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The capture of Salah Abdeslam, thought to be the sole surviving planner of the Paris massacre, means that the media is focusing once again on the threat of terrorist attack by Islamic State. Questions are asked about why the most wanted man in Europe was able to elude the police for so long, even though he was living in his home district of Molenbeek in Brussels. Television and newspapers ask nervously about the chances of Isis carrying out another atrocity aimed at dominating the news agenda and showing that it is still in business.

The reporting of the events in Brussels is in keeping with that after the January (Charlie Hebdo) and November Paris attacks and the Tunisian beach killings by Isis last year. For several days there is blanket coverage by the media as it allocates time and space far beyond what is needed to relate developments. But then the focus shifts abruptly elsewhere and Isis becomes yesterday’s story, treated as if the movement has ceased to exist or at least lost its capacity to affect our lives.

It is not as if Isis has stopped killing people in large numbers since the slaughter in Paris on 13 November; it is, rather, that it is not doing so in Europe. I was in Baghdad on 28 February when two Isissuicide bombers on motorcycles blew themselves up in an outdoor mobile phone market in Sadr City, killing 73 people and injuring more than 100. On the same day, dozens of Isis fighters riding in pick-ups with heavy machine guns mounted in the back attacked army and police outposts in Abu Ghraib, site of the notorious prison on the western outskirts of Baghdad. There was an initial assault by at least four suicide bombers, one driving a vehicle packed with explosives into a barracks, and fighting went on for hours around a burning grain silo.

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Tomgram: Gregory Foster, A Case for Demilitarizing the Military

March 17, 2016

Tomgram: Gregory Foster, A Case for Demilitarizing the Military

General Lloyd Austin, the outgoing head of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM), recently testified before Congress, suggesting that Washington needed to up its troop levels in Iraq and Syria. Meanwhile, in his own congressional testimony, still-to-be-confirmed incoming CENTCOM chief General Joseph Votel, formerly head of U.S. Special Operations Command, seconded that recommendation and said he would reevaluate the American stance across the Greater Middle East with an eye, as the Guardian’s Spencer Ackerman put it, to launching “a more aggressive fight against the Islamic State.” In this light, both generals called for reviving a dismally failed $500 million program to train “moderate” Syrian rebels to support the U.S. fight against the Islamic State (IS). They both swear, of course, that they’ll do it differently this time, and what could possibly go wrong?

Meanwhile, General David Rodriguez, head of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), pressed by Senator John McCain in congressional testimony, called on the U.S. to “do more” to deal with IS supporters in Libya. And lo and behold, the New York Times reported that Secretary of Defense Ashton Carter had only recently presented an AFRICOM and Joint Special Operations Command plan to the president’s “top national security advisers.” They were evidently “surprised” to discover that it involved potentially wide-ranging air strikes against 30 to 40 IS targets across that country. Meanwhile, in Afghanistan — U.S. Special Operations units and regular troops having recently been rushed once again into embattled Helmand Province in the heartland of that country’s opium poppy trade — General Austen and others are calling for a reconsideration of future American drawdowns and possibly the dispatch of more troops to that country.

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Kick Turkey Out of NATO

March 7, 2016

Kick Turkey Out of NATO

There’s a Petition at Change.org to suspend Turkey’s membership in NATO.

Why kick Turkey out of NATO?

Because:

Turkey just shut down the largest Turkish newspaper using tear gas, water canons and brutality:

Turkey has destroyed free speech and freedom of the press

Turkey imprisons more journalists than any other country in the world

Journalists – such as Dutch reporter Frederike Geerdink or Vice News’ Mohammed Rasool – are regularly detained on spurious charges

Anyone who criticizes Turkey’s president is arrested

Twitter reports that the Turkish government makes more content removal requests than any other in the world

After reporters, local police and Turkish generals caught a weapons shipment from Turkey into Syria, they were all arrested on “treason” charges for exposing the shipment

Turkey’s president says he doesn’t have to follow the rulings of Turkey’s top court

Turkey is one of the main supporters of ISIS and Al Nusra

Turkey provided the chemical weapons used in the famous attacks which killed hundreds in Syria. Pulitzer-prize winning investigative reporter Seymour Hersh – who uncovered the Iraq prison torture scandal and the Mai Lai massacre in Vietnam – previously reported that high-level American sources tell him that the Turkish government carried out the chemical weapons attacks blamed on the Syrian government

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Anonymous claim Twitter is shutting down their accounts for harassing ISIS

March 6, 2016

Anonymous claim Twitter is shutting down their accounts for harassing ISIS

Online activists involved in the #OpISIS campaign to rid social media of an Islamic extremist presence say Twitter has been suspending their accounts for online harassment against the terrorist group.

An Anonymous hacker made the claims after Twitter said it suspended 125,000 accounts for “threatening or promoting terrorist acts, primarily related to ISIS” since mid-2015.

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Who Suspended 125,000 Twitter accounts? #OpISIS #Anonymous #GhostOfNoNation http://www.reuters.com/article/us-twitter-islamic-state-idUSKCN0VE2GM …

7:12 PM – 15 Feb 2016

“You do realize if we all stopped reporting terrorist accounts and graphic images, Twitter would be flooded with terrorists,” WauchulaGhost, an anti-terrorist hacker with Anonymous told The Epoch Times.

Hackers from groups such as Anonymous, GhostSec,and Ctrl Sec regularly publish lists of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL) supporters and recruiters, and call on the wider online community to report the related social media accounts for suspension.

However, the hacktivists say they are now the ones being targeted by Twitter, which recently strengthened its rules regarding online harassment.

A number of the hackers’ accounts have been suspended, including some of the main #OpISIS accounts, with the handles being taken down one-by-one or in groups.

Twitter has tended to reinstate the accounts within hours after it is bombarded with requests to do so by other hackers and supporters.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

U.S. Unable To Halt ISIS March Towards Libyan Oil

February 25, 2016

U.S. Unable To Halt ISIS March Towards Libyan Oil

The Islamic State (ISIS) is taking on recruits faster than anyone can keep up with, and it’s heading towards Libya’s oil crescent, eyeing billions of barrels that a country at war with itself cannot protect—even with U.S. air strikes.

In mid-December, the United Nations brokered a power-sharing agreement between Libya’s rival factions, but there is no chance of implementing this. That means there is no chance that the Libyan government can fight back the advance of ISIS. Things are about to get messy, and U.S. air strikes will put only a small dent in a big problem.

According to U.S. intelligence figures, there are an estimated 6,000 ISIS fighters now in Libya, headquartered in the town of Sirte, as Oilprice.com has reported in the past. From here, they control hundreds of miles of coastline. There is nothing in Sirte they want; this is simply a strategic base.

ISIS fighters have also been tracked down to Benghazi, but here they have not solidified control yet. Still, Benghazi is an important recruitment venue. More specifically, this is where it can combine forces with it radical brethren in the form of Ansar al-Sharia and other radical factions. Benghazi is where ISIS gets bigger. And its pace of recruitment is faster than anything we’ve ever seen before. It absorbs new radical factions wherever it goes. The more successful its attacks and territory grabs, the more successful its recruiting becomes. In Libya, the former prowess of Ansar al-Sharia has quickly waned. ISIS is more brutal, and more decisive. It’s either join or be killed.

ISIS’ ability to launch attacks is not limited to Sirte, which is just the staging ground, or even to Benghazi. It can attack pretty much anywhere using hit-and-runs and suicide bombings.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

‘OK, big brother’: Turkish military cooperate with ISIS on border, telephone calls reveal

February 23, 2016

‘OK, big brother’: Turkish military cooperate with ISIS on border, telephone calls reveal

Further proof of ties between the Turkish military and Islamic State fighters operating on the Syrian-Turkish border has been revealed in the Cumhuriyet newspaper, which published more transcripts of telephone calls between the jihadists and officers.

The documents are said to come from an ongoing court case on Islamic State at the Ankara 3rd High Criminal Court. The investigation was reportedly prompted after six Turkish citizens reported to police that their relatives had joined the terrorists. At least 19 people came under surveillance as a result and prosecutors then charged 27 individuals. The daily published the first batch in December.

The new transcripts published by the daily Monday are said to be conversations between Turkish officers and Mustafa Demir, a member of Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIL/ISIS) who is a leading figure on the Syrian-Turkish border.

“The transcripts and the documents in the investigation revealed that Demir received money… from smugglers at the border and cooperated with the officers as far as [border] crossings are concerned,”Cumhuriyet said.

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‘Don’t let people die’: Turkish TV show accused of ‘terrorist propaganda’, investigated http://on.rt.com/71md

5:35 PM – 12 Jan 2016

In the first transcript, translated into English by Today’s Zaman, Demir is talking to a Turkish military officer.

– […] where are you, big brother? At the place where I told you to be?

– Yeah. We also saw you, your men…

– Is it possible for you to arrange that I talk with the commander here, regarding the business here? What if we could establish a contact here as we helped you…

– Okay […] I’ll pass this now. I have two military posts there. If the worst comes to the worst, I’ll tell that to the commander of the station and have him take a look…

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Risking Nuclear War for Al Qaeda?

February 19, 2016

Risking Nuclear War for Al Qaeda?

Exclusive: The risk that the multi-sided Syrian war could spark World War III continues as Turkey, Saudi Arabia and U.S. neocons seek an invasion that could kill Russian troops — and possibly escalate the Syrian crisis into a nuclear showdown, amazingly to protect Al Qaeda terrorists, reports Robert Parry.

When President Barack Obama took questions from reporters on Tuesday, the one that needed to be asked – but wasn’t – was whether he had forbidden Turkey and Saudi Arabia to invade Syria, because on that question could hinge whether the ugly Syrian civil war could spin off into World War III and possibly a nuclear showdown.

If Turkey (with hundreds of thousands of troops massed near the Syrian border) and Saudi Arabia (with its sophisticated air force) follow through on threats and intervene militarily to save their rebel clients, who include Al Qaeda’s Nusra Front, from a powerful Russian-backed Syrian government offensive, then Russia will have to decide what to do to protect its 20,000 or so military personnel inside Syria.

President Barack Obama meets with Vice President Joe Biden and other advisers in the Oval Office on Feb. 2, 2016. [White House photo]

A source close to Russian President Vladimir Putin told me that the Russians have warned Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that Moscow is prepared to use tactical nuclear weapons if necessary to save their troops in the face of a Turkish-Saudi onslaught. Since Turkey is a member of NATO, any such conflict could quickly escalate into a full-scale nuclear confrontation.Given Erdogan’s megalomania or mental instability and the aggressiveness and inexperience of Saudi Prince Mohammad bin Salman (defense minister and son of King Salman), the only person who probably can stop a Turkish-Saudi invasion is President Obama.

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‘I Feel Like a Despised Insect’: Coming of Age Under Surveillance In New York

February 18, 2016

“I FEEL LIKE A DESPISED INSECT”: COMING OF AGE UNDER SURVEILLANCE IN NEW YORK

IN THE SPRING of last year, two New York women were arrested on charges of supporting ISIS, following a joint investigation by the New York Police Department along with federal agencies. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, Queens residents Noelle Velentzas and Asia Siddiqui “plotted to wreak terror by creating explosive devices.” Central to the disruption of this “terror plot,” authorities boasted, was the work of an undercover police detective, although no concrete plan was ever hatched. Indeed, as The Intercept reported, the unsealed criminal complaint reveals the undercover officer’s role in pushing the two women to turn their controversial political sentiments into something more dangerous. In this sense, the arrests were similar to a number of post-9/11 terrorism prosecutions, half of which have involved the use of informants or undercover agents, according to a 2014 report co-authored by Human Rights Watch, which raised concerns over “questionable” and “discriminatory” tactics.

At Brooklyn College, where I teach, news of the arrests prompted a chilling realization among students on campus. Years earlier, this same NYPD officer had come to Brooklyn College, “converted” to Islam, and spent the next four years infiltrating student life. In November, Gothamist broke the story: “Malike Ser” was the cop’s alias; she was known by the nickname “Mel.” There were no links between Mel’s years on campus and the investigation and arrest of Velentzas and Siddiqui (neither of whom went to Brooklyn College or any of the city’s public colleges) — a fact the NYPD has since acknowledged. What remains unclear is what, exactly, Mel was looking for on our campus.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Massive Explosion Reported In Turkish Capital, Military Dormitory Targeted

February 17, 2016

Massive Explosion Reported In Turkish Capital, Military Dormitory Targeted

With Turkey on the brink of going to war with Russia and, implicitly, Iran, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is looking for an excuse to invade Syria.

The rebels Turkey and Saudi Arabia back are staging what amounts to a last stand at Aleppo and the Kurdish YPG is moving to cut the Azaz corridor, which would effectively mean that Turkey has no way of resupplying the insurgency.

For the past five days, Ankara has been shelling the YPG in a futile attempt to stop their advance.

The only thing that can save the rebellion against Bashar al-Assad is an outright ground operation by the rebels’ Sunni benefactors, including Turkey.

All Erdogan needs is a pretext and he may have just gotten one as reports indicate there’s been a huge explosion in Ankara near parliament.

Early indications are that military barracks were targeted. A “large number of casulaties” are rumored. Expect this to be pinned on either ISIS or the PKK. If it’s the latter, Ankara will once again claim that the group is working in concert with the YPG and that will be all the evidence Erdogan needs to march across the border.

EXPLOSION REPORTED IN TURKISH CAPITAL ANKARA, AHABER SAYS
ANKARA EXPLOSION OCCURRED NEAR MILITARY RESIDENCES: OFFICIAL

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

How Far Will The U.S. Go If Turkey Invades Syria?

February 17, 2016

How Far Will The U.S. Go If Turkey Invades Syria?

The Government of Turkey has now put itself in a position whereby it must act rapidly and precipitously to avoid moving to an ultimately losing strategic position in the war against Syria, which could result in being forced back to fight a full-scale civil war to prevent the break-up of the State into at least two compo-nents, one being a new Kurdish state.

Turkey’s leadership, in insisting — in 2011-12 — on sponsoring a proxy war to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has already led to a refugee crisis of irreversible strategic damage to Europe, but Turkish Presisdent Reçep Tayyip Erdo?an, the Saudi Arabian military-political leadership, the U.S. Barack Obama administration, and the Qatari Emir now find themselves with nowhere to go except to escalate further in the hope that the Syrian revival, backed by Russia and Iran, will collapse.

Clear indications are emerging in Washington, DC, that the Pentagon is preparing to support a direct mili-tary invasion of Syria by Turkish Armed Forces, despite the Munich accord in the week ending February 13, 2016, which was meant to bring about a ceasefire in Syrian fighting. US officials have been actively en-gaged with those of Turkey and possibly Saudi Arabia in the preparations for ground force attacks on Kurd-ish military formations inside northern Syria, and U.S. Air Force Fairchild A-10 strike aircraft have deployed over northern Syrian territory in early February.

The planned intervention by Turkey (and possibly other powers, such as Saudi Arabia) is specifically not aimed at countering the activities of ISIS (asad-Dawlah al-Isl?m?yah f? al-‘Ir?q wash-Sh?m/Islamic State), but solely about countering the growing capability of Syrian- and Iraqi-based Kurdish fighters, and to offset the gains which Syrian Government forces, supported by Russian and Iranian/HizbAllah forces, made in and around Aleppo.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

After ISIS Is Defeated, What Next?

February 13, 2016

After ISIS Is Defeated, What Next?

A modest proposal for a new start by Canada the ‘honest broker.’

Trudeau-610

Could Trudeau ever find common ground between combatants in Syria? Photo by Chris Wattie, Reuters Media Express.

Drop, for a moment, the question of whether Prime Minister Justin Trudeau was right to stop the Canadian air war against the Islamic State and triple our training commitment to Iraqi, Kurdish, and Syrian opponents of ISIS. Never mind whether Defence Minister Harjit Sajjan thinks we’re involved in a war or just a “conflict.”

Let’s just imagine that we and the other enemies of ISIS have won. We’ve occupied Raqqa and Mosul, imprisoned Abu Bakr Al-Baghdadi and their fighters have deserted or surrendered.

What happens next?

If generals always want to fight the last war again (and do it right this time), governments always want a peace that will advance their own interests and be politically popular at home. Finding such a peace in the Middle East will be almost impossible.

At the end of World War One, almost exactly a century ago, the West defeated the Ottoman Empire. Its provinces, from the Mediterranean to the Persian Gulf, were at the mercy of the armies of Britain and France, whose governments had already secretly divided those provinces, with arbitrary new boundaries drawn by a disastrously clever woman named Gertrude Bell.

With few political institutions above the tribal level, the Arab world was unable to resist what the Western victors imposed, let alone establish self-governing states along the lines of U.S. President Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points for post-war peace. Self-government might apply to Europe, but not to regions still considered colonies by Europe’s victors.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Russian PM warns US, Saudis against starting ‘permanent war’ with ground intervention in Syria

February 12, 2016

Russian PM warns US, Saudis against starting ‘permanent war’ with ground intervention in Syria

Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev © Ekaterina Shtukina

Russian PM Dmitry Medvedev told German media that sending foreign troops into Syria could unleash “yet another war on Earth.” The warning follows increasingly aggressive statements made by Saudi Arabia and Turkey amid Bashar Assad’s gains in Aleppo.

TrendsIslamic State, Russian anti-terror op in Syria, Syria unrest

“All sides must be compelled to sit at the negotiating table, instead of unleashing yet another war on Earth,” Medvedev told Germany’s Handelsblatt newspaper. “Any kinds of land operations, as a rule, lead to a permanent war. Look at what’s happened in Afghanistan and a number of other countries. I am not even going to bring up poor Libya.”

The PM was commenting on recent statements from Saudi Arabia claiming that it was ready to send ground troops to Syria, should Washington lead the way.

Syria crisis plan: Cessation of hostilities, humanitarian airdrops, peace talks laid out in Munich

“The Americans and our Arab partners must think well: do they want a permanent war? Do they think they can really quickly win it? It is impossible, especially in the Arab world. Everyone is fighting against everyone there,” Medvedev added. The interview was published on the eve of the International Syria Support Group meeting in Munich, where the cessation of hostilities in Syria became a top item on the agenda.

Meanwhile, the situation in Syria has been heating up, as Syrian government troops have been making advances in the northern city of Aleppo, half of which is considered to be under the control of anti-government rebel groups. The same region has also been inundated with terrorist groups, such as Islamic State (IS, formerly ISIS/ISIL), Ahrar al-Sham, and Al-Nusra Front, which are all being targeted by Russian as well as US-led air campaigns.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Saudi war for Yemen oil pipeline is empowering al-Qaeda, IS

February 12, 2016

Saudi war for Yemen oil pipeline is empowering al-Qaeda, IS

Secret cable and Dutch government official confirm that Saudi Arabia’s war on Yemen is partly motivated by an ambitious US-backed pipeline fantasy

Nearly 3,000 civilians have been slaughtered and a million displaced in Saudi Arabia’s noble aerial bombardment of Yemen, which is backed by the United States and Britain.

Over 14 million Yemenis face food insecurity – a jump of 12 percent since June 2015. Out of these, three million children are malnourished. And across the country, an estimated 20 million people cannot safely access clean water.

The Saudi air force has systematically bombed Yemen’s civilian infrastructure in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. An official UN report to the Security Council leaked last month found that the Saudis have “conducted airstrikes targeting civilians and civilian objects … including camps for internally displaced persons and refugees; civilian gatherings, including weddings; civilian vehicles, including buses; civilian residential areas; medical facilities; schools; mosques; markets, factories and food storage warehouses; and other essential civilian infrastructure, such as the airport in Sanaa, the port in Hudaida and domestic transit routes.”

US-made cluster bombs have been dropped on residential areas – an act that even the UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon tepidly concedes “may amount to a war crime”.

In other words, Saudi Arabia is a rogue state. But make no mistake. This kingdom is our rogue state.

The US and British governments supplying Saudi Arabia with weapons to be unleashed on Yemeni civilians pretend they are not involved in the war, not responsible for the war crimes of our rogue state ally.

A UK Ministry of Defence spokesperson insisted that British forces were merely advising “on best practice targeting techniques … UK military personnel are not directly involved in Saudi-led coalition operations.”

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

Compare Mike Whitney’s Truthful Account Of Syria With The Disinformation Published By The Washington Post

February 12, 2016

Compare Mike Whitney’s Truthful Account Of Syria With The Disinformation Published By The Washington Post

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article44174.htm

vs.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-era-of-us-abdication-on-syria-must-end/2016/02/09/55226716-ce96-11e5-88cd-753e80cd29ad_story.html

There is no such thing as “the Syrian opposition.” The “opposition” consists almost entirely of the Washington-backed ISIS, which Washington sent to Syria to topple the government when Russia blocked the neoconized Obama regime from its plan to invade Syria. Washington, the presstitute media and various bought-and-paid-for “experts” pretend that ISIS is not really ISIS but a “democratic Syrian opposition.” Only an utter fool could believe this fantasy lie.

Turkey’s Revival of a Dirty ‘Deep State’

February 11, 2016

Turkey’s Revival of a Dirty ‘Deep State’

Exclusive: NATO keeps backing Turkey, one of its members, despite its aid to the Islamic State and other jihadists fighting Syria’s secular government — and even though Turkey’s erratic President Erdogan may be leading NATO into a risky showdown with Syria’s Russian allies, writes Jonathan Marshall.

Turkey’s embattled President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is resurrecting the “deep state” alliance of secret intelligence operatives and extreme rightists that he so notably challenged just a few years ago while putting hundreds of military officers and other opponents on trial for conspiring against Turkish democracy. In a remarkable about-face, Erdogan is now emulating the ruthless tactics of previous authoritarian rulers at the expense of Turkey’s evolution as a liberal state.

Like many of his secular predecessors, Erdogan has reverted to waging an all-out war against radical Kurdish separatists, the PKK. He is dramatically expanding the once discredited National Intelligence Agency, which in years past recruited Mafia criminals and right-wing terrorists to murder Kurdish leaders, left-wing activists and intellectuals. And he appears to be forging an alliance with ultranationalist members of the National Action Party (MHP), who supplied many of the ruthless killers for those murderous operations.

Turkish President Recep Erdogan.

These developments should alarm U.S. and European leaders. They are ominously anti-democratic trends in a country that once promised to meld the best of Western and Near Eastern traditions. They are also helping to drive Turkey’s secret alliances with Islamist extremists in Syria and its violent opposition to Kurdish groups that are leading the resistance to ISIS in that country.

Erdogan successfully cultivated a democratic image after his moderate Islamic party, the Justice and Development Party (AKP), gained a two-thirds parliamentary majority in the November 2002 elections. Then in 2008, with public support for his party sagging, Erdogan oversaw the mass indictment of more than 200 former military officers, academics, journalists, businessmen and other opponents of the AKP.

…click on the above link to read the rest of the article…

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