As I write, Paris is under curfew for the first time since the German occupation, and the death toll from the multiple attacks stands at 158, the vast majority of them slaughtered during a concert at the Bataclan theatre, a delightful bit of 19th century
Category Archives: Terrorism
The Barbarians Are Inside, And There Are No Gates
Filed under Culture Wars, Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Military, Politics, Terrorism
Dead wrong… again!
President Obama discussed the threat of ISIS just yesterday morning in an interview with George Stephanopoulos. The takeaways, in his unparalleled counterfactual style, that jump out are he once again underestimates the threat and he proffers statements that within hours were proven demonstrably not only misguided, but dangerously dead wrong. The president insists ISIS is contained, in large part because of his insufficient, tepid military action in Iraq or perhaps his daring offensive move to send 50 Special Forces operators into Syria, which turned the tide, where he can claim that JV ISIS team is contained. Leonidas had 300 Spartans, but Obama, the military genius, only needs …….50.
Then the attack on Paris happened and once again the entire world sees that the JV team actually resides in the White House. Sadly, for the American people, we have not only a fool for a “leader”, we have a fearless leader from behind, whose cowardly hiding behind pathetic “narratives” (LIES), puts every one of us at risk. Yes, I believe his actions (and inactions) make him a grave national security threat.
Don’t expect him to admit he was wrong. No, no, no, he insists he has the best minds from the military working on his strategy and his team of advisors have been presenting ideas on how to fight ISIS. So, be prepared for him to throw them under the bus, despite the steady drumbeat of leaks from the Pentagon, relating how he does not follow any of their advice.
Here’s the ABC interview, so you can decide for yourself if he understands the threat.
To compound the problem, President Obama has escalated the refugee resettlement for tens of thousands of Syrian refugees.
Filed under Culture Wars, Foreign Policy, General Interest, Military, Politics, Terrorism
FBI Has Nearly 1,000 Active ISIS Probes Inside U.S.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has nearly 1,000 active probes involving the terrorist group Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) inside the United States, dozens of law enforcement officials disclose in a letter to President Obama. The officials are elected sheriffs in Colorado making a case against the administration’s plan to transfer terroristsRead the full post
Filed under Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Politics, Terrorism
An ominious bellwether
The news in Paris should serve as an ominous bellwether. Perhaps, Europeans will wake up to the threat they’ve invited into their countries. While the usual abettors of Islamic terror will take to the airwaves to make excuses and assure us that we must not resort to “Islamophobia”, the truth is until we recognize the malignancy within Islam, that lies deep in the heart of Islam, we cannot protect America. Jihad is not just some ISIS nutcases attacking us, jihad is sanctioned by Islamic legal scholars, as well as the foremost Islamic theologians. It is deep within Islam, not a fringe interpretation.
I had planned to wait until I finish this important book, but in light of tonight’s attack in Paris, I’m going to freely plug “Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad” by Stephen Coughlin. President Obama’s administration has purged experts, like Coughlin, from key positions within our national security network and replaced them with false narrative promulgators from the Muslim Brotherhood ranks and academia. Coughlin writes:
“Consider what happens when the typical suicide operation occurs: We see the farewell video of the martyr giving his reasons for carrying out the attack. He is neither white-knuckled nor perspiring. He is calm and very collected. He is a man who has made a decision to die for what he believes in, a decision that— given his worldview— could reasonably be described as rational. Any threat doctrine capable of motivating people to undertake such actions has demonstrated a capacity to inspire intense commitment. Anyone who mocks this commitment or looks down on those able to inspire it is seriously underestimating the nature of the threat, as well as the capability and doctrine of its “soldiers.” The suicide attack occurs; we watch the carnage on the news. Later, news reports carry images of an entire town celebrating the suicide bomber’s becoming a shahid, often translated as martyr. But this is usually only half the story. What happens next is that the reporter will interview a terrorism expert in a book-lined office on a college campus or consult a senior U.S. government official in Washington and then tell viewers that what they just saw— and what Americans have seen for more than a decade— is not real, has nothing to do with Islam, and is too complicated to explain.
Again, the people killing us claim they do so to wage jihad in the cause of Allah, to impose Islamic law and reestablish the Caliphate. It is an unalterable fact that nearly all “violent extremists” with whom the United States is presently engaged in military operations make that very claim. Shahids define Islam as the basis for their motivation before carrying out their attack. This is true regardless of whether their understanding of Islam is correct and regardless of what percentage of Muslims globally agrees or disagrees with that doctrine. “Jihad in the cause of Allah” is what the enemy claims it is doing, to the exclusion of all other reasons, including “underlying causes” such as economic deprivation. The enemy doesn’t just make this claim. What the jihadis say they will do tracks exactly with what they do.”
Coughlin, Stephen (2015-05-04). Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad (Kindle Locations 595-612). Center for Security Policy Press. Kindle Edition.
We should demand our government secure our borders immediately! Let’s for once learn from an attack on western civilization. There is no time for waiting for a 2016 presidential candidate to take the reins, no time for accepting our mealy-mouthed politicians making excuses. Americans need to realize that President Obama’s plans to bring in hordes of “refugees” will assuredly bring in more Islamists. The truth we must face is that Jeh Johnson, the Homeland Security director, lied to the American people when he assured us that these “refugees” will be thoroughly vetted. The US government possesses no viable way to vet people claiming to come from Syria, when the US government has no Syrian government to vet these Syrian passport holders and so many of these “refugees” assuredly are lying about their identities.
President Obama will try to downplay the Islamic terror threat to America. His minions will regale us with lectures about the dangers of “Islamophobia”, but they will not tell us the truth about Islamic terror. The time to save ourselves draws nigh.
Filed under Culture Wars, Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Military, Politics, Terrorism
News from amongst the Syrian rebels
This is a short post with mostly some news links, because frankly I am busy with my needlework and can’t write blog posts and sew at the same time. The Syrian rebels are making the news again. Here’s a news story I mentioned the other day and let’s hope these aren’t part of elusive “moderate Syrian rebels”:
“Hundreds of women locked in cages to act as human shields against Assad’s air-strikes: Rebels parade families loyal to president through streets as horrifying deterrent”
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3301364/Hundreds-women-locked-cages-act-human-shields-against-Assad-s-air-strikes-Rebels-parade-families-loyal-president-streets-horrifying-deterrent.html#ixzz3qeD2S6En
Follow us: @MailOnline on Twitter | DailyMail on Facebook
Next there’s this msn report of mustard gas being used in a battle in August. Note the combatants were some Syrian rebel group and the Islamic State, not Assad’s forces. Once again, let’s hope these aren’t part of the elusive “moderate Syrian rebels”:
“EXCLUSIVE-Chemical weapons used in Syrian fighting – watchdog”
Perhaps, someday we’ll get past the delusional reasoning, the hunt to create moderates among Islamists, which Stephen Coughlin, the former Pentagon expert on Islamic law and Islamic terror, explains stems from creating this false narrative of “countering violent extremism” rather than naming the source of that violent extremism. Our government actively refuses to recognize the Islam in Jihad. Here’s an excellent interview where Coughlin explains the problem:
Stephen Coughlin on “Is Al-Qaeda Really the Moderate Alternative to ISIS?” — on The Glazov Gang
On the home front, Carol Brown at the American Thinker wrote a piece:
“Good News and Bad News as the Federal Government Faces Global Jihad”, reporting on legislation being introduced by Senator Ted Cruz in the Senate and Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart in the House that would designate the Muslim Brotherhood a terrorist organization.
To understand the mixed nuts in the radical Islamic assortment, it’s important to understand the ideology. Coughlin, mentioned above, was one of the Pentagon’s foremost experts on Islamic law and understanding Islamic terrorism, but in the Obama era, his contract at the Pentagon was not renewed. There’s been an organized and concerted effort to pretend some Islamists are “moderates”, whom we should cultivate (arm in some cases, too it appears). Now, the Cruz/Diaz-Balart legislation will not garner White House support, which promotes the narrative of the Muslim Brotherhood as mostly a secular organization.
To understand the who’s who amongst the Sunni radicals this 2005 link covers The Salafist Movement from it’s inception to present holy terrors:
“The Salafist Movement” By Bruce Livesey
So, to fight the Islamic State, ruthless killers who number in the tens of thousands, President Obama last week ramped up his fight and actually sent his spokesman out to make the announcement that he was sending 50 Special Forces operators into Syria…. That no general stepped forward and resigned in protest to using military force, that has no strategic purpose whatsoever, for a shameless and stupendously stupid PR gambit, demonstrated clearly the sorry state of our military leadership and it also highlighted the callous disregard this President has for the US Armed Forces. 50 – yes, 50 to serve as walking targets for the Islamic State. Some strategy….
Filed under Foreign Policy, General Interest, Islam, Military, Politics, Terrorism
Obama’s turbulent Mid-East magic carpet ride
Since last week’s Benghazi hearing the partisan clamor on the right ended up looking like a witch hunt and truly could there be a more perfect caricature of an evil witch, replete with the cackle, than Hillary Clinton? I think of her as “thatwitch2016”, but there again my feelings are based on what personally happened to me during impeachment (Messages of mhere, tabbed at the top of my home page), but that aside the Republicans, as usual, followed the bread crumb trail laid down by that witch2016 and into the oven went their attempt to expose her. Sure, they scored a few hits, exposing her as callous and mendacious, but she walked away having the last laugh.
The Republicans keep trying to pin the September 11,2012 attack on Hillary Clinton, but the real responsibility for Benghazi resides at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. The Benghazi “mission” was not in the State Department facility, but at the CIA facility and that’s where the questions need to be answered – what were we really doing in Benghazi. When that is answered, the timeline moves further back to why did we really oust Gadaffi and who were the sources of this intelligence of impending alleged “genocide” Gadaffi was plotting? Was he really plotting a “genocide”? Who really were the “rebels” in Libya, for whom we instigated regime change to protect? Were they “freedom fighters or radical Islamists and Al Qaeda? Once that Gordian knot is untangled, let’s ask the same questions in Syria. How did “Assad the Reformer” poof into “Assad the genocidal monster”? Who were the sources of the intelligence used to make these assessments?
Yes, whose intelligence does the Obama administration rely on to make foreign policy decisions? That is the central question! With that in mind, a day early, I’m doing a throwback Thursday rerun of my January 25,2015 prognosticative blog post on Obama’s turbulent Mid-East magic carpet ride. Compare my assessment in January to where we are now and along with the questions posed above, ask how the Obama administration went from claiming Yemen a success story in the fight against terrorism, in September 2014, to the collapse of the Yemeni government in January 2015. Supposedly, our counter-terrorism campaign was a stunning success according to the President in September and in January 2015 terrorists, financed and armed largely by Iran, toppled the government. How was the intelligence so lacking or whose intelligence did the Obama administration use to form the September 2014 assessment? Was it flat out false and falsified intelligence or did the administration choose to write their own fairy tale? These are the questions we really need answered – because the blame goes all the way to top on Benghazi and Hillary served as the administration’s fire break line last week. For not exposing the administration’s real activities in Benghazi, it’s likely she earned herself a “get out jail free card” in regards to her email problems. Here’s my big picture view from January 2015:
January 25, 2015
The Yemen “Success” Story In Flames
Malcolm Pollack wrote an excellent post on the Houthi coup in Yemen, “Rock and Roll, Houthi Coup”. Malcolm compiled the pertinent facts on Yemen being another Muslim failed state, clinging to the edge of the cliff – economic despair, a population reliant on government for its basic needs, a water supply imperiled by khat production, and internecine fighting. He states:
“About Yemen, President Obama — who, when it comes to foreign policy and a whole lot more, has been described of late as “King Midas in reverse” — had this to say back in September:
This strategy of taking out terrorists who threaten us, while supporting partners on the front lines, is one that we have successfully pursued in Yemen and Somalia for years.
As always, up is down, black is white, etc. Meanwhile, this:
The collapse of the U.S.-backed government of Yemen on Thursday has left America’s counter-terrorism campaign “paralyzed”, two U.S. security officials said, dealing a major setback to Washington’s fight against al Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP), a potent wing of the militant network.”
I recommend you read his entire excellent post. Now, along with collapse of the Yemeni government, to the north, Saudi Arabia’s relic of a king passed away. So, we’ve got the “kingdom” of Saudi Arabia passing the crown to a 79 year-old, who reportedly suffers from dementia, while the court swarms with intrigue. Now, this kingdom feels threatened on all fronts – existentially from Shia expansion, from radicalized Sunni/Salafi Islamist groups, and from crashing oil prices. In reaction to these external threats they’re building walls (a defensive posture) to keep foreign dangers at bay and bankrolling President Obama’s half-hearted battle to defeat IS/ISIL/ISIS (a money down the drain effort). John McCreary’s Nightwatch predicts, the new king will likely move toward more conservative domestic postures, which makes sense, to try to preserve power and maintain political stability within the kingdom. Nightwatch’s analysis states:
“Be prepared for policy changes. The instinctive reaction of living systems is to contract during times of internal stress, and even more so during a leadership crisis. Leadership transition is a time of vulnerability. Most systems increase their defensive vigilance during that period.
Applying that to Saudi Arabia, guards will be extra vigilant to protect the new King and the Crown Prince. Restrictions on population movements and border controls usually tighten. Dissidents and miscreants usually go to ground for a while.
The protective and defensive instinct also applies to policies. That instinct ensures the continuation of the bedrock principles of a state, but not necessarily more discretionary initiatives. In Saudi Arabia, the monarchy, Wahhabism, the tribal heritage and oil are four of the bedrock principles. Experiments in modernity are expendable.
The emphasis in a leadership transition always is stability because when a King dies, the Kingdom can be at risk. Abdallah did all that a reigning monarch can do to protect the monarchy. Readers must expect that his policies and programs will be modified, assuming they survive at all.”
Shia powers smell weakness, as do the radicalized bands of Islamist nutcases, emboldening them to embark on ambitious offensive measures to seize more territory in rudderless states, left from the oh so glorious Arab Spring, our ass backwards, leader from behind, championed. Sorry, namby-pamby, narrative writers at the White House, the rest of the world isn’t in the business of selling Obama t-shirts, Obama policies or the Obama “legacy” (#ChickensCameHomeToRoost), so they already wrote Obama off as a weak, unreliable partner.
So, we’ve got bands of drug-crazed, drug-financed Islamists and batshit crazy Shia mullahs fighting to rule swaths of war-ravaged, barren sand pits, swarming with millions of hopeless, starving, illiterate people. Yemen is just one more to add to the list.
Don’t expect the Obama administration to do more than rewrite their “narrative” and send John Kerry bearing love beads, groveling to the Iranians once more, begging for them to cooperate on Peace in the region. “Up in smoke” goes the Obama foreign policy on Yemen, hailed only months ago as a huge “success” – like Somalia, no less (yep, failed state Somalia is a Obama success too, who knew….). To round out President Obama’s capitulation to the threat we can not name – (Islamic Imperialism) , stay tuned, because soon we will see how, the Iranian regime, Terror Central, incorporates nuclear weapons into their OFFENSIVE MILITARY POSTURE. One can only wonder if the Obama administration has chewed too much khat like the Somalis and Yemenis or scarier to consider, perhaps these stellar graduates from some of America’s finest universities really believe their own
bullshit, oops, “narratives”.Psst, no, no, no watch and see, it’s those nefarious “right-wing, gun-toting, clinging to their religion Americans” (ostensibly, those dastardly WASPs) who pose the greatest threat to America. Let me sip another cup of tea:-)
Filed under Foreign Policy, General Interest, Military, Politics, Terrorism
Another lie?
Hillary keeps repeating the mantra that she never sent nor received classified information that was marked classified. Reading through the comments on Andrew McCarthy’s piece, mentioned in my previous post, a comment caught my attention. Of course, in this case Hillary sent a personal email, containing information that one would think was automatically classified – marked or not and the recipient does not have a security clearance. Here’s the comment and please fill me in where this reasoning is incorrect:
Douglas • a day ago
A question no one addressed at the hearing or in the aftermath. The fact that the immediate reports out of Libya that the Mission had been attacked by jihadis must have been classified communications.
Yet, Hillary immediately shared that info with her daughter who has no security clearance whatsoever and is, or was, an employee of NBC News.
Filed under Foreign Policy, General Interest, Politics, Terrorism
Ambassador Stevens met with Al Qaeda affiliate
Here is the Congressman Pompeo line of inquiry – Ambassador Stevens met with an Al Qaeda affiliate hours before the attack.
“Clinton: ‘I Know Nothing’ About Ambassador Stevens’s Meeting with Al-Qaeda Affiliate”
Read more at: http://www.nationalreview.com/article/425935/hillary-clinton-benghazi-testimony-chris-stevens
Filed under Foreign Policy, General Interest, Military, Politics, Terrorism
A LB Retrospective of Hillary’s ARB Report
The following is a rerun of a LB blog post from September 22, 2013, so when you consider this information, just ask yourself the question posed in the title:
Benghazi ARB report: Bird Cage Liner or Probing Investigation?
Gladius emailed this handy link to the House’s Committee on Oversight and Government Reform interim report on the Benghazi Attacks released September 16, 2013. (full report here). I’ve only waded through the first couple dozen pages and each page leads to more questions on Madame Secretary’s legally mandated internal review of the events surrounding Benghazi. Her State Department set-up an Accountability Review Board (ARB), run by five big name former government servants, to include former ambassador to the UN and six other countries, Thomas Pickering and former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, retired Admiral Mike Mullen. The Obama administration cited this ongoing investigation as a shield from probing questions by the media and concerned Congressional members and as a handy sword to swiftly fell any who dared criticize. Pages 21-22 explains their process for gleaning the facts, with Admiral Mike Mullen testifying how their ARB report was put together:
In addition, the Committee has been unable to assess with any specificity what
information witnesses conveyed to the ARB during interviews. The ARB did not maintain
official transcripts of the testimony provided to the Board. Instead, it developed reports of each
interview based on the notes of staff and Board members. Mullen testified:
Q. How were the interviews recorded? Was there a court reporter?
Was there video? Was there audio recording? Note taking?
A. Note taking.
Q. And none of the other options?
A. No.
Q. And how did it get put together?
A. The staff would put a summary of the interview together. We
would — the members would be able to review that summary
shortly after the interview.
Q. Any concerns with that?
A. No.
Q. That it wasn’t transcribed or recorded?
A. No. From the standpoint of content, substance and content, I found
them to be very accurate.
Yep, they relied on their own personal notes rather than on recording, videotaping or even having a stenographer present. This was how their official report was documented. I’ll read the entire report before rendering a final judgement on Madame Secretary’s ARB report and relegating it to the bird cage liner pile (worthy only of catching droppings), but the first couple dozen pages are damning.
Filed under Foreign Policy, General Interest, Military, Politics, Terrorism
The Queen’s re-re-re launch TODAY
Her opening statement serves as her campaign foreign policy speech. The Clinton scorched earth moves on. As you should note the Clinton camp colluded with Congressman Cummings.
She is listing her credentials and playing the victim of a witch hunt. She is using her Queen persona today, above the dirty gutter politics.
She will use tearing up and righteous indignation all day… Barf!
Filed under Foreign Policy, General Interest, Politics, Terrorism
libertybelle diaries 