Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Syria. Show all posts

Wednesday, October 28, 2015

DefSec: U.S. to Begin 'Direct Action On The Ground' In Iraq, Syria

DefSec: U.S. to Begin 'Direct Action On The Ground' In Iraq, Syria

October 28, 2015 DefSec: U.S. to Begin 'Direct Action On The Ground' In Iraq , Syria 0 Comments


By Jim Miklaszewski, Oct 27, 2015 NBC

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday that the U.S. will begin "direct action on the ground" against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria, aiming to intensify pressure on the militants as progress against them remains elusive.

"We won't hold back from supporting capable partners in opportunistic attacks against ISIL, or conducting such missions directly whether by strikes from the air or direct action on the ground," Carter said in testimony before the Senate Armed Services committee, using an alternative name for the militant group.

Carter pointed to last week's rescue operation with Kurdish forces in northern Iraq to free hostages held by ISIS.
 
Read More: http://www.nbcnews.com

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Saturday, October 10, 2015

"60 Minute" Suck-Up Supposedly "Grills" Obama On Putin, Syria

October 10, 2015 "60 Minute" Suck-Up Supposedly "Grills" Obama On Putin , Syria 0 Comments

Obama On Putin's Military Mission In Syria 


By CBS, Oct 09, 2013 

President Vladimir Putin's military mission in Syria is a sign of Russia's weakness, not a show of its leadership, says President Obama. Russia has been forced to prop up a teetering Assad regime, he maintains, Russia's only ally in the region. Mr. Obama speaks at length to Kroft about the situation in Syria and about domestic politics, including his opinions on Hillary Clinton's use of a private email server, whether his vice president, Joe Biden, will run for president, and his take on Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump. The interview will be broadcast on 60 Minutes Sunday, October 11 at 7:30 p.m ET/PT.

An excerpt from the 60 Minutes interview was broadcast on CBS This Morning. A transcript of that excerpt is below:

Read More: http://www.cbsnews.com

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Sunday, July 5, 2015

"25 Syrian regime soldiers [shot] in front of bloodthirsty crowds"

July 05, 2015 Child Executioners , Daily Mail 0 Comments
ISIS Child Executioners Brutally Shoot Dead 25 Syrian Regime Soldiers

Imogen Calderwood, Jun. 4, 2015, Daily Mail

ISIS has released a significant new execution video from the historic city of Palmyra, in the Syrian desert.

Child executioners are shown in the video being forced to brutally slaughter a group of more than 25 regime soldiers.

The video shows the soldiers lined up on their knees on the stage of the Roman amphitheatre, which had formerly been used for an annual festival in the city.

A baying crowd of men and boys gathered in the restored ruin waiting for the slaughter, many wearing military uniforms and headscarves.

Behind each condemned man stands a child executioner, all wearing desert camouflage and brown bandanas, many of whom appear to be no older than 12 or 13 years old.

ISIS fighters can be seen standing or sitting on top of the ancient ruins, watching over the crowd as they wait for the slaughter.

A leader speaks to the audience, in front of an enormous ISIS flag draped across the back of the stage.

More: www.dailymail.co.uk

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Saturday, June 13, 2015

Breaking His Silence

June 13, 2015 Iraq , ISIS 1 Comments
GWBush: You Need Boots On The Ground 

By Jesse Brynes, Jun. 12, 2015, The Hill

The United States will need combat troops on the ground to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS), former President George W. Bush suggested in a new interview.

"The president will have to make that determination," Bush said in an interview published Friday with the Israel Hayom newspaper when asked if ISIS could be defeated without ground troops.

"My position was that you need to have boots on the ground," he said.

Bush made the comments days after President Obama said he was sending more troops to Iraq. Obama has authorized sending up to 450 additional U.S. troops "to train, advise, and assist" local Iraqi forces battling ISIS, White House spokesman Josh Earnest said. They will not serve in combat.

There are currently 3,100 U.S. military members in Iraq, with all serving in an advisory role. The Obama administration has also opted for airstrikes to combat the terrorist group in Syria, where it has taken over large areas of land.

Bush said he faced the "very difficult decision" as president to double-down and send additional U.S. troops to Iraq amid mounting casualties and eroding public support for the war.

"I think history will show that al-Qaida in Iraq was defeated," said Bush, who in the interview described al Qaeda as "ISIS as far as I am concerned."

More: www.thehill.com

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Saturday, May 16, 2015

"fought capture and was killed in the raid"

May 16, 2015 ISIS , Laura Smith-Spark 0 Comments
Sources: U.S. Special Operations Forces Kill ISIS Commander Abu Sayyaf In Syria Raid 

Key ISIS commander Abu Sayyaf was 
killed by a U.S. raid on Syria. (Photo: CNN)
By Laura Smith-Spark and Ray Sanchez, May 16, 2015, CNN

(CNN) U.S. Special Operations forces killed a key ISIScommander during a daring raid in eastern Syria overnight Friday to Saturday -- securing intelligence on how the terror organization operates, communicates and earns money, U.S. government officials said.

The ISIS commander, identified by his nom de guerre Abu Sayyaf, was killed in a heavy firefight after he resisted capture in the raid at al-Omar, U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter said in a statement.

The officials identified Sayyaf's captured wife as Umm Sayyaf, an Iraqi. She is now being held in Iraq.

The U.S. government did not release Sayyaf's real name.

The ground operation was led by the Army's Delta Force, sources familiar with the mission told CNN. There were about two dozen members of Delta Force involved, sources said. They were part of a multi-branch force of about 100, the sources told CNN's Barbara Starr.

Carter said he had ordered the raid at the direction of President Barack Obama. All the U.S. troops involved returned safely.

National Security Council spokeswoman Bernadette Meehan said Obama had authorized the raid "upon the unanimous recommendation of his national security team" and as soon as the United States was confident all the pieces were in place for the operation to succeed.

Read the full story:  www.cnn.com

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Tuesday, March 31, 2015

Thought He WAS An Enemy?

March 31, 2015 Bashar al-Assad , Fox News 0 Comments
Assad 'Open' To Negotiations With US, Says ISIS Strengthening Despite Airstrikes

Screen grab via FoxNews.com
By Fox News, Mar. 30, 2015

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad said Sunday that he’s "open" to negotiations with the United States and that airstrikes conducted by a U.S.-led coalition in the region are not defeating the Islamic State terror group.

“We didn’t attack the American population. We didn’t support terrorists who did anything in the United States,” Assad told CBS’ "60 Minutes." "We always wanted to have good relation with the United States. We never thought in the other direction.”

Assad was reacting to comments made earlier this month by U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry in which Kerry said Washington was "working very hard with other interested parties to see if we can reignite a diplomatic outcome ... Because everyone agrees there is no military solution. There is only a political solution."

Assad has presided over Syria during a devastating civil war that has lasted for four years, claimed over 200,000 lives, and seen the rise of jihadist groups like Islamic State, or ISIS. The Obama administration has repeatedly insisted that any solution to the conflict would involve Assad's removal from power.

Read the full story:  www.foxnews.com

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Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Evidence? Proof?

March 03, 2015 Climate Change , Mark Fischetti 0 Comments
Climate Change Hastened Syria's Civil War

Nelson Almeida / AFP / Getty
By Mark Fischetti, MAR. 2, 2015, ScientificAmerican.com

Climate change can make storms stronger, cold spells longer and water supplies drier. But can it cause war? A new study published today in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences says drought in Syria, exacerbated to record levels by global warming, pushed social unrest in that nation across a line into an open uprising in 2011. The conflict has since become a major civil war with international involvement.

Drying and drought in Syria from 2006 to 2011—the worst on record there—destroyed agriculture, causing many farm families to migrate to cities. The influx added to social stresses already created by refugees pouring in from the war in Iraq, explains Richard Seager, a climate scientist at Columbia University’s Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory who co-authored the study. The drought also pushed up food prices, aggravating poverty. “We’re not saying the drought caused the war,” Seager said. “We’re saying that added to all the other stressors, it helped kick things over the threshold into open conflict. And a drought of that severity was made much more likely by the ongoing human-driven drying of that region.”

Read the full story:  www.scientificamerican.com

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Friday, February 6, 2015

Why believe ANYTHING they say?

February 06, 2015 American Hostage , ISIS 0 Comments
American Female Hostage Killed in Jordanian Airstrike, ISIS Claims

By KTLA Los Angeles, Feb. 6, 2015

The Jordanian military has struck hard at ISIS targets in Syria, parts of its efforts to avenge the death of one of its pilots. But did it end up killing an American hostage in the process?

That’s what ISIS said in online posting Friday, claiming that a female American it was holding captive had died in a Jordanian airstrike on its de facto capital, Raqqa. The posting include a picture of a collapsed building that ISIS claimed the woman was being held.

But it did not show her, or provide any proof of her death.

Jordanian Interior Minister Hussein Majali swiftly and firmly knocked down the ISIS report, calling it “another PR stunt by ISIS.”

“They tried to cause problems internally in Jordan and haven’t succeeded,” Majali said. “They are now trying to drive a wedge between the coalition with this latest low PR stunt.”

Read the full story:  www.ktla.com

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Wednesday, January 21, 2015

intel suggests it might be imminent

January 21, 2015 Chris Pleasance , Daily Mail 0 Comments
Iran And Hezbollah Are Planning 'Imminent' Joint Invasion Of Israel's Northern Galilee

Chris Pleasance, Jan. 20, 2015, Daily Mail

Senior Iranian politicians are said to be incensed at the death of Allahdadi, which they confirmed yesterday, saying he had been 'martyred' in the name of his country.

Officials also denied that he had been planning any kind of attack, instead saying he had been in Syria to advise the government on how to tackle extremists such as Islamic State, who control much of the country's north.

Read more: www.dailymail.co.uk

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Tuesday, January 20, 2015

Hideous--and in pursuit of WMD

January 20, 2015 Breitbart , Genocide 0 Comments
German Embed Reporter: ISIS Plans On Killing 'Hundreds of Millions' In 'Religious Cleansing'

Jordan Schachtel, Jan. 18, 2015, Breitbart

“I always asked them about the value of mercy in Islam,” but “I didn’t see any mercy in their behavior,” explained Todenhofer. He added, “Something that I don’t understand at all is the enthusiasm in their plan of religious cleansing…

He told Al Jazeera that he believed the terror group would only be stopped if fellow Sunni Iraqis would rise up against them.

Read more: www.breitbart.com

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Good thing Iran doesn't have a nuke...

January 20, 2015 Bashar al-Assad , Hezbollah 0 Comments
Iran General Killed With Hezbollah Fighters In Israel Raid

Sara Hussein and Serene Assir, Jan. 19, 2015, AFP

The attack on Sunday near Quneitra on the Syrian-controlled side of the Golan Heights enraged Hezbollah's supporters, but analysts said the group would avoid a major escalation with Israel.

Once solely focused on fighting Israel, Hezbollah is now deeply involved in the war in neighbouring Syria, where it backs President Bashar al-Assad.

Read more: news.yahoo.com

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Friday, January 9, 2015

Meanwhile "lone wolves" divert attention and resources

January 09, 2015 al Qaeda , Great Britain 0 Comments
Britain's MI5 Chief Warns Al Qaeda In Syria Planning Mass Attacks On West

Guy Faulconbridge, Jan. 8, 2015, Reuters

Parker said around 600 British extremists had traveled to Syria, many joining the militant group which calls itself "Islamic State" and has taken control of swathes of Iraq and Syria.

Islamic State militants in Syria were plotting attacks on Britain and making sophisticated use of social media to incite British nationals to carry out violence, Parker said.

Read more: news.yahoo.com


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Saturday, January 3, 2015

Growing in strength!

January 03, 2015 Iraq , Islamic State 0 Comments
ISIS Alive And Well--Faces No Threat To Their Existence
Jonathan Spyer, Sep. 4, 2014, Jerusalem Post

This week, the siege on the city of Amerli was lifted by Iraqi and Shi’ite militia forces, paving the way for the reconquest of Salahuddin province. The advance was preceded by US air strikes on Islamic State positions in the town.

The Peshmerga has also had a good few days. The strategic Mosul dam was recaptured in late August, in a joint operation with Iraqi forces; this week, the town of Zumar was retaken.

Read more: www.jpost.com
Photo via Flickr

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Friday, December 26, 2014

How many boots do we now have on the ground?

December 26, 2014 AFP , Iraq 0 Comments
Jordan Jet Was Not Shot Down By IS Group: US Military

AFP, Dec. 24, 2014, Yahoo! News

"Evidence clearly indicates that ISIL did not down the aircraft as the terrorist organization is claiming," said US Central Command, the body overseeing the coalition air war over Iraq and Syria.

The statement did not give a cause for the "crash," and confirmed the lost jet's Jordanian pilot had been taken captive by IS guerrillas.

Read more: news.yahoo.com

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Tuesday, December 9, 2014

Syria and Iran call it "an act of aggression"

December 09, 2014 Israeli-Palestinian Conflict , News.yahoo.com 0 Comments
Syria, Allies Condemn Israeli Airstrikes

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (right) 

and Russian President Vladimir Putin

Marc Israel Sellem/Pool/Flash90
By Zeina Karam, Dec. 8, 2014, News.yahoo.com

BEIRUT (AP) — Russia on Monday demanded an explanation for Israeli airstrikes on two areas near Damascus, while the Syrian and Iranian foreign ministers called it an act of aggression that proves Israel is "in the same trench" with extremist groups fighting the Syrian government.

The attacks are unlikely to have a big impact. Israel has already struck inside Syria on several occasions in the course of the country's chaotic civil war, including a series of airstrikes near Damascus in May 2013. Those strikes, according to Israeli officials, targeted shipments of Iranian-made Fateh-110 missiles bound for the Lebanese Hezbollah militant group.Israeli warplanes struck near Damascus' international airport on Sunday, as well as outside a town close to the Lebanese border.

Syria's reaction has been relatively mute; in previous cases, Damascus has vowed to retaliate without actually doing so.

Read the full story:  www.news.yahoo.com

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Thursday, November 20, 2014

a.k.a. U.S. ground troops

November 20, 2014 AP , Barack Obama 0 Comments
Aide: Obama Open To Limits In War Authorization

Bradley Klapper, Nov. 19, 2014, AP

Tony Blinken, currently President Barack Obama's deputy national security adviser, said discussions would continue with Congress on updating the legal basis for the U.S. intervention.

There has been no progress on an authorization in the two weeks since Obama vowed to coordinate with lawmakers on establishing a stronger legal basis for military action. That has prompted growing frustration among Republicans and Democrats with the White House.

Read more: hosted.ap.org


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Monday, November 17, 2014

We're sending more troops--with more to come.

November 17, 2014 Abdul-Rahman Kassig , Adam Goldman 0 Comments
Islamic State Beheads Former U.S. Army Ranger

Adam Goldman, Nov. 16, 2014, Washington Post

The death of Abdul-Rahman Kassig, previously known as Peter, came weeks after the group said it would kill him because of the U.S. bombing campaign in Syria.

“Today we offer our prayers and condolences to the parents and family” of Kassig, President Obama said in a statement released Sunday afternoon. “We cannot begin to imagine their anguish at this painful time.”

“Abdul-Rahman was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity,” Obama said.

Read more: www.washingtonpost.com


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Next to be executed

November 17, 2014 American Hostage , Beheading 0 Comments
A 26-Year-Old Woman Is ISIS’s Last American Hostage

Shane Harris, Nov. 17, 2014, The Daily Beast

The extremists didn’t show her off in their latest snuff film. And her family doesn’t want her name released. But what is known about ISIS’s remaining U.S. captive is heartbreaking.

With ISIS’s brutal murder of Peter Kassig, a 26-year-old American aid worker who dedicated his life to the plight of Syrian refugees, the militant group has one more U.S. citizen remaining in its clutches, according to current and former U.S. officials, as well as individuals involved in efforts to free the Americans.

The hostage is the only American woman held by the militant group. She is the same age as Kassig, and, like him, was kidnapped while trying to help people whose lives have been upended by the long Syrian civil war. She was particularly moved to help children who have been orphaned and separated from their families. The woman was taken in August 2013, along with a group of other aid workers who have reportedly been released.

Read more: www.thedailybeast.com


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Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Friendly fire over why GOP didn't defend the war!

October 22, 2014 Americanthinker.com , C. Edmund Wright 0 Comments
Karl Rove: Weapon of Mass Delusion

By C. Edmund Wright, Oct. 21, 2014, Americanthinker.com

So Karl Rove was involved in a cover-up. Well, leave it to Karl -- the “boy genius” and the “architect” -- to orchestrate a cover-up that actually hides information exculpatory to his President and his party. He did just that on the issue of Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMDs) in Iraq. This is not an outlier either -- this is just Rove being Rove. And ‘Rove being Rove’ has sown the seeds of destruction that gave us Barack Obama in 2008, and again in 2012, and has scattered political germs that still haunt Republicans to this day. This goes back to late 2000 in fact. More on that later.

So in case you missed it, the New York Times ran an eight part expose on WMDs and The Daily Beast ran a well-sourced piece entitled Insiders Blame Rove for Covering Up Iraq’s Real WMDs that chronicles a Rove-inspired cover up. You might remember the little kerfuffle the nation got into when ostensibly no weapons were found? You know, “Bush lied, people died” and all of that? It helped run George W. Bush’s administration right into the ground, and he took the Republican brand with him. Yes, Hurricane Katrina was a major factor too, but again, that was related to ‘Rove being Rove’ as well -- and more on that later, too.

The WMD issue was one of the major public relations snafus of the Bush Administration, and the whole effort in the War on Terror. And the costs of these mistakes are catastrophic and still mounting. Those include, but are not limited to the 2006 midterms, the 2008 Presidential election, the 2012 Presidential election -- and oh, the development of a little outfit known as ISIS / ISIL / IS etc. The costs are incalculable. The electorate, over the course of the years of Bush being hammered about lying on the issue of WMDs, hardened toward Bush -- and by extension -- all Republicans and even all conservatives. We still have this hangover today! Ask a man named Romney.

Read the full story:  www.americanthinker.com

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Monday, October 20, 2014

This is how we fight an existential threat?!

October 20, 2014 ISIS , Jamie Dettmer 0 Comments
U.S. Humanitarian Aid Going to ISIS

By Jamie Dettmer, Oct. 19, 2014, Thedailybeast.com

Not only are foodstuffs, medical supplies—even clinics—going to ISIS, the distribution networks are paying ISIS ‘taxes’ and putting ISIS people on their payrolls.

GAZIANTEP, Turkey—While U.S. warplanes strike at the militants of the so-called Islamic State in both Syria and Iraq, truckloads of U.S. and Western aid has been flowing into territory controlled by the jihadists, assisting them to build their terror-inspiring “caliphate.”

The aid—mainly food and medical equipment—is meant for Syrians displaced from their hometowns, and for hungry civilians. It is funded by the U.S. Agency for International Development, European donors, and the United Nations. Whether it continues is now the subject of anguished debate among officials in Washington and European. The fear is that stopping aid would hurt innocent civilians and would be used for propaganda purposes by the militants, who would likely blame the West for added hardship.

The Bible says if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him something to drink—doing so will “heap burning coals” of shame on his head. But there is no evidence that the militants of the Islamic State, widely known as ISIS or ISIL, feel any sense of disgrace or indignity (and certainly not gratitude) receiving charity from their foes.

Read the full story:  www.thedailybeast.com

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