’s oilfields, including the big Omar facility, and at least four small fields in Iraq, including those at Ajeel and Hamreen.

Oil smuggling has deep roots in the region. After the imposition of UN energy sanctions on Iraq in the 1990s, a robust network of smugglers, traders and bootleg refineries have flourished.

Hundreds of entrepreneurs emerged, buying and selling small parcels of Iraq’s oil at discounted prices and transporting them across the Turkish border to sell at a markdown. Many of the business people have grown rich and powerful, with vested interests and political ties.

Energy experts and western officials say Isis may be laundering up to 80,000 barrels of oil a day worth several million dollars through this shadow market. The oil is smuggled through rugged mountain and desert routes or even legitimate crossings at Reyhanli, Zakho or Penjwan for consumption in Turkey, Iran or Jordan.

“The fact that Iraq was under sanctions for so long led Kurdish and Iraqi businessmen to fill a vacuum and create smuggling networks for Iraqi oil,” says Valerie Marcel, a Middle East and Africa energy specialist at Chatham House, the London think-tank. “Turkish, Iranian, Syrian, Iraqi networks have grown because of decades of bans on exports. From Iraq and now from Syria there is this grey market. That’s becoming a huge problem.”
Black market oil is often refined at plants in Iraqi Kurdistan that are partly the byproduct of the tensions between Kurdish leaders and Baghdad. In recent years the Kurdistan Regional Government looked the other way as homegrown refineries popped up to supply the local market after Baghdad banned the export of petroleum products without its consent.

This means that the Kurds are potentially helping put money in the coffers of the jihadi group that its own peshmerga forces are fighting. “It’s now possible that Isis could be selling crude [via middlemen] to these knock-off refineries,” says Bilal Wahab, an energy expert at the American University of Sulaymaniyah. “The KRG is unwilling to shut them down because it would have to raise the price of gasoline. It can’t raise the price of gasoline because it can’t pay salaries, and it can’t pay salaries because the central government hasn’t given the KRG its budget in eight months. Yes, it’s illegal. Yes, it’s bad. But it is what greases the wheels of the economy.”

[Deleted]

Sabah on ‘High Alert’ as Abu Sayyaf declares allegiance to IS
FMT| September 23, 2014

A video showing Filipino terror group Abu Sayyaf pledging allegiance to IS (Islamic State) has gained in popularity.
www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/09/23/sabah-on-high-alert-as-abu-sayyaf-declares-allegiance-to-is/

SANDAKAN: Malaysia has issued a heightened security alert in Sabah after a video showing Filipino terror group Abu Sayyaf pledging allegiance to IS (Islamic State) gained in popularity.

The UK edition of the International Business Times reported that the video shows the leader of Abu Sayyaf and one of the world’s most wanted terrorists, Isnilon Hapilon, in a black gown surrounded by masked supporters of the group.

Hapilon proceeds to declare the group’s allegiance to the IS and its “caliph” Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi.

The video, which is believed to have been filmed in the jungles of the southern Philippines across from Sabah, shows the symbol of the IS in its opening scene.

The footage was posted in July but its significance has only started to emerge in recents week with more and more people viewing the video.

It is reported that the video was created in the hope of garnering more support for the IS in Southeast Asia, with Hapilon speaking in both Arabic and the regional dialect of Yakan.

Inspector-General of Police Khalid Abu Bakar said that the Royal Malaysian Police would ensure that support for the IS would not spread throughout Malaysia, despite the red alert warning.

“We are keeping close tabs on the development of such radical groups in neighbouring countries. We will step up security along our borders to prevent any of these elements from slipping in,” he said.

“We will not allow extremists to gain a foothold in Malaysia,” he added.

An unidentified regional intelligence analyst told a local news daily that Abu Sayyaf posed a greater threat to Malaysian security as the IS have motivated the group into more action.

“The situation in Iraq and Syria, where IS is operating, seems to have given a fresh impetus to Isnilon. There are very good reasons for Malaysia to put out the red alert for this terrorist group given the long coastline,” the analyst said.

“He and his men are dangerous and their main business is kidnapping, which is carried out to finance their terror activities. He and his men have beheaded an American kidnap victim,” he added.

[Deleted]

How “Khorasan” Went From Nowhere To The Biggest Threat To The U.S.
The Islamist group targeted in airstrikes in Syria was almost unknown to the American public until recently. Now the Obama administration says they present a direct threat to the U.S.
posted on Sept. 23, 2014, at 6:38 p.m. Rosie Gray BuzzFeed Staff
www.buzzfeed.com/rosiegray/how-khorasan-went-from-nowhere-to-the-biggest-threat-to-the?utm_term=fuyj9j#2btj1nk

WASHINGTON — An Al-Qaeda-connected group that the Obama administration has targeted with airstrikes alongside ISIS was almost totally unknown to the American public until the U.S. started bombing them, though sources say the group has been known to the administration and to Congress for some time.

The U.S. claims that Khorasan, an Al-Qaeda-linked terrorist group said to be led by an operative named Muhsin al-Fadhli, was a direct threat to the U.S homeland. Little is known about al-Fadhli, though the Department of State says he was based in Iran. But hardly any public information was available about the group before this week and some are suggesting the Khorasan group is simply a renaming of already-known Al-Qaeda operatives in Syria.

That started to change in the last week, as stories about Khorasan began appearing in the media. U.S. officials have described the group as being part of Jabhat al-Nusra, an Al-Qaeda affiliate in Syria fighting both Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s forces as well as ISIS.

According to a source familiar with the situation, U.S. officials have been aware of Khorasan for months. And Rep. Peter King, the former Homeland Security Committee chair, said that members of Congress have “known about it for several months.”

“I’m surprised it [the name] even came out,” King said. “It was supposed to be top secret, classified, and it wasn’t until last week that an AP story had it in there. But we weren’t supposed to talk about it.”





“The intelligence community has known about it … [Khorasan] are extremely lethal and dangerous,” King said.

Rep. Adam Schiff, a Democratic member of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence, said “we have been briefed on the Khorasan group for some time.”

“I knew about the group a year ago from the media but didn’t know the name or personalities until the past few days—again from the media,” said Will McCants, a terrorism analyst and fellow at the Brookings Institution.

An Amnesty International report on drones in Pakistan from October 2013 refers to an “al-Qa’ida-linked outfit” called Mujahideen Khorasan, but is unclear if it’s the same Khorasan. A source that was briefed on Khorasan in June said that the counterterrorism community believes that between 10 and 20 top Al Qaeda people had gone to Syria from Waziristan “to link up in Syria and establish a new AQ affiliate in Syria that would be focused on training and deploying against the West.”

“The group has been referred to elliptically in open-source reporting for several months now,” said Daveed Gartenstein-Ross, a counter-terrorism analyst at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. Gartenstein-Ross said that the composition and size of the group is still unclear, though: “At the very least, number one, it’s embedded with Jabhat al-Nusra but it’s a separate organization from Nusra.” The name, he said, “has particular eschatological meanings related to jihadist views of the end times.”

Gartenstein-Ross said there could be more information coming out about other aspects of Khorasan: “It’s possible that information that’s coming out about the Khorasan shura [or council of leaders] is about its operational wing rather than information abut the entirety of the group. It certainly seems it’s more than just an external operations capability.”

The group, he said, appears to be connected to Ibrahim al-Asiri, the bomb maker for Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula who was connected to the underwear bomber.

Both Gartenstein-Ross and Mustafa Alani, Senior Advisor and Program Director in Security and Terrorism Studies at the Gulf Research Center, were skeptical of Al-Fadhli’s reported role. “I’m not sure the information is accurate,” Alani said. “Muhsih Al Fadlhi is not the quality of the leader you’d see. He’s not a commander, not a field commander. He’s more a preacher then a commander.”

Aaron Zelin, an expert on extremist groups at the Washington Institute, said there was “no difference” between Khorasan and Jabhat al-Nusra.

“They are AQ members dispatched by Zawahiri that were based in AfPak or Iran to Syria to build up JN’s external operations capabilities since there’s more operational space and closer to the West,” Zelin said. He said there were reports about Khorasan going back “at least 6-18 months.”

Zelin said he thought the reports of a Khorasan threat against the U.S. were credible: “It’s AQ so I don’t see why they wouldn’t want to try and plan [operations] from Syria.”

Some are doubting the credibility of the threat, arguing that the Obama administration has exaggerated it to justify bombing Syria.

“I think the USG is blowing them [Khorasan] way out of proportion,” said a congressional aide who focuses on Syria. “They need a good story right now and saying they subverted a terrorist plot against America is good press.”

Obama himself has never publicly mentioned Khorasan until Tuesday, when the U.S. had already bombed them.

“Myself and some others are wondering why this suddenly appeared last week, why this leaked out after being kept so secret,” said a Republican congressman familiar with Khorasan. “It could be that they wanted a good reason why we attacked them in Syria. We are saying they are a threat to the US so they obviously wanted that out there before we attacked that.”

Kate Nocera, John Stanton, Aram Roston and Mike Giglio contributed reporting.

Also read today's news on Khorasan:  www.arabnews.com/featured/news/634536

[Deleted]

ISIS Is Run By Former Iraqi Generals … Many Are Members Of Saddam Hussein’s Secular Baath Party Who Converted To Radical Islam In American Prisons
U.S. Foreign Policy Created Many More Terrorists Than It Killed
Posted on September 23, 2014 by WashingtonsBlog
www.washingtonsblog.com/2014/09/isis-run-former-iraqi-generals-many-members-saddam-husseins-secular-baath-party-converted-radical-islam-american-prisons.html

The New Yorker reports:

ISIS is run by a council of former Iraqi generals, according to Hisham Alhashimi, an adviser to the Iraqi government and an expert on ISIS. Many are members of Saddam Hussein’s secular Baath Party who converted to radical Islam in American prisons.

In other words, ISIS was created by not only the war in Iraq, but American terror-creating foreign policy.

As we’ve reported for years, U.S. foreign policy is creating many more terrorists than it’s killing.
The U.S. Has Radicalized the Middle East

Wittingly or unwittingly, the U.S. has radicalized the Middle East.

The U.S. carried out regime change in Iran in 1953 … which led to radicalization in the country. Specifically, the CIA admits that the U.S. overthrew the moderate, suit-and-tie-wearing, Democratically-elected prime minister of Iran in 1953. (He was overthrown because he had nationalized Iran’s oil, which had previously been controlled by BP and other Western oil companies). As part of that action, the CIA admits that it hired Iranians to pose as Communists and stage bombings in Iran in order to turn the country against its prime minister. If the U.S. hadn’t overthrown the moderate Iranian government, the fundamentalist Mullahs would have never taken over. Iran has been known for thousands of years for tolerating Christians and other religious minorities.

America has long supported the fundamentalist Islamic radicals in Saudi Arabia, and funded their radical madrassa schools. At the same time, we have attacked moderate Arabs … leading to a proliferation of the crazies.

Our Wars In the Middle East Have Created More Terrorists

Security experts – including both conservatives and liberals – agree that waging war in the Middle East weakens national security and increases terrorism.

Killing innocent civilians is one of the main things which increases terrorism. As one of the top counter-terrorism experts (the former number 2 counter-terrorism expert at the State Department) told me, starting wars against states which do not pose an imminent threat to America’s national security increases the threat of terrorism because:

One of the principal causes of terrorism is injuries to people and families.

The Iraq war wasn’t even fought to combat terrorism. And Al Qaeda wasn’t even in Iraq until the U.S. invaded that country.

And top CIA officers say that drone strikes increase terrorism (and see this).

Furthermore, James K. Feldman – former professor of decision analysis and economics at the Air Force Institute of Technology and the School of Advanced Airpower Studies – and other experts say that foreign occupation is the main cause of terrorism

University of Chicago professor Robert A. Pape – who specializes in international security affairs – points out:

Extensive research into the causes of suicide terrorism proves Islam isn’t to blame — the root of the problem is foreign military occupations.

***

Each month, there are more suicide terrorists trying to kill Americans and their allies in Afghanistan, Iraq, and other Muslim countries than in all the years before 2001 combined.

***

New research provides strong evidence that suicide terrorism such as that of 9/11 is particularly sensitive to foreign military occupation, and not Islamic fundamentalism or any ideology independent of this crucial circumstance. Although this pattern began to emerge in the 1980s and 1990s, a wealth of new data presents a powerful picture.

More than 95 percent of all suicide attacks are in response to foreign occupation, according to extensive research [co-authored by James K. Feldman - former professor of decision analysis and economics at the Air Force Institute of Technology and the School of Advanced Airpower Studies] that we conducted at the University of Chicago’s Project on Security and Terrorism, where we examined every one of the over 2,200 suicide attacks across the world from 1980 to the present day. As the United States has occupied Afghanistan and Iraq, which have a combined population of about 60 million, total suicide attacks worldwide have risen dramatically — from about 300 from 1980 to 2003, to 1,800 from 2004 to 2009. Further, over 90 percent of suicide attacks worldwide are now anti-American. The vast majority of suicide terrorists hail from the local region threatened by foreign troops, which is why 90 percent of suicide attackers in Afghanistan are Afghans.

Israelis have their own narrative about terrorism, which holds that Arab fanatics seek to destroy the Jewish state because of what it is, not what it does. But since Israel withdrew its army from Lebanon in May 2000, there has not been a single Lebanese suicide attack. Similarly, since Israel withdrew from Gaza and large parts of the West Bank, Palestinian suicide attacks are down over 90 percent.

***

The first step is recognizing that occupations in the Muslim world don’t make Americans any safer — in fact, they are at the heart of the problem.

Our Program of Torture Created Terrorists

In addition, torture creates new terrorists:

A top counter-terrorism expert says torture increases the risk of terrorism (and see this).

One of the top military interrogators said that torture by Americans of innocent Iraqis is the main reason that foreign fighters started fighting against Americans in Iraq in the first place (and see this).

Former counter-terrorism czar Richard A. Clarke says that America’s indefinite detention without trial and abuse of prisoners is a leading Al Qaeda recruiting tool

A former FBI interrogator — who interrogated Al Qaeda suspects — says categorically that torture actually turns people into terrorists

A 30-year veteran of CIA’s operations directorate who rose to the most senior managerial ranks, says:

Torture creates more terrorists and fosters more acts of terror than it could possibly neutralize.

A former US Air Force interrogator said that torture just creates more terrorists

A former U.S. interrogator and counterintelligence agent, and Afghanistan veteran said, “Torture puts our troops in danger, torture makes our troops less safe, torture creates terrorists. It’s used so widely as a propaganda tool now in Afghanistan. All too often, detainees have pamphlets on them, depicting what happened at Guantanamo.”

The Senate Armed Services Committee unanimously stated:

“The administration’s policies concerning [torture] and the resulting controversies … strengthened the hand of our enemies.”

Two professors of political science have demonstrated that torture increases, rather than decreases, terrorism

General Petraeus said that torture hurts our national security

And the reporter who broke Iran-Contra and other stories says that torture actually helped Al Qaeda, by giving false leads to the U.S. which diverted its military, intelligence and economic resources into wild goose chases

Remember, the secular Iraqi generals who now lead ISIS converted to radical Islam in American prisons … where they were undoubtedly tortured.

[Deleted]

Islamic State Followers Urged To Attack Australians By Any Means Possible
FOLLOWERS of the Islamic State are being urged to attack by any means possible civilians of the West, including Australia, France and Canada, in a chilling exhortation posted online.

I n what is believed to be the group’s first blanket call to violence against countries planning military action in Iraq, the statement attributed to chief Islamic State spokesman Muhammad al-Adnani mentions Australia three times amid page after page of apocalyptic threats against “crusaders”.

“If you can kill a disbelieving American or European – especially the spiteful and filthy French – or an Australian, or a Canadian, or any other disbeliever from the disbelievers waging war, including the citizens of the countries that entered into a coalition against the Islamic State, then rely upon Allah, and kill him in any manner or way however it may be,” the statement says.

“Do not ask for anyone’s advice and do not seek anyone’s verdict. Kill the disbeliever, whether he is civilian or military, for they have the same ruling. Both of them are disbelievers.”

Over 11 pages, the statement unrestrainedly urges followers towards martyrdom, telling them they are “like predatory warriors” who “face death with bare chests”.

It comes just days after police smashed an alleged plot in Sydney to kill random Australians on camera and also as world leaders prepare to meet at the United Nations in New York to discuss how to combat the problem of foreign fighters travelling to Iraq and Syria.

Al-Adnani is regarded as the most authoratitive spokesman at Islamic State, also known as ISIL. The statement represents the most concrete threat yet to Australia by the group’s leadership.

A spokewoman for Prime Minister Tony Abbott said on Monday that the statement is considered to be an authentic statement from the terror organisation.

“Australian agencies regard the statement issued today by ISIL calling for attacks against members of the international coalition, including Australians, as genuine,” she said.

“ISIL will claim that our involvement in this international effort is the reason they are targeting us, but these people do not attack us for what we do, but for who we are and how we live.”

Mr Abbott opened question time on Monday with a speech warning that some freedoms for Australians may need to be restricted to prevent attacks from terror groups.


Chilling threats

Disturbingly, the statement attributed to al-Adnani also offers itself as a final declaration, telling followers they need no further permission from a Muslim cleric.

It calls US President Barack Obama a “mule of the Jews” and Secretary of State John Kerry an “uncircumcised old geezer”.
Police leave with what appears to be a sword after a raid in Sydney on Thursday.

Police leave with what appears to be a sword after a raid in Sydney on Thursday. Photo: Peter Rae

In apocalyptic tones, the message goes on to declare: “O soldiers of the Islamic State, be ready for the final campaign of the crusaders. Yes, by Allah’s will, it will be the final one.”

The statement threatens not just to beat back any military campaign in Iraq and Syrian but also to go on the offensive, even if it takes generations.

“We will conquer your Rome, break your crosses, and enslave your women, by the permission of Allah, the Exalted,” it says. “If we do not reach that time, then our children and grandchildren will reach it, and they will sell your sons as slaves at the slave market.”

It focuses most of its fury on the United States but mentions Australia three times, urging Islamic fighters in various countries who are American allies to take up arms.

“O America, O allies of America, and O crusaders, know that the matter is more dangerous than you have imagined and greater than you have envisioned,” it says. “We have warned you that today we are in a new era, an era where the State, its soldiers, and its sons are leaders not slaves. Being killed – according to their account – is a victory. This is where the secret lies.”

It asks of Islamic State followers: “Why is it that the world has united against you? … What threat do you pose to the distant place of Australia for it to send its legions towards you? What does Canada have anything to do with you?”

The statement goes on to say that anyone who refuses to recognise the Islamic State’s self-declared caliphate is mocking the Prophet.

It calls on followers to “fear not the swarms of planes, nor ballistic missiles, nor drones, nor satellites, nor battleships, nor weapons of mass destruction”.

French Hostage Herve Gourdel Beheaded By Militants In Algeria
The Huffington Post | By Eline Gordts
Posted: 09/24/2014 11:28 am EDT Updated: 15 minutes ago

HERVE GOURDEL

An Algerian extremist group has released a video claiming responsibility for the beheading of a French hostage, a U.S. watchdog group said on Wednesday.

Herve Gourdel was kidnapped in Algeria's northeast on Sunday by militants of Jund al-Khilafah. The group threatened to kill the man if France did not halt its participation in the campaign against the Islamic State group in Iraq.

French President Francois Hollande confirmed the killing.

More from the Associated Press:

UNITED NATIONS (AP) — French President Francois Hollande has confirmed the killing of a French hostage in Algeria.

A video released by a U.S. terrorism watchdog showed Algerian extremists allied with the Islamic State group decapitating a hostage after France ignored their demand to stop airstrikes in Iraq.

The group, which calls itself Jund al-Khilafah, said after abducting Herve Gourdel on Sunday that he would be killed within 24 hours unless France ended its airstrikes against Islamic State fighters in Iraq.

The French government has insisted it will not back down.

Hollande told reporters Wednesday that the hostage was cruelly "assassinated" because he was French and because his country was fighting terrorism and defending human liberty against barbarity.

He spoke on the sidelines of the U.N. General Assembly which he is attending.

[Deleted]

Foreward: Moving away for a moment from the emotional aspects the cruel battles ISIS are conducting both in Syria and Iraq, this multi- article section wants to offer an overall review of the ISIS/ISIL/DAESH financing from different perspectives. However, if you take the time to skim through each article you will realized that no one specific state is to blame for what is happening, but each state in the world directly or indirectly has been contributing one way or another to the financing of these terrorists. As it is always the case radical groups are groomed, used and when it should be time for them to disband, all too often many puppet-masters realize it is not so easy as expected and all too often there are financial interests intertwined with the very ones one is warring against. As a final side note, though ISIL/ISIS/DAESH is referred to as Sunni, this appears to be incorrect in that the Muslim group seems to have radicalized in ideology and violence so much as to have become disowned by all official Sunni community and become recognized as a terrorist group.

How ISIS funds its reign of terror Plain and simple, it's a criminal gang
BY Howard J. Shatz

NEW YORK DAILY NEWS Monday, September 8, 2014, 9:42 AMhttp://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/isis-funds-reign-terror-article-1.1931954?cid=bitly
It is no wonder that the terrorist group ISIS is now calling itself the “Islamic State.” The group has fashioned a small army out of a mix of foreign and local fighters, established oil refining and trafficking operations, and even collects taxes. Despite longstanding rumors that ISIS has foreign patrons in Gulf States such as Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar, there is precious little evidence that it ever depended on foreign largess. The group mostly brought in its own local funding even when it was down-and-out and in hiding after the U.S. troop surge of 2007 to 2009. While there may be some foreign money flowing in to ISIS, stopping these transnational flows will not stymie the group. Whatever its international influences, ISIS raises most of its money from the territories it feeds off of, making the problem of beating back the group exceedingly difficult.
As part of my research at the Rand Corp., I have been examining ISIS’ finances, management and organization, working with documents, manuals and ledgers created by ISIS and its predecessor organizations since late 2006. More recently, we have teamed with scholars from Princeton and Emory universities, and analysts from other organizations, to study more than 150 documents from 2005 to 2010. Drawing on this ongoing research, a number of conclusions can be reached.
Most important, ISIS raises much of its money just as a well-organized criminal gang would do. It smuggles, it extorts, it skims, it fences, it kidnaps and it shakes down. Although supposedly religiously inspired, its actions are more like those of an organized criminal cult. To borrow from mobster Salvatore (Sammy Bull) Gravano, members in ISIS don’t get ahead just by being thugs — “at some point you have to learn to be a racketeer as well." ISIS’ most important revenue source right now is the smuggling of oil from the oil fields it controls in Syria and Iraq. It has been reported to control about a dozen oil fields along with several refineries. Estimates of revenue vary, but a range of $1million to more than $2 million a day is reasonable. To keep the oil flowing to direct buyers and through middlemen to markets in Syria, Iraq, Turkey and possibly even Iran, ISIS retains the technical workers at these oil operations, but replaces top management with its own people.
This is nothing new. Al Qaeda in Iraq, the pre-ISIS organization, was raising its money locally, mostly from theft, in 2005 and 2006, the peak of its power in Iraq’s Anbar Province. Over a period of 11 months, only about 5% of Al Qaeda in Iraq revenues in Anbar came from donations. Later, from 2006 to 2009, the group’s “Ministry of Oil” raised $2 billion with a smuggling operation based at the Bayji refinery in Iraq. So ISIS is a formidable fund-raiser. To its disadvantage, the group is also a formidable spender. It pays regular salaries to members based on family size and even has promised to maintain those payments if the member is killed or captured. When casualties are high, this can mean high personnel costs relative to active manpower. It also pays rent for some members and medical expenses, maintains safe houses and has to buy weapons and other equipment. As a cash-based organization, it also has to guard against internal corruption, which is documented in the group’s own records. Historically, ISIS’ main outside revenue has come in small donations from supporters who have traveled to Iraq and Syria — in many instances as suicide bombers. And while donations from the Gulf countries may have been welcome additions, neutralizing donations from wealthy Gulf sources will have little effect today.
Countering ISIS demands a multiprong strategy, including battlefield victories, operations to kill or capture its senior leaders, operations to shut down oil smuggling and other sources of finance, and even information operations to make clear to the people in Iraq and Syria exactly who ISIS is and the kind of dystopian society it stands for. Over the longer term, destroying the group will require governments in Iraq and Syria that to some degree have the consent of the governed and that are viewed as legitimate enough by the residents of those countries. Although Gulf-based finances have played little role in the recent rise of ISIS, there is considerable room for speculating on their role in planting the roots of ISIS’ ideology. Combating that will take a longer-term effort, but an effort that must come in large part from the Gulf countries themselves.
Shatz is a senior economist at the nonprofit, nonpartisan Rand Corp.

How our allies in Kuwait and Qatar funded Islamic State
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/kuwait/11077537/How-our-allies-in-Kuwait-and-Qatar-funded-Islamic-State.html
By Andrew Gilligan 7:20AM BST 06 Sep 2014

In the great jihadi funding bazaar that is the Gulf state of Kuwait, there’s a terror finance option for every pocket, from the private foundations dealing in tens of millions to the more retail end of the market. Give enough for 50 sniper bullets (50 dinars, about £110), promises the al-Qaeda and Islamic State-linked cleric tweeting under the name “jahd bmalk”, and you will earn “silver status”. Donate 100 dinars to buy eight badly needed mortar rounds, and he’ll make you a “gold status donor”.
As the jihadi funders hand out loyalty cards, the West has belatedly realized that some of its supposed friends in the Gulf have been playing the disloyalty card. Had Kuwait not been freed by American, British and allied troops in 1991, it would presumably now still be the “19th province” of Saddam Hussein’s Iraq. But the emirate has repaid the Western blood and treasure spent in its liberation by becoming, in the words of David Cohen, the US undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, the “epicenter of funding for terrorist groups in Syria”.
Islamic State (Isil), with its newly conquered territory, oilfields and bank vaults, no longer needs much foreign money. But its extraordinarily swift rise to this point, a place where it threatens the entire region and the West, was substantially paid for by the allies of the West. Isil’s cash was raised in, or channeled through, Kuwait and Qatar, with the tacit approval and sometimes active support of their governments. Though this has not yet been widely understood in Europe, it is no secret. Throughout 2013 and the earlier part of this year, on TV stations, websites and social media in Kuwait and Qatar, the jihadis openly solicited money for weapons and troops, much as charities in Britain might seek donations for tents and food. One of the main Oxfams of jihad is a group called the Kuwait Scholars’ Union (KSU), which ran a number of major fundraising drives, including the “Great Kuwait Campaign”, raising several million dollars for anti-aircraft missiles, rocket-propelled grenades and fighters. Some of the money went to Isil and some to the al-Qaeda front Jabhat al-Nusra, Isil’s ally until this February.
“By Allah’s grace and his success, the Great Kuwait Campaign announces the preparation of 8,700 Syrian mujahideen,” announced the KSU’s president, Nabil al-Awadi, in June 2013. “The campaign is ongoing until 12,000 are prepared.” The same year, the KSU ran the “Liberate the Coast” fundraising campaign to help pay for a sectarian massacre of hundreds of civilians in the Syrian port of Latakia. One of the KSU’s fundraisers, Shafi al-Ajmi, tweeted that the donations would go “to buy what is needed to expel the Safavids”, an insulting term for Shia. Last month, he was designated a funder of terrorism by the US.
The Kuwaiti government’s response to the KSU and other terror funders has been “permissive,” as Mr Cohen puts it. That is very diplomatic language. In fact, as recently as January, Kuwait appointed as its minister of justice one Nayef al-Ajmi, a man who has actually appeared on fundraising posters for the al-Qaeda affiliated al-Nusra Front. Qatar, too, has a serious problem. Its government denied a statement last month by the German development minister, Gerd Mueller, that it bankrolls Isil directly. But Mr Cohen says that “press reports indicate that the Qatari government is supporting extremist groups operating in Syria”. There is no doubt, too, that key institutions and officials of the Qatari government have hosted and supported individuals who back Isil, including Harith al-Dari, a designated terrorist and leader of the Association of Muslim Scholars (AMS) in Iraq.
This June, as Isil took over Mosul, the AMS praised the “great victories achieved by the revolutionaries”. As they put it: “You have already seen how a great many of the media outlets have colluded, from the first instance of the start of your revolution, and worked on the demonization of the revolution and distorting its image.” Only a month after Washington designated al-Dari as a sponsor of the group that became Isil, he was allowed to meet the Emir of Qatar. He has made numerous visits there since; the US designation of al-Dari as a terrorist mentions Qatar as an alternative location for him.
At least two other men designated as al-Qaeda funders, Hajjaj al-Ajmi and Hamid al-Ali, have been officially invited by Qatar’s Ministry of Endowments and Islamic Affairs to deliver sermons from government-controlled mosques calling for jihad in Syria, and donations to it. As Isil swept through Iraq this summer, Ali praised the “great cleaning of Iraq” and the “revolution of our ummah [the Muslim people] against the hateful occupier enemy”. Only in July, both the KSU’s Nabil al-Awadi and a man now banned from Britain as an Isil recruiter, Mohammed al-Arifi, were invited to address a Ramadan festival in Qatar co-organised by the Aspire Zone Foundation, the government-controlled body that played a major part in Qatar’s successful bid for the World Cup.
Qatar and Kuwait, Sunni-majority states, have been helping, or at least not hindering, Isil because they saw it as a proxy counterweight to their Shia rival, Iran, and the Iranian-backed Assad regime. But like many governments before them, including America in Afghanistan, they have now discovered that the would-be puppets tend to cut loose from the puppet-masters. “Some leaders believed they could use terrorists as hired mercenaries, but suddenly found themselves stuck with terrorists who used the opportunity to advance their own interests and agenda,” in the bitter words of Ahmed Jarba, head of the moderate Syrian rebels.
Alarmed by the savagery of Isil, and the growing hostility of the US, Kuwait, in particular, has started to crack down, sacking its jihadi justice minister and removing citizenship from a number of terror funders, including Nabil al-Awadi. But it is plainly too late. Armed with the loot of half the Iraqi military, Isil doesn’t need its Gulf patrons to buy it sniper rounds any more. And even before Isil started threatening the West, this was already more than a Kuwaiti or Qatari problem. As The Telegraph reported last weekend, Nabil al-Awadi is, or has been, partly resident in the UK. Until last year, he was director of the al-Birr private school in Birmingham and is described as a UK resident on his Companies House entry, with a past address in Brixton Hill, south London. He has close links with the hardline al-Muntada mosque in Parson’s Green, west London, whose imam and director are co-directors of the al-Birr school.
After The Telegraph report, al-Awadi indignantly protested that he had “not travelled to Britain since 2011,” a denial rather undermined by his own tweets which repeatedly describe visits to Britain subsequent to that date. Several of the visits were to al-Muntada, which also raises funds for Syria – exclusively for “humanitarian purposes”, it insists. Al-Muntada has close links to British mosques accused of radicalizing young people into Isil, including al-Manar in Cardiff, attended by Nasser Muthana and Reyaad Khan, the first Britons to appear in an Isil propaganda video. Both mosques have also organized events with Mohammed al-Arifi, the now-banned extremist cleric accused of grooming the two young Cardiff men.
Al-Muntada’s former imam, Haitham al-Haddad, is one of the most active radical preachers in the country, reportedly a principal target of the Government’s new “anti-extremism orders” aimed at those not directly involved in violence but who voice extremist views. Al-Muntada, too, has been closely supported by Qatari money; the UK branch held its annual meeting in the Qatari capital, Doha, on March 31, 2013, and its school has been bankrolled by Qatari finance. Before we get too censorious about foreign politicians who back extremists, it is worth mentioning, too, that al-Muntada has picked up quite a few British political endorsements. Andy Slaughter, its local Labour MP, praised its “outstanding track record of supporting others” and said he was “very proud to be associated with it”. Stephen Timms, deputy chairman of Labour’s interfaith group, said: “I know how much effort al-Muntada puts into its community relations.”
Richard Barnes, Boris Johnson’s then deputy mayor, praised it as “one of the world’s foremost Muslim charities”. And al-Muntada was sent good wishes, too, by a spokesman acting on behalf of none other than the deputy prime minister, Nick Clegg. As Qatar and Kuwait buy up more and more of Britain, maybe it is time to start asking a few more questions about what they really stand for.

CAIRO — Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant has been quietly building a presence in Morocco.
www.worldtribune.com/2014/09/05/cash-flush-isil-buying-supporters-northern-morocco/

ISIL is believed to have established cells in several regions of Morocco. The Al Qaida-aligned movement is said to have focused on the northern region of the North African kingdom, including Laarache and Tangier. “ISIL has plenty of money and are buying supporters,” a security source said. The source said the ISIL presence stemmed from nearly two years of recruitment of Moroccans for the wars in Iraq and Syria. He said more than 2,000 Moroccans were mobilized for these campaigns, some of whom returned to establish ISIL cells.
In July 2014, ISIL posted a video of recruitment efforts in Morocco. A 28-year-old operative identified as Mohammed Hamdouch, a former resident of the northern town of Fnideq, was seen beheading five people in Syria. “The northern region has been neglected, if not completely forgotten, since independence,” Mountacir Zian, director of Mediterranean Strategic Analysis and Intelligence, said. The Moroccan government has not acknowledged the ISIL presence although it reported the arrest of more than a dozen suspected operatives. But analysts asserted that northern Morocco was becoming a hotbed of Al Qaida support. “For a long time we’ve been drawing people’s attention to the existence of international fundamentalism in the northern region,” Abbassi Mustapha, an analyst, told the U.S. Central Command-sponsored Magharebia. “The facts show that radicals have always had connections with this easy money.”
ISIL was also said to have attracted criminals from a range of cities. The criminals, using ISIL connections abroad, were said to involved in smuggling and drug trafficking. Tangier was also said to be a stronghold of ISIL. In July, a French national was arrested on charges of recruiting fighters for ISIL’s campaigns in Iraq and Syria. “Furthermore, they are permanently in contact with Moroccans who have settled in Europe,” Human Rights Defense Association chairman Lahbib Haji said. “That makes it easier to recruit them.”

More on ISIS and the illicit antiquities trade
By Derek Fincham on September 2, 2014
illicitculturalproperty.com/more-on-isis-and-the-illicit-antiquities-trade/

The Chart from the Economist, from June, 2014 shows the growing influence of ISIS. The Chart from the Economist, from June, 2014 shows the areas under ISIS control.
Three academics (Amr Al-Azm, Salam al-Kuntar, and Brian I. Daniels) who have been training Syrian preservationists in Southern Turkey have some more anecdotal insights into how deep the connection between ISIS and the illicit antiquities trade is in an OpEd appearing in the International NY Times: In extensive conversations with those working and living in areas currently under ISIS control, we learned that ISIS is indeed involved in the illicit antiquities trade, but in a way that is more complex and insidious than we expected. (Our contacts and sources, whom we cannot name for reasons of their safety, continue their work under the most dangerous of conditions.) ISIS does not seem to have devoted the manpower of its army to the active work of looting archaeological sites. Rather, its involvement is financial. In general, ISIS permits local inhabitants to dig at these sites in exchange for a percentage of the monetary value of any finds.
The group’s rationale for this levy is the Islamic khums tax, according to which Muslims are required to pay a percentage of the value of any goods or treasure recovered from the ground. ISIS claims to be the legitimate recipient of such proceeds. The amount levied for the khums varies by region and the type of object recovered. In ISIS-controlled areas at the periphery of Aleppo Province in Syria, the khums is 20 percent. In the Raqqa region, the levy can reach up to 50 percent or even higher if the finds are from the Islamic period (beginning in the early-to-mid-seventh century) or made of precious metals like gold.
The scale of looting varies considerably under this system, and much is left to the discretion of local ISIS leaders. For a few areas, such as the ancient sites along Euphrates, ISIS leaders have encouraged digging by semiprofessional field crews. These teams are often from Iraq and are applying and profiting from their experience looting ancient sites there. They operate with a “license” from ISIS, and an ISIS representative is assigned to oversee their work to ensure the proper use of heavy machinery and to verify accurate payment of the khums.
But how much exactly does this amount to? The answer is difficult to quantify. As Sam Hardy points out, the recent claim that ISIS has garnered $36m from antiquities looted in its territory is likely inaccurate: I can only reiterate that it is (literally) unimaginable that the Islamic State is making $36m from a 0.2%-0.4% share of the market value of the antiquities that have been looted from one district under its rule (as $36m from a 20% khums tax on looters’ and traffickers’ own 1%-2% share would imply a trade value of $9b-$18b of antiquities from al-Nabk alone).
Al-kuntar Amr Al-azm & Brian I. Daniels, ISIS’ Antiquities Sideline, N.Y. T., Sept. 2, 2014.

ISIS CRISIS: $500 Million Sought in ‘War Funds’ for Rebels in Western Proxy War & Israeli Oil Shipments
June 27, 2014 By Shawn Helton
21stcenturywire.com/2014/06/27/isis-crisis-500-million-in-war-funds-for-rebels-in-western-proxy-war-kurdish-oil-shipments/

As this latest Western manufactured ‘terror nightmare’ continues to unfold in Iraq and Syria, we’ve learned that US President Barack Obama has now asked Congress to authorize direct military aid and equipment to be sent to ‘the rebels’ in Syria. This latest stage of Washington’s project in Syria is said to total $500 million, expanding the covert CIA/FSA training facilities that have ties to ISIS in both Jordan and Turkey…
The move to provide US military training and supply additional arms the so-called ‘moderate’ rebels is extremely calculated, most assuredly, so that both the left and right political parties in the US may share a certain blowback-blame, if they agree to allocate funds to insurgents that have a proven history with the formation of ISIS, as the Saudi Arabian-backed Jihadist paramilitary group, “Front Victory“, the group most likely responsible for ‘Chlorine Chemical Attacks’ which Washington made such noise over in Syria in 2013, had its first and second generation founders come out of the ‘Islamic State of Iraq’, directly linking them to the training facilities in Jordan and Turkey.
The US media storm has been spinning overtime over ISIS, touting many dramatic pictures of mass-executions as ‘evidence’ of their takeover of Iraq, and using this crisis yet another pretext to ramp-up military budgets and security threats at home. Most of the ‘mass execution’ images put forward in media have since been exposed as pure fakery, although this hasn’t deterred US and European media ‘experts’ or US State Department and UK Foreign Office officials. As the ‘ISIS Crisis’ appears to spiral out of control, it exposes the Western government-transnational corporate agenda, that seeks to expand the current proxy war in Iraq, as well as to neighboring nations by directly financing terror rebels – this time with Congressional approval. While many think-tanks and media rooms proclaim to be very much against the terror-grip of Al-Qaeda’s offshoot ISIS by publicly denounce their actions, the $500 million dollar appropriation appears to be a cash injection into the radical destruction of both Iraq and Syria. The current destabilization campaign in Iraq will have a number of unforeseen outcomes, including the fracturing of Syria and Iraq, and the predictable calls from Erbil for a newly formed ‘Kurdish State’ in Northern Iraq.
If $500 million is being funneled to Islamic fighting groups in Syria (and Iraq), then exactly how is this money transferred and who will handle and distribute this small fortune from US taxpayers and procure arms on the ground? Most likely, this will be handled by US personnel and US military contractors who will be in the war theater. This is direct involvement, regardless of how Washington would like to spin it. If you follow the terrorists, the money and the arms over the last 4 years – it leads back to western governments, their allies and their intelligence bodies…
Back in July of 2013, there was an unprecedented and unlikely terrorist jail-break at three separate locations, that elevated the global terror threat not seen since the early days of Bin Laden’s transformation into the world’s most notorious boogeyman, Here at 21 WIRE we reported the sensationalized escape:
“The first prison break happened on July 22, as more than 500 inmates were sprung from two different prisons in Iraq. Al Qaeda claimed credit for the operation which somehow managed to take out 120 Iraqi guards and SWAT forces in attacks in Taji, north of Baghdad, and the notorious Abu Ghraib prison. Five days later on July 28, bumbling security spokesman Mohamed Hejazi admitted to the Libya Herald that some 1,200 prisoners escaped during the weekend from the Kuayfia detention center in Benghazi. The third bust out then took place the following day on July 29, as Taliban and al Qaeda operatives descended on the city of Dera Ismail Khan and walked out with 250 Pakistani Taliban prisoners held there, but not before killing 12 policemen and cutting the throats of four Shi’ite prisoners on the way out. On each occasion, local authorities believe that there may have been a degree of ‘insider’ help. All in all, this epic string of jihadi jail-breaks has let loose over 2000 alleged terrorists and militant gunman for hire.
Could all three of these well-timed jail-breaks have been accomplished with such precision… without the help and support of intelligence agencies like the CIA, MI6 or Mossad?” Many critics have charged that these jail breaks have directly benefited interests of the West, as the newly released militants could have been deployed to places such as Iraq and Syria, as well as other CIA friendly locales. The timing is uncanny.
US and Saudi-backed Terrorist Groups Coming Out of Syria
Known terrorist groups have been operating in Syria for over three years now – mostly with the tacit approval of war planners in Washington, London and Paris. Folded into the ‘Syrian Rebel’ confab, these terrorist fighting groups have all but received the full backing of NATO Allies (arms) and Gulf states Qatar and Saudi Arabia (money). They include, but are not limited to, Saudi Intelligence-backed Jabhat al-Nusra or ‘al Nursa Front’, the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group, Abdullah Azzam Brigades and Al Baraa ibn Malik Martyrdom Brigade, the jihadist group Ahrar al-Sham, the PKK (in northeast Syria), and Kata’ib Mohadzherin from the Russian Caucus region - to name only a few.
Earlier reports of rogue Chechen terrorists filtering into Syria were preceded by Salafists killing Sufi leaders inside the Russian Federation. The Pakistan Christian Post reports: “Recently in Dagestan the Sufi spiritual leader Said Efendi Chirkeisky was killed by a suicide bomber along with a few followers. This happened in late August and the closeness to the recent attack against Sufi leaders in Tatarstan is a clear reminder that Salafism is a potent force within parts of the Russian Federation. Therefore, not surprisingly the Russian Federation is extremely alarmed by major Western powers once more working in collusion with the FSA, al-Qaeda and a whole array of Salafi terrorist organizations.”
US favoured terror leaders released from Guantanamo
It’s worth noting here: like Libya’s new militant governor of Tripoli, Abdel Hakim Belhadj, the Chechen terrorist group Kata’ib Mohadzherin’s leader Airat Vakhitov was also under US supervision for years - imprisoned at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba circa 2002, after being captured by U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Both were Belhadj and Vakhitov were released by the Pentagon only to be repatriated in the field again – back into fighting regions to organize al Qaeda-type Islamist groups – both active in countries which the US and NATO have been actively vying for regime change – in Libya and Syria, respectively. You can draw your own conclusions here about what Guantanamo is in reality, a fact which was confirmed by the Penny Lane leaks regarding the recruitment of double agents out of Gitmo.
The same New York Times article(above) also mentions terrorists’ theocratic designs of establishing some caliphate in the region: “One Qaeda operative, a 56-year-old known as Abu Thuha who lives in the Hawija district near Kirkuk in Iraq, spoke to an Iraqi reporter for The New York Times on Tuesday. “We have experience now fighting the Americans, and more experience now with the Syrian revolution,” he said. “Our big hope is to form a Syrian-Iraqi Islamic state for all Muslims… All of this constitutes open international war crimes – directly enabled by the US and its allies. Beyond any reasonable doubt, this current ‘ISIS Crisis’ is a direct result of western interests fueling the Libyan and Syrian civil wars over the past 4 years.
Israel, Washington & Kurdish oil pipelines
There have also been reports suggesting that the perceived inaction on part of the US and its deliberation on direct military involvement, is actually a strategic process by planners in Washington and Tel Aviv to covertly engage in an open-ended proxy war - certainly the case across the Middle East today. Media coverage regarding Israel is being kept mostly in the dark, which is nothing unusual considering the protocol for US media regarding any of its illicit activities or regular breaches of international law, but now it’s gapingly obvious that Israel is playing a central role in this theater. This was even more evident when you consider the recent Israeli air strikes on Syria last week, which appeared to provide air cover for the masked Islamic State in Iraq radical terrorists. I noted in my first report about this crisis that for the first time, an SCF Altai tanker delivered a large amount of Kurdish oil to Israel on June 20th, this would link ISIS as a partial Israeli creation, if the Kurdish oil is coming over from terror controlled oil field’s in Iraq. An Israeli energy ministry declined to disclose a comment on the crude oil deal with the Kurdish Regional Government. It should be stated that Iraq has boycotted Israel and has no official oil contract with them. The Kurdish region has also made its first oil shipment to the international market bypassing the central Maliki government in Baghdad. One wonders how much of this oil is being shipped to Israel?

Sanction-Drunk West Forgets to Target ISIS Sponsors
21.09.2014 Author: Ulson Gunnar
journal-neo.org/2014/09/21/sanction-drunk-west-forgets-to-target-isis-sponsors/

As the US and Europe prepare another round of sanctions against Russia over the ongoing Ukrainian conflict, the third round of such sanctions since the conflict began shortly after the Euromaidan unrest resulted in the installation of a NATO-backed regime in Kiev, a curious and inexplicable oversight appears to have been made. While wild accusations have been leveled against Russia over its involvement over the violence in Ukraine, claims ranging from covert support up to and including unsubstantiated claims of a “full scale invasion,” prominent media organizations across the Western World have for years reported a flow of cash, weapons, equipment and fighters from America’s allies in the Persian Gulf as well as from nations like NATO member Turkey, and into the conflict raging within Syria’s borders.
While baseless claims leveled against Russia have served as ample justification for the West to continue leveling sanctions against Moscow, no sanctions have as of yet been leveled against the overt sponsors of militancy and, in fact, terrorism in Syria. So widespread has state-sponsored terrorism become in the Middle East that what began as a limited proxy war against Syria has transformed into an immense regional army with tens of thousands of paid soldiers requiring millions of dollars a day to operate across multiple borders and confounding the forces of Iraq, Syria, and Lebanon combined.
ISIS is State-Sponsored, So Why Aren’t These States Being Sanctioned?
Clearly, the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria also known as ISIS or ISIL, are the benefactors of vast state-sponsorship and yet the West has not identified nor condemned these sponsors, let alone move toward leveling sanctions similar to what it is seeking to impose upon Moscow. News articles by prominent British and American news outlets like the Daily Beast’s “America’s Allies Are Funding ISIS,” the London Telegraph’s “How Isil is funded, trained and operating in Iraq and Syria,” and the Daily Mail’s “Cameron tells European leaders to ‘be good to their word’ and stop funding ISIS with ransom payments,” give explanations ranging from outright admissions that Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Jordan, and Turkey are directly arming, funding, aiding and abetting ISIS, to descriptions that read like an immense money laundering operation, to ridiculous claims including “ransom payments” and “robbed banks” have been behind ISIS’ regional rise to menace.
At one point in the Daily Beast’s article it claims, “the U.S. has made the case as strongly as they can to regional countries, including Kuwait. But ultimately when you take a hands off, leading from behind approach to things, people don’t take you seriously and they take matters into their own hands.” If ever there was a case to use sanctions to be “taken seriously,” it would appear to be in this case, yet sure enough, no sanctions appear to be on the table.
Systematic Hypocrisy Undermines Legitimacy
American and European hypocrisy so stark undermines the legitimacy of both their governments and institutions as well as their agenda domestically and abroad. Condemning and leveling sanctions against Russia for allegedly doing in Ukraine what the West is openly doing in Syria and Iraq with its own immense proxy army leaves the global audience to decide between Russia managing a crisis on its borders and a West meddling thousands of miles from its borders. Beyond sanctions, the West’s presence across the Middle East has had a negative impact on public perception both across the region and back home. This is owed to a larger pattern of hypocrisy, deceit, and meddling that has been done under various pretenses but for obvious self-serving interests.
What West’s Missing Sanctions Tell Us About Its “War” on ISIS
Versus Russia, the United States and Europe have used every means at their disposal to support their regime of choice in Ukraine as well as undermine both eastern Ukrainians and Russia who has emerged as their champion upon the international stage. From multiple rounds of sanctions, to threats of direct military force, and an overall strategy of geopolitical and military encirclement of Russian territory has been pursued to exact from Moscow concessions regarding Western designs in Ukraine. Why hasn’t a similar full-spectrum commitment been used to render from Persian Gulf monarchies the same desired capitulation to Western desires in the Middle East and more specifically, in regards to ISIS? The answer is simple, the West does not desire an end to the massive state-sponsorship of ISIS via its own allies, namely Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Turkey, Jordan, and others. It appears instead that the West and its partners are pursuing a dual-track strategy of inflaming the region with barbarism and violence so appalling, global public opinion will desperately beg for military intervention by the United States and its allies it has been so far utterly unsuccessful selling to the public under any other pretense.
The lack of biting sanctions against state-sponsors of terrorism aiding and abetting ISIS in both Iraq and Syria is an indictment of the West’s lack of sincerity in its “war” on ISIS. Short of a signed confession, no other indicator could be more telling of yet another war being sold within a pack of lies than a West eager to sanction every nation on Earth to the point of isolating itself to exact global obedience, but absent of sanctions amid overt support for terrorists it believes are so dangerous it must militarily intervene in Iraq and Syria.
Ulson Gunnar, a New York-based geopolitical analyst and writer especially for the online magazine “New Eastern Outlook”.

EU Ambassador to Iraq Admits: We're Funding ISIS by Buying Their Oil
by Oliver Lane 5 Sep 2014
www.breitbart.com/Breitbart-London/2014/09/05/EU-Buys-ISIS-Oil-Ambassador

European countries are unwittingly funding the ISIS terror campaign by buying oil from Islamic State controlled oil fields, claims a top EU official. The European Ambassador to Iraq has chastised Iran, Kurdistan and Turkey for allowing themselves to be used to facilitate the export of oil produced by the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Syria and Iraq, which nets them over $3 million a day in revenue.
Jana Hybášková, the former Czech Member of European Parliament and now ambassador to the war-torn country was addressing the committee on foreign affairs when she criticized European nations of inadvertently aiding ISIS. On the uncoordinated patchwork efforts to aid anti-ISIS fighters in the country so far, she said: "the EU countries that provided arms to the Peshmerga forces to support their fight against the Islamic State did not coordinate amongst each other… there are no guarantees until now to confirm or deny that the Islamic State or Kurdish terrorist organizations have not seized those weapons".
Turkish news agency Anadolu also reported her words on the oil trade that brings millions of dollars a year to ISIS, by criticizing Iran, Kurdistan and Turkey for being routes out of Iraq for Europe-bound oil tankers going by road. Other members of the committee, clearly concerned by her accusations pressed her for more details and which nations in Europe were engaging in the trade, but she would give no more detail. Laying the blame solely at the door of nations outside of the EU, Hybášková demanded the Union "exert pressure on Iran, Kurdistan and Turkey in order to stop this trade". This is not the first time Turkey has been accused to turning a blind eye to the political situation in Iraq for financial gain. So far the European External Action Service, the EU branch which administers the Union's diplomats, has declined to comment.
In response to a claim that Turkey had a $100 billion interest in continuing oil trade with Iraq, even if that meant shipping ISIS product, the Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yıldızs said on Monday "Such claims are being uttered just to create controversy about Turkey's policies. However, even before the UN's decision, Turkey has not purchased oil from ISIS or al-Nusra".
Stating Turkey wanted to steer clear of the political situation, Yidizs said: "We do not want to get involved in the legal relation between Bagdad and Erbil [The Kurdish Capital]", however he qualified this by saying Turkey 'will never aid and abet any kind of terrorist organization or activity'. Some estimates put ISIS oil production at 80,000 barrels a day, which is shifted by a fleet of 210 trucks and is worth some $3.2 million. According to a CNN report, this network of oil smugglers is well established and stretches back as far as the 1990’s UN sanctions on Saddam Hussein.

Jailed Indonesian terrorist Abu Bakar Bashir has been funding ISIS: Anti-terrorism chief
Published on Jul 15, 2014 12:19 PM
www.straitstimes.com/news/asia/south-east-asia/story/jailed-indonesian-terorrist-abu-bakar-bashir-has-been-funding-isis-a

Although Abu Bakar Bashir, the jailed spiritual leader of South-east Asia's terrorist network, only recently voiced his support for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), his network is already financing and fighting for the group. -- PHOTO: AFP
JAKARTA (JAKARTA POST/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Although Abu Bakar Bashir, the jailed spiritual leader of South-east Asia's terrorist network, only recently voiced his support for the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), his network is already financing and fighting for the group. National Counterterrorism Agency (BNPT) head Ansyaad Mbai told The Jakarta Post on Monday that Bashir had been actively helping ISIS for the past couple of months. ISIS is also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL).
"Bashir claimed he had not pledged the ba'iat (oath of allegiance) to ISIL leader (Abu Bakar al-Baghdadi). That's just a ruse. In reality, he and his network are involved in seeking donations and recruiting fighters for ISIL," said Ansyaad. "We have prevented many of Bashir's followers from leaving the country to join ISIL. From questioning them, we have uncovered the scale of his involvement."
The BNPT has estimated at least 30 Indonesians are involved in the jihadist movement in Iraq under ISIS and in Syria with Jabhat al-Nusra (JN), a prominent Salafi jihadist organisation with links to Al-Qaeda. Ansyaad said Bashir's declaration of support for ISIS would motivate hardliners to raise more money and join the fray. The support would also help unite extremist groups to fight under the banner of an Islamic state, or caliphate, according to Ansyaad.
ISIS proclaimed a "Caliphate of the State of Islam" with territory stretching from northern Syria to the Iraqi province of Diyala. "All groups originating from JI (Jamaah Islamiyah), Jamaah Ansharut Tauhid (JAT), Majelis Mujahidin Indonesia (MMI) and the Islamic State of Indonesia (NII) are sympathisers of ISIL as they have the same ambition," said Ansyaad.
Bashir, a former leader of JI who founded JAT, declared his support of ISIS in front of high-ranking JAT leaders and his family last week in the maximum-security Pasir Putih Penitentiary on Nusakambangan Island near Cilacap, Central Java. Bashir is serving a 15-year prison sentence for terrorist offenses.
JAT chairman Mochammad Achwan said that although Bashir had voiced his support, he had yet to pledge the ba'iat to ISIS's leader due to JAT's ties with JN. "There seems to be discord between JN and ISIL. That's why we've chosen to refrain from declaring the ba'iat, but our position is clear. We support the formation of a caliphate and the territorial control established by ISIL has (helped the movement) gain traction," said Achwan. Albeit sharing the same ambition of reviving the Islamic caliphate that ruled the Middle East and beyond over the course of Islam's 1,400-year history, JN and ISIS are largely in dispute over how to attain the dream.
National Police spokesman Brig. Gen. Boy Rafli Amar said that the police would only act against ISIS supporters if they were a threat to national security. "We will closely monitor individuals participating in the ISIL movement, and will assess whether or not they will pose threats when they return," he said.
The BNPT's deputy for international cooperation, Harry Purwanto, meanwhile, warned of the possibility that Indonesians fighting alongside Palestinians in Gaza would also be lured into joining ISIS. "The situation in Gaza has ignited the fighting spirit in some Indonesians. Later on, certain parties may persuade them to go to Iraq," he said.

[Deleted]

DHS Insider – Terrorist Self-Infect with Ebola
Posted on October 1, 2014 by onpoint
www.onpointpreparedness.net/dhs-insider-terrorist-self-infect-with-ebola/

A friend of mine recently attended a local conference with speaker Perry Stone. One of the most interesting topics was the use of Ebola as a weapon by terrorists. When we think of weaponized Ebola, we think of some high-tec way of distributing the virus in the air or water supply. For a terrorist willing to sacrifice their own life, the deployment is much more simple.

Perry stone told the conference attendees that he has three sources at high levels within the government: two within DHS and one within the CDC. All have confirmed that there is chatter of suspected terrorists inflicting themselves with the Ebola virus and then traveling to the US to infect others. Again, this information is anecdotal and twice removed from the so-called “sources”. However, when logically thinking about how terrorists operate, it’s a frightening reality.

Let’s review some facts:

There are 250 million Muslims in sub-Saharan Africa. That is 1/5 of the entire world’s population of Muslims.

AND radical Islam is spreading quickly throughout those countries. In fact, Nigeria with 60 million Muslims has already adopted Sharia law throughout many of its northern states. What this means is that we have a very large population of Muslims who will continue the trend of radicalization and hatred towards the western world.
Ebola is spreading rapidly throughout many of the sub-Saharan countries

ebola pandemic Ebola IS NOT contained. In fact, air travel is still relatively unrestricted in the “HOT” countries.

Take Ebola patient zero in the US. He traveled freely from Liberia to the US. Since the incubation period of the virus is up to 21 days, people can appear healthy and board planes in these countries.
And last but not least – Terrorists are willing to give up their own lives to kill others in the name of Allah

To a normal person, the thought of self-infliction with Ebola sounds mad. However, for a terrorist, it means glory in the name of Allah.

So let’s put this threat together and see if it’s credible:

We have several Muslim dense countries within Africa, and radical Islam is spreading quickly through the region.
It just so happens that many of these countries are out of control with Ebola infections.
Many unconfirmed terrorists have VISAs which allow them to travel freely from these countries into the US, and there is little restrictions in these countries in terms of inbound and outbound flights.
Terrorists are willing to kill themselves in the name of Jihad.

It seems VERY credible to me that a terrorist would self-infect themselves by finding individuals infected with ebola, thereby weaponizing themselves. So long as they are not on the terrorist watch list, they can board a plane and make their way to the US. From there, they can wait until they get symptoms and start purposefully infecting others in highly populated areas. Why would they want to put themselves through that agony though? Well, perhaps some can deal with the pain until death, but perhaps some of them will commit suicide when the symptoms become unbearable or they are no longer mobile.

Will this threat really manifest? With Black Friday shopping and the Christmas season coming up, it seems very easy to find densely populated areas to infect. However, any major city can be a target at any point in time.

[Deleted]

Current life in Raqqa under the fearful dictatorship of ISIS/ISIL/DAESH.
The first video is a short version with subtitles in English of the second video which is a full version in French of a Syrian woman visiting Raqqa city with a hidden camera.

[Deleted]

Prologue: Detailing how long the coalition will remain in Iraq is a double sword, tantamount to let ISIS know HOW LONG they can go ahead and strenghen their military and exploit the oil in the region!

www.nytimes.com/2014/09/08/world/middleeast/destroying-isis-may-take-3-years-white-house-says.html?hp&action=click&pgtype=Homepage&version=LedeSum&module=first-column-region®ion=top-news&WT.nav=top-news&_r=2&assetType=nyt_now

[Deleted]

FBI Looking for ‘North-American Accented’ Man from ISIS Video
By Murtaza Hussain@mazmhussain
firstlook.org/theintercept/2014/10/08/fbi-looking-north-american-accented-man-isis-video/

Several weeks ago, The Intercept published a story on an English-speaking Islamic State fighter featured in one of the group’s propaganda videos. Now, the FBI is looking for him. In a statement taken from an agency press release: “In the video, a man whose face is obscured by a mask alternates seamlessly between English and Arabic in pro-ISIL pronouncements intended to appeal to a Western audience. Dressed in desert camouflage and wearing a shoulder holster, the masked man can be seen standing in front of purported prisoners as they dig their own graves and then later presiding over their executions. We’re hoping that someone might recognize this individual and provide us with key pieces of information…No piece of information is too small.”

The individual in question first came to attention when the Islamic State, also known as ISIS and ISIL, released its latest feature-length film entitled “Flames of War”. He can be observed in several scenes speaking in fluent English, narrating details of recent ISIS operations to the camera. A linguistics professor contacted by The Intercept suggested that his accent indicated a likely origin somewhere in the region of Minnesota, North Dakota, or Canada. The FBI release seems to take a similar position, positing that the man has a “North American accent.”

The FBI also said that “about a dozen” Americans are known to be fighting in Syria with ISIS. When you add in fighters in Iraq and Canadians, perhaps dozens of North Americans are believed to have left to join conflicts in Iraq and Syria. But the identity and national origin of this individual remain unknown, and it remains unconfirmed whether he spent a protracted period in Canada or the northern U.S. as a preliminary analysis of his accent seemed to indicate. Although he does not appear to make specific threats against Western countries, judging by his actions in this film alone it’s clear that the wanted individual committed war crimes. In one scene he can be seen taking part in the execution of several captive Syrian Army soldiers, while promising more conflict ahead.

The issue of foreign fighters is one that is the subject of fierce debate today. As recently discussed in this publication there is reason to believe the actual threat posed by such individuals is overstated. Nonetheless, the participation of this man in a propaganda film calibrated to attract Western recruits has now put him in the crosshairs of Western intelligence and law enforcement agencies. Although we don’t know who he is today, we may soon find out.

[Deleted]

Khorasan terrorists will attack US 'very, very soon,' FBI director warns
Published time: October 06, 2014 13:26 - Edited time: October 08, 2014 05:48
Reuters / Ahmed Jadallah

The Khorasan Group, the Al-Qaeda-linked cell that just landed on the US intelligence radar last month, allegedly has Americans in its ranks fighting in the Middle East whom the FBI cannot prevent from re-entering the country.

Last month, the world was introduced to yet another terrorist group – the Khorasan Group – a veteran group of Al-Qaeda-affiliated radicals purportedly running amok in the Middle East, which the head of the FBI says is “bent on destruction” – and most specifically in the United States.
“Khorasan was working and you know, may still be working on an effort to attack the United States or our allies, and looking to do it very, very soon,” James Comey said in an interview with 60 Minutes, a CBS news program.

The FBI chief, who has kept a low profile since becoming head of the internal intelligence agency last year, refused to put a time stamp on when an attack would occur.
“I can't sit here and tell you whether it's their plan is tomorrow or three weeks or three months from now,” he said. “Given our visibility we know they're serious people, bent on destruction. And so we have to act as if it's coming tomorrow.”

Perhaps most shocking, Comey revealed that there are about “a dozen or so” American citizens fighting in Syria on the side of Islamic fundamentalist groups. Moreover, the government knows the identity of the individuals who, as American passport holders, are free to reenter the United States.
“Ultimately, an American citizen, unless their passport's revoked, is entitled to come back. So, someone who's fought with ISIL, with American passport wants to come back, we will track them very carefully,” he said.

Comey admitted that he knew the identity of the Americans fighting alongside radical groups in the Middle East, while suggesting there could be others he is unaware of added, “I hesitate only because I don't know what I don't know.”

For many Americans, such revelations may sound incredible for a group that nobody had heard of before the United States starting bombing northern Syria last month.
While all of the media chatter prior to the September 22 aerial attacks in northern Syria focused on eliminating the Islamic State (IS formerly ISIS/ISIL), the US Department of Defense announced the next day that it is attacking other groups in Syria as well.

“Separately, the United States has also taken action to disrupt the imminent attack plotting against the United States and Western interests conducted by a network of seasoned Al-Qaeda veterans - sometimes referred to as the Khorasan Group - who have established a safe haven in Syria to develop external attacks, construct and test improvised explosive devices and recruit Westerners to conduct operations,” the statement said.

Journalist Glenn Greenwald argued that the Obama administration, lacking justification for a bombing campaign in Syria, was forced to invent the group.
Obama administration officials “suddenly began sthingy-feeding their favorite media organizations and national security journalists tales of a secret group that was even scarier and more threatening than ISIS, one that posed a direct and immediate threat to the American Homeland,” Greenwald wrote in the Intercept.

The Khorasan Group suddenly appeared on the scene on September 13, as first detailed by Associated Press and anonymous US sources:
“While the Islamic State is getting the most attention now, another band of extremists [Khorasan] in Syria — a mix of hardened jihadis from Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Europe — poses a more direct and imminent threat to the United States, working with Yemeni bomb-makers to target US aviation, American officials say.”

What is the ultimate purpose of this shadowy group?

According to the AP report, the Khorasan militants did not travel to Syria to fight the government of President Bashar Assad, but rather “they were sent by Al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri to recruit Europeans and Americans whose passports allow them to board a US-bound airliner with less scrutiny from security officials.”
That is a threat the FBI chief, considering the destruction that terrorists wrought on the United States on September 11, 2001, will certainly be taking very seriously.

[Penny]

As events are unfolging in Ottawa, Canada, here is a look at what is going on in Germany, EU - see link below for additional info.

Germany: Holy War Erupts in Hamburg

PARTS of downtown Hamburg, the second-largest city in Germany, resembled a war zone after hundreds of supporters of ISIS engaged in bloody street clashes with ethnic Kurds.

T he violence—which police say was as ferocious as anything seen in Germany in recent memory—is fuelling a sense of foreboding about the spillover effects of the fighting in Syria and Iraq.

Some analysts believe that rival Muslim groups in Germany are deliberately exploiting the ethnic and religious tensions in the Middle East to stir up trouble on the streets of Europe.

The unrest began on the evening of October 7, when around 400 Kurds gathered outside the Al-Nour mosque near the central train station in Hamburg’s St. George district to protest against IS attacks on the Syrian Kurdish town of Kobani.

According to police, the initially peaceful protest turned violent when the Kurds were confronted by a rival group of around 400 Salafists armed with baseball bats, brass knuckles, knives, machetes and metal rods used to hold meat in kebab restaurants.

In the melee that followed, more than a dozen people were injured, including one person who nearly had his leg chopped off by someone wielding a machete, and another person who was stabbed in the stomach with a kebab rod.

Some 1,300 police officers, brandishing batons and accompanied by water cannons, were deployed to halt the clashes, which lasted into the early morning hours of October 8. In the final tally, hundreds of weapons were seized and 22 people were arrested.

“I had the feeling that we are living in Hamburgistan,” the imam of the Al-Nour mosque, Daniel Abdin, told the German newsmagazine Der Spiegel. “The atmosphere was very, very explosive.”

Police said they were shocked by what they described as an unprecedented level of violence.

In an interview with the newspaper Passau Neue Presse, the chairman of the German Police Union, Rainer Wendt, reported that police in Hamburg “experienced life-threatening brute force” by perpetrators who were armed “to the teeth.” Wendt warned that the IS-Kurdish conflict is “threatening to unleash a proxy war on German soil.”

A police official in Hamburg, Gerhard Kirsch, said the level of the violence points to a new “dangerous dimension” that “we have so far not seen at other demonstrations.”

The chairman of the German Police Union in Hamburg, Joachim Lenders, described the viciousness as unprecedented. “The violence in the early hours of Wednesday was of a ruthless and inhuman brutality as I have rarely experienced,” he said, adding that without the timely deployment of the police there would almost certainly have been fatalities. Lenders added:

“If in the middle of Hamburg 800 hostile people are fighting each other with machetes, knives and iron rods, there must be consequences for the perpetrators. Politically motivated extremists and religious fanatics have brought a conflict to Hamburg that cannot be solved here.”

On the same day of the unrest in Hamburg, dozens of mostly Chechen Muslim immigrants clashed with Kurdish Yazidis—a non-Arab and non-Muslim minority that has been persecuted by IS—in Celle, a town in Lower Saxony that is home to more than 7,000 Yazidis. Police said the violence, in which nine people were injured, was fuelled via social media after radical Muslim preachers sent out a call to Islamists to confront the Yazidis.

The conflict in Celle was reminiscent of—but far more violent than—the Muslim-Yazidi clashes that occurred in the eastern Westphalian town of Herford in August.

“Solidarity with Kobani” demonstrations have also taken place in Munich—where protestors waving large Kurdish flags occupied the offices of the Christian Social Union [CSU], the Bavaria-based sister party to Germany’s ruling Christian Democratic Union party [CDU]—as well as in the western German cities of Berlin, Bremen, Göttingen, Hamm, Hannover, Kiel, Oldenburg and Stuttgart.

Germany is home to an estimated 4.3 million Muslims, one million Kurds and 60,000 Yazidis. According to the 2013 annual report (published in June 2014) of the German domestic intelligence agency, the Bundesamt für Verfassungsschutz [BfV], Germany is also home to 30 active Islamist groups and 43,000 Islamists, including 950 members of the Lebanese terrorist group Hezbollah, 1,300 members of the Muslim Brotherhood and 5,500 Salafists.

Salafism is a radically anti-Western ideology that openly seeks to replace democracy in Germany (and in other parts of the West) with an Islamic government based on Sharia law.

Although Salafists make up only a fraction of the Muslims in Germany, authorities are increasingly concerned that many of those attracted to Salafi ideology are impressionable young Muslims who are susceptible to perpetrating terrorist acts in the name of Islam.

German authorities have faced criticism for being overly complacent concerning the rise of Salafism in the country. On October 2, for example, the German public broadcaster ARD revealed that German officials have for many years pursued a secret policy of encouraging German Islamists to travel abroad rather than to invest in counter-radicalization efforts. According to ARD, the general idea was that if German jihadists were intent on committing terrorist acts, it would be better that they do so somewhere else than inside Germany.

The overall aim was to “protect our population” by exporting the problem, the head of counter-terrorism for Bavarian Police, Ludwig Schierghofer, told ARD. The reasoning was “to bring those persons who pose a risk that they will commit terrorist attacks outside of the country,” he said. “If someone had become radicalized and wanted to leave, then the policy was to allow them to leave or even accelerate their departure by various means.”

An estimated 450 German Muslims have traveled to Syria and Iraq, and at least 100 are now believed to have returned to Germany.

Meanwhile, a growing number of German politicians are receiving death threats from German Salafists.

One such politician, Tobias Huch of the (classical liberal) Free Democratic Party [FDP], has been repeatedly threatened with beheading as the price to pay for leading a fundraising campaign to provide food and water for Kurds in northern Iraq.

“I am not afraid, but I have become more careful,” says Huch, who now receives police protection. He says he has altered his daily comings and goings in order to be less predictable. Among other lifestyle changes, he has cut out regular visits to restaurants, pubs and other public venues.

Another politician, Ismail Tipi of the ruling CDU, is paying the price for criticizing the rise of Salafism in Germany. “I receive threats almost every day,” Tipi says. “The death threats against me have no limits. The Salafists want to behead me, shoot me, stone me, execute me and they have many other death wishes for me.”

According to CDU official Wolfgang Bosbach, politicians who receive death threats should not allow themselves to be intimidated. “Under no circumstances should they give in and change their stance, otherwise the extremists will have achieved their objectives.”

The head of the FDP, Christian Lindner agrees. “It is unacceptable for Liberals to allow religious extremists to take an ax to the central values of our constitution. We will not give in to threats and intimidation, rather we will demand the determined reaction of the rule of law.”

By contrast, the Vice President of the German Parliament, Claudia Roth of the Green Party, believes the growing radicalization of Muslims in Germany points to problems in German society. In an interview with the newspaper Die Welt, Roth said:

“The violent clashes between Kurdish and Islamist groups in German cities and on German streets refer more to internal German problems than the situation in northern Syria and northern Iraq.

“As a society we must ask ourselves: how can it be that people who live in Germany and in large part are born and raised here, are supporters of a brutal, inhuman and fundamentalist terror group such as the IS and attack peaceful protestors with knives, sticks and machetes. Here in Germany, the IS threatens to become a refuge for frustrated young people who lack future prospects.”

While politicians debate causes and solutions to the problem of radical Islam, police throughout Germany remain on alert for more violence.

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