Day: January 12, 2015

ISIS Coalition SITREP #63

Good day.

Today will be another slow day……a family member had an heart attack and I will be back and forth to the hospital……sorry for the lack of info for you guys………

Item 1–US troops in Anbar are increasingly coming under fire from ISIS…..

Though the Pentagon has denied previous reports that US ground troops in the Anbar Province had engaged in any combat with ISIS, they today conceded that those 320 troops at the Ayn al-Asad airbase are under fire from ISIS on a “regular basis.”

So far, they are only facing indirect mortar fire from ISIS fighters in the region, but with reports of ISIS expanding closer to the base, that may get more and more dangerous.

Item 2–ISIS and its rival for prominence AQ are having a heated war of words…..

Al-Shamali’s salvo, which is perhaps unprecedented in its detail and airing of dirty laundry, is the latest in the public war of words between al-Qaeda and IS that has been taking place for much of the past year. One pro-al-Qaeda commentator speculates that the article could lay the groundwork for takfir (excommunication) of al-Qaeda’s central leadership by IS.

Perhaps the intel people could find a use for this info….just a thought.

Item 3–Training has begun for the rebels ti fight ISIS….but as usual there is a problem….

Turkey has been adamant that any force deployed in Syria must have as a goal defeating the Assad government, but the Obama administration has insisted it is interested only in battling the Islamic State. There is no need to define the ultimate target now, the Turkish official said, because rebel forces already are fighting a two-front war, against both the Syrian government and the Islamic State.

Does anyone else see a problem in this?
Item 4–It appears as Iran is getting unsolicited accolades…..
The scope of Iranian involvement in the Iraqi war with ISIS is never really apparent, but Badr Brigade leader and Iraqi MP Hadi Ameri today made clear that he believes Iranian involvement “saved” Baghdad, and indeed Iraq in general.

“If it were not for the cooperation of the Islamic Republic of Iran and General Suleimani, we would not today have a government headed by Hayder Abadi in Baghdad,” Ameri insisted, “it would not have existed.”

Gen. Suleimani, the head of Iran’s powerful Quds Force, has been in Iraq advising them militarily for months to the chagrin of western officials who have claimed Iraq is violating UN sanctions by allowing Suleimani to travel there.

Situation needs watching…..and closely.

Item 5–It is possible that the Sunni tribes are starting a campaign of terror of their own…….

One day after a top leader of ISIS’ religious police turned up beheaded in Mayadeen in the Deir Ezzor Province of Syria, reports now say that a number of the Hisbah police force have also been kidnapped by parties unknown.

The Hisbah police have been imposing harsh penalties on people for perceived religious violations, and have recently ramped up a campaign to crack down on public smoking.

That concludes today’s briefing……more to follow as available…….

Thanx for your time and attention……..

Turn The Page!

Destructive Western Middle East Policy Provides Fertile Ground for Islamic Radicals by Muhammad Sahimi — Antiwar.com

There has been much blamed assigned to the rise of Islamic extremism……fingers pointing in every direction……but Western countries are too blame for much of it because of ham-handed policies…..

Read this well written piece….whether you agree or not….somethings to think about before it gets too out of hand……

 

Destructive Western Middle East Policy Provides Fertile Ground for Islamic Radicals by Muhammad Sahimi — Antiwar.com.

A Story You Will Never Hear On FOX

With the end of the siege in and around Paris….there is a wealth of stories….a ton of speculation…..and a plethora of conjecture surrounding the people that committed all these horrendous crimes.  And as usual there are some (no names) that will report only the negative portions of the operation

One such story that is under-reported……

French media are praising a Muslim worker who apparently saved several people during the siege of a kosher grocery store in Paris yesterday, the Huffington Post reports. According to RTL and Le Parisien, Lassana Bathily ushered several customers into a freezer when terrorists seized the Hyper Cacher store. “I went down to the freezer, I opened the door, there were several people who went in with me,” says the 24-year-old from Mali in west Africa, the Telegraph reports. “I turned off the light and the freezer.” He told them to keep calm and went out through a freight elevator. Police apparently took him for a terrorist, keeping him cuffed for about 90 minutes, but he then helped police by describing the layout of the store.

This is a story that should be over-reported……it gives credence to the statement that NOT all Muslims are terrorist……but for that reason this will fly in the face of all the hatred that FOX has spewed.

Finally! A Great Idea From Obama!

The year ended on a bad note and began on a worse one……a heart attack by a family member just crapped all over the new year….all is well and hopefully the rest of the year will be a quiet one.

Education in this country sucks!  For one reason….a college education is too damn EXPENSIVE!

Finally an idea from the Obama White House that I can get behind……and there has not been too many that have peaked my interest……

President Obama wants the federal government to pay for two years of community college for eligible students. Obama laid out the broad strokes in a video and will cover more details during a speech tomorrow in Tennessee and in his State of the Union address on Jan. 20, reports USA Today. “Put simply, what I’d like to do is to see the first two years of community college free for anybody who’s willing to work for it,” he says. “It’s something we can accomplish, and it’s something that will train our workforce so that we can compete with anyone in the world.”

Students would need at least a C+ average to qualify, and they’d have to attend school at least half-time, reports Politico. The schools, meanwhile, would have to transfer credits to four-year colleges (more details are on the White House blog). If Congress goes along, the feds would cover three-quarters of the cost, while states would pick up the rest. The White House expects 9 million students would participate, and USA Today comes up with a cost of $34.2 billion per year.

Of course the GOP will have a stroke and begin to try to kill the idea by using the cost as a weapon……but my thought is….It is a lot damn cheaper than your useless wars.

My guess is that such a great idea will die a lingering death at the hands of the GOP controlled Congress….DC where good ideas go to die!

Charlie Hebdo and the Profiteers of Tragedy by Justin Raimondo — Antiwar.com

The horrendous attacks in France have given the world something to disagree on……some begin their conversation with accusations……while others begin with the statement on the need to isolate these people and not become bigoted……

One of the sad facts about the cowardly attacks is the there is one group that shall profit from them…..Military-Industrial Complex.

This is a good piece written about the attacks and the aftermath…..

 

Charlie Hebdo and the Profiteers of Tragedy by Justin Raimondo — Antiwar.com.