Posted tagged ‘Islamic Jihad’

VIDEO: American commandos ‘forced to run away’ from US-backed Syrian jihadis to the cheers of “ALLAH AKBAR”

September 16, 2016

VIDEO: American commandos ‘forced to run away’ from US-backed Syrian jihadis to the cheers of “ALLAH AKBAR”

ByPamela Geller

on September 16, 2016

Source: VIDEO: American commandos ‘forced to run away’ from US-backed Syrian jihadis to the cheers of “ALLAH AKBAR” | Pamela Geller

 

This must be what Obama means when he says, “leading from behind.”

Look what Obama and Hillary have done to our military. Unrecognizable. This is the poison fruit of their policies which supported and armed  the enemy. What was at first ridiculous and incoherent, is now catastrophic.

Iran is humiliating us at sea, ISIS on land.

Obama continues to be woefully unprepared to face the threat of ISIS and their acolytes: he CREATED the threat by leaving Iraq precipitously and giving an opportunity to this group. Hillary has vowed to follow this failed and reckless strategy.

He has armed the Syrian rebels — many of these arms fell into the hands of ISIS, and the Syrian rebels he armed have the same jihad goal that ISIS does.

“A spokesman for US Central Command said they were aware of the video and looking into the incident. ” Well that instills great confidence ….

“American commandos ‘forced to run away’ from US-backed Syrian rebels,” By Raf Sanchez, Middle East Correspondent, The Telegraph, 16 September 2016:

US commandos are operating in a complex web of alliances and enmities in Syria

Video footage appears to show US commandos fleeing a Syrian town under a barrage of abuse and insults hurled at them by fighters from the American-backed Free Syrian Army (FSA) rebel group.

video appears to be the first evidence of US special forces cooperating with Turkish troops in their battle against Islamic State.The incident illustrates the complex web of alliances and enmities in Syria, where many of America’s allies are fighting each other and some rebel groups that receive US support still harbour strong anti-American sentiments.The footage shows a crowd of rebel fighters in the town of al-Rai near the Turkish border, which was captured from the Islamic State (Isil) by Syrian rebel groups with the backing of Turkey. Turkey, which launched a military incursion into Syria in late August, has been backing the FSA.

The fighters scream anti-American chants as a column of pick-up trucks carrying US commandos drives away from them.

“Christians and Americans have no place among us,” shouts one man in the video. “They want to wage a crusader war to occupy Syria.”

Another man calls out: “They collaborators of America are dogs and pigs. They wage a crusader war against Syria and Islam. ”

The US troops are not wearing traditional uniform but they carry American weapons and are wearing the distinctive round helmets favored by US special forces.

Another video shows the US troops looking nonchalant and waving at the camera even as some of the rebels tell them to leave.

Islamic Movement in U.S. Preparing for Battle

September 13, 2016

Islamic Movement in U.S. Preparing for Battle, Understanding the Threat, September 13, 2016

As UTT has continually reported, there exists in the United States a significant jihadi movement led primarily by the Muslim Brotherhood whose organizations include the most prominent and influential Islamic groups in America.

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The Islamic Movement in the U.S. continues their daily work of preparing for the coming battle at all levels of the society.  From a military standpoint, the leaders of the American Muslim community are coalescing their forces and preparing strategically, operationally, and logistically for war.

Strategic Overlay

Going back to the early 1980’s, the jihadis set up an elaborate network of jihadi centers known in the U.S. as the Al Kifah Refugee Centers to recruit jihadis for the war against the Soviets in Afghanistan.  Some of these over three dozen offices were operated by only a couple jihadis with a phone or fax machine, and some had a more sizable presence in the community.  Nevertheless, they created nodes across the United States for jihadis in many American cities, and became centers for possible Al Qaeda recruitment in the future.

For the last few decades the Pakistani terrorist organization known as Jamaat al Fuqra has been establishing jihaditraining camps in the United States primarily among black Muslims, many of whom were recruited in prison.  Known in the U.S. as “Muslims of America” or “MOA,” approximately two dozen of the three dozen known camps appear to be operational today.

In the early 1990’s the Chief Investigator for the state of Colorado, with support from the Governor and Attorney General, launched a multi-jurisdictional raid of an MOA compound near Buena Vista (CO) and discovered weapons, explosives, lists of people to be assassinated, evidence that military/national guard bases had been under surveillance, and the like.

In one of the gems discovered in the 2004 FBI raid of the Annandale, Virginia home of a senior Muslim Brotherhood/Hamas leader, a recording of a senior Muslim Brotherhood leader speaking to a group of Muslim Brothers in Missouri revealed the MB has numerous training camps inside America and conducted regular firearms training.

To be clear, they are not planning on conducting violent actions in the immediate future, but are planning for “Zero Hour” – their term for when the violent jihad will begin when the time is right.  They may wait until an outside influence from a foreign power or a major event initiates conflict, and then the Islamic Movement can begin the jihad and act independently or as an ally for a hostile foreign power such as Iran or China.

In the MB’s 5-Phase “World Underground Movement Plan” – discovered at the 2004 FBI raid in Annandale, Virginia – the Brotherhood states (Phase 2) they must “Establish a government (secret) within the government.”  The purpose of this is to have jihadis on the inside of our government who will serve as the leadership for the Islamic Movement when they seize power in the United States.  Until then, their role is to (1) gather intelligence and (2) conduct influence operations at all levels of the society, especially within the decision-making process.

As has previously been discussed, this is much more a counterintelligence and espionage issue than it is a “terrorism” matter.  The enemy is preparing the battlefield now for the eventual battle to come.

The U.S. Network

The evidence in the largest terrorism financing and Hamas trial ever successfully prosecuted in American history (US v Holy Land Foundation for Relief and Development, Dallas 2008) reveals the most prominent Islamic organizations in the U.S. are a part of a massive jihadi network whose stated objective is to wage “Civilization Jihad” to destroy our system of government and establish an Islamic State (caliphate) under sharia here.  The evidence also reveals the Muslim Brotherhood Islamic Centers/Mosques are the places at which jihadi train for battle and from which the jihad will be launched.

All of the mosques our military entered during the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and mosques that European authorities have raided in the last two years have had weapons in them.  The mosque is what Mohammad used a mosque for, and the launch point for jihad is one of those purposes.

There are over 2400 Islamic Centers/Mosques in America, most of which are a part of the MB’s jihadi network.

In the United States the “nucleus” for the Islamic Movement is the Islamic Society of North America (ISNA) whose subsidiary Islamic Societies number approximately 170.  The Muslim Students Associations (MSA) serve as a recruiting arm for jihadis, and there are over 700 chapters on nearly every major college campus in America.

Reports from around the country from civilian and law enforcement sources reveal:  Mosques and Islamic organizations are being built in strategic locations – near key infrastructure facilities, military bases, or some other key position in the community; taxi cab drivers at the largest airports in the U.S. are Muslim; and there is a noticeable increase in sharia-compliant Muslim TSA officers, baggage handlers and airline/airport employees at U.S. airports.

Additionally:  Muslims are purchasing hotels, quick marts, and 7-11 type stores with gas stations, and  a majority of major hotels in cities across the U.S. have a manager or assistant manager who is a Muslim, which is statistically impossible unless this activity is intentional.

Quick marts and gas stations provide their Movement with a logistics train that will be needed in a battle. Having people in leadership positions at major hotels in major cities, where law enforcement and intelligence groups and others hold conferences, serve as excellent intelligence gathering nodes.

Jihadis have penetrated U.S. federal law enforcement and intelligence agencies giving them access to sensitive intelligence systems, while simultaneously they have shut down real threat-based training inside these same agencies under the guise factual/truth-based training is “offensive to Muslims.”

Jihadis have themselves penetrated senior levels of the government (eg Suhail Khan working for two successive Secretaries of Transportation with access to classified critical infrastructure details), and have recruited senior U.S. government officials to promote and protect their interests which are hostile to the U.S. (most recent example – Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson promoting and defending leading MB organization ISNA and speaking at their annual convention expressly to open the door to more Cabinet officials to do the same).

Key jihadi organizations, like Hamas (doing business as the Council on American Islamic Relations/CAIR) work on Capitol Hill and inside government agencies to keep truthful discussions about the Islamic threat from ever happening, while plotting to work with Al Qaeda (as evidenced by UTT’s Chris Gaubatz discovery of a CAIR document dated 3/08/04 at their headquarters in Washington, D.C. stating, “Attempt to understand Islamic movements in the area, and start supporting Islamic groups including Mr. bin Laden and his associates”).

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Now, the U.S. government is bringing tens of thousands of sharia adherent Muslims into our nation.  From the Islamic perspective, these people are Muhajaroun – those who make the hijra into the non-Muslim lands in preparation for the “Final Stage,” which is armed conflict with the host country.  This is all a part of their strategy, and is consistent with core Islamic doctrine.

Finally, we are currently observing the Marxist/Socialist Movement in the U.S. working directly with the Islamic Movement at the ground and strategic levels.  Both have publicly declared their support for one another, they are both receiving funding from hard-left Marxists/socialists (eg George Soros) and foreign powers, and both are openly pushing for confrontation with and the overthrow of the U.S. government.

The Islamic Movement in the United States is deeply embedded in the U.S. decision-making process, has thousands of organizations and allies, possesses a logistics train of fuel and supplies, conducts weapons training programs, has access to U.S. intelligence systems, is well funded (primarily by Iran, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, etc), has strategic plans for North America (An Explanatory Memorandum) and has a plan to implement the strategy (Implementation Manual) which they are following.

The U.S. response is to say “Islam is a religion of peace” and work with the very Muslim leaders who are driving this hostile network.

Victory is not possible with this recipe.

Each year there are between 70 and 120 new Islamic non-profits being created in America, most of which appear to be working directly in line with the Muslim Brotherhood’s plan to wage civilization jihad until “Zero Hour” when the war goes hot.

Until then, they continue to prep the battlefield because they are really at war with us because they are following sharia – core Islamic doctrine – as their blueprint for what they are doing.

How YOU gave £1million to Sweet Shop jihadist gang

August 31, 2016

Revealed: How YOU gave £1million to Sweet Shop jihadist gang while they held ‘sharia surgeries’ and waged their campaign of hate

Source: How YOU gave £1million to Sweet Shop jihadist gang | Daily Mail Online

Britain’s most notorious Islamist extremists were bankrolled by more than £1 million of taxpayers’ money while waging their campaign of hate, The Mail on Sunday can reveal.

A dozen supporters of Islamic State recruiter Anjem Choudary – many of them now convicted terrorists or jihadis who are fighting in Syria or have died there – were paid wages by a businessman who was handed huge sums of public money to run computer training courses in libraries and job centres.

And now a judge has found that the man – a close associate of Choudary’s – funnelled tens of thousands of pounds through front companies to key members of Choudary’s banned terrorist group Al-Muhajiroun (ALM).

A dozen supporters of Islamic State recruiter Anjem Choudary (pictured) were paid wages by a businessman who was handed huge sums of public money to run computer training courses in libraries and job centres

His firms included an old-fashioned sweet shop in the East End of London, in whose basement the extremists would hold ‘Sharia surgeries’ and discuss their plans for murderous jihad.

But, astonishingly, the businessman continued to receive grants from a Government agency nearly four years after his links to Choudary first became known.

Many members of the gang he financed and provided a headquarters for are now behind bars or fighting for Islamic State in Syria and Iraq, including:

  • Siddhartha Dhar, the IS executioner known as ‘Jihadi Sid’, who was employed as a printer maintenance technician for the training firm;

His firms included an old-fashioned sweet shop in the East End of London (pictured), in whose basement the extremists would hold ‘Sharia surgeries’ and discuss their plans for murderous jihad

  • Mohammed Mizanur Rahman, Choudary’s right-hand man, who is facing jail for supporting IS but once designed websites and did marketing;
  • Brusthom Ziamani, serving a 22-year sentence for trying to kill a British police officer or serviceman, attended ALM talks underneath the sweet shop and was on its payroll;
  • Trevor Brooks, behind bars for trying to reach Syria, was a ‘hardworking’ employee of the firm who ‘even did overtime’.

The businessman, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was branded a terrorist funder by Ministers and had his bank accounts frozen after police and MI5 said he had enabled ALM ‘to exist and grow by providing employment and meeting places under an apparent legitimate veil of a confectionery shop’.

But he was never charged with any offence and has now won his appeal against the Treasury’s freezing of his assets.

Details of the astonishing state funding of Britain’s most notorious terror group have only emerged in the High Court case he brought against the Government.

The executioner: Siddhartha Dhar (left), 32, was an ALM leader and worked at Master Printers but is now an IS executioner in Syria. The lollipop jihadi: Trevor Brooks (right) was caught supposedly on his way to Syria just days after the Paris terror attacks

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/1321835.html

Last night there was outrage that taxpayers’ money had been used for as long as a decade to prop up Choudary’s evil empire.

Home Affairs Committee chairman Keith Vaz MP told the MoS last night he would demand answers from the Home Secretary over the case and said: ‘This is a most disturbing state of affairs.

‘It is incredible that so much Government money has been spent on an organisation that supports individuals engaged in such activities.

‘The Government must ask for its money back from this company and there must be a full inquiry into this. I shall be writing to the Home Secretary asking for a full explanation.’

Choudary, 49, is now facing ten years’ jail for swearing allegiance to IS, having avoided prosecution for years even as his extremist groups were banned by the Government and his vile outbursts sparked outrage.

The trained lawyer became notorious when ALM celebrated the 9/11 hijackers as the ‘magnificent 19’ and Choudary inspired a generation of British terrorists including Lee Rigby murderer Michael Adebolajo.

But it has never been revealed until now that ALM was relying on Government money to stir up hate against Britain.

The knifeman: Brusthom Ziamani (left) is serving 22 years for plotting to behead a soldier. The protester: Abdul Muhid (right) was jailed for his role in the Danish embassy demonstration

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/1161208.html

According to the High Court judgment published last Friday, the businessman – identified only as ‘C’ – set up Best Training Solutions in 2001 and soon started getting Government grants to help people get jobs by giving them basic computer skills.

It became ‘very successful’ and at one stage had a turnover of £1.4 million, employed some 40 people, operated four branches and ran partnerships with ten libraries and community centres as well as having ‘a presence’ in 20 Jobcentres.

The judge, Mr Justice Cranston, said 95 per cent of its turnover came from public money.

Choudary’s associate ‘C’ also set up a printing firm called Master Printers and an old-fashioned sweet shop called Yummy Sweets, later known as Yummy Yummy, and kept them afloat by diverting at least £693,663 to their bank accounts from the state-funded Best Training.

And according to the judgment, 12 of the sweet shop’s 13 employees were members of ALM and many also had roles in the training firms.

In addition, the cellar of a terraced building used by Master Printers and Yummy Yummy in East London became a key meeting place for the extremists.

But even after Best Training’s links to Choudary were exposed in 2011, its state funding continued.The

The deputy: Mohammed Mizanur Rahman (left) is awaiting a lengthy jail term for inviting support for IS. The boxer: Anthony Small (right) was cleared last year of plotting to join IS

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/embed/video/1321915.html

Figures seen by this newspaper show the training firm received £1,187,883 of public money from the Skills Funding Agency between 2012 and 2014 alone.

Eventually, in September 2014, police searched the associate’s home and offices and arrested him along with ten other people on suspicion of terror offences.

In the headquarters, officers found ‘a list of Muslim prisoners, including some sentenced for terrorist offences’ and an IS flag.

When questioned by police, C ‘denied knowledge of any of those items’ and was not charged with any offence.

However the High Court heard that a Detective Sergeant Collins believed that ‘without C’s support, ALM could not have functioned’ at the New Road address.

Police believed, according to the court judgment, that the associate ‘was using substantial profits from Best Training to subsidise the failing enterprise Yummy Sweets, the employees of which were all members of ALM’.

He had ‘enabled the group to exist and grow by providing employment and meeting places under an apparent legitimate veil of a confectionery shop’.

The convert: Simon Keeler, 44, (pictured) a builder at Yummy Sweets, was previously convicted of terror fundraising

As a result, C was designated under the Terrorist Asset-Freezing Act 2010 in February 2015.

But a judge has now allowed his appeal because C claims he no longer has any money with which to fund terrorism.

The MoS knows the identity of C, who declined to comment on the judgment yesterday.

A Skills Funding Agency spokesman said it was made aware in 2014 that the police were investigating Best Training.

‘The SFA worked in full co-operation with the police which resulted in Best Training being suspended with immediate effect from SFA’s register of training providers and Government funding ceased.’

Sinai attacks decline as Egypt’s fight against IS yields results

August 29, 2016

Sinai attacks decline as Egypt’s fight against IS yields results Through targeted bombings on Islamic State’s Jabal Hilal stronghold, Egyptian military deals strong blow to terror group’s capabilities

By Avi Issacharoff

August 29, 2016, 2:51 pm

Source: Sinai attacks decline as Egypt’s fight against IS yields results | The Times of Israel

Smoke rises after a house was blown up in a military operation in Egypt’s Sinai peninsula on November 20, 2014. (Abed Rahim Khatib/Flash90)

There has been a steady and significant decline in terror attacks carried out by the Islamic State in the Sinai Peninsula in recent months, according to both Egyptian and Israeli sources.

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Though the Islamic State’s armed activities continue apace in the northeast triangle framed by the Israel, Gaza and Egypt borders, there have been fewer terror attacks on the Egyptian army, with a smaller number of casualties than last year, and the attacks have been less ambitious than those IS carried out in 2014 and 2015, as a result of the group’s weakened force and diminished weapons supply.

The Egyptian military’s operations in the central Sinai Peninsula and a series of airstrikes in the Jabal Hilal region — a terrorist-controlled area — have dealt a powerful blow to IS’s military capabilities, the sources said.

For the past few years, Jabal Hilal has been the stronghold of the extremist group in the peninsula, mostly due to its topography.

The region’s extensive cave system — it is considered the “Tora Bora of the Sinai,” an allusion to the rugged region of Afghanistan that Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters made into a bastion against the United States — has made it the preferred destination for IS, the current iteration of the Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis group.

Three months ago, toward the end of May, the Egyptian military spokesperson, Col. Muhammad Samir announced the killings of “88 armed members of the jihadist group in central and northern Sinai.”

May’s large-scale aerial campaign not only took out nearly 100 IS operatives, it also injured hundreds more, dozens of them seriously. In addition to the human casualties, the bombings destroyed the group’s weapons storage facilities and ammunition caches, which had been kept hidden for years.

Essentially, the “logistic front” of the Islamic State in Sinai was destroyed, the sources said.

Around the same time, Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi also discussed the actions against IS, which focused on Jabal Hilal, an area that is seen as particularly problematic. According to Sissi, there had been a significant victory in the fight against terror. However, he clarified, the state of emergency for Egypt would continue.

An image taken from a video clip released by the Sinai affiliate of the Islamic State group on August 1, 2016. (MEMRI)

An image taken from a video clip released by the Sinai affiliate of the Islamic State group on August 1, 2016. (MEMRI)

Earlier this month, the Egyptian military announced another achievement, the execution of Abu Duaa al-Ansari, the presumed commander of the Islamic State in Sinai, formerly known as Ansar Bayt al-Maqdis.

According to the military’s statement, the series of bombings south of el-Arish — the provincial capital of the Sinai — in which al-Ansari was killed came as the result of precise intelligence. During the bombings, a number of weapons storehouses were destroyed and some 45 operatives were killed.

Illustrative: Egyptian security forces in the Sinai, in July 2013. (Mohamed El-Sherbeny/AFP)

Illustrative: Egyptian security forces in the Sinai, in July 2013. (Mohamed El-Sherbeny/AFP)

Throughout 2015, dozens of Egyptian soldiers were killed by IS, with the worst attack taking place during the month of Ramadan in simultaneous assaults on a number of Egyptian military outposts near the town of Sheikh Zuweid that left over 50 dead.

Since the July 1, 2015 attack, however, the Egyptian military’s intelligence has improved. In addition, security collaboration and cooperation with Israel has continued.

Recently, Egypt has made a number of significant gestures in the diplomatic realm, including a rare meet-up between its foreign minister and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that testify to the closeness of the two sides.

U.S. Urges Americans: Leave Gaza ‘As Soon As Possible’

August 24, 2016

U.S. Urges Americans: Leave Hamas-Controlled Gaza ‘As Soon As Possible’

by Breitbart Jerusalem

24 Aug 2016

Source: U.S. Urges Americans: Leave Gaza ‘As Soon As Possible’

David Silverman/Getty

WASHINGTON (AFP) – The United States reiterated its recommendation that Americans in Gaza leave the territory controlled by Hamas, which Washington calls a terrorist group, “as soon as possible.”

The warning came after the Israeli army said it bombed dozens of targets in Gaza from Sunday to Monday, in response to rocket fire from the strip. Palestinian medical officials said four people were wounded.

Washington regularly updates warning notices to Americans traveling to and living in countries around the world.

In the case of Gaza, the State Department warned against “all travel” to the territory and “urges those present to depart as soon as possible when border crossings are open.”

It had issued a similar warning in December 2015.

Since January, 14 rockets fired from Gaza have hit Israeli territory, the military said.

The border area has remained tense since the July-August 2014 war between Israel and Gaza militants that killed more than 2,200 Palestinians and 73 people on the Israeli side.

“Gaza is under the control of Hamas, a foreign terrorist organization. The security environment within Gaza and on its borders is dangerous and volatile,” the State Department said in its warning Tuesday.

As for Israel and the West Bank, a wave of violence there since October 2015 has left Americans dead and wounded, the department said.

However, “there is no indication that US citizens were specifically targeted based on nationality.”

The violence has eased in recent weeks, but an AFP count shows 220 Palestinians and 34 Israelis killed since October 1, 2015 in the Palestinian territories, Jerusalem and Israel.

Most of the Palestinians killed were attackers or suspected attackers. A number were killed in clashes with the Israeli army.

 

Our Catastrophic Failure of Jihad Denial

August 23, 2016

Our Catastrophic Failure of Jihad Denial, Front Page Magazine, Daniel Greenfield, August 23, 2016

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An outraged nation watched on September 11 as a handful of Muslim terrorists managed to kill thousands of Americans in one of the worst attacks in our history. Answers were demanded and commissions were established to investigate why we failed to prevent the attack.

Why didn’t we know that it was coming? Why didn’t we do something?

It’s still a good question as the number of attacks mount. But under Obama, we actually know less about Islamic terrorism than we used to.

While thousands of Americans died on that terrible day at the hands of Islamic terrorists, thousands of other Americans stepped forward to do their duty. Some brought sandwiches to Ground Zero. Others enlisted in the military to fight. Still others sought unique ways to use their special talents to make a contribution to combating the enemies of civilization.

Stephen Coughlin was a reserve Army officer called up to active duty. He left the private sector for the Directorate for Intelligence. For the next six years he worked in a variety of key roles to shape and orient the war and spoke about the threat of Islamic terrorism everywhere from Quantico to the Naval War College so that those on the front lines of the conflict would understand who the enemy was.

Then he was forced out because he was too good at pointing out the enemy. And the enemy had gotten inside. It would bore deeper and deeper into our national security infrastructure as the years and the wars dragged on.

But the government’s loss is our gain.

Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad” is Coughlin’s vigorous blast of fresh air through the stale clichés that clutter up counterterrorism conversations. You know the ones. Offending Islam plays into the hands of the terrorists. Mentioning that Al Qaeda is Islamic plays into the hands of the terrorists. Doing anything except playing the denial game also plays into the hands of the terrorists.

“Catastrophic Failure” conveys the information that Coughlin packaged in briefings to the men and women fighting the war. It is the outcome of his work, his briefings and his research. It is why he was fired.

As one of the leading experts in what the terrorists of Islam actually think and want, Stephen Coughlin not only shatters this brass wall of dishonesty, but shows that the real threat comes from the concealment of whom the terrorists we are fighting are and what they really want.

Coughlin’s conviction in analysis took him on this Diogenesian journey for the truth. He was not the only one traveling this road, discarding the excuses and the lies, striving to see clearly what was happening and why. And yet his position so close to the heart of the great failure machine of national security gives him a unique insight into what has gone wrong and into what must be set right.

That is what “Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad” is. It is an analysis of what has gone wrong. Its cover of an eagle wearing a green blindfold all too aptly captures the tragic farce of our fight against terrorism. But it is also a compelling argument about what we must do.

Instead of seeing the threats the bird of prey tasked with our national defense has been hooded in green. He sits tamely on the arm of the Muslim Brotherhood falconer. Our government has responded to Muslim terror by seeking out Muslim moderates to save us from the extremists. But the moderates are not moderate. And working so close to the machine, Coughlin saw how the need to win over moderates, to consult them and rely on them, led to the shift in power as they created the framework in which decisions were made.

Counterterrorism was increasingly being made in Saudi Arabia, Qatar and by the Muslim Brotherhood.

The great struggle of our time is to flip that framework over and restore the power of decision for this war to Americans. Coughlin is a powerful writer and thinker, and he has poured his passion into these arguments that are meant to accomplish just that. He knows Islamic thought and law, and their real life implications, but his background has also prepared him to present focused laser blasts of information to audiences. His key goal and theme has been the importance of knowing the enemy.

“Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad” is a text of knowledge. It is a book about the importance of knowing the enemy so that we may know the war that we are in.

Coughlin draws us a map of the Islamic organizational war against civilization “unconstrained” by the usual preconceptions about moderates and extremists. Instead he shows us who the enemy is by showing us how they think and how they see themselves. He connects the red dots of the Islamic Movement and the road to the Caliphate which is being pursued by far more Muslim groups than just the overt butchers of ISIS whose lack of patience leads them to act before they can sustain their Jihad.

“Catastrophic Failure” is not merely a book about Islamic terrorism. It is about the core worldview of the struggle. It is about how the bombings, shootings and stabbings that we see on the evening news are rooted in an Islamic mindset that stretches from the proverbial “lone wolf” whose actions are blamed on psychiatric problems or a failure to integrate to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the rest of our so-called moderate allies and partners.

It is also about how our process, our ability to analyze and produce forecasts, and then to make decisions based on them, was corrupted by Islamic influence operations. It is about how the “eagle” was seduced with fantasies of moderate Islam by the enemies of this country. And it is about what must be done to lift the eagle’s blindfold and allow him to soar overhead again.

Stephen Coughlin has seen the profound failure of our national security up close. He saw what went wrong and equally importantly, he has seen what could have been if national security were oriented around our security instead of orbiting like a satellite around our impulses toward political correctness.

“Catastrophic Failure: Blindfolding America in the Face of Jihad” is a valuable book because it reflects the invaluable experiences of its author. It is a story of three wars. The war that was. The war that is. And the war that will be. The motives and the tactics of the enemy have remained consistent in these wars. And that allows Coughlin to predict their patterns. The enemy will not suddenly turn moderate. The question that hangs over the war that will be is whether our leaders will open their eyes to the fight.

Israel strikes Syria

August 23, 2016

Israel strikes Syria After mortar fire landed in the Golan Heights, the Israeli Air Force struck back.

Source: Israel strikes Syria – Defense/Security – News –

Israel Air Force (Illustration)

Israel Air Force

The Israeli Air Force struck a military target in Syria in response to mortar fire which landed in the Golan Heights in the north.

IAF jets scrambled into the air when a mortar strayed over from Syria and exploded in the Golan Heights. The fighter jets targeted a Syrian army missile launcher in retaliation, near Quneitra, Syria.

According to Syrian media, an unmanned aircraft struck a Ba’ath party position at the outskirts of Quneitra.

No one was injured. The mortar landed in open terrain.

No Red Alert rocket sirens sounded when the mortar breached Israeli territory.

Israel maintains a policy that spillover fighting, even of rebels, is the responsibility of the country who allowed it into Israel.

WATCH: Dozens of illegal guns seized in West Bank crackdown

August 23, 2016

Dozens of illegal guns seized in West Bank crackdown IDF, police, Shin Bet conduct raids in Bethlehem, Hebron as part of ongoing campaign against illicit weapons

By Judah Ari Gross

August 23, 2016, 1:53 pm

Source: WATCH: Dozens of illegal guns seized in West Bank crackdown | The Times of Israel

 

In the largest operation of the year, Israeli security forces seized dozens of weapons, confiscated equipment and made arrests in Hebron and Bethlehem early Tuesday morning as part of an ongoing effort to crack down on illegal guns in the West Bank, an IDF official said.

In total, seven illegal gun workshops were raided and 22 pieces of gunsmithing machinery — drill presses and metal lathes — were seized, along with “approximately 50 weapons,” including handguns, shotguns, hunting rifles and Carlo-style submachine guns, a cheap and simple automatic weapon loosely based off the design of the Carl Gustav submachine gun, the official said.

 Security forces also recovered ammunition and dozens of gun pieces — grips, barrels, stocks, etc. — that would have been used to create more weapons, the official added.

Two of the alleged manufacturers were arrested in the raids. The suspects do not appear to be connected to any terrorist groups, but were more likely driven by financial motives, the army source said.

“It seems to be a combination of market demand and the ability to manufacture,” he said.

The IDF, along with the police and Shin Bet security service, seizes machinery believed to have been used to create illegal weapons in Bethlehem and Hebron on August 23, 2016, as part of a large crackdown effort on illicit guns in the West Bank. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

The IDF, along with the police and Shin Bet security service, seizes machinery believed to have been used to create illegal weapons in Bethlehem and Hebron on August 23, 2016, as part of a large crackdown effort on illicit guns in the West Bank. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

Though the tools necessary to create Carlo-style submachine guns are “dual purpose” and can be found in almost any machine shop in the world, the factories raided early Tuesday morning appeared to be “specifically designed for the manufacturing of weapons,” the IDF official said.

More arrests are expected to come, as Shin Bet and Israel Police investigators will now begin interrogating the two suspects in order to locate the manufacturing and distribution network, the official said.

Dozens of illegal weapons seized by Israeli security forces in Bethlehem and Hebron on August 23, 2016, as part of a large crackdown effort on illicit guns in the West Bank. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

Dozens of illegal weapons seized by Israeli security forces in Bethlehem and Hebron on August 23, 2016, as part of a large crackdown effort on illicit guns in the West Bank. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

The joint operation was conducted between 1 a.m. and 5:30 a.m. by five battalions from the Israel Defense Forces — the elite Duvdevan unit, the Nahal Brigade’s 50th Battalion, soldiers from an artillery battery and two reservist battalions — along with representatives from the Israel Police and Shin Bet security service, according to spokespeople for the organizations.

IDF soldiers break into a workshop  believed to have been used to create illegal weapons in Bethlehem and Hebron on August 23, 2016, as part of a large crackdown effort on illicit guns in the West Bank. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

IDF soldiers break into a workshop believed to have been used to create illegal weapons in Bethlehem and Hebron on August 23, 2016, as part of a large crackdown effort on illicit guns in the West Bank. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

The raids in Bethlehem and Hebron were the culmination of months of gathering “signal intelligence, human intelligence and visual intelligence,” an IDF official said.

There was no immediate indication that any of the guns sold by the two alleged manufacturers were specifically sold for use in terror attacks. These types of guns can be used for any number of reasons, including terrorist attacks, self-defense and criminal activity, the IDF official said.

However, a weapon purchased for self-defense can still end up being used in a terror attack, the official added.

“Someone who has one of these weapons at home [for self-defense] might hide it in a closet. And when his son gets carried away by incitement, he goes and takes this weapon to carry out attacks,” the officer said.

IDF soldiers, along with the police and Shin Bet security service, seize dozens of illegal weapons in Bethlehem and Hebron on August 23, 2016, as part of a large crackdown effort on illicit guns in the West Bank. (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)

IDF soldiers, along with the police and Shin Bet security service, seize dozens of illegal weapons in Bethlehem and Hebron on August 23, 2016, as part of a large crackdown effort on illicit guns in the West Bank. (IDF Spokesperson’s Unit)

This year over 30 shooting attacks have been carried out with illegally produced weapons. In response, the IDF and other security agencies have been cracking down on illegally produced weapons in recent months, arresting more than 140 people suspected of being involved in the creation or distribution of illicit arms, police said.

Over 300 illegal guns and nearly 50 pieces of manufacturing equipment have also been confiscated in raids across the West Bank in recent months, according to police.

The ongoing crackdown has already had an effect on the market, driving up the price of guns Col. Roman Gofman told the Associated Press last month. For example, a crude Carlo-style submachine gun cost around $500 a few months ago, whereas now it can cost upward of $2,500, he said.

Israeli Air Force, tanks strike Hamas targets in Gaza after rocket hits Sderot

August 21, 2016

Israeli Air Force, tanks strike Hamas targets in Gaza after rocket hits Sderot

Published time: 21 Aug, 2016 12:37 Edited time: 21 Aug, 2016 13:20

Source: Israeli Air Force, tanks strike Hamas targets in Gaza after rocket hits Sderot — RT News

© Amir Cohen / Reuters

The Israeli military have launched strikes against two Hamas positions in the north of the Gaza Strip, the IDF reported on Twitter, saying the operation was a response to an earlier rocket attack from Gaza.

On Sunday afternoon, both the Israeli Air Force and armored corps on the ground targeted Hamas, who is considered a terrorist organization in Israel.

Earlier in the day, a rocket exploded in the southern Israeli city of Sderot, with the Israeli Defense Force (IDF) saying the missile had been launched from the Gaza Strip.

No injuries or damage have been reported in Sderot, which has a population of 19,000, while the police have called on members of the public to stay away from the scene.

In Gaza, Israeli artillery fire was reported, Haaretz said, citing Palestinian eyewitnesses. Rocket sirens have been sounded in Sderot and nearby communities on the Gaza border, the Israeli media reported.

There so far have been no reports of Palestinian casualties.

In July 2014, rockets from Gaza reportedly left two Sderot residential buildings in ruins. Some 15 people were said to be injured on the Palestinian side in Israel’s attack.

Gazan Rocket Hits Sderot

August 21, 2016

By: Jewish Press News Briefs

Published: August 21st, 2016

Source: The Jewish Press » » Gazan Rocket Hits Sderot

Rocket crossing!
Photo Credit: Asher Schwartz

Two rocket alerts went off in communities near the Gaza border and in Sderot at around 2:25PM on Sunday.

2:35 PM Residents near the Gaza border are reporting that they heard at least one explosion, possibly two.

2:43 PM Confirmed reports that one rocket from Gaza landed in Sderot between 2 houses. No one was injured.

The rocket was launched from Beit Hanoun.

Police are asking citizens to not go to the area where the rocket fell do the the danger.

3:00 PM Arab sources report that the IDF is striking Beit Hanoun area.

There are no reports on why Iron Dome did not take down he rocket.