Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham - ISIS - GRAPHIC PG. 15

[American Patriot]

If this is the Inhofe I think it is, I met him. He's not prone to flights of fancy.

Plus, I checked with Counter Terrorism guys today. The ISIL people are supposed to be "bad-asses" of the Muslim world. They are thugs and terrorist, are very, very well funded, they get some of their money from unknown sources (we think foreign governments like Iran perhaps, or they have taken huge hoards of money from areas they capture, or even from the Russians). They are well trained.

Today some "shit" went back and forth between Americans and Muslims (ISIL probably) and they threatened Chicago. I've seen the reports about it, but they are vague and inconclusive. Probably a bunch of loud mouths (like me who are taunting the assholes).

If this is a false flag and Inhofe is in on it, then America is certainly no longer America. The rule of law is gone, and our forefathers would be screaming for us to pick up guns and take down the US government and fix things. While I certainly think the government is busted up pretty badly with all these fucking Marxists in there, I do NOT for one second believe Inhofe is involved in a false flag operation, whether emphasizing the possibilities or predicting the outcome of something. He's one of the most anti-Obama men in the Congress.

This is, of course, all assuming you and I both know the correct definition of a false flag op and I presume you do (I do).

Also, WND... while they are pretty accurate sometimes, aren't all the time. They also tend to embellish to some extent to make things appear meaner, darker and more foreboding than necessary.

On the other (third?) hand - they are being used as a source these days by several news agencies, Fox included now, so that gives them some bit more credence in my view.

What specifically makes you think "False Flag" MMCO?

By the way, read the previous article I posted by General Allen. You might remember him as a 4 star who got nuked out of the Maine Corps by Obama and his henchmen caught up in a "sex scandal". Ring any bells?

He was bamboozled out of the military on trumped up charges of misconduct because he was a hard core Marine who wanted to whip up on Afghanistan... but he is a good man.

[MinutemanCO]

Apologies. That statement was a bit too impetuous of me. Without adding up the variables, it seemed the perfect scenario for the current administration to push for a radical change at home through the use of a proxy force. I suppose it's possible for that to happen without Inhofe's knowledge. Unlikely, though. More than anything, I employed some of my own biases to a potential scenario without thinking it through.

[Avvakum]

Just debated a Moslem who says he's 'neutral' regarding IS. A Western Convert who's thrown his back on civilization to follow the False Prophet. Mark my word folks, they're coming, and we better be prepared. Islam is the religion of the Antichrist, and Allah is the Satan, and the Body of the Islamic Believers is the Beast. The mortal wound which was healed was the Caliphate, which was ended in 1922 and was restored in 2014.

I'm not going down without a fight, not because I fear for my life but because i'm a miserable sinner unworthy of being a Martyr-Confessor for Jesus Christ.

[vector7]

Al Qaeda Calls For Car Bombs In U.S. Cities

Al Qaeda is calling on terrorist affiliates to car bomb American cities.

March 19,2014 No Comments

(Fox Weekly) — The latest issue of Inspire magazine has called upon all terrorist affiliates of Al Qaeda, to detonate car bombs in major U.S. cities. The cities that were mentioned included: New York, Washington D.C., and Los Angeles.

This magazine is reportedly the same that issued a terrorist call which ended up being the Boston Marathon bombing from last year. The Inspire magazine’s goal is to ‘empower’ Muslim youth. Security measures for next month’s Boston Marathon race is expected to be raised even more now.

“Choosing the place and time is a crucial factor to success in any operation,” the magazine reads. “Choose targets in your own country. You know the enemy better, you are within … The important thing is that you target people and not buildings.”

“Disguise yourself during the operation, appear fat (add some clothes on you), change your complexion, be a ‘clone’, use any mask (believe me embarrassment is the last thing you will think about), wear a mask suitable for the festival, white beards on 25th Dec,” it reads. “All in all, be creative brother. The most important part to hide is your eyes and around.”

“My Muslim brother, before you start reading the instructions, remember that this type of operation, if prepared well and an appropriate target is chosen, and Allah decrees success for you, history will never forget it,” the magazine reads. “It will be recorded as a crushing defeat on the enemies of Islam.”



The magazine issue also contained specific detailed information and basic instructions on how to build a bomb. The bomb used in the Boston Marathon bombing was a pressure cooker which caused 280 injuries and 5 deaths. The suspected bombers were 2 individuals, one who was shot and killed and another who is in custody and was only 19 years old when the terrorist attack occurred.

Reported by Luis West

[vector7]

Secretary of Defense: ISIS Threat 'Imminent' FBI and DHS Warn Police To Be Alert Aug 23, 2014

Between Aug 18-21, 2014, AlertsUSA issued the following related Flash messages to subscriber mobile devices:

8/21 - Sec of Defense warns ISIS poses threats greater than 9/11: "This is way beyond anything we have seen" ... "an imminent threat to every interest we have." 8/18 - Islamic State (ISIS) releases new video message threatening terror attacks on U.S. if airstrikes in Iraq continue. "We will drown all of you in blood."

What You Need To Know

On multiple occasions this week AlertsUSA subscribers were notified via text messages to their mobile devices regarding the terror threats made to this country by ISIS, also known simply as the Islamic State, as well as warnings regarding the seriousness of the threat made by Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel. On Monday, following the resumption of airstrikes on Islamic State military positions, the organization posted a new internet video message warning the United States it will attack Americans "in any place" if the raids continue. The video, which was released by Reuters, shows a photograph of an American who was beheaded during the U.S. occupation of Iraq and also featured a statement which, in English, stated "we will drown all of you in blood". On Tuesday, the Islamic State released another video showing the gruesome beheading of U.S. journalist James Foley. Militants in the video also threatened to kill another captive American if President Obama doesn't end military operations in Iraq. It is believed there are 20 western journalists being held captive between Syria and Iraq. Amongst the list of demands made for Foley's safe return was the release of Afia Siddiqui, otherwise known as 'Lady al Qaeda.' An an M.I.T.-trained Pakistani neuroscientist, Siddiqui was on the FBI's Most Wanted list, arrested in Ghanzi, Afghanistan in 2008 and is serving 86 years in a Texas jail. At the time she was detained she had detailed plans on how to kill by spreading Ebola, plans for making a dirty bomb, documents detailing potential New York targets for attack as well as two pounds of deadly sodium cyanide hidden in her bag. Solidarity with AQAP On Wednesday, Al-Qaeda in Yemen, also known as al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), issued a public statement pledging ‘solidarity’ with the Islamic State, as well as offered ISIS fighters tips on how to avoid airstrikes.. “We announce solidarity with our Muslim brothers in Iraq against the crusade. Their blood and injuries are ours and we will surely support them. We stand by the side of our Muslim brothers in Iraq against the American and Iranian conspiracy and their agents of the apostate Gulf rulers.” Readers are reminded that al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula has been responsible for a number of attacks, both successful and unsuccessful, on the United States. These include the October, 2000 bombing of the USS Cole, the 2004 Khobar massacre, the 2009 Little Rock recruiting office shooting, the Christmas 2009 underwear bomber incident over Detroit, the November 2009 Fort Hood shooting and the 2010 cargo plane bomb plot. The U.S. considers AQAP the most active of the various al-Qaeda affiliates and in a word, this group has talent. Defense Chiefs Define Magnitude of the Threat On Thursday, Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel and the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey, issued the gravest warnings to date on the threat posed by the Islamic State to U.S. citizens and interests. According to Secretary of Defense Hagel: "They're beyond just a terrorist group. They marry ideology with a sophisticated strategic and tactical military prowess and they're tremendously well-funded. This is way beyond anything we have seen. We must prepare for everything. And the only way you do that is take a cold, steely eyed look it and get ready." According to Joint Chiefs Chairman General Martin Dempsey: “This is an organization that has an apocalyptic, end-of-days strategic vision and which will eventually have to be defeated.” When General Dempsey was asked if ISIS could be taken down without a military incursion into Syria, where much of the organization remains based, his response was blunt: “The answer is no. That will have to be addressed on both sides of what essentially, at this point, is a nonexistent border. ISIS Developing Means to ‘Blow Up’ a US City Late this week a ranking member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, Sen. James Inhofe, said the Islamic State is working on the capability to wipe out an entire city inside the United States. Quoting Sen. Inhofe: "The Islamic State is rapidly developing a method of blowing up a major U.S. city and people just can’t believe that’s happening.” The Department of Homeland Security and FBI issued a bulletin this week advising law enforcement to be alert and aware of the ISIS threat. We remind readers that these statements are not farfetched, particularly when considered in light of the near complete breakdown of security and deterrence along the U.S. Mexico border. If thousands of young Latino children can manage to cross trudge across Mexico and into the country, as is so widely reported by the mainstream media, it would also be a cakewalk for trained fighters and operatives to enter relatively unhindered. So as to highlight the ease with which one can do so, just weeks ago Investigative filmmaker James O’Keefe released a new video of himself crossing the Rio Grande river into Texas dressed as Osama Bin Laden. There was not a border agent in sight. At this point there should be no doubt that more war is coming. Despite Obama Administration promises there will be no U.S. boots on the ground, more than 1000 U.S. soldiers (Army, Marines, special operations forces) have already deployed to the country and more are on the way. Further, just as large military campaigns are preceded by what is referred to as "battlefield conditioning", similar efforts are also made to condition public opinion. From nonstop emotional coverage of the beheading of a journalist to increasingly tense warnings being made by elected officials, public opinion is proactively being shaped to minimize pushback and political fallout. As always, AlertsUSA continues to closely monitor developments in this region and will immediately notify service subscribers of the outbreak of larger armed conflict involving U.S. forces or changes in the overall domestic terrorism threat environment, as event warrant.

[vector7]

Ret USAF General Warns of Possible 9/11/14 Coming



Saturday on Fox News Channel's "America's News HQ," network military analyst Ret. Lt. Gen. Thomas McInerney told host Uma Pemmaraju that in oder to address the current threat ISIS posses, the Untied States should "go to DEFCON 1, our highest state of readiness and be prepared as we lead up to 9/11," because he warned "we may even see a 9/11/14."

McInerney referenced the missing Malaysia Airlines jet MH370 from earlier this year and said, "On the seventh of September, a major news network and publishing network are going to put out a book. It is going to be earth shattering of what's happening and what happened. The fact is we may even see a 9/11/14 MH-370 surface again. We should go to DEFCON 1, our highest state of readiness and be prepared as we lead up to 9/11."

Pemmaraju asked, "When you say a major news organization is coming forward with a publication, what are you referring to specifically? Can you allude to that, give us more details?

McInerney continued,"I can't give you any more than what I've just said. But it is going to be extremely important and America should take notice. We are less safe today than we were six years ago."

The general again confirmed America should raise the terror level threat at this point ahead of the anniversary of 9/11.


ISIS militants with US passports?


What in the world? Pieces of global opinion



Former state department official Andrew Doran worries the US homeland could be vulnerable to an ISIS attack

A review of the best commentary on and around the world...

Today's must-read

There is something particularly concerning about the "masked, sociopathic murderers" who fight for the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS), writes former state department official Andrew G Doran for the National Review.

Some of them, he says, are Western citizens who have travelled to Syria to fight President Bashar Assad's government - and have passports or other immigration paperwork that would allow them to return to their home countries whenever they want.

In fact, he says, citing the Daily Beast's Greg Sargent, perhaps a dozen are already in the US.
He continues:

These veterans of al-Qaeda and its affiliates constitute a fundamentally different threat than that which America faced in 2001: they are Western (at least in nationality); they are seasoned combat veterans; they are known, but perhaps too numerous to track.

Mr Doran writes that the Syrian revolution, in which the US has sided with those seeking to topple Mr Assad, has taken the focus away from the real enemy: al-Qaeda.

"If these Islamist veterans of the Syrian conflict succeed in pulling off a terrorist attack against the United States, the problem with America's policy in Syria will come into focus immediately," he says.

He says US idealism is to blame for our current Syrian policy.

"Unable or unwilling to distinguish between mere Machiavellian evil (Assad) and globally ambitious sociopaths (ISIS), America may have left itself vulnerable," he writes.

If the US government officials are smart, he concludes, they're currently scrambling to track down all the ISIS-affiliated individuals who may be returning to the US from the Middle East. "Let us hope those efforts are successful," he writes.

A number of US politicians echoed Mr Doran's concerns on Sunday's political talk shows.

"The seeds of 9/11s are being planted all over Iraq and Syria," Republican US Senator Lindsey Graham said on Face the Nation. "They want an Islamic caliphate that runs through Syria and Iraq ... and they plan to drive us out of the Mideast by attacking us here at home."

On Fox New Sunday, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers said: "This is a problem that we will have to face, and we're either going to face it in New York City or we're going to face it here."

The political rhetoric in the US over the ISIS is growing. The question, however, is whether it will translate into US public support for increased intervention in Iraq.

Iran A peaceful nuclear programme - Writing in the Washington Post, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says that he is confident his nation can reach a comprehensive nuclear agreement with the Western negotiators by next month's deadline.

He says that the Western powers must accept that Iran will have a peaceful nuclear programme, however, and will not "abandon or make a mockery of our technological advances or our scientists".

The West insists on perpetuating a "dangerous myth" of an Iranian nuclear weapons on the verge of "breakout", he contends. In order for Iran to build a nuclear weapon, it would have to expel United Nations inspectors and reconfigure its production systems to handle a "complex weaponisation processes". That would take several years, he writes.

Iran had the opportunity to move forward with nuclear weapons development in previous years but refrained, he says. Negotiators cannot pass up the opportunity to reach an agreement and put in place "long-term confidence building measures, as well as extensive monitoring and verification agreements".

North Korea Time for a Kim Jong Un to go - The US, China, South Korea and Japan have engaged in a policy of containing North Korea because they fear that the consequences of the Kim regime's demise would be grave, writes Columbia University's Sue Mi Terry. In reality, she says, the long-term benefits of the end of the Kim dynasty outweigh the short-term risks.

A new government could lead to the release of the 80,000-120,000 prisoners currently in North Korean slave-labour camps, she contends, and reduce the North Korean military threat to its neighbour to the south.

It would also free China from the financial obligations of supporting the North Korean people and open the north to South Korean investment. Eventual reunification would be a "demographic jolt" for the south, whose population is much older than the north's.

Rather than continue to prop up the North Korean government, she concludes, the US should increase sanctions and containment efforts, with the intent of bringing about regime change

Russia Rethinking the Russian empire - On June 12, Russia celebrated its declaration of independence from the Soviet Union. The significance of the day, however, remains clouded in confusion, writes Ivan Sukhov for the Moscow Times, as "nobody has ever really understood from what or from whom Russia gained independence".

Despite some of the drawbacks of daily Soviet life, many Russians fondly remember the era, a time "when full employment was the norm and the state's military, political and scientific might awed the world", writes Sukhov. Even President Vladimir Putin has described the dissolution of the Soviet Union as "the greatest geopolitical tragedy of the 20th Century".

These "unresolved and contradictory attitudes" indicate that the legacy of the Soviet Union continues to thrive, Sukhov says. For example, the recent strife in Ukraine shows "that the Soviet empire did not just collapse and get filed neatly away in the archives of history", but rather that the conflict is only the "most recent in a long series of events marking the collapse of the Soviet Union".

Regardless of the impression of a continuous, underlying empire, "common values are in even greater disarray now than when the Soviet Union rapidly collapsed", Sukhov concludes. During the age of the Soviet Union, its citizens "sincerely believed they were part of a grand and global experiment to build a humanitarian socialist society". But, Mr Sukhov asks, what do they believe now?

China US should open its doors to Chinese investment - The prospect of Chinese investors buying US businesses is threatening to some Americans, writes USA Today's Ted C Fishman, but it shouldn't be.

China is a growing economic force, and tying it closely to the US economy is essential, he says. Such investment creates jobs in the US and makes it less likely that China will ever abruptly cash out the $1.3tn (£770bn) in US Treasury debt it currently holds.

While politicians in Washington, DC worry about Chinese investment, he writes, local and state governments are doing whatever they can to attract Chinese companies, which he says pay 30% more than the average US job.

"If we are smart about letting Chinese investment in," he says, "we can grow richer still as China continues to prosper, and economic ties dispel scarier inclinations."

BBC Monitoring's quotes of the day Iranian commentators are watchingdevelopments in Iraq closely, as calls for Iranian military involvement with its neighbour grow.

"Considering the evidence and reports about the US role in creating terrorist groups and its support for Baathists to create the crisis in Iraq, the question now is: why are the Western media seeking to show that Iran and America should co-operate in the fight against terrorism in Iraq?... The Western media, through allegations about Iranian and American co-operation in the fight against ISIS, are seeking to minimise American crimes, as well as to show a positive image of America and the UK." - Qasem Ghafuri in Siyasat-e Ruz.

"If the Iraqi government asks for help, any country can help them, because if the host country is willing, there will be no problem. The government could only do so if the Iraqi Constitution gave relevant authorisation to the prime minister, however. As it is, he must get the approval of the parliament. Cunningly, ISIS has initiated their actions at a time that the governance of the prime minister is over and the new cabinet has yet to receive its vote of confidence from the parliament." - Yusof Mola'i in Arman.

"It is clear to everyone that the formation and continuation of ISIS terrorist activities depend on direct and indirect support from the West to this terrorist group. Therefore, the recent approach of the US Democrats in campaigning for confronting ISIS should be studied realistically. The reality is that during recent years, the US has not only been aware of ISIS's activities, it has also intelligently managed and supported these activities." - Sa'id Sobhani in Resalat.

"ISIS did not have the power to occupy and conquer Mosul by itself. What has happened is the result of security-intelligence collaborations of some regional countries with some extremist groups inside the Iraqi government. In other words, it is necessary to consider the elements of time and location of ISIS entering Iraq at this point. The defeats they endured in Syria pushed them towards Iraq." - Sabah Zanganeh in Khorasan.‎

[American Patriot]

Just debated a Moslem who says he's 'neutral' regarding IS. A Western Convert who's thrown his back on civilization to follow the False Prophet. Mark my word folks, they're coming, and we better be prepared. Islam is the religion of the Antichrist, and Allah is the Satan, and the Body of the Islamic Believers is the Beast. The mortal wound which was healed was the Caliphate, which was ended in 1922 and was restored in 2014.

I'm not going down without a fight, not because I fear for my life but because i'm a miserable sinner unworthy of being a Martyr-Confessor for Jesus Christ.

Neutral? Then he is a complete and total asshole, and he's not neutral.

He's a lying sack of shit.

Tell him I said, "Either denounce what is happening or go back to that region and LIVE there... but GET out of MY country because you're not wanted here."

[American Patriot]

Well... if I am NOT mistaken, they have already threatened America.... Let's stop beating around the bush and beat on these assholes.


Dempsey: We Will Act if Islamic Group Threatens US

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Associated Press | Aug 25, 2014 | by Lolita C. Baldor



ABOARD A US MILITARY AIRCRAFT -- Gen. Martin Dempsey said Sunday that once he determines that the Islamic State militants in Iraq have become a direct threat to the U.S. homeland or Europe, he will recommend the U.S. military move directly against the group in Syria.


But the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said that right now, he still believes the insurgent group is still more a regional threat and is not plotting or planning attacks against either the U.S. or Europe.


Speaking on a military plane en route to Afghanistan, Dempsey provided more detail into his thinking about the Islamic militants who have stormed across Iraq, operating out of safe havens in Syria.


So far, the Obama administration has restricted its military action against the militants to specific operations within Iraq, but concerns have increased as the Islamic State group extended its reach, taking control of a swath of land stretching from Syria across the border and deep into western and northern Iraq.


The group took over Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, in June, and has since declared an Islamic state, or caliphate, in territory under its control in Iraq and Syria.


Dempsey also told reporters traveling with him that he believes that key allies in the region -- including Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia -- will join the U.S. in quashing the Islamic State group.


"I think ISIS has been so brutal, and has wrapped itself in a radical religious legitimacy that clearly threatens everybody I just mentioned, that I think they will be willing partners," said Dempsey, expressing optimism for the first time that the Arab nations would join in the conflict. ISIS is an acronym for the Islamic State group.


He contrasted the Islamic State group to the Yemen-based al-Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, which has plotted and attempted attacks against the U.S. and Europe. As a result, the U.S. has conducted counterterrorism strikes against the group within Yemen.


Dempsey said that so far, there is no sign that the Islamic State militants are engaged in "active plotting against the homeland, so it's different than that which we see in Yemen."
"I can tell you with great clarity and certainty that if that threat existed inside of Syria that it would certainly be my strong recommendation that we would deal with it," said Dempsey. "I have every confidence that the president of the United States would deal with it."


He added that those regional partners could come together and squeeze the Islamic State group "from multiple directions in order to initially disrupt and eventually defeat them. It has to happen with them, much less with us."


Up to now, when asked about airstrikes inside Syria, Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel have said all options remain on the table. But so far there has been no broader authorization for such operations.


The Obama administration has authorized airstrikes within Iraq to protect U.S. personnel and facilities and to help Iraqi and Kurdish forces assist refugees driven from their homes by the Islamic State. Most of the recent strikes have been around the Mosul Dam, which Islamic militants had taken, but it is now back in the hands of the Iraqi and Kurdish troops.


Senior U.S. leaders, from the White House to the Pentagon, have said the key to success in Iraq is the formation of an inclusive government that will include disenfranchised Sunnis.


As the Islamic State militants moved across Iraq, some Sunnis -- including some members of the Iraqi security forces -- either threw down their weapons or joined the group.


The U.S. has been encouraged as new Iraqi leaders, including Shiite prime minister-designate Haider al-Abadi, begin to take steps to form a new government and reach out to Sunnis.


Officials have suggested that any additional military assistance from the U.S. to Iraq is contingent on those political and diplomatic steps by the government.


One possibility, said Dempsey, would be to have U.S. forces provide more expanded advice and assistance to the Iraqi force.


He said military assessment teams looked at about 50 Iraqi brigades and a number of the Kurdish units and have a good idea which ones have appropriate training and equipment and have not been infiltrated by militia.


So far, Dempsey said the U.S. has not sought or received permission to put advisers into Iraqi brigades or headquarters units and accompany them into combat.


To date, U.S. forces have conducted a total of 96 airstrikes across Iraq. Of those, 62 have been around the Mosul Dam.


The strikes have helps to break the insurgents' momentum, said Dempsey, and strip away some of the mythology that the Islamic State is impregnable or overwhelming.
Dempsey is on his way to Afghanistan to attend a change of command ceremony Tuesday. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford is stepping down as the top commander there; Army Gen. John Campbell will take over.

[American Patriot]

And just to put an exclamation point on this:

Joint Chiefs chairman says ISIS not a direct threat to US, won't recommend Syria strikes yet

Published August 25, 2014FoxNews.com


697





FILE - This May 26, 2014, file photo shows Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, saluting President Barack Obama during a Memorial Day ceremony in Arlington, Va. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, File)




Despite threats to the contrary, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff insisted the Islamic State terror group is a regional threat and said he would not recommend U.S. airstrikes in Syria until he determines that they have become a direct threat to the U.S.


Gen. Martin Dempsey, speaking to reporters on board a military plane traveling to Afghanistan, said Sunday that he believes the Sunni insurgent group formerly known as ISIS is not currently plotting or planning attacks against the U.S. or Europe.


ISIS has repeatedly made threats to attack the U.S. through social and conventional media. Earlier this month, in a Vice News documentary, a spokesman for the group vowed to "raise the flag of Allah in the White House." The group took over Iraq's second largest city, Mosul, in June, and has since declared an Islamic state, or caliphate, in a swath of territory covering northeastern Syria and northern and western Iraq. U.S. airstrikes and a new policy of direct military aid to Kurdish Peshmerga fighters have served as a check on a threatened ISIS advance toward Kurdish territory in northern Iraq.


On Sunday, Dempsey contrasted ISIS with the Yemen-based Al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, which has plotted and attempted attacks against the U.S. and Europe. As a result, the U.S. has conducted counterterrorism strikes against the group within Yemen.


Dempsey said that so far, there is no sign that the Islamic State militants are engaged in "active plotting against the homeland, so it's different than that which we see in Yemen."


"I can tell you with great clarity and certainty that if that threat existed inside of Syria that it would certainly be my strong recommendation that we would deal with it," said Dempsey. "I have every confidence that the president of the United States would deal with it."


Dempsey also told reporters that he believes that key allies in the region -- including Jordan, Turkey and Saudi Arabia -- will join the U.S. in quashing the Islamic State group.


"I think ISIS has been so brutal, and has wrapped itself in a radical religious legitimacy that clearly threatens everybody I just mentioned, that I think they will be willing partners," said Dempsey, who added that those regional partners could come together and squeeze the Islamic State group "from multiple directions in order to initially disrupt and eventually defeat them. It has to happen with them, much less with us."


Up to now, when asked about airstrikes inside Syria, Dempsey and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel have said all options remain on the table. But so far there has been no broader authorization for such operations.


The Obama administration has authorized airstrikes within Iraq to protect U.S. personnel and facilities and to help Iraqi and Kurdish forces assist refugees driven from their homes by the Islamic State. Most of the recent strikes have been around the Mosul Dam, which Islamic militants had taken, but it is now back in the hands of the Iraqi and Kurdish troops.


Senior U.S. leaders, from the White House to the Pentagon, have said the key to success in Iraq is the formation of an inclusive government that will include disenfranchised Sunnis.


As the Islamic State militants moved across Iraq, some Sunnis -- including some members of the Iraqi security forces -- either threw down their weapons or joined the group.
The U.S. has been encouraged as new Iraqi leaders, including Shiite prime minister-designate Haider al-Abadi, begin to take steps to form a new government and reach out to Sunnis.


Officials have suggested that any additional military assistance from the U.S. to Iraq is contingent on those political and diplomatic steps by the government.


One possibility, said Dempsey, would be to have U.S. forces provide more expanded advice and assistance to the Iraqi force.


He said military assessment teams looked at about 50 Iraqi brigades and a number of the Kurdish units and have a good idea which ones have appropriate training and equipment and have not been infiltrated by militia.


So far, Dempsey said the U.S. has not sought or received permission to put advisers into Iraqi brigades or headquarters units and accompany them into combat.
To date, U.S. forces have conducted a total of 96 airstrikes across Iraq. Of those, 62 have been around the Mosul Dam.


The strikes have helped to break the insurgents' momentum, said Dempsey, and strip away some of the mythology that the Islamic State is impregnable or overwhelming.


Dempsey is on his way to Afghanistan to attend a change of command ceremony Tuesday. Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford is stepping down as the top commander there; Army Gen. John Campbell will take over.

[American Patriot]

Yeah, no threat here, nothing to see, move along and go back to your Twinkies and television shows.

Chilling ISIS taunts on U.S. soil: FBI warns police to be on alert for homegrown terror threats as militants post sinister tweets claiming Chicago as a potential target

• A tweet, posted on June 20, showed pictures of the Old Republic Building in Chicago and the White House
• The message reportedly from ISIS read: 'We are in your state/We are in your cities/We are in your streets/You are our goals anywhere
• American journalist James Foley beheaded by extremist group in video posted online on Tuesday; ISIS has threatened to kill other US hostages

By David Martosko, U.s. Political Editor, MailOnline and Louise Boyle for MailOnline
Published: 08:49 EST, 23 August 2014 | Updated: 15:14 EST, 23 August 2014


The FBI and Homeland Security have warned police forces across the country to be on the lookout for terrorist threats as a chilling note was posted online warning that Chicago could be an ISIS target.



The federal agencies sent a bulletin on Friday to law enforcement agencies warning them to be on the lookout for terrorism.



Although no specific threats have been identified, they could not guarantee no future attacks, the federal agencies said.



Scroll down for video






A chilling was posted on Twitter on June 20 purportedly from someone with a connection to extremist group ISIS. It featured a picture of the White House and the Old Republic Building in Chicago




+3


The message, reportedly from ISIS, read: 'We are in your state/We are in your cities/We are in your streets/You are our goals anywhere'



According to ABC, the bulletin read: 'Because of the individualized nature of the radicalization process – it is difficult to predict triggers that will contribute to [homegrown violent extremists] attempting acts of violence.'


It went on to say that lone operatives would provide police very few opportunities to detect and stop the potential mayhem and destruction they were plotting.

More...

• The rapper, the hacker and the terror travel guide writer. Is one of these British extremists Jihadi John? Three potential Islamic State 'Beatles' emerge as MI5 'zeroes in' on murderer who beheaded U.S. journalist James Foley
• White House says Foley beheading was a 'terrorist attack' as top Republican insists Obama threaten ISIS with 'the full capabilities of American might'
• 'The US could have done more to free my brother': Angry younger sibling of James Foley hits out at the White House for failing to prevent the brutal execution

Chicago in particular has become a prime target because extremist groups think of it as 'Obama Town', a security expert told CBS.


A tweet, posted on June 20, has been discovered, showing pictures of the Old Republic Building in Chicago and the White House with a message reportedly from the Islamic State (ISIS or ISIL).


It reads: 'We are in your state/We are in your cities/We are in your streets/You are our goals anywhere.'



The brutal capabilities of ISIS were revealed on Tuesday after a stomach-churning video released showed the beheading of American photojournalist James Foley at the hands of a hooded militant.



At a press briefing on Thursday, Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel said the U.S. military's job is to 'get ready' for whatever battle might lie ahead.



ISIS is 'as sophisticated and well-funded as any group that we have seen,' Hagel said, appearing alongside Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey.



'They're beyond just a terrorist group,' Hagel said. 'They marry ideology and a sophistication of strategic and tactical military prowess. They are tremendously well-funded. ...This is beyond anything we've seen, so we must prepare for everything.'




+3


The video, uploaded to jihadi websites on Tuesday, shows American journalist James Foley being decapitated by a ISIS extremist



'It's a long-term threat,' he conceded under questioning from reporters, adding moments later that 'the president has been very clear on mission creep. And he's made it very clear that he will not allow that.'



Gen. Dempsey warned that America's involvement in Iraq will continue for years to come, citing the intensity of hatred among ethnic, religious and tribal groups there.



'The conflict against those groups – most of which are local, some of which are regional, and some of which are global in nature – that's going to be a very long contest,' he said.



'It's ideological. It's not political. It's religious in many cases. So, yes, it's going to be a very long contest.'



A U.S. senator also said on Thursday that ISIS, the militant terror group sweeping across Iraq, aims to destroy an American city and is working on a plan to do it.



'They're crazy out there and they're rapidly developing a method of blowing up a major U.S. city and people just can't believe that's happening,' Republican Senator Jim Inhofe told the Fox-25television in Oklahoma City.



Inhofe, the ranking GOP member of the Senate Armed Services Committee, warned that leaders of ISIS 'are really bad terrorists. They're so bad even al-Qaeda is afraid of them'.
Military chiefs say ISIL like no other previous terror threat





Representative Jim Bridenstine, a fellow Oklahoma Republican and a committee member, told the Tulsa World that ISIS Islamists are 'cutting children's bodies in half. They're shooting them. I've never seen anything like it.'



A frustrated Inhofe also said on Thursday night that he feared President Obama isn't up to the task, despite the tough words he delivered on Wednesday before hitting the golf course.



'Obama's lofty rhetoric is undermined by fainthearted follow-through and lack of meaningful action,' he told the World.
'The president's limited strikes in Iraq have not halted ISIS' momentum but only temporarily redirected it,' said Inhofe. 'Without sustained pressure, ISIS will regroup and continue its campaign of terror.'



'We're in the most dangerous position we've ever been in as a nation,'he told Fox-25.
The president told a global audience this week from his Martha's Vineyard vacation spot that the U.S. 'will continue to do what we must do to protect our people.'



'We will be vigilant and we will be relentless. When people harm Americans, anywhere, we do what's necessary to see that justice is done.'



'We act against ISIL, standing alongside others,' Obama added, hinting at his 'coalition' strategy rather than a plan to strike unilaterally with overwhelming American force.



Inhofe, though, warned that without a concrete plan, Obama's words ring hollow.

+3


'Relentless': Obama drew fire this week for golfing as an angry nation mourned the death of journalist James Foley at the hands of an ISIS militant



'You have to come up with something that we're going to do,' the senator said, 'because they're holding another hostage in place.'



'And the problem is, the president, quite frankly – he says all these things and he never does them.'



With the right strategy, he added, the U.S. could defeat ISIS on its home turf before the threat arrives on America's doorstep.



'This idea that they're coming and infiltrating the United States – sure, some are coming in who have had an association with ISIS. But the majority of them are still over there,' he said.



The senator also defended the United States government's sweeping intelligence programs that have drawn barbs from civil libertarians, suggesting that information dragnets would play a part in keeping ISIS at bay.



'You have to have an intelligence process going on to stop attacks on America,' he said.



We will drown all of you in blood: ISIS' warning to the US







Read more:

• Chicago A Top Terror Target; Ominous Tweet Connects ISIS Threat In City « CBS Chicago
• Homeland Warns of ISIS Retaliation in US by Sympathizers - ABC News
• 'Savage' ISIS is a threat to U.S., Oklahoma congressional delegation says - Tulsa World: Homepage3

[American Patriot]

KOAA TV - Colorado:

Aug 22, 2014 2:10 PM
The ISIS threat

In a matter of months, the terror group ISIS has risen from an obscure Al Qaeda offshoot to one of the greatest emerging threats against the United States and now Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel says the ISIS threat is beyond anything we've seen.


The execution of American journalist James Foley has changed Washington's focus on the terror group.


"They are an imminent threat to every interest we have whether it's in Iraq or anywhere else," Hagel says.


With U.S. air support, Iraqis are gaining back ground, but America's top general insists it will take more than bombs to crush ISIS.


"This is an organization that has an apocalyptic end of days strategic vision and which will eventually have to be defeated," says Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Martin Dempsey.


ISIS is now threatening to execute a second American journalist - Miami-based writer Steven Sotloff, and calling for attacks on other American targets.

[American Patriot]

http://www.foxnews.com/on-air/hannit...list-threat-us


Video there...

August 20, 2014

Exclusive: Dick Cheney on ISIS beheading of journalist, threat to US
Guests: Dick Cheney, former US vice president





This is a rush transcript from "Hannity," August 20, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

SEAN HANNITY, HOST: This a ''Fox News Alert.'' U.S. officials have confirmed that the video released by ISIS is, in fact, authentic and that it shows the beheading of American photojournalist James Foley.

And joining me now with exclusive reaction is the former vice president of the United States, Vice President Dick Cheney. Mr. Vice President, thank you for being with us. We appreciate your time.

DICK CHENEY, FMR. U.S. VICE PRESIDENT: Good evening, Sean.

HANNITY: You know, you said a while back-- and a lot of people kind of hemmed and hawed at what you said-- you predicted that America will likely get hit in the next 10 years in a way that was worse than 9/11. Did you watch this video?

CHENEY: I've seen not the entire video, just the edited version.

HANNITY: OK. The-- I watched this video. You know, remember the 9/11 commission report conclusion, they are at war with us. We weren't at war with them. After watching this video, I'm pretty convinced that we have a group of people at war with us. Would you agree with that?

CHENEY: Absolutely, Sean. There's no question what with the developments of Iraq and Syria, the development of a caliphate, that the ISIS organization in charge is very much a threat to the United States, to our friends and allies not only in the Middle East but in Europe.

And when you see them behead an American reporter, as they did today, that's obviously a terrible development, but magnify that a million times over because that's what's in store for the rest of the world if we don't deal effectively with this crisis.

HANNITY: You know, the president said the tide of war is receding, GM's alive, bin Laden is dead, Ft. Hood-- what happened, the massacre there is still officially referred to as workplace violence. You've heard the term ''man-caused disaster,'' overseas contingency operation.

Here's what the president said in an interview with The New Yorker about ISIS. He said, ''Well, the analogy we use around here sometimes, and I think it is accurate, that, you know, as if a JV team puts on Laker uniforms, that doesn't make them Kobe Bryant.''

What part of this is the president missing, Mr. Vice President?

CHENEY: Well, I keep wrestling with this question, Sean, of whether it's naivete or lack of experience or because that's the way he wants things to work. I've just about reached the point where I've concluded that what he is discovering fairly late in his administration is that his basic world view is fundamentally flawed, that the world is a mean, nasty place on occasion, that you need a very strong America, you need superior American military forces to deal with it.

And I think every single day that goes by, he's finding that there's a bigger and bigger gulf between his hoped-for view of the world and reality. He's not up to speed and does not want to believe all that's going on out there. But every day, we find new evidence that he'd rather be on the golf course than he would be dealing with the crisis that's developing rapidly in the Middle East.

HANNITY: What did you-- how was your reaction today when the president minutes after he gave that three-minute statement ran off to the golf course to play with Alonzo Mourning? What was your reaction to that?

CHENEY: Well, I noticed the reaction of David Cameron, the British prime minister, when he found out that the individual who apparently did the beheading was speaking with a British accent. He wanted to immediately leave his vacation spot, head back to London and go to work, trying to deal with the problems that that represents. And of course, our president headed for the golf course as soon as he made his relatively, I thought, ineffective statement.

HANNITY: I would think a more appropriate place might be the Situation Room. I think a more appropriate place would be the White House.

We have all these radical Islamic groups-- Islamic Jihad, Boko Haram, Hezbollah, Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood, ISIS, ISIL, Al Qaeda. There are differences, but there seems to be one thing that they all agree on. That is, they want to wipe Israel off the map. And they also want to destroy the West and advance a caliphate.

Does the -- do you think the president fully understands the danger of radical Islam? And what do you think the danger is, if you can explain it in your own words?

CHENEY: Well, I think the danger is enormous. I don't think the president understands it. I look at things like the Rand report that was published a couple months ago that talked about a 58 percent increase in the number of jihadist groups around the world over a three-year period of time. I look at the statements by General Flynn, who's just stepping down as director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, who says over a 10-year period of time, there's been a doubling of the terrorist threat in that part of the world.

The intelligence is there for all to see. There's no question about what's happening. But this president and the people around him refuse to recognize it and certainly refuse to deal with it. The damage that is being done as we talk tonight, Sean, to the American military, is enormous. They're taking our Army down below levels we haven't seen since Pearl Harbor. They've made major reductions in the Air Force and the Navy. There was a recent excellent study done by a commission, bipartisan commission, Republican and Democrat alike, studying the long-term trends of the defense budget that basically concludes that there's no way under current circumstances we can execute the national strategy.

So it's a train wreck. And there's one more train wreck every day. It's hard to believe that this president is as ineffective as he clearly is.

HANNITY: Mr. Vice President, we have seen the rise of ISIS, ISIL, throughout the region from Syria-- we lost 4,000 Americans in the Iraq war. City after city that they freed-- and albeit, it wasn't a perfect democracy, but they were an ally and they were a democracy, an emerging democracy, in Iraq prior to the administration coming into power.

There seems to be two issues that are the foundation for the situation now. One was when the president drew the red line in the sand with Syria and did nothing after they used chemical weapons, and also the president pulling out training and intelligence for the Iraqi forces.

My question to you is, did ISIS gain control of these areas of Syria, now surrounding Baghdad-- is this all a result of the president's bad policy, the naivete that you discuss?

CHENEY: Well, I think that's part of it. I think he has managed in so many different ways to be ineffective when he responds, to draw the red line in the sand and then never respond to it, to make threats and never act. It's reached the point where I think around the world, people, other leaders see him as weak and ineffective.

We've seen it in terms of Putin's actions in Crimea and the Ukraine. We've seen it in what China's trying to do in the South China Sea. There is no question but what he is viewed as perhaps the weakest president of my lifetime and that he doesn't have a clue about what needs to be done, and he is viscerally opposed to the use of military force.

We've had a bipartisan agreement, consensus, if you will, Republican and Democrat, since the end of World War II that the world's a safer place when the United States is actively and aggressively leading, when we have a strong military and we provide the kind of leadership that the world needs to deal with these crises.

HANNITY: Can I ask you--

CHENEY: Barack Obama doesn't believe that. Barack Obama doesn't believe that. He's the first in a chain of presidents going back to Harry Truman of either party that simply refuses to recognize the reality of the world we live in.

HANNITY: With that said, I'm not sure America has the appetite. You know, all those cities that Americans fought and died for in Iraq now, ISIS is controlling many of them-- you know, what should be done if the country doesn't have an appetite for war? And sort of-- I want your answer viewed through the prism that you think something horrific is likely to happen worse than 9/11 in the next 10 years.

CHENEY: Well, I think the question of lack of desire for war-- I think that's a general proposition for the American people. We're basically a peaceful, democratically elected governments. We periodically have to use military force, and you've got to explain to the American people why that's necessary, what the dangers are, what the objects are, what the objectives are.

It's leadership, and Barack Obama's not providing it. Of course, it's difficult to persuade the American people that we ought to send our sons and daughters off to fight a war. But sometimes, it's absolutely necessary. And that's why we have presidents. And that's why they have the authority as commander-in-chief to make those decisions and why those of us who are involved need to do everything we can to support them and support our troops in the field.

Now, is there a great threat coming? Absolutely. Remember what happened on 9/11, when 19 guys armed with airline tickets and box cutters came here and killed 3,000 of us, took down the World Trade Center, blew a big hole in the Pentagon. I'm absolutely certain that some day, there will be another mass casualty attack against the United States. Only next time, they'll have far deadlier weapons.

HANNITY: Let me ask you this. You're the president of the United States, and now you know that if you respond to ISIS, that another American, another video like the one that I watched today, will be coming out. How specifically do you answer that? I don't think you're going to find the answer on the golf course, by the way. But you know, you know that if you respond militarily that another video with another American being decapitated is going to come out.

I would want to talk to all the best, brightest, smartest people in the country before I made my decision. I don't think it's-- I like Alonzo Mourning. He's a great player. But I don't think he's the guy that should be guy giving advice to the president on this.

CHENEY: Yeah. But Sean, with all due respect, it's a tragedy when someone dies like that. No question about it. But that's not the issue. They're trying to use terror, obviously, acts of terror against us, especially against the press, in order to try to force us to change our behavior or to dominate that part of the world.

The issue is whether or not we're going to allow them to succeed in their basic fundamental objective in achieving a caliphate, a true caliphate, representative of the kind of thing we saw centuries ago in the Middle East, and follow their ideology, which calls not only for the destruction of Israel but also the United States.

HANNITY: Let me-- can I play for you--

CHENEY: Now, are we going to pull yourself up by our bootstraps and get on with the business of destroying ISIS, or are we simply going to sit back and agonize every time they commit another outrageous act?

HANNITY: I want to play for you CIA director John Brennan in 2011. He said the idea of a caliphate's absurd. I want to play this for you.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JOHN BRENNAN, CIA DIRECTOR: Our strategy is also shaped by a deeper understanding of Al Qaeda's goals, strategy and tactics that we have gained over the last decade. I'm not talking about Al Qaeda's grandiose vision of global domination through a violent Islamic caliphate. That vision is absurd, and we are not going to organize our counterterrorism policies against a feckless delusion that is never going to happen. We are not going to elevate these thugs and their murderous aspirations into something larger than they are.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HANNITY: It sounds like a pre-9/11 mentality to me. And how do you answer what he said, as Israel got hit with 175 rockets in the last 24 hours? Aren't they pushing for a caliphate there?

CHENEY: Yeah. The thing that's really disturbing, as I listen to that, is that it shows a man who clearly refuses to recognize what has to be crossing his desk as the latest intelligence. He can read the Rand study report. He can listen to what the director of the DIA says, the Defense Intelligence Agency, about a doubling in the size of the terrorist organizations that are out there. He can look at what has happened over the course of the last few weeks as ISIS has moved into and now controls the eastern part of Syria and the northern part of Iraq.

With a man like that advising the president as director of intelligence, it's no wonder the president doesn't understand what's going on out there. It's absolutely--

HANNITY: How do you view the treatment of Israel?

CHENEY: Well, I think the treatment of Israel-- I think there are a lot of nations in that part of the world that deserve to have strong U.S. support, and Israel obviously is right there at the top of the list. But that's true also of the Jordanians and the Saudis and the Emirates and the Egyptians. What Egypt has done by way of overthrowing the Muslim Brotherhood is a master stroke, and we've now got a good man as president of Egypt, capable of military-- a good military. And we ought to be backing the Egyptians to the hilt.

So there are a lot of things we could be doing, including working with the Israelis, to take on the terrorists, the Islamists, the jihadists in that part of the world. It's in our interest to do so. It's not an act of charity. It's our danger (ph) that's threatened. We're the ones that are going to get hit with the next mass casualty attack that potentially kills hundreds of thousands of Americans.

HANNITY: All right, Mr. Vice President, appreciate your insight. Thank you so much for being with us. Appreciate your time tonight.

CHENEY: Thank you, Sean. Thanks for covering it.

[American Patriot]

Read the article... then, read the bio of the author.

The ISIS threat to the United States is real

By Lisa M. Ruth, Communities Digital News

• World News

August 21, 2014

WASHINGTON, August 20, 2014— The beheading of American journalist James Foley by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham, or The Islamic State, or ISIS starkly demonstrates the brutality of the militant group.


Since the United States began launching air strikes against ISIS targets in early August, the jihadists have taken to social media with horrific threats against America. It has initiated a Twitter campaign, #AMessagetoAmerica, promising death and destruction in America. Militants have threatened to attack U.S. targets around the world and posted a video of a blood-splattered American flag and the words, “We will drown all of you in blood.”

Despite all the vitriol, some ask whether ISIS is actually a threat to the United States.


The answer is a very simple “yes.”


So far, we are not aware of any terrorist attacks by ISIS on U.S. soil or against American targets overseas. Although it is difficult to compare the current iteration of ISIS with its predecesor, al-Qaeda in Iraq, al-Qaeda in Iraq did carry out coordinated bombings of three American hotels – the Grand Hyatt, the Radisson SAS, and the Days Inn – in Amman, Jordan in November 2005.


The current version of ISIS is stronger, smarter, richer, larger, and better equipped. The militant group has taken a “best practices” approach to terrorism, adopting strategies that other groups have used successfully and discarding others.


ISIS not only has an enormous amount of cash, it also has recurring revenue through selling oil and gas from fields it controls as well as from illegal activities such as smuggling and kidnapping for ransom.


The group has an almost endless supply of recruits. Since taking over several Iraqi cities, the number of followers has swelled. ISIS now takes recruits from around the world, and members of other jihadist groups are flocking to be a part of the successful group.


ISIS has also demonstrated flexible military prowess. The group successfully took several Iraqi cities and towns operating as a de-facto army. When the United States launched air strikes, ISIS adapted to traditional guerrilla tactics, making air strikes more difficult. The group takes advantage of porous borders, uncontrolled territory and turmoil to hide and plan.

Because it is so nimble, it is likely that if ISIS lost ground in Iraq, it would retreat to Syria to regroup. If it runs into problems in Mosul, it will head to Erbil or Tikrit. If it has no other options available to it, it will revert to suicide bombings.


Although it has not demonstrated the ability to launch attacks against U.S. targets, it is highly likely the group has the ability to carry out attacks. Particularly vulnerable are U.S. “soft” targets in the Middle East and North Africa, including businesses, residents and hotels.


ISIS is also a threat to the United States in less direct ways.


Regional instability at the hands of ISIS would not only disrupt our allies and encourage more jihadist activity, but would also allow ISIS time and space to plan attacks. The terrorists behind 9/11 took advantage of lawlessness in Afghanistan to plot against the United States. Instability regionally would provide ISIS with that same luxury.


ISIS has attracted a large number of foreign fighters, which also presents a danger. As exemplified by the British-accented executioner in the Foley video demonstrates, the fighters are coming from not only other countries in the Middle East and North Africa, but also from Europe and the United States. As these now-trained and hardened jihadists return to their home countries – including America – they carry the threat of terrorism with them.

Finally, the brutality and violence of ISIS has upped the anti for other terrorist groups in the region. Al-Qaeda has essentially been eclipsed by ISIS and is hemorrhaging fighters and backers. Unless other militant groups are prepared to stay in the shadows of ISIS, they will have to match the level of brutality and violence or carry out a spectacular attack to re-gain public attention. The most logical target is the United States, which would win them immediate credibility.


ISIS has now identified the United States as a target. In it’s literature, it identifies its enemies as “the crusaders in Washington” – as well as the leaders of Iran, al-Qaeda and Turkey. The group is well-armed, well-trained, well-led, well-funded and infused with religious fervor.
It is a group whose threat the entire world should take seriously.

Lisa M. Ruth

Lisa M. Ruth started her career at the CIA, where she won several distinguished awards for her service and analysis. After leaving the government, she joined a private intelligence firm in South Florida as President, where she oversaw all research, analysis and reporting. Lisa joined CDN as a journalist in 2009 and writes extensively on intelligence, world affairs, and breaking news. She also provides CDN with investigative reporting and news analysis. Lisa continues to write both for her own columns and as a guest writer on a wide variety of subjects, and is now Executive Editor for CDN. She is also a regular contributor to Newsmax and other publications.

Read more at http://www.commdiginews.com/world-ne...ySRwpWy1ylk.99

[American Patriot]

White House Knew of Recent ISIS Threat to Kill US Journalist

Tweet Email 598 Smaller Font Text Larger Text | Print


By Arlette Saenz
@ArletteSaenz
Jonathan Karl
@jonkarl

Aug 20, 2014 8:41am
ISIS had recently threatened to kill U.S. journalist James Foley to avenge airstrikes the United States has conducted in Iraq, a senior U.S. official told ABC News.
The White House had been aware of the threat prior to the release of a video Tuesday night that appears to show the beheading of Foley and warns that militants will carry out a similar act against U.S. journalist Steven Sotloff, who went missing in August, the official said.
ISIS Claims It Beheaded American James Foley
WATCH: US Mother’s Heartbreaking Message on Terrorist Slaying of Son
The International Effort to Free James Foley
At least one news organization said it notified the White House about threats it received regarding Foley. Phillip Balboni, CEO and founder of the online news service Global Post, told ABC News’ Brian Ross that the company received an e-mail on Aug. 13 demanding ransom and threatening to execute Foley. Balboni said the threat was shared with the White House.
Balboni said his news organization began receiving threats from Foley’s captors via e-mail as early as last fall. The final e-mail Balboni received was “vitriolic and filled with rage against the United States,” he said.
“It was deadly serious,” Balboni told reporters.
(Nicole Tung/AP Photo)

Balboni noted the e-mail messages changed dramatically in tone after the U.S. began airstrikes in Iraq.
“The situation changed when the bombing began,” he said. “That made everything much more difficult.”

[American Patriot]

What is ISIS, and how much of a threat are they to the U.S.?

Posted: Aug 22, 2014 1:51 PM MST Updated: Aug 22, 2014 2:13 PM MST

By: FOX 13 Tampa Bay Staff - bio

• Islamic State backers under scrutiny in US
  
  
• FBI: No credible threats to US from Islamic State
  
  
• Beheading spurs new attacks on Islamic militants
  
  
• US officials: Video shows American's beheading
  
  

TAMPA (FOX 13) - ISIS stands for “Islamic State of Iraq and Syria.” It is also referred to as ISIL, which stands for Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant.

Brookings Institution National Security expert Michael O'Hanlon describes ISIS as a multi-national, group of terrorists whose immediate goal is to rule over as much of Iraq and Syria as they can.

O'Hanlon says there is the possibility that they want to a create a Caliphate. Here is how he described it:

“A fundamentalist, old-fashioned Muslim theocracy, the kind the Taliban had in Afghanistan. Some people would say all they wanted to do is create it in Iraq and Syria. Others would say, no, any Caliphate by definition wants to recreate rule over ALL Muslims, and all places where Muslims used to rule, including for example, southern Spain,” he said.

(Watch full interview with O'Hanlon in the video player above.)

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel issued a dire warning this week about the threat posed by the Islamic State terrorist group, saying the organization is "beyond anything that we've seen."

In the United States, authorities are working to identify Islamic State sympathizers who could help export the group's brand of violent jihad to the United States.

Federal and New Police York Department officials have estimated that at least 100 Americans could be fighting with the Sunni extremists who have seized territory in northern and western Iraq. In April, a Colorado woman and convert to Islam was arrested before she could travel to Syria to marry a fighter she had met online. More recently, a Texas man who was arrested trying to board a flight to Turkey pleaded guilty to terror charges alleging he wanted to join the group.

In a Pentagon news conference, Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Martin Dempsey called the Islamic State an "immediate threat," in part because of the number of Europeans and other foreigners who have traveled to the region to join the group.

"And those folks can go home at some point," he said.

An FBI and Homeland Security Department intelligence bulletin issued Friday said there were no credible or specific threats from the Islamic State against the U.S. homeland. However, it cautioned that "violent extremists who support (the group) have demonstrated the capability to attempt attacks on U.S. targets overseas with little-to-no warning."

[American Patriot]

James Foley’s masked killer resembles British fighter in video of Syrian soldier’s execution


Robert Mendick, The Telegraph | August 24, 2014 | Last Updated: Aug 24 5:38 PM ET
More from The Telegraph







U.K. close to identifying James Foley's killer

Police and spy agencies are close to identifying the English-accented militant depicted on video showing the killing of U.S. journalist James Foley, Britain’s ambassador to the United States said Sunday.
Peter Westmacott told CNN’s “State of the Union” program that “we’re not far away” from naming the man in the Islamic State group video.
“I do know from my colleagues at home that we are close,” Westmacott said.
He said investigators were using techniques including sophisticated voice-recognition software to identify the masked, knife-wielding figure.
British newspapers reported Sunday that investigators were looking at several British jihadi thought to be in the Raqqa area of Syria.
One is Abdel-Majed Abdel Bary, a former rapper from London, who reportedly has joined militants in Syria. He is the son of Abdel Abdul Bary, an Egyptian alleged al-Qaida operative who was extradited from Britain to the U.S. in 2012 to face terrorism charges in connection with the twin 1998 bombings at the U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania that killed 224 people.
British officials estimate that between 400 and 500 Britons have traveled to join jihadi militants in Syria, scores of whom have already returned home.
Writing in the Sunday Times, British Defense Secretary Philip Hammond said the threat from militants in Syria and Iraq could last a generation. He said Britain was devoting “significant resources to tackle this problem for the long term.”
- The Associated Press

Security agencies hunting for the killer of James Foley, the American journalist, are investigating video footage of two British jihadists taking part in the execution of a soldier captured during fighting in Syria.
British and U.S. counter-terrorism analysts believe one of the Britons bears a resemblance to the jihadist who beheaded Mr Foley. If they can prove it is the same man, it would represent a major breakthrough in the inquiry.
The footage, which was posted at the start of May on the website Instagram, shows a soldier loyal to President Bashar Al-Assad crouching in a field in Syria, then being shot in the back of the head by a man armed with a pistol. A man armed with an automatic rifle then shoots the body.
MI5 are understood to be paying special attention to an English-speaking man standing beside the British jihadist who is alleged to have carried out the execution.
He is wearing a similar black robe and mask to that worn by the jihadist who beheaded Mr Foley, and is of similar build and height. He is also – like Mr Foley’s executioner – apparently left-handed.
The May video represents the first clear-cut evidence of Britons being implicated in war crimes committed in the Syrian conflict. Researchers at the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR), based at King’s College, London, believe the men in the footage are both from Britain and part of a militant group called Rayat al Tawheed (Banner of God), which is closely linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and Al-Sham (ISIS). There are also reports that the group has been involved in beheadings.
Rayat al Tawheed claims to have four British fighters with them, two of whom feature very prominently in their videos. They both wear distinctive balaclavas and black watches.




The fighter resembling Mr Foley’s killer has the same hectoring style of delivery as that used in the recent Islamic State video. He pronounces on the evils of the West and beseeches British Muslims to donate money to fund their terrorism.
Saturday night, a security source said: “We are considering all evidence from the Internet to establish who killed James Foley. We can’t afford to rule anything out. But at the same time nothing can be taken at face value.”
In its analysis of the May video, ICSR said that the man who actually uses his AK-47 to fire shots into the body of the prisoner features prominently in several other Rayat al Tawheed videos.




But on its Twitter account Rayat al Tawheed denied knowing the identity of Mr Foley’s killer. It stated: “To all the journalists, I don’t know who the masked man is that took off the head of Foley. Thank you for understanding.”
Forensic experts working alongside MI5 and Scotland Yard will be closely analyzing the Tawheed video for any kind of link between the two executions to show a similar modus operandi. Key to this analysis will be the English accents in both films.

[American Patriot]

Syrian Government: James Foley Killed a Year Ago

August 26, 2014 Qronos 16 Leave a comment Go to comments
[IMG]http://hw.********.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/foley-2.jpg[/IMG]

Source: Paul Joseph Watson |

Fresh doubt has been thrown on the narrative behind the James Foley beheading video after a Syrian government spokesperson claimed that the American journalist was killed by ISIS militants a year ago.

Following the release of a video last week which purported to show the murder of Foley, top forensic experts concluded that the footage was staged using “camera trickery and slick post-production techniques,” concurring with ********’ analysis that the video was highly dubious given that it was immediately used as justification for military strikes on Syria.

Official Syrian government spokesperson Bouthaina Shaaban has now complicated matters further by asserting that Foley was in fact murdered by Islamic State militants a year ago.

“James Foley was first arrested by the Free Syrian Army and he was sold to ISIS [an earlier name for the IS]. You can check with the UN…James Foley was killed a year ago, not now, they only released the pictures now, but he was killed a year ago. We have definite information, the UN has the information,” said Shaaban.

The claim contradicts the narrative that Foley’s family received a letter on August 12 from ISIS militants threatening to execute the journalist if Barack Obama gave the green light for air strikes on Islamic State militants in Iraq.

The Foley beheading video has been used as a poster child for accomplishing what Washington failed to do in the aftermath of last year’s chemical weapons attack in Ghouta – build a consensus for a military assault on Syria. Officials and lawmakers have cited the video as providing a “new context” which legitimizes an expansion of U.S. military activity in the middle east.

Although the air strikes will ostensibly target ISIS fighters and not Syrian government positions, Assad has repeatedly asserted that any U.S. military action in Syria will be seen as an act of war, threatening to enflame the entire region.

According to reports today, Obama has ordered US spy planes to start patrolling the country with a view to launching a military assault, “a step that would plunge the U.S. into a country already ravaged by an intractable civil war,” reports the Daily Mail.

[American Patriot]

Gen. Wesley Clark: Saudis, Qatar Created ISIS Threat

(Tim Sloan/AFP/Getty Images)
Monday, 25 Aug 2014 06:50 PM
By Greg Richter



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Retired Gen. Wesley Clark says Saudi Arabia and Qatar should take responsibility for creating the threat that both they and the West now face from the Islamic State (ISIS).




"The Saudis have for years funded extremism. Their money's all over the region," Clark said Monday on CNN's "The Lead with Jake Tapper."

The Saudi monarchy has bought billions of dollars' worth of U.S. weapons over the years and funneled them to extremist groups, he said.

"It can't be exporting extremism and at the same time ask the United States to protect it," Clark said. "This ISIS threat is going eventually to be pointed like a dagger right at the heart of the Saudi regime."

ISIS has taken over large portions of northern Iraq and eastern Syria in what it says is an attempt to establish a worldwide caliphate. Though neighboring Arab countries face the more immediate threat, they aren't acting because the Arab League isn't unified, Clark said.

Saudi Arabia and Qatar both have given weapons to the Free Syrian Army, fighting the Bashar Assad regime in Syria, but some of those weapons may also have gone to the extremist jihadi group al-Nusra Front, and even to ISIS before it was known it was a threat, Clark said.

Qatar and Saudi Arabia are rivals for Sunni leadership, he said, but they need to come together to join forces against the Islamic State.

The United States can provide "combat multipliers," he told CNN, but shouldn't be putting U.S. soldiers on the ground "carrying the burden for Saudi Arabia and Qatar."

Those countries should lead the effort, he said, because "they created this problem, along with Bashar Assad."

Clark disagreed with a tweet from Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham that was critical of inaction against the Islamic State by President Barack Obama.

The White House is trying to minimize the threat we face in order to justify not changing a failed strategy. #ISIL
— Lindsey Graham (@GrahamBlog) August 25, 2014

Clark said he respects Graham, "but in this case I think the White House is wisely marking time while it sorts out the situation on the ground. It wants to go in in an effective way — not simply stir the pot with a bunch of ineffective airstrikes somewhere."

[American Patriot]

James Foley’s Last Letter Home

Posted on August 26, 2014 by Fr Stephen Smuts
Which comes via released hostages:
The family of the kidnapped American journalist killed by Islamic State militants last week have posted a letter they say he sent while in captivity, via a fellow hostage.

James Foley was unable to write letters to his family because they were confiscated by his jailers.

Instead he asked another hostage who was about to be released to commit his letter to memory.

When that hostage was freed he dictated the letter to James’ mother, Diane.

The family posted the letter on Sunday evening, on a Facebook page they had set up to campaign for James’ release.

Earlier they had attended a memorial mass for James in their home town of Rochester, New Hampshire.

James Foley, a freelance journalist was abducted in northern Syria in November 2012, while covering that country’s civil war.

Last week, Islamic State militants released a video showing his beheading by a masked man with a British accent.

On Sunday, he British ambassador to the US told CNN that British officials were close to identifying the killer.



Last letter home

Dear Family and Friends,

I remember going to the Mall with Dad, a very long bike ride with Mom. I remember so many great family times that take me away from this prison. Dreams of family and friends take me away and happiness fills my heart.

I know you are thinking of me and praying for me. And I am so thankful. I feel you all especially when I pray. I pray for you to stay strong and to believe. I really feel I can touch you even in this darkness when I pray.

Eighteen of us have been held together in one cell, which has helped me. We have had each other to have endless long conversations about movies, trivia, sports. We have played games made up of scraps found in our cell… we have found ways to play checkers, Chess, and Risk… and have had tournaments of competition, spending some days preparing strategies for the next day’s game or lecture. The games and teaching each other have helped the time pass. They have been a huge help. We repeat stories and laugh to break the tension.

I have had weak and strong days. We are so grateful when anyone is freed; but of course, yearn for our own freedom. We try to encourage each other and share strength. We are being fed better now and daily. We have tea, occasional coffee. I have regained most of my weight lost last year.

I think a lot about my brothers and sister. I remember playing Werewolf in the dark with Michael and so many other adventures. I think of chasing Mattie and T around the kitchen counter. It makes me happy to think of them. If there is any money left in my bank account, I want it to go to Michael and Matthew. I am so proud of you, Michael and thankful to you for happy childhood memories and to you and Kristie for happy adult ones.

And big John, how I enjoyed visiting you and Cress in Germany. Thank you for welcoming me. I think a lot about RoRo and try to imagine what Jack is like. I hope he has RoRo’s personality!

And Mark… so proud of you too Bro. I think of you on the West coast and hope you are doing some snowboarding and camping, I especially remember us going to the Comedy Club in Boston together and our big hug after. The special moments keep me hopeful.

Katie, so very proud of you. You are the strongest and best of us all!! I think of you working so hard, helping people as a nurse. I am so glad we texted just before I was captured. I pray I can come to your wedding…. now I am sounding like Grammy!!

Grammy, please take your medicine, take walks and keep dancing. I plan to take you out to Margarita’s when I get home. Stay strong because I am going to need your help to reclaim my life.

Jim

The US and UK intelligence services are investigating Foley’s killing by Islamic State militants

[MinutemanCO]

I'm a little concerned about this, if indeed is true regarding Task Force Black. Obama is no friend to the military, especially SF. Just remember what happened to the SEAL Team Six in helicopter following Bin Laden operation. My imagination conjures up a scenario where the Task Force Black guys are sold down the river to make ISIS look unbeatable. The whole deal is supposedly run by CIA too, not military.

SAS and US special forces forming hunter killer unit to 'smash IslamicState'
Aug 23, 2014 20:11

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-n...hunter-4097083
By Aaron Sharp
Task Force Black will aim to “cut the head off the snake” by hittingthe command structure of the Islamist terror group responsible for a trail ofdestruction

Elite British and US special forces troops are forming a hunter killerunit called Task Force Black – its orders: “Smash the Islamic State.”

The undercover warriors will aim to “cut the head off the snake” byhitting the command structure of the Islamist terror groupresponsible for a trail of atrocities across Iraq and Syria, reports the SundayPeople.

PM David Cameron has told the SAS and UK spy agencies to direct alltheir *resources at defeating IS after a video of US journalist James Foleybeing beheaded shocked the world.

British special forces will work with America’s Delta Force and SealTeam 6. The move sees a rebirth of top secret Task Force Black, which helpeddefeat al-Qaeda terrorists in Iraq .

This time the counter-terrorist *experts will be targeting Abu Bakr *al-Baghdadi,leader of IS and now the world’s most wanted terrorist.

A source said: “We need to go into Syria and Iraq and kill as many ISmembers as we can. You can’t *negotiate with these people.

“This is not a war of choice. They are cash rich and have a plentiful *supplyof arms. If we don’t go after them, they will soon come after us.

“In Iraq, Task Force Black was carrying out strike operations everynight.

"It was an unrelenting, intelligence-led assault on al-Qaeda. Ittook a lot of hard work and no small amount of sacrifice – but it worked.

“Defeating IS cannot be done by air strikes alone. You have to get onthe ground and take out the commanders – cut off the snake’s head.

“The organisation will then begin to collapse. IStargets civilians and has yet to get into a real fight with a *modernWestern military.

“The SAS and US special forces will do untold damage to them.

“They’ll focus on the high command. This is going to be a longcampaign, probably lasting years.

“And it will be like nothing the West has ever had to confront before.”

The new task force will comprise a squadron of the SAS, special forcesaircrews from the RAF and agents from MI5 and MI6.

The operation will be led by America’s CIA spy agency.

One of the first jobs will be to identify the British Muslim shown onan IS video released last week apparentlycutting Foley’s head off with a knife.

UK intelligence sources confirmed that the killer, believed to be aBritish-born Pakistani from London, is already at the top of a CIA “kill list”.

The bloodthirsty thug, dubbed “Jailer John”, was one of a brutal trioof Britons nicknamed “The Beatles” who guard IS kidnap victims.

Former IS captives said up to 20 foreigners are being held by IS.

The joint US/British unit will *conduct strike operations against IS inboth Syria and Iraq.

Troops will also train Kurdish Peshmerga fighters.

Prime Minister David Cameron and President Barack Obama are determinednot to send large numbers of ground troops, so the use of small teams ofspecial forces working with local militias is their only option.

Downing Street has revealed that Britain will send “non-lethal”equipment including night-vision equipment and body armour to Kurdish fightersthis week.

Work has already begun creating a network of spies and informers whowill supply Task Force Black with *high-grade human intelligence.

British and US spy planes will eavesdrop on *mobile phone calls andpinpoint the location of IS commanders.

Operations will also be mounted to snatch middle-ranking IS commandersfor interrogation by CIA analysts.

US Navy Seals showed that intelligence gathered over years can be usedto mount a kill operation when they shot dead Osama bin Laden in 2011.

The new task force plans similar surprise attacks in which *sophisticated“silent” helicopters land troops.
The SAS, Seals and Delta Force worked together on many operations inAfghanistan and share intelligence.

One source said: “Intelligence will be key to our operations. We haveto build a network to defeat a network.

"The brutal tactics of IS mean a lot of people want to see them gone.
“They have people fighting for them who are too frightened to leave.

"Young men joined IS believing they were fighting tyranny but whatthey saw was mass executions and beheadings.

“The CIA will offer them money and a new life – but they’ll have todeliver information first.”

There are also moves to revive a defunct Iraqi special forces unitcalled the Apostles, which was *created by the first Task Force Black a*fterthe Iraq War.

Meanwhile MrCameron is under growing pressure over an alleged failure to deal withhome-grown radicals.

Pictures of him surfing in Cornwall at the height of the crisis aresaid to have raised eyebrows even in his Cabinet.

Politicians of all parties urged action to stop radicalisation of youngBritish Muslims and tougher restrictions on those *peddling extremist views.

And there were renewed calls for security services to get greaterpowers to monitor extremists online.
It emerged that recommendations to toughen controls made five monthsago by David Anderson QC, the Government’s own adviser on terrorism laws, haveyet to be acted on.

In another move, Lieutenant General Sir Simon Mayall, the Government’ssenior defence adviser on the Middle East, is being sent to liaise with Kurdish commanders.