Tag Archives: ISIS

The Junior Varsity Has Become The Varsity

Posted on by

On Thursday, Foreign Policy magazine posted an article about a laptop computer found in an ISIS hideout. The computer was found by Abu Ali, a commander of a moderate Syrian rebel group in northern Syria.

The article reports:

As we switched on the Dell laptop, it indeed still worked. Nor was it password-protected. But then came a huge disappointment: After we clicked on “My Computer,” all the drives appeared empty.

Appearances, however, can be deceiving. Upon closer inspection, the ISIS laptop wasn’t empty at all: Buried in the “hidden files” section of the computer were 146 gigabytes of material, containing a total of 35,347 files in 2,367 folders. Abu Ali allowed us to copy all these files — which included documents in French, English, and Arabic — onto an external hard drive.

…The laptop’s contents turn out to be a treasure trove of documents that provide ideological justifications for jihadi organizations — and practical training on how to carry out the Islamic State‘s deadly campaigns. They include videos of Osama bin Laden, manuals on how to make bombs, instructions for stealing cars, and lessons on how to use disguises in order to avoid getting arrested while traveling from one jihadi hot spot to another.

Other things found on the computer included a 19-page document written in Arabic, explaining how to weaponize bubonic plague from invested animals and how to develop biological weapons. Lovely.

Also included on the laptop:

The laptop also includes a 26-page fatwa, or Islamic ruling, on the usage of weapons of mass destruction. “If Muslims cannot defeat the kafir [unbelievers] in a different way, it is permissible to use weapons of mass destruction,” states the fatwa by Saudi jihadi cleric Nasir al-Fahd, who is currently imprisoned in Saudi Arabia. “Even if it kills all of them and wipes them and their descendants off the face of the Earth.”

This is what we are up against. As unbelievers, we are supposed to be destroyed by the Muslims. It has nothing to do with what we do–it is because we are not Muslims. If we are willing to convert to Islam, our lives will be spared.

Negotiating with ISIS and its relatives is NOT an option.

The ‘Look At Me’ President

Posted on by

Fox News is reporting today that two senior Defense officials told Fox News that President Obama has authorized the U.S. to fly surveillance drones over Syria. Why in the world is this being announced? Did former Presidents announce surveillance flights over other countries? We are not actually at war with Syria, so why in the world should we make this announcement? I am not opposed to the surveillance flights–we should have been doing them all along–I am opposed to the fact that the Obama Administration announced them.

The article reports:

Sources told Fox News that Obama approved surveillance missions in Syria for the first time over the weekend; they have since begun. 

It remains to be seen whether the Syrian government will raise any objections to the move. On Monday, the Syrian regime demanded that the U.S. seek permission before launching any airstrikes on its territory against Islamic State targets, but did not discuss its position on surveillance drones. 

The internal discussion over whether to expand the U.S. mission into Syria comes after the U.S. military earlier this month began launching a volley of strikes against Islamic State targets in northern Iraq. Top Pentagon officials have said that the only way the threat from the militants can be fully eliminated is to go after the group inside neighboring Syria as well. 

Army Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters in Kabul, Afghanistan, on Tuesday that the U.S. wants more clarity on the militants in Syria, but declined to comment on the surveillance flights.

“Clearly the picture we have of ISIS on the Iraqi side is a more refined picture,” said Dempsey, using one of the acronyms for the Islamic State group. “The existence and activities of ISIS on the Syrian side, we have … some insights into that but we certainly want to have more insights into that as we craft a way forward.”

The action is considered the first “intrusive” surveillance by the U.S. in Syria since the country’s civil war began. This differs from protective surveillance, such as the U.S. used in the failed mission to rescue American hostages held in Syria.

I don’t have a problem with destroying ISIS, but I think we need to take a very close look at who we are supporting when we oppose ISIS. In opposing ISIS, we are supporting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. We also need to remember that Iran also opposes ISIS. ISIS is a horrible group of people, but do we really want to align ourselves with Bashar al-Assad and Iran? I am not sure there are any good guys in this. We need to help the Kurds defend themselves, but I am not sure we need to do anything else.

We Need Leaders Who Think Before They Speak

Posted on by

Yesterday Fox News Insider posted a story about the failed rescue attempt of hostages in Syria. In the statement revealing the rescue attempt, senior Obama Administration officials stated that at least six European hostages freed by the militants this spring had been debriefed by U.S. intelligence, giving us the information we needed to attempt a rescue. Think about the consequences of that making a public statement about those debriefings.

The article quotes Lt. Col. Ralph Peters:

Peters said the release of those details by the administration was shameful and could only be effective as weak political cover.

“You just don’t do it,” he said, adding that the release of details is disgraceful and murderous because it potentially endangers not only our soldiers for future raids but also the hostages that are still being held by ISIS, since we advertised that we received key intelligence from released hostages.

“You think the Islamic state is going to release more hostages? We signed their death warrants!”

The Obama Administration needs to think more carefully about the information it releases. We saw the consequences of announcing that Seal Team Six killed Osama Bin Laden. Let’s not do this again.

 

A Tribute To James Foley

Posted on by

National Review posted an article on line today about the death of James Foley. James Foley was beheaded by ISIS. The video was posted online with a threat to America regarding the other Americans the terrorist organization is holding. James Foley showed himself to be a man of courage as he faced death from these barbarians.

The article reports:

The video, entitled “A Message to America,” begins with President Obama’s announcement of military operations against ISIS. It then transitions to a sandy hilltop, where James Foley kneels before a man in black coveralls and a full black mask. Foley is wearing an orange jumpsuit and begins to read a forced message: He is made to tell us that “he died” the day that America intervened against the Islamic State. He’s made to blame his brother, a U.S. Air Force serviceman, and President Obama for his looming death. He’s made to state that he wishes he had “more time” and “the hope of freedom” (the Islamic State revels in teasing its prisoners with lost hope) to see his family again. Foley is made to say that he wishes he “wasn’t an American.”

Then, waving a knife, in a British accent dripping with hatred, the ISIS fanatic speaks.

He complains about American interference in Iraq. He claims that the Islamic State represents all Muslims and thus possesses inherent moral sovereignty.

He then beheads Mr. Foley.

This is what we are up against. We ignore it at our own peril. If you don’t believe that America is in any danger, google “The Holy Land Foundation Trial” and look at the exhibits. Included in the exhibits is the Muslim Brotherhood‘s plan to take over America.

The Holy Land Foundation Trial was the result of a traffic stop by a Maryland Transportation Authority Police officer in August 2004. The officer observed a woman wearing traditional Islamic garb videotaping the support structures of the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. The officer stopped the vehicle and found that the driver, Ismail Elbarasse, had an outstanding material witness warrant issued in Chicago in a Hamas case. After obtaining a warrant, the FBI searched Elbarasse’s home and found a hidden sub-basement. In the basement were the archives of the Muslim Brotherhood in North America. Those archives formed the exhibits in the Holy Land Foundation Trial. Every American should read them.

And So It Begins…

Posted on by

Those of us who are old enough to remember Vietnam are getting a little nervous about what is happening in the Middle East–for various reasons. The American involvement in the war in Vietnam actually began in 1950 under President Harry Truman, who sent the Military Assistance Advisory Group (MAAG) to assist the French. President Kennedy increased our commitment, and it began. South Vietnam fell when a Democrat Congress refused to send them the aid they needed to stand. This is somewhat similar to what happened in Iraq when President Obama did not get a strong status of forces agreement to maintain stability. Now, despite claims to the contrary, we are back in Iraq.

Paul Mirengoff at Power Line posted an article today stating that we are sending 130 military advisers to northern Iraq to assess the situation there. It seems to me that we already have a pretty good idea what the situation in Iraq is. We have an extremist Islamic terrorist group killing people who will not convert to Islam. They have no problem killing women and children. I have no idea what the proper course of action is at this point. The Obama Administration has made so many bad decisions I am not sure it is capable of making a good decision. Meanwhile, the world seems to be turning away from the genocide that is happening.

The article at Power Line concludes:

President Obama claims that he’s determined not to do “stupid [stuff].” It would be nice if, in addition, he abjured “half-assed [stuff].”

Combating ISIS with a few pinprick airstrikes and a small number of advisers is half-assed. Fox News reported this morning that U.S. military commanders have compared our limited action against ISIS to “whac-a-mole.”

ISIS is powerful and is becoming more so by the week. But it is not unstoppable, as has been seen in Syria.

ISIS found the Iran-backed Syrian regime too tough a nut to crack, so it turned to the U.S.-backed (sort of) Iraqi government, correctly perceiving that it is low hanging fruit

In short ISIS’s approach is to probe for weakness. When it finds weakness, it runs rampant.

Northern Iraq is the first place where ISIS has encountered the U.S. military. It is imperative that ISIS not find weakness there.

At some point the democracies of the world are going to have to unite against ISIS and ISIS-type groups.

ISIS Continues Its Reign Of Terror In Iraq

Posted on by

Yesterday the U.K. Mail Online reported that the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIS) has attacked and destroyed several centuries-old graves in the northwest city of Mosul in Ninevah. Among the graves destroyed was the grave of the Old Testament prophet Jonah. Jonah was revered by both Christians and Muslims, but ISIS believes that giving special reverence to tombs and relics is against Islam.

The article also reports:

…more than 50 bodies have been discovered by Iraqi authorities in an agricultural area outside the city of Hillah, just south of Baghdad, today.

Military spokesman Brigadier General Saad Maan Ibrahim said most of the 53 bodies were found blindfolded with their hands bound and several gunshot wounds.

The grisly discovery in Hillah, a predominantly Shiite city around 60 miles south of Baghdad, has raised concerns over a possible sectarian killing amid the battle against a Sunni insurgency.

Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has accused the Kurds in northern Iraq of harboring extremists. Meanwhile, the Kurds are working hard to protect their area of Iraq from ISIS.

ISIS is acting in a way very similar to the way the Taliban acted when they took over Afghanistan.

What is happening in Iraq is partially the result of the fact that American forces were withdrawn. Had American forces remained, we would have been able to exert enough pressure on al-Maliki to prevent his purging his military from Sunnis and putting his cronies in their places. One of the reasons the Iraqi army fled was that it was not the trained Iraqi army that we had assembled–it was a bunch of political hacks put in place by al-Maliki.

I am not optimistic about what is happening in Iraq. Even with American help, the country is going to disintegrate. The civil war between the Shiites and the Sunnis will continue and various terrorist groups in the Middle East will take advantage of that fact. It would be a mistake for America to get involved in Iraq again. However, we should support the Kurds and provide relief for the refugees who have fled to the Kurdish areas.

 

 

 

 

It’s Not A Matter Of Intelligence

Posted on by

On Wednesday, the Center for Security Policy posted an article about the recent offensive in Iraq by State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) terrorists.

The article states:

Some former intelligence officers are blaming this failure on a lack of human intelligence sources in Iraq and an over-reliance on technical intelligence collection.

Congressman Mike Rogers, R-Mich., the chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, disagrees. He says the Iraq crisis is a policy and not an intelligence failure.

Rogers says the signs were there about the ISIS threat and the deteriorating situation in Iraq but Obama officials ignored them. He contends that “It was very clear to me years ago that ISIS was pooling up in a dangerous way — building training camps, drawing in jihadists from around the world. We saw all of that happening.”

 What happened in Iraq was to a large extent the result of the failure of America to leave troops there after we declared the war in Iraq. The troops would not have been as much of a military force as a limiting force against the retribution of the Shiite government against the Sunnis who had previously been in power.

The author of the article, Fred Fleitz writes:

 I believe the crisis in Iraq is a major U.S. policy failure due to the Obama administration’s failure to leave a small troop presence behind after the 2011 troop withdrawal and the repeated tendency by Obama officials to discount and downplay the continuing threat from radical Islamist groups. We saw this in September 2012 when Obama officials claimed the attacks on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi was the result of an anti-Muslim video and not an attack by radical Islamists.

The intelligence oversight committees should review classified analysis on Iraq, Syria, and ISIS produced over the last year to determine whether intelligence agencies failed to provide adequate warning of the ISIS threat. I believe such an inquiry will find that U.S. intelligence analysts provided the Obama administration with excellent analysis about ISIS and the deteriorating situation in Iraq but Obama officials ignored it.

 President Obama’s Middle East policy has been a failure. It is time for him to either listen to the people giving him good advice or find people who will give him good advice.