Archive for October 21, 2015

Russia Strikes More U.S.-Backed Rebels in Syria

October 21, 2015

Russia Strikes More U.S.-Backed Rebels in Syria Moscow targets anti-Assad forces, kills civilians in areas not controlled by Islamic State

BY:
October 21, 2015 4:50 pm

Source: Russia Strikes More U.S.-Backed Rebels in Syria

Russia Syria airstrike

Smoke rises after shelling by the Syrian army in Damascus / AP

Russia continues to launch airstrikes against U.S.-backed rebels in Syria despite claims by Moscow that it is primarily targeting the Islamic State terrorist group, according to reports.

U.S. officials say Russian airstrikes in Syria, which began at the end of last month, appear to be aimed at propping up Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and pushing back against rebel advances in the northwestern part of the country. The Obama administration has previously called on Assad to step down, and the CIA has trained more moderate rebel groups to apply pressure on the regime. The CIA program has also provided the rebels with TOW anti-tank missiles.

The missiles helped the rebel groups slow an offensive by pro-regime forces, but those gains are now threatened by Russia’s use of air power.

“Russia’s air campaign continues to marginalize moderate elements of the Syrian opposition by targeting moderate, U.S.-backed TOW anti-tank missile recipients,” wrote Genevieve Casagrande and Jodi Brignola with the Institute for the Study of War on Wednesday. “Russian airstrikes killed the Chief of Staff of U.S.-backed TOW missile recipient First Coastal Division in the vicinity of Jebel al-Akrad on October 19.”

Russia has consistently targeted the CIA-backed rebels since the start of Moscow’s air campaign, they wrote.

“Russian warplanes have targeted several other U.S.-backed TOW missile recipients since the start of the Russian aerial campaign in Syria on September 30, including Liwa Suqour al-Jebel, Liwa Fursan al-Haqq, and Tajamu’ al-Izza in the provinces of Idlib and Hama, as well as the Martyr Lieutenant Ahmed Abdou Battalion in Damascus.”

The Kremlin maintains that it is only attacking terrorist groups that are also U.S. enemies, including the Islamic State and the al Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front. However, the administration has said it will not cooperate with Russia while it attempts to eliminate moderate opposition forces and preserve Assad’s rule.

“We are not prepared to cooperate in a strategy which as we explained is flawed, tragically flawed, on Russia’s part,” said Defense Secretary Ash Carter earlier this month.

Reuters reported on Wednesday that nearly 80 percent of Russia’s airstrikes have occurred in areas not controlled by the Islamic State, including Homs, Hama, Latakia, Idlib, and Aleppo provinces.

Terrorist groups stand to benefit from the Assad regime’s offensive in western Syria and now the major city of Aleppo, which is backed by Iranian forces, the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, and Russian airstrikes. The Islamic State has moved to seize more territory in the north amid the onslaught against the rebels.

Additionally, Casagrande and Brignola wrote that the regime’s offensive against the rebels could spur al-Nusra to “simultaneously expand its campaign against U.S.-backed rebels with the support of allies within the Islamist opposition.”

Russian airstrikes are reported to have killed more than 100 civilians in Syria, including dozens of women and children.

Assad flew to Moscow on Tuesday, ostensibly to thank Russian President Vladimir Putin for his support in the civil war. The meeting came just after Moscow and the United States reached an agreement designed to avoid incidents in Syrian airspace as the two nations conduct separate bombing missions.

Peter Cook, Pentagon press secretary, said on Tuesday that the memorandum did “not constitute U.S. cooperation or support for Russia’s policy or actions in Syria.”

In a statement on Wednesday, Rep. Ed Royce (R., Calif.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, urged the administration to push back against Assad and Putin and assist civilians in Syria.

“These two strongmen are surely planning further aggression by the Syrian regime against the moderate opposition forces,” he said. “Instead of sitting quietly as Assad flies to Moscow to thank his patron, the administration must act more decisively to protect innocent Syrians and push Russia to stop bombing civilian areas.”

So Are We Going to Do this Freedom of Navigation Operation or What?

October 21, 2015

So Are We Going to Do this Freedom of Navigation Operation or What?

BY: Aaron MacLean

October 21, 2015 4:47 pm

Source: So Are We Going to Do this Freedom of Navigation Operation or What? – Washington Free Beacon

Chinese reclamation in progress on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands / AP

Chinese reclamation in progress on Mischief Reef in the Spratly Islands / AP

Well over a week ago it was leaked to the press that the White House had approved, in principle, of the Navy conducting so-called “Freedom of Navigation Operations”—FONOPS—within 12 nautical miles of the artificial islands China has been building in the South China Sea. The New York Times reported that any such operation had been delayed to avoid disrupting Xi Jinping’s visit to Washington. The Wall Street Journal said that a “U.S. official” claimed “that the operation could come within days.”

Well, it’s been days. Days are about to turn into weeks. And, as Jeff Smith points out in a very good round-up of the whole crisis thus far, “What the White House has failed to appreciate throughout this drama is the longer it talks about FONOPS without actually conducting them, the more volatile the situation becomes, and the more pressure China’s leadership feels to publicly adopt ever more strident and entrenched opposition.”

The South China Sea is scene to competing territorial claims by Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei, Taiwan, and the People’s Republic of China itself. China’s claim, organized around its “Nine-Dash Line,” is by far the most aggressive, turning a vast portion of the Pacific that happens to be a vital transit route for international trade into, effectively, a Chinese lake. China’s justifications for its claim are risible. This is pure power politics, and if observed, the Nine Dash Line would result in the other nations’ vessels finding themselves in Chinese-controlled waters soon after pushing off from their own shores, despite being potentially more than a thousand miles from China’s coast. China’s island building efforts on disputed, previously submerged reefs are clearly intended to give its claims teeth.

The Navy has reportedly been suggesting Freedom of Navigation Operations for some time now, but it was revealed last month that the Obama administration had blocked any U.S. ships from sailing within twelve miles of the artificial islands since 2012. As ever, our inaction has set a terrible precedent, putting China in a position where it can claim that the U.S. Navy exercising its right of navigation in international waters is a provocative violation of a peaceful status quo. (In case we weren’t paying attention to the fact that they want to be taken seriously, last month Chinese naval vessels sailed within twelve miles of the Aleutian Islands, for the first time, while President Obama was visiting Alaska.) The fact that government officials are now talking big in the pages of U.S. newspapers while the Navy still hasn’t done anything only makes the situation worse, and makes it harder for China to back down. The whole point of the operation is that such transit is a routine exercise of a right acknowledged under international law.

Our lack of initiative and timidity has increased tensions and put our interests, our allies’ interests, and the principle of the freedom of navigation in a perilous spot. I am sure that those who are behind the delay feel that there are important tasks that must be accomplished—getting allies on board, for example. But this situation has only gotten worse with the passage of time. That’s not going to change now.

Iran Warns U.S.: New Sanctions Will End Nuke Deal

October 21, 2015

Iran Warns U.S.: New Sanctions Will End Nuclear Deal Supreme leader tentatively signs off on deal

BY:
October 21, 2015 10:35 am

Source: Iran Warns U.S.: New Sanctions Will End Nuke Deal

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei warned on Wednesday that any new sanctions by the United States would effectively terminate the recently announced Iranian nuclear deal, which Khamenei officially endorsed Wednesday in a letter, according to regional reports.

In a letter to President Hassan Rouhani released early Wednesday, Khamenei underlined his opposition to the United States but said that he endorses the accord reached between Tehran and world powers earlier this year in Vienna.

However, if the United States does not fully terminate sanctions, the Islamic Republic will consider this a breach of the deal, according to Khamenei.

This demand could cause trouble moving forward, as the United States has only agreed to suspend nuclear sanctions on Iran and maintain other sanctions on terrorist entities affiliated with the Islamic Republic.

The Obama administration also has promised that if Iran breaches the deal or United Nations prohibitions—such as ones preventing Iran from testing ballistic missiles—it would move to reimpose the sanctions.

Khamenei called this a deal breaker.

“Any comments suggesting the sanctions structure will remain in place or [new] sanctions will be imposed, at any level and under any pretext, would be a violation of the JCPOA,” he said in the letter sent to Rouhani, according to Iran’s state-controlled PressTV.

Khamenei also “noted that any remarks by the other side [the United States] that says the structure of the sanctions will remain unchanged or imposition of any sanctions on Iran at any level under any pretext would translate into the violation of the” deal, according to the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

The letter also reiterated Iran’s distrust of the United States, referring to it as “hostile and disruptive.” Khamenei does not expect the nuclear deal will to thaw historically chilly relations between Tehran and America.

In addition, Khamenei said that Iran would only give up its stockpiles of nuclear materials after the United States and global powers finish assessing the past military dimensions of Iran’s program.

The Islamic Republic will also wait to refit the Arak heavy water nuclear reactor, which, under the deal, must be partly dismantled to prevent Iran from using it to fuel a nuclear weapon.

The deal mandates that Iran consent to inspections meant to determine the extent of its past nuclear weapons work and research.

Multiple Iranian officials have expressed their opposition to the deal in recent weeks, even as the Obama administration moves forward with sanctions relief that could total more than $150 billion.

The suspension of sanctions is unacceptable to Iran.

“The termination of the sanctions must be taken seriously. If they are terminated, it is a sign that the nuclear talks and agreement have yielded results,” Ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, a senior Iranian cleric, said recently. “But if the other side breaks its promises and instead of terminating the sanctions [merely] freezes or suspends them, this shows that the nuclear agreement was useless.”

Khamenei has additionally declared that further “negotiation with America is forbidden.”

Treasonous Jimmy Carter Defies Obama, Gives Russia Maps of Terrorist Positions in Syria

October 21, 2015

Treasonous Jimmy Carter Defies Obama, Gives Russia Maps of Terrorist Positions in Syria Providing Russia with intel on ISIS positions — probably treason, in America….

Rudy Panko

Source: Treasonous Jimmy Carter Defies Obama, Gives Russia Maps of Terrorist Positions in Syria

 

TRAITOR!

Former U.S. President  Jimmy Carter is a certified turncoat. Instead of lounging on the “Lolita Express” with Bill Clinton and Alan Dershowitz (who is not a former president, but is certainly a monster — so he’s absolutely, definitely, presidential material), Carter has devoted his life to treasonous activities such as “advocating for not killing Palestinian children” and “helping Russia locate terrorists.” The second offense is clearly the most heinous. Via our favorite organ of outrageous news:

Former President Jimmy Carter said recently that he provided maps of Islamic State positions in Syria to the Russian embassy in Washington, a move apparently at odds with the Obama administration’s official policy of not cooperating with Russia in the Syrian war.

Let’s see how Fox News spins this into “naive, senile old man helps evil Russia”:

Carter said on Sunday in Georgia that he knows Russian President Vladimir Putin “fairly well” because they “have a common interest in fly fishing.” When he met with Putin in April along with other global leaders to discuss the crises in Syria and Ukraine, the Russian president gave him an email address so the two could discuss his “fly fishing experiences, particularly in Russia,” Carter said.

Jimmy! Putin doesn’t care about fly fishing! He is only interested in killing our beloved rainbow sprinkle moderate rebels fighting for freedom (i.e. fly fishing! among other things) in Syria. You demented old man! Off to Gitmo with you!

This is America, in 2015. Yikes.

WikiLeaks Releases CIA Director John Brennan’s Hacked Email Contents

October 21, 2015

WikiLeaks Releases CIA Director John Brennan’s Hacked Email Contents

22:19 21.10.2015(updated 23:18 21.10.2015)

Source: WikiLeaks Releases CIA Director John Brennan’s Hacked Email Contents

 

WikiLeaks obtained and released the hacked contents of CIA director John Brennan’s AOL account on Wednesday.

The organization released a statement saying:

“Today, 21 October 2015 and over the coming days WikiLeaks is releasing documents from one of CIA chief John Brennan’s non-government email accounts.  Brennan used the account occasionally for several intelligence related projects.”

A PDF titled John Brennan Draft SF86 appears to be Brennan’s “Questionnaire for National Security Positions,” which is an application for security clearance.  The document not only contains what appears to be Brennan’s passport number and home address, but also contains a section on his wife — including her social security number.

The number he had listed as his home phone number was in service, but went immediately to voice mail when Sputnik reached out for comment.  The phone number listed as the best method to reach him during evenings was also in service and rang all the way through before transferring us to a voice mail.

A PDF titled “torture” contained a document sent by Christopher S. Bond to the United States Select Committee on Intelligence which stated that the controversial interrogation methods used on “high value” detainees has been one of the most valuable sources of intelligence in protecting America.

The letter requested that rather than authorizing intelligence agencies to use only techniques that are allowed, he wanted to make certain techniques prohibited, so that they knew exactly what they could not do, without being limited on new methods that may be developed in the future.

Torture memo from Christopher S. Bond
Torture memo from Christopher S. Bond

A PDF titled “Torture Ways,” is the contents of a bill aimed to to prohibit the use of certain interrogation techniques such as, forced nudity, sexual acts, using hoods or duct tape over detainees eyes, beatings, electric shock, burns, using military dogs on the prisoners, waterboarding, inducing hypothermia or heat injuries, mock executions, and food/water/medical deprivation.

The person taking responsibility for the hack has claimed to be an American teenager and has asserted that there are six people who were involved in the breech.  They have claimed that their efforts were because of their support for Palestine and opposition to US foreign policy.

“We are not doing this for personal satisfaction, we are doing this because innocent people in Palestine are being killed daily,” the hacker Tweeted.

Earlier this week, the hacker used a now-suspended Twitter account to publish names, social security numbers, and phone numbers found in Brennan’s email belonging to 20 people who worked for the Obama transition team in 2008.

The hacker claims that they used social engineering to trick workers at Verizon into providing Brennan’s personal information, and using that to subsequently dupe AOL and Comcast into allowing access to their target’s accounts.

WikiLeaks has stated that they will be releasing more content from Brennan’s account in the coming days.

Sweden: Haven for Mass-Murderers

October 21, 2015

Sweden: Haven for Mass-Murderers, Gatestone InstituteIngrid Carlqvist, October 21, 2015

  • The authorities are well aware that several war criminals may have come to Sweden this year, and the police War Crimes Commission has been reinforced.
  • “Refugees” plundered a train’s dining car and threatened the staff. Railroad employees had assured all “refugees from Syria” that they would not be thrown off any train if they lacked tickets. This led to thousands of people claiming to be from Syria in order to get a free ride.
  • The police have about 17,000 deportation cases piled up. Despite the government’s request for a clampdown on people staying in Sweden after having received deportation notices, more people are staying in the country illegally. 54,000 people have refused to leave the country after being denied asylum since 2011.
  • Per Gudmundson of the daily Svenska Dagbladet questions the repatriation of ISIS combatants to Sweden: “Who is in charge of the security aspect? Anyone can pretend to be a defector.”

On September 3, a 37-year-old man with a serious criminal record was shot dead in a car in the Stockholm suburb of Hässelby Gård. His two small children were sitting in the back seat at the time, but were physically unharmed. A witness told the police that the youngest child screamed: “Help, help, they’ve killed my daddy!” A 23-year-old man, suspected of the murder, is now in custody, but vehemently denies the charges. Concern about safety is now growing in Hässelby Gård, which was the scene of another shooting in June, when two girls crossing the town square were wounded in crossfire.

On September 4, it was reported that the 17-year-old nasheed [hymn of praise] singer from Lund, who last spring ran away to join the Islamic State, has returned to Sweden. The young man supposedly got help from the National Coordinator Against Violent Extremism, Mona Sahlin, who has worked closely with his family. When he first arrived in Syria, he seems to have embraced life there. In a video posted on Facebook on May 10, he can be seen with a Kalashnikov over his shoulder, singing a nasheed dedicated to ISIS. He also urged others to follow his example: “I want to say that I wish you all could be with me here. It is just as perfect and wonderful as I had expected.”

Now, he is singing a different tune. After coming home, he wrote on Facebook that he no longer supports the actions of ISIS. “Their beliefs are extreme … and they ridicule the noble ulama (scholars) … I do not support ISIS, among other things because of their behavior towards both Muslims and innocent non-Muslims.”

Not everyone is enthusiastic about the 17-year-old’s conversion, however. Journalist Per Gudmundson of Svenska Dagbladet questions whether it is really the National Coordinator’s job to arrange for repatriation of ISIS combatants to Sweden: “Who is in charge of the security aspect? Anyone can pretend to be a defector.” Gudmundson noted that the 17-year-old is still a fundamentalist and that his problem with ISIS seems to be mainly that they have caused disruption in the Muslim community and used violence against other Muslims.

On September 9, the local Gefle Dagblad continued its investigative reporting on extremist Muslims in the city of Gävle, and uncovered that Ali Al-Ganas, head of the Gävle mosque’s dawah group (missionary group) hopes one day to have a passport issued by the Islamic State, and travel to the Caliphate. On a previous occasion, Al-Ganas celebrated two men who died in battle fighting for ISIS, an event that caused the mosque publicly to disown him and claim they would have nothing more to do with him. He is now, however, evidently responsible for the mosque’s missionary work through Swedish United Dawah Center (SUDC).

The next day, Gefle Dagblad revealed that Gävle’s imam, Abo Raad, is the leader of militant Islamism in Sweden. As far back as 2005, when two Swedes were convicted of financing terrorist acts in northern Iraq, Abo Raad was mentioned in the court ruling. Witnesses said that Raad urged mosque visitors to give money to the families of suicide bombers. The court ruling stated:

“The imam prayed for those who were about to blow themselves up in an attack on the U.S. military. A prayer rug was placed, where the mosque visitors could put money, which according to the imam would go to suicide bombers and orphaned children.”

The day the article on Abo Raad was published, the paper received a bomb threat. A young woman called the police, demanding that Gefle Dagblad remove from their website all articles on the mosque, particularly those relating to the imam. However, no bomb was found and the Gävle mosque quickly denounced the threat.

On September 10, after reviewing their file on the IKEA-murderer, the Immigration Service stated that the man had displayed no signs of being mentally unstable before committing the double murder. The Eritrean citizen had been aware for a long time that he would not be allowed to stay in Sweden, as he already had permanent residency status in Italy, and had come to an appointment with the Immigration Service an hour before the murders. “He left the premises without showing any kind of aggression,” said Kicki Kjämpe, Unit Manager of the Immigration Service in Västerås.

The indictment against the man was postponed until October 16, pending results of the psychiatric evaluation.

On September 14, a woman in her twenties was run over by a car outside a school in central Malmö. She sustained severe injuries, including a cerebral hemorrhage. The driver of the car turned out to be a 20-year-old Syrian refugee with several previous convictions. Before the accident, he had driven back and forth on the bicycle paths near the school at high speed. The suspect fled the scene, but was later arrested by the police and is now in custody. The police would not say if there was any connection between the suspect and the victim. The Syrian man had only been in Sweden for two and a half years, but has already been convicted of crimes four times: for theft, driving without a license and violating the “knife law.”

On September 16, the trial of a 60-year-old man from Rwanda, charged with genocide, for murdering thousands of people in his homeland, began in Stockholm. The trial is being held in Sweden because the man has lived in the country for many years and is now a Swedish citizen. The District Attorney and police investigators have made several trips to Rwanda, and interviewed witnesses. The man, whose name the Swedish authorities did not release, has already been convicted in absentia in Rwanda.

Five crime scenes in southern Rwanda are named in the indictment, among them a municipal building in Muyira, where hundreds of people were massacred, and the Nyamure mountain, where thousands were killed when the Hutu ethnic group tried to eradicate the Tutsi minority. The 60-year-old man was identified as a local leader during the genocide.

“He ordered them to kill and he killed people himself, just like everybody else,” said one witness, a man who took part in the massacre himself and is therefore in prison.

The witness stated that about 2,000 men, women and children thought that they would be protected in the municipal building. After three days without food and water, the killers showed up, led by the accused 60-year-old. “They said: Get in there, get to work.”

“Work” meant killing Tutsis. When the killers got too tired, they were relieved and replaced by a new group. To avoid killing each other by mistake, they wore flowers on their clothes. In wiretapped conversations, the 60-year-old can be heard calling Tutsis “cockroaches.”

It is the second time a Rwandan has been tried on a genocide charge in Sweden. In 2013, another man was sentenced to life in prison for genocide. Despite both these men living in freedom for many years in Sweden, Chief Prosecutor Tora Holst said that authorities are now making it clear that “Sweden is not a haven for suspected war criminals and genocidists.”

1311On September 16, the trial (right) began of a Rwandan immigrant in Sweden. The man is accused of genocide, for murdering thousands of people in his homeland. He is the second person to be put on trial in Sweden in the past three years on charges of mass-murder during the Rwandan Genocide.

However, the authorities are well aware that several war criminals may have come to Sweden this year. The number of reports of such individuals has increased, and the police War Crimes Commission has been reinforced, as have the resources of the Immigration Service and District Attorney.

On September 16, three so-called unaccompanied refugee children allegedly raped a boy in the village of Hammarlöv, in the far south of Sweden. The suspects, who claim to be between 15 and 18 years old, were housed at the refugee center Maglarp Transit. One is from Iran, the other two from Afghanistan. All three have been remanded on suspicion of aggravated rape of a child (which means the victim is under 15 years old) and obstruction of justice, indicating that they threatened the boy with reprisals if he reported the rape. The police have been reticent about the incident, and mainstream media has not mentioned anything about the suspects being “refugees.”

On September 18, employees of the Swedish State Railways (SJ) reported on how “refugees” plundered a train’s dining car and threatened the staff. There were about 200 unregistered migrants on the train, which was travelling from Malmö to Haparanda in the far north of Sweden (where Finland-bound migrants go). Railway employees who spoke to the online magazine Fria Tider described how many of the migrants acted aggressively, and the atmosphere became so threatening that the staff had to lock themselves in. After the incident, Swedish State Railways ordered the staff not to talk to anyone about the migrants’ behavior.

This was just the latest in a long line of incidents on board Swedish trains. Railroad employees have assured all “refugees from Syria” that they would not be thrown off any train if they lacked valid tickets. This has led to thousands of people claiming to be from Syria, in order to get a free ride.

On September 21, an internal email sent to employees working on the trains between Stockholm and Luleå was leaked, bringing attention to the seriousness of the situation. The email said that SJ has hired security guards to help staff keep order in the rail cars, alcoholic beverages will no longer be sold on board, tickets will now be checked before the passengers are let onto the platform, and leaflets in Arabic and Persian about the no-smoking policy will be handed out to passengers. SJ also wrote to the employees: “We know that you carry a heavy load out there. We have now set a limit for the number of support cars [carrying migrants and security guards] to a maximum of four.”

On September 21, after a local official in Karlskrona — on his own authority — granted a building permit for a minaret, from which calls to prayer will be broadcast over loudspeakers every Friday, the members of local Sweden Democrats Party placed a raft in the harbor with the message: “No prayer calls in Karlskrona!” The city’s governing Social Democrat Party claimed that the protest was a provocation, and insisted that Karlskrona should be a “welcoming city.” The Sweden Democrats want the city’s residents to be the ones who decide if they want to hear prayer calls every Friday.

On September 24, a 25-year-old Eritrean man was arrested for murder in Sweden. Two days before his arrest, he murdered a 20-year-old woman with whom he had some kind of relationship; the police will not divulge the nature of their connection. According to some sources, the woman was a relative. The suspect arrived in Sweden via Ethiopia in February 2015. The victim’s three-year-old daughter, in the apartment when her mother was murdered, was found by the police when they arrived at the scene. Relatives had become concerned when the woman did not answer her phone. The little girl may have been alone in the apartment with her dead mother for over 24 hours, and most likely witnessed her mother’s murder. The suspect has been remanded, and has admitted to killing the woman, but said he did not intend to kill her.

On September 28, the police revealed that they have about 17,000 deportation cases piled up. Despite the government’s recent request for a clampdown on people staying in Sweden after having received deportation notices, more and more people are choosing to stay in the country illegally. The police say they cannot prioritize these cases “in the middle of an ongoing refugee crisis.”

No one knows exactly how many illegal immigrants there are in Sweden, but 54,000 people have refused to leave the country after being denied asylum since 2011. The police have a pretty hopeless task keeping track, because they are not allowed to check people’s identity cards based on ethnicity, skin color or religion.

On September 28, it was reported that the Immigration Service wants to rent an old shooting range from the Swedish Army in Rinkaby. outside the southern city of Kristianstad, to create a giant refugee camp that can accommodate 10,000 refugees. Huge Scout camps have been held there the last few years. In 2011, the World Scout Jamboree, with 40,000 Scouts from all over the world, was held on the Rinkaby field. At first, the Immigration Service denied that the camp would actually consist of tents, but since then, Prime Minister Stefan Löfven has signaled that tent camps could become a reality if the stream of refugees continues unabated. The small village of Rinkaby has a population of 800 people.

On September 30, the daily Svenska Dagbladet reported that due to the housing shortage in Sweden, and with 2,000 new asylum seekers arriving each day, landlords stand to make huge profits. Aleris, one of the biggest housing providers for so-called unaccompanied refugee children, charges the government 60,000 kronor ($7,200 USD) a month — more expensive than a nursing home with around-the-clock staff — for an apartment that normally rents for 5,000 kronor (about $600 USD).

Cartoons of the day

October 21, 2015

H/t The Jewish Press

Diverting-Attention

H/t Dry Bones

D15A20_1

Leader Outlines Major Observations in JCPOA Implementation

October 21, 2015

Leader Outlines Major Observations in JCPOA Implementation, Tasnim News Agency (Iran), October 21, 2015

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[T]hroughout the 8-year period of implementing the JCPOA, imposing any sanctions, at any level and under any pretext –such as the “recurring and fabricated allegations of terrorism and human rights violation – by any of the parties to the talks”, will be tantamount to breach of the JCPOA and the administration will be obligated to take the necessary measures under the Clause 3 of the Iranian Parliament’s plan and cease the JCPOA activities.

*********************

TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei in a letter to President Hassan Rouhani highlighted nine main points that the administration will need to take note of regarding the course of implementing a final nuclear deal with six world powers.

In the letter, Ayatollah Khamenei appreciated the efforts made by the country’s different bodies involved in the course of nuclear negotiations with the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) and the consequent efforts to evaluate the deal.

The Leader, however, noted that the nuclear agreement, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), contains “ambiguities, structural weak points and multiple points that could inflict heavy losses on the country” at present and in the future in case of lack of strict and constant vigilance.

Ayatollah Khamenei then explicated the observations that the administration should make about the JCPOA and its implementation.

The first point in the Leader’s letter was the necessity for the full termination of the anti-Iran sanctions under the JCPOA.

Since the purpose of Iran’s approval to the nuclear negotiations was the removal of “cruel economic and financial sanctions”, and given the fact that the termination of the sanctions has been subjected to completion of Iran’s undertakings, there needs to be “firm and sufficient guarantees” to avert the other side’s breach, Ayatollah Khamenei underlined.

The US president and the European Union must declare that the anti-Iran sanctions have been “fully lifted”, the Leader noted.

The second observation in the letter was the categorical rejection of imposition of any new sanctions against Iran, which the Leader described as a breach of the JCPOA in which case the Iranian administration would be obligated to stop implementing the deal.

Third, the Leader further said, throughout the 8-year period of implementing the JCPOA, imposing any sanctions, at any level and under any pretext –such as the “recurring and fabricated allegations of terrorism and human rights violation – by any of the parties to the talks”, will be tantamount to breach of the JCPOA and the administration will be obligated to take the necessary measures under the Clause 3 of the Iranian Parliament’s plan and cease the JCPOA activities.

The rest of the observations are as follows:

4. Measures to renovate the Arak plant, which should keep its heavy (water) nature, will begin only after signing a definite and safe contract on an alternative plan and sufficient guarantee for its implementation.

5. The trade of the available enriched uranium with the yellowcake (a type of uranium concentrate powder) with a foreign government will take place when a secure contract with sufficient guarantees is signed. The mentioned trade and exchange (of materials) should occur gradually and in multiple times.

6. In accordance with the bill passed by the Majlis (parliament), a necessary plan should be devised and meticulously discussed by the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) for mid-term development of (the country’s) nuclear energy industry, including ways to make progress in the next 15 years, leading to the production of 190,000 SWUs (Separative Work Units).

7. The Atomic Energy Agency of Iran (AEOI) should organize research and development in different aspects in such a way that at the end of the 8-year period, there will be no technological shortages for achieving the level of enrichment as accepted in the JCPOA.

8. As for ambiguities in the JCPOA, it should be stressed that the other side’s interpretation is not accepted, and that the reference (for interpretation) is the text of the negotiations.

9. The existence of complexities and ambiguities in the JCPOA and the possibility of breach of commitments and deception on the part of the other side, especially the US, necessitate that a strong, observant and smart committee be formed to monitor the progress of works, fulfilment of the other side’s commitments and  realization of the observations mentioned above. The committee’s arrangement and responsibilities should be formulated and approved by the SNSC.

Netanyahu – Mufti Kerfuffle: Ask Yourself Why Doves are Enraged

October 21, 2015

Netanyahu – Mufti Kerfuffle: Ask Yourself Why Doves are Enraged, UK Media WatchElliott Jager, October 21, 2015

(A video of PM Netanyahu’s remarks at the Zionist World Congress is available here. The portions quoted below, and the context in which they were made, are at 4:50 – 6:20. — DM)

Here is what you need to know about Amin Husseini.

He was born in 1895 and died in 1974. He was appointed Grand Mufti of Jerusalem by the British Mandate authorities.

And, he is infamous in Jewish history as a collaborator with the Nazis.

He was a proponent of militant violence against Jews and against any Arabs who were willing to make peace with the Zionist enterprise.

When WWII broke out he made his headquarters in Iraq and tried to establish a pro-Nazi regime there. When that didn’t work out, he moved to Italy (an Axis power) and then to Germany.

He openly supported the Final Solution – this is not in doubt.

He helped the Nazis set up Bosnian-Muslim Waffen-SS battalions. He lobbied the Nazis to bomb Tel Aviv and to extend the net of the Holocaust to Sephardi Jews in Arab lands.

He vehemently opposed any tactical deals (“trucks for Jews,” etc) that would have even temporarily spared Jewish lives.

After the war he was welcomed and given refuge by Nasser in Egypt.

Now, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s speech at the World Zionist  Congress in Jerusalem yesterday (Oct. 20) garnered criticism for supposedly misstating the Mufti’s role in the Shoah.

Here’s what the PM said:

“…And this attack and other attacks on the Jewish community in 1920, 1921, 1929, were instigated by a call of the Mufti of Jerusalem Haj Amin al-Husseini, who was later sought for war crimes in the Nuremberg trials because he had a central role in fomenting the final solution.

“He flew to Berlin. Hitler didn’t want to exterminate the Jews at the time, he wanted to expel the Jews.

And Haj Amin al-Husseini went to Hitler and said, “If you expel them, they’ll all come here.” “So what should I do with them?” he asked. He said, “Burn them.”

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Now, the point of the reference to the Mufti is that he was among the first to claim that the Jews wanted to destroy al-Aksa mosque.

Netanyahu did not say that the Mufti convinced Hitler to annihilate the Jews.

It is simply true that as the destruction of European Jewry evolved from 1933 until 1945 the Nazis tried different approaches to solving the “Jewish problem.”

And yes, there was a stage when in parallel to killing Jews haphazardly (clubbing, shooting, etc) and well before the industrial destruction had been perfected, the Nazis did consider expulsion.

According to Joseph Schechtman’s The Mufti and the Fuehrer, the mufti began his outreach to the Nazis on July 21, 1937 via the German consul in Jerusalem.

Keep in mind that at the time, the Nazis still had hopes to keep Britain out of any war so didn’t want to rock the boat in British-controlled Palestine.

Nonetheless, the mufti sent an agent to Berlin to lobby the Nazis.

In fact, Adolph Eichmann was dispatched to Palestine to study the situation in response to the Mufti’s lobbying efforts.  He was also in contact with Husseini.

Actually, there is some evidence that already in 1936, the Nazis were helping the Arabs in Palestine.

Obviously, there is much more to be said about the Mufti and the Nazis.

But what matters in 2015 is this:

(1) The claim that the Jews want to change the status quo on the Temple Mount dates back at least to the Mufti’s days.

(2) The fierce criticism by dovish Jewish journalists, pundits, and politicians (and of course the foreign media and the Arabs) of Netanyahu is intended to undermine his not-so-subtle implication that Arab intentions then and now are much the same.

That is the crux of the issue.

If you believe the conflict is about boundaries and settlements then you want to play down the extraordinary consistency of Arab intentions.

Why? Because it is almost too painful to imagine that the Palestinian Arabs today really want what the Palestinian Arabs of 1933 or 1929 wanted.

So if you think that Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and Fatah are not disciples of the mufti’s values then you need to be offended by Netanyahu’s efforts to link the Nazis to the Palestinian cause. Of course, you also need to keep your eyes tightly closed.

Israel’s “Knock on the Keyboard” campaign spies on and subverts terrorist social networks

October 21, 2015

Israel’s “Knock on the Keyboard” campaign spies on and subverts terrorist social networks DEBKAfile, October 21, 2015

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With this fuel constantly on tap to keep the flames high, diplomatic efforts underway to calm the conflict, such as visits by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon or US Secretary of State John Kerry, are no more effective than a small glass of water. The best hope of curbing the violence rests with the new modes of operation which Israeli intelligence has switched into high gear.

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The newest type of Israeli intelligence officer does not require expertise in hand-to-hand combat, shooting or the ability to survive in enemy territory, but rather a keyboard, screen, internet connection and a complete command of Arabic, including idioms, jargon and expressions. The officer goes online under a false name and uses social networks to connect with those about to stab, run down or shoot Israelis. Along with the undercover agents in the field, there is a new generation of Israeli “digital HUMINT” officers who are updated on the latest trends among the Arab youth and spread out in the same digital space as the users in the back alleys of Palestinian refugee camps. Posing as terrorists, they use their fluent Arabic on Facebook or Twitter to request instructions, assistance, information and direction to “carry out attacks.”  

Israeli policymakers and security chiefs have different views on the existence of a central figure or group at the head of the current wave of terror that began with the murder of Na’ama and Itam Henkin on October 1. and for which no end is in sight. But they all agree on the means used to disseminate and scale up the knife attacks, stone throwing, gunfire and hit-and-run attacks, which have killed 11 Israelis and wounded dozens until now.

Those means consist largely of Facebook and Twitter and instant messaging services such as Skype and Whatsapp, which communicate instructions to the terror operatives.

They also serve as mass media for publicizing and glorifying acts of terror, relaying training methods, spreading propaganda, marking targets and post mortems on operations performed.

The social media and instant messaging provide the masters of terror with endless services, such as the transfer of private data, video and images and even chitchat between “friends.” Encrypted information carried thereby can’t be decoded.

The causes of Palestinian terror have not changed fundamentally over the years from one outbreak to the next. The “soldiers of terror” have the same motivations today as yesterday. The only difference is the mode of communication between the rank-and-file terrorists and their handlers.

Land-line and cellular communication, which until a few years ago served security organizations as their primary tools for forestalling terror, are now old hat. Almost extinct too are the costly technological engineering and SIGINT (signal intelligence) equipment and information systems, once used for disrupting and thwarting terror.

The contemporary emphasis on OSINT (open source intelligence), which monitors the mass media, such as television and radio stations, internet sites and newspapers, has given birth to a new branch of intelligence, which harvests critical operational and tactical data from the social networks.   ,

The present-day Israeli intelligence officer is not trained in hand-to-hand combat, marksmanship or methods of surviving in enemy territory. He is armed with a keyboard, screen, internet connection and a complete command of Arabic, including idioms, jargon and expressions. This officer goes online using a false name and accesses the right social networks to connect with those about to stab, run down or shoot Israelis.

HUMINT (human intelligence), classic field intelligence, is taking on a new form. Besides the field commanders and the undercover agents, there is a new generation of Israeli “digital HUMINT” officers, who are updated on the latest trends among young Arabs by invading their digital space. Posing as terrorists, they use their fluent Arabic on Facebook or Twitter to request instructions, assistance, information and direction to “carry out attacks”,

It is an established fact that social networks are a key operational medium in the service fo terrorists for transferring orders and instructions. Israeli intelligence is well prepared to move in on this chink in the terrorists’ defenses, better than their Western counterparts.

Hundreds of male and female soldiers with fluent Arabic, using false names to mingle among Arab web surfers, were first used to good purpose at the outset of the Arab Spring. The project picked up steam as the trend of terror in the Arab and Muslim world grew.

For terrorists, the social networks have both advantages and disadvantages. A young man in Beit Hanina or Issawiyeh, who uploads to Facebook a video praising a Palestinian driver who ran down Jewish pedestrians, or offering guidance on where to thrust a knife to kill a Jew, also gives away his IP address, his e-mail address, and the visitors who post comments and likes.

The vast amount of data garnered from social networks is a gold mine for analysts to draw conclusions, delineate the web of ties among terrorists and home in on orders and instructions passed out to fuel the current wave of terror.

With this fuel constantly on tap to keep the flames high, diplomatic efforts underway to calm the conflict, such as visits by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon or US Secretary of State John Kerry, are no more effective than a small glass of water. The best hope of curbing the violence rests with the new modes of operation which Israeli intelligence has switched into high gear.

Even in the midst of serial terror, these cyber warriors are busily sifting through an ocean of information from open sources and making headway towards identifying the chains of command orchestrating the wave of violence, as well as individuals, pairs or groups responsible for carrying out the attacks.

Equally important, they are using the social networks to sow panic and confusion among the terrorists, thus rendering them almost useless as means of furthering terror.

Even as you are reading this article, the Israeli security and law enforcement agencies have been able to pinpoint and make personal calls to the parents or acquaintances of identified rioters and potential terrorists, to warn them in Arabic that they are in for serious consequences – a variety on the “knock on roof” warnings the IDF gave to Gaza households during the last Gaza campaign against terror.